Wonder Worker

Those who know me, know that every winter I battle an ever losing war against one thing.  Dermatitis on my legs-really bad.  Ugly sore and looking. I tried every lotion under the sun, putting it on 2 times a day.  Humidifiers going 24/7.  Drinking tons of water.  Nothing worked.

Then last week, a light bulb went off. I use lanolin for cracked nipples while nursing-if it helps that area, why wouldn't it be just as helpful with cracked skin.  Guess what- after 2 days, you couldn't see the ugly bright red spots on my calves.  Gone.  My legs were still itchy, but the sores were gone.  So, now my new moisturizing regiment includes lanolin and lotion.  My legs are grateful.

My Love Affair

 I love fall. Not only for relief of the cooler weather, change in color of the leaves, but also for pumpkins!

You see these beauties?  Got them for $13!  Aren't they gorgeous?  They are great decorations, but the best thing is they are all good cooking pumpkins.  Been told the bottom one, I can get 12 cups of pumpkin out of it!

What will I make with all that pumpkin?  Let's see, pumpkin bread, muffins, scones, cake, pie, cookies, and the best of all?  Pancakes! Don't get me wrong, I am a sucker for pumpkin pie. I even eat it for breakfast. Which makes me think of another favorite-Pumpkin (or pompuna-what we had in Bonaire) Souffle.  I'll have to make that again soon!

So back to the pancakes.   I recently found a recipe for Pumpkin Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes. They turned out so yummy!  Pete ate 2 (always a good sign of a good pancake).  I found this via Pinterest- this comes from Two Peas and Their Pod Blog.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

Yield: Serves 4

 

Ingredients:

For the cinnamon streusel:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

To make the pancakes:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. First, make the cinnamon streusel. In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Mix together with your hands or a fork, until you have a crumbly mixture. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg, pumpkin, canola oil, and vanilla extract. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and whisk until combined.
4. Heat a griddle or pan to medium low. Coat with cooking spray. Drop 1/3 cup of batter onto heated skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon streusel. Cook on the first side until bubbles begin to form, about 2-3 minutes. Carefully flip pancake over and cover very generously with cinnamon streusel. Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Continue this process to make the rest of the pancakes.
5. Serve pancakes warm with maple syrup and butter.

Enjoy! Over the next few blogs, I'll share some other pumpkin recipes and other recipes I've tried!

The Help Review

Recently, I read the book The Help. It is a popular book right now as it has been made into a movie. I have yet to see the movie, but I hear it is pretty good and follows the spirit of the book.

Back to the book. I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast read. I thought the characters were well written. My favorite character was Aibileen.  She grew through the book, as did the other characters.  At the end, because of their experiences, each character had the guts to do something they probably wouldn't have done before.

As I read it, I had a hard time with the attitudes of the white people in the book. I know that is the way a lot of them thought and some still think today.  It challenges our thinking to makes sure we see all humans as equal, not dependent upon race or color.  It is easy to generalize a culture by what we observe and experience, but not everyone from that culture is the same. It is a good thing to remember the Golden Rule-Treat others the way you want to be treated.  Or even the commandment from Jesus-Love your neighbors as yourself.

There is nothing new under the sun

I recently got turned onto a site called Pinterest (I have a devil of a time trying to pronounce it-though it is very easy, pin-terest. I keep wanting to pronouce it pin-interest. Go figure). Any way, I have fallen in love with this site. It is a virtual bulletin board of things you want to keep track of on the web. Any site you go to, if something catches your eye, you can "Pin It".

You can follow other pinners as well. There are a lot of things that have been multi-pinned to the board. I like it because it is giving me some great ideas to do. I actually have done some of the crafts/art I have pinned. I created a whale pattern from one off the web-it is deceptively hard, made crayon art, curled my hair without heat, and have a bunch of other things I want to try.

I have 2 (hopefully) craft shows coming up, where I'll just be selling hand made items. I have made a couple of book wreaths, toys for boys (and girls), and my niece will be featured as well with some of her knitted very cute hats!

Yet again, I am going to try to keep up with my blog, though I am not sure when in my day, I'll fit my writing in.

Home Sweet Home

Our home...do you notice what is missing by the door (check out the earlier post)?

We have been in the house now for almost 3 weeks. There are still boxes piled around waiting to be unpacked. Josh is as I am writing this continuing to work on getting the books and DVDs unpacked and put away.

The kitchen is 98% unpacked. I have a couple more boxes to go. With my hip really bugging me, I haven't been able to do much of anything lately, and the doctor told me today to try to keep as much weight off of it as possible. So, there may be a bunch of stuff for my mother-in-law and mother to do when they are here for Peanut's birth in late July to help out with.

Here are a few pictures of our new home.

view of the living room from the front door

the fireplace in the living room

Our messy family room...
view of the back yard

Leftover Chicken

Tonight, I wasn't sure what to do for dinner. I had chicken enchiladas down-they were already pre-made and in the freezer. However, I needed to use up the chicken from Sunday. So, a searching I went for a recipe I could use. This is what I found- Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti. I of course modified it, as I am apt to do with any recipe I find. Result? Yummy! It is definitely a make again dish. The best part- there is leftovers to go into the freezer for next month. Whoo Hoo! Another big plus- this dinner was way under $5.

Without further ado-here is the recipe.

Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 1 (7 ounce) package spaghetti, broken
• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided (I used 1/2 Mozzerella, 1/2 colby jack mix)
  
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 cup milk
• 3 strips of bacon crumbled
  
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon oregano, thyme, rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the chicken, 1 cup cheese, soup, milk, bacon, spices, salt and pepper. Drain spaghetti; add to the chicken mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

House Progress

We are now 4 weeks from closing. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for Josh's dad and stepmom-Thank you!!

We found a cute little ranch house over by the neighborhood where we used to rent, so we already know the area very well. One of the best things is the back yard, Pete will have a good amount of space to play in.

Even though we are closing mid May, we'll probably wait to move into it till the end of May (any one want to help us move?). There is some work to be done, and it would be easier to do it with out having us in it. My parents are gong to help us get the kitchen up to par. The house has been a rental for a long time, and the cabinets are kind of nasty.

It is hard to believe that we will soon be homeowners. We have seen God's guidance and work through this process, both on the house front and in our own lives. God is good!