Goodbye Routine! Hello, Change! - Recipe - Pineapple Congealed Salad

Yesterday was our last official "class" day with BSF...sigh...this has been a fantastic year of study. As I mentioned in a recent post, our class gathered to celebrate our time together with a fellowship luncheon. Everyone brought a different kind of salad to share. After the lunch, we gathered in the den of one of our classmate's beautiful home. One by one each member shared a passage from Isaiah that was special to her and the reason the scripture was special.

It is a given that these ladies are precious women of God, but each disclosure brought us closer and closer to one another. God had done mighty things in the hearts of our group during this study of the book of Isaiah. We are no longer strangers...we were all overcomers of some kind and in some way. It has been a blessing to be in the company of these ladies.

In the past my normal routine after a 9-month time of intensive study, I would look at May with great anticipation. The summer months were a break from in-depth study and homework. Already, I would have begun the search and discovery of newly released Christian books.
However, for the past year, God has been dealing with the idea of "planning and routine." Here lately, it seems that my life's routine has been comprised of one change after the other. God is not allowing me to get "comfortable" in any area of my life. With each change that has occurred, the routine now is to make my life more open and my time more available to Divine Interruptions.

One Divine Interruption came by way of one of our close friends. In the past few months, our friend had been caregiving her mother who was dying of cancer. Everything else in our friend's life had been put on hold. Shortly after her mom died, our friend mentioned that she had really missed being in a Bible study this year. It didn't take long for me to realize that this was a Divine Interruption of my summer routine. After several trips to a Christian bookstore, we settled on a study. Our friend and I thought of several people we felt that might want to join us in this study. After talking with them, they all agreed. It was as though God had hand-picked these ladies and they were just waiting to be asked to join in the study.

For the first time in a long time, I will be facilitating a ladies' Bible study in our home. And you know what? I am excited about this change in routine! It has been many years since our home has been the meeting place for a ladies' Bible study. Our group decided to participate in Beth Moore's study of "Esther." I can't wait to get started in this study! Would cherish your prayers as our little band of ladies journey through this study this summer.

I am learning to say "Goodbye, Routine!" and "Hello, Change!" Embracing change is a good thing! Has your schedule become an idol to you? Do you find that you are resentful of interruptions in your day...in your schedule...in your life? What is God saying to you? What is God asking you to do? Are you listening?

When I was unable to post the recipe I promised previously, I felt I had let you, my readers, down. Then, last night when I was unable to post at all, I really felt like "Queen Loser!" I do not mind surrendering to God, but I hate surrendering to pain. Would appreciate prayers for discernment for my doctor to find the cause of the pain in my back rib area.

Enough about that!!!!!

The following recipe is one at least 50 years old! It is one of those recipes that every Southern lady made as part of a salad luncheon menu or for a special dessert. I requested this congealed salad in lieu of birthday cake! Really!!! My mom put marachino cherries in the mold to add a special touch.

"Pineapple Congealed Salad"

Ingredients:
1 (20 oz) can of crushed pineapple

2/3 cup sugar

2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin

1 c grated mild cheddar cheese

8 oz. Cool Whip (I have also used Heavy Whipping Cream on special occasions)

juice of 1 lemon

Options: you may add chopped pecans and Marachino Cherries in the base of the mold

Mix the crushed pineapple, suga and unflavored gelatin

in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Set aside to cool.

It is important to wait until this mixture is completely

cooled before adding the next ingredients.
When mixture is completely cooled, add Cheddar cheese, Cool Whip and lemon juice.

Place in a prepared mold and cool in refrigerator (overnight)

When congealed salad is set, you can invert mold and serve your salad on lettuce leaves. I served these individual servings on The Pampered Chef Simple Addition rectangle platter using romaine lettuce leaves as a base. You can also pour this congealed salad into an 8 x 8-inch container and cut into serving size squares before placing on your serving platter. Be creative in your garishments! This is a tasty recipe and I promise you will be asked to share the recipe. Please do share! Also, I think you can make this sugar-free by substituting Splenda for the sugar and using sugar-free Cool Whip.

