I have no idea why I’m always tempted to try a new recipe for company or an important event.  The one thing I do know is that this started very early in my marriage.  We had only been married for a month, when I decided I would celebrate our first month anniversary with a knock-it-out dinner for my new husband.  I was taking Good Housekeeping Magazine at the time and had found some recipes with pictures that looked like the perfect choice for a menu that would “wow” him! 

Thirty years later, the recipe name alone would be enough to make me flip the page in horror, but the picture of the dish looked colorful and appealing so I fell went for it.  What did I make?  Lasagna Broccoli Roll-Ups!  I know, it’s a nasty combination.  Live and learn.  Let me describe the dish – you take a cooked lasagna noodle and place a mixture of broccoli and Ricotta Cheese on  it, then you roll it up and place it in a baking dish.  A spaghetti sauce is poured over all and it’s then placed in the oven to bake until it’s bubbly.  In my memory it looked good.  Tasting it was another story.

My husband came to the candlelit table that was set with our wedding china and crystal.  We eagerly spooned the dish onto our plates and took a bite.  Oh my goodness.  It was DRY.  That Ricotta Cheese was expanding in our mouths like a sponge.  My husband’s description of it (later) was, “Have you ever had something in your mouth that got bigger the longer you chewed it?”  He was a perfect gentleman, not saying anything, but dutifully chewing, smiling and nodding.  What relief came across his face when he heard me say, “This is terrible.  Let’s just eat the salad and bread!”  We did just that.  I’ve been terrified of recipes since then that call for Ricotta Cheese, though I’m sure not all are bad.  It’s just too scary to even try!  It would be like returning to the scene of the crime! 
Do you have an ingredient that you’re afraid to eat or cook with because of a bad experience? 

From the kitchen of my parsonage,

What would the children of a perfect family look like?  We’ll never know, because there are none.  Even where things look perfect, there are two sinners who marry, and with the vows made on their wedding day, they bring all kinds of cargo (emotions, habits, & natures) with them that they will have to deal with.  But what about a broken home, or family where only the wife is a child of God?   It is certainly harder, but His Word is full of instruction to guide us in helping our family honor Him – no matter the makeup.

I was reminded of this truth yesterday when I read Acts 16:1 – Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: This is a family divided; Timothy’s mother was a believer, his father, it seems, was not.  We would gasp, shake our heads and grimace at the chance their son had to turn out to be a Christian, like his mother and grandmother.  But he did trust Christ! 

Timothy didn’t just trust Christ – he became a right-hand man to Paul.  Paul said of him in Philippians 2:19-22 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.  Timothy was a rare breed of young men.  He was a man who was faithful, dependable, and a servant of Jesus Christ, spite the fact that his mother trained him spiritually without the assistance of her husband. 

My point is this – if you are married to an unbeliever, or a man weak in the faith, or have no man at all in your child’s picture, God will equip you to train your child for Him.  Your little one isn’t a “lost cause.”  God has a plan for his/her life, and He can and will enable you to have wisdom, strength and grace to lead him/her to the Lord.  May you be like Timothy’s mother, Eunice who Paul said had “unfeigned, (sincere) faith”.  She lived out  a wonderful testimony of faith and obedience before her son, and that helped him to follow the same path for his own life.

You live like Eunice, and watch your child turn out like Timothy.

With prayers for you,

I’m thrilled to have daughters who love to cook.  I’m learning that’s unusual these days.  I know my son-in-law is happy that his wife knows what to do in the kitchen!  Not only is she a good cook, but she also knows how to cook good meals on a budget.

Whitney had told me recently about a new dish she’d tried and it sounded really good.  She’s here as my guest to share her recipe and the menu that she prepared for her husband and sister for their Sunday dinner. You’ll also read her good tips about making this ahead, and preparing some things in advance for later use so she can whip this dish together in a jiffy. 

Learning to cook for someone’s tastes beside my own has been an adventure! Like so many other things in marriage, just because something is good to me doesn’t mean it is good to my husband. Thankfully, I am married to a sweet, kind and patient man who will try and happily eat anything I make! This menu is one that he loves, and it is great for Sunday.

