cooking challenge week 2

Alrighty friends, we are headed into week two of my cooking challenge to myself :) I'm excited to try some more new things. Starting with tonight's Scalopped Potatoe recipe. Should be yummy! I can't wait to try it out. Not sure what else I will be trying this week just yet, but I will let you know! I do still have three more recipes to post from last week, but rest assured, I met my goal of 5, yay! Wish me luck!

3 recipes

So far I have tried three great recipes - Golden Cheddar Biscuits, Mile High Chocolate Meringue Pie, and Scratch Brownies. As I type this the brownies are plumping up in the oven. I've never made brownies from scratch. I realize now what I've been missing! Wow! That batter was out of this world! Below you'll find the recipes that I tried out :)

Golden Cheddar Biscuits - Gooseberry Patch

Ingredients:

1/4 cup shortening
1t. sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt
1t. garlic powder
1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Cream shortening and sugar. Mix dry ingredients together; add to shortening and sugar mixture. Blend in egg, milk, and cheese. Divide evenly into a greased muffin pan and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until golden brown.

*My notes - this is very easy to mix with a spoon, be sure to grease the muffin pan well, and 20 minutes was a bit too long for my oven - try 16-18 minutes but don't go over 20.

Mile High Chocolate Meringue Pie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 t salt

4 egg yolks beaten (save the whites for meringue)
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup flour
2 cup whole milk
9 inch pie crust baked and cooled (from scratch is best, but can be store bought)

Instructions:

Mix sugar, cocoa, salt, and flour in a medium bowl and set aside. Place egg yolks in a medium heavy sauce pan. Whisk in sugar mixture and milk alternately until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in vanilla. Bring to a boil stirring regularly until thick. (about 10-15 min) Remove from heat and beat smooth. Pour into pie crust and spoon meringue over hot filling. Seal to edge of the crust. Bake at 350 degrees until meringue is lightly golden - about 12-15 minutes. Cool completely in fridge before serving. Store in the fridge.

Meringue Recipe:

6 egg whites (at room temperature)

1/4 t cream of tartar

6 T sugar

1/2 t vanilla extract

Beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Reduce speed to low and add tartar. Gradually add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Beat until stiff, glossy, peaks form. Add in vanilla. Beat until vanilla is fully mixed in and peaks are firm. Spoon meringue on top of pie.

*My Notes - I do like this recipe but it makes a dark chocolaty flavor. Instant chocolate pudding might be an easier and better tasting flavor if you don't like that dark chocolate taste.

Scratch Brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup melted butter or margarine
2 cup white sugar
1 t vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup baking cocoa
2 cup flour

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350. Cream margarine/butter and sugar with whisk. Switch to using a spoon to mix the rest. Add vanilla and eggs and mix until smooth. Add in cocoa and flour, again, mixing until smooth. Add in any extras (nuts, chocolate pieces, caramel chunks, etc.), fold in. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. You can use either two 8x8 pans or one 9x9 pan. Using one pan will make brownies thicker, and may take a bit longer to bake.

*My Notes - It did take a bit longer to bake one pan of brownies, but they are amazing! This is a definite MUST try!

a chef is born

Or so I wish! Lol :) I've always had this urge inside to cook these fabulous things. An inner-chef waiting to burst forth. But she's been quited with a fear of not being able to cook those fabulous pretties in my head. Then along comes the movie "Julie & Julia" and it inspires that inner-chef to break out. And boy do I mean BREAK out! I've been cooking up a storm! I've tried new recipes each day since watching the movie and so far they have all turn out well! So I've decided to challenge myself. At least 5 new recipes a week. I'm not bold enough to do 7 because I know I won't make that and I'll feel defeated. So, 5 is a good # to me. I've always wanted to bake so don't be surprised if I post baked goods recipes more than the rest. I will (hopefully) try to post pics along with the recipes I try out. Some will be my own, most will be from cookbooks that have piled up and collected dust in my cupboard. I'm spending the next week going through them, marking them, and menu planning with them :) I'm totally excited. The boys (and Scott) are a bit more hesitant than I am, but we all need to try new things! Scott keeps cracking up when I am in the kitchen. Apparently I have been humming, giggling, and 'prancing' around the kitchen with a goofy grin on my face. I am having FUN in the kitchen and I love it! So here goes, challenge on! If you go on the journey with me, lemme know! I love comments :)

bullet points

* I am tired. Very tired. I need sleep. It's only 9:30, sigh.

* We are no longer at Trinity - I have not shared my emotions about that. That is not like me.

