Banana Nutella Muffins

I modified a basic muffin recipe, so feel free to make substitutions based on your own preferences.  Sometimes I substitute the egg for 1 TBSP milled flaxseed combined with 3TBSP water or I use unsweetened applesauce instead of oil.  Depends on how “healthy” I’m feeling.  Obviously since these have Nutella in them, I wasn’t feeling particularly healthy this morning. 

Ingredients:

2 Ripe Bananas, mashed

1 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (if you use regular milk, add 1/2 tsp vanilla)

1 Egg, beaten

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1/3 Cup Honey (can use sugar if you want)

1 Cup Bread Flour

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

3 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

12 tsp Nutella

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottoms of 12 muffin cups or line with paper. Stir together the mashed Bananas, Milk, Egg, Oil and Honey.  Stir in the Flour, Baking Powder and Salt.  Just stir until moistened, do not over-stir.  Divide batter evenly between muffin cups. Place one teaspoon of Nutella in the middle of each muffin tin.  Sort of push the Nutella into the batter.  Bake 20 –25 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool and enjoy!

New Soap-making Videos!

I’m often asked, “So, how DO you make soap?” Well, that isn’t an easy question to answer if you’re unfamiliar with the soap-making process. Finally, I’ve taken the mystery out of how I make my soaps by creating a two-part series of videos.  While the videos aren’t all that exciting, I hope you’ll find them informative and interesting. 

Learn how I make my soap!

Part 2 of Soapmaking

A Campaigning We Will Go!

I did it! Days after our first caucus in St. Charles County was hijacked and railroaded by our GOP Central Committee, I filed to run for Committee Woman in my township of Cottleville, MO.  The current central committee has a very tight grip on local and state Republican politics and I don’t like very much of what I’ve learned.  It seems they have their fingers in pretty much every pot imaginable; from conducting Young Republican meetings to running for State offices.  It’s quite a tangled web they’ve weaved…at least that is my perception.

Do you know what I’m doing a lot of these days?  I’ve been working in my gardens.  If you know me, you know I HAVE to plant things.  It’s quite a spring-time obsession for me.  The soil beckons me to dig, sow and grow.  However before I can plant anything, I MUST remove all of the weeds and turn over the soil.  It’s a rather boring, mundane step but it is VITAL if my new plants are going to survive.  If I skip this step, my plants won’t find the nourishment they need from the soil and the weeds will choke out new growth.

I find this to be a perfect analogy for why I’m running for Committee Woman.  The status quo isn’t working.  The weeds have taken over and the soil has sat fallow for too long.  It’s time to turn it over and allow for the growth of new ideas, enthusiasm and a burst of liberty!

Please like my campaign Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Catherine-Dreher-for-Cottleville-Township-Committee-Woman/295075470566890

Planning Our Heirloom Garden

A few days ago, I had the chance to get out and tend to my weedy, square-foot gardens. Poor things.  They had been sorely neglected during the fall and winter months.  I was pleased to find my rosemary plant was still hanging in there…gotta love those hardy herbs!  I was even surprised to find a couple of stray carrots that I had missed last spring!  I’ll chalk that up to errant sowing on my part.

This weekend has been much cooler, but it’s given me the chance to begin my garden planning. I’m basing my plans on what succeeded last year and what we liked to eat, but I’m also trying something new this year.  We’re going to build a third square foot garden and dedicate it to growing foods that are in danger of extinction.  My daughter has been studying botany in home school this year and wants to begin her own seed collection.  We think collecting seeds from foods that are in danger of extinction would be a great summer project and will help make sure these heirloom foods remain available.  Here’s what we’re planning to grow in our “almost extinct” garden:

• Bolita bean
• Cherokee Trail of Tears bean
• Christmas Lima bean
• Jacob’s Cattle bean
• Amish Deer Tongue lettuce
• Fish pepper
• Jimmy Nardello’s Sweet Italian Frying pepper
• Amish Pie squash (this will require a separate spot in another corner of the yard)
• Amish Paste tomato
• Cherokee Purple tomato

Yep, looks like we have our work cut out for us…again!