I assembled the casserole on Saturday. After church on Sunday, I put it in the microwave for a few minutes to give it a head start, then into the oven for about 15 minutes until it is heated through and bubbly. This time I made a 9×13 pan, but for the two of us I usually make half the recipe and bake it in an 8×8 pan. When I do that, I only need half of each can of soup and tomatoes, so I put the other halves in ziploc bags and label the bag with a sharpie. Then, I lay the bags flat in my freezer so they freeze evenly. It is so nice to have all the ingredients (except for the tortillas and cheese) ready and pre-measured, right there in the freezer! You could also assemble the casserole and put the whole thing in the freezer for a quick meal for a busy day.

My husband is not a huge fan of tomatoes, so I puree them in my food processor. He loves the flavor in the dish, and I get my tomatoes!

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup*
1 can cream of mushroom soup*
4 ounce can diced green chilies
15 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
12 – 14 corn tortillas (six inch) (I use flour tortillas)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
*Can use fat free

Place oil in large skillet. Add onions and saute over medium heat until onions are lightly browned. Add chicken, cream soups, chilies, tomatoes, and all seasonings. Stir and cook over medium heat until bubbly.

Tear tortillas into small pieces. Place half of pieces in 9×13 inch dish.

Top with 1/2 of chicken mixture and 1/2 of cheese. Top with remaining tortilla pieces, remaining chicken mixture, and remaining cheese. bake at 350 for thirty minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned around the edges.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie
One 9″ Graham cracker crust
1 8 oz. PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese bar
1 can condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix the cream cheese with the condensed milk with a mixer. Then add the lemon juice and vanilla. Mix well to thicken. Pour into crust.


Blueberry Topping


1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
Heaping tsp. corn starch

Cook berries with sugar over medium/low heat, stirring well. Add a heaping tsp. corn starch to thicken. Mix well and cook about 5 min.

Pour over top of cream cheese mixture and chill for a few hours.

Thanks for joining me in my kitchen!
Whitney

Thanks, Whitney! I can’t wait to try this! So, did you all know how to cook when you got married?  Any funny stories you can share with us?  I have one…read about it Wednesday.  =)

P.S. – I’ll try to remember to share the recipe for the Corn Saute’ that Whitney mentioned.

Thirty years ago today I became Mrs. Dale Cunningham.  It seems unbelievable that so many years have passed.  Dale and I set up a home together and jumped right into ministry.  I began, even in those early years to have guests in and open our home to strangers.  What a blessing that part of our marriage has been! 

I began a guest book with our very first home, having our guests sign their name and comments after being our guests to dinner and/or dessert.  We were married on June 20; our first guests were on July 10th.  I have filled many books in these 30 years, but more than that, our guests have filled our home with many precious memories!  Whether it was family visiting from out of state, newcomers to our church, unsaved people we were seeking to reach, or missionaries on furlough or deputation, our dinner table has been graced by very special people!

It was fitting that yesterday, the day before our anniversary, we entertained yet another new family visiting our church.  What a sweet young couple, just starting out their married lives with a desire to serve the Lord and have a marriage that honors Him.  Mom Cunningham also joined us and added to the family picture at our table.  We had sweet conversation including our own salvation testimonies, pre-wedding relationship stories, and talk about our wonderful Savior.  Our guests make the meal special; the food is just a means to get them there! 

We did have dinner, of course, which consisted of :

1 bottle (8 oz) Catalina Salad Dressing
1/3 C apricot preserves

1 envelope dry onion soup mix
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or cut up fryer)

In a bowl, combine dressing, preserves and soup mix. Place chicken in ungreased 11” x 7” x 2” baking pan; top with dressing mixture. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, baste. Bake 30 minutes longer or until chicken juices run clear. For Sunday, I put it in a covered dish at 265 degrees when I left for Sunday school.  When I got home, I simply basted the juices over the chicken.  Perfect Sunday dish!  It’s great to serve the sauce it cooks in over the rice.  Yum!

The peach butter is a new recipe/experiment!  We loved it!  I had been given some really ripe peaches that I didn’t think would be good for jam, so I made this butter.  I love apple butter, but this is even better, in my opinion.  It’s really easy to make too! 

