Famous Quotes, Good words of wisdom

PRAYER REQUEST TUESDAY

Hello friends. How may I pray for you today?

In a world that's so fast paced and uncertain, sometimes we feel like we're going it alone. Tuesday is a day I have set aside for you. I want to remember you in my prayers. I don't claim to have any special powers, or any special favor with our heavenly Father. Just a love for the Lord and you, my friends.

If you have a prayer request please leave a comment. You don't have to give any information you don't want to. And if you'd rather just leave a comment stating "unspoken", that's fine.

I want you to know that you will be prayed for, not only by me, but anyone who desires to touch heaven for you on this day too. If you'd like to also pray, then please, pray for the person's comment above yours.

Have a blessed day.

Raspberry Tea

Want a recipe for real raspberry tea?  Sure you can rip open a powder mix, but sometimes don't ya just like to say "I made it from scratch"?  Using fresh raspberries!  I do.  And this is perfect to serve with that tomato  pie I blogged about the other day!   Being in the the south...Tea is king, er... make that Queen!  So for my southern friends, or southern at heart (LOL) here's a good drink!   Enjoy

 Raspberry Sweet Tea

4 quarts water, divided

1 cup sugar (or omit, depending on your taste)

8 individual tea bags (or 4 family sized)

1 package (12 ounces) frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed and undrained

3 tablespoons lime juice

In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Remove from heat.

Add tea bags; steep for 5-8 minutes. Discard tea bags

In another saucepan bring raspberries and remaining water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes.

Strain and discard pulp.

Add raspberry juice and lime juice to the tea.

Tah-Dah!

Wrinkled Ladies

oh. My. Goodness!!!  
Not that this applies to me(giggle) or any of you but...   this is my new fave video!!!!

TOMATO PIE recipe

My mom gave me a bunch of tomatoes....a bunch. We have eaten tomatoes every day since then. Salads, sandwiches, sliced on the plate...you name it. But we're going away for my husband's neice's wedding and I knew they wouldn't last until we returned. What to do? (light bulb moment) Ah Ha! I'l make tomato pie!

Story time:

Back when I was over the Proverbs 31 Woman, FBC ministry I started what was called "Casserole Co-Op" at church. It was a blast! That first event, back in 2000 was a phenom! We had so many great dishes. The ladies would submit their recipe beforehand and the church compiled them into a booklet. The night of the "co-op" the ladies would bring their dish prepared and each lady would get a copy of the booklet. (be patient, I'm getting to the tomatoe pie story, I promise)

A friend, Lisa H, who was in my Sunday School class at the time brought a Tomato Pie. She said it was actually her friend's recipe, but in my mind it has always been "Lisa's Tomato Pie". Now, if you're turning up your nose right now at the thought of a tomato pie you can just stop that, right now. I thought the same thing when she mentioned bringing it to a Sunday School class party! I remember she called and said she was thinking about bringing a tomato pie. I'm thinking ... "really?", but I said "oh, okay". Lemme just tell you, everybody, and I mean men too, were going back for seconds! It was so delicious!!!

So when she said she was bringing that to the Casserole Co-Op, I knew it would be a hit. It was.

Now I own the recipe and have made it for several occasions to rave reviews myself! So, this is "whats for dinner" ! Hubby was very pleased to hear we were having Tomato Pie. I even got one of those "Wow! You haven't fixed that in a long time!" Oh, and you know that standing ovation I get when he's totally wowed with his meal? Yep. I got one!

So, by now you're probably saying "Enough! On with the tomato pie recipe!", right? Ok, then....

Tomato Pie

1 deep dish pie shell (I tried Walmart's generic brand instead of the "expensive" one I usually get, and it's really flaky! I like it!)

tomatoes

sweet basil

salt and pepper

1 chopped onion (recipe says small, but I never pay attention to that! LOL) Remember those onions I froze back in April???

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 cup mayonnaise (Now don't you go and hyperventilate over this. You're not going to eat the whole pie in one sitting, are you?)

Bake pie shell until almost done.

Slice tomatoes thickly. Completely cover the bottom of the pie shell.

Add salt and pepper.

