Tammy's Recipes

I really enjoy Julie's Recipe Box. Check out her great photo tutorial about making and canning strawberry jam! Absolutely beautiful.

Loretta at Vegan Footprints also has a great post (with lots of photos!) about making tofu in her African village. So fascinating!!

This Mexican lasagna recipe from Rebecca at Kitchen Riches looks delicious. Rebecca always has such yummy-looking recipes and photos! :)

Do I even need to blog anymore?! Seriously, there are so many great blogs out there. I greatly appreciate all of you who take the time to visit here. :)

I love Bethany's go for it attitude!

I have always wanted to learn how to can stuff, but never thought I'd learn how. With all of the bounty of the fruits this year, I figured I HAD to learn how to do it, so that I can preserve all of this stuff. I would hate for it to all go to waste...

I spent hours reading articles on the internet about canning, then bought myself a pressure canner, read the booklet that came with it, till I was confident enough to start, and got stuff ready to can.

Read the rest of her post and see her beautiful food photos!

If you're not already a regular reader of Bethany's blog, I highly recommend it! Whether it's pictures of the newest recipe she's tried, the progression of her murals, cute things her children have said or done, or thoughtful ponderings about pregnancy loss, Bethany has the sweetest spirit! Her blog is truly one that brightens my day. :)

A number of months ago, I came across this free sample offer from Skin Md Naturals: a bottle of lotion in exchange for writing an honest review here on my blog. (For those of you with blogs, it looks like this offer is still open, by the way!)

Well, I can write an honest review of something -- and a bottle of lotion sounded like fun, especially since it was winter at the time and my hands were very dry.

First the good: Skin MD Naturals has an informative website with lots of info about every single ingredient in their lotion. If only every company that made skin care products would be so open about what they put in them!

Now, the not-so-good: Although the lotion doesn't contain fragrance, it does have a distinct smell which I found rather annoying after the first couple of uses.

At $18 for 4 ounces, Skin MD Naturals lotion is rather pricey. If it truly produced amazing results, the price night be acceptable (depends how desperate you are). Unfortunately, my hands didn't like their lotion.

I wanted to use the lotion for at least a couple of weeks before giving my opinion on it, and after about a week, I started having eczema issues with my hands. I stopped using the lotion and within another week, my eczema was cleared up. To be sure it was caused by something in the lotion, I used it for a couple more days, during which time the eczema returned. I stopped using the lotion once again, and again the eczema disappeared.

My guess is that my skin is sensitive to something in the lotion, and I plan to give away the rest of what's in my bottle (I'd pass it on to Joshua, but the smell aggravates his allergies and his hands are never dry anyway!).

Go here to sign up for a free sample of fish oil/Omega-3 supplement from Nordic Naturals! Our samples arrived in the mail a few weeks ago and we were quite impressed! The boys especially enjoyed getting to try the childrens' cod liver oil, which was flavored naturally.

And, inside the package was a plastic card (see above) with a chart about mercury levels in fish. I'm keeping the card in my purse for handy reference at the grocery store! :)

My friend Melissa just opened a shop called Bumble Bea Green where she'll be selling her handmade cloth shopping totes -- reasonably priced and irresistibly cute! Well, almost irresistibly cute (I haven't bought any from her yet...).

I know that Melissa is a great seamstress, as she has generously blessed me with cloth baby wipes and a cloth activity book in years past. :)

But aside from shamelessly plugging another mom's home business, I want to tell you why you should head over to her blog: There's giveaways!

And since there are only a few entries so far, your chances of winning are really good! Yes, I'm sabotaging my own 20% chance of winning by telling you all to go over and enter!

Melissa is giving away this stylish tote, and to enter the giveaway, you can go here and post a comment telling your favorite way to be "green"! :) If you want to increase your chances of winning, you can also do a "green" post on your blog and enter it into her Mr. Linky (read the instructions on her post). :)

Melissa also makes produce bags, and you can comment on this post for a chance to win a pair! (Read her instructions on that post first, of course.) :)

I'm still on my quest for knowledge regarding dental care. In the past couple of months, I've read a few books, done loads of reading online, talked with a hygienist, invested in a Water Pik (oral irrigator) and consulted with my dentist (we actually talked on the phone for 15 minutes this afternoon -- I love getting to ask lots of questions!).

