{ The sweet joy of homemaking }

 

I have always been the biggest cheerleader of homemakers and homemaking in general. There is something so beautiful to me, in the act of keeping home. 

 

The importance as a homemaker, a wife, a mom, to take care of these four walls that we have been blessed with, is of utmost importance, not just for our families

But sometimes life gets a bit crazy and those things that we love doing, are forced to the side.  It's understandable, but anytime that happens, the moment I am able to get back to basics, so to speak, is like nothing I could ever describe.

 I think about my days back in Arizona, where my children were little, my husband was active duty, and we just had this routine in place.  I was full on homemaker, every second, every minute of my day was spent taking care of my house, taking care of my children and husband.  I cooked, I cleaned, I baked, I grocery shopped and made decorations for our house.

 I loved it all so much, it's like I went to bed each night completely content and couldn't wait to get up the next morning, to get back it, to slip on that apron and go about my chores.

Things are different now, so obviously I still am a homemaker and still do my chores and tasks around the house, but it's so different, so completely different than what it was before.

Every day that I am able to have a semblance of those days, years ago, I am filled with such joy and contentment.

It's almost like going home when you've been away for a long time.

I was able to have a day such as that, just last week.  And oh how I grabbed onto it with both hands, and enjoyed every minute.

The simple act of vacuuming while the pets run around.  Stopping to play with Marley, cleaning, doing dishes and folding laundry.  

Oh but those are such mundane and boring tasks Sandra, how do you find any joy in that?

I get it.  Homemaking has been frowned upon and as the decades have gone by, the thought of being a homemaker makes some cringe.  It's not cool enough, or popular enough.  It's sad, but it is the truth.

I look at my own daughter, she is 21 and not interested at all in any homemaking or anything to do with running a house.  Crazy, I know.  I always thought that my own daughter would want to follow in my steps, not necessarily to be a homemaker, but at the very least, to love taking care of the house, or show interest in some way.  She doesn't.  

That used to bother me at first, I felt almost betrayed.  Ha!

If there's one thing God has taught me, is that, whether we agree or disagree with the choices our children make, it is THEIR choices.  Just because I love everything to do with homemaking, doesn't mean my children have to feel the same way.  It's ok!

What I do know is that we ourselves, as a society, have created and accepted such a negative look on homemaking, that our children can't help but be swayed by the majority.

I only wish schools still offered Home Economics and Wood Shop like they did back in our day.  Personally, I think every school kid could benefit from those.

Times are just different, and that is fine, but there are things we should continue to incorporate into our lives.  Things that are just as important today as they were decades ago.

I don't think I will ever tire of being a homemaker.  I'm pretty sure God ingrained that in my DNA, from the moment of conception.  

So, I've been trying very hard to get back to what matters.  And yes, every moment that I spend doing anything cleaning or organizing or cooking, even decorating in my home, I am so happy to do it.  It actually brings me peace, weird to say, but it does.

Today, I am pottering around the house a bit, I do want to get some Christmas decorating done, and still need to get a tree.  But, I also want to watch a few Christmas movies with the family, so hopefully, I am able to do that.

 Whatever I choose to do today, one thing is for sure, I will do it with a happy heart and a joyful soul.

{ Slow Cooking Thursday Christmas Edition - Week 1 }

 

Welcome to the Slow Cooking Thursday Christmas Edition 

 

 As we head into the month of December, many of us are planning our Christmas Eve and Christmas day meals.  

This year may be a little different than usual, but one thing still remains the same,  our families are counting on us to provide them with delicious meals.  But we also know that this can be quite a busy time of year and we don't want to be stuck in the kitchen for days on end, so when we can, using a crockpot is the next best thing.

Since I'm going to rely on my slow cookers to make some of the dishes on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I thought it would be a great idea to bring back my Slow Cooking Thursday for this month.  I may keep it going beyond, but let's focus on the next few weeks first.  

I'm sharing with you a recipe for a delicious slow cooked ham.  Trust me, you will be happy you dropped your ham into the slow cooker and let it cook itself.

 

 

 

Slow Cooked Brown Sugar and Pineapple Ham

 

6 to 10lb spiral bone in ham (or whatever size ham will fit in your slow cooker)

3 cups of brown sugar

1 (20 oz) can of crushed pineapple

In a large slow cooker, add half of the sugar and half of the pineapple, then place your ham on top of the mixture.  Separate the layers of the ham as best as you can, then cover with the remaining brown sugar and pineapple.

Close and cook on LOW for 4 hours.  Once done, I like to switch mine to a nice dish, and I also like to cover it with some pineapple slices, cherries and cloves and pop it in the oven for about 30 minutes.

 

If you don't have a slow cooker, you can also use an instant pot on the slow cooker setting.

{ Slow Cooking Thursday Christmas Edition }

 

On the 14th of September, 2006, I started a feature on my blog called Slow Cooking Thursday.

I had been blogging just a few months and I was really enjoying getting to know other homemakers in blogland, exchanging recipes and ideas, joining in different weekly features on other blogs, and so on.

I decided to start up Slow Cooking Thursday as a means to share all the great crockpot recipes I made or wanted to try, thinking other homemakers would enjoy them as well.  The feature was received with huge enthusiasm and participation and quickly became a favorite for many.

It went for many years and then as life got busy and I wasn't gathering or trying many slow cooker recipes, I just stopped posting.

But I've missed it over the years and I was thinking last night that it's been a long time since I've posted a Slow Cooking Thursday, and I have a few recipes that I've been wanting to try over the holidays.  So, I've decided to dust it off, and bring it back at least for the month of December, to begin with, and to do a Christmas Edition.

If you want to join in, you are more than welcome, I will put up a linky starting this Thursday, and every Thursday for this month.  

Below are the banners I will use, I have made one for each week and if you join in, I would really appreciate it if you would use the ones I provided and not make one of your own.  

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Share your favorite slow cooking recipes for the holidays, they can be a main dish, a side dish, a dessert or even a drink such as your favorite hot chocolate, apple cider or punch.

Be sure to visit each participant and leave a comment.  My hope is that through this exchange we can gather a bunch of new recipes to try, and who knows, we may just find our new favorite for the holidays.

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 11/30/2020 }

Welcome back to my blog, and welcome to the last day of November 2020.

*insert comment about how time is flying*

I for one am very glad to see this year zipping full speed into the end.  I think we have all had about enough of this 2020 nonsense.

So, it is 6:23am, freezing cold outside, my hubby is getting ready for work and the kids are still asleep, and that includes the two fur babies who are all snuggled up on my bed, enjoying the heater.

I hope you all have a fantastic week, a great start into your December and a great end to this crazy year.  Let's see what is happening in our Happy Homemaker Monday.

 

The weather outside is::::

Currently 27 degrees with a real feel of 20.  Yes, it is cold.  We are expecting a pretty cold week, with the high temperatures staying in the 50s.   

Monday - 52

Tuesday -  62

Wednesday -  46

Thursday -  46

Friday - 49

Saturday -  57

Sunday - 59

On the breakfast plate this morning::::

Just finishing up a cup of coffee with Butter Cookie Creamer.  I think breakfast later will be either cream of wheat or oatmeal, it is the perfect weather for that.    

 

As I look outside my window::::

It is still dark, sun hasn't yet started to rise. 

As I look around the house::::

It is early morning, but we have Christmas lights hung outside and some around our big windows, so there's this wonderful glow throughout the house.  Don't you just Winter time when all the twinkly lights come out and give everything such a beautiful romantic glow? 

 

What I'm wearing today::::

Sitting in bed, as always, in my nightgown, typing up this post.  I do have a doctors appointment this morning so will be putting on some jeans, sweater and my boots.      

 

To do today or this week::::

Monday - 

Doctors appointment this morning (Just a check up to see if my allergy meds are still working or if we need to try something different)

Make Homemade Cream Cheese

Tuesday - 

Start putting up Christmas decorations

Wednesday -

Start planning Christmas dinner, making lists, gifts etc.

Thursday -

Pay bills

Paperwork 

Friday -

Take Jasmine to work

Put up Christmas village

Currently reading::::

Reading through Isaiah.   

Have so many books to read and not sure which to pick up first. 

 

On the TV for this week::::

My Portuguese soap "Bem me Quer"

Vlogs on Youtube

The Spanish Queen Season 2

Virgin River Season 2 came out on Netflix and I am ashamed to say that I binged it in one day.  It is that good.

 

 

On the menu this week::::

Some meals didn't get made last week, so I've moved them to this new meal plan.

 

Monday - Crockpot Chicken Nachos

Tuesday - Cheesy Kielbasa Bake, Homemade Creamy Garlic Bread

Wednesday - Ikea Style Meatballs, Roast potatoes, Steamed Broccoli

Thursday - Turkey Noodle Casserole, Salad

Friday -  Beef Tips with Gravy, Rice, Mixed Veggies

Saturday - Cheesy Hot Beef Sandwiches, Homemade Fries

Sunday - One pan Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

 

 

Something fun to share::::

Are you ready for another fantastic video?  You will need to turn on your captions for this one, or you can just enjoy the beautiful imagery without it.  This is another of my favorite new channels to follow, the videos are so beautiful and I absolutely love seeing different countries and different cultures going about their day.  This one is from ErmiChuiyan and it's called Chili/Hotpot in Snowy Day.  Enjoy!