We’re buying all of our seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Book Giveaway by Baker Creek Seeds

Baker Creek is my favorite heirloom seed company.  Most of what I grew in my garden last year was started from Baker Creek Seed. For the first time, EVER, my kids actually liked peas!  Baker Creek is giving away this great book about having an heirloom garden.  Check it out here!

Raspberry Vanilla Soap

Aren’t they gorgeous!!  Purple, pink and creamy white layers of raspberry vanilla goodness!  These smell so good and are here in time for Valentine’s Day!  I’ve got 17 of these beauties for sale and they’re $4/each.  ALL proceeds until February 15, 2012 go to the Loraine family to support them in their adoption.  You can buy them through my etsy shop or send me a private message on my facebook page.  Thanks!

Super Soapy Fundraiser News

I’m so excited to tell you that the Loraine family received a $4000 matching grant through Lifesong!  They have until March 13 to raise $4000.  Below are the details straight from Erin Loraine’s facebook page:

“We need to raise $4000 by March 13! 100% of all donations go towards our grant unless paypal is used in which case 2-3 percent are taken out for fees. Donations are tax deductible and can be made by a check made out to Lifesong for Orphans with a memo that says "preference Loraine #2473 adoption" and sent to
Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744
or donations can be made online through paypal at http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/donation.html

with the same memo under "purpose" by the dollar amount. Contact us with any questions. We appreciate your help in any way. This is a much needed grant and a huge blessing to help us bring Anya home!”

I’m donating ALL money received from soap sales to the Loraines until Feb. 15.  After that time, I’ll go back to donating half of my profits.  However, rather than send the money to their Reece’s Rainbow account, I’ll write a check on their behalf to Lifesong.  My goal is to raise $300 between now and Feb. 15 and we’re already up to $35 in just three days!!  Let’s keep the momentum going!  I’ll have two new soaps up for sale next week and all of last year’s soaps are reduced to $3.50!  It’s a great way to help them raise $4000…they get the donation and you get to smell great!  Win-win!

Super Soapy Fundraiser!!

As you may know, for every soap I sell I donate $1 to the Lorraine family to help them bring Anya home (see the cute little girl in the side bar).  They have their dossier complete and are looking to travel in the next few months to meet her! For the next month, I’m stepping up my fundraising efforts and am donating ALL money from soap sales to the Lorraine family. 

I have 29 soaps left from 2011 and they’re on sale for $3.50.  That’s $101.50 that we can donate!  I also have some soaps that will be ready for sale later this month and early February.  My goal is to donate $300, so I really need your help!  If you love Catie Beth soap, then tell all your friends!  Let’s help them bring Anya home!

Visit my online shop!

Adoption Stories about God’s Provision

Wow, such great feedback so soon!  I’m excited about this project and about the number of people already who want to help by sharing their stories!!  If you are interested, please email me at gr8cate@gmail.com and I will send you a couple of forms that you’ll need for getting started.  One is a loose guideline about the types of stories I’m looking for, and the other is a story and photo release form to be turned in when you submit your story. 

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.  Thanks!

Adoption Book Project: Help Needed

January 24th marks Abraham’s 2nd Gotcha Day.  Here we are meeting Abraham for the first time!  Now, I can’t imagine our lives without him.  This second anniversary of having Abraham in our family has me thinking a lot about the awesome faith journey we walked in order to bring him home and how we saw God at work first-hand to make it happen.

It’s estimated that there are over 143 million orphans world-wide.  We know that God’s heart is with the orphan and, just as he adopted us into His family, He wants each precious child to have an earthly family.  But what stops us from following God’s heart and pursuing adoption? I think one of the biggest deterrents is the cost.  Adoption costs average $25,000 on both the domestic and international fronts. For many, the desire to adopt can come to an abrupt halt when they learn the cost. So many of us are already in debt or trying to make ends meet in a one paycheck household. How can we possibly afford adoption?

