Crustless Quiche

For a long time I've made crustless quiche that we like pretty well, but I always thought it was a little dry.

I ran across another one this week that looked just a little different and thought I'd try it.

It was perfect!

Bacon Quiche

3 eggs

1-1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup biscuit/baking mix

Dash pepper

Bacon bits (equal to about 8 slices)

(I buy a bag of real bacon bits at Sam's that is super convenient.)

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a blender, combine eggs, milk and butter.

Add biscuit mix and pepper;

cover and process for 15 seconds.

Pour into a greased 9-inch pie plate.

Top with bacon and cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Twisted Cinnamon Pecan Breakfast Bread

I tried this recipe from online for Cinnamon Pecan Breakfast Bread, and it is delicious!

Rachelle's Last YO Concert 2013

Rachelle at last St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra concert.

She sat 8th chair, first violin. 

Beautiful St. Louis Powell Hall

LaRae drove home 6.5 hours to be there with us.
She is in summer session for a couple more weeks and then home for the summer!

Beautiful music is such a glorious gift from God.

My heart is grateful.

Pondering and Planting

I'm enjoying working in my flowers again now that warmer weather is finally settling in... well I hope it is! 

Many things are on my mind as I putter about the yard, weeding, planting, pruning, cleaning. I'm troubled about my beloved nation and the way many of our politicians are trying to take us. Below is an excellent read from a Hillsdale College prof. It is insightful and easy to grasp even if you are not well-versed in politics. There is so much misinformation espoused via mass media these days. I hope this helps someone see the truth. Feel free to pass it on!

By Burton Folsom
Charles Kline Professor of History and Management
Hillsdale Collegehttp://www.burtfolsom.com/

Students all over the country are graduating from college this month. Two commencement addresses at these graduations are worth noting because they illustrate the two major but very different visions for our country: first is the constitutional vision of limited government, and second is the statist vision that looks to government to solve problems.

Senator Ted Cruz presented the constitutional vision at Hillsdale College last Saturday. Cruz began by noting that most people in history have had very little freedom because they have lived under monarchies. The Founders broke that tradition. They declared independence from England and wrote a Constitution that enshrined the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These rights, the Founders argued, came from God, not government. Government was instituted to protect those natural rights that God has given every human being.

Cruz argued that the story of America is the story of liberty and prosperity that have flourished under the constitutional protection of limited government. The free market is, Cruz said, that “engine of prosperity.” He noted that the U.S. has 4.5% of the world’s population but produces 22% of the world’s output. And the American influence is even greater in entertainment, science, and the internet.

The freedom given to Americans has meant that many Americans have started poor and ended up rich; and other Americans were born into wealth, but have lost much of it during their lives. Freedom produces a churning effect. But Cruz likes what he called “opportunity conservatism,” the notion that public policy should look to ensuring that poor people always have the chance in a free society to work hard and improve their lives. Government often gets in the way of this. Therefore, government needs to be limited to keep it from harming those in society who are most vulnerable.

At Ohio State University, President Obama argued something quite different. He contended that government needs to be large and has done good things when it has been increased in size. To some extent he did a sleight of hand. He often mixed individual achievement and government achievement as though they were the same thing. What is accomplished under “self-government” is not at all the same as what is accomplished under “government.” “The Founders left us,” the president said, “the power to adapt to changing times. They left us the key to a system of self-government–the tool to do big and important things together that we could not possibly do alone.” That included, among other things, the president said, “To stretch railroads and electricity and a highway system across a sprawling continent. To educate our people. . . .”

The Constitution did not provide for government to do “important things together,” like building schools, railroads, electricity networks, or highways (except to deliver mail). Government, the Founders believed, should only be in the business of protecting liberty through national defense, the enforcement of contracts, and free elections. Private citizens invented and built railroads and discovered how to use electricity. Schools and highways were private or state functions. The federal government was given the power of protection, not the power of action within the economy.

In President Obama’s example of railroads stretching across the country, many people in the 1850s wanted those railroads to be entirely private. It was not a group effort of doing “important things together.” When some politicians proposed a federally built railroad across the country, southern states strongly opposed the idea. Only when they left the Union could Congress find the votes to build the road. The resulting Union Pacific Railroad proved to be an expensive disaster, and then it went broke. However, James J. Hill built the privately-constructed Great Northern Railroad with no federal subsidies; it never went broke and was built exceptionally well.

The president also used the example of education as an achievement of government. A key point here is that many politicians early in our history wanted to fund a national university, another “let’s do important things together” moment, but Congress would not pass the bill to set up the university because the Constitution did not allow it. “Self-government” never meant an intrusive government. Also, when we look at public or “government” education today, we often see the wisdom of our Founders in keeping it private.

If the United States is to continue as a beacon of liberty and a fount of prosperity, Senator Cruz argued the U.S. must have limited government. People inventing, creating, and helping other people is a better recipe for success than exchanging our freedom for bigger government, and then asking that bigger government “do big and important things together” that the Founders never intended it to do.

