Church Lady's Blog

Delicious Hash Brown Casserole

I was recently asked to provide a breakfast for around 45-50 women as they prepare for an upcoming Walk to Emmaus.  I enlisted the help of some friends from church who I knew I could count on for yummy dishes.  All of the dishes were spectacular (mmmm... pineapple upside-down biscuits.....), but all of us LOVED this one.  I even made it yesterday for a youth breakfast at church.  So, thank you Rita, for this wonderful recipe!

HASH BROWN CASSEROLE

• 2 bags Ore Ida Peppers & Onions Hash Browns
• 1 can Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 stick margerine (melted)
• Cup and a half of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 10 oz sour cream

Let the hash browns set out about an hour to thaw. Put hash browns in a big bowl. Pour in melted stick of margerine, 1 cup cheese, cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Stir all together. Put in 13x9 glass pan. Bake at 425 degrees for about 40-50 minutes, depending on how hot your oven bakes. About 10 mintues before it's done, sprinkle the remaining half cup cheese over the top.  Cook until it melts and gets all gooey.

Enjoy.

 

12 Things

Total randomness today, folks.....

1. Starting to get a hold on what my new job will be like.  i'm happy so far.  Can't wait to be busier.
2. I love my cat, Milo.  Milo Longtail - I love you.
3. God, I wish Downton Abbey was on every single night instead of just once a week.
4. One word : P I N T R E S T .
5. I have a dear friend who made a comment on FB the other day that upset me greatly.  She mentioned that she needs to work in an office with only people of her same color.  (She's an African American.)  What type of reaction do you think I would've received from the general FB Nation if I had made a comment stating that I need to work in an office with only white people ?  There would've been outrage and cries of racism.  But somehow when it comes in the other direction, no one blinks an eye.  Such a double standard.
6. Facebook is NOT a political platform, people.  So get down off it.  Sooooooooo annoying when people (i.e. one of my family members to be precise) tries to BERATE and NAMECALL anyone who disagrees with his personal point of view.  How uncivil and sometimes just downright cruel.
7. I'm asking for prayers for my son right now.  He is lost on his life's journey and shows no sign of wanting to be found.  He's in some real trouble and shows no signs of remourse for his choices or concern for his future.  I know the Lord has a plan, so I'm confident of the outcome....but geez watching him continuously destroy himself is heartbreaking.
8. I hit the lotto.  No, not the Indiana lotto or the Louisiana lotto..... the Love Lotto.  My husband is the best - and although I know I tell him that frequently, it's still not enough.  He is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I'm so thankful for the blessing of his love.
9. I need a new set of corning ware baking dishes - you know, the ceramic kind.
10. We need a new set of towels.  Ours are scratchy.
11. Why does it always seem you're in the most comfortable position - warmest place on the bed - nothing bunched up under you for the first time all night long - finally dozing off into a deep and quiet dreamland when the freaking alarm goes off ?
12. My boss is insane.  Good-insane, but insane.  I love working for him, but he is, indeed, insane.

Apple Glory

This is a fool-proof recipe that will have everyone asking you, 'how did you make this ?'.  A dear friend of mine shared it with me (thank you, Diana !) and now I'm passing it on at the request of my dear friend Jenni.  Enjoy !

Apple Glory

• 3 cans apple pie filling
• cinnamon
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 box Butter Pecan cake mix (Betty Crocker is the one I always use)
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup pencan pieces

Empty pie filling into a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle a little cinnamon over the filling. Spread the cup of brown sugar over the apples. Spread the DRY CAKE MIX (yes, you heard me right) over the brown sugar. Cut the butter in paddies and place over the cake mix.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Take out and place the pecans pieces on top. Return to oven for another 15 mintes. This should roast the pecans and finish cooking the dish. If the pecans don't roast and the top is not brown, use the broiler for a few mintues, but watch out so you don't burn.

Let set for a few minutes and (optional, of course) serve with ice cream.

Hawks In the Trees

I take the same route to work every-single-day.  There is the rare occassion when I have to detour around farm equipment, flooding, or road work, but for the most part, it's the same route every-single-day.  I love my drive to work.  It's back country roads almost the entire way into my office....only the last 2 miles (of the 22 mile trek) is moderately "city driving"..... and even what folks here call "city driving" is a piece of cake after making the commute for so many years in New Orleans.

