Spring has sprung!

Finally warmer weather is making it's appearance known in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. What makes the warmer weather even better is the fact our back yard has been revamped by a good friend. The yard looks new with fresh bark dust, nicely mown grass and no weeds to be seen. What a difference a little hard work makes in making a back yard presentable.

The warmer weather makes me want to spend more time outside reading a book (yes, even in the cooler weather) with a glass of wine or soda sitting on the table. Or even tossing the tennis balls for the Tori dog to play with.

With Spring comes allergies, the desire to do some deep cleaning and finally putting away of the Christmas decorations and taking down the Christmas tree. Yes, mine is still up with all the decorations in the lower living area. Since we don't use this room, it was logical to just leave it up.

Also with the Spring comes the desire to make new things in the kitchen and I'm ready to try and make some of those new recipes I've been wanting to make for quite some time. Developing new cookies has become kind of a hobby especially since I supply the gun club with cookies for sale. I've been working on my molasses cookie and think its finally perfected and ready for publishing. So here it is.

Have a great Spring and don't work too hard cleaning. Take time to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the glorious surroundings God has given us to look at.
Molasses Ginger Surprise cookies
3/4 cup softened butter
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Cream the above until light and fluffy.

Add 3/4 cup molasses and incorporate this into the creamed mixture.

Add 4 cups flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 package of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix until all is incorporated. Drop by spoonfuls or use an ice cream scoop. After placing the cookies on cookie sheets, refrigerate until firm. This takes a few hours. I usually put all the cookies on one sheet and then when they are firm, move them to parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10-12 minutes until the centers of the cookies are set. This makes about 22 very large cookies or about 4 dozen normal sized cookies.

Happy Easter!!!! Growing up, my mother had a habit of dressing my sister and I alike at Easter time. She also did that to my two younger sister. We'd get home sewn dresses in different colors, wear wristlet gloves and hair bands in our hair. In the mornings, we'd get up to find a small chocolate rabbit waiting for us. We'd then troop to church in our finery. After church, it was time to go to my grandmother's house for a big banquet consisting of ham, potatoes, salads and all the fixins. My grandmother would then hide Easter Eggs around the house and if nice outside around the yard as well. Then all the kids would go hunting for all the Easter eggs. What fun we had finding those eggs. When we reached our teens, we got to hide the Easter eggs for our smaller siblings and then watch them as they hunted for those elusive Easter eggs.

Times certainly have changed. I still try to get a chocolate bunny for my kids or whoever is staying with us and then the last few years, I've been making a big breakfast for our church crew consisting of the singers, production crew and staff. I pull out all the stops and make it special. These people are giving of themselves to serve our church and so I make sure to give them something special by serving them. This year, I'm making egg enchiladas and oatmeal.

When I was younger, I served my church by playing keyboard, but now I serve in a different way by cooking for the staff and crew. The egg enchiladas are a new recipe and one that looks good so this is what I'm sharing with you. It doesn't matter whether you have a big banquet or breakfast, or even go out to dinner, as long as you celebrate Easter by serving the One who gave His life for us - Jesus Christ.

May you have a blessed Easter and put your trust and faith into Jesus who gave his life for us.

Egg Enchiladas

12 eggs
2/3 cup half and half
1 pound sausage
1 cup diced onions
1 Jalopeano pepper
1/2 cup diced red and green pepper

3 cups whole milk
2 cups shredded cheese
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour

12 enchiladas

Cook the vegetables until tender. In a separate bowl beat eggs with the half and half and add to the vegetables. Cook on low heat until the eggs are set and done. Add the cooked sausage.

Make the sauce by melting the butter and mixing in the flour. Cook out the flour until the raw taste is gone. Add the whole milk and cook until thickened. This is a basic rue. Add the shredded cheese and take off the heat.

Assemble the enchiladas by putting some of the scrambled egg mixture on the enchilada with 1/3 cup of the sauce. Roll the tortilla and place in a 8 x 13 baking dish. Once all the egg mixture is gone, cover the tortillas with the remaining sauce and bake until the mixture is heated through. Serves 12 people. Of course use salt and pepper to taste.