Feel Good Food

by Becky Wilson | May 20, 2015

It’s that dreaded phone call in the fat middle of your work day: “Momma, I don’t feeeeel gooooood.”  OK, so there are plenty of times when I don’t really believe those words. They sometimes mean, “I’m bored and I want to go home,” but not this time.

My baby girl was feeling really bad, and she needed me. I packed up my work and headed to the school to pick her up, knowing that I would get to spend the afternoon cuddling this typically busy and independent, almost as big as me, 10 going on 30, strawberry blonde beauty, secretly made me very happy.

We did cuddle, and watch movies, and nap – all the things that make sick kiddos (and mommas) feel better. When she went to sleep pretty soundly, I headed to the kitchen to see what I should make for dinner. I knew her throat felt like she had been swallowing glass, so something soft would be good.

A little “how-to-show-love” tidbit I learned from my grandma was to prepare a person’s favorite food even when it hasn’t been requested.  It just so happened that my baby girl’s favorite food is fettuccini alfredo, and it was on my menu for the week.  And I had everything I needed. And it was soft. And I was thanking God for making this work out.  Being a helpless momma isn’t fun.  There isn’t a whole lot I can do to fix my kids when they don’t feel good.  I can FEED THEM.

I cook, so that’s how I serve most of the time (kids or friends or neighbors… anyone.)   You will know I love you when I cook for you. Truth.  Isn’t that what we are called to do?  Love and serve? 1 Peter 4:10 tells us, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace….”   If cooking isn’t your gift, what is? How can you better serve those around you? How can you be a blessing, and thus receive a blessing?

When she woke up to the glorious smell of garlic cooking in butter she knew right away what I was doing.  I had a very happy daughter on my couch – and the noodles didn’t hurt her little, sad throat.

This stuff is great, y’all, so you should eat it even if you aren’t sick. (And I hope you’re not sick, because that’s no fun.)

Fettuccini Alfredo

What you need: 1 large stock pot, 1 medium sauce pan, garlic press, wooden spoon

• 1 box fettuccini noodles
• 6T butter
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1T flour
• 1 pint half and half
• ¼ C fresh shredded parmesan
• 1t pepper
• 1t salt

Prepare fettuccini noodles according to package directions in the larger of the two pots over medium high heat.  Salt the water so it’s salty like the sea, add a bit of olive oil, and make sure you are stirring occasionally to keep the noodles from clinging to one another for dear life.

Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in the smaller of the two pots, over medium high heat.   Press garlic and let it cook a while in the butter until all the butter is melted and the garlic is just starting to think of turning brown (about 3-5 minutes).  Sprinkle in the flour and stir it around until it looks a little pasty.  Cook the flour/butter/garlic for a few minutes, so it doesn’t taste like raw flour.  Pour in the half and half, stir to incorporate the butter and flour nicely.  Bring this to a simmer, and let it continue to cook 10 or so minutes so that it starts to thicken.  Add in the parmesan, salt and pepper at the end, and let it all get melty and happy together. Drain the noodles, then cover them with the sauce tossing to coat the noodles so nobody feels left out.  (I had prepared some chicken breasts earlier in the week, so I cut them up and added to the mix- you can do that, or not… totally up to you.)

Seriously, there’s nothing healthy about this, but it does make sick kids happy and even makes grown men drop to one knee – so be ready.

From Forgotten to Refurbished: A Story of Purpose

by Becky Wilson | Mar 3, 2015

We’ve all seen, or at least heard about, those cooking shows where you have a random collection of ingredients and you have to make a meal.  Well, I’m really good at that.   Circumstances of my life (along with my fear of grocery stores) have forced me to learn how to make a meal out of whatever I have.  Now all the cool kids do it. (#trendsetter)

How many times have you had pizza for dinner and the 3 or 4 pieces of pizza remaining wind up getting “saved for later” but are pushed to the back of the fridge, lonely and forgotten?  Never again, my friend. Never. Again.

Yesterday, I had this breakfast casserole with left over pizza as the base.  It was delicious! I mean, think about it: pizza has so many ingredients in common with omelets, and the crust holds everything together in beautiful casserole form.  My mother made it, and I enjoyed it – so it was super easy for me!

Here’s what she did to go from this…..

to this….

