A very dear friend, Peggy Stodola gave me this recipe a couple of months ago and I think I have already made it probably 7-8 or 9 times already. It has become one of my all time favorite cookies. I don’t add the bacon, well, to be honest. I save our expensive bacon for the mornings when we want a bacon fold over or a BLT for lunch. But, this cookie has so much flavor even without the bacon that I promise you won’t miss it. With the peanut butter and banana flavors combined with the chocolate chips, trust me, you won’t even think about the bacon!

I did like the cookies Peggy brought over to us with the bacon but until she is willing to buy bacon for me or I win the lotto (oops. I’m Baptist, I meant until someone dies leaving me in their will), I will continue to make these without the 10 pieces of bacon! (Note to self….invent bacon flavored chocolate chips to bake with so watch for me on Shark Tank)! Because I had some frosting left over from making cakes for an anniversary reception over the weekend and thought to myself “how good would these cookies be made in the mini muffin tin and filled them with frosting when they cool!” So that’s what I did and may I tell you that they are fantastic! So so yummy and I could eat a dz! But I won’t. I’ll share some and freeze some! Thank you Peggy for this recipe! It is a winner!

Was getting ready to make the normal ole chocolate pound cake when a thought came to me. Thursday I had made a pineapple upside down cake for a dinner downstairs, so the concept of the butter/brown sugar under the cake batter came to mind! So….I began to think of how good the butter/brown sugar with pecans would taste under chocolate cake batter! And wa la, that’s what I did. I made my normal chocolate chocolate chip pound cake batter and set it aside for a minute. Melted a stick of butter (in 350 oven) in the 9×13 glass Pyrex dish after spraying it with Pam! Sprinkled 1 cup of chopped pecans in the butter. Then evenly distributed 1 cup of light brown sugar over the pecan/butter mixture. Then poured the cake batter over the butter/pecan/brown sugar mixture. Bake in preheated 350 oven until cake test done. About 30-32 minutes. Here is the cake recipe:

1 Duncan Hines devils fudge cake mix

4 eggs room temp

1 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients except the chips! Mix for 2 minutes then stir In chocolate chips. Pour over the buyer/pecan/brown sugar mixture!

When cake is done, wait about 15 minutes and turn upside down and you might need to spoon any of the butter mixture over cake if it had remained in baking dish. I had some chocolate frosting already in fridge, so I nuked about 1/2 cup of frosting until it was pourable and drizzled it over the cake. It is delicious. It would even be better with a spoonful of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream over the top! But tonight I just settled for it without the cream. And it was still wonderful!

Sometimes you just wake up and think “cereal, or fruit shakes, or eggs, toast, just doesn’t sound good today! maybe an old fashioned popover with fresh fruit will hit the spot!” And spot it did hit. Had not made them since last winter, but they were so good and with the fresh blueberries and maple syrup drizzled on top with (of course) pats of butter….well, it always Makes my mind wander to making a chuck roast with potatoes , carrots and Yorkshire pudding with gravy. But until I buy a roast, popovers for breakfast was a great way to begin a Thursday! The recipe is taken from my old but grand Betty Crocker cookbook I’ve had since the 70’s. Easy to make, yes it does take more time (because of bake time) but oh so worth it! Instead of heading out the door to IHOP one morning, try these! You will love them!

We go downstairs to play Mexican train sometimes on Tuesday , so it isn’t fun to sit there with a stuffed tummy while trying to choose the right domino! Besides I’m taking down some of the lemon minis I made yesterday for us to snack on! So today since I didn’t want to go down feeling like a stuffed toad, I thought about how good soup would taste and then to make enough to last a couple of days, so After looking in the fridge, I found a bag of 3 cheese tortellini in the freezer and went to work!

Sautéed some Mild Italian Sausage with 1/2 onion, chopped, 2 stems of celery and 1/2 green bell pepper! Cooked until meat was done! Added a slice carrot, 1 can of petite diced tomatoes and 1 can of chicken broth! Added:

1-2 teas Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Sprinkled Lawrys Salt and pepper to taste

Cooked ravioli according to the directions for frozen ravioli in a separate pan and as soon as it was done, added the ravioli (after draining it) to the soup mixture!

Sliced some garlic herb French bread, buttered the bread and warmed it in oven! Spooned up the soup and sat down to a bowl of wonderful Italian ravioli soup with garlic bread!

