In case you haven’t heard, Midwest Storyteller offers FREEBIES! They happen on the first Friday of every month, which means you have only two more days to wait before entering the drawing for the December Freebie! The “Freebie Rules” have just changed to make it easier for you to win, so read on, SUBSCRIBE and share this post with all your friends so they can enter also.
Ooh…and what might this be?
‘Tis the season for secrets and surprises, so I’m keeping this secret till Friday, December 1st! I thrive on keeping fun little secrets this time of year, don’t you? It keeps the wonder in our world.
Once you see Friday’s post, feel free to pounce on it! No pushing – no shoving – the nicest thing about lining up in cyber-land is that nobody gets hurt.
And now, here are the revised rules.
First Friday Freebies are available to SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. That means if you have come to this post through social media or someone has emailed you a link to it and you haven’t become a subscriber yet, you’ll need to hop on over to the right sidebar and do that really quick. If you are on a phone or tablet, the easiest way is to go to the “About Me” page. All it means to be a subscriber is that you’ll receive an email each time Midwest Storyteller has something new, which won’t likely be more than once or twice a week. It keeps you from missing out on all the fun and FREE STUFF! And, I’m not sharing your emails with anybody.
IMPORTANT: After subscribing, you MUST check your email to confirm the subscription or it will not appear. Then, sadly, you won’t be eligible to enter.
When the Freebie is revealed on Friday, you’ll need to scroll back up to the top of the post and under the title, click on “Leave a Comment”. Subscribers who comment as directed before midnight on Friday will enter the drawing, provided they are already on the subscribers list and live within the continental United States.
Three simple steps! And now we wait…are you starting to get a little excited? It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Take a look at a couple of other gifts I’ve given away recently here and here.
Now hurry! Go! Go! Go! Subscribe, Confirm and Enter on Friday!
NOTE TO READERS: These recipes are old family favorites that appeared here on my blog prior to myeating according to the Trim Healthy Mama plan or becoming a THM Certified Lifestyle Coach. The soup recipe fits the Trim Healthy Mama plan as an “S”. The biscuits? Well, they’re Frankenfood. While they taste fabulous, I cannot recommend them for healthy lifestyle or blood sugar control. I am working on adapting many of these recipes to the plan so watch for future posts!
America’s annual love affair with pumpkin begins where Labor Day ends and soothes us all with it’s warm flavor through Thanksgiving and its weekend of yummy leftovers. I thought I’d share this recipe to give you just one more pumpkiny thing to delight in before the season comes to a halt and all our fickle hearts leave it behind in search of the perfect Christmas cookie.
Let me introduce you to Zesty Pumpkin Soup – a favorite of mine that I make at least a couple of times during the fall. Why I don’t make it year-round is a mystery because it’s so yummy. To go along with it, I’m going to give you my recipe for Billy’s Biscuits, because what’s better than a great bowl of soup and a light and airy, buttery biscuit?
I’ve had the Recipe for Zesty Pumpkin Soup for years and years and I’ve tried my best to remember the source so that I can give credit where credit is due. I think I’ve finally remembered where I got it! Years ago, at a local shop, I picked up a super-cheap set of four paperback cookbooks which I believe were called, “Home Cooks’ Easy Recipes”. The pages were printed on newsprint and other than the cover, there were no photos. I tried all sorts of recipes in those books, but eventually parted with them in a garage sale – I think. I’ve looked online and can’t find any such books to reference here, or I would be happy to do so.
The interesting thing about Zesty Pumpkin Soup is that it is savory! Almost all pumpkin recipes are some variation that requires brown sugar and reminds you in some way of the eternal favorite, pumpkin pie. This is really different, but absolutely delicious. The original recipe called for the finished soup to be pureed until smooth. However, I forgot to do this once and ended up discovering that I actually preferred the “bits”, as long as they are finely chopped.
“Billy’s Biscuits?” you ask. “Who on earth is Billy?” I believe these biscuits began with a recipe known to some folks as “Southern Gal Biscuits”, but I got the recipe from my friend, Billy, after he served them up for breakfast when I was a houseguest. They were the best biscuits I’d ever had.
Here’s Billy –
I miss Billy, but know that breakfast in Heaven has been kicked up a notch ever since he arrived. I admit to tweaking the recipe for my own use, because I steer clear of shortening and refined sugars, but I’m sure if Billy were here to taste them, he’d approve! Normally, I also steer clear of wheat, but I do have an occasional cheat day. I’d sooner cheat and have these biscuits than almost any other treat. They’re worth it! Since I’ve never made these without thinking of Billy while I’m doing it, I can’t call them by any other name.
I see you shaking your head and muttering, “Soup – maybe. Homemade biscuits – no way! Where’s the can?” I’m about to take away all your fears about not having enough time or know-how to make these. They are lightning-fast and fool-proof, due to a few little tricks I’ll share with you.
And, best of all, there’s a FREE printable recipe.
Let’s get started –
Zesty Pumpkin Soup
1/4 cup real butter
1 cup chopped onion (chop this fairly small)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups chicken broth or stock (sugar free)
2 (14 ounce) cans pumpkin puree
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Sour cream
Chopped fresh chives
Saute onion in butter until soft. Add garlic, curry powder, sald, coriander and red pepper; cook 1 minute longer.
Add broth; boil gently, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes.
Stir in pumpkin, milk and heavy cream. Cook an additional five minutes.
(As you can see in the photo, I tend to use my favorite ingredients from Aldi and Costco. Finding broth without added sugar is sometimes more difficult than catching the chicken and making your own, so I really appreciate Costco carrying the Kirkland Signature Organic Chicken Stock.)
Garnish each bowl of soup with a dollop of sour cream and chopped chives.
