Apr 18, 2012

A Great Resource: Thriving Family

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There are so many free and low-cost resources available these days. Especially with the uptick in downloadable files, you can find a lot of excellent books and magazines that once upon a time you would have to get at a bookstore or buy a subscription for. So today I just wanted to pass along one of these great resources I’ve found.

Thriving Family

Thriving Family is Focus on the Family’s family publication. It’s an excellent all-round resource. Their website is http://www.thrivingfamily.com

I also follow them on Twitter @ThrivingFamily

And on Facebook at Thriving Family

Here’s some of what they provide:

  • movie reviews
  • book reviews for kids and teen books every week
  • parenting & marriage advice
  • prayer points
  • personal stories of encouragement
  • cute recipes
  • craft ideas
  • family togetherness ideas (like camping, picnics, park days, etc.)
  • Family Devotions that you can download for free

This month they also have a couple of excellent free resources:

This site believes in the family. Their work backs it up.  I really appreciate them and want to support them so we can all continue to benefit from their resources!  Go sign up for your freebies and troll their site! You’ll find it’s a treasure trove of encouragement. And we all can use that!

Have a blessed day!

**I’m not getting any compensation for promoting them. I just think they’re great and think you will too!

Filed Under: Home Matters · Tagged: ,
Apr 14, 2012

The Finance Man is in The House: “What Can Be Included in Minister’s Housing Allowance?”

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Raise your hand if you’re the one who handles the finances for your home.

Not me!! And I couldn’t be happier. Because minister’s taxation is a bear! Lucky for me, I’m married to The Finance Man. I call him Hubs. You can call him the Right Reverend Shelby Pratt. On second thought maybe you should just call him Pastor Shelby.

I’ve asked Hubs if he could answer questions about minister’s taxes every once and awhile. So if you have something you’d like him to talk about, send me a message! I’ll post his responses periodically. Today he tackles Housing Allowance.

One of the most common questions that comes my way is about housing allowance. Typically, it goes something like this: “What can be included in a minister’s housing allowance?”

The short answer is, well…there really isn’t a short answer. Basically, a minister can include anything (other than food) that gets consumed or used in the provision of a home. But there are limitations. With as little IRS-ese as possible, the maximum amount that can be excluded from a minister’s taxable earnings is the lesser of one of three things.

  1. The amount officially designated by the church board. (This one is just plain ridiculous, because who, in their right mind, would ask their church board to designate a lower amount than one of the next two items?) Even for a bi-vocational pastor, whose entire church compensation could be housing allowance, I recommend having a larger-than-anticipated housing allowance designation. This will allow any and all honorariums or gifts to be distributed as housing allowance.
  2.  The actual expenses incurred in providing a home. You’ll start off with  an estimate of annual expenses, which can range from mortgage principal and interest payments (or rent payments) to lawn care to dish detergent to trash and recycling services. A good housing allowance declaration will be as inclusive as possible and may include a bit of a buffer for unexcpected housing-related expenses (e.g., replacing a broken refrigerator or that “honey-do” project you’ve been meaning to tackle). Estimating high will ensure you maximize your housing allowance benefit. But, in the end, the actual out-of-pocket expenses is the measure.
  3. The fair rental value of your home, furnished plus utilities. This, unfortunately, is a bit of a challenge to determine. The FRV is the standard set by law. The challenge is the IRS has never provided any guidance on how to determine the FRV. You can make a somewhat educated guess and check your local newspaper for comporable rental homes. Then just add the cost of your furnishings and monthly utilities. And determining the furnishings could even be done a couple of different ways (i.e., purchase versus rental price). To solidify the rental value, you could get a realtor or property manager’s opinion–in writing.

At the end of the year, the LOWEST of the three amounts is what can actually be excluded from a minister’s taxable income. If you estimated high (declared $30,000 and only qualified for $25,000),  the excess amount is reported as taxable income. BUT, if you estimated low (declared $25,000 and could have qualified for $30,000), you cannot reclassify the difference as housing allowance. In the first example, you maximized your housing allowance. In the second, you paid taxes on $5,000 unnecessarily.

