The Joys Of Family and Hearth

A few day's before Thanksgiving we headed over to my mom's house to make some stuffing for the local senior center and to help her prepare for Thanksgiving.  Below is Ashley's pics of some fall things at my moms house. :) Two days later we went back for the feast. :) Dad putting side dishes in the oven. I believe we had 11 different sides.. As a matter of fact I only ate sides, no turkey or ham! :) Sweet potatoes were awesome!!! :) Ashley's homemade bread! Broccoli Casserole!!! Full Adult table! :) IT was a beautiful day, so we let the kids eat outside on the deck, since there was 12 of them! :) Below is mom's dog being very bad, he searched the kids table for scraps! :) Dessert time!!! See the gorgeous little girl, I think she ate a whole apple pie! ;)    We had one minor catastrophe, my parents had made two turkeys, one the previous night and cut it all up, laid in a Pyrex dish to re-heat , when they put it in the oven about 10 mins later we he...

I am a fan of history! I love it. I love to read and imagine what life was like back then, how did it feel, what the clothing was like, and why. When I think about Thanksgiving, and why we celebrate. Your mind can't help but naturally go to the Puritans and their voyage from England to here for religious freedom. They didn't want to be under the rule of England. They wanted to worship their God, their way! I mean talk about being a brave people. England was good for chopping of your head if you didn't agree with the King! Imagine traveling here via the Mayflower, the rocky ocean, being crammed into a small space with 100 other people, people are sick, no potty!! Really! Your a little grossed out now aren't you? But  this is how they traveled, their core belief was soooo strong..they did what they had to do to have the freedom of religious persecution. Then you finally see land, and your not where your suppose to be! Do you give up? Nope, you persevere...you start ...

This is a super easy, super delicious pumpkin bread!!! 3 C Flour 1 t baking soda 1 t salt 3 t cinnamon 2 C sugar 2 C pumpkin or one small can 4 eggs 1 1/4 C veggie oil 1/2 C nuts or chocolate chips (optional) Mix everything together, bake 350* for 1 hour. From My Bella Cucina to Yours!! Blessings~~~~~~~~~

Posting on Homestead Barn Hop, I hope y'all will hop on over to my blog and read some more Thanksgiving Recipes. :) This is not your ordinary Apple Pie!!!  6 tart apples, peeled, cored, sliced 3/4 C sugar 1 T Cinnamon 1 t nutmeg 3/4 C packed brown sugar Crumb: 1/2 C flour 3 t cinnamon 1/4 C butter 1 shell of a 9 in. Pie Mix the first 5 ingredients well, until apples are coated evenly.  Put into pie shell. Mix the crumb mix well, until nice and crumbly sprinkle on top of apples. Bake 425* for 40-5- mins. Cover top and continue to bake for another 15. From My Bella Cucina to Yours! Blessings~~

3 C fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped 1 can (20oz) crushed pineapple drained 1 medium apple, peeled and chopped 2 C mini marshmallows 2/3 C Sugar 1/8 t Salt 1/4 C chopped walnuts 2 C whipping cream In a bowl combine cranberries, pineapple, apple, marshmallows, sugar ,salt and walnuts. You can make this the night before. Just before serving whip the cream and fold into mixture. Makes 10-12 servings From My Bella Cucina to Yours! Blessings~~~

Here's a fun thing you all can do as a family and give it away to others that you are thankful for! :) We make these for neighbors, and people we may see while out doing our Thanksgiving Shopping etc. You could also use it as a hostess gift if your going somewhere for Thanksgiving or the parting gifts to the people who came to your home. Blessing Mix Here's what you need, this is a flexible recipe..do as much or as little as needed. Box of Bugles Pretzels Popped Corn Dried Fruit, raisins, or a family favorite Peanuts Mix it all together and put in baggies, then make a nice tag our of card stock, or paper and attach to bag. Blessing Mix The Bugles are a symbol of the cornucopia, a horn of plenty. The Pretzels represent arms folded in thanks and prayer. The Popcorn reminds us that during the first winter, the pilgrims were allowed only five kernels of corn per day because food was so scarce. The Fruit is a reminder that Thanksgiving is a  celebrations of the ha...