---

Burton Folsom is Charles Kline professor of history and management at Hillsdale College.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, and he is the author of seven books, including The Myth of the Robber Barons, and New Deal or Raw Deal? His most recent book isFDR Goes to War, which he co-authored with his wife Anita.

LaRae's Concerto Performances

First performance... Thursday evening
Curt gave LaRae roses.

Aunt Carma, Aunt Dorinda, Grandma Ferguson, Aunt Rachel and Uncle Keith were all able to come for the second performance on Friday night.

Making her way out onto the stage...

Almost time to start...

Ready... set... 

Uncle Keith gave her flowers the second night... :)

My parents wanted to be there, but the trip is not easy on them.

We missed you, Daddy and Mother, but we know your hearts were with us.

Songs that Shaped My Life #3

Be Still

 Be still and know that I am God

I'm right here by your side

Be still and know that I am God

And in My love abide

So few of you

Stop

To hear the birds

Stop

To smell the fragrance

In the air

My kingdom is

Within you

Be still

And find Me there

My peace

I've given you

My child

The world would steal it away

So seek my face

And read my Word

Then listen and obey

So few of you

Stop

To hear the birds

Stop

To smell the fragrance

In the air

My kingdom is

Within you

Be still

And find Me there

Oh be still

Be still

Be still

I'll meet you there

~Evie Karlsson

Songs that Shaped My Life #2

Let My Life Be A Picture

Lord of light

Create in me

A reflection of yourself

so that you

can freely work

and truly shine through me

shine through me

Let my life be a picture of You

Let my life be a picture of You

Let me be a letter written by Your hand

For the world to read

and to see

and to feel

and to know

You live, live in me

Holy Spirit

grant in me

the fruit of love

Joy, patience, self-control

the life of Christ in me

Christ in me

Let my life be a picture of You

Let my life be a picture of You

Let me be a letter written by Your hand

For the world to read

and to see

and to feel

and to know

You live, live in me

Live in me

Oh, Lord

~Evie Karlsson

 

Songs that Shaped My Life: #1

Give Up Yourself

 Every man has his beliefs

His own point of view

On everything from big to small

Some of them we must defend

With everything we've got

Some of them don't matter much at all

You can speak out every time

You think that you are right

Hold your ground until the end

You can rattle tooth and nail

In each and every fight

And you might even lose some friends

But when you give up yourself

You are strong as a man can be

It's the hardest thing that you will ever do

When you give up yourself

The world will clearly see

Lord Jesus walking next to you

Lord Jesus walking hand in hand with you

When you give up your pride

And make those conflicts cease

Some folks may laugh and call you weak

But it takes strength to be the one who makes the peace

And it takes courage to be meek

When you give up yourself

You are strong as a man can be

It's the hardest thing that you will ever do

When you give up yourself

The world will clearly see

Lord Jesus walking next to you

Lord Jesus walking hand in hand with you

~Chris Christian

An Exciting Week

Rachelle got the final word from her first-choice college that the scholarship she needed was awarded, and now we are packing to go hear LaRae play her violin on two concerts later this week.

She will be perform Saint-Saens's 3rd concerto, first movement.

Much to our delight, she was one of the winners of the college concerto competition that took place back in January, and so she'll be accompanied by the college orchestra.

Hope you are having a wonderful week too!

Our Baby and College--It's Official Now!

These two munchkins are officially going to get to be together for the next two years while LaRae finishes up her junior and senior year at college and Rachelle begins her first two years. It's official as of today! Rachelle will happily join her big sis this fall. They are both very, very happy. Curt and I are happy for them. : )

We are overwhelmed with gratitude for their diligence and dedication. They have applied their minds to study, prepared themselves as best they knew how, and have already begun to reap the benefits. We are grateful their commitment to prepare themselves for life is based in personal accountability to and trust in Jesus Christ. That takes away any fear about the future. 

Thank You, Abba for Your help over these unforgettable years. Our precious treasures will both be in Your hands now. We trust them to Your care since we cannot be with them like we always have. We pray You will guide them around the pitfalls, the landmines, and may You use them to show Your goodness, Your beauty, and Your love.

Baked Cheddar Chicken

Oh, wow! I tried a new recipe last night and was it ever tasty! It probably isn't on any diet menu, but I'd say it's worth a one-time splurge every now and then! ;)

Cheddar Chicken

16 buttery crackers (such as Ritz, crushed) about 3/4 cup
6 oz. sharp cheddar, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4  6-oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I only had boneless, skinless thighs, and they worked fine.)
4 T. unsalted butter, melted

Heat oven to 350.
Place crackers, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender and blend well.
Melt butter in a dish and dip chicken in butter first. Then dip it in the cracker mixture, pressing gently to help it adhere, then place on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle any remaining cracker mixture on the chicken and drizzle with any remaining butter. Bake until chicken is golden brown and cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes.

Enjoy!