Cooking Up Some Christmas Creations in the Kitchen!

Merry Christmas blogger world! Today was a quiet Christmas for me and my dearest. It was just the two of us, but do not let that make you think we didn't pull out the stops for a great meal!

Last night the preparations began. I figured that some of that silverware that is tarnished and hardly ever used should be broken out, polished and used! So I broke out the Reed & Barton Tara and went to work polishing it.

This morning began with the opening of gifts. My husband received 14 books (pictured right) along with some other items, but books are definitely his favorite and his joy was overflowing. I received a toaster convection oven along with books. **Please note that if anyone has bookshelves they want to give away...we are ALWAYS in need! :-)



After opening gifts, I started on Operation Christmas Dinner

Menu:
Orange Walnut Salad with Sweet and Sour dressing
Roast with carrots and onions
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese
Sauteed Mushrooms for the husband!
Caramel Chocolate Pie

The pie was the most intensive part of the meal and required refrigeration between steps, so I thought I should start on that first. The crust was made out of pecan toffee cookies. Well, my first crust was a big FAIL! Ok, so I didn't notice that fine print that instructed me to omit sugar and cut the butter in half if I was using cookies instead of graham cracker crumbs. I noticed immediately that the crust did not seem to have the right texture, but I thought I would put it in the oven to see what happened. Well, it definitely was not going to work. Thankfully, I had purchased extra pecan toffee cookies, so I quickly ground up some more and started again. The second time was a charm, but the first failure was a nerve racking way to begin the Christmas cooking! Crust done and cooling.


Now onto the roast. I seared the beef in a little olive oil and set it aside, Then I added chopped leeks, garlic cloves, and pearl onions to the pan, sauteed them a little, put the beef back in added some celery, carrots, a bay leaf, onion soup mix, red wine and beef broth (not quite enough liquid to cover), put on the lid and stuck it in the oven. I planned to cook it for 2.5 hours basting the beef every thirty minutes.



Now onto the second step of my pie...melted caramels. I melted 30 caramels with 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of water then poured them into the crust and sprinkled them with 1/2 c of chopped pecans. I put into the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour. At this point, I took a break, cleaned the kitchen and relaxed a little while putting my husband on basting duty!



After an hour had past, it was time for the second layer of pie--cream cheese whipped with 1/3 c of powdered sugar. After it became creamy I spread it on top of the caramel/pecan layer, and back into the frige it went.



At this point it was about time to start concerning myself with other aspects of the meal. First point of business, get the husband involved by peeling potatoes. Meanwhile I started making the sweet and sour dressing and sautéing  the walnuts for the salad. The dressing was fairly simple: Combine 1/2 vegetable oil (I used 1/2 c olive oil instead), 1/4c white vinegar, 1/4c sugar (or less), 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp dry mustard,  1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp grated onion. Blend until smooth. Then add 1/2 tsp celery seed. Walnuts were sauteed in 2 tsp of butter on the stove. After they were done, they were set aside to cool.

Back to the pie. I started melting 4 oz of semi-sweet chocolate on the stove with 3 tbsp of hot water. Stirring constantly until it  was completely melted. After melted, I set it aside and allowed it to cool to room temp. When cooled I added 1/2 tsp vanilla and stirred. I also had to start whipping the cream for the pie. While the chocolate was cooling, I poured 2 cups of heavy cream in a bowl and started whipping. I added 1/3 c powdered sugar to the cream in the process. Once my cream was fairly stiff, I separated 1.5 c of whipped cream out and folded the rest of the cream with the cooled chocolate sauce, pulled the pie back out and spread the chocolate cream layer. The other 1.5 c of whipped cream was spread on top of the chocolate cream, and back into the fridge it went to chill until it was served.



Pie was done, potatoes were peeled, and water was boiling on the stove waiting for the potatoes. They started cooking while I got out the asparagus. I washed it, trimmed the stems, lined a cookie sheet with foil and layered the asparagus on the sheet. I drizzled olive oil on it and rolled the asparagus just enough to ensure all of them had a thin coat of oil. I added a little salt and pepper, took the beef out of the oven, turned it up to 450 and added the asparagus for 10 minutes. Just enough time to throw the spinach and bibb lettuce in the salad spinner. I got the greens in a bowl, added chilled mandarin oranges to the salad along with a little swiss and parmesan cheeses, and the walnuts.

Potatoes were now done and being drained. I put the potatoes in a mixer along with some butter. Meanwhile, I start sautéing the mushrooms in a little butter and beef broth. I also started the gravy. Ahhh...the smells! It was almost time for dinner. I added some cream to the potatoes, continued to stir some of the broth from the roast into the gravy. Meanwhile, my dear husband started filling the dish washer with dirty dishes. Finally, I removed the asparagus from the oven, topped it with some parmesan cheese, tossed the salad with dressing, put the potatoes in a bowl, got it all on the table, poured the wine, and wah-lah....Christmas Dinner 2010 was ready for consumption!  And consumed we did! It was a change from our normal turkey dinner on Christmas, but we loved it!

