Hi!  If you subscribe here you know it's been a while since I posted on this blog.  I have really only had time to blog on one site and since I wrote the cookbook I have been trying to generate traffic on that site.  I just had the 2nd edition printed. 

All that to say that even though I love the Gluten Free cooking blog and enjoy sharing my culinary feats there.  I don't share a ton of personal stuff.  I have shared more since I haven't had time to blog on this one.   I just sat down at my kitchen table and looked out my window into my backyard that is bursting with Spring and thought about how thankful I am.  Birds are chirping, squirrels are eating out of the bird feeders, flowers are in the planters, herbs are growing, seeds are started, a breeze is rippling through the trees, the sun is just beginning to descend for the day and the sky is a very light blue and I am thankful.  Circumstances change and are crazy, life is full of ups and downs, nothing in life stays the same....but, God never changes, He is never up or down, He is always the same - yesterday, today and forever.  So, I give thanks in all things, all the beauty of Creation, all the circumstances, all the crazy, all the ups/downs because God is good.

If you didn't know, Fred just had total knee replacement surgery, his other knee.  He had the first one done in July 2012.  It took this long for him to recover.  Typically it doesn't take that long but his Rhuematoid Arthritis it makes it harder and longer for recovery.  This knee was in better condition and not as bad off as the first.  Physical Therapy started and his therapist is very sensitive to his RA and the need to take things slowly.

The kids and are I doing fine.  The last week and a half have been a bit stressful, but we're hanging in there.  My ladies Home Group blessed us with two restaurant gift cards for which I am very thankful. 

If you want to hear from me more often you can subscribe to my other blog or email me!  I will try to start blogging on here a little more regularly.  I will shoot for once a month and be thrilled if I accomplish that and estatic if I do more!  As always, I would love to hear from you and how you're doing.

We are really enjoying our new home.  It's been a whirlwind since we moved in.  We had a good summer and are well into our school year now.  I have Kady officially "on the  record" now for homeschooling.  Wyatt and Dalton are tagging along.

Fred is still recovering from a total knee replacement.  The surgery went well and the doctor is pleased with his recovery.  He is able to walk some with the walker, but still has a lot of pain with the RA in his body.  The recovery has been very difficult for all of us.

Bible Study Fellowship starts up next week for Marshall and me.  We will be studying Genesis this year.

I went today to a consignment sale, it is huge, they have it twice a year and I got great deals - for around $60 I got:
3 pair of jeans
3 pairs of tennis shoes
7 t-shirts
2 shirts for me
1 button up shirt
1 long sleeved thermal shirt
5 long sleeved shirts
5 pair of pajamas

It averaged out to about $2.22 per item.  WooHoo!

I also have finished writing my cookbook- 101 Gluten Free Recipes - it goes to print very soon.  I am so excited to have accomplished this.

Summer time, is time for grilling!!  I love to grill out and I just got a grill from my niece for $5. Since it wasn't working we thought it was going to be a $100 fix! Yikes!  But, thankfully we found the part for $12 shipped on Amazon.  Yay!  I will be looking for ideas for cooking entire meals on the grill, so as not to heat up the kitchen, but also to enjoy food from the grill, it's so tasty.  I would love to hear your favorite thing to cook on the grill, recipe for said favorite is a bonus. 

We are really enjoying our new home and yard.  I've finally got some garden started.  Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Carrots, Lettuce, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Cantaloupe and  tons of herbs.


Menu for the week

Monday:
Roast Caribbean Chicken
Sweet Potatoes
 I am going to try to do this on the grill.  I'm thinking of butterflying the chicken so it will cook quicker on the grill.  Not 100% about this yet, I found a site that says cooking it under a brick will cook it on the grill in an even and quicker manner, so I'm going to try this, we'll see what happens.
Tuesday:
Pasta Carbonara
Salad

Wednesday:
Tamale Pie
Tortilla chips

Thursday:
Pineapple Rum Chicken
Coconut Rice
Veggies

Friday:
Meatloaf
Baked Potatoes
Veggies

Saturday:
Grilled Sesame Soy Chicken
Rice
Veggies

Sunday:
Southwest White Chili

May has flown by in a flurry of activity and impending Summer.  We are getting settled in at our new home, though still not completely unpacked and still have some stuff at my mom's to get.  I'm slowly getting through the boxes, arranging and rearranging.  Hanging pictures.  Seeing items that I haven't seen in years, as they've been stored. 

I've been trying out some no bake cookie recipes.  I think I've found a couple winners.  One with oats and one without.  Super excited about this with the temperatures going into the 90°s.  I will try to post one of them this week. 

