EASY Breakfast Bake

Years ago my friends and I stayed in a fabulous bed and breakfast, The Iris Inn, in Ashland, Oregon. Our breakfast treat was a decadent shirred egg with cream and spinach. I loved it!

I tried to recreate it a number of times, and I often came close, and more often under cooked or over cooked the egg. Recently I saw something similar on Pinterest and set to work creating my own variation. What I loved about the idea on Pinterest was that it used a muffin tin and did not require an aluminum foil covering.

I have made this several times since, and have found that a variety of cheeses work. When we ran out of spinach I used finely chopped zucchini in it's place.

Recipe:
1 pkg Thin sliced black forest ham
4-6 eggs
Fresh spinach

The completed serving looks like a rose.

Fresh Parmesan
Favorite cheese (Havarti, Coastal or other)
Heavy cream/Whipping cream
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 Chives

For each individual cup layer ingredients as follows:

2-3 slices meat, creating a "bowl" for the other ingredients
3 spinach leaves, nest these in the bottom of the bowl
Sprinkle of Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/3 of a slice of Havarti nestled between the ham and egg
1 1/2 tsp heavy cream/whipping cream drizzled on top
Pepper to taste
Sprinkle of chives

Bake in 350° oven for 15 to 20 minutes depending on your oven and your egg preference. Time and heat is based on a dark muffin pan in a gas oven, and an over easy/medium egg. Serves 4.

Microwave variation: Use a ramekin instead of a muffin pan. Heat for 1 1/2- 2 minutes. Again, time may vary and you may want your egg to cook more fully.

What other veggies might you add to make this a healthful breakfast bake?

The Summer of Ramen

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is not my friend. In fact, I have cursed this additive on more than one occasion. For the fact is, I discovered--wow, nearly ten years ago--that this amazingly common preservative and flavoring is a headache trigger for me. About a year ago I learned that it did unhappy things to my son as well.

Because my son and I have this "sensitivity" we as a family avoid MSG like the plague. At home this isn't a problem, potlucks can be rough. However, there were two things that we missed. For me, it was mushroom soup--that stuff was a staple in so many recipes!--but I created my own recipe quite easily. For my son, he had to give up Ramen noodles.

Ramen is a quick easy meal, and it was his "go to" lunch for school. He would crunch noodles into a thermos, add the seasoning packet, and some water. By lunch he had a perfect meal--in his definition if not mine. But in all those nifty little packages of cheap Ramen, we found MSG.

So no more Ramen for us.

Until we visited World Market. They have a wonderful product by Nongshim USA: Shin Ramyun: Gourmet Spicy. We tried it, we loved the flavor, but hot diggity it was HOT! And it is quite spendy in comparison to the other stuff. Please note: there is No MSG added, this is a bit tricky, because there is naturally occurring MSG in many products, however, for us small quantities of this type of MSG creates little to no effect.

We loved the Ramen, but had to dilute it to use it. After some experimenting we have found a way to enjoy Ramen again, and we all enjoy it, because this isn't your average poor-college-kid-one-pot-dinner. In case you would like to try it here's what we've done:

Find and buy the Shin Ramyun: Gourmet Spicy. We can buy it in a six pack bundle--this gives us six lunches/dinner. Buy an inexpensive package of ramen and throw out the prepackaged spices, or find ramen noodles in the Asian department of your favorite store.

The following makes about 6-8 servings or approximately 10 cups of noodle soup. *I have listed the veggies we use, but I am sure you can substitute many others--especially fresh from the garden produce you may have.

1 pkg Shin Ramyun: Gourmet Spicy, spice and veggie packet
1 pkg Ramen--no spice packet
1 can chicken broth
1 can chicken
1 cup finely chopped carrots*
1 cup finely chopped celery*
1 cup finely chopped onion*
1-2 chopped green onions*
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms*
1 tbs Better than Boullion Vegetable base

Add the chicken broth to a sauce pan. Rinse the can, adding two full cans of water to the pan. Add the chicken, including any broth to the pan. Drop in Gourmet spicy packet, and veggie packet contents. Add veggies. Bring to a boil. Add noodles and stir. Noodles are usually done within 1-2 minutes. Serve.

PLEASE NOTE: This is still a spicy version!

I learned two things from our search for MSG free Ramen: 1. Chicken broth and or the vegetable base  are great alternatives to the included spice packets. 2. The addition of chicken and veggies makes ramen a wonderful and easy meal.

We have made up for lost time with a summer of ramen....

What is your favorite way to eat ramen?

Presumptuous: Fourth Fisherman

From November 2005 to November 2006, my family was distracted by an overseas deployment and a self-imposed moratorium on news. We were perhaps one of the few families in the US who had never heard of "Los Tres Pescadores" (The Three Fishermen) until we read this book. I had never heard of these men who had been lost at sea. I had never heard of people surviving for 9 months on raw sea animals and rainwater, much less drifting 5000 miles across the Pacific. The men were tempted by despair, and two of the original five men succumbed to despair and died. However, the remaining three were sustained by faith in God and His Providence for them during their ordeal. Their story is inspirational, and I am glad that they survived to tell it and that Joe Kissack wrote about it.

In his telling of the fishermen's story, Kissack draws parallels with these men's story and his own spiritual journey as he faced a complete paradigm shift in his life. In the end, the three fishermen came home to their families, and Kissack found his way back to God through a sea of worldly temptations. Kissack's story is inspirational in itself. 

However, I was disappointed that Kissack took his own rather protected struggle of faith and made close parallels with these men whose very physical being depended directly on God's grace and their faith in Him. He even goes so far as to figuratively put himself in the boat with the fishermen as the titular "Fourth Fisherman."