Randy and I stopped for a Pink drink today (well he got a mocha Frappuccino because he can afford to do so. His cholestrol is 177 and mine is 310 but I’m not the least bit bitter even though we eat the same things) but as we drove off I began to regret that I had not ordered a slice of their lemon loaf! So as soon as we got home a couple hours later, I quickly got a lemon cake mix out and decided that I would make my own lemon cake! These little gems are so moist and so lemony that I could eat about a dozen. Good thing I used the large mini pan and had enough batter left to make a dozen regular size cupcakes. Because they are so moist and have so much flavor using the cheesecake instant pudding, it isn’t necessary to use a lot of frosting. Just a quick glaze is sufficient! These are so perfect to pop in your mouth as you sit and watch House Hunters or a Hallmark movie! You will never need to go to Starbucks for lemon loaf again! Well unless you don’t like to bake or just don’t want to wash baking dishes! Then head to your nearest Starbucks!

1 Duncan Hines Lemon Cake mix

1 small box of cheesecake instant pudding

4 eggs

1 cup water

1/2 cup veggie oil

Mix all ingredients together until well blended for about 2 minutes

Using a medium cookie scoop fill greased mini muffin baking pan (mine holds 24 minis) half full bake In preheated 350 degree oven for about 12-15 min depending on your oven. Do not over bake. Take them out just when top is soft and doesn’t look dry ! Cool and pour glaze over top or dip each mini in the glaze. I ended up nuking the glaze until it was thin enough to pour but found it easier to dip the tops of the minis instead of pouring it over them. I did the same with the 12 regular size cupcakes that I made with the left over better.

Glaze

2 tablespoons very soft butter (u can even melt it it that is easier)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teas vanilla or lemon extract

Water enough to make a thin consistency

Stir until no lumps remain and butter is complexity mixed in. Add extract of your choice. Dip each mini/cupcakes in glaze and slow to cook and glaze to set

For quite some time I have been searching for the perfect sour cream sauce to pour over chicken enchiladas! Well, ladies and gentlemen, I think this is what I have been searching for all my life! Ok maybe not all my life but for several years! Made this the other night and all I can tell you is this……it was amazing! We loved it and you would have thought our surname should be Cruz or Cortez, not Cox!!! We found it!! The best sour cream sauce and it was so simple! The picture below was our first chicken enchiladas that would make any Tex Mex restaurant proud! Found it on line but don’t remember the web site so forgive me whoever posted it for not acknowledging you!

I made 6 enchiladas with shredded chicken from Costco and sautéed 1/2 white onion in a little butter with some Lawrys seasoning salt! Put a little of the chicken, onion mixture and a sprinkle of the Mexican shredded cheese inside a corn tortilla that I had seared in hot oil 2-3 seconds on each side! Placed the enchilada in a greased pan and covered with the sour cream sauce and topped with sharp cheddar cheese. Baked in preheated 350 oven for about 25 min or until sauce bubbled and cheese was melted ! Ole’.

Make a roux with the flour and butter and then slowly add the chicken broth. Stir u til paste is smooth and add rests of ingredients. Stir until mixed.

Last couple of days Chuck Swindol has been teaching on KCBI about Jonah and his disregard for Gods instructions of going to Ninevah to proclaim Gods’ message! In this teaching, Pastor Swindol has shared that just like Jonah, all Christians sometimes get complacent in our obedience to God. Like Jonah, we think that we can hide from God when we don’t want to do what is ask of us! Our walk in faith becomes stagnant and we loose respect and fear of the Lord. Fear is not the same as being afraid of God! We are not to be afriad of Him, but just like parents want our kids to fear us enough to obey us, it is no different with God. Do we enter the church building with any thoughts to its holiness? Do we approach our quiet time with eagerness and desire to not only learn more of God but to have a heart of obedience that will strengthen our walk with him? Do we desire to fall in love with the Lord more each day? Today because the grocery store forgot to put in the 36 eggs I had ordered to be delivered yesterday I spent over 24 hours with no eggs, when I had planned to bake several things for needed people’s request and cookies for a birthday order! I know this sounds silly, but because I couldn’t leave to go to the store due of several reasons, I felt almost lost when I couldn’t bake! Made me a little mad that I didn’t have what I wanted or needed! As I thought about that, I began to wonder about how I felt when I skip a day of reading Gods Word! Do I miss that as much as I missed having eggs? Do I ever feel like I’m missing something important? Do I feel lost when I don’t take time to pray and talk to the person who is suppose to be my best friend, my Creator God and Savior? Or do I just go about my day with no regard to what I should have done to made it a priority? Like Jonah, I think that I can hide in activity or business. But God….He and only He can calm the stormy seas! He is always ready and willing to welcome us back when we try to run and hide!

