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Brunch in the Country

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I enjoy setting the tables differently each week. I used vintage half aprons on the backs of the chairs. They made a pretty slipcover and added a touch of whimsy.

I’ve shared here about Apples of Gold, a mentoring ministry that revolves around the Scriptures and cooking instruction. The Lord has opened the opportunity to begin our second group of young women. (Happy Cheer!!!) We have had two lessons so far, and it’s been such a blessing. My heart is always so full when they’re here! It’s the joy of seeing this longtime dream and vision come true. Proverbs 13:19 says, Desire accomplished is sweet to the soul. How true that is!

At our first session we had a brunch menu. I taught them to:

  • make their own frozen hash browns
  • make a quiche
  • Make an egg casserole
  • Bake English muffins
  • Bake Cinnamon Cream Cheese Roll-ups

So much to cover, but we got it all in! Then the last hour we got to indulge and eat it! Here was the menu:

 Breakfast Sausage Casserole
Bacon and Cheddar Grits Quiche
Hash Browns
English Muffins
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Roll-ups
Orange Julius

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Breakfast Sausage Casserole (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 (16-ounce) package frozen turkey sausage, thawed (such as Louis Rich)
8 (1 1/2-ounce) slices sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 8 cups)
2/3 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
1 cup egg substitute
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed 30% reduced-sodium, 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring well to crumble.

Arrange bread in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top evenly with cooked turkey sausage and cheddar cheese. Combine 2 1/2 cups milk, egg substitute, and Dijon mustard, stirring with a whisk. Pour over bread mixture in dish. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Uncover casserole. Combine remaining 1/2 cup milk and cream of mushroom soup, stirring with a whisk. Pour over bread mixture. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

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This quiche is OUTSTANDING! The cheddar grits crust substitutes the normal pastry crust and is soooo good! The egg mixture is light and fluffy – a perfect start to a great day!!!!

Bacon and Cheddar Grits Quiche –
From Southern Living

Ingredients

6 thick bacon slices
2 1/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup uncooked stone-ground grits
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
2 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
6 large eggs
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sliced green onions

Preparation –

My Notes:  I did steps 1-3 a day in advance. This simplified the process greatly!

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon; drain and crumble. Transfer 2 tsp. bacon drippings to a saucepan.

2. Bring drippings, milk, and butter to a boil over medium heat. Gradually whisk in grits, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper; cook, whisking constantly, 15 minutes or until very thick. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Stir in 1 cup cheese; let stand 10 minutes. Stir in 1 egg; spread in a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray.

3. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until set and browned. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese over warm grits, spreading to edges. Let stand 15 minutes.

4. Reduce oven temperature to 325°. Combine half-and-half, cream, onions, and remaining 5 eggs, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Pour over grits; sprinkle with crumbled bacon. Place pan on a foil-lined baking sheet.

5. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until lightly browned and just set. Let stand 20 minutes. Run a sharp knife around edges of quiche; remove sides of pan.

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These Cinnamon Cream cheese roll-ups served as a little appetizer when the ladies arrived. They’d make a great dessert, appetizer or snack! They are inexpensive, easy and a great treat!
 
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Roll-ups

Ingredients
  • 1 loaf of thin, white bread
  • ⅔ bar of cream cheese (8 oz. bar), softened
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ¾ cups sugar
  • 1 TB cinnamon
  • ½ cup butter, melted
Instructions
  1. Cut off the crust of the bread.
  2. With a rolling pin, flatten bread.
  3. In a small bowl combine cream cheese and powdered sugar until well blended.
  4. In a separate bowl combine sugar and cinnamon – set aside.
  5. Spread 1 – 1½ tablespoons of cream cheese mixture onto each flattened bread piece and roll up.
  6. Dip each rolled bread into melted butter and then into the cinnamon and sugar mix.
  7. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
  8. Repeat for remaining pieces of bread.
  9. Bake at 350 for 16-20 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm.

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This was not a low-calorie meal, but it was a mixture of things to introduce the ladies to different kinds of recipes, different cooking techniques, and prepping ahead. Brunch can be a fun meal to prepare, and then you won’t need lunch, so that makes the splurge a little less guilt ridden!

I hope you’ll try some of these recipes. It’ll start your day of with a happy tummy!

With love from my country kitchen,

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A Peek From My Porch – What I’ve Been Up to This Week

Here’s my week:

What I’ve loved and seen on my recent morning walks:

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Fresh rolled hay bales are part of the beauty of country life and I love it!

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No denying what a glorious sight fresh blackberries next to the road are!

What new ventures I’ve tried:

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Canning Dill Pickles!  I was given a large quantity of cucumbers and hated to see them go to waste, so I tried this recipe.  The jars all sealed; I just hope they taste good, and not like Aunt Bea’s “Kerosene Cumbers!

What made me smile:

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I found this idea for a snack for my Bible club.
Teddy Grahams marching through a sea of blue icing just makes a person smile!
I taught my young students the lesson of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea and thought these crackers were perfect.
The children LOVED them!

