10 Simple Ways to Use Leftover Cranberry Sauce

This year was the first time I tried making my own cranberry sauce (see yesterday's recipe).  It was so easy, I can't believe I never considered making it at home before.  But whether I craft my own or buy a can, I always seem to have a lot of cranberry sauce remaining after the big meal.  To use the leftover cranberry sauce that remains, I came up with 10 ideas:

Pecan-Topped Cranberry Oatmeal

1. Oatmeal + cranberry sauce =  Cranberry Oatmeal
2. Crepes + cranberry sauce =  Cranberry Filling (thinned with maple syrup)
3. Applesauce + cranberry sauce =  Cranberry Applesauce
4. Apple crisp or apple pie + cranberry sauce =  Cran-Apple Dessert
5. Sandwiches + cranberry sauce =  Cranberries as Condiment
6. Salad dressing + cranberry sauce =  Cranberry Vinagrette (this recipe looks very good)
7. Cream cheese + cranberry sauce =  Creamy Cranberry Spread
8. Toast or bagels+ cranberry sauce =  Cranberry Jam/ Jelly
9. Barbecue sauce + cranberry sauce =  BBQ with a Twist (this simple recipe blends BBQ sauce with cranberry)
10. Hot apple cider + cranberry sauce =  Cranberry Spiced Cider

I'm linking this list to Top Ten Tuesday, Works For Me Wednesday, Zero Food Waste Challenge, and Pennywise Platter Thursday.

Recipe for Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Maple Syrup

Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Maple Syrup

adapted from Jennifer Perillo's Spice-Scented Cranberry Sauce

Basic Ingredients:

• 12 ounce bag of whole cranberries
• 1/2 cup brown sugar or sucanat
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• pinch of salt

Optional Spices:

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a large heavy saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
2. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Allow sauce to cool before serving.

This recipe is linked to Just Something I Whipped Up.

Pumpkin Granola: A Low-Fat Recipe

On my wish list to make for years: homemade granola.   The last time I tried making granola at home was with a toaster oven.  We were living in a two-room apartment in Vietnam at that time.  And, like when I tried to bake cookies, it was tricky to avoid burning the precious oats in such a tiny hot appliance.  So I stopped attempting to bake granola.

But I've longed to try again.  And after perusing various simple recipes, I settled on a recipe for pumpkin granola as my starting point.  Since I can't help but tweak most recipes I encounter, I decided to add coconut to my version.  Because from our time in Vietnam I also recall that pumpkin and coconut go very well together.  Try this granola and I think you will concur.

Pumpkin Granola Recipe

adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients:
5 cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup flaked coconut, optional
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
almonds or pecans, optional (add last)


Directions:  

1. Combine dry ingredients except for brown sugar, coconut and nuts, if using.
2. In a separate bowl, blend together brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, maple syrup, and vanilla.  Add wet mixture to dry mixture, stirring until oats are evenly coated.
3. Spread granola out on a large parchment-lined baking tray.  Bake for 20 minutes at 325 degrees F (160 C).  Stir granola and add in coconut.  Bake for 20 minutes more.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.  Add nuts if desired.

*An Alternate Idea*
If you aren't up for making granola yet, I highly recommend you take any leftover pie (such as pumpkin or pecan) lurking in your fridge and stir it into warm oatmeal.  It's a truly yummy flavor combination too!

Which would you rather eat on a chilly morning--granola or oatmeal? 

This idea is linked to Just Something I Whipped Up and Anti-Procrastination Tuesday.

Our Thanksgiving Menu and Plan for the Week of 11/22

How many American cooks have never made a whole turkey?  My husband doesn't really like turkey, and I don't miss it, so I've never actually done one myself.  This year my turkey-less record will continue.  We are planning to have Cornish game hens again.  Here is my complete Thanksgiving dinner plan for 2010:

• Cornish game hens
• Wild rice stuffing
• Mashed sweet potatoes
• Green beans
• Pumpkin corn muffins
• Butterhorn rolls (optional) 
• Homemade cranberry sauce
• Baked rice pudding
• Tossed salad
• Pumpkin pie
• Apple crisp
• Almond pecan pie

And as for what I'm planning the rest of the week...

-Monday-

*Chicken satay
*Rice

-Tuesday-

* Scallop risotto

-Wednesday-

*Fajitas
*Rice

-Thursday-

*Cornish game hens
*Side dishes and pies (see Thanksgiving menu above)

-Friday-

* Leftovers
* Rice

-Saturday-

*Layered black bean enchiladas
*Rice

Sweet Treat Oatmeal: Leftover Candy Meets Breakfast

Perhaps in a moment of weakness you happened to purchase some chocolate-covered treats this fall, like I did. Or maybe you have candy lurking in the house that entered by some other means, like trick-or-treating.  Either way, if you want the candy stash gone before 2011 begins, here's what you can do:

1. Break up candy bars and stir the pieces into a bowl or pot of warm, old-fashioned oatmeal. 
2. Add in some wholesome ground flaxseed if it makes you feel better.  That's what I did.

If I am going to be decadent, it seems best to have the calories front-loaded into my day.  Last year I discovered that pie makes a delicious mix-in with a steaming bowl of oats.  Now I know that leftover Halloween candy works wonderfully in oatmeal too!

Sharing this secret with your children is optional.

I am linking this idea to the Zero Food Waste Challenge,  Weekend Wrap-up Party and Just Something I Whipped Up.

Four Ways in Which I Spent My Time This Week

1. Crafting Again 

On Monday, I submitted another entry to the "Imagination Unrolled" contest.  My floral wall decoration took quite a while to assemble and finish, so I don't think I will enter any more creations.  Other priorities require my attention.  But I would still appreciate any votes you would like to send my way!  If you have a Facebook account, I think you can vote more than once (daily even?), until the contest ends in December.

2. Experimenting in the Kitchen

• Making homemade yogurt continues to intrigue me. I'm starting to favor the crockpot, combining Alicia's crock pot method with my own, which involves using a cooler. 
• I've been experimenting with kale again.  Last month, I tried soup, pizza, and pasta with kale (and reported the results here). I incorporated kale into our meals in three more ways during the past week:

Broccoli, kale and ham pockets

Butternut squash, sausage, and kale soup

Corn and kale soup

3. Enjoying Isaiah in Spite of Myself

When I did a "full court press" house cleaning this past weekend, I was not studying Isaiah.  But the truths I've been learning in weeks past are still sinking in, and I'm thankful for the weekly opportunity I have to learn from other women.  I've also had an inspiring song from Isaiah 11 running through my head lately:
"For the earth will filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."

Music helps me focus again on the source of all true joy.  I am easily sidetracked.


4. Struggling with Priorities 

Godly priorities are so hard for me to live out consistently.  That's why I liked the idea of mapping out different categories, as Amy Andrews does in her Tell Your Time strategy.  But implementing what I know tends to trip me up.  I tend to focus on one thing at a time, to the exclusion of all else. 

This all or nothing tendency of mine is one reason I wanted to be a mom who stays home, because I knew that working at another outside job and raising young children would not be a good combination for me.  But motherhood is defined by multi-tasking nonetheless--training, teaching, disciplining, cleaning, shopping, cooking, etc., etc.  I need to trust God for the grace to improve in managing multiple priorities.

And how about you?

What priorities have you successfully carried out this week?

What helps keep you on the right path?

10 Nestle Products to Avoid Buying this Holiday Season

1. Libby's pumpkin
2. Tollhouse morsels
3. Carnation milk
4. Nestle hot cocoa
5. Maggi seasonings
6. Stouffer's frozen foods
7. Dreyer's or Edy's ice cream
8. Haagen Dazs ice cream
9. Gerber foods and clothing
10. L'Oreal cosmetics and hair products

To find out more about the boycott, read Activism Across Party Lines: The Nestle Boycott.

This post is linked to Top Ten Tuesday.

What They Said: Noteworthy Ideas

I love it when someone else writes so eloquently on a topic that I don't need to say any more or take the time to reinvent the wheel.  Facebook is where I usually share the posts that I think are worth reading. Several links below were shared recently via my Facebook page.  The rest are from my bookmarks tab.  Enjoy!

Amen-Worthy Posts:

1. What Keeps Me From Impressing My Kids @ Impress Your Kids.
2. Interpreting Motherhood @ Daily Coping Skills
3. Plan Your Simple Christmas @ Simple Mom
4. Prescription for Healthy Kids @ The Columbus Dispatch. 
5. Not a Natural @ Home With the Boys
6. Kyria discusses hosting others when you are domestically challenged.

Recipes I'm Hankering to Try:

1. Butternut Squash and Sausage Soup
2. Raw Gingerbread Bites
3. Pumpkin Pie French Toast (made with generic pumpkin, not Libby's)
4. Chocolate Beet Cupcakes

And finally, yesterday I noted an amazing book I picked up at the library this week.  I hope you'll check it out!

Book Recommendation: What the World Eats

What the World Eats is a book worth reading, owning, and giving.  I stumbled across it at the library, on a display shelf today.  Within a few hours of bringing it home, I had devoured every page.  The photos by Peter Menzel and words from Faith D'Aluisio captured two passions of mine: 1) the food that people eat in their daily lives, and 2) the many cultures of the world.

Exploring the pages of this book was more illuminating than circling the globe as a tourist, because I got to enter into the homes of families from 21 different countries.  The contrast between a weeks worth of food in "developing" countries and more prosperous nations made me drop my jaw more than once.  Yet as the author pointed out, the porridge that a 12-year-old in Africa eats for breakfast may well be more nutritious than the ultra-processed foods that American families serve from a box (Pop Tarts, anyone?).

I was awestruck at how much more food families in some countries eat than others.  Yet all survive.  And the possibilities of what to do with that realization are vast.  I can eat less.  Give more.  Be thankful.  Find a way to support organizations who are working toward more sustainable food supplies.  Pray for the world. Learn to be content with less.  Teach my children the difference between wants and needs.  Show them what other families eat in places like Greenland, Bhutan and China.  (Ever heard of a narwhal?  A family in one of those countries eats it on a weekly basis.)

