I’m in love with the new Fry Daddy I got for a bday gift. Last night I got it back out and sliced the zucchini I had into 1/2” slices. Poured some buttermilk over them and then dipped them in self rising flour which I had seasoned with seasoned Salt, Pepper some Sicilian spice I love to use! Dropped them in the hot oil and wala…they came out perfect. The wonderful thing about the Fry Daddy is that once you drop in the chips or French fries or any veggie you are frying, you don’t have to stand there and turn them over hoping they don’t loose some of the “crust” after turning them

This has opened up a whole new world of fried foods for us! Heart Doctor is on speed dial!

Covid does many things, one of them being that we “get” to be quiet and spent more time at home and away from doing lots of things that we love! That is my story this week! I had many things planned to do, people to see and places to go! Monday began with excitement knowing that at 6:30 I would be gathered with lots of friends who were just as excited as I was to hear Debbie Stuart speak! The old term “Feed Them & They Will Come”, certainly applies to Monday night. It wasn’t a dinner with great food, (but there were great cookies) but it was a evening of being fed Gods Word that spoke to so many hearts! Instead of coming away with heartburn and regret from eating too much, I think I can speak for the women there, that we all came away with a renewed passion to put our priorities in the right place! As I drove home I felt so inspired to get in Gods Word and recommit to seek Him in all my ways. Not only was it a night to see and hug on so many ladies I had not seen in a long time, but was just a reminder of what sweet Memories are made when woman gather. Friendships are renewed and laughter fills our hearts as we catch up with one another! And then comes the reason we had come to fill the church; a night of learning from God’s Word. We read from Haggai 1 when Haggai was given the message from the Lord to tell the exiles who have returned from Babylonia to begin rebuilding the temple! I’ll post the scripture below so you can read the words that Haggai was given! The people had indeed returned to Jerusalem but in the business of trying to make it their home once again they had left the temple undone. Their priority became their own houses, leaving the House of God in shambles! As Debbie read from chapter 1 “this is what the Lord Almighty says, “ Consider how things are going for you! Now go up into the hills bring down timber and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord!” The people had become distracted by daily needs and wants and had Excuses for why they had not finished Gods Temple! As i drove home I began to think about that. Have I been “rebuilding Gods temple (my heart) before other things? Then Tuesday arrived and I began to not feel very well. By Wednesday the Dr confirmed I had Covid. Because activities had to be canceled, I had extra time to read and pray. It was then That I realized that was what I do so often! I allow daily activities and business to be my excuse for not “building Gods Temple! Because our hearts are His temples, am I more focused on my own priorities? many days the first thing on my mind is “when can I decorate for the season at hand, or what can I bake today, or who can I meet for lunch? All good things, yes, but who should occupy the first thoughts of my day? My Lord and Creator, or my house? My savior, or the weekly menu? Who should be the last thought in my mind before closing my eyes at night? Who I had talked to that day or Praising the God who is my Provider? Did I remember to give thanks for all the blessings of the day, or did I just lay there and think about what I needed to do the next morning? Does God want us to enjoy our lives and decorate and bake and meet friends for lunch? Absolutely! But we are called to put Him in His rightful place, FIRST! When we make Him our priority, our passions for a abundant life seems to fall in place! He is honored and we are blessed with His peace, knowing that His Love Never Fails and His Presence Never Leaves Us! Thank you Debbie for reminding us of Haggi 2:4-5 “take courage and work, for I am with you, says the Lord Almighty. My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt, So do not be afraid.”

When several family members began to ask me what I wanted for my birthday cake, and after thinking about how long it had been since I had made my favorite cake, I told them that I wanted to make a Tuxedo cake. The recipe is in one of my fav recipe books called The Pastry Queen, given to me by a dear friend years ago. So finally today I made it! Because it is a 3 layer cake, it would last Randy and I probably until we go into a nursing home before we could eat it all! It is one of those cakes that needs to be made when you have a lot of friends/family around to help you eat it. And trust me, when they have a slice, it will not last long. It is made with two layers of chocolate cake and one layer of vanilla cake wedged between the chocolate layers! Chocolate frosting adorns (doesn’t that make it sound so fancy when you use that word?) between the 3 layers and then, frost the entire cake with buttercream frosting….but wait….your still not through! A layer of chocolate ganache, made from heavy whipping cream and semi sweet chocolate chips is poured over the top! And there you have it! A beautiful Tuxedo cake! Today I just used Duncan Hines chocolate fudge cake mix and a DH white cake mix! Used my fav chocolate buttercream for the inside and a white frosting for the outside. The ganache is 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips and 1/2 heavy whipping cream, 1 teas vanilla!

Ganache: heat the creme until it bubbles around the sides in a heavy saucepan. Pour over the chocolate chips and stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. When ganache is no longer warm pour over the top of frosted cake!

Recipes for frosting are in blog in search bar, type in Tuxedo cake on Chocolatecastles.com.

