mmmMonday! What’s cooking at your house?

30 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, Yum for the Tum

Is Monday a hard one to figure out in the grocery realm? Everyone is heading back to work and school after the weekend. Either that or you might do home schooling and you are trying to get back in the swing of things. I have a ton to do here today, laundry, cleaning…getting supper started. I was just wondering what was cooking at your house on this mmmMonday!?

Sometimes I think that I over-think and over-complicate our meals. Do you ever do that? Maybe it’s because in the family that I come from…we didn’t just have one meat and a side. We had several sides. At my husband’s granny’s house…they had more than one meat. Sometimes, simplifying things a tad….is easier on the cook and the family doesn’t seem to mind either.

Tonight…I am trying a new recipe. It’s Beef, Barley and Vegetable Stew. It was in my little Everyday Food booklet. I’m so excited to try it…because it’s a Crock Pot Meal. Do you love your Crock Pot? I do. It provides us with a hearty meal at the end of the day…and keeps my hands free to do other things. Plus…clean up is pretty easy too. I’m not sure yet if I’m going to make corn bread or maybe pick up a loaf of Italian bread or make biscuits. I guess we shall see.

I hope that your mmmMonday! is good, Dirt Roaders. Leave me a comment about your favorite Monday night meal…or your most coveted Crock Pot recipe. I would love to know!

Filling up the ol’ Crock Pot,

Burlap Coffee Bean Sack Wreath

26 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by Kelli in Gettin' all Crafty

≈ 3 Comments

Do you ever get a wild hair? I mean a really wild hair…where you think about something that you have and you just go grab it and start cutting it into strips and make something out of it? Of course you do! Isn’t it fun!? That is what happened with this burlap coffee bean sack wreath. I had made the poly mesh kind before….and then it dawned “uponst” me. I could use the burlap coffee bean sacks that I had…for my fall wreath.

Have you made these before? They are so easy. Once you have the wreath form…you just spread the branches out. I used an old one and took it apart.

Then I cut my coffee bean sack into strips, about the width of poly mesh.

The blue on these sacks is what calls to me. If you follow me on Instagram (alongthedirtroad) you know that blue is my favorite. It has been since I was a little child. It just makes me feel happy.

Little blue stripe…you are so lovely.

After you cut your strips…you just lay them between the two little twiggies and kind of twisty tie them together. Then you bunch it a little and move to the next two twigs. I always do the outside row first and then move to the inner circle. You can make it as full as you want. I like mine big and fluffy.

Just work with it and tweak it, fluff it and puff it. Yeah…you get it.

When you are done…hang it on your door. If it needs a little color…stick a glittery pumpkin from Dollar General in there. We are talking thrifty here, Dirt Roaders. I already had all of this stuff. Now…you might not. That’s okay. All of these things aren’t too pricey. I promise.

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend! If you have any wreath questions, let me know!

Burlapin’ it up!

The Reasons That I Blog

25 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by Kelli in heart and soul

≈ 6 Comments

If you are not a blogger, have you ever wondered why someone would do it? Can you imagine sitting down at your computer a few times a week and coming up with something to share? Well, today…I am going to share with you the reason that blogging has become a part of my life.

A few years ago, I didn’t even really know what a blog was. Someone said “You should start a blog.” and I was like “A whu?” (A what?) I think that part of it was because I was always sharing recipes and home decor ideas on Facebook…so it seemed like a logical thing to do. On August 18, 2012 Along the Dirt Road was born. I was pretty excited.

The most wonderful thing about the blog is the fact that I can share the love of Christ with anyone who happens to stop by. You don’t have to read very far into my posts to find out that I am a Christian. The fact that I live in a nation that I can declare this openly, means very much to me. It’s not the most popular thing to be sometimes…but I am. Jesus Christ is my personal Savior. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing…if with a few humble words…I could let someone know that He could be their Savior too. When you are a stay-at-home-momma….you don’t always get the opportunity to tell folks that God loves them…face-to-face. On this blog, as in every day life, I try very hard to be real with you and true to myself. Jesus loves me…and Jesus loves you. I want all of my readers to know that.

