K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Sister!

January 2, 2011 3:38 AM 11

Good Evening Friends…
Today is almost over.  It’s been a good day with family and friends. Yes, being the Georgia girl that I am, I’ve had my collard greens and black-eyed peas twice today…both at lunch and then again at supper! And guess what? I grew the collard greens myself in my backyard garden.  What a simple pleasure!

Since this is the first day of a new year and the first day of a new decade as well (with a marvelous number pattern…1-1-11), I wanted to post a quick note.  I am getting older, thank you Jesus. I am loving this season of my life.  I’ve learned to pick my battles – to know the difference between the energy expended on events that amount to no more than an ant bite or serious enough to be considered a snake bite!  Wisdom comes with age and experience and it is oh so sweet. Tough, but sweet.

I’m not one to set unrealistic goals or make “new year’s resolutions.”  I’ve been there before and failed miserably and dealt with the self-imposed guilt that most always follows.  However, I do dearly love a fresh start and thank God for His mercies new every morning and His sweet amazing grace; so I am going to attempt to “KISS” this year which stands for Keep It Simple Sister! With the Good Lord’s help and in keeping His will for my life, I am going to filter requests for my time through my family’s needs and the women’s ministry I so dearly love.  Did you know that “no” is a complete sentence? I am going to slow down a bit and take better care of myself…so that I may take better care of my family.  This will mean regular exercise and smarter food choices.  I want to enjoy every single minute of my grandchildren and be able to keep up with them! (Zeke is not happy that he had to share his Gran Jan with the babies…)

Thank you for your love and support and for stopping by to visit my blog. One more very important thing…I’m going to do something wonderful for my soul this year, and that is to participate in Beth Moore’s Scripture Memory Team again.  What a JOY and DELIGHT!  If you haven’t heard about this, visit her web site here for instructions.  It is not too late to get involved and you will be blessed beyond measure for hiding God’s Word in your heart.

Remember, KISS 2011 by “Keeping It Simple Sister.”

*Gran Jan*

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January 2, 2011 3:38 AM 11

My First Giveaway for You!

November 16, 2010 11:36 AM 11

Good Morning!  While the coffee is brewing and I’m listening to the wonderful sound of the rain coming down on the metal roof of my home…

and while thanking the Lord for all His goodness, I decided to celebrate with a giveaway on my blog.  It’s my first one and since today is my birthday, I wanted to give something to someone else.  I am a blessed woman indeed!
So…all you have to do is:
  1. 1.  Go here to “The Gooseberry Patch”  and pick out a cookbook you would like to own. I love this website and their products are great, and I love to cook! I had a cookbook published in one of their cookbooks…this past year. It’s the recipe for “Gran Jan’s Chicken Pie.”  Go here to read the post!
2.  Come back and post the 5 things you are most thankful for.
3.  Also tell me which cookbook you would like to receive.
4.  Do this by Tuesday, November 30th, two weeks from today!
5.  I will randomly select a winner on December 1st and have your cookbook sent to you in time for Christmas if you want to give it to someone else!
Happy Birthday to Me! Happy Giveaway to YOU!
*Gran Jan*
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November 16, 2010 11:36 AM 11

HIDDEN IN MY HEART

November 6, 2010 3:04 AM 3

Oh.my.word. I have found some of the most blessed and peaceful music I’ve heard in a long time. Breakway Music is a record company devoted to producing quality Christian music for children.  They say on their website that their “goal and passion is for kids to have a relationship with Jesus.”

If you need a gift for a wee one in your life, or if you just want a blessing for your own quiet moments, order this CD, Scripture Lullabies, Hidden In My Heart, a beautiful lullaby journey through scripture.  You can even get a free download here.  (About the time I have decided on a favorite, the next song begins.)

I bought one for each of my two precious grandbabies (Master Jackson and Miss Madie Ruth), who will both be celebrating their very first Christmases this year! I will be placing a CD in each of their stockings.

Your word
have I hidden
in my heart,
That I might not sin
against You.
(Psalm 119:11)

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November 6, 2010 3:04 AM 3

TWO YEARS OF PURE JOY!

August 18, 2010 12:51 AM 8
“Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged.”
Proverbs 17:6


I started this blog two years ago last month during a time in my life I call the “waiting room” a definite season in my life.  I desperately needed an outlet to share the pure JOY of becoming a first-time grandmother.  Now I am a grandmother three times over!  My sweet friend, Deborah  was so patient and helpful to me in my early blogging days.

Today is the birthday of my first born’s first-born…Ezekiel, my first grandchild we all call “Zeke.”  For one who never finds herself at a loss for words, I simply cannot describe to you the pure joy that springs from my heart because of Zeke’s life. This little boy LOVES life and LIVES with pure joy! 

