A passing

I have several posts running around in my head for ya'll, but a dear friend at church has passed away.  Miss Diane was one of the older ladies in my church.  Tit 2:3 "The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;"
Miss diane was very quiet and shy, she was not the type of person who would come up to you and strike up a conversation.  I liked to sit with her during lunch and talk to her because when she smiled, her whole face would light up.  She reminded me a lot of my grandmother with her soft giggle.  I loved her dearly and she will be sorely missed.  Her daughter, Marie, and I are good friends.  Marie just lost her younger brother a couple of months ago also and was very close to her mom.  I know her heart is aching right now, but she will see her mother again in Heaven.  Col 1:5  "For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;"
You see, both Marie and Miss Diane have asked the Lord into their hearts so both of them will be in Heaven with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Marie will still miss her mother of course, and will still be sad, but she has the assurance that her mother is rejoicing with the angels in Heaven now.  Please join me in prayers as she now has to plan her mother's funeral and her coming days without a very dear woman.
I would like to leave you with a passage from scripture:
"12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
I Corinthians 2:12-14
Sincerely,
 Missy

Cooking Kingdom Style

Our church has a healthy cookbook that we are selling.  We have recipes from green berry smoothies, barley coffee, lemonade, mango salsa, spinach dip, cheese puffs, tortilla chips, cream of broccoli soup, sweet potato salad, Waldorf salad, greens, refrigerator pickles, coleslaw, mac and cheese, gravy, tatziki sauce, gyros, grilled sandwiches, chicken, beef, stuffing, sweet and sour chicken, egg rolls, quiches, meat loaf, greek chicken, pizzas, casseroles, breads, whole wheat pizza dough, doughnuts, crepes, cakes, pies,mint carob cake, carrot cake, cheesecake, mighty fine cake, carob no bake cookies, chewy noels, oatmeal raisin cookies, butter almond toffee, caramel popcorn, ice cream, mousse, cream puffs, brownies, granola, sweetened condensed milk, cookies and candy, marshmallows, even baby wipes, lip balm, lotion, cleaners, laundry soap, pet treats and a lot more!!!
All of it is healthier options that taste great! If you have arthritis problems, we even have tomato alternatives!  It is 88 pages of good, wholesome recipes.  Do you love marshmallows but don't want the sugar and HFCS?  We have a recipe for you!  We even have pictures of all our ladies in our kitchens included.
If you would like a cookbook send a check or money order for $10.00 plus $4.00 s/h per book to:

Cooking Kingdom Style

700 Cordes Dr.

Venus, TX  76084

http://www.kingdombaptist.org/

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have!

Cheesecake Class

I taught the last class in the baking series for three of the young ladies at my church.  We learned how to make cheesecake and apple pie.  I will share my cheesecake recipe with you.  It is very simple to make.
Please excuse the picture quality, I had to use my cell phone to take pictures and then I get so busy teaching that I forget to take the pictures!
I did a bit more hands off this week because I wanted to make sure the girls could read the recipes.

Crust
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (or any cookies will do)
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 T Palm Sugar (or any sugar, but I would not recommend honey or agave nectar)

Heat Oven to 325°.  Reduce temperature to 300° if using a dark or glass pan.
Butter 9x13 pan or 10" spring form pan or 2-8" spring form pans.  If you use a 9X13 - line it with aluminum foil so you can pull the cheesecake out.  Mix crumbs, butter and 2 T palm sugar (melt sugar and butter together before adding to crumbs).  Press into bottom of pan. 

Filling

4 packages cream cheese (I found it's cheapest to buy from Costco when buying this many) softened
2 tsp vanilla, divided
1 c and 2 T palm sugar
1 16 oz. container sour cream, divided
4 eggs

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup palm sugar and 1 tsp vanilla in large bowl with mixer until well blended.  Add 1 cup sour cream and mix well.  Add eggs 1 at a time beaten on low speed after each just until blended.  Do not over mix the eggs.  Pour over the crust.
(I told the girls not to over mix and to beat on low - as soon as I walked off one of the girls got impatient and over beat the mixture, hence the cracks in the cheesecake!  LOL)
Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost done. 

Topping

Mix 1 cup sour cream, 2 T sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.  Carefully spread over the cheesecake.  Start on the outside and slowly come inside.  Bake 10 more minutes.  Cool completely then refrigerate at least 4 hours, covered to keep moist. 

I have put blueberries and strawberries on top for a baby shower before.

Cheesecake Tips To Avoid Cracking

*Avoid over beating after adding the eggs-beat on low just until blended.  Gently fold in by by hand any additional ingredients.
*Don't over bake.  When done the edges should be puffed; the center set but still soft.  The center will firm upon cooling.
*Finally, cool your cheesecake on a rack at room temperature for 1 hour before refrigerating. 