Makes a 3-quart saucepan of soup.
Now, before you nix the idea of making biscuits to go with this quick soup recipe, let me give you four fabulous tips that will make life so much easier!
Mix your dry ingredients ahead of time! If you know you’ll be preparing the biscuits for breakfast (when you are not exactly wide awake and ready to read a recipe and fumble around for ingredients) or if you want them hot and fresh for company, but don’t want to mess up your kitchen and be separated from your guests, this can save time and temper! Just measure all the dry ingredients into a medium-sized mixing bowl and set aside until biscuit time.
Grate the butter! I saw this tip somewhere gave it a try. I could kiss the hand of the genius who thought of it! Whether biscuits, pie crust or any other recipe, I’ll never “cut in” the fat again! All I do is grab a stick of frozen butter and my handy-dandy grater that catches all the bits and work fast. Peel back the paper on the butter and grate it against the grater with the small holes. Pop the lid onto the container and put it immediately back into the freezer! All those frozen little curls of butter will stir into your dry ingredients in about three seconds and you’ll be thanking me for passing on this grand idea. Seriously – always grate the butter!
Invest in a large silicone countertop rolling mat. Oh my goodness! I still dust with flour, but nothing sticks! You can roll out and cut cookies, biscuits – whatever you like – directly on the mat and best of all, when guests arrive, you can just roll it up, tuck it away and clean it later. No messy counters! I got mine at Aldi for a really reasonable price and the holiday baking season would be a good time to check there. Big name brands tend to be super expensive.
A dough scraper. I mean – really – where have these been all my life? Also, I have a marble rolling pin and I freeze it ahead of time if I know I’ll be making biscuits, cookies, etc. Nothing sticks!
Billy’s Biscuits
1 1/2 cups all purpose non-GMO wheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
4 teaspoons non-aluminum baking powder
2 Tablespoons coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
7 Tablespoons real butter, grated and re-frozen
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Quickly add the frozen, grated butter and stir to coat the butter with the flour mixture before the butter begins to melt.
Beat egg in milk; stir into dry ingredients, just until moistened.
Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead the dough 15 times by folding the entire ball of dough in half, giving it a quarter turn and folding it again. Roll out the dough to 3/4” thickness. Cut into circles with a large 3” biscuit cutter.
Transfer biscuits to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
Yield: About 8-10 biscuits.
Enjoy your quick and heart-warming autumn meal. If you’ve prepared your dry ingredients and butter for the biscuits ahead of time, you can whip up the biscuits while the soup is simmering and have them ready to serve!
Have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving with your family and friends! And…don’t forget your free printable recipes below.
Questions? Comments? If you make the soup and/or the biscuits, let me know how you liked it! Scroll back up to the title of this post and “Leave a Comment”. And why not SUBSCRIBE, so you’ll receive an email reminder each time Midwest Storyteller has something new.
They’re coming! You can hear their expectant panting from miles away as they prepare to descend on your home for Thanksgiving. You make a frantic dart through the house and decide it’s time to throw away the 4th of July balloons and take down the seashell jar that’s been welcoming everyone to your home with its shades of summery pastels.
Now what? There’s enough money to be spent on the turkey and ingredients for the traditional side dishes.
Been there – done all that. One thing I’m thankful for is the fact that my mother handed down to me the ability to make something out of nothing. Another quality we share is “squirrely-ness”. I’m not talking about that tendency to be just a tad odd – you know, the type of person that makes other people tilt their head to one side and blink – I’m talking about the ability to squirrel away cool stuff, small stuff, odd stuff and “sooner or later I’m gonna use that for something and when I do, it’s gonna be really cool” stuff.
I love to decorate and hate throwing good stuff away, so I’ve learned to stare at things and ponder how I might recycle them into something new and different without having to go out and spend more than a few dollars to put a new twist on things.
I get the urge to decorate for fall at sundown on Labor Day. I ran a week or two late this year, but in case you’re way behind and wanting to “lovelify” everything before the doorbell rings and the turkey timer goes off, I thought we’d brainstorm.
Here’s my fall fireplace. I took the photo with all the candles lit so you could see how we like to enjoy it on these long fall evenings.
Here’s a close-up of the mantle.
Now, let’s take a look at the individual elements. Aside from batteries for flameless candles and string lights, I don’t think I spent a single dime this year! Even the votive candles are leftovers from a bulk purchase I made at my local thrift shop a year or two ago.
I hope I’ve gotten your cogs turning. Somewhere, tucked into a bookshelf, stored in a tub in the basement or perhaps still in a sack in the trunk from when a friend passed it on to you, there are things you can round up and experiment with.
Admittedly, I did some degree of head-shaking and standing around with my hands on my hips as I tapped my chin. Then, I’d arrange and re-arrange, and before long I found myself content.
Is it super-trendy? No. That would have taken a trip to the store for chalkboards and things covered in burlap and chevron prints. Somehow, I just wasn’t tempted to go there.
Once I’d completed my “design remix”, I was free to get out an enjoy fall and do my usual thing, perhaps causing not a few people to tilt their heads to one side and blink, but that’s my normal and I don’t think I got it from Mom.
As you can see from the photo, all you really need is family, friends, a mixture of garage sales and flea markets, a willingness to build your stash and a nice set of working blinkers so that you can zip into the stores with the best prices. Obviously, I’ve done more than a little “squirreling” in Hobby Lobby, Tuesday Morning and Big Lots. I can’t say enough about the great quality of QVC’s Bethlehem Lights collection! Seems they always have something great on clearance.
