as promised....here is the recipe {or lack thereof} for cheese bread. I have to put the story of this here, first though. I was catering a men's group of about 30 men for a weekend. i had some recipes and food ready to go and my friend, gail, came in from louisiana to help me. she has this recipe for garlic toast that is wonderful!!! I have another cheese bread recipe that we used to always have with lasagna but after we had this, the kids decided they like this much better. this 'recipe' is totally up to each individual taste...you can personalize it to your family's likes or dislikes. you start out with margarine...I like country crock because i can get a large container of it at sam's pretty cheaply. you need margarine instead of butter so that it doesn't soak into the bread the way butter does. I am a true butter lover, but this does make a difference. the measurements are not exact, and to some that may be a bit unsettling...gail will tell you...she used to HATE me telling her how to make something because i don't have recipes for most of it....and i am so proud of her for having this {un} recipe.
garlic cheese bread
- 1 container margarine (I use country crock and i get a really big one--and freeze the remainder between uses)
- parmesan cheese--either fresh shredded or dried stuff (not sure what that's called) :) I have always used fresh, but use what you have and what you like
- mozzarella cheese, shredded
- Laurey's garlic salt
- garlic powder, as desired
What I do is put all the margarine in a big mixing bowl. add as much of the cheeses and garlic salt as you desire. mix well, taste and keep adjusting...if it gets salty enough, add garlic to it instead of the salt mixture. its just a mix/taste/mix/taste project. experiment with it...you might like more cheese on it. we have even added cheddar to one batch we made and it was wonderful. once you get it to your liking, spread liberally on bread. Any kind of bread will do, but we use the big loaves of french bread from wal-mart ;) and slice horizontally. bake at 350 until lightly browned on top.
the remainder of the butter mixture can be put back in the container and frozen until the next use. I usually take a big hunk out and put it back in the freezer.
i know this might be a bit vague and a little confusing for those who like exact/precise recipes. if you have any questions...ask gail :) . I am happy to give more direction if this is not clear enough. try it and let me know how you like it!!!
Birthday dinners--we could have 12 of them throughout the year, and that's if we just took care of our immediate family. when our children were young and the birthday parties were {figuratively and literally} eating our lunch, we came up with a new plan. every other year, the children could have the big, blowout birthday party. every other year, it was to be just family. and to make that year a bit more special, they got to have the birthday dinner of choice. it has since grown into every year is the dinner, but when they were small, all available money was spent on the party--and that was their gift from us, also. so, lots of thought goes into what they choose for their dinner. the birthday child is met with all kinds of persuasive talk about what would be good for that day :) . In the end, though, I try to get them to choose what they and they alone want for their dinner. we have some pretty consistent choices from each person. we pretty much know now what that person will ask for. lasagna has become a regular...not just any lasagna, but MOM's {my recipe} lasagna. It usually goes with cheese bread and a salad i replicated from III Forks restaurant, a very expensive steak house/restaurant here in dallas. for dessert, we again, have the birthday boy/girl choose what they want. its almost never cake :) , or if it is, its some non-traditional cake that we just love.
my miss madeleine rose is 16 today. it is hard for me to put into words the changes that this little girl brought to me -- and to the family in general. it was never intended or thought out before hand, but this sweet girl is the 'middle child'. now when you think of the 'middle child' do you just automatically go to the 3 kid thinking? well, with 9 kids, she had 4 older and 4 younger....and she has had a hard time finding that place...is she one of the older ones or one of the younger ones? well, now that she is 16 she is definitely one of the olders....although they are all getting there much sooner than i really thought it would happen :(
I got this recipe from my sweet friend april, who got it at a women's christmas event. the original recipe calls for white chocolate. i, for one, do not even think the stuff exists, but that is my own personal opinion :) I tried it with the 'white chocolate' and it was SO, WAY, WAAAAAY too sweet for us! So, I did some experimenting....and we found a recipe that has, in the 2 or 3 years we have had it, become a tradition and special treat and expectation during the fall/winter/spring and rainy summer days. Don't be fooled by the ingredients....the water added to it dilutes it enough that it is just perfect! You can always add more water, or less chocolate or whatever :) I will write the recipe as given and then 'my' recipe...with some of the variations we do....get ready for those cold nights and have these supplies on hand....you WON'T be disappointed!!!