What I’ve snacked on:

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I made Orange Julius last weekend and had a little mixture left so –

I Poured that delicious mixture into my popsicle molds and got these yummy treats!

What a great refreshment on a hot day!

My best kitty picture:

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My cutest Liza shot of the week included her stretching her paws towards my camera as if to say,

“No, not another picture!”

I just can’t resist her cuteness!  Seriously, could you?!!!

What new recipe I tried:

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All I can say is, oh. my. goodness!
These little treasures are so easy, inexpensive and deadly!
The recipe will be up on the blog Monday!

So that’s been my week.  How’s yours going and what fun things are you into?  I’d love to hear!

With love from my country porch,

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Overruled for Good!

It was Sunday morning and all the “normal” stuff was happening at our house. I had finished curling my hair and dressing and was headed down to get some breakfast then head out the door for prayer before the service. My husband had already kissed me and was headed to go on before me. A few minutes later I walked into kitchen and saw his suit coat hanging on the back of one of the kitchen chairs, revealing that he was still home. “Hmmm, that’s odd,” I thought.

Walking down the hall, I could hear unpleasant sounds coming from the half bath where he was losing whatever was on his stomach. I helped as much as I could, wiping his brow, holding his head, and then stopping to pray over his shoulder. He made his way on wobbly legs to the sofa, where he gingerly laid back and explained to me that his vertigo troubles had hit HARD.

The next couple of hours repeated our earlier positions and I could only pray for him and wonder why we were hindered from attending church. He had prepared to preach from Revelation 2 and was so excited about the message. He was eager to baptize the new converts and see another family join the church. Why this sickness? Why now?

He was finally able to slowly make his way upstairs and situate himself on the bed to rest. I took my Bible and went to one of the other bedrooms nearby where I could read and not disturb my patient. I opened to Proverbs 12 and began meditating on the passage. When I got to verse 21a my attention was halted. It reads:

There shall no evil happen to the just:

I knew it couldn’t mean that nothing bad or hard could happen to a believer – look at today. But what does this mean? I looked it up in a commentary and here’s what I found out – For the believer, even evil things have been allowed through God’s sovereign hands and He decrees that evil to happen, but then he overrules the evil and turns it into something good!  When we see it from that perspective, it won’t be evil at all! 

I had wondered if it was Satan hindering my husband from preaching the truth of Revelation. It made me scowl, but now in my mind I could just see my Righteous Judge hitting the gavel on the table of His justice and saying, “Overruled! I will see to it that this is for good!”

I heard of some wonderful things that happened at church yesterday as our son-in-law preached.

  • One young man visiting told us, “That message was EXACTLY what I needed to hear!” That is GOOD!
  • I got to spend that time on my knees praying for the preaching while it was going on. That is GOOD! 
  • While resting, we spent some time evaluating changes that need to be made so my husband will be rested and more refreshed for Sundays. That is GOOD!

My husband was feeling better Monday morning, and though we still don’t know exactly what the Lord was up to, we know that is was overruled for OUR GOOD!

What is going on in your life that seems to be evil? Listen for the gavel on the table and God’s words, “Overruled for good!” That will remove the scowl off your face and replace the joy in your heart!

With love,

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Thirty Minute Grilled Supper

Let me show you what’s been cooking in the country!

Crank up the grill!  Dinner can be on the table in 30 minutes or less!20150701_165937_resizedb

One thing I love about summer is using the grill even more! We use ours in the winter too, but in the summer it really gets a workout! Supper can be ready really fast with a supper like the one I’m featuring today…

I started making a Grilled Foil Kielbasa supper several summers ago and it quickly became one of my go-to summer recipes. I shared it a while back but it’s worthy of a rerun because I’m afraid someone out there overlooked it and I want to do you a favor and introduce you to this great meal. =)  Here’s how I make it:

Grilled Kielbasa Packets

Ingredients:
1 lb. Kielbasa, cut into 2 inch pieces – I use Turkey Kielbasa
2-3 potatoes, quartered
4 half ears Corn on the cob
1 onion, sliced
4 Tbl. Butter
Salt, Pepper, Paprika

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Cut four 15″ pieces of foil. Layer the Kielbasa, potatoes, onion and corn on the foil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika. Place 1 tbl of butter on top. Bring edges of foil together to the top and fold down to close tightly. Seal sides by crimping edges. Place on 350 degree grill for about 20 minutes, turning packet occasionally. Test potatoes to see if they’re soft. Take a close look…

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I set the packet on the plates and just open them up and serve it rustic style. It’s like eating at the campfire (as I imagine it would be…I’m not much of a camper!). But the Kielbasa is a little charred, the potatoes are tender and the corn, perfect! Add a piece of bread and a side salad and you have dinner complete!

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I hope you’ll fire up the grill and try this soon. Plan for it on a busy day. This will make your life easier (and tastier!).

What have you been cooking this week?

With love from my country kitchen,