Mrs. Jocelyn Klotz  from “Homemaker In Progress” !

We pray it will be a blessing to you, and that you enjoy this yummy recipe!

Hello Practical Simplicity readers!

I am Jocelyn Klotz.  The LORD brought my family and the Konvalin’s together for the first time a little over a year ago when we came to visit their church during a family trip to California.  We quickly found that we have a lot in common; one of which, is a passion for eating and living a naturally healthy lifestyle.

Along this line of natural health, I would like to share with you one of our family’s favorite, healthy winter desserts.  Actually, we have it throughout the year too, but it’s especially great during the winter season when unhealthy sugary treats abound and you desire a healthier alternative.

My Background:

I am your average housewife whose eyes have been opened to truth, Biblical truths, in the area of health and nutrition.  I do not have a medical degree but I would definitely consider myself an “informed consumer”.  I am certified as a Raw Food Teacher/Chef through the Living on Live Food program and have studied natural health on my own for over the past 9 years.  I don’t proclaim to know everything, but what I do know, I share.

A Biblical Focus:

When it comes to natural health, our foundation, as with any other area in our lives, comes from the Word of God.  If you are new to natural health, I would like to list three simple principles for your consideration from Rex Russell’s book, What The Bible Has To Say About Healthy Living.  These principles have been foundational in our own family’s Biblical approach to health.

1. Eat the foods God created for you.

2. Don’t alter God’s design.

3. Don’t let any food or drink become your god.

The Recipe:

I hope you will be encouraged to try this recipe.  It is absolutely DELICIOUS, easy, and totally healthy.  I have another version of this recipe, but this is the easiest.  To give credit where credit is due, the original recipe came from The Nourishing Gourmet blog, but I have tweaked it slightly to suit our tastes.   You may want to double or triple the recipe. Enjoy! 

“Divine Coconut Peanut Butter Fudge”

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup virgin coconut oil

½ cup raw cacao powder (raw chocolate)

½ cup coconut sugar or honey

¼ cup peanut butter or almond butter (optional)

Seeds from 1 vanilla bean (or ½ tsp. vanilla extract)

Dash of sea salt

Melt the coconut oil (be careful not to overheat).  If using granulated coconut sugar, blend it in a blender until it is a light powder.  Mix all ingredients together until well combined.

Place parchment paper in a loaf or glass pan.  Pour fudge into pan and place it in the refrigerator or freezer to set.  Cut into candy-size pieces and serve cold.  Coconut oil melts above 76*.  Store in refrigerator for 12 months.

*This recipe substitutes well with other ingredients.  Feel free to experiment!

Article by:

~Mrs. Jocelyn Klotz~

]]> http://practicalsimplicity.com/blog/2011/04/surprise-guest-post-recipe/feed/ 4 http://practicalsimplicity.com/blog/2011/04/gluten-free-nut-butter-balls/ http://practicalsimplicity.com/blog/2011/04/gluten-free-nut-butter-balls/#comments Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:06:31 +0000 practicalsimplicity http://practicalsimplicity.com/blog/?p=1005 Right now over at “Heavenly Homemakers” you can find many yummy gluten-free recipes during their Gluten-free Parade!!!

We decided to re-post this oh so yummy snack/dessert for the parade and for those of you who missed it!

Here is a simply wonderful guilt-free treat that our family enjoys very much, and is dairy -free, gluten-free, and soy-free!

Nut Butter Balls

1 cup of your favorite nut butter (peanut, almond, sunflower seed…etc.)

1/2 cup raw honey

1 1/2 – 2 cups finely shredded unsweetened coconut

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips ~ *optional

Mix all ingredients together in medium size bowl.  Take teaspoon size amounts of the mixture and roll into bite size balls.  Place on a baking sheet or glass baking pan (9″x13″ inch).  When all the mixture is rolled and in the pan, place the pan into the freezer for an hour or two.  You can eat as is but they taste best when frozen.  *The chocolate chips we use are made by Enjoy Life Foods and are soy-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free but they do contain a small amount of cane sugar.  Just wanted to let you know in case you need to completely avoid sugar for specific needs.  These are tasty even without the chocolate chips.

