We are all seeking something, aren't we? My dad is in a seekers "group" that meets monthly. We seek joy, blessings and peace. We seek purpose, fulfilling relationships, relief from pain and we seek happiness. The thing is, we mostly seek this in all the wrong places. We waste time and money on things and therapies and drugs and activities to make us forget the pain. We read self-help books and listen to speakers tell us how to get it. How to BE happy. All that energy wasted, really. Its all temporary and it all goes away when the real pain comes.
The source of all that you need is in one place. Its all in one person; Jesus. If we only seek Him, use our time and energy seeking Him instead of all those other things, we find those other things when we find a relationship with Him. Does that make sense? By pursuing Jesus, you find all you ever wanted in the way of joy and peace. Its so easy and yet for most, so hard. It goes against the logic of the world.
Stopping the world to get off and look for a relationship with Jesus is not necessarily all that easy and where I live, not very popular. You turn your back on everything that is whizzing by you. And it keeps whizzing, it doesn't wait for you. You have to ignore your to do list that chants in your brain as you try to focus. All those things out there to do aren't necessarily in His plan or His will. He may guide you in a completely different direction. I will say it gets easier with practice, but at first, its kind of hard. You sit in a quiet place and you read God's word and you pray and you wait and you listen. Did you know that pleases God? When you spend time with Him?
I bet if you don't believe or you don't have a relationship with Him at this point in your life, you probably think I am a whack job. Its okay. I can tell you He does speak. He may not speak every morning and He may not speak audibly to you, but He speaks. Without a question, He does. He will show you the way, He WILL fill you with a peace that I couldn't explain to you if I had all the days necessary. Its not possible to describe what it is like to have joy and peace in a situation that doesn't, in the furthest stretch of the imagination, warrant it. Its just there, descending on you and filling you with a warmth and relaxing feeling that you know the moment it arrives. It will get you through the toughest of days. That's what He does, you know. He gets you through those days that your friends can't. And He is always there; just waiting for you to come back.
Try Him.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Gluten Free Fried Chicken
Crispy on the outside, full of flavor on the inside. I use a meat tenderizer because I find that our pastured chickens can be a little tough for fried chicken since they run around the yard all day while they are growing. Store-bought, caged chickens are already tender and don't require this step.
Ingredients:
1 pastured fryer, cut up
1 T papaya enzyme(meat tenderizer)
1/2 t sea salt
Seasoned Salt
2 cups Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free All Purpose baking mix
2 T paprika
1 T chili powder
1 t black pepper
The How To's:
Place the cut up chicken in a large glass bowl and cover with ice cold water mixed with the tenderizer and salt. Refrigerate for the day.
When ready to cook, take a large cast iron skillet with a lid and put enough lard in the pan to make about an inch of hot fat. Heat the fat on a medium high burner. You want the fat good and hot before you start frying your chicken. Keep the lid on until you are ready to start frying.
Combine your baking mix, paprika, chili powder, black pepper, salt and garlic powder in a deep bowl. Whisk together to blend well and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking pan with a wire rack(I use one of my cake cooling racks) placed inside the pan. This allows the chicken to sit up above any grease that will drip off in the oven.
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and drain well, leaving the chicken in the bowl. Sprinkle liberally with seasoned salt tossing well to get the seasoning well distributed.
Place a few wet pieces at a time in the flour mixture, tossing to coat. Make sure the chicken is well coated. Carefully place skin side down in the hot lard a few pieces at a time. *Be careful not to move a piece once you place it in the fat until the skin has browned well or you will lose your coating. Once the heat has recovered from adding the first few pieces, dredge and add a few more. Start with the biggest pieces as these will take longer to cook and then add the smaller ones as you can. Keep adding pieces until your pan is full. Do not overfill or chicken will be soggy and breading will fall off. Once the pieces start to brown, carefully turn with a pair of tongs. Brown all sides well and then remove to a baking pan with a wire rack placed inside it. Start additional pieces if you need to. Put the pan in a 350 degree oven until the chicken is done and juices run clear. Serve with your favorite vegetables.
To make a pan gravy:
Use two tablespoons of the drippings from your frying pan or the baking pan. Place in a sauce pan and place over medium heat. Add two tablespoons of either the remaining dredging flour or more of the gluten free baking mix. Stir with a whisk to absorb the drippings. Add 2 cups of chicken broth(or milk or water or a combination of these three) slowly, stirring to remove any lumps from the mixture. Stir frequently until the gravy starts to thicken. Then stir constantly until thick. Add salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients:
1 pastured fryer, cut up
1 T papaya enzyme(meat tenderizer)
1/2 t sea salt
Seasoned Salt
2 cups Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free All Purpose baking mix
2 T paprika
1 T chili powder
1 t black pepper
1 T garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
Grass-fed lard
The How To's:
Place the cut up chicken in a large glass bowl and cover with ice cold water mixed with the tenderizer and salt. Refrigerate for the day.
