How to quick soak dried beans

Dried beans are a wonderful staple for your home, but do require some planning since they need to be soaked. One way to remedy the "I forgot to soak the beans" dilemma is to use the quick soak method. Its very simple...
Take the beans you need and wash them, removing any dirt and pebbles. For every cup of beans you are cooking, use 2 cups of cold water. So, for 3 cups of beans, cover with 6 cups of water. If the pot is so big that the beans are not completely covered, add more water. Do not salt the water, this will slow the cooking process and the beans will be tough. Cover and put on high heat, bringing them to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, then remove from heat, leaving covered and let them set for at least 1 hour. Drain and then cook as required by the recipe. Easy-Peasy.

My favorite bread pan

I bake bread nearly every day. I have for several years now and recently when I was thinking about things to be thankful for, my bread pan came to mind. Now mind you, it was pretty far down on my thankfulness list, but it was there. Mostly because I have never had a loaf of bread stick in it. Ever. This is quite a feat which I am certain most bread bakers can attest to. Its not like I carefully grease the pan before I bake or keep it remarkably clean. I don't. I spritz it a little with olive oil from my pampered chef sprayer and I pop the dough in. When the loaf comes out. I lay the pan on its side and pull a little on the loaf. Out it comes. Even better, I get a perfect crust every time. I give the pan a quick wash and dry and away it goes until the next day. The best thing about the pan was it wasn't even expensive. The pan costs $8.50 from a wonderful company called Breadbeckers. I had two pans, but a friend liked it so much, that she bought one from me. Maybe I should start selling them...

Less sugar in more cereals

If you read my posts, you know I avoid sugar as much as possible. My youngest rugrat doesn't do well with it at all and since it reduces your immune system, I avoid it even more during cold and flu season. General Mills announced that it is going to reduce the sugar content in 4 of its most popular cereals again. They will all be reduced to single digits, which is great news! Here is their announcement:

General Mills announced this week a commitment to further reduce sugar in cereals advertised to children under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving. The company has already been reducing sugar in cereals while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grain.

They are offering a special coupon for their four "newly revised" cereals: Trix, Reeses Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms. Click on the CEREAL LINK

Coupon Adventures 12/9

Got a great coupon for Family Christian stores this week in my email. It says to share with friends, so here you go: Family Christian Store Coupon

Its good for 25% off one item. If you haven't been in one of these stores before, you should check them out. In addition to an extensive selection of Christian fiction and non-fiction books, they have music, family friend videos and beautiful decor for the home. I did quite a bit of my Christmas shopping there last year and not only did I save there in the store, but they gave me some great coupons to use after the holidays.

Coupon Adventures 12/1

Harris Teeter ad this week:

Harris Teeter Milk 1 gallon, excluding Organic, $2.47

Red Delicious and Golden Delicious Apples, 3 lb bag, on sale BOGO for $1.99 = .66 per pound

Cucumbers on sale for .60 each

Green Peppers on sale .80 each

B1G2 EZ Peel White Shrimp ( 51-60 count) Sold in 2 lb. bag, limit 6

B1G2 HT Small Pack Fresh Boneless Chicken Breast, limit 6, approx. 1.60 lbs. per bag
* Regular Price: $7.98 each (price for 3 - $23.94)
* Sale Price (Must buy 3 to get sale price): $2.66 each
* Total for 3 = $7.98 (approx $1.66 per pound)

BOGO Oscar Mayer Bacon (12-16 ounce)
* Regular price $5.49
* Sale Price: $2.75
* Use.75 coupon (which will be doubled) from 11-15 inserts
* Total = $1.25

BOGO Skippy Peanut Butter, 15 – 16.3 oz
* Sale Price: $1.49
* Use .60/1 coupon from 11-15
* Total - .29 each

BOGO White House Applesauce, 6 pack cups
* Sale Price: $1
* Use .75/2 coupon
* Total = .50 for 2 (.25 each)

BOGO Purex or All Laundry Detergent (50 ounce)
* Regular Price: $5.99
* Sale Price: $2.99
* Use $1.00 coupon for Purex Natural Elements: http://www.purexsavesgreen.com/
* Total = $1.99

BOGO Sargento Shredded Cheese (8 ounce)
* Regular Price: $3.29
* Sale Price: $1.65
* Use .40/2 coupon from 11-15 inserts
* Total for 2 bags = $2.50 ($1.25 each)

BOGO Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats (14.5-18 ounce)
* Regular Price: $3.49
* Sale Price: $1.75
* Use $1.00 printable coupon for Frosted Mini Wheats http://print.coupons.com/Couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=12926&zid=ta33&nid=10
* Total = .75

