Step by step, you'll get there yet!
Looking for a simple, healthy Summer side dish that you can put together ahead of time? Look no further…come visit me over at Roomag where I share the recipe for this refreshing Cucumber Salad…my children call it “homemade pickles” and ask that I make it over and over again! Enjoy!
From the book: You’ve Changed By Life by Max Lucado.
It touched me so much, I just had to share it with you.
Reckless Lover’s of Christ
Here’s to the hero of the San Francisco marathon who crossed the finish line without seeing it (He was blind).
Here’s to the woman whose husband left her with a nest of kids to raise and bills to pay, but who somehow tells me every Sunday that god has never been closer.
Here’s to the single father of two girls who learned to braid their hair.
Here’s to the grandparents who came out of retirement to raise the children their children couldn’t raise.
Here’s to the foster parents who took in a child long enough for that child to take their hearts -then gave the child up again.
Here’s to the girl, told by everyone to abort the baby, who chose to keep the baby.
Here’s to the doctor who treats more than half of his patients for free.
Here is to the heroin addict turned missionary.
Heres to the executive who every Tuesday hosts a 5:30 am meeting for Bible study and prayer.
Here is to all of your reckless lovers of God.
~In the Eye of the Storm
*Allow me continue on….
Here’s to the Dad who coaches and prays with his team… he may be the only man doing this in these children’s lives.
Here’s to the man who loves his step-grandchildren as his own.
Here’s to ALL the women who cook for those in need even though they are still busy with their own young families.
Here’s to the man who bought a perfect stranger a car because he knew he needed one.
Here’s to the teacher who stays after school to share the word of God with students.
Here’s to the women who volunteer in the nursery so other women can be fed.
Here’s to the elderly woman who works at the grocery store…she always has a smile even though she is still living paycheck to paycheck.
Here’s to the family who’s little boy is suffering with cancer, yet they praise God and trust Him with their son’s life.
Here’s to the child who sticks up for the one being bullied.
Here’s to the teacher who sees the beauty in every student she has ever taught because they were handcrafted by God.
Here’s to the woman fighting stage 4 cancer…praying her entire family becomes saved through her suffering.
I could go on….and on….and on…..about reckless lovers of life.
So thankful to The Giver of life…
Who are the reckless lovers of life in YOUR life? Please share.
The easiest way to prepare corn is by using the boiling method. My personal favorite is “bi colored” sweet corn….I scoop up a bunch of this {in August especially} at my local farm. Simply husk, rinse and you are ready to boil. I know this may seem like common knowledge…but for some, this is a learning experience! There is actually a small trick to boiling corn!
Corn on the cob is such an easy side dish …I add it to many a Summer meals! My children LOVE it.
Fill a large pot with water, then set your corn on the cobs inside. Turn heat onto high.
When the water starts to boil- the corn is done! Pretty neat hu?
Pour water out of large pot and place corn into a 9×13 pan with 1 stick of butter. Let butter melt and roll corn around until coated. Salt and pepper as desired.
Hi Ladies! Wow…what a busy weekend. I just got home from a full day of baseball {tournament weekend} but I wanted to share with you how yesterday’s banquet went!
Needless to say, it went according to God’s plan and it was a huge success! Praise the Lord!
Drum roll please…..
The first thing we had to do yesterday when I got to the church was to put the flowers in water. We used the lemons we cut from the day before to brighten up the vases. I just loved how these turned out. Beautiful.
The tables were set from the night before….so only the centerpieces were needed! Easy.
Then, it was time to heat up those pots and pans! Here we have 2 large pots of water boiling with macaroni, the cheese sauce in the top left and in the center is the poppyseed dressing that goes over the ham and cheese sandwiches. It’s so different cooking in larger quantities- everything is SO BIG! The pots, pans, stoves, ovens….they all seem giant.
Seriously…this may not look pretty, but it is SO tasty. Sauce is ready to pour over top of the sliders now!
And there they are! I bought 5 pounds of brown sugar chipped ham and 3 lbs of baby swiss cheese. This made plenty for 75 people.
For some reason, I have come to find out that the little ones prefer cucumbers, carrots and dip to an actual salad. Give em what they want- it’s a special evening!
I thought these turned out so cute. It’s “dirt” pudding topped with oreos and gummy worms. I found these adorable glass flower pots at Pat Catans for cheap! I am sure I will reuse them for this same purpose over and over again.
My cousin Jen made these sweet little flowers. The theme of Beautified was “to grow in beauty” – love.
Here we are in the midst of it all! lol.