* I've endured gossip, lies, and guilt trips over the past few months. I have still kept silent. Again - not like me.

* I want to talk about it. I can't bring myself to. I was asked not to by someone I respect a great deal and so I've not dealt with it verbally. This I have come to realize also means I have not dealt with it emotionally.

* Saying goodbye didn't happen. I thought that was okay. I missed saying goodbye to the one person I really wanted to talk to. I've now realized that's okay.

* I'm going through a plethora of emotions now that I've allowed myself to feel.

* The biggest hurt is the dissapointment. Not with myself.

* The gossip didn't affect me like before. This time I let it roll off. That has been freeing.

* I truly now realize how much I just don't care what others think of our leaving.

* I never really grieved the loss emotionally. I think that is how it was meant to be.

* A huge weight lifted once the final decision was made. It was followed by a cloud of unspoken, unfelt, emotion.

* I vented in my prayer time the other day. That's what woke me up to the clutter within.

* I need to get it all out. I refuse to do that publiclly. The gossip against me was done publiclly. By those I'd thought were better than that. They are the ones who dissapointed me.

* Not sure why/what I'm sharing here. Just trying to unclog the webs...

brothers

So over the past several months the boys have been putting up boundaries. And they've been warring over them. They fight A.LOT. these days. David is highly bossy and Daniel is a screamer when he is frustrated/mad/sad/irritated - you get the point. So there are days when all I do is say BE NICE or STOP YELLING or SEPARATE ROOMS NOW. It's been frustrating. Why won't my two boys get along? They're brothers for goodness sakes! I've read up and realize this is normal, but at the same time it's irritating. I wish they would get along like those angelic kids you always see. Never calling each other ugly names, never being mean to each other, never taking toys away or saying you can't play with me. I guess it feels like a failure when they don't act nicer to each other.

Fast forward to last night. It was our first night of Awana in our new church. The boys have not been to Awana for about 2 months so they were very excited to be going back. I watched them stick together like glue! At one point even holding hands down the hallway to get to their room. Neither was nervous, they just both wanted brother with them. It was a very sweet moment :) Then Award time comes. Daniel earned a green jewel but it was forgotten when they mentioned awards so when he got it there wasn't clapping. Okay things happen, no biggie. I talked to the leader and she realized she'd forgotten him and went right over to give him his jewel. Then David did something that made this mommas heart soar. He applauded his brother. All by himself, no one prompting, he starting clapping big and loud for Daniel. Talk about one proud momma!

I realized then that I may not have gotten the kind of kids that are crazy obedient and never argue, but I did get some awesome crazy boys that, despite all the boundaries and arguing, love and are proud of each other. I'd take my boys over those others any day. Just reminded me yet again that God sure did know what He was doing when he gave me my boys.

on of my favorite photos

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic (sp?) after reading Debra's blog today so I dug up some of my all time favorite photos of the boys. :) Enjoy.

Pray Ronel Home!

For many of you that follow my Facebook page you've read my please. But I want to reach out to those that read this blog too. Ernest and Debra Parker were in the process of adopting Ronel from Haiti before the quake. When the US granted Humanitarian Parole for Haitian adoptees two weeks ago, they got busy doing what needed to be done to bring Ronel home. However because he was missing some paper work, he was not able to come home when several others were. It's been heartbreaking for the Parkers. And for those of us praying, although our heartbreak pales in comparison. Last week Ernest went to Haiti with everything they needed. He's been told every day since that today will be the day they can come home. And then every night he's told maybe tomorow. For whatever reason, Unicef has gotten in the way of adoptees going out of the country. They are going around in circles and causing major problems. Ernest and Ronel have slept on the floor of the embassy for a week. Leaving without Ronel is not an option. So this is a call to arms! Raise up your arms and pray with me and several hundred other prayer warriors. Let's pray without ceasing and pray Ronel home! God is so much bigger than we can ever imagine so let's take this to Him! He is our rescuer. Our protector. Our healer. And yes, OUR SAVIOR! He comes to the rescue when we need Him, and WE NEED HIM! Please get on your knees, your face, stand and shout, raise your arms up high, do whatever you need to do to plead straight to the heart of God. Plead the Parkers case and pray pray pray with all you've got. God has radically changed my prayer life over the past several weeks. Let him change yours too! Go before the trone and stand in the gap for this family. And then watch God work, cause He's got something awesome in mind for this family. I feel it with every fiber in me. God has something BIG in store. Pray my friends. Pray Ronel home!