Tag Archives: Ann Kroeker’s Make Do Monday

Sopa de Pollo con Calabaza

31 Monday Jan 2011

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Don’t be frightened by the size of the task, for the Lord my God is with you.   1 Chronicles 28:20 TLB

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We saved our Cinderella Pumpkin from fall and decided to break it open and see if it was still fit for consumption. Our pumpkin was so heavy I could not pick it up so my beloved did the hard work, lifting, not to mention cutting and cooking.

Nobody else can do the work that God marked out for you.   Paul Lawrence Dunbar

We had been storing it in the garage. Todd stepped in at this point cutting one-quarter of the pumpkin up into cubes and simmering it on the stove top for about ninety minutes.  From the sofa reading I watched as he drained off cooked pumpkin and set aside leaving the lovely orange broth in the pan.  He added 2 tablespoons of butter to a small metal dish …floated it on top the broth for a couple of minutes, and dangerously pulled it with his bare hands added 2 tablespoons of flour to the butter and made a roux.

Next he added the breast of one chicken from a rotisserie chicken(hand shredded) from the market.  (I try to keep one on hand at all times as my back up plan) sprinkled a bit of curry, cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste, added the roux and garnished with green onions.

The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.     Arnold Palmer

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Make do… Tucson Tuna Noodle

23 Monday Nov 2009

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Teddy Bear Cholla

We were out of mayonnaise and I decided to substitute the Marie’s Jalapeno Ranch and top with tortilla chips instead of the traditional Lay’s. The dish was quite a nice twist on the traditional, and my family real enjoyed the standby casserole on a chilly night.

1/2 jar of Marie’s Jalapeno Ranch

1/2 jar of Newman’s Own Alfredo Sauce

1 – 12 ounce can of Starkist Tuna drained well                                                                                         

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1 box of noodles cooked ( I prefer bow tie pasta/ whole grain if available)

Mix well, and place in oiled pan topping with buttered,  hand crushed tortilla chips.  (Just throw a few dabs of butter here and there after you put the chips on top, and bake till golden @ 425 degrees.

Enjoy,

Trish                                                                                                                                                  

 

The Case of the Missing “Southern Lady”

07 Monday Sep 2009

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Struggling to find a dessert appropriate for the Park Place

Literary Society (neighborhood Book Club), the above magazine title captured my attention from inside my neighbor’s bin. 

 Wednesday is recycling day in our neighborhood, a magazine “Southern Lady” peaked out at me as I was walking Daisy.

  I was Eve and this was my apple.  If I chose to pick this up, am I recycling, repurposing or stealing?

Do not steal.  Deuteronomy 5 v. 19 HSB

A wee bit gauche,  the question was placed on my Facebook wall in hopes friends would prevent an errant deed on my part, and waited.  Letting on I had it in my possession,  I simply asked “would it be stealing if I was sitting here reading it now?”

Here are the responses I recieved:

Noelle- I would say no.  BUT (lol) if you walk away with it, maybe.Book club

Sharilyn- No way. You are actually recycling it.

Sandy- Nope!  You know what they say about one person’s trash…006

Tim- No.  because once they throw it out it’s no longer their property.

Noelle- Is any compensation paid to the homeowner for his recyclable items? ( in Seattle you get a small sum back)

Tim- Good point, put it back when you are done.

Margaret- I know you will do what is best dear sis, you have an honest and clean heart.

The winning recipe came from my own, BHG  Better Homes and Gardens (New Cook Book) page 81, Blueberry Buckle.

Hoping to hear your thoughts,

Trish

Crabby Crafts…Crabs for Christ

29 Monday Jun 2009

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Looking for a great family project?  The Southards are enjoying food, fun and funding the Chapel building fund!  Here is an example how we have noshed locally from the Currituck Sound supporting a local fisherman, who also attends the Corolla Chapel here on the Outer Banks.

Last night was our crab feast. 

Buddy, the local crabber caught one bushel of crabs for our traditional crab night at “Dolphins Watch II”.  Interesting fact about the feast; no females are consumed only “Jimmy” male crabs to be good stewards of  Currituck Sound conservancy and allowing the generations of families yet to visit the Outer Banks  sweet blue claw crabs.  While attending the “Moms Class” in Tuscon Arizona I learned the importance of  ” make do” eco-fashionable crafts for Christ (term from Barbara Tompkins).  We all had a desire to create gifts to  bring back to friends and family, but a large piece of our creative spur came from raising  money for the Corolla Chapel, the local church where we love to worship the Lord surrounded by families visiting from around the globe. Last Sunday our guests were visiting from Germany and England.

