Tuesday's Food: Homemade Biscuits Like Grandma Made

I've been on another bread-making kick lately. And I love it! I really, really do. And recently I found a recipe for biscuits that I'm putting in my list of must haves. My oldest son said they tasted just like Cracker Barrel biscuits, and I'll tell you, they really do. And the best thing about these biscuits (besides the taste, obviously) is you can freeze the biscuits to pull out on those mornings you are in a pinch or for those family meals when you forgot to pick up bread at the store.

The only thing I found frustrating about the website I got it from was there were no pictures. I don't blame her. There have been times I have gotten so excited about a meal that I forgot to take a picture. And these biscuits are worthy of that little forgetfulness. I just can't "Pin" this recipe on Pinterest without a pic. So, I will do it for you!

ALL CREDIT FOR THIS RECIPE GOES TO Granny's Kitchen.

Granny's Homemade Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup butter (plus 1 Tbsp butter, melted...my addition to the recipe) 
3/4 cup milk

Combine all dry ingredients and blend well with a whisk. Cut in butter until resembles coarse bread crumbs. Stir in milk until all comes together to form a dough ball. Turn out dough ball onto a heavily floured surface. She uses wax paper. Let set for a couple of minutes and then knead for about a minute and then re-flour surface and pat out to about 1/2" thick. Cut biscuits with floured biscuit cutter and placed into ungreased baking pan. Form remaining dough into ball and repeat until all dough is made into biscuits. Bake in 425-450  degree oven for 12-15 minutes. My addition: when the biscuits are done, pull out of the oven and brush lightly with melted butter. 

This recipe will make approximately 12 biscuits. It will freeze well, too. Just place your cut biscuits onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper (I used a floured cookie sheet, and it worked fine for me) and place cookie sheet into the freezer making sure to keep level. Once frozen, remove and place into a freezer bag and place into the freezer. When ready to use, just follow baking directions and bake only the amount you need. You do not have to bake them all at one time.

And that's exactly what I did this morning! I pulled out one for me, baked it in my toaster oven. PERFECT! You MUST try this recipe. Make these before a big holiday so all you have to do on that day is pull them out and bake. For real, this is awesome! :)

Happy baking, everyone!

Here's my single serving biscuit with my coffee. Notice I labeled the bag with the baking directions. 

Monday's Devotion: You are a Treasure

"For you are a holy people to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession." Deut. 7:6


A little over 3 years ago, I reached the heaviest I have ever been. Granted, I was about to have my third and final baby (in 3 1/2 years), but my focus was on those horrible numbers on the scale. I worked out my entire pregnancy, but still managed to hit a weight I had always sworn I would never get to. In the hours after having my baby, I was in my hospital room doing chair lifts and little crunches so I could quickly lose that baby weight. After 3 years of getting in shape, working out, on average, 45 minutes a day, and eating right, I finally hit my pre-pregnancy weight THE DAY my baby turned 3 years old. For 3 years I watched as so many other mamas had babies and popped right back into place, or at least very close to it. I kept making excuses saying, "well, this is her first baby" or "she was small already", but it was when 4 other ladies had their 3rd child roughly in the same time frame I had my 3 that sent me into a self-degrading tailspin.

THEN THE LORD SENT ME ENCOURAGEMENT. Well, he had been sending me encouragement all along, but for some reason last week that encouragement hit me. So I'm going to share with you the words I wrote in my prayer journal.

Lord, you send me these little reminders to let me know how much you love me. I have such a negative view of myself physically and personally. Satan loves to dangle in front of me how much I'm not good enough. I'm not fit, or smart, or loving, or patient ENOUGH to be of any worth. And some days are worse than others. I just want to be loved and you show me how much you love me. You remind me in so many ways that I am beyond good enough for you. Thank you for those reminders. Thank you for loving me with so much passion. Fill me with your love. Run  my cup over....


What I realized in those moments of tearfully writing my prayers out to the Lord was that I was his "treasured possession." Satan sure likes to make me think that being this weight is not good enough. And as a result of thinking I'm too heavy to be loved, that leads down a dangerous road of thinking I'm not smart enough, or I'm not loving enough, or that if only I was 30 pounds lighter would I have true friends who want to be around  me. But God is so good. God is so loving. God cares. He knows  my struggles, but he also knows my worth. And to Him, I am a treasure. I am a priceless possession. I am His. And that gives me a peace that passes understanding.

Know that you, too, are also God's priceless possession. When you start putting yourself down, that is Satan's way of putting worldly thoughts between you and a God who loves you so much for who you are. There are seasons in your life when things seem horrible, but if you remember that God has a plan for you, you can find joy in what he has created in you.

