Everyday Cooking–A Homeschool Review Crew Review

One of the top goals for my family is healthy eating. Unfortunately it is also one of those goals that I fail at the most. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we have definitely developed some better eating habits over the years. However, even with all of the research and trying out things that will help with our family, we haven’t found anything that has really clicked. Now, because we have three fantastic foster sons that we are soon to become the permanent guardians of, we are searching for healthier recipes all the more. I am so glad we were chosen to review Everyday Cooking from Everyday Homemaking. I have reviewed items from Everyday Homemaking before and knew that they were an excellent company, so I was anxious to review their newly revised and bigger Everyday Cooking.

I never had the privilege of seeing the older version of this wonderful cooking resource, but, let me tell you, the new version is fantastic! Just the intro and appendix are worth the price of the book! The intro (as well as the beginning of most of the chapters and, really throughout the whole book) has awesome tips on how to use your  cooking time wisely as a busy homeschooling and/or working parent. Tips on how to cook things ahead of time to pull out of the freezer on a busy day. Tips on how to make your dollar and food stretch. Tips on how to eat healthier. All of them are fantastic.

And, oh my goodness, the appendix section is out of this world. It includes the usual things like measurements, menu planners, shopping lists, and stuff like that, however, it has so much more! Did you know that you could make your own vanilla extract? I didn’t, but they tell you how. What about low carb/gluten free sugar substitutes? Or brown sugar substitutes? Or chocolate syrup? I had no idea that you could do some of those things, but you can create those items and more. I even enjoyed reading about all of the kitchen items that are either essential or would be valuable to purchase if you want to have a healthy eating lifestyle. Are you a homeschooler? The appendix even has suggestions and planners on how to use Everyday Cooking as a homeschool tool.

And I haven’t even gotten to the recipes yet! All of them are geared toward healthy eating and making the best use of time. The sections in the cookbook include Breakfast Ideas, Appetizers and Dressings, Bread and Grains, Main Dishes & Soups & Sides, and Desserts & Snacks. There are some awesome recipes in those sections, but there is also a section that includes recipes for slow cookers and pressure cookers. I chuckled at the name of that section – “The Tortoise and the Hare”.

When we first went to Canada to help out at Mill Stream Bible Camp, they served something that was new and different for us – Baked Oatmeal. We fell in love with it but have never found a cookbook that had a recipe for it – until now that is. Everyday Cooking has a recipe for it that is out of this world. (Pictured Below) I can’t wait to try out some of the bread recipes, or “Mom’s Special Herb Dip”, or their mayonnaise recipe (I’ve never tried home made mayo), or their Cheese-Garlic Biscuits, or Curried Chicken Casserole – I could go on and on. I also like the fact that their are pictures throughout on how to do things or how things are supposed to look when done – and, even if you can’t find it in the book, they have a blog that does have pictures of most of the  recipes.

To find out more about Everyday Cooking and Everyday Homemaking just click on any one of the highlighted links above. Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew reviewed this item and other items from Everyday Homemaking and you can find what they had to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy Cooking!

Canada O’ Canada

I just got back from my annual trip teaching Bible at Mill Stream Bible Camp in Canada. Don’t get me wrong, I dearly love the United States. I don’t want to live anywhere else. However, I do love Canada. It has to be my second favorite country outside of the United States. I so love traveling to Mill Stream and teaching Bible and I love the time that we have had to play tourist in Canada.

This year, though, because our foster kids couldn’t get passports quick enough, only Joshua and I went while Sarah stayed home with the rest of the family. This year was Canada’s 150th Birthday, and the theme at Mill Stream reflected that. Below are some pictures of the decorations at the camp. Also below is a recording of the song from Epcot’s Canada Pavilion that first sparked my desire to visit Canada. It is still a favorite song of mine even thought the pavilion’s movie has changed and this song is no longer performed.

Enjoy!

In The Reign of Terror–Another Fantastic Audio Adventure from Heirloom Audio–A Homeschool Review Crew Review

We were first introduced to GA Henty many years ago when my oldest son, John Allen, read one of his many great historical novels. He fell in love with them at once and has read many if his other books since then. When we found out that Heirloom Audio Productions was producing audio theater versions of his books we were beyond thrilled. The first one that we reviewed was, if I remember clearly, With Lee in Virginia, and we have either reviewed or bought and listened to every one since then. Recently we were invited to review their newest release In the Reign of Terror and it is just as professionally done and attention grabbing as the rest of the audio theater CDs that they have done.

You may be wondering what the difference is between “audio theater” and regular recorded books. Let me just tell you that when we listened to our first adventure, I was skeptical as to whether or not my kids would pay attention and be interested. That was back when we just had our three biological kids and we listened to the recording on a long road trip that we were on. They were completely enthralled! You could have heard a pin drop in the car – that is if the recording weren’t playing at the time. Every adventure has been the same since. Heirloom Audios Productions is just as the name suggests – an adventure! It is recorded in such a way that it is as if you were in a theater watching a movie and closed your eyes. You can imagine yourself being right in the action. The sound affects, background music, and everything is superbly done. And, the actors and actresses that portray each character are well known. This recording includes Brian Blesses of Star Wars, Tarzan, and Robin Hood fame, John Rhys-Davies from The Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones movies, Cathy Sara of Downton Abbey and Christina Greatrex of The Royal Shakespeare Company among others.

This particular story is about a 16 year old boy by the name of Harry who leaves his home and family in England to live with and learn from The Marquis De St Caux and his family in France. Join Harry and the Marquis son also 16 when they rescue damsels in distress from a vicious dog, go on a wolf hunt for a ravaging wolf and, eventually, find themselves involved in the terrible French Revolution. We laughed at Harry trying to get used to France and the Frenchmen equally trying to communicate with Harry. We held our breath when Harry rescues his the family that took him in. I won’t go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil the story, but the ending of all of the Heirloom Audio Productions recordings almost always leave us in tears and this one is no different. These are truly adventures. However, the GA Henty books are much more than just good books. They are what is called “historical fiction” which means that the characters may not have necessarily been real (although many are), but the historical information is accurate. My kids have learned so much history from these recordings!

If you think that the recording is all that there is, though, you are mistaken. Not only are the recordings fantastic but the extras that you get if you join the Live the Adventure Club are fantastic. Not only do you receive mp3 downloads and posters but you also can download a fantastic discussion starter and question guide. For each track of the CD this guide has many, many questions to make sure that your child is comprehending well, questions to discuss with your child to make them think further about what is happening, and many vocabulary words for your child to look up or for you to discuss with your child. This is very helpful if you are using this in a homeschool setting.

Once again we are thrilled with In the Reign of Terror from Heirloom Audio Productions. It is another fantastic production. To find out more about this audio theater CD or any other GA Henty CD’s from Heirloom Audio Productions just click on any one of the highlighted links above. You can check out what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew think about this production by clicking on the banner below. Happy listening!