This is a recipe that I concocted recently and that we’ve been using frequently, especially since finding limits on meat and many other items at the grocery store. It’s budget-friendly, very filling, and tastes like Thanksgiving. 😊 This is a great recipe for involving multiple family members when it’s time to get it on the table as a couple people can work on the chicken while another makes up the stuffing, another toasts the muffins, another tends the gravy, and so on. Serves 12.
Ingredients:
6 chicken leg quarters
4 boxes of stuffing (6 oz. each), chicken or turkey flavored
12 English muffins
3-4 tablespoons of butter, melted, used for toasting the muffins
1 envelope of chicken or turkey gravy mix (approx. 0.88 oz.)
a splash of Gravy Master (optional browning seasoning)
a few spoonfuls of flour
7-8 cups of water
3 cans of your favorite vegetable as a side
Rinse the chicken leg quarters and place them in a 7-quart crockpot. Pour 6 cups of water over them and cover. Cook on high for several hours and then turn back to low for several more hours until the meat is cooked through and falls easily from the bones. Once the meat is done, use a slotted spoon to remove the meat to a plate for “picking off.” Using a couple of forks, pick through the chicken to separate the pieces of meat from the bones and skin, etc. Set the meat aside in a bowl, discard the rest (but not the stock!).
Prepare the stuffing according to package directions. [Note: we drastically cut the amount of butter called for in the stuffing directions as the stuffing will be covered in gravy and have plenty of flavor anyway.] Lightly butter and toast the English muffins. Heat a vegetable of your choice.
Pour the chicken stock (from the crockpot) through a strainer and into a roasting pan and put it on a large burner on the stovetop. Sprinkle the gravy mix over the top and use a whisk to stir it in. Bring to a boil. While you are waiting for it to boil, fill a small (clean) pickle jar 2/3 full with cold water. Spoon several large spoonfuls of flour into the water, cover, and shake vigorously. Once the stock comes to a boil, stop shaking the flour/water mixture and pour it slowly into the stock, stirring continually. If the gravy is not thick enough, repeat the water/flour mixture using less water and more flour and again waiting for the gravy to come to a boil before whisking it in. If you wish to add a splash of Gravy Master, it does give the gravy a nice color and a little extra flavor. Once the gravy is done, stir in the chicken you had set aside.
Place two halves of an English muffin on each plate and put a large spoonful of stuffing on each half. Use a ladle to cover them generously with the chicken gravy. Serve each with a scoop of your favorite vegetable and enjoy!
About a year ago I was visiting a French market in New
Brunswick, Canada, with a sweet friend and several of my (also sweet) daughters. We came across a stand where a local artist
had created paintings using acrylics and a variety of found objects from
nature, such as shells, bits of driftwood, tiny pebbles, and so on. As soon as I saw those paintings, I thought
of the children in the homeschool group and tucked the idea away in the back of
my mind, planning to simplify and adapt the idea for a group craft. Strangely enough, we arrived home from
vacation to find that my grandmother was displaying all the shells she’s
collected over the years before getting rid of them. I asked her if the homeschool group might
have the little ones when she was ready to pass them along, and – voilà – we
were halfway to having a craft night.
The scene depicted above was not copied from the artist at the market. It is a scene I created, keeping in mind that I wanted it to work with a wide variety of ages (so it needed to be simple enough for the younger children but interesting enough for the older ones) and somehow incorporate shells and other media. The supply list and directions given below name certain colors of Apple Barrel brand acrylic craft paint—which were on a very good sale the night we picked up supplies (Thank you, Lord!)—but you could substitute other colors or another brand or even different mixed media and still complete the project successfully. Be creative and have fun!
Click here for PDF document containing supply list and directions.
A few samples of finished paintings by children in the homeschool group:
My great-grandfather was a character. He never owned a car, instead riding a bicycle everywhere he went – even into his eighties, and even with a roller full of clams hung from each handlebar. By the time I came along, he was widowed, had outlived two of their children, and was living in a tiny one-room house decades before tiny houses became popular. He did all sorts of hard physical labor through his life – grave digging, blasting, quarrying, running a lobster pound, and more – to the point that the first knuckle of every finger had been broken at one time or another and never properly set, so each fingertip leaned over at an angle. He had survived multiple bouts of cancer on his lips; yet in all the times we visited him, I never heard him complain. What we did hear were his stories – so many stories of the past – and sometimes for a special treat, we’d hear his music. He played the fiddle, each one of those crooked fingers deftly holding the bow or pressing the strings. And he played the harmonica beautifully in spite of the lasting damage from his cancer treatments. He was a joy, and it came out as he played.
In contrast, I played clarinet in elementary school for two years, practicing little and wondering why I kept getting the third clarinet part. I briefly tried to learn piano when we were first married, but it didn’t come easily and I didn’t stick with it. After that whenever I was asked what I played, I jokingly shared of my expertise with the CD player’s “Play” button.