Another reason that I blog is my love of family and home. I really feel that my own personal calling in life is to be a wife and mother. You might say….”Now hold on just a minute, isn’t the Mr. a minister?” He sure is. As a teenager, he felt that God had called him into the ministry. I married him, knowing this and accepting my part in his calling. We do not pastor, but we do have an area of ministry in our church and some outside. I love this part of our life very much and we are very serious about it…but even before that, we have a family. We try, in earnest, to keep our priorities straight. We try to give our children a healthy balance between home and what goes on outside of our doors. Our children have been raised to know that Jesus is the main member of this family. They know that God comes first. They have grown up….counting an extra…that we cannot see, but that we can feel. We also teach them that we live on a steady diet of mercy and grace…because sometimes humans fail. Getting up and trying again…is the important thing.

Soooooooo, Sweet Dirt Roaders…..because of my love for home…I try to document some things to share with you a few times a week. I love home decor. I love country life. I love cooking. Maybe I should open a Cracker Barrel. 😉 I try to throw a few DIY things in there for you and as a matter of fact…I will try to share my fall wreath for our front door this week. You might want to make one for yourself.

Simplicity is for me. Happy Wednesday, Dirt Roaders!

This is our porch from last year.

This blog is really not all about me, believe it or not. If I can inspire one person to look to God for the answers that they seek…every post that I have labored over will be worth it to me. If I can inspire you to find joy in the things that you already have and show you a way to revamp them a tad….mission accomplished. My blog tends to be a little more on the laid back side. I hope that you don’t mind. I seek peace for my life…in a chaotic world. I’m just trying to hand a little out to you also.

I hope that you have a wonderful day!

Love from our dirt road…to yours,

p.s. Thank you for being patient with me while my posts have been a little sparse. Life has a way of going crazy at times…..sometimes for months. 🙂 I’m so thankful that God gives us peace and grace during it all.

mmmMonday! Freezing/Preserving 101

23 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, Simply...living, Yum for the Tum

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Yes. You guessed it. I did not can the pears. I did not make pear butter or pear jam or pear jelly. I might do some of that later, but not this time. By the way…welcome to mmmMonday! (Just thought that I would throw that in.) What I did do, or what WE did do, was freeze them. I’m going to tell you how we did it.

First of all the pear story is this: My Paw Paw and Uncle Jay…picked close to eighty pounds of pears. Yes…that is right. I had planned to can them…but the process was a tad more lengthy and we were in revival last week at our church AND that was just a lot of pears to process. So…after tossing it around with my Auntie Lynne’s opinion mixed in…freezing became the best option. When you freeze your fruit…then later when you have more time, you can do the jam, jelly, pear butter or cobblers and crisps.

Enter: The Mr.’s mother…a.k.a. The MIL.

She called on the particular day that I was planning on making this happen in our farmhouse kitchen. She was asking if I had made pear butter yet. I then proceeded to ask her if she wanted to come over and peel pears with me that after noon. She said “Yes.” Woot woot!. I know that I sound desperate, but some of the pears already smelled ~~a tad~~ a lot on the fermented side. Time was ticking. So, we peeled pears all afternoon and talked and laughed and drank pop (We don’t call it soda.) and both walked away with an injury. She had a little knot where her knife was bumping her index finger…and mine had a small bruise. We are peeling machines, let me tell ya. We even had a peeler…but like the women of years gone by…it was much more enjoyable to do our work with a knife in hand and our jaws flapping. I can’t believe that we didn’t take pictures. I guess we were too busy and pressed for time. As Sweet Brown would say…”Ain’t nobody got time for that.”

The process is so simple for freezing that I can tell you in a few simple steps.

1. Wash your fruit and peel and core it.

2. Chunk or dice the fruit.

3. Dice it into a mixture of water, lemon juice and salt. (1 quart of water, 1 tsp. each of lemon juice and salt. I did 2 quarts in each bowl.)

4. After you have soaked all of your pears, drain and put into freezer bags. Remove air and lay flat for freezing.

That is pretty much it, Dirt Roaders. I’m not sure what all I will make later on with my pears…but freezing is a great way to preserve the fruits of the season when done right. Especially when you need to get it put up fast so they don’t ruin.

