We are unpacked and all settled in. It is fun to go explore and familiarize ourselves with a whole new area of Dallas we have never lived before! We have lived in Cedar Hill, Downtown Dallas, North Dallas, Plano, Frisco and now….Carrollton! You notice I didn’t mention California two different times or AZ! But we hope that all this trying to find our new Chinese, Italian, Hamburger, Pizza, Seafood Restaurants, will keep our minds fresh and alert so we don’t need our kids/friends to remind us who we are and where we should be going! We have our own way of staying young, and yes it includes food! Anytime we move to a new place, it is only after I start baking and sharing with the new neighbors that I truly begin to feel at home! Last night it worked. As I walked down the hall back to our apartment, I couldn’t help but smile thinking of the new friends I had just taken little bags of gingerbread biscotti. Each person wanted me to come in and visit with them and that thrilled my soul!

As I remembered years ago Randy and I visiting a Del Webb community, it amazed me how differently my thinking is now than then. Then I couldn’t wait to get out of the model home we were touring! It made me feel so old, hearing all the “amenities” the place offered! Now, here we are living around all senior people, it almost makes me proud to be one of them! The ones we have met have great stories of their lives! They insist on helping us when they see Randy fall or help me unload the car when we drive up! We actually sit and share stories of times past! Play cards or dominoes in the afternoon! Learn to line dance! Gather around tables downstairs and watch a demonstration of how to make creme brûlée (Ok I admit I already knew how but it was fun to sit and make fun of others who had no idea how).

All this to say…why was I dreading getting old? Right now as I am writing this, I’m waiting on a dear friend to bring us both pink drinks and sit down in the library while Randy naps!

Well, I didn’t finish writing the post yesterday so I’m doing that now after finishing a TX Sheet cake. Jason and Sevy came Saturday to help me hang some of the larger pictures and take another load to Grace Bridge for us. So they usually request the TX sheet cake as their payment. The recipe I use that Is one of the best comes from Pioneer woman and it is sitting on the counter cooling off. Because of the heat, I have made two strawberry pies the last couple of days. And it was surprising how sweet the fresh strawberries were, even before pouring the strawberry sauce over them. We had friends come over today and surprised us with Canes box lunches of Chicken for lunch so I was nice (but it took all my Bapt upbringing) to share strawberry pie with them. I have to be honest to tell you that I cut the slices small so Randy and I could have another piece tonight while we watch Royal Pains and White Collar!

The recipe I used for the pie was this:

Bring to a boil in small saucepan pan:

1 cup water

1 cup if granulated sugar and

2 tablespoons corn starch whisking until corn starch is well mixed. Then stir until mixture is boiling and clear and remove from heat. Add 1 (3 oz) box of strawberry jello and stir until smooth!

Let cool and pour over 2-3 cups of washed and sliced fresh strawberries which you have placed in a 9” baked and cooled pie crust. Place in fridge and Top with whipping cream before serving! took one of these to one of our kids houses Saturday night for dessert and after 5 pieces had been served, Cam and Randy sat there with a spoon and just ate what was left out of the pie pan. Almost Didn’t have to wash it. Gave me a reason to make a second strawberry pie this morning! Discovering new areas are exciting, especially when each new discovery ends with food. As they say….”alls well that ends with a good meal”!

Years ago this cake quick became my favorite chocolate cake as it was more like milk chocolate because it started with yellow cake mix instead of the regular chocolate cake mix most recipes call for when using mixes. Well it is still one of my favorite cakes but with an added twist! The other day we had some ice cream at the Thirsty Lion with the best hot fudge sauce I’ve ever had. So as soon as I got home I began to search recipes for hot fudge sauces that I felt might mimic the one we had last week. As I have been going thru some old recipes to see which ones I wanted to keep and which ones needed to be thrown out, I saw this one in one of my old torn out pages from a Paula Deen magazine! It went along with her recipe for her sweet hubbys fav chocolate chocolate cake. And was intitled

“To Die For Hot Fudge Sauce”. Well this has got to be the one I have been looking for and I made it last night to go with my old trusted chocolate cake Ihad made in the afternoon . So because I’m in an extra good mood after buying my first Fall decor today, I’ll give you both recipes! Thank you Paula Deen for always coming to our rescue for the most delicious desserts! I forgot to mention that the cake recipe was also from Paula years ago!