Lastly, let me pass along a few things to keep in mind. Getting a housing allowance in place is a two step process.

  1. Declaration–A minister declares the desired housing allowance amount to the church board.
  2. Designation–The board officially designates the housing.

Technically, there is no housing allowance until Step 2. And any payments made before board designation is taxable wages.

As you can see from this very brief and somewhat technical discussion, housing allowance can be quite a complicated issue. If you have further questions about this or any other topic relating to minister and church finance, let us know. In the meantime, don’t forget to file your taxes by Tuesday, April 17th!

~~Pastor Shelby

Shelby has a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Central Bible College, and an M.B.A. from Regent University. He has served in several church staff positions, including youth pastor, church administrator, interim pastor, and Executive Pastor. He served as a church business consultant for AG Financial Solutions. More recently, Shelby served as Vice President for Finance at Zion Bible College and as Vice President for Operations at Central Bible College. While serving both colleges, he also served the Southern New England Ministry Network as their Controller and had the privilege of working with many of the Network ministers and churches, in matters of minister’s taxation and church finance and administration. He joined the Ohio Ministry Network as Finance Director in June 2011.

Please understand, any explanation given on this blog should not be viewed as legal or financial advice. If you have questions or concerns you should consult your own legal or tax counsel. Thanks for understanding!

Related Posts:

Preach the Gospel to…Yourself
From My Perspective: Keri Stoner
Today’s PSA: We’re Not Perfect

Filed Under: Home Matters, This Crazy Life Called "Ministry" ·
Apr 12, 2012

Guest Post: Depression: Feeling More Than Just Bla’se’ Fair

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I love when God ordains the meeting of a new friend! Such is the case with today’s guest author. Dr. Sonja and I literally met poolside while we were hanging out watching our kids play (we each have a daughter with the same name! How can you NOT start a conversation, right?!?). Over the course of the months since we’ve shared our ministry stories and our heart for the spiritual and mental health of ministers and women in ministry. A couple weeks ago we met for dinner. Remember those statistics I shared with you a few weeks ago? We began discussing that post which lead to a great conversation about one of the leading issues among women in ministry: depression. I asked Dr. Sonja if she would share her thoughts from her experience and unique perspective as a healthcare provider. And she was willing. It’s my privilege to have her as part of the Ministry Momma community and to introduce you to her! Read on…it’s an excellent and encouraging post, friends!

Depression: Feeling More Than Just Bla’se’ Fair

First off I want to give a hearty “THANK YOU” to JulieAnn for asking me to contribute to her blog on the topic of depression.  I hope that after reading this post you will recognize the reality of what some women are coping with on a day-to-day basis.  This is a blog that many of you, personally, will be able to relate to because you are “right there” with the concrete facts of what I’m going to share.

I have the privilege, as a healthcare provider, of meeting with women in my office everyday to discuss symptoms and concerns related to the natural aging process.  The consultations that I provide can go in many directions whether it hormones, emotions, physical needs, or mental needs.  I should also preface this blog by saying that these women I meet with serve in every walk of life and are in every stage of life from young to old.  I provide care to executives, local celebrities, healthcare providers, school teachers, stay-at-home moms, ministry wives, construction workers, and nearly any role you can imagine.  After years of doing this I can say without a doubt that no one, regardless of professional status or responsibility, is exempt from the impact of depression. Each time I do a consultation, I always touch on the issue of depression and anxiety to fully assess the reasons for various problems.  The “cause” of depression is sometimes identifiable, but most often is not.  For some, depression can be explained as an inherent propensity to depression due to a strong family history of the disorder; for others it’s brought on by stress and emotional trauma; for others it’s a slow downward decline due to unhealthy relationships and poor social networks; for others it’s the consistent feelings of failure or not meeting expectations; and for others it’s due to endocrine and biological shifts of the body due to some other disease state.  The reality is that whatever the cause, the effects can be significant and long lasting for some women who struggle with clinical depression.