I had a group of ladies over for an annual Pumpkin Night event and we enjoyed a buffet of recipes containing pumpkin. I didn’t spend any money on table-scape either. I just dove into my stash! Take a look – as long as you don’t mind that guests had already arrived before I got the photo taken and things look just a trifle askew. Trifle! Now, why didn’t somebody bring a pumpkin trifle? Great idea for next year!
I’d love to hear from you. Just under the title of this post, you can “Leave a Comment”, letting me know your thoughts and ideas. What kind of things have you pulled together to decorate that will inspire the rest of us?
More inspiration for quick fall décor can be found here. You might enjoy getting to know my mom here. Need inspiration from me and my mom to help you rescue and recycle the poor, the tired and the pretty-much-trash stuff around the house? Check it out here!
Coming up next: Two fabulous free recipes for a heartwarming fall meal. SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss it!
I’m excited to announce the winner of November’s “First Friday Freebie”. A fabulous free gift is offered each month, on the first Friday, to a faithful subscriber. (Hooray for the letter, “f”!)
Subscribe now and you’ll be ready to enter to win in December! Instructions on how to do that are below.
Our November winner is…
Ginger from Prairie Home, Missouri!
Ginger left a comment on the post, saying, “I’ll take the Blessings Jar!” and she won!
You can see the Blessings Jar and it’s contents a little better in this photo –
I’m also announcing a change-up in the rules. From now on, the Freebie winner will be chosen from a drawing of the subscribers who leave a comment before midnight on the day the post appears.
I’m following the suggestion of subscriber, Liz, who was feeling that perhaps people who are busy or at work may not be able to comment until later in the day. So, a drawing will be!
If you’d like to enter the monthly give-a-way, do a few things to be sure you don’t miss out.
SUBSCRIBE! On your computer, you can do that in the right side-bar. On a phone or tablet, you may need to go to the “Contact” page. Only subscribers are eligible to win. If you do not confirm your subscription by clicking on the confirmation email you receive, you are STILL not a subscriber, so don’t forget that. You’ll get an email when there’s a new post or freebie.
“Follow” Midwest Storyteller on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Even if you forget to check your email on the first Friday, the offer will show up in your feed.
Spread the love – and the FREEBIES! “Share” Midwest Storyteller with your friends on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Pin this post to Pinterest and send the pin to friends you’d like to see enter to win.
You’ll be eligible to win if you are a subscriber at the time of the offer and if you live in the continental United States. Then all you’ll need to do is read the post and leave a comment as instructed!
Simple, right?
Get ready! The next free gift will be given away on Friday, December 1st!
How are you liking the freebies so far? Please scroll back up and click on “Leave a Comment” under the title of this post and let me know.
If you’d like to see who won the First Friday Freebie for October, click here.
My, how time flies! Today is the first Friday in November and time for Midwest Storyteller’s First Friday Freebie. If you missed seeing my last freebie give-a-way, you can take a look at it here. If you’re wondering who won, check it out here.
Each month, I offer a gift to one of the loyal and loveable fans of Midwest Storyteller. It’s absolutely free and the rules are, oh, so simple.
This is truly the season to be thankful. As we all prepare our hearts and minds for the holiday season ahead, we know what makes us thrive! It’s our family, friends and the simple things in life that make us rich.
I’ve chosen this gift to help you and your family remember what matters most.
I just want you to know that I had a pretty tough time not keeping this gift for myself!
This beautiful Blessings Jar is perfect for this time of year. Included is an organza bag filled with blank “My Blessing” cards for family members and guests to fill out and drop into the jar. Also included are ten additional cards with inspirational quotes such as the one you can see in the photo by C. S. Lewis which says, “When we lose one blessing, another is often, most unexpectedly, given in its place.”
Wouldn’t it be great to have each of your Thanksgiving guests drop their card into the jar when arrive? Later, gathered at the feast, you can draw the cards out of the jar and read them aloud.
Another great idea is to place the jar in a prominent place this month and have family members jot down a blessing every day to add to the jar.
And the Number 1 thing to be thankful for? The Blessing Jar is FREE!
Another thing I loved about this gift is that it matches any décor and is not limited to seasonal display. It serves as a year-round reminder and can always be used to store a few other things you’re thankful for. Hmmm… Let me think… Cookies… Vacation money… the list goes on and on.
Ooooh! I almost forgot – it would make a lovely gift, wouldn’t it?
And now, here are the rules.
First Friday Freebies are available to SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. That means if you have come to this post through social media or someone has emailed you a link to it and you haven’t become a subscriber yet, you’ll need to hop on over to the right sidebar and do that really quick. If you are on a phone or tablet, the easiest way is to go to the “About Me” page. All it means to be a subscriber is that you’ll receive an email each time Midwest Storyteller has something new, which won’t likely be more than once or twice a week. It keeps you from missing out on all the helpful, fun and FREE stuff! And, I’m not sharing your emails with anybody.
IMPORTANT: After subscribing, you MUST check your email to confirm the subscription or it will not appear. Then, sadly, you are not eligible to enter.
You’ll need to scroll back up to the top of this post and under the title, click on “Leave a Comment”. The first subscriber to comment with, “I’ll take the Blessing Jar!” will win, provided that you’re already on the subscribers list and that you live within the continental United States.
Three simple steps! Have a wonderful and blessed First Friday of the month!
Now hurry! Go! Go! Go! Subscribe, Confirm and Enter! Share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest and let’s get the word out! It’s crazy not to spread free stuff around!
It’s time for true confessions. It’s embarrassing, but true. I’ll try anything artsy once. Well…just about anything. Here’s the part that’s embarrassing: My successes have made me fearless – and rather messy. I wouldn’t want to throw that nifty scrap or tidbit away because I will, most definitely, encounter a friend, TV show, YouTube video or Pinterest pin that shows me exactly what to do with it. Then, believe it or not – I actually do it.
