Is Inviting Guests for Dinner Difficult for You?

Inviting people into our home was very difficult for me in the early years of my marriage. I took every aspect of having guests into our home very seriously, way too seriously, actually. I usually made enemies of my family in the process of cleaning and cooking. I'm sure the message they got was that company was far more important than they were and they needed to leave me alone so I could accomplish my agenda. By the time our guests arrived I was absolutely shot and had a very difficult time enjoying myself. The only thing I could see by the time dinner was on the table was all the work that still remained after everyone went home. This is not fun.

It is so much better to serve a very simple meal in a tidy house, and be relaxed and enjoy a wonderful time with your friends and family than to be stressed out and miserable because everything had to be perfect. God's word speaks clearly to the issue of sharing our lives with people and building relationships, not about lavish meals and perfect decor. I have had women tell me that they would not have company in their homes because the furniture was old and they were not good cooks. Building relationships is so much more than the shape of our furniture and what is on the table. As long as we are loving and welcoming, our guests will be so glad they were invited. Blessings in your endeavors...

Maple Syrup Sweet Potatoes

My family loves sweet potatoes any time of the year. This recipe is an easy one to prepare on a weekday for the family, or can easily be made in advance and reheated if you wanted to serve it when inviting guests on the weekend. The potatoes are mashed in the pan, the rest of the ingredients are stirred in, and the dish is ready to serve.

Recipe:

2-1/4 cups mashed Red Garnet sweet potatoes (approx. 1-1/2 lbs.)
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons packed dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or to taste
dash ground white pepper
Salt to taste

1. Boil peeled and cubed potatoes in lightly salted water until they are fork tender. Drain and mash.
2. Add butter, sugar, nutmeg, syrup and white pepper. Mix well and taste. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Serves 4-5

Slow Cooker Beef Roast

This recipe has been around for years. My mom prepared beef this way when I was a child, but she used the oven. The slow cooker is such a wonderful tool on a busy day, that even with only two of us, I use mine regularly. I served this dish last evening with mashed potatoes, a mashed yam dish, and a salad.

Recipe:
1 3-4 lb. boneless beef roast, remove as much fat as possible
1 can (10-3/4 ounce) 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 envelope onion soup mix (from a 2.75 oz. pkg.)
1 tablespoon bottled steak sauce such as A-1

1. Trim fat from roast. In a large skillet, brown roast on all sides in a bit of oil. Place roast in the slow cooker.
2. Combine soup, soup mix and steak sauce in a small bowl. Pour over roast. Cook on low setting for about 6 or 7 hours.
2. When the meat is done, remove to a platter and cover to keep warm. Turn heat to high.
3. Whisk gravy to see how thick it is. If you want a thicker gravy, combine a little flour and water in a shaker jar. Shake until smooth. Check to see how thick the mixture is. (You want to use about a 2 parts water to 1 part flour ratio.)
4. As you whisk the gravy, slowly add a little thickener until the desired thickness is achieved.

Serves: 6

Pork and Black Bean Chili

This chili recipe is made easy with the use of a slow cooker. I've also used the recipe as a burrito filling with the addition of cooked rice, sour cream and flour tortillas. If you were to invite guests in, the use of a slow cooker makes meal preparation so much easier, and the recipe can easily be doubled to feed more people. Making burritos also really stretches this dish to feed more people. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 pound boneless pork, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 (16-oz.) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
sour cream, flour tortillas, cooked rice and chopped fresh cilantro, to taste.

Combine the first 11 ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for about 8 hours. Stir the chili and taste. Serve as chili in bowls with cilantro sprinkled over top.

To serve as burritos, place about 1/2 cup of the slightly drained mixture on a flour tortilla with some rice. Top with sour cream and cilantro.

Recipe serves 4-5 as chili

Grandma's Sugar Cookies

Making these sugar cookies has been one of my families traditions since my childhood. My mom, sister and I made these cookies every year at Christmas. After the cookies were cool, we would all sit at the kitchen table to frost and decorate them. The last time I made these cookies was Christmas 2008 when I invited my friend, Jacquie, and her two daughters over to join in the fun. What a mess, but what fun and memory making for all of us. Since I wasn't home for Christmas this past year I didn't make the cookies, so I decided to make Valentine cookies. Of coarse, you don't have to frost and decorate the cookies, but then in my opinion, you will be missing a great joy.
The other cookies pictured are the "Candied Fruit Cookies" from an earlier post. They are a wonderful butter cookie

Recipe:
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 cups flour, plus additional for rolling

1. Cream sugar, shortening and butter together in a large mixing bowl. Add egg, sour cream and vanilla and mix well.
2. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together. On low speed, gradually add dry ingredients. Do not make dough too stiff.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out about 1/4 of the dough to 1/8" thickness. Cut into desired shapes and place on lightly greased cookie sheets or use parchment paper.
4. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown. They should give to slight pressure when touched. Cool on wire racks.
5. Repeat with remaining dough and reuse scraps. Be careful not to overwork the dough or it will get tough.

Frosting:
1/2 cup shortening, not butter as it is too soft for setting
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3-4 tablespoons milk, or more as needed
pinch of salt

1. In bowl of electric mixer, combine shortening and 1 cup of the sugar. Add the vanilla, salt and 1 tablespoon of milk. Mix well.
2. With mixer on low speed, continue adding sugar alternately with milk until sugar is used up and frosting is a good spreading consistency. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.