Top off the above cake with this sauce and whipped cream-and don’t worry about the calories, this is so worth it!

Hot Fudge Sauce

Makes 3 Cups

1 (12 oz) package of semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 (12oz can) evaporated milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

In medium saucepan combine the chocolate chips and butter (I used unsalted butter)

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 2-3 min or until chocolate is melted and smooth. Add powdered sugar and milk, whisking until til smooth. Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cover and chill. It will thicken as it cools,

Save Sauce up to a week (like it will last that long in our house) and warm in microwave before using !

Yes I know it’s not fall yet, but it’s close enough! Because I am still trying to get in Randys good graces for not making our traditional “first meal” in our new home, I figured it might help if I did make his favorite pie. So when we stopped at the store for all the pantry items we had given away when we moved, I grabbed a big ole bottle of corn syrup. Please no need to send me articles telling me how awful corn syrup is for us, we already know. But when you get old like us, we figure that all the getting up at night to potty, picking up all the things we drop during the day, going back several times into the other room to get what we were after but kept forgetting the first few times we walked in the room, would help clear out some of the bad stuff out of our system! And now, we have to walk from the elevator down the hall to our place and also go back down to the car should we forget anything we left when we get home from Dr visits or restaurants or Walmart where we began this little episode of buying corn syrup!

Anyway, back to the story of the pecan pie! It seems that for some reason, both of us have ditched chocolate cream pie as our favorite for pecan pie. Maybe that is an old persons preference, so if that is the case, I guess we have to admit we are old, because both of us could eat pecan pie several times a week! Looking thru some old recipes after moving, I came across this one that I think (who knows, because it happened many moons ago) it came from the Dallas Morning News. It was different from the pecan pie I always made that had both white and brown sugar! So I made this one and we both agreed that we love this recipe for pecan pie the best. So buy yourself a big “ole” bottle of corn syrup and make this pecan pie….it will make you want to get the pumpkins from the closet and a Turkey on the table!

I’m just taking a picture of the article that I cut out of the paper.

It is so wonderful to be unpacked and feeling like we are ready and able to resume somewhat of a routine again after living among boxes for a couple of months (actually from April- July 12th when movers came), then living in a hotel for 2 weeks before we were able to move into our new place! We are grateful to be living in a place which we feel God lead us and provided for us!

Our usual tradition when moving into a new house was to make our first meal (when pots and pans were unpacked), chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans and cherry pie! BUT….because I couldn’t find my Geritol, which is still packed away in a few of the boxes that are still sealed and packed, this time was a little different! On the day that I had told Randy “ok, tonight I’m going to cook our first meal in our new place since I have most of the kitchen things unpacked enough to have everything I need to cook”, we’ll…let’s just say that by 6:00 pm, all I could think about was, “shoot, I told him I’d cook tonight, but there is no way I can make chicken fried steak, I just can’t do that, I guess I’m not as young as I was 4 yrs ago when I actually did cook our traditional meal a few days after moving in”!

So our new “tradition” of our first meal became a few slices of garlic French bread I had bought a few days before and stuck in the freezer, because when I bought it, I had every intention of making homemade spaghetti and meatballs with salad and garlic bread for a nice dinner the night after having our normal traditional first meal of chicken fried steak! My goodness, my grandiose intentions were what they were when I was 50 (several moves ago), not 74!!!

So thank goodness I had A tomato and some mozzarella cheese in the fridge! Cutting about 6-7 thin slices of the bread, I found the olive oil, used the back of a spoon since I had not found the pastry brush yet, and quickly oiled the bread, placed a slice of tomato on each slice, sprinkled some Italian seasoning, cut a slice of the fresh mozzarella to place on top of the tomato and bam….placed it in the oven until the cheese melted! Ladies and gentlemen, because we were both so tired of putting away and making piles of “treasures” from 110 boxes to be given away, this was one of the best impromptu meals we have had in a long time! We were exhausted, hungry and thankful we didn’t have to go out in the 99 degrees to buy dinner! And by now you are wondering why is the title to this extremely long narrative of her first meal titled Gaanache, when all she has talked about is garlic toast a 3 yr old could make and being tired? Well it is titled Ganache because ever since July 11th, (which was my birthday and I wanted, (but because movers came the next day so I didn’t have time to make) my favorite cake which is a white almond flavored cake with white frosting covered with chocolate ganache! There…see I have finally brought you to the ending of why And what I’m suppose to be writing! And maybe when you make this most marvelous cake you, as you take your first bite, you can also think about this….