The house is full of things I’ve tackled in a fit of crafting passion and many of them, I might humbly state, are masterpieces in their own way. Some are just plain odd. Others – the ones that dragged me way too deep into the crafting waters – nearly got shoved under the sofa and never completed, but that’s fine, as they can always keep my marbles company under there, if you know what I mean.
Now we approach the time of year when I get super excited about making gifts. It’s also the time of year, at least in our neck of the woods, when falling temperatures bring us indoors more and it begins getting dark earlier…and earlier…and earlier. Before long we’ll have darkness by five o’clock, which leaves you with long evenings to fill if you’re not a writer or blogger or if you’re not Smuffy.
Smuffy has an organized series – yes, series – of to-do lists so detailed that they are filed neatly behind his master list, entitled, “LISTS”, which is, as the name implies, a list of his lists. I am not making this up, folks! I’ve known him to misplace this on rare occasions and it’s traumatic, to say the least. I have lists, too – somewhere.
Sometimes, we all need something quick and fool-proof to spruce up the place, get ourselves organized or give as a hand-made gift. At other times, we need something to do with the kids or grandkids that doesn’t take forever or tear the whole house apart – something that keeps that last little marble from rolling under the sofa to join all the others.
I’m going go share some photos of three easy projects – and I mean falling-off-a-log-easy projects. So easy, in fact that you could make them on your own just by taking a quick look at the photo and pretty much ignoring any written instructions.
Get your creative self in gear and let’s go!
First, take a look at this photo and guess what this cute pumpkin was before it was a pumpkin:
Pat yourself on the back (or, backside, perhaps?) if you guessed –
Yep, toilet tissue!
Once you have gathered some supplies, this project takes just a couple of minutes to complete. All you need is a roll of toilet tissue, an 18 inch (or ½ yard) square of fabric and some leftover fluff such as raffia, ribbon, greenery and a stick or what I thought made the ideal stem – a dried okra pod! Let’s give a round of cyber-applause to my friend, Robin, who demonstrated this last week to a gathering of ladies who promptly pounced on the table full of goodies and turned out some really cute pumpkins! Imagine how cute this would be wrapped in burlap or an orange polka-dot or chevron print! You could also use a little polyester fiberfill around the toilet tissue before you pull the fabric up and stuff it into the center of the roll in order to make your pumpkin a little fatter.
What a cute idea for anywhere in the house or perhaps on the bathroom vanity as a spare hiding in plain sight!
Go ahead – say it: “This craft project is not too hard for me.” Seriously, if you mess this one up, I’m not sure I want you fixing me dinner or driving anywhere near me in a motor vehicle! You might just be dangerous.
Next up – a set of candle-holders made with your very own little hands! Don’t get all worked up about it. The pumpkin thing should have you feeling like an awesome artiste by now. All you need to do is see the “after” photo of this one –
Start with a trip to a well-stocked grocery store for three bags of lentils. They come in the usual tan, but also in red, green and orange. Choose the three colors you want. Stop at your local discount store or Hobby Lobby and get a skein of twine, some varied-sized canning jars and some votive candles.
I also chose to paint the canning rings with Krylon Fusion paint(also available at Hobby Lobby) in a hammered metal finish in order to “antique” them a bit. I chose the chocolate brown color, but I think the black or copper would also look great.
Next, go home and raid Grandma’s button box and choose some colors to go along with your candles and lentils. String them together and tie them to the twine you’ve wrapped around the rings. Pour the lentils into the jars and nestle the votives into the lentils. What a cute an inexpensive gift or a quick way to switch up your own décor!
TIPS: If you are giving these as gifts, I recommend giving them with the canning lid on top as well as the ring to keep from spilling all your lentils before the gift is opened. Also a tiny dot of hot glue goes a long way in keeping the twine in place when you’re wrapping it around the ring.
I know you’ve got to be feeling unstoppable now, so let’s move on to something that is super-simple but may take just a little more time. Repeat after me, “I can. I know I can. Yes, I can, can, can!”
I’m talkin’ about cans!
Most households seem to end up with these, whether it’s from mixed nuts, protein shakes or, in my case, whole food nutrition. They seem to be pretty easy to accumulate. Instead of sending them all to the trash or recycle bin, why not save a few in varied sizes and give this a try –
All I did was clean the cans out well and remove the labels. Then, I dug around in my stash of leftover pre-pasted wallpaper rolls for some coordinating prints and colors. You can always use scrap-booking paper, but keep in mind that it will not have its own adhesive and you’ll have to glue it on.
The only time-consuming part of this project is measuring and cutting the paper to fit exactly to the inside and outside of the cans. You’ll want to do this before wetting the wallpaper or applying glue to the paper. I also chose to spray paint the metal rims of the cans to coordinate with my paper choices. I used the drying time to do all my paper cutting. I received the added bonus of using up several of the almost empty cans of spray paint that accumulate in the basement cupboard! Hooray for wiggle room!
Once all the adhesive is dry, apply coordinating ribbon around the can, securing it with a dot of hot glue. I like fashioning a “faux bow” to the front to cover the seam in the ribbon.
Again, raid the button box or pick up a package of scrap-booking embellishments at Hobby Lobby. They add just the right final touch.
You can keep the plastic lids if you want to use the cans for giving out goodies this holiday season. If you do this, you’ll need to wrap the treats in plastic wrap or put them in a food-safe bag before inserting them into the cans to keep them from coming in contact with the glue and wallpaper.