Ten Reasons for Waiting on God

This past Fall was a life-list kind of event in Bible study for me. Would like to say that I love God's timing all the time. However, I tend to agree most times with a comment from a learned Bible study and Precepts Leader. She said, "God is always on time...but He sure misses some great opportunities to show up early!"
One of my life-list desires was to study the book of Isaiah. This past Fall it became a reality when I joined a local BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) group. It has been one of the best studies I'd participated in and know that my participation was God's perfect timing in my life. While this study has blessed me in more ways than I can express here, it also challenged me, convicted me and showed me more about the character of God than I knew possible. One thing for me was made clear over and over again was that God loves us more than we could possibly know. I learned that when God's people wait on God - they see God! He is everything that He says He is and does everything that He says He is going to do. It is the character of God that He can not lie.
Waiting is important to God. Did you know that the word "Wait" is in the NIV translation of the Bible over 90 times. My heart pounded as our study approached the 40th chapter of Isaiah. Finally, we were there and the verse that has been one of personal favorites came to life like never before. In the Amplified Bible, Isaiah 40:31-33 says, "But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired."
How many of us are stressed, weary and faint? How many of us wonder, "How long, Lord?" How many of us wonder when God is going to move on something that we have been waiting to happen for what seems a "forever" length of time? Here are 10 Top Reasons for Waiting on God.

10. You don't get ahead of God's timing! His ways are perfect!!

9. When you wait on God, your character improves!

8. When you wait on God, your faith grows!

7. When you wait on God, your confidence soars!

6. When you wait on God, you get to see God's provision!

5. When you wait on God, you benefit from prayer - seeking God's will.

4. When you wait on God, you see God answers to prayer.

3. When you wait on God. He gives wings to those plans that match His will.

2. When you wait on God, He sustains you while you wait on Him.

1. When you wait on God, you bless God's heart!

Tired of waiting? Be expectant! Be confident! God's timing is perfect! And, be assured that God does have great plans for you! Read Jeremiah 29:11. Write the two passages mentioned here on index cards and put them in your car, your wallet, tape them to your bathroom mirror. Be blessed as you wait on God!

Since the blog tonight is on waiting...you are going to have to wait on pictures of the recipe I mentioned in last night's blog...Pineapple Congealed Salad. Will have photos of the finished recipe tomorrow as they are being served at our last BSF fellowship and will post recipe and photos tomorrow night. In the meantime, enjoy this recipe. This is a recipe came with me from time in Louisiana. This recipe found its way to vestry dinners, Christmas staff luncheons...special occasions. It is an easy recipe that will ensure rave reviews from your partakers! Here you go!!!

Chicken Crescent Squares

Makes 8 squares

Ingredients include:

3 oz. Cream Cheese

3 Tablespoons butter

2 Cups Cooked Chicken (cubed) (or 2 cans Swanson Chicken Breasts - drained)

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1/8 Teaspoon Pepper

2 Tablespoons Milk

1 Tablespoon chopped chives or green onion

1 Tablespoon Chopped Pimento

2-8 oz. Crescent Rolls

1/4 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs

Blend cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of butter. Add next 6 ingredients and mix well. Separate dough into 4 rectangles. Press perforations to make rectangles. Put 1/2 cup mixture on each rectangle. Pull up ends and brush with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with Spring Green Salad, Cinnamon Spice Blend Sliced Carrots and rolls. For dessert I served Chocolate Amaretto Pie. Yes, you will be seeing that recipe in one of my blogs. It is one of our family's favorite desserts.

