Stirrin' It Up With Stacey

Well it's time to get your crockpot out and let it work for you!
Today I am going to post my Mother in-law's Beef Stroganoff. This is a tasty treat, and my kids absolutely love it. It is one of my most favorite comfort foods. The best part is, how easy it is to prepare!!!! That makes me happy.
I serve this with a green salad, and a loaf of french bread, and call it good. Prep time is less than 10 minutes in the morning, and then you have about 10-15 minutes of prep before serving.


Easy Beef Stroganoff
1 package beef stew meat (fresh or frozen)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
pinch of garlic powder
salt and pepper
8 oz. sour cream
egg noodles cooked


Turn crockpot on low setting if you will be gone all day and then load in the meat and soup, no need to stir....add about 1/2 cup water, sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cover and let cook all day long. Before serving cook egg noodles and drain, set aside. Stir sour cream into the mixture in the crockpot, serve over hot noodles.

Don't forget the salad and the french bread to round out this meal.
I love the rich wonderful taste this recipe delivers...perfect for a busy fall evening!
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Blessings to you and yours,
Stacey

Nose in a Book Tuesdays - The Centurion's Wife

This week, our nose is in biblical fiction. It has been a few years since I have read a book by Janette Oke or Davis Bunn, but I enjoyed the last books I read by them and hoped this joint effort by these two authors would be equally enjoyable.

The Centurion's Wife by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke is a book of biblical fiction that takes place during the days and weeks following Jesus's crucifixion.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but once I realized who the characters in the story were, I became quite interested. Leah is the niece of Pontius Pilate, who is working as a servant in his household until he arranges a favorable marriage for her. She learns she is to be betrothed to a Roman centurion named Alban, a natural leader with strong ambitions. Alban also turns out to be the Roman soldier who had sought out Jesus to heal his dying servant (from Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10). I found these choices for main characters to be very creative and interesting.

After Jesus's crucifiction Pilate thought he had washed his hands of the whole affair. But when he learns that Jesus's grave has been unsealed and the body is missing, he begins to worry that the Jews are planning a revolt. He decides to use Alban, who has a good relationship with the Jews in the area, to try and find out what is going on, requiring him to learn what happened to Jesus's body before he can marry Leah. Leah is not thrilled about the idea of marrying, but she has little choice as Pilate chose to use her marriage to his advantage. Pilate's wife, Procula, is also worried about what the Jews are planning and sends Leah to find Jesus's disciples to try to learn what she can. So, both Leah and Alban are trying to learn the same information, unaware of what the other is doing until near the end of the book. In the process, they begin to question all they thought they knew and come to believe that what Jesus's followers are saying is true.

The book really impressed me. I was impressed with the creative storyline, even though I already knew the biblical version. I really enjoyed the imagery and descriptive talents of the authors. I often felt like I was right there, standing on the top of a hill with Alban, or browsing through the marketplace with Leah. I was moved to tears in a few places as the main characters came to realize what was going on, and to see them come to the same conclusion, regardless of the danger to themselves and their futures.

I thought it was interesting to see this time period and these events through the eyes of Romans. Things were turbulent and confusing, there were rumors and gossip flying around, and there were dangerous people trying to prevent the truth from getting out. It was also interesting to see the questions that Jesus's followers had during the time. They all agreed that He had risen, but they didn't quite understand what it meant or what they needed to do yet. It really was a fascinating time to read about. I am familiar with the biblical accounts of this time, but this book (even if it is fiction) gave me a bit of a better understanding of what people were like in that time. The book personalized the events for me, pushing me to consider what it might have been like for the people living through those events.

I enjoyed the book, and am glad it was my first experience with biblical fiction. The one drawback that I found was the existence several typographical errors in the book--errors that were a bit distracting. Hopefully they do a better job in editing the second book of the series, The Hidden Flame, which is set to be released January 1, 2010. I am looking forward to its release. The Centurion's Wife leaves the reader hanging, wondering what Alban's fate with Pilate will be. I expect that it will be explained in The Hidden Flame. This book gets 4.5 of 5 stars, losing half a star for lackluster editing.

Book Details:

Davis Bunn and Janette Oke. The Centurion's Wife. Bethany House Publishers, 2009. 378 pp. $13.99. ISBN 978-0-7642-0514-9

Until next week, many blessings to you and yours!

