Pumpkin Spice Poppers

Pumpkin Spice Poppers ... is it FALL yet??!!

Allspice Recipe - I don't keep the actual spice on hand so you'll need to make it or purchase if it that is your preference. Here is a recipe for a small portion.

To make Allspice, you will need cinnamon, ground cloves and nutmeg. Most recipes will tell you to use equal amounts of each but I think the cloves give a little "too much" spice so I use 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves. Mix these together thoroughly.

Pumpkin Spice Poppers

Dry Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup All-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice (recipe above) or use can use actual allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 brown sugar

Wet Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup of pure canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup milk (I used 2% milk)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat with spray one mini muffin tin sheet.

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until ingredients are combined.

Divide batter among muffin cups - my recipe made 24 mini muffins. Bake at 350°F for 12 - 15 minutes.

As "donuts" are baking, you will need to make the coating. 

Coating ingredients:
1 stick of butter
1 cup of white sugar
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon

Melt butter in one bowl. Mix sugar and cinnamon mixture in another bowl.

Remove muffins from oven. Let cool - take them out of the pan and just put on clean counter or wax paper. Dip muffins in butter and then roll in sugar mixture to coat.

Voila! You have Pumpkin Spice Poppers ... just like Donut Holes and sooo yummy!

Country FarmHouse Blessings,

~*~ Lori ~*~
♥ Purdy Mama ♥

This recipe was adapted from a recipe found at Tasty Kitchen

Confessions ...

I have a confession to make....

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 (NIV)

I have found that as I grow closer in my walk with God, my heart desires have changed. As a young Christian or maybe as someone who is just starting to read the Word, you might think this verse gives you everything YOU desire. But the truth is, as we grow closer to God, our desires change. 

I remember a few years back, probably 4 or 5 years, to be successful in business meant an appearance on the Oprah show or a "first class" boutique in the fanciest mall. Then it changed to maybe just a small store in a nice mall AND an appearance on the Oprah show. Now?? Oprah might be the "it" thing but not for me! And as far as the mall or anything like that, not anymore. I would like to have my shoppe right on my own land - a place where family and friends (old friends and the new ones that I haven't met yet) could gather for coffee, maybe a muffin or other baked good, and shoppe 'til they drop (or I run out of my handmade products to sell). 

I no longer have that desire to sell "the next fabulous product"; my desire has become make products that have meaning, that will last from generation to generation and also sell what we grow - veggies, fruit, flowers and even trees (if God leads me to plant Christmas trees). It's not about how much money can I make, it's about ... what can I sell that will bless others - show someone else how much they care. It's about "that one product" that says "I have to have this" because I love you or because it's unique (one of a kind) or "just because". 

Desires of the heart are a shaping and molding of what Christ wants for us, not what we want FROM Him. It's a transformation from worldly wants and needs to God-given wants and needs - a heartfelt satisfaction that comes from walking close to our Lord. It a true heart-changing experience and one that fills us with joy. Today, I am joy-filled. Are you?

Country FarmHouse Blessings,

~*~ Lori ~*~
♥ Purdy Mama ♥ 

The Office ReModel

I didn't get to post on Friday and I apologize. I really wanted to, but God had BIGger plans. On Friday, making a GRAND Entrance into the world, our 7th grandchild arrived. What a Beautiful Blessing ....

I was going to post more about our Office ReModel on Friday ... Remember when we started (click here), there was a ton of junk (toys, etc) just all over the place. We finished cleaning it out and hubby had decided to redo the hardwood floors. This project ended up taking some major time and labor, as well. Not an easy task but well worth the outcome.

Here are the BEFORE photos:

 

The floor was not in very good shape. We also taped all the outlets and heat vent ... Less mess that way. Here's a few more BEFORE:

 

Getting the sander ready to go ....












Making Progress ...

Stay tuned .... until next time!!

Country FarmHouse Blessings,
~*~ Lori ~*~
♥ Purdy Mama ♥

When it becomes TOO MUCH ...

When is ENOUGH, really ENOUGH??!!

When they kept on questioning him (Jesus), he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7 (NIV) * And it also states that GOD FORGIVES. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NIV)

STAND FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN ... even if it means STANDING ALONE!!

By now, most of you have heard that the mayor of Boston wants to boycott Chick-fil-A. And according to more recent news, so does the mayor of Chicago. Why?? Because according to these mayors, a statement made by the CEO of Chick-fil-A, Dan Cathy, claims to be anti-gay. WHAT??

This is the actual statement made by Mr. Cathy, "We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that."

I don't personally see anywhere in this statement that says "anti-gay". He simply states that he BELIEVES in a biblical definition of family. SIMPLE.

STOP READING BETWEEN the LINES ... Read the actual statement, not what some other person has decided was said. If you don't like cigarette smoke, does that mean you don't like people who do smoke?

Who is really passing JUDGEMENT here - Chick-fil-A or the other people? I know a lot of family-owned businesses ... are we going to boycott them all? The last time I read the newspaper or any statistics, we NEED jobs. We NEED business. Chick-fil-A is simply in the chicken business. They aren't asking you to support their views. They're simply expressing their right to "freedom of speech".

What ever happened to the FIRST AMENDMENT?? FREEDOM of SPEECH?? Did we forget about the CONSTITUTION of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA?? What's next?

Maybe I don't really want to know .... 

Country FarmHouse Blessings,
~*~ Lori ~*~
♥ Purdy Mama ♥

Homemade Marinara Sauce

It is TOO HOT to cook!! ... an understatement at the very least. Summer and the HOT weather is here to stay (at least I think so)...