Now does that not sound delightful or what!?

We hope you will enjoy this recipe, and the may others you will find over at “Heavenly Homemakers”!

Blessings,

Here is a teaser video about the new Homestead Blessings below!

I am sure that our family will be adding this to the many others we have collected and all of them are so wonderful and both my mom and I would highly recommend them!

Now on to a giveaway!  Have any of you seen the Homestead Blessings : The Art of Canning DVD and wish to do it?  Or are you one who knows how to do it, but needs some help in certain areas,  needs a reference guide,  or something to add to your hope chest?  Than this is the giveaway for you!

Head on over to “Mountain Home Quilts” for her giveaway HERE of this wonderful book that has been on my wish list for months!  My mother has one and it is very informative and has many recipes as well and makes for a wonderful reference guide for any caner whether you are a pro or a beginner!  But you need to hurry as today is the last day of entering this giveaway and the winner will be announced soon!!!!

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week/coming weekend and God bless!

That said, a couple months ago as usual being pressed for time I threw some ingredients into a large pot for a quick soup. My whole family raved about it and said it was a “keeper” recipe. Oh dear did I begin to panic while trying to remember everything I had just thrown into the pot! I quickly jotted down the ingredients. A few days later I followed my “recipe” again and nervously waited for the responses. To my relief I was able to actually repeat one of my whims accurately and have made it several times since just to make sure. So my friends, I can confidently share my special culinary whim with you so you may enjoy and I do not have to panic whether or not I got it down right.

Chicken Kale Soup

~makes 6 hearty portions~

In a large pot place:

5 cups water

2 large potatoes, diced

diced 1 cup carrots, diced

Boil gently until almost tender, then add:

1 Tbl. Sea salt

1 Tbl. Minced dry onion

1 Tbl. Garlic powder

½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper

4 cups cooked chicken, cubed

4 cups kale, chopped

1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans with liquid

1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes

Simmer for 10 minutes.

Great served with homemade rolls and a big tossed salad.

Enjoy!

Now for another special treat. Our dear friend Christa from Country Hearts at Home is celebrating her blogs first anniversary by having a special giveaway. These items are handmade by her from start to finish and I have to tell you from firsthand experience her work is exquisite….precise….almost perfect! (I say almost because only God is perfect in what He creates) You can spring on over to Christa’s blog (HERE). Tell her the ladies at Practical Simplicity sent you and enter to win her special creations. Read through her post as there are several ways to earn extra entries!

Spring Blessings,

Oatmeal Muffins

(Makes 1 dozen)

Whisk together in a medium sized bowl the following ingredients:

1 cup flour (we have used everything from white to fresh ground wheat, spelt, and kamut)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

In another medium sized bowl mix the following ingredients together:

1/2 cup oil (we used melted coconut oil)

2 eggs

1 cup leftover cooked oatmeal

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp. vanilla

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient bowl and combine until just moistened.  Fill greased muffin tins 2/3′s full.  Bake for 18 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Here are some variations we have made with yummy results:

Substitute dried cranberries for the raisins

Omit the cinnamon and raisins add 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries.

You can use any leftover porridge type cereal for this recipe.  We have used brown rice porridge and a homemade 7-grain hot cereal mix .

This recipe can be doubled or tripled.

From our kitchen to yours…

Over at THIS blog, a lady is giving away two Kitchen Aid Mixers! The trick is that when you enter the giveaway, you must mention that “Miss Antoinette sent me” to the giveaway!  If you win and my name is on the comment selected, we both win one of the mixers!  How neat is that!?  I would love to have this in my hope chest!  How about you!?

So join in on the fun!

Blessings in Christ,

Today we will be discussing another idea for filling your hope chest with lovely, practical, useful, simple things that make hope chests so wonderful!

*Please know that my lists are not exhaustive nor mandatory.  Something I think is essential for my hope chest may not be practical or useful for you and vice versa.  My goal is to wet you appetite and get your creative juices flowing.   Most importantly ask the Lord to help you make wise selections that will glorify Him in your home.  It would grieve me to think that I have encouraged someone in frivolous materialism.