Katy

Fridays are for Families

FAMILY TIME THEME SONG IDEAS! Sit back and relax! Here are a handful of ideas to kick off the fun each Family time. You can either download the itune and sing along, memorize it and teach it to everyone to sing as a family band (rock on!) or maybe even play the video each time you celebrate your family time. However you choose to do it, just make sure you get out your singing voice and put on your dancing shoes!

Take some time to watch them all! I am sure there is one that will fit your FAMILY!

Family Song - Laurie Berkner Band


We are Family - Jordan Pruitt


Big House- Audio Adrenaline


Creed - Rich Mullins


Family Time - Ziggy Marley

Thursday Give Away!

This weeks give away is by BibBon! Yea! One lucky winner receives this Little Birds and Blossoms eye mask made out of Bamboo materials! Isn't that just the pictures of serenity?! Now I have to put in a plug that I use a mask by BibBon and cant sleep without it! There have been many nights when DH has helped me search for the missing mask looking in any corners one of our toddlers may have placed it. This isn't just because I feel its deeply important to sleep like absolute Diva (said in a low, slow, old time movie star voice), its also because its a must now that I am accustom to the deeper sleep I get when I wear mine.

Now, you may think eye masks aren't for you, I say give it a shot! You maybe surprised! . If you still think its not for you, why not enter the contest and win it to keep for that friend down the road who just had a baby, or surgery and needs to sleep during the day or with a light on at night? I'm telling you girls, if you don't fall in love with using it someone else you know will!

Little Birds and Blossoms eye mask made out of Bamboo INFO:

The top fabric is a stylish cotton print but the rest is bamboo! Made with 100% bamboo batting and Bamboo fabric plus 2 FULLY ADJUSTABLE straps this eye mask has it all! Measurements are 9" by 3 1/2" or 23cm by 10cm.

RULES - To enter please visit BibBon on Etsy at www.bibbon.etsy.com and come on back to Hey Rachie Kae! with a comment of your favorite item in her shop. Add your name, email address and blog address if you have one and you will be entered!

Why should you were a sleep mask? Sleep masks have been proven to improve quality of sleep, even cure some insomnia in some, the more light that is blocked (even from alarm clocks) the more melatonin your body will produce and amazingly studies show that women that sleep in darker states are less likely to develop certain cancers!

Stirrin' It Up With Stacey

I am back to stir somethin' up are y'all ready?

Today I decided to share some pics of the cookies, I just made for a bridal shower, that I helped to host last weekend. It was a lingerie shower and it was fabulous. My friend, the maid of honor, brought me some pics she found on a website and asked if we could recreate them. I said absolutely, and here is our version below. They were super simple to make, they just took a bit of time.

They are made using heart shaped cookies, decorated with a royal icing. Make sure you get some meringue powder at your local craft store before starting these cookies. It runs about $4 a can at Michael's. The icing recipes are included in the can. You will need powdered sugar and food coloring as well. I used the gel neon colors for these cookies. If you go to Sally beauty supply you can get the hair color applicator bottles for about $1.89 each. They have a fine tip for decorating your cookies. Some of the walmarts carry decorating bottles in the wilton section I saw them yesterday for $2/2 pack. Fill your bottles with icing and get ready to have some fun. If you use the meringue powder your icing will set up dry and hard so you can bag them up. add a sweet tag and use them as favors....

We had a blast making these cookies! When we handed them out the Ladies had just as much fun choosing the ones they wanted to take home. We even had a few of the ladies request to take a set to their husbands. Wouldn't that have been a sweet addition to someones lunch box? LOL!

I use this method for decorating all of our christmas cookies. You might want to try out a recipe for this kind of icing before you start on your cookies this year. Maybe practice for Thanksgiving, write some messages on some leaf shaped cookies or something along those lines. Practice getting your icing to the right consistency for flooding and outlining. Or something inbetween that you are comfortable with.

This is considered the cookie that started it all.... Last year my friend and I were making sugar cookies for Christmas and I came up with this design. After that it was nothing more than a friendly competion to see who could make the most outlandish design to impress the other! We had so much fun, and the memories I will cherish for a very long time.

