Homemade Larabars

Homemade Larabars. So good and so easy. I had quite a few recipe requests for the homemade Larabar picture I posted on Instagram this morning and so I decided to post the recipe here. (If you have an instagram account, go HERE) I have loved Larabars for a while, but their pretty spendy. Plus, I just love homemade food. It tastes better and is more than likely better for you. Hence me looking at the ingredients on the back of the package and thinking, "I could totally make this."  I was right. 

These bars are so moist and delicious that they put their store bought counterparts to shame. I know I'm a bit biased, but seriously these are tasty! Just a disclaimer, I followed no recipe and when it comes to amounts of ingredients used, this recipe is completely original. I hope you love these as much as my family and I do!



Ingredients:
~32 oz of dates (I used two packages of Trader Joe's Medjool Dates)
~18 oz of peanut butter (I used Adams Crunchy Peanut Butter)
~1/2-2 c toasted almonds
~1/2 c chocolate chips
~salt

Preparation:
1. Put a few slits in each date and then soak them in hot water for 10-15 minutes. The skin will easily come off and of course, take the pit out.

2. Next put half of your dates in a food processor and process until the dates are mush. It's ok to have a few chunks here and there. Put the mush into your kitchen aid (or other mixing bowl) and process the second batch of dates.

2. Once all dates have been puréed put them into your kitchen aid mixer and add the peanut butter. Mix thoroughly together. ***I would have added more peanut butter but didn't have enough. If you like peanut butter a lot then add a little more.

3. Next put 1 1/2 cups of your toasted almonds into your food processor and purée them until they are finely ground. Add the ground almonds to your date and peanut butter purée and mix. This is where preference comes in. Do you want your bar to be moist? Don't add more than 1 1/2 c almonds. Want your bars to be a little more dry? Add more ground almonds. Simple. (Just be sure to not add too many ground almonds. You want your bars to hold together and not crumble.) I made mine to be not really sticky when you touch them, but they are most definitely not dry. They are nice and moist.

4. Put your chocolate chips in the processor and grind them up until they are a quarter of their original size. (Again, this is preference too. If you want your bars really chocolate-y add more and so on.) Add to the mixer and combine. Taste your batter and you can see if you want to add salt or not. I added a few shakes from my salt shaker.

5. Line a 9x13 and an 9x9 pan with Saran Wrap or wax paper. Press your fruit batter into each pan. My bars are about 1/2 inch thick, but make them as thin or thick as you like. I then lightly sprinkled the top of the batter with salt.  ***You could even lightly dust the top with cocoa powder.  Mmmmm.   :)

6. Refrigerate for an hour. Once cold, pull the fruit purée out of the pan using the Saran Wrap and cut into desired sized bars. Store bars in fridge.

7. Try not to eat them all at once!

I hope you enjoy these and let me how how they turn out! 

That Woman

In the early years of my marriage I found myself drawn to martyrdom, and yes, I find myself still drawn. The way that the persecuted church just shines is just amazing and they are a bright and burning light in this dark and cruel world. I decided to read Foxe's Book of Martyrs and it had a profound and lasting mark on my life. It is full of stories of saints who paid with their lives to tell of the love of Christ. How can one measure one story against another? You can't really, but there is one story that has burned its way into my heart.

Its of a mother who had a young son and she had to watch him suffer and die. I am just going to warn you, if you are faint of heart, or don't like to deal with death, DON'T READ THIS POST! The contents following are hard to read (and type), but I am led to share this woman's story.

*******

"Here again Romanus, taking good occasion, made a long oration of the eternity of Christ, of His human nature, of the death and satisfaction of Christ for all mankind. Which done, he said, 'Give me a child, O prefect, but seven years of age, which age is free of malice and other vices wherewith riper age is commonly infected, and thou shalt hear what he will say.' His request was granted.

A little boy was called out of the multitude, and set before him. 'Tell me, my babe,' quoth the martyr, 'whether thou think it reason that we should worship one Christ, and in Christ one Father, or else that we worship many gods?'

Unto whom the babe answered, 'That certainly (whatsoever it be) which men affirm to be God, must needs be one; and that which pertains to that one, is unique: and inasmuch as Christ is unique, of necessity Christ must be the true God; for that there be many gods, we children cannot believe.'

The prefect hereat clean amazed, said, 'Thou young villain and traitor, where, and of whom learnedst thou this lesson?'

'Of my mother,' quoth the child, 'with whose milk I sucked in this lesson, that I must believe in Christ.' The mother was called, and she gladly appeared. The prefect commanded the child to be hoisted up and scourged. The pitiful beholders of this pitiless act, could not temper themselves from tears; the joyful and glad mother alone stood by with dry cheeks. Yea, she rebuked her sweet babe for craving a draught of cold water: she charged him to thirst after the cup that the infants of Bethlehem once drank of, forgetting their mothers' milk and paps; she willed him to remember little Isaac, who, beholding the sword wherewith, and the altar whereon, he should be sacrificed, willingly proffered his tender neck to the dint of his father's sword. Whilst this council was in giving, the butcherly tormentor plucked the skin from the crown of his head, hair and all. The mother cried, 'Suffer, my child! anon thou shalt pass to Him that will adorn thy naked head with a crown of eternal glory.' The mother counselleth, the child is counselled; the mother encourageth, the babe is encouraged, and receiveth the stripes with smiling countenance. ( If your crying now, please know that I can hardly see to type.)

