Yogurt & Blueberry Pie

As usual we are making more desserts. We really do try to do normal meals but I guess our family has a sweet tooth. To compensate for our sweet tooth, we convert recipes to Xagave using half the required sugar and try to use better, wholesome ingredients.

We took this recipe from Martha Stewart's cookbook "Pies and Tarts" This pie is a great breakfast treat and brings a whole new dimension to yogurt with a beautiful presentation. This is a die for breakfast dessert! :)

Crust: granola. I used my own granola recipe (click here)
1 1/4 cups granola
1/8 cup Xagave
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 T butter melted

Make the crust in your Bosch food processor. Pulse 1 cup of granola with Xagave and cinnamon till fine crumbs from. Drizzle in butter and process till combined. Add remaining granola. Mixture will be crumbly. Press into 9" stainless steel pie pan. Refrigerate till firm about 15 minutes. Bake crust till golden brown (about 10 minutes)

Filling:
1 cup plain yogurt (check my blog for my home made yogurt recipe)
8 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
2 Tbs. Xagave
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

In Bosch mixer beat cream cheese until very smooth. Add Xagave and vanilla and beat till smooth. Add yogurt and beat till smooth. Pour filling into prepared granola pie crust and refrigerate 6 hours or till set.

Topping:
5 oz. blueberries
Xagave drizzled over blueberries

Just before serving, arrange blueberries on top and drizzle lightly with Xagave

Life's Dominoes

Have you ever felt like your life was like crashing dominoes? In my last e-newsletter, I mentioned the goal to have the character of Daniel yet it seems life's circumstances seem to crash like a row of dominoes lined up. All the dominoes of my plans for the day are lined up perfectly to make a well planned day. My plans for the day are going to work like a well oiled machine for an efficient, controlled day. So whose the wise guy that tips the first domino only to make my whole day of lined up dominoes crash in the precision row? Argh.

So how can I be like a Daniel with my crashing dominoes? Look at the crashing dominoes from God's perspective knowing that He will bring order to my chaos and He can help me reign in my emotions that want to sink down into a puddle of tears. He can help me see the design the cascading dominoes made OR perhaps make one domino in the path of the crashing dominoes stop the falling cycle. Have you ever seen a lone domino not fall and stop the free fall? I pray for the lone domino to stop the fall but even if He doesn't stop the fall, He is still God and is in control. Thank you Jesus! So, this is the time to cry out to Him knowing He holds the keys to all my life and He is in control. Hold tight dear friends for the ride of our lives even in the midst of life's dominoes!

Creamed Eggs

So what do you do with all those Easter Eggs? Our family, namely my hubby, loves creamed eggs!

White Sauce:
1 stick butter melted
1 cup soft wheat flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 cups milk
Stir butter, salt and flour till thickened. Add milk slowly till well mixed and heat over low fire till thick cream mixture.

Add sliced boiled eggs as the cream mixture thickens. You can garnish with shredded cheddar cheese.

Serve over whole wheat toast! Delicious. Enjoy.

Happy Resurrection Day!

May today be a great day of family fun and celebration that Christ has risen!

May God bless your family richly.

Resurrection Dessert!

I am re-posting this dessert/Easter idea. It is a traditional Easter dessert we make. It is a fun dessert but also a vivid testimony of Christ's resurrection from the dead, we make "Empty Tomb" pastries.

This is not so healthy but easy which is really a plus with all the other hubbub going on that day! :) I use Pillsbury croissant rolls. I give each person one wedge; one marshmallow; and paper w/ tooth pick.

Place on the table several sets of bowls. One will have melted butter and one with cinnamon/sugar mixture. Each person will roll their marshmallow 1st in butter, then in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. They then place it in the croissant dough and seal the marshmallow well. Each creation needs to have the person's name on their creation...you have the toothpick and paper. I have found the toothpick stays in the dough and the paper will endure the oven temp and survive the cooking process.

This is such a great picture of the resurrection as the marshmallow disappears during the cooking process. When we eat our dessert, we can rejoice that Christ has risen and the tomb is empty!

Is your boat sinking?