The kids had a great time helping with these as well! The decorating bottles help to make this a very kid friendly project!!!!

The cookie above in the middle does not say "mercy" it says "merry" we just carried away with the tail on our "y". We still laugh about the cookie that says Mercy....

I hope you enjoy this project! Now get out there and make some memories!!!

Until next week,

Blessings to you and yours,

Stacey

Nose in a Book Tuesday - Read and Learn Bible

I think I've mentioned this before, but my kids love books and they love to be read to. Part of their nightly routine before bed is to read a couple of stories and end with a Bible story.

One of our newest books of Bible stories is the American Bible Society's Read and Learn Bible. We really like it. The illustrations are cute, and the length of the stories are perfect for my 4-year-old's attention span.

Here's the blurb from the back of the book:

Scholastic and the American Bible Society have joined together to bring you the READ AND LEARN BIBLE. This collection of favorite Bible stories will not only encourage young children to read on their own, but it will also provide them with valuable educational facts that help explain the true meaning of the Scriptures. In addition, the easy-to-use Parent Pages will help engage young readers in thoughtful discussion about faith-related topics while sharing these inspiring stories.

One of my son's favorite stories in this book so far is the first one: "The First Seven Days," (based on Genesis 1-2), which illustrates each day with fun and colorful pictures. Within the stories are small boxes that provide little educational footnotes for background or explanation. For example, in "Special Work for the Disciples," there is a box explaining "An apostle is someone who is sent to teach others" (pg. 338).

At the end of the book is a section of 20 Parent Pages, which are there to help instigate discussion and sharing between parents and children about some of the stories within the Bible. We haven't used any of these pages yet, but they are really a great place to begin if you need some inspiration on ways to apply the stories you are reading to your and your child's life.

The Read and Learn Bible is a fun and educational way to expose your child to 102 of the best-loved stories in the Bible. I love reading from it, and my son loves to hear and see the stories. We highly recommend it for young children, from around preschool age through around the 3rd grade. We give it 5 of 5 stars.

Book details:

American Bible Society. Read and Learn Bible. Scholastic, 2005. 544 pp. $14.99. ISBN 9780439651264

Until next week, many blessings to you and yours!

Katy

Neither death nor life

She knew she was worth far more than rubies

I found this word art at RED LETTER http://www.redletterwords.com/  I had to stop and think about it for a minute. I am sad to say I forget that I am more valuable than the finest rare jewels in the eyes of my maker and beloved.

Getting caught up in the routines of life seem to strip away any feelings of inner beauty. At the end of the day when I have cleaned, changed diapers, prepared meals, and done laundry the last think I feel like as I stop to pray at night is a glimmering gemstone. Instead I feel like my shine is absent.

That couldn't be farther than the truth. It is in those times that we feel tired, dirty and frazzled that we can shine the brightest if we are willing to call out Jesus to be our strength and our beauty. When you feel like you are bit lack luster, cry out to him girl! You will SHINE!

Fridays are for Families

All ready to get your crazy on tonight?! I hope so! You may need to stop at the store for supplies for this object lesson.

FOLLOWING THE RECIPE

Items needed:
Cookie Recipe (supplied below)
All items of food called for

Instructions:
Make two batches of cookies before you start your other activities for the night.

FIRST BATCH- Give everyone a bowl. Allow each person to make a first batch of cookies making up their recipe. Tell them to do it as much like a real recipe as they can (of course they will have now idea! lol). Place everyones 'cookies' on cookies sheet number 1. Place these, um, cookies in the oven at the time and tempature that the recipe calls for.

SECOND BATCH- Follow directions closely reading them clearly for all to hear (and see). Allow everyone to add an item and help stirring. Place cookies on sheet and put in oven when first batch is complete.

While you are waiting for second batch go play a quick game of tag, Simon (or Daddy) Says, or maybe Red Light Green Light.

Now both batches are complete. Mwaaahaahahaa! Let everyone choose a cookie from each batch and taste them. Let them tell you what they taste like. Are they good? Bad? Would you like more? (Try to make them eat more of the bad ones for the fun of it!)

