Dinner With the In-Laws

Every Sunday when the boys were young it was much the same: -Church worship and service 

-Make a simple dish to share 

-Dinner at the in-laws 

-Relish in how lucky I felt… 

The weeks felt long in this stage of life. Everything I accomplished seemed to get undone; clean laundry and dishes became dirty again, floors and bathrooms needed re-scrubbed, groceries purchased were eaten and full children became hungry again.  My life seemed to be a consequential replay of the days, hours and even minutes past. 

However, Sunday was my reprieve. Spiritual nourishment and church, was followed by physical nourishment at my in-laws. My mother-in-law always made the most delicious comfort food. My sister-in-law and I each contributed an inconsequential side dish or dessert. The conversation was light and entertaining. The food was amazing. And truly the company I kept left me feeling super blessed that I was lucky to be where I was, with the people I was blessed to call family. 

My in-laws were always quietly supportive; never judgemental. Through their Christlike example, they taught me how to treat others. We had somewhat different backgrounds and beliefs. But as we gathered, our common goals of humanity and family expanded my understanding of Christlike love. 

One Sunday I was attempting a new recipe from a friend of Apple Pie Bars. The prep work of peeling and thinly slicing apples and making a flaky crust with precision and care took me hours. Gratefully my husband entertained the boys as I worked uninterrupted. I placed the large jelly roll size dessert in the oven. In 40 minutes we would need to be loaded up and en route up the road to my in-laws’ home. I checked on my dessert often and began to worry as the sugary apple mixture boiled up over the edges and fell onto the bottom of my oven and heating element. My oven would be a mess, but the apple pie bars were beginning to look and smell nearly done.

I helped to gather shoes and jackets and ready the boys for Grandma’s house. Grandpa owned it too, but it was always referred to as Grandma’s house. Certainly, she was the heart of the home and all who entered felt her unconditional love.  My last-minute preparations were interrupted by billowing smoke from my oven. I opened the door to flames. I quickly tried to remember my childhood 4-H lesson on kitchen fires and grabbed some salt to try and extinguish the flames. I scattered a handful of salt on the bottom of the oven where the sugary spillover had caused quite a mess. Thermodynamic airflow sent salt throughout the oven and covered the top of my potentially delicious Apple Pie Bars that I had spent all afternoon making!

I gasped in horror! They were ruined. My oven was a mess and my home- foggy with smoke. I turned around to my motionless family.  “Get in the car!” I snapped. “We don’t want to be late.” I grabbed a brownie mix on my way out of the door and we headed to the In-Laws for dinner.

Gathered around the table, we all had a good laugh as I recounted the dessert sitting on my back patio sticky and salty… No one complained at the brownie mix dessert. Sunday dinner with the In-Laws was most certainly the highlight of my week. These were good people; Christlike people. Even in my adulthood, I was still learning to emulate His ways…  His love…  His steps in humanity to all as I witnessed others around me doing the same. I was surrounded by brightness, hope, and unconditional love… Enough to give me wings for a time as I tried a little harder to be a little better as a mom, wife, and friend to all I encountered in my week.

-JC

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies

1 cup soft butter
1 ⅔  cups granulated sugar
2 XL eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾  cup sour cream
2 teaspoons red gel food dye
3 Tablespoons cocoa
3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾  teaspoon baking soda
¾  teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium high for 1 minute or until fluffy. Hand stir in eggs, vanilla and sour cream.  Stir in cocoa and red dye. Don’t overmix. Add dry ingredients all at once and mix until fully incorporated. Add 5+ Tablespoons more flour for high elevation. Refrigerate dough for 3 hours. Scoop out 36 2” balls of dough.  Roll slightly. Flatten to 3/8 inch high. Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes depending on size. Cool. Frost. Let set. Share!

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces softened cream cheese
½  cup soft butter
1 Tablespoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
Dash of salt

Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla, powdered sugar and salt. Mix until fluffy. Spoon into freezer strength Ziploc until ready to use.

-JC