Day Going As Planned vs Teasing the Hair on a Cat's Back

There are those days in your life that you think you might be living lines from a classic novel..."It was the best of times...it was the worse of times..." You might think, "Oh my!" Please don't be sad, really. There is always good, if we wait...wait...wait...oh, yes, we wait...and then we see it. Wonder why we might have missed it altogether? Does the name, "Hennie Penny" come to mind? Just asking...
One of my sometimes favorite authors (except when his writing steps on my toes) is Oswald Chambers. You might remember one of his writings, "Utmost for His Highest." The man truly has the gift of stating the obvious...but at the time, it is not so obvious to you...that is, until you read it, let the Holy Spirit move you from the "Hennie Penny" stage to a listening child of God.
Oswald Chambers wrote, "God knows you don't know what you are doing to do, the only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing...it is this attitude that keeps you in perpetual wonder - you do not know what God is going to do next."
I love my husband. He is truly the most wonderful man I know. Just this morning I told him why I love him so much. If you haven't taken the time to express "why" you love your spouse, it is a wonderful gift you give him/her. And, it a great reminder to you when your day is interrupted by his/her plans.
My plans for today were not all that critical, truly. It was just that I had "really" wanted to get some things done. My calendar was out in plain view. My "to-do" list on the counter BESIDE the calendar AND importantly the places I need to go today were circled in purple! How much more determined can one get? Told you I was a planner!
However, bathing our 15 lb. Schnauzer was not on my schedule. May I tell you that combing and cutting this precious creature of God is akin to attempting to tease the hair on a cat's back. My legs have scratches to prove it. Each time she jumped down from my lap and ran into the bedroom, my cherisher brought her "dutifully" back and deposited her into my lap (which was already soaked from detangler and lavender shampoo. A girl needs to smell good even if she is a dog! To say the day when downhill from there would not be true. It just didn't go as planned.
Making room for God in your day is a good thing. There is the phone calls you don't expect to receive but need to receive. There are the unexpected encounters that you didn't expect - but God had planned a divine appointment. Who knew I would meet a rodeo clown having a pedicure? Does God have a sense of humor or what? This godly young man (I don't think) expected to meet a prayer warrior at a nail salon - think that about made us even.
Yesterday in a sermon the pastor said that he knew where satan fell when he fell from Heaven. He was quite sure that satan fell directly into this pastor's daytimer. A lot of people laughed at that comment. Thinking that they had may have had the same experience with their scheduling. Tomorrow I am going to set tentative plans for my day. But, I am going to try and work at leaving the day open for God's divine interruptions. Tonight I am going to thank God for interrupting my day today and ask for listening ears and seeing eyes tomorrow for His movement and His invitation to join Him. Scarlett O'Hara may have had it right after all..."Tomorrow is another day."
Am apologizing up front that I do not have a photo of the recipe for today. With my cherisher out of town and my single neighbor next door (he confessed to me last night that he had to join a gym. Guess I have gone overboard on the homemade bread), is the reason I didn't make this tonight. Both these wonderful men are my members of my test kitchen staff. Trust me, though this is a tasty recipe and one that is easy to do. It originated from a fine Texas lady who was most willing to share her original recipe with me. Thanks, Peg!
Here is the recipe for Seafood Pasta:
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion (use PC's food chopper - amazing!!)
1/4 cup each of red and green pepper (chopped)
2 large cloves of garlic (using PC's garlic press)
2 large ripe tomatoes (peeled and chopped - use PC's serrated peeler)
1/2 teaspoon each of salt and ground pepper
1 lb. shrimp, scallops or crab
16 oz. angel hair pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (use PC's new microplane grater)
In a large skillet heat oil then add onion, garlic and red & green peppers. Saute' until glossy. Add tomatoes, seasoning and seafood and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. While seafood is cooking, in a separate pot cook pasta according to package directions. Once pasta is done, drain and transfer to a large serving platter. Spoon or ladle the seafood sauce on top of the pasta and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese. To save a few steps, you can also use our brand spanking new Manual Food Processor to chop the onions and peppers. If you have not seen or own this new product, well, bless your heart! It is the perfect addition and helpmate to your kitchen - whether at home or at a campsite. It needs no electricity. Now is that amazing or what?

Home - Where Love and Care Await You

This past weekend we were blessed to have a part of our family with us for Easter. Our daughter, her husband and their two daughters spent the entire weekend. What a great time was had by all! As with any time our children come home, each and every one is asked the same question: "What do you want me to cook for you?" All our children (spouses included because we consider them our children) are quizzed as to what they would like to have prepared while they visit us.
Always!!! Hands down requested and counted-on is Saba's World Famous Hamburgers! Truly, they are the best ever!!! Steve and I try to live into the requests the best we can with great joy! We love having all our family here! We love serving them and caring for them and most of all hugging (a lot) on our grandchildren!) They are quite spectacular, you know!

I surprised our family with a special dessert for our Easter Sunday Luncheon. It is one of our son-in-law's favorite desserts. T is an amazing godly man and Steve and I both appreciate the love and care he gives our daughter and granddaughters. We are so proud of him and making this dessert was my way of letting him know how much we love him and thank him for all he does!

So this is for you, T!

Normally I post a recipe a week but this week I had a special request and since there is not rule on how many recipes to post, you are getting two instead of one! The second recipe was requested today by a very precious friend. When telling her about this new recipe, she said, "Oh, please post that one today!" So, Sandra, the second one is for you!

The first recipe is T's dessert and is an Orange Mandarin Cake. The recipe makes a 3-layer cake. I couldn't wait to try out my new square Pampered Chef baking pans. They worked perfect for this dessert but round ones work just as well.

