Apple Crisp Recipe

This morning I brought an Apple Crisp to our Mothers Of Preschoolers meeting. It was a big hit and was really easy to make. We picked a lot of apples last fall and I froze some of them. I froze them already peeled and sliced so they were ready to make a quick pie, apple crisp or applesauce. At the time this was alot of work, but i is very handy to have packages of sliced apples in the freezer. The night before MOPS I mixed up the topping, so in the morning all I had to do was put the apples in a dish, sprinkle on the topping and bake.


Apple Crisp

Peel and slice enough apples to fill a glass pie plate or a 12x12" baking dish. In a separate bowl soften 2/3 cup butter, add 1 1/2cup flour, 1 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix all together until you have a crumbly mixture. Try not to melt the butter, if you do and your topping isn't crumbly add a little more flour. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of your apples.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour or until the apples are tender.


This topping is from a recipe called "Crumbly Top Apple Pie"

Burned Out

Burn Out! It is so easy for us as moms to over commit. We already have our hands full with all the jobs of motherhood and being a wife,but on top of those jobs we add many more. Serving in the church nursery, teaching a bible study, helping out at the kids' school, and the list goes on. I have at times been so overwhelmed with items on my to-do list that I wanted to cry, but that would take time and there is no time for that. Over extending ourselves with good things to do can lead to anxiety and worry, plus steal from us the time we need to be spending with the Lord. Once we lose that time with the Lord we face the danger of burning out in His work. God never intended for us to do so much that we don't have time for Him.

This time of year it is easy to feel burnt out with various commitments. Much of the energy we started with is gone and the fresh ideas are stagnant. Our service should not become an unhappy burden.


Romans 12:11-13 says "Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder."

Scripture gives us the key to avoiding burnout. Pray! God is concerned for you and the activities you are involved in. Ask Him for renewed energy, ask Him if there are any areas you can step back in or ask someone to take over or help. Renew yourself in His word, so you can finish the race and finish well.

March can be a long month, but it can also be a good month to reconnect with theLord. Your time with the Lord doesn't have to be in the morning or always at the same time, but try to find a portion of your day that is for God alone.

In His Love,
Melissa

Cookies for Breakfast

One of the items I like to bake is breakfast cookies. They are easy to grab if you are running out the door and are good for anytime of day. Plus I can tell my guys they can have a cookie whenever they get hungry. I haven't official compared them to Pop Tarts or granola bars, but I'm sure they are healthier. Both of the recipes below can be adapted to your taste. I like to use dried cranberries in my cookies, but you could also add walnuts or pecans, sunflower seeds, any type of dried fruit or nuts. You could also try replacing some of the butter with an equal amount of applesauce. If you use fresh apples, keep in mind they wouldn't keep as long as cookies with only dried fruit. Using the two recipes below you could invent a breakfast cookie that works for your family. Have fun experimenting with your cookies. When I first started making breakfast cookies I did a google search and found a lot of recipes. I would love to hear what ingredients you add and how your cookies turn out.

Jumbo Breakfast Cookies

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup old-fashion or quick-cooking oatmeal
1 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups cheerios cereal
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together sugar, butter, peanut butter, water vanilla and egg. Stir in remaining ingredients, except cereal. Gently stir in cereal. Drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten dough to about 1 inch thick

Bake 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before removing from sheet.

Hearty Cookies for Breakfast

3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 apple chopped
1 1/2 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup raisins
Mix all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees. My recipe doesn't say for how long, but my guess would be about 10 minutes.

Self Pity or Transformation

Dear Ladies,


Eric told me this week that in the next two months he will only be home for a total of two weeks. He needs to make a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, to check on equipment and parts. It takes a lot of prep for him to make the trip; he has to get updates on his shots, have all his equipment checked, get papers from a doctor and a dentist saying he is in good health, and process paperwork. Plus, he usually has to reassure me he will be fine, but any trip that requires a gas mask, a bullet proof vest, an updated will and gives you danger pay can't be too safe. But nevertheless the trip needs to be made.

When we first moved to Virginia Eric had to take a lot of classes. The classes were two to three weeks long, but he was home for the weekends. One Sunday in church I was very unhappy that he was leaving me again, when God gave me a reality check. I don't remember why people were sharing, but a young mom sitting in front of me went to the front of the congregation. Thorough tears she shared how just a few months before her husband who had cancer had passed away, but God had blessed her with a baby boy to remind her of her husband. My outlook on my situation changed quickly. Who was I to complain? My husband was not even leaving the state and I would see him again in a week. I needed to adjust my thinking.