One of the best opportunities to see God work is when we trust Him to do that which we can not.  There are so many lessons that God teaches us when we follow him down the path to adopt. We go from READING that all things are possible with God, to SEEING AND BELIEVING that all things are possible with God. Adoption is a journey of faith because it requires absolute faith that God will provide for the finances of adoption while still providing for us. Just as God called Abram “to go to the land I will show you”, the path for us is not all set out before us (Genesis 12:1, NIV). God places each stone in front of us as needed. He teaches us to wait for the next step and to trust that He will provide the stone for it.

Stories of trust and obedience are written throughout the Bible. We discover that God’s purpose is two-fold: the fulfillment of the plan and the relationship with the person. When the person obeys and helps God fulfill His purpose, that person gains a deeper faith and trust in God.

I want to write a book that shares adoption stories from the financial trust perspective. When we first started our adoption process, I clung to stories from friends who had adopted about how God had provided the finances for them. Lord knows, we didn’t have the money!  We still had two car payments, two student loans, credit card debt and a mortgage! (We are now down to half of what we owed on our credit card...and still have a mortgage!) We fully had to trust God to provide the finances.  I was actually excited to see how God was going to work in our adoption journey.

I’m asking my friends who have adopted, who have experienced first-hand God’s financial provision to make their adoption possible, to please consider sharing your stories of how God provided.  And I hope you’ll consider asking friends you know who have adopted if they’ll do the same.  I’d also like to hear how you fundraised and/or received loans or grants.  My desire is to find a publisher for the book,  but I would at least like to make it into an e-book. 

My goal is to encourage people who are considering adoption but who balk when they see the cost. Just as we take encouragement from the miracles God performed in Scripture, we can take hope from each others’ modern-day stories of God’s miraculous provision!  To Him be ALL the glory!!

Friends who are interested in helping with this project may contact me through this blog or email me at gr8cate@gmail.com.
Thank you!

Holidays…Dreher Style

My husband and I agree that this past holiday season was one of the most relaxed and enjoyable holidays we’ve had in quite a while.  We did some things differently this year that I think helped our family come together more and focus on the spirit of the season.

We kicked off the Christmas season with a trip to Branson the weekend after Thanksgiving.  We enjoyed all of the lights and the tree display at Silver Dollar City and had a wonderful meal as we watched the Christmas show at Dixie Stampede.

I picked up $1 Christmas crafts at Michaels during October and November so the kids had fun making their own Christmas ornaments and decorations.

We celebrated the Advent season by reading Scripture about God’s plan for salvation; from the beginning of creation until Jesus was born.  Each day during Advent, one of the big kids placed an ornament on the branch of Jesse.

The kids also had fun opening their Lego Advent Calendar everyday.  By Christmas, they had quite the Lego display built.

This was the first year we celebrated Hanukkah and we’ll continue this tradition.  Hanukkah is a time for remembering the miracles God has given us.  It was during the Festival of Lights that Jesus proclaimed himself to be both the “light of the world” and the Messiah.  The true miracle is that Jesus brought the light of salvation into our dark world.  Oh, what a meaningful celebration Hanukkah was for me.

For the kids, it was mostly about getting gifts for eight nights in a row…though they did enjoy lighting the candles and participating in the blessings.

I really enjoyed having my mom and step-dad, Gil, with us to celebrate my birthday and Christmas together.  This year, I made Christmas dinner on Christmas eve so that I could have all day on Christmas to play with the family.  That’s another tradition I’ll be keeping!

And of course Christmas morning was spent opening presents, laughing and playing.  We started a tradition several years ago where the kids each get three presents: something they really want, something educational and something they need.  We put the “something they really want” in their Santa Sack (that’s what Jacob is opening in the picture above).  They’re always excited to find out what they got!

