baking · Bread

Perfecting the Biscuit

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biscuit 2

I’m a southerner.  I’m a biscuit lover and I’m a baker.  Put those three things together and it means that over the years, I have tried to perfect both my recipe and results of homemade biscuits.  Where else would I turn but to Southern Living?  They are the cream of the crop, or in this case the best of the biscuits! 

I recently gave SL’s Best Buttermilk Biscuits a couple of runs and they turned out really good!  They have those buttery layers that are typified in a perfect biscuit.  They were simple to do and only required three ingredients – Self-rising flour, Buttermilk and Butter. No worries if you don’t have self-rising flour – just add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt for each cup of flour.

The secret to the flaky layers is the folding of the dough.  Follow the instructions to fold and turn, fold and turn and you’ll get perfect results!  Here’s the recipe:

Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), frozen
2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup chilled buttermilk
PARCHMENT PAPER
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 475°. Grate frozen butter using large holes of a box grater. Toss together grated butter and flour in a medium bowl. Chill 10 minutes.

2. Make a well in center of mixture. Add buttermilk, and stir 15 times. Dough will be sticky.

3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly sprinkle flour over top of dough. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches). Fold dough in half so short ends meet. Repeat rolling and folding process 4 more times.

4. Roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a 2 1/2-inch floured round cutter, reshaping scraps and flouring as needed.

5. Place dough rounds on a parchment paper-lined jelly-roll pan. Bake at 475° for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with melted butter.

buttermilk biscuits

Add a biscuit to a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and fresh fruit, topped with yogurt and granola and you have a hearty start to your day!

breakfast

 

Have you mastered biscuit making?  I hope you’ll try this recipe and method if you’re still trying to find the perfect recipe!  It lives up to Southern Living’s reputation!

With love from my country kitchen,

 

Uncategorized

A Look Through My Lens

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I’m only including a collage today, because I’ve uploaded a short video with a question I hope you’ll answer!

These pictures were taken on my three-mile walk yesterday morning.  This beautiful view is what gets me out the door to exercise each morning.  I can see in my mind the beauty of the country roads, the fields, the sun rise, the cows and the sky.  I can’t wait to hit the road and talk to the Lord as I walk.  Just look through my lens:

160714_220504_collage-1.jpg

Now here’s my question:

Thanks again for your comments!

Events · Prayer

It’s Time To Cry Out!

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It doesn’t take much research to realize that our nation and our world is in a mess.  There is much that could discourage us when we look around us, but when we look upward, we can be encouraged!!! We can have hope!

I am so excited about an upcoming event hosted by Revive Our Hearts to do the only thing that will change our world – it’s called “Cry Out!” and the purpose of this evening is for women around the globe to be in prayer for our country, our world and our homes.

Watch this promotional video to learn more about what this is all about:

Hope isn’t as distant as it feels. It’s time to take action.

Imagine . . . hundred of thousands of women gathered in thousands of locations . . . seeking Him together . . . for such a time as this!

What could be more vital at this critical time, than for women to bow together before the God of heaven and earth and cry out to Him for mercy and supernatural intervention in our world, our nation, our churches, our cities, and our homes.

Experience the power and joy of corporate prayer as together we cry out to God to do in us and in our nation what no man-made effort can accomplish.

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears.” (Psalm 34:17)

 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2016
6 – 9 P.M. CT / PT
7 – 10 P.M. ET / MT
The event will be held in Indianapolis but they are offering a simulcast for anyone to join.  My church, Boones Creek Bible Church, is going to be a host for this event in the Tri-cities area.  I was so burdened for this time of prayer when I heard about it, and I knew that God wanted us to be a part of this evening.
Our church is registered and will be on the official Cry Out map so that women in our area can come and join us in prayer.  Will you mark your calendar for Friday, September 23rd and either join us in Johnson City or register your own group where you live?

God has done it before, and He can do it again—that’s our prayer.

