Friday Favorites

September 30, 2016September 29, 2016 RefreshHer3 Comments

My week has been full…full of activities and blessings!

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It started on Friday night when women gathered to join the True Woman Conference Simulcast – Cry Out! We spent three hours at church reading Scripture, worshiping, and praying. Those hours went by incredibly fast because we were so caught up in the splendor of our Savior! We are planning a five-week prayer time so that this won’t be a Moment, but a Movement! We will be meeting up until the time of election on November 8th. Will you join us? We need to be praying for our nation!!

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I went to our local library this week – something I hadn’t done in a long time. I LOVE THE LIBRARY! There’s just something about picking up books, leafing through, reading a little, and then tucking a special treasure under your arm and taking it home for a couple of weeks! I brought home a favorite – a Gooseberry Cookbook for a little inspiration for a party I’m hosting this weekend. Their books are full of seasonal recipes and great ideas! Who owns one or more of their books?

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I grew up going to Pioneer Girls. Now it’s a club for boys and girls – Pioneer Club. I get to help teach the first and second graders, and last Wednesday they were mesmerized with Miss Sharon’s story of a puppy who didn’t want to obey. We’ve been leaning about God’s gift of the family and the importance of obeying their parents. I think they all went away with the understanding that fences (rules) keep us safe. Great job, Sharon! Are you serving in your church? What do you do to share the Gospel with others?

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I got to bake French Bread loaves for an Autumn supper I’m hosting for our Apples of Gold gals. These loaves will accompany a harvest salad and three kinds of soups! I’m making Cream of Wild Rice & Chicken Soup and two others are bringing Beef with Barley and Potato. It’s supposed to get really chilly this weekend, so this soup menu will be perfect! I’m also making Texas Sheet Cake and Pumpkin Crunch Cake for dessert. These are both great cakes, but the Pumpkin Crunch…oh wow! I’m hoping we can have a fire in the fire pit and enjoy the patio in the evening! What have you baked this week?

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Yesterday I had the joy of praying with friends. One had a birthday and we gave her the gift of our prayers. There were tears, of course, but we had the sweetest time together! What better thing to do when you gather with friends? We could talk all day long, but talking to the Lord about our friends is the best conversation! Who needs you to stop and pray with them today?

That was my week! I’d love for you to answer one of my questions and tell me about your week!

Stay refreshed,

baking · cakes

Banana Cake

September 26, 2016September 25, 2016 RefreshHer4 Comments

I had an urge to bake recently, so I went to one of my cookbooks that always inspires me – Barefoot Contessa’s How Easy Is that? I love her recipes! I found a Banana Cake recipe that uses up those black bananas that are no longer worthy of breakfast offerings. I regularly pop that over-ripe fruit in the freezer in little sandwich bags and keep them for recipes like these. The sugar spots on the bananas makes them especially good for baking! So don’t throw them away…freeze them for this Cake!

Here’s the recipe for the cake:

Banana Cake

Ingredients
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup granulated sugar – I used 1/2 Cup and it was great!
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
Walnut halves, for decorating (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 by 2-inch round cake pan. Note: I used a five inch cake pan and a 7 inch pan, and the batter filled both to the perfect depth for a nice, deep cake!
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the bananas, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on low speed until combined. With the mixer still on low, add the oil, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and orange zest. Mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Stir in the chopped walnuts, if using. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, turn out onto a cooling rack, and cool completely.
Spread the frosting thickly on the top of the cake and decorate with walnut halves, if using.

The day I made this I didn’t have any cream cheese for the icing she suggests, so I found another recipe for Banana frosting and adapted it just a wee bit so I wouldn’t have to leave home for an ingredient. Unlike the cake, the icing is made using a ripe (not over-ripe) banana. The result is a lightly flavored banana icing that goes perfectly with the cake!

Here’s the icing I chose to add to this super-moist cake:

When you make the icing for this cake, if you find that the butter and bananas look like they’re curdled in your mixing bowl, and you wonder if they’ll really mix and be smooth, don’t lose heart – just keep adding the powdered sugar and it will come together just fine.

Banana Icing

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup ripe banana (about 1 medium banana)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
About 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream butter, mashed banana, vanilla and lemon juice. Add in the powdered sugar, about a cup at a time, until the frosting is light and fluffy but still soft enough to spread.

This is a cake that begs for a glass of milk or cup of coffee and makes for the perfect ending to a meal, or becomes the best part of having a few friends over because you get to serve this simple cake.

You may just sit around waiting for those bananas to turn black so you can whip this recipe together! Yes, it’s that good!

Happy baking!

cakes · Crafts · Sabbatical

Sabbatical Post #5 – Something Special Every Day

August 26, 2016August 26, 2016 RefreshHer3 Comments

Before we left on our sabbatical my husband and I joined a couple in prayer. The Wife prayed,

“Lord, would you just give them something special every day?”

That prayer came to my mind last week, and what a joy to realize that it has surely been answered! Some days there has been something really special more than once in the day! But for sure, there has been at least one really special moment each day of the twenty-something days we’ve had thus far!

