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!

Anne has been a friend among friends. She’s true, trustworthy, faithful, forgiving, and honest. We have been accountability partners for a few years now. She’s awesome.

Can you tell I kinda think she’s cool?

I hope you’ll go check out her interview here!

Given the number of times God has chosen to move us, it would be really easy for me to just decide to live the hermit’s life. But, of course, I don’t let myself do that. I can’t let myself do that. It’s not what God has called me to.

Lately, I’ve been contemplating our years in ministry. There have been lessons learned.  They are lessons I wish I’d learned sooner. Lessons like:

1) Contrary to what society says, life is a journey, not a ladder. It is about seasons, and whatever season you find yourself in, find the joy in it.

2) Relationships require investment. Your family needs relationships. You need relationships. Not surface relationships but quality relationships. And this is worth investing in. It is worth working hard to attain. Make the effort.

3) Be okay with being imperfect. Every time we have to start over, this truth resonates with me. We all want to be accepted. At the end of the day, people are more important. Don’t ever let your instinct to “put the best foot forward” keep you from people.

4) Laughter is a gift. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Offer grace to yourself and to others in the form of joy. Be generous with this.

5) Always remember the faithfulness of God. He is trustworthy. Even if I feel His timing is not mine, He can be trusted.

The journey of the ministry-life is a faith walk. It stretches us and pushes us into territories we’d never go ourselves. But it is a beautiful journey ordained by God.

Are there lessons you are learning along the path of your ministry walk? I hope you’ll remember His promises today:

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NIV) – “The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it.”

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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!

I did plan…a little! You saw what I did for Hubs this weekend, right?

Well, it’s Monday. So not a lot of time to plan. But there is still a way to pull a little something off.

I sat down last night and decided on a couple things I can easily do and will cost me nothing. Wanna know what I’m going to do? Well, of course you do!

Skip To My Lou had a great idea she calls Heart Attack. She just cuts out hearts and writes compliments about each of her kids, tapes them on their door so when the come out of their room in the morning they find all kinds of sweet notes of love! This project won’t cost me anything because I am overflowing with construction paper.

Effort required: minimal.

Cost: FREE!

Baker’s Royale had a cute idea for some yogurt popsicles. I’m not going to follow her recipe exactly because I don’t want to give my kids oreos.  But I have homemade yogurt that I just made last week. And I have homemade strawberry freezer jam from my picking trip this summer. Besides that I happen to have cute dixie cups and popsicle sticks. So I will follow her basic directions and make my kids a cute pink(ish) treat to enjoy at some point.

Effort required: a little

Cost: FREE

Tip Junkie has a list of links for printable Valentine’s. These are the two we chose to use to give at my kids’ Valentine’s party on Wednesday evening at church. I did plan ahead for these. They are already printed and ready to take with us on Wednesday.

Effort: They took time to cut out

Cost: FREE

We’ll be having our Teriyaki Sliders for dinner. Not very fancy, you say? Well, no. But it is one of our family favorites, and since Valentine’s Day is generally about the whole family, that seemed like a great choice. I will be making homemade coleslaw, and seasoned roasted potato wedges to go with it.

Effort: Well…it was on my OAMC menu for this month so…

Cost: I dunno. Part of my grocery budget for the month. Heh~

It’s not too late! Happy Valentine’s Day!

But I figured after my post about being proactive in focusing on your marriage, I should show you what I decided to do here in the Pratt house. I’m making hubs a dry erase love note.

And because I’m all about frugality, there was no way this was going to cost me a lot of money. It cost me a grand total of…

Yes, that says $1.99. You see, I went to my local thrift store hunting for a frame. The important “must have,” though, was that it needed to have glass in it. I couldn’t find a plain frame. But it did find this:

So I emptied the piggy bank and brought it home so I could tear it apart.

I printed the love note on my printer

painted the frame and put it all together! Then all we have to do is use a dry erase marker to fill in the blank by writing on the glass. Cute, huh?

Initially, I was planning to hang this in our bedroom, but it occurred to me that there was something to be gained by allowing our kids to see us posting love notes to each other. So I hung it right in our family room.

I love this!

If you’re interested, you can find the printable over at Let’s Lasso the Moon.

So what about you? Are you doing anything special for Valentine’s Day? Or doing something to invest in your marriage? I hope so!

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We’re a happy little family living in suburban central Ohio. Hubs is a minister, which has led to a fairly transient life to this point. Consequently, we don’t make much money and we don’t own our home. And we’re okay with that. To us, these challenges are just that – challenges. Not roadblocks. We live in a rental, yes, but we’re determined to make the most of our space.

