Category: Daily Thoughts

Breads · Breakfast · Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Blueberry Streusel Skillet Breakfast Cake

Chocolate Castles1 Comment

My sister-in-law sent this to me yesterday after texting me and telling me that she had made it and it was simply wonderful. She says the streusel just makes it and the flavor is just so good. She even liked it better than one of the lemon pound cakes we make often. So here it is. Hope you enjoy it as much as she did. Will be making as soon as I get to the store for more butter. I went through about 5 lbs of it this week.

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9″ cast iron skillet with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour and a pinch of kosher salt. Add 3 tables melted unsalted butter and stir until crumbly with some large pieces still intact.

In another medium bowl, whisk 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 1/2 teas baking powder and 1 teas salt. In a large bowl (yes, I know, the dishwasher will be full after making this, but she tells me it is worth all the dirty bowls.), beat 1/2 cup (8 tables) unsalted butter, which should be at room temperature for 1 min or until smooth. Add 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar; beat 2 minutes or until fluffy. Stop to scrape sides down on bowl and beat in 2 large eggs. (remember eggs should always be at room temp to get the full volume they need to be), 1 large egg yolk and 1 tablespoon vanilla. In 2 additions, beat in 1/2 cup whole milk or buttermilk and flour mixture, alternating between each. Gently fold in 2 tables lemon zest, 1 tables lemon juice and 2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (or frozen, tossed with 2 tables flour). Scrape mixture into prepared skillet. Sprinkle top with the brown sugar mixture.
Bake about 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and top is light golden brown.
Transfer the skillet to a wire rack; cool for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl (yes another bowl), combine 1 cup powdered sugar with 2 tables lemon juice; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

(Janece did not use the lemon or the glaze. She said the streusel topping was all the cake needed. And with the tables of vanilla, she omitted the lemon zest and juice.)

Chocolate · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Uncategorized

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle Bars

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

One of the things I have missed most about curbside grocery pick up is just the great time of strolling the baking aisle and seeing any new products on the shelf. Monday when I braved the “social distancing while wearing a mask” time of going inside the store, I had a ball. When I saw this box, I knew it was mine.

Oh the things I can now make, even though I can’t fit into any of the clothes I have now, the recipes just came flooding in. German Chocolate Fudge pie, Chocolate Almond Ice Box pie. Peanut butter pie with chocolate crust. And the beat (list) goes on. When I turned over the box to look at the recipes on the back, this recipe jumped out to me. So here it is folks. Be the first to share this with anyone who you like (or maybe those who you don’t like but am trying so hard to do so). This sounds like a treat that the whole family will enjoy. And to think, you saw it here first.

Crust:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tables granulated sugar
2 cups Keebler Chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1 egg white

Filling:
2 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 teas milk or whipping cream

Topping:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup whipping cream

1. Line an 8x8x2 inch baking pan with foil, allowing excess foil to hang over sides.
2. For crust, in medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/4 cup peanut butter and sugar. Stir in Keebler Chocolate Graham Cracker Crumbs and egg white. Firmly press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake in preheated 375 oven for 10-13 minutes or until dry. Cool Completely.
3. For filling, in a large mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, 2/3 cup peanut butter and 1/2 cup softened butter. Beat on medium to high speed of electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in milk, 1 teas at a time, until light and fluffy. Spoon in dollops over crust. Evenly spread over crust.
4. For topping, in small microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and cream. Microwave uncovered for 30 to 60 seconds, or until smooth. Stirring thoroughly every 20 seconds. Let stand for 10 minutes after stirring to be sure all chips are melted and mixture is smooth.
5. Spread over filling and the cover and place in fridge at least 1 hour or until firm. Use foil ends to remove from pan. Cut into squares and keep covered in the refrigerator.

Chicken · Daily Thoughts · Meats · Uncategorized

Oldies, But Goodies

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

And no, I’m not talking about Randy and I. I am talking about some of the old recipes that seem to be floating around on FB and on several web pages and blogs. In fact, this past Sunday, we were at our kids house in McKinney for dinner. They had told us that they were going to make us Fehttuchini Alfredo with Chicken. It was a recipe which they have made several times from Joanna Gaines new cookbook and it was really good. But in conversation with our sweet DIL, she and I were talking about some of the recipes which seem to be appearing that use good Ole Campbells Cream Soups. We began to talk about the chicken spaghetti recipe that I posted a couple of weeks ago and we agreed that some of the old tried and true recipes are still some of the best comfort foods. Today, I found myself wanting some spaghetti, (I think I must be half Italian and half Mexican because I think I could live on Mexican and Italian food, oh, but throw in a hamburger once a week, oh and chicken fried steak and, roast once in a while. Maybe I’m a mixture, kinda like a mutt, I guess. Anyway, back to the oldies and goodies. When you start to think about the “good old days” of pot lucks and church dinners and Sunday dinners at grandmas house, I bet your mind conjures up some of the foods like, lime jello salad, or the orange jello salad with mandarin oranges. Or maybe your mind goes to chicken and dumplings made with cream of chicken soup, or beef stroganoff and noodles, made with cream of mushroom. Or remember pot roast with a can of french onion soup and cream of mushroom? Of course, could we really have Christmas and Thanksgiving without the green bean casserole that uses Cream of Mushroom soup? And what about porcupine meatballs made in Campbells Tomato Soup. All this to say, that during this quarantine, when trying to order some of these soups, they have been hard to come by. Several weeks went by before I actually was able to acquire cream of celery and tomato soup. But now…..my pantry is stocked with every Campbells cream of EVERYTHING! So watch out family! Any recipe which you might receive these next couple of weeks will probably have one or more of the cream soups in them. To get things started, I thought I would post this recipe which uses a can of cream of mushroom soup. The filling is great used with crepes or poured over noodles or mashed potatoes.

1 pound of fresh mushrooms, cleaned
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup frozen chopped onions, or fresh onions, diced small
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk or cream
2 cups chicken, cooked and diced
1 cup cooked frozen peas or green beans, drained
1/2 teas garlic powder or 1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teas each, seasoned salt and pepper

Sauce mushrooms and onions in butter until tender. Sprinkle seasoned salt, pepper and garlic into this mixture. Set aside.

Combine soup, sour cream, milk, chicken and peas or green beans into a crockpot which you have sprayed with Pam. Cook on low for 2 hours, stirring often. Combine the mushrooms and onions during the last hour of cooking. Stir well and use as filing on crepes, or pour over mashed potatoes or cooked noodles.

