I have a secret!! Today was a new beginning for me!!

Hello to all of my friends that faithfully read my blog. I hope you are having a great week and looking forward to Memorial Day weekend!

I am so excited!!!! I went on an adventure today! I have been praying and thinking about my life and what I want to do in the next stage of my life. I have had so many things happen and so much drama and stress in my life. I really want to make a change.

My first agenda was and still is to make sure I am there for my Mother as she recovers from chemo. I believe that God is healing her and I stand on his promises.
I have had some annoying health issues but I am doing so much better. I have done a lot of soul searching. I started thinking about things I love and enjoy. What type of career do I want? Do I want to change fields? I love working online and I love to travel. So I came up with a crazy, wild idea of a lifetime. Stay tuned and I will share my plan with you soon!!!
Thank you so much for visiting my blog. Please follow my Blog! It would mean the world to me!
Have a wonderful day!
Today is the first day of the rest of our lives! Make the most of it! Treasure it! Live life to the fullest! Be grateful! Be gracious! Thank you Lord for all of your bountiful blessings and grace.
Terri

I have a secret!! Today was a new beginning for me!!

Southern style Chicken & Pastry. Lunch with Dad and Jonathan.

 I am spending some time with my Mother as she recovers from chemo treatments. My father mentioned last evening that he would like some Chicken and Pastry. My nothern friends call it Chicken and dumplings. This is not the same thing as I have experienced from the North. Their dumplings seem to be made with corn meal. These are made of flour.  Dad made things easy for us today by making a trip to the grocery store and getting some of the premade frozen pastry. Anne's pastry is wonderful and she is from our area! She is a sweet christian lady which was brilliant to come up with the idea of selling premade pastry for home cooks. The pastry is also wonderful baked as crackers. Just sprinkle on a little kosher salt and olive oil bake until cripsy and and serve with ranch dressing!!!

I have made pastry dough from scratch like my grandmother use to make. She shared a tip with me a long time ago and that was to use canned biscuits. She would crack open the can of biscuits and knead them all together.  Sprinkled a little flour on them and rolled the dough out very thin and cut them in strips. After the stewed chicken was done, she would pull out the chicken and de-bone it. Then layer in the pastry strips with  layers of shredded chicken to keep them from clumping together. She would cook this until the pastry was very tender.  She used a whole chicken and put half of the stewed chicken in the pastry and the other half she would make  a bowl of chicken salad.  My mother would do this same thing. Now we can make it much easier by skipping all of that and purchasing the box of pastry strips.My dad purchased some organic chicken broth because he had a few chicken legs for us to cook up. This gave us a richer pot of Pastry since we didn't use the whole chicken! My grandmother would serve her pastry with a pot of cabbage or collards and some fried corn bread.  I miss her so much! Both of my grandmothers were wonderful cooks! My Mother is also a wonderful cook. I want her to get well so she will feel like eating again.

Southern style Chicken & Pastry. Lunch with Dad and Jonathan.

How to make Southern Sweet Tea!

SWEET ICED TEA SOUTHERN STYLE

Ya'll know how people in the South love their Sweet tea! My mother makes the best tea in town. Most people always ask her to bring tea, chicken salad or potatoe salad when there is a church or family event because she makes the best. She taught me how to make tea but actually she doesn't measure anything. She prefers lipton tea bags hands down. I also use lipton but tend to purchase the one that I can find at the lowest price. I make my tea now with organic sugar. I have also used organic tea but it is not the same using Newman tea bags. So I still make the sweet version once a week or so but I usually make a batch using stevia daily. I try to cut back on sugar anywhere I can since I love sweets.  So here my version of souther iced tea. Enjoy! (Please share your tea recipe with me in the comment section!) :)

How to make Southern Sweet Tea!
 1 family size Lipton or Luzianne Tea Bag
2 cups of fresh water from tap (filtered is fine but fresh due to oxygen level )
1 cup of sugar

Makes 1/2 gallon of fresh tea

Bring water to a rolling boil on stovetop. Then remove from heat and place one family size tea bag in the pot and cover. My mother taught me to let this steep until it has cooled down. She has her water chilled and sweetened with sugar while waiting for the tea to cool. Then you combine the tea with the chilled water/sugar mixture. Stir and serve! Yummy. IT is best to drink this the first day. We don't like tea leftover because it gets too sweet and doesn't taste the same when it gets old. I am sure that won't be a problem anyway since it will be so good and refreshing on these hot summer days! You will sip away all day! Enjoy!