I have never heard salvation nor the call to purify yourself before communion done (I Corinthians 11:25-29) in such a way. The pastor likened a person who has a personal relationship with Jesus as an ocean liner being christened as it leaves the port. Everyone is cheering and happy that the new ship liner is pulling out in the vast ocean. Our pastor then asked the question, “Does anyone cheer when the water gets into the ship?” His point? We are to be in the world (the water) but not of the world (the water in the boat.) Our pastor states the unfortunate reality of sin abounding in within the body of Christ. The water has gotten in the boat and it is sinking the boat. He said the purpose for the believer (our life purpose) is to be the ship out in the vast ocean where the sinking soul can cry, “Ahoy, man overboard. Send me a life raft and pull me in.” We are to be the light of the world offering life rafts of salvation in Jesus. We are to be the vessel God uses to bring the world to Him. What a calling and purpose. Our pastor reads the sad portion of Scripture (I Corinthians 11:29-30) on how the believers in the church had so fallen into a sin pattern that they no longer were offering the life raft but sinking deep in their sin.

The song came to my mind and I thought how I don’t want to sink into the miry clay.

I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore,
Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more,
But the Master of the sea, heard my despairing cry,
From the waters lifted me, now safe am I.

Refrain
Love lifted me! Love lifted me!
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me!

All my heart to Him I give, ever to Him will cling
In His blessed presence live, ever His praises sing,
Love so mighty and so true, merits my soul’s best songs,
Faithful, loving service too, to Him belongs.

Souls in danger look above, Jesus completely saves,
He will lift you by His love, out of the angry waves.
Heaven’s the Master of the sea, billows His will obey,
He your Savior wants to be, be saved today.

It was a moving service for me to ponder the calling we have as believers and how quickly we let water into the boat and then wonder why we are sinking.

Let us bail the water out and forge ahead looking for those who are crying, "Ahoy man-overboard, send me the life raft!"

Home made Chocolate Covered Easter Eggs

Treat your family this year to an extra treat of fresh, WONDERFUL tasting Chocolate covered Easter Eggs! These are easy to make and will wow everyone!


Filling:
1/2 cup butter softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
(Cookie dough filling from Taste of Homes)

Mix well in bosch mixer. Form into an egg shape and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Dip the formed cookie dough egg in melted almond bark. You can use white or chocolate. Makes about 5 1/2 dozen.

On the Road Again!

What fun it was to meet you all at the MPE home schooling convention. We reconnected with our exhibitor friends and you my customers whom I call friends. My kids roamed the many booths finding all kinds of new books and books on CD for us to read. I definitely can tell a difference in my old bones from year to year but think it worth the effort to reconnect.

Thanks for being such a great group of people in Kansas City, MO! As you can see from the funny pic, our kids still have energy while my hubby and I stand sedately. lol Oh to be young again to still have humor and energy after standing on your feet for two days. sigh

Cranapple Oatmeal Cookies!

from Taste of Homes magazine...we changed it to whole wheat! :)
3/4 cup butter softened
1 1/4 brown sugar *
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (click here)
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 cups rolled oats**
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup chopped peeled apples
1/2 cups walnuts

In your Bosch mixer, cream butter and brown sugar* until fluffy. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in oats, cranberry, apples and walnut.

Drop in 2" rounds on an ungreased stainless steel cookie sheet.(click here) Bake 375 degrees for 12-15 min. Cool on wire racks.

*We used our homemade brown sugar. See my recent blog post on how to make your own brown sugar!

**We used a 9 grain rolled oats which gave a great flavor!

Fully Equipped!

Have you ever thought I just can't do this job. What was I thinking when I thought I could be a mom of many? Humm..sounds like something said from my own lips. :) The hope I have is: I am right; I cannot do it BUT God can. He knows what I can do WITH Him by my side. With that thought, yes, I can be a mom of many and make it! Why can I be so confident?

II Corinthians 3:5-6 "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." (KJV)

I am in a Bible study called "Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed, A study of David"
Here is an encouraging quote:
"We must come to our situations knowing that God equips for His purpose those He calls. He didn't select us to lead the study, mother the children, marry the man, lead the meeting, run the office, evangelize the tribe, or start the ministry because He knew we were already capable. Rather, He picked us up, dusted off our incapability, replaced it wit His ability and secured our success when we chose to rest and trust in Him to work supernaturally in us."

So dear friends, you can conquer your day because He has chosen you for the task at hand. Simply trust Jesus to carry you.

Bosch Cookie Paddles

What is the big deal with Cookie Paddles? The Bosch Universal Mixer comes with the gourmet whisks. They do a great job mixing and can make your cookies. As you can see from the picture, the cookie dough balls up into the gourmet whisks. It works but you have to push the dough out of whip.

The cookie paddles mix the cookie dough and the dough is able to pass through the paddle making it more user friendly. The other plus for the cookie paddles is that they are able to do heavier batters. You can see from the recipe that we are doing a oatmeal, cranberry, apple cookie! Will be posting this cookie soon. They are heavenly. Stay tuned!!