Cover with onions, sprinkle basil.

Mix cheese and mayonnaise; spread ove pie.

Bake until hot and bubbly at 350 degrees. (approximately 20 minutes)

Notice the onions ON TOP??? I forgot the onions in the assembly so I put 'em on top because, like I said; I LIKE (cooked) ONIONS! and I wasn't going to leave 'em out.

Sorry there isn't a picture of them baked, we tore into 'em right away. Barely letting them cool!

** Note: Lisa says the only mayonnaise to use is Dukes brand (being the good South Carolina girl that she is) and it is good, but I had Hellman's and I really like that too so that's my Florida version of Dukes.

PRAYER REQUEST TUESDAY

Hello friends.  How may I pray for you today? 

In a world that's so fast paced and uncertain, sometimes we feel like we're going it alone.  Tuesday is a day I have set aside for you.  I want to remember you in my prayers.  I don't claim to have any special powers, or any special favor with our heavenly Father.  Just a love for the Lord and you, my friends. 

If you have a prayer request please leave a comment. You don't have to give any information you don't want to.  And if you'd rather just leave a comment stating "unspoken", that's fine.

I want you to know that  you will be prayed for, not only by me, but anyone who desires to touch heaven for you on this day too.   If you'd like to also pray, then please, pray for the person's comment above yours. (A "prayer chain" of sorts).

Well, how did everyone do?  Did you last the whole week?  I had updated a bit of my week for Freezer Food Friday last week in which I said....  (copied from that post)

Monday - beef enchiladas (I had already browned some taco seasoned ground beef in the freezer)


Tuesday - Chicken pot pie, lemon meringue cupcakes AND strawberry turnovers. Yes, that was two desserts! Not only did I fix our dinner, but took a meal to some friends!

Wednesday - Chef salad night

Thursday -  Leftovers

Friday - This is our "date night"  (Ruby Tuesday) both of us had the salad bar.

Ok, Saturday....well, we were out doing "research" for a new phone.  Our contract is up in July and I don't think I want to stay with the blackberry curve so we were just checking to see what's "out there".  Plus, a little shopping on the side for hubby.  We came home even more confused that when we left the house as to the phone situation!    While we were out, we just grabbed a Quiznos sandwich for dinner.

Sunday we ate with my sister and her family.  I made an apple crisp to take.  The rest of the meal was on her!  WooHoo!

So that was my week.  I'm not sure how you feel about our "Date Night" on Friday and the sandwich on Saturday.  I mean, would that be thought of as "cheating" ?   LOL.  We're going out of town later this week.  Paul's niece is getting married so we're going to North Carolina and I don't really want to buy groceries until we get back, so maybe I'll redeem myself by still living out of the pantry until then!  (to be fair, and all...  LOL)

I want to hear how you did if you participated!  No judgement if you didn't finish, or had to run to the grocery store.  Just share.  Maybe we can all get some inspiration and ideas for the next time.  (either latter part of July, or August)

Don't forget to link up if you post, or just leave a comment if you'd prefer!




Thursday - Grilled hotdogs, slaw and salad. (I used the French Dressing I had made and blogged about here)

FREEZER FOODS FRIDAY

Well now I've done it!  I am smack dab in the middle of a PANTRY CHALLENGE so there's no getting any OAMC, or freezer cooking supplies for me this week.   I'm doing quite well in the Pantry Challenge by the way.  I only have to cook one meal a day since hubby doesn't eat breakfast at home, and he's at work for lunch.  That only leaves dinner.   Here's our meals so far:

Monday - beef enchiladas (I had already browned some taco seasoned ground beef in the freezer)

Tuesday - Chicken pot pie, lemon meringue cupcakes AND strawberry turnovers.  Yes, that was two desserts!  Not only did I fix our dinner, but took a meal to some friends!  

Wednesday -  Chef salad night

Thursday - Grilled hotdogs, slaw  and salad.  (I used the French Dressing I had made and blogged about here)

So far, so good.  I haven't even had to break into the allowed $5.00.  This goes until Sunday night and Monday we're all meeting back here for a linky to see how everybody did.   I can't wait to visit all the blogs that participated!

