Uncategorized

What’s Cookin’ in the Country?

Cooking for two can sometimes be a challenge when you’re making a recipe that normally feeds six!  I have made a yummy homemade  Chicken Pot Pie for years.  We LOVE it,  but it is served in a pie plate that  feeds a whole family, and in my opinion, pot pie is not a dish that reheats very well.  So in the last couple of years, I cut the recipe in half and make it in individual ramekins.  It’s a perfect size and there’s no leftovers!  They’re also so pretty served like that!

Whether you make the whole recipe and put it in a pie plate, or you cut the recipe in half for only two or three people , this is a wonderful supper meal.  It has all the comfort that supper should bring!

20150226_175118

This is my recipe that I’ve tweaked over the years.  I love it because the sauce in the pie is creamy and delicious, and unlike a most purchased pies,  the homemade version has nice chunks of roasted chicken breast in it!  You can also add whatever vegetables your family likes.  We like it best with just peas, but you could add mixed veggies. You could also use turkey breast in place of the chicken.

20150226_175134
Here’s a peek at the filling inside the crust!

 

Chicken Pot Pie – whole pie

2 Tbl. butter or marg.

2 Tbl. flour

1 cup milk

1 cup chicken stock

1 tsp. Thyme

salt & pepper, to taste

Cooked Chicken breast

Frozen peas

Melt butter in saucepan.  Add flour and cook on low about a minute.  Add milk slowly with whisk.  Whisk in chicken stock. Cook until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. If it seems a little thick, add equal amounts of milk and stock to thin it out to your liking.  Season with, thyme, salt and pepper.  Add cooked Chicken breast and vegetables.  Cook for a few minutes, or until frozen vegetables have just cooked.  Pour into pie shell.  Top with crust.  Vent crust.  Bake at 400 degrees until crust is golden (about 30 minutes).

To make individual pies: (Halving the recipe makes 3.  If you don’t need all 3, pop one in the freezer, see below)

Cut pie crusts about an inch bigger than the ramekins.  Pour filling into dish, then top with crust.  Brush with egg wash to seal edges.  Place ramekins on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until golden.

To roast chicken for pies:

Place boneless chicken breast on baking sheet.  Brush with Olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast at 400 about 20 minutes or until meat juices run clear.

For a do-ahead meal, prepare as above, then cover with plastic wrap and foil.  Freeze until needed.  No need to thaw before baking.  Just slide it into the oven and bake as instructed. 

This makes such a hearty meal.  I usually serve it with a green salad.  This is one of my husband’s favorite meals at our house. I hope you’ll give it a try!  

Homemade chicken stock makes recipes like this soooo much better!  Do you ever make your own?

With love from my country kitchen,

8E63C63AC0BC189BF1C68B03C74DBB5F

Uncategorized

Freshen Up Friday

I’ve never been one to do certain chores on certain days.  When I see something dirty, I clean it.  But sometimes it helps to have a little reminder to clean something that you’ve neglected.

I recently found a site on Instagram that I’m enjoying following – it’s called Clean Mama.  Every day she posts a suggestion of something in your home that you should clean.  This past week her suggestions were:

  • Monday – Bathrooms from top to bottom, including the shower.
  • Tuesday – Dusting – Go over all surfaces and give them a good dusting.  
  • Wednesday – Vacuuming – Vacuum the house from top to bottom, including tile, hardwood and carpet.
  • Thursday – Floor washing – wash all the floors, both tile and hardwood.

I enjoyed just using her suggestions as a reminder to check those areas off sometime this week.  She also posted a March calendar that’s a free download complete with rotating tasks; things like vacuum baseboards or wash rugs.   Continue reading “Freshen Up Friday”

Prayer · sin

Ask God Questions!

I’m not sure when it started, but it’s now expected…The Question that comes at the end of our Sunday school class each Sunday.  One young woman, hungry to learn more about God’s Word, ends every class session for us the same way each week.  I picture her in my mind now, a smile spreading across her sweet face, eyes twinkling,  extending her arm upward with her hand flailing to get my husband’s attention while she says,

“I have a question!!!!”

Image result for hand raised in question

It may be about the lesson, or it could be something someone at work has asked her for whom she needs an answer.  Class extends as we all lean in to hear her state the very well thought-out question.  I love it and look forward to her inquiry each week!

As I was reading my devotions yesterday, I was reminded that asking spiritual questions is a really smart choice!  I read in II Samuel 11 about when David looked at Bathsheba and lusted after her.  Why didn’t David ask the Lord to help him with his lust? 

David questioned those that knew Bathsheba as to who she was, but why didn’t he ask the Lord if he could have her?  

He decided to take her and have relations with her, then when she let him know some time later that she was with child, David realized something needed to happen, so he tried several plans.  But why didn’t he ask the Lord what to do?  

After David has Bathsheba’s husband killed, he brings her in to be his wife, but why didn’t he ask the Lord if he should marry her?

