Very Veggie Frittata

(Photo by Taste of Home)

Last night I tried a new recipe.  It's actually been on my menu plan for weeks, but due to different factors (mostly using up leftovers), I hadn't gotten around to trying it.  Here's the link:  Very Veggie Frittata.

We liked this dish a lot.  I liked the fact that it only called for five eggs, and the addition of sour cream was a little different but very good.  (I used light sour cream.)

I was out of mushrooms so used diced zucchini instead, a substitution I would definitely make again.  And I don't have an ovenproof skillet, so I skipped the step of browning the frittata under the broiler, and left off the extra cheese as well.  It was just fine that way, and saved a few calories too.

We had this with home fries and fresh salsa on the side.  A very tasty meatless meal!  Maybe your family would enjoy it, too.

Goals for week beginning 7/29/2013

A cool refreshing New Hampshire river

How can July be almost over?  It hardly seems possible that tomorrow is the last day.  I had an unusually busy day yesterday and didn't get here to post.  So here, with a hopeful (or maybe wishful) attitude, I share my goals for this week:
*  Begin a new Back on Track challenge
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study
*  Get a good start on Sunday School lesson 7
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook
*  Memorize Psalm 145:1-5
*  Read 2 chapters in A Woman's Call to Prayer
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs
*  Keep up a good water intake
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night
*  Post every day (at least through Wednesday) in my Christmas blog and at least four times in my regular blog
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house
*  Begin the large project of reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time.
*  Weed the garden
*  Make plans for a fall getaway with my hubby
* Catch up with my Nevada daughter via a phone chat
*  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do


And here is how last week went:
*  Begin a new Back on Track challenge -- not done
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study -- DONE!
*  Finish Sunday School lesson 6 -- DONE!
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook -- DONE!
*  Memorize Psalm 145:1-5 -- not done
*  Read 2 chapters in A Woman's Call to Prayer -- DONE!
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows  -- did okay with this
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs -- DONE!
*  Keep up a good water intake -- DONE!
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night -- still working on this; it's been after 10 most nights, just not early enough since we get up at 4:30 a.m.
*  Post every day in my Christmas blog and at least four times in my regular blog -- DONE! for the Christmas blog, but only managed twice in this one
* Continue planning Christmas in July posts for my Christmas blog -- DONE!
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house -- DONE!
*  Begin the large project of reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time -- not done
*  Bake some cookies for my hubby -- DONE!
* Make up some more gluten free flour and bake some gluten free muffins -- DONE!
*  Weed the garden -- not done
* Possibly spend time with my local daughter/family doing something fun -- DONE!
*  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do -- DONE!

So, even though I didn't accomplish all I would have liked to, I am pleased to see a lot of  DONE!s on the list.  And I am hoping for a fairly productive week this week, although yesterday was not too great and today so far is pretty much a washout.  "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  (Philippians 4:13)

Blueberry Coconut Muffins

My dad's blueberry bushes are producing some yummy fruit right now and so I just had to make some muffins.  Thankfully the weather was cool enough for baking.  I made a batch of regular blueberry muffins for everyone else and then a batch of gluten free ones for myself.  I keep them in a covered plastic box in the freezer and heat them up one by one as needed.

This is the recipe I used: Gluten Free Fruit Muffins.  It is the tried and true recipe from King Arthur that I love.  I skip the streusel topping as it is just not necessary.  So for these I added 1 and 1/2 cups blueberries and then, on a whim, I added about 3/4 cup of flaked coconut.  The muffins turned out perfectly!  Perhaps your family would enjoy them, too.

Goals for week beginning 7/22/2013

Bee balm is in bloom now

It's Monday again and time to set some goals!  Here's what I'd like to accomplish this week:
*  Begin a new Back on Track challenge
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study
*  Finish Sunday School lesson 6
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook
*  Memorize Psalm 145:1-5
*  Read 2 chapters in A Woman's Call to Prayer
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs
*  Keep up a good water intake
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night
*  Post every day in my Christmas blog and at least four times in my regular blog
* Continue planning Christmas in July posts for my Christmas blog
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house
*  Begin the large project of reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time.
*  Bake some cookies for my hubby
* Make up some more gluten free flour and bake some gluten free muffins
*  Weed the garden
* Possibly spend time with my local daughter/family doing something fun
*  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do


And here's how last week went:
*  Begin a new Back on Track challenge -- not done
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study -- DONE!
*  Start Sunday School lesson 6 -- DONE!
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook -- DONE!
*  Memorize Psalm 9:1-2 -- DONE!
*  Read 2 chapters in A Woman's Call to Prayer -- DONE!
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows -- not done
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs -- DONE!
*  Keep up a good water intake-- DONE!
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night -- not done
*  Post every day in my Christmas blog and at least four times in my regular blog -- DONE! for my Christmas blog, but only managed twice in my regular blog
* Continue planning Christmas in July posts for my Christmas blog -- DONE!
*  Get a lot of basic homemaking tasks done in various zones of the house -- not done
*  Begin the large project of reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time -- not done
*  Make some no-bake cookies for my hubby -- DONE!
* Take my dad to an eye appointment -- DONE!
* Possibly spend time with my local daughter/family doing something fun-- DONE! (we went to the lake on Friday)
*  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do -- DONE!

