Sunday Dinner

Years ago, we ate out every Sunday afternoon. At that time, I had 2 children, and somehow I just thought that cooking while getting ready for church was just too hard! I really got convicted as I began to think about all the workers that I forced to work on the Lord's Day, even as I was leaving the Lord's house myself, on to a liesurely afternoon at home. I found that with just a little effort and planning, I could do whatever I wanted to do. Now I have 4 children to get ready, plus a Sunday School lesson to prepare, plus a husband who's preoccupied getting himself and his preaching message ready, and still, I manage to cook the most special meal of our week on Sunday. I look at it as a way of serving the Lord and my family, and it is not a burden to me at all. In fact, as the years have passed, the Lord has helped me to learn how to reverence His entire day. We rarely leave the house on Sunday afternoons, though sometimes our family and friends get a little irritated with us. We have found that the Lord really knew what He was doing when He set aside one day per week for His children to not only meditate on Him, but also to literally rest. I, for one, do my best sleeping on Sunday afternoons.

Here is what I prepared today:

Creamy Italian Crockpot Chicken

1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
2 envelopes Italian salad dressing mix (Good Seasons)
1/2 c. water

Put chicken in the crockpot and sprinkle with dressing mix; add water. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Lay out 2 8-oz. blocks of cream cheese to reach room temperature.

When arrive home from church, mix the softened cream cheese with 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, and 2 4-oz. cans of mushrooms (stems and pieces, drained). Stir these into the chicken and cook on high for 30 minutes while preparing the rest of the meal. Serve over rice. Serves 6-8


All you need to add is a quick salad, veggie, and/or bread, and your meal is complete!

For dessert, here is my own recipe that I call "Strawberry Manna". It is wonderful when fresh strawberries are in abundance.

Strawberry Manna

2 1/4 c. cake flour (Swan's Down)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. softened butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 qt fresh strawberries, washed, stems removed, crushed, and divided (mashed, yields about 1 1/2 to 2 c.)

Glaze:
strawberries
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. melted butter
3/4 tsp. vanilla.

Preheat oven to 350. In seperate bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking powder. In mixing bowl, combine butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat for 3 minutes. Then add flour mixture and 1 c. of the crushed strawberries, alternating as you add. When all flour and strawberries are added, beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour batter into greased 9 x 13 pan, and bake for about 35 minutes. Let cool while at church.

After cooled, prepare glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and remaining strawberries (about 3/4 c.). Spread evenly over cake. So delicious! Store in refrigerator.

And remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail! The Creation account in Genesis, when speaking of 6 actual days of divine creation, lays out the days as follows: "And the evening and the morning were the first [second, third, etc.] day." From this, I learned that my successful Sunday actually begins on Saturday night. The small sacrifices I make are always rewarded with true rest from the Kind Creator who thought to give us one day off each week.

"The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath" Mark 2:27