Chicken stock – I use it all the time in soups, casseroles and tons of other recipes like chicken enchiladas!  Homemade chicken stock is so easy to make and costs pennies – especially if you have a chicken carcass leftover from your supper meal!

Last Sunday our Sunday school class purchased six rotisserie chickens from Sam’s Club to feed an army of people after church.  When the meal was finished I begged asked if I could have the chicken carcasses so I could make stock with them.  Making it at home allows you to adjust the salt and other seasonings to your liking.  After only 30 minutes in my stock pot, the kitchen smelled so delicious from all the chicken and vegetables boiling away!

Here’s how it’s done:

Ingredients

  2-1/2 pounds bony chicken pieces

  2 celery ribs with leaves, cut into chunks

  2 medium carrots, cut into chunks

  2 medium onions, quartered

  2 bay leaves

  1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

  1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

  8 to 10 whole peppercorns

  2 quarts cold water

Italian themed Dinner

Last week we had our celebration/completion dinner for our Apples of Gold.  There was a total of fourteen that came to celebrate the end of our six-week class.  What a wonderful time we had together!  It was so much fun to have some of the husbands here, too, to share in our time together.  It was a special evening with dear friends!

I enjoy fixing a meal with a theme.  The food, the music I played on my computer on Pandora, and the tables were (for the most part) Italian!  I tried to challenge myself to use only what I had, and not buy anything for the tables.  I tried to mimic the look of a typical Italian restaurant, with the red and white checked cloths.  I used white linen (I borrowed two cloths from my friend and fellow-mentor) on the tabletop, and the red checked on top so that the white could peek from beneath.  I had red cloth napkins, crystal glasses and mostly white plates.  Using Pinterest for a little inspiration, here is how the three tables ended up looking:

The breadsticks in a glass served as part of the meal AND the table decor!

Votive lights added to the ambiance. Since it was still light at 6pm, I closed the blinds and curtains once we sat down to eat!

“Fresh” vegetables spilling from baskets were part of the decor.

From this angle you can see all three tables.

Even the counter top received the themed decor!

The menu:

Spinach Lasagna

I failed to get a picture of the appetizer, but you just need to trust me on this!  This is a great appetizer or entree’!  It’s easy and so very delicious!

Toasted Ravioli
Packaged frozen Cheese Ravioli – Thawed
In a dish, combine seasoned bread crumbs and about half as much Parmesan cheese

In another dish, combine one egg and about 1/2 cup milk.

Dip ravioli in egg wash, then breadcrumbs.  Place in a medium hot skillet with a couple tablespoons oil.  Toast until golden.  Keep warm.  Serve with spaghetti sauce.

For dessert, we had Unfried Fried Ice cream, which is totally not Italian, but I thought it would be a lighter end to our heavy meal.  It’s great for a party, because you do everything ahead of time, then simply serve toppings of choice at mealtime!

Un-fried Fried Ice Cream

Ingredients:
½ cup crushed pretzels (crush, then measure)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups vanilla ice cream (or favorite flavor) I think my favorite was the Choc chip Cookie Dough!

honey, caramel, or chocolate syrup for drizzling

Instructions:
Get a couple Muffin tins out and ready for ice cream scoops.
In a pie plate, mix together crushed pretzels, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Form ice cream balls using ½ cup of ice cream per ball.
Evenly coat each ice cream ball with pretzel mixture.
Place coated ice cream balls in muffin tins; cover and place in freezer to firm up.  After frozen solid, transfer to a freezer bag.
When ready to serve, drizzle with favorite topping if desired.

Do you ever do a theme for your family?  It’s fun to mix things up a bit and play some fun music on Pandora that will add to the atmosphere of your food and table decor.  Why not surprise your family this week and create an atmosphere for one of your meals?  What fun memories you’ll be making!

Have you ever done a theme for a meal or party?  I’d love to hear about it!