When ready to cook, take a large cast iron skillet with a lid and put enough lard in the pan to make about an inch of hot fat. Heat the fat on a medium high burner. You want the fat good and hot before you start frying your chicken. Keep the lid on until you are ready to start frying.
Combine your baking mix, paprika, chili powder, black pepper, salt and garlic powder in a deep bowl. Whisk together to blend well and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking pan with a wire rack(I use one of my cake cooling racks) placed inside the pan. This allows the chicken to sit up above any grease that will drip off in the oven.
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and drain well, leaving the chicken in the bowl. Sprinkle liberally with seasoned salt tossing well to get the seasoning well distributed.
Place a few wet pieces at a time in the flour mixture, tossing to coat. Make sure the chicken is well coated. Carefully place skin side down in the hot lard a few pieces at a time. *Be careful not to move a piece once you place it in the fat until the skin has browned well or you will lose your coating. Once the heat has recovered from adding the first few pieces, dredge and add a few more. Start with the biggest pieces as these will take longer to cook and then add the smaller ones as you can. Keep adding pieces until your pan is full. Do not overfill or chicken will be soggy and breading will fall off. Once the pieces start to brown, carefully turn with a pair of tongs. Brown all sides well and then remove to a baking pan with a wire rack placed inside it. Start additional pieces if you need to. Put the pan in a 350 degree oven until the chicken is done and juices run clear. Serve with your favorite vegetables.
To make a pan gravy:
Use two tablespoons of the drippings from your frying pan or the baking pan. Place in a sauce pan and place over medium heat. Add two tablespoons of either the remaining dredging flour or more of the gluten free baking mix. Stir with a whisk to absorb the drippings. Add 2 cups of chicken broth(or milk or water or a combination of these three) slowly, stirring to remove any lumps from the mixture. Stir frequently until the gravy starts to thicken. Then stir constantly until thick. Add salt and pepper to taste
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Great Deal at Dickies!
I just finished paying for an awesome deal and had to share.
I started by going to Ebates. If you don't have a membership with ebates, you can sign up through my referral link(below). It costs nothing to join and you use it as your starting point for shopping. I have used it to make phenomenal deals, particularly on big ticket items. The way ebates works is simple. They get a kickback from you shopping at a store they referred you to and they give part of that kickback to you via a rebate check once each quarter. Its simple to use and I love those checks coming in "rewarding" me for shopping online.
So anyway, back to the deal.
Go to ebates(sign up link here)
Search for "Dickies"
Click on the link for the store
Click on the "Clearance" link
Shop, fill your cart, go to check out.
Enter the code: HOT75 for an additional discount on the clearance items in your cart and FREE SHIPPING. I got this code from the blog Frugal Freelancer
Check out. You can pay with paypal or credit card.
I purchased a slub thermal hoodie and a slub thermal henley for back to school clothing. My total with tax was $10.88, SHIPPED!! Retail was $40!
And in a few weeks I will get my 3% back from ebates.
Shop now while there is plenty to choose from!
I started by going to Ebates. If you don't have a membership with ebates, you can sign up through my referral link(below). It costs nothing to join and you use it as your starting point for shopping. I have used it to make phenomenal deals, particularly on big ticket items. The way ebates works is simple. They get a kickback from you shopping at a store they referred you to and they give part of that kickback to you via a rebate check once each quarter. Its simple to use and I love those checks coming in "rewarding" me for shopping online.
So anyway, back to the deal.
Go to ebates(sign up link here)
Search for "Dickies"
Click on the link for the store
Click on the "Clearance" link
Shop, fill your cart, go to check out.
Enter the code: HOT75 for an additional discount on the clearance items in your cart and FREE SHIPPING. I got this code from the blog Frugal Freelancer
Check out. You can pay with paypal or credit card.
I purchased a slub thermal hoodie and a slub thermal henley for back to school clothing. My total with tax was $10.88, SHIPPED!! Retail was $40!
And in a few weeks I will get my 3% back from ebates.
Shop now while there is plenty to choose from!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Cholesterol and the High Fat Diet
Years ago when I invested in a copy of Nourishing Traditions
for myself, I read how changing my diet to include rich fats, whole milk and grass fed beef would help, not hinder my body and its health. At that time, my cholesterol was creeping up toward 185 and I was following in the steps of both my parents who have high cholesterol. I did not want to add cholesterol lowering drugs to my daily regime and felt that diet was my best course of action. What I read made sense to me. Cholesterol has become a big problem with today's processed foods and I felt like limiting that and reintroducing all the foods from days gone by would be a good move. If I had told my doctor that, I am certain he would have laughed at me and wrote a prescription for Lipitor.
When you think of using diet to adjust your cholesterol, you probably think of oatmeal, cheerio's, lots of vegetables, heart-healthy diet meals, no trans-fats, not saturated fats, etc. Even if you start taking the statin drugs to lower the numbers, you will still be told that you should drink skim milk(blech) and use margarine. If you've been reading my posts, you already know how I feel about these products and while I have been vocal about my distaste for overly processed foods, I have not had(until now) something to back up what I have been saying all along, aside from the well document research of Dr Weston A. Price.
