Your Favorite Granola Bar

June 15, 2020June 15, 2020 RefreshHer4 Comments

Homemade granola bars that are full of good protein and fruit are snacks I try to keep in my fridge. Before I walk in the morning, on a busy day when I don’t fix breakfast, or when I need a little afternoon pick-me-up, these are the perfect bars to grab!

Cooking light has given a recipe that gives you the necessary amounts of grains, nuts, butter and fruits, then gives you the option to choose your favorites of each so you can create your best-loved granola bar! In other words, they give the formula to successively create your kind of granola bar your way. Here’s how to create them:

Create a base

Toast oats in the oven to give them a nutty flavor. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread 2 cups old-fashioned oats onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned and fragrant, about 12 minutes. Transfer oats to a bowl, and cool to room temperature.

Add richness

Creamy nut butter and toasty coconut oil enrich the bars. Liquid sweetener, well, sweetens them. Place 1/3 cup nut butter,1/4 cup liquid sweetener (such as honey, maple syrup, or agave), and 11/2 Tbsp. coconut oil in a bowl. Microwave 30 seconds or until warm.

Boost the flavor

Add 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt to the nut butter mixture to heighten the flavor; whisk until smooth. Whisk in 1 large egg white; it’s a key part of the binder that will hold all the ingredients together.

Add Crunch and Chew

Stir 1/2 cup unsalted roasted nuts (or broken-up pretzel pieces) into the cooled oats for hearty crunch. Add 1/3 cup dried fruit (chop the pieces if they are large) for bright, sweet flavor and textural contrast.

Mix and Press

Pour nut butter mixture over oat mixture; stir well until all pieces are evenly coated. Transfer mixture to an 8-inch square metal baking pan lined with parchment paper. Press mixture very firmly into pan; packing tightly helps keep bars from crumbling.

Bake and Cool

Bake at 350°F until lightly browned around edges, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Lift bars out of pan with parchment paper; cool completely on rack before cutting (warm bars might crumble).

MY favorite combination is oats, walnuts, dried mixed fruits, maple syrup (or honey) and peanut butter. I store them in the fridge because I find it helps them not crumble as much. So good!

Rather than buying these, consider baking your own so you can customize them to your dietary needs and likes! Because of that, they will be your favorite bar!!

Discipleship · Grandparents · Mentoring

The Influence of a Grandmother

June 12, 2020June 11, 2020 RefreshHer2 Comments

Being a grandparent has so many blessings!

I have an older, gentler way of seeing these little ones! (My children probably wonder who I’ve turned into!
I have more time to just sit and play or read stories.
I’m not as uptight as when I was parenting – maybe because the ultimate responsibilities of my grandsons’ well-being is not on my shoulders.
Big things are little things. They don’t want to eat? “Okay., you can eat later.” Not sleepy? “Let’s take a drive!” That broke? “It’s just stuff!”

But I do realize that while I can play the day away with my grandsons, I do have a HUGE responsibility as their Gigi –

I must point my grandchildren to God!

It’s not my right to “spoil them then send them home,” but to have fun with them all the while I am showing a life that points them to Christ. We see this in Timothy’s grandmother, Lois in II Timothy 1:5. The faith that Lois had in God was passed to her daughter, Eunice and also to her grandson, Timothy!

Today I want to encourage you about one simple way you can do that with your young grandchildren. This is doable if they are local and you see them weekly, but also if you only spend vacation times together. As a matter of fact, part of this could be done using Zoom or an app like Maro Polo. What if you planned out a one hour teaching time, full of Bible truths in story form, activities and crafts to support the lesson, and maybe even a snack that continued the idea of what you’re teaching that day.

I’ve done this very thing with my neighbor children for years and now it’s time to pour into my twin grandsons! As a jumping off point for you, here’s what I do each week:

Decide the lesson to be taught and then realize what the theme for day will be. Search the Internet for lesson ideas (make sure it’s doctrinally sound and not just “fluff.”). Some of my go-to’s are Ministry to Children, Happy Home Fairy and Hands on Bible Teacher. I also search Pinterest. Last week I taught about Day 5 of Creation. The main idea was God made the fish and birds on Day 5.
I look in those places for songs, fun games and activities to go along with the lesson to reinforce the main idea. Last week we sang God is so good (“God made the birds” was one verse!). I got flannel fish and birds and let the boys put them on the flannel board either up in the sky or down in the water. They added pages to their notebooks, and they painted a wooden whale and owl. I added a magnetic strip on the back so they could put it on the fridge.
I come up with a little snack that would help to continue the theme. This week I made “fish” crackers and cheese for their snack. They may not look like fish to you, but that’s the blessing of teaching an imaginative child!!!

Teaching time – God made the fish on Day 5. Where does he live?

Activity pages I found online. I added the pictures, but the little song was part of a lesson.

As we went about our morning together, I just kept repeating our songs about Day 5 of creation. When we went outside, we looked for birds in the sky and I asked them Who made that bird and on what day of creation.

They painted Wooden fish magnets with a “5” written on them to reinforce what God made on Day 5.

There is every level of lesson and activity out there and God’s Word is relevant to each child and each age. Just teach your grandchildren.
Make it fun.
Be creative.
Teach them God’s Word.

You will be exhausted and maybe even unsure if you got anything into their little heads, but we just obey and leave the results to God.

Some other little suggestions/helps:

If you live away from your grandchildren, you could do the story on an app on your phone or computer.

If you have teens you could do a Bible study with them. Here is a list of great resources for teens!
If you don’t have any children or grandchildren, look around for your neighbor children that could use a woman to teach them! Here’s a post about my weekly time with my neighbors. You can also see how I planned and scheduled our time together.