Here is the recipe for the Orange Mandarin Cake:

Ingredients:

1 Duncan Hines Butter Yellow Cake Mix (I used two because I wanted the cake to sit tall on the square cake plate); 4 eggs; 11 oz. can of Mandarin Oranges plus juice; 3/4 cup oil (I use canola)

Mix together and pour into 3 prepared pans. Bake for about 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Check timing on cake box to make sure they are done when a toothpick is stuck in the middle.

Cool on Pampered Chef's baking racks. If you do not own these, they are awesome! You need them! They are great for cookies, cakes and cooling homemade bread.

While the cake is baking you prepare the frosting. This includes:

1 (15 oz) can Crushed Pineapple (drained); 1 large pkg. Instant Vanilla Pudding; 1 large container Cool Whip

Mix pineapple and pudding together. Do not add juice from pineapple). Then, fold in Cool Whip. Keep icing in refrigerator until ready to frost the cake. Make sure the cake is completely cooled before frosting. Keep cake chilled until time for serving. It is one tasty and refreshing cake. Stand up and take a bow! People love this cake!

The second recipe actually was a result of my spending some quiet time in prayer. I was giving God thanks for our family and the legacy of faith we share. Whenever I think of being blessed and happy, I think of a couple that truly were my heroes and my role models. For a brief time when in college, I lived with my Aunt Violet and Uncle Bill and their family of four children. Aunt Violet is an amazing lady and one of great faith. Next month my favorite aunt will be 80 years young! I have always found Aunt Violet sound in wisdom and sound in faith. The memory was of Aunt Violet and I sitting on the front steps of their house...truly some of my most formative and godly training. She suddenly stood up and headed back into their house. I asked her where she was going and she said that she needed to go comb her hair and put on some lipstick. Uncle Bill was due home shortly and she wanted to look pretty for him. She always made him feel special and loved. To his dying day, she maintained that role model of love and care for Uncle Bill and still to this day - our family. Uncle Bill was my role model for what I wanted when and if I EVER got married. He was darn near perfect! He was always kind to others, loved God and loved his family.

Yesterday, both Aunt Violet and Uncle Bill came to mind. The memory urged me to surprise my honey with a special meal - and yes, I did fix my hair and put on fresh make-up! Oh, how I do love my man! And, Aunt Violet, thank you for living out what a godly wife is supposed to be. You still are one amazing lady!!!

The search was on for a special recipe. One place I enjoy looking for new ideas is the Pioneer Woman website. If you have not visited it, after you finish reading this blog, go check her out, please! She is a great cook, takes awesome photographs and her cooking style is one that anyone can do. She makes it just that easy.

Determined NOT to make a trip into town for ingredients, I assessed my supplies on hand and was surprised that everything that the recipe required was in our pantry and freezer! Whaoo!!!! This recipe is fast, easy and beyond tasty!!!!!

The recipe selected is called: Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Casserole. I took the liberty of changing a few things because that is what I had on hand, but the meal turned out beautifully - in fact, we had enough to share with one of our neighbors.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts (she used a whole chicken) but chicken breasts were in my freezer; 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter; 16 oz. white mushrooms (sliced) (I used dehydrated mushrooms since I didn't have fresh ones); Kosher salt and pepper (if you don't use Kosher salt - well, you need to, it makes all the difference); 1/4 cup flour (all purpose); 2 cups chicken broth (reserved from boiled chicken); 1 1/2 cup whole milk (used 2%); 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese; 1/2 cup sliced ripe olives; Freshly ground pepper; Extra cheese for garnishing (I used a blend of 3 cheeses - Parmesan, Romano and Asiago); 1 pound thin spaghetti (used a box of Pennie pasta - it was great!)

Directions: Place chicken breast in a stew pot and cover with water. Boil on medium-low heat for 30-40 minutes (until chicken is done). Remove chicken from pot and allow chicken to cool slightly. Keep broth in the stew pot and set over heat. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 12" skillet (you need a large one and you will see why later). Add mushrooms and 1/4 cup white wine. Add salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Break spaghetti into thirds (or shorter pieces) and add to boiling broth and cook until al dente. In the meantime, cut chicken into bite size (or smaller) pieces until you have a little over 2 cups of chicken. Return 12" skillet to medium-low heat. Add 6 tablespoons butter. Slowly add flour and whisk until well blended and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add 2 cups of broth and whisk to blend. Pour in milk, additional 1/4 cup white wine, salt and pepper (to taste). Then, add mushrooms, chicken, and chopped olives and stir until blended. Adjust seasonings to taste. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13" casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees or until golden brown and bubbly. Great with warmed homemade sourdough bread and salad. Definitely a keeper recipe!!