These sets of three cans make a great way to organize the supplies on your desk or keep hair and make-up supplies from becoming out of control. Kids and teens will love receiving them or making them for a friend, especially when they are done in trendy prints or playful character papers. See how just a simple switching of the buttons changes the look.
I suppose some kid will get the bright idea of poking holes in the lids and inserting a frog or something with even more appendages, but I, in no way, advise or condone such usage. Just so you know.
Now that I’ve filled your head with creative, and – let’s be real – CHEAP ideas, get busy and start having fun! Be sure to post in the comments your photos and ideas for how you’ve completed and used the projects.
I’m sure you have some great ideas of your own. I’d love to hear them, even if it’s a tale of a crafty disaster! Just scroll back up to the top of this post and click on “LEAVE A COMMENT”.
Next up! First Friday Freebies. November is upon us and so is the next give-a-way. Check out last month’s gift and winner here. Freebies happen on the first Friday of every month and you must be a subscriber to win. You’ll get an email telling you how to enter to win. If you’ve not yet subscribed to Midwest Storyteller, do that here so you don’t miss the Friday’s Freebie.
I’m excited to announce the winner of our first “First Friday Freebie” winner. As you may recall from last time, Midwest Storyteller will be giving a free gift each month to a faithful subscriber. This happens on the first Friday of the month, so subscribe now and you’ll be ready to enter to win in November!
Our October winner is…
Donna from Bunceton, Missouri!
All Donna did was leave a comment on the post, saying, “I’ll take the wreath!” and she won!
You can see the wreath a little better in this photo –
If you’d like to partake in the monthly give-a-way, do a few things to be sure you don’t miss out.
SUBSCRIBE! On your computer, you can do that in the right side-bar. On a phone or tablet, you may need to go to the “Contact” page. Only subscribers are eligible to win. You’ll get an email when there’s a new post or freebie.
“Follow” Midwest Storyteller on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Even if you forget to check your email, you’ll still see the offer.
Spread the love – and the FREEBIES! “Share” Midwest Storyteller with your friends on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Pin this post to Pinterest and send the pin to friends you’d like to see enter to win.
Take a look at the rules on our last First Friday Freebie post here. It includes a tutorial on making the Sweet Annie wreath. For a look at other things I grow in the great outdoors, take a tour here.
Get ready! The next free gift will be given away on Friday, November 3rd!
There’s nothing like getting something for nothing! Oh, that glorious word – F R E E !
I’ve been wanting to do this for a while and so I’m happy to announce (drum roll, please) First Friday Freebies! Each month, on the first Friday – I did that on purpose to make it easy for you to remember and wasn’t that clever of me – I’ll be offering a gift to one of the loyal and loveable fans of Midwest Storyteller. All you have to do is: Don’t dawdle!
First, let’s take a look at our first gift –
In my last post, I gave a“2017 Tour of the Estate” in which I mentioned Sweet Annie and posted a photo. I’m offering a wreath today (hand-made by me) of Sweet Annie. Let’s look a little further into what it is and what I do with it and you can decide if you want to win!
As mentioned in the last post, Sweet Annie is a fragrant herb that grows tall and is happy in a sunny place. It smells “like fall”, so this is the perfect time of the year to decorate with it. I’ve filled my wicker planter with it to give it a fall “weedy” look and make my porch smell nice and I’ve also used it around this little bucket next to Hermie. I am lagging behind in decorating my side porch, but at least I’ve got my “weeds” as Smuffy likes to call them, in place. You get the idea.
Here’s a photo showing how I make a wreath.
Let me state this clearly. Sweet Annie, like any other plant, is organic. That means it’s been in the great outdoors. That means that other little “organic things” once strolled through it’s branches saying hello to their little organic friends. This wreath has been drying under my porch for a couple of weeks and should now be free of all the critters that may have liked to munch on it while it was green. I make no promises. However, I’ve never had anything on my wreaths once they dried. (If I’d brought “creepies” into my house, you would have heard my screams.)
Also, dried plants are exactly that – dried. I use Sweet Annie as a candle ring or a wreath on a wall or mantle-piece, but I don’t place it on a door that we’ll be opening and closing, as that shakes it around and causes it to shed.
Here’s the wreath I’m offering as Today’s Friday Freebie. You can easily remove the burlap ribbon and replace it with anything you like.
And now, here are the rules. There are always rules, aren’t there?
First Friday Freebies are available to SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. That means if you have come to this post through social media or someone has emailed you a link to it and you haven’t become a subscriber yet, you’ll need to hop on over to the right sidebar and do that really quick. If you are on a phone or tablet, the easiest way is to go to the “About Me” page. As a subscriber, you’ll receive an email each time Midwest Storyteller has something new, which won’t likely be more than once or twice a week. It keeps you from missing out on all the fun and FREE STUFF! And, I’m not sharing your emails with anybody.
You’ll need to scroll back up to the top of this post and under the title, “Leave a Comment”. The first subscriber to comment with, “I’ll take the wreath!” will win, provided that you’re already on the subscribers list and that you live within the continental United States.
Two rules. So simple. Have a wonderful and blessed First Friday of the month! Now, go! Subscribe! Comment! Go!
The glories of summer are leaving us. The autumn equinox has issued its official word – “It’s over, folks!” The Midwest will soon be ablaze with reds, golds, and tawny browns that blend with summer’s remaining greens and make us gasp in awe as we round a curve or crest a hill and find ourselves face-to-face with a freshly-painted landscape.
I can’t think of a single person who has said to me, “I hate fall.” However, as much as I bask in the cooler days and the beautiful scenery, I’m always a little saddened by it. It brings that little ripple of chilly air around my collar that whispers, “Winter’s on the way!” Not that I have anything against books, fuzzy blankets and hot chocolate – I simply recoil at the thought of frigid days when those things are not available. I don’t do cold – and that’s an understatement.