Hopefully will be having some menus for the grill soon.  We have a grill we're getting for $5, we just have to get it over here.  We were blessed with a FULL tank of propane for the grill!  So thankful for this and looking forward to cooking on the grill and out of the kitchen which heats up the house.  The grill and the crockpot.....I need to move toward these more to keep things cool in the house.

Menu for the week:

Monday:
Spaghetti with meat sauce

Tuesday:
Salmon Patties
Potatoes
Veggie

Wednesday:
Beef & Cornbread Skillet

Thursday:
Roast Chicken and Veggies

Friday:
Bean & Cheese Enchilada

Saturday:
Rice Bake

Sunday:
Chicken Soup (I changed my menu a bit this past week and didn't make this)

Wow!!  Time flies when you're having fun.....well, even when you're not, it tends to fly then too.....

I have been working on the cookbook....I'm ready for editing and then to print.  I'm sure there will be some tweaking to do, but I'm very excited.

We also moved in this last month and have been super busy with packing and unpacking, organizing, eliminating excess and then just keeping up with the every days of life.  God blessed us with being able to have our own home again, it was a miracle really.  We are so thankful for my mom and grandma and the time we had with them.  I'm forever amazed at God's goodness and faithfulness and the blessings that He pours out upon us.


Monday:
Lasagna

Tuesday:
Coconut Curry Chicken
Coconut Rice
Steamed Carrots

Wednesday:
Melissa Makes Robyn's Meatloaf
Baked Potatoes
Corn on the Cob

Thursday:
Roast Beef
Potatoes
Carrots

Friday:
Salmon Patties
Not sure what I'll serve with these

Saturday:
Beefy Noodles

Sunday:
Chicken & Vegetable Soup

We are doing fairly well on the yeast cleanse.  Still haven't eaten sugar or yeast. This has been very trying, but I have seen some good results, health-wise.  Our last day is Saturday.

Monday:
GF Spaghetti and Meatballs with homemade Marina Sauce (I'll post this recipe later this week)

Tuesday:
Venison Roast
Carrots
Something green - salad, green beans???

Wednesday:
Chicken Italiano Pasta

Thursday:
Teriyaki "Beef" with leftover venison (I will use Tamari in place of the soy sauce)
Brown Rice
Veggies

Friday:
Coconut Curry Chicken
Coconut Rice
Veggies

Saturday:
????  not sure yet

Some other great snacks we've enjoyed:

Homemade guacamole - I had never made it prior to this.
Celery with nut butter - it's amazing what your kids will try when they want to eat and you're not offering much.
Hummus with veggies - Dalton was asking for this today - can I have peppers and hummus?  Why yes you can!
I made homemade yogurt and we've used it for sour cream - once so far. 
I also made GF oatmeal with a few berries for breakfast today

This year has been a whirlwind!  Wow!  I can't believe how long since my last post.

My grandma was sick and in the hospital for about 3 1/2 weeks.  That was a very hard time for all of us.  She is now back home with us and doing so much better than we expected she would do.  During her time in the hospital we had sickness running through the household, that I thought was never going to end!

We have been doing a Anti Candida Diet this will begin our second week.  I can't believe how many different opinions there are on what's "allowed" and what's not.  I have combined many of the plans I've looked at and come up with what I felt is doable for our family.  Why are we doing this?  Well, we have some ongoing health issues as well as a habit of consuming large amounts of sugar.......sadly.  I'm hoping that through this we will have broken the cycle of sugar abuse and maybe helped our health improve through this and also hoping that we won't fall back into the rut we were in before, though I know it will be hard, but that is my desire.

Menu for the week:

Monday:
Venison Tenderloin
Mashed "Potatoes" (which is really cauliflower)
Salad
Tuesday:
Roast Chicken
Carrots, Parsnips & Onions
Wednesday:
Lasagna (Now this will be controversial with most people and ACD but, I've read a few different places about dairy and cheese and they say that it is the lactose that feeds the yeast and that if you eat it hot and melted it will be fine. So, I have decided to have one meal per week with cheese. Ricotta,  it is said that when it is cultured it eats the lactose so is also safe.)
Thursday:
Modified Rice Bake
Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday:
Lentil Soup

I have a few gaps still but I'll wing it or fill it in during the week before I get there. 

For breakfast we have been having eggs. 

I have made homemade ketchup and mayo.  I made pecan butter and hummus.
For bread substitute I have made coconut pancakes and will be attempting some buckwheat biscuits.

For snacks we have had raw veggies and hummus.  Brown rice cakes and nut butter.  Celery with nut butter.  Snapea Crisps, these are manufactured in a facility that manufactures wheat and a few other allergens, so beware, we haven't had an issue.  Green Apple and nut butter.

