Monday, September 6, 2021

HAPPY LABOR DAY|| PECAN PIE RECIPE



 Good morning, wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely people. I am grateful for the grace to be alive today. I hope you are also. Today is a beautiful day. Welcome to Maryam's Joyful Life. 

So, it is Labor Day in America and I am happy to make this post in honor of the amazing men and women in the workforce and business who keep the engine of society flowing. To teachers, nurses, doctors, first responders, military, builders, essential workers, business men and women, pastors, spiritual leaders, mothers and fathers, Thank you! Everyone who contributes to making the lives of others better, thank you! We are all in this together. May God bless and keep all of us In Jesus Name. Amen!

May the the Angels of peace, love, healing, joy, protection and abundance surround each and everyone of us now and forever, Amen!

Now let's make this day one of celebration for all. 

Here's my favorite holiday pie recipe. Enjoy!

This recipe is from:  https://celebratingsweets.com/maple-pecan-pie/

Ingredients

Pie crust (or use your favorite 9-inch deep dish unbaked pie crust):

  • 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough

  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • ½ cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

  • ¼ cup ice water, plus more, if needed

Filling:

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar

  • ⅔ cup pure maple syrup

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • 3 large eggs

  • ¼ teaspoon maple extract OR 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 2 cups chopped pecans, toasted, if desired*

  • non-stick baking spray

  • flaky finishing salt

Instructions

Pie crust:

  1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cubed butter and use your fingers or a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour, doing so until the butter is broken down into pea-sized pieces. Add ¼ cup ice water and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the dough starts coming together. Then use your hands to bring the dough together. If necessary, add another tablespoon of cold water. The dough should just be sticking together. Try not to overwork it.

  2. Transfer the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten it into a disc and wrap it up. Roll the edges of the crust on the countertop (like a wheel) to smooth out the edges. Transfer to your refrigerator for 1 hour (or up to 2 days). Note: If you're planning on toasting your pecans, now would be the time to do it.

  3. Let the pie crust sit at room temperature for several minutes until it is no longer rock-hard, but still cold (this will depend on how long it was the fridge). Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is a 12-13 inch circle.

  4. Lightly spritz a 9-inch deep dish pie plate with non-stick spray, then transfer the crust to the pie plate. Trim and fold/crimp the excess crust around the edges. Place the crust in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes while you prepare the filling.

Filling:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar and maple syrup and whisk until smooth and combined. Bring the mixture to a low simmer (bubbles forming around the perimeter of the pan), then remove from the heat. Pour the mixture into a bowl to cool for 15 minutes.

  2. Add eggs, salt and extract to the syrup mixture, whisking until combined.

  3. Sprinkle the chopped pecans in the bottom of the uncooked pie crust. Pour the syrup mixture over the pecans, rearranging the pecans if necessary. Lightly spritz a piece of foil with non-stick spray. Cover the pie with foil and bake in the center to lower third of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, then continue baking for another 15-25 minutes (approximately), until the edges are set but the center of the pie is still a bit jiggly (like gelatin). Sprinkle the top of the pie with a few sprinkles of flaky finishing salt. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely, then transfer to the refrigerator. Serve at room temperature with Tillamook Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream.


How To Make Maple Pecan Pie:

  1. Line a pie plate with a standard pie crust (use my homemade recipe or your favorite pie crust). Place the pie crust in the refrigerator while you assemble the filling.
  2. Heat butter, brown sugar and maple syrup in a small saucepan until smooth and combined.
  3. Whisk eggs, maple extract, and salt into the syrup mixture.
  4. Sprinkle pecans over the bottom of the unbaked pie crust, then pour over the liquid mixture.
  5. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

I hope this inspired you. I love eating pecan pie during the holidays with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream and it always does the trick. 

Thank you for checking out my blog today. Have a delightful Labor Day!

MARYAM

Don't let anybody steal your joy!

