Wordless Wednesday

Sunshine Acres and Muffins

It is getting closer and closer to cooler days here in Arizona - we have had a very HOT long summer.  I could not wait any longer and made a pot of chili this week in honor of coming fall days

If you have read my blog you know that I worked for 12 years in a Christian children's home called Sunshine Acres.  Well, they are now on Face Book and have a video of the founder, the late Vera Dingman known fondly as Aunt Vera.

With cooler days ahead and in memory of my days at Sunshine Acres I want to repost a wonderful muffin recipe.

My Famous Muffins (repost)

When the Lord gave me my first son, Jason more than anything I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.  Being a single woman I had to make a living for us though and the Lord made that possible by taking me to Sunshine Arcres Children's Home.  While there I adopted my second son, Anthony and two years later I met the man who would become my Precious Husband.

During my years at "The Acres" I would often invite some of the other single ladies and grandmas on the place over for coffee and muffins.  Today I am sharing a recipe that has been around for years but worth repeating here.  Grandma Merle was the grandmother of Judy Dingman who was the founders of "The Acres" daughter-in-law.  Are you still with me : )  Anyway, Grandma Merle would always say, "Oh boy, we get to go to Dorothy's for her famous muffins!"   Such special memories I have of all the people and especially the children of Sunshine Acres.

Dorothy's Famous Muffins

(Better known as 6 Week Muffins)

5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups boiling water
2 cups All Bran Cereal
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
4 eggs, beaten well
1 quart buttermilk
4 cups All Bran Cereal
2 cups raisins

Mix 2 cups All Bran with boiling water and set aside.  In large bowl with lid mix margarine and sugar and add eggs, beating well.  Combine dry ingredients and mix in.  Add buttermilk and the other 4 cups All Bran along with wet All Bran.  Mix well and stir in raisins.  Bake 20 minutes in greased muffin tins at 400’.  This mix keeps in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.  Make as many or as few at a time as you want to.

Try this recipe out and invite a neighbor that needs a lift.  In no time people will be talking about your "famous muffins" too. 

Linking up to http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/   http://everydaymomsmeals.blogspot.com/  http://mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/

Monday's Memo

. . . and beauty dances

I've never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful.  ~Author Unknown


Beauty... when you look into a woman's eyes and see what is in her heart.  ~Nate Dircks


You can take no credit for beauty at sixteen.  But if you are beautiful at sixty, it will be your soul's own doing.  ~Marie Stopes

Taking joy in living is a woman's best cosmetic.  ~Rosalind Russell

Do I love you because you're beautiful,
Or are you beautiful because I love you?
~Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Cinderella

As we grow old, the beauty steals inward.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.  ~Kahlil Gibran

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's Simple

It's simple.  Precious Husband loves me.  Simple as that and yet so amazing to me.

A few years ago we stayed in a little hotel near the beach in San Louis Obispo.  In our bathroom was a little orange rubber duck.  Sometimes it doesn't take much to make me smile and this little guy made me smile.

As we left the hotel the next day Precious Husband tracked down the housekeeper and asked for a duck for his wife.

It's simple, he loves me.  How blessed I am with my Precious Husband and my own little orange duck.

Books Books Books!

Monday I began the chore I have put off forEVER - cleaning up the enormous number of books I own which seem to multiply like rabbits.  Tuesday I continued the labor of love and today I hope to finish the job.  

My office, my library, my sanctuary and refuge is my favorite room to come to but not when it gets so cluttered and books are stacked ten deep in piles all around my chair.  My chair is the only chair in the room and that is because this real-estate is mine alone and there is no one to blame for the mess but me.  Precious Husband's office is pretty much a mess all the time but the big difference is that when he decides to clean his real-estate he can do it so quickly - amazing to me.  

This cleaning challenge this takes me days because honestly I am slow and I get so easily side-tracked.  I pick up the stack of my mom's journals and read through the one dated 1975 and read about what she was doing the year after Daddy died.  I read about what we did together to prepare for my wedding in '83.  I am glad she journaled because I read about things I have totally forgotten.  She quit keeping her journals because I think she feels her life is a little boring now - that is sure a shame.

I pick up a book and to my delight realize that it is one of my very favorites and that I have two.  In the box it goes to share with someone special that will undoubtedly be blessed with it like I am.  I sit in my chair and leaf through another book that I had forgotten I had and also forgotten how good it is.  Yes, these are all reasons I am still in the process of over-hauling my books.  It will feel so good when I do get done - maybe today : )

If you need a good book I do love to share.  I will even bring a chair in for you to sit and take your time.  We could have tea - I would like that.

Wordless Wednesday

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday - Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bars

Chocolate-Caramel Cookie Bars (Martha Stewart Living November 2009)

This is a cookie recipe I made the weekend we had the 4 TLC's.  They are quite rich and most certainly chocolatey. The combination of sweet and salty is just right.  They would be a great addition to a ladies tea party I think.   

