Cornbread!!

I made my first batch of corn bread yesterday. It got annihilated before I had the chance to take a picture. OK, ok, Honestly my husband wouldn't touch it, so I was the sole annihilator. First he said he forgot what corn was, then he tried a nibble and said it tasted like normal bread, and then when I said he should try a real bread he stormed off saying you can't tell me what to eat. OK> lol.

So I thought I would share the recipe with you

1 1/4 cup white flour (weisenmehl)
3/4 cup corn meal (maisenmehl)
1/4 cup Sugar (zucker)
2 Tsp Backing soda (note, German back pulver does not work the same as American, you cant switch them here you need American)
1/2 tsp Salt (salz)
1 cup Butter milk (buttermilch)
1/4 cup Sunflower oil (sonnenblummen oel)
1 egg, beaten (ei)

I used American measuring cups.

Combine all dry ingredients. Then add egg, milk and oil. Mix with a mixer until a creamy consistency is made.

Now do note, this is not going to be a dough like bread. It is going to be runny, like a cake mix. So use the same kind of pan you would for a cake. I used a small oval glass baking dish and it worked fine :)

Good luck

How do you make your corn bread? I really want to try some variations like those with creamed corn.

Testing, Testing, 1..2..3...

Testing signature....




Aww it looks terrible. Looks better in the writing template. Anyone know how to get rid of the box?

I am so Smart, I am so Smart... SMRT

Did you like that Simpsons reference lol. I am just so darn proud of myself, I figured out how to add pages to my blog, yeah!!!

Check it out and let me know what you think. You can find the buttons along the top of the blog.

Ok I know its basic, but for a technologically impaired person like me, this is one great step. ha.

What is a homemaking binder?

A schedule, your brain in a binder, a bible of homemaking, in actuality it is anything you want it to be and more. It is your go to point for all things relating to your home, yourself, and what ever else you wish to include.

Best stated as your brain in a binder :)

Associated Content describes it as:

Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers were totally in control of their households. This is something that even stay at home mothers today don't often have. It seems as if the homes of Aunt Bea and June Cleaver were just illusions created by Hollywood. But were they really? Are clean, organized home with little stress an illusion never to be obtained in real life? Or, was there a secret that real homemakers of times past used to run a smooth home? Well, enough questions and let's get on with the answers. There really was a secret called a homemaker's binder, control journal, or home journal depending on the writer. Whatever it is called many women are discovering this lost art of household management and finding that real life homes can look like those of the 1950s sitcoms. 

What exactly is a homemaker's binder? It is a binder or notebook that organizes your schedule and home by dividing it into sections. It keeps all of your lists in one easy to find place. Your days are organized and because of this, tranquility is allowed back into your home and life. A homemaker's binder takes every aspect of keeping your home and your life and organizes it into easy to manage bites. This frees up your time so that you can get to those hobbies that you have been putting off. 

 Check out the awesome article they wrote about the revival of homemaking binders here


So as an overview, a homemaking binder is a revival of an old school homemaking organization plan that helps break down home maintenance into manageable tasks. The idea behind that is that everyone needs 21 repeat sessions to learn a new habit. So you will not have to look everyday at your established patterns, overtime they become routine, but it serves as a motivational reminder.


But it is so much more then just cleaning routines. You have the ability to organize so many aspects of your life as well as your home. 


In the upcoming posts you will get to see a wide variety of uses and options in terms of your home binder. This will become your special book. 


It is a beautiful addition to your home and life. You can make one for yourself, even hand it down to in your family lineage. They make wonderful guides for young women preparing to branch out on their own. 


:) 

Rena's Homemaking Binder Series

Hello,

This section contains my tutorials about how to create an utilize a homemaking binder. A homemaking binder is an amazing homemaking tool. It actually has it roots way back in history. Due to the chaos of maintaining a home in an ever so busy world, a resurgence of the homemaking binder has swept across the homemaking web.

I decided to do this series, because I too spent so much time seeking out resources and trying to figure out how to make a homemaking binder. All information I came across was helpful, but it was all patchwork. The majority of what I found was for homeschooling parents, and I hope that someone else in a similar boat as mine, or even those who are homeschooling parents:), can come to one place and find a lot of pertaining information. While I found tons of great examples, but no one really went into detail about deciding what to include and how to go about making one in manageable small steps. That is what I hope to accomplish here.

I will have detailed tutorials on each of the sections I have decided to include in my homemaking binder, but I will also give you questions to reflect on in hopes that you can expand out to find the perfect sections to fit your own needs.

At the conclusion of the series, I will do picture posts, giving you a visual example. This will be a tour of the related sections in my homemaking binder.

I had mentioned at the beginning that I would do this series in weekly posts, but due to my pregnancy, I realized it is better to get it all up now, while I still have the chance. I will still post everything in individual posts with weekly steps. So over the next few days, you should find the tutorial from start to finish.

I hope that it helps and inspires you to regain control of your life.

Please feel free to leave me your thoughts, as these homemaking binders are ever changing and adapting to our lives, your tip may be just what I need.

Best wishes

Rena

Kitchen tip Tuesdays

I know, I know, I had the perfect opportunity to take pics for this post. I promise to try and get my act together in the future. :)

Here is a tip for how to create stick free cakes, and guess where I learned it? My husband. I know, I am still in shock too :P

So we all know when baking a cake it is essential to grease the plan. Now this can be done a variety of ways and using varies butters, fats, or oils.

Here is how I do mine, and the cakes slide out perfectly intact.

1. Grease the bottom and sides of the pan with baking butter. It is called that in Germany, I am sure you could just use any old butter. I use a piece of baking paper to apply it.
2. Once you have a thin coat of grease, sprinkle loose flour over the top, all along the bottom and sides.
3. Then you are ready to drop in your cake batter.

Works like a charm.


Check out more kitchen tip at Tammy's Recipes

5 weeks to a clean and organized home- week 1 Kitchen- day 1

I am excited to take part in a new series over at Christian Homekeeper called 5 weeks to a clean and organized home.

This week we are working on our kitchens. If you would like to see a tour of my kitchen to get the feel of a German kitchen, check out my kitchen tour here.

Here is a look at what I accomplished today.

Ok so the first task of the day was cleaning and organizing your fridge.

So here is a look at my fridge before. Yes it looks like a dorm fridge but that is the standard here, if you are still in awe check out my kitchen tour :)

And here is a look at after:

Next off was the freezer. Now I do still need to defrost. But in order to do that I have to switch on the other fridge and transfer all the food, to let this one thaw a few days. So I will be doing that probably next week or so. 

Here is before: (check out that nasty freezer burnt meat, yuck. Anyone got tips on better ways of freezing meat?

And after:

Todays tasks also included the oven, but I was not able to get that done today. I plan to do that in the morning.

So if you are looking for some motivation to get your house whipped back into shape with easy and manageable daily tasks make sure you check out the Christian Homekeeper's blog. Great stuff every time.