The BEST Muffins ~ Ever!

According to Little Man these are the best muffins I have ever made, which says a lot because he loves everything that I bake!  I had some bananas that were past their prime, some pumpkin in the fridge and the desire to bake something yummy!

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

1/2 c canned pumpkin
1/2 c mashed bananas
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c milk
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 egg
1 3/4 c flour
2 t baking powder
1 t pumpkin pie spice
1/2 t salt
Topping:
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c chopped nuts or oats
1/2 t pumpkin pie spice

Mix pumpkin, banana, sugar, milk, oil and egg until well blended. Combine flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt and add to wet mixture. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Top each with 1 tablespoon of the topping. Bake @ 375 for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins.

Notes from my kitchen:
I doubled the recipe, except for the topping because it seemed like a  lot of topping!  I used pecans, which were delicious, but will try with oats next time to compare.  They were done in exactly 20 minutes.

Music Monday ~ Thank you

Happy Music Monday!
I am a bit off schedule, I know, but I couldn't let today go by without sharing another of my favorite songs.  This Thursday in homes across America, and even some in Canada {wink}Thanksgiving will be celebrated and people will pause to give thanks.  I wish this would be the daily focus instead of yearly.  Besides the yummy turkey and pumpkin pie that you will most likely enjoy in a few days, I wonder what are you thankful for today?

(Lalalalalala)
Mary Mary (thank you)
When I look back over my life (thank you)
And all the times you brought me through (thank you)
I just wanna say Father, thank you

When I was lonely, and needed some one to hold me
You were beside me, when my nights were cold and lonely
You never let me down when no one else could be found I
Always count on you to see me through, I'm telling you that,
You are the reason, I'm alive and I'm still breathing
For me you gave your life and now my life it has no meaning
When I think about your grace, and I finally see your face
There's one thing I need to say, wanna say, yeah

CHORUS: Thank you Lord for loving me
Thank you Lord for keeping me
Thank you Lord for that day you came and broke the chains and set me free
Thank you for another chance, you gave me joy now I can dance All the people open up your mouth and let me here you say thank you (thank you) thank you (thank you)
Thank you lord for one more day, you made the raindrops go away
Thank you 'cause my pain is gone, I know it came to make me strong
Thank you for another chance, you gave me joy now I can dance All the people open up your mouth and let me here you say thank you (thank you) thank you (thank you)

(La) thank you (la la) thank you (la la) is he worth it? (la la la)

When I was lonely, and I needed some one to hold me
You were beside me, when my nights were cold and lonely
You never let me down when [no one else] no one else could be found I
Always count on you to see me through, I'm telling you that,
You are the reason, Jesus, I'm alive and breathing [alleluia]
For me you gave your life and now my life it has no meaning [listen]
Because of your grace (grace), I can see your face
Now I to do, there's just one thing I wanna say, gotta say, [sing it with me] yeah
CHORUS
 Listen y'all
For a brand new day I wanna (thank you)
For makin' a way out of nowhere lord, I (thank you)
For my health and strength Lord I (thank you)
For helping me to pay the rent I wanna (thank you)
For my wife and kids Lord I (thank you)
Yo, for everything you did I wanna (thank you)
Whatcha laughing at? Everybody sing... Come on

CHORUS

Thank you Lord for loving me
Thank you Lord for keeping me [this song is dedicated to everybody]
Thank you Lord for that day you came and broke the chains and set me free [who's made mistakes in their life, and you felt like you blew it]
Thank you for another chance [but by the grace of God...], you gave me joy now I can dance [you got another chance]
All the people open up your mouth and let me here you say thank you (thank you) thank you

If you enjoy this song you may want to listen to the song I shared last year as well.

Thank you for joining me for Music Monday, if you would like to link up please take a moment to read the guidelines I have posted here and grab the button from my sidebar, if you so choose.Until next time, (December 6th to be exact!!) when I will be sharing a few of my favorite Christmas songs, I hope you take a moment each day to enjoy the music.  Have a blessed day!

My First Attempt at Home Made Biscuits

It is time to come clean...I have never made biscuits form scratch.  

With all the dry mixes and pre-made ones available in the USA, I have never felt the desire or wanted to go through the trouble.  Today all that changed.  I made chilli for the first time since moving back to Calgary, and for the life of me could not find any version of biscuits in the stores I frequented this week.  So I took the plunge and tried biscuits from scratch, my only regret is that I don't have a picture for you!!  I used a recipe for Frozen Butter Biscuits from The Best of Chef at Home cookbook.  Michael Smith is the only Canadian chef I enjoy learning from, he encourages you to try new things and to make recipes your own.  So that is what I did today.  I mixed up these biscuits, added some garlic powder and shredded parmesan cheese, cut into rounds, and baked up the best batch of biscuits my family and I have ever enjoyed.  I will be keeping cups of  frozen butter on hand just for this recipe!

