by Amanda Tru
Stir in the cheese and nutmeg. Stir just until heated.
Divide the mixture between the four breasts. Starting with the short end, roll up the breasts. (If necessary, you can secure them closed with wooden toothpicks.)
Dip each breast in the egg, then roll in breadcrumbs.
Place on baking pan, seam side down. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Back at 350° degrees F (180° degrees C) for 15 minutes. Remove the foil covering and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until browned.
French Bread
French bread is the perfect accompaniment to Chicken Florentine. It’s a simple recipe and can easily be turned into garlic bread.
2 1/4 tsp (or 1 packet) dry years
1 1/4 cup warm filtered water -no hotter than 120° degrees F (48° degrees C).
3 1/2 cups flour (I use fresh ground mixture of hard red wheat and hard white wheat - unbleached flour will work if you don’t have fresh ground)
1 tsp salt (Kosher or sea salt is best)
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
Heat the mixing bowl by filling it with hot tap water.
Drain the bowl. Add the warm water and yeast. Let stand 5 minutes.
Lightly grease a large bowl to use for rising the dough.
Mix all ingredients in bowl with the water and yeast.
Knead with the stand mixer for 2 minutes, or knead by hand for 10 minutes.
Once the dough becomes smooth and elastic, put it into a lightly greased bowl. Turn it once and cover with a light towel. Let it sit in a warm spot until it doubles in bulk. It will take about an hour.
Punch the dough down. Roll dough into a rectangle and roll up tightly. Pinch the ends and place on a greased baking sheet (you can sprinkle the baking sheet with cornmeal if you desire). Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size.
Bake at 400° degrees F (205° degrees C) for 20-25 minutes. When you tap the loaf, if it sounds hollow, it’s done.
Sauteed Green Beans
Even though the Spinach Florentine is stuffed with spinach, fresh green beans help the plate look like a work of art.
1/2 lb fresh green beans.
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 TBS sliced almonds
Wash the green beans. Cut off the stems.
Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and saute for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in the green beans and almonds.
Reduce heat to medium-low and cover the pan and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring the beans regularly.
Wild Rice
I use a packaged organic wild-rice and brown rice blend.
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup wild-rice/brown rice blend
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover pan tightly and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes or until the brown rice is tender.
Basil Infused Whipped Cream
Calla wanted to serve a dessert that would be light and easy, but didn’t want to serve "just plain" whipped cream. So, she infused her cream with basil and served that over berries.
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
1 TBS powdered sugar
In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat until almost boiling (do not boil) - just until it stars to simmer. Remove from heat and toss in the basil.
Sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Strain the cream through a mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Mix the powdered sugar into the infused cream. Beat with a mixer until stiff peaks form.
Serve over fresh berries.
Suggested discussion group questions for Courting Calla by Hallee Bridgeman.
When asking ourselves how important the truth is to our Creator, we can look to the reason Jesus said he was born. In the book of John 18:37, Jesus explains that for this reason He was born and for this reason He came into the world. The reason? To testify to the truth.
In bringing those He ministered to into an understanding of the truth, Our Lord used fiction in the form of parables to illustrate very real truths. In the same way, we can minister to one another by the use of fictional characters and situations to help us to reach logical, valid, cogent, and very sound conclusions about our real lives here on earth.
While the characters and situations in The Dixon Brothers Series are fictional, I pray that these extended parables can help readers come to a better understanding of truth. Please prayerfully consider the questions that follow, consult scripture, and pray upon your conclusions. May the Lord of the universe richly bless you.
Calla and Ian both believe that God orchestrated the mix-up in the flower delivery that brought them together.
1) Do you think that God actually plays such an active part in our lives so as to arrange people to meet in such a way?
2) Can you think of a time when that happened to you – a time when you’re certain God had a hand in it?
Calla prayed for God to release her from the debt in which her stepmother had maliciously placed her. The end result was that Calla was arrested on the suspicion of passing $10,000 worth of bad checks. It caused a spiral that, despite the terrible moments, ended up freeing her from the debt – which was an answer to prayer.
3) Romans 8:28 says, For God works together for good all things for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Do you think that this is an example of God working together for good all things as they pertained to Calla?
4) Or, do you think that God answered Calla’s prayer by orchestrating her arrest?
Ian believes that if Calla had been honest with him at any time during the brief beginning of their relationship, he would have supported her.