Win a fabulous new Gooseberry Patch book -- Stitching for the Kitchen!!

Wow!  This looks like such a fun book for one's crafting library!   It's a brand new Gooseberry Patch book with instructions and full size patterns for 30 projects, along with a sprinkling of recipes.  Head over here to enter: Stitching for the Kitchen Giveaway and you will find a free project from the book right on the blog.  The free project is an adorable little mug cozy made from fabric -- even includes a tiny pocket on the side to hold a pack of sweetener. 

Enter soon; the giveaway ends next Monday, July 23!

Goals for week beginning 7/15/2013

Another Monday rolls around.  Many of last week's goals were left undone ... and yet I was pleased with the types of things that were accomplished.  For the coming week, here are my goals:
*  Begin a new Back on Track challenge
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study
*  Start Sunday School lesson 6
 *  Make 1 or 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook
*  Memorize Psalm 9:1-2
*  Read 2 chapters in A Woman's Call to Prayer
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs
*  Keep up a good water intake
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night
*  Post every day in my Christmas blog and at least four times in my regular blog
* Continue planning Christmas in July posts for my Christmas blog
*  Complete homemaking goals for Zone 1, the dining area and front entry and Zone 2, the kitchen. as well as Zone 3, the bathroom
*  Begin the large project of reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time.
*  Make some no-bake cookies for my hubby (or regular cookies if the weather is cool enough)
* Take my dad to an eye appointment
* Possibly spend time with my local daughter/family doing something fun
*  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do


And here's how last week went:
*  Begin a new Back on Track challenge -- not done
*  Spend time in 2 Samuel Bible study -- DONE!
*  Finish Sunday School lesson 5 -- DONE!
 *  Make 2 pages for "What Do I Know About My God"?  notebook -- DONE!
*  Memorize Psalm 9:1-2 -- memorized verse 2; now I need to put them together.
*  Read 2 chapters in A Woman's Call to Prayer -- DONE!
*  Exercise or go for walks as often as time allows -- not done
*  Keep up with crafting goals for birthdays, Christmas, and finishing UFOs -- mostly worked on a UFO this week
*  Keep up a good water intake -- DONE!
*  Get to bed by 9:30 or 10 pm each night -- not done
*  Post every day in my Christmas blog and at least four times in my regular blog -- DONE! (although I think I only managed 3 times in my regular blog)
* Continue planning Christmas in July posts for my Christmas blog -- DONE!
*  Complete homemaking goals for Zone 1, the dining area and front entry and Zone 2, the kitchen -- got a few things done but not as much as I'd hoped.
*  Begin the large project of reorganizing the many piles, stacks, notebooks and containers full of recipes I've collected over time -- not done
*  Make some no-bake cookies for my hubby (or regular cookies if the weather is cool enough) -- DONE!
* Talk with my faraway daughter on the phone to catch up -- DONE!
*  Make a daily time schedule for the things I need to do -- DONE!

Obviously, I'm hoping for a better week this week (especially in the areas of homemaking and that pesky back-on-track challenge!) but I am so pleased that my spiritual goals were pretty much met each day and that I was able to talk with my Nevada daughter on Saturday!

Calico Corn Salad

(Photo by Taste of Home)

I had cooked some corn on the cob Saturday night and had 5 or 6 ears left over.  I thought a corn salad might be a good use for it.  I happened to think about a corn salad my daughter had made one time when we were visiting out west, and though I didn't want to bother her for the recipe, I went looking through back issues of Taste of Home for something similar.  I found this one: Calico Corn Salad and thought it sounded a lot the one she had made.  So I tried this recipe last night.

What a great recipe it is!  I'd say it is very flexible and would turn out great no matter what substitutions were made.  One reader on the Taste of Home site said she substituted black beans for the zucchini.  I would imagine that would be excellent.  I had no zucchini or green chiles so left them out.  I don't like raw onion in salads, so left that out and added a little dried minced onion to the dressing.  I did add a little extra sweet red pepper as I had some to use up.

This is a definite keeper recipe and I'm planning to make the salad again for a church potluck this Sunday!