Okay, you might have turkey on your mind with Thanksgiving a few days away, but once you tire of the cold turkey sandwiches, dressing balls and  Turkey Cassoulet, you’ll be ready for something wonderful.  So, bookmark this recipe and you’ll be ready!  You’ll thank me later!

 There are just days when a craving for a particular food is so overwhelming that my original menu plan gets ditched, and I go with my taste buds’ longings!  I hadn’t made fried chicken in a very long time because we try not to eat fried foods for health and weight reasons, but after seeing a cooking show featuring this delicacy, I wanted some fried chicken in the worst way!  What is a girl to do?!   I pulled out my Cooking Light Cookbook and sought for a replacement!  Ta-da!  I found exactly what I was looking for!  I found a recipe for “Fried” Chicken that’s only fried in a tablespoon of oil.  Oh.my.goodness.  It was wonderful.  For a side dish, I added homemade Mac and Cheese, also done light.  Yum.

 Take a look…

“Fried Chicken”
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/8 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1/3 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle chicken with 1/8 teaspoon salt; lightly coat both sides of chicken breast halves with cooking spray. Dredge in Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 2 minutes on each side.  Place on a baking sheet and put into a 400 degree  oven  until center juices run clear (about 10 minutes).

This chicken was tender and juicy with a slightly crispy coating.  It was perfect!  

Mac and Cheese done light-  I put milk into a saucepan, and added a couple tablespoons of flour no butter added, as you usually would).  Using a whisk, stir until it begins to thicken.  Add salt, pepper and  a little nutmeg.  Thicken.  Add grated cheddar cheese.  Pour over boiled macaroni.  I serve it immediately, rather than baking it.  I love the creaminess it has at this point.  

How about seeing if you can find a lighter way to fix an old favorite?  You don’t have to compromise the taste!  What are you craving right now?

With love from my country kitchen,

Christmas baking season is just around the corner!  Can I hear an “Amen”?!  One way I’ve started getting ready for that is by pulling my cookie cutters out of their hiding place and putting them in a pretty jar for easy access.

I love jars – they just make baking so much easier.  I have lots of them ~ brown sugar, powdered sugar, and corn starch ~ they’re all in jars.  It makes baking soooo much easier!

I was keeping my cookie cutters in a cloth bag in the cupboard above the stove.  I had nowhere else to store them, but not now!!!

I got this adorable jar at Big Lots for $6!  The minute I saw it, I knew I’d found the perfect container for this cookie cutter task!  After Thanksgiving I’m planning on adding a festive ribbon around the neck of the jar, but for now, its red lid goes perfectly in my kitchen and adds a lovely touch to my baking corner!

So, where are your cookie cutters?  Refresh your baking by pulling them out of the depths of your kitchen drawer and pile them into a large, clear jar so you’ll have easy access!

Stay refreshed,

The Word of God is my favorite Book.  Oh, how I love it.  My Bible is a treasure to me.  Its worn, marked up pages and loose binding are all precious, and I wouldn’t take  a million dollars for it. I mean it.

Now, let me tell you about my second favorite book.  It’s my prayer Journal.  I began using this almost ten years ago.  It has been to the “hospital” many times.  I’ve had to make new pages and add paper reinforcers.  I’ve had to remove pages to make room for more requests, more answers to prayer, and more notes from my morning Bible reading.

When I look at its pages and see the check marks, which reveal an answer to prayer, my heart leaps with gratitude and joy at my wonderful God.  It’s a reminder to me that God answers prayer!  It keeps me coming back day after day, moment by moment to cry out to the Lord for the burdens and needs in my life and the lives of others I know.

Corrie Ten Boom referred to prayer as our steering wheel.  I’ve likened my prayer journal to a car.  Without the car, the steering wheel wouldn’t have direction or a place to go! Of course you can pray without a journal, but in my experience, before I began a serious prayer journal, I prayed, but I really didn’t have a prayer life. A life is the period of existence, activity, or effectiveness of something inanimate, and without the direction of my journal, my prayer life really wasn’t that effective.

Using the imagery of a car, let me explain how a prayer journal can help your prayer life.

It’s great to have a glove box (pocket) at the front in order to hold verses of Scripture that you can pray.

The radio being on, (you singing a song of praise) is a great way to start your time alone with God.

Every car needs a clean windshield (heart), and it’s helpful to have windshield cleaning fluid (a time of confession of sin) ready to do the job necessary to have a clean heart..

It’s time to start the engine (petitioning) when you specifically ask God for the requests before you.  Have a seat for everyone (a different page for each family member).  List their needs for each day of the week.

What a blessing it is to look in your rear view mirror (at the past) and see how God has answered your prayers!  Be sure to make a check mark beside that request and write how God took care of that request.  It will increase your faith and cause you to pray more fervently in the future!

If you have a trunk (back pocket) in your binder, put your prayer bulletin there, missionary prayer cards, or other tools that will help you pray more specifically.

Park the car (sit still and alone) while you pray.  Don’t let the engine idle (don’t have distractions around you).  Be all there so you can pray and then listen to God.

Rosalind Goforth, missionary to China in the late 1800’s wrote a book, How I Know God Answers Prayer.  She had to have a method of recording His answers in order to write a book like this.  Could you write a whole book of how God has been at work while you’ve prayed?  It will only happen as you record it, otherwise you will forget.

I challenge you to get a journal of some model (kind) started.  See how it will change your prayer life!

Do you use a journal when you pray?  What’s keeping you from starting one?

With love,

A Peek Into My Life This Week

These were her inspiration.

 I love making my own cards because then it says exactly what is in my heart!

Another day this week, I took time to update my chalkboard.

It’s so much fun to change it each season!

And isn’t this verse soooo true?!  God is so good to each of us!

What blessings are flowing out of your cup today?  You’re one of mine!  Thanks for stopping by to read!

Have a cup of something hot and yummy and count your blessings!

With love from my country porch,

When Pork Loins went on sale for $1.99 a pound at Kroger recently, I snagged one to put in my freezer for Sunday dinner and company!  There are several great things about serving a Pork Loin on Sunday after church – 

Pork Tenderloin with Dijon Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients

Pork:
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sauce:
1 1/2 cups whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation

To prepare pork, combine first 3 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add pork; seal and marinate in refrigerator 8 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Preheat oven to 400°. (I did it at 350)

Remove pork from bag, discarding marinade.

Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook 4 minutes, browning on all sides. Place pan in oven; ( I covered it with foil) cook at 400° (350)  until thermometer registers 155°. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Cut pork into 1/4-inch slices; keep warm.

To prepare sauce, combine cranberry sauce and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Serve sauce with pork.

The Cranberry Sauce was wonderful with the meat!

The pan juices looked like chocolate and tasted even better when I made a gravy using it!  Yummy!

Let me give yo another tip I learned from my sweet friend, Sue.  Warm your platters and bowls before putting the food into them.  It will keep the food warm longer.  I recently learned that my microwave has a plate warming setting!  I just put the dishes in there for a couple minutes and it’s perfectly warm to receive the hot food!

Does your microwave have a plate warmer?  Mine was on the “Reheat” setting.  I hit “reheat” then 6.  Voila!  

With love from my country kitchen,