So, here the lesson begins. Tell the kids that there is a recipe for life. Ask them if they now where that recipe is found. Once, you have established that its found in the bible explain that we can go through life guessing at what we are suppose to do, or bending the rules by doing this or not doing that, but in the end we are like the first batch of cookies. We have missed the mark of what a cookie is supposed to be. When we follow God's recipe for our life we are the scrumptious cookie that the cook (Creator) intended.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown

Thursday Give Away!

Thursday Give Aways have been so much fun! I hope you have enjoyed them too! November has some great items coming and I am already starting on Decembers amazing items! It looks like we are going to have some really great stuff!

Today's give away is by Jackson's Jewels. They are generously giving away this elegant cross with a retail price of $45.00 to one lucky Hey Rachie Kae! reader. I love this cross!



RULES - To enter please visit JACKSONS JEWELS http://www.jacksonsjewels.etsy.com/ and leave post on Hey Rachie Kae! with comment of your favorite item in her shop, your name, email address and blog address if you have one.

WINNER WILL BE SELECTED NOV. 5th. WATCH YOUR EMAIL!


*******CONGRATS TO HEATHER FOR WINNING THE GIVE AWAY GROWTH CHART!!!

Stirrin' It Up With Stacey

It's Wednesday and I hope Y'all are ready to stir somethin' up!
Today's recipe is from my good friend, Christa. She gave me this recipe some years ago, and I made it for a party I hosted last weekend.
It is the perfect soup for cold weather! And it made a fantastic addition to the buffet at our 3rd annual Pumpkin Carving Party.




In all we served 5 different soups. We gave them crazy names such as; Eye of Newtle soup (chicken noodle), Potato Bug soup (Christa's yummy potato), Dracula's Taco soup (taco soup), Cheesy Brain soup (cheesy vegetable soup), Crushed Goo of Clam (clam chowder). Everyone of the soups were a hit. Also on the buffet was a tray of yeast rolls, french bread, and corn muffins. We had sugar cookies, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and brownie bites, ooh and I can't forget the candy. The party was wonderful.

After everything was said and done we had over 20 pumpkins carved! We put them on a table outside, all with their candles lit inside. It was a site to behold.
We gave out prizes as well. The first prize of the night was a white pumpkin. As the kids arrived I had them put their names in a bowl. After dinner we drew a name for the white pumpkin! Everyone brought their own pumpkins but it was very cool to be able to give out the white one as a prize.

I had a few other prizes on hand and not a clue what to do with them. So I used the remaining names in the bowl and every 20 minutes we drew a couple names just to keep things exciting. When everyone was finished carving pumpkins we gave out prizes for: best design, most creative, best boy pumpkin, best girl pumpkin, and the Grand prize.

There's still time to plan your pumpkin carving party this year if you hurry! It doesn't have to be big, start small, we did and it has grown every year. This is not about halloween for us it is about fellowship, and it is mostly for the kiddos. They have such a great time getting into the festivities. Also we do not encourage dressing up. There is just too much going on for that and we don't want to offend anyone.
Prize ideas: (all from dollar stores)
trick or treat bag with candy or a flash light
wig and mask
candy basket
candy necklace

I hope you enjoy this recipe and the party tips above....

Christa's Yummy Potato Soup

1 lb. bacon cut into small pieces
6-8 potatoes peeled and cut into small pieces
1 onion diced
3- 12oz. cans chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. flour
2tbsp. butter


Fry bacon and onion in a large dutch oven or pot, until the onion is tender and the bacon is browned. Do not drain. Stir in the chicken broth. Add potatoes and boil until tender. In the mean time, make a white sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add salt, flour, and milk. Stir, cook until thickened then add to potatoes. Stir until combined.



Let me know how it turns out for you?
Until next week, many blessings to you and yours,
Stacey

Nose in a Book Tuesday - Lady of Milkweed Manor

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres to read. I am a bit of a history fanatic (I even got a master's degree in History), and tend to devour books set in a historic time period.

I recently read a work of Christian historical fiction that I truly enjoyed: Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen. I ordered it because I really liked Klassen's other book, The Apothecary's Daughter, but because the cover blurb is fairly vague about the book's contents (and I didn't read any reviews of it first), I didn't really know what Lady of Milkweed Manor was about until I started reading. I was immediately hooked, and stayed up late to finish the book on the same day I started reading it.

