Sew God's Grace

I used to be intimidated by the thought of making scones.  However, once I tried it I discovered that they are relatively easy.  The few tips that I will offer include keeping your ingredients cold and using the food processor to cut the butter into the flour.  (I have never been one for doing this step by hand!)  So grab your ingredients, and you can have fresh, homemade scones on the table for breakfast in about half and hour! Chocolate Chip Scones (adapted from this recipe) 2 cups all purpose flour 2 Tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup butter, chilled 1/2 to 1 cup miniature chocolate chips 1 egg, beaten 1/2 cup half and half (the original recipe calls for milk, so go for it if you don't have half and half on hand!) Course sugar, optional Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prepare a large baking sheet by placing parchment paper on top or lightly greasing.  Whisk egg and half and half in a small bowl and place in the fr...

I have made these cinnamon rolls more times than I can count!  I have combined a couple of recipes and modified them slightly, so I decided to post my techniques all in one place.  The recipe I use for the rolls is actually from a raspberry sweet roll recipe that I found on Pinterest.  I have actually made the entire recipe, and it is really good.  The recipe for the frosting is from a post for 30 minute cinnamon knots .  However, I double the recipe because we like a little bit of cinnamon roll with our frosting!  I highly recommned making the cinnamon knot recipe with kids--it's quick, easy, and fun.  (It is also messy, so make these before you plan to mop your kitchen floor! Also, plan for the process to take longer than 30 minutes!  ☺)  Here's my recipe! Our Favorite Cinnamon Rolls (adapted from this recipe ) 2 cups whole milk (2% works, too) 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 4 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast  7  cups al...

The first time I ever had these was when I spent Thanksgiving with my then-fiance's family.  Matt's mom had made a batch that were in the crock pot available while we were waiting for lunch.  I think I ate at least six!   So for Thanksgiving yesterday I decided to make some.  These sausage balls keep well in the refrigerator for several days.  You can also freeze them.  Enjoy! Sausage Balls 2 cups Bisquick 2 cups shredded cheese 1 pound sausage, cooked and crumbled 1/2 cup water In a large bowl, mix all ingredients with a spoon.  If the dough is not sticking together, add up to a tablespoon of water.  Scoop onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  I use a medium-sized cookie scoop.  Bake at 375 degrees for 18 minutes or until browned.  Serve immediately or place in lightly-sprayed crockpot on low/keep warm.  

My oldest daughter ran cross country this year, and every Friday one of the moms would provide breakfast after their early-morning practice.  One Friday, she told me that they had a biscuit and gravy casserole that was so good that I had to get the recipe.  I did, and I also looked up several variations on Pinterest.  Here is my version. Biscuits and Gravy Casserole:  (adapted from this recipe ) 2 cans refrigerated biscuits 12 pre-cooked sausage links, halved and chopped (or you can use 1 pound sausage, cooked and drained) 2 1/2 cups milk 1/4 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon pepper salt to taste (I find that with using the pre-cooked links that I don't need any.) 1 -2 tablespoons butter, melted Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 9 by 13 inch pan with cooking spray.  Press one can of biscuits into the bottom of the pan and bake about 8 minutes or until browned.  Meanwhile, whisk milk with flour and seasonings.  Place mixture and sausage int...

Paleo Breakfast Casserole 1/2 pounds sausage (can use Italian sausage or make your own) 5 slices bacon, cut into small pieces 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped 1 large or two small sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded (I use the food processor for this) 10 eggs 1/2 cup coconut milk Set the instant pot to saute and put on the medium setting.  Add the sausage, bacon, and peppers and cook until sausage is no longer pink.  While this is cooking, mix eggs and milk in a large bowl and use a hand held mixer or immersion blender to beat up well.  With coconut oil, grease a 2 quart round casserole dish that will fit into your instant pot.  When meat is done, drain if needed/desired.  Add meat mixture and shredded sweet potatoes to eggs and stir to combine.  Pour into prepared dish and cover with aluminum foil.  Place 1 1/2 cups water (or whatever is the required minimum amount for your instant pot) into the bott...