These are the hard core statistics about depression so you have an understanding of how significant this is:

  • The World Health Organization identified depression as the third most important cause of disease burden worldwide in 2004, and it is estimated that, globally, depression will be the second leading cause of disability by the end of 2020.
  • In the U.S., depression is the most common type of mental illness (affecting 26% of adults).
  • Women experience depression two times more than men.
  • Bringing the statistics “closer to home” (so to speak), I did an audit of charts that I hold in the office and realized that 88% of my clients responded “Yes!  I have experienced depression”.  Twenty-five percent stated they had experienced it once or twice in their life.  Twenty-three percent said they experienced depression once or twice a year.
  • Then to bring it “really close to home”, I found that depression amongst those that I know are in ministry (or simply ministry wives) experienced an average age onset of depression in their early thirties.  That’s our YOUNG WOMEN in MINISTRY.  WOW!!!  The majority experienced depression at or near five to six years in their ministry career.  Mentoring young women in ministry is clearly needed and critical.  The first five years have a HUGE impact psychologically for those starting their journey in ministry.

What should a woman do if she has consistent feelings of depression?

Talk to your spouse, talk to your most trusted mentor, and go see your doctor.  One of the biggest mistakes made by well meaning people is to give someone who is crying out for help the old “it’ll get better” pat of dismissal on the shoulder.  That, sadly, is often what happens when someone tries to express the feelings of being in a deep bla’se’ fair state.  Many woman, and particularly young women, become confused that depression is a state of weakness and find themselves very vulnerable in reaching out because of the opinions and recommended antidotes of others.  Or, they just soon realize that it’s the “thing I dare not speak of” because of the responses of the past.  If there is one thing I’ve learned over the years, it is to take these conversations about depression very seriously and ask the right questions to direct each woman, as an individual, toward the appropriate help.  Often having an outlet to share feelings and frustrations is all that is needed (along with great studies of the Word or course), but always keep in mind that from time to time, there needs to be medical intervention.

In wrapping this blog up, I want to end on the power that faith holds in the battle with depression.  I’ll share my thoughts with you in this way.  I once had a bathroom scale that was obviously broken and unreliable.  I could step on the scale and it would display 108 pounds.  That seemed great until my seven year old daughter and my husband each stepped on it and it revealed the exact same number.  The scale was obviously broken, but I think we as women want to use a faulty scale to determine our status in life. Plain and simple, you can’t use society’s unreliable “self-worth” scale to determine YOUR own self-worth.  I always tell women not to get their hand caught in the comparison trap.  It will fracture you and your spirit in a heartbeat.  The scripture is clear on the fact that we are each highly favored by God.  No doubt, our earthly life will bring with it trials, temptations, loss, and sometimes defeat, but God’s view of us does not change and is not faulty in any way.  The scripture says that He is the glory and the lifter of our heads.  (Ps. 3:3) There will be times when we have to use the scripture to re-evaluate and re-calibrate our view of ourselves.

I want to tell you what God has to say about you

(By the way, His scale is never broken)

Mark: we are to be believers and not doubters.
John: Christ’s friend, appointed, and a recipient.
Romans: Justified, redeemed, free of guilt, and holy
Corinthians: A new creation, reconciled.
Ephesians: blessed chosen, redeemed, forgiven, God’s workmanship
Timothy: saved and called
Peter: a living stone, established, chosen, royal, God’s own, and a partaker.

Each of us could say that “He loves me the most!” and we would be right.   I firmly believe that God is our ultimate Source and we always need to be looking to Him.   I also believe that he has called and equipped pastors, leaders, mentors, and healthcare professionals to minister to others who need a helping hand and a gracious heart as they struggle through the depression.  I think it’s time we become sensitive to others and especially to those that are younger in ministry.  Our responses and advice could mean all the difference “IN THE WORLD”. Literally.

