Apple Crumble

Here is a delicious and very easy dessert I made for my parents and brother recently.

Apple Crumble


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Peel, core and slice 4 large Golden Delicious apples (about 3 pounds).

To the apples add 1/4 cup sugar, 1 lemon juiced, 1 T. flour, 1/2 t. cinnamon.  Mix well and pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  Spread evenly.  Set aside.

In another bowl, mix 1 cup walnuts or pecans roughly chopped, 1 cup flour, 1 1/4 cups rolled oats, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar.

Add 1 stick butter.  Using a pastry cutter or fork, work butter into mixture.

I used a fork and "smooshed" the butter until pea-sized lumps are formed.

Top apples evenly with mixture and bake until apples are bubbly and topping is golden brown.  About 45 minutes.

The flash on the camera distorts the brown.  We enjoyed our warm apple crumble with whipped cream. 

This would also be amazing with ice cream--either vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.

Enjoy!

Drink Deeply

Max Lucado is one of my favorite authors.  If you've read any of my past blogs, you've read that I have a daily devotional on the bathroom counter.  Max Lucado is the author of the devotionals.  Each day there are excerpts from one of his books that usually pierce my heart.  Such as this one on August 3. 

If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from that person's heart.  John 7:38

Don't you need regular sips from God's reservoir?  I do.  In countless situations--stressful meetings, dull days, long drives, demanding trips--and many times a day, I step to the underground spring of God.  There I receive anew his work for my sin and death, the energy of his Spirit, his lordship, and his love.

Drink with me from his bottomless well.  You don't have to live with a dehydrated heart.  Receive Christ's work on the cross, the energy of his Spirit, his lordship over your life, his unending, unfailing love.

Drink deeply and often.  And out of you will flow rivers of living water.

Toothless Kidlet

The joys of summer include getting doctor and dentist appointments in before school starts. 
At 7:30 am Tuesday morning Kidlet Three had two teeth pulled.  Maybe the use of the word "joy" in the first sentence is pushing it a bit...
We were at the dentist's office by 7:20 and he was out of the office with a numb, gauzed-up mouth by 8:10.

Boys sure are different than girls. Duh!  Once we were home, I parked the van in our driveway and watched as Kidlet Three got out with spit hanging down from his chin.  He was fascinated at swinging that spit string back and forth while I yelled at him to "wipe your mouth".  But no, he had to stand in the driveway for as long as he could enjoying that totally boy moment.  Watching him, I had flashbacks of the times Kidlet One had teeth removed.  She was so careful to keep her mouth wiped and there was no spit that was present from her mouth.  Yup...boys are different.

Kidlet Three got settled on the couch with the remote control, plenty of liquids to sip on and tylenol.  He spent his day like this:

His "gift bag" from the dentist included gauze, a toy and the famous treasure chest.

The treasure chest contains the precious teeth that were extracted.  In this case they were baby teeth that just didn't want to leave his mouth.

We get to repeat this whole process in a couple of weeks.  There are two more teeth that need to be pulled.  More joy!

I can just hear Kidlet Three giving an oral report on the first day of school called "What I Did On My Summer Vacation".  It will start with something like "My mom made me get up early and I had to get my teeth pulled...."

Being Toothless isn't all bad.  There is an unlimited supply of popsicles, which is a great summer treat.

Constant Temperature

The time is 6:36 PM

The temperature right now is 80 degrees

Again

We did have a rain shower about noon

I walked outside during the rain to see if it had cooled off

It had not

The humidity was thick

So we have a pretty constant temperature in the Frozen Tundra

I know in January I will probably complain about the freezing temperatures

The below zero temperatures are constant in January

I guess we are a Constant Frozen Tundra

All I can say is, God....

Thank you for air conditioning!

Captain Potato Chip

There were a couple of super heros at my table on Sunday.

Meet Captain Potato Chip and His Little Chip!

Aka my brother, Uncle Al and Kidlet Three. 

The funniest part was watching them try not to laugh and pose without biting down on the chips.

Maybe someday there will be a movie version.

Age Doesn't Matter

I am just so blessed.

Yesterday I had the honor of spending the afternoon with a young woman that is 20 years younger than me. 

But age doesn't seem to matter.

She is a delightful person that always has a smile on her face.

At her townhouse there is a beautiful pool so I brought Kidlet Three and a couple of his friends to swim while Young Friend and I visited.

Those 2 1/2 hours went so fast and we didn't get all of our topics discussed!

I am old enough to be her mother yet I get the privilege of being her friend.

She challenges me and I think I challenge her.

We share several common things.  First, we both love Jesus.  Second, diabetes has affected our lives. 

And Kidlet Three and her nephew play baseball and hockey together.

So we've sat together freezing in hockey arenas and sweating under the sun at baseball games.

I am so glad she is in my life. 

And I'm really thankful that age doesn't matter in our friendship!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Roasted Potatoes

2 slices white bread

 I love this counter-top food processor.  Process the bread into fine crumbs.

Dry on a baking sheet for 10-15 minutes in a 200 degree oven until they are completely dry.  My picture makes it look they they got brown but it is is a shadow in my lighting.

Combine the crumbs with 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 T. chopped fresh parsley, 1 t. kosher salt, 1/4 t. black pepper.

Blend 2 egg whites, 2 t. cornstarch and the juice of 1/2 lemon with a fork in a shallow dish.

I used three chicken breasts for this recipe.  Lightly pound the breasts to an even thickness. 

Dip both sides of the chicken in the egg mixture.

Place chicken in the crumbs and pat crumbs on both sides.

Place the crumbed chicken on a wire rack.  Allow to air dry for 20-30 minutes.

Heat 3 T. olive oil in a heavy, bake-proof skillet.  Saute chicken until golden. 

Carefully turn the chicken and brown on both sides.  Unfortunately, my crumb coating stuck to the pan.  Make sure you have enough oil in the pan and the crumb mixture has dried. 

Place the whole pan in a preheated 450 degree oven.  Bake until chicken is cooked through. 

Roasted Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Bring 6 quarts salted water to a boil in a large saucepan.

2 pounds unpeeled potatoes, cut into large chunks

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil, 4-5 cloves garlic, smashed and 1 T. chopped fresh rosemary in a small saucepan on low heat.  Do not let the garlic brown.

Boil the potatoes for one minute.  Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and place on a baking sheet.  Pour the heated oil mixture over the potatoes and stir to coat. 

Roast the potatoes for 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes or until cooked through, browned and crisp.  Season with salt.

We recently enjoyed this meal with fresh garden green beans.  YUMMY!!!