Today is my birthday! Seventy Two years of life, each year a little different from the last. Actually this year had me think of something I had never truly thought of before. Because of Roe vs Wade, things that have never entered my mind became so clear that I felt the need to share. As most of you know, I have shared before that my mom was a lady who had trouble being happy! She spent so much of her later life with depression and ultimately dementia! Not really knowing what all went on with her early years, I can only speculate on what she felt or what her real thoughts were. I do know she did love the Lord and tried to live for others, as she did so much for friends/family! But it was at home that she struggled. Behind closed doors as they say, she seemed to allow the “real” her to be seen that the outside world, for the most part, never saw. I spent many years truly never honoring her because of this. But as I have aged into these “golden years” , so many memories have come to mind! As i stated above, Roe vs Wade caused me to think of my mom! She became pregnant with me in 1949. The father, Gene Gipson, was in the Navy and stationed in San Diego, CA, where my mom had gone to live after working in San Francisco. Before my mom, Hope, could tell him she was PG with me, she found out he also was being named by a lady as the father of her unborn child. Mother moved back to Ardmore, OK and choose to keep me! Thinking back of what it must have been like for her, a single mom back in 1949-50, one can only im again! Back then, no one was walking around proud to be carrying a child out of wedlock, or bragging about it! I’m sure people looked at her, with contempt and scorn! The easy way out for her would have been abortion! She never talked about what her friends or family said or how they treated her, but I’m sure it was not an easy road to walk. When I was 8 months old, she married a man who loved me as his own! Several times they tried to have another child but was unable to do so! She lost two other babies so I was an only child! What a unselfish gift she gave to me…life! It is because she made the hard choice to keep me that I am here today! So Mother, for the many times, I did not honor you or rebelled against you, forgive me! I pray that I will live for however many years the Lord gives me, with a grateful heart for your unselfish and sacrificial love that you had for me! May I celebrate you today and give thanks for a mom who choose Life for her unborn child! Thanks be to God Almighty!

This morning we happened to look out front to see a neighbor we had not seen before. Especially in this heat when everyone is staying indoors, I got excited to see a lady sitting outside on her porch reading what looked like her Bible. I told Randy that I had to go take her a cake and introduce myself! Immediately I got up to see what I had in the pantry! And there it was…a Duncan Hines Pineapple Cake Mix. Not having sliced pineapple or maraschino cherries, I remembered what Brenda Gantt is always saying “use what you have”! So I did. I got the can of crushed pineapple out and the candied cherries that I still had from making a different cake and began to tweak it to make individual cakes. This recipe made 5. It is always so great to be able to use the paper baking pans so it makes it easy to give away and look pretty all at the same time. Adapting the recipe to allow it to use what I had this is what I did:

1 box of Duncan Hines Pineapple cake mix

4 eggs at room temperature

1 cup of water (I drained the 20 Oz can of crushed pineapple and was able to get a cup of liquid so I used that in place of water)

1/3 cup oil

1 small package of French vanilla instant pudding

1 stick butter, melted

20 oz can of crushed pineapple

1 cup light brown sugar

15 candied cherries, cut in half

Combine cake mix. 4 eggs, oil, dry pudding mix and water (or juice) Beat with mixer 2 min and no lumps remain!

Melt the 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick). Pour about 2-3 tablespoons in bottom of each baking pan. Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of brown sugar over butter. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of crushed pineapple over the sugar and place about 4-6 cherry half’s over that. Using an ice cream scoop (Pioneer Woman makes a great one for $9.00). Place about 2 scoops of batter over the pineapple mixture and bake about 15-17 min or until cake tests done! Cool and top with pineapple glaze if desired.

Glaze:

Using remainder of pineapple and its juice, add any left over melted butter you had from the 1/2 melted. I added 2 cups of powdered sugar and stirring until powdered sugar is dissolved. When cake is cooled about 30 min, pour some of the glaze over the top!

Pineapple Glaze

This morning we happened to look out front to see a neighbor we had not seen before. Especially in this heat when everyone is staying indoors, I got excited to see a lady sitting outside on her porch reading what looked like her Bible. I told Randy that I had to go take her a cake and introduce myself! Immediately I got up to see what I had in the pantry! And there it was…a Duncan Hines Pineapple Cake Mix. Not having sliced pineapple or maraschino cherries, I remembered what Brenda Gantt is always saying “use what you have”! So I did. I got the can of crushed pineapple out and the candied cherries that I still had from making a different cake and began to tweak it to make individual cakes. This recipe made 5. It is always so great to be able to use the paper baking pans so it makes it easy to give away and look pretty all at the same time. Adapting the recipe to allow it to use what I had this is what I did:

1 box of Duncan Hines Pineapple cake mix

4 eggs at room temperature

1 cup of water (I drained the 20 Oz can of crushed pineapple and was able to get a cup of liquid so I used that in place of water)

1/3 cup oil

1 small package of French vanilla instant pudding

1 stick butter, melted

20 oz can of crushed pineapple

1 cup light brown sugar

15 candied cherries, cut in half

Combine cake mix. 4 eggs, oil, dry pudding mix and water (or juice) Beat with mixer 2 min and no lumps remain!

