Comfort Times 2

Here are some words of comfort from the ultimate Comforter, our Lord Jesus Christ.  He is with us thru our struggles, He sees us thru those struggles so we can help comfort those who are struggling.  Thanks be to God. 

Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.  Isaiah 49:13 NIV
The LORD your God is in your midst,
   a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
   he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17 ESV

But now, God's Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob,
   the One who got you started, Israel:
"Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you.
   I've called your name. You're mine.
When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.
   When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you're between a rock and a hard place,
   it won't be a dead end—
Because I am God, your personal God,
   The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
 Isaiah 43:1-3 The Message

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. ⁶ If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 2 Corinthians 2:3-7


One of the most famous comfort foods is pound cake.  I decided to make pound cake for some my friends and family this past Christmas season.  They were beautiful works of art.  I made a total of 22 for my Chrsitmas list. 

I made this pound cake for a friend of mine's 40th birthday party.  We had it for dessert at Buffalo's Cafe.  We decided to put 40 candles on the cake.  Big mistake!!  The candles were the kind that kept lighting back and we ended up setting off the fire alarm and putting the candles out in a cup of water.  The upside is that I got to wield a huge commercial chef knife to cut the cake!!  It was a very memorable occasion.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Pam!!!

Pound Cake with chocolate orange ganache

Cream together 2 sticks of room temperature butter and 2 cups of granulated sugar.  Add 6 eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  Add 2 cups of self rising flour and 1 tbsp on vanilla flavoring.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes depending on your oven.  Put the cake on a cardboard cake round to decorate and give away.  To make ganache, you melt 1 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips with 1 tbsp of orange extract and 2 tbsp of milk or cream.  I put it in a ziploc bag fitted with a piping tip and make a zigzag pattern on the top of the cake.  While the cake is cooling, I put chocolate orange slices around the bottom of the cake.  I put sliced candied orange slices in a pattern on top of the chocolate orange slices. When cake is completely cool, I cover with plastic wrap.  Then I take cellophane and bring it up over the cake and tie with a white tulle bow.

This is my favorite meatloaf recipe.  I made it last night and just couldn't stop eating it.

Mix 2 lbs of ground turkey (I use Butterball ground turkey) with 1 cup of breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to taste, 8oz can of tomato sauce and 1 small chopped onion.  Mix well and put into a baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours.  Make a sauce in a saucepan with 8oz of tomato sauce, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 2 tsp of mustard.  Bring the sauce to a slow boil until the sugars melt. Pour over the meatloaf after 1 hour of cooking time.  Bake an additional hour.  I serve this dish with twice baked potatoes.  I use the 2 packages of frozen Ore Ida cut russet potatoes cooked according to package instructions.  When they are ready, I mix in 1/2 cup of sour cream, 4 oz of cream cheese and 1/2 to 3/4 cups of shredded cheese.  You can add bacon bits if you like or you could put them on the top after it comes out of the oven.  I bake the potatoes for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  This is one of my favorite comfort food meals!!!