Do we ask Him to give us more of a hunger for Him snd His Word? When God allowed Jonah to be in the belly of the whale for 3 days, Jonah came out with a new desire of obedience! It took a storm in his life to get his attention! Will God have to send a storm in my life to get mine?

1 Duncan Hines Carrot Cake Mix

4 large eggs at room temperature 

1 cup water 

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 small package vanilla instant pudding

Mix all ingredients and beat for 2 min! Pour batter into greased Bundt pan and bake until cake test done!

This cake taste like Starbucks pumpkin pound cake!  Very moist!  I sprinkled powdered sugar over the top after turning it out onto a plate and completely cooled!   Store covered until ready to serve.   This cake is delicious served warm also with a par of butter as well! 

PS. I used two small Bundt pans and divided the better between them. Then Baked them for 25 min.   If using one large pan, will require longer baking times.  

Carrot Pound Cake

Miracle Peach Pie:
A few days ago Randy and I were driving on the tollway when The Peach Truck came up beside us and I remembered some of our kids (Cam & Mandy) always buying peaches from them!
So it got me in the mood for fresh peaches and will be making this pie in next few days.
It is one of the first recipes which I remember making as I entered into my late teen years. My Aunt Gladys, who was my biggest cheerleader, gave me a cookbook which now has old spills all through the pages. She showed me this recipe and it quickly became a favorite of our family.�

2 cups diced peeled fully ripe peaches�¼ cup sugar, 1 ¼ cups water�1 small pkg of Jello Vanilla Pudding (not instant)�¼ teas salt,1/8 teas nutmeg, 2 teas lemon juice, 1 tables butter, ¼ teas almond extract�1 baked 8 in pie shell, cooled.�Combine peaches, sugar and 1 cup of the water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Combine the pudding mix, salt, nutmeg, lemon juice and remaining ¼ cup water. Stir to form a smooth paste. Add to boiling fruit, stirring to blend. Then cook and stir until mixture comes to a full boil.�Remove from heat and add butter and almond extract. Cool 5 mins. Pour into baked pie shell. Let stand about 4 hrs or until firm. Serve with sweetened whipped cream and additional sweetened sliced peaches if desired

It’s been almost a year since Randy and I moved out of our house into an over 55 community and into an apartment! Would I have feelings of regret or disappointment of leaving a house with a garage and a pantry that held so many sets of dishes and pounds of flour and sugar? What would it be like living in a building where 200 others lived and would we fit in? So many questions and so many different expectations! There are still days when I do miss having a garage and a large pantry but there are things here that have made up for the things that I miss! We have a community of people that have been truly a gift to us! Just like last night, we had been gone most of the day doing pre op appt for randy and got home at 4:00. Randy fell asleep and I ran downstairs to find someone/anyone that could look in my eye to see if they could find my lost contact that had been a source of pain for the last 4-5 hours. As soon as I saw a friend and explained my situation, she took me by the hand and led me over to another friend, who happened to be a nurse years ago. She quickly saw the contact and gave me directions on how to flush it out! She also reminded me that she was going to be bringing me some cilantro that she grows before assuring me that she will run up if I need her! Well I got the contact out and before I knew it, our doorbell rang and it was another friend who had brought us dinner from downstairs. Every Thursday Avenida serves different foods for us and last night, they served egg rolls, chicken fried rice and sushi! She knew we had been gone all day and she thought it might be nice for me not to have to cook! So my dinner ingredients went in the fridge and we ate Chinese! We have had people leave cookies or candy at our doorstep when we open the door to leave and find little thought gifts from time to time! This place has been a gift from God to us as it is just so nice to sit out on our patio and have people walk by downstairs and look up and talk to us! We never have to feel lonely as there is hardly a day that goes by that we don’t see friends to talk to just walking down the hall or downstairs as we come and go! That would not happen if we were still in a house. Because Randy is in a season of not being able to go like we use to we were feeling isolated in our house so many times. But here….we are a community of people who look out and care for one another! We no longer have a garage or a huge pantry but we have so much more! It is refreshing to just look out our windows and see all the blessings God has poured out to us! And I don’t miss the garage or pantry near as much!!! When I do, I open our door and walk downstairs and then remember what all God has given us.

Prayer of Jabez:

Oh Lord that you would bless me indeed that You would enlarge my territory, may Your Hand be with me and You would keep me from evil that I would not cause pain! and God granted His Request!

1 Chronicles 4:10

Randy and I have closed our devotions almost every single day for years with this scripture , and yes, God continues to have his hand over us as we begin another new season, which was out of our comfort zone, as He continues to expand our territory!