Gingerbread

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. Ours was very nice. We enjoyed spending time with our families we don't get to see very often. The time just seemed to go by too fast.
Mom knows we all like gingerbread, so she makes some for us every year about this time. I copied her recipe while I was there last week so I could share it with all of you! She always doubles it because we all like it so well. :)

Take care,
Melanie

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~
Gingerbread

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup boiling water

Directions:
Mix oil and sugar together. Add egg and molasses; beat thoroughly. Mix dry ingredients. Add to creamed mixture alternately with water, beating after each addition.
Bake in greased and lightly floured 8x8x2 inch pan at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until done. Serve warm.

Sauce

In saucepan, mix 1 slightly beaten egg yolk, 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup water, 2/3 cup brown sugar, and 1/3 cup light corn syrup.
Cook and stir over low heat until thick. Stir before using.
Makes 1 cup.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

-Psalm 118:1

I hope you all will have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Melanie

Chicken and Dumplings

A while back I found a delicious recipe for chicken and dumplings. I've changed it here and there until it's the way we like it, but you can click here to see the original recipe. There are lots of great looking recipes on that blog!
We had this for supper tonight. It's a yummy way to warm up on those chilly days. :)
I have a 6 quart pot that I use to make this, and it's just about the right size. There are only three of us in our family, and we don't usually have much left over, so you may have to make more if you have a bigger family.
This is the way I make it.


Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:
2 cans chicken broth (14 oz. cans)
2 cups water
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (10.75 oz. can)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrots
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
biscuit dough (I have included the recipe I use). Canned biscuits work well too.
Italian seasoning


Directions:
Put a little oil and the chopped onion in a pot. Saute' a few minutes until the onion wilts. Add water, chicken, broth, and carrots. Cover pot and cook on low boil until the chicken is cooked (about 15 minutes).
Add the cream of chicken soup and a little Italian seasoning. Stir well.
Tear the biscuit dough into pieces, and add to pot. My pieces are about the size of a tablespoon.
Cover and simmer about ten minutes. Stir occasionally to cover the dough.
Season to taste with a little salt and pepper.

Biscuit dough:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter (cut into small pieces)

Mix dry ingredients together first, then add the milk and butter. Knead well.


I hope you enjoy it! Have a great weekend! :)

Melanie

Natural Bridge

We took some of the school kids on a field trip to Natural Bridge last Wednesday. We left at 8:30 in the morning and didn't get back until 9:00 that night, but we all had a lot of fun! We were blessed with such beautiful weather.

Natural Bridge is 215 feet high, and there is a 90 foot span between the walls. U.S. Route 11 runs over it. To give you a little perspective of just how huge it is, the Statue of Liberty (minus its pedestal) is 151 feet high, so it could easily fit under the bridge!

In 1774, Thomas Jefferson purchased 157 acres of land, including the bridge, from King George III for 20 shillings. His heirs sold it in 1833, but it has remained privately owned.

This is what it looks like under the bridge. I thought it was so pretty with the creek running through it.

The initials G.W. are carved in the side next to the creek. Many historians believe they were made by George Washington when he was surveying the area for Lord Fairfax in 1750.

My sweet Katie. She had a lot of fun. :)

This is a replica of a Monocan Indian Village.

We had a great guide for this part of the trip. He was very knowledgeable and funny. He told us that the Indians had to be good hunters in order to survive and joked that they invented the word 'vegetarian', which meant 'poor hunter'. I'll have to remember to tell that to my dad and brother. They both like to hunt. :)

The cooking area of the village. This picture makes me appreciate my own kitchen more!

This is the inside of the wigwam, made out of cattails.

This picture was taken not far from Charlottesville, on the way to Natural Bridge. It's such a scenic drive.

These last two pictures were taken from interstate on the way back home.

I hope you've had a good weekend. My husband had a pastor and leadership training meeting yesterday, so Katie and I went shopping and had a great time! We got a lot of Christmas shopping done, then we came home and wrapped it all up! I'm so glad to have that out of the way.

I hope you all will have a great week. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Take care,

Melanie

Happy Veterans Day!!

This is a picture of my dad, Glen, from when he served in Vietnam in the mid 60s. Isn't he handsome? :) My mom made this display frame for his picture and medals. I think she did a great job!

I'm so thankful for all of our veterans, past and present, who have sacrificed so much to defend our freedom.

I'd also like to say happy birthday to my brother today!! I hope he has a great day!

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

More good news! I won a giveaway Sandie was having...a $55 gift certificate to CSN! If you don't know Sandie already, please stop by her blog! She is so sweet and funny. :)

I hope you're all having a great week!

Take care,

Melanie

Psalm 34

This psalm has really been on my mind this week. These are very familiar verses to many of us, but I think sometimes the familiar needs to be made new and fresh to us. Don't you agree?

These are such encouraging words. No matter what we're going through, God is there with us. Christians aren't exempt from problems and suffering, and I'm so thankful we have Someone who loves us and cares for us, and that we are not alone.

I thought it would be good to post a few of my favorite verses from the chapter, but as I started to type, I found that I couldn't leave any out! They're all woven together so beautifully. I pray that these verses will encourage you and minister to your spirit as they have to mine!

I hope all of you will have a wonderful week. :)

Psalm 34

1. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
4. I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
6. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
8. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
9. O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
10. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
11. Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
13. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
14. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
15. The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
16. The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17. The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
20. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
21. Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
22. The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

This and That

Hi, everyone. I hope you're all doing well.

Things here have been busy as usual!

I would like to thank all of you for the happy birthday wishes. It was very sweet of you to stop by. I had a very nice day. I could feel a cold coming on, and that lasted for a few days, and now my husband has it, and today is his birthday! I was so sorry that he got it too. I'm hoping he'll be feeling better very soon, and that he'll have a nice day even though he's sick.

I've enjoyed reading what you and your families did on Sunday. It sounds like you had a great day! Our church had a harvest party, and we had a very good turnout! I wasn't able to go because I was sick, but I heard that everyone had fun. I always enjoy the harvest party, and I was sad that I couldn't make it.

Well, I must say I'm glad the elections are over. I voted and I'm thankful that I have the freedom to do so, but I'm glad for a break in the campaign ads. :)

I hope you're all having a great week.

Take care,

Melanie