Red Velvet Cupcakes!

For her birthday Eleanor wanted red velvet cupcakes! They were so fun to make, and they tasted so good! We got the recipe from Christy Jordan at Southern Plate. They were a good ending to the Papa John's pizza that Eleanor wanted for supper.(Oh yeah! We now have a Papa John's! We are moving up in the world!) Enjoy the recipe!

 Aren't they RED!!!

 Eleanor's TEN! Her fingers are red from the food dye in the batter.

 Happy Birthday El!

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Orange Rolls!

Happy 10th Birthday Eleanor! (you make me feel so old)

Yes, the 14th was Eleanor's birthday.(I am really behind on these posts) One of my presents to her was homemade orange rolls. I got the recipe from Janet at Simply So Good except I made a few alterations. I used half whole ground flour and half unbleached white flour. I also made the rolls a little bit bigger and put them in a 9x13 glass baking pan like you would for cinnamon rolls.

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Buttery Pecan Cookies

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Today is a day to show how thankful we are for everything God has given to us. I am especially thankful for this recipe! : )

Fall is here y'all! I love to make this recipe in the summer to eat with homemade ice cream, but it could also be made in the fall with fresh pecans! This recipe is super easy. I got it from The Kid's Cookbook. The recipes from this cookbook are all really easy, but they taste excellent! These cookies are just like the Keebler Sandies, but my Grandmother says that these taste better. They are the bomb with homemade vanilla ice cream in the summer. I can make these "healthy"(some what) by using demerara instead of white sugar, and freshly ground spelt instead of all-purpose. (Though they taste great either way)

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2\3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1\2 cup chopped pecans

Butter, flour, pecans, sugar, salt, and vanilla.

Cream the butter sugar salt and vanilla until smooth.

Add the flour and nuts and continue mixing until combined.

Take the dough and form ito a log shape on some wax paper about 2 inches in diameter.

Wrap the dough in the wax paper and twist the ends to seal.

Refrigerate for about 3 hours, or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap the chilled dough and cut into slices 1\4 inch thick.

Arrange about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet and bake 14 to 16 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.

YUM!!

The dough can also be stored in the freezer until ready to bake.

Fly with Christ!

Rachel : )

I am such a Homeschooler...

Not the plant near our house

Everyone needs a break from schoolwork. Right? Well last week I did.

Eleanor and I went to pick some pokeberries from the plant growing near our house.(I do have to say that picking pokeberries is not normal for us, nor is what we did with them. But it's just plain fun!) We crushed and strained our berries, added salt and vinegar, and we got homemade ink! 

You may be asking yourself what this has to do with homeschoolers. You see homeschoolers (or at least some of the ones that I know) tend to do really neat projects for fun! (usually history related) Oh yeah! We are that cool! : ) Last week, for instance, we made berry ink. Other days we have made fresh butter, costumes, and sugar cube pyramids. Homeschoolers are also cool because they have cool supplies just hanging around the house.(Am I the only one who keeps quill pens and little jars?)

Here is the recipe for homemade berry ink: (This recipe can be doubled or cut in half. Because it is made with fresh berries it will go bad so don't forget to use it up!)
1 cup berries(any kind will do. Play around with different berries for different colors)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vinegar

Crush and strain the berries. Stir in the salt and vinegar until dissolved. That's all! It also works best to write on a heavy paper so the ink won't bleed. (Again, am I the only one who just happened to have calligraphy paper from a calligraphy set?)

Sorry, no pictures for this one. You will just have to imagine Eleanor and I crushing and straining pokeberries and then writing our names with the purple ink. ; )


Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Bean Soup

Let me introduce you to my latest interesting find: Bean flour. 

Sounds REALLY weird, I know. 

But it's very nutritional, and you can add it to breads or make it into sauces and soups.You can grind up beans in a grain mill or in a coffee grinder. White beans seem to make the best flour. I have also ground red and green lentils in a coffee grinder.

Here is what you will need for a basic soup:

Water

Bean flour

Spices

(That is all!)

For every cup of water use:

1-2 Tbsp. flour for thin

3-4 Tbsp. flour for medium

5-6 Tbsp. flour for thick

Boil your water on the stove. *Making this recipe in the microwave will kill all the nutrients.*

For my spices I put one bouillon cube and dissolve it in the water. You could add any spices you wanted: Mexican, Italian, or just salt and pepper.

Bring the water to a boil.

Today I used a mixture of white bean flour and ground red lentils.

Flour from white beans

Red lentils mixed with white beans

Whisk the flour into the boiling water and boil for 3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.

 Top with cheese and more spices if desired. ENJOY!

Fly with Christ!

Rachel : )

Funny...

Hello everyone! I am here today to break up this monotonous Monday. : ) I hope that your Monday isn't as dreary as mine is. O.K. I'm not a fan of the song, but this video is so funny! I hope y'all enjoy it as much as I did.

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )