On Skillet Cookies, Husbands, and Learning to Speak Sourdough

Hey folks, let’s chat…How’s it going? It’s a gorgeous day here in northeast Louisiana as I sit here writing to you from the back porch, albeit a tad chilly. (Here’s a screen shot, and I mean that literally. If the picture is fuzzy, blame it on said screen.) We always have a cold snap around Easter and this year is no different. The beloved farmer is working in the yard because we got a light rain and he can’t sit still.   Can you find him on the mower in the far right of this pic, just down the hill?

 

 

And Beaux and Hank are hanging nearby, hoping there may be treats ahead. (I’m on to them.)

 

 

Other than the predictable cold snap, this Good Friday is remarkably different than those we’ve known before. Can I get an amen? I’ve lost count of how many days we’ve been social distancing now, but it’s more than a few and we’re not through. When it’s all said and done, our world will have changed in ways we couldn’t have foreseen. Some of those changes will be good. Others not so much.

As for me and mine, we’re building our today and our tomorrow on the One constant—Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. (Hebrews 13:8).  By the way, I appreciate those of you who’ve been sharing the Holy Week Bible Study with me during these last days. It’s been a joy to do these Eight Days with Jesus along with you.  My goal for this strange season of social distancing has been to come out of it a stronger believer, a closer follower, and a better person, than I was before it. Writing that Bible Study for you has been a part of that goal.

I’ve also been challenging myself to do new things, to learn new skills, which brings me to some storytelling…

Come and listen to a story about the kind of thing you’ll do that you’ve never done when you’re sheltering in place… 

For starters, you might convince yourself it’s a good idea to learn to make homemade bread like your big sister — even though you have never made such bread, ever, never, you don’t have a clue, and you don’t speak sourdough. 

Reasons you’ll share the process…

1. Because you think one reason you’re on the earth is to make other people feel better about themselves, and you’re okay with that. 
2. Because sheltering in place has upsides and downsides and one of the downsides is the lack of shenanigans. We need more shenanigans. Consider this a #shenaniganreport 

Things you’ll remember about yourself during the process

1. You have issues with math and science and bread-making seems to involve both.
2. You had promised yourself you wouldn’t get any more pets right now because Beaux and Hank already suck the air out of that department and you have to feed your bread, regularly even, when you thought it was going to be the other way around.
3. You will mistakenly buy rapid yeast because no one told you the recipe requires original yeast and you do everything in your life rapidly, so the purchase is kinda automatic and now here you are, all geared up with the wrong yeast.
4. You won’t appreciate it when Sister Expert laughs at you for not speaking sourdough and you have to “test” the original yeast you find in the pantry (how did that get in there?) because it’s out of date, just to see if it bubbles, and when it doe bubble against all odds, you will remember how much you like to dance, so you will.

I offer you random screenshot shares from the early A.M call with Sister Expert.

 

 

 

I have now officially fed this animal once and I have to feed it again Tuesday before I can even attempt stage two of this bread making premiere—the actual bread.

Standby for news…

I may or may not become a bread-maker, the jury is still out on that one, but I do know how to cook things that don’t require you to hold your mouth right. I offer you my Skillet Cookie recipe! Or, I should say, one of my skillet cookie recipes. I’m sure there is already a version of this buried on the website. I make this a hundred different ways…

Husband Loving Skillet Cookie

Ingredients

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (that equals about two packages before you crush them.)
½ cup unsalted butter
2 cups chocolate chips, choose your flavor (I used a cup each of dark chocolate and caramel in this batch)
1 cup coconut
½ cup sweetened condensed milk

Melt your butter in a cast iron skillet. Add graham cracker crumbs, stir, and spread to make a crust. In a mixing bowl, add chocolate chips and coconut. Pour over crust. Drizzle the top with sweetened condensed milk and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

I did a video tutorial of how to whip it up on Facebook Live and then I added it to my Youtube channel, so—you have any number of ways to scan it. Enjoy!

 

Let’s see, in other news…after much ado from yours truly the Finding Deep and Wide Study Aids are now available! You can find the details and the purchasing information here.

And here’s a little video announcement.

 

That’s it for now. I’ll see y’all later if the Good Lord’s willing and the Creek doesn’t rise. 

Hugs,
Shellie