To your good health, Dr. Sonja O’Bryan

Rev. Dr. Sonja O’Bryan has been married for 21 years to an ordained minister and has three beautiful children. Professionally, Sonja received her Bachelors degree from St. Louis College of Pharmacy and her Doctorate from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.  Dr. Sonja has 20 years of experience professionally with practices in Administration, Advisory Board Member for various pharmaceutical companies, and as an Adjunct Professor for Missouri State University and other national colleges and universities as a student preceptor.  Other areas of experience for Dr. O’Bryan include retail, oncology, long term care/geriatric consulting, and compounding pharmacy. She currently practices at the Custom Compounding Center (www.customcompoundingrx.com) in Bolivar Missouri as a specialized consultant dealing in anti-aging and integrative medicine, weight loss, and Bio-Identical hormone replacement therapy for men and women. Often Dr. Sonja meshes the spiritual and physical aspects of better living in her presentations and women walk away feeling renewed and refreshed mentally, physically, and spiritually.  Dr. Sonja, a licensed minister with the Assemblies of God, is a sought after community speaker and enjoys speaking in various forums to medical professionals, patients, and especially to church women’s groups.

Related Posts:

An Introduction to Mentoring
Why Would I Need A Mentor
What Are the Benefits of A Mentor?
Mentoring: Formal or Informal?
How Do I Find a Mentor?

Filed Under: Everyday Encouragement, Home Matters, Living as a Christian, This Crazy Life Called "Ministry" ·
Mar 14, 2012

What’s for Dinner Wednesday is Going on a Vaca. A Long Vaca.

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I’ve been doing What’s for Dinner Wednesday for a number of months now. But our schedule is changing here in the Pratt household. My oldest daughter is a horseback rider and her lessons have been changed to Wednesday afternoons. Hub’s schedule has been keeping him busier and busier and so he hasn’t been getting home for dinner. Roll all that together and it looks like I won’t be home for dinner on Wednesdays now. Given that, it seems a bit wrong to continue posting this segment when I’m not actually home eating, don’t ya think? ;)

So I think it’s going on a hiatus. I don’t want to say it’s going away forever. I am a foodie, afterall. It’s what I do. When I’m not doing laundry. Or raising kids. Or leading kids worship. Or speaking to women’s groups. Or mentoring. Or being a wife. Or a friend. Or homeschooling. Or homesteading. It’s what I do.

So, hopefully it’ll be back again. Someday. But until then…we move on to other things!

Happy Day!

Filed Under: Home Matters ·
Mar 7, 2012

What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Russian Lentils and Rice with a Nectarine Tart

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For many Pastor’s wives, Wednesday nights (or whatever night you have midweek services) are, quite possibly, the WORST day of the week. Especially when it comes to getting a decent dinner on the table, the kids fed, cleaned up, and being *reasonably* on time for midweek service. Unfortunately, the back up plan is to just run through the drive-thru (yuck!). So – here lies the solution to your weekly dilemma: What’s for Dinner Wednesday. This week:

Russian Lentils and Rice with a Nectarine Tart

Like I’ve been doing for the past few weeks, we are once again making a meatless dinner. This saves so much money, and it has helped with food-related issues we’ve been working through here in our home. The lentils are quite popular with my kids, too. So it’s an easy “sell” in that department.

But before I get the lentils started I decided to throw together a quick tart to serve with our dinner. We have a fruit bowl full of almost overripe nectarines, for some reason.

I don’t want them to be wasted so I decided I just needed to bake something with them. The quickest option I could think of was this tart. To shortcut the process, I whipped out a ready-made pie crust (the last of my stockpile in the freezer. From here on forward I intend to make them all from scratch), sliced the nectarines and laid them in a circle in the crust, folded the edges of the crust around it, crimping the edges in the traditional fashion. Then I sprinkled a handful of turbinado sugar, and a pinch of ginger and nutmeg on the top of the fruit.

I put it in a 375 degree oven to bake for around 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned. Meanwhile I started the lentils. First I diced 2 shallots, and put them into my stock pot, along with 2 minced garlic cloves and 3 Tablespoons of olive oil and sauteed them just until translucent.

I then added about 6 cups of chicken stock and 2 cups of dry lentils. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the lentils are tender; about 30 minutes. Don’t forget to start cooking your rice! I always do, so maybe that reminder’s for me.

Once tender, stir in diced tomatoes (3 plum tomatoes), along with 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin and thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, covered for another 10 minutes. Just before serving add some fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 2 Tablespoons) and stir. Allow the lentils to sit for about 5 minutes to thicken up. Or you can use an immersion blender to puree some of the soup, if you prefer. I don’t usually bother with this.