Passover Seder

The first Passover is described in Exodus 12. Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples in Luke 22. The Passover Seder is also celebrated by many Christian families, including my family. We celebrate the Passover Seder remembering that Jesus was our passover lamb and that He rose again! There are numerous items on the Seder plate. Each item is symbolic of the exodus and first Passover.

From Rabbi Avram Yehoshua:

"Haggadah means 'the telling.' Passover is a story that has been retold for thousands of years. It is a story of miraculous transitions--from slavery to freedom, from despair to hope, from darkness to light. Its greatness is the greatness of God. Its timelessness comes from the eternal truth of His involvement with His people. As God cared for the children of Israel in ancient times, He cares fro all who are His today.

It was no coincidence that Messiah chose the Passover for the setting of what is now celebrated as communion, the Lord's supper. For in the story of the Passover lamb, Yeshua could best communicate the course He would be taking over the confusing hours that were to follow. Here, as we participate together in the Passover seder, may we experience once again God's great redemption."

Seder Plate:

Salt water:Represents life in Egypt for the children of Israel was a life of pain, suffering, and tears, represented by this salt water. The sprig of parsley is dipped into the salt water, remembering that life is sometimes immersed in tears.

Parsley:Passover is a holiday that comes in the springtime, when the earth is becoming green with life. The vegetable, called karpas, represents life, created and sustained by Almighty God.

Horseradish/Horseradish root (or an onion slice): Scooping some maror (horseradish) onto a piece of matzh,allows the bitter taste to cause us to shed tears of compassion for the sorrow that the children of Israel knew thousands of years ago.

Note from Paula:Brings tears to your eyes to remember the tears shed. I sometimes cheat and use horseradish sauce. To be authentic, you should use the real stuff. Boy does it bring tears to your eyes.

Boiled Egg: A roasted egg is added to the seder. It is called khagigah, a name signifying the special holiday offering. The egg is regarded as a symbol of mourning, remind us us of the destruction of the second Temple. It is also considered by many to denote new birth and eternal life, since the shape of an egg shows no beginning and no end.

Charoseth:Represents the mortar used by Hebrew slaves in Egypt to make bricks for Pharaoh before the exodus of Israel from Egypt. The sweet apple mixture can be used as a side dish during your meal. I always make extra and make a delicious apple pie with the 'left over' charoseth.

Shank bone of a lamb:The roasted shank-bone represents the lamb whose blood marked the houses of the children of Israel, signifying their obedience to God's command.

Matzah:An unleavened bread used during the Passover.
As the children of Israel fled Egypt they did not have time for their dough to rise. But more than that, Scriptures teaches us that leaven represents sin. During passover eating matzah represents us break our old habits of sin and selfishness and begin a fresh, new, and holy life.

The matzah also is pierced with tiny holes and has stripes. "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5 The symbolism is incredible of what Christ represents in the Passover.

Charoseth

1 apple (Core, peel and finely chop tart apple
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tsp honey
1 Tbs. grape juice.

This mixture will turn dark which is what you want for the Seder plate. It makes a great fruit side dish and wonderful pie.

Note from Paula: Estimate 1/4 apple per person to determine how much to prepare.







There is so much more to a Passover..there is the special meal; the table setting; and much, much more. You can see many things to add to this special meal. If you would like more details, let me know. May God bless you richly this Resurrection Celebration!

Easter Bread

This is a traditional type breakfast bread but some have never known what type of bread dough to use nor how it works. Here it is!! Enjoy.

Sweet Dough for Easter Braid
2 Tbs. yeast
1 cup milk
1/2 cup honey or Xagave (click here)
1 stick of butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 tps. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. grated lemon peel (I usually leave this out)
5-6 cups white wheat flour (Click here)

Heat to 110 degrees milk, xagave, butter, vanilla, and salt in a sauce pan. Put heated liquids in Bosch Universal mixer and mix/add eggs, and lemon peel. On speed 1, add yeast and whole wheat flour. Knead 8 minutes. Cover and let double in size (about 1/2 hours.) Note: the dough will be heavy. Use the cutter/scraper (click here) to divide the dough into 3 portions. Roll each dough ball into a rope shape. Braid rope parts and form into a wreath. Poke the colorful boiled Easter eggs into the gaps. About 4 eggs is max you would want to add. You can use a white egg wash over the raw dough. Let rise. Bake 350 degrees 45 min. or until golden brown.



I have shared this sweet dough before in the form of a Christmas wreath and a Christmas Tree. Here you can use the same sweet dough recipe to make an Easter bread. It is so fun and colorful and perfect for a festive meal.