The prefect perceiving the child invincible, and himself vanquished, committeth the blessed babe to the stinking prison, commanding the torments of Romanus to be renewed and increased, as chief author of this evil.

This was Romanus brought forth again to new stripes, the punishments to be renewed and received again upon his old sores. No longer could the tyrant forbear, but needs he must draw nearer to the sentence of death. 'Is it painful to thee,' saith he, 'to tarry so long alive? A flaming fire, doubt thou not, shall be prepared for thee and by and by, wherein thou and that boy, thy fellow in rebellion, shall be consumed into ashes.' Romanus and the babe were led to execution. When they were come to the place, the tormentors required the child of the mother, for she had taken it up in her arms; and she, only kissing it, delivered the babe. 'Farewell,' she said, 'my sweet child; and when thou hast entered the kingdom of Christ, there in thy blest estate remember thy mother.' And as the hangman applied the sword to the babe's neck, she sang on in this manner:

All laud and praise with heart and voice,

O Lord, we yield to thee:

To whom the death of this thy saint,

We know most dear to be.

The innocent's head being cut off, the mother wrapped it up in her garment, and laid it on her breast."

                                                                -Foxe's Book of Martyrs (end of chapter one)

*******

This story has more do with the child in ways and let me just say for sayings sake, I'm not sadistic nor do I desire any of my children to die like this dear boy.

I so deeply desire for my children to grow up to love and to know the Lord. I don't want to raise little pharisees that know all the rules, but inwardly are as dead as a corpse. There are so many things that I could want for them, but to know God is really my main concern. It is so convicting to read of this mother who no doubt loves her child, BUT she loves his soul more. By her words and her actions she proves where her heart truly lies, and it's with Jesus.

There are so many distractions, so many things begging for our attention, but at the end of the day what truly matters?

Over the past 6 months or so, the Lord has been greatly changing and impressing upon me the importance of a life lived for God. Nothing else matters. N-o-t-h-i-n-g. I have experienced a closeness with Jesus that I dare not to give up. He is more real than the air I breathe and I want to serve Him with every ounce of my being. It is so frustrating to fail and realize how far I truly fall short. And the fact that God chose to make me a mother is just amazing (and terrifying) to me. I am one of the most selfish people I know and I can rival my kids any day. Thankfully the Lord never gives up on His children.

I have been given a very precious treasure in Christ and it needs to be guarded and cherished. It also needs to be lived out and shared with those that God has placed in my life. I often wonder how this woman raised such a spiritually mature son and the young age of seven? How were their days together, what were their conversations like, how did she live in front of her son? I could cry right now just thinking about the hugeness of this task; this task of parenthood. This mother no doubt, did nothing but live, eat, breathe, sleep, and speak of Christ to her son. That sweet boy saw Jesus every day. He saw him dwell in his mother with such severity that he could not deny the power and reality of such a Savior. Oh, that this would be the case with me! I am not this woman, but I want to be her.

It hurts to think of being anything less than being totally devoted to Jesus.

I can't imagine witnessing such atrocities against any one of my children. I am almost to sobs just thinking about it. Then the heavier questions arise in my thoughts, "Is Jesus worth it? Does He mean enough to me to encourage my child(ren) or myself to suffer for His name? Is my treasure/heart with Jesus or do I care about comfort for myself and my family more?

May my walk grow stronger daily with Christ, may the frivolities of this life fall away every second, may I cling to Jesus with such severity that my children have no reason to deny our blessed Savior. May I live, teach, eat, breath, and show my children why were are alive...to serve our God....no matter what.

If you've never read Foxe's Book of Martyrs (AFL), you really should. Sure you'll cry, cringe, and be sick, but so be it. We live in such fluff, such comfort and ease that we have no sense of reality. People die every day for the name of Jesus. And no, they're not just shot and then die, they are tortured and suffer greatly.

There is so much more that I could say, but I'm sure once you've read this story, you'll understand what I mean when I say, "I want to be THAT woman."

Amen. So be it.

Homemade Tallow Balm

For the past year and a half I have embarked whole heartedly into my whole foods journey. I have always had more of a "natural route" approach when it comes to feeding and caring for my family. In finding out about the Weston A Price organization I had an 'ah-ha!' moment. It was like I found what I never realized I was looking for. An organization - more like a group of people -  who are dedicated to eating what is nourishing to our bodies and are committed to helping others do the same. I became a member immediately and in doing so I received their quarterly journal quickly in the mail.

I devoured it. I read it. I scoured it. And I learned from it.

I can't emphasize to you enough of my enjoyment of reading that lovely journal. In it I found a jewel, one that I have been looking for long and hard.

I have been battling diaper rash with my daughter for months. It seems like I have had an issue with it since she was born last July. It has been terribly frustrating to not be able to figure out why it wont go away and not have any home remedies work in healing her poor bottom. Weston A. Price to the rescue! In the quarterly journal there was an article about tallow balm, it's history, it's healing properties, and a 'how-to' in making your own. There even was mention of a mama using it on her baby's diaper rash and it was cured. Say no more, I decided that I was going to try it out. What was there to lose? Nothing. Absolutely nothin'.

There I was, standing in my kitchen looking at something that should be in a sci-fi movie sitting on my counter top. I had made several calls earlier in the week and had walked into a local grocery store/butcher shop and finally obtained what I was looking for. Beef tallow or as the butcher called it suet (I will proceed to call it tallow/suet since I have had so many people call it these two names). Since I have my quirks and like to have fun with my food I decided to name the newest addition to my REAL foodie journey.

Meet 'Little Miss Suet'.