One evening. One heart. One cry.
“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears” (Ps. 34:17).

Will you join us as we CRY OUT?

Prayerfully,

friends

Two Important Traits in Friendship

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Friends

A ten year-old girl headed to camp recently and told her mom she was praying for a friend – one  who “would be like iron-sharpens-iron, and likes to have fun, too.”

There is so much wisdom in that prayer! It made me take a step back and wonder if I am that kind of friend!  How about you?

  1. Do you seek to sharpen your friends spiritually?
    • Ask how you can pray for your friend.
    • Check back and see if/how God has answered their request.
    • Hold them accountable with
      • marriage issues
      • Bible memorization
      • church attendance
      • opportunities to share the Gospel
      • their quiet time
  2. Seek to meet their needs, rather  than waiting for them to meet yours.
    • Provide encouragement, support, or practical help.
    • Send a card or text that will do the above.
    • Provide food, or financially as you are able.
  3. Have fun!
    • Find the laughter in a situation. Help your friend to see the humor in what she’s dealing with.
    • Initiate a fun outing with your friend – a meal out, shopping a movie, time at your house doing something you both enjoy like crafting or cooking.
    • Celebrate her!  Remember her birthday, anniversary or special events in her life.
    • Don’t be a “Negative Nilly.”  If you only share the ugly, hard stuff in your life, people will run when they see you coming.  Mind you that doesn’t mean you can’t share your burdens, just make sure you balance it with praises!

So whether you’re looking for a friend or checking out your own attributes as a friend, remember that sharpening others and being fun will go a long way in creating a friendship that will last long after camp is over!

Thanks for reading today, Friend!

Christian Life

Don’t Tell Anyone!

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Gossiping can cause ‘invisible gorilla effect, say scientists

I was a young pastor’s wives, and as green as I could be when an older teen girl came to me with a problem.  She began by saying, “I need to talk to you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone about this.”

Of course I would keep it a secret – that’s what pastor’s wives were supposed to do, right?  Well, sort of.  As she began to share her problem with me, I realized that the root of the problem was due to a sin in her life…one that her parents didn’t know about, but that they needed to hear.  Now what was I to do?  I had promised to tell no one! How I regretted having listened to her in the first place!  I felt stuck!

Recently in our New Members Sunday school class, the question was posed,

How could you stop gossip in your church?

One of the class members answered that by sharing a story that sounded very similar to my own.  He said,

A lady in a church had issues with her husband.  She came to the church leaders about it.  She told them they could not tell her husband what she had said, and they agreed.  When a third party was brought in to help resolve the problem, he listened to her for about 45 minutes and then said,

Every one of you men need to get on your knees and repent of listening to gossip because that’s what you’ve done.  Without being able to talk to her husband, there’s no solution, and this is only spreading gossip!

How I wish someone had told me that years ago!  The situation I was in with the teen girl taught me to always tell someone who came to me that they could share whatever they wanted, but if there was sin involved, I would take the necessary steps and talk to the people involved so that a biblical solution could be found.

If you want to squelch gossip, don’t listen to it if you’re not a part of the problem, or if you’re not able to help with a solution by telling the necessary people.  That will stop it immediately.  If you don’t listen to it in the first place, you won’t have to worry about repeating it!

I recently read this verse in Psalm 17:3 which could be applied to lots of ways we sin with our mouth, but it certainly applies to gossip:

I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

I have said that verse OUT LOUD to myself since I penned it in my journal last week!  Sometimes it takes true, intentional and purposeful effort NOT to sin with my mouth by sharing words, and sometimes by not listening to it in the first place!

By the way, in case you’re wondering, the situation with the teen ended by my husband and I meeting with her and explaining that I had been wrong, asking her forgiveness, then letting her know it was her responsibility to tell her parents…or we would have to.  She did.  Whew.  I chalked that one up as a Lesson for Denise!

Refresh your speech and cease from gossip!