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Heavy Hoarder

Chocolate Castles6 Comments

My name is Trudy Cox and I’m a Hoarder! I never realized it until now, but the time has come to accept the fact. This week, as I looked back upon it, I realized that maybe I’m not one of those “pushy” people at the store throwing in 20 packages of toilet paper, but just a little more sophisticated one. Feeling that I was better than some of the folks out there that are on TV as the camera shows them loading enough TP to take care of the entire state of Iowa, into the back of their car, I opened my freezer door. Once I had picked up the 5 packages of frozen chicken, the 3 huge bags of frozen blueberries and 5 lbs of ground round off the floor when I opened the freezer door, it dawned on me that I truly was a hoarder. In the past few weeks, as news covered the closing of several meat plants and showed rotten tomatoes laying in the fields, it drove me to thinking, “oh no, that is this week, what will be disappearing next week from the stores?” So quietly hiding behind my cute little mask that a friend made for me, I was running the TP grabbers down in the aisle, on my way to the meat department. Luckily for me, there were several packages of pork roast left, plenty of hamburger meat (but didn’t want to take any changes they might be gone next week), so began throwing them in my basket. Oh, and before it is all gone, I should load up on bacon. Because, who can actually go through a pandemic without bacon? Heading over to the frozen food aisle, I remembered that stores everywhere were out of active yeast, so wouldn’t the frozen bread be next to disappear? So into my basket went Rhoads frozen rolls, Sister Schubert rolls and oh yes, there is the Rhoads frozen Cinnamon rolls I have been wanting to buy. So happy they had a couple of bags left. I grabbed those as well. Blueberries, we cannot, we CANNOT survive without frozen blueberries for our health shakes that start off most of our days before moving on to cookies and pies throughout the day. So in went two huge bags of frozen blueberries. But wait, chicken, the last grocery order I had picked up curbside was out of chicken. Oh please Lord, let there be packages of chicken left. Turning the cart around and waddling as fast as these two little cellulite legs would carry me, I pushed my way past the folks hoarding up all the dried pasta. Oh please, people, like there is going to be a shortage of pasta! Get out of my way, because chicken will be the next meat to disappear. Whew, getting there just in time to the chicken section, only to see 30 or more packages of chicken breasts and thighs, I didn’t want to take any changes of not being able to find any on my next store run, so throwing in several packages of chicken into the basket, I made my way up to checkout. Feeling pretty smug and proud of myself for being “smart” and buying necessary items, I proceeded to make conversation with the cashier, “can you believe some of these folks that think there is never going to be another roll of TP left in the world and think they have to hoard it everytime they see it? Oh, can you let me run back for something I forgot? I’ll be right back.” She frowned at me and told me to hurry up. I returned with an armful of canned goods and Jiffy Corn bread mix, because, well, you never know when we might not loose power, due to spring storms and at least we could open up a can of Bush’s baked beans and if we do indeed run out of bread, I can still make corn muffins, (when the power returns). So feeling so happy that I am returning home prepared for the next month, I drive home knowing Randy will be so proud of his industrious and smart wife.

As Randy comes to the car to help me carry in the necessary items to the house, he asks me where in the world are you going to keep all these frozen foods. As I lug up the stairs with sacks of frozen fruit, chicken, pork roasts, bacon, ground round, I assure him that I will just reorganize the freezer and it will fit perfectly.

It didn’t. Having to use much of the fresh veggies I had bought the previous week, I needed to make room for the new stash. This week, well, this week, I have made, a pork roast, spaghetti, vegetable lasagna, shredded chicken sandwiches, stuffed zucchini with beef and rice. A lemon pie, carrot cupcakes,ooey gooey butter cake, chocolate chip cookies, baked beans, potato salad (twice because the potato stash I had bought were getting a little soft), tacos, chicken spaghetti, King Ranch casserole, brownies and peanut butter cookies. And we ate out one night. Yes, we actually ate in a restaurant, which we learned is really hard to do with our masks on. Takes a little more time when you have to pull it up off your mouth with every bite, but we did it and the stuffed chile rellanos were wonderful.
As we near the end of this trying time and look back at what we have learned, and hopefully never have to do again are several things:
1. Never buy more than your fridge or freezer holds.
2. Walking back and forth to the kitchen does not burn enough calories to allow me to eat as many cookies as I bake and eat in a single day.
3. This one is very important, ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT when you take your computer into the bathroom when you are on ZOOM, people can hear and see you.
4. Thinking that because you have plenty of food to share with others, they are just going to throw it away, because they don’t trust that you used a bleach rag to wipe off the groceries you purchased before putting them away in your pantry or fridge.
5. Eventaully, one day, we will be able to get out again and get to wear something besides sweat pants. And stores have not been open to buy bigger sizes. SO…….order a pair of elastic waisted pants now, before someone hoards up the bigger sizes. Gotta close and shop on-line before the cute ones are all gone.

