Guardians and Friends

Most of the time when someone asks Abigail to do anything the answer is always, "I can't I have softball."  Tonight was one of those nights, but softball was cancelled and she was able to hang out with a few of her friends from church. 

The kids met up at the mall for Guardians of the Galaxy 2!  A super hero movie, pop corn and good friends makes for a great evening.  The group even remembered to take a picture for the moms! 

The law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

Galatians 3:24

Canning Breakfast Sausage

Another canning first in the books today, canned sausage!  I caught cases of Owen sausage patties on sale for $3.99/case.  Each case was 2 ½ pounds of sausage.  They were being clearance because Tom Thumb was no longer going to carry this product in their store. 

The first step was to cook the patties, draining off any fat.  While the sausage patties were cooking I took two quarts of pork bone broth, (or you can use beef bullion broth) and heated it up in my Instant Pot for packing the meat in jars. 

I cut up Parchment Paper to use between each patty.  In sterilized, hot, wide mouthed pint jars I stacked the patties.  Because this brand of sausage was thin patties, I was able to stack 10 patties per jar.  

Using a ladle I filled the jars with my pork bone broth leaving 1” headspace.   Always use a plastic spatula to remove any air bubbles.  Use a paper towel with vinegar to remove any grease or debris from the top of the jar to ensure a tight seal on your jars. 

Process the Ball Pint Jars in a Pressure Canner for 10lbs for 75 minutes.  I used the same process with sausage links and crumbled sausage.  

The biggest advantage to having these canned is it is ready to eat!  On the days when I’m in a hurry, the girl has a ball game and needs protein for breakfast, I’m ready!  I don’t have to defrost frozen sausage.  The patties are cooked and drained so there is less fat!  I only make a mess in my kitchen once!

To heat up the patties I can throw them in the microwave.  If I want more of a crunchy edge, I can throw them in a hot skillet for under a minute per side and they are fabulous!  The crumbled sausage is great to quickly add to a casserole or throw in a skillet and make sausage gravy!  

My yield at the end of this project was 12 pints of 10 patties per jar; 3 pints of 8 links per jar; and 2 pints of crumbled sausage for a cost of under $20! That's breakfast meat for fifteen meals! 

You say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you crave meat, you may eat meat whenever you desire. Deuteronomy 12:20

Canning Tomato Soup

I grew up on buttery, creamy grilled cheese sandwiches served with smooth tomato soup.  Now the soup I grew up on was the canned red and white labeled Campbell's variety.  A couple of months ago I came across a great recipe to can homemade tomato soup, so we gave it a whirl! 

Oh my goodness! It was so amazing!  The flavor didn't begin to compare to the tin canned version!  Our family has consumed all 12 pints and it was time to to get back to work.  

Armed with my favorite vegetable chopper, Frankie and the sale ad for Sprouts we set to work.  I used the same recipe as last time:  Canning Tomato Soup! No reason to make any modifications, it was that good! 

And yes, we had tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch! YUM! 

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!

    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Psalm 34:8

Church Services with Caleb

This Lord's Day we got to worship at the congregation where Caleb is working.  He is loving his summer intern position at the Lakewood Church of Christ in Baytown, Texas.  

Being the Ministry Intern means that he has a nice variety of responsibilities, including teaching Bible Class, or doing the communion lead, preaching, visiting the sick, attending church camp, or whatever the day calls for!  

It was sweet to hear the kind comments from the members in the congregation about Caleb.  One of my favorites was an elderly Hispanic gentleman who told Jon, "Churches of Christ used to preach, 'this is what the Bible says, we believe it and live that way.'  Many people don's preach that way anymore.  Caleb preaches that way.  I like it!"  It's that whole 'Jesus said, I believe it, that settles it' mentality. 

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,

 who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Church Camp with Caleb

Today the boy spoke to the 3rd-6th graders from the Lakewood Church of Christ at their summer camp.  The kids are spending the weekend at Gulf Coast Christian Youth Camp.  The theme for the weekend was 'I Grow.'  Just like Jesus grew in wisdom and stature with men and with God; the kids are spending the weekend doing the same. 

Caleb's lesson covered Jesus' early life.  In fact he even began by singing the lineage of Christ song that we learned when we were studying the book of Matthew. That was fun! 

After his lesson the kids same some songs and finished off their worship time.  After wards they sang Happy Birthday to Caleb! 

For dinner we headed to Tookie's Seafood for some delicious Mesquite grilled seafood, well except for Frankie who had a hamburger! 

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 4

Kemah Boardwalk

For Caleb's day off we headed to nearby Kemah Boardwalk. Kemah Boardwalk is a 35-acre carnival-like atmosphere with a 36-foot carousel, a 65-foot Ferris wheel and rides like the Aviator and the Boardwalk Tower. There are also plenty of arcade and Midway games. 