Truthfully, as I read the book, I was expecting God Himself to be occupying this position as the unseen yet present Captain and Navigator...the "Fourth Fisherman." By supplanting this position and inserting himself (albeit figuratively) into these men's ordeal, he sullies what was otherwise a decent book.

This book is two inspirational stories in one. If you can look past the artificial importance Kissack gives himself, you will be edified by both spiritual journeys. 

Note: Please be aware that due to the nature of the fishermen's ordeal, many parts of the book are not for the young and the squeamish. I strongly recommend that it be read by High School students and older. 

This book was provided by Waterbrook/Multnomah for in exchange for review.

Review - "Beloved Enemy" by Al Lacy

I have to say, I wanted to like this book. I REALLY wanted to like this book.

I like the Al Lacy books I've read in the past. In addition, I am a fan of historical fiction, I am intrigued by the events involved with the costliest war in American history and I like a good "cloak and dagger" spy story.

However, this is not what I found in Beloved Enemy, written by acclaimed writer Al Lacy, cover art by the accomplished artist Phil Boatwright, a fellow Texan from Dallas. 

The first thing that struck me was the cover art. I hate to speak ill of a fellow Texan, especially one from my neck of the woods, but the cover art appears far below the abilities of an artist such as Mr. Boatwright. I have seen examples of Mr. Boatwright's work, and he has the skill and ability to make a painted portrait come alive and look real. In contrast, the cover to this book seems as though it was hastily done, as if it were concept art rather than a polished final product. Additionally (and this is mostly my desire for detail, continuity and accuracy in fiction here), the portrait of Jenny Jordan on the cover does not match the description of her in the story.

Then we get into the story. I did not do exhaustive research as I'm sure Mr. Lacy did, so I must trust his facts, dates and historical accuracy. It is also reasonable to assume that there were Confederate spies in the government of the time, perhaps even as far up as President Lincoln's war cabinet.

However, despite the framework for a good story, the characters appear forced into the historical framework. The story reads as though Mr. Lacy were pressed for time and was fighting a deadline.

Have you ever pulled an all-nighter on a report, turned it in and then re-read it later only to realize that it was not your best work? That is the impression that this book gave me.

I enjoy Mr. Lacy's stories, but this one will not make my list of favorites.

- Displaced Texan

Protecting Our Children

God gave us children for a reason. With this gift comes tremendous responsibility and unending watchfulness. No one wants to find that their child is being harmed in any way, but how do you move forward once you do?

The Bible instructs believers in the proper submission to authority. This type of submission speaks first and foremost of respectful and honoring behavior toward those in authority, even those who are evil. Romans 13:1 states that "there is no authority except by God's appointment." (NET) The next verse cautions that to resist such authority is tantamount to "resisting the ordinance of God." (NET Rom 13:2)

This in no way means that you do nothing. Scripture does contend that a believer may act contrary to authority if the authority is commanding evil. And if the authority is allowing the perpetration of evil?

Children are a gift entrusted to us by God.

What would you do if you found out your child was being bullied by a trusted adult?

What if someone in authority instructed you to do nothing?

Book Review: God Gave Us Love

God Gave Us Love by Lisa Tawn Bergren

This is a sweet little story about God's love.  My kids, although older than the recommended 0-3, still enjoy Little Bear. This particular story shares, in easy to understand terms, the different ways we love. Most importantly, the Truth of God's gift of love is at the center.

I like the fact that the story ends with a prayer that little ones could emulate.

However, the text on each page seems overwhelming for the recommended age group. The story is disjointed with more emphasis on the theology of God's love than following a storyline.

The pictures are fun and add to the story. But I wonder how often a toddler would choose this book.

The only issue we had with the story was that you don't know Little Bear is a girl until the end. My son was a tad upset by this.

Lisa Tawn Bergren is the 2012 Christy award winning author of Waterfall. She is the author of more than thirty books, including children's literature, YA, historical and Contemporary Women's fiction. She is married, with three children and makes her home in Colorado Springs, Colorado.




This book was provided by Multnomah publishing for review.

Review: Cleaning House

This month's book review is of the Non-Fiction title by Kay Wills Wyma:
Cleaning House: A Mom's 12-Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement


I picked this book because I know Youth Entitlement is a HUGE issue in today's society. I also wanted to find out if I was doing enough to prevent my own kids from acting entitled.

The book is written from the first person perspective, in which Mrs. Wyma walks us through a year in her home after she realizes her children take her and the household procedures for granted. The reader feels like she is listening to a friend share her challenges and successes in figuring out how to train up her children. The narrative flows with charming anecdotes and humor that keeps the reader interested.

The structure of the book is easy to follow, with a new challenge for the home each month. I found the chapters on Beds and Clutter, The Entertainers, Team Players and Roll Tide the most useful.  However, I would caution any reader that the methods found effective by the author/Mom may not work in your household. Also, remember that reading the book my only take a few hours, the trials set forth within lasted a whole year...and that is really only the beginning.

As a teacher, I see Youth Entitlement first-hand every day. I know seniors who have never made their own lunch. I know of parents who call the teacher, or more likely the administration, every time their child fails a test (this is also known as the teacher's fault, and not the fault of the child who spent their study time facebooking). For other students it is electronic overkill, it is not unusual to have students with web enabled phones, tables, and laptops on their person at any one time.


Recommendation: if you know a child that has never made their own lunch, washed their own laundry, made their bed, nor washed a toilet...this book is for you! For the rest of us, and we may be few and far between, there may be a few helpful hints to keep your kids moving (new incentives? a varied method) but all in all, this is a book about getting started, not moving to the next level.



This book was provided by Water Brook publishing, free of charge, in exchange for my honest review.