Pouring the sauce on all of the sliders…oh dear, did I honestly put a hair net over my sunglasses? Yeah. I did. This is me with a few days of less sleep and more to do, lol. But, I wouldn’t change it one bit.
Getting the drinks prepped…sweet tea, water with lemon, lemonade. Can you guess which one went out first? lol…the lemonade. I will remember that!
We had the pineapple fluff made, we just had to add the pretzel topping…
Who could forget the “Better than a hug cake”….I only needed to make one tray of this. Boo…I don’t like when I misjudge by that much. But, the jr. high kids will be happy to eat this tomorrow morning! haha.
Setting up…you see the grape caterpillars {thank you Alice}, veggie tray, PB&J heart sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches and strawberry spinach salad.
The cucumber sandwiches were assembled and sprinkled with dill weed. We didn’t do this the previous night because they would have been soggy. Fresh…fresh is good. Love the little signs…again, thanks to my cousin Jen!
Always a hit with the ladies.
Drinks are out! I purchased plastic cups because we had a lot of little ones…and straws, you simply must have straws when you are serving “ladies”… 😉
The candy buffet is ready!
Pink chocolate dipped marshmallows with sprinkles {thank you Julie and Kalie}
I love the new rolling warmers our church has now! We used to have to keep things warm in crockpots/roasters, etc. These make life so much easier! Yea!
Mmmm….Mac n cheese.
My daughter got dropped off at dinner time to enjoy the festivities! She got a huge kick out of trying on all the dress up clothes for the photo booth. Isn’t she a cutie?
Kara and me…she led the Beautified program this year… what a busy servant for the Lord she is! We also co-lead Summer bible studies together. {I am cracking up looking at this photo…my shirt is crooked, one leggin is higher than another- I guess I had an excuse, I was a little busy!}
Our ladies!
Kara, Julie and Me….remember when I told you I have a mentor? This is her! I LOVE her so much and am so grateful to have her as a friend and neighbor. I will be talking more about her in later posts 🙂
Kara and her sweet daughter.
So, what do you think? Better than a hug or what?
Dad surprised their girls by a special appearance ….so sweet.
Yep! They were surprised alright! Adorable.
The “Mom and Daughter Newlywed Game”
Crafts!
Oh, what a fun event this was to be a part of!!! Again…I feel so blessed God chose to use me in this way. So many people ask “How do you do it? How do plan, shop and cook for that many people?” My answer is always “God”. Before I had him in my life, I would honestly get nervous cooking for just my family…
God also always provides just the amount of helpers I need…thanks to all the ladies who showed up the night before and the night of! What a blessing YOU were!!!! Thank you SO much.
Now, off to get some Zzzzs before we have to get up for church!
Hi Again Ladies!
Well, today is day 2 of “gearing up” for the Beautified Banquet!
It is going to be such a fun event! Games, a modesty fashion show, crafts, a dress-up photo booth, a mom/daughter “newlywed” game, food, and fellowship. The best thing? Dads are making a surprise appearance and will be on stage reading letters they have written to their daughters about what they love about them. How. Awesome. Is. That.
So, we did some prep work for the event today…some at home and a lot at the church. Here is what we have done thus far.
For all the recipes- see yesterday’s post– I will also be posting the conversions for “Cooking for a Crowd” soon.
I made up 2 “Better Than a Hug Cakes”- enough for 75 people.
I washed and skewered the “Caterpillar Grapes” and will be putting on their cute little faces tomorrow. They are chillin in the refrigerator 🙂
Loaded up the “Swaggar Wagon” with all the ingredients I needed to start cooking at the church and the decorations! This was a lot of stuff! {shout out to Thirtyone bags in the bottom right corner, haha}
And sweet Alice making heart shaped PB & Js!
Finishing touches on the cakes.
That’s a lot of Poppyseed Dressing!
Ive come to find out that commercial mixers scare me. This one could take my arm off. But, Pineapple Fluff is worth that expense.
Cucumber sandwiches prep work done. Cucumbers are sliced and in the refrigerator! I’ll put them together tomorrow.
Lemons are sliced for the centerpieces, cakes are done, pineapple fluff is done, salad is made.
Moving on to the “Family Life Center” for decorating! Here is our beverage station…lemonade, sweet tea, and water with lemons.
Check out these adorable little signs my cousin Jen made for me. LOVE.
We “prepped” the candy buffet.
Another adorable sign my cousin Jen made.
We started setting tables….aren’t those the cutest little cookies? I have to remember to pick up the flowers from the florist tomorrow for the centerpieces!