I'll tell ya'll about the apple pie tomorrow!

Missy

Thanksgiving Day 2011

I had so much fun hosting my friends for Thanksgiving this year.  I  forgot to take a picture of everyone sitting at the table though.  I wanted an elegant table, but my husband said we did not have any money to spend on stuff like that this year.

I was able to "dress" my table with only spending .70 cents for the cinnamon sticks!  The sunflowers were left over from old-fashioned Sunday at church last year, the bird nests left over from a baby shower http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/03/his-eye-is-on-sparrow-baby-shower.html , the pine cones were bought last year, tablecloth and napkins bought on clearance from Target one year.  The silver was Chris's grandmother's , I was so happy when the family offered it to us after she passed away.  I have loved using them for special dinners.  This was my first time to use my china.  My uncle gave me his set since my aunt had passed away a few years ago.  It was a wedding present to them.  They got married the year my mom was pregnant with me.    I love family "heirlooms", they are so special.
God provides the little things.  I bought my goblets at Dollar Tree in PA many years ago.  One got broke a couple of years ago and I have not been able to find any replacements, they are quite unusual.  This left me with only five and on a whim I looked at the Dollar Tree again to see if they might have any (doubtful).  I walked in and they had a whole display right in front of the door!  What a blessing!  I bought three to give myself a set of eight!
Chrystal's kids had to sit on a quilt on the floor for their lunch and Susan's teenager sat at the desk which is in the LR.  I think the poor kid was very bored!  LOL

For some reason my turkey was still frozen in the morning!  Maybe my fridge was too cold, I don't know but next year it will be in a water bath the night before!  We finally took it out and cut off pieces and stuck those back in the oven and finished cooking the turkey while we ate.  It was a tight squeeze having 6 adults in my dining room, but it was still a lot of fun!

How was your Thanksgiving?
Missy

Giveaway for Vison Forum

Vision forum is having a giveaway over at A Wise Woman Builds Her house. 

Have you ever been to the Vision Forum website?  They have great christian books and resources, be sure to check them out here:
http://www.visionforum.com/start.aspx
Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Missy

Quick Chicken Soft Tacos

Last night I had some chicken to cook, but we had eaten chicken the night before also.  I'm tired of eating the same things all the time (my husband is a very picky eater).  I had some tortillas in the fridge so I decided to make chicken soft tacos.  Looked up a few recipes online and did not want to spend much time cooking supper.  I used to work full time, so I have learned how to cook quick meals.  I took a frying pan and cut up some onions and threw them in the hot skillet which I had put a little bit of olive oil in to prevent sticking.  Meanwhile, I took my scissors and cut the chicken breast in small, bite-size pieces.  Tossed some flour and salt on it and then threw it in another skillet to cook, next time I will only use one skillet and throw it in with the onions since I added them to the onions anyways!  I hate doing dishes and am always trying to find ways to use less pots and pans.  I put some garlic through my garlic press and threw that in.  I didn't add the garlic first because it has a tendency to burn.  I sprinkled salt and taco seasoning over it all and continued to cook it until cooked thoroughly.  My husband came home and was like "what about the cheese?"  Totally forgot the cheese!  He shredded some cheddar and mozzarella (his idea) and we threw it all together in the tortillas.  It was really good and even my husband liked it!  It took less then 30 minutes from start to finish!  If you have any veggies, you can always add lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, salsa or sour cream.  We liked them plain and I put salsa on everything.  I had tried a new brand of salsa and it had molded!  Gross!
Hope you enjoy it, I know there are no measurements but I just did it all to taste.
Missy

Cake Decorating Class

We had our third baking class that I taught to the 3 young ladies from my church.  We made carrot cake and regular buttercream using thot not powdered sugar.  Boy was that buttercream sweet but good!  I let the young ladies choose what design they wanted to do on their cakes.  First I taught them how to frost the cake, then do a shell border.

They picked up on the borders very quickly.  (please excuse the picture quality, I forgot my camera and had to use my phone.)
They got to pick their own designs, I gave them some suggestions.  I showed them how to make their designs and they practiced on plates first.  Miracle made a butterfly, Aaliyah learned how to write her name, and Ashleigh made a design from a Wilton instructions book using the shell border.  We didn't feel like messing with color so made the cakes mono-chromatic.  (At least I think that word means one color!  LOL)