Tip: My mother and I both love using the glass milk jars for our tea! She used these when I was little and then they became very hard to find. Now you can find them again in most grocery stores where they offer organic milk. This jar is perfect for making tea!

How to make Southern Sweet Tea!

I am excited beyond words! My Grocery shipment arrived. See how much I saved!

My grocery packages arrived!

 I wanted to share with you the wholesale grocery experience that I had.
It took 3 days for UPS to deliver the shipment from Ohio to my door. Total of 5 days from order to delivery. Everything is neatly packaged and the two boxes weighed right at 64 pounds. The UPS man put them inside so I never had to lift anything!

The invoice was packaged on top and every item that was breakable or that could leak was wrapped properly to prevent damage. I ordered mostly heavy items like Laundry detergent, Canned goods, organic juices in glass jars, and some other items I needed that had prices that were too good to pass up.

I checked the expiration dates on the food items once they arrived and everything was fresh with at least 12 months to 2015 on the expiration dates. The items are NOT scratch and dent they are fresh just like you would buy in the store but wholesale.

I was amazed at the bargains that this company has! I only ordered what I needed at this time.  I will share with you a comparison in prices on the items I purchased compared to the prices they are here locally. If you would like me to send you the break down of the prices by brand, please let me know. I would be happy to look up the cost of any item for you just ask in the comment section below and I will look it up & post the price in the comment section for all of you to compare with your area! 

 They offer Name brands in all catagories along with an organic item in most as well as a generic option that is even lower. The company offers a guarantee that they have the lowest price on every item. If you purchase something and it goes on sale for a lower price within a set amount of days, all you have to do is send in the local flyer or proof of the item price and a copy of your invoice. They will refund the money to you. That is awesome!

                                                      

I saved $ 63.88  and another 31.09 shipping which totals $ 94.97 savings

this order cost  $31.09 to ship UPS but I did not have to pay because shipping was "FREE"

The prices if I purchased these items locally $ 126.39

My cost was 62.51!!!!!!!!! Woo Hoo is all I have to say!

I did not have to drive to the store which saved gas and time, No shopping which is usually another hour or so, no loading in car at the store and unloading from my car at home. I shopped at home in comfort on my computer. My list was saved for future orders. I can simply use the same list or store my favorites and with a click of the button I can reorder any of my favorite items again later. It was packaged neatly and shipped free by them straight to my home in less than a week! That is what I call service!

Thank you so much for reading my blog. Please bookmark my site and come back often. I promise to share tips to save you time or money as often as I can!
God bless you!
Terri

I am excited beyond words! My Grocery shipment arrived. See how much I saved!

My Favorite healthy lunch wrap! Quick & Easy!

MY Healthy Lunch!

(The date is wrong in the photo)

I love to shop at Trader Joe's for fresh organic unique healthy items. I also love their whole wheat wraps. In the picture I have a variety of leftovers and other items.

I prepared dinner the night before and saved the leftovers for wraps. In this photo I have cooked chicken breast chunks, shredded cheese, corn, black beans, hummus, and trader joe's whole wheat wraps.

I sautéd my frozen corn with peppers and onion and sprinkled in fresh chopped mint leaves from my patio garden. I also drained a can of  black beans and added a splash of fresh lime juice and a little fresh lime zest.  I can't tell you how refreshing the two dishes are using mint and lime. It is great to serve at a summer barbeque. I saved what was left of the corn and beans for wraps later in the week. I put a little fresh spinach in with everything and folded the wrap and cooked in my little GT express cooker. It melted the cheese and made the wrap crispy. This wrap is very healthy and low calorie. You will love the refreshing taste!