The influence of a grandmother is so vital. We will often be able to speak things into our grandchildren’s lives that they would not accept from their parents.

Let’s be a “Lois” and pray for a “Timothy” to be nurtured at our knees.

I’d love to hear any suggestions you may have about how you’ve nurtured your grandchildren in the Lord!

Refresh the life of your grandchildren,

fellowship with God · forgiveness · guilt · sin

He Carries the Load

June 10, 2020June 9, 2020 RefreshHer6 Comments

I have a husband who was taught to act like a gentleman. That means he sweetly grabs anything from my hands or grasp that is heavier than an envelope! There have been times when I’ve seen that he’s already carrying something else and I’ve said,

“It’s okay, I’ve got it.” To which he replies,
“Denise, give it to me.”

It’s then that I open my hands and hand it over. My load is lighter and I have appropriated all he desires to be as my husband – loving, leader, gentleman, and helper.

Read mre

Fish · salad

Crispy Oven-baked Fish with Pineapple Ketchup

June 8, 2020June 7, 2020 RefreshHerLeave a comment

I love integrating fish into our weekly menu, in an effort to eat healthy. Cooking light created a recipe for crispy fish in the oven. This was a great alternative to frying and still gave a nice crunchy exterior! Don’t be afraid of the pineapple ketchup that accompanies this recipe! It’s merely a sweet and sour taste that is a nice change from tartar sauce!

We enjoyed this with potato wedges instead of fries. I also served this fresh Broccoli Salad, made from our garden-fresh broccoli! It was the perfect accompaniment!

What a Delicious meal!

Crispy fish with pineapple ketchup

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 cups cornflakes – I used crushed Rice Krispies and it worked great.
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 large egg
1 pound tilapia fillets (I used whole pieces of Polluck), cut into 4 x 1-inch pieces (about 12 pieces)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup cubed fresh pineapple
1/3 cup reduced-sugar ketchup (such as Heinz)
1 teaspoon lower-sodium soy sauce

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425°.

Step 2

Place a wire rack on a large baking sheet. Coat rack with cooking spray. Place cereal in a large zip-top bag; roll with a rolling pin until crushed. Place crushed cereal, rind, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a shallow dish. Combine juice and egg in a shallow dish, stirring with a whisk.

Step 3

Sprinkle fish evenly with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and salt. Dip fish in egg mixture; dredge in cereal mixture. Arrange fish on prepared rack; bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

I did not cut my fish into sticks;
I baked it as whole pieces.

Step 4

Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, pineapple, ketchup, and soy sauce in the bowl of a mini food processor; process until smooth. Serve ketchup mixture with fish sticks. I left the fresh pineapple chunks as pieces and we loved the texture in the Ketchup!

This is a nice crispy fish with just the right amount of flavoring. I will definitely repeat this menu!

With love from my country kitchen,

Refreshment in marriage · The Scenic Route

Travels on the Scenic Route

June 5, 2020June 4, 2020 RefreshHer8 Comments

Taking the Scenic Route in marriage is not just going the long way to get somewhere, it’s being intentional about spending time together as a couple. It’s about doing something on a whim. It’s about being two, but one…talking, sharing time, making a memory and adding to the blessing of your marriage, all while perhaps also taking a long or new path to get to your destination.

We’ve had lots of home scenic route journies during the Coronavirus, but what a blessing to be able to make a quick trip to Kentucky this week to visit my parents and also take the scenic route! My husband and I wanted to go see my parents, but didn’t want to stay “with” them, due to Covid 19. Though it was odd to just go up for the day, I was thankful to get to be with them in their home for lunch, and then have the blessing of taking them on a country drive!

My husband has a sixth sense about directions. He just took a back road and got us exactly where we needed to end up! He’s pretty amazing! My parents live near Lexington, Ky in the beautiful rolling hills. Our drive took us past some lovely horse farms and acreage.

When we finished our visit and left my parent’s home, we headed to Berea. We could have stayed at a chain hotel, but taking the Scenic Route led us to stay at the historic Boone Tavern. It’s so quaint and lovely. It was quiet (well after the protesters were sent home) and we enjoyed our stay!

We could have gone to Cracker Barrel and had breakfast, but taking the Scenic Route led us to eat at the Tavern. It was so delicious – albeit, quite different, due to the Coronavirus’ restrictions. The food was still superb and the service top-notch!

Pardon the funny expression on my husband’s face, I think I caught him between words! Dale was reading some Scripture to me while we enjoyed our coffee and waited for our food.

When we left Berea, Dale decided to hit the scenic route and drive over Clinch Mountain instead of our normal route. He had heard about its beauty, and also a quaint place we could get a late lunch in an article in Blue Ridge Magazine.
The Clinch Mountain Lookout Restaurant was obviously right in front of the mountain views! The Scenic Route led us to eat our delicious hamburger outside where we could enjoy the scenery!

This was our view from our outside table!

It took a little while for our meal to be prepared, but that’s one thing about the Scenic Route – you have to take time to slow down. While we waited, we sat in the porch swing overlooking the mountains and the lake below. We certainly couldn’t complain about that!

The burger was worth waiting for…

We always split a meal – and half of this lunch was plenty! We had a Dr. Pepper Burger. It had pepper bacon on it and a coffee rub. Wow!

We made some good memories, we got to slow down, we found a new restaurant to eat in, and we learned a new route we’d love to travel again! These are all perks of taking the Scenic Route!

This weekend when you and your spouse head out, why take the straight path to your destination when you could have taken the Scenic Route? You’ll be glad you made the effort!

If you enjoyed this post, you can see other Scenic Route trips here, here, and here for starters!