I haven't been teaching them in-depth decorating because these were baking classes, but they have been doing a great job!  I explained to them not to worry about it being perfect - just have fun!  That's a lesson I need to learn!
Each class I have printed off the recipes we used in class and some things I wanted them to study.
The first week was sugar cookies and royal icing and they had to learn about eggs and their structure and use in baking.  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/10/sugar-cookies-class.html The second week was Cupcakes and IMBC and they had to learn the differences between carob and chocolate and how to substitute it and about different flours. http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/10/carob-cupcakes-recipe-and-class.html  This week they have to study about different kinds of natural sugars and using them in baking.  I'm thinking about doing a blog post about the different kinds of sugar to share with ya'll.
We used the carrot cake recipe from Bob's Red Mill and added a can of pineapple and walnuts.
Next class we will learn how to bake an apple pie and cheesecake - just in time for Thanksgiving!  I must admit this will be my first apple pie too!  LOL  Ahleigh's and Aaliyah's dad has been looking forward to the cheesecake, he loves my cheesecake.  LOL
Thanks for listening!
Missy

I Hate Word Verifications

I would like to apologize.  I hate those dumb word verifications.  They are a pain in the neck!  For over a year I have gone without it on my blog for comments.  Unfortunately, I had to enable word verification to prevent spam in my comments.  Some of the spam has been for bad sites. 
Would whoever sends the spam, stop please?  I am not going to click on your link, I'm not that stupid.
I'll leave you with some pictures of my cat, I hate having a post with out pictures!  LOL

They love this quilt I got a the pound store in Lubbock.  Can you imagine all of the love and care that was put into this quilt just to have someone toss it away?

Please excuse the fact that I did not make my bed!
I'll be posting some things later this week.  Have a great day ya'll!
Missy

Healthy Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

I love pumpkin spice cupcakes!  I first made this recipe last year, here is the link:  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2010/12/pumpkin-spice-cake.html

I made them for church and made them "healthier".  I was surprised how delicious they turned out with wheat flour!
Here is the revised recipe:
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

1 Can (15 oz.) pumpkin (about 2 cups)
2 Cups sugar (I used palm sugar)
1 Cup vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 Cups flour (I used 1 cup hard white wheat flour and 1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In large mixing bowl, beat pumpkin, sugar, and oil. Add eggs and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, and beat until well blended. Pour into a greased 15" x 10" baking pan, or cupcake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes 15-20 minutes for cupcakes, or until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool

I frosted them with Italian Meringue Buttercream and then sprinkled the tops with cinnamon.
http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/08/italian-meringue-buttercream.html

I'll be making a turkey cake next week using this recipe.  Can't wait!
Missy

Lactation Cookies?????

I've seen several recipes for lactation cookies.  Since I have not been blessed with children, I did not know what they were.  I figured they had something to do with breast feeding.  My friend Skye brought some to bible study this week.  The ingredients help to fortify the breast milk for the babies.  She shared the cookies and they were really good.  I'm sure the ingredients would be healthy for any woman.  She got the original recipe here:  http://www.drmomma.org/2010/08/major-milk-makin-lactation-cookies.html
Here is the recipe with the changes that she made.


Ingredients:


1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 3/4 c. oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 c. crunchy peanut butter
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. flax
3 T  yeast
1/3 c. water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup palm sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 c. (12oz) carob chips
1 c. chopped pecans
Directions:

Be sure to check out the website for the rest of the directions!
Enjoy!!

Cranberry/Apple Relish again

I'll be sharing some of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes with you this year.

1Ch 16:34 "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever."  His mercy does endure forever, it was because of His mercy for us that He sent His Son to die for our sins.  What a great thing to give thanks to God for!


I wanted to share a recipe from last year that I absolutely love!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Cranberry/Apple Relish
1 bag (12 oz) fresh or frozen cranberries
2 apples peeled and finely chopped (I used my Pampered Chef Chopper)
2 cups apple cider or juice
2 cups sugar (If using palm sugar do not skimp or it will be sour)
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger (I found this in the bulk section at the grocery store)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1. In a 3 qt saucepan, combine cranberries, apples, apple cider and sugar; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add ginger and cloves. Simmer until most of the cranberries have burst, about 30 minutes or more.
2. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar. Serve warm or chilled. If you let it chill for a day or two it will gel up some.
Refrigerate for up to one week or freeze for up to one month.

You can also make yummy turkey salad sandwiches with it!
 To make the sandwiches cut up some leftover turkey, add a lot of relish(to cover?) a bar of cream cheese and a big spoonful, about 1/2 cup, of plain yogurt. Mix it all up and serve between bread. I think I'll add pecans next time. It was delicious!
I also used this to make a dip for crackers at New Years last year.

I am going to stock up on fresh cranberries when I find them on sale and put them in my freezer.
I can't wait to make it this year, I'll be grocery shopping friday for my Thanksgiving meal.

Here is an old picture of a Thanksgiving more than 9 years ago, I'm not sure of the actual date.  Boots wanted to share our leftover Thanksgiving dinner with us!

Missy

First Turkey Dinner

This is my husband, Chris and I, in 1995 cooking our first meal for our families, the day before our wedding.  I had already moved into our duplex and was getting it ready for Chris to move in after our wedding.  We were so skinny and young back then!