Just before serving, I heated up some apricot jam and brushed it over the top of the tart to give it a beautiful (and delicious!) glaze. Then we served it by ladling a cup of the lentils over the rice, adding a slice of the tart, and enjoying every last bite of our dinner!

Related Posts:

What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Thai Butternut Squash Soup
What’s for Dinner Wednesday:French Toast {with Homemade Bread!}
What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Mediterranean Pasta

Filed Under: Home Matters ·
Mar 1, 2012

10 Commandments of Marriage

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Ahhhh – it’s MARCH! I’m really happy about that! Spring is just around the corner and I can’t wait!!!! (Did the exclamation marks clearly communicate how happy I am? Need a few more to be sure?…!!! there ya go).

Anyway, remember when I posted about investing in your marriage? As I was looking for some more information about marriage and ministry, I stumbled across these 10 Commandments of Marriage. I thought they were great and a good reminder for all of us married folk. So good that I decided to print them out and hang them on our bathroom mirror.

Maybe you should print them out and hang them on your bathroom mirror too?!? :) If not, just read them and remember them for the health of your marriage.

I. Do not place others before one another.

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. – Gen. 2.24

II. Let nothing on earth become more important than your marriage.

Seek first God’s will in your marriage and the other things will come as He desires. – Matt. 6.33

III. Speak to one another with kindness and love.

Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word kindly spoken. – Prov. 25.11

IV. Remember to worship together.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For He is our God. – Psalm 95.6

V. Love and accept one another’s family as your own.

Your people shall be my people. – Ruth 1.16

VI. Do not harm one another with words, attitudes, or actions.

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you… and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ has forgiven you. – Eph 4.31

VII. Be faithful to one another.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And the two shall become one flesh. – Gal 5.22

VIII. Never take joy from one another.

Above all things put on love, which holds everything together in perfect harmony. – Col. 3.14

IX. Always speak the truth in love.

Walk straight, act right, tell the truth. – Psalm 15.2

X. Do not desire or  be envious of what others may have.

I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. – Phil. 4.11

Related Posts:

Marriage Matters
Love Notes to Hubs

Filed Under: Home Matters ·
Feb 29, 2012

What’s For Dinner Wednesday: Thai Butternut Squash Soup

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For many Pastor’s wives, Wednesday nights (or whatever night you have midweek services) are, quite possibly, the WORST day of the week. Especially when it comes to getting a decent dinner on the table, the kids fed, cleaned up, and being *reasonably* on time for midweek service. Unfortunately, the back up plan is to just run through the drive-thru (yuck!). So – here lies the solution to your weekly dilemma: What’s for Dinner Wednesday. This week:

Thai Butternut Squash Soup

I told you last week how I’m trying to eat more meatless meals for a variety of health reasons and also because of the cost-savings. Tonight’s meal is another meatless meal, and I LOVE it! Both because it’s simple, and because it’s something different from your regular dinner fare. I got the recipe from Mark Bittman, who writes a food column called The Minimalist for the New York Times.

When I told my husband that I was making this soup, he asked me what a butternut squash was. Which made me realize that I should not assume you know either. So…here it is:

It’s a big ‘ol gourd, that when cut open looks very similar to a pumpkin or acorn squash.

So to make the soup, you first need to clean the seeds out and remove the outside skin of the squash. I usually use a potato peeler to get it off. Then you need to cube the squash, and put it into your stock pot along with some coconut milk and stock (I used chicken stock) to cover. Add some minced garlic, a small amount of diced chili and ginger. Simmer it until the squash is soft.

Once soft, purée if you like. This is how I prefer it so I remove all of the squash cubes, along with some of the stock into my blender to purée. Reincorporate it into your stock pot once done.

(Those of you most familiar with me-yes, this is how I got my second-degree burn last month. I’m not skeered! :) ) Just before serving, add chopped cilantro, lime juice and zest, and toasted chopped peanuts.