I hope that you have a wonderful mmmMonday! I am feeling cozy in my kitchen, now that fall is here. I hope that you are too!

Up to my ears in pears….with an amazing MIL,

It’s Friday…again!

20 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by Kelli in heart and soul

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Are your plans big? Are you so excited that you can’t stand yourself?

Maybe you just plan on relaxing and snuggling up in an old quilt. That sounds wonderful right now…because it’s raining here.

Whatever you do, Sweet Dirt Roaders…do it with love. Enjoy peace. Take time to relax…and take time to thank the One that gives all of the good gifts that we see around us. He loves that. He loves it when you enjoy your relationship with Him. I promise. He wrote a very lengthy love letter that “tells us so.”

Happy Friday, my friends!

Feeling kinda droopy and relaxed….cause of the rain,

mmmMonday! Fruits of the Season

17 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, Yum for the Tum

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“Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy boy…Billy Boy? Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy?” Isn’t that the way that it goes? I believe so.

How in the world are you, Dirt Roaders? We are doing good. No cherry pies today….it’s not really the season for fresh cherries…but other things are coming along. We are plugging along into the cooler weather, which is such a relief. The Mr. loves fall and it makes me happy that the season that he loves is upon us. That brings us to our little topic today…fruits of the season. This mmmMonday! had me wondering if any of you out there that are making apple butter or pear butter…or just canning the fruit? My Paw Paw and my Uncle Jay are supposed to be out picking pears for me today. I am excited about that. It’s been a couple of years since I have worked up a mess of pears. (That is the way that we describe it…in the Ozarks.)

The last time that we had pears I made pear butter. Actually…I roped the Mr. into helping me. It was a very involved process and I felt like I needed four hands instead of two. It was delish! If you are interested in the recipe it is in the Ball Blue Book and I’m sure that if you Google it…it’s all over the web. I love the little bit of orange juice that you add. It’s so good at breakfast with eggs and bacon.

I hope that your day is wonderful. I hope that if you are up to your elbows in the fruits of the season…that it’s making you feel content and fulfilled. Putting things up for your family to enjoy in the winter or all year long is a labor of love and it is so worth it.

From my kitchen to yours,

A Little Retro Fabulousness

13 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by Kelli in sCoRiN' some JuNkItY JuNk

≈ 6 Comments

Last Friday…I went and picked my MIL up. (Not literally….in the truck.) We do that sometimes. It gives us both a little break from everyday life. On that particular day, one of her neighbors had a little yard sale going on. Of course we stopped. We wouldn’t think of letting you down in that area.

Now…before I show you the picture I have to tell you something. You might laugh at me…but here it goes. I have always been a little bit enthralled by these things. I don’t even know what they are called. I just know that the organized woman in me has always thought that they were nifty. My husband’s granny used to have a TURQUOISE one. Why, oh why, (slaps forehead with palm) did I not ask for that when they were having the sale? ~~DUMB~~ Unfortunate. Anyway…maybe it stems from growing up with a really old fridge. Our fridge was the rounded kind that had a pretty turquoise interior. If I’m not mistaken…it was the kind with the lovely script inside that labeled the drawers and things. So that brings us to this…and my fetish for words and fonts and storage:

See! Isn’t she beautiful!? I actually have foil and wax paper and paper towels in there! So handy dandy. The big bonus was…that if I couldn’t have it in turquoise….faux wood grain is the next best thing right? Of course! I told the Mr. years ago that wood was going to come back with a bang…and I was right. It’s everywhere…and I’m kind of loving it. I can’t believe that I said that. It’s true though. Maybe I need a wood grain station wagon to go to yard sales in. Now wouldn’t that be a hoot!?! (MIL used to have one.)

I hope that you have a wonderful day, Dirt Roaders. I hope that you find a bargain that will knock your socks off. I forgot to mention that my treasure only took one American dollah from my cute little Vera Bradly wallet. (Sis. B. I threw that in for you.) That is my kind of junkin’ right there.

Bringing back the 70’s,

Everyday Counts

12 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by Kelli in heart and soul

≈ 2 Comments

Don’t forget that everyday of your life counts.

The day that you took your first breath was very important…but so is each one.

We don’t want to take even one day for granted.

Each day is an opportunity to do the job that God has placed before us.

