Organising Recipes

The assignment this week from Michelle at 34 weeks of Clean was to organise recipes. I had done quite a bit of that before we moved but decided that it was time to go through them again.

Here is my shelves of cookbooks. I find it interesting to see what cookbooks other people have so I will share mine.

Bottom Shelf
More with Less - I use that quite a bit and it looks like I use it which spots and splatters. This has  lentil recipes, chicken & pineapple, English Muffins, white sauce and other recipes.
Betty Crocker's Vegetarian Cookbook - there are a number of recipes from that that we enjoy
Betty Crocker's New Cookbook - This is a great go to book for things like meatloaf, cookies, Alfredo, and a few other things.
Red notebook which fits my A4 paper - I did go through that and put everything in the big blue notebook.
Big Blue Notebook - This fits 8.5x11" paper. This has printouts and magazine recipes. I did find some things that I need to try. These are all in page protectors.

Top Shelf
Extending the Table - This book has recipes from around the world. I have found a number of lentil and curry recipes in that book.
Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes - I have used this in the past but currently I don't have a refrigerator large enough to store dough.
Wholesome Home Cooking - I have used this some but I think this is a cookbook that I should explore a bit more.
Mennonite Country Style Recipes - I use this for a number of recipes including lots of my Christmas cookies.
Delia's Complete Cookery Course - this was recommended as a great British cooking resource.
Jamie Oliver Comfort Food - I just got this for Christmas and have not cooked from it much.
The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook - I bought this a few years ago and have found a number of recipes that we love in here.

I enjoy looking through cookbooks. I did declutter before we moved.

Here is the work in progress as I sorted through the recipes. I did find quite a number of pages to get rid of and also found a yummy recipe that I used to make.

Here is the stack of papers that I decided to get rid of. For some I decided I will not use the recipe and don't need to keep it.

My big goal in this area it to have a chart of meals we like referencing where the recipe is found. I have not decided if that is a real goal or just one of those dreams.

I do have this done on a small scale for soup, salads, and side dishes. I need to make some better tabs.

My recipes are organised and I did find a few new things to cook. Here is the sausage recipe I discovered.

Italian Sausage & White Bean Bake

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lb Italian sausages, cut crosswise in 2 in pieces
3 leeks (white and green parts) I used onions
2 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 in pieces
3 clovers garlic, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 15 oz cans white beans such as cannelloni, rinsed
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (I skipped this and maybe added some dried parsley)
salt and pepper
2 cups fresh coarse bread crumbs

Heat over to 375. Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook the sausages until browned, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to a plate.
Wipe out the pot and head 1 Tbsp of the remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add the leeks, carrots and garlic and cook, stirring often, until beginning to soften, 5 to 6 minutes.
Add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juices; bring to a boil. Stir in the beans parsley and 1/4 tsp each sale and pepper. Transfer to a 3 qt casserole dish.
In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs with the remaining oil and sprinkle over the bean mixture. Be until golden brown and bubbling. 25 to 30 minutes


Beth

Send forth the Gospel

Send forth the Gospel! Let it sound

Southward and northward, east and west;

Tell all the earth Christ died and lives,

Who giveth pardon, life and rest.

Send forth Thy Gospel, mighty Lord!

Out of this chaos bring to birth

Thine own creation’s promised hope;

The coming days of heaven on earth.

Send forth the Gospel, gracious Lord!

Yours was the blood for sinners shed;

Your voice still pleads in human hearts;

may all mankind to you be led.

Send forth the Gospel, holy Lord!

Kindle in us love’s sacred flame;

Love giving all, with heart and mind

For Jesus’ sake, in Jesus’ name.

Send forth the Gospel! Make it known!

Christians obey your Master’s call;

Sing out his praise! He comes to reign,

The King of kings, and Lord of all.

Henry Elliott Fox

Henry Fox had a heart for foreign missions which is evident in this hymn that he wrote. 

Beth

Week in Review - 6 February 2015

What did we do this week? Monday seems like it was a long time ago. I don't think there was much special in this week.

Our Monet Wall

January we studied Monet and put our pictures and some of his paintings on the wall. We need to pick a new artist for February.

I took the time on the weekend to plan some therapy activities for this week. I focused this week on fine motor. I even have a few activities that we did not do.

Monday I ventured to the shopping mall as J needed new trousers. I keep hoping that he will outgrown the putting holes in the knees. Our city has one of a large shopping mall so we went there. We found trousers and then wandered through Toys "R" Us, Disney and Lego store. Next stop was Hobby Craft because I wanted some art supplies for the kids.

Tuesday continues to be a busy day. While it might be busy it is a fun day as we have co-op. There are a few other HE families that get together. We watch a French DVD together for our French lesson and then I do composers with the older group and the younger group do geography.