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

YETUNDE RECEIVES A GIFT

Good afternoon wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely people. Thank you for checking out my blog today. So, I wanted to share a story from my nee series with you. I thought it was necessary to share something that happened to me also. So, I received a gift set from one of Le'Veon's teachers recently. It was a set of body wash, lotion and spray. I cherish it very much. She wanted to share their gratitude and appreciation for something I enjoy doing for some of the teachers. I love being of service wherever I find myself. It feels good and opens many doors of blessings. Anyways, lets get back to our main blog today. Read my new short series by following this link: https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09B71V79K
Here's the first episode: Enjoy!
EPISODE ONE

YETUNDE RECEIVES A GIFT

Ahh Bose, I cannot believe you gave me these nice clothes. They are so nice and I know I will enjoy

wearing them out. My friends are going to be jealous when they see me wearing these beautiful clothes.

“Yetunde, you deserve the clothes. I want you to enjoy wearing them, you hear me? Wear them and let your

friends see you look brand new like sisi eko. They will know now that you too can look nice too,” replied Bose.

“My sister, thank you for remembering me like this. I was beginning to think that I would continue to patch

my clothes until I have nothing to patch oo,” said Yetunde 

Bose is Yetunde’s older sister who lives out of town with their older sibling. Bose is a lot bigger

than Yetunde but likes to wear tight fit clothes which Yetunde can easily fit in. Bose has many

clothes and likes nice things. Bose has rich fashionistas as friends and often goes to parties

organized by rich people. Bose is living the high life and often has to upgrade her wardrobe to fit

into the group she associates with.

Yetunde is in junior high and a sophomore. She is big for her age but has the wisdom of those many

years older than her. Yetunde has not always had nice things but whatever she had, she was grateful for.

There are many well dressed kids in Yetunde’s class whom she admires but she doesn’t allow the fact that she

does not have nice clothes make her feel small amongst her classmates. Yetunde is an honors student

and enjoys studying and being the head of the class.


Sukura is Bose and Yetunde’s step sister. Yetunde’s mother is married to Alhaji Gambo who also

has another wife. Alhaji Gambo has many children and is a man of pride. He takes very good care

of himself but does not care as much for his children. Alhaji Gambo took pride in showing off his

riches to people in his outside circle but neglected his close family when it mattered.

Sakura is one of Alhaji Gambo’s children from his other wife. Sukura is smart and goes to church.

Although Alhaji Gambo does not approve of his children going to church, he stopped chasing his

children from going. He got tired of worrying when he noticed that no matter how hard he tried, his

children would not listen to him.

Yetunde went to church with Sukura and was like Sukura’s errand girl. Sukura and Bose were not on good

terms. Bose despised Sukura’s holier than thou attitude and never hesitated to show it. 

Bose does not mess around with Sukura and her other siblings. Sukura knew how Bose felt and did not care

for Bose also.


One evening, Bose came home with used clothes for Yetunde, Sukura was not around at the time.

When Yetunde saw  the clothes she was so happy that finally she could wear something different

that would somehow measure up to the nice things that her friends had. 

Later that evening, when Sukura came back from her outing, she found Yetunde sporting new clothes. She

asked Yetunde where she got them from and Yetunde explained that Bose had given them to her. Sukura

asked Yetunde for the clothes. “Yetunde, these are really nice clothes. Can I have them so I can wear them

at school and show off how beautiful they are to my classmates? I promise to come back with stories of

how they reacted when I wore your clothes,” said Sukura . 

The thought of Sukura wearing her new clothes in her school sounded exciting to Yetunde. Yetunde was

excited to hear Sukura’s stories about how her classmates reacted to the clothes. 

After agreeing to let Sukura borrow her new clothes, Yetunde remembered Bose’s warning from earlier

but it was too late.


“Yetunde, if I see these clothes on anyone else but you, I will take them back. I am giving these

to you and only you. If anyone else wears them, I will make sure I take them from you and

never give you clothes in your entire life again,” swore Bose. “I promise to wear them and not

give them to anybody, '' promised Yetunde.


One week later…


Bose visits home from out of town and sees Sukura wearing the clothes she had given to Yetunde.

Bose confronted Sukura about the clothes. “Sukura, why are you wearing my clothes? Who gave

you permission to wear my clothes? Asked Bose. “What clothes are you talking about? These are not

your clothes. I borrowed them from Yetunde,” Sukura responded. “They are my clothes and I want them

back. I told Yetunde if she let you or your sisters wear these clothes, I would take them back from her,

yet here you are, wearing my clothes,” Bose explained with anger.