Her Prayer

Today is Wednesday, April 27, 2011. The reason that I am including the date is because I want to remember a prayer changing event. On Monday, April 25, 2011, the road home was an exhausting one. Not only were the miles driven long and tedious, but thinking back now, I'm pretty sure God knew I needed the time for some heart work before my visit began.
Awaiting my arrival was my parents and my sister. My sister, Carol, lives in Kansas. She iss visiting with our family, thanks to her husband. If you are new to my blog, you may not know that my sister suffered a devastating illness several years back. After visiting in Louisiana with our family, Carol returned home to Kansas and suddenly became quite ill. The doctors in the small town where she lives diagnosed her wrongly with a stroke. However, thankfully, her son had her lab work sent to the hospital where he is employed in Denver. It was determined that she, in fact, had not suffered a stroke but had meningitis. Carol then went into a coma. She was transferred to the Swedish Hospital in Denver where she remained for several months. One day she awoke, fully restored and we were thrilled. However, before she could leave the hospital, it appeared that she had suffered a relapse and went back into a coma. The meningitis had triggered another disease called, "Hashimoto Encelephathy." The second coma lasted for months and when she regained consciousness, her long-term and short-term memory were gone. We are now two-years post this illness and her memory (long and short) have not returned. Learning to live with this change in her life has been difficult (especially) for her and her family.
Our visits are not frequent as we live in different states. But, each time we visit, I pray that there has been some improvement in her condition...some glimmer of hope that God is healing her and that she is being full restored. Webster defines restoration as "an act of restoring or the condition of being restore: as a bringing back to a former position or condition; reinstatement." It is that definition of restoration that our family has prayed for Carol...to be fully restored and brought back to a former condition.
Fastforward to this past Monday. Disappointingly, things are pretty much the same with my sister's condition. Her memory is like swiss cheese. There are miliseconds of clarity and then the memory retreats as quickly as it appears only to return to the tricky vault where her memories reside.
It was time for breakfast yesterday (Tuesday) and our mother had been saying the blessing at our meals, but Carol spoke up and said she wanted to say the blessing. We were all thrilled!!! We bowed our heads and she began to pray. I wish a thousand times that every word she spoke could have been recorded. The prayer she prayed transcended all physical limitations and ascended to Heaven at warp speed! It was one of the most beautiful prayers I've ever heard! When lunch came around, we gathered again at the table and Carol asked me to pray. I smiled at her and told her that she had blessed my heart so much by her prayer at breakfast that I wanted to hear her pray again. She humbly bowed her head and prayed. Tears streaming down my face, ears tuned to her prayer, I sat in the presence of a saint of God. What a priviledge and honor to listen to an intimate conversation between God and my sister. She spoke to him personally. It was beautiful, intimate and precious!
Normally on the long drive back to my home there would have been praise music accompanying me as I drove. This time the car was silent...only quiet...listening to God, thanking God for the time with my sister and our family. God continues to do mighty things in and through each of us. Although the outward and physical part of my sister seemed unrestored, the inward and spiritual part of her thrives and lives on to bless and teach and to love.
I see my prayers for healing for her differently now. There is so much of what we don't know and understand about the scope of God's love for each of us. Healing looks different to each of us. In our prayers for healing, we picture what it might look like or what we believe is God's will...and sometimes, God reveals that His healing looks a whole lot different that we expected.
Her body may appear as though it is stuck in the disease. But this disease has no power over God. If you are praying for someone and not seeing a "physical" healing, do not think that God is not healing! He most definitely is!!!

But we have this treasure in jars of clay

to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

2 Corinthians 4:7

Queen of What Ifs - I think not!

