Happy New Year!

Holy Father,
God of our yesterdays, our today, and our tomorrows.
We praise You for Your unequaled greatness.
Thank You for the year behind us and for the year ahead.
Help us in Your new year, Father, to fret less and laugh more.
To teach our children to laugh by laughing with them.
To teach others to love by loving them.
Knowing, when Love came to the stable in Bethlehem, He came for us.
So that Love could be with us, and we could know You.
That we could share Love with others.
Help us, Father, to hear Your love song in every sunrise,
in the chirping of sparrows in our backyard,
in the stories of our old folks, and the fantasies of our children.
Help us to stop and listen to Your love songs,
so we may know You better and better.
We rejoice in the world You loved into being.
Thank You for another new year and for new chances every day.
We pray for peace, for light, and for hope, that we may spread them to others.
Forgive us for falling short this past year.
We leave the irreparable past in your hands, and step out into the unknown new year knowing You will go with us.
We accept Your gift of a new year and we rejoice in what's ahead, depending on You to help us do exactly what You want.
I say it again, we rejoice!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Happy New Year to everyone. I keep you in my prayers that this year is even more blessed and memorable than the last.

Blessings,

Catherine

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!!

The holiest of all holidays are those

Kept by ourselves in silence and apart;

The secret anniversaries of the heart,

When the full river of feeling overflows;--

The happy days unclouded to their close;

The sudden joys that out of darkness start

As flames from ashes; swift desires that dart

Like swallows singing down each wind that blows!

White as the gleam of a receding sail,

White as a cloud that floats and fades in air,

White as the whitest lily on a stream,

These tender memories are;--a fairy tale

Of some enchanted land we know not where,

But lovely as a landscape in a dream.

-(HOLIDAY by, Henry Longfellow)

May the season be filled with love and cheer and the coming year abound with blessings and happy memories.

Blessings,

Catherine

Gingerbread Cake

Adapted from: Cooks Illustrated

¾ cup of ginger ale
½ tsp baking soda
2/3 cup molasses
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp finely ground black pepper
2 large eggs
¼ cup sweet butter
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

Preheat Oven 350 degrees:

Grease and flour an 8 inch square baking pan.

Bring the ginger ale to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. When the foaming subsides, stir in the molasses, brown sugar, butter, and granulated sugar until the butter melts and sugar is dissolved. Whisk flour, ground ginger, baking powder, baking powder, cinnamon and pepper together in large bowl and set aside.

Transfer ginger ale mixture to large bowl. Whisk in eggs and grated ginger until combined. Whisk wet mixture into flour mixture a little at a time until completely smooth.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and gently tap pan against counter 3 or 4 times to dislodge any large air bubbles. Bake until top of cake is just firm to touch and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 35 – 40 minutes.

This cake is so delicious and so seasonal!

Enjoy with Much Love,

Catherine

Gingerbread Cake

Chili!

Adapted from: Cooks Illustrated
Ingredients:

29 oz. can red kidney beans – drained
4 roasted jalapeño peppers – with seeds (stem removed)
1 bell pepper - roasted
3 tablespoons cornmeal
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 ½ cups chicken broth
1 large yellow onion
4 cloves garlic – crushed & chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 tablespoon molasses
8 links of fresh sausage – (4 hot, 4 sweet)
1 bottle of beer
Olive oil – for drizzling

Preheat oven to 350:

Bake the sausage in the oven.

In a food processor combine the bell pepper, jalapeño peppers, cornmeal, oregano, cumin cocoa and process until finely ground. Add the chicken broth slowly until a smooth paste forms. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Place onions and the grape tomatoes in the now empty food processor and pulse until roughly chopped.

Heat a few drizzles of olive oil in a large frying pan or a cast iron pan. Add onion and tomatoes and cook, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook. Add the chili paste, and molasses, stir until chili paste is thoroughly combined. Add the beans and reduce heat to a simmer.

Remove sausage from the oven and cut it up. Add the beer to the pan and loosen all of the browned bits from the pan. Transfer the beer to the chili. Add the sausage to the chili and continue to simmer.

Simmer on the stove for about 1-2 hours, slightly covered.

Serve over rice, spaghetti or macaroni. This chili is very good!

Enjoy with Lots of Love,

Catherine

Chili!

Meatloaf!

Ingredients:

3 lbs. ground beef
2 cups of fresh breadcrumbs – (made from hard Italian bread and seasoned to taste)
3 eggs
4 cloves garlic - chopped
½ cup - fresh parsley – chopped
½ cup - left over mashed sweet potatoes
Dashes – black pepper
Dashes – dried oregano
Dashes - paprika
1 tablespoon - soy sauce
1 tablespoon - Teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon - Worcestershire Sauce

Glaze;

2 tablespoons - Ketchup
1 tsp - brown sugar
1 tsp – soy sauce
1 tsp – Teriyaki sauce
1 tsp – Worcestershire Sauce

Preheat Oven – 350 degrees:

In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients for the meatloaf and mix well. Form the meat into a loaf shape and place in a baking dish. Combine all of the ingredients for the glaze in a small dish and brush over the top of the meatloaf.