BOGO Pepsi Products Fridge Mate (12 pack cans)
* Regular Price: $5.99
* Sale Price: $2.99

BOGO All 2x Laundry Detergent
* Regular Price: $6.29
* Sale Price: $3.14 each
* Use .40/1 coupon: HERE

BOGO Millstone Coffee (10-12 ounce)
* Regular Price: $8.95
* Sale Price: $4.48

BOGO Bayer Aspirin, 24 – 36 count
* Regular Price: $3.79
* Sale Price: $1.89
* Use $1.00/1 coupon from 10-25 inserts
* Total = .89

BOGO Nature’s Pride 100% Whole Wheat Bread, 20 oz Sale Price: $1.34

BOGO Birds Eye Voila
* Regular Price: $5.15 each
* Sale Price: $2.57 each
* Use $1.00/2 coupon from 11-8 inserts
* Total for 2 = $5.15 ($2.08 each)

BOGO Blistex Lip Balm
* Sale Price: .49
* Use .25/1 coupon from 11-15 inserts
* Total = FREE!

7-up 2 ltrs $1.00 each

Pepsi Products 2 ltrs $1.00 each

BOGO Arnold Wide Pan Breads (24 ounce)

BOGO Blueberries, Raspberries, & Blackberries (6 ounce)

BOGO Tostitos Family Size Chips (14.5-18 ounce)

Snow Crab Clusters on sale $3.99/lb.

Tilapia Filets on sale $3.99/lb.

Coupon Adventures 12/4

Staples is offering a nice little deal right now where you buy a 16 +4 bonus pack of AA or AAA Duracell Batteries and use your Staples Reward card and you get the amount of purchase back in Staples Rewards to spend later as you wish. There is a limit of 2 per customer. If you have a Duracell coupon, this sweetens the deal, making you a money! This offer is good through Christmas, but only while supplies last, so grab them before they are gone!

Smart source had a $0.50/1 available and there is a $1.00/1 inside specially marked packages.

If you have empty HP ink cartridges Staples is doubling rewards for returning them to the store. This is an extra $6 in rewards for you to spend. If you purchase your ink there, they offer an additional 20% back in rewards on HP right now with a $50 purchase. This will cut your cost in half if you are buying their $57 combo pack.

The Manhattan Declaration

I just finished reading and signing The Manhattan Declaration (MD), and I urge you to do the same. The Manhattan Declaration is a document affirming the sanctity of human life, the sanctity of marriage, and the rights of conscience and religious liberty. All three of these items are under siege in our culture today, so a group of Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians have drafted this statement and call upon others to defend life, marriage, and religious liberty.

You really should read the entire document, but I would like to highlight the end, which clearly states my position dead-on:

“Because we honor justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.”

The bold emphasis is mine of course, but clearly states where I personally am in all of this. I understand that if the government chooses to impose more taxes on me to fund their programs, than I am morally and ethically bound to abide by those when I submit to the leadership of my country. I also understand that all people in this glorious country of mine have the right to choose paths that I don't agree with. I don't however, have to agree with them and should not be required to support them with my tax dollars if they are unethical. I cannot support something that is in complete opposition to what my Lord and Savior calls me to protect. Life is sacred, Marriage is sacred and I will not go against that very basic principle. I think this is why its such a volatile issue in this country. In today's America however, this traditional view is falling by the wayside as our government intervenes more and more in our lives to equalize society. Much of this is done in the name of tolerance.

Tolerance in the Miriam Webster dictionary is defined as: a sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own. In today's political climate we are told that tolerance means that all individual beliefs, lifestyles and truth claims are of equal value. This simply is NOT true. This kind of tolerance condemns discernment and says you need to accept all truth claims and lifestyles as if they were your own. Its asking you to make your worldview one that accepts every kind of thinking and all other worldviews. Yet this new type of tolerance goes beyond just respecting other worldviews. It also demands that I not impose my worldview on anyone else. It means that I will be labeled intolerant for attempting to share Christ with others. I must abandon my worldview because it is socially offensive, while Buddhists, New Agers and Hindus, etc., do not have to because their faiths are all-inclusive. In the past we were taught to study opposing truths and evaluate them. Now we are to study and appreciate them; no deep thought required.

As the political climate changes it has gone beyond being asked to tolerate these views. Now we are being asked to support them monetarily through taxation. This is where I feel compelled, like many other Americans, to draw a line in the sand. The Manhattan Declaration is just one of many attempts by conservatives to stand up to what I would like to label as oppression. For so many years we turned the other cheek as the morality of our nation started to fall. But no longer. We must stand before its too late. "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." Isaiah 7:9 NIV