I hope that if your year has been as busy as mine, you took time out for a little “thriving time” in your own little corner of the world. I promised myself early in the year that this year I would document the beauty around me. Other than events with other writers within the state, Smuffy and I didn’t get far from home. This year, home has held us fast with major projects and at times it’s been a challenge to enjoy down-time, mainly because it came along in such itty-bitty, tiny chunks! I did keep my promise to myself, however, so let’s take a tour of the “estate”, as we like to call it.
In the Spring, a splash of color is downright titillating after months of brown. Green is the new thing and other happy colors join in to brighten up the landscape. The first thing (besides a colorful weed or two) to pop up in my yard are the old-fashioned hyacinths beside my driveway.
I chose this spot for them on purpose. They bloom when it’s still too cold for me to be outside much, so they’re right beside me on my way to and from the car. I always keep some in a vase. The smell rivals that of lilacs and gives me hope for warmer days ahead.
At the same time, or soon thereafter, these beauties seem to decorate every yard in town, waving a cheery hello to spring. I adore daffodils, but they, like the hyacinths, leave me all too soon. These are a double-ruffle variety.
As I write this, I realize that no tour of the estate is complete without photos of the things that every yard in this part of the Midwest seems to have at least one of – a lilac bush, a peony bush and a patch of colorful iris. They fill April and May with color and fragrance. It seems, however, that I was so busy sniffing that I didn’t take photos of those.
Moving on to May…
It’s always special when your sweetie sends you roses, and these are the best flowers Smuffy ever sent me! These climbing Don Juan roses are gorgeous. Most climbing roses have very short stems and, therefore, aren’t something you can put in a vase, but not the Don Juans. The foliage grows to about twelve feet in height and the stems are nice and long. I included a photo of a bunch in a vase so you can see how tall they are. (This is not a small vase.) The blooms are a deep, romantic red and as they open…and open…and open, it seems the petals are never-ending. I’d recommend these stunners for anyone’s flower garden. I love you, Smuffy!
For color in the front yard, my go-to plants are Tidal Wave Petunias. There are all sorts of Wave varietiesnow, but once I tried the Tidal Wave, I knew I’d found something I could depend on. Each plant spreads it’s top growth out over a huge area, blooms and blooms and blooms and, best of all, never needs dead-heading!
In this photo (in which you are instructed to ignore the fact that Smuffy isn’t finished painting the trim on the house), you’ll notice that the entire area to the right of the door is taken up by only four plants! That’s bang for your buck and they’ll bloom from April until frost, which is usually expected here in mid-October. The Tidal Wavesin the photo are in a cherry pink and a color they call Silver, which has a purple throat. Each year, I head to the greenhouse in anticipation that the Wave companymay have come out with more colors! Attention Wave People: More Colors in Tidal Wave, please!
Back to the topic of roses – Some varieties keep on going. Here we are now at the beginning of autumn and we’re still enjoying the dependability of the Knock-out roses in this bright red and these Joseph’s Coat roses. They’ve bloomed all summer.
The Joseph’s Coat rose is aptly named for its many colors. It opens as you see here in the photo, with golden hues. Once open, it’s a fiery orange before maturing into a deep pink. At various times, passersby, whether on foot or driving past, have stopped to ask me what they’re called. They probably receive more comments than anything else in my yard. I don’t remember where I got mine, but they are available from Walmartand their site has a great photo of what they look like when the bush is in full bloom.
Years ago, Smuffy got the bright idea of digging a fish pond. Somehow – I suppose, with those puppy-dog brown eyes of his – he got me on board with the project. He became the hole-digging and water-works man and I became the rock placement artiste. As bad as I wanted out of toting all those rocks, I knew I had to do it because if Smuffy were left to arrange them, the pond would be square. All but three or four of the real “whoppers” were arranged by me prior to an extensive rest period. Now, we enjoy getting to sit and enjoy the sound of running water and the beauty of it all.
Along the stone walls at the back of our property, these sedum have been spending the summer in their own quiet, pale-green way as they waited for their turn to show off. Now a pale blush, they’ll soon turn bright pink before darkening to a deep burgundy and then brown. They work well when dried and used in fall arrangements. Near them, I’ve planted one of my new favorites – this delicate tall salvia in a pinkish red.
Once again, I must remind you, I can’t watch Smuffy every minute. Examples of his need for it can be found here. Being in love with all things green, he sometimes plants things without asking me or bothering to save the tags. I don’t know what these two bushes are called, but they wait by my back fence every year to unleash their beauty in the fall. Now they are blooming just in time to give us the fall colors we love. It strikes me as odd, somehow, that we can be such fans of neat and tidy displays and then when autumn arrives, we all fall in love with the messy look. Suddenly, it’s as though nothing in the world is more beautiful than dead sticks, shaggy bundles of weeds and unkempt, tangled bushes like these.
Now it is time for true confessions. Have you ever gone completely overboard with something? Years ago, I fell in love with Sweet Annie! Don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t remember where I was when I became smitten. All I remember is being in a store and asking, “What is that glorious smell? It smells like fall in here!” My nose led me to a bundle of fluff and someone told me that this fragrant herb was called Sweet Annie. “Easy to grow,” they said. “You can make wreaths,” they said. “Add it to arrangements,” they said. I had to have it. I got my hands on some seeds and planted them in a sunny spot. I’d been promised that I’d have plenty of smelly-good wreath-making cuttings from a single plant. Oh, my!
