Divine Mercy in my soul

Wow! What a Sunday! 

The canonization of two Popes 

with two living Popes in attendance 

AND it's Divine Mercy Sunday!

It's was a beautiful and holy day!

and pretty sweet, too!

Jesus, I trust in You! 

Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II, 

Pray for us!

Spring sewing

When I'm not out in the garden, I find myself sitting in front of my sewing machine these days.  Spring is here and that means lots of little dresses are in the works for Miss Mary Grace. 

 I tend to stick with the same patterns 

but I love the different looks 

that these bold prints give. 

 These are different versions of The Sally Dress.  

Above is sleeveless and below is the short sleeve version.  

Both sport those wonderful oversized pockets 

that Mary Grace loves 

(and so do I!).

 But my newest obsession is this sweet little 

Geranium Dress from Made by Rae.

This simple dress comes with directions for a whole host of variations including sleeveless, flutter sleeves, faux cap sleeves, gathers, pleats, pockets, etc...  My favorite look is the faux cap sleeve with side pockets, it just has little Miss M written all over it!

It is the perfect light dress 

for spring and summer. 

Perfect for pockets full of bird seed and rocks, 

and for running outside barefoot to chase her big brothers!

But please, no doodle bugs or snails in the pockets, Mary~

They're pretty gross after a run through the washer and dryer!

Creamer Family Backyard Garden

About three years ago I started a little gardening vlog with the kids.  We published a few YouTube videos and then it kind of fizzled out but I'm hoping to breathe new life into it!  

I just uploaded two new videos on the vlog: 

Summer Garden 2014 

and 

Medicinal Herb Garden

Click on the link below to view updates on our gardening adventures, or subscribe to my YouTube channel for all things Creamer!

CREAMER FAMILY BACKYARD GARDEN

CREAMER YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Easter blessings!

Hallelujah! 

May our resurrected Lord 

bless you abundantly this Easter season...

with renewed faith, hope, and joy...

and that your basket overfloweth

with goodness and mercy...

with peaceful and restful days...

with the love of family...

And maybe a chocolate egg, 

or two!

And another one bites the dust!

I completed my THIRD 5K race this past weekend

(I said completed, I didn't say ran!)

And I had the honor of participating with these 

lovely ladies from my work.

They give me the motivation to keep moving~

L&D nurses RAWK!

Holy Week

I'm signing off for the duration of Holy Week, but not before sharing the beautiful presentation performed by the youth of our church.  The Confirmation and pre-Confirmation classes performed Living Stations of the Cross on Palm Sunday evening.  It was a beautiful way to start this Holy Week.

Meatless Fridays

This week is a super frugal meal that takes just a bit of fore thought and planning.  If you can remember to start the dough several hours in advance, you can have a delicious meal with little effort and for pennies a serving!  This week's Meatless Friday meal is:

PIZZA 

(dough)

 We make pizza quite often around here and use the "no knead" method for our crust.  It does take a bit of fore thought because this dough needs to ferment anywhere from 8-18 hours.  You can do it in less time, but the result is a thicker, denser crust.   

For the dough you will need:

6 cups of all purpose flour

1 tsp. active dry yeast

2 tsp. fine sea salt

3 cups of water

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together.  Add the water and mix ingredients.  This should be a very wet dough and you can add up to another 1/2 cup of water if needed.  Cover bowl with damp towel and place in a warm area of your kitchen.  18 hours is ideal BUT I have made this dough in as little as 6-8 hours and it comes out fine.  

Your dough should be bubbly like the picture above 

and smell very "yeasty".

Take two large sheets of parchment paper (about the size of your baking sheet) and coat with a nice layer of olive oil.  With oiled hands, divide the dough onto the parchments.  Gently spread and stretch the dough to your desired shape.  Allow the dough to rest 15-20 min.  Top with your favorite toppings and bake at 450 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

For our meatless Friday, I used a bottled alfredo sauce fortified with some roasted garlic as well as a can of chopped artichoke hearts and spinach from the garden. 

The picture above speaks for itself!  

The kids devoured this pizza...

vegetables and ALL!

Preserving herbs

With herbs like cilantro, you either love it or hate it.

I LOVE it!

Especially in homemade salsa and pico de gallo.  

The problem is that cilantro is a cool weather herb, so by the time the tomatoes are ripe, cilantro has already gone to bolt and is on it's way out. I used to dry cilantro to use year round, but dried cilantro doesn't have the same bright flavor as fresh.  So I took to the internet to find a way to preserve this awesome herb.

I found that freezing in oil will help most herbs retain their vibrant flavor.  To preserve cilantro (or any other herb for that matter) Take about four cups of loose packed leaves  and stems and put them into your food processor.  Add the juice of one lemon (helps to retain the vibrant green color), 1 tsp. of sea salt, and 1/4 cup olive oil.

Pulse until smooth.  I froze this batch in one tablespoon portions which fit perfectly in my mini muffin tin.  After a couple of hours in the freezer, pop them out and store in ziplock bags in the freezer.

These will be delicious this summer used in homemade salsa, or on grilled fish and chicken!  So go plant some herbs, or stock up next time you're at the Farmer's Market.  This is the perfect way to enjoy fresh herbs all year long!

Meatless Fridays

I make this meal quite a bit during the year, especially when canned salmon goes on sale! For our family of seven, I double this recipe. This week's Meatless Friday meal is: 

Salmon Patties

2 6oz cans wild salmon

2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning

2 eggs

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

3/4 cup panko

1 small green pepper, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

 light olive oil for frying

In a large bowl, gently combine all ingredients until mixed well. Form into 6-8 small patties. Heat a non stick pan over medium heat. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil in pan and spread around. Gently place each patty into hot pan and cook on first side for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully flip, and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes until second side is browned. Once cooked, set aside and sprinkle coarse salt over salmon cakes. Serve with a squeeze of lemon.