by admin | Dec 21, 2007 | Cooking
As we count down the last few frantic days before Christmas, I thought I’d share a few of my family’s must-have favorite recipes. It would not be an extended family meal without pies, both in my family and my husband’s family. Chocolate cream pie and coconut cream pie are top choices. I labored for years trying to get my pie crust to taste as good as my sister-in-law’s. I finally found a recipe that met the challenge only to find out her secret – refrigerated Pillsbury® unroll-and-fill pie crusts. Needless to say, they are also now my secret. Who needs the labor and the clean-up when these are so good!
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CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 eggs — separated
- 1/4 cup butter
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In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar and flour mixing well. Stir in milk a little at at time until flour and sugar are dissolved. Chop chocolate into small pieces and add to milk mixture. Cook until hot. Beat egg yolks and mix a little of hot mixture into them. Pour into pan with milk mixture. Add butter and cook until very thick. Add vanilla and pour into cooked pastry. Use whites to make meringue to top pie. Brown meringue in oven. Chill before serving. Keep leftovers refrigerated if there are any.
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COCONUT CREAM PIE
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cups milk
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 eggs — separated
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup coconut
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In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar and flour, mixing well. Stir in milk at little at a time until flour and sugar are dissolved. Cook until hot. Beat egg yolks and mix a little of the hot mixture into them. Pour back into milk mixture in the pan. Add butter and cook until thick. Stir in vanilla and coconut and pour into cooked pastry. Use egg whites to make meringue to top pie. Sprinkle a little coconut on top of the meringue. Brown meringue in oven. Chill before serving. Keep leftovers refrigerated if there are any.
MERINGUE FOR TWO PIES:
- 6 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 cup sugar
Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt until fluffy. Gradually add 1 cup sugar a tablespoon or two at a time. Beat until stiff but not dry. Spoon meringue onto top of pies, spreading to seal to crusts. Brown meringue at 350 degrees. Covers 2 pies.
by admin | Dec 18, 2007 | Books
This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducingDistant Heart
(Avon Inspire January 2, 2008)byTracey Bateman
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
 Tracey Bateman is the award-winning author of more than twenty-five books, including Defiant Heart, the First in the Westward Hearts series. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and recently served on the board as President. She loves in Lebanon, Montana, with her husband and their four children. |
ABOUT THE BOOK:
 In the second book in the Westward Hearts trilogy, will the promise of a new life out west heal the scars of Toni’s past?This series tells the stories of three strong women as they struggle to survive on the rough wagon train and lose their hearts to unlikely heroes along the way/ Thin Little House on the Prairie meets Francine river’s Redeeming Love and you begin to get a sense of the riveting historical series that Tracey Bateman has created.
In this second installment, we follow Toni Rodden, a former prostitute who sought to escape her past and build a new life, and a new reputation, when she joined the wagon train. Despite much resentment and distrust from the other women, Toni has finally earned a place on the wagon train and found a surrogate family in Fannie Caldwell and her two siblings. For the first time in her life, Toni actually feels free.
But while Toni once harbored dreams that her new life might include a husband and family, she soon realizes the stigma that comes with her past is difficult to see beyond and that she’ll never be truly loved or seen as worthy. As the trip out west begins to teach her to survive on her own, she resolves to make her own living as a seamstress when the train finally reaches Oregon.
But despite Toni’s conviction that no man will be able to see beyond her marred past, Sam Two-feathers, the wagon scout and acting preacher for the train seems to know of a love that forgives sins and values much more than outward appearances. Will Sam have the confidence to declare his love? Will Toni be able to trust in a God that can forgive even the darkest past? Faith, love, and courage will be put to the test in Distant Heart.
To purchase your own copy of Distant Heart click here.
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by admin | Dec 16, 2007 | Books
Ashberry Lane is having a contest and giving away books. Read the announcement below from their website and follow the instructions to be entered if you so choose. Be sure to check out their webpage and sign up for their newsletter to be entered.
****We’ve added 65 subscribers in the last few months and that’s largely because you spread the word. But we’re not happy yet. We’re not even close to satisfied. Which leads right into our BIG announcement …
We write about relationships. We are a relationship. We want to dominate the relationship brand. And we want to have at least 500 subscribers by the first of the year. Should we expect you to keep working so hard at strong-arming your friends to sign up while you get nothing out of the deal? No way!
Compassionate as we are, we’ve worked up a HUGE new incentive. How better to promote our relational fiction than featuring other fiction that focuses on different types of relationship? Why don’t we give our supporters a chance to win EIGHT autographed books? Without further ado, we present, with a booming voice,
For the Friend Relationship: Roxanne Henke’s After Anne
One of our absolute favorite books. As you watch Olivia and Anne struggle through a difficult challenge, you’ll want to be a better friend.
For the Prodigal Relationship: Robin Lee Hatcher’s Return to Me
How many of us have walked away from what our father wanted for us? Or away from our Father? This story will remind you that the you can go home again.
For the Marriage Relationship: Robin Jones Gunn’s Wildflowers Wildflowers
Married Genevieve falls in love with the man she least expected could win her heart. It’s not who you might think ….