Now, I'm not going to leave you recipe-less!  Ya know I love marinades.  My all-time favorite "store bought" marinade is Allegro.   When I buy steaks (love the Albertson's buy one get two deals!)  I divide them up into ziploc bags and just pour the marinade in there and freeze.  Then, when I'm thawing the steaks, they're also marinating.  Good deal!

ok......

Have you heard of "dump chicken"?   Back in 2001 (I know because I printed these out and that's the date on it! LOL) I got these recipes.  The deal is, you just "dump" all the ingredients into a freezer bag and freeze.  What could be quicker?   I wanna share some with you.  If you have others, please, by all means, share!

These are ingredients, you add the amount of chicken you want.  When ready to cook, dump the (thawed) bag into a baking dish and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven.  Bake until juices run clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30 minutes for boneless skinless chicken breasts.  (This is the procedure for all below)

BBQ Jelly Chicken

3/4 cup ketchup

3/4 cup blackberry, strawberr, peach or apricot ham

1/8 cup white vinegar

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Chili Maple Glazed Chicken

2 TBSP water

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 TBSP maple syrup

1 TBSP chili powder

Citrus Ginger Chicken

1/4 cup orange marmalade

1 TBSP honey-mustard

3/4 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp red pepper (optional)

Creole Chicken
(one of my fave's!)
1 TBSP olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup bell pepper chopped
1 clove minced garlic
14 oz can whole tomatoes (chopped and drained)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp pepper sauce

(kinda boring without pics, right?   Sorry)
I've put up McLinky for you to share your freezer meals, bulk cooking, tips or recipes.  Or if you just want to show us your accomplishments for your oamc.  We'd all love to see!  Please be sure to link back to this so everyone can see.  You can take the button to the right and put on your blog, or not.  It's ok,  just link back to here...and leave a comment too.    Have fun!

the serious stuff:  Freezer Foods Friday© is my name for this event.  I just ask that you don't copy that name. I love that there are others excited about making "freezer meals", and I encourage that, please use a different name other than Freezer Foods Friday.  Thank you for being a sweetie about that!

Wednesday's Thoughts

PRAYER REQUEST TUESDAY

Good morning my friends!
Have you wondered what the button in the right margin "Prayer Request Tuesday" was all about? (the one at the top with Jeremiah 29:2 scripture reference?). I've been thinking a lot lately of how we're instructed to lift each other up and pray for one another. On my facebook page, a while back, I asked if anyone had any prayer requests. I was touched and amazed at all the responses I received. At the same time I was convicted that I had not been praying for my sisters as I ought, and then I happened on a blog where the question was asked "How may I pray for you today". I was so moved by that act of love that I decided I would do the same on my blog, in hopes that around this blog-world, we could cover the whole week in prayer and "bear one another's burdens".

How it works: If you have a prayer request, leave a comment. You don't have to give any particulars you don't want to, and if you'd rather just leave a comment stating "unspoken", that's fine. If you'd like to pray, then please, pray for the person's comment above yours. (A "prayer chain" of sorts).

So, are we all checking our pantry? I want to send you on a little trip (cyber-wise) to Holly's blog today. She's participating in the challenge and has listed her week's menu. (She is putting me to shame...she's so organized!) But she has given me a great idea for the next pantry challenge, so I'm thankful to her! Her blog is The Southern Seven. You might get some good ideas to help you through the week!

Oh! I want to tell you...I am not a fraud! In case some of my local friends saw me at the seafood market this morning, I was running an errand for my mother! Honest! LOL

PANTRY CHALLENGE

I'm issuing a challenge!

Can you live out of the pantry, freezer and frige for one week?

I'm going to, starting tomorrow (MONDAY) and wanted to know who wants to join me? You may spend only $5.00 for food stuff. Period. The rest of the meals, snacks, whatever have to be from whats on hand in the house. (Quick! go shopping today! LOL) .
If you want to play along, leave a comment here.

Also, just so we're not looking into our pantry and seeing only creamed corn and potato chips, and in the freezer some ground beef. (all hypothetical, of course!) if you need help coming up with recipes for what you have on hand, comment on it and let's all help each other out with some ideas or recipes.