My Favorite healthy lunch wrap! Quick & Easy!

Today I made fresh Strawberry Ice Cream and decided to share my recipe!

I decided to make homemade ice cream with some of the fresh strawberries that we picked at the farm yesterday. I have some really neat gadgets that I find on craigslist. Today I pulled out my cuisinart ice cream machine that I purchased from a very nice lady about 5 years ago that had it listed on craigslist. I have really enjoyed using it. It is easy to use and easy to clean up! I keep the freezer bowls in my freezer also found on craigslist that is in my garage! This ice cream recipe is one I made up and used with the ingredients that I already had in my kitchen.

                         Strawberry Ice Cream
1 3/4 cups organic granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups cream
1 1/2 cups milk  ( I used coconut milk)
1 tablespoon vanilla
Strawberries ( I used 2 cups of berries and pulsed them in my mini blender)

Mix the milk and cream in a large bowl and whisk in the sugar until creamy and well mixed. (You could use a blender or mixer but I needed to get in a little arm exercise so I mixed it the old fashioed way!) Stir in vanilla and strawberries and pour the mixture in about 3/4 full in the freezer bowls. Turn on your machine and you will have ice cream in about 1 hour or less!

I decided to mix in banana's in one of the bowls. Bananas are so yummy when frozen. I like to slice them in little pieces and freeze them on a cookie sheet until frozen and then store them in a freezer bag. They are great in the summer to eat for a smooth frozen slice of heavenly banana. It is creamy and yummy! I also use these to make smoothies if I decide to add banana in the morning. If you buy a bunch of bananas like I do and you can't manage to eat all of them before they are too ripe, this is a great thing to do with the extras before that happens. You could also dip the bananas in melted chocolate ( I buy organic chocolate candy bars to melt) and freeze for another yummy low calorie sweet treat!
 Be sure to line them on parchment paper before freezing so you can easily remove them and repackage them in freezer ziplock bags for later. (if you have any left)

I stored the extra ice cream in freezer containers to eat later. I have lots more for later! Cheap, yummy, easy and healthy! I couldn't ask for more! Life is good!!

Enjoy!

*** Hours later I decided to enjoy another cup of banana Strawberry ( I put the extra in an empty ice cream carton in the freezer) It was still creamy and yummy!

Today I made fresh Strawberry Ice Cream and decided to share my recipe!

Strawberry Farm field trip with my little granddaughter Ava this morning!

Fresh Farm veggies and Strawberries are on for dinner tonight! Come on and join us!

Strawberry Farm field trip with my little granddaughter Ava this morning!

I am so excited I just had to share.....

I love a bargain and I also want to make extra residual income. I found a great opportunity with this company. I am so happy getting my groceries at wholesale cost and having them shipped to me "Free" by UPS. I have had back problems in the past couple of years so this really comes in handy for me. No more long grocery store visits and loading and unloading my car! It is a no brainer and the main thing is that I am now saving in most cases up to 50% & more on my items. I have a shot of a few bargains but tried to load my entire grocery bargain list but blogger won't work in posting it. I will continue to figure out a way to do this. In the meantime I will email the price list if you are interested in checking out all of the bargains. No required orders or asked of you.

 They offer organics also in most catagories & you can order toilet paper, cleaning and detergents, personal care, Dog food, baking dishes, and so much more.
Take a look and let me know what you think. If you want to join or just want to find out more just click the  link below:
http://www.myharvestamerica.com/wholesalegroceries

If you sign up with me, I will send you a set of custom designed business cards as a gift of my thanks, free of charge from me!
Email me for details  terrisasser@gmail.com

I am so excited I just had to share.....

I love all of the beautiful Flowers this time of year! I am sharing more I just picked and the sunflowers I purchased for my mother. I love sunflowers!!

I notice just as I was loading these pictures that a little ant was hiding on one of the flowers. Hmmm.. I wonder where he is now? I didn't know he was there!

