The Power Of Prayer

You know, they say that hope and faith is everything. It is our foundation and what keeps us going when we have to weather a storm that we feel is so huge we can't possibly survive. Sometimes when the storm is too much for us to bear, we lose sight of the hope and faith that will pull us through.

Those are the times that we need to go to God and ask him to help us find it. And it is then that you realize how helpless you really are. It is then that we are reminded that we are talking to the almighty. The all powerful. The alpha and omega. The one that created oceans and mountains and all of life. He is the creator of you and all that is around you. He is the beginning and the end. He is the very hope and faith that has taken us through every storm. There is nothing he can't do. There is no storm so big he can't handle. He is the hope and faith that carries us through.

I need hope and faith right now. I need a miracle. I need your prayers more than ever. I need one huge circle of prayer to get me through a massive storm and I am asking all of you to talk to God with me. I know he heard your prayers before. I know he listened and performed a miracle right here at Welcome Home that we still don't understand when Katie got so sick the last time and prayers brought her out of it with no explanation. So I know he heard all of you.

My Storm....

My little Katie, has been given only about a year to live. We knew all along she had a small heart murmur but have been told for years not to worry as it is something that is common in dogs. We would watch it closely and make sure that it never caused any problems. Never once did anyone suggest we find out what caused it. Until yesterday. When she started breathing so hard and could not make it up the stairs. I took her to the vet immediately and they ran tests. And these words .... "Heart disease. Dangerously enlarged. Irreversible damage, about one year to live if we work hard at prolonging her life with medications."

Those words will not leave my mind. They will not let me sleep or eat or function as a normal human being. They play over and over again in my head and I can't get rid of them. I am in complete shock. A train hit me head on when I didn't see it coming. They came out of nowhere and they won't leave me alone. They are swallowing up all my hope and faith and killing my very soul. To say devastated is an under statement right now. She is my life and my joy. She is my only family. My love and my soul mate. She is my life.

And I am weak. I need hope and faith and love and comfort and all that goes with the armor to weather a storm this large. But most of all I need your prayers for a miracle. I know it is possible. I witnessed it just in May of this year when Katie couldn't walk and no one knew why. We watched her get up one morning and run and play when none of the doctors could figure it all out. We called it a Welcome Home miracle. And that is what I am asking for again.

Please pray for me and my baby girl, Katie. You all know her from here at Welcome Home. And if you know me you know she is my life and my joy....my everything. I need hope in knowing Katie will be okay and God can carry us both through this storm. And I need faith to know he will. I need to be reminded doctors don't know everything....but God does. And God can move mountains.

And when he hears all our prayers for this precious little girl and a woman who loves her more than life, he will.

Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass

I love Chilean Sea Bass. It is the filet mignon of fish.  It’s the most incredibly delicious and uniquely buttery fish I have ever tasted. There’s simply nothing else quite like it.

 The first time I ever tasted it was on a vacation in Las Vegas 10 years ago.  I was looking over the menu at a nice seafood restaurant and couldn't decide what to order.  The waiter suggested the pan seared Chilean Sea bass.  I had never heard of it and I was a little reluctant.  That's when he promised that if I didn't absolutely love it, he would give me dinner on the house that night. He was that sure.  So I said, okay why not.  When it came on a beautifully garnished plate, I was immediately curious.  It looked so good.  And then I took a bite. My taste buds exploded!  The flavor was incredible.  I couldn't put down my fork.  

I would like to say it's like sweet buttery crab because of its most and tender texture. But it's not.  I would like to say it's like lobster because its so buttery.  But it's not.  Maybe a cross between both of those flavors but really unlike any other fish you will ever taste.  

Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass

2 pounds of Chilean Sea bass filets
4 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of fresh dill, chopped
Light sprinkling of Old Bay Seasoning (optional)

Pat the fish filets dry with a paper towel. You want to absorb most of the moisture.  Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat until oil begins to ripple and smoke lightly. You want your skillet very hot to sear the skin of the fish.

Fry the fish skin side down for about 5 minutes until crisp and brown. Carefully flip the fish over and sear for about 3 minutes or until lightly golden.   Fish will flake nicely when done.  Sprinkle with a little parsley and serve!  Delicious! 

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home

Haddock with Lemon Cream Sauce with Capers

I love fresh mild white fish in a rich creamy sauce and there's nothing like adding a few capers to brighten it all up. Capers add add a wonderful flavor to any chicken or fish dish.  I use Star Fine Foods Capers when I want to brighten  a lot of my sauces because they are the perfect little ingredient to liven up your dish.   Add them to your chicken or fish and to any sauce for a nice touch to any savory sauce.

Haddock with Lemon Cream Sauce with Capers

1 fillet of mild white fish, such as haddock, halibut or cod

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

5 tablespoons dry white wine or chicken stock

2 tablespoons Star Fine Food Capers, drained

1 finely chopped scallion

1/3 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

The juice of 1/2 lemon

Melt the butter and the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Salt and pepper filet and add to skillet searing for about 3-4 minutes on both sides until lightly brown.  Remove from pan and set aside.