Isn't she disgustingly awesome?

I think so too.

I'm serious, she was and is awesome in so many ways. I never knew the greatness that I had before me. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let me give you a few facts on tallow balm and why I am so excited about this. Once rendered you can cook with this, bake with this, and make your own skin care products with this. You heard me correctly. Skin. Care. Products. This is where I am heading with this post. Food tastes amazing using tallow/suet and it is full of natures goodness, but I want to focus on what it does for your skin.

In the article it states that, "From biology, we know that the [human] cell membrane is made up primarily of fatty acids, a double layer, to be exact. Saturated fats constitute at least 50 percent of the cell membrane. Since saturated fats tend to be more solid  than unsaturated fats at a given temperature, they help give the cell membrane its necessary stiffness and integrity for proper function...Healthy, "toned" skin cells with sufficient saturated and monounsaturated fats would undoubtedly make for healthy, toned skin. Interestingly, tallow fat is typically 50 to 55 percent saturated, just like our cell membranes, with almost all the rest being monounsaturated, so it makes sense that it would be helpful for skin health and compatible with our cell biology."

Isn't that just so amazing? I love learning about how the Lord made our bodies and how intricately we were designed. Did you also know that "tallow also contains fats like conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as palmitoleic acid, which has natural antimicrobial properties?" (quotes cited from article)

I could go on, but I'll spare you. I'm hoping this will lead you to do some more reading and research on your own.

*wink, wink*

Back to my baby's diaper rash. I'll admit, this was my last ditch effort before I resorted to more drastic measures. I am so glad that I tried this because it really worked wonders and I love that I'm putting something on my baby's skin that not only is helping her, but is also healing her.

Tallow/suet balm is so easy to make. If your interested in learning how to do it follow along and then...get you some suet!

You'll want to cut up the suet in small pieces and cut out anything that isn't hard and waxy. The kidney you can either throw away or if you have a dog...give the dog a treat! Franco loved his treat so much he buried it. What can I say?  He's a smart one. There is major sarcasm going on here.

Once that job is complete, put the tallow/suet in glass cooking dishes and preheat your oven to 220 degrees. Just a warning, it takes quite a while to cut up this hunk of fat, so make sure you do this early in the day. By early I mean, start in the morning so you can have this whole process done well before bedtime. And yes, I was straining tallow/suet while the rest of the family was snoozing. I didn't get the early start that I'm advising...

You'll want to bake the tallow/suet for 6+ hours, or until all the fat is cooked out and the hard tissue is floating in the rendered fat. During the cooking process I took my potato masher and gave everything a good smooshing.

Once this step is finished you'll want to put a metal strainer over a large bowl and strain out all the large chunks. You will need to do a final strain through a cheese cloth to make sure that you got everything. I draped the cheese cloth in the metal strainer and then re-poured the fat through the cheese cloth. It was pretty simple. Don't worry about your cheese cloth, after I used it to do the final strain, I rinsed it out with warm water, gave it a good hand scrubbing with dish soap, let it sit overnight in soapy water, and then washed it the next morning with my laundry. It was as good as new. Whew, that was a mouthful!

Pour your liquid gold into jars and let cool. The rendered fat will stay good for a looong time in your fridge. I use it for all my cooking now and let's just say...it's delicious.

I didn't make my tallow balm right away and so I just let it all cool. When this stuff cools it turns white and once you place it in the fridge it gets hard. When it came time for me to whip up some tallow balm, I just took a jar out of the fridge and let it warm up a bit so it would easily mix up with my other ingredients.

Long post made longer, here's my recipe for my tallow balm.

Homemade Tallow Balm

Here's a wonderful skin balm that has a wide range of uses. Such as face lotion, hand and body lotion, diaper rash cream, and etc.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons soft tallow
1 teaspoon organic olive oil
4-7 drops lavender essential oil* (or desired scent**)

Instructions:

1. Mix tallow and olive oil together in a small glass bowl.


2. Add essential oils and mix.


3. Once the desired consistency and scent is achieved transfer to a small glass container with a lid, keep at room temperature, and enjoy!


4. Makes approximately 2 oz.


5. *I would start with a few drops and then add more if you are wanting a stronger scent. You can always add more, but you can't take away.


6. **Use essential oils that are known for being good for skin and skin health. I wouldn't use anything strong that could be an irritant. Peppermint for example would NOT be a good choice.


7. ***I wouldn't recommend using any essential oils that aren't 100% pure therapeutic grade. DoTERRA essential oils are what I use and I highly recommend them.

I hope you love this tallow balm as much as I do.

However, I know that not everyone is up to making their own skin care products. If you are still wanting to have this skin care goodness but don't want to make it you can go HERE and buy some. You won't regret it.

And just so you know, I also use this on my face. Don't be shocked, it's wonderful.

If your in need of essential oils click HERE and you can find everything you need.

*** Excerpts in this post were from the article written by Andrew J. Gardner titled, "Traditional Nourishing and Healing Skin Care". It can be found in the Winter 2012 Volume 13 Number 4 edition of Wise Traditions.

Little Things

A few weeks ago, I had one of the best days I've had in a long time. It was one of those days that I could feel the Lord's working and shaping in my life. His presence was ever near and it was a sweet day of fellowship with the One that truly matters.

I am always thinking and scheming about how I can do something big for the Lord; something that would make a huge difference in the life of someone else. I have a list of things that I think are worthy of my thoughts and efforts and yet, that list seems so unattainable. It frustrates me to no end that I have all these burdens on my heart and I seem to be unable to do anything. 

