~Cozy Customs~

Favorites recipes, family traditions, holiday or vacation fun!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Cooking with Kids and Canned Biscuits by Author Tanya Everson!




Cooking with Kids and Canned Biscuits! A Perfect Mix!
Almost every time we go to the grocery store, I let the kids pick out their favorite canned biscuits. One child likes flaky, one wants buttery, and the other—you guessed it, plain. But no matter what type they pick, these snacks will come out to perfection. Have fun and enjoy!
Recipe #1   Hot Dog rolls
                                     Ingredients:
        • Canned biscuits
        • Hot Dogs
        • Fork
        • Cooking spray
        • Cooking Sheet
                                    Directions:
        • Preheat oven at 350 degrees
        • Separate biscuits and roll them flat.
        • Cut Hot Dogs in half and place each half on a rolled out biscuit.
        • Fold the biscuit over the hotdog.
        • Seal dough by pressing the fork along the edges.
        • Place the rolls on the greased cookie sheet and bake until golden brown.
Recipe #2   Mini Pizza
                                    Ingredients:
        • Canned biscuits
        • Cheese
        • Pepperoni
        • Pizza sauce
        • Cooking spray
        • Cooking Sheet
                                    Directions:
        • Preheat oven at 350 degrees
        • Separate biscuits and roll them out.
        • Spread pizza sauce on the rolled out biscuits.
        • Add cheese, then the pepperoni slices.
        • Place mini pizzas on the greased cook sheet and cook until cheese is melted and the edges are golden brown.
 Tanya Eavenson

Guided Girls ~Writers blog
@Tan_eave ~Twitter
Quenching Thirst With Living Water
 

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

A fun post from Author Debbi Wise

Author Debbi Wise
Curbside Chitchats
                                                 

The other day, I told an acquaintance my age. “I’m fifty-five.” Then it hit me. Holy cat fur, I just told a fib! My real age…?  Well, let’s just say, birthdays are escaping me faster than money in my wallet. It seems just yesterday I was sitting curbside in my hometown, Memphis, Tennessee, with teenager girlfriends, gabbing about the only subject consuming our brains—boys!  
Before internet, texting and chat rooms, the curb on Kenosha St. was the place for social networking with my close friends: Judy, Pat, Debra B., Amy, and my sister Kacky. I remember one of our get-togethers when we spotted a creepy, brown spider, his back hairy like sprouts on a Chia Pet. My sister got the bright idea to bump the creature with her shoe. Eck! A gazillion babies scrambled off that spider’s back and scattered in a naked frenzy.
Maybe that’s what happened to all my birthdays. Life bumped into me, and like those baby spiders, the years just took off. Gone. Skedaddled. Gee, what I’d give to go back to my youth. Back when life was as carefree as a pair of flip-flops and cut-off jeans.
Many times I have gone back (to the curb that is) and met with my longtime friends. But due to a few minor issues—creaks in our knees, stiffness in our backs—we sometimes avoid the curb and meet in coffee shops, restaurants, or someone’s cozy kitchen. But no matter where we unite, we talk like chatty teenagers, our souls uniting like jam in a jelly jar. The only difference between forty years ago and now is the topic that consumes our mind. Boy talk…um…not so much. Instead, we discuss those creaky knees, our stiff backs and the best hair color to hide unwanted grey. But more important, we talk about the blessings God gave us in good friendships and style of social networking from the old days of curbside chats. 
Bio:  
I was raised in Memphis, Tennessee, and lived ten years in New Orleans, Louisiana. My story, We’re In This Together, appeared in Cup of Comfort, Parents of Children with Special Needs, May 2009. Holiday Blockbuster appeared in The Ultimate Christmas series, October 2008. I wrote and performed one-act plays in the New Orleans area. Among them Makin’Groceries, Breakfast at the Southern CafĂ©, and Vacation. I now live in Castle Rock, Colorado where I’m a member of the Castle Rock Writers’ Association.


Thursday, January 10, 2013

A Favorite Memory from Author Marianne Evans!

Author Marianne Evans
In the Baking of the Bread

Is there a more beautiful aroma than that of baking bread? For me, when wisps of onion-zested steam carry through the kitchen, I know I’m home—not just in a logistical sense, but in an emotional sense that stems straight from the heart.

I follow in the footsteps of my grandmother and my mother. I bake onion bread. Upon removal from the oven, those golden brown loaves laid out on a cooling rack fill the atmosphere with a promise of nourishment. But that's the end result. Let's take a look at the bigger picture...the process.

Creating bread is hard work. It also requires patience. The kneading, the rising, none of it can be rushed. Perhaps that's why baking bread has always been such a treasured tradition in my family - especially for me, my mom, and the woman who began it all, my grandmother. Conversations are shared while finger-pushes and palm-presses stretch and form the dough. We laugh, sigh, rejoice and sometimes even cry as we wait for the bread to rise, or bake. She did the same with her mom. I’ve done the same with my son and my daughter.

Old family stories are shared time and time again. ‘Remember when grandma used to make six loaves from one batch?’ ‘Remember the first time we let Dan’s wife in on the recipe and had her help us bake it?’ ‘Remember shipping a loaf to the kids when they lived in Virginia?’

Many of the same remarks come to pass with each session: ‘Be sure to give the second rise enough time.’ ‘Be sure the yeast, sugar and warm water have been given enough time to activate.’ And then there’s my favorite: ‘Get in there and work the dough! Don’t be afraid to get your fingers gooey!’

Family moments are shared across generations, over a recipe that’s family owned, protected and beloved. I savor the continuity of the bread-making process just as much as I love that taste of the freshly toasted, hand-made treat. It’s the passing on of tradition – not just when you make the bread, but when you share your heart, and life, with those you love.

And the time spent? It’s so worth it – on a number of levels.
PURCHASE LINKS:

BLURB:
From This Day Forward
Christian Music agent Kellen Rossiter has everything he ever wanted: A-list clients from coast to coast, a loving wife who honors and respects him, and a faith life that’s never wavered—until now.

Juliet Rossiter has the perfect life: a rewarding schedule serving the underprivileged, a husband who loves her as Christ loved the church, and a blessed future as a mother—at least that's what she thinks.

For Better or Worse
But what happens when their rock-solid marriage begins to crumble under the weight of an unexpected and powerful temptation? How does love survive when its foundation is shaken?

'Til Death Do Us Part
When human frailty and the allure of sin deal a harsh blow to their relationship, it will take more than love to mend the shattered trust and heartbreak. It will take a lifetime of devotion.