In my recent quest to discover the cause of my dizzy spells, I had blood tests run per the advice of my nutritionist. I have not had a CBC and Cholesterol test for about 4 years now. The last one I had said my cholesterol was: Decidedly Bad.
High.
Not good.
I am thrilled to say that after three years of eating butter, drinking whole milk products, eating whole milk cheeses, eating beef, cooking in lard and doing all of the things that the professionals say NOT to do, my cholesterol is down. Yes, down. It is now 155. My good cholesterol is now at a healthy 63 and my LDL is down to 83. The end results of my going on a traditional foods diet were all positive. So, I encourage you to look at Traditional foods. Research it for yourself. Take some time to read about why those fats are good for you and how they make your body run properly.
Related Articles
http://www.cookingTF.com/traditional-foods/
http://frugalhsmom.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-years-new-foods.html
http://bodyecology.com/articles/benefits_of_real_butter.php
http://frugalhsmom.blogspot.com/2010/01/its-super-bowl-butter-vs-margarine.html
for myself, I read how changing my diet to include rich fats, whole milk and grass fed beef would help, not hinder my body and its health. At that time, my cholesterol was creeping up toward 185 and I was following in the steps of both my parents who have high cholesterol. I did not want to add cholesterol lowering drugs to my daily regime and felt that diet was my best course of action. What I read made sense to me. Cholesterol has become a big problem with today's processed foods and I felt like limiting that and reintroducing all the foods from days gone by would be a good move. If I had told my doctor that, I am certain he would have laughed at me and wrote a prescription for Lipitor.When you think of using diet to adjust your cholesterol, you probably think of oatmeal, cheerio's, lots of vegetables, heart-healthy diet meals, no trans-fats, not saturated fats, etc. Even if you start taking the statin drugs to lower the numbers, you will still be told that you should drink skim milk(blech) and use margarine. If you've been reading my posts, you already know how I feel about these products and while I have been vocal about my distaste for overly processed foods, I have not had(until now) something to back up what I have been saying all along, aside from the well document research of Dr Weston A. Price.
In my recent quest to discover the cause of my dizzy spells, I had blood tests run per the advice of my nutritionist. I have not had a CBC and Cholesterol test for about 4 years now. The last one I had said my cholesterol was: Decidedly Bad.
High.
Not good.
I am thrilled to say that after three years of eating butter, drinking whole milk products, eating whole milk cheeses, eating beef, cooking in lard and doing all of the things that the professionals say NOT to do, my cholesterol is down. Yes, down. It is now 155. My good cholesterol is now at a healthy 63 and my LDL is down to 83. The end results of my going on a traditional foods diet were all positive. So, I encourage you to look at Traditional foods. Research it for yourself. Take some time to read about why those fats are good for you and how they make your body run properly.
Related Articles
http://www.cookingTF.com/traditional-foods/
http://frugalhsmom.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-years-new-foods.html
http://bodyecology.com/articles/benefits_of_real_butter.php
http://frugalhsmom.blogspot.com/2010/01/its-super-bowl-butter-vs-margarine.html
Green Pastures New Flavors
Green Pastures now has three new flavors of their high vitamin fermented cod liver oil; Licorice, Ginger and Peppermint. The new flavors are "kid tested" and have great ratings. If you haven't found a favorite yet, you might want to give these new ones a try! The new flavors are emulsified, so the bottles are 8oz(237 ml) and contain 64 servings. You will find them easy to serve on a spoon rather than using the dropper like you do with the liquids.
For more information, you can go to our Products page. Flavor availability has changed.
For more information, you can go to our Products page. Flavor availability has changed.
Friday, May 6, 2011
FDA Agents Launch Covert Ops Against Raw Milk Buyers Group
FDA Agents Launch Covert Ops Against Raw Milk Buyers Group
I find it completely ridiculous that the government finds that this is something they should spend our tax dollars on. Raiding private homes, filing injunctions on Amish farmers. Its ridiculous!! This latest raid has scared off the farmer we have done business before and its not right. People knowingly participate in these co-ops. They know the products are not processed and are raw. They know its not pasteurized. They WANT this milk. They love it and if you've tried it, you KNOW what I am talking about. These co-op members don't want the white trash sold at the local store.
Why does the government want it stopped? Not to protect us. No, they want to keep Big Dairy happy. Those lobbyists do not like the little Amish man to get any of the big dairy pie. It must be stopped! grrrr....
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Become a Beyond Organic Insider
Beyond Organic will open to the public in October of this year. Set to offer everything from grass-fed beef and raw milk products to specialized probiotic products they plan to do large group buys, which will hopefully mean affordable organic products for you and me. If you join the network now, its a FREE membership and you will get to try their new products before anyone else. Click here to join!
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