Peach Butter
4 lbs peaches, peeled and sliced
3-4 cups sugar (I used 3)
1 scant Tbl cinnamon

After chopping peaches, place in blender to puree’.  Place in heavy pot.  Add sugar and cinnamon.  Cook, stirring often until slightly thickened, about 45 minutes.  Ladle into jars.  Place jars in water bath 10 minutes.

The frozen fruit salad is my sister’s recipe.  It’s so yummy with whole cranberry sauce, bananas, pineapple, nuts and cool whip.  It’s a great do-ahead dish!  Thanks, Dianne!

Frozen Fruit Salad

Frozen Fruit Salad

1 can jellied cranberry or cranberry sauce
1 can crushed pineapple, drained

2 bananas chopped in small pieces
1 c. chopped pecans
1 8-oz. container Cool Whip

Place jellied cranberries or cranberry sauce in mixing bowl and using a whisk, break it up well. Add pineapple, banana, and pecans and combine. Fold in Cool Whip.

You can put this in a 9 x 13 dish or make individual servings by placing cupcake papers in cupcake pan and filling with mixture. Freeze. When ready to serve, peel paper of and serve on a piece of leaf lettuce.

I hope you’ll try some of these recipes.  Open your heart and home to others this week and enjoy the blessing of serving!

You won’t read any more posts this week…I’m headed away with my sweetheart on a little excursion to celebrate our anniversary.  I know you don’t blame me for not taking time to write while we’re away!  I’ll post again a week from today, Lord willing!

With a grateful heart,

So often I’ll meet someone and they’ll put me in mind of another person I already know.  Years ago when I watched Anne of Green Gables for the first time and saw the personality of Matthew Cuthbert, I was put in mind of a very special person –  my dad. Remember how Matthew is always doing things for Anne secretly?  He is a soft-spoken man and when he does have something to say, he chooses his words carefully.  He has a tender heart and is so kind.  He always puts others before himself.  All those traits are what remind me of my dad…he’s just like that.  Let me describe him for you…

My dad is a hard worker.  Every week day my dad went to work and came home to his family every evening.  On Saturdays he would work in the yard or on jobs around the house.  He always had time to play with us girls whether it was baseball,  tennis, sledding or ice skating.  On Sundays our family went to Sunday school and church.  Often after dinner we would head out for a “Sunday afternoon drive.” Dad would become the hero when he pulled into our favorite frozen custard stand or the cider mill where we got hot donuts and fresh apple cider.  Sunday night we were back at church for the evening service.  My dad served faithfully over the years as the treasurer and/or deacon.  Christianity wasn’t a “put-on”, “take-off” kind of thing – this was a genuine relationship that my dad had with the Lord.  I saw him walk the walk before me every day of my life.  He loves my mother with tenderness and sweetness and his girls received the same kind of affection. 

When he has been in the hospital he is always more concerned about those that are there visiting him and their needs that about his own.  He doesn’t want to be a bother or cause a hardship on his family.  He has always encouraged me to go for whatever goal I have had, offering encouragement and praise.  He has a tender heart about things of the Lord.  He loves good music that exalts the Lord.  He loves to have a good time, often laughing till tears stream down his cheeks.  He has an ornery streak in him that enjoys a good practical joke.  Everyone loves my dad – to all my cousins he’s their favorite uncle.  Little babies and children adore him because of his sweet nature.

Concerning his quiet nature, he opened his Bible a few years ago, pointed to a passage of Scripture and said, “This is why I don’t talk a lot.”  The passage was Proverbs 17:27, 28 – He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.  Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.  Yes, he’s a wise man.

Poor little Anne Shirley wouldn’t have had much of a life without Matthew Cuthbert’s influence.  I understand.  I can’t imagine my life without “my Matthew” – my dad.  What a wonderful blessing and gift from the Lord he is. 

Recently I’d just done a little something for my husband and he looked at me and said, “You’re just like your dad.”  “Thanks” I said, accepting the sweet compliment handed me.  If I turn out like my dad, think of how many lives I will have blessed.

I love you, Dad!