Uncle  Tom, the nieces and nephews fav Uncle,  has taught Sabrina and Chase the basics of boiling Blue Crabs and today we are using the shells to create art.   The Southard family is heavy with artistic talent, especially the visual arts.  Camille loves to paint and play piano, Tom and little Chef love the culinary arts and all are patiently working with the crab shells making Christmas ornaments to sell and make a little coin for our beloved Corolla Chapel.  The Chapel is currently feeding three families in the area, and the church asked the children if there was anything they would love to have in their food basket?  Mary Ellen quoted a very reticent  boy, who said “I always hope for something crunchy”.

The entire Southard clan of 15 on the front two rows of the Corolla Chapel were saddened when they heard the boy’s statement (except for baby Christian who is always smiling),  and hearts broke simultaneously…

At Uncle Tom’s suggestion, we cleaned the crab shells after eating them, spray painted them blue, white or gold and when dry, the children all painted pictures reminiscent of the past week.

The church can sell those creations of the crabby crafters to attendees of the Chapel as souvenirs of their vacation on the Outer Banks.

Painting crafts for Christ,

Trish

Make Do Silver and Copper Cleaner

25 Monday May 2009

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Friday morning, I worked diligently setting up my first baby shower here in Texas. I enjoy hosting women’s events, bridal showers, teas, birthdays, etc.  Ann has convicted me of making do and I did not have my copper or silver cleaner after our move from Arizona.  We were not able to move any cleaning supplies, so it was another case of having to make do.  I learned through a quick Google search that adding a cup of vinegar and a cup of salt to a large boiling pot of water would remove the tarnish from my copper tea kettle.  The instructions were so simple it was hard to believe: “Boil item in pot for two hours. ”  HAHA …are you kidding me?  Two hours later I was astounded to see my kettle looking presentable for the shower. 

I pulled out my silver and tried the same thing.  I learned in my search that I could line a pan with foil, pour baking soda all over the item and top off with boiling water to cover.  Once again I thought there was no way this could work.  I save foil because my husband’s grandmother who lived during the Great Depression taught me the value of reusing foil by cleaning and saving it.  I have a hard time reusing it, but I am persisting in my effort to honor her frugality. To my suprise yet again,  I waited and watched all the tarnish fall off a pan full of silverware.  How could this be?  Why had I wasted so much of my time in the past polishing?   

Thank you Ann Kroeker!  Making do is once again eco-friendly!

Traveling Pants…Make Do and Dye in Blue.

27 Monday Apr 2009

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Lydia, the maker of fine purple cloth in the book of Acts,  closely resembles my life after college where I was privileged to sell exquisite, high-end women’s clothing, the purple cloth of our day.  Loving it so much, even after moving to a fancy desk job at the corporate office, I worked any weekend shift available at the retail store Mandels.  Their clothes were the staple of my business wardrobe.    God is molding me to be more like hospitable Lydia as I interface with my husband. Lydia was known as God-fearing, something I hope and pray comes to mind as you know me…something I aspire toward in my daily walk  

Meet Lydia:

“On the Sabbath, we left the city and went down along the river where we had heard there was to be a prayer meeting.  We took our place with the women who had gathered there and talked with them.  One woman, Lydia, was from Thyatira and a dealer in expensive textiles, known to be a God-fearing woman.  As she listened with intensity to what was being said, the master gave her a trusting heart and she believed!”

 After she was baptized, along with everyone in her household, she said in a surge of hospitality, “If you’re confident that I’m in this with you and believe in the Master truly, come home with me and be my guests.  “We hesitated, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.” (Acts 16:13-15, The Message)

 I wrote a study for women leaders on Acts, mostly to share all the incredible insights wise men and women had poured into me while in Chicago, and to freshen and cement the teachings into my brain. Fun note… I would sneak into D.A. Carson’s class whenever I could, and sit with all the scholars.   Sticking out like a sore thumb with my faux black fur vest and matching hat…complete with leather gloves trimmed in black fur, who was I kidding?  I’d sit in the back row and glean.  I could only glean from the words spoken in English…the class required both mastery of written and spoken Greek…ouch, that’s why I had to sneak. 

I love dyed cloth like Lydia.  Every 6 months I dye my jeans with Rit dye and they are a crisp, cool, blue indigo much like the water at Lake Travis.  The jeans have traveled east and west as much as my weight.  Just like the girls in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, each girl had a different figure, but the pants miraculously fit each one as the girls shipped the pants around to all the exotic locales the girls visit.  

Make do with blue, and dye your jeans to keep them fresh looking. On a note of interest, Thyatira, our new friend Lydia’s hometown,   was famous for its purple dye. A handful of kosher salt in the hottest water your machine will give you and dye away. Throw in a worn out white top and girlfriends, you’ve got a new look for the weekend…extra slimming when you where the same shade top and bottom. 

We learn so much from the prayerful women sitting riverside on the seventh day…2000 years later.

Rest in Him, Trish