As I watch the morning sun peek above the houses and shine into my office window, I am glad that I have, "one again" surrendered my crown of "Queen of What Ifs." It is a daily process, you know, this laying down the crown every morning. It is a surrendering of a list of "what ifs" and laying them down at the feet of the One who has all the answers. I used to be very good and rule the Kingdom of "What Ifs" very well. It was exhausting! After all there is all this planning ahead, making sure there is a multiple list of possible scenarios for each event...just in case, the first one didn't work, well, then the second or third or...sad to admit that really, the "Queen of What Ifs" liked to be in control.
It was a little unsettling at first, you know, relinquishing the crown and all that goes with the act of surrender. At first, it didn't make sense that I should give up control - after all - I am really good at this! Yet, all the control I thought I had didn't make the kingdom run smoothly. As the saying goes, "The best laid plans..." It appeared to me that if I relinquished my control as "Queen of What If''s" that my world would be completely upside down! If I lost control what would happen to my world? Who would be in charge? Oh my! Just thinking about relinquishing my crown made me feel as if I was upside down!

Funny, that is exactly what the Prince of Peace wanted. To the world, it appears all that He says and does is "Upside Down." Yet, in truth, it's not. It really is the world that is "Upside Down." I don't want to be in the world's upside down kingdom!

So, once again, I meet my King early in the morning. Bowing down before Him I lay my crown of "Queen of What If''s" at His feet and smile. Belonging to His "Upside Down" is belonging to a kingdom that is "Right Side Up!" His kingdom feels right. There is peace and joy in NOT being in control. And the best part of relinquishing my crown is that the weight, burden and the illusion of being in control is gone. Queen of What If''s - I think not!
I bet you have guessed by now what the recipe for this week is...you guessed it! And don't miss the poem at the end. Thanks Sarah and Aaron for sending me the poem. Perfect!

Ingredients for a Pineapple Upside Cake
1/2 cup of butter or margerine (I use butter)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 can (20 ounces) sliced pineapple (undrained)

5 maraschino cherries (drained and halved)

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1 package (18.25 ounces) yellow cake mix

3 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
1 cup thawed whipped topping
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in the Pampered Chef 12" executive skillet (do not use stainless cookware) over a low heat. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar until well blended. Drain pineapple, reserving juice, set aside.

Arrange pineapple slices over brown sugar mixture in skillet. Place a cherry half in the center of each pineapple. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Add enough water to the pineapple juice until it measures 1 1/3 cup of liquid. In Pampered Chef Classic Batter bowl add cake mix, eggs, pineapple juice and oil. Whisk until well blended and smooth. Pour over fruit mixture in the skillet

Bake at 35-40 minutes until a toothpick when inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes. Carefully loosen edges of cake and invert onto a large serving platter. Cool slightly and garnish with whipped topping. Yields 12 servings.

Poor little upside down cake, cares and woes-you've got 'em, because little upside down cake your top is on your bottom. Poor little upside down cake, your worries never stop, because little upside down cake, your bottom is on your top!

Finally! It's Here!

It is finally here! The warm weather begs a southern lady to break out her tea kettle, the ice-filled glasses and fresh mint leaves and make the Spring Time Tea. This is a favorite and never fails to bring smiles to the faces of the partakers. Hope you enjoy this delectable nectar!Oh, and the pink straw in the glass...well, it is optional.

Spring Time Tea

1 Family size Tea Bag (Louisianne - of course!)

2 regular size Twining's Green Tea Bags

2 regular size Numi Moroccan Mint Organic Simply Mint Tea Bags

1 (12 oz) frozen lemonade, thawed (Hill Country - HEB Brand)

1 cup sugar (I substitute Splenda which measures cup for cup with sugar)

1/2 tsp. pure Almond Extract (I add a Tablespoon -but this is simply to taste)

Steep tea bags in a tea pot for at least an hour. I usually steep it longer to make the tea flavors meld and more pronounced. In the one-gallon Pampered Chef Quick Stir pitcher add tea, lemonade, sugar (or Splenda) and almont extract. Fill the pitcher with enough water to make one gallon. Use the plunger in the pitcher to mix the liquids with the sugar and lemonade. Serve over ice with a fresh mint leaf! Fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!!

However, I have been know to add a tad bit of sparkling and bubbly white white to a glass of this tasty tea in the evenings after a very long day- what a treat! Note: the little orange clip in the tea pot is used to keep the tea bags together. You can purchase the Twixit! and comes it is sold as combo pack. The Twixit! and the Quick Stir pitcher are Pampered Chef products. The combo pack has several sizes to accomodate any need! The Quick Stir pictcher is available in 2 quart and 1 gallon size. Have both sizes of the pitchers and use them everyday! Great for mixes juices and other beverages and fits nicely in the refrigerator. Love them!!!!