RECIPE #2 for the Thanksgiving Recipe Week: Southern Fried Cabbage ? with smoked sausage! With a side of cornbread, it’s hard to go wrong with this one. So delicious!!
Ingredients
2 small green cabbage, cored and chopped
5 slices of bacon, coarsely chopped
1lb of smoked sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1 green or red pepper
½ cup of vegetable broth
1 package of Lipton onion soup mix
A dash of onion powder, garlic powder, and parsley
Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and allow the bacon fat to remain in the skillet.
Add the onion, pepper, and sausage to the pan. Cook until translucent – about 5 minutes.
Add the cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.
Add the vegetable broth, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until the cabbage is tender to your liking.
Finally, add the bacon back to the skillet and stir to combine.
Kicking off our Thanksgiving Recipe Week with a delicious dessert! This is not your usual Banana Pudding ? … made with Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies! Want to bring some excitement to the kitchen this Thanksgiving? Whip this up!
Ingredients
2 packages of Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies
2-6 medium-sized bananas, sliced (I prefer minimum-sized bananas.)
Line the bottom of a baking dish or dessert bowl with one package of the Chessmen cookies. Top with sliced bananas to create your first layer.
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add in pudding mix and milk. Beat for several minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Fold in the Cool Whip
Spread the mixture over the banana layer. (Repeat this step.)
Top with the remaining with the second package of Chessmen cookies.
We recently survived our 11th move to be exact, and I just couldn’t endure the thought of unpacking and organizing solo with all I currently have going on—especially with the holidays right around the corner. I often say organizing is one of my superpowers, but at the moment, my battery was low. I had to rest my pride. So, if you’re feeling like I did and you’re wondering how you can ever get your life together before the holidays hit, here are 5 suggestions:
1. Reach Out For Help.
Like I mentioned, I rested…tied down…let go of…my pride! If you can hire someone to help you quickly organize, I’d highly recommend it! Whether it’s your entire house or just one room, it can drastically change your life.
My friends over at A Pinch of Help showed up with superhero capes a few weeks ago and tackled the project better than I ever could’ve imagined. More details to come on my experience with them, but they’d be my top recommendation. You can request this as an early Christmas or Birthday gift, as I did!
2. Purge & Place in the Room(s) Most Used.
Decide which room(s) you will use the most during this holiday season and purge and place everything in a basket or bin to contain it. This will hold it in place and give the allusion of “organized” for my mind’s sake until you have more time. Baskets help everything appear neater than it may essentially be. Don’t leave any loose items or toys around. And most importantly, make sure everyone in the family knows and agrees to place what belongs in each basket DAILY.
3. Wipe & Dust Everything!
A clean smell can do a lot! It gets you off to a good start. Aim to tackle one room per day for only one hour. Incorporate the quick “purce and place” tactic, and then, the days following, take out the Windex, the All Purpose Cleaner, the Bleach, and wipe it all down. Sweep or mop. Dust the rugs and furniture. You will feel better! When things look and smell fresh, it makes a world of difference! And quite honestly, it doesn’t take as much time as we think.
4. Involve the whole family!
Want to get it done quickly? Involve the whole family. Create teams, assign each team a couple of tasks, turn on some music, create a completion list, and turn it into an organizing party for the entire family!
5. Ask a Friend.
Can’t turn to your immediate family for help? Turn to another trusted family member or even ask a friend to help you for a couple of hours. Establish a plan beforehand that you guys get started. You can use this time to bond, have a glass of wine, and get the job done! You can also offer to help them do the same thing!
That’s a wrap! Enjoy an organized holiday season! Always feel free to message me for more tips!
We live in a changing world, but we serve a God who is unchanging. While many things in life are fleeting, change is one thing that can be relied upon as a constant, and yet it can still awaken fear within us. We experience change daily, from small changes in our schedules and routines, to major changes in our health and homes. When we can be so sure of change, it often drives me to wonder:
Why do we rely on stability?
We become used to the familiar, comfortable with what we already know —and in comfortability, there is security. When we know what to expect, we know how to prepare ourselves and how to operate under the circumstances we are provided with. We see stability as success. Outside of our comfort and security bubble is where fear starts to creep in. But in truth, it is change that challenges us and encourages us to replace that which is old to become a newer and better version of ourselves in Christ.
Change conforms us into the image of Christ.
Despite knowing that change can bring goodness, it doesn’t stop me from experiencing fear in its wake. When I find myself shaken by my circumstances and experiencing rampant thoughts, I am pointed back to Christ. I find beauty in knowing that as we change, Christ remains. He provides the stability that our daily lives cannot. Through Him, we can find consistency and courage to face the unknown. He is the beginning and the end, and He does not compromise His values. In Him we find the most important stability—eternal significance that stretches beyond this world. As the world around us changes, we can revel in the knowing that in the presence of His grace, we shall live eternal.
I have learned to build my hope in Christ. As I seek security, I do so, not through stability, but through embracing change knowing that God has a plan.
Imagine change as hydroplaning. When you’re hydroplaning, you’re meant to turn your wheel into the direction you’re traveling in order to realign your tires and regain control. The same can be said when change occurs in our lives. Don’t resist it; lean into the change. Find your security in knowing that this will be further transforming you into the image of Christ.
Oceans will rise, kingdoms will fall, but the world of the Lord stands forever. The sun will fade and this world will one day pass, but God remains the same. Let us embrace change as a facet to bring us closer to Christ, closer to our true potential, and closer to the beauty He creates in the unpredictability of the future.
There used to be a time when I was widely regarded as the Coupon Queen. (TLC practically could have had me running Extreme Couponing.) But these days managing a family of four kids hasn’t left a lot of spare time for clipping. Instead, I have learned some hacks to save my time and shop more efficiently.
1. Get a checklist going.
The best way to set yourself up for success is by planning ahead. I like to create a list in the Notes app on my phone of upcoming events that I will need to buy gifts for. I can track all of the birthdays, holidays, baby showers, and housewarming parties I have in my future and check them off as I complete my purchases. This way, nothing sneaks up on me.
2. Track upcoming sales.
Open up your phone calendar (we seem to be past the days of paper planners) and track upcoming sales as events. Create a single forum where all of your sales can be seen in one place (which is way easier than hunting through websites and old spam emails). Now you can refer to your phone to know when you need to make time to shop, and when you’re free to have fun with your family.
3. Don’t be afraid of the off-season.
Some of the best sales are at the wrong time, like summer clothes being on sale as we head into fall. While I’m not advising purchasing next year’s Halloween candy on this year’s sale, you might consider buying your Christmas decorations in January when most retailers have discounted everything heavily to get rid of their stock. Buying things ahead of time can help save you money and time in the long-run.
4. Prioritize your coupons.
When you do find time to get a great coupon, don’t let it slip through the cracks. I like to set reminders in my phone to alert me when a coupon’s expiration date is near. Many stores these days offer coupons for follow-up sales or for certain purchases, don’t miss out on saving that money by forgetting to shop again.
5. Don’t hoard, but stockpile.
One of my greatest secrets is having some back stock of gift options. When you are out doing your regular shopping, don’t be afraid to purchase generic gifts at great prices. You may not have an event for it today, but when that last-minute engagement party invite arrives, you’ll be glad to have some presents already on hand.
By employing these tips and tricks, I’ve been able to prioritize spending time with my family without losing my touch as a money-saving queen!
Enjoy a space to connect, be empowered and educated to seek Jesus wholeheartedly, identify blind spots, seek growth, learn to love, forgive, laugh, cook amazing food, and understand that living the in the spotlight is not always roses & candy.