Kemah is just 20 miles from downtown Houston overlooking Galveston Bay.  Because we were visiting during tropical storm Cindy it was a windy day.  But it provide a nice wind coming off the bay.  The kids took on all of the rides and rode a few of them more than once. Frankie's favorite was the Hypno Spin (like the tea cups) that spins you ‘round and ‘round! 

Kemah Boardwalk has plenty of great restaurants including Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Aquarium Restaurant which serves guests a great view of our 50,000 gallon aquarium brimming with marine life. 

We had a great time hanging out with the not so babies! 

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 

yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory

was not arrayed like one of these.

Luke 12:27

The Boy by the Bay

Today after our pantry food pick ups we headed to Baytown to see the boy for his birthday.  Plano to Baytown is about a four and a half hour drive.  It's definitely a prettier drive than the one to Lubbock, though. 

When we arrived at the congregation where Caleb is interning he gave us tour and introduced us to his co-workers. The last time I was at the church building was back in the early 1980's when Uncle David was their youth minister.  

Caleb is staying with a family from the church near the church building.  The couple does mission work in Romania and are spending most of the summer out of the country.  So they have someone responsible to stay with the house and he has nice accommodations for the summer.  

In addition, several families in the congregation have invited him over for dinner or to family game nights so he has that 'homie' feeling.   

Caleb took us out to the Baytown Nature Center that connects two peninsulas, surrounded by three bays, located on the west side of Baytown. The nature center occupies about 450 acres of land with three bays that surround the nature center are Burnet Bay, Crystal Bay and Scott Bay.

The smaller of the two peninsulas known as San Jacinto Point has been designated as a recreation area.  The larger peninsula is being developed into fresh water and salt water wetlands, with mixed woodland habitat for animals, birds and other wildlife. 

From the Baytown Nature Center you can see the San Jacinto Monument.  It is a 570-foot tall column topped by a 34-foot star located on the Houston Ship Channel.

“I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom's monument to this day. 2 Samuel 18:18 

Berry Picking

Today Ms. Beth called and asked if we wanted to make a run up to Sadler, Texas to Wild Berry Farm.  They are a family owned blackberry and blueberry farm were you can pick your own berries. 

The kids and I visited the farm back in 2008 and picked buckets of blueberries to make jelly! We recently canned Blueberry Pie Filling and froze some blueberries.  So I have plenty of blueberries on hand.  Today I was wanting fresh black berries to make jam! 

The weather was beautiful and we picked about six pounds of berries.  Ms. Beth and Tessa picked about ten pounds!  All of the berries and produce are grown naturally with no chemical pesticides or herbicides.  

The price comparison is easy, the berry farm is $4/ pound.  Sprouts has organic blackberries for $2 per 5oz container, meaning $6-ish/pound.  Kroger has blackberries for $2.50 per 5oz container, meaning they are $7.50-ish/pound. 

We got our berries washed and in the freezer, we will tackle jelly making another day! 

Click HERE to see our visit in 2008! 

Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten—

two or three berries in the top of the highest bough,

four or five on the branches of a fruit tree,

declares the Lord God of Israel.

Isaiah 17:6

Summer Sounds

Tonight Frankie and Abigail headed out to the Family at Allen's Summer Sounds.  Gracie is working with the Allen Parks and Rec again this summer so while Gracie is busy working Abigail, Frankie, Ella, Elaine and friends enjoyed the music. 

Tonight's concert featured country and blue grass performers Jolie Holliday & Sonny Burgess.  The parks and rec also offer free In and Out Burgers to the first 1,000 concert goers!    

What's not to like?  Dinner, music, and fabulous friends! Summer time! 

Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,

    honor is not fitting for a fool.

Proverbs 26:1

Dinner for Four

What canning looks like at our house, it's a busy day filled with food picks for the local food pantry, Next was paperwork for the youngest to attend community college classes in the fall. Next was piano lessons and softball practice.  

Some where in there I needed to feed our family of four and I had nothing laid out and hadn't even given any thought to dinner. 

This is where my home canning goodies come in handy!  I pulled a few jars out of the pantry and a homemade dinner was ready in minutes including BBQ Pulled Pork, Baked Beans, Cole Slaw, Spicy Dill Pickle Spears, Banana Peppers, and a few Pickled Jalapenos.  All homemade!  All incredibly tasty and delicious! 

For dessert after softball practice I opened a jar of canned Apple Pie Filling and sprinkled a boxed yellow cake mix on top and baked into an amazing cobbler! Literally everything was heat and eat and none of it had preservatives! YUM! 

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.  Malachi 3:10