Pizza Breakfast Casserole

What you need: 9×13 casserole dish, mixing bowl, cutting board, knife, medium sized skillet

3-4 pieces pizza, any kind

½ lb. breakfast sausage

6 eggs

3T melted butter

1C shredded cheese of your choice

¼ C milk

½ C chopped broccoli (or spinach)

½ C chopped onion – unless there are onions in the pizza

Non-stick spray

Heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Coat your baking dish with non-stick spray.  Melt 3T of butter in the skillet.  While that is melting, chop your veggies and toss them in the melted butter on medium high heat cooking them until just tender, about 5 minutes, stirring often.  Transfer the contents from the skillet to the baking dish and start browning your sausage in that same skillet, on that same medium high heat.  In the meantime, tear up –or cut up, if you’re refined- the left over pizza and drop it in the baking dish with the other goodies already waiting. Crack the eggs into your mixing bowl and add the milk, then whisk away. Add the egg/milk mixture to the baking dish, and after 8 or so minutes of the sausage browning (you will be stirring that around, keep in mind), rinse it, drain it, add it to the casserole. Top this beautiful mess with shredded cheese and cover with foil.  Bake for 45 minutes and serve it up with a fruit salad (if you want to be like my mom — and you should want to be like my mom.)

We ate this delicious breakfast on a cold and snowy Sunday morning; three generations in pajamas at the breakfast island.  When my littlest little was finished with his breakfast, he crawled up in my lap and snacked on the fruit left on my plate, resting his head against my chest – and I never want to forget what that feels like.  Ever since he was big enough to get out of his chair, he has come to sit in my lap as soon as he finished a meal.  Every time.  It’s my favorite part.  He will be 9 years old this week, and I know that these after-meal snuggles will be fewer and fewer, but man, they are worth holding on to.

On this particular snowy morning, we had church, y’all.  Dishes were washed and counter tops wiped down, then we found ourselves in the living room with my amazing children, Googling praise songs and singing with all the passion they had and all the truth they understand at the top of their voices to their Savior.   Reflecting on Psalm 145 today, with a renewed understanding of purpose and praise:

I will extol you, my God and King,

and bless your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless you

and praise your name forever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall commend your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts.

5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,

and I will declare your greatness.

7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

A Dinner Recipe When The Simple Seems Hard

by Becky Wilson | Feb 17, 2015

It seems like such a basic thing, making dinner. Some days it is basic, and there are other days when a recipe looks like it’s written in a different language.  Life gets tricky – kids require attention, faucets break, we get sick, people hurt us, work gets overwhelming, and on and on. I spent much of the past week in bed sick.  Sick of heart, and sick in body; exhausted by the harshness of life.

I’m a cook.  People know that about me. Friends ask me for recipes and tips… and food.  Typically, I can spout off all sorts of helpful information and even whip up any various and sundry plate of culinary delight.  But lately I’ve been lucky to remember to order enough chili cheese burritos at Taco Bell for the members of my household, with zero chance of being able to prepare a meal.

The faucet at my kitchen sink broke.  This means I had no running water in the kitchen (See how that works?). I was determined to cook a meal for my family, and I wasn’t going to let a silly thing like the absence of water stop me. I have a rolling catalogue of recipes in my head. Sometimes those recipes are buried under piles of useless information, but one wriggled its way up to the surface and caused my kids to remember that I actually do know where the stove is in our house.

I heated up the olive oil, chopped my veggies, ran my pasta water (from the bath tub) and was on my way to a lovely plate of Pepperoni Chicken.  Make this.

Pepperoni Chicken

What you need: stock pot, cutting board, knife, large skillet

• 1 box penne pasta
• 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut to bite sized pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• ½ white onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
• 1 package of pepperoni, cut up or not… I like mine cut, you may not
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can sliced black olives
• Red pepper flakes, to taste
• ½ Cup shredded parmesan

Start heating up 3 cups of water in your stock pot over high heat. Salt the water so that it’s salty like the sea, and drizzle in just a bit of olive oil.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil in the skillet over medium heat.  Dice the peppers and onions up and toss them in, along with the garlic and black olives.  Stir these guys around a bit.  By now, your water for the pasta should be boiling, so pour the penne into the water and reduce the heat to medium high.  Let that cook for about 15 minutes, then drain the water off. (The tasty goodness is just beginning to heat up in that skillet next to the boiling pasta – get ready.)

Get the chicken and pepperoni cut up and added to the party with the veggies. Every three or four minutes turn your chicken over to be sure it’s getting brownish on all sides. After a few turns, 10-12 minutes, pour the tomatoes in. When all of the ingredients have been added, let them simmer for about 5 minutes to get warmed up and friendly with each other.  Your pasta should be drained and waiting by now, so pour the veggies and meat right into that stock pot holding the penne, add parmesan, and stir them all together. And then serve it up and remind your family (and yourself) that you are, in fact, a rock star in the kitchen.

So, yeah, life gets hard.  Trials are many and hurts are deep.  But the Lord does not fail.  His grace is sufficient, and His plans are for good.  By His strength I can, you can, continue on, in faith.

Even if it’s just a whisper, speak the words found in Psalm 13.  Understanding and accepting the feelings of desperation and brokenness, but still ending at a place of rejoicing in the Salvation of The Lord.

“How long, Oh Lord? Will you forget me forever?  How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord, My God.  Light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed over him,’ lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.   But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has dealt bountifully with me.”

Pecans, Pants and Pastry Chefs

by Becky Wilson | Nov 20, 2014

For me, every day is about food. I plan my menu at least a week in advance according to the weather and the activities that grace my calendar. This is no different as the Holidays approach – in fact its even more of a priority. As I look toward that fabulous day of feasting that is known to us all as ‘wear your fat pants day’, I have to keep a little bit of simplicity on my list for my own good.

(Enter, Pecan Sticky Buns) Super simple, super tasty, super toss-in-your-purse-able (as long as you put them in a bag or wrapper. Because if you don’t, well, that’s gross.)You can even make these on Tuesday or Wednesday, so that you are free to entertain or cook or plan your shopping trip.

With all of the guests and the green bean casseroles bouncing around, you will be glad to have something that takes little effort, but looks like a pastry chef appeared in your kitchen. Also, if you may possibly be one of the crazies who flits about the city in the wee morning hours of Black Friday (still wearing your fat pants) you will need something to sustain you as you stand in yet another line. Here, again, its good to have a plan — not just a map of the mall or aisle numbers at Kmart. You need to know what you are going to snack on so you don’t make that fifth Starbucks run and add on a breakfast sandwich and spend all of your holiday cash on lattes and ham and cheese biscuits.

Pecan Sticky Buns

What you need: muffin tin, cookie sheet, 2 tablespoons flour, rolling pin, either a stand mixer with a paddle attachment OR a mixing bowl and hand mixer. 400 degree oven.

1 package puff pastry dough from the freezer section by the pie crusts – thawed but not warm

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup pecan halves

Mix the following separately for filling…

2 tablespoons melted butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

Start by mixing the butter and sugar in your mixer/bowl. Drop a few pecans in each cup and top them with brown sugar-butter mixture. At this point, you only have butter, pecans and sugar in 12 little muffin cups. Not very impressive.

But wait. There’s more. Use your 2 tablespoons of flour to flour a clean flat surface. The puff pastry comes in two sheets. Roll them out one at a time with the folds going left to right. Don’t roll them super thin. Just enough to keep it together nicely instead of having clearly folded sections. Start on the second set of ingredients listed above.

Using your fingers or a pastry brush, cover this puff pastry with ½ of your melted butter. Sprinkle on brown sugar and cinnamon. *You may add additional nuts or raisins at this point if you feel like that is necessary.* Now roll this baby up. Starting with one edge, and moving your fingers back and forth across the length of the dough as you roll, as if you are playing the piano from one end of the keyboard to the other. Keep rolling until you have a nice little log of sugary cinnamony buttery pastry. Use a knife and cut in half. (Now you have two shorter logs) Cut each of the shorter logs in three equal parts – now you should have six pieces each about 1 ½ inches wide. Repeat this process with the second folded puff pastry (add a tiny bit more flour if you dough is sticking to the surface). Place each piece (there are 12 now) in a muffin cup spiral side up. They will look like smooshed little cinnamon rolls in muffin tins. And you will be happy about this.

For safety reasons, because you want to prevent fires, place the muffin pan on a cookie sheet before you put it in the oven. Bake these babies for 30 minutes. The buns will have turned a lovely golden color and will be firm to the touch. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes, then turn the muffin pan upside down and ease them out of the cups using a spoon. Let them finish cooling on to the cookie sheet or parchment paper.

Take a little time, before your hectic season begins, and think thankfully. Grab your coffee and your Bible (and a sticky bun, if you like) and think on the things of the Lord. Look, for just a while, at Psalm 100. Read it. Then read it again. Let the words take up residence in your thoughts as you go about your busy-ness. The Lord is good – and we are his.

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”