As a part of the New Beginnings' program, we participate in family traditions including having a group meal over the holidays. Everyone brings a homemade dish to pass for the entire group - as we all know, WELS people love their potlucks! This provides an excellent opportunity for the mothers at New Beginnings to learn new cooking skills, as well as try new dishes. 

​We were so excited about the dishes made this year, that we would like to share them with you. 

Our Executive Director, Brianne Hansen, has made the turkey for our Thanksgiving Dinner for 2 years. I suppose it is tradition now. We usually have about 15 people at our Thanksgiving Dinner, and a 15 pound turkey is just about perfect!
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INGREDIENTS

• 2 sticks unsalted butter   
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 fresh turkey (15 pounds)
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large bunch fresh thyme
• 1 whole lemon, halved
• 1 bag of shallots
• 2 heads garlic, halved crosswise

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INSTRUCTIONS​
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the zest and juice of the lemon and 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves to the butter mixture. Set aside.

Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Pat dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, halved lemon, shallots, and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place pieces of butter in the turkey cavity.

Roast the turkey about 2 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Take the turkey out of the oven and let rest for 20 minutes. 
Slice the turkey and serve.

Okay, so let's be honest. Thanksgiving isn't all about the turkey - it's about the bird's friends! Here are some outstanding recipes made by our staff and residents that will leave your guests wanting more. 

The terrific part about these recipes is that not only are they the traditional, and completely necessary sides for any Thanksgiving celebration, they are also HOMEMADE completely from scratch! Even the cream of mushroom soup in the green bean casserole was created - no need for canned soup here, people. 

Are you dying for the recipes? After tasting these dishes, I know I was! For your tasting pleasure, I have included them below:

Our Resident Supervisor, Eden Ehlers, created this green bean casserole recipe from scratch. Boy, was it worth it! 

INGREDIENTS
Baked "Fried" Onions

• 1 large onion
• 1/2 cup (62g) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (45g) Panko
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk

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Green Bean Casserole

• 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
• 2 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced into halves or quarters
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 2 Tablespoons (15g) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (180ml) chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) half-and-half

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 475°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Set aside.
2. For the onions: (while the onions bake, you can blanch the green beans-- next step.) Thinly slice the onion. Pour flour in one small bowl, Panko + salt + pepper into a medium bowl, and whisk the egg and milk together in another small bowl. To bread the onion slices, you'll want to use one hand for dry and one hand for wet. It helps things move a little quicker and easier. First, dip a few slices into the flour. Then into the egg mixture. And finally, give them a nice dunk into the Panko and coat them well. Place onto baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the onions. Bake onions until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Flip them twice during this time. Set them aside. Reduce oven to 400°F.
3. Bring a gallon of water and 1 Tablespoon of salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain and immediately place into a large bowl filled with ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain again and set aside.
4. For the casserole: Over medium-high heat, melt the butter in a large 10 - 12 inch ovenproof skillet. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give off some of their moisture-- about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and cook for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour on top and stir until combined. The flour will soak up all the moisture. Add the chicken broth and simmer for 3 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Stirring occasionally, cook until the mixture is thick-- about 10 minutes or maybe more if you prefer a thicker sauce.
5. Remove from the heat and add 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Give it a nice stir, combining the sauce and beans. Top with remaining onions and bake until bubbly, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and enjoy! Leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat as desired.

Our Program Manager, Karen O'Leary, made cranberry sauce this year. As we know, cranberry sauce is a hallmark Thanksgiving day side, and ....it is one of my favorites! 

INGREDIENTS

•  12 ounces cranberries
• 1 cup white sugar
• ​1 cup orange juice​

INSTRUCTIONS
​In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the orange juice. Stir in the cranberries and cook until the cranberries start to pop (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and place sauce in a bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools

When I say the best...ever, I mean it. This dressing is the best...EVER! Our Outreach Manager, Christina Pritzlaff, made a recipe for dressing that was passed down by her mother. Hopefully it was not meant to be a family secret because we have to spread this love around! 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bag cornbread stuffing mix (follow directions on bag but use less liquid/broth, see comments below)
• 6-8 cooked breakfast sausages chopped up - save the grease
• 1 pkg cooked bacon (after cooking, let cool and chop into fine pieces -save the grease)
• 1/2 stick of butter (melted), not margarine
• Chicken broth
• Onion, celery, mushrooms

INSTRUCTIONS
Follow the directions on the bag for preparing the stuffing.  Add the chicken broth to the bacon and sausage grease to make the full amount required for the stuffing mix.  We are just substituting some of the broth with the grease. Cook the fresh veggies in a pan with the butter and add it to the stuffing mixture.