Women’s minds are like a bowl of spaghetti, “one thought takes them to a dozen different thoughts.”

And that is why it took me approximately 1000 words to give you the simple recipe for the ganache that covers the top of this delectably cake!

Make a Duncan Hines Vanilla cake mix according to directions but add 1 teaspoons of almond extract to the batter before baking, using two 9” cake pans. When cool, frost with white frosting using Almond extract instead of vanilla! Pour ganache over the top layer after frosting with the vanilla frosting.

Ganache

1 cup heavy whipping cream

12 oz semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 teas vanilla extract

Heat cream in a heavy small saucepan until bubbles form around the edge but not boiling. Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips! Stir until chips are melted and add extract! Cool for about 30 minutes but not until it is too thick to pour over top of cake. And there you have it… the end of the story!

Yesterday it was just so great to be back in our Church class after being out for a month. Because we both were so blessed to catch COVID again and then move all in the same month, it felt like a year since we had been to church. So this morning it was wonderful to not only see dear friends, but to hear (in person) the Word of God taught! Because Randy is not able to go every week, the times we are there have become so precious to us! It is hard to imagine our lives without being able to go worship corporately with others or to sing with hundreds of people lifting their hearts and voices in praise! That is a privilege and blessing we never take for granted!

This morning not only was I surrounded by sweet people who welcomed me back with open arms and told me how glad they were to see me, but we had one of our ministers to teach our class! Having never heard him before, it was such a lesson that I sure needed to hear! The lesson was from Genesis 12 when God told Abram (before his name was changed to Abraham) to go! “Leave your family and friends and go to a place I will show you”. And Abram, not even knowing where God was sending him, obeyed! How old was Abram when God told him to go….75 yrs old! One yr older than I am now.

Moses was 80 when God called him over to the burning bush and spoke to him and Noah was 500 when he began to build the ark! If we find ourselves doubting God using us after He has led us through so many seasons of life, been faithful to us when difficult times fall on us and allowed us to see His Provision to us through the years, why would God not want us to use the wisdom and experiences that we have been given? We have testimonies we can share of Gods walking with us through tough times. We can tell of times when we didn’t think we had enough to make the mortgage or buy food for the week, yet God came through miraculously.

So many times we feel that when we get to this age of life, God is through with us! That we have earned the right to sit back, relax and coast through the years we have left!

Abram was the son of Terran, who had set out to live in Canaan but ended up settling in Harran, where he died! The Bible doesn’t say why they didn’t go all the way to Canaan but he “settled” in more ways than one. Which takes us to Abram. Because he obeyed and trusted the Lord God, by leaving everything that was familiar to him, the Lord blessed him. When we are obedient, we find ourselves sometimes in places that we would have never have gone. But it is in those times of uncertainty that grows our faith and trust as we look back and see how God always provided and protected us.

Genesis 12:1 “The Lord had said to Abram, “go from your country, your people, and your fathers’ household to the land I will show you…… verse 4 “so Abram went, as the Lord had told him.”

Pause there and think about that! What kind of faith did it take for Abram to just pick up and leave, not knowing where God was taking him. A faith that was not just obtained in that moment. Just like us, God uses so many times in each of our lives that allow us to choose what to do…do we trust God and allow Him to guide us where He leads, or do we do what we feel is best or easiest? At the end of the lesson Alan ask these questions to us:

1. What area of my life has God taken me further than my parents?
2. How is my service to God helping the next generation go further than I?

When we limit God in our expectations of Him, we limit ourselves!

Don’t be afraid to “step out of the boat” like Peter. Don’t allow the world to influence you if God has ask what you feel is impossible of you to do. Step aside to pause and listen like Moses did at the burning bush! Be willing to go even when you have no idea where God is leading you! Each of these men were blessed beyond their wildest expectations. Are we willing to be amazed at what God can do with us, no matter our age?

