I love Sunday dinner at home. Even after being gone last week and getting home Friday evening and having my daughter’s boyfriend in for the weekend, I would much rather eat at home than go out! Some questioned why I would cook on vacation. The answer – it isn’t work to me! I made simple meals and even took advantage of being in a place where we could purchase fresh seafood. I’ll have to share one of the shrimp dishes I made. It’s so easy, fast and delicious!

Coming home on Friday gave me time to run to the grocery store and restock the fridge for the weekend. I really hit some good deals at Ingles, thanks to Southern Savers! For instance, I got General Mills cereal for 25 cents a box! I love deals like that!

This Lettuce wedge with the sour cream dressing was a new recipe to me from one of my old Southern Living Cookbooks. It was a refreshing change from tossed salad. You need to try this!

1 cup sour cream (I used light)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used light)
2 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup minced green onions
1/4 cup minced radishes
1/4 cup minced cucumber
1 small clove garlic, minced

Mix and pour over 8 lettuce wedges

Strawberries are my very favorite fruit. This pie is very simple and I love it better than any I’ve tried and have had more success with it than other recipes. It sets up nicely due to the Jell-O you add to the sugar mixture. My friend, Linda, a wonderful cook, shared this with me years ago. It’s also great for a fresh peach pie!

Glaze Filling for Strawberry Pie:
1 cup sugar
2 T. white Karo
3 1/2 Tbl cornstarch
1 cup water
2 heaping Tbl. Jello – Strawberry (or peach for peach pie)

Cook sugar through water over medium heat (medium pan) until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add Jello. Cool. Add 1 quart strawberries. Add fruit. Pour into pie shell, and chill. Top with Cool Whip.

That last picture reminds me that there is one tiny piece of pie left over. You know that strawberry pie needs to be eaten within a day or so or the crust will be soggy…excuse me please. I think I hear it calling my name!

What was cookin’ in your kitchen this week?

With love,

This is a really late post this morning because I’ve been packing up to go home. Do you hear the whine in my voice? It’s there. Not because I don’t love home, but this vacation has been perfect, I love the beach, and the family time has been sweet. **Sigh**

I’m not sure what it is about walking along the shoreline, but it seems that there is an irresistible tendency to look at, pick up and collect sea shells. It doesn’t matter that there is a jar in the bathroom at home from last year’s walks on the beach! Who can keep themselves, when they’re walking along, from bending down to inspect the shape, the possible life inside, or the uniqueness of a shell they spot in the sand?

Here is a little collection I gathered on our early morning walk today. It’s amazing to me to see what variety there is. Big, little, flat, curved, smooth, rippled – they’re beautiful and they are God’s creation.

I’m not sure what this is (I’d be happy if someone reading this could identify it!). It’s not a flower – it was on the beach and those petal looking things around the edge are hard; shell-like. I’m wondering if it’s some sort of sea creature. At any rate, it caught my attention because of its uniqueness.

This morning as I walked and collected and thought about the variety of the shells, I thought back to my Bible study yesterday about the variety of spiritual gifts given to a child of God. At the moment of salvation, each person received at least one spiritual gift. I Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. We don’t all have the same gift, there is diversity so that the church has everything it needs to prosper.

It’s easy to see some one’s gift and desire to have the same one, but that’s not God’s design. Some gifts are seen in the public eye – preaching or teaching for instance. Other gifts are used privately, such as the gift of mercy or giving. Each gift is as necessary; each as important as the other, and each given by the Spirit of God to be used for His glory in the local church.

As I looked at the shoreline I noted that there were areas where the shells were plentiful and close together. “That’s the local church, ” I thought. It’s full of active members, using their gifts and the church is thriving and alive! Then as I walked I saw some shells off to themselves. Some were broken. “That’s a member who got hurt and wandered off. Now they’re useless. They’re no longer using their gift to be a blessing to others and to serve the Lord.” It happens more than you can imagine, and the church suffers as a result.

Do you know your spiritual gift(s), and are you using it actively in the local church? If not, get out of your shell (sorry, couldn’t resist) and let the Lord use you!

Love,

Each morning my husband and I have gotten up at six to watch the sunrise from the sixth floor of our oceanfront condo. Today as I was standing there looking to the east, I noticed a woman down below on the beach. You can see her small frame in the picture below.

She, too, was turned eastward, waiting for the sun to rise. Her chair was readied, her eyes watching and her determination purposeful. She wanted to see the beauty of the sun.

Here’s a partial picture of what she was looking for. It continued to change with each minute. It was worth waiting for; worth keeping vigilance for.