THC #118 – Happy Birthday, Amanda! Edition

Welcome to this week’s Homesteading Carnival. It is the 118th edition of this wonderful carnival, and I am glad that you have come to join me for it! We have some delicious recipes to make a warm kitchen, awesome tips for around the house, and some cute sewing projects to do with all the weather getting cold outside.

Not too mention, my sister, Amanda’s birthday is today. She’s turning 20! So, this Carnival will be a tribute to her. :) Happy birthday, dear sister. We’ll start in the kitchen, having breakfast first. Oh wait, she doesn’t like breakfast… oh dear. Oh well, those who want it, can come and have some! I’m sure she’d love some of the things to eat.

Deliciousness from the kitchen -

Breakfast & Desserts for later -

I think she might like these English Tea Muffins from Abi of the lighter side. Abi wants all of us to share them for a quick breakfast. Have a cup of tea or coffee, Amanda, to help them go down too. (Don’t forget to put honey in the tea, as its good for keeping you healthy!)

While everyone is enjoying the muffins, the Birthday Girl is going to make something a little chilly for after a warm supper – her very own Tropical Freeze at her blog The Daily Planet. It sure was good! It’s like a frozen smoothie pie. You’re sure to love it. It’s her very own recipe.

After we watch her make the frozen goodness, we can learn how to make Homemade Yogurt from Lara DeHaven at Texas Homesteader. I know she doesn’t like yogurt at all, but I have been wanting to make some, since it is so expensive but very good for you. I personally love eating yogurt with berries and honey. You’ll want to try your hand at making some yourself after you read this!

I know she’ll love the delicious Homemade Apple Pie that jim from Bargaineering made for after supper. It looks so good. The smile on the pie will just makes her want to smile all the more! Just make sure to top her piece with a large dollop of whipped topping!

Oh dear… I’m not sure if she likes this, but still, you can only try something once! But Olga from Olga’s Home & Garden Blog said she had a Caramel-Glazed Apple Cake everyone had to have a piece of after lunch. Looks and sounds delicious! It’s a good way to use up all those apples from the harvest this year.

While we are making sweet things for later, Lisa at A Rose Amongst Thorns has some special Heirloom Cookies she made for all of us to try. They look super delicious, and I am sure everyone will like them!

Now for luncheons –

With all that cooking and baking, the morning seems to have gone by in a flash. Well, now its time for lunch.

Amanda has done it again with her Bon Appetit! It is the title of a delicious Wordless Wednesday she posted at The Daily Planet. You can look for the recipe in the comments since she wanted to keep the post wordless. She said… “Mmm… good! Don’t ya wish you would have stopped by for lunch?” I know it was delicious! She makes the best ever. Don’t you think so -

Miss Hannah of Resting In The Arms Of Grace also has Zesty Corn Salad to add to that. “It is a veggie recipe your whole family will love!” It will top off the deliciousness of the wonderful Chicken Broccoli Braid above. Goes right along with it, I think.

Now, I know its her birthday, but still, the kitchen looks a mess, and I’m sure the Littles have gotten some things out around the house.

Household Cleaning Tips –

Nobody likes burnt food smells, and Alex at Home Life Weekly has some ways to help with Burnt Food Smell Removal. “To remove the burnt food smell such as toast it very easy…” he gives some ways on his post about how to remove the smells, using things you usually have in your kitchen.

Another great thing to keep in the kitchen is white and apple cider vinegar, and BWL has 5 great uses for vinegar which were posted at Christian Personal Finance. “I recently wrote about how you can use vinegar to clean your coffeemaker and 8 other ways to use it around the house. I found this video with a few more great household uses for vinegar. What I am learning from all this is that vinegar is like duct-tape – in liquid form!”

Home Help –

Angela England of The Untrained Housewife has a book review for you all to check out – The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live it. “John Seymour shares decades of experience with readers in this impressive guide to living a more frugal and self-sufficient lifestyle.” I know Amanda tries to be frugal, and that is one of the very god traits she will have when she becomes a wife and mother. There are so many ways to be frugal.

Shawn Taylor from Hidden Surveillance Camera.com posted Nanny Cam Top 5 Tips for Ensuring Children?s Safety Using One. “Nowadays, ensuring the security of children is mainly about prevention. And where children are concerned, safety should never be taken lightly.”

Supper bell is ringin’!

Now, since we’ve done some cleaning, it’s time for supper to begin being prepared. First, we put on a pot for the wonderful-looking Creamy Curried Coconut Potatoes that Sarah has posted at the Tropical Traditions Free Coconut Recipes Blog. Don’t they just look scrumptious? I can smell them now!

Rice is not a particular favourite of hers, but next on the menu we have Annette Berlin making 15 Rice Quickies at Craft Stew. “Here are 15 suggestions to help you make your own quick and easy rice side dishes. Be sure to adjust seasonings to suit your own taste.” Mm-mm, I love rice.

Amanda loves chips and salsa, so next we have a recipe from Mr. Salsa from the Salsa Recipes For You – Bean Salsa Recipe. He said “This is an excellent bean salsa which uses black and white beans.” It sure does look good!

Fun on the Farm -

Amanda is not that much of a farmgirl, though she has become more of one since we got the goats. But since puppies are particularly farm animals, Jocelyn of A Pondering Heart posted about Sonora, who is the the new addition to the family, and Blondie’s sister. She is the darling puppy we got a few weeks ago because Blondie was killed. She is a spunky little thing, not mention cute! Don’t you just love her puppy eyes.

Also Sir Eric from On The Road To Manhood wanted to share about Paint The Rooster. Paint is one of our Americauna roosters. He’s very colourful and sometimes very MEAN. I can attest to that! “…while we were out in the field watching a doe kid who was sick a few weeks ago…” He posted some very neat photos of him. Although Amanda doesn’t care for chickens all that much, the chicks have been fun.

Crafts & Sewing -

Amanda does not like pumpkins, but I do! So… Miss Clarrisa at Feelin’ Feminine has some very cute Pun’kins! to share with everyone. You will think they are adorable once you see a photo of them. Miss Clarrisa gives a tutorials for making them on the blog. Makes me want to sew, as I love pumpkins and these are too cute!

Amanda loves bags/purses. She has a collection of them in her closet. Not sure if this would be her style, but Miss Clarrisa also has a tutorial on how to make Fat Quarter Bags and Fat Quarter Bags Part 2 also at Feelin’ Feminine. They are cute and easy to make, not to mention useful. Books, baby toys, or anything else you want can be put in them. Take a look at the tutorial to see if you want to freshen up your sewing skills.

I hope you all enjoyed this week’s Carnival. And don’t forget to go over and wish Amanda a happy birthday at her blog!