Hummingbird Food

• 1/4 cup sugar (do NOT substitute another sweetener!)
• 1 cup water

Stir together until sugar is completely dissolved. Fill your feeder.

Yep, it is that easy and inexpensive!!!! Do NOT use red food coloring. It is not necessary, and some experts think that the food coloring may be causing tumors in the hummingbirds.

Good Morning, Muffin

I love muffins. Here is the recipe for one of my favorites.

Bran Muffins

• 2 eggs (I use Omega-3 enriched)
• 1/4 cup shortening (I use Spectrum non-hydrogenated)
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat milk (preferably organic)
• 2 cups bran (I used wheat bran, but you can also use oat bran)
• 1 cup  organic Spelt flour
• 1 cup organic whole-wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons aluminum-free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin tins.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine: eggs, shortening, molasses, milk and bran. Add dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. Fill tins 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes.
Makes approx. 18 standard muffins.

Boy Wonder’s Favorite Breakfast

   Cream Biscuits

• 4 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 ½ cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425° F.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl; add whipping cream, stirring until dry ingredients are just moistened. Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead lightly 10 to 12 times.
Roll to ½ inch thickness and cut with a 2-inch cutter. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Sausage Gravy

• 1 lb. ground pork sausage (my personal preference is Neese’s Country Sausage)
• ½ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 4 cups milk

Brown the sausage in a large skillet.  Break it up into small bits as you fry it.  When it is thoroughly cooked, add the flour.  Stir the flour into the fat until it dissolves and coats the meat.  Add the salt and pepper.  Stir it all up and let the flour brown just a tiny bit.  Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly. Bring the mixture to a boil as you continue stirring.  Boil it for a full minute.  Remove from heat and serve over biscuits.   Makes 6 servings.

What Is a Well-Kept Home?

Is a well-kept home one that looks as if it came straight from the pages of House Beautiful? Perhaps it is one that has gourmet meals at an elegantly set table each evening. It certainly wouldn't have dust bunnies under the bed! Or for that matter, a bed still not made in the middle of the afternoon. Surely a well-kept home would not have a mountain of dirty laundry hidden behind a closed door. After all, those numerous home magazines NEVER show clutter or dirty dishes or dirty laundry or smears on the bathroom mirror. They are the experts, right? Isn't it their obligation to show you your goal?

I used to believe that the above was all true. I spent many frustrated days trying to keep a perfect home. In my mind, the well-kept home was a perfect home just like the ones in the magazines. That perfect home was the reflection of me as a wife and mother......as a woman. But over time, I have grown. The Lord has spoken time and again.......that a well-kept home is MUCH more than a picture-perfect house. A well-kept home is one where your family feels nurtured and loved above all others. Yes, the dishes must be washed. The laundry must go through its numerous cycles so that your family has clean clothing. Floors must be swept. Beds must be made. The to-do list of taking care of a home often seems never-ending. But a well-kept home is so much more than a clean home.

In the days ahead I hope to share with you my new beliefs on what a well-kept home really is. I do this not as an expert homekeeper, but as a woman on a journey to learn what God's idea of a well-kept home is and to create that home.