what happens when something changes the course of your life? God meets you there :) I have been blessed beyond measure to be able to share a small piece of the beginning of my life, my story on Mary DeMuth's blog section call thin place. you can read about my {one on my many} thin place 
this girl.....our kaitlyn grace....turns 20 tomorrow!!! this girl.....who's name was given by God before we even knew she was a she or that I was even pregnant for that matter...kaitlyn grace....means 'pure grace'. this girl....has such a call on her life that the enemy has tried in various ways in her 20 short years to take her down and out....this girl...was born in the car on the way to the hospital. the story is one that will be told many, many more times, because it is so funny and sooooo kaitlyn. i used to say....we could have been IN the hospital and she would have waited till we were out of it to be born. I will absolutely write about her birth...another time. this day is to celebrate all that God has done in her life. all that she is. all that she is going to be. she is a precious jewel in the crown I wear called motherhood. of course, being 20 {and a girl}, says a lot of {unsaid} things about our relationship. we have had so many ups and downs and God keeps her near to my heart...and I know his. this girl....the one who decided she needed to move away to stretch her wings.....the wings I purpose to NOT clip--only i want to so badly so that she stays close to home....always....but god told me long ago that she would not stay close....he told me she is like an Amy Carmichael--only in the opposite way...see, its a good thing for me she was born in the car...God knew I needed that....that there would be no mistake she was mine. and with skin the color of hers...there would have been some question ;) ....when she was 2, she told me she wanted a black baby doll...because their legs were dark like hers. she used to say when she grew up, she wanted to be white, like her older sister.....God showed me...that she would easily be able to go into countries that others would not be able to--because of her coloring and her eyes....she has the blackest eyes i have ever seen....so beautiful...so open to what God has....so vulnerable. yet, she is one smart cookie....and funny...our family has never laughed like we do when kaitlyn is in one of her funny moods....
2 Kings 5:1-3
Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. 2 Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."
Not sure if I have talked about this, but for the past few months, every month, i cook for a group of senior citizens at CCA (Christian Community in Action) here locally. i truly enjoy it and little by little i am learning the individuals who make up the group of 60 or so. BUT....I am forEVER meeting with new challenges each month. One month, I found out the morning of that this was the day :( I had to run to Sam's and figure out how to make a meal for 60 in 2 hours. this past month, i had bought all my meat the day before and instructed the child {grrrrrr} to put them into the refrigerator outside. they put it in the freezer. YIKES!! I found that out 2 hours ahead also.....I am stretched every time...{I won't elaborate on the primal scream that was heard through the neighborhood upon the revelation of the frozen chicken thighs}.....
today is my oldest "baby" 's birthday. she is 26 today. and she is SUCH a blessing to me. I was praying for her this morning and God brought back a memory of her birth that speaks of HIS love for us.....
it may not look that good, but again, this is one of our family's favorite recipes!!! My friends, the Porters brought this to a potluck and it was a HIT....of course I pilfered the recipe :) . That tends to be my style....I find something I like and either beg, borrow or steal (really--more on that the closer it gets to the Holidays)...or if those methods don't work, i try to recreate it. I was blessed this time...they handed it over with out too much force....just a promise for cinnamon rolls. I made this once and now it is a regular....well, as regular as grapes on sale is.....which right now, they are plenty...so, here is the recipe:
I got this recipe from my friend, Debbie Lindstrom. She is an AMAZING cook/baker. She shared these on a moms email loop/group I have been a part of for about 10 years now. when I first made these, they were gobbled up in a nanosecond. I had to make another batch and then another....so, I figured out real quick that if I quadrupled the recipe, I could have enough for our family to get SICK of them and also have some to share. I ALWAYS give some away when I make these or just plan on the family having them when there is a need for me to make them for someone. I have even sold them, they are THAT good!!!! they freeze very well. Microwaved they are delish or what I like to do if serving them for breakfast, is cook them just until the yeast is cooked...pull them out and save for that morning....put them back in to finish baking and then frost while hot. One batch makes 2 dz, so I end up with about 8 dz cinnamon rolls....talk about yum!!! I usually put as many as I can get onto my sheet pans and if I am taking them to others, put them in disposable pans. I have taken these to neighbors, friends, enemies ;).....they are easy to make for a crowd.....and always welcomed!!! ENJOY!!!