Here he is trying to catch raindrops on his tongue when a nice summer shower passed through at his birthday pool party Friday night!

More evidence of his joy-filled personality:
Zeke, I love you with all my heart.  You are such a sweet boy, and Gran Jan is not the only one who sees the special way you touch lives.  You love animals, you love music (your favorite song is still “How Great is Our God” by Chris Tomlin), you love books, you love strawberries, you love tractors, and most of all, you love your baby sister Madie Ruth! 
You have touched my heart way down in the deepest parts, places I never knew existed.  I am so thankful for your life.  I can’t wait to teach you all that God is teaching me.
Happy Birthday to you Zeke!
I love you,
Gran Jan 
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August 18, 2010 12:51 AM 8

Summer County Living

July 18, 2010 11:10 PM 13

Good afternoon friends! This post is what bloggers sometimes refer to as “random.”  Random is really not me. I typically have a theme…or at least a point.  But today, I just wanted to share some summertime pictures on Gran Jan’s Joy. And since Gran Jan’s Joy is really a blog about the JOYS of my life, let me begin with my three grandblessings…

Here is my oldest grandchild, Zeke, who will be 2 next month. He is wearing a tee-shirt I gave him that says, “Got Biscuits?”  Couldn’t you just squeeze him? He has beautiful long eyelashes and has begun praying out loud for us at mealtimes. Melts my heart every time.
Next is his baby sister, Madie Ruth, who is almost 10 weeks old. She is absolutely precious, a very sweet and laid-back baby. She was ready for a pool outing in this picture. She is beautiful and sleeps like a dream…

Below is my youngest grandchild, Jackson, who will be 2 months old the end of this week and is the cousin to the above two grandbabies. He has so much hair, and nary a bit of it is coming out!  He is a beautiful baby and he and I were decked out in our red, white, and blue in this July 4th picture!
More random…One day last week my husband and I went to a Farmers Market about an hour “down the road.” It was a really fun day, and these are some pictures from going the back roads.
This is a huge truck/trailer load of watermelons fresh from the field.  They were coming in by the droves. The town is Cordele, Georgia, known as “The Watermelon Capitol of the World.”  Truly. I have never seen so many watermelons in my life, and we bought a HUGE seedless one for only $2.00! 
This is a huge fig bush/tree. Have you ever tasted old-fashioned fig preserves on a homemade buttered biscuit? My, my, my. Truly a Southern delicacy and so good!  This huge bush was behind Calhoun Produce, where we bought some butter beans and crowder peas to put in our freezer. Nothing like fresh vegetables in the middle of the winter.
This is my sweet husband coming out of Calhoun Produce with the goods. He will also be willing to enjoy them when I cook them this fall and winter! He helped me with putting them in the freezer too. We had a wonderful day together.  It is so nice when the agenda is light and easy. Good times for sure.
In case you’ve never seen a house with a silo in the front yard, here it is. Maybe this is an old family farm and they just couldn’t bear to take it down, I don’t know. But it was worthy of a picture.
Well, this is a good old Georgia red-clay dirt road.  I love a dirt road on a summer day, especially when it is DRY and has not been raining.  Georgia red clay is something that even extra-action Tide has a hard time getting out of your clothes. (Especially if you are a little boy that likes to slide into home on a field of same said Georgia red clay.  “Momma, don’t wash it out, it shows I was “in the game!'”)
I would have LOVED to go inside this beautiful old country home. Isn’t it amazing? It reminds me of that big old home in Little House on the Prairie. This one is a great example of Victorian (Queen Anne) architecture (1840-1890) and was in a little town called Unadilla. I even like the way that sounds…it is pronounced you-nah-dill-lah, emphasis on the third syllable. There you go! 
This cotton field is directly across the street from my home and is part of a huge farm.  I will take pictures and post them when the cotton blooms and is harvested. You will want to go watch “Gone With the Wind.”
This close-up of a cotton bloom shows how the bloom fades to this gorgeous rose color after it opens out so white. The field will be so beautiful when it is snowy white and full of cotton bolls as far as the eye can see.
This is a half-bushel box of the sweetest Georgia peaches from right down the road in Peach County, Georgia. (Isn’t that sweet, peaches from Peach County?) These came from Lane Packing.  It is a delightful place and if you are ever heading south on I-75 you should stop for lunch and a tour. I ended up with about 17 quart size bags in my freezer for peach cobbler. Click here for my peach cobbler recipe.

This is a picture of some squash pickles I made.  They are sweet like old-fashioned bread and butter pickles.  They turned out really well and look so colorful.