I've seen lots of critters on my drive into work over the last six years. Coyotes.  Hawks.  Bunnies.  Raccoons.  Skunks.  Deer.  Possums. (Is there supposed to be an "s" on the end of that ??  Not sure...) And I swear I even saw a wolf once.

My favorite ones to see, however, are the hawks.  They are so regal - so powerful - so majestic.  And it's crazy, but sometimes when I'd see them perched on telephone poles or in lower branches of the trees, I'd slow down or even stop to get a better look at them..... and they would just stare knowingly back at me.  They didn't seem afraid or bothered by my stopping.  I wouldn't get out of my truck or anything, I'd just admire them for a few minutes and then drive on.  I decided that, whenever I saw a hawk on my way to work, that was God's way of telling me it was going to be an okay day.  I figured He knew how much I enjoyed seeing those beautiful animals and how being able to stop and look them in the eye for a few seconds from time to time comforted me, so He placed them along my route just to confirm that He was present.... that I was going to be ok because I could physically see Him there, in the form of these hawks.

About a year ago, the hawks disappeared.

Now, I'm sure they're still around, but they're no longer perched along my route to work.  None in the summer.  None in the spring.  None in the autumn.  Not even in winter when they'd been most prevalent before.  None ever.  I can't recall the last time I saw a hawk on my way to work.

Where have you gone, Lord ?  Why have you taken the hawks from me ?  I NEED YOUR ASSURANCE! I NEED CONFIRMATION THAT I'M NOT ALONE IN THIS! DOES THIS MEAN YOU'RE NOT STANDING ALONGSIDE ME EACH DAY NOW?  WHERE ARE YOU AND WHAT DID I DO WRONG???

Human beings - especially us Christian human beings - can be so selfish.  We grow used to the comfort of His presence, so we expect proof of it constantly.  We grow ambivalent to His blessings, so we expect them to continue even when we take them for granted.  We grow dependant on His constant salving of our wounds, so we expect instant relief when we're hurt or angry.  We grow tall in a shallow stream when we can see Him every second, so we fall over very quickly when a strong wind blows.

God didn't take the hawks away from me.  He sent them to people who need them more than I do.  I'm ashamed that I so quickly felt deserted by my Heavenly Father who is ALWAYS so faithful to me.  Forgive me, Father, for my doubt. 

I don't need to "see" proof of His presence every day on my way to work, because I already know  -  WITHOUT SEEING  -  that HE IS THERE.  You know, it's almost like I have faith or something.

Thank you, Master, for when I see the hawks.  And thank you, Savior, even more, for when I don't.

Beef & Beer Stew

Watching our Saints play in today's playoff game was a definate for our family.  Another definate for when we watch football is this recipe for Beef & Beer Stew that I found in a Marlboro Cook Book many years ago.  It's a family staple now.  It's easy to throw into the crockpot and forget about....until the scruptuous smell starts filling the house.

BEEF & BEER STEW

• 1/3 cup finely chopped salt pork or bacon (I leave this out)
• 2-1/2 to 3 pounds beef (I buy a roast and cut it up instead of buying stew meat.)
• 3 large onions, sliced in big pieces
• 3 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 12-oz. cans beer (I use Sam Adams.)
• 1 cup water
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 4 parge potatoes, cubed
• 6 carrots, thickly sliced (I use the baby carrots and just put them in whole.)

These are additional items I add to the mix, but they're not included in the original recipe.

• 1/2 to 1 cup flour
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cups mushrooms, chopped into large pieces
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 cups fresh green beans, with ends snipped off and then snapped into bite-sized lengths

Put all items in a large crock pot except beed.  Cook beed in a skillet with just enough grease in it to cover the bottom of the pan (I use bacon grease). Once the meat is browned on all sides, add flour until all grease is absorbed. Stir around until flour/grease mixture is well combined.  Add to crock pot.  I cook mine for 4 hours on high and then turn down to warm.  It's ready to serve after the four hours, but the meat will become even more tender the longer you leave it to warm.