Place in the oven and bake about 55-60 minutes.

This is so delicious and oh so satisfying!

Enjoy with Much Love,

Catherine

Banana Cake with Citrus Cream Cheese Filling

Ingredients:

Cake:

4 very ripe bananas
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp baking powder
2 cups sugar
2 tsps. Vanilla
1½ cups milk

Filling:

8 oz. package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat Oven 350:

In a large bowl place bananas and beat with an electric mixer, add the butter and eggs and continue to beat until smooth.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and sugar and mix.
Combine the banana mixture with the dry ingredients and mix. Add the milk and vanilla and continue to mix.

Divide the batter between two equal size pans and bake for 30 – 35 minutes, depending on the size of the pan, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and prepare the filling.

For the filling combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Mix in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.

When the cake is cool carefully remove from the baking dish and spread the filling on one cake and top with the other cake. Dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar.

This cake is a great way to use up your ripe bananas and is delicious too!

Enjoy with Lots of Love,

Catherine

Banana Cake with Citrus Cream Cheese Filling

Oven Roasted Peppers

Ingredients:

About 9 Red Bell Peppers – (or any color you choose)
2 Jalapeño peppers
6 cloves of garlic
1 yellow onion - sliced
Red Pepper flakes
Dashes of Sea Salt
Olive Oil

Preheat Oven - 350 degrees:

In a baking dish place the peppers with the skin on and drizzle a little olive oil over the peppers.

Bake until the skin is charred and the peppers wilt.

Let the peppers cool then gently remove the skin.

Grill the whole garlic pieces on a griddle along with the onion slices until golden.

Rip the peppers into a bowl and use the beautiful pepper juice that you will find in the dish. Add the onion slices and the garlic. Drizzle olive oil over the peppers and onions and add a dash of sea salt and the red pepper flakes.

This is a wonderful side dish and goes superb on a sandwich or just about anything!

Enjoy with Much Love,

Catherine

Oven Roasted Peppers

Baked Chicken with Lemon & Garlic

Ingredients:

About 4 lbs. of chicken pieces
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup of chopped parsley
4 cloves of garlic – chopped
1 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs
Drizzles of olive oil

Preheat Oven 350 degrees:

In a bowl mix the breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic, lemon juice and drizzles of olive oil and toss.

Place the chicken pieces in a baking dish and drizzle a little olive oil over the chicken. Top the chicken pieces with the breadcrumb mixture and drizzle a little more olive oil.

Place the chicken in the oven and bake for about 45 – 50 minutes or until the chicken is a beautiful golden color.

This is tasty, easy and looks delightful and will please.

Enjoy with Love,

Catherine

Baked Chicken with Lemon & Garlic

It is “Dip Time” of Year!

Hummus and Baba Ghannouj Dip

Baba Ghannouj – ( Don’t you just love saying that name!)

Ingredients:

1 eggplant
1 – 29oz. can of chick peas - drained
Juice of ½ lemon
4 cloves of garlic
½ cup of parsley
¼ cup of olive oil
Dash of Sea Salt
Dash of Black Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees:

Place the eggplant, with the skin on, in a baking dish with a drizzle of olive oil over the eggplant. Bake about 45 minutes, or until the skin becomes soft and wrinkled.

Allow the eggplant to cool and then gently peel the skin off. Place the eggplant in a food processor with the other ingredients and give some good chops until the consistency is reached that you like. It can be smooth or with a little texture.

This is so simple and so good!

Enjoy with Lots of Love,

Catherine

Get a Kick out of Hummus Dip!

Ingredients:

1 – 29 oz. can of chick peas - drained
1 Roasted Red Bell Pepper
1 Roasted Jalapeño – with seeds
Juice of ¼ of a lemon
3 cloves of garlic
¼ cup of Olive Oil
Dash of Sea Salt
Dash of Black Pepper

Place the red pepper and the Jalapeño in the oven to roast with a drizzle of olive oil or place on a heated griddle. Roast or grill until the skin is soft and charred. Allow the peppers to cool and then gently peel the skin off.

Place the drained chick peas and all of the other ingredients in the food processor and give a few good chops.

This dip is so simple and so good!

Enjoy with Love,

Catherine

It is “Dip Time” of Year!

Lea & Perrins Shine at Dinnertime Challenge (update)

Thank you to everyone who supported me and took the time to view my videos.

I was not chosen as part of the top six finalists, but I had fun trying!

Congratulations to the six finalists, I wish them good luck!

Cheers,

Catherine