Chocolate Icing

Remember that chocolate cake? I made it for some friends last week and we decided that we needed some icing! Thanks, Hershey's!

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2/3 cup Hershey's cocoa (Don't tell, but I used Nestle!)
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Melt butter, stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount of additional milk if needed. Stir in vanilla.

Frost cooled cake. If you frost a hot cake because everybody wants to eat it your icing will melt. But don't worry, it still tastes great. And even looks good when everything cools off.

And speaking of cake...Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother-in-law, Sharon! We love you! (And I'll make you cake this weekend.)

Learning

I was reading Proverbs 9 yesterday (you can read the Proverb that corresponds to the day of the month and read the book every month) and noticed something about the two personified ladies in this chapter. "Wisdom" works. She's learned how to do different things and employs them on a regular basis for God's work. "Foolish" is ignorant. The end of verse 13 actually says "she is simple, and knoweth nothing."She is not learning anything; she's content where she is with what she's (not) doing.

My goal is to strive for God's wisdom for my life. It's easy to see that God's ladies are busy working, doing many different things with their talents. Read Proverbs 31 and list the many abilities that this lady possessed. Our Pastor has constantly told us that we need to be reading and learning or we will stagnant. So where am I growing?

1. In the Bible- I spend time in the Bible every day. I listen to my Pastor's messages when I'm at church and also from the archives online. I read good books by great Christians that push me.

2. Piano- My pastor's wife has been instrumental in teaching me to play the piano. Another lady at church has loaned me some technique books that I have started working through.

3. Cooking- I read several cooking blogs and get tips from other cooks. I try new recipes and techniques. I'm expanding even more as I'm cooking low-protein for Micah.

These are just a few areas that I'm really focusing on right now. There are other areas that are harder to label or measure, such as being a better wife and a more effective mother. I also have some longer-term goals for the next 2-5 years. I hope to learn more about gardening and putting away food. I want to learn to sew. I'd like to learn about photography as well. But if I can only grow in three areas, I want it to be the three I've listed above.

Where are you growing? Do you have a plan to keep growing or to start growing?

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Biscuits

For years I've bought the boxed baking mixes. You know, Bisquick, Pioneer, the Aldi brand. Then I noticed I was purposefully not buying them because they were expensive and when I wanted to make biscuits on the spur-of-the-moment I couldn't. So I decided to make my own.

3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar (adjust for your taste preference)
3/4 stick butter, cubed
milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place pizza stone in oven. Combine dry ingredients in medium sized mixing bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fork until only small pieces of butter remain in dough. (The butter will allow the biscuits to flake up.) Add enough milk for mixture to combine into dough. Knead on a floured surface for 30 seconds or until dough forms a smooth ball. Roll to desired thickness (you should be able to see small pats of butter throughout the dough) and cut out biscuits. Place biscuits on the hot pizza stone and return to oven for 8-10 minutes or until biscuit tops are browned.

Serve with butter, jelly, or honey. Serve as a side with supper. Pour gravy over them and eat with bacon. Or use for breakfast sandwiches. Eat them as an afternoon snack. Or use them for whatever you would normally use biscuits. But don't throw them at people because they don't hurt unless you overbake them. And why you would ruin a good biscuit like that?

Sunday Sermon

Our Pastor preached tonight on service. Since I've written about that lately, I thought I would share the link! Enjoy!

Full Service

Friday Favorites: Air Conditioning

Really the title says it all, right? We've been averaging mid-90s and humid. If we go outside after ten in the morning it's to play in the pool!

Honestly, we have missionaries that constantly work in much hotter weather with no air conditioning at all and they never complain! It's embarrassing to me. And helps me not complain!

CatchPhrase

We are all guilty of reacting without thinking to a situation or a request, right? (Please tell me it's not just me!) And I've found that I am even more guilty of this if I am stressed or tired. Shame on me if I think that's an excuse! I've found the best way to help myself is to have a catchphrase that I can say in my head and stop myself from reacting sinfully.

When I was pregnant with Micah the catchphrase was "it's not about me." I remember this one well because I shared it with the ladies in the jail during Reformer's Unanimous. (RU is an addiction program that my husband and I participated in through our church for two years.)

Recently, my catchphrase has been "Servant's Heart." Sometimes this gets draw out to "be a servant," "serve willingly," or some sort of variation on that. So when I'm asked to do something and my initial reaction is "that's not fair" or "I don't want to," I can stop myself, take a deep breath, and respond willingly. And I think that makes God happy.

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Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been on a desserts kick the past few weeks. I promise I'll stop because it's not good for anybody! But before I quit, these cookies are amazing! My favorite part is the toasted pecans. They make the cookie for me. But my husband prefers them "without the nasty nuts!" So try them both ways. Or make some with nuts and some without. :)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

To toast pecans, melt one tablespoon butter in an oven-safe dish and add chopped pecans. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes, stirring two or three times. You should start to smell a heavenly aroma. (You can also do this on the stovetop in a dry pan for a shorter amount of time but what's the fun in that?)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla until just combined. Add flour mixture in thirds and mix well after each addition. Stir in toasted pecans (if you want pecans in all your cookies) and chocolate chips. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes (check your oven) or until golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Eat while warm with a glass of milk!