In the same skillet, add flour to the melted oil and butter and whisk to remove lumps. Add wine or chicken stock and stir until slightly thickened. Add in heavy cream and continue to stir over medium heat until sauce thickens.  If you want to thin the sauce add more cream as needed.  Reduce the heat to low.

  Remove sauce from heat and add the lemon juice, capers, scallions 

  and salt and pepper to taste.  Pour sauce over fish and serve.

Photographs are the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home.

 

This is a keeper my friends! You can buy the capers at Costco, Stater Brothers Markets, Smart & Final, Bashas, Albertsons (So. Cal) and online at http://bit.ly/STARcapers.

Star Fine Foods now has a promo code for all Welcome Home fans that will give you a 10% discount on anything you order online. Just enter WELCOMEHOME10 at checkout!




Disclaimer: I have an ongoing relationship with STAR Fine Foods for my recipes and photography using their wonderful products. This post is sponsored by STAR. I am compensated for my time and work and I am sent products as I request them. However, all opinions of the product stated in this post are 100% my own. I truly love their products!  

Thick and Creamy Pumpkin Soup

There's a nip in the air this morning and it feels like fall.  And I instantly
begin to crave Pumpkin soup!  And not just any pumpkin soup...I make mine with just a hint of sweetness to go with that savory wonderful pumpkin flavor.   This soup just spells out comfort!   

Thick and Creamy Pumpkin Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
6 cups vegetable stock
2/3 cups applesauce
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon ground sage
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 (15-ounce) cans pumpkin
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup heavy cream

 Heat a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Add the diced onion, apples and salt. Saute until onions are translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, applesauce, white pepper, sage, thyme and nutmeg. Bring to a boil and cook until apples are very tender, about 5 more minutes.

Add the pumpkin and brown sugar and cook for 10 – 15 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly for about 5 minutes. Next, using a blender, puree the soup on high until it's smooth. I like to leave a little chunkiness to mine.  When using the blender, add only some of the soup at a time and not all at once to avoid hot spill overs.  Or use an immersion blender. 

Add the heavy cream to the soup and heat through over very low heat.  I like my soup very thick but you  can add more cream if you like your soup thinner. Remove from heat and serve. 

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home.

The new October issue of the Welcome Home Online Magazine is here!

The new October issue of the Welcome Home Online Magazine is here! This is the beautiful fall issue, where you'll find some of my best recipes yet!

This is a wonderful online Internet Magazine that you can view on your computer, laptop, cell phone, kindle, or any other device you have access to the Internet. These are recipes that I share only with subscribers to the magazine so you have never seen any of them before.

Subscribe today and get 400+ never before seen recipes and an additional 20-30 new recipes each month for this coming year. If you are a true Welcome Home fan and love my recipes, this is the place to go.

Click here for more information:

http://www.welcome-home-blog.net/p/my-store.html

Autumn Pumpkin Roll

As soon as I see my first pumpkins in the fall, I immediately think of making pumpkin rolls.  Everyone loves them and they make a gorgeous presentation.  I make them ahead of time and freeze them to give as gifts to friends and family.  They just say autumn don’t they?  What could be better than a moist and spongy cake rolled around a creamy filling of sweet cream cheese and topped with the perfect amount of whipped up cinnamon spiced whipped cream?

Autumn Pumpkin Roll

Cake

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs

2/3 cup mashed (canned) pumpkin

Filling

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Line a 15 X 10-inch jelly roll pan (a cookie sheet with sides).  Next cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit the pan leaving an inch or so to overhang on each end of the pan. Then lightly grease the parchment paper, including the sides of the pan.

Make the cake:  Mix the sugar, flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, eggs and pumpkin in a large bowl. Once mixed, pour mixture over the waxed paper. Bake for 14-15 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched.

Arrange a large but thin, clean damp cotton kitchen towel on the counter. Do not use a regular dish towel that might leave impressions or fibers in your cake. I like using a tea towel. Make sure the towel is only damp and not wet.  Spread a thick dusting of powdered sugar all over the towel. 

Next turn the baked cake upside down on the towel so the parchment paper is on the top. Gently peel off the paper, being careful not to tear the roll. While the cake is still hot, roll the the cake up in the towel, starting at one of the short ends.  Let cake sit in the towel on a cooling rack until completely cool.

Make your filling:  Mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together until it is light and creamy. Set aside.

Once the roll is cool, unroll it from the towel and carefully spread your filling in an even layer over the cake.

Next, roll the cake up again without the towel and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about an hour before serving.

   Cinnamon Spiced Whipped Cream 

    1 cup heavy cream

    2 tablespoons sugar

    1 teaspoon cinnamon

    1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

    Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar,    

    cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat until stiff peaks form.  Top Pumpkin

    roll with a dollop or pipe on as I did.

Photograph is copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home.