The dress-up photo booth!!!! The girls are going to LOVE it! Thanks to Melissa and her hubby!!
Ill be back to show you the finished product of “The Beautified Banquet”!
No “Feasting in Fellowship Friday” today…I am off to get some Zzzz’s.
Tomorrow is a big day!
Hi Ladies!
Today was a fun, yet busy day! I spent the majority of the morning grocery shopping for a Mother/Daughter banquet at our church this weekend. My dear friend {and Summer study co-leader} Kara was the hostess of this awesome program this year called Beautified. It has come to an end and now it is time to feast in fellowship! I am so thrilled she called on me to help…I can’t wait.
What is Beautified? It’s a faith-based monthly gathering where moms and daughters {ages 8-12} go over the book “8 Great Dates for Mom’s and Daughters” by Dannah Gresh. Speakers are invited in to encourage and talk about modesty, true beauty and world pressures on young women. This year was the first year of “Beautified” at our church and from what I hear…it was a HUGE hit. It will be offered every other year. I can’t wait until I can take my girls!
So…here’s what I am planning for the banquet…It’s a mixture of what the Ladies and the little Ladies would like..
Baked Ham and Swiss Poppyseed Sliders
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing
Homemade Oven Baked Mac n Cheese
Heart shaped PB & J Tea Sandwiches
I’ll make a “Cupcake Tower” out of these little Dirt pots…so cute! I found really cute ones at Pat Catans that are pink, orange and yellow. So excited about this! lol.
And of course a candy buffet! My sweet cousin Jen helped me replicate this one above! Thank you SO much Jen!!!
We are adding these adorable Pink Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows {My neighbor Julie is making these for me- Thank you Julie!!!}
I’ve ordered these flowers and bought a bunch of lemons today to make these centerpieces! I have the vases already {$1 each at Marcs}
Here’s what I gone done today:
A shout out to my fav meal ministry store GFS! Food in bulk, wohoo!
One packed Swaggar Waggon!
SOOOO Thankful for our SPARE refrigerator!!!!!
I didn’t take a photo of my dining room, but should have…it is just as packed with all the non-refrigerated items and decorations. It’s a sign of fun and fellowship in the making!
Do you know what I think of all of this? That It’s all one huge blessing.
Why, you ask? Because I am needed…God has qualified me even though I am not qualified on my own. It’s a beautiful ministry and I am overjoyed to be a part of it!
I’ll be baaaack to show you the finished result after the show!
P.S. Thank you to my sweet neighbor Heidi who watched my 3 year old today so I could get this accomplished. What a blessing!!!!!
{{{{Mr. Smiley}}}}
One of my absolute favorite fruits is watermelon, and guess what ladies?! It’s in season and on SALE! Wohoo! I will be scooping up a bunch of these for our church’s Mother/Daughter banquet. In the meantime, I couldn’t help but share the creativity I found on the net..you have to check these out. The ones I chose seem simple enough for even this {non-crafty} girl to be able to make.
Oh, Gotta LOVE….
Watermelon Carvings! What FUN!
Check out this Watermelon Shark…my son eats watermelon like it’s going out of style, and we are a family fascinated by sharks. This is a must at his next birthday party!!! SO cute how they added the gummies!
This Watermelon Tea Pot would be perfect for a Ladies tea party/luncheon!
LOVE this Watermelon Sail Boat for a pirate party!
Hostessing a baby shower? This Watermelon Baby Carriage is a must {Thanks to Deb, I had one at my baby shower!}
A Shout OUT to my gluten free friends with this Watermelon Birthday Cake!
After having 2 children who won’t touch broccoli and cauliflower…I have to brag about my 3rd child who would pick this healthy side dish over chocolate! I kid you not!!!! I could totally do the butter churn dance as I write this…that is how excited I am when I hear her squeal with joy when I make this! What mother wouldn’t?!
Nevertheless…steaming veggies doesn’t require an actual steamer, or even much effort at all. Here is a “comfy” way to do this….super easy, yummy, and healthy!
Cut and rinse your veggies. I chose broccoli and cauliflower because they are finished steaming in approximately the same amount of time.
Boil water in a large pot and simply put the colander right on top.
Cover with a lid. There is enough room for the steam too cook the veggies yet enough room for the some steam to escape. I keep the lid on for appx 10 mins. {If you are still cooking your main dish by the time your veggies are finished, you may take the pot off the burner -keep the lid on so your veggies remain warm}.
See…not hard at all! Freshly steamed veggies in a jiffy. Salt and pepper as you wish.