Keeping Watch

Shana Tova!  It means, “Good Year!” in Hebrew and is the traditional greeting during Rosh Hashanah.  This will be my family’s second time celebrating the Jewish New Year.  And as I often do, I feel the need to share with others why we celebrate this Jewish holiday because, after all, we’re Christians, not Jews. 

“”And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation.  You shall do no customary work.  For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets’” (Numbers 29:1).

Rosh Hashanah means “Head of the Year” or “New Year”.  However, you will not find the words Rosh Hashanah in the Bible.  In Scripture, the holiday is called Yom Teruah which means “Memorial of Blowing (of trumpets)” and it was a God-given appointed time for His people to meet with Him.  It wasn’t called Rosh Hashanah until after the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, more than 1500 years after its inception during the time of Moses.

In the Bible, the trumpet or shofar (ram’s horn), was blown for two primary reasons: to call a solemn assembly in God’s presence or when Israel was going to war.  During the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), the shofar is blown for both reasons.  Old Testament prophets often spoke about a future day when God would directly intervene in the affairs of men; calling this day “The Day of the Lord”.  This day begins with the blowing of the trumpet.  It heralds the day when God will redeem Israel and bring judgment on all nations. 

“Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill.  Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming.  It is close at hand -”  Joel 2:1

The Feast of Trumpets is to occur on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishri when the New Moon is only a slight crescent.  It required two witnesses to verify it was indeed a new moon.  A second day was added to this feast to ensure the priests did not miss the new moon.  Watchfulness was key.

So, why should we, as Christians, celebrate an Old Testament, Jewish holiday? 

First, it is one of seven GOD-GIVEN feasts that is just as relevant to Christians as it is to Jews.  The first four feasts are spring feasts (Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of First Fruits and Shavuot/Pentecost) and were fulfilled in Christ’s death, burial, resurrection and sending of the Holy Spirit.  The next three feasts occur in the fall (Feast of Trumpets/Rosh Hashanah, Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur and Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot) and will be fulfilled when Christ returns to rapture the Church, judge the wicked and create a new heaven and new earth.  Pentecost, the last of the spring feasts, ushered in the Church Age which is what we’re living in now.  As the Church, we are “watching” for Christ’s return and the fulfillment of the last three feasts.

Second, Jesus and his disciples spoke of “The Day of the Lord” and told believers to keep watch and be prepared for when Christ returns. 

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42).

“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52) Emphasis mine.

When Jesus returns, it will be heralded with the blasting of trumpets!  The Feast of Trumpets is a time for Christians to remember how God kept His promise of salvation through Christ and how He is faithful to keep His promise of His return.  How sweet that will be!  Let’s not forget to keep our eyes and ears turned toward heaven!

Third, every blessing which the Church enjoys come from covenants made with Israel.  The provision of salvation to the Church came from covenants made with Israel.  It should not seem odd, then, that the Feast of Trumpets, which was given to Israel, would depict not only Israel’s redemption, but also the rapture of the Church and God’s judgment on the world.

For me, Rosh Hashanah is a time of remembering all the things God has done for me and my family.  It’s a time to remember that God is the sovereign creator and ruler of this world and that everything happens in accordance with His plans.  It’s a time to remember His grace and mercy and to seek His forgiveness.  The sounding of the shofar was often used to awaken God’s people to a spiritual revival.  Isn’t it wonderful that God has ordained a time for us to reflect on our walk with Him and get into better step with Him if we need to!?

Our family uses this book to guide us through celebrating the Biblical feasts and understanding the importance of these feasts as Christians. 

Enjoy some apples dipped in honey as you remember God’s goodness and look forward to a sweet, new year!

Dress a Girl Around the World

Caitlyn and I have been talking about making dresses for the Dress a Girl Around the World campaign for quite some time.  We even attempted a dress but didn’t quite finish it.  Today, we had a couple of hours of uninterrupted time so we took advantage of it and got to work! 

Caitlyn got to use an iron for the first time.  She also learned that sewing involves a lot more than just…sewing.

I really, really tried to take a “hands off” approach as much as possible.

Can you tell how much restraint I’m using not to grab hold of the reigns?

Ok, so I was good for a little while.  Looks like my “hands off” approach has flown out the window.

I guess there are some things Mama’s just got to do herself.  Caitlyn did an excellent job sewing a straight line for the seam, but I had to handle some of the trickier sewing, such as sewing the bias tape and the casing.  In between her turn, Caitlyn jumped on the trampoline.  I think she was just as happy doing that.

I think Caitlyn and I make a pretty good sewing team!  We learned some things to do differently for sewing our next dress (we WERE winging it, after all) and we got to spend some quality mom and daughter time together.  You can’t beat that!

The Dress a Girl Around the World Campaign is a division of the Hope 4 Women International Organization.  Check out the Dress A Girl video and get involved!

Every little girl should have a dress of her very own.

Lessons learned at the MO TKD Invitational

That’s my boy in the red, kicking with all he’s got at the 2011 Missouri Taekwondo Invitational!  Jacob competed in sparring and Caitlyn competed in forms.  Before I get to how they did, can I just confess something? Watching my kids compete can bring out the “mean Mama” in me when their opponent isn’t competing fairly.  Let me explain.  Jacob had two sparring matches.  In the first match, he sparred someone from Champion, our martial arts school.  Unfortunately, Jacob lost that match, but the other boy competed fairly and was friendly; trademarks of our students.  However, Jacob’s second match was against a boy from another school who repeatedly pushed Jacob.  Now, I don’t know a whole lot about the rules of sparring, but pushing while moving forward isn’t allowed.  And that’s exactly what that other boy was doing.  The referee did warn the other boy once, but that was after he already had a 9 point lead!  And, he continued to push Jacob!  Now, here’s the “mean Mama” part.  Caitlyn and I were sitting right next to the other boy’s parents and I just couldn’t seem to stop myself from making very loud remarks like, “that boy really needs to stop pushing Jacob!  Why doesn’t the referee disqualify him!”  Yeah, you know I wanted those parents to hear me and how upset I was about how their boy was behaving.  That other boy wasn’t displaying very good sportsmanship…but neither was I. 

And there’s my girl with her silver medal in forms!! She had to compete against two different girls.  The first time, she was flawless.  The second time, she forgot her form about a quarter of the way into it!!  I could see the panic set in on her face when she asked the referee what to do.  He told her to start over, and she got it the second time.  She was so surprised to receive second place!
I’d say we all learned some lessons from this event.  Jacob, who a month prior had won a medal for undefeated at our school’s sparring games, entered the competition confident of winning.  But it was not to be.  He still demonstrated an indomitable spirit and got a taste of humility.  Caitlyn, who has never won an individual medal, tasted victory for the first time and demonstrated perseverance when it seemed all was lost. I learned that I can’t always fight my kids’ battles, as much as I want to, and that I should still demonstrate integrity when faced with injustice.
I’m proud of my champs!

Breakfast…Colonial Style

One of the things I LOVE about homeschooling is getting to incorporate the lessons in surprising ways.  Caitlyn and Jacob are learning about early American history so I thought it’d be fun to sample some foods from the Colonial era.  We feasted on a breakfast of dressed eggs and Johnny cakes.

Dressed eggs are fried eggs that are then placed under the broiler to “set” the yolks.  Then they’re “dressed” with a dash or two of nutmeg.  Johnny cakes are liked fried cornbread.  They’re easy to make and they traveled well during the Colonial days.

We also dined on a Colonial dinner of chicken pudding and sweet potato and apple casserole.  Our recipes came from this cute American Girl book we found at the library called, Felicity’s Cooking Studio.  It has great information about cooking in Colonial times.

One really enjoyed the breakfast!

