It's Soup Weather!

Cooler weather is coming!  Now we have been very fortunate in the weather we have had. Last week we had a cold weather meal even if our temps weren't as cold as what you see here.

Rick said he didn't think he had ever eaten white chili. Now most people make white chili with chicken instead of hamburger but pretty much keep the rest of the chili recipe the same. Not Gary - he went for White Chili.

I don't know if the above picture shows the goodness of this soup so here's a close up.

Gary cooked the chicken seasoned with seasoned salt, paprika and cumin. He roasted this in the oven and then it was cut up into small pieces. He then sauteed onions and garlic in butter, added green chilies and cooked for a few minutes. To this he added the cut up chicken, 2 cans of navy beans drained and rinsed, chicken stock, seasoned all this About 20 minutes before serving he mixed together some corn meal and  milk and added to the chili for thickening. We all agreed this was probably better than regular chili.

Now what goes good with chili you ask?  Well what else but cornbread.

Miss Annette made two kinds of corn bread for us. Regular and jalapeno. The best corn bread recipe you can have is two boxes of Jiffy Corn Bread Mix and 1 box of Jiffy White Cake MIx. Combine these together. To one of these she added some chopped jalapeno. Yummers!

Just add some chopped onions and some shredded cheese to top your chili with and you have a perfect colder weather meal.  But wait!  We need dessert.

 

Chris made some brownies. Just a simple brownie mix and he does a pretty good job with this.

So there you have it. The perfect cold weather meal for the cooler temperatures coming up. Maybe those girls of mine up in the cold rainy Northwest should make note of the recipe.

What Season Are You In?

If you have read very many of my posts you know that I like to write and usually have several poems in the works.  Now sometimes these poems just flow out onto the paper in no time.  Some tend to start out strong then just hover around in my head before I can finish it up. And just about anything can spark the start of a poem.

The one I want to share with you today was started quite sometime ago by a conversation with my grandson Remington. Now he probably will not even remember the conversation. It all started as we got in the car to run some errands and there was a leaf stuck on my windshield.  This started a discussion on leaves and if they are happy being leaves and hanging on trees.  So I wrote down the beginning but wasn't sure how I wanted to end it so it set in my 'In Progress' file.  Every so often a phrase or line would occur to me and I would pull it up and add to it.

A dear friend of ours passed away recently. As we were sitting in the service it occurred to me what a great life he had been given. And what a wonderful treasure he gave his family. He had 4 children and 19 grandchildren plus great grandchildren. I couldn't hep but think of my parents who never even got to know their grandchildren. How is it that some people have a long 'season' and some have a short 'season'? There is no answer to this but it brought to mind the following poem. So I brought it back up and knew it was time to finish the poem. The lesson from this is: make the most of the season you have. You never know how long it will be.  I hope you enjoy.

SEASONS

You’re here for a season, the season is short.

So were the thoughts of a leaf named Mort.

I don’t want to spend my life just hanging around

Till I drop and float to lay on the ground.

I want to have purpose, I want to explore!

I want to see is there something more?

I won’t be content just waiting to see

What God might have in store for me.

I want to take a chance and go my own way.

Why should I listen to what God has to say?

I think I know what is best for me

And that isn’t hanging around on this tree.

He twisted and fluttered with every breeze

Trying to release himself from the tree.

He finally succeeded and went floating away

Not sure where he would end up that day.

He looked around at the sights below

Endless possibilities, where should he go?

He twisted around this way and that

Trying to determine where he was at.

He looked around at the vast expanse of sky

And gave himself a satisfied sigh.

He had done it – he had broken free

He was not contained by that stupid tree.

He wiggled himself and giggled with glee

As he floated along with the gentle breeze.

What adventures lay ahead of me

Now that I am free of that tree?

Throughout the day he went to and fro

Where ever the wind blew he would go.

Finally the wind stopped blowing him around

He floated and fluttered his way to the ground.

But wait!  How could this be?

He was only 4 feet away from his tree!

He had tried to break free and be on his own

Only to find he was still at his home.

His vision was limited and he never looked to see

What he might be able to do while hanging on his tree.

Opportunity he missed while going his own way

Never stopping to listen to what God might have to say.

Whatever your season no matter how long

God will put you where He thinks you belong.

Don’t waste your season doing things your way

But listen to what God has to say.

Written for: Remington

By:  Grandma (Kathie Marrs)

       October 24, 2014

Photo Credit goes to my friend Charles Mason. Why Google a photo when his are so good?

Please check out his page on Facebook:   Chuck Mason Photography  His prints are available for sale: canvas 12 x 24 about $159 or an 8 x 10 for $50

Let's go to Mexico

OK, I told you I would get caught up on our New Food Night this week.  So this morning I am going to tell you about our menu a couple of weeks ago.  Be prepared for your mouth to salivate and your stomach to rumble!  It was Mexican Night.

We do love our Mexican food and here in Tulsa we have lots of Mexican restaurants to choose from not to mention that there are food trucks galore around here selling Mexican food.  We do still prepare our own too.