Whole Wheat Bread

There is something so wonderful about the aroma of yeast bread baking, and then to cut into the bread and enjoy it spread with butter. Oh my goodness, this is surely the meaning of comfort food. If you have never attempted a yeast bread, I would encourage you to give this one a try. Yeast breads are very forgiving. By this I mean that unlike a pie crust, which can get very tough with handling, a yeast bread loves to be "beaten up". The kneading process is great for getting rid of frustrations, if done by hand rather than in a mixer.

Recipe:

5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 packages active dry yeast
2-3/4 cups water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups whole wheat flour

1. Proof the yeast. Heat the water to 115-120 degrees in a small saucepan. Remove the pan from heat and sprinkle the yeast over the water. Add 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar and stir; let set while the yeast grows. The yeast will get bubbly and grow on the sugar if the yeast is good. If it does not, you have used old yeast, the water was either too cool and the yeast was not activated, or the water was too hot and the yeast was killed.
2. While the yeast is proofing, put 4 cups of the unbleached flour, the remaining sugar and the salt in a large mixing bowl.
3. When yeast is nice and bubbly add it to the mixing bowl along with the melted butter. Beat at low speed with electric mixer for 1/2 minute, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes at high speed.
4. If you have a large stand mixer such as a Kitchenaid, you can continue with your mixer. If you do not, you will have to use the good old-fashioned way and stir with a wooded spoon. Gradually add the 3 cups of whole wheat flour to the bowl and mix on the "kneading" speed for your mixer, usually #2. Knead until all the flour is incorporated. If the dough is falling off the dough hook, continue adding the unbleached flour, a bit at a time, until the dough becomes a ball and is no longer sticking to the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer off, and check the dough by touching it. If it feels smooth and elastic, and does not feel sticky, it is ready to rise. (If you are mixing the dough with a wooden spoon, stir in the whole wheat flour and enough of the unbleached flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead till smooth and elastic, 10-12 minutes. You will be adding a little more flour as you work the flour into the bread dough by way of the kneading process.)
5. Shape the dough into a ball. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 hour. (This could take longer)
6. When dough is double in size, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
7. While the dough is resting, grease two 8-1/2"x4-1/2" loaf pans. Shape the dough into two loaves and place in the pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until almost double, about 45 minutes.
8. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. Check for browning at 25 minutes and cover with foil if the bread is already getting well browned.
9. At 35 minutes remove the loaves from the oven and check to see if they are done by "knocking" on the tops. If the loaves sound hollow they are done, if not continue to bake another 5 minutes and repeat testing. Remove the bread from the pans and cool on wire racks.

Tip: To aid the rising process, heat your oven for about 5 minutes on a very low setting. Turn off, and place the loaves in the oven. Some ovens have a proofing setting. The bread will rise much faster doing this.

Easy Raspberry Pork Chops

I made this dish last week for my husband and I and we really enjoyed it. The flavor is wonderful and the dish is simple and fast. While the meat simmered on the stove and the potatoes cooked in the microwave, I made a salad, and dinner was ready. With thoughts of Valentine's Day this weekend, this would be a terrific meal to serve.

Tomorrow I will post the recipe for the whole wheat bread that I mentioned in my post with the split pea soup. A loaf of warm homemade bread would also be greatly appreciated with this meal and would surely say, "I love you" to your family and friends.

Recipe:
4 boneless pork loin chops (about 5 ounces each)
canola oil for frying
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown pork chops in oil on both sides.
2. While meat is frying, whisk vinegar, jam and mustard in a small bowl.
3. Add liquid to skillet. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the meat juices run clear. I used an instant read thermometer. Be careful to not overcook and dry out the meat. Remove the pork and cover to keep warm.
4. Cook the sauce over medium-high heat to reduce by half and thicken. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on the sauce so it doesn't burn. Spoon the sauce over the pork chops and serve.

A Few Easy Tips for the Kitchen

Over the years I've used many good ideas and tips from friends, my mom, magazines, and some I've simply discovered because of a need at the moment. 

1. A great way to save a little money is this idea from my friend, Jacquie, via her mother-in-law. Don't throw out the liner bags that cereals and crackers come in inside boxes. Empty out the crumbs, cut the end of the bag off and then cut the bag open. Wipe the bag off and use in the microwave in place of wax paper. The only thing that I have noticed is that moisture will accumulate on the paper, so you won't want to let your cooked item sit covered for long.

2. Something new for me last year was to use chopped garlic from a bottle. Again, this came from Jacquie. When they were packing to move across the country, and she had to clean out her pantry and refrigerator, she offered me the bottled garlic. I had never used the stuff. I am sold on the ease of going to a bottle rather than chopping my own garlic. Especially because with only my husband and I to cook for daily, I was forever throwing out bad garlic. If you haven't tried it, I would encourage you to.

3. My last tip for today concerns recipes and notes. I've found that a very helpful thing for me to do is to "star" the recipe title in the index of my cookbooks and magazines of those recipes that we favored. I use one "star" if the recipe was repeatable and two "stars" if it was wonderful. The two stared recipes are the ones that I then like to use when serving guests or to take to potlucks, etc. I also make notes if I changed anything or if I did something in the preparation that is different from the original recipe. This is a life saver if I haven't made the recipe in awhile.