I was just thinking about the first turkey my husband and I cooked.  We were young and had never cooked a turkey before.  One of my older friends had told me to be sure to get the giblets out.  I have never liked dealing with raw meat (did I mention I didn't know how to cook when I got married?), the smell and texture and thought of touching a dead animal just really grossed me out.  I didn't mind eating it already cooked, I just didn't want to touch it!  But you gotta do what you gotta do and I forced myself to cook raw meat so that we could have something to eat.  (I know kind of childish, but I still get grossed out sometimes.)  :)

This is my mom on the right, and Chris's mom on the left.

Back to the turkey.  I told my husband he needed to pull the giblets.  He said no way he was going to stick in his hand inside the turkey and I needed to pull it out.  Mind you, neither one of us knew what to expect when we stuck our hand in there.  This went on for 30 minutes pushing the turkey back and forth.  Of course he proved to be the more stubborn one and I had to stick my hand in there and pull it out.  I pulled the bag of giblets out and threw them away.  Then my husband told me I better make sure nothing else was in there and when I pulled out the neck, I freaked out so bad I dropped the whole thing on the floor!  We washed the turkey again and cooked a delicious, moist turkey.  It was so worth the experience.  My secret for my turkey is using an oven roasting bag.  You can buy them at your local store where the aluminum foil and plastic wrap is.  You don't have to baste and it does not have to cook as long.  I surprised my aunt with how easy this was.  I also use a whole stick of butter, sage and garlic and stick a whole onion in the cavity.  And of course salt.  Pretty simple, but sometimes that is the best kind!  Do you have any turkey tips to share?  What is your funniest cooking experience?

Always lick the spoon.  Did I mention this was also a turkey dinner?  Chris and Zeke had to go buy me a roasting pan to cook the turkey in and I am still using that same roasting pan today to cook my turkeys in!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Missy

Sewing Area

I would love to have a sewing room.  Right now that is my dining room.  It looks like fabric has exploded all over the place.

What a mess, right?

I do my cutting, sewing and laptop on the kitchen table.
I invited a couple of friends over for dinner.  He fixed my dryer in exchange for a dinner of chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes.  I totally rearranged and cleaned my dining room so we could eat at the table.  It looks a lot better now.  I moved my bakers rack and set it up as a desk with my laptop on it.

I'm thinking of maybe moving my baker's rack to the office to store my material on, and my desk to the dining room.  I'll have to see if my husband will help me with that.

I now have more room on my table for cutting and sewing.  I like this better.  Of course when I have a cake to decorate this gets put away so that I can make a different kind of mess with frosting and cake.
I want to build a house and have either a loft, or big room with 3 outside walls so that I can have lots of windows.  I want half the room to be my sewing/craft room.  It will have a special cutting table and my old dining room table for my sewing.  Lots of shelves and cabinets.  The other half will be my husband's office/library/music room.  This way we won't be isolated from each other!
Not to mention a nice big kitchen for all my baking and decorating, but more on that later.
I have since updated the baker's and put in a desk instead, to see the update, go here:  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/01/whoops.html
Where do you do your crafts?
Missy

Cherry Cobbler

For our church's anniversary we had an old-fashioned Sunday where we dressed up old-fashioned and ate old fashioned food.  We had a potluck and had chicken dumplings, greens, black eyed peas, cornbread and salad.  For dessert we had cobbler, I've never made cobbler before and did not realize how hard it was to find the fruit for a cobbler this time of year.  (I could have done apple, but I have an apple crisp in my fridge that I've been eating on.)  I decided to do cherry, which ended up costing  more then I expected.  I'll make sure to use " in season" fruit next time, but I think my healthy cherry cobbler turned out pretty good!  I'm thinking next year maybe pie social?
Cherry Cobbler
1 cup kamut flour
1/2 cup organic unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons palm sugar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
about 6 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened pitted cherries ( I used and 12 oz and 16 oz bag)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

1.  Preheat oven to 400° F.  For topping, in a medium bowl stir together flour, the tablespoons sugar (if you are not using the granulated kind, crumble it in with the flour mixture like you do the butter), baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Using your fingers is a quick way to do this.
2.  For filling, in a large saucepan combine the cherries, 1 cup sugar, and the cornstarch.  Cook over medium heat until cherries juice out, stirring occasionally.  Be sure to not have your heat too high and keep an eye on it, I scorched mine and has taken a long time to clean that pan!  Continue to cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.  Keep filling hot.
3.  In a small bowl whip together the eggs, milk and agave nectar.  Add to flour mixture, do not over mix.  Transfer hot filling to a 2-qt square baking dish, unless it is for a crowd, then use a 9x13.  Using a spoon or scoop, drop topping into several mounds on top of filling.
4.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until topping is golden brown.