Winter Reading

It has been months since I've shared the books I've been reading. And it is not that I haven't read any good books. Here are a few favorites from the past months.



Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriot Beecher Stowe
A nation-changing classic that I had never read but, under persuasion of  my book club, I got it finished. And now it is on my list of favorite books.



West with the Night - Beryl Markham
Another book club read (Book clubs are  great places to encourage a person to read a variety of books. I'm crazy enough to be in two books clubs right now!) Beautifully written memoir of flying in Africa during the 1920's.


Crazy Love - Francis Chan
A great reminder of God's great love for me - and my responsibility toward God.



Gardening When It Counts - Steve Solomon
A reread of a terrific gardening book. This is one book I should read every year before the gardening season.



In His Image - Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancy
Combines the experiences of a missionary doctor to India's lepers with fascinating descriptions of the human body and analogies to the Body of Christ.



The Scent of Water - Elizabeth Goudge
A lovely visit to an English village and the changing relationships of its inhabitants. Goudge is a new author to me, though she wrote fifty years ago. I'll be looking for more of her books.

What books did you enjoy reading this winter?

As usual, I don't condone everything in these books. Every book needs to be compared to the Word of God. This post contains affiliate links.

Reacting vs. Planning

Some days I'm convinced that the secret of efficiency is a little planning.

When I spend my days reacting to circumstances, I run in circles. Of course, a lot of a mom's life is going to require a lot of reacting to circumstances. The dirty diaper, the spilled milk, the weeping child. But sometimes a little planning could spare me much frustration.

I'm going to share the success of today - only if you don't get some false idea that every day is like today.

Today is worth mentioning because it is unusual. Today I did do a good job of planning. And I'll be able to enjoy the results for days to come.

I have three children approaching birthdays. Birthdays can put me in a bad mood. I don't do birthday cakes well. The grand idea I have in my head rarely translates well into butter, flour, and frosting. It doesn't help when I begin too late and attempt to frost a warm cake. Add in an extra trip to the grocery store for a forgotten item, and then repeating the scenario for a couple more birthdays within a few days and I turn grumpy.

I wanted this year to be different.

It began with Saturday. I actually searched my pantry for cake ingredients before going to the grocery store and acquired all needed ingredients.

Or actually maybe it began earlier in the week when I asked the children what kind of cake they wanted this year. And wrote it down.

This morning my phone rang early. A friend from church had heard that we had all been sick last week, and are still in recovery mode this week, and wanted to know if she could help. What a way to brighten a Monday. I didn't know what to tell her to do, so she said that she would bring over our supper. What a blessing.

Now I had my meal planned and an empty afternoon. How about baking cake?

I pulled out my ingredients, cake pans, and cookbooks. I started with an angel food cake, because it required a clean bowl. I kept throwing ingredients into that same bowl and sliding cakes into the oven. Two hours later, four cakes are cooling on the counter. Sure I had some messy dishes on the counter, but not nearly as many if I had done each cake on different days. I plan to freeze the cakes, making them easier to frost.

 

Birthdays are already looking a whole lot more manageable.

What are ways you have found that a little prior planning saved you hours of time?

Hot Sticky Sandwiches - sourdough style

 

Several of my friends have made a hot sticky ham sandwich that are out-of-this-world good. Though these are tiny, I can hardly keep myself from over-indulging myself when these are on the table. These are perfect for a baby shower, brunch, or sometime that you want to serve something small but delicious.

I had always seen these made with purchased party sized rolls. Since my husband loves my sourdough bread with ham and cheese sandwiches, I decided to see if I could make small sourdough rolls. (I used the soft honey wheat sourdough recipe but you could use any bread recipe that you like.) It couldn't have worked better. I've served these to friends several times since then and no one has complained about either homemade rolls - or sourdough!

 

To make the rolls, I used a very small biscuit cutter to make 24 rolls in a 9x13 pan. You could also just shape the rolls by hand without rolling and cutting. Just keep them small and thin because the rolls will rise and you don't want the sandwiches to be all bread!

 

After baking and cooling, I cut the rolls in half.

 

Then I layered ham.

 

Then added cheese and the top of the roll.

 

I poured on the sauce and baked.

If you are not a stubborn do-it-yourself-er like me, you  can use purchased rolls. I also used honey instead of brown sugar, but you can do as you please.



Hot Sticky Sandwiches

24 party sized rolls. purchased or homemade
1/2 lb chipped ham
1/2 lb chipped Swiss cheese

Layer sandwiches in 9x13 pan.

Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
1/3  cup brown sugar OR 1/4 cup honey
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp mustard
2 tsp poppy seeds

Place in small pan and heat to boil. Simmer for 2 minutes. Pour sauce over sandwiches. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve.

Sunday Chicken and Oven Rice

It is so nice to come home Sunday to the fragrance of lunch all ready in the oven. But I don't like to spend a lot of time Sunday morning in food prep.

For some families, Sunday lunch is a big family meal. I like to serve something special for my family, but since I haven't been willing to spend a lot of time on the meal, it is often something very simple at our house.

When we were first married, we ate a lot of leftover pizza for Sunday lunch. I made pizza Saturday evening and we had enough leftover for the next day. Children put an end to that plan. I still make pizza Saturday evenings, but typically there are few leftovers.

