Table set for Thanksgiving!

My Thanksgiving decor

A thankful heart is a joyful heart!

I have a confession to make, even though Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Brazil I am a huge fan of this holiday!

One encouragement for me when facing difficult times is to count the many blessings one by one... I am always surprised with little stuff that has made a difference in my day and I thank the Lord for so many things He has blessed me with.

I hope you too can count your blessings every day and enjoy the little things!

Pumpkin flower - bringing simple things to table decor

Baked Onion Dip

I first tried this dip at a good friend's house, then I started to make it here for my friends and they love it... The recipe was originally published on White on Rice couple, a blog where the authors share some sweet stories, good food and gorgeous photography.

Baked Sweet Onion Dip
1 8 oz (about 250g) package of cream cheese (very softened)
1 cup mayo
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup diced or chopped sweet onion.
1 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper
Crusty bread or crackers

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, place the softened cream cheese. Make sure the cream cheese is very soft to allow all ingredients to blend evenly together.

2) Add mayo, parmesan cheese, onions and fresh cracked black pepper to soft cream cheese till everything is mixed thoroughly.

3) Place mixture in ramekins or any oven safe dishes. Bake slowly, for about 30-45 minutes until the top crust is brown, almost burnt looking then the dip is ready.

4) Serve with your favorite bread and crackers.

Strawberry jam

During strawberry season this is the kind of recipe you don't have to think twice about making it!

I love jams, but had never made strawberry jam before until I met Laurie at the MOPS Convention in  Orlando. We shared a room and also a delicious strawberry jam every morning for breakfast! So of course, I had to have her recipe! Thanks Laurie!

I did not use the pectin and still it tasted great, the lemon juice itself is a great source of pectin.

Strawberry jam

2 cups mashed berries

4 cups sugar

1 packet liquid pectin

2 tbsp lemon juice

1) Put the sugar into the mashed berries and mix it all in. Let it sit for 10 minutes. While waiting, stir the lemon juice into the pectin.

2) After the 10 minutes, stir the pectin/lemon juice into the strawberry/sugar and cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes until all the sugar is dissolved. Pour into jars until set (about a day) and then freeze.