We all want to do something big right? What about the little things? Or the daily events that we seem to just look at as unimportant?

This day was like any other. Nothing special planned and no outings to go and do. The day went along without a hitch and when the afternoon rolled around I knew I needed to start making dinner. Quite often I will make a meal that I know will feed our whole family and there wont be much, if any, leftovers. I was set one of these dinners, but for some reason I felt compelled to make something I haven't made in a while. In fact, I got downright excited to make it. Zuppa Toscana with corn bread...one of my favorites! 

Dinner time was quickly approaching and I did a quick look in the mirror to make sure I was not totally disheveled and was thankful to the Lord that I actually was on time with the meals preparations. Soup was ready, cornbread just came out of the oven, and the table was set. As I was on my knees in the pantry putting the granulated honey in the pot to melt it a bit, my hubby walked through the garage door into the house. No sooner did I peer over my shoulder to say hello than do I see a gentleman following my hubby through the door. I quickly got up and Seth introduced me to Casey. It is not abnormal for my husband to have a person to introduce to me due to him always hiring new employees for his construction company. I assumed he was new to the business and thought no more. I walked into the kitchen and Seth was showing Casey around and the kids were chatting away with our guest. 

We asked Casey to stay and have dinner with us and he kindly accepted. And was I ever so thankful that I made soup instead of a meager dinner!!! While the honey was melting, Seth quickly took Casey outside and showed him around the farm. I got a little curious as to why Seth was talking so casually with Casey rather than filling him in on business talk, but one look out the dining room window and everything made sense.

Let me give you a background on my man.

I had heard a few stories when we first began dating and experienced it in our early marriage. My generous hubby has been known from time to time to pick up hitch hikers and give them a ride or take them to dinner. While I love this about him, it also scares me. I'm sure I don't need to explain why. When we had our first child I asked him to not do it anymore because I didn't want him to get hurt (I won't get into details, but lets just say I know of an incident with a kid I used to go to school with and it makes me incredibly leery of this kind of thing). Anyway, I have become convicted recently about how much we are doing to help the poor and the needy and for reasons only God knows, Seth and I talked a few months ago and we decided if he felt let to pick up a hitch hiker, he should. 

So when I looked out the dining room window, I saw a back pack in the back of the truck...

I smiled to myself and actually laughed. I was so thankful to the Lord for the change of heart that I could rejoice in seeing the Lord work things out. I had made enough dinner to feed twice as many people as we had at the table and my husband brought a wandering soul into our home so we could talk, feed, and encourage him. My children got to see their parents welcome a stranger into our home and they didn't think anything of it. They in fact, loved having Casey there and he was great. Conversation seemed to flow seamlessly and we rather enjoyed hearing about his life and interests.

We can be so quick to judge and act out of fear. And this evening was the exact opposite. Casey was a true gentleman and was actually on his way home from visiting friends. He decided to hitch hike from Oregon to Georgia so he could meet new people and have an adventure. He works a couple seasonal jobs and was on a break. We talked at the table for quite a while and Seth asked if he was ready to go. Lets just say that it was so hard to not tell Casey he could sleep on our couch, when I knew he was wanting to continue on his journey. I felt very inhospitable, but this was how he wanted it. His only request was to try our raw milk because he never tasted it before. And of course, he loved it.

While Seth was dropping Casey off by the interstate (I know, I know), I was pondering over the Lord's providence and how He so perfectly orchestrates events in our lives. Once I got the kids to bed, I went outside to do the chores. I am a creature of habit and always do them the same way, but for whatever reason I decided to do things a bit different. I fed the cat, went to feed Franco, and then headed for the coop. With the layout of our fence and such I have to go through a gate to get to the coop and it's a good thing I went this route. Nestled in the corner of the gate was one of my Welsummer hens. I would have NEVER found her here because this is not the usual spot for a missing chicken to be, let alone the usual chicken. A Rhode Island hen is usually found roosting on the top of the run, so I would have never thought to look here. I picked her up and immediately thought, "Lord, you care about the little things too. Not just what I consider to be big, but you care for the little things too. Feeding and welcoming strangers into our home (big), but also a lone hen that might be harmed if left by herself in the night (little)." 

I tucked the missing hen under my arm and just thanked the Lord for His providence and care for His people and His creation. People are of infinite more value than animals, but that doesn't mean He doesn't care for them.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."

Matthew 10:20-31

I walked into the coop, turned the light on, counted chickens, closed the run door, and then set the hen on the roost with the rest of the girls. No sooner did I set her down than did I realize she had a patch of feathers missing from her back. She was fine, no blood, but she probably got too close to Franco and got a few feather plucked out. I thanked the Lord (again) for letting me find her and see that she has some feathers missing. I now knew to watch out for her just to make sure she's ok.

I went to bed just in awe of how the hand of God plans the steps of His children and changes our hearts to want to do His will. I will probably not forget this day as it had a profound impact in my life. 

***

A few days before we left for our trip to Wyoming I found a letter in the mail that was addressed to Seth. It was from Georgia and I was so confused as to who it could be. I didn't know Casey's last name and I for some reason thought home for him was Texas.

I called Seth and asked if I could open it and once given the ok, I ripped the envelope faster than you could blink. I about started to cry once I realized who it was from and thanked the Lord that we were able to show the love of Christ to one who we may never meet again.

