Cooking

Freshen Up Friday

February 20, 2015February 19, 2015 RefreshHer7 Comments

I’ll never forget when my great Aunt from England came to live with us when I was in high school. What a delicious year we had! You see, she was a professional baker and she could get in the kitchen and create some really tasty treats! She made

Eccles Cakes…

Palmiers

and lovely birthday cakes while she stayed with us. Oh. my. goodness! It was heavenly.

The other “heavenly” part of her baking was the cloud of flour that she left behind! She was a true artist in her work! White flour flew when she baked!

Guess what? I really take after my aunt! No, I can’t bake like she did, but I have inherited her flour-flying trait! When I bake, I make a mess!!!

However, there is a tool that comes to my rescue…it’s my Bar Scraper. It can take my mess and pull it together so that it can then be lifted by the thin scraper and dumped into the trash can. It so much easier than trying to wipe it up with the dish cloth!

Every kitchen needs this tool! It keeps you from making paste on your counter top! You can pick one up in lots of places – I’ve seen them at TJ Maxx and kitchen stores.

Target has this one for $7.99

Cake Boss Bench Scrape

Refresh your kitchen – If you bake – not just professionally like my aunt, but if you bake at all – you will love having a bar scraper! It will save your kitchen from heavenly clouds of flour piling up on the counters and floor!

Are you a messy baker? What’s your favorite tool to help you in the kitchen?

Find your way to a Bible preaching church Sunday!

Stay refreshed,

Marriage

Every Day Kind of Love

February 19, 2015February 18, 2015 RefreshHer9 Comments

There are 364 days that are not Valentine’s Day But I love the way the Valentine’s Day kind of love shows up around my house nearly every day (we’re far from perfect, nor is our marriage!). So yeah, sometimes ugly things creep in our door, but it’s our goal to make our marriage a priority every day. It’s done because of the little things. Let me show you what I mean.

See this little pink teddy bear? He shows up (as does his counterpart who happens to be purple) in all sorts of places.

When either my husband or I find this little guy tucked away, it’s an unwritten note that says, “I love you!” No words have to be spoken, no note jotted. It was purposefully hidden in a place that the other would find it so they might know they were being thought of. I’ve found this little bear in my measuring cups, beside my toothbrush, inside my suitcase, in a dresser drawer, and here on my make up brush… and all kinds of other fun places. A package of those little fuzzy bears is minuscule. I got ours at Hobby Lobby years ago. It’s been an investment in our marriage that costs little, but has paid un-measurable dividends!

Another thing we do is laugh. It’s easy to take life and yourself so seriously that you spoil the joy of the little things. The Lord says that Laughter is good medicine (Proverbs 17:22)! So, we laugh…

Now you can laugh, too! Cute, aren’t we? These make for hilarious stops at red lights! We laugh, and the people in the car beside us can smile with us!

We also do what my chalkboard says, we try to enjoy the little things.

This was lunch this week on one of our snow-days. We moved the table next to the fire, turned on Andy Griffith and laughed our way through lunch while we enjoyed the comfort of the fire, a simple meal, and one another’s company.

We were given a gift certificate at Christmastime for a great restaurant in our area. We had tucked it away for a date night, then we learned that Monday nights in February was “Buy a meal, get one free!” Our date nights often consist of great things that cost little – or in this case nothing! It wasn’t Valentine’s night, but when you celebrate Valentine’s all through the year, it really doesn’t matter what night you go out!

It’s all the day-to-day expressions of love that make a marriage more than average. Even when you do have one of those occasional “not-so-good” days, you’re still in love, and can overcome evil with good and keep rolling on towards the “Happily Ever After” kind of relationship that the Lord intended – even when it’s NOT Valentine’s Day!

What do you and your spouse do to keep laughing and having fun? Maybe you need a pair of those cute glasses or a little fuzzy bear to perk things up!

With love,

Uncategorized

A Peek From My Porch

February 18, 2015February 19, 2015 RefreshHer6 Comments

Last weekend we had our Mission’s conference at church. I was blessed to get to host dinner at our house for one of our missionary families on Sunday. Since it was Valentine’s weekend I tried to reflect that in my table setting and food.

I wanted to make a special dessert that I’d found on Pinterest recently. The recipe was Salted Caramel Cheesecakes from The Rustic Willow Food blog. What could be more “Valentines-y” than Cheesecake wrapped in a red wrapper?!

I tweaked the recipe a little, but it’s great which ever way you do it! You can’t go wrong with cheesecake, caramel and chocolate, right? I like this miniature version, because it’s not as intimidating to make as a whole cheesecake that can crack down the middle. These are pretty much fool proof.