Let me show you a few of those recent special things…

Click on the pictures to get a closer look. From top left to right:

We had dinner last weekend at a neat place out in the country – it’s an old general store turned into a restaurant. The menu item we love most is called a Barbecue Sundae. It’s a mason jar layered with baked beans, cole slaw and scrumptious barbecue, and topped with a wedge of tomato that makes it look like the cherry on top! This was my view from my table – the American flag flying just outside the squeaky screen door!

On Friday morning, my husband said, “I’m going yard saling; come go with me and then we’ll stop for a bagel for breakfast!” We used to love to go hunt through yard sales, but we hadn’t been to one in years, so this was a fun event! At one house we both found several Christian books by favorite authors, and I also secured a couple of kids Sunday school song CD’s for 50 cents each that I’ll be using in my Bible Club each week. It was worth our time to get all those items – and for less than one CD would have cost in the store! Even better than the deals was the fun we had doing something spontaneous! We ended with bagels at Wheeler’s Bagels and enjoyed them out on their patio.

I’ve enjoyed having the time to do a couple of crafty things! I made this Tennessee sign for our patio. My daughter, Alli, saw something like this and asked me to make her one. A man at church gave her several pieces of old wood, so after I made hers, I made one for us, too! I love the way it turned out, and it only took me about 30 minutes, and that includes making my own TN stencil! You can’t see it too well, but there’s an orange heart marking out East Tennessee!

One afternoon my husband made a small pot of coffee. He brought me a cup in this pretty Fiesta cup and saucer. How sweet to swing on the back porch and sip the coffee. Also, how blessed I am to have a husband who is so thoughtful to search and find the perfect mug for a small cup of afternoon joe!

Alli’s birthday was Sunday, so after we each attended church, she and her husband joined us at our house for a little celebration!

Another crafty thing I got to do is sew slipcovers for my swing’s pillows. The sun had faded the once red pillows, so this remnant fabric I found at Hobby Lobby gave them a nice, updated look at a small price!

Baking is another love of mine, as you know if you’ve followed my blog for any time. I got to make these Chocolate Orange Cakes with Ganache for Alli’s birthday. ( I’ve shared the recipe here.) It was a perfect birthday cake since they’re individual cakes. The recipe makes 6, so there wasn’t tons of leftover cake. These are SOOOO good!

My husband attended a conference one night this week, so while he was away, I took the opportunity to do some study out on the back porch. The quiet and the view were the perfect backdrop to allow the Lord to direct my thoughts as I studied His Word!

On Wednesday I got to another project – I repainted my book cabinet. I had painted it about 20 years ago, and because stenciling was popular then, I added the stencil. I thought it was time for an update, so I used the same paint color that I used on my dining room table several years ago. I also changed out the hardware, once I brought it back inside. Maybe I’ll do a post about that in September!

I may add a touch of another color on the back of each shelf. Still thinking about that!

It’s been fun to look for the “special” in each day. You know, we should do that every day because our God is good and does good. Psalm 119:68

What special things did you see in your week?

We’re on the countdown of our last week of sabbatical, then I’ll be back to blogging every weekday!

Have a wonderful weekend worshiping (and looking for what special things God will do in your life!).

Stay refreshed,

Denise Signature 150 px

baking · cakes

The Most Delicious Go-To Cake Recipe

November 2, 2015November 3, 2015 RefreshHer12 Comments

Everyone needs a cake that’s easy to throw together when you need a fabulous dessert, right?! It’s also a blessing if the ingredients are things that are easy to keep in the fridge or pantry “just in case!” I have found that recipe, friends, and if you like German Chocolate Cake, you’ll be so glad to have stumbled across this fabulous and easy recipe! A sweet friend at church made this for my husband and me when we visited their home, and I fell in love with this cake at first bite! I used to spend hours assembling a three layer German Chocolate cake because it was so delicious that it was worth it, but honestly, this is every bit as delicious, but a thousand times easier! It all starts with a cake mix…

Upside Down German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
Betty Crocker German Chocolate Cake Box Mix – Super Moist
3 eggs
1 1/4 water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup coconut flakes
1 8 oz. package cream cheese (softened)
1 stick butter (softened)
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray 9×13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cover bottom of baking dish with coconut flakes & chopped pecans. Mix cake mix with eggs, water, & oil (per box instructions) and pour over the coconut/pecan mixture.

In a separate bowl combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, & vanilla. Using a mixer, mix ingredients thoroughly until powdered sugar is completely dissolved. Using a rubber spatula, add cream cheese mixture to the top of the cake mix. The cream cheese mixture will sink down into the cake mix as you add it in.

Bake for 40 minutes. Slice cake into individual servings & serve upside down.

This is the cream cheese mixture that sinks down into the cake and makes it moist and wonderful!

It’s not beautiful when it comes out of the oven, but remember the top will become the bottom when you flip it over on each serving plate.

I didn’t get a great picture of the finished cake, because we were so excited about diving into it, but I promise you, this is out.of.this.world delicious!