That episode has probably been twenty years ago and I am still harvesting Sweet Annie every year! It re-seeds itself and that is stating it mildly. Each plant grows to about eight feet in height and the branches off the main stem can be cut to use in arrangements or wound together to make swags or wreaths. You’ll develop a love-hate relationship with Sweet Annie. I’ll probably never know the number of people I’ve blessed or alienated by giving them a gift of a wreath or swag. Every nose is different and while I love the stuff, Smuffy can detect the slightest bit with his super-sniffer and is quick to deposit it out onto the porch. So, I decorate the porch with it. It overwhelms his senses indoors. Other people fill their house with bundles and wreaths and think it’s the greatest thing on earth. I say all this so that in case you decide to sow those seeds – you have been informed!
I cut it each September and hang it under my porch on coat-hangers to dry. This year, I had a bumper crop!
Soon, I’ll show you what I do with this fragrant herb, so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out.
I enjoy my yard, but should I leave it, I don’t have to go far to enjoy the beauty of my locale. Perhaps it’s just me, but it seems this has been an awesome year for beautiful clouds in our part of the Midwest.
I only have to go a few blocks away to find myself on the banks of the Missouri River. It can become something you take for granted when life gets busy. Sometimes, however, it refuses to be ignored!
Being outdoors helps you thrive! It’s relaxing and therapeutic to be out pulling weeds or barbecuing with family and friends. I believe it’s important, however, to make time to just stroll or sit and stare – to soak it all in.
If you live in the Midwest, you might want to get as many of those moments in as you can, because it’s coming, folks! Here’s a photo taken in my backyard. Before we know it –
— winter will be upon us and our fascination with it’s early beauty can give way to a drab existence as we find ourselves waiting, curled up with the seed catalog, for those hyacinths to peek through the soil and refresh our spirits again.
My inspiration for this post came from a recent post over at jilliandanielle.comwhere we are treated to a tour of her summer garden. It’s amazing what a few simple steps can do to make your own corner of the world into a place of rest and peace.
Even though my own corner has been neglected lately as I’ve spent most of my summer finishing up a novel series, I still thrive on the moments I’ve taken to get out and enjoy the place we call home. When we surround ourselves with beauty and then take time to be thankful for it, we can thrive without ever leaving home.
Questions? Comments? Just scroll back up to the beginning of this post and click on “Leave a comment”. I’d love to know what you’ve enjoyed most in your yard this year! Maybe you can help me identify the “mystery bush”!
When I look at the stats that turn all of you into a mass of numbers and bar graphs – my, that sounds so impersonal and unfriendly – I can tell that the fans of Midwest Storyteller really enjoy the humor. It seems like you need a good laugh and are quick to pass it along to brighten someone’s day.
I love it! That’s my favorite part of what I do!
However, when I’m out and about, chatting with people, it seems that many share a common request: RECIPES!
People don’t need to spend much time around me to know that I eat “clean”. Those who don’t know me very well assume that I live on wild hickory nuts and tree bark, something that they, unless they’re out of their ever-lovin’ minds, would never choose to do themselves.
Those who know me well enough to get a taste of what comes out of my kitchen are surprised at the yummy-ness.
They (whomever the mysterious “they” are) used to call us health food “nuts” and it wasn’t because people like me sat around eating cashews and pecans. It implied that a certain degree of loopy-ness swirled inside the heads of those who didn’t think the world revolved around, and was made a better place by, granulated sugar and plenty of Crisco.
Reason is beginning to dawn for Americans at last. People are being advised by doctors, nutritionists and friends to feed their bodies the fuel it really needs and to avoid the stuff that they know is taking them down the same road of pain and ill health they’ve watched friends and family travel.
At the top of the list of culprits, lurking everywhere, is –
If you are making the wise choice to get sugar out of your diet, I am on your side! The delightful-tasting stuff only makes your body more susceptible to inflammation, diabetes, cancer and other ailments. I’m not picking on any particular brands here. As you can tell, it’s not been eradicated from our house entirely.
The biggest challenge lies in how to avoid hidden sugars. Companies love to put it in everything. Is it really addictive? Well, rats aren’t people, you might want to see a study in which rats, already addicted to cocaine before given the choice, preferred sugar to cocaine 8:1. It’s difficult to read the details and not be bowled over by it!
The stuff is practically omnipresent. If you don’t believe that sugar is in everything, I challenge you to purchase a bottle of salad dressing without any!
When I walked away from sugar, I spent two weeks in foul temper! Each time I got ready to prepare a meal, I examined the back labels of all my ingredients. Soy sauce, seasoned salt, chicken broth – why did any of these contain sugar in the first place? I would’ve have started a letter writing campaign if I hadn’t been so busy trying to find something to eat!
One particular group of convenience items really had me steamed! All those little packets we’re so accustomed to tossing into recipes and those little shaker bottles that we sprinkle over our food – almost every one of them had sugar.
“Oh, but it’s gotta be such a tiny amount! That’s not going to hurt anybody.”
I hear your pathetic, whiny voice. Not only do small amounts add up if it’s in everything you eat, but these small amounts keep the cravings alive! If you remove all sugar from your diet, the cravings go away. Yep! I promise.
“It all sounds like so much trouble when I can just grab what I need when I’m at the store. Who wants to mess with stirring up all this stuff?”
Oh, now you’re really sounding like you need me to send you to your room! It all seemed like a big chore to me at first, too. However, since I’ve pioneered the territory for you and am furnishing you with all the recipes, I’ll just stand here with my hands on my hips, tapping my foot, waiting for you to man up or pull up your big girl panties – whichever.
I’m not perfect in my attempts to stay completely off the stuff. Christmas does roll around and if I’m going to make cookies for everybody else, then by golly, I’m gonna eat a couple of ’em! There are also some Belgian truffles that come into Aldi storesevery year during the holiday season and, I mean to say – YUM! One of my dreams is to develop a sugar free recipe for those, but I am wandering from the point. Where were we? Right – MIXES!