Melt the 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick). Pour about 2-3 tablespoons in bottom of each baking pan. Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of brown sugar over butter. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of crushed pineapple over the sugar and place about 4-6 cherry half’s over that. Using an ice cream scoop (Pioneer Woman makes a great one for $9.00). Place about 2 scoops of batter over the pineapple mixture and bake about 15-17 min or until cake tests done! Cool and top with pineapple glaze if desired.

Glaze:

Using remainder of pineapple and its juice, add any left over melted butter you had from the 1/2 melted. I added 2 cups of powdered sugar and stirring until powdered sugar is dissolved. When cake is cooled about 30 min, pour some of the glaze over the top!

Pineapple Glaze

I love serving fried chicken when we have a Southern meal to family and friends, but I don’t like standing over a hot stove frying the chicken at the last min! One evening when we were having friends over for dinner, we weren’t sure what exact time they would get here due to their grandchild’s event! So because of that I came up with frying the chicken a couple hours before we expected them and made gravy to pour over the chicken pieces. Baked it in the oven for about 20-30 min in preheated 300 degrees until gravy was bubbling! This time I added something that I hope will make it a true southern dish….1/2 stick of melted butter over the chicken before pouring the gravy over the top! Paula Deen, you would be right at home serving this! Serving this alongside a new potato casserole (a friend is bringing) a green salad (another friend is bringing), deviled eggs, green beans with bacon, Corn muffins, Sister Schubert rolls, and ending the meal with pecan pie and chocolate cream pie with whipped cream! Heart Dr is on speed dial!

4 chicken boneless chicken breasts, cup up and soak in buttermilk

1 egg, beaten

After u have soaked the chicken pieces, remove to a piece of waxed paper. Add the beaten egg to the buttermilk in the bowl

Dip each piece in the buttermilk mixture then the flour mixture. Fry in hot oil until all chicken has been fried.

Place in a greased baking dish and distribute the melted butter evenly, trying to get each piece a little bit of the butter. If u have too much chicken for that amount of butter, just melt more butter to make sure each piece has a little taste. After all, what is a southern meal without butter?

2 packages of Pioneer Gravy Mix

1/2 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter

Needed to take some cupcakes to a party tonight, I knew we were already having lemon squares, chocolate chip cookies, cream cheese brownies, so I thought maybe we needed something not chocolate. After thinking about what to take, I decided to make something I had never made before. The vanilla cupcakes have raspberry jam in the middle of the cupcake that was flavored with almond extract. The frosting was made with cream cheese, dried strawberry powder and topped with a raspberry! Such a perfect summer cupcake!

Cupcakes

Box of Duncan Hines White cake mix. Follow directions on box but use milk instead of water. I added 2 teas almond extract to batter. Pour cupcake liner almost 1/2 full. Put about 1/2 teas raspberry preserves/jam in center of batter then cover the jam with about a teaspoon of more cake batter. Bake u til cupcakes test done. Do not over bake. You don’t want a dry cupcake.

Frosting

After cupcake is completely cooled frost each one with frosting and top with sprinkles or a raspberry or a strawberry!

1 box of powdered sugar (3 1/2 cups).

1 stick of butter room temperature

1 8 oz softened cream cheese

1 oz package of freeze dried strawberries you have processed to become a fine powder

1 teas vanilla

Enough milk or cream to get frosting to a spreading consistency (about 1/4 cup, more or less)

Beat all ingredients until smooth. You will want to add milk gradually as to not get to thin!

When we lived in Pasadena, Ca 2010-2014, we would drive out to Camrillo, CA where Randy would drop me off at the huge Outlet center while he went to that office to work. Then when he got the notice that his credit card was at the limit, he would leave the office and drive to pick me up for us to go have dinner before driving back to Pasadena! That way we missed all the 5:00 traffic and we came home full as a tick!(Actually how full can a tick be). Maybe the more accurate phrase would be, we were stuffed as a pig; as we had found a great little Mexican food place that someone had told us about. It was there that I had my first Albondigas! Where had this been all my life? I feel in love with it. Because they had a chip and salsa bar and this amazing soup, I feasted on just that. Chips and soup!!! While looking through an old cookbook from 1993 last night there it was. A recipe for that great soup. So because my birthday is coming up next month, I am being extra nice, so thought I would share it! Here it is! Enjoy!

Made some strawberry cupcakes since a dear friend had requested that flavor when I had told her I wanted to bake something for her this weekend. Because it was her grandsons bday and that was his favorite flavor, strawberry cupcakes it was! When I went to look up different strawberry frostings, I found one that used freeze dried strawberries instead of strawberry jam to make the frosting! I tried it and loved it. The jam, I had used in the past always seemed to add a little too much sweetness, since you already had so much sweet from the powdered sugar! So this was exactly what it needed. Also I ended up adding about 1 healing teaspoon of dry strawberry jello before beating to add some extra flavor and color.

4 cups of powdered sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter at room temp

1 heaping teas dry strawberry jello

1/3 cup crisco shortening

1 (1.2 oz) package of freeze dried strawberries (ground to a fine powder in food processor)

Whipping cream or half n half to get to spreading consistency

1 teas vanilla extract

Cream butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Add rest of ingredients and beat until smooth! Add whipping cream or half n half gradually until frosting is easy to spread !