Not sure if you can read the letter, but here is the second half of it:

"The whole trip, Atlanta- Colorado- Oregon- Texas was amazing, but one of the best highlights and probably the most memorable moments was getting the chance to meet you and your family. I can't thank you enough for your hospitality, kindness, and gifts. When people ask about this trip, yours is the first stay I tell. Please extend my greetings and thanks to Noel, Jude, Ella, and Leah. May you all continue to be safe and prosperous. 

                                             -Casey Tucker "

Reading this means more to me (and us) than any amount of money or wealth. We are thankful for the chance to have met Casey Tucker and we pray that the Lord will work in his life.

If I have one thing to say it's this, don't let an opportunity to do another person good pass you by because your are afraid or because it might make you uncomfortable. God is the only one we need to please and He always, always cares for His children. May we always live to please him and never forget the poor, the needy, or just the traveler passing by.

Rosemary Sage Roasted Chicken

Lets just get this out in the open.

I love butter.

In fact I love it so much that I've taught my kids something that I consider to be very important. It goes like this...butter makes everything better.

Say it with me now, "Butter makes EVERYTHING better."

Ok yes, now we can move on cause the recipe in this post is just simply delicious AND it contains a lot of butter.

Mmmmmm.

I have about darn near perfected the roasted chicken. It is so good, soft, juicy, and finger lickin' tasty that I just have to share it with you. What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't?

When I first got married I was so intimidated by the (whole) chicken. I had no idea how to cook it and quite frankly didn't really want to touch it. I cooked a few and they were just as bland as a piece of unbuttered toast and dry to boot. The whole chicken quickly was put on the back burner and I turned to the boneless skinless chicken breast. While the chicken breast is very versatile it can also be very dry (I have a trick for this too - later friends, later) and can't go as far as a whole bird.

I can't remember the last time I bought chicken breasts. I miss them at times, but I can get at least two meals, maaaybe three out of a whole chicken. Plus I make bone broth with the carcass when I'm done. Score! I'm pretty sure you can't make two chicken breasts last as long as that (I said two because there are after all, only two breasts on a chicken).

So before we get started on the chicken I'll show you a little technique I've come up with. It makes life much easier and tastier. I like to put butter under the skin of the chicken and on top. Have you ever tried to put butter under the skin of a chicken? No matter the answer, let me show you how I do it.

Get 1/2 cup of butter to room temp and peel one small head of garlic.

Mince or crush your garlic into your butter and mix thoroughly. I like to make my butter VERY garlic-y because I love garlic too. You can definitely do as much or as little as you want, but please, add garlic.

Once mixed, put your garlic-y butter on wax paper. Spread it out to about the size of an elongated stick of butter. Next you'll want to wrap the edge of your wax paper around your butter and squeeze all the air out. Gently make the butter into a smooth tube and keep the wax paper as wrinkle free as possible (this is so when you go to unwrap the butter, the wax paper will easily come off). Gently twist the edges of the wax paper like you see on a taffy candy wrapper. Put butter into fridge and let harden (I like to do this step the day before to make sure that is is ready).

Now for the finger lickin' chicken.

First things first. Rinse off your chicken inside and out, then dry it off with paper towels. Don't skip the drying off, it makes for a crispier skin and it makes it easier when you go to slather the butter on the bird. Believe me if you don't dry off your chicken, the only thing that is going to have butter on it is YOU.

Next take scissors and cut one slit on each of the legs. Once you've made your cuts, take your finger stick it under the skin and separate the skin from the meat. You'll also want to separate the skin from the breasts in the same manner. I about get my whole hand under the skin on the chicken breasts. I want my butter to go far.

Now is the time to whip out your tube of garlic butter. Unwrap the morsel of buttery goodness and cut the whole thing into slices. Separate 2-4 slices from the bunch and then stick the rest in a baggie and put it in the fridge for future use. Split one of the slices in half and then slide the halves under the skin on the legs. Next slide the other slices under the breast of the chicken. Make sure you really get them in there. You don't want your butter to drain out of your chicken do you? Of course not.

Once your done sliding the butter under the skin, stuff the small stash of herbs (below) into the cavity along with a lemon that's been cut into quarters. Tie the legs together with a piece of baking twine.

Next you'll need to make the herb butter for the outside of the chicken.

I have herbs growing right outside my door so I grabbed a handful of sage and rosemary and thought it good for my chicken. You can really use whatever herbs you want, but this combination is a good one. Separate a small stash for the inside of the bird (above) and then mince the rest for the butter. You really want to make this as small as you can. Also, if you choose to use fresh rosemary, be sure to remove the needles from the stem. The stem is essentially wood and is no bueno for eating. Once your done mincing, add it to about 1/4 cup of softened butter and mix well. I like to add a bit of salt too, but do whatever suits your taste.

Generously rub the herb butter all over your whole chicken and make sure you cover it well. The butter should stick well if you made sure that your chicken is dry. Once that's done, drop the rest of the herb butter on your potatoes (assuming your cooking your chicken on potatoes).

Cook for about 1 1/2 hours with your oven on 350 degrees. If your potatoes aren't quite done yet (don't cut them too big), cover your chicken with foil and then turn the oven up to about 375 for about 10 minutes and that should do the trick.

And voila, you have a fantastic mouth watering roasted chicken! Make sure you let it rest for about 10-15 minutes so all the juices soak into the bird and don't just flow out when your cutting it up. The potatoes are going to be mouth watering tasty due to them being baked in your buttery, garlic-y, herb and chicken juices.

Are you hungry yet?

I really hope you try this, it's just too good not to.