Now onto the idea for this week:

Kitchen Implements: Nothing makes your work and/or projects more enjoyable than the right attitude and proper tools to get the job done.  For me this includes good wooden spoons, stainless steel measuring cups and measuring spoons. (my mom surprised me with heart shaped measuring spoons ~ very neat!)  I really like the serving spoons, ladle and spatula my mom uses so she has been buying these for me one by one as the budget allows!

*It is an important note: Do NOT store plastics in a cedar hope chest!!!  Besides the plastic absorbing the strong scent which will never leave there is a chemical reaction that  takes place leaving the plastic feeling sticky and greasy.  That also will not go away.  My Mom’s cousin learned that the hard way!  Wooden spoons will absorb the cedar scent in wooden spoons will over time go away when being in used and no longer stored in the chest.  The cedar scent in wooden spoons will not effect food prep. In any way.

I could go on, and on listing many more items like a rolling pin, glass liquid measuring cups in several sizes, a set of sharp cutting knives….. etc.  I hesitate to do so however, knowing that these items basically keep the same shape and style from year to year and will always be available.  It is those items that you are using now that belong to your mom, grandmother or aunt that feel right as you use them.  Take wooden spoons for instance they come in many shapes and some just do not feel right to me.  So I keep my eyes open for the shapes and styles that I am used to using so I will feel at home and not awkward in my future kitchen!

Well, I hope this has been another useful, encouraging post to you and I hope you will join me next week for another idea for filling your hope chest!

Grace and Peace,

Miss. Antoinette K.

That is going to change today!  Here is a wonderful soup recipe from one of my favorite blogs : “Country Hearts At Home”

Italian Tortellini Soup

Hands down, this is my family’s favorite soup!
I hope you will try it and love it as much as we do.

Ingredients:

4-5 mild Italian Sausage
red pepper flakes (see below)
1 Onion, chopped
4-5 Cloves garlic, minced
1 quart creamy tomato soup
2 quarts chicken broth
1 Lg. can diced tomatoes
1-2 cups carrots, sliced
green beans, fresh or frozen
zucchini
1/2-1 tsp. Basil, fresh or dry
1/2-1 tsp. Oregano, dry
1-2 TBSP. Parsley
24 oz. Tortellini
Salt to taste

Instructions:

Brown sausage and drain

Add red pepper flakes, onions, garlic, carrots and sate’

Add tomato soup, chicken broth,
diced tomatoes and green beans

Cook on low for 30 minutes

Add spices, zucchini and tortellini

Cook for 10 minutes

Serve immediately with
Parmesian cheese and bread

*Note: For a spicier soup, add red pepper flakes.
1/2 – 1 tsp. should be good for the first time.
You can be the judge if you need to adjust next time.

Enjoy!

I thought that it would be fun to share a fun easy recipe that is sooooo much fun, and easy to do! My whole family loves this bread, and is really good as sandwich bread if placed in loaf pans instead of braided!

I got this wonderful recipe from “Goose Berry Patch Country Baking” cook book. I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Best Friend Bread

1 Tablespoon Active Dry Yeast                           1 Teaspoon Salt

1 ¼ Cup Warm Water                                         2 Eggs

¼ Cup Honey                                                     4 ½ Cups All-purpose Flour

¼ Cup Oil                                                           ¼ Cup Melted Butter

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix sugar, oil, salt, and eggs together;

Stir in yeast mixture. Add flour and knead until smooth. Cover and let rise until double in size (about 45 min.). Punch down and turn out onto floured surface. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece with your hands until you have 3 ropes about 12 inches long. Pinch one end of each of the 3 pieces of dough together and braid dough. Pinch the other ends together to seal, then tuck under. Pour butter over the top and bake at 305 degrees for 30 Minutes. Add another thin layer of butter on top after bread has been pulled our of the oven for a nice look when taking a picture!

The finished product!

Happy Baking!

Antoinette K .