Finally after Nathan the prophet comes to tell David God’s knowledge of his sin and that his son would die as a result, we see David talking to God!  As a matter of fact, he prayed and fasted for seven days while the child suffered.  God does not see fit to heal the child, but instead, the child does die. After hearing the news, David got up, dressed, worshiped and ate.  I truly believe he was able to accept this child’s death because he was on right terms with God now.  How did that happen?  He prayed.  He asked God questions.  Perhaps he asked, “Lord, will you place the punishment on me instead of my son?  Will you spare my wife this grief?  Will you please intervene?”  He was finally on speaking/question-asking terms with God!

Now, how about you and me?  Talking to God about everything that touches our lives will keep us from sin and sorrow!

 “Lord, what about this?

Should I go here?

Should I be a part of this?

Should I watch this, read this, participate in this?”

Let’s be wise and be like my Sunday school friend.  Let’s raise our hand and say,

God, I have a question!

Ask first, then act.

Lovingly,

8E63C63AC0BC189BF1C68B03C74DBB5F

Uncategorized

A Peek From My Porch

A Peek Into My Life This Week

20150303_120036 I spend a lot of time with my husband as he makes hospital calls. When I was a child,  I dreamed of walking the hospital halls as a nurse.  The Lord had other plans, and now for all these years, instead of being called “nurse,”  He’s given me the title of “Pastor’s wife.”  I get to stand alongside my husband as he enters room after room to comfort and encourage. I have learned to love these times at the hospital for so many different reasons. One of those is that we always go to be a blessing, but we always come away having received a far greater one.

Yesterday was one of those busy days visiting at the med center.  One of our visits included the former pastor of our church; a dear man who loves the Lord, His Word and His work.  As I stood at the foot of the bed and listened to my husband minister to this former pastor, the Lord revealed three important truths to me.

  1. I thought about how at one time this patient was the one standing beside the bed giving the comfort.  Now instead, he is listening, drinking in and receiving the encouragement from God’s Word.Time to serve God is short.

  2. I sensed this man’s keen knowledge of God’s Word as, even in his weakened condition, he made a connection from the passage my husband read in the psalms to one in Revelation.  Time in God’s Word is evident.

  3. I thought about his wife, at home, unable to be at his side because of her own physical limitations.  I’m sure she had ministered with him in years past, just as I was doing now.  Is she wondering where he is?  Is she calling for him when he cannot come? Time with our spouse is a privilege not to be taken for granted.

So while some folks loathe visiting the hospital, the Lord has given me a joy – not in other’s sickness – but in what they always teach me. What a wonderful privilege is mine to be called “The pastor’s wife.”   I pray I will serve as faithfully as this dear man and his wife did. Then when the Lord sets me aside and I can no longer serve in this capacity, I pray that I will encourage others who visit with me as much as I was encouraged yesterday!  If I take these lessons to heart that will be far more likely.

Of the three truths the Lord showed me, which one strikes a chord in your own heart?  Listen to what the Lord wants to say to you through this faithful former pastor!

With love from my country porch,

8E63C63AC0BC189BF1C68B03C74DBB5F

Uncategorized

Thanks for a Messy House

The weekend ended and school and work schedules returned.  Yesterday when the last of your brood was out the door and you turned and looked behind you, it was as if the proverbial tornado had blown through your house.  Fingerprints, footsteps, dirty dishes, soiled laundry and messy bathroom sinks were the casualties in the tornado’s wake.

You may have been tempted to complain or fuss about your mess, but one homemaker had a refreshing perspective on her disheveled house.  Read on:

Image result for sink of dirty dishes

Dear Lord,

Thank you for this sink of dirty dishes; we have plenty of food to eat.

Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry; we have plenty of nice clothes to wear.

And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade beds; they were so warm and comfortable last night.

My thanks to you, Lord, for this bathroom, complete with all the splattered mess, soggy, grimy towels and the dirty lavatory; they are all so convenient.

Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs defrosting so badly; it has served us faithfully for many years. It is full of cold drinks and enough leftovers for two or three meals.

Image result for dish in oven

Thank you, Lord, for this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today; it has baked so many things over the years.

The whole family is grateful for that tall grass that needs mowing and lawn that needs raking; we all enjoy the yard.

Thank you, Lord, even for that slamming screen door. My kids are healthy and able to run and play. Many children cannot.

Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says You have richly blessed my family. I shall do them cheerfully and I shall do them gratefully.

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings… Thank you, Lord, that I can hear.

Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as possible…Thank you, Lord, that I can see.

Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising…Thank you, Lord, that I have the strength to rise.

Image result for burned toastEven though the first hour of my day is hectic with socks that are lost, toast that is burned, tempers that are short, and my children that are so loud…Thank you, Lord, for my family.

Even though our breakfast table never looks like the pictures in magazines and the menu is at times not balanced…Thank you, Lord, for the food we have.

Even though the routine of my job is often monotonous…Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to work.

Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my circumstances were not so modest…Thank you, Lord, for life.

Author Unknown

A fresh perspective is good, isn’t it?  Now, turn your glance upward to your home.  What can you thank the Lord for right now that could easily turn to a complaint if you were’t purposefully looking to see the blessing in it?  Give thanks instead.

Lovingly,

8E63C63AC0BC189BF1C68B03C74DBB5F