I had company over the weekend and wanted to have a breakfast for Sunday morning that would sustain everyone through the church hours (why are we always so hungry on Sunday?!), and could be made ahead of time.  I went with Baked Oatmeal and Banana Bread.  Mmmmm.  I made the Banana Bread early in the week and froze it, and whipped up the Baked Oatmeal on Saturday afternoon.  It made Sunday morning a piece of cake (or should I say Banana bread?).  Whatever, it was yummy!

 I enjoy a nice sweet bread for breakfast, and always love it when I find a recipe that’s moist and healthy!  I’ve been making this recipe from Cooking Light for a couple of years.  It’s super fast to whip up, too!  I save those nice brown bananas that aren’t good to eat, but make the best bread, by putting them into a Ziplock bag and popping them into the freezer.  Anytime I want Banana bread, I have bananas ready to go!

Easy Banana Bread  – From Cooking Light

1 cup mashed ripe banana
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg white
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Cooking Spray

1.  Preheat oven to 350.
2.  Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, beat with mixer at med. speed until smooth.
3.  Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add flour mixture to banana mixture, stirring just until moist.  Spoon batter int a 8×4 inch loaf pan, coated with cooking spray.
4.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack, remove from pan.  Cool completely.

Here’s the Baked Oatmeal.  I like to serve it with fresh fruit like blueberries, strawberries or peaches.  This makes a filling, delicious breakfast!

Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup raisins – I use dried Cranberries
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup applesauce – You can substitute with mashed bananas, too.
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten
Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.
Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine the milk, applesauce, butter, and egg. Add milk mixture to oat mixture; stir well. Pour oat mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Serve warm

I mix up the oatmeal recipe the night before and refrigerate it.  In the morning, I bake it.  Super easy.  Super delicious!

What recipes do you make that are your tried and true, dependable ones?

With love from my country kitchen,

See the difference in the part that is ironed?

Freshen up your bed by making it cozy with layers of comfort.  You might not be able to resist going to bed early tonight!

See you in church!

Stay refreshed,

The peek into my life this week has to do with color.  I love it, and I love it my house, but I decided I would refrain from painting anything in my home until after we’d been here a year.  I wanted to get a feel for the house and what I felt like it needed, color-wise.

Well, the year is up and the first painting project has begun!  He’s a peek at what we’re doing:

My front porch is also a work in progress.  In this picture you see the beginning of my fall transition in the early stage.  I’m making new pillow covers to coordinate with the new door color.

The front inside door was hunter green, like the shutters.  Too  blah.  To try to decide what color would be a good accent for the door,  I went to Sherwin Williams’ site and used their virtual painting tool to select a shade that would POP!  The guy at the store was helpful, telling me to use a primer first (by “me,” of course you know I am referring to my husband, right? Good).   So, he put a primer over the green.  Here’s the middle of the priming job…

Want to see my finished door?  I love it!  I’ll post on the RefreshHer Facebook Page when it’s finished so you can see! (If you haven’t “liked” the page, please do!) 

Want to guess the color?  Let’s see who’s right!

With love from my country porch,

After the court proceedings from last week (story here), I thought back to sitting there and hearing the judge give out her sentencing to the drunk driver. In my mind, I envisioned Andrew or even myself stepping up and offering to take the drunk man’s jail sentence.

“What would the drunk man do with that kind of love?” I wondered. Would he visit the prison each day to say thank you? Would he bring gifts of gratitude? Would He tell others what had been done for him? Quickly then, I thought how happy he’d be at the onset – joyful at being relieved this verdict. But I wondered (assumed) that in time he’d be out drinking again, partying it up, while an innocent person sat in a prison cell in his place. Hmmmph!

Then the Holy Spirit then nudged at my heart. This is exactly what Christ did for me! He stepped before the Throne of God and willingly took my punishment! He was innocent. I was guilty.

Oh! The moment I understood and received this exchange as a little girl, I rejoiced!

I thanked my Savior! I wanted to live for Him. I wanted to tell others!

Then I grew used to being “free.” Forgetting to say “Thank you” each day is easy when you’re not in shackles.

Living for yourself instead of the One who paid the price for your sin is easy when you get caught up in this “Me” world. Gratitude is often forgotten when you’re not doomed to a horrible fate.

Since last week, I’ve asked the Lord to help me keep the picture in my mind of Jesus Christ stepping up to take my place in that courtroom. When the “Guilty” charge was given, Jesus took my place! Oh, how thankful I should be…

every.single.day!

I mustn’t live for myself, but for the One who redeemed me so that I might have a relationship with Him!

People who have received the grace of God must be grateful people! Have you stopped today to thank the Lord for taking your place? Have you acknowledged that your life is His to use today? If we are truly thankful for His grace, our lives will prove it with our gratitude!

With a thankful heart,