Cinnamon Rolls
many years ago, I lived in California. I lived there several times growing up and once as an adult. the last time, i was only there for about 8 months. I lived close to the ocean and enjoyed those views daily. it may be where i got my love for the ocean and beach. one morning as i was on my way to the car headed to work, the ground began shaking, car alarms began blaring and i couldn't get my keys in the car door due to its movement. we were having an earthquake....well, i won't go into all happened that day, because that's not really my point here, but it is important, i think, to note that it had just happened. the next morning, i went to do the same thing all over again (going to work) and looked out toward the east and there was the MOST BEAUTIFUL mountain i had ever seen. Now, I have seen pretty mountains before and LOVE the mountains, but what made this mountain so spectacular that morning, was, first, it was the day after the earth shook me in my boots...literally and figuratively :) . the biggest thing that makes this mountain so special is that i had never seen it before. it had never shown its face to me. it had been covered in all the haze and smog that goes with living in southern cali. as i was driving to work, i could not keep my eyes off that mountain. the sky was an incredible shade of blue...so, so clear! the mountain was so majestic standing there all proud. God spoke: he said...i am like that mountain....you may not see me, but i am there. you may not feel me, but i am there, i may be all covered up by things of this world...your haze, your pollution, but i am there...i will not go away....and it is after the earth shakes for you that you can see me most clearly....
ok..so i did not take this picture, but i wanted to write about a dream i had and this is the closest thing i could find to communicate the image i have about it.
i had a dream a while back...in this dream i was a servant girl living in a mud hut...i was dirty, worn and tired. i was fighting fire breathing dragons that were attacking me and my hut. i was trapped in my little hut with no way out. i was alone. i was crying out for help, and what i got was things being thrown at me....books, tapes, seminars, conferences...(you get the idea?)...i could not use them for the job at hand...they were tools but not the right ones for this job. as i was beating a dragon away, i got my foot in the door and could only see out that much. what i saw was a castle. it was sitting up on a hill far away...but as i saw it, i KNEW that was where i belonged....not in the mud hut. and in the foreground was a knight...riding a white horse. HE was who was going to take me to my castle. i realized then that i was a princess, not a servant girl and my home was a castle, not a mud hut and that this MAN was going to fight for me....and HE came and fought my dragons for me so that i could leave the place i was trapped and live where i belonged.
you asked for it....you got it....this is one of THE BEST salad recipes i have. I got this from a friend MANY years ago and it has become such a favorite. i used to shy away from making it as it has a few steps and when you have a bunch of little ones hanging on your legs, its just hard to do it all...BUT...it is SOOOOO worth it!!! if i am really pushed for time, i make it in stages...the dressing and crutons will keep. what i also really like about it, is that it can be vegetarian or with meat. we usually have it with meat, but keep that on the side--for two reasons--to keep the salad fresh and the meat from making it soggy and for serving purposes....my kids, when they were little wanted everything separated....so, they can have all we have, just ours is all mixed up :). for the meat...one of my new secret weapons in fixing this is the Mexican Grocery store and get marinaded fajita meat from the meat counter...its WONDERFUL!!!! but, in a pinch and what i did in the old days :| is get chicken breasts and marinade them in equal parts of teriyaki sauce, worchestershire sauce and lemon juice. then sprinkle garlic, salt and pepper on them and let them sit a couple of hours. Grill as you normally would. the croutons and dressing are THE BEST part of the whole thing, so i usually make double of them and then we eat on this for several days...it makes a TON (even for our family) and we eat it ALL up...we LOVE it...serve with chips and salsa, a mango margarita iced tea and you have a wonderful meal....
Texas Caesar Salad
from the viewpoint of this flower, we can kinda picture what the rest looks like, yes? god spoke to me thru this flower today. this is my first attempt at a garden and i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE sunflowers, gerbera daisies, daisies...anything that is brightly colored and bold....maybe because that is a little of me ;) . this is the first flower to bloom and i have been watching it not so patiently. when it looked like it had fully bloomed (or is blossomed the right word?), i ran out to take a picture. god spoke. see, the rest of the flower was not open yet. the petals were still folded up toward the inside. he told me this is what life--my life--your life is like. there are parts that are beautiful and in full bloom. there are parts still that are waiting. for his perfect time. my struggle, though is that when i see this part of the picture and can, in my minds eye see what the rest should look like (according to my limited view), i then sometimes--no most of the time--act upon what i think will be coming or what i expect, or try to make the picture complete. god spoke and said to enjoy the picture just like it is. this is beauty in and of itself....we want to see the whole picture, but it is only for HIM....he makes everything beautiful--in his time.