Ingredients

• For the Crust

◦ 4 1/2 ounces (9 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for parchment

◦ 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

◦ 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

◦ 1/4 teaspoon table salt

• For the Chocolate Caramel

◦ 10 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, chopped (2 cups)

◦ 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

◦ 1/4 cup water

◦ 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter

◦ 1 cup heavy cream

◦ 1/2 teaspoon table salt

◦ 1 tablespoon sea salt, preferably fleur de sel

•

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the crust: Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on all sides; butter parchment, excluding overhang. Beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour and table salt, and beat until just combined.

2. Press dough evenly into pan, and bake until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

3. Make the chocolate caramel: Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, washing sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming, until amber, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter, cream, and table salt. Bring to a boil, stirring until smooth. Pour over chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes. Stir to combine, and let stand until cool, about 10 minutes.

4. Pour mixture over crust. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. Run a knife around edges; lift parchment to remove whole bar from pan. Sprinkle with sea salt. Trim edges, and cut into 16 bars.

On a more personal note Paul and I are off the sugar and trying to undue the damage we did with our cruise to Alaska, trip to Kentucky and simply being undisciplined for too long.  When we changed our eating habits we both felt better and we really must get back to it.  So no more Chocolate Caramel Bars for us but hope you enjoy them if you give the recipe a try.

Linked to http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/ today for lots of great recipe ideas.

Monday's Memo

A Sure Way to a Happy Day

Happiness is something we create in our mind,

It's not something you search for and so seldom find.

It's just waking up and beginning the day

By counting our blessings and kneeling to pray.

It's giving up thoughts that breed discontent

And accepting what comes as a "gift heaven-sent."

It's giving up wishing for things we have not

And making the best of whatever we've got.

It's knowing that life is determined for us,

And pursuing our tasks without fret, fume, or fuss.

For it's by completing what God gives us to do

That we find real contentment and happiness, too.

-- Helen Steiner Rice from Sunshine of Joy

 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy––meditate on these things. 

Philippians 4:8

What is it Wednesday

With Precious Husband retired now we often hit the thrift stores in search mainly of books.  We are both pack rats for sure and we really do need to get a little control over this but anyway . . .

Because we are pack rats we often look around the house, shake our heads and wonder what in the world the poor kids will do with all this stuff.

With this in mind I am once again going to try to give my kids some info on our belongings so that they will know what they want to do with our junk treasures someday.  To toss or to keep that will be up to them.

Today's what is it is an aluminum serving tray created by the Forman Family.  This tray was a wedding present given to my parents over 63 years ago.  

The past memory tied to this serving tray is of my mothering carrying a meal in to my father who was bed ridden with a flue bug or something.  She would make him what they called back then, "milk toast".  This was just bread toasted and torn into pieces and covered with warm milk.  Yuck, but my father liked it when he was not feeling well.

My father seemed to get "the flue" regularly each year otherwise he was always healthy.  Owning a dairy and having no hired help for many years I believe his flue bug was a forced vacation for him.

Because he was healthy otherwise this tray was not used much and remained on a shelf in the linen closet most of the time.

Now, the tray is mine and has a prominent place in my kitchen.  It is used quite often to serve Precious Husband coffee and goodies and even more fun is using it to serve hot chocolate in the yellow teapot to have "coffee with Mémère".

I hope someone will want to take Mémère's tray and continue serving their family with lots of love like my mom did and I do.  

Do You Like Pecan Pie?

Our youngest daughter and I share a love for pecan pie and always look forward to Thanksgiving dessert for that reason - pecan pie!  So when I saw this recipe for cookies I decided to give it a try cause it sounded delish for sure.  Sure enough these cookies are the best - especially if you love pecan pie like I do.

With the 4 TLC's here all weekend I went into baking mode and made English Toffee Bars, Oatmeal Toffee cookies (not a keep) and a cookie from Martha Stewart along with my classic chocolate chip cookies for Precious Husband.  This was all in addition to homemade vanilla ice-cream Sunday night.  Needless to say I am returning to my sugar-free lifestyle for a while as a result of this weekend.

Give these cookies a try and see if you don't think they remind you of pecan pie and bring fond memories of past Thanksgiving dinners.

English Toffee Bars

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

• 1 cup pecan halves

• Toffee Topping (recipe follows)

• 1 cup Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Chips

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Combine flour and brown sugar in large bowl. With pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until fine crumbs form (a few large crumbs may remain). Press mixture onto bottom of ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Sprinkle pecans over crust. Prepare Toffee Topping; drizzle evenly over pecans and crust.

3. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until topping is bubbly and golden; remove from oven. Immediately sprinkle milk chocolate chips evenly over top; press gently onto surface. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. About 36 bars.

Toffee Topping: Combine 2/3 cup butter and 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar in small saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue boiling, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Use immediately.

Linking to Lisa at http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/  for more cooking ideas - she has a great blog.

Tuesday's Prayer

"Use me then, my Savior,

for whatever purposes and in whatever way you may require.

Here is my poor heart, an empty vessel;

fill it with your grace."    D. L. Moody

And may I add Lord, fill it with your peace.

Monday Humor

Is this anything like leaving my mark on the world?