With love from my country kitchen,

I love summer produce, don’t you?!  We chanced upon a lovely stand last weekend where they were selling fresh corn on the cob.  Yum!  I bought more than we needed, knowing that I wanted to freeze some for later!  This week when I went to cut it off the cob, I remembered a little tip I’d seen on a cooking show to keep the kernels from popping literally all over the floor!  Have you seen this…

(I blanched the corn first)

Set the corn cob on the middle part of a bundt or tube pan, then cut the kernels off.  They will fall (for the most part) into the bundt pan and not all over the counter!  It’s a genius idea!

Then spread the corn onto a baking sheet and freeze for about 15 minutes.  The kernels will then be ready to pop into a freezer bag until you’re ready to use it!

So if you’re planning on freezing corn, freshen up your kitchen by using this little trick!

What do you do with summer produce?  

Be refreshed,

God’s servants need a time away to learn to listen and depend on His strength, and not their own.  I’ve been studying a lot recently about Elijah and his time in Cherith.  Elijah had just had a heady experience telling the wicked King Ahab that no rain would fall until God spoke again. How exhilarating.  How wonderful to be used to speak for God!

Immediately after, God sends Elijah to the brook Cherith.  He is to be alone for more than a year.  He would have no one to talk to but his God.  God fed him miraculously.  He was hidden there…not so much from King Ahab, but possibly from himself.  Elijah needed the humility of the Cherith to prepare him for the next adventure.  Perhaps God saw Elijah as too equipped; too able.  He needed to realize he was nothing and that God was everything.

God gives us a Cherith, too.  It may be a long period of time in which we are desperate for God to work, to answer, to supply in a miraculous way.  Some of our “Cherith” times are short-lived, but just as effective in getting our attention.

This is what a “Migraine Cherith” looks like from my perspective.

For me, migraines have been my “Cherith” times.  They are the force that causes me to be still, to wait on strength that only the Lord can revive.  I need these thirsty situations.  Without them I would be too dependent on my own resources and abilities.  How empty that would be!  But my Cherith times cause me to think on my God, of how powerful He is, and of how much I need Him!

I hate migraines, but I love the Cherith to which it brings me!  I love it when God whispers to me in the quiet.  He is near when I can’t even bear to hear another’s voice speak because it hurts my head.  God’s voice is precious and healing.  Here in my Cherith, I am healed.  I am made ready for the next adventure, and I will go in His strength, because I have learned that mine is so faulty.

Thank the Lord for the Cherith He brings into your life and listen to His voice and receive from His hand the provision He brings.  It is full of miracles and wonder.

With love,

A Peek Into My life This Week

Recently when a visitor was leaving our Sunday services, she stopped to speak with me.  She has seen some of my Facebook pictures of outings my husband and I have been privileged to take.  As she was leaving she made this comment to me:  “Now that you have an empty nest, you and your husband just go all over the place, trying new places and having fun.”  I think she has the impression that she sees those status updates as the norm of our days.  However, what she sees are some outings on his day off.  Other excursions are an occasional weekend away, or a conference in another state.

A view on a recent “intentional” afternoon away.

It’s in those status updates that I share the highlights of our lives.  How wonderful to “escape” for a few hours to see a beautiful spot or try a new restaurant.  Those are the highs, but not the norm of every day or even every week.  

What isn’t seen is the day to day ministry routines.  I’m not one to post about each call away, each visit we make or each ministry opportunity.  They are the norm and are the blessings of our lives.  It is my husband’s life’s call, therefore mine, too.  We share it together and enjoy it more than I can even express in words.  We endeavor to pepper those times with fun – to stop alongside the road for a view of the beauty we’re passing on our way to a visit.  We may enjoy a shared ice cream cone or a sweet tea as we travel to make a hospital call.  We hold hands in the car, and chat as we go from place to place.  Those are the intentional moments we enjoy in our busy ministry lives.  It’s with intention that we stop to enjoy the moments that the Lord allows along the way.

I hope that others view my life on Facebook and in person and see that we love the life God has given us.  We enjoy the marriage that we vowed to one another.  And we enjoy each day – hum-drum or exciting, each day is a blessing and a gift from God!

What are you doing to intentionally make today a memorable one?

With love from my country porch,