Very Southern...Very Delicious!

Last night I tried out a new pound cake recipe and I am pleased to report that it is delicious.  I found it very easy to put together especially using my stand mixer.  Also, the ingredients are basic...you should have almost everything in your pantry with the exception of the pecans and maybe the sour cream.  This is a great recipe to make and take to a neighbor or family gathering or it's perfect to serve with coffee after dinner.

Cinnamon-Laced Sour Cream Pound Cake

1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 T. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 t. baking powder
1/8 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
8 oz. sour cream

Combine nuts, 2 T. sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, stir well and set aside. 

Cream butter.  Gradually add 2 cups sugar, beating well at medium speed.  Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture, mixing just until blended.  Stir in vanilla and gently fold in sour cream.

Spoon half of batter into a greased and floured Bundt pan.  Sprinkle nut mixture over batter and then spoon remaining batter on top of nut mixture.  (Note:  You can divide the batter into 3 parts and have 2 smaller layers of nut mixture, if you would like...that's what I did!) 

Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean.  If you have a dark Bundt pan like I do, you may need to adjust temp to 325 degrees or check cake at about 50 minutes so you don't burn the sides.  Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. 

Daily Light...I need it!

This book is...wonderful and worth every penny!  I am amazed every day when I read the morning or evening selection--the verses are usually exactly what I need for that day.  They speak exactly to what I'm going through...it is truly of God. 

I Just Won!

I just won my first giveaway from a fellow blogger!  Yay!  I won a $60 skincare kit from Roden and Fields...a big thanks to Jessica Turner at The Mom Creative.  Check out her very cool blog...it's got lots of great info on freebies and discounts and her posts on being a mommy are awesome too! 

http://jessicaturnersblog.blogspot.com

Help Me to Unclutter My Life, Lord

Rescue me from this eternal confusion of belongings (mine and other people's) that just won't stay orderly.  This suffocation of phone calls, clubs, and committees.  This choke of bills and papers and magazines and junk mail.  I buy too many things, subscribe to too many things, belong to too many things.  The result is such confusion I can't really enjoy or do justice to anything!

Deliver me from some of this Lord.  Help me to stop bewailing this clutter and work out some plan for cutting it down.

Give me the will power to stop buying things we don't really need ...and give, oh give me the will power to get rid of a lot of things we already have...And while I'm at it Lord, help me to unclutter my mind.  Of regrets and resentments and anxieties, of idiotic dialogues and foolish broodings.

Sweep it clean and free.

Make it calm and quiet.

Make it orderly.

-Marjorie Holmes in Lord, Let Me Love

This is soooo GOOD!

Here is a super yummy recipe for anyone that likes Mexican food and it can be converted to a Vegan recipe by using non-dairy sour cream and vegan cheddar cheese...if you're so inclined...

Cheesy, Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip


1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
3 large avocados
3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 containers (8 ounces) sour cream
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 cup diced mild green chiles , drained
1/2 cup sliced black olives, or more if you like
5 tomatoes , chopped
2 cups shredded  cheddar cheese


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread a layer of refried beans in the bottom of an 8x8 quart glass baking dish. Pit and peel the avocados, and place in a bowl. Mash the avocados together with the lime juice, and spread on top of the refried beans. Stir together the sour cream and taco seasoning, and spread over the avocado.


Sprinkle the chiles over the sour cream, and top with a layer of black olives. Add the tomatoes and sprinkle with the cheese. Heat the dip for 15 to 30 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is a bit melted.

Serve warm or at room temperature with tortilla chips.

Recipe courtesy of The Kind Diet

Book Review: Olive Kitteridge

Since this book is a Pulitzer Prize winner, I should've known that it would have elements of strangeness, be very heavy, and multi-layered...much like other Pulitzer Prize winners I've read. The story covers the lifetime of one Mrs. Olive Kitteridge and the many people connected to her. Some are connected to her rather thinly and you may wonder, "why am I reading about this person?" There were points in the book when I thought "why am I reading this book?" and I thought I would abandon it altogether but I persevered because it's very hard for me to leave a book half-read! I give it 3 stars...really strong character development and actually some very good writing...I just don't know if I really cared about the story that much.

You will get some insights into her life and how she deals with tragedy as well as moments of happiness.  Her reactions and her approach to life are all secular so it makes for an interesting analysis and made me think if Olive were written from a Christian perspective, this would've been a totally different book and probably much better. 

Book in a Month

A few month's ago, my friend, Heather took on a rather monumental task.  She decided she would write a book in a month!  She had started several books along the way and always knew there was a novel inside her just waiting to come out but as the busy mom of three children, time was definitely a factor.  So spurred on by the challenge of writing a book in a month and some other Facebook friends who were attempting to do the same, she embarked on her writing adventure.  One month later she had successfully completed her book! 

Now she's started a blog to share the beginning chapters of her book with the rest of the world and hopefully garner some interest from publishers and us, the reading public.  Check out her new blog...

http://bookinamonthmom.blogspot.com/