One…did not.  All in the name of education. 

GIVEAWAY!!

I’ve got an awesome giveaway!  As you may know, I’m giving a portion of all soap sales to the Loraine family to help them raise money for their adoption.  Well, Erin Loraine’s favorite soap is Oatmeal, Milk and Honey, so I thought it only fitting that I give away a bar of Oatmeal Milk and Honey soap.  But this isn’t just ANY bar of soap!

It’s a tractor!!  Isn’t is cute!?  It’s 3.5 oz of Oatmeal, Milk and Honey soap and contains Avocado Oil and Oat Extract.

But wait!! There’s more!!  (Do I sound like an infomercial, or what?)

I’m also giving away a coupon code for 15% off your next order in my etsy shop!!

That’s right, folks!  You have the chance to win a super cute Oatmeal Milk and Honey tractor soap AND 15% off your next soap order.

Here are the ways you can enter the contest:

1.  Blog about Catie Beth Bath and Body.  Provide a link on your blog to my etsy shop (www.etsy.com/shop/catiebeth) and then post a comment on here, along with a link to  your blog post, to let me know you entered the contest.  Every time you blog about Catie Beth and let me know about it, you receive another entry in the contest.

2. If you follow Catie Beth Bath and Body on  Facebook, suggest to all of your friends that they like Catie Beth, too!  Then post a comment on this blog to let me know you suggested that your friends like Catie Beth.

3. Twitter about Catie Beth Bath and Body.  Post a comment on here to let me know you Twittered about us!  Include #catiebethbath in your Twitter so I receive it.

4.Visit www.etsy.com/shop/catiebeth and add my shop to your favorites.  Then leave me a comment here on my blog telling me which soap you liked the best.

The more times you spread the word about Catie Beth Bath and Body, the more times you enter!

The contest ends Wednesday, September 14 at midnight!  Good luck!

Soapy Preview

I’ve got three great soaps that will be ready in September!  Here they are:

Oatmeal Milk and Honey Soap with Oat Extract.  This is by far my most popular soap.  It’s warm, fragrant and super-moisturizing.  Oat Extract is used in the treatment of such skin problems as acne, pimples, blemishes, eczema, and dermatitis.  Look for this soap in my etsy shop the second week of September.

Applejack Peel Soap is the quintessential fall soap with scents of apple, cinnamon and cloves.  And with Sweet Almond Oil and Avocado Oil, it’s perfect for itchy fall skin.  Look for it the around first of fall.

And for when you start to miss summer, Hawaiian Tropic soap will bring the smells of summer to you.  Coconut, Vanilla and a hint of Mango will remind you of sunny days on the shore.  Its moisturizing abilities will wash away dry, winter skin.  Look for it toward the end of September.

Check out all the other wonderful soaps that are currently available in my etsy store.  A portion of profits help the Lorraine family with their adoption.

The Joy of Homeschooling

The other morning I walked past the back door to see the kids having a morning meeting on the trampoline.  They had eaten breakfast, scooped cat litter, fed the pets and were waiting for Mama to start school  On the other side of the house stood neighborhood children; their backs laden with heavy packs while they waited for the school bus. 

I managed to snap this picture just before they realized I was watching them.  It’s mornings like these that remind me how blessed we are to home school and how much I cherish their childhood.  I’m so thankful that they’re not standing out on the street; waiting for the bus to take them away from me where someone else makes the rules and the decisions about what they think is best for my children.

And now, for PE. 

Making Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Every time we have brown bananas, Jacob wants to make banana bread.  Well, today he finally got his wish.  He did a great job mashing up the bananas and mixing in the ingredients.

Do you see that look of uncertainty, as in, “Mom’s really going to let me pour this in all by myself!?”  Yes, I’m a bit anal when it comes to messes in the kitchen, but I’m trying to get over that for the sake of my kiddos’ culinary education.

Who knew mixing could be this much fun?!

Delicious!!