Mother, Daughter Meatloaf

 My daughter Stephanie and I decided to make a meatloaf for dinner. We found a basic recipe in a McCormick cookbook but I know that most meatloaf recipes are somewhat dry and not very flavorful. So I started to write my own version. And our whole family and friends agreed it was the best, most flavorful, and moist meatloaf we have ever eaten.

 I used 1 pound of venison and one pound of ground turkey, but you can use regular ground beef or turkey if you like.


1 tablespoon olive oil, coconut oil or butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
8oz. tomato sauce or leftover spaghetti sauce of any kind
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, divided
2 pounds ground turkey, beef or venison
2 slices of bread, soaked in 1 cup of water
1/2 cup unsweetened almond, coconut, rice or regular milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons sea salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper


In a small pot heat olive oil or butter with onions, 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning and 8 oz of tomato sauce. Cook for 5 minutes or until onions are tender. Cool.
Mix, ground turkey, bread (squeeze the water out of the bread and discharge the water) milk, eggs, sea salt, pepper, remaining Italian seasoning and cooled tomato mix. Shape into a loaf (this meatloaf will be very soft, I shaped it inside the baking pan)
Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Cooking with a Römertopf

 If you have one of these wonderful Römertopf's and never used it, now is the time. This wonderful clay pot cooks and bakes everything evenly and never loses any nutritional value. You can also bake your bread in it for fantastic flavor and crust. The Römertopf is well known and commonly used in Europe. Before you place your food in it, soak your Römertopf' in a bath of cold water for about 20 to 30 minutes. Now you are ready to go.

 Just place your desired dinner into your Römertopf, place the lid on top and put it in your cold oven. I chose a large roast chicken and seasoned it with sea salt, pepper, Hungarian paprika, garlic, and onion. I also sprinkled it with olive oil and lemon juice. And put carrots, peppers, 1 cup of water and springs of rosemary in for added flavor. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 2 hours. And here is the amazing part, your chicken will be done in one hour, but even if you cook it longer, say 2 or 2 1/2 hours your food will not burn, it will stay moist and flavorful, not dry and chewy.

 I baked this chicken for 2 hours, because I had to run an errand and when I came back home it was perfect.

 The meat of this chicken literally fell off the bones and was tender and full of flavor. I was left with four cups of chicken broth. Some of the broth I used for making a gravy with this chicken and the rest I refrigerated for a later use.

If you don't have a Römertopf, you can purchase them online or do what I do, look for them in yard sales or thrift stores. The cost of a new Römertopf is between $70 to $120, depending on the size. I have purchased so far nine Römertopfs in varies sizes at thrift stores and have never spent more then $5 to $10.
And don't let the darkness of a Römertopf turn you away from a purchase; the more it is used the better it gets. Cleaning is easy.  Rinse out with hot water and a brush.  Never use soap of any kind unless you like the taste of soap in your food. ;)

Most Amazing Lemon Cookies with a Twist

 My husband loves cookies! Not cake, not pies, but cookies. Not chewy ones but sandy, crunchy ones.
I like chewy ones, not sandy, crunchy ones. I thought if I could come up with a cookie recipe that would have both then everybody would be happy and satisfied. :) Most cookies don't have a lot of flavor and I like flavor. :) I remember my grandmother baking every week, and the aroma filled the house. She used a lot of herbs and spices. Especially cloves and nutmeg. See, when you find out about spices and how they complement each other, then creating a flavor is not very difficult. Cloves and lemon flavor are in love with each other and wonderful in baked goods.

 I used fresh whole wheat flour and organic cane sugar.

These cookies are loved by everyone in our family as of today. :)

 Amazing  Lemon Cookies

2 cups whole wheat flour (I used fresh ground from my mill)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I used organic whole cloves in a coffee grinder to have fresh ground cloves)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup cane sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup butter (fresh homemade butter if you can)
3/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract or lemon juice


Lemon Glaze

1 1/2 cup powder sugar (I used a organic powder sugar made from cane sugar)
7 teaspoons water
1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract or lemon juice

Beat butter and sugar in a bowl until creamy. Add egg and lemon extract; beat until smooth. Mix flour, sea salt, ground cloves together and add to the lemon mixture. Mix well. Divide dough in half. Shape into 10 inch log and wrap in wax paper.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Cut dough into 1/2 inch thickness. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before drizzling with Lemon Glaze.  EAT!

Snack, Lunch and Bowl

 Now that I have a sewing room it is much easier to sew on the run. :)  Before I had to clean up and put away everything.  But, now I just have to shut the door and come back later to finish what I started. These wonderful snack bags and bowl covers are so practical and Eco-friendly. I use them for lunches, snacks and to put away leftovers. Even my college kids love to take there lunches in them. I already have several orders  to make for there college friends. :) I guess these bags are just too cool.

All of these Items will be for sale in my Etsy Shop soon

Visit my shop soon!

My favorite!

                         My college guys favorite!!

His and Her's

Yesterday I spent the afternoon making these soft and cuddly robes for my Lilybeth and Tristan. I used a very simple and easy pattern by See&Sew B4635. My son Tristan likes dinosaurs and Lilybeth likes anything in pink, so I went to Joann's and found just the perfect prints of fabric for them.
This morning it was a little bit chilly and I found them on the sofa cuddled up in there robes watching cartoons.

Even in the summer time, these robes will be used to warm them when they come shivering out of the pool.

And they rise up and call you blessed

Here are three of my wonderful young adults. Timmy 21, Stephanie 18 and Melanie 15. My husband and I are so blessed by their lives, love and sweet care for others. As we celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary on March 6th we were blown away by the heartfelt notes and deeds for us. As time goes by, it is a privilege to see them give honor and glory to Christ even in the tough times. I am truly humbled.

This sweet little flower garden was planted by my Lilybeth  for me :)   She asked me if I would take her to the garden shop so she could pick out some plants. With her straw hat, garden cloves and pennies :) , we went to Green Acres farm . Every one there thought she was the cutest ever . She took one of the little red wagons and began shopping, carefully  selecting each and every plant . After visiting the dogs and laughing birds we payed and went home. I let her plant these sweet little flowers by herself, and I think she did a fantastic job for only being four years old..