Makes weeknight cooking a sinch!
Oh, and the other 2 kidos? They have to take 3 bites or they don’t get a popsicle after dinner…up to them, lol. My youngest ends up stealing their remains off their dish…bless her sweet heart!
| Easy Steamed Broccoli/Cauliflower |
Happy Friday Everyone!
Come join me over at Women Living Well where Courtney is serving up my “Easy Cucumber Sandwiches”…
These are one of the items I will be making next weekend for a Mother/Daughter Banquet at our church! They are deeeelicious!
Friday’s Top 3 Recipes!
Made By: Back For Seconds
{Hmmm…I am seriously contemplating making these for the Mother/Daughter Banquet too! So cute!}
{SO adorable! Also a great gift for the end of the school year!}
By: Cheerios and Lattes
{Beautiful!}
Made By: The Joy of Everyday Cooking
It’s a Feasting in Fellowship Link-UP! Please feel free to link up as many recipes, Christian posts, or posts of the season. All I ask is that you place my button {located on the side bar} onto your post! Thank you to all who FB, tweet and Pin what we have here on Comfy! Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
One of the biggest challenges I have had eating gluten-free has been passing on cakes and breads. Now I know there are gluten free options out there, but there are few and far between that taste as good as the real thing. Why eat the extra calories if it isn’t going to be worth it? I’ve tried some recipes that require special trips to special markets…not going to happen all the time with this stay at home mom of 3.
Tonight I decided to make a dessert for the family. Hodgson Mills makes a pretty good gluten-free cake mix but I knew it could use a little help with texture and flavor. I changed some ingredients and added a few too-would you know it turned out delicious!!!?? Wohoo! My husband took a bite and asked “Is this glutenous minimus?!” lol…why, yes it is Dear….tricked ya, did I? It was so nice to have a moist piece of cake again!!! YEA!
You may use your cake mix of choice {my friends who do not have allergies- you may use a regular yellow cake mix}
I followed the package instructions but I used coconut milk instead of butter milk and coconut extract instead of almond.
Spread batter into a prepared pan {this is an 11×7, you can use an 8×8- a 9×13 would work with a regular boxed cake- gluten free boxed cake mixes have less in them} Bake at 350 for apps 25 mins or per package instructions.
While the cake is baking, make your jell-o. Combine the packet with boiling water, then add your cold water. {If you are using bulk gelatin- this is 1/3 cup jello with 1 cup boiling and 1 cup cold}
1 container of vanilla frosting combined with 2 Tbsp of strawberry gelatin and 1/2 cup chopped strawberries. Blend together.
YUM!
When cake is done baking, poke all over with a fork and pour jell-o over top. You may not need to use all of your jell-o. Place in refrigerator for 2 hours.
Beautiful, isn’t it? Tasty too! What a treat for this “glutenous minimus” girl…lol.
| Strawberry Jell-o Poke Hole Cake {Allergy Friendly} |
You make make this with a regular cake if you do not have food allergies! You may also use strawberry frosting instead of adding strawberry gelatin flavoring.
This is such an easy recipe to make with a huge “wow” factor. Keep your eyes open for seafood sales at your local grocery store! You are going to love this one.
Marinate 1 lb of shrimp per person in butter, olive oil, fresh garlic, orange juice, and lemon pepper. Place in the refrigerator for approximately 30 mins. It is typical for the marinade to harden while in the refrigerator.
Place shrimp in a grill skillet and toss back and forth by shaking the skillet until shrimp is cooked {be careful of flames}.This takes approximately 5 mins. Season with Old Bay seasoning. Serve hot of the grill!
Delicious citrusy, buttery, garlicy shimp – What seafood lover could resist?!
| Easy Marinated Grilled Shrimp |
1 lb of shrimp per person- you can multiply accordingly or use 1/2 pound as a side to another meat
Happy Friday Ladies!
Oh it’s a beautiful day here…the sunshine is such medicine to the soul! We have some delicious recipes today that would work perfectly with a Mother’s Day Brunch!
My friend Courtney at Women Living Well is featuring this delicious Grape and Pecan Chicken Salad….serve on croissants , in pastry puff cups, or over lettuce leaves. You will be asked for the recipe over and over again.
Top 3 Recipes of the Week…
{Mother’s Day Inspired.}
Made By: Cooking on the Front Burner
Adorable Handmade”Love you a latte” Mother’s Day Cards
Made By: Inspired By Family
Made By: The 21st Century Housewife
Happy Mother’s Day Weekend!!! It’s a Feasting in Fellowship Friday LINK UP! Please link up as many recipes, Christian posts and/or posts of the season. All I ask is that you place my button {located on my sidebar} onto your post.
