Opinion

I was asked a few days ago what my blog was for. Did I start it to try and promote my music, books, or is it a family blog? I couldn’t outright answer her. I hadn’t truly figured it out myself. But as I have been thinking about it, I realize, I want it to encompass my joys, the things I have learned, my interests, everything I have ever wanted to share. When I learn the ropes and see how long things take, I may change things, but for now, I just want to share; share my hopes and dreams, share the things I have learned through the years, share my love for my family, and share my love for creativity.

If there is one thing I have learned through the years about critiques, (which I am still trying to learn how to take in,) is everyone has a different opinion. When I send out an e-mail desiring an opinion or feedback about different things I have done, I get so many varied answers. What one person likes, another doesn’t, what one person thinks needs changing, another thinks is perfect; if I send out 4 different options in a certain topic for people to choose from, it usually only checks off 1 of the options, maybe two, if I am lucky, and I am still left with 2 to 3 to choose from.

I use to take suggestions too seriously, and still sometimes do. If someone told me they didn’t like something I had done, I would be sure to make a change according to their suggestions. But then I would hear back from someone else that they thought it didn’t need to be changed and that I should change it back. Such has been the case for several years now as I have sought to improve my skill. (Why did I not go into Math, where there is one answer, not opinions. (Unless you get into the higher math.)) And yet, I still seek opinions. And when many opinions seem to center in on about the same thing, I can generally trust it. But, not like math, being in an area of opinion, you can come up with your very own answer. And it can be just right for you . . . and who knows, maybe it will be the right answer for someone else too.

I wanted to share a few recipes that have made a huge difference in my family and that I love.
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Pure butter is much too expensive, plus it’s not that good for you. We used to use Margerine, but after learning more about health, I realized that needed to change fast. My husband didn’t like butter because of the expense and because he didn’t like it left out on the counter to be softened. Finally I came up with a solution that both my husband and I really like.

Butter Spread
2 cubes of softened butter
3/4 cup of Canola oil
Mix thoroughly and set in fridge for 2 hours or more. This is a cheaper, healthier butter spread than just plain butter. It is also spreadable right from the fridge. The only draw back is that if left out for more than a half hour, it can become a little too soft.

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Really good Ranch
I struggled with my ranch recipe for a long time until my friend gave me hers and it is sooooo much better.
3/4 cup plain natural yogurt
3/4 cup mayo ( I usually use the canola mayo, its just a little more healthy.)
3/4 - 1 tsp onion powder
1/4 - 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
dash or 2 of pepper
dash or 2 of paprika
1 tsp parsley flakes crumbled a bit.
1/2 tsp dill.
Mix up and serve. No MSG or bad stuff and it still tastes oh so good. (the dill and paprika made the difference for us)
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This is my children’s favorite. They will eat them way faster than I can make.

Popsicles
1/2 bag of frozen raspberries
1/2 bag of frozen blueberries.
10 or more strawberries
1-2 bananas depending on how big they are
1 1/2 cups of apple juice or to make it sweeter, apple juice concentrate with some water. The juice is to help your blender, if you have one like mine, to be able to mix it up. It also can sweeten things a bit.
Some variations. Try other fruits like peaches, mango's, or any of your favorites. Now there are many bags of mixed fruit all in one bag. If the mixture is too sweet, try mixing in some plain natural yogurt. It adds good bacteria. (Just try and stay away from the sweetened kind. It usually has high fructose corn syrup in it.) If it is not sweet enough, add some frozen concentrated apple juice. This also makes an excellent shake for you. I usually mix some up, eat a cup, and freeze the rest into Popsicles. I found my Popsicle molds at the dollar store. The smaller the better. The children will waist less that way. Tip. . . When you want to get the frozen popsicles out of their molds, run some hot water on the outside and they will come out a lot easier. Also, if you spray-wash them right away, they come clean really easy, if you wait to wash, it can get really hard. (No procrastination.) I usually take all the Popsicles out of the molds at the same time and put them in a zip lock bag.
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Chocolate oatmeal bars

I got this recipe from my friend and just tweaked it a little to fit our needs.

½ cup butter
3/4 cup honey
½ cup milk
3 T. Cocoa
Boil for one minute.
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup peanut butter. (Most peanut butters have hydrogenated oils that you want to steer away from. So check your labels. My favorite peanut butter now is the “Smart Balance” brand.)
3 or more cups of oat meal. I usually put it in a pan and let it set in the fridge. Then I cut them up into bars and wrap in plastic wrap.