One of our mothers, Shaneka, made a classic Southern macaroni and cheese dish! It was one of our favorites. Shaneka always does an outstanding job making dishes for group dinners! 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• Course salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups elbow macaroni
• 2 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar
• 2 cups milk
• 2 large eggs

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9"x13" dish. Boil macaroni until tender (about 12 minutes) and drain. In a large bowl, combine the macaroni, cheese, milk, and eggs. Add salt and pepper. Transfer to prepared dish. Bake until golden and bubbly, abut 30 minutes.  

One of our mothers, Kim, made crockpot garlic mashed potatoes! Who knew that you could make mashed potatoes in the crockpot? They tasted great!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds red potatoes, but into 1 inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1 head garlic
• 4 tablespoons salted butter
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS
Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Add potatoes, thyme, garlic, butter, and chicken broth. Cover and cook for 5 hours on high. Add heavy cream and use a hand mixer to blend the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and we hope you did too! God has blessed New Beginnings so richly. All of our mothers, their babies, and the staff at New Beginnings wish you God's richest blessings this holiday season as well!

See below our chefs!

​As Home Manager, I am often asked, “What does a typical day look like for you?” I will be honest and say that I have an entirely difficult time answering that question. I walk into work each day wondering what tool I will pull out of my tool belt that day! I have a list of expertise to add to my resume including: counselor, mentor, supporter, painter, interior decorator, schedule master, and most recently, expert grill assembler. I am beyond thankful for the many tools God has equipped me with - I will not get bored anytime soon! Along with balancing various tasks, comes a responsibility to prioritize, uphold patience, and use time wisely. Ultimately, it is a balancing act.

​​What tools has the Lord equipped you with in your job, daily life, or relationship? Please feel free to share in the comment section below. I would be thrilled to hear from you!

​New Beginnings is such an amazing program, and I feel blessed to be a part of it. Every day I am blessed with the opportunity to watch new mothers grow closer to Christ, learn new parenting skills, and advance their education. The blessings, however, are often laced with bumps along the way. One of the most valuable concepts I took away from the conference is that New Beginnings is NOT alone in the struggles we face when working with single, generationally-poor mothers. If the difficulties of doing God’s work ceased to exist, then we would know that we are not doing enough. With growth comes resistance, hardship, and even fear, but it is our job to help each mother recognize her strength and ability to blossom. Is change scary? Yep. New Beginnings can confirm, however, that sometimes the most difficult events in our life help us to flourish the most! 

​So I say it again: we are not a finishing school. I have never heard someone say, “I have too much knowledge.” What a great reminder that we all have the opportunity to grow; all we need is a little water and sunshine, and a lot of perseverance and guidance from Christ. 

Yeah, I know the title got your attention! So let’s just jump right into it, shall we?

At New Beginnings we recently had a Thanksgiving Dinner in place of our regular Thursday night group session. Everyone brought a dish to pass and we had an amazing meal of turkey, cheesy potatoes, salad (made by staff), corn bread dressing (Shaneka), homemade mac n’ cheese (Dana), green bean casserole (Resident Assistants), apple pie (Volunteer, Lisa), and more! What a blessing.
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After the meal, we had a short devotion and then wrote down some of the blessings in our lives. I was surprised by the range of answers: friends, family, sharing this meal together, police officers, education, toys (yes, kids were present, but I am thankful for toys too!), and Jesus, were just some of the answers. One of the blessings that surprised me most was “haters,” and I can honestly tell you it was written down by more than one person. Now before I go any further, let’s see how Urban Dictionary defines a “hater:” 

I can honestly say that I would never think to write down this blessing, but I am happy that someone did! I believe that all of us have experienced a “hater” or two in our lifetime; you know, that person who isn’t happy for you when you finish your degree, fall in love, or start bettering yourself? Yep.