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Won’t You Be My Neighbor

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Here we are in week 7 of quarantine in 2020. So many of us are cooking and baking things we had never attempted before. But because we have time on our hands, we are trying new things.
Over the weekend, we were driving around looking at houses. We love to do. We have moved so many times due to work or just because packing and unpacking is a great way to burn calories, we have always just loved going to open houses and driving through different neighborhoods. Since the stores are not yet open, looking at houses, gets us out of this place and gets us out in the sunshine. As we drove through old neighborhoods where we use to live and some of where we might be interested when this lease is up, we noticed something spectacular.
In every neighborhood we drove, people were sitting out side in lawn chairs visiting with either family or neighbors. It was a sight to behold. It made me almost tear up. That was one thing I loved about living in CA. People sat out and talked to you as you would walk by. I have missed that so much. That is one thing that I hope doesn’t revert back to “normal”. It would be so great if we realize how much we have enjoyed meeting the neighbors and visiting with others on our streets. Even our kids yesterday when we drove to drop off cookies, admitted that they had enjoyed being outside more and had actually made friends with neighbors they had never met. That just thrills my soul. After all, how can we be a light to others when we don’t take the time to meet them? How can we show the Hope that is ours, when all we do is wave to people when we go to pick up our mail? Well, this post began as a post to give a recipe that is from my Italian neighbor back in the 70’s, but it has become a post of, like Gomer Pyle would say, “just flat neighborly” of ya!
I remember back in the 70’s, my next door friend, Dene and I would sit outside in chairs and our kids would go between her house and ours and run and play until we each had to go in to make dinner. In fact, because her husband owned a barbecue restaurant, she would sometimes call her hubby and tell him to bring enough barbecue for them and for us because we had stayed outside a little long to let the kids play and was too late to go make something for dinner. That was always a treat. The Italian neighbor lived on the other side of Dene and when she would come home from work, she would walk over, and visit with us. It was she (Cam) who taught me so much about cooking and to this day, any time I make spaghetti and meatballs or Chocolate Chip Pound cake, or Pecan Pie (her recipe called for a tablespoon of vinegar, which I had never seen in a pecan pie recipe before), I think of Cam and the friendship that lasted for so many years. It was such a blessing to grow up in a time when neighbors knew each other. Of course, there were always some “weird” or grouchy ones, but of course, that always gave us something to talk about. But our kids were so so blessed to have grown up playing ball in the front yard, and riding their hot wheels up and down the sidewalks. Knowing that when it was dark, or your mom yelled out the door, it was time to come home. They were great growing up years. This last 7 weeks, may we realize that maybe our kids and grandkids need those kinds of days. In fact, we, as adults, need these types of days. When we learn that “just call on me brother” to “lean on me, when you’re not strong, and I’ll help you carry on”. Oh may that not be forgotten in these days of learning just what we are made of and for.

It is my prayer that we don’t go back to the old “drive in your garage, close the door and go inside way of life” Let’s continue to “love thy neighbor as thyself” and care for each other. May we never forget after life gets busy,that this time has shown us just how lovely and loving our neighbors can be. We do need each other. We were not meant to live a life of solitude. Begin now to commit to staying connected to the people you have met during this time of difficulty.

Chicken · Daily Thoughts · Soups · Uncategorized

Crock Pot Green Chile Enchilada Soup

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Yes, these are recipes that I have posted before but if you are like so many others right now, you might not have time to go scrolling through to look at recipes from years back. Because it is story and very overcast today, I thought this soup sounded like something that would taste good tonight.

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (or a rotisserie chicken)
2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
2 ((15 oz) cans mild green enchilada sauce
2 (4 oz) cans of diced green chiles
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 teas onion powder (or diced onion, frozen or fresh)
1 teas garlic powder (I use 2 because we love garlic and we have heard that it helps ward off infections, don’t have a clue if that’s true, but it gives me an excuse to use a lot of it)
2/3 cup corn (if frozen, thaw out before putting in in crockpot)
1 (8 oz) bar cream cheese, cubed
Salt and Pepper to your liking
Monterrey jack Cheese

Place all ingredients into crock pot, except the Monterrey jack. Stir the ingredients until they have combine. Cover the crockpot and then ook on high for 3 1/2 hours. When ready to serve, sprinkle some of the Monterrey Jack over each serving bowl. (Actually I like to put it in the serving bowls first and pour the soup over it, allowing it to melt into the soup)

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Freely Give

Chocolate Castles7 Comments

Not sure exactly how to begin this post. It is 1:00 a.m. and I’m awake. It’s so very interesting when I know the Lord is nudging me to write. Sometimes,  I’m in the middle of something and I know that the feeling won’t go away until I stop and write. Then again, in the middle of the night when I have these thoughts that I know will become a story and they just won’t allow me to sleep until I get up and go write. This is one of those times.

