Update: this contest is now over. I would like to thank everyone who joined and made this contest so much fun. I chose a winner using Random.org, and that winner is Sher Bowersox. Congratulations, Sher!
Today’s post is from my friend Sherry Gore. She’ll post here once each month. I know that you will enjoy getting to know her through her posts as much as I have enjoyed her friendship through the years. She has a beautiful magazine called Cooking & Such, as well as a cookbook called Taste of Pinecraft. You will find Sherry’s bio and a link to her website at the bottom of this blog.
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:31
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35
SARASOTA, FL
Sunnyside Amish Mennonite
March 12–The Sunnyside youth witnessed a traumatic event Friday night that has left many with sleepless nights. It was an incident none of them will forget for the rest of their lives.
A young man, about eighteen years old, was caught in a flash fire. Someone called 911, and a helicopter was instructed to land in the school field nearby. The field was nearly as bright as a stadium football field, red fire truck lights swirling in every direction. Shock waves surged through the crowd of youth who had just witnessed the scene as their beloved friend was air-lifted to Tampa General Regional Hospital.
During the evening service at church on Sunday, one of the young man’s friends shared his thoughts during the devotional. He expressed what many of the youth are likely feeling and saying, “Statistics show ten out of ten die. Each of us needs to be ready when God calls us home in that split second.”
Others in the community are pitching in to help where needed in a variety of ways. Every morning the injured young man’s brother takes a tally of how many they expect to eat at their home and makes a call to his aunt who lives locally. From there, meals are coordinated and delivered. Several youth girls cleaned his bedroom, did the wash, and shopped for special touches to make his and his brother’s home a cheery place to return to. Our youth don’t think twice about dipping into their pockets to help pay for such things, including bandages, medical tape, etc. It is the way of things.
Emma’s Village Pizza in Pinecraft donated the young man’s favorite pizza and taped a note on the box that read, “Get well soon!” The youth of the community created homemade cards and delivered them one night. Even those barely old enough to hold a crayon blessed him with homemade cards. The editor of the online newspaper, SarasotaPatch.com, called and asked, “What can the community do for the family? Please let us know.” The young man will likely be out of work for months. The youth group will have fundraisers–cars will be washed, and dinners will be made and offered for donation. Other ideas are developing and will be put into motion to help until he is back on his feet.
How comforting to know God promises to provide for our every need. What a privilege it is to be used by Him to help others in their time of affliction. Tomorrow, it may be us who are in need.
Here’s an easy recipe you can prepare spur of the moment or make ahead of time and freeze. These enchiladas from the summer issue of Cooking & Such magazine make a perfect supper to bring to a friend in need. It also happens to be one of my favorite dishes.
It is in this manner we can “Bear with one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galations 6:2
photo by Memories by Chris for Cooking & Such; Adventures in Plain Living magazine
Cheesy Rice and Bean Enchiladas
3 cups cooked rice
1 teaspoon salt
8 large flour tortillas
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese, divided
1 cup sour cream
1 cup sliced green onions, divided
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chilies, undrained
2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained or 3 cups re-fried beans made from scratch
1 cup salsa
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 cup diced seeded tomato
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped jalapenos (optional)
Cook rice according to directions. Cool completely. Wrap tortillas in dampened paper towels, then in foil. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until softened. Add 1 cup cheese, sour cream, 1/4 cup green onions, and chilies to rice; mix well. Spoon heaping 2/3 cup mixture down center of each warm tortilla. Roll up; place seam-side down in greased 13×9-inch baking dish. Partially mash beans with back of a wooden spoon or potato masher in medium bowl. Stir in salsa and garlic. Spoon evenly over enchiladas; cover with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup green onions, tomato, and cilantro.
Makes eight servings.
Giveaway
First, I would like to announce the results of last week’s giveaway! Thank you to everyone who participated! It was a lot of fun. The winner of an autographed copy of Plain Wisdom: An Invitation into an Amish Home and the Hearts of Two Women is Helen Miller. Congratulations, Helen!
If you would like to enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of Taste of Pinecraft, please leave a comment below!
If you are reading this anywhere other than my website, such as on Facebook or in an email, please hop on over to my website and leave a comment at the bottom of my post to enter the giveaway. Only comments left on my website will be entered into the giveaway. (It’s just too hard to track down all the comments left in various places, and that means it’s too easy to miss some of the comments.)
The deadline for this contest is Friday, March 23, 2012.
If you would like to order a copy of Taste of Pinecraft for your own kitchen, please visit Sherry Gore’s website.
.
About Sherry
Sherry Gore is a scribe for the national edition of The Budget newspaper, author of Taste of Pinecraft: Glimpses of Sarasota, Florida’s Amish Culture and Kitchens; contributing writer for Ladies Journal and editor-in-chief of Cooking and Such: Adventures in Plain Living magazine. She makes her home in Sarasota, Florida, with her children and is a member of a Beachy Amish Mennonite church. Sherry is the owner of a nonresistant double-barrel shotgun and an official pie contest judge. When not writing, she can often be found discovering tempting things to eat at Yoder’s Amish Village. She learned the hard way one spring day not to wear ChapStick while driving an open buggy behind a shedding horse.
- Email
- Facebook
