Two recipes--one for supper, one for marriage

I was very glad to take part in Emmanuel's bridal tea a couple of weeks ago--thank you to Lara, to the rest of the planning committee, and all who attended for the good food and conversation!

I started my brief devotional with a story about making dinner for the first time in 9 days since we had been away on vacation, and after the first few bites, my husband said, "This is so good--it's better than anything we ate at a restaurant!"  Here's the recipe that I made:

Apricot-Glazed Chicken

Remove skin from 6 chicken thighs, and place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix together: 1/3 cup apricot preserves,
2 tsp Dijon mustard, 5 drops hot-pepper sauce. Spoon the mixture over chicken. Bake in a pre-heated 425 deg F oven for 20 minutes, baste, and bake for another 20 minutes, or until done. Good served with rice and steamed broccoli.
 

Another recipe I shared at the bridal tea was this recipe for a happy marriage that I had come across on the 'net: 

Recipe for a Happy Marriage
Take one happy man and one happy woman - and separate them from their parents.
Add the following ingredients in generous proportions:
Love
Respect
Commitment
Acceptance
Communication
Patience
Kindness
Gentleness
Self-control
Hope
Truth
Mix together, then thoroughly sift in daily life.
Strain out jealousy, arrogance, selfishness, provocation and accounting of wrongs.
Bake in the trials and tribulations of life for 50 years.
Celebrate when golden. 

Jun 17, 2010 at 9:18 PM

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Chocolate Carrot Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Ok, this is not really the most appropriate thing to be making during Lent, so for those of you who gave up chocolate or sugar or desserts during these weeks, my apologies and you'll just have to wait until Easter!

But I was scheduled to bring dessert for our deacon lunch meeting last Sunday, and I had this great recipe I've been wanting to try--a pretty easy recipe and quick to put together, and Gary says he thinks it's even better than my heavenly chocolate cheesecake :-)

Chocolate Carrot Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Stir together in a bowl:  1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut

In a large bowl:  beat 3 eggs, and gradually blend in 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup packed Demerara sugar.  Add 3/4 cup vegetable oil and 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted.  Stir in 3 cups grated carrots.  Add flour mixture from the other bowl and mix.

Pour batter into a greased 13 x 9 inch pan.  Bake at 325 deg F (160 deg C) for 35-40 minutes or until done.  Let cool

Icing:  mix 1/4 lb cream cheese with 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips melted and 1 cup icing sugar.  Spread over cooled cake.

- adapted from a Canadian Living recipe - the original had raisins and a pinch of allspice (which I didn't want to buy just for this recipe) and regular brown sugar (which I usually substitute Demerara) and twice as much icing (which I cut down in part since I only had 1 cup of icing sugar and in part because I don't care for a lot of icing - but in the end I thought it would be easier to ice and look nicer with the larger amount!)

Mar 19, 2010 at 8:53 AM

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Gary's Favourite Taco Bean Dip

In the last 11 days, I've made Gary's Favourite Taco Bean Dip three times--served with tortilla chips and fresh veggies, it's great as part of a Canada Day family lunch, a Friday Night Football gathering, and as a make-ahead to share with friends after Sunday worship (so now you know what I've been up to in the last 11 days--now that we've moved, I'm definitely making up for lost time in the hospitality department!). Here's the recipe by request:

Gary's Favourite Taco Bean Dip
 

(I usually cook with whole foods, and don’t use a lot of convenience/pre-packaged food, so this dip means a lot of concessions on my part, but at least I can serve it with fresh vegetables!)

398 mL can refried beans
2 ripe avocados
1 tsp lemon juice
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 pkg El Paso taco seasoning mix
grated cheddar or other cheese
chopped tomatoes
snipped chives

In a bowl, mix taco seasoning, sour cream, and mayonnaise. Peel avocados, and discard pits. Mash the avocado with lemon juice in another bowl. Layer refried beans, avocado mixture, sour cream mixture in an 8 x 8 glass pan or other dish. Top with grated cheese, chopped tomatoes, snipped chives—I vary the amounts of each depending on what’s on hand, what I’m in the mood for, and how it looks. . . usually just enough grated cheese so the sour cream mixture is still visible, 1-2 tomatoes . . . I used to snip chives from the garden for this dip too, but since we’ve moved, I haven’t had chives, but the dip is still delicious without them.
Serve with tortilla chips and fresh veggies.
 

Jul 12, 2009 at 2:18 PM

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Rhubarb!

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Topping - 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp finely grated orange peel (although if I don't have an orange, I sometimes leave this out!) mixed together in a small bowl

Cake - 2 cups unbleached flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/3 cup oil, 1 cup orange juice, 1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb

1.  Stir dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.

2.  In another bowl, mix wet ingredients.  Then add wet ingredients to dry, and stir until combined.

3.  Spread half the batter in a greased 8-inch (2 L) square glass baking pan.  Spread rhubarb over all, then top with remaining batter.  Sprinkle topping over surface.

4.  Bake in 325 deg. F oven for about 40 minutes, or until done.  May be served warm or after cooling on a wire rack.

May 27, 2008 at 9:32 PM

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Cookie Communion

So then I told them, "The church is going to have communion this morning as a special way of saying we love Jesus and we're part of the church, but guess what, it's something that needs to wait until you're older, until you're baptized.  But I wanted you to have a special wy of saying that you love Jesus too and you're an important part of the church, so I made something special for us to share."  Then I showed them the big communion cookie I had made, talked about it being like God's love that we all share, prayed with them, and let them each take a piece.  There were a few pieces left over, so I passed them out to  few of the youth who have just started baptism preparation classes and were sitting in the front row of the church.  For those who asked for the recipe, here it is:

April's Communion Cookie

Cream together: 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup shortening, 1 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar.  Beat in 2 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla extract.  Add 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt.  Stir in 1 1/2 cups chocolate and/or butterscotch chips.  Refrigerate dough for 15-20 minutes, then spread in a 16 inch (40 cm) pizza pan--I learned the hard way if using a pizza pan with holes, line the pan with parchment paper first!  Bake at 375 deg. F. (190 deg. C.) for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and somewhat underbaked in the centre.  Let cool for 5 minutes, and cut into pieces while still warm.

Feb 20, 2008 at 10:17 AM

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