We went with Sizzling Fajitas!  And to go with them you will need some tortillas. Easy enough to buy at the store but Gary made his own this week.

They look like the real thing don't they?  Just a few simple ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, water and lard.  Yes- that's right Lard!  Don't tell our cardiologist - he probably wouldn't be happy.  I grew up with lard - we always had it in the house.  It's what we cooked with.  So you mix the dry ingredients together then just start working in the lard. Once it is all worked in add the water a little at a time until mixture is smooth.  Let the dough set for about an hour. Next you take small balls, about the size of a walnut, and roll them out.  Don't be afraid to roll them to thin - the thinner the better.  then cook on a hot grill. Once it is browned, flip it over and brown the other side. Store between towels to keep warm.

What are we going to put on our tortillas?  Well, I'm glad you asked that.

Doesn't that look good? It was scrumptious!!  Miss Annette made the filling for our chicken fajitas: chicken, onion, green peppers, red peppers!  My mouth is watering just looking at this picture and remembering how good it tasted!   It's important to wait until almost time to serve before you cook up the mixture.  We had some sour cream to add to your fajita if you wanted.

And you cannot have Mexican food without chips and queso.

Rick brought his queso dip and we each had our own individual bowls so we wouldn't have to worry about double dipping.  Ummm- Ummm  -- good stuff!  Yes, I ate the entire bowl of queso.  I love chips and queso.

How good does that plate of food look?  It was delicious.  Wish you would  have joined us.

Of course you have to have dessert.  Typically for Mexican you think of fried ice cream or sopaipilla but we went with chocolate.

This is just a boxed chocolate dessert. chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate.  What else do you expect when Gary and dessert are paired together?

Look - we have an empty chair.  Guess that means that we have room for more at our table.  Let us know if you want to join us for one of our New Food Nights, we'd love to have you

Just Good Food

Well, I'm not sure why I'm having trouble keeping this current and most of you probably think that we have been starving since I have not posted anything about New Food Night for a couple of weeks or so.  To put your minds at ease - we are still eating - every week!  So I will start with this past weeks food and then try to get another blog in later this week on the previous weeks new food then try to stay on top of it better.

This week we decided to have tenderloins - just because they are so good!  Nothing new with that food but we decided that tenderloins are probably of German origin so Annette said she would bring a strudel.

If you did not grow up in the Midwest then you may not know what a tenderloin is but I gotta tell you - there is no better sandwich you can eat.  Trust me on this one.  Since we cannot get them here in Tulsa we make our own. So we usually have some in the freezer. We were all out so had to make up some more.  And any time we have tenderloins I always think of my brothers because they said that is one thing they also miss living back east in Michigan and Pennsylvania.  

Notice how big those tenderloins are?  That's how you know it's a real tenderloin. It's almost as big as the plate and definitely much, much bigger than the bun.  We make these by buying a loin of pork. We then slice it.  Each tenderloin is then pounded as flat as you can pound it. The thinner the better. Then coat the tenderloin in an egg wash to which a little bit of milk has been added. Next put it in cracker crumbs - just straight cracker crumbs as fine as you make then.  We usually do this in an assembly line and then put on a cookie sheet and let them freeze. After all are frozen you then package them as you please in freezer bags (two - four to a bag - your preference).  When ready to eat, get oil hot then fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve.  The only thing needed is mustard and sliced onions.  Man, I'm hungry for them again just writing about it!

Now we usually have french fries with our tenderloins but since it was new food night I decided to be adventurous and try something new.  I made Potatoes Galette.  You slice potatoes fairly thin but they do not have to be uniform in size. Since we tried leeks a few weeks ago we discovered we really liked them. So I sliced up some leeks and added to the potatoes along with some minced garlic. Drizzled some olive oil in and stirred this all up. I then arranged the potatoes in a baking dish (preferably a circular one). Just start layering them around and around until the bottom is covered. I then took a mixture of grated Parmesan cheese and Asiago cheese and sprinkled on top of the potatoes. I continued to alternate potatoes and cheese until all was used up. I also salted each layer of potatoes before adding the cheese.  Put in the oven and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.  The recipe said you can use whatever cheese you want so maybe next time I will try different cheeses because I do believe we will be trying this recipe again!  It was yummers!.

Remember that German theme? Here's the Cherry Cream Cheese Strudel Miss Annette made!  It was soooooo goooooddd!  She took a package of puff pastry and unrolled it. She then took cream cheese and mixed with some powdered sugar. This was spread in the center of the puff pastry and topped with cherry pie filling. She then folded the edges in and baked.  The leftover made for an excellent breakfast for me the next morning.  

Gary sure put a lot of whipped cream on Rick's strudel.  Rick said he hadn't seen anything wiggle like that in a loonng time.  

Rick also brought chocolate cake. Everyone knows that Gary does not believe it's dessert if it's not chocolate,

Probably a good thing that New Food Night is about the only time I eat desserts!  LOL

Food was good, company was excellent!  Don't know which we like the most - trying different foods or spending time with friends.  Either way we look forward to Tuesday nights.  