GOOD NEWS .... Country FarmHouse Homemade Marinara Sauce can be made in the crockpot ... just add noodles, a green vegetable or tossed salad and a loaf of (store-bought) French Bread.

BETTER NEWS ... Our Country FarmHouse Homemade Marinara Sauce makes such a big batch, you should have plenty leftover to freeze for another meal (or maybe even two ♥).

Country FarmHouse Homemade Marinara Sauce
Ingredients

1 large Onion, chopped
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
10 Garlic Cloves, minced or use the minced garlic in a jar (tastes just as good)
2 cans (28 ounces each) Crushed Tomatoes
4 cans (15 ounces each) Tomato Sauce
1 can (6 ounces) Tomato Paste
1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup minced Fresh Barley
1/4 cup minced Fresh Basil
1 tablespoon minced Fresh Oregano
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning

Saute onion in oil under tender. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer.

In a crockpot, put crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, parmesan cheese, all the herbs and Italian seasoning. Add onion and garlic mixture. Stir.

Cook on a low crockpot setting for about 2 1/2 - 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Serve warm over hot cooked spaghetti noodles.

Cool remaining sauce; transfer to freezer containers. Freeze up to 3 months. We also use this in our homemade mostaccioli.

This Country FarmHouse Recipe isn't just for summer, it is good anytime you have a "pasta" craving.

Country FarmHouse Blessings,

~*~ Lori ~*~

♥ Purdy Mama ♥

****I am going to be honest here and say that I cook "old school". As far as spices go, I tend to cook by taste so these ingredients are more of a guideline. Also, you can also substitute dried, but I would use less of each when using the dried herbs.

Short and Sweet ....

Tonight while making cupcakes, I remembered that I wanted to share a tip with all of you. Not a recipe but a small, helpful tip. When I make cupcakes, after mixing all the ingredients in a large bowl, I pour the batter in a measuring cup. Depending the amount of batter, I use either a 4 cup size or a larger "pancake" batter size.

As you can see in the picture, it makes a lot mess than trying to use a spoon or pouring from the bowl directly into the muffin tins. Hope this is helpful and you are welcome to pass it along.

Country FarmHouse Blessings,

~*~ Lori ~*~
♥ Purdy Mama ♥

Little Yellow Butterfly

Almost all of us have suffered a loss ... the loss of a loved one. While I had suffered many losses in the past, they weren't really my losses but my husband's - his dad, his aunt, his ... family members. So yes, while I was touched by the losses, I don't think I ever truly understood them

UNTIL we lost our youngest son. Then the loss truly became MY LOSS too. And when the loss of a loved one becomes your loss, you learn to really look at life in a different way.

I'm going to be honest and tell you right now that I wasn't one, even in my childhood, to collect butterflies or really enjoy them to the fullest. Yes, living in the country, we always had countless butterflies fluttering around but I don't think I really paid attention to them as I know some people do. I do remember telling my children, when they saw a butterfly, that it was their papa visiting from his heavenly home but that was really the extent of my butterfly story .... until now ....

After our youngest son's death, I learned to fully appreciate the "little" things in life. The birds singing, the flowers blooming, the leaves changing colors and on and on I could list all the little blessings in my life. But I'm only going to talk about one of those blessings today - my little yellow butterfly. Last year, after I planted my garden (which didn't really bear a whole lot of harvest), my youngest son and I sat on our swing and talked. We talked about many things, but one of the things, we talked about was the garden. He wanted to help with it and maybe we should make plans for a bigger garden ... I should add more plants - pumpkins, watermelon, sweet corn and so on. Unfortunately the garden planted last summer didn't give us very many harvest blessings .... Mike passed away in October (2011) and honestly, planting a garden (in spring 2012) was the farthest thing from my mind at that time.

Spring rolled around and I decided to move the garden, hoping that maybe I would get at least a tiny bit of harvest ... :0) Of course, I planted the "usual" seeds - tomatoes and green peppers along with some cucumbers (that literally died last year and never came to harvest), zucchini, radishes, a few others. In honor of my youngest son and our talked, I also planted PUMPKINS. No, Mike won't be able to enjoy our harvest of pumpkins, if we have one, but I thought that maybe if the pumpkins did grow, all the grandkids and Maddie would be able to enjoy them and I could tell the story of why they were planted in the first place.

This garden has become "my place" to talk to God, listen to God and think about all the beautiful memories made with my youngest son. I, sometimes, spend a lot of time in my garden - weeding, watering, looking for new harvest, etc.

AND here's where that Little Yellow Butterfly comes into the story ... I have a visitor to my garden - a little yellow butterfly. On most days, my little visitor flutters around my garden, following me. I have decided that it's my gift from God - my little yellow butterfly is Mike's presence, letting me know that he's okay and in God's hands now. On the days when I am missing my youngest son the most and feeling sad, I can almost always be guaranteed to see my Little Yellow Butterfly and NOT just in my garden ...

Why do I saw ALMOST always?? Because sometimes, I think we (including me) forget to look for ALL the BLESSINGS around us - given to us by our Heavenly Father. And it's on those days, that my little yellow butterfly probably visits me ... I just haven't noticed.

Of course, I am posting this story to my blog because I have a few more stories to share about my Little Yellow Butterfly ... but for now, I just wanted to give you the beginning of my story so that when I mention my Little Yellow Butterfly, you'll understand just how much "he" means to me ♥ ♥ ♥


Country FarmHouse Blessings,
~*~ Lori ~*~
♥ Purdy Mama ♥