Homemade Peanut Butter

We purchased a Vitamix earlier this fall and I decided to give making peanut butter a try.  I bought some raw Valencia peanuts online from Amazon.  We dry roasted them for 15-20 minutes on 350.  Then comes the most dreaded task.  Removing the skins.  When the peanuts are roasted they release a bit of oil.  After they cool, pick up a handful and rub them between your hands.  The skins fall to pieces and the peanuts slip out.  Definitely get the kids involved if you want peanut skins all over your kitchen.  :)

Here is our bowl of skinned peanuts.  Not perfect, you can see.  But a pretty good job.  This is 4 cups of peanuts.  I found that 4 cups of peanuts made approximately 3 cups of peanut butter.

Into the Vitamix they go.  

Depending on the consistency you like, you can add coconut oil -- I added about a Tablespoon and a bit of salt as well.  

Couple things I discovered along the way -- the longer you roast the peanuts, the darker the peanut butter will be -- and it will have a little bit more of a nutty flavor.  And... I also found that making everyone help with the skinning of the peanuts helps you not harbor bitter feelings when all the peanut butter is eaten within 12 hours of you making it. :)

Drumroll please....

Well... the good news is that this giveaway fared better than my last. :)  Last time it was a riveting $15 Save-A-Lot gift card which only one person commented on.  This time there were 4 comments.  ha ha...

And here is where I tell you that YOU ALL ARE WINNERS!!! :)

I had already purchased one for my mom.  And one for Connie.  So... even though Random.org said that Connie was the winner, Greg & Anita get one too!

This was fun.  Really... I just wanted an excuse to buy extra of these CDs.  Picked them up at church today and it's so good.  Can't wait to see what the charts look like tomorrow when it releases!  CDs will go in the mail tomorrow!

Games are more fun with friends

I'm playing catch up with some blog posts... these were taken in August.  Kaleb insisted on his puppy friend joining our game.

And of course he couldn't just be a spectator.  He had to play with us.

I decided to sit Uno Moo out.  What a good sport Kaleb is to close his eyes when he is picking for puppy.

For the Honor Giveaway

Everyone loves something free!  And the best part is that the cost of this freebie actually went to something that is going to make a huge difference in thousands of lives.  On Monday, November 21, Elevation Worship is releasing their latest CD, For the Honor.  I had a chance to worship on Sunday with many of these songs and it's a great great album!

Elevation Worship is partnering with Compassion International and adopting a slum in Uganda and all the proceeds from release day will go to that partnership.  You can read more about that here.

I picked up an extra copy of the CD to giveaway.  It's simple. All you gotta do is leave a comment.  And giveaways are always more fun when you get more chances to win!  So... if you link to the giveaway via twitter or facebook, give yourself an extra comment and tell me you did so.  Each "share" gets you 2 more entries.  I'll use random.org to generate a winner on Sunday night at 10 p.m. EST.  I'll post the winner immediately.  That way if you don't win... you'll be able to grab the CD on iTunes Monday!

This is one of my favorites from the album.

Mobility - Mark it Down!

Today marks the day that Kadence Quinn has become mobile.  Very mobile.  While she hasn't mastered the knee crawl yet, she is an incredibly fast bear crawler.

My Baby Crawling Benediction:

May the floor be free of leftover food crumbs.

May the scissors and ink pens never be left in the living room.

May you not eat cat poop like your brother did.

Go in peace my child.  

Crawl.

The Canary List by Sigmund Brouwer

I had the opportunity to read and review Sigmund Brouwer's recent novel, The Canary List.  I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

I admit it.  I'm a book cover junkie.  I totally judge a book by its cover.  That's why I picked this book out.  Loved the cover and thought that surely there must be a story inside this one.  And... I was right!  This book did not disappoint.  It has been my fall "summer read."  We didn't travel at all this summer, but this fall I have ended up at the beach in Charleston and on a trip to Orlando, so this book has been like a summer read for me.

Crockett Grey is a middle school teacher who finds himself ensnared in a trap of false allegations after trying to protect a student that comes to him in the middle of the night.  Jaimie Piper is a twelve-year-old girl who has shuffled from foster home to foster home and also deal with feelings of darkness.  Crockett soon discovers that he is now part of an enormous Vatican conspiracy.  Teacher and student must work both separately and together to untangle from the web of lies and oppression that hovers.

Initially this book reminded me of some Frank Peretti's novels as it deals directly with spiritual warfare and demon possession.  However, a few chapters in, the book took a life of its own and the story became much bigger than a novel about demon possession.  It became a bit controversial as it dove into Vatican conspiracy.  It didn't bother me, but I wondered as I read, whether there was any backlash from the Catholic community regarding this novel.  It certainly gives the reader much to consider and think about.  I also appreciated that the author had some good resources for further study and research at the back of the book.

Pick it up.  Read it.  It's a thinker!

Sea World Sleepy Head

This is a little gem that I shot during the middle of the day at Sea World on our vacation. I'm thinking there is a good chance that this video could help put Kadence through college. And if not... well... I know we'll be getting laughs out of it for years to come. My sweet sleepy head.