Susan, Author at The Sparrow's Home

Homemade yogurt is easier than you think!

April 17, 2020 by Susan 8 Comments

If you eat yogurt, you should give homemade yogurt-making a try. It’s not difficult, and tastes better than store bought!

Yogurt is something that I am always telling myself I should eat more of. And now that I’ve started making it myself, I finally am!

There’s something fresher about it that I just can’t get enough of. Plus, I get to play around with it a little to make it perfect for us.

I haven’t tried straining my yogurt yet to make thicker, Greek-style yogurt (which is what I usually buy if I’m buying yogurt), but it’s on the agenda! The thinner yogurt works better for us now, since I’m the only one who eats it as is. The fellas in my house will only eat yogurt if it’s in a smoothie (or in frozen yogurt form) so this is perfect.

You don’t have to emerge from the quarantines as a beautiful butterfly, but what a waste to come out the other side the same old caterpillar you were before

April 2, 2020 by Susan 10 Comments

However it’s coming to us, we’re all being given cocoon time here. Don’t look back after this experience, and wish that you had done more with the time you’ve been given.

They say the five stages of Spring, 2020 are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

That’s a little joke.

But it has been a wild ride, hasn’t it? While I wouldn’t go so far as to call the required self-isolation a gift, I do believe that we should try to learn something from difficult experiences.

I should pause here to tell you that this is not a guilt-trip to make you feel badly that you are staying in the bathroom extra long to get away from your kids or using chocolate as a coping mechanism. Both are valid responses to what we’re going through, in my opinion.

All I hope to do is be a little encouraging bird on your shoulder reminding you of what you already know:

You may look back after this experience, and wish that you had done more with the time you’ve been given.

White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Cookies

December 9, 2019 by Susan 4 Comments

Jam-packed with salty pistachios, tart dried cranberries and sweet white chocolate, this cookie is the perfect bite. It also looks beautiful on a cookie tray!

I made a cookie similar to these a lot of years ago for a work Christmas party and was told by one co-worker that they were the best cookies he’d ever had. They are kind of the perfect bite…sweet, tart, salty, rich. YUM!

They’re certainly perfect for Christmas with the red, green and white, and look pretty on a cookie tray. I think they’d make a lovely gift, too.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cream Pie

November 25, 2019 by Susan 13 Comments

This light, fluffy chocolate cream pie is made with marshmallows and tastes like a sweet candy bar. Easy to make and no-bake!

Pie is where it’s at.

Pecan pie is the standard at my house for Thanksgiving, but we always have to have an option for the non-nut eaters.

Even my picky-eating kids, who have categorically denied pie in the past love this. (How you can say “I don’t like pie” is beyond me…there’s only about a million kinds of pie, and you know you don’t like any of them??… Sigh, I love my kids.)

They have since decided that some pies…mainly chocolate pies…are okay to eat. God bless pie.

I’m a big fan of French Silk Pie. Rich and luscious perfection if you ask me. However, sometimes you want to make something a bit lighter, but still creamy chocolate perfection. This pie hits those notes.

Think candy bar in pie form, but fluffier.

By the way… if you’re looking for a great French Silk Pie recipe, my go-to is this one from Pioneer Woman ==> French Silk Pie

But today we are foregoing the cup of butter and half hour of mixing to whip up this sweet, fluffy confection.

The filling is pretty quick to make, it just needs some time in the fridge to chill before serving. This recipe will make two pies if you use the ready-made chocolate pie crusts or one deep dish homemade cookie crusted pie.

Have you heard the new Kanye album?…said the middle-aged, white, suburban homemaker

November 4, 2019 by Susan 2 Comments

Why don’t we all share Jesus boldly like Kanye West? Could it be that we are afraid of our flaws and failures being in the spotlight?

Hip-hop is not really my thing. I do have some Black Eyed Peas on my workout playlist…does that count as hip-hop? I’m so uncool, I really don’t know.

Rap? Most of that is a big no thank you.

So typing Kanye’s new album into a search engine is not something I thought I would ever do. Ever.

But the truth is, this uncool mom has been doing a lot of thinking thanks to Mr. West.

7 Pinterest recipes that are as delicious as they look!

October 14, 2019 by Susan 4 Comments

Finding recipes that you love is kind of exciting, isn’t it? We’ve all had our Pinterest “fails” in the past. These are seven recipes that we tried and loved and I think you will too. Easy and delicious. Big thumbs up on these Pinterest wins!

With my picky kids off at college, my husband and I were excited to make a wider variety of meals, including trying some new recipes. And when I say new recipes, everyone knows that means heading to Pinterest, right?

If you’re like me, you’ve had tons of recipes that you pinned who-know-how-long-ago and just haven’t gotten around to making. You may also have had your share of Pinterest ‘fails’ in the past.

Don’t ask me about the time I tried making oven-baked crispy taco shells. LOL