5) Given an idea of Ian’s personality, do you think he would have supported her, or was he speaking in hindsight?
6) Do you think Ian’s faith was strong enough to believe that if God had indeed brought them together, he should have supported her and therefore would have?
Calla asked Ian to give her time to get to know the “real” Calla before she would be free to pursue a relationship with him.
7) What do you think her real motivation was?
8) Do you think this was fair to Ian considering he’d come so far to show her how much he cared?
9) Do you think that Calla’s decision showed a lack of her own faith in trusting God’s answers to her prayers?
Calla did not file charges against her stepmother and instead subjected herself to tens of thousands of dollars of debt that SHE chose to pay off.
10) What do you think you would do in the event that a family member stole your identity?
11) Do you think that filing charges would have been the right thing to do right away, or should Calla have given her stepmother a chance to stop what she was doing and pay her back?
12) Do you consider the theft of the identity of a family member a crime, or an inconvenience? Would you consider the relationship with the family member more important than justice?
www.halleebridgeman.com/
With more than half a million sales, Hallee Bridgeman is a best-selling Christian author who writes action-packed romantic suspense focusing on realistic characters who face real world problems. Her work has been described as everything from refreshing to heart-stopping exciting and edgy.
An Army brat turned Floridian, Hallee finally settled in central Kentucky with her family so that she could enjoy the beautiful changing of the seasons. She enjoys the roller-coaster ride thrills that life with a National Guard husband, a teenaged daughter, and two elementary aged sons delivers.
A prolific writer, when she’s not penning novels, you will find her in the kitchen, which she considers the ‘heart of the home’. Her passion for cooking spurred her to launch a whole food, real food “Parody” cookbook ser
ies. In addition to nutritious, Biblically grounded recipes, readers will find that each cookbook also confronts some controversial aspect of secular pop culture.
Hallee is a member of the Published Author Network (PAN) of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) where she serves as a long time board member in the Faith, Hope, & Love chapter. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the American Christian Writers (ACW) as well as being a member of Novelists, Inc. (NINC).
Hallee loves coffee, campy action movies, and regular date nights with her husband. Above all else, she loves God with all of her heart, soul, mind, and strength; has been redeemed by the blood of Christ; and relies on the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide her. She prays her work here on earth is a blessing to you and would love to hear from you. You can reach Hallee at [email protected].
Sign up for Hallee’s monthly newsletter! When you sign up, you will get a link to download Hallee's romantic suspense novella, On The Ropes. In addition, every newsletter recipient is automatically entered into a monthly giveaway! The real prize is you will never miss updates about upcoming releases, book signings, appearances, or other events.
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Find the latest information and connect with Hallee at her website: www.halleebridgeman.com
FICTION BOOKS BY HALLEE
Virtues and Valor series:
Book 1: Temperance's Trial
Book 2: Homeland's Hope
Book 3: Charity's Code
Book 4: A Parcel for Prudence
Book 5: Grace's Ground War
Book 6: Mission of Mercy
Book 7: Flight of Faith
Book 8: Valor's Vigil
The Jewel Series:
Sapphire Ice,
Greater Than Rubies
Emerald Fire
Topaz Heat
Christmas Diamond
Christmas Star Sapphire
The Song of Suspense Series:
Book 1: A Melody for James
Book 2: An Aria for Nick
Book 3: A Carol for Kent
Book 4: A Harmony for Steve
PARODY COOKBOOKS BY HALLEE
Vol 1: Fifty Shades of Gravy, a Christian gets Saucy!
Vol 2: The Walking Bread, the Bread Will Rise
Vol 3: Iron Skillet Man, the Stark Truth about Pepper and Pots
Vol 4: Hallee Crockpotter & the Chamber of Sacred Ingredients
I’m so glad that you chose to read Courting Calla. I pray that it blessed you. I wrote Courting Calla to introduce the upcoming Dixon Brothers series, so look for the stories of the Dixon triplets very soon. I'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment online at the Hallee Bridgeman website. Your feedback inspires me, engages me, and keeps me writing good books.
Now, it is my very real honor to introduce the second book in this collection written by my very good friend Alana Terry. Knowing Alana for many years has personally blessed me in so many ways. I admire her God given talent as an author but she also inspires me as a true woman of faith whom I admire greatly. I admit, I have also relied on Alana to answer some research questions about life in Alaska.