And of course, we saved the best for last!

Kudos to Betty Crocker for the pie recipe and Southern Living for the Mandarin Walnut Salad! 

Sending Love to Our Service Members in Afghanistan

As I sit here and type it is around 2am Thursday morning in Afghanistan and some soldiers or Marines are pulling a long night keeping watch. They are probably thinking about the upcoming Christmas celebrations, wearing smiles imagining family and friends and eagerly anticipating the notes, photos, and little packages they will be receiving from back home. Perhaps they have pulled out a deck of cards and are passing the time, but you can bet they are all missing their spouses, their children, their parents, and their siblings. Some of them have children they have not yet met, and they will miss their son or daughter's first Christmas. For some of them, this is not the first Christmas they have spent in the dessert answering the call of duty away from the hugs and kisses of the ones they love. They are not in the comfort of their home listening to the sounds of Christmas, inhaling the smell of freshly cut down Christmas trees, watching the joy on the faces of their children as they run and play, and sniffing in the aroma of Christmas dinner in the oven. They are in a dry dessert with other dusty smelly servicemen eating whatever the government issued meal of the day is.  As this Christmas approaches, take the time to pray for, write to, and/or send a package to our troops. They can use all the encouragement we have to offer.  Today, I went to the store to put together some packages to send to Afghanistan.  Below are two boxes I packed. They contain many items our troops are always desiring and needing. Although my packages will not make it in time for Christmas, hopefully, they will be an encouragement as our troops start the new year.   I would encourage you to pack a box to support our troops as they sacrifice for us, and if you have children, be sure to get them involved. What a great way to appreciate our military while instilling in young minds the importance of gratitude and sacrifice this Christmas season.


Merry Christmas troops! We love you, miss you and hope you return home safely soon! 

Just some ideas for care packages to our troops:

peanut butter
pocket sized snack mixes
sunflower seeds/ peanuts/ trail mix
chewing gum
salt/pepper
protrien pouches (tuna, chicken)
energy bars
instant coffee
drink packets for water bottles
hand sanitizer
baby wipes
small portable alarm clocks
batteries
zip-lock bags
Purex 3 in 1 laundry sheets
stick up
shower shoes
travel size toiletries
foot powder
socks
t shirts
dark colored towels
disposable hand/feet warmers
eye drops
playing cards
books/magazines/US newpapers


Do Not Send: Pork products, alcohol, aerosol cans, flammables

To learn how to send packages visit the following websites:

http://www.ustroopcarepackage.com/ 
http://www.opgratitude.com/
http://www.Give2thetroops.org/

To email a service member: http://action.uso.org/action/sem-thank-you-holiday?sc=OM-gadw-p_Support-search_ThankYouEmail

To support our troops in other ways:
http://www.uso.org/

          

It's Not Always Loving to be Nice...

Due to certain personal situations, various cultural happenings and a good dose of thought provoking reading material, I have been busy processing frustrations and meditating on many doctrinal truths lately. We all know they were bound to be revealed at some point, so why not now? 

I begin with citing the Westminster Larger Catechism, something sound Presbyterians hold dear to their hearts. Buried deep inside the WLC are three questions/answers that I think need some revival as we enter 2011.  

Q. 150. Are all transgressions of the law of God equally heinous in themselves, and in the sight of God?
A. All transgressions of the law are not equally heinous; but some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others.

Q. 151. What are those aggravations that make some sins more heinous than others?
A. Sins receive their aggravations, 1. From the persons offending; if they be of riper age, greater experience or grace, eminent for profession, gifts, place, office, guides to others, and whose example is likely to be followed by others. 2. From the parties offended: if immediately against God, his attributes, and worship; against Christ, and his grace; the Holy Spirit, his witness, and workings; against superiors, men of eminency, and such as we stand especially related and engaged unto; against any of the saints, particularly weak brethren, the souls of them, or any other, and the common good of all or many. 3. From the nature and quality of the offence: if it be against the express letter of the law, break many commandments, contain in it many sins: if not only conceived in the heart, but breaks forth in words and actions, scandalize others, and admit of no reparation: if against means, mercies, judgments, light of nature, conviction of conscience, public or private admonition, censures of the church, civil punishments; and our prayers, purposes, promises, vows, covenants, and engagements to God or men: if done deliberately, willfully, presumptuously, impudently, boastingly,maliciously, frequently, obstinately, with delight, continuance, or relapsing after repentance. 4. From circumstances of time, and place: if on the Lord's day, or other times of divine worship; or immediately before or after these, or other helps to prevent or remedy such miscarriages: if in public, or in the presence of others, who are thereby likely to be provoked or defiled.