For the Sibling Relationship: Lauraine Snelling’s Ruby (Dakotah Treasures #1)
In the first of this frontier series, Ruby must deal with her new “inheritance” while protecting her sister from its influences.
For the Man’s Perspective on Relationships: James Scott Bell’s Breach of Promise
A heart-rending story of a man trying to keep his family together.
For the Supernatural Relationship: Tosca Lee’s Demon: A Memoir
Don’t let the title of this book scare you away. There is no glorification of the demonic, but an enlightened fresh look at what History means.
For the Relationships Gone Bad: Bette Nordberg’s Serenity Bay
A truly terrifying story of woman who married Prince Charming and discovered he wasn’t.
For the Single Among the Marriage-Minded: Camy Tang’s Sushi for One? (The Sushi Series, Book 1)
You’ll laugh. You’ll relate. You’ll be impressed with this debut novel from up-and-coming author Camy Tang.
EIGHT books. ONE winner. Here are the ways to win:Subscribe to Ashberry Lane newsletter.
- Any new subscriber or referral will gain another entry.
- Publicize this to your homeys through newsletters: one entry.
- Blog about the contest: one entry. (Email us and we’ll send you what to post or copy off the newsletter.)
- Include it in your Christmas cards: two entries.
- Tuck it in the gift bag with the fruitcake you’ll be leaving on random doorsteps: five entries.
Just log on to:
www.ashberrylane.net
www.sherrieashcraft.blogspot.com
www.authorchristinaberry.blogspot.com
www.shoutlife.com/sherrieashcraft
www.shoutlife.com/christinaberry
by admin | Dec 15, 2007 | Uncategorized
We were up this morning at 4:00 a.m. in order to arrive at our church in time to unload the truck from Angel Food Ministries for this month’s distribution. Our guys unloaded approximately 12-1/4 tons of bulk food on pallets, counted it out to make sure it was counted properly when it went on the truck, then reloaded a little over half of the food to send on to the next drop point. Once the truck left, we separated the food for the other five host sites that pick up at our drop then sorted the food we had left to distribute from our church.
Angel Food distribution day is a lot of hard work but we also have fun visiting and getting to know each other better as we work. It is also very satisfying to interact with the people from the other churches and with our customers. Many have become friends as they return each month.
Angel Food Ministries is a nationwide non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to providing grocery relief to communities throughout the United States. The food is all the same high quality you would purchase at a grocery store. There are no second-hand items, no damaged or out-dated goods, no dented cans without labels, no day-old breads and no produce that is almost too ripe.
Each month’s menu is different than the previous month and consists of both fresh and frozen items with an average retail value of between $45 and $75. This menu can be purchased for $30. Additional specialty boxes can be bought for approximately $20. An average of three specials per month will vary but usually are a variety of meat boxes containing steaks, pork chops, ribs, sausages, chicken tenders, boneless skinless chicken breasts, ready-to- heat meals, etc. Orders are placed once a month and picked up on a set distribution date.
The program aims at filling in the gaps for those people who may bring in too much money to qualify for government assistance but who aren’t making enough to support themselves and their families. The program is ideal for single parents, the working poor and senior citizens on a fixed income. Although these groups definitely benefit, the program is open to everyone – there are no applications or eligibility requirements.
If you are interested in learning more about Angel Food Ministries, you can explore their website at http://www.angelfoodministries.com/. You can look under Host Sites to see if there is a location near you.
by admin | Dec 11, 2007 | Books
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
What Lies Within
Multnomah Fiction (November 20, 2007) by Karen BallABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Karen Ball , bestselling novelist, is also the editor behind several of today’s bestselling Christian novels. Her love for words was passed down through her father and grandfather – both pastors who shared God’s truth through sermons and storytelling. Blending humor, poignancy, and honesty, Karen’s writing style is a powerful force for revealing God’s truth. She lives in Oregon with her husband, Don, and their “kids,” Bodhan, a mischief-making Siberian husky, and Dakota, an Aussie-terrier mix who should have been named “Destructo.”
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Nothing’s going to stop Kyla…until the ground crumbles beneath her feet.
Kyla Justice has arrived. Her company, Justice Construction, is one of the most critically acclaimed, commercially successful companies in the Pacific Northwest. And yet, something is missing. Not until she’s called on to build a center for inner-city kids does she realize what it is: her sense of purpose. Now nothing can stop her, not the low budget, not supply problems, not gang opposition, not her boyfriend’s suggestion that she sell her business and marry him–and most especially not that disagreeable Rafael Murphy.
Rafe Murphy understands battle. Wounded in action, this Force Recon Marine carries the scars–and the nightmares–to prove it. Though he can’t fight overseas any longer, he’s found his place as a warrior in the civilian world. So he soldiers on, trusting that one of these days, God will reveal to him why Rafe survived the ambush in Iraq. That day has arrived.
Kyla and Rafe both discover that determination alone won’t carry them through danger and challenges. When gang violence threatens their very foundations, there’s only one way to survive: rely on each other, be real–and surrender to God. In other words, risk everything…
To get your own copy of What Lies Within click here.