And if after all that I've told you, if you can only remember one thing, please remember my motto...

Butter makes EVERYTHING better.

Homemade Caramel Corn

Well, I'm sorry.

It's been a long time since I posted a recipe, but life has been in such a whirlwind lately that I've been cooking basics. Nothin' exciting or fun.

Until now, that is.

On Saturday the fam and I went to a rodeo. It was so much fun and my son now is fixated on becoming a bull rider. If you knew him, you'd realize how serious he is. Next year we'll sign him up to do the muttin' busting and he can get a taste for sand. Hopefully that will rid him of his desire to die on the back of a bull. I mean really, what mama gets excited when her son tells her he wants to ride bulls? Not this one.

Moooooving on.

Sorry, I can't help myself.

Knowing that we were going to a rodeo filled with all sorts of junk food, I decided that I wanted to bring some snacks that could rival anything the concession stands could fry our way. I mean come on, who doesn't love a corn dog?

I didn't make corn dogs, but I did make something even better. I give you...homemade caramel corn!

It tastes every bit as good as it looks and it's full of good stuff. You won't find any hydrogenated oils or corn syrups here. No way. Just goodness the way God intended. I will not make you wait any longer, here ya go!

Homemade Caramel Corn

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup Molasses*
• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1/2 cup Butter
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

*If your molasses is really strong, make it 1/4 cup molasses and 3/4 cup honey.

First things first, pop your self some popcorn. Put 1/2 cup of unpopped popcorn in your air popper (if you don't have one use a heavy pot over medium low heat). I really like air popped popcorn because it's lighter than popcorn popped in a pan.

Wow, this is a lot of popping. Let's just say I'm trying to make sure I'm doubling the p's and not the o's. If you know what I'm sayin'.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and butter two 9 x 13 casserole dishes. Once buttered, split the (popped) popcorn between the two dishes.

Next you want to make the caramel for the popcorn.

In your pan add 1/2 cup molasses, 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup butter, and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly. Once it's boiling, let the carmel mixture boil for 5 minutes without stirring.

Remove from heat (VERY IMPORTANT).

Add 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp baking soda.

Make sure you are stirring carefully when you add these because the carmel is going to want to foam and will rise quite a bit. If this is your first time, you may want to do this in a larger pot so it doesn't spill everywhere.

As soon as these are mixed well pour equal parts over your two dishes of popcorn. Mix quickly and carefully. You want to make sure you coat all the popcorn with the caramel before it starts to cool and you don't want to break all your popcorn to bits. I suggest you fold the caramel into the popcorn like you would fold whipped egg whites into batter.

Bake in your preheated oven for 1 hour. Stir/fold the caramel corn one more time and then pour it out on parchment paper and let cool.

***You could also make popcorn balls with this. Before baking, make the popcorn into the desired size of balls and then bake. So fun!

If you are going to be eating this caramel corn right away you don't have to bake it if you don't want to. It is sooo good and gooey and soft. If you are going to be eating this later then I suggest you bake it and make it wonderfully crispy. It doesn't save well unbaked.

This is some of the best caramel corn you'll ever eat! I'm serious. We ate this in about 10 minutes at the rodeo and I was lamenting that I didn't make more.

Next time, I will be FULLY prepared.

I can't wait for you to try this and it's really so easy to make.

Oh, and I dare you to not lick the pan when your done.

Ear Tags and Cooler Weather

Life on the farm has been a bit mundane lately.

Life has been busy and quite frankly, I've hardly taken any pictures due to always feelin' a bit behind. I have a hard time thinking about blogging when I feel like I have so much to do. You know? I'm sure you do.

I started homeschooling Jude a few weeks ago and it's been wonderful. He just loves it and its so great to watch him learn. I am not an extremely organized type-A person though and so having to be on a schedule is a bit rough for this mama. I am really having to learn how to prioritize and decide what needs to be done and what can wait.

Yesterday was an awesome day. I woke up before the family and thought, "I want bacon". And you know what? I went to the store and got some. Exciting stuff I tell you and it tasted amazing. The drive was worth it alone. It was a cloudy, tempestuous day and the sky just beamed of Gods handiwork. I pretty much just praised the Lord the whole time I was on the road.

Fall is here and I'm loving every ounce of it. Last year we felt like Summer until November and so I'm hoping with this cool and windy weather it's the Lord saying, "You will have lots and lots of rain this Winter." We need the rain, but I don't control that so I'll just wait and see what is in store.

When cool weather comes it usually means the sheep will start cycling soon, which means the ram needs to have all his ladies with him. As of yesterday we still had the lambs with their mamas and so we separated them out and ear tagged the newbies. I seriously could just stare at these lambs all day. It seems like a small miracle that we actually had lambs born to the farm a few months ago. Just amazing!

Let's just say he's happy, happy, happy.

When you have small children and are trying to move animals things always get interesting. For instance, they ALWAYS want to watch and see the action. That's when you have to get innovative.

Have a baby in a stroller and a bunch of hay in the way? Lock the tires and put the stroller on top. Oh yes we did and she was happier than she appears.

Jude and Ella of course wanted to help, but they settle for getting to pet the little beauty. 

Seriously, isn't this little ewe lamb just gorgeous? I would have gotten a full body shot, but lets just say she has springs for legs and Seth had to make her sit to behave.

Now anyone that knows my son knows that he's a mini warrior. He just has to be conquering and he was sure he could catch a sheep. Now we all know he's much to small, but hey give the boy a chance. And so we did. 