152. What doth every sin deserve at the hands of God?
A. Every sin, even the least, being against the sovereignty, goodness, and holiness of God, and against his righteous law, deserveth his wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come; and cannot be expiated but by the blood of Christ.




In a day when we are constantly bombarded with the lie that all sins are equal, it would do us well to actually consider the biblical teaching. Are all sins equal? Well...yes and no. Do all sins equally deserve the wrath and curse of God? Yes, even what is the tiniest transgression. And are all of us totally depraved? Yes, but let us not confuse total depravity with utter depravity. We are not utterly depraved. Sin has penetrated every facet of our thinking. Every ounce of our being is infected with sin, and even in our attempts to be righteous, without the power of Christ and His resurrection, we are unable to glorify Him in the slightest, yet even in our total depravity God’s common grace restrains us from sinning as greatly as we could sin. Hence, there are those in society that are far from understanding the Gospel, yet they may still hold to morals that are derived directly from God Law.  They are still desperately in need of special grace, that salvific grace found when we repent and cling to Christ-His righteousness, His atoning death and His conquering of death through the resurrection-as our only Hope from sin, but His common grace still keeps them from becoming the worst sinners they could be.  Through God’s common grace, societies are also kept from spiraling down into further depravity. As His common grace is removed, we see more and more immorality and destruction. Romans 1 is the perfect example. God gave them over to sexual impurity, God gave them over to shameful lusts, and God gave them over to a depraved mind. It was a progression. In Ezekiel 8, we continue to see greater and greater abominations, so although all sin is deserving of condemnation, some sins are more heinous and warrant worse judgement. In Matthew 11 we see that Capernaum will suffer greater judgment than Sodom.  We have deceived ourselves into thinking that all sins are equally heinous when the truth is that all sins are equally condemnable. There is a difference. 

The sad reality is that Christians today do not task themselves with reflecting on doctrines like common grace and the degrees of sin.  Our culture continues to tear down hurdles to sin and as a result God’s restraining grace withdraws. When you consider the legalization of abortion, the allowance of no fault divorce, the push for gay rights and same sex marriage, all of these things spiral us down a path to greater depravity. It is Romans 1. And yes, these sins ARE more heinous than the way that that two year old coveted after his brother’s Legos! My biggest question is: where is the Church? Why have we rolled over like fearful cowards and in the name of “love” been so quiet concerning these sins? Granted, there are pro-life organizations fighting diligently against abortion. And may God bless and honor them for fighting for life! However, what about divorce? Sexual perversions? Sodomy?  Why do we find speaking Truth in conflict with loving our neighbor? Why are we attempting to create a false dichotomy? The Scripture is not in conflict with itself. God is not in conflict with Himself.  Like the great heroes of the faith in the past, we should be taking up the task of loving our neighbors by proclaiming Truth to them. The Truth that these sins are abominations before a Just and Holy God. The Truth that God hates and despises sin. The Truth that sin cannot go unpunished. The Truth that Christ took the wrath we so rightly deserved so that we can have forgiveness, grace and freedom from sin. Through Christ we can mortify sin. Through Christ we become new creatures able to glorify and enjoy Him. We need to proclaim Truth clearly. We need to proclaim it boldly. And we need to proclaim it often. Our culture is sinking further and further into a pit of corruption as we sit by like demoralized zombies. The prince of darkness is at work, and he is not lazy about destroying man. He is attempting to crush everyone in his path. We need to stop concerning ourselves with “being nice” and instead concern ourselves with loving our neighbor by defending righteousness and confronting evil. Lying is never loving. We need to shed our sin of apprehension and live in the knowledge that Christ is with the faithful. The Truth has set us free, and we need to let it set others free. What wonders we will see if we unleash the Truth and let God’s Word and Spirit do their work. As we face the new year may this hymn text by Thomas Hughes sink into our hearts, minds and lives.

O God of truth, whose living Word
Upholds whate’er hath breath,
Look down on Thy creation, Lord,
Enslaved by sin and death.

Set up Thy standard, Lord, that we,
Who claim a heavenly birth,
May march with Thee to smite the lies
That vex Thy groaning earth.

Ah! would we join that blest array,
And follow in the might
Of Him, the Faithful and the True,
In raiment clean and white!

We fight for truth, we fight for God,
Poor slaves of lies and sin!
He who would fight for Thee on earth
Must first be true within.

Then, God of truth, for Whom we long,
Thou Who wilt hear our prayer,
Do Thine own battle in our hearts,
And slay the falsehood there.