I hope your year is off to a great start.  Getting back into the groove after Christmas has been challenging.  I'm hanging in there and hoping to find my groove soon. 

I have been very good with my menu planning, I know I haven't posted them regularly but I have been doing it.  I also have the rest of the month done which is a huge help.






Monday:
Spaghetti (I found some GF pasta on sale at Kroger for $2) & Meatballs (homemade and frozen)
I will use bottled pasta sauce - Prego is GF.
Salad


Tuesday:
Sloppy Joes
I will make buns of some kind
Chips

Wednesday:
Santa Fe Chicken
Tortilla Chips

Thursday:
Meatloaf & Potato Pile-up - I will base this off this recipe I saw in Everyday with Rachael Ray.  I will use my own recipe for meatloaf and go from there.

Friday:
Chicken Enchilada Bake

Saturday:
Chicken Sausages
Oven Roasted Veggies

Sunday:
Taco Soup

The last few weeks have been super crazy.  My grandma had a heart attack, which was a very scary and trying time.  She had a major blockage, with no prior heart issues at all!  They did a heart cath, balloon and stint and spent several days in the hospital.  Thankfully, she is at home and recovering fairly well, according to the doctor.  I think all of us here at home are wondering.

The weather here has been INSANE.......using the a/c one day and the heat the next!  We are teetering between fall and winter here.  The leaves are beautiful, but really falling fast with the weather we've been having, windy and cold.  I am not looking forward to a dreary, cold winter with little to no sun.  Though I am loving having a fireplace, snuggling up by a nice, warm, crackling fire is quite lovely.

My good friend, is moving the first of the year and I am very sad about this.  God brought us together through sad circumstance, but grew our friendship over this last year and I am so thankful for her and will miss her so much.  Thinking about this and how quickly these next several weeks will go.

Another situation has really had me contemplating my spiritual walk and how I really want to be careful that I don't grow too comfortable in my walk that I think that I could never fall away from my faith or take up a belief that is so far outside the realm of what I believe and hold to as the Truth of God's Word.  It's only by His grace and mercy that I'm in the place that I'm in.

On to practical, every dayness - I've been faithful to my menu planning, though not so faithful to blogging.  Time is always running away from me and I can't seem to fit in all I need to do, let alone some of the things I'd like to do.  I have my menu planned for the rest of November and starting on December.  Though things have changed a few times.  My brother's freezer went out and we ended up being blessed with some unexpected food to cook, which was very nice.  So here's my menu for the next couple of weeks:

Saturday:
Pineapple Coconut Shrimp
Coconut Rice
Asian Veggies

Sunday:
Tacos

Monday:
Apple Cider Glazed Chicken
Rice
Veggie

Tuesday:
Baked Pasta

Wednesday:
Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Thanksgiving Day:
Turkey
Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Apple Cider Glazed Green Bans
Deviled Eggs
7up Salad
Cranberry Sauce
Dressing
Pumpkin Roll
Chess Pie
Pumpkin Pie

Friday:
Leftovers

Saturday:
Turkey Tetrazinni

Sunday:
Tortilla Soup

Monday:
Tamale Pie

Tuesday:
Meatloaf
Mashed Potatoes
Veggie

Wednesday:
Chilaquiles
Rice
Beans

Thursday:
Beefy Noodles
Peas

Friday:
Bean & Cheese Enchilada

I am dragging today........we've been sick here, everyone except (thankfully) my grandma.  Still praying that she doesn't contract any of what any of us had.  Mostly cold stuff with some having stomach issues.  I had some serious sinus pain going on.  I am on the mend, but still very tired and a little stuffy still. 

We have been enjoying some very cool/cold weather.  We had our first fire in the fireplace this past Sunday, over which we roasted marshmallows as a super special treat, then (some) hot dogs for supper (which is not as great as it sounds, especially with three little ones clamoring to get in there and roast)  I actually let everyone roast one and then I threw the rest on the grill.  I also made s'mores for dessert.

On a side-note with the fireplace - I had no idea how much wood you actually use to keep a fire going!  Whoa!  So far we've just used free wood from fallen trees, but if I want to keep the fire going, and I do, we'll have to buy some and/or try to get free wood. 

Anyway, on to the menu.  I'm working on planning Thanksgiving and trying to get menus for the next week or two, just to keep ahead.

Monday:
Rice Bake

Tuesday:
Tamale Pie

Wednesday:
Chicken Dish - not sure yet

Thursday:
Taquitos

Friday:
Caribbean Jerk Chicken
Oven roasted sweet potatoes

Saturday:
Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Sunday:
Sausage and Lentils based on this recipe