• Isaiah 43:19-21: “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” 
• Exodus 13:18: “Therefore God led the people around by way of the wilderness” 
• Hosea 15:5: “It was in the wilderness that I knew you”

We use to sing a little song that said, “he my Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all I have to do is follow”

And all of us, at one time or another, we have found ourselves “in the wilderness”. Yes we stand and sing, “for all my life You have been faithful, for all my life You have been so so good, with every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God.” And aren’t we grateful for His goodness and His faithfulness? And yet, each of us have experienced times where we didn’t feel grateful or blessed nor did we feel that God was hearing our prayers and was allowing us to be in the wilderness, where we wandered and wondered, “where is He? Where is His goodness and why does it feel like has He deserted me?” As Christians we have Gods promise that he is always with us we hear that God never leaves us or forsakes us. And yet some days it feels like He has. These are the days when we have to trust His Heart when we don’t see his Hand of goodness or guidance. Yet His Word promises just that. And we know in our hearts that it is true! His Word promises that . Yet days of doubt sometimes leads us to dwell in self-pity or wallow in the “ wilderness!” Sometimes we are led to the wilderness in order that we are being taught something the Lord wants is to learn.

When our lives take a completely different turn other than the one we had planned (and doesn’t it always do that?)or even just anticipate how our life would be, we find ourselves in circumstances beyond our control and situations that we would never have chosen. This morning as I read Psalm 119, David was determined to follow Gods laws and commands! He knew that no matter what he went thru, God loved him and was always working for his good! As I thought about that it reminded me of Gods faithfulness all during my almost 74 years even when I was not faithful to follow Gods laws and commands! Yet He loved me. And never gave up on me!

Recently I read about the parents that died in Florida a few days ago as they got caught up in a rip tide! The 2 older daughters made it back to shore but try as they may, the parents did not! When I thought back about a very similar experience when we were in Hawaii, I want to tell how God showed up and rescued me!

I had left Randy in a chair under an umbrella up on the shore, and decided to go out snorkeling. That is one of my favorite things to do. So I grabbed my mask and off I went. we were close to a huge black rock where I knew people went to snorkel so I dove in. I was able to get past the waves rolling into shore and put my mask on and proceeded to enjoy the sea life I knew was there! After awhile I knew I needed to get back so I began to swim towards shore. But that didn’t happen. As hard as I could, I just went further out! I tried floating for a while to save my energy so I could try again but still could not make it in. I was to far out to call for help. So I prayed. I ask the Lord to please help me get back to shore. I looked up and there were 2 men beside me who took my arms and helped me get back as they scolded me and said “never come out here by yourself!” As I waded up to shore I turned and they were gone! Were they angels? You cannot convince me otherwise. When I thought back over the years, there were so many incidents which tell of Gods wonderous acts. Sometimes He uses these special moments when we are in a wilderness to assure us of His presence, and sometimes just because we need Him to show up. But always God is with us! Never doubt that.

When you find yourself in a wilderness remember the little song, “ my Lord knows the way through the wilderness all I have to do is follow”. And allow Him to guide you safely through!

Maybe years ago I made one of these cakes but if so I don’t remember! Had a request from a young lady for this cake for her birthday, I began to look through different recipes and decided on this one. Since the cake needs to feed about 15 people, I choose this recipe. I finished the cake about 30 min ago but I’ve been busy scraping out the left over frosting and indulging in spoonfuls of some amazing frosting! I made up my own frosting since the young lady wanted some kind of “fluffy frosting”, instead of a buttercream type.

I loved this so much next week I’m going to make an Oreo cake with chocolate cake mix with mint flavored Oreos and use chocolate pudding instead of vanilla. That will be my reward for all the packing to move! And a great reward it will be!!! I’ll post that next week!

Oreo cake

2 Betty Crocker French Vanilla Cake mix

6 whole eggs at room temperature

2 cups water

2/3 cup oil

17 Oreos cut up in small chunks (not to small as you want crunch but not too big, I diced them with knife on cutting board. Don’t use a food processor for this step. Makes them too powdery (is that a word)?