This evening I spent a couple of hours reading through the archives of this blog from a dentist, Dr. Ellie Phillips. (I volunteered her ad on my sidebar right now -- take a look!)

Dr. Ellie has spent lots of time answering questions and sharing her thoughts from her 35+ years as a dentist. What she says intrigues me: I see a lot of common sense, and a more natural preventive approach. Reading through page after page of her advice has helped me get the bigger picture of what good oral hygiene might look like.

Dr. Ellie's recommendations for good oral health include xylitol. While she does sell xylitol mints and gum, any good-quality 100% xylitol will achieve the same results. And the rest of her recommendations can be bought at your local store. (For the curious: We ordered some granulated xylitol through a co-op; it can also be found at bulk food stores, health food stores, or online.)

Dr. Ellie is down-to-earth, encouraging, sometimes-skeptical of big-businesses' motivations, and generous -- read her blog and you'll see what I mean.

And yes... Zellies mints and gum are fabulous. I won't lie -- they aren't exactly "cheap". But they are good quality and taste wonderful. We've tried the mint and the fruit flavors, and they are seriously the best mints we've ever had. Ever!

Unlike normal breath mints (which usually either contain sugar or an unhealthy artificial sweetener), the 100% xylitol mints leave my teeth feeling clean and fresh. It is amazing; I was NOT expecting to like the mints so well. (We were researching them for their tooth benefits, not taste!) :)

I'm trying out Dr. Ellie's recommended "system" for daily teeth maintenance: Rinse with Closys, brush, rinse with Listerine, rinse with Act. (I am also using the Water Pik at the beginning to clean out the deep cavity I still have.) I'll update in a few months with my thoughts.

Anyway. I'm not trying to sell you on anything here... but if you are interested in learning more about dental health, Dr. Ellie's blog is a great resource! And you can ask her your own questions, as well. :)

An interesting article about not buying organic...

HT: Noble Womanhood

Asparagus season is almost over, but this sure does look delicious! :)

I have about 3 more meals' worth of asparagus in my fridge, but that'll be it. We're still enjoying it, but we won't miss it too much since it'll be replaced with other seasonal veggies. :) We'll most likely not have asparagus again until next April. The first asparagus of the season is always such a treat. :)

While we're over here making mistakes on our garden, Amy's making her plans:

If you think this is ambitious, you should see my berry and orchard plan. I know, I know. I need to make it a four-year plan, not a four-day one. If you are new to gardening, it is no big loss to mess up with seeds, but you should always take time and care when adding berries and trees. They cost a lot more. Start small and then you can talk your husband into buying you a farm. Not that I know anything about that. (Read the rest!)

And Mary's family is tackling a 3-acre garden this year:

I'm trying not to think of August and 500 bushels of tomatoes to deal with. Or 2000 heads of broccoli to freeze and sell. Or digging all of those carrots and sweet potatoes.

...If nothing else, we'll appreciate the food on the table more than ever. And maybe we'll never again view weeding a small plot as something hard to do. (Read Mary's post!)

And if you think you don't have the space for a garden... think again (YouTube video). So inspiring!! :) 

On the heels of my post about grocery budgeting, I decided it was time to post my review of Crystal Paine's Supermarket Savings 101 Course!

Read more for my review! :)

The story of a pizza's life at Bethany's house. :) Don't we all have those days where we're doing a few too many things at once?! ;)

I got more free samples of Emergen-C in the mail today! So yummy! :) A while back I got some samples from their website, and Joshua and I really enjoyed the three different fruity flavors they sent! :)

This time, it was Pink Lemonade from a free sample promotional link I can't seem to find (it's probably expired by now).

If you haven't requested a free sample of Emergen-C yet, head over to their website and click on "share the good"! They love sending free samples out, and Emergen-C is healthy and yummy! :)

I took this picture in front of my kitchen curtains. If I had white curtains (instead of light green gingham) I think they might work for a lightbox sort of look. :)

Sarah sent me this link to a post about making homemade instant oatmeal packets, including various flavors and a price breakdown! We make our oatmeal by the pan full (and we prefer nice big rolled oats for ours!), but the homemade packets are awfully cute -- and would make a wonderful gift! :)

This is rather shameless, but on the other hand -- it's free money!

Crystal posted the whole scoop here (with lots of commentors verifying that this is legit!).

Basically, sign up for this better-than-Paypal service and get a free $25. I just signed up, and yep -- $25 in my account!