All of us these last 40 days or so, are doing some soul searching. We have been given the task of accepting some new difficulties that we have not had before. There seems to be so many people who are asking lots of questions about God. They have lost their joy, possibly their jobs, or people who they love, due to the virus. What people depended on has maybe been stripped from them, leaving them wondering about a lot of things. Were we depending on activities that are not there right now? Was it our jobs that gave us security, or hope?  Was being able to go sit in a church building what brought us peace that we all long for? Is God present during these difficult times? Does He truly care what is going on in my life and if so, why does He allow things like this to happen? So many questions and “inquiring minds want to know” all the answers. Well, I don’t have all the answers, but this I do know. God is here and He loves you and me.. We hear folks say, “well, I don’t like religion” or “oh, I believe there is something bigger out there” or even “why do I need God, I’m in control of my life”

God is real and He wants a personal relationship with you.  When this all began, we, as older adults began to hear about all the things we could not do, or should not be doing. It was then that I began to think, “what can I do then to serve someone”. And that is where this story begins.

On FB I begin to read all the comments from some of the moms who had school age children and how frustrated they were at trying to do homeschooling and cook 3 meals a day and everything that goes along with this pandemic. The thought that maybe I could cook and take some meals to some of these moms would not leave me. When I mentioned this to our Sunday School class women, some of them got on board and said they would love to take a meal a week to a young mom, some of who were still trying to work while they had kids at home and still trying to home school.  So we all received names that we could connect with and take them a meal each week. We were so excited to be able to do this.

Then last week, a couple of young moms had emailed or texted me and began asking for some recipes that would be easy to make. One of the young moms, who has kids at home and is, like so many of you, home schooling, different age children, had ask me if I still sold the frozen casseroles I use to sell.  I knew that if I were one of those moms who was trying to cook 21 meals every week, plus home school children and keep up with daily chores of running the house, I would be so grateful to have some help with cooking. So yes, I would be glad to make her some casseroles for her to buy.  We agreed about how many she wanted and I began to plan what casseroles I would make for her. That night when trying to sleep, I just felt once again, this stirring in my heart. I sat up and thought about what I had said to her, that I would “sell” her the casseroles. That really bothered me for some reason. I began to pray and ask the Lord should I just give her the casseroles, instead of having her pay? “Lord, You know that we are already taking some meals to others right now and this would just be more food that I (yes, I still argue with Him sometimes when I don’t want extra responsibilities) would need to worry about getting and making more grocery orders and trying to find meat (which I had not been able to get in the last two grocery orders). Well, knowing the Lord would answer my questions in His timing, I finally fell back asleep. The following morning, I shared all my thoughts (can’t you just see Randy’s eyes rolling when I begin my stories of what has kept me up at night?) with Randy at breakfast and when I relayed my concerns about adding another person to our “meal delivery”,  and what if, once again, I was not able to get the meat that I had ordered? He looked at me and said, why don’t you just cook for her and give them the food instead of selling it to her? Well, Ms. Pious, as I like to call myself, told him that I had been up during the night and prayed and ask the Lord to tell me if that’s what He wanted me to do. (why don’t we as wives know that sometimes, the Lord speaks through our precious husbands and why don’t we just accept what they say to us?) But before Randy got up to go to his office (which is our 2nd bedroom right now), we had our morning devotion. As I picked up the book and began to read, I began to weep. The more I read, the more my heart just began to leap with joy. How does God do what He does? Because of time, I won’t quote the entire devotion, but the subject was about the different bodies of water in Israel. There is the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee has an inlet and an outlet and the Dead Sea is just that, Dead, only an inlet. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea. The  devotion was this: (Taken from the Passion Code by O.S. Hawkins)

“So  it is with the vibrant believer who not only receives God’s fullness but also gives it away– and then, like the Sea of Galilee, is constantly being refilled with the Spirit. Let this remind you of these two very different bodies of water and of God’s desire for you to be like the Sea of Galilee, receiving His fullness and giving it away.”