I never forgot Grampie Henry’s harmonica though. It always had a soft spot in my heart. And so this past summer, after having watched many members of the family branching out into numerous instruments over the years, I asked Lisa, “Do you think a harmonica would fit in?” She said she thought it might if I wanted to try it. So I took the plunge, buying an instructional book and DVD set plus a harmonica in the key of C major.*
I worked through the first five or six lessons from the book and DVD, enough to get the basics, but then wanted to move from its folk music focus over to hymns and Gospel songs. I’ve learned a lot and had a lot of fun with it over the past several months. And it’s been good to be learning something new and way outside my comfort zone, giving the children one more example that learning lasts a lifetime.
What have I learned so far? The harmonica is a great starter instrument. I’ve learned to sight-read notes in the treble staff from the B below middle C to the A above the staff. Since a standard harmonica is in the key of C major, I’ve learned to transpose songs to the key of C. (And I’ve compiled what I’ve learned about transposing into a printable Transposer tool, available here as a free PDF file. I use it myself whenever I want to learn a new song.) I’ve gone through our hymnbook, jotting down the hymns in each key that I’d like to learn how to play, so I’ve been able to identify the most common keys for the music I like. That’s important because the number of hymns in each key helps me decide what key of harmonica to buy next.
And the nice thing is that any song you can learn to play on a C harmonica, you can play in any other major key simply by using a harmonica in that key. For example, a couple of our daughters were working on “I’d Rather Have Jesus” on guitar and mandolin. I found some sheet music, transposed it down to C, then asked what key they were playing in. Since they were playing in G, I could join them (after considerable practice) using my G harmonica, reading the C sheet music and playing just as if I was using a C harmonica. The reed patterns in the different harmonica keys are designed so the player just uses the same pattern of notes for music in C, and the instrument plays the right notes for the desired key. More advanced players can use a single harmonica for multiple keys using a technique called “bending,” but I’m not there yet. I’m just enjoying playing music.
It’s good to keep learning. I often say that I’ve learned more of history and geography since we started homeschooling than I ever learned through my years of public school and university. Since getting married, I’ve had to learn about simple home maintenance, desktop publishing, graphic design, a touch of woodworking, a bit of appliance repair, and a lot more. And with the harmonica, I’ve been taking baby steps toward playing an instrument. I’d encourage you to continue learning and thereby cultivate a love of learning in your children. If you or your children have ever considered exploring music but haven’t acted on it, picking up a low-cost introductory harmonica kit – many come with a C major harmonica, book, and DVD – can be fairly inexpensive (under $20) and could be a lot more fun than you’d ever expected.**
Finally, just to whet your appetite a bit for how a harmonica – often thought of as a blues, folk, or jazz instrument – can fit into Gospel music, here’s Buddy Greene playing a soulful rendition of “He Leadeth Me.” (warning: This links to YouTube.) And just to show that it is possible to pick up an instrument in adulthood, here is an audio recording of me playing “Just As I Am”:
* Some prefer Hohner brand harmonicas, but after a fair amount of research, Lee Oskar looked like the best choice for me. His harmonicas have easily replaceable parts and plastic combs (rather than wood), so swelling from moisture shouldn’t be an issue. Plus, there are many keys available.
** My wife mentioned that another good, inexpensive introductory instrument is the recorder. It also gets players reading the treble staff and is simple to pick up and start learning. We have enjoyed using the Yamaha Soprano Recorder (key of C) and The New Nine-Note Recorder Method by Penny Gardner, which is easy for children to follow.
Our family finished reading the book of Ezekiel together this morning in devotions. Tucked away in the last chapter is a verse with an important concept that might easily be overlooked amongst all the temple measurements, land divisions, and worship directives included in Ezekiel’s final vision. Chapter 48, verse 11 says, “It [the holy oblation] shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.” Notice that God has reserved a special future blessing in the Millennial reign for the part of Israel that obeyed Him, that didn’t go astray when all the others went astray!
Because God is immutable in character, He is still the same God today. I believe He is still looking for those who will obey Him in spite of what is going on around them, who will delight in the narrow path while the majority stumble blindly along the broad way. I encouraged my children again this morning to be like the sons of Zadok so that God may someday say of them, “This blessing shall be for the sons and daughters of the Beals, who kept my charge, who went not astray when the children of America went astray.”
You can encourage your children, mothers, to approach the Scriptures this way. It is the Living Word, and we can find out how to relate to our Heavenly Father, how to please Him, and how to walk after Him and think His thoughts after Him by reading both the Old Testament and the New with the expectation that He wants us to glean something from them. God still looks for those who will serve Him faithfully, and He still wants to bless them! Teach your children how to hear the voice of the Shepherd and how to follow Him only, so that your descendants may be among those who not only live in the safety of the will of God in their lifetimes but who may one day receive special commendation directly from their Heavenly Father both in the Millennial reign and beyond.