“Well, Bose, these clothes as far as I am concerned are not yours. I will give them back to Yetunde who let

me borrow them. “I will make sure I take back all of the clothes I gave Yetunde since she will not listen to

simple instructions,” Bose concluded.

Link to my new series:https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09B71V79K

Later that evening…

Yetunde was at church service that evening, ready to worship in the service when she noticed something

different about Sukura. Sukura is a member of the choir at the church. When Yetunde saw Sukura that evening,

she knew something was wrong because Sukura had a frown on her face, while she stared in the direction of

Yetunde. Yetunde did not worry about the frown that much because after all, they were in church; Sukura

would at least act with dignity around church people. When the choir was done performing, Sukura came to

where Yetunde was sitting and asked her to come outside. “Yetunde, meet me outside,” she said. From the

tone of her voice, Yetunde knew something was wrong.

“Yetunde, I am disappointed in you.  You are so stupid and annoying to tell Bose that I took the clothes she

gave you. Now, here are your stupid clothes,” said Sukura as she threw the clothes at Yetunde. Yetunde did

not have a chance to explain before Bose hissed like an angry serpent and gave Yetunde the bad eye as she

walked away...


Don't let anyone steal your joy!

Maryam


Sunday, August 29, 2021

PRAYING FOR LOUISIANA AND OTHER PLACES



Hello everyone. Thank you to  those who joined in praying for Louisiana and other places experiencing disaster right now, earlier on my youtube channel. As we all know, there’s nothing prayer can’t do because prayer calls on the supernatural power of God to intervene in the affairs of man. God always answers.
I’m praying for you and declaring in the name of Jesus Christ that God is your shield and deliverer. You’re blessed and protected.
Don’t ever take your eyes off  Christ Jesus, no matter how wild the storm is. He is the ONLY way out. 
May your strength be great and your will be strong to stay focused on God at all times in Jesus Name. Amen!
Here’s the video from earlier:

Don’t let anybody steal your 🤩 joy!
Maryam 

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

ZOE SINGS AND WE HAVE FUN


 Hello wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely people. It's been a great day. So, I wanted to make you smile with this video of myself and Zoe having fun, while we wait to pick up Le'Veon. I must say that motherhood is fun for me and I am enjoying these moments of play with my kids. I thrive to be my best self and give them the best of me.

Here's the video. I hope this puts a smile on your face.


Good night wonderful people. Don't let anyone steal your joy!

Maryam

Monday, August 16, 2021

MAKE IT A GOOD DAY FOR YOU AND OTHERS



 Good morning wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely people. This is a good day. Thank you all for checking out my blog today. In this blog, I want to talk about making it a good day.

This is the start of a new work week and it is an amazing day already.

What does it mean to make it a good day? It means deciding to have a good day regardless of who is nasty to you. Whether you know it or not, you are in charge of your emotions. You have the power to control it. No one has the power to make you have a bad day but you. I used to think that if certain people quit doing the things they did that got me upset then  everything would be perfect but the more I expected them to change the worse they got and the worse I felt because I was ignorant of my own power.

However, when I quit projecting my will on others and kept it at home with me and started making changes within myself, things on the outside began to change. I changed my mind and everything else followed to change. What am I saying? If you change the expectations of how you want people to act towards  you  and how you will respond and you just focus on being better whether others notice or not, not only will you be happier, others will change their attitudes toward you as well.

Life is a game of boomerangs. What you sow always comes back as a bountiful crop. Within yourself, sow peace crops, confidence crops, joy crops and goodwill crops. Do not let these be determined by others behavior but by you. You are worthy of the peace and love you want. This is not determined by people or things. It is determined by God. Let God rule over your heart. Begin to see yourself worthy, loved, approved and amazing. Don't wait for others to say it to you before you start saying it to yourself.

May your week be blessed and highly favored!

Maryam

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

BAKED CHICKEN AND POTATOES RECIPE|| FEATURING YOUTUBE'S COOK WITH LIZ

 


What's up wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely people. I hope this blog meets you well. Today is a beautiful day. Thank you all for joining me. You guys are so amazing. Today we are sharing an amazing recipe from one of my friends and subscribers Lizzie. Check her out on Cooking with Liz . Please subscribe to her and let her know I sent you.

Here's what you will need in Lizzie's own words

How to easily prepare baked chicken and potatoes dinner dish. Here are the spices that I used to season my chicken. You can use your own spices. Paprika, All Seasoning, Lemon Pepper, Salt, Roasted Garlic Powder and ground ginger.

Here is the video please watch:



Don't let anyone steal your joy!

Maryam

Saturday, July 31, 2021

WHAT MAKES A STRONG MARRIAGE?|| COL SAM AHMEDU'S 35 YEARS WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

 


Good morning, wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely people. Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you are having a good day and are not allowing anyone or thing steal your joy. Welcome to Maryam's Joyful Life. Today is a beautiful day.

In today's post, I want to share some amazing secrets to having a long lasting union from one of the most respected men I know. He has been a blessing to me and many others I know and I have heard about. He is a father, a husband and an inspiration. I have watched  him shine his light amongst youngsters and older people for years and he just keeps shining. I have no doubt the reason he always shines bright is because of his heart of service to others. His no other than my Col. Sam Ahmedu. He is a leader in the Nigerian Basketball Association and also a leader in Africa. I can not express completely how inspired I am by him but I can say that I have seen him help many people and he never stops. I am just thankful to know him.

It is his 35th wedding Anniversary and I asked his permission to share his secrets with my readers all over the world and he humbly agreed. His humility is no surprise to me as I am in awe of how amazing of a father he is to all who have had the privilege to be in his presence. I am so thankful to share his response to my questions. Please read and be inspired.

Question: How long have you been married?

Col. Sam: 35 years(26, July 1986)

Question: What quality do you love most about your wife?

Col. Sam: Her simplicity, honesty, supports me in all I do and she is a good mother who appreciates family values.

Question: What makes a great home?

Col. Sam: The art of sharing and having trust in one another.

Question: What is the greatest virtue to keep a home?

Col. Sam: Family first above all other things. And keep family problems to yourselves.

Question: Any advise to Younger people?

Col. Sam: Learn to forgive each other, never go to bed without resolving any disagreement and learn to say I am sorry.

Well there you have it everyone. I want to say how thankful I am that Col. Sam took the time to answer my questions. I must say that he is just amazing like that.

May his marriage and union continue to flourish like I know it will in Jesus Name. Amen!

Don't Let Anyone Steal Your Joy!

Maryam


Thursday, July 29, 2021

SHE ALREADY MADE A DECISION TO SUFFER

 




Good morning, wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely people. Hope this blog meets you well. Today is a beautiful day day and I am very excited to be here today. Welcome to Maryamsjoyfullife.

So I wanted to share a something profound with you all and it is inspired by a live broadcast I did yesterday.

Here it is. Please watch



Someone came on the live broadcast and asked what to do if they are in a toxic marriage. She said that she and her husband had divorced because of abuse and then they came back together and remarried but the same situation has started again. My advise was she should use her brain. If there's abuse and no apparent change, get yourself out. She said where does compassion come into play. This is what I want to talk about today. Compassion does not mean make yourself a sacrificial lamb to abuse and suffering. It is so foolish to use compassion as a reason to stay in an abusive home. Obviously, she didn't need any advise because she has made up her mind to be compassionate and stay in the abusive or toxic relationship.

This is how we often justify a negative condition. We use a messed up belief  to cloud our judgement and then waste people time by asking them for advise or counsel when we have already made up our minds to die in an unfavorable situation. I would like to make one thing clear here, today. God doesn't take glory in your suffering. The Bible clearly states that God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servants. What glory will you bring to God if you die in a situation God is clearly telling you to get out of. 

I have done some things I am not proud of but one thing I am deliberately doing these days is using my brain. God did not give us intelligence for nothing. We are using religion to keep us trapped and in bondage when Jesus the Savior already obviously brought us salvation through His death. 

Don't be deceived, God does not take glory in your poverty, shame, suffering or pain. Glory comes to God when you overcome these things. 