​It is unfortunate that our residents also experience this;  coming into the New Beginnings’ program can be a major life change. Often times, our residents have at least one “friend,” or even family member, that does not support their decision to make a change in their lives. Despite the lack of support, we can all have the motivation to move forward knowing that we have a support system at New Beginnings AND, more importantly, that God supports us! 

In fact, God is not a stranger to haters ; he says in Psalm 69: 4-5 “Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal. You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you.” God also knows that people who criticize those who are on the right track do so because sin loves company. ​He says, 

Ultimately, we can be thankful for our “haters” because they remind us that we are on the right track. In fact, our hope is that those who criticize us for doing well will soon follow in our footsteps! God never said our path would be easy, but he did say…say it along with me, I know you know this one… 

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime?” A handful of research studies and news videos recently reiterated this age-old notion that teaching work skills and providing educational resources is the key to getting out of, and staying out of, poverty. In fact, Ruby Payne echoes that idea throughout her book “A Framework for Understanding Poverty.”  The concept that teaching someone how to do something provides a greater benefit than simply giving someone a hand-out seems obvious, yet not everyone wants to jump on the “teaching skills” bandwagon. Why?

​Well…because teaching skills and providing resources can be difficult work and require tons of patience. God knows that it is not easy, but He says in Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Have your kids ever struggled with completing a task, so you simply accomplished it for them? Tying shoes comes to mind. Or maybe the task was completed, but it was not done correctly; remember that time that your child put a red shirt in with the white laundry? Pink clothes – of course you remember. Have you been doing the laundry since the “pink clothes” incident?

The reality is that if we continue to tie the shoes or do the laundry, the next generation will grow up wearing Crocs to job interviews and heading out to the store once a week to buy clean underwear. Okay, you understand my point. All silliness aside, we KNOW that skill training remains a vital piece of life’s journey to self-sufficiency. In fact, God says in Luke 6:40, “The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” So how does that play out in the New Beginnings’ program?
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At New Beginnings one of our goals is to break the cycle of poverty for the mother, and subsequently break the cycle of dependency for generations to come. Below are some researched points about the importance of education in our work at New Beginnings:

Opening the door to educational resources and providing opportunities to learn parenting, interpersonal, and conflict resolution skills are taught during our weekly group sessions and goal meetings.  We understand that by increasing opportunities for higher education, we can enable a smoother transition into an independent life. The concept is quite simple: higher education = better job opportunities = increased pay = ability to live without the need for government assistance.
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Will you join the movement and provide opportunities for skill development for generations to come? New Beginnings is always in need of tutors, individuals to lead Thursday night group sessions, mentors, and more. Feel free to jump on the bandwagon!

Life is BUSY! I often hear the phrase, “I am busy as a bee!” at New Beginnings. Staff busily prepares for an upcoming devotion, the next group event, or activities for our moms; sometimes we do all of these things at once! New Beginnings is filled with multi-taskers; our residents, too, have a busy schedule. Our mothers work hard to establish a routine in the program, make the study of God’s Word a priority every day, and care for their child.

Although the hustle and bustle feels arduous at times, we need to remember that God invites us to come to him when we are tired and weak: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

Isn’t it encouraging to know that when we are fatigued physically and mentally, God never tires and gives us strength when we need it?

I remember being “released from the nest” when I left for college. My life felt so busy, and sometimes I found it difficult to stay on track. Mom and Dad were no longer around to remind me to schedule my dentist appointment or insist that I study for my Statistics exam. In my early college years, I found difficulty in maintaining structure to facilitate my own personal progress, but I looked to God for guidance and called on him for help when I was exhausted from life’s fast-moving pace. I constantly reminded myself in Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

New Beginnings provides a unique opportunity to instruct generationally-poor individuals of the value of routine, as planning ahead and staying on track prove vital in achieving self-sufficiency. Our program takes this opportunity one step further by providing spiritual guidance along the way. At first, the structure of the New Beginnings’ program often seems difficult for our residents; after all, many of our moms have never experienced set schedules, the requirement to arrive on time, or even the concept of accountability. Over time, however, the moms begin to appreciate the value of routines and apply structure to their own lives independently. In addition, our mothers begin to turn to God in times of exhaustion and difficulty; after all, God reminds us that we can do all this through him who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).