Photo Credit

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Tuesday's Food: Banana Bites

So circling the Pinterest, there were tons of frozen banana treats. And lucky for me, they came just in time for Abigail's birthday party. They were the first item to be made for the party ahead of time, the easiest thing to make, and the first food to be gone from the party food. With all of that, they are also pretty good healthy snacks. I mean, who doesn't like something that tastes like chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream?

So with that being said, here's the recipe:

What You'll Need:

• 2-3 large bananas 
• melting chocolate (mmm...dark chocolate)
• fork
• plate (the flatter, the better) 
• parchment paper

Instructions: 

1. Slice the bananas into to 1/4-1/2 inch slices. 
2. Melt chocolate according to package. (I did double broiler and the microwave kind) 
3. Laying the banana on the fork, dip into chocolate until completely covered. With the chocolate covered banana still lying on the fork, gently tap the fork on the bowl or whatever you have the melted chocolate in. Lay the banana on a parchment-lined plate. 
4. Once all bananas are on the plate, freeze for a minimum of 3 hours or as much as overnight. 
5. Once completely frozen, eat or store in an air tight container and in the freezer. 

YUUUUMM! For serious, you will be happy you tried these. These are a great treat for the kids. Make them the night before and then give them as an after school snack the next day! Give them a go and let me know what you think! 

From this... 

...to this! Yum! 

Friday's Review: Professional v Homemade Birthday Party

I love throwing parties. I really, really do. And since I'm not working anymore, we are throwing parties on just Joe's paycheck now, which means I'm always looking for ways to have a great party at a decent price. I usually throw my kids' birthday parties, but the boys have had a few at a professional place. This year I decided to keep track of every expense for Abigail's birthday party to see if throwing one for her is worth every cent or if I should just let the professionals do it. If you were also wondering if it is worth it, I'll give you a run down of Abigail's party, how much it cost per person, and then compare to the average price of taking your kids to Chuck E Cheese, a painting place, or a bouncy place.

And just as a little side note, I know there are some who are in the opinion of not throwing kids a big party or a party with a lot of people. I was actually recently criticized for throwing my 3-year old such a big party. The way we Debneys look at it is everyone should feel special on his or her birthday party. Joe doesn't necessarily want a lot of people, I only want my closest friends, but the kids are all social kids who love having a lot of people. So if that is how they feel special, then we throw parties accordingly.

Planning:

I have to plan the birthday parties for my family months in advance. We are all holiday/special event babies, so if I do want to go somewhere, we have to plan in enough advance to make sure we can get what we want. If you don't know what I mean about holiday/special event babies, this is what I mean:

1. Abigail: January 19th, which is usually around MLK weekend 
2. Joe: February 5th, almost every year it's right near the Super Bowl, which works for me because he LOVES football, so we just have a Super Bowl Birthday Party for him every year. 
3. Jed: May 25th, TWO THINGS: this is usually Memorial Day weekend and near the last day of school. In fact, he was was born on the last day of school and his first year at school ends on his birthday this year. 
4. J: June 17th. It's almost always Father's Day weekend. This year his birthday is actually on Father's Day. 
5. Jana (ME!): November 17th. That is usually 1 week before Thanksgiving, right before Thanksgiving break, right around the Carolina/Clemson rival football game, and right before Black Friday. Tricky! 

So, obviously, I need to plan in advance. Every year right after Abigail's birthday, I start looking around the stores to see what they have on sale. Since her birthday is near New Year's, we decided last year that this year's party was going to be "Stars", especially since most of the plates, napkins, and decorations on sale have stars on them. Savings!!

About two months before the actual birthday, I start making a list of ideas of what to make for food and what kind of decorations. I look at what the stores have, brainstorm on a notepad, and search the internet (Thanks, Pinterest!!!) for ideas. 

One month before the party, I send out Evites. This saves us money big time. But I always ask for addresses for those who request a hard copy invitation. My grandfather always gets an actual birthday card. 

Two weeks before the party, I plan out what needs to be made and when the decorations need to be up. This year my husband had an election to conduct, so I knew that I wasn't going to be getting a lot of help from him. I needed to plan specific days that would be focused on making decorations, which foods could be made ahead and still be fresh, and what needed to be cleaned on which days. No point mopping until the night before, right? 

A big, BIG help this year was to decorate the night before. That way, the day of the party could be focused on last minute cooking, setting out food, and getting balloons blown up and placed properly. I also reserved the day of for final vacuuming, sweeping, mopping. 

Day of: we did the last minute cooking, cleaning, set up. It worked great, and I had time to sit before the party. Abigail's first party was in the evening. I was afraid of having a party for little ones in the evening, but it turns out great, in my opinion. Not only do I have the time to finish last minute stuff, but Abigail was able to get a nap, take a bath, and get dressed before everyone showed up. Also, the kids all get worn out at the party, so parents get to put their little ones to bed as soon as they leave. Nice for everyone and (my personal favorite) people don't have to rearrange an entire day around a kid's birthday party. 