The sustainable simple living lifestyle has always appealed to us. It just always felt unattainable given our vocation. There are things we already do, but now we have decided: we’re gonna dive in! We’re hoping that we learn that homesteading and simple living doesn’t have to mean you cook your food over an open fire all the time, or that you have to hand wash your clothes (which makes this city girl start to hyperventilate). We’re hoping to find that it’s not that hard. We’re hoping that it will save us money. Mostly we expect that it will bring our whole family a lot of satisfaction! We don’t know where this will lead, but we’re inviting you along for the ride!

You can find us at www.thehomesteadexperiment.com

I hope you’ll pop over and say hi every once and awhile! Have a great weekend of ministry!

Meditteranean Pasta

SUCH an easy meal! Oh my goodness. All you gotta do is boil 1 13 oz. box of the pasta of your choosing to al dente. I like ziti because I love when the fixings get trapped inside the tube. Silly? I think not.

While that’s boiling, in a BIG saucepan put all your fixings: capers, black olives, sliced roasted red peppers, sliced artichoke hearts, and 1 can of diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic (liquid and all).

Start heating them up and when the pasta is cooked, throw that into your saute pan and cook it all until the liquid is reduced (into your pasta (nom!).

When it’s ready, serve it up! I like to sprinkle a little briney, salty feta cheese on. Or you can just add some grated parmesan. Whatever is your preference. I had some toasted garlic chips that we served with it. I didn’t even have time for a salad so I didn’t bother tonight. It’s all about grace…

Unfortunately, it is during those busy seasons that we begin to forget things. Sometimes it’s no big deal. I forgot to make a vegetable to serve with dinner last night. Oh well.

But sometimes it’s highly important. Like forgetting to pick up your kids from school (I’m guilty. Are you?). Or a doctor’s appointment, or dentist appointment (at least I said I forgot. *wink*wink*). Maybe you forgot it was someone’s birthday.

Have you ever forgotten your own anniversary? Did you forget to kiss your husband good morning before he left the house? Or tell him you love him before bed?

We’re just so busy sometimes.

Do you feel sometimes like your husband has forgotten you in the busyness of life in ministry?

I used to get frustrated with those older women who would waggle their eyebrows at me and tell me, “Just wait a few years, darling…” It felt so ominous. And unhappy. Hubs and I are going to be celebrating 17 years of marriage this year. We love each other more now than we ever have. But sometimes when I think about those women from our early years I get it. Because there have been times when love has been difficult.

Because, of course, you’ve heard that phrase, “Love is an verb.” Love requires action. And when you get yourself too busy, sometimes this slips further and further down the “to do” list.

My marriage is so very important to me. In fact, I’m concerned about the marriages of all ministry couples. It is one of the most stressful “jobs” out there. I’ve seen more than a few marriages fall apart with blame landing squarely on the shoulders of “ministry drove us apart.”

Hosea 10:12 – Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.”

Has your marriage begun to fall down the priority list? I love this word picture – your unplowed ground. Have you allowed your ground to become hardened? Have you allowed the growing process to slow down? Or stop?

I’m not a marriage counselor. I’m not an expert. I’m not anything other than a minister’s wife who’s been there like so many others. Today I want to remind you that your marriage is important. It’s time for you to freshly plow that hardened field so it can begin to grow again. It requires proactive choices and action. And I want to challenge you to be proactive. Even if you feel as if your marriage is healthy and strong – be proactive!

Do it for the health of your ministry. Do it for the health of your marriage.

Last week we had the privilege to go to the Ohio Ministry Network’s minister’s retreat. It was at Kalahari Resort & Indoor Water Park in Sandusky, OH.

It was insanely fun! If not, absolutely exhausting. My favorite part, if you can’t figure out, was the opportunity to spend time with some wonderful pastor’s wives and women in ministry. Have I ever told you that I love women in ministry?

When we came home from this beautiful time of rest (ha!), relaxation (heh!), and rejuvination (yeah…), I had the opportunity to speak to a wonderful group of women about Living Simply, and Simply Living. Getting the opportunity to speak to women’s groups is one of my favorite things of all. This was such an enjoyable night!

Then Saturday morning we took off with our Junior Bible Quiz team for a day-long meet. Love my girls!

Our teams won first and second place in our division! Several of our kids won individual awards too. Such a fun, and very long day!

On Sunday, we began a new KidsVille K through 2 program at church, which I have the privilege to help lead. Leading kids in worship is so fun and inspiring…and tiring. I was, uh, too busy to get a picture of that.

Did I mention I’m tired? Yeah…and I LOVE it!