I’ve come to realize that making my own mixes is much more convenient, and cheaper, than buying the packets at the store! Once a few basic ingredients become a staple on your pantry shelves, you’ll no longer be running to the store, wasting gas and precious time, all for that silly (and expensive) little packet. You’ll either stir up the simple ingredients within a couple of minutes, or you’ll grab one of your pre-made packets because, yes, you are talented enough to measure all the ingredients into little snack baggies or mix up a whole jar of the stuff to keep on the shelf!
Spread the love! Mix up several batches in snack baggies, spice jars or other food safe containers, apply a cute computer or hand-made label and fill a basket for a thoughtful, homemade gift.
Ready for the recipes? Let’s have all the fun, all the flavor – and none of the sugar!
There are also a free printables below, so be sure to print those out.
I’ll post more mixes soon. Be sure to hop on over to the side bar and sign up for free. If you are on a phone or tablet, you can go to the “Contact Me” page to find the subscription form. IMPORTANT: You must confirm the subscription in your email or it will not work!
Hopefully, my recent round of “technical difficulties” is over and posts will now be coming to you in a more timely manner.
Let’s mix it up!
Italian Salad Dressing Mix
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried flat-leaf Italian parsley
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
¼ teaspoon citric acid
Measure all ingredients into a snack-sized re-sealable bag.
Make several packets up ahead of time, store in a freezer container and grab one whenever you have a recipe calling for a package of Italian dressing mix.
NOTE: The mixes you buy in the store also contain a small amount of dehydrated carrots. You might want to grate a little carrot into your recipe to give it those little flecks of color that are so appealing to the eye!
Taco Seasoning Mix
(for seasoning one pound of burger)
2 Tablespoons dried minced onion
½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
In a 10-inch skillet, brown the burger. Drain off any excess fat. Add the taco mix and ½ cup water. Simmer until onion bits are tender and excess moisture is absorbed.
Cream of Whatever (or “S.O.S” – Soup or Sauce)
2 cups powdered non-fat dry milk
¾ cup arrowroot powder
2 Tablespoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground savory
1 teaspoon dried flat-leaf Italian parsley flakes
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried tarragon
¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
OPTIONAL: 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning.
Combine all ingredients. Mix well. Store in an airtight container.
One batch equals nine (10.5 ounce) cans of creamed soup.
For one can of cream soup:
Combine 1/3 cup of dry mix with 9 ounces COLD water in a saucepan. Whisk until well blended. Heat, stirring constantly with the whisk until thickened.
Add to casseroles or other recipes just as you would a can of soup.
Need Cream of Mushroom Soup: Stir in chopped mushrooms with the dry mix and water.
Need Cream of Celery Soup? Add 2 Tablespoons dried celery flakes to the saucepan.
Need other flavors? Use your imagination!
NOTE: I have seen variations of this recipe all over the internet, but I have changed it so much to eliminate sugar, wheat and corn products that I am calling it my own. However, I’d like to thank Jillie, over at One Good Thing by Jillie for all the tips I’ve received from her blog. She’s a great source for gluten-free recipes, safe cleaning solutions and more.
Seasoned Salt
½ cup sea salt
¼ cup paprika
2 Tablespoons ground tumeric
2 Tablespoons onion powder
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon citric acid
NOTE: If you truly feel that something is “missing” as compared to the seasoned salt you buy, it is, without a doubt, the sugar. If you like, you can add 1/8 teaspoon Sweet Leaf stevia powderto this mix. Sweet Leafreally lives up to their claim as the best-tasting stevia. I purchase my Sweet Leaf stevia at Natural Grocers, my local health food store. It’s available in drops, a powder canister and individual packets. I use whichever form I need, depending on the recipe. If you’ve yet to make friends with stevia because you don’t like the taste, you probably need to switch to this brand. It’s a bit more expensive, but lacks some of the extra ingredients that cause that “off” taste. Another tip on stevia – USE LESS! It’s tough to get it through our heads, but it really is so much sweeter than sugar. Yet, we ignore the label and use too much, causing us to complain about the taste and the cost. How silly is that?
BONUS: Here’s a link to another great mix – Dry Buttermilk Ranch Mix – submitted by Scotdog on www.allrecipes.com I use allrecipes.com often. It’s especially great when you have excess of a certain ingredient. You can do a word search and see all the recipes that have that ingredient.
Back to the Buttermilk Ranch Mix: We have found it to be absolutely yummy. You can print it out from their site. I have a few tips in preparing and using it –
We had to cut the garlic powder in half. It seemed just a bit too potent when made according to the recipe. Adjust this to your liking.
For dressing, I mix it with ½ cup milk and ½ cup full-fat mayonnaise. I like a mayonnaise I found at Trader Joe’s. It has no sugar.
For a dip, use ½ cup mayonnaise and ½ cup sour cream. :
IMPORTANT: I found that “as is”, this worked great for mixing into a dip where you prefer to see all the wonderful little bits of herb and spices. However, when made into a dressing, they tended to make things separate and appear “not so lovely”. I solved this by putting all the ingredients except for the buttermilk powder into my small blender and turning them into a fine powder. Now, I have a smooth, herbed ranch dressing!
Comments? I’d love to hear how you use these simple mixes. Also, I’ll do my best to answer your questions. Just scroll back up and click on “Leave a Comment” under the title of this post.
‘Tis the season for secrets and surprises, so I’m keeping this secret till Friday, December 1st! I thrive on keeping fun little secrets this time of year, don’t you? It keeps the wonder in our world. 
