These scones are OUT OF THIS WORLD DELICIOUS!

 2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbl. COLD unsalted butter (cubed)
1 cup chopped strawberries (the riper the better)
3/4 cup chopped white chocolate
(plus a few tablespoons chocolate to melt and drizzle on top when baked)
3/4 cup heavy cream (plus 2 tsp to use to melt white chocolate)

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Then cut the butter in with a pastry cutter, or 2 knives until only pea-sized lumps remain.

Then fold in the strawberries and chocolate with a rubber spatula until the berries are coated in the flour. Then pour in the heavy cream, and gently stir to distribute.

Once the cream has mostly absorbed, use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl GENTLY, to get all of it in a ball. Be sure to not overwork the dough, not everything needs to be mixed entirely! Pour out onto a well floured surface, and sprinkle top with flour. Gently press the dough until its down to 3/4 inch thickness, and in the shape of a circle.

Using a large, floured chef’s knife, cut the circle into 8 even wedges.

Place on the baking sheet giving each scone a couple inches to grow, and bake for 12-15 minutes. (It’s important to separate them for them to bake through)

Once they have cooled, microwave the extra white chocolate and a little bit of cream until melted. Using a ziploc or a pastry cone decorate with zig zags or stripes of chocolate.

I love the yellow straws to slurp sip the yummy Julius.

Orange Julius

6 oz. Orange Juice concentrate (undiluted)
1 Cup milk
1 Cup water
1/3 – 1/2 C sugar
about 10-12 ice cubes

Mix in blender. Serve immediately.

These were a Pioneer Woman recipe.  They over-baked a bit!  Live and learn!  Next time I will reduce the cooking time, but they were good anyway!

Hash Brown Egg Cups

Ingredients
6 whole Medium Russet Potatoes (6 To 8)
 Salt And Pepper, to taste
24 whole Large Eggs
 Non-stick Cooking Spray

Preparation Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Bake the potatoes until almost tender (potatoes should still have a little bite) 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow to cool, and then peel and grate them. Season well with salt and pepper. (You can freeze these at this point by flash freezing them,  then they’ll be ready for whenever you need hash browns.)
INCREASE OVEN TEMP TO 425 DEGREES.
Spray two muffin pans generously with cooking spray. Scoop 3 to 4 tablespoons of grated potato into each muffin cup. Use your fingers to gently press the sides and bottom in each muffin hole to make a nest (don’t press the potatoes firmly against the pan; they should sit lightly in the pan.) Spray again (very lightly!) with cooking spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Watch and make sure they do not burn. (If they seem like they’re not browning, kick up the temp to 450.) Remove when the nests are golden brown.

Brunch is a great meal to have for guests, because it gives you a little more time in the morning to prepare than breakfast would.  Plus you can have sweet and savory dishes, and who doesn’t love having white chocolate first thing in the day?!  

I loved having the bridal brunch; for me it was a highlight of the whole wedding event.  I was surrounded by the bride and her girls, then got to spend the next couple of hours helping and watching them get ready for the wedding.  It was a super-special time!

Do you fix brunch?  What do you love to serve for this fun meal?

From my country kitchen,

This freezer jam has to be the easiest domestic job you’ll ever do in your kitchen (aside from emptying the dishwasher!).  If it seems intimidating to you, it’s because you’re probably thinking that canning is involved – IT’S NOT!  You mix up the jam, ladle it into jars and twist a lid on.  Voila! You’re done! Let me walk you through the steps that my packet had in it.  Each box of Sure Jell could have slightly different instructions.  Be sure to follow your directions explicitly.

Click on picture to enlarge

In the meantime, admire your beautiful jars of jam!  Instagram a picture of your jam.  Post it on Facebook, and then give yourself a huge pat on the back for being so domestic!

Aren’t these labels adorable?

My sweet daughter brought me those for a hostess gift!  They came from Dollar General. My cute little polka dots lids came from there too.

If you haven’t made jam before will you give this a try?  Maybe you’ll start a yearly tradition!

Make sure you find yourself in a Bible preaching church Sunday!

Be refreshed,

A decision stretches out before you.  As you look ahead, it seems full of crossroads.  You wonder which way to turn, or whether you should simply stay on the path.  How is one to make a godly, biblical choice?  How can you know God’s will?

We’re all in this situation over and over again.  You’d think it would get easier, but truth be known, each decision is just as difficult as the last.  I’m still on this path, too, mind you, but I have learned a little about God’s directives and what He does when we look to Him for direction.

A Peek into my life this past week

As you may know, last week my husband and I had the opportunity for rest.  The wedding had taken place on Saturday and we left on Monday.  It was a horrible time to get away.  It was a wonderful time to get away.  I say it was horrible because I felt like I was leaving many things undone after the wedding.  The wonderful part was that we were exhausted and truly needed time to recuperate!  I’m thankful for my husband’s wisdom in planning our trip for this particular time.  We both came home refreshed and ready to get back into the saddle!

I thought I’d share some of the highlights of our time away in the form of pictures:

Click on the picture to see it better

Aside from all the things picture, we also walked up for ice cream cones.  We shopped at the outlets.  We drove around and looked at the beautiful ocean homes.  We napped.  We swam.  We waded and splashed and collected shells and laughed and cried together.  The last word was the best part!

I’m so thankful to the Lord for providing this time for us. We all need time away.  Jesus went apart; so must we.  It’s essential if we’re to have the heart, energy and stamina to continue on.    Even if you can’t get away to your favorite vacation spot, you need rest.  Find time to sit down with a favorite magazine and a glass of iced tea (sweet, of course!) and rest.  Eat breakfast out on the back deck.  Go outside and enjoy the evening on a swing while listening to a radio broadcast on your phone.  Pop some popcorn and enjoy your favorite movie.

Just rest.

From my country porch,

It was night.  The skies were dark.  The air seemed formidable. There was an eerie quiet in the camp.  Then out of the darkness came the loud trumpet blasts and a shout, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!”  Light from hundreds of torches blazed about the Midianites.  In terror, they ran about in a wild frenzy as the Israelite army stood firm on the border of the camp and watched God deliver them from their enemies.  Out of their fear, the Midianites began falling upon one another, killing their own people!  What a victory was won that night!  God did a mighty work!

This is a favorite Old Testament story.  It seems unreal that the Midianites, who were enemies of God’s people, became so frightened by the small (300 member) Israelite army, that they didn’t even know who their real enemies were, and began killing their own soldiers!

Sadly, this very scene often happens to God’s own people.  Oh, we might not use a real sword and kill, but we forget who the real enemy is, and we start attacking those in the ranks with us.  Other soldiers, believers, who love the Lord, too, are shot down by fellow-Christians by words and attacks.  None of us are exempt from being a disappointing part of God’s army.  We mess up, we sin, we fail, and are the first to admit it, and run to the Lord for forgiveness.  He’s merciful and forgiving.  Our fellow-soldiers?  Not always.  Forgetting that the real enemy is the devil and his cohorts, we fall on the one with whom we should be linked up to instead.  The real enemy (the devil) stands outside the ranks of our camp and sneers and laughs while we discredit the name of Christ once again.

I write this post to say, let’s link arms together and serve God.  Let’s get busy making disciples.  Then we’ll be so consumed with the business at hand, we won’t have time to attack our own men.  Has someone disappointed you?  It’s to be expected.  Keep your eyes on Christ.  Remember He is the ONLY one Who will never disappoint you!

There’s work to be done.  Let’s not get confused with who the real enemy is!

If you’d like to read the story for yourself, you’ll find it here.

With love from your fellow-soldier,