Blend all ingredients together except the Oreos! I did end up adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter but that is up to you! When cake mix is blended well, stir in the crumbled Oreos to the mix and stir just until blended. Because I used two cake mixes I ended up pouring most of the batter (2/3 of it) into a greased 9 x 13 and then I used an 8 in.² pan to bake the other part of the batter! This allows me to make a pyramid style cake since it needs to feed more youngsters!

Bake in preheated 350 oven until each pan tests done. Cool and then invert the 9×13 onto a serving plate! Frost with Oreo frosting and place square cake onto the bottom layer. Frost and cover this top layer. Then sprinkle Oreo crumbles over top of cake. Then place a few whole Oreos as decoration if desired!

Frosting:

1 small package (3 oz size) of instant French vanilla or just instant vanilla pudding

1 1/2 cups of cold whole milk

1 8 oz tub of Extra Creamy Cool Whip

5-6 Oreos placed in food processor to grind them to a powder

Beat instant pudding with the milk until thick. Add the thawed but cold Cool Whip and blend with pudding. Stir cookies in just until mixed well. Frost cake layers and keep in fridge until ready to serve!

A dear friend of mine, Chrissie Dunham posted this recipe on her blog last week! When I saw it, I knew I had to make it for Memorial Day to go with our shredded pork sliders, baked beans, potato salad and Hawaiian Rolls. And my goodness it was delicious and well received. I’m not a huge slaw person but I loved this recipe. I ask Chrissie if she minded me sharing her recipe and of course, being the gracious Southern Belle that she is, said “of course you can”.

So here it is folks! So easy and so so yummy. Thanks Chrissie! Guess I owe you a chocolate pie!

First of all, I want to thank each man and woman who have served and are serving! As a Nation, we have become so separated emotionally (and that certainty includes me) from being thankful for the sacrifices that have been made for us today. Let’s teach and remind our families that Memorial Day is more than a day off….

Lord, rekindle our hearts to not only individually, but as a nation turn to You! Like the song we all began to sing in days following 911, “May We Never Forget” the sacrifices of so many! Today take a few minutes to tell our families why Memorial Day is celebrated and to just say a prayer of thanksgiving for the people who have given so much. And for God who has put us here in still the greatest country, “for such a time as this”

Alan W Jankowski   Poems  

Dec 2011

We Shall Never Forget (9-11 Tribute)

Let the world always remember,
That fateful day in September,
And the ones who answered duty’s call,
Should be remembered by us all.

Who left the comfort of their home,
To face perils as yet unknown,
An embodiment of goodness on a day,
When men’s hearts had gone astray.

Sons and daughters like me and you,
Who never questioned what they had to do,
Who by example, were a source of hope,
And strength to others who could not cope.

Heroes that would not turn their back,
With determination that would not crack,
Who bound together in their ranks,
And asking not a word of thanks.

Men who bravely gave their lives,
Whose orphaned kids and widowed wives,
Can proudly look back on their dad,
Who gave this country all they had.

Actions taken without regret,
Heroisms we shall never forget,
The ones who paid the ultimate price,
Let’s never forget their sacrifice.

And never forget the ones no longer here,
Who fought for the freedoms we all hold dear,
And may their memory never wane,
Lest their sacrifices be in vain.

This morning I felt so guilty leaving Randy alone last night to go have dinner with Jason (my oldest) that I knew I needed to make a better than normal peanut butter toast breakfast for him! Years ago while living in CA we learned about this great egg breakfast. And Loved it! So today before going to watch our grandson play ball, we dined on Chilaquiles. Such a simple yet so flavorful and filling breakfast.

This recipe serves 2

4 slices of bacon or Canadian bacon friend and chopped

3 eggs

2-3 corn tortillas diced or cut in small strips fried until crisp in a little oil

1/2 cup mild green enchilada sauce

1/2 sharp cheddar cheese

Spray small baking dish with Pam

Dish the fried and crisp tortilla strips into baking dish

Fry and scramble the eggs with the cooked and crumbled bacon or Canadian bacon. Spoon this mixture over the tortilla strips. Pour the enchilada sauce over mixture and top with cheese. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven. Serve with salsa if desired and warm tortillas! ole’