And yes, the scripture of the day was Matthew 10:8 “Freely you have received, freely give.”

Well, you don’t have to tell me twice (ok, maybe He does with me) but I knew then that I was suppose to cook for this precious family a meal each week and “give it away”. And isn’t it just like the Lord, all the meat I had ordered this time, was in the order when I went to pick it up.

This story is not being written to tell you about me cooking for someone, but to show that the Lord does speak to us individually and He does want a personal relationship with us. He is not an absent God, nor does he expect us to live here without His love, His guidance or His protection. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. He lives, so we can face tomorrow.  He wants to be our strength, our hope, our all.

“On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

That is our promise from God, our God, who loves each of us personally!

 

Cakes · Chocolate · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Fruit · Holiday Fare · Uncategorized

CHEWY CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CAKE

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

 

 

This recipe is taken from a Taste of Home Magazine in the Easter Edition. 

Sprinkle fresh raspberries around the cake platter and have a bowl of fresh whipping cream sitting beside this wonderful cake and oh my, the compliments you will receive!

3 Cups sugar

3/4 lb melted butter

4 eggs

1 tables vanilla

1 tables almond extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 teas salt

1/4 cup raspberry jam

1 cup miniature chocolate chips

3/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 300.

Mix the sugar and butter in a mixing bowl on low.

Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add the extracts. Sift together dry ingredients and add to the batter, mixing until smooth. Pour into greased and papered 9” cake pan, reserving about 1/3 of the batter.

Carefully smooth out a thin layer of the raspberry jam. Top with chocolate chips and half the sliced almonds. Carefully cover with the remaining batter.

Sprinkle the top of the cake with the remaining sliced almonds.

Bake for 1 hour and almost 45  minutes or more to be sure cake is done when knife inserted in center comes out with just a few crumbs on it. 

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

From Russia With Love

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

Well, Happy April Fools Day to y’all.  Because we have had so much time to think of past memories that bring so much laughter to us during these last couple of weeks, this memory came quickly into our minds today because of it being April 1st.  Let me begin….

Back in 2002, we had moved to California for Randy’s job. Because Jodi was a single mom with a 1 year old, we ask her to go with us and she heartily agreed. We were all settled in our new home in Placentia, CA and enjoying the gift of being grandparents. What a joy it was to be able to see Jaden do all the “first” things but also watching Jodi grow into a loving mom. But we had noticed that she was having days when something must have been on her mind, but she continued to go to work each day, only to come straight home to care for Jaden while I made dinner and waited for Randy to come home from work. It was during these days that Jodi one day was sitting there talking to me and in the conversation she said, “Mom, I wonder how long I will be a single mom?” I assured her that the Lord had someone special for her and to just allow Him to provide who He wanted for her and Jaden.

Well, April 1st rolls around. Jodi had already left for work and Randy is telling me that we need to think of a good April Fools joke for Jodi. He left for work and called me shortly and said, “Oh I have just the perfect joke to play on her.” And as he talked, I started laughing and told him to go ahead and email her at work with the plan.  Now, remember that I always told you that Randy does have a mischievous side to him and that it really came through then.  Here is what Randy emailed to Jodi…..

“Jodi, your mom and I, as you know have prayed about your desire to be married. Well, we feel that your prayers are about to be answered.  Someone has told me about a web site that gives names of Russian Men who are wanting to come to American to be in ministry, but they need to be married.  They don’t speak very much English, but you are a patient person, who I know would gladly teach this man English and y’all could possibly go to seminary together once he becomes a citizen. So your mom and I have bought you one of these men and he will arrive in 2 weeks for you to marry. We both have put a lot of thought in this and realize that maybe this is how you are going to have your dream of finding a husband for you and a father for Jaden. So please trust us in this as we only want what is best for you and we feel that this is what is best.”

