Good Deals

For those in the Lancaster area.

I was just in Oregon Dairy and they had claw crab meat on sale buy one get one free. It ends up at about $4.50 lb. I can get about 3 meals out of the two cans. The meat makes great crab cakes. They also freeze well. I will make a bunch on Monday to freeze. They will be really quick on a busy weekend. I will post a recipe later. Oh, the sale is only today.

Julie

Preparation and Children

Is it a burden or a blessing to have the kids involved in preparation? There is not an easy answer. If your children are older and have been trained well than i would say it is a great blessing. Kids that have been trained in the importance of feasting and who are used to having guests in the home can help in almost all of the preparation. I have been in homes where the teenagers did not even need the help of the parents. More important they were joyful about it. Sometimes it is hard for us with smaller ones to remember to train them in all of this. Yes, it is easier to have them out of the kitchen. But, how will they ever learn to do this and do it joyfully if we do not work at training them now. I have a few ideas to help with this. First I make their chores easy. I made a picture of a place setting so even Zachary can set the table. There are many websites or books that have this, but i do not use every piece in a place setting. This confused the kids because it did not match perfectly. I just took a digital picture of what we use and that is our reference. Folding the napkins is a great job for the toddlers. Sarah Beth loves to help clean the vegetables. We have great conversations while doing this. Isaac likes to mix the salad after I have done the chopping. Also, get the kids in on the inviting of the guests. Isaac was just asking today about having certain families over. Get them involved and be joyful about it. They will develop a love for it soon.

Julie

Weekend Plans and Recipes

Once again my plans have changed for the weekend. We are back to feasting on Saturday night. Though, I will not be home to cook, so I will be using the crock pot. I plan on using one of the chickens I bought on sale this week. I will do a roasted root vegetable dish and creamy brussel sprouts. It will be a busy weekend. Isaac and Sarah Beth have a violin recital in the afternoon and we have family in town. But, with my trusty crock pot, I will pull it off.

Now for the chicken recipes I promised
* 1 roasting chicken, 4 to 5 pounds
* seasoned salt
* 1 onion, peeled
* 1 carrot, cut in 1-inch chunks
* 1 rib celery, cut in 1-inch chunks
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 1 cup fresh orange juice
* finely chopped green onion and parsley, for garnish

PREPARATION:
Wash chicken and rub with seasoned salt. Stuff cavity with onion, carrot and celery. Place chicken in shallow baking dish or on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast at 325° for about 3 hours (internal temperature should be about 375°).
Mix orange juice and cornstarch in a small bowl or measuring cup. About 30 minutes before chicken is done, brush chicken generously with orange juice mixture. Brush again about 15 minutes before done. Sprinkle with chopped green onion and parsley before serving, if desired.
Roast whole chicken serves 6.




Roasted Sticky Chicken

* 1 large chicken -- (roasting)
* 1 cup onion -- chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon white pepper
* 1 teaspoon thyme
* 1 teaspoon onion powder
* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 2 teaspoons paprika
* 4 teaspoons salt

This should have been done last night: In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin. Place in a re-sealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to roast chicken, stuff cavity with onions, and place in the crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours. Let chicken rest about 10 minutes before carving.


I plan on doing the Roasted Sticky Chicken this weekend. I hope you enjoy the recipes.

Baby Steps

I was talking to a friend yesterday who is just starting to feast with her family. We talked about the importance of starting with baby steps. I would never desire someone to become exhausted by trying to accomplish everything at once. I did that at first. After a few months of on and off, stressful feasting, we stopped.After a conversation I had a conversation with Nancy Wilson she encouraged me to try again, and focus on making it special for the children. Her philosophy is that it is all about the children developing a love for the day. Do not stress right away about starting traditions. They come naturally. Do not stress about finding new recipes. Start with one a week. I always make sure there is something on the table that everyone loves. My kids are not picky eaters, so this is not difficult. If yours are than make their favorite dessert. We do not fuss with the kids about cleaning their plates on this night. They do not realize it, but if they just wanted bread and dessert I would probably let that happen. Just don't tell them! Do not feel the pressure to immediately have guests every week. I still do not do that. I think I have said before that some weeks we prefer to celebrate with just our family. Develop a routine and over time things will just fall into place. Remember it is about developing a love for the Sabbath. Do not put so much pressure on yourself that you come to dread the day.

Julie

Menu Planning

In my effort to make things more simple during the week, I have subscribed to www.menus4moms.com. They will e-mail a menu every week. The meals are simple and child friendly. It is also free!! I put the link in my sidebar. Because I shop according to sales, I sometimes have to change it around or look at the archive menus. I just try to pick meals that have ingredients that I have already purchased or are on sale that week. This has been a great tool for me. I hope it helps you.

Julie

Weekend Plans

It is Tuesday and I am thinking about the weekend. We will more than likely move our feast to Sunday. For multiple reasons I do not think Saturday is going to work. We do not take it lightly when we move our feast. Not because we are legalistic, but because we enjoy what it has done for our family to prepare ahead for worship. We also realize if we do not set a standard and hold our ground, than something can always get in the way and we would never feast. That said, sometimes it just cannot be helped. So, I will probably do a nice brunch after church. Our church meets early and we are home by 10:30. This will give us time to eat, clean up and then be ready for the Super Bowl.(Big deal in my full of testosterone house!)I get back with you on how this all works out.
Julie

Good Deals

If you are in the Lancaster area, Oregon Dairy has whole chickens buy one get one free! They make great feast dishes. There are so many ways to cook them. I will get some recipes together to post. If anyone has one they would like to share, please do so.

Recipes

I just wanted to post the recipes for the most popular dishes in this week's feast.

Broccoli Casserole
2 boxes chopped broccoli(cooked)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can Cheddar cheese soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 egg


Mix all ingredients. Place in casserole dish. Dot the top with butter. Cover the top with crushed Cheez-It crackers. They have to be Cheez-Its. Knock off brands do not work as well. Bake at 350 for 30 min.

This dish can be assembled a day ahead. Just add the crackers and bake when your are ready.


Appetizer( I do not know what it is called.)

Layer a baguette slice
brie
gourmet preserve
basil leaf
I arranged this all on a cheese tray and let each guest do their own.

London Broil

Marinade your meat for 8 hours.
Broil each side for about 15 min.
This time I used a marinade from Abondante Living.

I hope you enjoy.

Julie

This Week's Feast

This weekend was a very busy time for us. I seem to always over book on the weekends that we are having guests for our feast. This time was no different, but we still had a great time with our friends. We had a london broil marinated in an incredible sauce. I purchased it from Abondante Living. I threw away the bottle, but I think it was a sesame, garlic and maple sauce. We had broccoli casserole, roasted potatoes, green beans sauteed with balsamic vinegar and topped with toasted pine nuts and feta cheese. We also had bread with honey butter and cheesecake and a chocolate roll for dessert. For the appetizer we did brie on a slice of baguette, topped with cherry and plum preserves(also from Abondante Living) and a basil leaf. That was a big hit. I know some of you are wondering how a meal like this fits in to my budget. It doesn't. We will have to sacrifice on our weekday meals this week and possibly the next, but I would not trade the time we had with our friends. I will post a couple of the recipes tomorrow. It is time to get the kids to bed.