Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

Courtesy of Amanda

Ingredients

 

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
4 tbsp butter, very cold and cut in small cubes
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp buttermilk

For Brushing
2 tbsp melted butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. It is very important to have a hot oven so do this step early and let your oven get super hot.)

Once the oven is hot, sift together the first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Next, incorporate the cold butter into the flour mixture by mashing the ingredients together using your hands, a fork or a pastry blender until it resembles a course meal with pea-sized lumps of butter and flour. If using your hands, work extra quickly so that the butter doesn't melt during the blending process.

Add the buttermilk to the mixing bowl with the flour and butter. Stir just until all the ingredients have come together in a ball of dough. (Try not to overwork the dough as this will lead to tough biscuits!)
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press or roll the dough into 1" thick circle (again, avoid over working the dough). Using a round cutter or ring mold dipped in flour, carefully cut out biscuits and place onto a sheet pan in a circle with the edges of each biscuit nearly (but not quite) touching one another and 1 biscuit situated in the middle of the circle. Loosely form the remaining dough scraps into 1 biscuit.

Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter. Place sheet pan in preheated oven and bake for approximately 10 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Remove from oven and brush with more melted butter. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Grocery List

Author Unknown

Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face,
walked into a grocery store..

She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if
he would let her charge a few groceries..

She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they
had seven children and they needed food.

John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his
store at once.

Visualizing the family needs, she said: 'Please, sir! I will bring you the
money just as soon as I can.'

John told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge
account at his store.

Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation
between the two The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he
would stand good for whatever she needed for her family. The grocer said in
a very reluctant voice, 'Do you have a grocery list?'

Louise replied, 'Yes sir.' 'O..K' he said, 'put your grocery list on the
scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in
groceries.'

Louise hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse
and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid
the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed.

The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales
went down and stayed down..

The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said
begrudgingly, 'I can't believe it.'

The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the
other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put
more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more.

The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of
paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement.

It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said:

'Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands.'

The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned
silence.

Louise thanked him and left the store. The other customer handed a
fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said; 'It was worth every penny of it.
Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs.'

Hershey Chocolate Pie

Total Time:

Prep Time: 0 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Courtesy of Nikki Kate.

• 1 chocolate wafer pie crust

Layer 1

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 8 ounces Cool Whip
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Layer 2

• 1 (3 1/2 ounce) box chocolate pudding
• 1 1/2 cups milk

Directions:

1. Whip the cream cheese until softened.
2. Blend in powdered sugar, cool-whip and vanilla extract.
3. Put into crust and smooth out top.
4. Make pudding as directed on box for a pie, using only 1 1/2 cups of milk.
5. Top pie with pudding mixture and smooth out top.
6. Finish with Cool Whip and chocolate curls.
7. Refrigerate until set.

Ingredients:

Servings:
8 8

8

Servings Size

• 
  

  
  

Oven Fried Chicken

Ingredients 

(Courtesy of Paula Deen)

• 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons freshly minced thyme leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 -inch thickness

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place a cooling rack over pan and spray rack with nonstick cooking spray.

In a shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, cheese, 2 tablespoons olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper, to taste. In a separate shallow dish, combine mustard, water, salt and pepper, to taste, and remaining olive oil. Coat each chicken breast with mustard mixture; dredge each in bread crumb mixture. Place on prepared rack in pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown. Serve immediately.

 

Believe in Yourself

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there; sometimes to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or help figure out who you are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be but when you lock eyes with them, you know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you at the time that may seem horrible, painful and unfair; but in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck.

Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul.

Without these small tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. Safe and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet affect your life. The successes and downfalls that you experience can create who you are, and you can learn from the bad experiences.In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive them because they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.

If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because they are teaching you to love and to open your heart and eyes to little things.

Make every day count.

Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again.

Talk to people you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high.

Hold your head up because you have every right to.

Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you.

Create your own life and then go out and live it."If you take your eyes off your goals, all you see are obstacles."

Peaches and Cream Muffins

Recipe Courtesy of  The Deen Brothers

Servings:    12 muffins
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 35 min
Difficulty:  Easy

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray

2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (15-ounce) can sliced peaches, drained and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the cups of a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, butter, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Gently fold in the peaches.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a serving platter and serve immediately or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, before storing.

Isaiah 65:24

This is a story written by a doctor who worked in Africa .. (Author Unknown)

(Long story, but worth it!)

One night I worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward. But in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We had difficulty keeping the baby alive; as we had no incubator (no electricity to run an incubator). We also had no special feeding facilities.

Although we lived on the equator, nights were chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in.
Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates).

'And it is our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk, in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.

'All right,' I said, 'put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts Your job is to keep the baby warm.'

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.

During prayer time, ten -year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. 'Please, God' she prayed, 'Send us a hot water bottle today. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.'

While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, 'And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?'

As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say 'Amen?' I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything; the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever, received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the veranda was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out bright knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. There were also knitted bandages for the leprosy patients.The children looked a little bored.. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend.

As I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, 'If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!' Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!

Looking up at me, she asked, 'Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?'

'Of course,' I replied!

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it 'that afternoon.'

'Before they call, I will answer.' (Isaiah 65:24)

Cranberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
• 1 pound spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons minced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and let cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the toasted almonds and cranberries.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and vegetable oil. Toss with spinach just before serving.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 338 | Total Fat: 23.5g | Cholesterol: 4mgPowered by ESHA Nutrient Database

Psalms 46:10

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Millionaire Pie Recipe

This is an old fashioned millionaire pie recipe, passed around through many a southern family. It is very easy to make and is a rich, creamy treat for dessert.

Ingredients:

1 can mandarin oranges - drained
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 can sweetened condensed milk
nuts to taste
1 container cool whip
graham cracker crust

Directions:
1. Mix condensed milk, oranges, and lemon juice.
2. Carefully fold in the Cool Whip.
3. Pour into graham cracker crust. Chill 4-6 hours before serving.

Courtesy of: Moms Who Think

Roast Beef Tortilla Wrap

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 flour tortillas (10 inches), warmed
• 4 leaf lettuce leaves
• 1/2 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef
• 8 thin slices tomato
• 4 slices red onion, separated into rings

Directions

• In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, mayonnaise, cumin, salt, chili powder and cayenne until smooth. Spread 1 tablespoon on one side of each tortilla; top with lettuce, roast beef, tomato and onion; roll up tightly. Cut on a diagonal. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutritional Facts 1 serving (1 each) equals 404 calories, 14 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 34 mg cholesterol, 1,422 mg sodium, 38 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 23 g protein.

Originally published as Roast Beef Tortilla Wraps in Taste of Home Meals in Minutes Calendar Annual 2003, p7

Pearls for the Soul

By Richard Alan Naggar

When we long for life without difficulties,

remind us that oaks grow

strong in contrary winds,

and diamonds are made under pressure

~~~~~

Good timber does not grow with ease.

The stronger the wind, the stronger

the tree.

~~~~~

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

The One Thing We Can Change

by Charles R. Swindoll

A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases power. Proverbs 24:5

This may shock you, but I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude.

It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me, or say about me, my circumstances, or my position.

The attitude I choose keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope.

When my attitudes are right, there's no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.

Yet we must admit that we spend more of our time concentrating and fretting over the things that can't be changed than we do giving attention to the one that we can change---our choice of attitude.