Have you seen that insurance commercial on TV that ends with, “Life comes at you fast”? Over these past 6 days life came at me fast! And as I was juggling the various challenges being thrown my way, I came across this scripture in my daily reading. “Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.” Luke 12:22-26 And the very next scripture I read, “Be strong and courageous, Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 And if I wasn’t convinced my third scripture read, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
God is so good. He provides just what I need when I need it. So, I tell you all that to say this, I didn’t have time to tend to my blog this week. Normally, I would have stressed over the desire to write even when there was no time. The Lord knows me so well and by Tuesday of this crazy week – the internet at our home went down. Yes it did. Completely. Nothing. No blogging, no email, no Facebook. Nothing. What a great way to take that would-be stress away from me. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t going to have time to write – I couldn’t do anything with it anyway. Whew, that relieved a lot of stress and my week is ending on a high note. And that note, all the time God is good to me! Thank you Lord for taking down the internet at just the right time 🙂
Since writing last Monday several of you have sent in your Thanksgiving comments. Our friend and reader Cheryl writes:
I’m thankful for
1. Presence of God in my life
2. My family
3. Good health
4. Good friends
Thank you Cheryl for sharing with us this Thanksgiving. I hope more of you will write in and we will continue to share those thoughts throughout this month! As I write tonight it is Veterans Day, 2011. I am so thankful for those men and women who have fought and who are fighting today for the very freedoms I enjoy living in the United States.
One month ago: Topsy Turvy Apple Pie
Today’s recipe is one of my very favorite things to make — Cream Puffs! Even though my mom and I have been making cream puffs for many years, the recipe I am sharing comes straight from my Grandma Paulsen. Here is what she wrote on the recipe card, “I generally take them to Golden Age Club, and when I do I make a dozen and the first 12 in line gets them!” Grandma’s cream puffs have her “secret” filling and that makes them very special. Luckily for us, I know the secret and I am sharing it with you! This being the pumpkin season I made a wonderful pumpkin filling for these puffs! Yummmmy!!! Click HERE for Grandma’s original recipe card.
- 1 cup Boiling water
- ½ cup Butter or Margarine
- 1 cup All-purpose Flour
- 4 Eggs
- 8 oz Cool Whip
- 1 packet Vanilla Instant Pudding
- 1 cup Milk
- ½ cup Pumpkin puree, canned
- Powdered Sugar
- Frosting
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Bring water to a boil, add 1 stick of margarine or butter. Stirring to melt butter.
- When butter is melted, add flour and stir vigorously until the dough pulls away from the pan and forms a ball. Remove from stove and cool for a few minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating mixture well to incorporate each egg. This part can be done with a hand mixer, Kitchen aid or food processor, if you prefer. Dough should be well mixed and silky smooth.
- Drop dough onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. The paper will keep the cream puff from sticking to the cookie sheet. Greasing a cookie sheet doesn't work well as it makes the bottom of the cream puffs too greasy. This recipe will make 12 large cream puffs or 24 smaller puffs.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake until golden brown and puffed, about 40 minutes for the large cream puffs and 30 to 35 minutes for the smaller ones. - Cool cream puffs, then using a serrated knife slice off the top. Spoon out any eggy-stuff still inside.
At this point you can frost the top, if you choose. Put the top back on each cream puff so the tops don't get mixed up. - For the Filling:
Combine 1 cup milk with the instant pudding mix. Let set up for a few minutes. Stir in pumpkin and spices.
Gently fold pudding/pumpkin mixture into the cool whip. Once this is incorporated you can keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to use.
Fill each cream puff and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
(2) Filling can be made without the pumpkin, choosing any flavor of pudding, i.e. chocolate, butterscotch, vanilla.
(3) Can be stored in airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.
(4) Can be covered loosely and stored on the counter or in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days prior to use. If you store in airtight container they will get soggy. So just cover loosely.
(5) These puffs are also wonderful to use with chicken, tuna, or egg salad for a savory specialty.