BATTLE, Game On, and my Shrimp and Corn Chowder

Hey y’all! I spoke at the BATTLE conference in West Monroe, LA recently with a host of Jesus loving women.Miss Kay Robertson wasn’t able to join us for this pic but she was on the program for the big day, and the crowd just adored her message that was filled with wisdom and humor!

I’ll be sharing a recording of the message I brought a little later in today’s show.

We’ll be making corn and shrimp chowder before we’re done, here, and of course, I’ll have some closing devotional thoughts. But, first, let’s chat…

BATTLE was all about equipping women of God to wage war against the enemy who is relentlessly coming after our families, so I thought I’d share a kid story—and surprise, surprise for you regulars—it won’t star my grands, the Fabulous Five. Not this time. My sister told me a cute one on her grandson.

It had been a long day of fun in the sun, and Rhonda was now intent on tucking her visiting grandson in for the night. Seven-year-old Cotton, however, was determined to buy as much extra time as he could. You know the routine. Prayers had been said, books had been read, hugs and kisses had been exchanged, and Cotton was still brainstorming. He had been up to potty and he had called Rhonda back to the room more than once when he made yet another plea for water.

Rhonda didn’t budge from her chair in the living room. Instead she called out to him that he’d had enough water and he had better go to sleep. Cotton was sure he was dying of thirst. Rhonda was confident that he would live. Finally, silence fell for a few seconds. Rhonda thought just maybe Cotton had fallen asleep, until he called out, again.

“Nana?”

“Yes, Cotten?”

“I’m cold.”
“No, you’re not, Cotten Parker, and I’m not getting back up. Go to sleep.”

“But, Nana,” Cotton said. “I’m really cold. I promise. Would you turn off the ceiling fan?”

As any good grandmother would, Rhonda softened. She hated to think of the child being cold all night. Sighing, she got up and went back to the bedroom, turned off the fan, told Cotten goodnight again, and was leaving the room when Cotton called her name again, “Nana?”

Rhonda paused. “Yes, Cotten?”
“Since you’re up,” young Cotton replied, “could you get me some water?”

They’re good, y’all. We’ve got to be on our game.

BUMPER

Message from BATTLE *I don’t transcribe these sound files. You can listen by hitting the link below, or my subscribing (it’s FREE!) to my All Things Southern podcast on iTunes.

BUMPER

A Taste of the South

Welcome back to the kitchen, y’all!  The temps are dropping a bit, (slowly here in northeast LA), but they’re dropping, and it’s time to pull out our soup recipes. I’m putting on my Corn and Shrimp Chowder for supper. I do so love me a good chowder, which is simply a thicker, chunkier version of soup, think stew, only I usually consider stew the place for my red meats, and chowder the home for my seafood. Let’s do this thing.

Corn ad Shrimp Chowder

2 tablespoons butter
½ bag of seasoning blend (onions, celery, bell pepper)
¾ to 1 cup hash browns
¾ to 1 cup corn
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
A couple bay leave
Paprika to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp

We’ll begin my melting two tablespoons of butter in our cast iron skillet and sautéing a half bag of seasoning blend, that’s onions, celery and bell pepper, already diced up for you! And no, I don’t buy the stuff by the case, but I should.

Now, once our onions are clear we’ll stir in our hash browns and corn. Then we’ll stir in our 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and slowly add our liquids, a quart of milk and a cup of heavy cream. Toss in a couple bay leaves and bring this to a boil. Then we’ll uncover it, reduce the heat, and let it simmer until our potatoes are soft. That’s when we’ll add in a pound of deveined shrimp and let it all continue to cook until our shrimp are pink and no longer opaque. It’s time to sprinkle with a bit of paprika, remove those bay leaves, and get after it!

Hint, if you like a smoother chowder, just take a cup or two out, puree it and return it to the pot! Enjoy!

BUMPER

Southern Comfort

Does anyone remember the sweet old hymn, “I Come to the Garden Alone”? I was sitting on the dock early one morning recently when I rewrote the opening to that old favorite…

I come to the lake bank alone,
while around me the world 
He is waking 
and the voice I hear, 
falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.
And He walks with me, 
and He talks with me,
and He tells me I am His own,
and the joy we share 
as we tarry there,
none other 
has ever known.

As a little girl I remember wondering why the writer was the only one who had ever experienced such a thing.
From my middle-aged experience, I understand that what she shared with her Jesus was uniquely theirs.

He is personal.

He is mine.

But, He can also be yours. He loves you.

Oh, my apologies to the author for altering the lyrics of that old favorite but if you’re over the age of, what, 35 maybe— you sang it with me. You couldn’t help it. I’m right, aren’t I?

That’s it for this week, y’all. Hope to see you next time, right here on All Things Southern. This is Shellie with hugs for all~

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