Here’s her recipe:

Salted Caramel Cheesecakes

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 packages 8 oz. cream cheesed, softened
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
salted caramel – Here’s my recipe that I used instead.of the purchased sauce
semi-sweet chocolate chips
walnut morsels

INSTRUCTIONS
Heat oven to 350–place 12 cupcake wrappers in muffin pan
Mix graham cracker crumbs, 4 tablespoons sugar and butter in a bowl until all crumbs are covered in butter
Distribute mixture evenly across all wrappers (about 1 tablespoon each)
Press down on crumbs and form a tight base in each one
Bake for 5 minutes–take out and let cool while making cheesecake filling
Add cream cheese, 4 tablespoons sugar, and milk in a mixer
Mix on low setting until well-combined, pushing down edges as needed
Add vanilla and mix for 30 more seconds
Distribute cheesecake filling across all 12 wrappers
Bake for 15-18 minutes
Take out and let cool on counter for 1 hour
Add 1 tablespoon of salted caramel to each cheesecake
Sprinkle with chocolate chips and walnuts
Refrigerate for 2 hours

I love the pretty cupcake wrappers. They added a lovely touch to an already pretty dessert!

You need to try these; they’re super simple and so de-lish! Did you make a special dessert for Valentine’s Day?

With love from my country porch,

Uncategorized

Tell the Next Generation

February 17, 2015March 13, 2015 RefreshHerLeave a comment

On Sunday I was standing in the choir loft at church while all the congregation was doing one thing that I love ~ reading Scripture together. The passage on the screen was Psalm 145. As one voice, we read the passage. When we got to verse four, it was as though the brakes were hit and everything came to a halt. The rest of the congregation read on, but my mind was mulling over one phrase:

One generation shall praise thy works to another…

The thought the Lord brought to my mind as I read that was, “That is mentoring and discipleship!” One generation should tell the next

what God has done,

how He has answered prayer,

how He guides,

how He loves,

how His Word has the answer for all their questions.

The whole chapter tells all the mighty acts of the Lord that the psalmist was going to share. You and I have our own “chapter” of what God has done for us! The question is, Who are we telling? Am I praising and sharing God’s goodness? I don’t know about you, but for me it’s easier to complain. Griping comes natural to my sinful heart. I get forgetful of all the wonderful acts the Lord has done on my behalf. I worry about me instead of pouring into another person. When I focus on me and my gripes, I’m not praising the Lord. In short, I’m not obeying this passage!

Do you have a younger person (or persons) with whom you are regularly sharing what God is doing or has done in your life? If we’re keeping it to ourselves we’re not only disobeying, but we’re also missing out on the joy of encouraging them! How might you and I go about telling others?

Share these blessing in a brief sentence on your Facebook status (Sure beats griping about the weather or the pokey driver on the interstate!).
Give a testimony at your church. Don’t worry about tripping over your words or saying the “wrong thing.” Give God the glory; that’s always the right thing!
Call a young friend who might be struggling in the area that God has worked in your life and share what He’s done so that He would be glorified and they would be encouraged!
When someone asks you “How are you?” Tell them how wonderfully good the Lord has been! They asked, so tell them!
Instagram a picture that would represent your answer!

“One generation will praise they works to another.” Will you?

Lovingly,

Bread · breakfast

What’s Cookin’ in the Country?

February 16, 2015April 2, 2015 RefreshHer4 Comments

A heavy sprinkling of flour, measuring cups and baking ingredients were spread out on the counter. The mixer was whirring and the oven was hot. That pretty much describes my Saturday. And I loved it. It was a Baking Day; one of my favorite kind of days at home! A holiday, a church banquet and company invited for Sunday dinner were all the reasons that I got to attend to this hobby I love!

On my list of “To-Do’s” were Make-Ahead Butterhorns, Sugar cookies, Blueberry Pecan Scones and Salted Caramel Cheesecakes. The Butterhorns are a fantastic roll to make and have on hand. The recipe makes 32 rolls. You make up the dough, roll them into their shapes, then freeze them until you need them. They just need several hours to thaw/rise. These are easy and so yummy!

IMG_20150213_184221_resized — Frozen Rolls, ready to rise and bake.

I made the sugar cookies for Valentine’s day gifts. I make these all year long in different shapes and decorations.

The Blueberry Scones were part of my Valentine’s Day Brunch. I found this recipe in my Cooking Light Cookbook. They were a perfect addition to the menu!

Blueberry-Pecan Scones

1/2 Cup 2% milk
1/4 Cup sugar
2 Tsp grated lemon rind
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tbl baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbl chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup finely chopped pecan
Cooking spray
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
2 tbl. sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl, stirring with whisk. Combine dry ingredients. cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gently fold in blueberries and pecans. Add milk mixture, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut dough into 10 wedges, cutting into, but not through dough. Brush egg white over dough wedges, sprinkle with 2 tbl. sugar. Bake at 375 for 18 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

Add a cup of coffee, a scrambled egg and a piece of turkey sausage, and you have the perfect brunch for Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, or an ordinary do-nothing day!

Are you having a snowy day today? Days like that are great days to get in the kitchen and bake up something special. If you have the ingredients on hand, I hope you’ll try one of these recipes!

Be sure to check here on Wednesday for a peek at the Salted Caramel Cheescakes I made. They’re pretty and scrumptious!

With love from my country kitchen,