Don't let anyone steal your joy

Maryam

Saturday, July 24, 2021

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE CONFUSED




What's up wonderful, amazing, sweet and amazing people. Thank you for checking out my blog today. It is a beautiful day. I hope you are all having a good weekend. Today is a good day. Today, I want to share what to do when you are confused. I have gone into details on a recent video. Please watch and you will gain a whole lot from it.
Why are you confused? The reason is because you are too close to the situation. Step back from that situation and watch it like you are watching a movie. Say to yourself it is well with you.
Step back and go to your closet and pray and meditate. I especially like the Psalm 23, 91 and Matthew 6:33. Learn to surrender everything to God and give thanks like everything is already handled and you will see God's glory. For more, please watch the following video.



 Don't let anyone steal your joy!

Maryam

Friday, July 23, 2021

CHICKEN AND DUMPLING RECIPE

 

Good morning wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely people. It is Friday. Thank you for checking out my blog today. As you all already know, I love food and enjoy sharing my favorite recipes with you all. Before we get to the recipe, I hope you have all had an amazing week and are ready for the weekend.
Remember to protect your joy from killjoys and yourself.
Thank you for your support. Lets get to the Chicken and Dumpling recipe.

SIMPLE CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

What you will need:

2 cups of pillsbury southern homestyle biscuits( 8 count)

A 32 ounce box of chicken stock

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 cups of half and half milk

2 cups of chopped roasted chicken breasts or shredded rotisserie chicken

A soup pot

½ cup all purpose flour


DIRECTIONS:

Set stove at medium high heat

Add chicken stock to soup pot

Let boil


On a cutting board

Dust board with all purpose flour

Open biscuits, separate them and place on floured surface

Cut each biscuit into 9 small sizes

Open pot with boiling chicken broth 

Throw cut biscuits into pot

Stir lightly

Turn heat down to medium

Let dumplings cook for 5 minutes

Add half and half milk

Add your chicken

And stir in salt and pepper

Stir lightly

Cover pot and let cook thoroughly for about 15 minutes

Turn stove off

Set pot aside to cool for 10 minutes

Enjoy!

Don't let anyone steal your joy!
Maryam
cashapp $maryamsjoyfullife
paypal maryamsjoyfullife@gmail.com

Photo is from https://tornadoughalli.com/homemade-chicken-and-dumplings/

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

HOW TO MAKE MONEY BLOGGING



Good morning, wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely people. Thank you for checking out my blog today. It is a beautiful day indeed. I am glad to share some tips about blogging with those of you who are thinking about starting your own blog. I also would like to invite you to try my new blogging e-course; https://www.maryamsjoyfullifeapparel.com/listing/BLOGANDMAKEMONEY?product=1447. In this course, I share everything you need to know about starting your blog, picking a niche, building your blog and monetizing it. Now that I have shared that with you, please enjoy the following tips from my e-course

Blogging is something that I believe everyone should do. For me, I love blogging because it gives me a platform to share my story, inspire and encourage millions of people. Blogging helps me get over any heaviness that creeps into my mind. Anytime I am feeling overwhelmed and cannot think of what to do to change my mood, when I write a blog to encourage people or share one of my favorite recipes, I feel better. It is as if the moment I start writing I break through that cloud and the sun starts to shine again.

 I believe everyone can benefit greatly from blogging. Your age is not a barrier and as long as

you have the necessary tools and strategies I share with you, you will be off to a great start.

Blogging is great because it gives you the freedom to choose from a wide range of topics to

focus on. Blogging is also great because you can blog about your experiences and lessons you

learned from them. Whether your blog is about your hobbies, travel adventures, budgeting,

planning your best vacations, the benefits of reading, having a community of support around

you, food, life’s virtues, family life or fun activities to do with your family,  it is all up to you.

You have the power to choose where your focus will be and that is why I love blogging. There’s

no end to where you can focus your blog. 

My advice is that you blog about what makes you happy and feel expansive. If it makes you feel good and happy, it will be successful and worthwhile.

Once again if this resonates with you, check out my e-course: https://www.maryamsjoyfullifeapparel.com/listing/BLOGANDMAKEMONEY?product=1447

I look forward to hearing about your success story after taking my course.
Don't Let Anyone Steal Your Joy!
Maryam

CashApp $maryamsjoyfullife
Paypal maryamsjoyfullife@gmail.com