I can already hear some of you now: But…how MUCH stock? And how MUCH garlic, and ginger, and chilis? And how LONG does it take??? lol~

The beauty of Mark Bittman’s recipes are that there is not an exact amount to anything you add. It will taste wonderful no matter what. But if you’re simply unable to handle that response, here are my best-guesstimates as to how much I put in:

1 whole gourd, cubed
1 15 oz. can coconut milk
4 cups of chicken stock (or more…or less…enough to cover the cubed squash)
2 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 tsp diced chili
1/2 tsp ground ginger (I LOVE ginger, so I usually add more than this!)

The cooking /puree time only takes about 20-30 minutes once it is in the pot.

In retrospect, while it is cheaper to buy the fresh gourd, I might go ahead and buy the pre-cubed squash from the freezer. :) It might be worth it for the time-savings.

And admittedly, my kids don’t clamber for this soup. It’s not their favorite meal in my repertoire. But I really believe in the theory that it takes many tries (some say upwards of 15, to be exact) for a kid to decide if they do or don’t like a food. And besides that, it’s good for us. It’s good for our wallet. And it’s SO EASY!

Filed Under: Home Matters ·
Feb 24, 2012

Today’s PSA: We’re Not Perfect

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The world of blogging can really set one up for disappointment. Social media has this dizzying effect. We look at other’s tweets (that’s twitter lingo. But you knew that, right?) or through their blog and think their life is beyond perfect. It seems like they hear a word from God every other minute. Like they have the eloquence of King David and write posts that make you feel squeamish (in a good way). Like their parenting skills are very nearly perfect. That they have the patience of Mother Teresa (particularly with their husband).

In reality, the “public” person may very well be the polar opposite to the real person. Or at the very least, a highly polished version. Us pastor’s wives and women in ministry can be guilty of this too. (Imagine this: I’m a pastor’s wife…who is also a blogger!! Heh~)

As a young wife in ministry, I was especially guilty of this. I worried regularly that someone would unexpectedly drop by my house when I didn’t have it clean. I was sure that my effectiveness would be stunted by my “dirty” house. And don’t even get me started on stumbling over my words. I worried about not being able to effectively communicate….whatever it was I was trying to communicate. Like directions to the church, for instance. I’m not even talking about trying to explain biblical truths. I worried about what someone might think if I got directions wrong. And I especially didn’t want anyone to know when I was aggravated with my husband. We were perfect for each other, after all. {sigh}

I can honestly tell you that it kept me from accomplishing some of the work God had set out for me to do. I still worry about it…even to this day. Creating good impressions is, somehow, an intrinsic part of my personality. I don’t have a rocket scientist explanation for that. But then, that’s my point, after all: we’re not perfect.

What I can tell you that I’ve learned these many years later is that it’s okay. Imperfections are part of humanity. And we are humans too.

This blog is meant to be a place of encouragement for pastor’s wives and women in ministry. That means I don’t blog about how annoyed I was that my husband left dishes in the sink when he left for work in the morning. But please don’t think that we whistle while we do the dishes together and sing sweet love songs to each other while skipping to the gym holding hands every morning (that actually made me giggle :) ). I don’t fill my blog with lots of gripes and moaning and groaning. It’s not because everywhere I walk flowers bloom and sun dances off my skin attracting attention from everyone. It’s just because…well, it’s okay.

What I do blog about is that sometimes this life is hard, but it’s okay. Sometimes we feel restless, but this is a place to be encouraged. And together we’re living this life imperfectly and it’s okay!

Related Posts:

Trust Me and Don’t Be Afraid
Some Lessons I’m Learning Along the Way
Preach the Gospel to…Yourself

Filed Under: Everyday Encouragement, Home Matters, This Crazy Life Called "Ministry" ·
Feb 22, 2012

What’s for Dinner Wednesday: French Toast {with Homemade Bread!}

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For many Pastor’s wives, Wednesday nights (or whatever night you have midweek services) are, quite possibly, the WORST day of the week. Especially when it comes to getting a decent dinner on the table, the kids fed, cleaned up, and being *reasonably* on time for midweek service. Unfortunately, the back up plan is to just run through the drive-thru (yuck!). So – here lies the solution to your weekly dilemma: What’s for Dinner Wednesday. This week:

French Toast (with Homemade Bread-YUM!)