Sound like fun? This is going from Monday to Sunday (yeah, I know, not a full week but almost) On the Monday after that, I'll put up a McLinky and we can all link up and tell how our week went.
So, who's in? I'll be doing PANTRY CHALLENGEs through the year, so if you didn't get in on this one, just keep checking back.
Oh, and if you'd like to take the button up top, and link back here, PLEASE feel free! The more the merrier!

Ok, now, comment and tell all who is in!

FREEZER FOODS FRIDAY

The recipe I'd like to share today was given to me years ago by a really good family friend. Sharon Lee gave me a super muffin recipe called  "Six Week Muffins"  It's a perfect "make ahead" recipe because, like the name says, you can keep these for six weeks in the frige!

I remember having these at a dinner she hosted at her house.  I was excited because they tasted just like the muffins served at Lunch on Limoge in Dade City, Florida.   When I worked in Tampa at a diagnostic imaging center, a group of us gals would go on jaunts and visit the antique shops and of course it was a given that we'd be eating at Lunch on Limoge!  LOL .

They're not hard at all, and , well... they keep a good while.  But, I've never had to worry about 'em lasting past six weeks!  LOL

Here's what you'll need:

Six Weeks Muffins

4 beaten eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup salad oil

1 quart buttermilk

5 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

5 cups flour

1 (15 oz) box Raisin Bran, or Raisin Nut Bran cereal (I used reg. rasin bran)

Mix all ingredients well.  You can add any fruits , nuts, coconut, if desired 

I added a can of drained crushed pineapple to half of the batter (the measuring/mixing bowl up top)

Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 10 minutes for miniature muffins; 18-20 minutes for large.

I freeze mine after baking. (Got a zippered freezer bag of 'em in the freezer now!)

I decided to make some pineapple butter too

Now, how about you?  Wanna share a make-ahead recipe? It doesn't have to be "Freezer".  Join in the McLinky below to your post and be sure to link back here to participate so everybody can enjoy!  Would love to have ya play along!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This is from Todd Wilbur's Top Secret Recipes cookbook.

It's supposed to be like Panera Bread's  Broccoli Cheddar Soup.  The first night we ate it, I didn't think it tasted like it...I finished off the left-overs today for lunch.  Yep.  I think it taste like Panera's.   I guess ya have to let it rest a day before eating  LOL!   So I thought I'd share and let you see for yourself.

You're going to need...

3 cups broccoli florets

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

8 slices Kraft Singles Sharp Cheddar Cheese (I know, right?)

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1/3 cup diced white onion

pinch ground black pepper

steam broccoli in a steamer basket over boiling water in a covered saucepan for 6 minutes.

Remove broccoli to a copping board until cool, then use a large sharp knife to dice broccoli into pieces that are about the size of peas.

Pour chicken broth into a large saucepan with half and half.  Whisk in flour, and then add remaining ingredients, including the broccoli.

Turn heat to medium, stirring often until mixture begins to bubble.

Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until carrots are tender and soup is thick.

(Makes 4 servings)

Enjoy!

Great use of an I-Phone!

Have y'all seen this?!?!? I love it!

Ok, I seriously think I love Anna from Noodleheads! She made a gathered pouch and did a tutorial around mother's day and I snagged her instructions.

This is hers... click on the pic to go to the tutorial!

I followed her instructions and made it this weekend. Her instructions were perfect! I must confess, I've never sewn a zipper before! Those of you who know me probably are gasping in disbelief, but yes, it's true. (as Blue Oyster Cult parody plays in the background... Don't Fear the Zipper....)

This is mine...

(Hey! I just noticed this picture is upside down!)

You can't see the gathers very well, probably because of the print, but they're there, trust me!

I think what I liked, and made this stand out from all the other pouch tutorials out there, was the fact that she put in divider and a double slot card holder.

I'm really happy with the way it turned out. She has so many great tutorials on her site for all the sewing enthusiasts. You've just gotta check her out if you've never been there! My summer is more than likely going to be a sewing extravaganza! LOL I want Anna to be my new BFF!!!