The pictures don't do justice, but in the last one he actually has hand fulls of wool and had a pretty smug look on his face. It didn't take long for the sheep to get away, but he threw his hands in the air and cheered because he got so close. I'm now kicking myself that we didn't think to have him ride one. He want's to ride a sheep so badly and we're even considering letting him do mutton busting in the Spring. We will for sure let him ride our sheep before then and let's just say, if he can ride our sheep he can ride any. These things are fast and can jump like a kangaroo. I hope my boy will still have his front teeth by Summer...

I just love my precious Leah. She makes my heart happy and is such a blessing. Here's my attempt at getting a picture with my kids. I'm always the one missing due to being the one taking most of the pictures. I'm trying to be more intentional about getting in front of the lens.

We got a good one...finally. After many attempts (to follow) I have a picture that I just love. 

Before you wonder why do many darn pictures let me say one thing, "Just look at their faces!" I couldn't help myself and I'm still laughing. And your welcome.

A Quick Update

Hi friends!

I just want to give a quick update.

I went to the Wise Traditions conference in Portland Oregon this past weekend and it was awesome! I learned so much and am working on writing a loooong post about everything that was talked about. I also got to meet Sally Fallon, which was of course, so cool.  :)

I watched a movie called Farmageddon. If you haven't watched it...you must! Here's the trailer.

We have to eat to survive and so what is happening to our food and to those who raise our food is important. Sure it's easy to go to the grocery store and buy all that you need, but to not pay attention to our food supply isn't wise.

I've struggled with the topic of food and health and how it is one of the BIGGEST idols in this country. Don't get me started on on these food diets/fads and this idea that we all have to have a six pack and a perfectly toned rear. Sure it's nice, but who has time for that! I think we should be active and most of us probably should be exercising, but sorry I don't think it's healthy for women to have 5% body fat, especially those who are ttc, pregnant, or are nursing.  I've had to daily ask the Lord to give a His perspective on health and how we are to eat. A few hundred years ago, we didn't have to worry so much because everything was grown and raised well (for the most part). Now we live in a time where some people only eat processed food that is giving them a shorter life span and not to mention crazy health problems. I know that life on earth is about serving Christ and that is why I want to feed my family well. I want to be physically able to do what God has called my family and I to do. I think it wise as a wife and a mama to feed my family well so they can thrive and be useful.

Anyway, I just wanted to point you to a documentary about whats happening to small farms all over. I hope to get the Wise Traditions post up by next week. 

Just a side note, I know I said in my previous post that I was going to delete my official page for this blog and I tried. I cannot figure out how to do it! Silly I know, but I spent waaay to much time trying to do it and so for the moment I'm just going to leave it. I figure even if I don't post on it, those who want to know when a new post is up can at least still get the update.

Hope you are enjoying this lovely Fall season. I love the cool air, the sweet smell of nature going to sleep, and the future bonfires and snuggles with my munchkins.

The War of the Mind

I have been at war.

There has been death and victory, but it still ensues. I believe it always will for as long as this earth rotates.
No doubt I have been absent from here and it may still continue. Priorities have changed and this outlet is one of those things that have undoubtedly had to lessen in my life.

I want to live in light of eternity and I will fight to do so everyday. I got sucked into blog-land and don't plan on letting it happen again. I don't mean that I wont blog anymore, but I will NOT let it become an idol in my life again. I tried to keep up with everyone else, tried to grow, and honestly I probably could if I really wanted to. But I don't.

Not at the expense of living to blog. Once your mind becomes geared towards growth you start to view everything you do as 'something to blog about'. Instead of enjoying your day, your trying to make it interesting so someone would want to see. Maybe others liked what they saw, but I'm sure God didn't. And that is what matters, what my Lord thinks.

I am a Christian and therefore I am a completely different person than who I was years and years ago. God has been working hard on me lately and I can say that every week I am a different person that I was the week prior. These past few months have been the most precious, tearful, and amazing months of my life. I have never felt so close to God and never have realized my smallness in comparison to His glory, until now. All this to say, I am wanting to fill my days with serving the Lord and am fleshing that out right now.

I am a wife and mother. These roles are greatly prized in the eyes of God and I am a blessed woman. The culture of our day despises these two roles, but I cling to God and not fallen world. I am daily trying to be more pleasing to God and by His strength, I am. Now don't get me wrong, nothing I do can make me any closer to God.  I have been saved by grace alone, but it is because of Gods saving power that I desire to walk in accordance with His will.

I also have some heavy burdens. Burdens that I believe are from God, but at the moment don't know what to do with them. My heart breaks daily and I just plead with the Lord to show me what He would have me do. I know that His timing in perfect and I believe He is shaping and molding me right now for what's to come. I watched a video last week that changed my life. I haven't been the same since. It is so hard to see and watch, but I implore you to watch it. It's disturbing, unbelievable, and heart-wrenching. It does have some disturbing images so please, don't watch it with your children. View it first and then you can decide if your children are mature enough to handle it.

I have always felt the desire to adopt. Ever since I can remember I know that its been something laid on my heart. I am open to whatever God wants. Whether its a child from our country or another, a child who has disabilities or not, a child who is not yet born or who may not get the chance to breathe. I pray God will lead me to be in the right place and the right time and be able to welcome another soul into our home. These children are horribly abused, how can anyone watch this and not break?

***I found last night that the woman who made this documentary has revisited this institution to see the changes made. There was an outcry when it first came out and the country felt the pressure to change. If you want to watch it go HERE. I have not watched this one yet...maybe tonight.

