Thai Quinoa Stir Fry

This is a quick and easy meal. I just used a small bag of frozen mixed vegetables.

photo from savvyvegetarian

In a pan added:
1/4 C soy sauce
1/8 C rice vinegar
(I just added a few seasonings, I didn't measure it out, but here is a guestamit of what I did)
1 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 ground black pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder

Add bag of frozen vegetables and stir. Heat vegetables, and stir frequently. Turn down to lowest setting and cover.

Add 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to lowest setting. Cover and let cook until all liquid is absorbed.

Dump the vegetables and liquid onto quinoa. Toss until evenly coated. Serve immediately.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

I think store bought bread is gross. Plus it has a lot of additives that I prefer my family not eat. I have perfected my homemade bread. This is my favorite recipe (believe me, I have tried lots of recipes).

photo from kingarthurflour

This is a stickier dough as well so keep that in mind.

Whole Wheat Bread

8 cups whole wheat flour (White wheat is BEST!!!! I grind mine right before I make this bread so the nutrients are fresh)
2/3 cup vital wheat gluten
2 1/2 tablespoons yeast
5 cups steaming hot water (I just use hot from the tap)
2 tablespoons salt
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey (If you use a liquid measuring cup and add oil first and then honey to same cup, the honey will slip right out)
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cups whole wheat flour (You will need to adjust this amount. I usually use about 2 cups)

Preheat oven to lukewarm and turn off (about 150 degrees).
Add 8 cups flour, yeast, and gluten. Mix, then add 5 cups water. Mix for about 1 minute, then cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Add salt, oil, honey, and lemon juice. Mix for 1 minute. Add the last of the flour until dough pulls away from the sides (add a bit at a time to figure out what amount works best. Keeping in mind this dough is stickier but it should not stick to sides when mixed). Let dough mix for 5 minutes after you add the last of flour. If you add more flour, you have to mix for another 5 minutes. Use cooking spray NOT FLOUR to form dough and place in baking tins. Let it rise in the warm oven until it reaches top of pans. I just set my timer for 30 minutes. Turn oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes (my oven takes about 25 minutes). It makes 5 loaves. I found you need the metal pans to fit five pans in the oven, but that all depends on your oven size. It took me 2 times of making this recipe to get it just right for our needs, but it is so worth it. The bread is delish and healthy.

**If you use a kitchen aid, you will need to cut the recipe in 1/2**

4th of July

You probably don't remember the picture from THIS post. I talked about making a printable with the picture I took.

Here is what I came up with!

Download 8X10 HERE

Download 5X7 HERE

Resigning

It's official, I am resigning from blogging here at Therapeutic Crafting. This blog has been a huge blessing in my life as I crafted my way through depression. Thank you to everyone for their support in my darkest hour.
I just need to focus on being a momma now. Plus, I am moving across the country in 2 weeks so it is the perfect time for me to say goodbye;)
Kim has full control over the blog and I think she will continue to post, but don't quote me on that because I don't know for sure.

Luv,
Brenda

Summer Days

This summer is going to be structured at our house. We have been brain storming ideas and here's what we have so far. Please leave a comment with your ideas. I am looking for inspiration all the time.




- Each week is themed - Space week, art week, duct tape week, gardening, music Spanish, post office, how to use the library, animals, all about me, (we need 2 more ideas).




- Each day is themed - (this is what we do in the afternoon. It's also when we work on things for that weeks theme)

Masterpiece Monday - library, invent, create, art based ideas.
Take a trip Tuesday - park, museum, bike rides, field trips, picnic, friends house, movie, zoo, Yellowstone, Lagoon
Wet Wednesday - play in water, splash park, pool, water balloon fight, or slippin slide.
Anything goes Thursday - brain storm a list(we have cooking class as an idea so far)
Friday friend Day - everyone invites a friend over. This is a great way to protect family time.



- Every Morning -
We will do the following for 20 minutes each.
1. Read - library books & scriptures
2. Writing - journals, book reports(I pay my kids to write reports on long books), letters
3. Physical - ride bikes, walk, sit-ups, push-ups, jumpe rope, roller blade, etc.
4. Home - a have a long list of cleaning, 1x a week we'll deep clean for example clean under beds
5. Practice - musical instruments, baseball, or any new skill
6. School or Extras - if your kids don't like the idea of school call it extras.
We look up things on Youtube, Wikipedia, iPad games that are educational, wonderlist, work books, etc.

Pinterest Love

Here are a few things I have seen on pinterest that I liked!

Clean away hard water stains

Sewing

These next 2 projects took me about 2 months to finish, literally. I would do a little when ever I felt up to it, which wasn't very often.

I made an adorable nursing cover for myself. Red is my favorite color. I have had this fabric sitting in my fabric stash for a very long time just waiting for this very thing;) You can find the tutorial HERE.

My friend has told me how wonderful the gauze blankets are. So I thought I would try one. I just cut a big square out, I think 40X40 and hemmed the edges.

So, when I had my daughter I wanted this AMAZING Rowdy diaper bag (they have sense gone out of business). RED, seriously, can't get any better. Well I got my wish for a birthday present, but the zipper broke. When I told hubby I was pregnant, he immediately took the bag to a shoe repair store. He had them fix the zipper and surprised me with my fixed bag! I am still just as in love with this bag as the day I first laid eyes on it.

All neutral because I don't know what I am having yet. Is it a boy or girl? I am not sure. I had morning sickness with my daughter but not my son  so maybe a girl!?! I really don't know.