I've been on the look-out for recipes that I can prepare on Saturday and put in my oven Sunday morning on time bake. Extra points went to recipes that were favorites for the whole family. "Sunday chicken" won on all points.

My friend Carolyn taught me how to make rice in the oven. Since my oven is already on for the chicken, it works perfectly. I usually steam some broccoli or peas when I get home from church. I can have lunch on the table before the children have their clothes changed.

Sunday Chicken

1/2 lb chipped beef
3 lb chicken breast
2 cans of cream soup (I use a batch of homemade soup.)
1 cup sourcream
bacon slices, lightly fried

Place chipped beef in bottom of 9x13 pan. Cut chicken breast into serving sized pieces and layer on top. Mix soup and sour cream together and pour over chicken. Place bacon on top. Refrigerate overnight or bake immediately. Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours, covered. Serve over rice.

Oven Rice

1 cup brown rice
1/2 tsp salt
1 T butter
2 cup boiling water

Place all ingredients in covered baking dish. On Saturday evening, I can put in all the ingredients except for the water. On Sunday morning all I have to do is boil some water, pour it over the rice, and place in the oven. Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours. Serve. (I usually double this recipe for our family.)

Cinnamin Biscuits

Sometimes I hunger for a cinnamon roll but lack the time to make them. I can turn a batch of biscuits into Cinnamon Biscuits in less than thirty minutes. They are not as good as yeast cinnamon rolls but they meet the needs of a warm sweet treat on a cold morning.

This is another variation of the Whole Wheat Biscuit recipe. But of course, you can use any biscuit recipe that you like.

Cinnamon Biscuits

3 cups whole wheat flour (or a combination of wheat and white flours)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 tsp honey or sugar
1 1/2 cup buttermilk, plain yogurt, or kefir
soft butter
cinnamon
brown sugar

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in mixing bowl or food processor. Add butter and mix or pulse until butter is pea size or smaller.

If using food processor, dump flour mixture into a bowl. Add honey and buttermilk and mix briefly with a spoon. Do not over mix.



Turn onto a floured counter and pat flat into a 8 x 15 rectangle. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle with flour and fold like a letter, then pat flat again. Spread with soft butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar.



Roll up dough. Biscuit dough isn't as easy to work with as bread dough, but if it tears, just smash it back together. A bread blade helps lift and roll it.



Cut into 12 pieces.



Place on a greased cookie sheet. If you wish, brush tops with milk. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes. Spread with glaze if desired. Serve immediately.

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

Another variation of the Whole Wheat Biscuit recipe.

This recipe is an attempt at copying Red Lobster Biscuits. Use white flour if you want them similar to the restaurant version, but whole wheat flour still makes a yummy biscuit. I like these dropped onto a baking sheet instead of rolled and cut but you can make them how you wish.

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

2 3/4 cups whole wheat or white flour (you may need more flour is using white)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
 1 T parsley
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 tsp honey or sugar
1 1/2 cup buttermilk, plain yogurt, or kefir
1 cup shredded cheese
Mix flour, baking powder, and seasonings in mixing bowl or food processor. Add butter and mix or pulse until butter is pea size or smaller.

If using food processor, dump flour mixture into a bowl. Stir in cheese. Add honey and buttermilk and mix briefly with a spoon. Do not over mix.

Drop dough onto a greased baking sheet. Makes 12-15 biscuits depending upon the size. If you wish, brush tops with milk. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes.

 

Sweet Potato Biscuits

I'm a cook who is always looking for an easy way to get food on the table.

When I have a favorite recipe, I often try to find variations to the same recipe. It is easier to have a basic recipe, that I know works, and several variations, than a whole bunch of different recipes.

This week, I'll share three variations to the Whole Wheat Biscuit recipe.

If your family is like mine, you can never have too many biscuits.

Sweet potato biscuits are my current favorite. The sweet potatoes add color, flavor, and nutrition. They take a little longer to make since I have to think ahead and cook a sweet potato, but the result is worth it. Typically biscuits are only good freshly baked but I even like sweet potato biscuits the next day.

Sweet potatoes takes the place of the buttermilk in the original recipe. I also increase the sweetener just a little. If you don't use honey, brown sugar is a tasty choice.


 
Sweet Potato Biscuits

1 sweet potato, cooked and mashed
3 cups whole wheat flour (or a combination of wheat and white flours, if using white flour you may need a little more flour)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 8 pieces
3 T honey or 1/4 cup brown sugar

Cook and mash sweet potato. Measure 2 cups sweet potato. If you don't have quite 2 cups, just add enough milk to make 2 cups. Stir in 2 T apple cider vinegar. Cool.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in mixing bowl or food processor. Add butter and mix or pulse until butter is pea size or smaller.

If using food processor, dump flour mixture into a bowl. Add honey and cooled sweet potato and mix briefly with a spoon. You may need to knead briefly with you hands until it comes together but do not over mix.

Turn onto a floured counter and pat flat. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle with flour and fold like a letter, then pat flat again. Cut with biscuit cutter or knife. (Square biscuits taste fine!) Makes 12-15 biscuits depending upon the size.

Place on a greased cookie sheet. If you wish, brush tops with milk. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes.