Logan Wolfram

Enjoying Life for Dessert

Food for Thought: Chains….

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I just started a new Bible study last night with a group of women i don’t really know….at all in fact.  Well, i know 2 of them, but of those i only really know one.  Anyways, last night was our first meeting.  And it was GOOD!

It’s been awhile since I’ve read or done anything that made me feel almost overwhelmed with information.  Like, last night, i had a physical tightness in my chest because there was so much to process…there IS so much to process.  And I’m not a natural processor, so anything that makes me want to process really HAS to be good.

And last night there was this one quote that really stuck to my bones.  I’ve been thinking about it over and over today…well, 2 quotes really, but they go together.

“I am a direct result of my belief system.  All i am comes from what i really believe when noone is looking.”

and then the real kicker…

“We are holding our chains,

                                     Our chains are not holding us.”  

As a believer in Christ (which I happen to be), I have been freed.

Acts 13:39 says “Through Him, everyone who believes is freed from all things.”  Freed…that’s a past tense word…you have been freed, of ALL THINGS…you are not in process of being freed. And then i thought…If i am a direct result of my belief system, Do i really believe that?  And the short answer is “Yes. I believe it.”  But, in the quiet of the night when noone is looking, do i allow myself to walk in freedom?

But then, I have to ask myself as I’ve been doing some thinking today….If I’m not walking in freedom, then what has me chained up unnecessarily?  What keeps me from walking in the freedom that Jesus PAID?  Paid…freed….done.

Is it fear?  Or uncertainty?

Is it unforgiveness or resent?

Is it pride?

Is it a past mistake I can’t get over and think God can’t either?

And once i figure that out…i guess the next question is…

If I’ve been freed, then why am I still holding onto chains?

And then I’d like to say, when i figure it out…I’ll be opening my hand…and letting go of those chains….because these hands were not made for shackles. And neither were yours…

***Do you have chains you’re holding on to?  If you’ve been freed, then what’s stopping you from releasing your grip?  If you want to learn more about how to become free….shoot me a message…there’s plenty of freedom to go around! 

There’s just something about a sister!

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I have to tell you…i just got off the phone with my sister.  Some days we don’t like each other very much and some days, there’s really noone else that i can laugh with so hard.  When we talk to one another, we talk too loud.  Her husband says it makes him so crazy that he wants to just stick his fingers in his ears.  Turns out, mine feels the same way!  And…truth is, i think they’ve both done it! HA!

She lives far away, my sister.  And even though we get on each other’s nerves, and make each other crazy, i wish we lived in the same town.  She and Little Bit even have the same birthday!

Her Hubs is a man of quick decisions.  He works in Manhattan and so a lot of the things he does happen fast.  Today he informed her that they need to move out of the city…apparently they’ve gotten too many parking tickets! Ok, so that’s not really the reason…they’ve been tossing the idea around for awhile.

She sent me a link to a really neat house up there that he found.  I still can’t believe how much higher the cost of living is there, but it is.  Anyways, it’s a neat house. They’re going to look at it today.  I wish i could go with her.  We like doing things like that together.

We feed off of each other though.  For better or for worse!  If something is bad, you’d think it was catastrophic if we’re together.  If something is good, you’d think it was the most amazing thing ever.  If something is funny, we’ve really both peed in our pants before!

I found a house today that i sent her.  I told her it was her dream house.  Then we both laughed so hard we cried when she looked at it.  And i just have to share.  Check this thing out.

My Sister’s Dream House

And did you notice the realtor’s name?  Or the hilarious face he’s making in his profile shot?  Only added to our laughter. (I know i shouldn’t tease about someone…but we all know we’ve had the awful name conversation before.  Why, just the other day i heard a few good ones: Eunice Enis, Shithead (pronounced Sha-theed), Patty Nipple, Harry Organ Jr….you know you’ve had a laugh at the expense of a name before.)

Anyways, I’m pretty sure if you’d heard us on the phone today, you might have put your fingers in your ears too!

There’s just something about a sister isn’t there?!

**For those of you with a sister…what do you love most about yours?

What’s for Dinner?! Brunswick Stew…and homemade chicken stock

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As promised earlier…recipe for Brunswick Stew!  I really don’t think that you can mess this up unless you burn it on the bottom of the pan, but I’ll tell you what i do most of the time (because every time it’s a tad different based upon what i have in the pantry!)

Make this in the morning because it MUST cook all day if you want it to be amazing…which I’m sure you do! And for you working gals out there…throw it all in the crockpot for the whole day and it ought to turn out wonderfully! I’m a stockpot kind of person ,when I can, because I like walking by and giving it a stir!

First I’m going to tell you how to make homemade chicken stock…the cheater’s way!  Step 1. Go to Sams or Costco or the grocery store and get a rotisserie chicken. Step 2. Eat the chicken for lunch or dinner with simple sides. Step 3. SAVE every single piece of that carcass and the juice in the bottom of the pan. Step 4. Put all of that in a stockpot. Quarter an onion (use the method i showed you earlier today!) Cut some celery into about 3 inch lengths (I’d say maybe 3-4 stalks). Put some carrots in too…maybe a cup or so. These can be cut big as well, or really cheat and use baby carrots. Put a couple Tbsp minced garlic.  Fill the pot up with lots of water, and add salt, pepper, I put some Lawry’s seasoned salt, maybe a tsp of thyme, and a Tbsp parsley flakes.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer a long time UNCOVERED…at least 3 hours, and up to about 8 makes it really great!  The darker the color, the richer the broth.  When you’re done, strain out all the bones and veggies and store the stock.  I normally just freeze mine in about 6 cup (that’s 1 1/2 qts) containers, so I can use it whenever I want. Also if you’ve made it really concentrated, then when you make soup or something with it, you can usually add as much water as you have stock to make more.  So if you have 4c. stock, then add 4 c. water and your broth will still taste super rich.  Also, make sure that you say things like “oui, oui” and “bon appetit” when you make this, you’ll be very European now making your own stock and all.

Ok. Now for the Brunswick Stew.
Ingredients.
cooked chicken (you can use a whole chicken, a rotisserie one, about 6 breasts. It doesn’t matter…just cook it first and rough chop it. It’ll get all shreddy in the soup)
2-ish qts chicken stock or canned broth (stock makes everything richer tasting…see above for how to make it.)
1 can rotele tomatoes
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2 cans creamed corn (today I only had 1 can creamed corn, so I used one of regular corn too…)
1 bag frozen baby butter beans
4 potatoes diced (any kind is fine…today I had baking potatoes that were huge so I just used 3)
2 c. chopped carrots
2 med onions diced (again, I had giant onions today, so I just used 1)
about 3 Tbsp brown sugar
about 3-4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 lb BBQ pulled pork (buy this already made somewhere. But, if you don’t have it, or don’t have time to get it like me today…omit it.  Just makes it better, but it’s amazing even without the pork.)

Put all of this in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer…all day!  Your pot will reduce by at least 1/3 or more. Make sure you scrape the bottom well when you stir it so it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pot.

You will love this.  And, it makes a lot…so share it or freeze it, or eat it every day for lunch the rest of the week!  I’d love to know what you think of it when you try it, so be sure to leave a comment!

**After I initially wrote this post I did a step by step guide to making homemade chicken stock (complete with pictures and everything.)  I linked it up top, but if you missed it, you can click HERE to hop over and learn how!

How to… Properly Cut an Onion

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Several years back, the Hubs and I watched a whole season of The Amazing Race on TV.  One episode they were in Jamaica and the challenge they had to get through was to dice a 50lb bag of onions.  If we had been on the Amazing Race that day, we would have DOMINATED!  It was then and there i realized that the majority of the world must not know how to properly dice an onion.  So I am here today to change your life, one onion and recipe at a time.  Hold on people…we’re about to get technical, photos and all!

First of all, get a good cutting board. (I highly recommend a pricey but well worth it brand called Epicurean. They’re made of pressed paper i think and can be put in the dishwasher even.  They don’t dull your knives and are just plain awesome. You can get the best deal on them at Amazon.com. And get a big one…you’ll be glad.)

Next, don’t even think about grabbing a pitifully small knife.  Go for the big one…the one you’re too afraid to use normally.  Seriously…right now, put the paring knife down and get the 10″ chef’s knife. You’ll be fine, I’m right here!

With your giant knife, cut off the end of the onion…JUST the end where the skin comes together in a point.  Leave the end with the stringy things attached. This is CRUCIAL!

Next, cut the onion in half…straight through the stringy end. When you do this it’ll hold the onion together, and it makes it easier to peel when it’s cut in half.

Ok, peel that bad boy!  I left the skin on one to show you that it’s still attached form the stringy end. Just go ahead and pull the skin off though, this was just to show you.

Look at how much i love you. I even drew directly on the onion to show you! (Don’t worry, i threw that layer away. I don’t want to ruin my stew with ink.) So, i usually make about 7 cuts in the thing. See how my knife is angled towards the center? Each cut should angle towards the center…so the middle cut will be straight down. You following? Imagine the multi-colored sections of a beachball…it’s kinda like that.

Then, from the end AWAY from the stringy end, start cutting straight down. See how the onion is just falling into small pieces?! You’re using the layers of the onion to your advantage now!  Manipulate that thing baby!

Ok, now after you’ve cut about halfway or so and you start feeling like you might be getting close to your fingers, flip that sucker straight up so the stringy part is facing upwards.  Then start cutting straight down again. When you get close to the stringy end, flip it back flat again and finish up.

Look at you!  You culinary wizard you!  You just did it!  Now wasn’t that so much easier than the crazy chop you’ve been doing?!  And look at how nice and even your pieces are!  If you want the pieces smaller, then just make more of your beachball cuts and when you make your straight cuts, then do them closer together.  Cut shallots this way too. Or garlic!  The possibilities are endless!

And later today i’m going to share with you an amazing recipe for Brunswick Stew…which is why i was cutting this onion in the first place! But for now, the baby’s nap is over and i have some mommying to do!

Little Bit is ONE! A Very Hungry Caterpillar indeed…

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OK people, you are all going to have to bear with me as i figure out how to actually create a blog,  formatting and all.  I am not kidding when i say i have no idea how to do this! Mostly I’m pressing a button and if it works, then it works…if not, I’m pretty sure you’ll all notice too!
So my Little Bit turned ONE yesterday!  I’ll probably continue to write ONE in all caps because really i can’t believe he is ONE!  Time has flown by and i hope that there’s been a good amount of savoring this first year despite the fact that i cannot get enough of this cute little snack pictured below!
 Don’t you just love that shirt?!  Thank you M for making it, and thank you to some chick on Etsy in Australia for selling the embroidery design!
 The table spread.  Our guests ate their way through the book pretty much with the exception of a few foods (pizza, ice cream, and cherry pie were left out because i didn’t think we needed that much extra food for a bunch of toddlers… and besides, my Tid Bit is allergic to dairy.)
 I made signs for the foods…aren’t they so cute?!
 My friend B made this cake.  She says she thinks i could do it, and perhaps so if i knew how to make or work with fondant…but i don’t, so for the first time ever, i paid someone else to make a cake! I found several ideas online and combined my favorites to do this cake…but again, some chick in Australia did one very similarly.  What is it with Australia?! They must love them some Eric Carle!  I hope neither the chick in Australia or Eric Carle mind that i swiped a couple of ideas…i mean it is the finest form of flattery right?
 These little grape and cherry gems happened because I’m a dufus.  No really, I am.  I forgot that Monday was Martin Luther King day (and therefore a school holiday), so after i drove Tid Bit to school only to realize he didn’t have it, we went to the grocery store, where i then brainstormed in the produce department. So, that’s how these happened. Six inch skewers with grapes and cherries.  We made a few frozen shorties (with toothpicks) and floated them as ice cubes in the giant water container which i think i pictured somewhere below.
 the plates from Target that really inspired the whole thing
 I found a super cute caterpillar cookie cutter on Amazon.com and made these with Tid Bit on Monday as well. I’ll post the recipe for the actual sugar cookie sometime too because it was REALLY good!  It was very similar to cookies I’ve had from Cookies By Design which are super tasty. I’m suddenly realizing i should perhaps note here that any endorsements i make are purely my opinion.  And you know about opinions…they’re like belly buttons…everyone has one!
 the balloon caterpillar…Little Bit’s favorite thing about the party (well aside from eating cake!)
 This was another produce dept inspiration, but on the morning of the party.  Ran in because my kitchen island needed a little spice and when i saw these lime green spider mums and red gerbers…this idea just hit me upside the head.  So i grabbed them right up!
 Our front door opens up into the stairs and i thought we really needed a greeter
 This is me…and Little Bit blowing out the candles. The caterpillars strung from the chandelier were a craft project last week with Tid Bit when we were stuck inside with a weeks worth of snow here in SC!
Happy Birthday Little Bit!  I hope every moment of your life is as tasty as that cake!