Menu: 

Chicken Nuggets (got four bags of Walmart brand chicken nuggets) 

Banana Bites (Pinterest) 

Pretzel Bites (Pinterest or see my version here)

Veggie Plate 

Fruit Plate

Cupcakes 

Homemade marshmallows (Pinterest or see my version here) 

Chips and Salsa

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip (Pinterest or here) 

Bowl of Twizzlers (thanks MOM for that Christmas present) 

Bowl of Caramel Corn (again, thanks Mom!) 

Juice boxes (for kids) 

Sweet Tea

Lemonade 

See how pretty it looks? It actually was enough to feed everyone and  have a few leftovers! 

Decorations: 

Stars are bright and shiny, so I wanted my daughter to have a house full of things that just shined! Since the party was in the evening, with all the lights on, this worked out great! I picked up a few streamers from the store, left out three stands of white Christmas lights, made a star (Pinterest!), and bought two boxes of cheap dollar tree aluminum foil. 

For the table, I had already invested in a few cheap plastic table coverings for other events, so I just placed one that would highlight the foil-wrapped serving dishes. Let me tell you, foil-wrapping it was as GREAT! It made for easy, easy clean up, and kept the chicken decently warmed almost all day since I made those early. 

I made these stars from toilet paper rolls I had been saving for a few weeks. Easy, easy, but they need to be made a day or two in advance to give time for drying. But they were cute!!! 

We hung a few stars around and lit some lights. It was all very pretty once it was done! 

Guest Gifts

I found a cute tutorial (on Pinterest) on homemade crayons. So I found a mold that was "star" shaped, made some crayons, printed a star worksheet, and got packets of star stickers, glow sticks, and star bouncy balls at the dollar section at Target. I replaced the bouncy ball and the glow stick for the little ones (crawlers and barely walkers) with a pack of Num Nums and a rubber duck (all found pretty cheap at Wal-mart). They turned out great! I also found a HUGE sheet of crispy treats at Big Lots for $5 each. Each sheet yeilded 20 stars I cut out, which was perfect for the older kids at the party. 

Here's the big comparison: 

So how much did all this cost per person? We had 70 people TOTAL (yes, 70, don't judge). The cost per person was a little over $4 per person. So, obviously, if you have only 20 people at the party, this would be a pretty decently priced party. 

I compared that with the local professional places that do everything for you. Let me tell you, those places are nice. You literally don't have to do anything. It is a LOT less stressful, and no one will care if your house is messy because NO ONE WILL BE THERE! After looking at those places' prices, they are averaging between $8-$12 per person, with generally a limit of 15 guests. And this is for the cheaper places. I found another one today I was thinking for Jed's birthday. Their average price per person was $22. Um, no thank you. 

So, you can have a nice party at your home for a decent price. OR you can let someone else do it for you for a little bit more. It's up to you to weigh the cost. I had fun. My daughter had a blast, and the guests all seemed to really enjoy themselves. 

Thursday's Crafting: DIY Superman Cape

This past Christmas, I had the pleasure of coming across a great tutorial on how to make a Superman cape. Lucky for me, I have an adorable nephew who is just as daring as Superman himself. So why not make him a cape? So today I'm going to share with you the tutorial I found to make the cape. It was SUPER EASY and only took about 15 minutes to make.

A few things before I give you the link:

1) I didn't have the same type of materials on hand to make it exactly like she said to, but I did have a TON of fleece that I bought LAST winter when it went on sale. So I didn't double side it like she did.

2) I made it big enough for little Connor to wear for a while. I tried it on my youngest son, who is about a foot taller than Connor, and it fit him great! So make adjustments as necessary.

3) I didn't take picture by picture of what I did, so all I have as personal examples are pictures of the finished product. Go to the link for more pictures, ideas, and a step by step tutorial. Trust me, it makes more sense the way she shows it.

Cape Tutorial from The Pleated Poppy

Finished product on my 5 year old son (Front) 

Finished product on my 5 year old (Back)

Connor LOVES it! Yay! 

Wednesday's Cleaning: Room by Room Series: The Bedroom, part 2

It's Wednesday again, and you know what that means? Time to focus on cleaning! The current series, "Room by Room" has us focused on the Making the bed today. I know what you are thinking. Really? An entire post about how to make your bed? When I first saw the post from Melissa Ringstaff's Household Notebook, I thought the same thing. Once I read it, though, I realized she had some great tips on how to properly make a bed and maintain cleanliness with it weekly and daily.

(And if you missed last time when we began the bedroom, here's the link. If this is your first time to this series, I only highlight points from Melissa's page. For the entire list for today, please go here).