Boundaries

BOUNDARY: something that indicates bounds or limits; a limiting or bounding

 line.

We all have our boundaries for things.  How far we let people encroach on our lives and what extent we will share of ourselves.  They probably are not as obvious as the one above but the boundaries are still there. 

Have you ever stopped to think that those boundaries you are setting may be limiting to you?  Wait, what?  read that again.  The boundaries you are setting may be limiting to you.  Yes, I said that and yes, it applies to me too. (That may hurt to hear).  How many times have I let an opportunity pass me by because 'I don't do hot!"  Yes, being outside is very uncomfortable but that doesn't make the need any less important.  How often have I said 'I have to much to do" ?  Really, do I have all that much on my plate that I cannot take an extra hour a week to help out somewhere? And I am probably notorious for saying 'I'm just not sure I could do it". I could just as easily say "I've never done it before but I'm willing to try."

Now let me ask you this - did Jesus put any boundaries on his love for us?  I think not!  In John 13 we are told how Jesus washed the disciples feet. This was an act for servants to perform. The lowliest of all should be doing this act. What Jesus did here was set an example for us.  He crossed a boundary that had been set in place for thousands of years. 

Now think - what boundaries do we put on ourselves when it comes to serving?  Do we consider ourselves 'above' the service that we are going to perform?  How often do we say 'someone needs to do something about that' without realizing maybe we are the someone who needs to be doing something?  

It is so easy to see the need that may be there. Not always so easy to fill the need ourselves. We make excuses - thereby creating boundaries that will keep us from doing the serving. Our boundaries may take many forms:  I don't have the time.  If only it was on a different day.  Oh, I could NEVER do that! 

Let's cross the boundaries, tear them down. Let's cross the fence and do what needs to be done. No more thinking that someone else will do the job. If there is an act of service to be performed and it is scheduled for a Saturday that you already have a commitment, look for another day that you may be able to serve yourself in this same mission.  There are always babies needing to be rocked, held, loved in shelters.  There are always homeless needing to be fed, clothed, given God's word by action. There are always elderly needing assistance with housework, shopping, or just a visit.  There are always people in every aspect of your day who need to see God at work.  Will you be one of the ones who crosses the boundaries and serves?  

Fair Food

It's Fair Time!  It's the annual Tulsa State Fair!  This year it's billed as '11 Days of Awesome!' Yep, it lasts for 11 days. And we live not much more than a mile from the fair. Now if you live in this area, you are not exactly overly thrilled about 11 days of awesome. This means that for 11 days we cannot buy our groceries at the store we like to patronize - traffic is to intense.

Now when you think fair one of the first things you think of is Fair Food.  Nothing better than fair food - fried butter, fried Twinkies, fried snickers, anything fried. And the strangest thing advertised for this year was scorpion topped pizza.  Yep, that's right scorpion pizza!

Fair going on and we have new food night. Of course it has to be fair themed.

What's a fair without Corn Dogs?

These are Red Velvet Corn Dogs.

Look pretty nasty to me.  No, we did not have these.  We did have Corn Dogs though.

Don't these look better?  Yes, Gary made homemade corn dogs. He used Ree Drummond's recipe. Very easy , Krusteaz pancake mix, cornmeal, an egg and water.  Mix to desired consistency. Skewer those hot dogs, dip in batter and fry in hot oil (375 degrees).  Oh my gosh!!  These were good!  I am not usually a big fan of corn dogs but I really liked these.  They did not look as 'pretty' as what you would normally see but as Gary said 'that is what makes them rustic'.   Yummers!

Here's Miss Annette enjoying one of those rustic corn dogs.

We also had Frito Pies.  Nothing new here.  Just some Fritos in a bowl, top with chili, onions, and cheese.  No new recipe just something else to eat because we wanted to be sure we had enough to eat.

What's something else you always think of when you think fair food?  How about Caramel Apples?

Don't these look good? Well, they were!   Oh my!  Miss Annette melted the caramels, put sticks in the apples and dipped them. She then topped them with chopped peanuts.  Heaven!  She used Gala apples so they were juicy.  Just perfect!

Now one more have to have fair food.

That's right, I made homemade funnel cakes!  Made a batter of flour, salt, baking powder, eggs, sugar and milk to thin consistency. The batter needs to be put in a container that you can pour out of.  The recipe said to use a funnel but we used a plastic bottle. Drizzle the batter in hot oil and cook until brown, turn over and cook another minute then put on paper towels.  Top with powdered sugar,

Now it is important to make sure you top with POWDERED SUGAR. Be extra careful because the container of flour can look just like powdered sugar. And guests are much to polite to tell you they don't taste quite right. They just decline more powdered sugar for their funnel cake.  Now let me also be clear that I was not the one to sprinkle flour on the funnel cakes. That was Gary - who was helping me out as I fried the funnel cakes.  Fortunately, we had enough batter that the first three topped with flour could be pitched in the trash and new ones made.  Gary ate the third one and that was when he realized what he had done.

Once they were topped with the right white topping they tasted wonderful.

Now, I bet you wish you had joined us this week, don't you?  Stay tuned for more new food night.