Most of the times the problems we have in the course of a day are minor. The young mom's testimony quickly reminded me that I really had nothing to complain about. However, most of the time we don't get a direct message like that telling us to quit having a pity party. Sometimes we need a good cry, but we can also get into a rut of complaining. We can even sometimes compete with our friends over whose life is harder. God has good things in store for us every day. We just have to choose to enjoy them. Because God know the tendencies of His children, He encourages us in Scripture to refocus.

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." Philippians 4:8 (New King James Version)

So, dear ladies, don't let the little things of life bog you down. Decide what is most important and focus on that. We have the ability to train our minds, so if your mind is not filled with good,wholesome and pure thoughts, stop and begin filling your mind with the words of God. Read scripture or repeat verses you have memorized, turn on christian radio, or spend some time in prayer. Your self pity and hopelessness will be transformed.

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:2

Yours in Christ,
Melissa

College of Hard Knocks-Lesson #2

Here is another lessons I learned the hard way. However this time my mistake hurt my child.

Lesson #2- never let your toddler stand up in the back of the grocery cart. Even if it is a deep cart, they can still get hurt. As you can guess, this happened to me. I didn't think much of letting one of the boys stand in the back of the cart. I was right there, so I guess I figured it was ok, plus the stores didn't have those fancy multiple seat carts and it was a trick to keep track of three boys, the oldest being only four. I had let a boy stand in the cart without any problems in the past, but this day that changed. The youngest boy fell out of the back of the shopping cart and hit his head on the concrete floor of Walmart. Other then some tears he was fine and with a bit of comforting, from the mom whose fault it was, he quit crying. So that is how lesson #2 was learned.

Have a great Wednesday Ladies,
Melissa

College of Hard Knocks-Lesson #1

Dear Ladies,

My Dad use to say he went to the college of hard knocks. As a kid it took me awhile to understand what he meant; I thought there really was a college called "Hard Knocks".

It is always a good idea to learn from the wisdom of those who have gone before us. We still will learn a lot of lessons the hard way, but we can avoid some of life's difficulties by listening to those who are older. I like to observe friends has they go through phrases of parenting, so I have an idea of what it will be like and what might work or not work when I'm in that phrase.

I thought I would share some lessons I've learned during my years at the "College of Hard Knocks." Lessons are not necessarily in order of importance. Be on the look out for future emails entitled "College of Hard Knocks" lesson #___.

#1-Wear sunscreen on your face in the summer. This summer I had dark areas on my face that made me look like I had not blended my foundation right. I don't like sunscreen and have not been faithful to use it and was not faithful to use my face moisturizer with sunscreen, so I damaged my skin and now that I'm older it is showing. So whip out the sunscreen ladies and preserve your beautiful complexions while you can.


Melissa

Cranberry Orange Scones

These scones are moist and sweet. Sweeter than some folks might like, especially with the orange-sugar topping, but they're just to my taste. And of course, the flavored butter takes them to the next level, taste-wise. If you're looking for the perfect scone recipe for your afternoon tea party, try this one.

Cranberry Orange Scones
3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp grated orange peel
3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter
1 cup dried orange-flavored cranberries (if you can't find the flavored kind, regular will do)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup orange juice - high pulp
3 tsp orange cream yogurt

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Mix in orange peel.

Cut the butter into 1/2 inch pieces, and mix into the flour using your fingers. Rub and mix and mash (with your fingertips) until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add the dried cranberries.

Combine the wet ingredients in a small bowl - orange juice, buttermilk, and yogurt. (Note: the orange cream yogurt was a new item at my grocery store. If you can't find something like it, mix a few drops orange extract into plain yogurt.) Slowly add the liquid to the flour/butter, mixing with a fork until you get moist clumpy dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead about 4-6 times, just enough to bind the dough together, then roll/shape it for cutting.

Instead of the usual "round", I formed the dough into a large log, about an inch and a half thick. I cut a slice about every 3 inches. Then I cut these pieces diagonally to form the triangular scone shape. It was way easier to cut that way, IMO.

Lay the cut scones, about 2 inches apart, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400°.

As you can see, mine were a little close together on the sheet. And they weren't all the same size. I'm not a very precise cook. Both these factors made them cook a little unevenly. I had to remove the littler ones at about 12 minutes, and left the bigger ones in for a bit longer. If you're a sloppy cook like me, just test with a toothpick to make sure the centers are cooked. The tops should be golden brown, and the toothpick should come out dry.

Glaze / Topping
While the scones are cooking, mix together 1/2 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar and 1-2 tbsp orange juice. Drizzle this lightly over the tops of the scones as they cool, when they're fresh out of the oven.

Flavored Butter
This is what puts the Max in the Yummy. Mix together 1/2 cup softened butter and 3 tbsp orange marmalade.