Furthermore, I can envision so many ways to use this book:

• To expand the understanding a family has of the world.  
• To sample different foods and learn geography.  
• To go along with sponsoring a child whose daily needs might not be met otherwise.  
• To give as a gift to another family.  

Taking in the photos and insights from around the world would benefit anyone and everyone.  Glimpsing the realities of what families eat in other parts of the world and how they live might have a greater impact than even a short-term trip abroad.   And unlike an international plane ticket, this resource can be accessed for free, with just a simple library card.

Despite the fact that I have lived abroad for several years, What the World Eats helped summon me out of my complacency--with what we buy and eat, and how little thought and prayer extends beyond our borders.  Read it and see where opened eyes and an open heart might take you.


Dec. 2010 Update:  This post is linked to WFMW.


Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, but I am recommending it of my own accord.  The opinions stated are all mine.  I simply picked up this book up at the library and really enjoyed it.

Menu Plan for the Week of 11/8

For me to get dinner on the table by six o'clock, my whole approach to time management needs to change.   I recently learned of a new approach to organizing my time and am starting to implement it.  If I am finally able to reach my daily dinnertime goal, I will know that this new time management method is working.  Wish me well!


Dinners:
-MONDAY-

• Waffles
• Bacon
• Fruit salad

-TUESDAY-

• Lamb and potato casserole (akin to meatball casserole)
• Tossed salad

-WEDNESDAY-

• Macaroni and cheese
• Green beans

-THURSDAY-

• Slow-Roasted Vietnamese Chicken
• Cabbage Soup
• Steamed Rice

-FRIDAY-

• Tuna Spaghetti Pie
• Tossed Salad

-SATURDAY-

• Slow-Roasted Venison
• Okra
• Rice

Lunches: Stuffed avocados, Asian chicken rice noodle soup, taco salad, ham and avocado wraps


Breakfasts: Sticky rice with coconut, oatmeal, cold cereal, eggs and toast, french toast, homemade granola (with pumpkin hopefully!)

Scrap Wood Growth Chart

Kids grow up startlingly fast.  Why not mark their vertical progress with a permanent record of their heights each year?  When I saw Shannon's wooden growth chart, I knew it would be fun to make a tricolor version for my three kids.  We happened to have some long wood molding scraps that I saved from a former door frame.  I ordered some free liquid paint samples and bought a bottle of acrylic paint.  Voila!  A new back-to-school autumn tradition is birthed.

Materials used:

• 6' long wooden plank or trim
• paint (number of colors should equal number of kids)
• paintbrushes
• permanent marker or pencil
• newspapers or drop cloth
• tape measure (to measure how tall the marked heights are)
• sandpape
• Masking tape (optional)

First, select the wood from the scrap pile and saw off uneven ends.

Then sand old paint and wipe clean with a damp towel.

Next, add a fresh base coat of paint.

Allow paint to dry thoroughly.

Lift up to prevent the painted board from sticking to the surface below.

I planned to paint stripes on one side, but chose an easier way.

So I painted three sides, with a different color for each child.

In the months between when I devised my plan and completed it, each child probably grew an inch or two. But now (at last!) we possess a physical reminder to celebrate each one's growth "in wisdom and stature."  After the paint dried, my kids practiced their measuring skills to see how tall they were.  We labeled the date along with each height recorded.  What's nice about this scrap wood growth chart is that it is portable, so we can easily take it with us when we move.

I'm sharing this project idea at

10 Reasons to Avoid Baking

I cannot deny that I love to bake.  And there are many reasons to do it.  But baking is not always the best choice when it comes to how to spend my time.  Even in college, I could be found in the kitchen baking Swedish Tea Ring instead of studying for final exams.

In my current stage of life, I am trying to find a balanced approach where I still get to bake, but don't go overboard.  Sometimes I need to tell myself why it is good to hold off for a while.

Here are 10 reasons for me to avoid baking:

1. There will be more bowls, pans and utensils to wash.
2. Baking often uses sugar, which is not healthy.
3. Baked goods may lead to adult weight gain.
4. Baked goods are not as healthy as raw foods with living enzymes.
5. Baking in the oven is not energy efficient.
6. Baking and the resulting clean up takes time away from other pursuits.
7. Baking can lead to burned foods and fingers if utmost care is not taken.
8. Baking often requires special ingredients and equipment that takes up lots of kitchen space.
9. When others find out that I bake, they may press me to bake again and again.
10. Giving in to the temptation to eat batter with raw eggs might give me or my children food poisoning.

10 Reasons I Love to Bake

1. I love fresh bread and homemade cookies.

2. So does my family.

3. I control what ingredients I put into my baked goods.

4. It makes the house smell wonderful--naturally.

5. I have fond memories of baking with my mom and enjoying my grandmas' baked goodies.

6. In fall and winter, the oven warms up the kitchen nicely.

7. Freshly baked goods taste better than store-bought foods.

8. Home baked goods involve less packaging than store-bought products.

9. There is a great sense of accomplishment when my baking results are good.

10. Baking our own snacks and bread can help us save money on food.

Cake celebrating my daughter's first lost tooth