All this leads me to another thing that I want to bring forward to my readers. I mentioned it on my Facebook page, but I'll repeat it here. I am going to be getting rid of my 'the Shepherd's farm' Facebook page. I hardly ever use it and think its a waste of space. I don't want to be followed or 'Liked'. I would like to be friends.

If you would like to become Facebook friends then please send a request. I am more likely to post my updates and things that I care for there. It is much easier and honestly I don't blog so people can see how popular I am. I write because I enjoy it.

I really enjoy this space, I don't plan on stopping blogging altogether, but I do plan on being more intentional about what I blog about. I'm not going to take the time to blog everyday about our everyday lives, but I will blog about stuff that matters. 

I hope all of you are well and that you've felt the presence of the almighty God in your lives. I pray that you would follow through with conviction and live a life pleasing to God. Have a blessed weekend!

The Path Less Taken

I live a blessed life. Truly, I have a blessed existence. The Lord in His providence saw fit to place me here and gave me strong convictions about life and purpose. I have many thoughts coursing through my mind and at times, it is difficult to sort them through, to place them in the highest order of importance, and it can be draining to someone who wants to fix the worlds problems (me) and realize that I cannot. Only God can. I am His tool however and I pray that I will be used mightily.

My intention for this blog is not to show off my accomplishments (they are few) and to make much of myself. No, that is not my goal and I hope it doesn't seem to be. My goal for this blog is to journal mine and my family's life here on our farm so we can encourage others who would like to do the same. I want to be the Proverbs 31 woman. This may seem silly to you, but I desire to be her with every bone in my body. I can get discouraged when I read of her because I can see my failings so clearly, but God gave us this woman as an example of what a godly woman can and should be. I therefore conclude that He can also give me the strength to fulfill the role He desires for my life.

Every morning and evening when I go out to do chores I see God and His hand in creation. Life is bursting here on the farm. The fruit trees are already getting heavy with fruit. Apple, peach, plum, and pears - just to name a few. The walnut trees are absolutely majestic, so big and grand with their long branches and broad leaves. My seedlings - even under the care of a black thumb - are doing amazing. The tomato seeds I planted last week are growing like crazy! It seems like they grow every time I check on them, which is often. My pumpkins are still the greenhouse kings and they let the rest know it. Already, their vines are taking shape and towering over the other seedlings showing off their distinct leaves and quick growing ability. The chickens are pretty much full grown and we still have worries of a rooster. I hope we are wrong in our assumptions. *Only about 30 minutes after writing this post it was confirmed. We have a rooster.*

My sheep are another story. I called our shearer the other day and he's supposed to come out soon to clip them of their winter wool. I am awaiting this day with great anticipation because we aren't positive they are bred. Our ram is pretty young and even though his effort was never ending, we just aren't positive that he was - ahem - 'ready'. Time will tell and we still have a little while before we can officially say yea or nay. I so desperately want lambs this year, I may shed a few tears if we don't have any. Sniff. Wouldn't you?

I often wonder about this life that God has led my husband and I to. What is His plan, purpose, and direction for it? I read about, hear about, and witness people all around me getting the 'bug' so to speak. Right now it seems that people are really wanting to go back in time a bit and live a simpler life. People want to witness life in all it's forms. Really we all are wanting to see God and it is so easy to when you live this way. I'm not sure how you can deny His existence when you see a lamb be born, or your very first seedling pop up from the soil. It's truly a thrill! I believe 100% that the most miraculous event (physical...not spiritual. Salvation of course reigns supreme.) that a person experiences is the birth of a child. There is nothing sweeter than the reward of a child after the hours of travail and grueling pain. The sweet smell of a newborn, the warmth of their skin, looking them over intently and meeting the new little one that God has given you. I'm almost to tears right now, I love my babies!

Are you one of those people? Do you yearn for a garden, livestock, a simpler life? Do you desire a spouse, happiness, children? These are great things to desire, but I hope that all of us desire God the most. I hope that we surrender our lives to Him and let Him guide us. It is easy to get distracted these days; there are so many things that can take away our attention. The Lord is merciful and is always patient with this child of His - moi. He always gently leads me to the Rock that I can lean on, the River where my thirst will forever be quenched.

Physically my family is taking the path less taken. Farming is not necessarily glamorous and it seems that celebrity and glamour are what a lot of people want today. Farming is definitely not the life of ease.  We want a life that is spent growing, raising, and nurturing life so it can in turn nurture us. We desire to spend our time helping others, for we truly desire with our farm to bless others. Right now we are still figuring out the kinks, but this farm is not ours, it's God's and we want to use it to bless others, feed others, and point others to the One that matters.

Spiritually we are living the path less taken. It seems that the idea of God is attacked from every corner. And let me just say, God is NOT an idea. He is not just some moralistic 'being' that floats in the sky and tells us the things we cannot do. He is not some goody-two-shoes that is a pushover and merely makes suggestions for how people should live. He is not a figment of the imagination that people have created so they can explain away their fears. No, He is the embodiment of perfection. He is truth, He is holy, He is righteous, and He is just. He is the Creator of life and without Him, we wouldn't be.

May my life, my family, and yes, this blog point in one direction...up. I am living proof that God loves and saves sinners. Lord willing, my life will not be lived in vain. Lord willing, my husband and I will use what we've been given to bless and teach others.

When I am old and my life is spent, I hope to look back and see Christ and all the He's done through His servant.

I hope I will always continue to take the path less taken.