Well, that is about all the random I have for now.  Hope you’ve enjoyed this “summer country living” post on Gran Jan’s Joy.  The simple things in life are the most special to my heart.  My family, the smiles of my grandblessings, the joy of God’s creation and the bounty of summer gardens. As my work week closes in and the pace quickens too much for my soul, I may just have to come back and enjoy these photos again. I hope you will too…
Abiding in Him,
 
John 15:5
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July 18, 2010 11:10 PM 13

PEACH COBBLER WITH RISING CRUST!

June 29, 2010 1:34 AM 17
Peach Cobbler
(Use a 9″ x 13″ baking dish, or I actually prefer a 12″ cast-iron skillet)

INGREDIENTS (step by step pictures below)

FRUIT/SIMPLE SYRUP:
4 cups of fresh peaches, which is about 7 medium peaches
(*see note below for using canned peaches)
2 cups of water (I use 2 cups)
1 cup of sugar

 

CRUST:
1 1/2 sticks of butter (I use salted)
1 1/2 cups of White Lily self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 cups of whole milk

*First* thing (even though it is step #4):
Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees and put a stick and a half of butter in your baking dish (or cast-iron skillet) and slide in the oven to melt! It helps that delicious crust set up when the butter is good and hot in the dish!

FRUIT PREP: You will “cook/simmer” your fresh fruit (about 7 medium peaches, peeled, sliced, and pit removed) on the stove top by making a simple syrup with 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar to bring out the fruit’s natural juices! About 7 medium size fresh peaches, peeled and sliced is about 4 cups. This cobbler is juicy, not dry or cake-y. As my friend Sophie Hudson says, this is not a biscuit and fruit! 

 

*[May use two 16 oz. cans or one 29 oz. can of peaches in heavy syrup. Do not drain! If using canned peaches, skip to step 4.]

1.  Peel and slice peaches.
 
2.  Make a simple syrup by bringing 2 cups of water
and 1 cup of sugar to a nice simmer – not a hard boil.
Allow the sugar to dissolve.

 

 
3.  Add sliced peaches to the simple syrup and simmer 4-5 minutes on medium heat.
Set aside when done.
 
4.  Melt 1 1/2 sticks of butter in an 8×8 or a 9×13 baking dish.
Or my preference, a 12″ cast iron skillet.
Once the butter is melted, remove the dish from the oven.
 
5.  Using a wire whisk, mix WELL the 1 1/2 Cups of White Lily self-rising flour and 1 1/2 Cups of sugar, removing all the lumps.  Now stir in the 1 1/2 Cups of milk, once again stirring and whisking WELL so there are no lumps and it is smooth! Whisk until creamy!

 
6.  Pour this batter over the melted butter in your dish
or warm skillet and DO NOT STIR!
 
7.  Gently ladle in the peaches and the simple syrup you’ve
cooked them in, over the batter. You don’t have to use all the syrup, 
but you will regret it if you don’t! Trust me! This is a juicy cobbler, not dry!
ONCE AGAIN – DO NOT STIR!
 
8. Slide into pre-heated 350 degree oven.
 
9.  Bake 35-45 minutes (you know your oven) until cobbler
is golden brown and crust has risen through to the top!
 
Serve the cobbler while warm and
with a scoop (or three) of vanilla ice cream on top.
This happens!
 
 
My husband likes the cobbler to be buttery, so I will often melt a little butter
and brush it over the hot cobbler before serving.
A scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream makes it heavenly!
We love the Bluebell “Homemade Vanilla” flavor.
Gran Jan
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June 29, 2010 1:34 AM 17

MY RECIPE IS PUBLISHED!

June 25, 2010 5:15 PM 21
Y’all know I love to cook. I really do. I love to cook for my family! My boys love to eat and always make me feel like I’m the best cook. My husband always says “this is a feast.” They are so good to me!

Anyway, I am so excited to share with you that my “Gran Jan’s Chicken Pie” recipe was published in the newest cookbook entitled Slow Cookers, Casseroles & Skillets from one of my most favorite websites Gooseberry Patch.  Check it out!
Here is a picture of “PAGE 112” which is my recipe!!! It is a very easy and delicious chicken pie with a biscuit crust.  Sometimes I add vegetables, and sometimes I just make it with the chicken and filling and biscuit top. It is oh so good, like a comfort food should be.

And may I just say from one Georgia girl to another (that would be to Mrs. Paula Deen): “so you think your peach cobber is good? You need to taste mine!”  I’m just saying…

Gran Jan of Gran Jan’s Chicken Pie

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June 25, 2010 5:15 PM 21
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