We love breakfast for supper at our house.  I like to make a large breakfast casserole, and then we have leftovers to eat for several days afterward.  This recipe is one of our favorites.  Use your food processor to shred the sweet potatoes, and it comes together quickly. Sweet Potato Breakfast Bake 2 large or 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded 8-10 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled 1/2 - 1 pound sausage, cooked and crumbled  (make your own if you want one with no sugar added.  I like this recipe .) 1/2 cup coconut milk (or any other milk desired) 16 eggs Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 by 13 pan with coconut oil.  Crack eggs into a large mixing bowl and add milk.  I like to use an immersion blender to mix these up.  Tip:  if you are using canned coconut milk, use the immersion blender first to mix up your coconut milk in a small glass pitcher.  Then add the half cup to the eggs and blend together...

My kids love to have breakfast for supper.  I usually make breakfast for supper on a Thursday or Friday, and I make a big bunch of pancakes or waffles and some scrambled eggs.  Then I save the leftovers for Sunday breakfast.  This really cuts down on my crazy as we are trying to get ready for church and out the door!  The picture above is a double batch of pancakes.  These freeze great in a ziploc bag.  To serve, thaw overnight in the fridge and then toast. My kids have not loved pancakes until I got this recipe from my good friend Amber.  She brought some over for me when we welcomed little Jack into our family.  Of course, I requested the recipe straightaway!  My kids enjoy these with either peanut butter or chocolate spread in between two pancakes--then they eat them like a sandwich with no syrup.  It's a lot less messy for my three year old! If you like gadgets, you might want to check out this batter dispenser from Amazon. ...

This is one of my son's favorite breakfasts!  Since is has a caramel sauce on the bottom, he has always called it "Jelly French Toast."  If I ask him what he would like for breakfast, that is usually his request.  I have been wanting to post this recipe for quite a while.  However, my pictures have not turned out so great.  So this morning I finally got one that we thought was decent.   For this recipe, you do need to plan ahead since it needs to refrigerate overnight.  It comes together in a flash, though.  It's also a great way to use up your bread that has gotten a bit too stale for sandwiches.  Sometime I hope to make it using some homemade French bread.  (I'll update when I do!) French Toast Bake (From Recipes and Memories--Sharon Springs Wesleyan Church Cookbook, recipe submitted by Carmen Selzer) 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup butter 2 teaspoons light corn syrup 12 slices sandwich bread Cinnamon 6 egg...

Wow!  It has been a while since I last posted anything.  I have lots of pictures taken, but I haven't taken the time to sit down and get anything written out.  Update:  I said that I was going to try a mixed berry filling also.  I made it the other day, and the kids gave it rave reviews also.  Check out the recipe for that as well! My kids love Apple Cinnamon Nutrigrain Bars.  Recently, I have been searching for a homemade substitute to those bars that isn't super labor-intensive and that doesn't involve a ton of butter.  Also, I wanted one that wasn't too crumbly.  By combining two recipes, I think I have come up with just the ticket!  When my kids each had one for snack, they scarfed them down and requested seconds! Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars Filling:  (From Loving life, one meal at a time ) 2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced 1 tablespoon of butter 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 tablespoon of cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon...

We really like this pumpkin bread recipe, but the taste itself is not what makes it perfect.  The thing that makes it perfect is that it uses exactly 1 can of pumpkin!  I can't tell you how many times I have made a recipe that uses one cup pumpkin.  Thinking I will use the remaining 3/4 cup at a later date, I put it in a container in the refrigerator.  Weeks later, I pull out an unidentifiable substance that is covered in mold.  Oops!  Well, no penicillin experiments with this one!  Just throw the whole can in! Perfect Pumpkin Bread  (adapted from this recipe ) 1 15 ounce can pumpkin 2 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup canola oil 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 4 eggs, lightly beaten 2/3 cup water 2 1/3 cup white flour 1 cup whole wheat flour (I like white whole wheat flour) 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice or 1 teaspoon cinnamon & 1 teaspoon nutmeg Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans. ...

