Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix

In an attempt for our family to eat smarter, I've been making our own sauces, dips, syrups, etc. (and we've made some other pretty drastic changes to our family diet, but that's for another post!)

In order to stay away from high fructose corn syrup, food coloring, unnecessary soy, (etc.) it just seems you have to make most condiments yourself!  So I've been doing a lot of experimenting!

So far, I've made a yummy chocolate syrup, a berry sauce (to put on yogurt and oatmeal), barbeque sauce, a coffee creamer, and a ranch dip/dressing that is our new family favorite!

For the ranch sauce I've combined 2 recipes I found and now have the perfect mix!

Ranch Dressing/Dip
First, put these ingredients in a bowl or bag and get them all good and mixed up:

-  1 1/4 cup  Parsley Flakes (finely chopped)
-  3/4 cup Granulated Onion 
-  1/2  cup Garlic Salt
-  1/4 cup Garlic 
-  1/4 cup Pepper
-  2 Tablespoons Dill Weed 
-  2 Tablespoons Salt

Then, I transferred the mix into a large mason jar.

Whenever we want ranch dip, I take 1 Tablespoon of the above mixture and combine it with:
 - 1 cup (natural) Sour Cream
 - 1/2 cup (real) Mayonnaise

So, the dry mix lasts FOREVER since you are only using a tablespoon full when you make it!  I'm not sure how long the mixture lasts once it's made with the wet ingredients...maybe 2 weeks?  Ours gets eaten up long before then, so it's hard to tell!

This mix is great on salad (you can add a little water if you like it to be more runny) or as a dip!

Enjoy!  And let me know if you have some homemade recipes for dips or sauces!

Our kids joined 4H this year, which means we've been super busy but we've also been having a lot of fun!  We had "4H Days" recently and each of the boys signed up to give presentations.  I was really surprised when they all said they wanted to do it!  

Trusten spoke on Samuel Morse (inventor of morse code)

 Brahm did a presentation on how a guitar makes noise

Samuel talked about his favorite super heros

 

Trusten also acted in a skit and sang in a chorus

(both of which got Top Blue!)

4H offers so many awesome opportunities that we wouldn't get otherwise!  My boys were able to conquer some common fears that many adults still struggle with!  Plus, giving these presentations encourages them to learn more about something they love...which I love!

 

Chickens: Ready...Set...

We are now getting ready to dive into the hobby of chicken farming!  That's right...the Wheelers are going to be farmers (of some sort)!

When we got married ten years ago, we never would have guessed we'd be raising our family in this small rural town with a passion growing inside us for pasture raised poultry.  We were both city kids, tried and true.  All the conveniences of the big city had us saying "We could never live in the country"!

As our family has grown and changed, so have our desires.  Once the Lord called us to this little city, we quickly began to long for a home in the country, so we moved out from the city limits to a 5 acre "fix-me-up" farm outside of town.    

Here we are...and we are absolutely loving it!  Let me tell you, the simple life is quite addicting!  Watching my boys work along side their dad and seeing our whole family involved in projects is such a sweet blessing!

As we have worked, studied and prepared to be chicken farmers, the kids have been included in it all and they are just as excited as we are!

Our passion for pasture raised poultry began with a simple goal: to feed our family better food.  For over a year and a half we read and studied about how to produce our own healthy, organic food.  Chickens seemed like the easiest "meat" to start with so we began reading what the expert in raising quality chicken had to say!  Joel Salatins methods have been a HUGE inspiration and guide on our journey!

So with his plans in hand, we got started this weekend!

We are using special pens that we have constructed ourselves.  These pens allow for mobility, as we will move our chickens to fresh grass every day, which will also mean new insects and seeds in their crisp "salad bar".  The pens also provide the perfect balanced temperature for the heat of our mid-west days and the cool of the night.

We will even be butchering the chickens ourselves, on site, following Salatins technique. Butchering on site guarantees that our methods remain humane and clean as we strive from beginning to end to gain the healthiest chicken possible.

So the construction has begun!!  Stay tuned for (what I'm sure will be) our crazy adventure with all it's failures and successes!

It's been awhile...

Some exciting things have happened in the last few months...

We had our sixth baby, Hope

She's almost 2 months old now and the rock star of our house...
All the kids adore her!

And Ryan and I just celebrated 10 incredibly blessed years together

(Then)

 (Now)

 And the adventures have just begun!!!  More to come on our next adventure soon!

Blessed Beyond the Curse!

I love Easter time.  Absolutely LOVE it.

I simply cannot imagine being a momma without Easter...without the assurance that I have a Savior who is ALIVE and who is FOR me! And that because of His victory over death, I am able to do all things through HIS strength!

Come what may--long days, hard days, emotional days, days when nothing goes my way, days when I feel ill-equipped and even down-cast...I have the victory over sin and darkness in Him alone!!!

It is because of Easter I know I can call on the sweet name of Jesus and He is quick to come to my side.  And with Him comes life in abundance!  A life that isn't always easy, as I take up my cross, but a life that is BLESSED BEYOND THE CURSE!

So glory in this day that the Lord has given you because He reigns victorious!  Because, come what may, dear friend, if your life is set upon the Rock called Christ, YOU have the VICTORY over anything this day holds thanks to the EMPTY TOMB!  He is ALIVE and offers us LIFE!

Hallelujah!  Thank you Jesus for Easter!  This momma needs my Savior desperately...You are the air I breathe as I struggle to raise up a generation for righteousness, even amongst the clogged toilets and books with all the pages ripped out!  Even still...VICTORY IN JESUS!

I am saved!  I am an overcomer!  I am a joint heir! And, indeed, I AM BLESSED beyond the curse!!!