Miss K decided that after watching the French DVD and watching Annie in French that she could speak French. Not really but it was fun listening to her attempt.

Wednesday was team day and so I just skipped school and gave the kids electronics all day. Someone remarked about how well behaved they were. I confessed that it was electronics. The kids enjoy going and it does give me an opportunity to interact with our team.

Thursday was back to school. We had a good day except for the rough part. We made it through the day and we got things done. I have been reading My Father's Dragon at lunchtime. That is just a cute story. I remember reading it to J our first year of homeschooling. I am going back to the Sunlight books and reading them again. Miss K began a new math program on the computer. More about that later. She loves it maybe because it is on the computer.

Friday was the wrap up of the week. There is still snow on the ground but the HE football group was able to play. The past two weeks they have not met because of snow. The other football game was cancelled. The kids practiced their tin whistles. I have to say that J has talent in that he is able to play songs that he knows without music. If you like tin whistles, I found this website that has lots of music for the tin whistle.

That about wraps up our weekend. The kids have Saturday morning activities -- gymnastics and ballet. J needs a haircut and I am not sure what else we will do this weekend.


Beth

Therapy Thursday #4

Welcome to another week of Therapy Thursday.

I made it a point to sit down and have a plan for some therapy activities we could do this week. I know it sounds so basic but if I plan it there is more chance that it will happen. I focused on fine motor this week -- squeezing the glue is a great muscle building exercise.

I enjoy reading about the various things that are done for therapy at home. Come join the fun.

Therapy Thursday is a place where we share ideas, resources and activities that we have done relating to therapy for your homeschooler. It might be physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy or another therapy that you are using to help your child reach their potential.

A few things to know before linking up:

• Please link up to a specific post on your blog, not the main page of your blog.
• The specific blog post linked needs to be related to therapy. Please note if the post is not therapy related it might be deleted. 
• By including your blog on this link you are giving permission to have your post linked to other social media and graphics used in featured posts. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Beth

Fine Motor Skills

As I planned our homeschool week, I made a list of some fine motor activities that could be included in the week. I spent a bit of time on Pinterest and just thought of what we could do using things that we have. I try to keep therapy type things together which does make it easier to pull things out.

I made a sensory bin this week. It has been one of those things that I wanted to do for some time and finally did it. I just filled with red rice and found some pink and red things to put in it.

Years ago before Pinterest and all the blogs I made a rice box for Miss K. I just filled a box with rice and hid a few things in it and gave her a spoon.

That was before I knew how to colour rice and have themes. I will say she had lots of fun with it years ago.

Both kids were getting into it this week. It is fun to see them play together, hiding things for each other.

That might be more of a sensory activity but it is still good.

I had some foam letters and with the help of someone here more artistic than I am, we drew a bowl on paper to make a bowl of alphabet soup. Squeezing glue is a great fine motor activity.

She had fun gluing the letters on the bowl.

Here are those little hands and fingers working on squeezing the glue out.

She enjoyed this activity.

Here is the finished project. She was excited to show daddy.

I have a few more activities but we have been busy and so she has not done all of them. It really does help to pull things together and have them ready to offer her.


Beth

Raising a Special Needs Child Overseas

At this point in Miss K's life I think she has lived overseas as much as she has lived in her passport country. I can't even say birth country because she was born overseas. I do remember after she was born and learning that she had Down Syndrome we wondered if we would need to move back to the States. To me is seems normal to raise a special needs child overseas.

I paused and thought about raising a special needs child overseas after someone remarked about the impact that raising Miss K overseas has on those we work with.

I am writing this from the perspective of raising Miss K overseas. She is high functioning and has minimum medical needs at this time. There are some places that we would not live with her and our mission agency has also limited where we are allowed to live.

There might be some challenges getting medical or therapy services. Thankfully the hospital where Miss K was born was able to do both of the operations that she needed. We did have some communication challenges as the one surgeon did not speak English. God also provided assistance with therapy in those early years.

There can be educational challenges. Homeschooling has taken away that challenge. Some of the international schools are not able to handle a child with this level of needs.

There are challenges but what is greater than the challenges are the blessings that we receive. We have seen God provide in so many ways from medical to therapy to friends. That is a testimony of God's faithfulness.

I think raising a special needs children overseas is a testimony to others. I still remember the words of the Christian nurse in the hospital after she was born saying, "so many of them do not make it" referring to the fact that so many Down Syndrome children are aborted.

It might be challenging at time but in all of that God is faithful.

Beth

But God - Sunday Scenes

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by

grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in

the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  so that in the coming ages he might show the

immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  Ephesians 2:4-7

We have been studying Ephesians in the small groups at church. I am enjoying this study and anew seeing all that God has done for us. God is rich in mercy and has great love. We were dead and far from God but he made us alive. What a wonderful God we have.



Beth