I’ve started intentionally planning more meatless dishes in our Once A Month Cooking menu for several reasons, the biggest of which is the cost savings. Lately, I’ve been trying new recipes to expand our repertoire to choose from. So this morning I whipped out a new recipe and all its ingredients to make a crock pot bean dinner. And…uh…it was nasty! So bad the entire pot went down the disposal, which is pretty earth-shattering considering my concerted effort to waste nothing!

But, of course, that left me in a major pinch. I’ve got to feed my family, and quickly!

Lucky for me, I’ve started this Homestead Experiment. And I’m making Homemade Bread each week, instead of buying it. So I grabbed a loaf of my bread (oy – it’s so GOOD!) and sliced it up. Made a mix of 6 beaten eggs, 1/2 cup of milk, and a Tablespoon of cinnamon.

Soaked each slice of bread in the egg mix, and put them on the griddle.

I served it up with homemade syrup. (You’ll have to ask my friend Carey for that recipe. It’s not mine to share. ;) )

Yes! I’m eating my french toast on a pink plastic divided plate. Tonight definitely called for it!! lol~

I’m not sure you can ever go wrong with french toast. But, I’m telling you, french toast made from homemade bread? It’s out of this world.

So-have you ever made bread from scratch? If not, don’t be intimidated by it! It’s not difficult at all. If you do, let me know how it goes.

Have a great evening!

Filed Under: Home Matters ·
Feb 15, 2012

What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Chicken & Noodles

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For many Pastor’s wives, Wednesday nights (or whatever night you have midweek services) are, quite possibly, the WORST day of the week. Especially when it comes to getting a decent dinner on the table, the kids fed, cleaned up, and being *reasonably* on time for midweek service. Unfortunately, the back up plan is to just run through the drive-thru (yuck!). So – here lies the solution to your weekly dilemma: What’s for Dinner Wednesday. This week:

Chicken & Noodles

Chicken and noodles is one of my favorite southern dishes I learned to make while Hubs and I were ministers in North Carolina (waaaaaaay back before we had kids. Wow – that feels like forever ago!). I loved it so much the ladies in our church started making it for me every time we had a potluck meal. And I didn’t complain. Eventually, I decided I needed to learn how to make this delectable meal. The trick? Homemade noodles.

The recipe for noodles is simple:

3 eggs, beaten
6 Tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups flour

Combine all of the ingredients to make a stiff dough.

Roll very thin on a floured surface and let stand for 20 minutes. Either use a cutting tool, or roll up the dough loosely and slice it in 1/4 inch wide strips.

Unroll and let it dry for 2 or more hours. You may store this in the fridge or freezer until you want to use it. I usually make a triple batch and freeze it in dinner size portions. Being able to pre-make this is what makes this meal a great weeknight meal.

To make the chicken and noodles, add 2 cups of cooked chicken to your chicken stock (I used chicken cooked in my homemade stock ) and bring it to a boil. Allow it to cook for about 10 minutes. Drop your pasta in.

Cook it uncovered for about 5-10 minutes. You will know it is cooked when the pasta is floating on the surface. Once cooked, make a simple thickening rue out of flour and water (or cornstarch) and mix it into the pot to thicken up the stock. (You know how to do that right? Easiest method is to put equal parts water and cornstarch – like 1 Tbsp each – and stir until the cornstarch is incorporated. Then stir it into your soup and stir constantly. It will thicken your liquid just slightly)

And that, my dear friends, is it. You can season it with salt and pepper to taste, but if you started with a very flavorful stock, you shouldn’t need to add any more.

We usually just eat this in a bowl, along with a vegetable. Tonight’s vegetable is sautéed green beans with some almond slivers on it.

These noodles grow once they are in your stomach! I’m sure of it!

Tonight was a typical night: Hubs didn’t make it home for dinner so it was just me and the kids. And since all 3 of my kids had Valentine’s parties, I was REALLY glad this was a fast meal. We almost didn’t eat. And that would have been bad. Cause that would have meant my kids’ dinner would consist of party food. And that is a recipe for hyperactivity late into the night.

Whew! Crisis averted.

Happy Wednesday!

 

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