I love Sunflowers! Ava and I planted sunflowers seeds a couple of years ago and they grew tall and beautiful! I decided to buy some for my Mother to enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day 2010!

I would love to wish all of the Special Mother's out there that read my blog a very happy Mother's day !

Happy Mother's Day!

Yummy! Pepper crusted crab stuffed salmon and talapia with mustard cream sauce along with roasted asparagus veggie medley!

Dinner tonight!

Lemonade and seafood!

I was in WholeFoods picking up a few things for my sister and myself this past week. They usually have several things to sample and over by the seafood department they had halibut with their special mustard cream sauce. It was out of this world. I purchased the sauce and had a craving for seafood tonight! It was very yummy!

Yummy! Pepper crusted crab stuffed salmon and talapia with mustard cream sauce along with roasted asparagus veggie medley!

Fresh Tomatoe Sandwiches!

I love a fresh Tomatoe Sandwich with Mayo and fresh Cracked Pepper!

Fresh Tomatoe Sandwiches!

Good Morning world! I am sharing pink roses from my little rose trellis vine!

God is so Good! I wake us this day and smell the beautiful roses and enjoy the beauty of all the blessings that God has given me! Thank you Jesus for a wonderful day! I am going to make the most of it! Blessings to all of you! Love, Terri

Good Morning world! I am sharing pink roses from my little rose trellis vine!

Healthy Frozen Smoothies! Taste like a milkshake but so good for you!

I love smoothies for a quick breakfast. I keep a variety of frozen fruits in my freezer. I love frozen cherries, pineapple, mango, blueberries, and strawberries. I use one or two different fruits each morning to mix it up a bit. I usually add coconut milk to my smoothies. It is yummy but also offers many health benefits. I also use my favorite mini blender to whip these up! I had one of the magic bullet mini blenders and used it for 3 years. It just stopped working last week (this machine was used almost daily) so I decided to try the Cooks brand at JC Penny which was $30 less. They have it on sale for 19.99 this week. I use this gadget all the time for salsa, whipped cream, and many other things. I can't live without one!
I really like this new coconut milk. I have started using it in my cooking to replace milk. Lots of health benefits!

Trader Joe's Stevia

I found the cheapest price at amazon this past fall. I use this often so I purchased a case of four.

http://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Concentrate-12-Ounce/dp/B000EDG5CA/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1273031555&sr=8-18

My favorite Morning Smoothies
1 cup of coconut milk ( builds & helps restore immune system & helps digestive system)
2 teaspoons of stevia ** no calories (does not raise blood sugar levels and is safer than sugar or artificial sweetener)
1 splash of honey
frozen fruit chunks ( love pineapple & mango together)
1 teaspoon of Whey protein ** provides anti-inflammatory benefits as well as reduces food intake, postmeal blood glucose and insulin, and the ratio of cumulative blood glucose to insulin AUCs in a dose-dependent manner. Also builds muscle as well as many other health benefits!


Mix all the above ingredients in the mini blender for about a minute or until smooth and frothy. It makes a great milkshake and it is very healthy. It keeps me full for hours!

Healthy Frozen Smoothies! Taste like a milkshake but so good for you!

A tribute to all Mother's!

I would like to wish all of the special Mother's out there a very special Mother's day!
I wanted to share a special poem with you!

May God bless all the Mothers


That give of themselves

And tend to their household needs

Before the needs of ‘self’

For they are there with comfort

For each child’s broken heart

Bringing them to God in prayer

With His love to impart.
By M.S.Lowndes


God blessed me with a very special mother. She loves the Lord and raised us in a Christian home.

Aunt Janie, Me (age 6) Mother is on the right. This was at my Grandmother's home next door.

Mom April 2010

Please keep my mother in your prayers. She just had her first chemo treatment this past week. She has so  much courage.

A tribute to all Mother's!

Prayer

I love this little poem!

I'm your guardian Angel.

With a reminder to pray.

Have you stopped to thank the Lord for his blessings today?

Prayer