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday - Kentucky Oatmeal Cookies

While in Kentucky with our daughter, son-in-love and 3 grandkids I got to go out and do some junking.  And would you believe what I found?  Yep, I found another yellow bowl.  So now Tristan has his and Amber got the latest find.  

Of course while I was there I had to put the yellow bowl to use making cookies and more memories.  Before I left I was reminded that I hadn't made my son-in-love his favorite which are oatmeal.  Last time I was in Kentucky I made Dallas some that he really liked but the recipe was on my laptop that was stolen.  I had the good 'ole standby on the back of the oatmeal box but instead I went online and found a great new recipe which will be my go to oatmeal cookie recipe from now on.

I am headed to the kitchen now to make these for our men at the Pampa house and for the women in my bible study tonight.  More will go out tomorrow to a daughter-of-my-heart, Connie and the rest to the 4 TLC's that I will spend Wednesday with.  Wow, that sounds like a lot of oatmeal cookies so I better close and get busy!

Kentucky Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 cup packed brown sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 3 cups quick cooking oats

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.

3. Bake for 8 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Possible Basket Case

The picture above is just the over-flow.  These unused baskets sit in the Butterfly Room waiting for a purpose.  I love baskets - can you tell?  You might be tempted to even call me a basket case all in good humor of course.  

On a more serious note though sometimes life brings situations into our lives and we begin to feel that emotionally we are becoming a basket case and that is the inspiration for this blog.  

Situations in our family and in our church right now are threatening to bring great stress and anxiety into our lives.  This morning Precious Husband and I faced situations that were causing tensions to mount between us as and it would have been so easy to fall apart and allow myself to be a basket case.  To fall apart emotionally and allow anxiety and fear to take over.  But no!  I choose to be strong in Who I know God is and Who has called me to the life I now live.  Several times I heard Precious Husband on the phone this morning tell someone, "I serve a mighty God Who is able".  Hearing those words alone brings encouragement to my heart.  

We can allow the enemy of our soul to challenge us in our thoughts or we can stand and proclaim Who God is and live accordingly.  Yes, Precious Husband is right, we serve a mighty God Who is able.

2 Timothy 1:12 says " . . . for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day."

I will trust the Lord Almighty for my family, my loved ones and my church.

As for the baskets I will continue to be a positive "basket case" and use them as the occasion arises.  Just yesterday a basket was chosen to provide the transportation of a gift of encouragement to someone precious to my heart.

Along with the gift came the message that God is a God of hope.  That hope if allowed to will bring us great peace and joy.  May it be so in the life of the one that received this basket and also to all who will look to our God almighty.

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.  Romans 15:13

Fresh Jalapeños

Our daughter Michelle has a lovely Kentucky garden with lots of Jalapeños so I tried my hand at canning some for her on Saturday.  I did not put them in a water bath because I only made two quarts and they will last several weeks in the fridge.  They will have rested two days by tonight and I am anxious for Precious Husband to give them a try.  Jalapeños are something we can grow in Arizona too so if they turn out well I will plant some next spring and can them for Precious Husband to enjoy.  Jalapeños are a staple with my husband and we buy them in the big #10 can and I am in trouble if the stock ever runs out so you can see my interest in growing these.

Not sure why the liquid is so milky looking - too many onions, too much oil?  Just not sure but anxious for Precious Husband to try them and see what he thinks.  Will keep looking for recipes from now till the time we can produce some peppers in our own garden.

They're Just Not Me

I really don't remember when I switched from pants to skirts but believe me it has been MANY years.  I bought these jeans a couple of years ago for something to go horseback riding but we never went.  I put them on this weekend and spent the whole day in them but as I looked down I thought to myself, "This really isn't me".

In my attempt to be feminine for Precious Husband, my family and myself I have chosen to only wear skirts and dresses.  This choice in apparel is just me now and after so many years it feels so natural and right.  There has never been a time or situation where I could not wear my skirts.  Sometimes I wear split skirts (skorts) if there is an activity that requires more modesty.

Ultimately this verse below is my real goal and is what truly will make me a feminine woman and meet the desire of my heart.

1 Peter 3: 3-4 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. ⁴ You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

Good Mornin' Birthday Girl!

Michelle was up early fixing waffles with all the trimmings for Miss Amber's 11th birthday!  We woke her up with breakfast in bed and birthday poppers!

I remember well the morning she was born at Desert Samaritan in Mesa, Arizona where her Mom had been born before her.  Big Brother had been wired for sound all night and I kept thinking surely I can soothe him to sleep but no that never happened.  Needless to say I was glad when Amber's Dad Dallas came to the waiting room to announce her arrival and escort us to the delivery room so Pépère and Tristan and I could take our very first peek.   Amber Michelle is our first granddaughter and second grandchild.  She remains a little miniature replica of her Mom to be sure!

Lots of fun this morning watching her open her gifts.  Amber keeps a smile on her face all the time so it makes for easy picture taking.

Happy birthday Miss Amber.  We love you lots and lots and are so proud of you!

Happy birthday Miss Amber.  We love you lots and lots and are so proud of you!