I made these yummy fruit salads for a brunch recently, and they were a big hit.  The original recipe called for putting them in aluminum muffin liners, but I like the look of these 9 ounce clear Solo cups.  These fruit cups are so versatile--you could serve them at a baby shower or a backyard barbeque.  Best of all, you can make them up to several days in advance!  You can use any combination of fruit you like.  I chose to use strawberries, mandarin oranges, and bananas, but you could use blueberries, pineapple, and even add some chopped nuts.   Creamy Frozen Fruit Cups (Adapted from Taste of Home recipe found  here ) 8 oz. cream cheese, softened (I use light) 1/2 cup sugar 8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed 1 1/2 cups strawberries, cut into small pieces 11 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained 1 - 2 bananas, cut into small pieces (These will brown after a couple of days in the freezer, so you may want to sprinkle some Fruit Fresh on them if you are plann...

Every now and again, I like to do something over the top. Last Saturday night was one of those times. I was taking suggestions for ideas what to make for supper for Valentine's Day (I'm serving Matt and the kids a candlelight dinner!) and Matt suggested chocolate waffles. Well, I already had something in mind for a special dessert, and, since chocolate waffles are basically a dessert in itself, I didn't want to make them for Valentine's Day supper. However, I couldn't get chocolate waffles out of my head, so I whipped some up for supper on Saturday night. Before you begin, please know that this is not exactly a quick and easy recipe like many of the recipes I post. While not that hard, it is a bit more time consuming, and you will need to use several bowls. When I was growing up, my grandma would make these waffles for dessert. We would eat them with vanilla ice cream and homemade caramel sauce (recipe to come soon!). Yum! Just thinking about it ma...

My sister-in-law Stephanie brought this bread to a couple of different gatherings over Christmas this year. I think my son, Evan, would have eaten the entire loaf if I had let him. Of course, I had to have the recipe. I received this fancy mini loaf bread pan from my brother for Christmas, and I was itching to try it out. I thought this was the perfect recipe to use it for. Almond Poppy Seed Bread Add to mixing bowl in order: 3 c. flour 1/2 Tb. baking powder 3 eggs 1 c. + 1 Tb. oil (to lighten it up, replace 1/2 c. of the oil with 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce) 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1 1/2 tsp. salt 2 1/4 c. sugar 1 1/2 c. milk 3 Tb. poppy seeds 1/2 tsp. almond extract Beat 2 minutes. Pour into two 9 by 5 or six 6 by 3.5 inch greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degreese 45-50 minutes for 9 by 5 loaf pans. For the smaller loaf size, bake about 40 minutes. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For the glaze, whisk together: 3/4 c....

Before I say anything else, I must tell you that I do not have a Grandma Mack. I don't know who she is, but this recipe is delightful! This is a recipe that I got from my sister-in-law, Stephanie. (She doesn't have a Grandma Mack either, but she has been a terrific recipe resource for me.) I have a great recipe for Poppy Seed Almond Bread from her as well that I hope to post soon. I love breakfast casseroles! They are so easy to have ready, in the fridge, for the next morning. I just write the instructions on top of the Press N Seal, and Matt can slip it in the oven when he wakes up. Then breakfast is ready when the kids are up and around! This is a very versatile and easy recipe. You can use ham, sausage, or any breakfast meat that you like. As I said before, I like to put this one together the night before so all that is necessary in the morning is to pop it in the oven. Here's the recipe: Grandma Mack's Breakfast Delight: 1 tube (8 oz.) refrige...

This post is not going to provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to make donuts.  Rather, it's a celebration that the kids and I made them, and it was a big success.  I'll try to provide a few helpful hints, though. I had told the kids that if they did really well during school, we would take a Friday morning and make donuts together.  The kids were fascinated at the idea.  Well, a couple of weeks ago, I decided that we were going to do it. I found the recipe here on Pinterest,  During the week, I read through the recipe several times.  I was a little nervous because I had never made donuts before,  I wanted it to be a fun project with the kids instead of getting too long and tedious.  Also, I don't own a deep fat fryer. I was able to get up early to mix the dough.  I added about a cup extra of flour because the dough seemed so sticky.  We were able to get breakfast eaten while the dough rose the first time.  ...

With the many pumpkin recipes being featured on Pinterest lately, I have been in quite the mood for all things pumpkin.  So, when my friend Lisa posted on Facebook that her family was having pumpkin waffles, I had to have the recipe!  I modified it slightly to make it somewhat healthier--I substituted some whole wheat flour for some of the white, and I cut the amount of brown sugar called for in half. I thought it would be fun to cut them into pumpkin shapes to have on Halloween morning.  Here is the recipe: Pumpkin Waffles 4 eggs 3 1/2 cups milk 1 15 ounce can pumpkin (1 3/4 cups) 3/4 cup oil 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 2 cups whole wheat flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt mini chocolate chips, optional  Mix wet ingredients.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Cook on your waffle iron.  If desired, cut int...

I love it when something that looks easy and fun on Pinterest turns out just as I expected!  I found this idea here on Pinterest.  What did I ever do before Pinterest?  I never would have thought to make these on my own!   I bought some canned cinnamon rolls on sale at the local grocery store and determined to surprise the kids with this one morning. Just bake your rolls on your waffle iron. Mine were done when the light went off. The recipe that I referenced has tips for thinning the icing to make a syrup--I just used the frosting it as it was. The kids were so excited.  I was happy that it worked--the cinnamon rolls did not stick as I feared they might.  As I have mentioned before, I'm not that much of a morning person, so I love quick ideas for breakfast.  We just had to wait for the waffle iron to heat up.  (My son, Evan, was sad not to be mixing up waffles, though.  He loves to run the hand mixer!) ...

Well, I have lost some weight and have been exercising more regularly.  As a result, I have more energy.  I have been enjoying finding new recipes to try out on my kids for breakfast.  I found this recipe for Greek Yogurt Pancakes from Everyday Belle on Pinterest.  I was surprised at how light and fluffy they were.  They were so pretty that I had to take a picture.  What's more, the kids loved them.  Also, they made a small batch.  It was just enough to feed the kids so I was not tempted to indulge.  If you are planning to feed a large family, you will probably need to at least triple the recipe.  I used strawberry banana yogurt this time, but I am going to try blueberry the next time around.  Note: when you first put the batter on the griddle, it does not spread out much, and it looks like you are going to have a really puffy pancake.  However, as it cooks, it spreads out. Here's a link to the recipe.   Hope...

With this beautiful fall weather, I am loving all things pumpkin right now.  My kids enjoy oatmeal, and I'm always looking for variations on our old standby's.  So, when I found a recipe for Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal, I knew I had to give it a go. I found the original recipe here .  Since I have no desire or need to follow vegan recipes, I made some modifications to suit our tastes and the ingredients I have on hand.  My recipe fed my four kids with some left over for Mommy, so I would say it makes about three servings. Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal 1 1/4 cups quick oats 2 cups milk (I used skim, and it worked great) 1 cup pumpkin puree 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup brown sugar Whisk ingredients together in a large microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave two minutes.  Stir and microwave 2 minutes more or until desired consistency. Enjoy the flavors of fall!

I usually don't make cinnamon rolls, but I found a recipe on pinterest for Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls that I wanted to try.  Since we had a bake sale coming up last Saturday, so I decided to give it a go. I found the recipe on Six Sisters Stuff.  I love their blog.  I've made several of their recipes, and my family has raved about them.  I love the idea of using canned frosting on the cinnamon rolls.  By the time I have made rolls, I don't feel like making frosting.  I will be keeping some cream cheese frosting on hand from now on!  I also added some sprinkles to these rolls because I thought it looked fun.  Our bake sale was a great success.  We raised almost $4000 for our friends' adoption costs.  As a side note, we had 7 dozen cinnamon rolls sell within fifteen minutes after we began the sale.  I would say we could have sold at least 5 dozen more.  Something to keep in mind!