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm going to post some of my favorite recipes for the next couple of days. This is the BEST cornbread EVER!! I promise you, from my friend Theresa.. 1/2 Stick Butter-softened 1 Egg 1 1/4 C Milk 1 1/4 C WHITE cornmeal 1 C flour 1 1/2 t salt 1 1/2 T baking powder 1/2 C Sugar Mix it all together, pour in 9x13 bake 350* for 35 mins. From My Bella Cucina to Yours! :)

It's amazing to me when you give birth what an instant bond develops. A love so deep you can't even explain it, nor understand it fully. If I can love someone sooo much, and our heavenly father loves us even more then that, I can't fathom it. How deep His love must go for us. And we are so bad, so undeserving. 17 years ago, my sweet precious girl was born. 17 days late, by the way! :) By day 5 in the hospital I couldn't wait to escape.Giving birth at 5:16 am has it's advantages, I could leave the hospital the next day or get the two day special. I chose to bail out the next day! :) Ashley, In the past 17 years I have watched you grow and mature, not only physically but spiritually as well. I watched you give your life to the Lord at 5 years old.  I remember sitting in church with you, and your little hand holding my fingers and twisting. It use to drive me nuts! I miss it now. You have watched me over the years, and I see me in you. Sometimes good, sometimes.....

So Thanksgiving is my mom's holiday. Meaning every year she hosts this one for our family. I do Christmas Eve and My Aunt Lisa does Easter. Anyway this is a super easy dish, that you make in your crock pot so you don't have to worry about reheating it in someone elses oven. Just make bring, plug in when you get there. :) 8 large sweet potato or yams. Depends on where you live as to what you call them. chop up in small chunks. Put in crock pot on low and cook alllllllll day... As the day progresses check them, as the get softer start to mash, I just use a good ol' fashion hand masher. Once they are all mashed, throw in brown sugar and maple syrup to taste. You can make these as sweet as you like. You can also add cinnamon or cloves. This is such a flexible recipe. Call it done! You can make the day before as well. Keep in crock pot on warm, the house will smell delicious and you will thoroughly enjoy them! From My Bella Cucina to Yours!! Blessings~~

Oh, how hard it is to be a mom when your child hurts. Physically or Emotionally to watch your child hurt is so sad.  I wonder in times like these, why God.. What is the lesson in this pain? As a mom, my emotions range from sadness to anger back to sadness. For the past year, I have watched not only my daughter but my entire family struggle with loss. At times it felt like we lost everything.  Our intimate circle of friends had decreased. We lost our church family. My daughter lost her best friend. Hard for a teenager to deal with. We have struggled immensely, I have questioned God..more times then I care to recount. We are not in a church, nor am I sure..I wish to be. This past weekend, I was talking with my girl..and I was watching her slowly look through her photo albums. My daughter loves to take pictures, so pretty much anything we do is documented at some point by photos. I asked her if she was ok? And the tears just started to pour...she methodically ...

This soup is a wonderful addition to your regular soup recipes. 1 lb. Italian Sausage, casings removed 1 large onion diced 2 carrots sliced 2 stalks celery diced 8 C Chicken Broth 1 8oz can 1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes 3-4 cloves garlic, we like garlic..you can reduced as needed 1/2 t oregano 1/2 t rosemary 1/4 t thyme 1/4 t fennel seeds 1 bay leaf- optional 1/2 C orzo or Acini Di Pepe pasta Now, instead of all the individual spices I use several shakes of Herb De Providence.. Love that stuff. Saute carrots, onion, celery and sausage all together until sausage is not pink. Add broth, undrained diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and all herbs..simmer for an hour, add pasta, simmer for another 30 mins. Enjoy!!!! I make the pasta on the side. Delicious with fresh grated cheese on top! From My Bella Cucina to Yours! :)

~~Genesis 2:2By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.~~ ~~Genesis 2:15~The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.~~ ~~Deuteronomy 5:13~Six days you shall labor and do all your work,~~ ~~2 Thessalonians 3:10~For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.~~ There is over 500 verses in the bible that have the word "work" in them. Some of them in the context that I mean to discuss here. How do we instill a positive work ethic in a society that demands things be handed to them on a silver platter, not only that you should be spoon feeding them as well. EVERYONE is a WINNER society screams! SPREAD THE WEALTH!!!!!!, SHARE, GIVE ME, ME, ME MORE, AND NO I DON'T WANT TO WORK FOR IT, I SHOULDN'T HAVE TOO!!!!!!!!!!!! The selfishness is discus ting , our society has allowed this laziness to t...

So while we were away we celebrated Jacob's 11 th birthday!!! We spent a week at the campground, (more to come on that) It was a wonderful time. Jacob's request for his birthday was a Scooby Doo cake, chocolate filled with chocolate pudding. Lucky for me I have a friend who lives not to far from the campground, and we invited her family back to the camper for some yummy cake, and then we all headed out to go bowling. Gotta love when one friend and her family = instant party. My friend Lisa has 7 children and a loving heart for them all, she also opens her home to foster children. She inspires me.. :) SO with our large group we headed out to Blue Ball Lanes, and even got the group rate! :) 2 games of bowling, with shoe rental $8.00 per person! :) After bowling we headed to Joe's Famous Wieners and Wings, this place is super delicious. We loaded up on garlic, spicy and honey bbq wings, along with cheese steaks and fries. Below is my Ashley with Lisa's Ashlee. Little ...