Making the Bed


Washing the Bed Linens: Weekly (Highlights) 


1. Allow the mattress to air for a while. Um, absolutely! Especially with the kids, especially boys. For some reason, boys are okay with going to bed with all kinds of funk, so washing the sheets for them once a week is really important. PLUS, that mattress really needs a good airing out once a week.

2. Rotate mattress. Now this doesn't say flip mattress, but I feel that flipping and rotating are pretty necessary. I don't really do this once a week, but maybe I should, huh?

How to Make the Bed: Weekly (Highlights)

1. When using a comforter, often the flat sheet is placed with the right side down so that when you turn it down at the top, the ride side of the sheet is visible. Now I have been making my bed for a LONG time, and this never occurred to me. Who cares if the flat sheet is the wrong way? You have a big comforter, or in my case, a quilt, covering that sheet. I always didn't like the way the underside of the sheet looked when making my bed, so, again, I'm not sure why I didn't think of this first.

2. To correctly make a hospital corner at the foot of your bed, lift the side of the sheet and tightly tuck in the portion that is hanging down. Okay, never heard of it called a "hospital corner" but it makes sense. And I do this when I am seriously making my bed, but not regularly. I don't like the way it feels on my feet. BUT is is good for the guest bed, for sure!

3. Bedspread v. Comforter. Apparently, if you have a bedspread, you cover the pillows, but if you have a comforter, you don't. Who knew? I sure didn't? I thought you always cover the pillows. Maybe it's preference?

How to Make the Bed: Daily (Highlights) 


1. Upon waking, turn the covers down to allow the sheets to air for an hour or two. *Allowing the bed to air helps to retain a fresh smell of the linens and the bedroom* What?! Seriously, for years, I get out of bed, turn around, and immediately make up the bed. Now I feel that maybe after the kids are off to school , I am going to start going back to pull back the covers while I put away breakfast and tidy the kitchen and bathrooms.


2. After breakfast, continue making the bed. See? She even suggests that is done this way! For you SAHMs, this is great for you! For you working moms, you are not going to have the luxury to do this. I know. I've been there. So maybe the "proper" bed making can be done as soon as you get home from work or this "airing out" can be done on the weekends. I think it's smart, though, so try it at least once a week.

Photo Credit 

So here's a little anecdote:

Last week, I was getting seriously frustrated about how messy my kids' rooms were. I feel like every time I turn around, a tornado has blown through. I know, mom, what goes around comes around, but I'm trying to create little cleaning monsters. I want it to be habit for them to have their room decently cleaned, and I refuse to be the one that does it for them. They will never learn that way, and I will not tolerate a messy room. Okay, back to the story. So as I was planning, preparing, and organizing the house for Abigail's birthday party last week, I asked the boys to just keep the rooms clean for mommy. Please? And, of course, they didn't. So instead of yelling at them, which doesn't seem to work, and I feel that I'm training them to ignore their wives one day, I decided to show them my room and give them a little trick. I told them that even if their room is a mess and there are things lying all around, if you make your bed, your room automatically looks cleaner. So I opened my bedroom door and showed them my room. Yes, I still had shoes on the floor instead of in the closet, and there were a few things out of place, but my bed was made. I asked them, "Does mommy's room look clean?" and they said "yes!" (although Jed, my MESSY child, was quick to point out my shoes on the floor). I then told them to stand outside the door. I closed it, and unmade my bed. I made it look like it does when Joe and I first get up. I opened the door, and they were amazed at how messy my room looked. I told them the only thing I changed was the bed. I then told them to count how long it took mommy to make the bed (not seriously make it like Melissa would suggest, but enough that the sheets and pillows were straight and the comforter was pulled over the bed and smoothed down). 24 seconds. That's how long it took. And, again, they were amazed. I think the lesson clicked for them for a little bit. If mom says clean my room, the first thing I should do is make the bed. And honestly, they have been making their beds first thing ever since. I am impressed. And proud.

One other little side note: If are a pretty good at cleaning your rooms or are satisfied with the way you make your bed, this list may not mean anything to you. BUT if you have kids or a husband you want to start encouraging to help around the house, you may want to print Melissa's list or make a condensed version of the list and make a little poster. You can laminate the sheet to make a check list they can use a dry eraser on each day or week, and check off all the steps. I know that your husband knows how to make a bed, but if you want it down a specific way, you may have to actually spell it out for him. He doesn't know your routine or expectations unless you tell him. You may be surprised when he actually does it on the weekend, for your birthday, or for anniversaries. Or for your college/high school/ middle school kid, this would work great!

Next time's topic: Cleaning the bathroom. Come back for the conclusion of this series! Happy cleaning, everyone!