The shameless part comes in here: If you want to support our website while requesting your free $25, sign up through my referral link above. It'll only take you a few minutes. Then you can start sending your friends to your own referral link, and get $10 for each sign-up you recruit, up to $500! (This is good through April 15.)

I'm pretty sure Crystal has already gotten 50 people to sign up through her link... so if you're a regular reader and want to help support this site, I'd be thrilled if you'd consider signing up through the link above. ;)

Updated to add:

Thank you so much to everyone who signed up using our referral link! It is such a blessing. I'm still gathering some thoughts related to this unexpected (to me! Because Abba knew...) blessing...

First, as usual, Court has me rolling with laughter. Whether it's marriage insights, reflecting on the possible need to get some marriage counseling, or how well-prepared she was for motherhood, her blog posts almost always have me laughing -- sometimes to the point of tears! But she's not just funny. She's honest about the hard parts of life. I like that. :)

Bethany blogged about the homemade pretzels her son Caleb made, all by himself! :) I love how she's letting her kids have so much fun in the kitchen! :)

Tanya shared photos and thoughts about muffin-making with little helpers! :)

As the mom of a very independent potty trained two-year-old, I could totally relate to this post. Toilet paper is definitely one of those things that gets more expensive as the family size increases!

Here's a post about making homemade toothpaste (I want to try this!!), and from the same blog, a sweet testimony of Yahweh's blessings and faithfulness during hard times.

And lastly, there's an ad on our sidebar right now for this website: The Songwriter's Experiment. I could inundate you with music links, but we all have different tastes, right? Well, this one's from a wife and mom, and I'm anxious to hear more.

We got our free samples of True Lemon, Lime, and Orange in the mail recently, and really enjoyed them! We got two packets of each flavor, and added them to water. They were all gone that same day -- my boys liked the flavored water as much as I did! :) I think the lemon flavor was actually my favorite, though all of them were good. :) If you haven't requested your own free sample yet, go here to do so! :)

A couple of readers also asked where I find free samples. The best place to keep up with all the free sample offers out there is MoneySavingMom! Crystal usually posts a link to any of the good ones, so the past few weeks I haven't even gone to any other sites. Simple is good, right? ;)

I don't even bother searching for free samples on Google, because most of them aren't really "free" -- they want you to wade through countless pages and then participate in "offers" (which require spending money!) to get the "free" sample.

Shortly after Ruth was born, my friend Abigail sent us some delicious whole grains from her family's organic farm! We had sampled some of their products in the past, but that was about 5 years ago. It was fun to try some new things, and we really loved everything in the package!

Yehoshua and Eliyahu helped me make corn muffins from the corn muffin mix. It was so easy to make these! Eliyahu lined the pan while Yehoshua stirred as I added ingredients. :)

The mix has corn flour, so it's gluten-free (unlike my normal cornbread recipe which has cornmeal and all-purpose flour). We loved the crunchy whole-grain flavor, and drizzled our hot muffins with some honey before eating! (More photos...)

I loved this sweet post from Kimberly, a mother of 5 little ones. She writes about her daughters helping in the kitchen, and then concludes:

You know, if the Lord should graciously give us more children, I may be living the life of a queen one day!

1. nurse the baby
2. read to the children
3. take a nap

That sounds pretty ideal to me! ;)

My friend Mary has a great well-written post on her blog -- a (hospital) birth story from her perspective as a doula. Joshua, who is accustomed to my childbirth ramblings, read the post as well. ;) I'm so grateful for a husband who not only puts up with the subjects that interest me, but jumps right in with me! :)

From Ruizbe82, some homemade wheat bread, sprinkled with wheat germ. It looks delicious! :)

And more bread, from GinnyBerry -- the Amish White bread recipe. :)

From Donna -- cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting, as well as the pumpkin roll! :)

Also, thank you to everyone who submits their favorite recipes to us. Many times it takes me a while to get around to trying all the recipes, but we do print them out and keep them in a special folder until they've been tried -- and blogged about! :) I haven't made any new recipes since Ruth was born, though...

A reader also asked about leaving recipe reviews. Registered users can leave reviews of the recipes they've tried (a review box shows up under the recipes when you're logged in!). For more details (it's actually really simple, I promise!) scroll down this page... Reader reviews make our website more than just "our recipe archive", and we really appreciate the time you take to leave reviews under the recipes! :)