Thank you ever so much for sharing on FB, Pinterest, and Twitter! I love having more friends…it really is a blessing.
Mmmm….doesn’t this look so refreshing, so juicy, so irresistible?! Something special happens when ordinary fruit is washed, diced, and combined with other delicious fruits {fruit salsa, if you will}. I can’t explain how addicting it is…but I can give testimony that this very triffle is sitting on my lap right now, haha. I keep taking 1 min breaks to scoop in a mouthful as I post this simple, yet very blogworthy treat. A definite “make” for Mother’s Day!
I found this beautiful vase at Marshall’s and thought it would be the perfect container for the salsa! I love to be able to see the “parfait” appearance of all the fruits stacked onto one another. Throw-away Ziplocs are more expensive than this- what a deal! Yea!
I used my dicer to dice the fruit. I diced, than rinsed.
Beautiful.
I continued dicing the fruits I had on hand…strawberries, pineapple, watermelon
And I threw in some grapes. You may want to add berries {do not dice} or bananas {they will brown, so eat immediately or toss in citrus juice}.
Layer like so. Would you look at those beautiful juices blending together?! Mmmmm!!!!!! This dish doesn’t need a thing…just beautiful fruits blended together make it as delicious as ever. Oh…and it’s pretty, got to love presentation 😉 Enjoy and make often- I sure do!
| Easy Fruit Salsa |
Are you planning on having a “Mother’s Day Brunch” for the special women in your life? Please come visit me over at The Better Mom for some ideas planning your event! These recipes are not only delicious, but simple enough to make ahead of time …giving YOU time to spend with your loved ones
My Mom and Me 😉
Happy Friday! Wohoo!
I can’t wait to display what we have cooking today!
For those of you who have e-mailed me about the mentor/mentee FB post…I will be continuing to pair you up as God leads and as my time allows. I have no doubt that He will provide! Yesterday, my living room floor was covered with 100 printed e-mails and I happily read each one of them. What a blessing it is to see so many women eager to serve and so many women eager to learn about living their lives for Christ, family, and service. I believe everyone should have a mentor in life. I have one and am one…I will talk more about that in a later post 🙂
Back to food!
I visiting my friend Courtney over at Women Living Well where we are blending up a delicious “Strawberry Banana’s n Creme Smoothie”- Oh, is this ever tasty! What a special treat especially as the warm weather approaches us!
Friday’s Top 3 Recipes.
Made By: The Nourishing Home
{Have you seen Kelly’s beautiful new blog??}
Strawberry Kiwi Angel Food Cake
Made By: Growing in Grace
Made By: Home Grown Cozy
It’s a “Feasting in Fellowship Link-Up”! Here is where I can see what YOU have cooking! Please link up as many recipes, Christian posts, or posts of the season below. All I ask is that you place my button {located on my side bar} onto your post. The top 3 recipes will be posted next week and will also be pinned! Thank you to those who tweet, FB, and Pin..you are such a blessing and it is such a blessing to serve you and your friends/family!
Have a wonderful weekend girls!
Spinach is one of my all-time favorite veggies…I love spinach salad, spinach dip, and this dish~ sautéed spinach! One of my favorite steak houses serves this as a side dish and when we go out for a treat-I make sure to order this very thing! It’s simple, healthy, and would you know my entire family likes this?! Yes, you heard it! They all eat spinach! yea! {I am sure Popeye had something to do with that}
Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil and 3 cloves of diced garlic in a large pan. Add spinach and sautee.
Spinach will “cook down” rather fast. If you have never made freshly sautéed spinach, it will surprise you how you can go from a pan overflowing with spinach leaves to a pan that looks like this! Many ladies may have only purchased spinach frozen or in a can…I am so okay with frozen spinach for dips, but for sautéed spinach- fresh is best!!!
Add to you liking salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Delicious!!!!
My 3 year old flexing and saying “I eats me spinach!” hahaha!!! My 6 year old had a second helping! Yea! (excuse the crazy hair- we play hard)
I wanted to also show you what I “paired” it up with…This was an evening that I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner…it was 7:00 and everyone was starving (have you ever been there?). This meal took 10 mins to make. Baked potatoes made in the microwave (not my favorite method, but my husband can’t tell), kielbasa on the grill and sautéed spinach. Nothing fancy, just comfy.
| Sauteed Spinach |