 

 

Favorite photo from the camera::::

Fresh hot coffee on cold wintery days. 

 

 

Prayers, Inspiration quotes, Devotionals::::

{ Busy day in the kitchen }

 

 

It had been a long time since I walked into the kitchen, and spent some hours pottering around, cooking, baking, prepping and just enjoying being in that little space. 

 

The kitchen is the heart of the home!

 

I have always said that my favorite room in my homes, the many we've lived in, has always been the kitchen.  But when Curt retired from the Air Force, 7 years ago, our lives took a huge tumble, and everything that I was used to, the routines, the schedules, the moments I had perfected over the years, just fell to the wayside.

I've struggled to find my footing since then.

"But it's been 7 years Sandra, surely by now you've gotten back on track?".

Well, no.  You would think that 7 years is long enough to get back to that way of doing things, but the truth is that life has changed and I don't think I will ever truly get back to exactly how I used to do things.  It's understandable, I'm older, my children are older, we are in a different State, we've been through a lot and frankly, we are not the people we were back in those days.

 

I've slowly been molding a new way of doing things, pulling some of the old habits and incorporating newer routines and so forth.

Yesterday though, was a day that very much reminded me of the way things used to be.

I was in my kitchen for hours, and I loved every second spent in there.

I was mostly trying to do some food prep and getting some things ready for Thanksgiving, and by that I mean making sure I had all the ingredients I needed on hand, ordering some last minute things from Walmart pick up, and doing some baking because I needed to use up cranberries before they went bad.

 

 I had picked up this magazine from Taste of Home, a while ago, and the recipe on the cover was calling my name.  I had everything I needed on hand so quickly whipped up this Chocolate Chip Cranberry Bread, the recipe will be on my food blog today.

 

I have about 2 cups of cranberries left so I'm going to make some homemade cranberry sauce today.  I have never made it myself so we will see how that turns out, and of course I'll share with you my thoughts and the recipe too.

I also had some oranges that were starting to go back, so got those sliced up and in the oven to dry, for my orange garlands.  I make one every year, to hang over the fireplace and as a decoration for my real Christmas tree.

 

While working in the kitchen, I put my instant pot to good use.  I don't know about you all, but I love mine so much and use it at least 4 times a week, some weeks I am using mine every single day.

I cooked up some sweet potatoes, I realized I only had 2 so I've added a bag of sweet potatoes to my Walmart pick up.  My Jasmine will never forgive me if I don't make some sweet potato casserole for her.

And with the remaining potatoes, I will make a sweet potato pie and then slice some up for fries, blanche and freeze them for future meals.

If you're wondering how to make sweet potato in the instant pot, I place them on the metal trivet, or you can use a steaming basket (which reminds me I don't have one for my pressure cooker, so I think I'll add that to my Christmas wish list lol).

Anyway, wash the potatoes, add them to the trivet or basket, add a cup of water, and then pressure cook on HIGH for 26 minutes for 4 to 5 potatoes.  Quick release the steam.

Since I only had 2 potatoes I cooked them for 20 minutes, and it is the perfect timing.  Once they were out, I let them cool slightly and then pulled the skin right off, and put them in the fridge until I use them.

 

While the food was cooking and baking in the kitchen, I gave my fireplace a quick clean to get it ready for winter.  We have had pretty good temperatures so far, and we never light the fire unless it gets to 30 degrees or below.

I must say, these cold winter like mornings have been wonderful.  Oatmeal has been my go to breakfast, and now that I've figured out how to make it in the instant pot, I'm loving it even more.

 

I'm a creamy oatmeal kinda girl, my daughter on the other hand loves thick clumpy oatmeal. 

 

If you enjoy creamy oatmeal like I do, then here is the recipe for you, give it a try and let me know what you think.

 

Instant Pot Creamy Oatmeal

 

1 and half cups old fashioned oats

1 and 3/4 cups of water

2 and 1/4 cup milk

4 tablespoons brown sugar

 

Cook on HIGH pressure for 6 minutes, then do a quick release.

 

Note:  If you use steel cut oats, cook for 5 minutes on HIGH,  then naturally release for 20 minutes.

If you use quick oats, cook for just 1 minute on HIGH and do a quick release.

Today, I plan on making all of my pies, and then just do the turkey and side dishes tomorrow.   I think I will more than likely put up a Thanksgiving post with the food I'm making including the recipes.  

Are you having a Thanksgiving dinner with family, or is it just you and your immediately family at home?  What are you fixing, keeping with the traditional big Thanksgiving meal or making it smaller, changing it up this year?

Would love to know what your plans are, let's have a chat down below :)