Archive for the "This Is The Life" Category

I am excited to share this recipe with you today. Not only did my mother make this when I was a kid, but better than that, it is so simple, so fast and so good! It will knock your socks off! Let’s get started!

My family knows I am a caption kind of gal, but let me be sure to start with a couple things:

  • Please do us all a favor and wash your hands.
  • Tools you will need:  Cutting board, knife, a large bowl for the slices, a smaller bowl for the garbage, a glass bake pan (9×13)
  • Ingredients you will need: One yellow box cake mix, about 8 large peaches, one cube of butter (1/2 cup) chilled, shortening to grease pan (spray oil will do).
  • A nice hot oven preheated to 350º.

Let's wash about 8 large peaches.

... and slice them.

See how nicely that pit comes free from the peach meat? That's what we call "free stone." It makes life so much easier when handling these lovelies! Be sure to choose free stone peaches.

Peel. If the peach is nice and ripe, the peel will come off easy as you please.

<

If it is not ripe, it will be stubborn and more difficult to work with and you may have to use a paring knife to cut the peeling off.

Slice 'em up!

Now try to have self-control not to snitch them!

Grease up your baking pan. I especially like glass for this dessert.

Pour the peaches into the prepared dish.

Time for the yellow cake mix. Any brand will do. In my opinion, the least expensive, the better in this case!

Evenly sprinkle the cake mix over the peaches.

See how easy this is so far? Even a small child could help with this project.

Don't let the lighting fool you! It's the same dish LOL

Let's get that butter from the refrigerator. Here it is in all its glory.

Slice the butter.

Lay the pats all over the dessert.

Can you imagine trying to do with with soft butter? Not!

Oops! This piece is a little too large. Let's just divide it... then conquer!

Make sure the pieces of butter are not too big. Lay them out evenly.

Ohhhh this is gonna be good!

Time to go into the preheated oven.

Bake 20 minutes or until it is golden.

Enjoy it warm or save it for later when it is cooled down. Vanilla ice cream is great with this, as well.

I think I missed sharing the photo op on my plate. My mind was elsewhere…. focused on eating! We will be getting some peaches in tomorrow, so maybe I will come back with a final photo… if I can control myself.

Ahhhh! Beautiful submission!!! There is security under submission. God’s Word has a lot to say about the subject, but I will only scratch the surface.

Submission is not being a doormat. Everyone has an authority. God has laid out the structure to make the man be over the woman. It doesn’t mean that women are anything less than men, but things work in harmony when there is a head. Then we each have a role.

Genesis 2:18-23
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone ; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”  19  Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever  the man called a living creature, that was its name.  20  The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.  21  So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept ; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.  22  The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.  23  The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh ; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”

Submission is putting yourself under your husband so he can be the leader/head that God intended him to be.

It is not an option, but a directive given to us in Ephesians 5:21-24

And be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

1 Timothy 2:11-15 says, A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

Titus 2:5, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

Perhaps your husband has a wrong idea of what submission means. Do you not expect your children to submit to your authority? But at the same time, they are not your slaves to treat poorly. We raise them for the Lord’s glory. Your husband is told to treat you with dignity.

Ephesians 5:25-30 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body.

1 Corinthians 7:3-5 says, The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Does this help in getting a different picture of what submission and authority are?


Here is a small list of activities to do with young children:




  • Play cherades
  • Sing songs like Father Abraham; head and shoulders, knees and toes
  • Play Simon Says…or Daddy says
  • Make popcorn
  • Play Candyland
  • Make play dough
  • Play dress up
  • Make and/or play with puppets
  • Read books
  • Learn portions of scripture
  • Sort laundry together. The older one(s) can make sock matches, fold washrags, put clothes away, identify clothes
  • Play with bubbles
  • Make pictures for grandma
  • Set up a fish tank and enjoy it
  • Make instruments with paper plates, oatmeal boxes, etc.
  • Plant some seeds
  • Visit the elderly
  • Make butter
  • Make ice cream
  • Make yogurt
  • Bake cookies
  • Dance with music
  • Play with cars. Make roads.
  • Color with you.
  • Find a paper plate craft book and make crafts
  • Play a board game with them making up the “rules”
  • Finger paints
  • Play “hide the battery”
  • Play hide and seek
  • Do sommer saults and stand on your head

bread.gif bread.gif bread.gif bread.gif


I am not sure where I found this, but it might be helpful for those of you with bread machines that would like to play around to make your own recipes.

# For each cup of flour used in recipe, use: 3 ounces liquid (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons)
# 1/2 teaspoon salt
# 1/2 tablespoon sugar
# 1/2 tablespoon butter or margarine
# 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast or 1/2 teaspoon bread machine/fast-rising yeast

* For example, for a bread recipe using 3 cups of flour, start with: 9 ounces liquid (1 cup + 2 tablespoons)
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons butter or margarine
* 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast or 1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine/fast rising yeast

Another example:
4 c. flour
12 oz. liquid
2 tsp. salt
2 T. sugars
2 T. oils
3 tsp. yeast

Q. My loaves of bread are short. How can I get them taller?

Short loaves seems to be the number one problem in bread machine baking. It’s cause is directly related to the measuring technique used for both liquid and dry ingredients.

* Keep these points in mind when measuring.Always measure liquids in a see-through measuring cup with graduated markings. Liquid should reach the markings at eye-level, not above or below. Set the cup on the inside of a kitchen cabinet for easier measuring.

* Always spoon dry ingredients into solid, nesting type measuring cups, and then level off with a table knife.
* Never scoop measuring cups into dry ingredients. This will pack down the ingredients and cause the dough to be dry and the loaf to be short.
* Always use a set of measuring spoons to measure small amounts of dry and liquid ingredients, measuring level, not rounded or heaping.

* Bread made with 100% whole wheat bread will be shorter. To help improve the height try the following suggestions:

Add 1 whole egg for better bread structure. When doing this you must reduce the liquid amount by the amount of egg being added. Most large eggs are 1/4 cup.

Add 1 to 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten for better bread structure. When doing this you must also add 1 tablespoon additional liquid.

The Most Important Tip of All – Check the Dough

Another very important tip to follow is to check the condition of the dough during the knead cycle, especially when making a recipe for the first time. After 8 to 10 minutes of kneading, open the machine to check the dough. It is alright to open machine during the knead cycle. The dough should be in a soft, tacky ball. If it’s too dry, add 1 teaspoon of water. If it’s too wet, add 1 tablespoon of flour. Always allow any added water or flour to be blended into the dough for a minute or two before making any further adjustment. The dough is just right when it is soft to the touch, smooth in appearance and the bottom of the pan is clean.

Q. Why does my bread collapse as it’s baking?

This may indicate the dough is too wet.  Next time reduce the liquid amount by 1 tablespoon.

OR

Make sure you are using the recommended amount of sugar, yeast and salt being used. Salt especially cannot be eliminated.

OR

If you are at high altitudes you may need to make some adjustments. Reduce yeast by 1/4 teaspoon at a time. You may also need to reduce liquid by 2 to 3 teaspoons. Some experimentation on your part will be needed.