Copyright (c) 2020
Remember Ebed-melech? (June 2020)
Do your children know of a man named Ebed-melech in the Old Testament? If they don’t, they should. His story is an encouraging one! You will find him referenced in chapters 38 and 39 of Jeremiah. In the first half of chapter 38, you can read how Jeremiah gives a prophecy to King Zedekiah that his princes do not like, so the princes have Jeremiah thrown into the dungeon (a miry pit). But there is a man in the palace, a servant Ebed-melech, who learns what has happened to this godly prophet and who becomes very concerned. And he doesn’t just “feel bad” about how Jeremiah is getting treated, but he determines to do what he can to right the problem. Ebed-melech goes to the king to beg Jeremiah’s life. Because “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord” (Prov. 21:1), Zedekiah allows this servant to take thirty other men with him and bring up Jeremiah from the pit where he was likely to have starved to death.
Ebed-melech’s actions please the Lord. We see in the end of chapter 39 that because of Ebed-melech’s courage and compassion, he is singled out for a blessing in a time of great judgment. God is going to allow the Chaldeans (Babylon) to destroy Jerusalem, and the fearful Ebed-melech is told that he will be there to see it happen but that he will be delivered because He has demonstrated faith in God.
Isn’t that what any of us would want for our children? For them to be spared in the time of judgment and for God to have his hand of protection upon them specially? II Chron 16:9a says, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” Encourage your children to have a perfect heart toward God, to not only believe in Him but to act on their faith as Ebel-melech did, so that when God is next looking for someone to bless, He will notice them!
Copyright (c) 2020
Accidental Homeschooling (March 2020)
If you know “accidental homeschoolers” who are struggling right now with what to do with their new and sudden responsibilities, be sure to encourage them! You’ve been walking this road longer than they have. Remember to look back and give them a hand to help them along. Many of the families who now find themselves homeschooling due to Covid-19 will send their children back to the schools, but for some this will be the beginning of a journey they otherwise never would have known that they wanted to take! Let’s pray that God turns the hearts of the fathers and mothers of the nation to Him during this time, and that many families discover they’re not “stuck at home” rather they’re “blessed at home.”
We also need to pray for one another that we not react in fear to all the bad news around us. Remember that the Lord is near to us; He hears us when we cry out to Him (so long as our hearts are pure before Him). Let us not be like the rebellious city in Zephaniah 3 that would not receive correction of the LORD, that would not obey Him or draw near unto Him. Let us instead give God reverence, obedience, and devotion (I’m preaching to myself as well) that we can be like Jerusalem restored in verse 17 of the same chapter, which says
“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing.”
Copyright (c) 2020
Thanksgiving Thoughts (November 2019)
We want to challenge you to incorporate education into your Thanksgiving celebration. Please don’t let the day go by without reminding your children and grandchildren why we celebrate Thanksgiving in the first place. Let’s make sure that in our homes at least it’s about more than turkey and football. Our forefathers and mothers sacrificed so much to come here and give us the gift of religious liberty. What better time to share some Scripture, some history, some encouragement for the next generation to carry the torch than when everyone’s gathered around the dining room table?
O praise the LORD, all ye nations:
praise him, all ye people.
For his merciful kindness is great toward us:
and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever.
Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 117
For a happy Christmas, prioritize these three things:
CHrist —
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.” (Isaiah 9:6a)
Remember it’s His birthday. Put Christ first in your heart and in your holiday plans.
CHildren —
“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD.” (Psalm 127:3a)
Spend more time with your children than money on them. Worry more about making memories than piling up presents.
CHarity —
“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD.” (Proverbs 19:17a)
Look beyond your own walls. See who needs a meal, a gift, a call, an invitation to join the festivities, encouragement.
Do what you can to meet the need, and pray for God to supply the rest.
Merry Christmas from Roots by the River!
Copyright (c) 2019
Encouragement for Dedicated Parents
Encouragement for Dedicated Parents
I see your perfect hearts toward Me;
I see your tender love.
I’ve watched you guide your children in
The path that leads above.
The hours, the days, the months, the years
You pour into their souls
Are not in vain; still train them in
The way they ought to go.
Your work shall be rewarded
Though in sowing time you weep.
Weed and water; persevere.
With great gladness you shall reap.
“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Psalm 126:5-6
As we begin the new homeschool year, we wanted to take the opportunity to encourage you with two important Scriptures. The first is a good reminder for us as parents and the second for our children:
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. – Matthew 6:33
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. – II Timothy 2:15