Here's what the back cover blurb says:

Even a proper vicar's daughter can make a mistake... and now Charlotte Lamb must pay a high price for her fall. To avoid the prying eyes of all who know her, she hides herself away in London's forbidding "Milkweed Manor," a place of mystery and lore, of old secrets and new birth.

But once there, she comes face-to-face with a suitor from her past--a man who now hides secrets of his own. Both are determined, with God's help, to protect those they love. But neither can imagine the depth of sacrifice that will be required.

Sprinkled with fascinating details about the lives of women in Regency England, Lady of Milkweed Manor is a moving romantic drama about the redemption of past failings and the beauty of sacrificial love.

**If you want to start the book not really having a clue what it was about like I did, stop reading now.**

This book portrays Regency England in a very different way than I am used to. Charlotte's family turned their backs on her because she was pregnant out of wedlock. She leaves home and takes refuge at a lying-in hospital for unwed mothers. The world portrayed at this hospital, the attached foundling ward, and the livelihood of wet nurses in this period was intriguing. I was also fascinated by the information on the treatment of depression and neurosis during pregnancy during this time period (the treatment was, not surprisingly, very limited).

Even though this book is set in Regency England, the experiences and fears of the women in the book were easy to relate to. As a mother, I could identify with the fears of pregnancy, the emotions nursing a child brings, and the joys and fears of parenthood. Thankfully I have never experienced the more heartwrenching aspects of the story--the loneliness, the losses, the destitution, and the sacrifices.

This story was moving and kept me turning the page, wanting to know what would happen next. Would Charlotte get married? Would she be reunited with her son? Who would she marry? Would her family ever forgive her and accept her back? What would happen to her?

The faith aspect of the novel is very subtle. Charlotte's father is a vicar, but seems unable to get past her mistake and the social embarrassment and scandal it will bring to forgive her. The most visible reference to faith comes at the end, when Charlotte finds herself counting her blessings and thanking God for helping her transform her past pain and sacrifices into something beautiful.

This book was wonderful. It is easy to see why it was a finalist for a Christy Award. This is yet another book by Julie Klassen that will reside on my keeper shelf, and I am eagerly awaiting the release of her next book.

(Lady of Milkweed Manor (2007) is Julie Klassen's first novel. She has since written The Apothecary's Daughter (2009) and has a third book coming out in January of 2010, The Silent Governess.)

Book Details:

Julie Klassen. Lady of Milkweed Manor. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2007. 411 pp. $13.99, ISBN 978-0-7642-0479-1.

Until next week, many blessings to you and yours!

Katy

Sometimes an idiot holds my life

When I turned myself over to God I took my life out of the hands of an idiot.

AMEN! Doesn't that just speak to you? It does to me. There have been so many times when I insist on holding my life in my hands just to end up in horror of the huge mess I made. Then I have turn to Jesus with an ashamed, sadden heart and a 'sorry' on my lips. Why not turn it all over to him before, instead of handing him the aftermath? Thank you Jesus for picking up those messes and mending them. Your grace is amazingly abundant!

Problems at work you are trying to control? STOP. Turn yourself over to him. Problems in the family you are trying to control? STOP. Turn yourself over to him. Problems at church, with friends, with relatives, with neighbors, with yourself??? STOP... I say this lovingly from one idiot to another, Stop and turn yourself over to God!

Harvest Blessings Pattern Free

Isnt this cute?! Size this and print it to use to adorn a pillow, quilt squares, shirt and just about anything else. When you are done email me the pics at heyrachiekae@gmail.com I would love to post them!! Happy crafting!

Daily Schedule

If you are anything like me, you function at a much more productive level if a schedule is involved in your day. Without out one, I would lay on the couch and eat Dove Chocolates all day! But with a schedule, I am one lean, mean, child care machine! OK, maybe not lean, but I like to think one day I will be!

Before I started doing child care in our home I really didn't need a schedule. There wasn't a problem getting through my day with the basic snack, diaper changing, meal and bedtime schedule. Now my days are filled with preschool lessons, structured activities, story time and all the extra fun I can fit in.

This is a modified version of the schedule that I use to keep all the little blessings focused and busy throughout the day. I hope its something you can use!

Daily Schedule