When Jodi received the email at work, all I can tell you is that she immediately called me and ask me if this was true. It was so hard to not laugh, but I assured her that Randy and I both thought that this was a great plan, plus the Russian guy would be in ministry and they could partner together possibly working in the mission field. As she listened to me explain the plan, she told me she needed time to take her Bible in the bathroom at work and pray.  It was then the I knew I had to call Randy to tell him to call her and tell her the truth. I didn’t  want my daughter to be distraught or thinking that her life would be spent with someone who might take her back to Russia.   When Randy called Jodi to talk to her and tell her the truth, he could tell that she was really upset thinking that she was going to be married in two weeks to a guy she had never met.   The conversation went like this…

Randy: Jodi what is today?

Jodi: Monday

Randy: what is the date today?

Jodi: April 1st I think

Randy: Jodi what is April 1st

Jodi: oh my gosh, it is April Fools Day…..

Fast forward to  April 1st, 2020.

Randy: via mail to Jodi this morning, (who is now divorced) “Jodi, your mom and I just heard from Valdamir and he is still available. He is the Russian preacher we purchased on option for you some years ago. The option runs through today at midnight. We still believe that he will be your soul mate and be a great influence on the boys once his English improves..maybe Caleb can help him. We love you and remember we have to know by midnight.  Love, Randy

Jodi’s response: “I may be ready to take ya’ll up on this generous offer this time”

Have a great April Fools Day and hope this day will bring some laughter as you think back over fond memories…and will leave this thought with you; Father really does know best.

 

Chicken · Daily Thoughts · Meats · Uncategorized

Chicken Croquettes

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

Years ago, in the 70’s, before I married, I had a roommate, Sheila Waterman. She was a teacher and I worked for the government. We spent lots of Friday nights, sitting in our apartment, wondering why all the guys were not flocking to our door, to take us out on dates.  When we would get paid at the beginning of the month, we would go crazy buying  all sorts of great food that would last us about a week or so. By the end of each month, we dined on vermicelli, boiled cabbage or mac & cheese. But the first of the month, oh boy, did we have some great meals. One of those great recipes that Sheila made were these chicken croquettes.  We would sit and visit over this great meal and laugh at our feeble attempts at how we would try to get certain guys attentions and tell ourselves, “wow,if they could see how good we cooked, they would be lining up outside the door.”  In reality, looking back, it was probably all the great meals that kept us both in  one piece bathing suits, while the other girls who lived at the apartment complex were sitting out there flirting with the guys in their two piece cute little suits that wouldn’t cover a 3 yr old, much less a 20 year old. But…don’t feel sorry for us. After a year or so, we both met guys that ended up marrying us.  Neither of our marriages lasted, but this recipe….it has lasted through the years.

I wish you could see the stains on the recipe card that this recipe is written on. Isn’t it great to hold these little gems and think back over the years of times you have made a certain recipe and the memories that come flooding back? Maybe it is the rain this morning, or the fact that we have been cooped up in our home for 2 weeks that has given us time to just reminisce over things we haven’t thought about in years. I know it is not written in the usual way of how recipes are given to us today, but I’m going to write it just as it appears on the recipe card.

Melt 3 tables butter. Blend in 1/4 cup flour. Add 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup chicken broth. Over low heat, stir continually until mixture is thickened. Stir one minute before removing from heat. Add 1 tablespoon dried parsley, 1 teas lemon juice, 1 teas onion flakes, 1/4 teas each of : salt, paprika, nutmeg and pepper.

Add 1 1/2 cups finely diced chopped chicken. Chill in refrigerator thoroughly. At least 2 hours, covered.

With wet hands, shape mixture into balls, using about 1/4 cup of the mixture for each ball.  Roll in 3/4 cup Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs or fine crushed bread crumbs. Dip in beaten egg then the bread crumbs again. Fry in hot oil in skillet until all sides are golden brown. Drain on paper towel until ready to serve.

Sheila and I like to think it was this recipe and her fresh spinach with cheese sauce that got us both a repeat date, but it was probably the fact that we were the only ones left without dates that weekend that got us both a second change to show just what great catches we were. At least we like to think of it that way.