Frozen Butter Biscuits

4 c of all-purpose flour
2 T baking powder
2 t salt
1 c frozen butter
1 1/2 c milk
A sprinkle or two of salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together until they’re evenly mixed. Grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Shred it through the large holes of a box grater or potato grater directly into the flour. Toss gently with your fingers until the butter shards are spread evenly throughout the flour.

Pour the milk into the flour mixture and stir with an upside down wooden spoon to form a dough mass. The handle of the spoon is gentler on the dough. Fold the dough over a few times with your hands until all the ingredients come together. If necessary add a few spoonfuls more milk to help gather up any stray flour. This kneading will strengthen the dough a bit but not enough to toughen the biscuits. It will also help them form a crisp crust when they bake.

Pat the dough out on a lightly floured cutting board forming a loose round shape. Cut into wedges – like a pie - or any other shape you’re in the mood for. Position on a baking sheet; sprinkle on a bit of coarse salt and coarsely ground pepper. Bake for fifteen minutes or so. You’ll know they’re done when they turn golden brown.

Our Homeschool Story

It was the spring of 2008, our family was planning a move from Minnesota to Utah and Sunshine (9 years old) was not happy to be leaving her 'besties'.  Somehow the idea of homeschooling was brought up, and as I write this we still can't agree on who initiated the suggestion.

Fast forward to the summer, homeschooing conversation long forgotten, we took our daughters, Sunshine and Angel (7 years old) to the local public school to register for the new year.   I am not sue if it was the people or the environment, or simply the fact that it wasn't their old school, but they were not too thrilled with the idea of going to school there. "We can still homeschool, can't we?", they asked.  Um, okay!

What does any parent brainwashed by public education do at this point?   We enrolled them in a local charter school with the K12 program!  Little Man, then 13, started middle school just up the road and I started K12ing with our girls.  He came home the first day of school asking to be homeschooled as well, he shared that the environment was not something he wanted to be around, typical middle school: talk of drugs and girls & boys, texting and bad attitudes, so why not give homeschooling a try?  I think he just missed us!  {wink}  We agreed and brought him home as well.

So now the four of us spent countless hours working through the K12 curriculum, which I had come to detest and question as to its purpose in my children's lives.  Fortunately, we were blessed to be working with a facilitator who encouraged me to explore my children's learning styles and what I felt was most important for them to be learning.  I began reading and researching and the Lord starting impressing upon my heart what was best for our family. At least they were removed from the atmosphere, pressures and conformity of public school, or so we thought. 

To be continued...

Music Monday ~ Devotion

Happy Music Monday!
Or maybe I should change the name to Monthly Music or Music of the Month?
On a more serious note, today my baby girl will be celebrating her 10th birthday - double digits! There is something about your youngest reaching this day that can make you feel old, sad, reflective, wistful for days gone by.  Actually all my babies have celebrated their birthdays this fall already, so it is has been busy around here.  I have been thinking about how devoted I am to my children and husband, and in all honesty, to some things that I shouldn't be so attached to.  I have been thinking about how I need to be more devoted to my Lord.  I will not ramble on about my feelings on this now (no need to hijack this post!) but I hope you enjoy this song by Newsboys - "Devotion", it is another one of my many favorites!

All my world
All I've lost
The wrecks I've made here
The lives it cost
Your hand restores
Your works make whole
With all my soul
I thank You
I owe You
All my...

Devotion
All that I have to give
Here's my devotion
You're all that it means to live

All my past
My tainted main
You stole its legacy
Of pride and shame
You're all I love
You're all I fear
I'm drawing near
To face You
To know You
To show You...

Devotion
All that I have to give
Here's my devotion
You're all that it means to live

You found me
In a shallow grave
You tracked me out from beneath it all
You healed me
Saved me
In the nick of time
Your perfect time
You found me (found me)
In a shallow grave (in a shallow grave)
You called me out from beneath it all
You touched me (touched me)
Saved me (saved me)
In the nick of time
In Your perfect time

I devote all I have to You
I devote all that You've made new
All You restored that day You bled
All that You brought back from the dead
All...

Devotion (You're all...)
You're all that I have to give
You're all that it means to live
Here's my devotion, my devotion
All that it means to live (You're all that means to live)

My Lord
My devotion

Thank you for joining me for Music Monday, if you would like to link up please take a moment to read the guidelines I have posted here and grab the button from my sidebar.Until next time, (December 6th to be exact!!) I hope you take a moment each day to enjoy the music.  Have a blessed day!