Each day is a gift.

A precious gift from the Creator of all.

Lord, please help me look at life this way.

Always learning,

Betsey, My Favorite Pumpkin and the Joy of Cooking

11 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, fluffin' the nest, heart and soul

≈ 2 Comments

Did I introduce you to Betsey? Yes…I did in a quick post the other day. In case you missed it, Betsey is my version of the cow head on the wall thing that people are doing. I love it! Have you seen it? Miss Mustard Seed has one and has made it very popular. I love her. Don’t you? Anyway…one day I was a a yard sale and I found Betsey. She was lying there on the table….(Can one lay down if one is only a head?)….and it dawned “uponst” me….that I could have my own version of a cow head on the wall…for a smidge of the price. Now…that is not to say…that I wouldn’t love to have a big one…but for now…Betsey will do just fine. I am sad to say that I do not have a before picture, so get your imagination up and running. She used to be white with golden, glowing eyes. I believe that in her former life…she was a towel holder or something. Now she is just beautiful….watching me cook. (Btw: That is my very own preserved Boxwood. You can do it!) Betsey is a doll…in her espresso makeover. The other post about Betsey were pictures from my phone. We will call this Betsey’s glamour shot. 😉

So now onto my favorite pumpkin. I’m just throwing this in because it’s almost fall. The pumpkin, I’m thinkin’, was marked down last year because it was getting close to Christmas. I love it. It’s my favorite fake pumpkin of all time. Now the little bowl has a chip…so I got it at TJ Maxx (another fave!) for a song. (No…I didn’t sing and dance…but I would have…if they had asked.) It was a very thrifty price.

Last but not least….the Joy of Cooking. I found this little blue beauty at a yard sale the other day. I was in love. The color. The popularity of this book. The grease splatters from the woman that owned it for years. The notes left inside. The history of this cookbook. All of it. It was so worth the two dollars. I believe that this one is a third edition. There is something about old books that just grab me.

I don’t want to let you go without mentioning what today is. In my quiet time this morning, I thanked the Lord for keeping us safe since the dreadful day, twelve years ago. I was expecting our second child and it was a very scary and sad time. My heart goes out to those…that will never recover from that dreadful day. Not fully anyway. There are so many that lost so much and I pray that today they are comforted by those that care and hold them up in prayer. I am also very thankful for those that have fought this battle. I don’t ever want to take for granted those that serve to make this country what it is.

May God continue to bless America,

p.s. Thank you to all that commented on my last post! It was a joy to read what you had to say! I LOVE your comments!

mmmMonday! What’s for supper in your neck of the woods?

09 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, Yum for the Tum

≈ 7 Comments

Do you all do that whole week meal planning thing? I really want to know. I think that it’s grand. I am not that way. I am more of a day before meal planner. When I go to the store I buy basic ingredients that I can turn into all kinds of things. I’m always wanting to know what people are having for supper. After all…that is our big meal together at the Farmhouse. We even have a little fb page called What’s for Supper? Nosey aren’t I? 😉

I follow one person on Instagram that does the month of freezer meals. Isn’t that awesome!? That would save so much time. I actually know a lady, that works with my husband, that used to cook all weekend to have food ready for the next week. What an organized thing to do!

I have to have a little flexibility in my routine. With both of the above ideas…you could do just that, just in case one night in the week you felt like celebrating and going out for pizza or something. (The Mr. is probably nodding while reading this. I am known for my spur-of-the-moment ideas. Hey…it makes life fun.)

I really do want to know what is for supper at your house. Or….at your cabin…in your neck of the woods. I love to hear about families sitting down and sharing a meal together. It’s a wonderful thing. Tonight…along the dirt road we are having roast. In fact, here in just a bit, I’m going to go in the kitchen and put it on. That’s what you do with a roast right? “Put it on.” Well…that is what my family tree of gals have always said.

I love preparing for my family. I love it when I pick the kids up and they ask what we are having for supper. Most of the time…it’s positive feedback. You know how that works. They all like roast though…so I think that they will be pleased.

Have a wonderful day, Dirt Roaders. I love your comments…and I really want to know…what is on the menu for supper at your house.

In the kitchen…putting the roast on,