Alana's story takes place in the international setting of Seoul, South Korea so get ready to take a journey there in your imagination. Her hero and heroine deal with so many topics that affect Christians today from traveling abroad, non-profits, divorce, dealing with grief, all the way to middle age second chance romance. Seoul in Love is a Christian Contemporary Romance that involves love lost many years ago that might have a new beginning based on a chance meeting on foreign soil.
I know Seoul in Love is going to bless you and challenge you!
Author of Courting Calla
a Novella by
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Seoul in Love Alana Terry
Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved.
Library Cataloging Data
Terry, Alana (Alana Terry) 1983-
Seoul in Love / Alana Terry
Summary: >Love was lost a long time ago. A chance meeting in Seoul might change all that forever.
1. Christian fiction 2. man-woman relationships 3. second chance romance 4. seoul, south korea 5. non-profits 6. divorced couple 7. middle-aged romance 8. coping with grief
The last time Jolene was in a wedding, it had been her own.
She stared at the wine-red bridesmaid dress and the uncomfortable-looking shoes. The short skirt and the high heels both screamed you’re way too old for this.
The only person she’d know at the ceremony would be the bride, but she still had gone on a crash diet, hoping to lose ten pounds before the big day and gaining seventeen instead.
Or maybe she was just comfort-eating after that messy break-up.
She glanced around the Korean hanok, looking for a place to hang her clothes. She booked a room here because she’d heard the accommodations were historically accurate. She’d never bothered to ask the manager if they’d have a closet or not.
Even though it was fall, the Seoul air was muggy, especially compared with the dry desert heat of her home back in Orchard Grove, Washington. The back of her shirt was drenched in sweat. Real appealing. She’d have to walk down to the market area and buy one of those little hand-held fans she’d seen some of the young people carrying around.
Speaking of young people, where had she put Mena’s contact information? Jolene’s phone didn’t come with an international plan, but Mena gave her the name of some app to download. As long as she was connected to the internet, she could receive calls and texts.
Jolene was exhausted. She’d stopped trying to remember what time it would be back home. All she knew was that the sun hadn’t set in Seoul, but it felt like midnight. She should be sleeping.
So many shoulds.
The story of her life for the past five years.
I shouldn’t have let Chelsea go on that trip alone. I should have been with her.
I should have known something like this would happen.
I should have prayed harder.
That last one was the real kicker. If Jolene had been spending regular time in prayer with the Lord instead of fighting so much with Chelsea’s dad, would anything have changed?
Questions that had plagued her for five years now.
Five years to the month.
What was she doing in Seoul? She could have backed out. Mena would have understood. Jolene was twice as old as everyone else in the wedding party, but for some reason, she’d made this martyr’s journey to honor her daughter’s memory. Chelsea would never find true love, never marry, never put on a wine-red bridesmaid’s dress, so it was up to Jolene to stand in for her at her best friend’s wedding.
At least she’d changed Mena’s mind about the cut of the gown. There was no way anyone at the ceremony would want to see Jolene in a sleeveless.
She sighed and hung the dress up on the back of the bathroom door. She should have asked if there would be a closet in the hanok instead of snagging the online deal after glancing at a couple images.
Not that the accommodations were shabby. She had more than enough space. In addition to the large kitchen area with a sky roof were two separate bedrooms. No beds, however. Jolene wasn’t sure exactly how she was supposed to arrange those flat mats stacked up in the corner, but she’d figure it out.
With as tired as she was, she could probably fall asleep in the bathroom if she had to.
She felt like she should call somebody. Let them know she’d made it safely to Seoul. But who? Garcia had tried to apologize before her flight, had tried to get back together, but she was done.
&nbs
p; Who did that leave for her back in the States? She hadn’t spoken to Chelsea’s dad in years, and she couldn’t remember the last time she had a meaningful conversation with anyone from church.
She should get in touch with Mena, but to do that she’d have to figure out how to connect her phone to wireless. Then she’d have to dig her cord adapter out of her suitcase, which was crammed full of stuff she’d thrown in haphazardly yesterday evening. Or was it two days ago now?
Blame it on the international date line for getting her internal calendar so messed up.
She shut her eyes for a moment, fully aware that she risked falling asleep while standing in the middle of the empty room. Her mind relentlessly replayed her last conversation with Garcia. They’d only broken up two days before her flight, and she hadn’t found anyone else willing to drive her to the airport on such short notice.
“Have a good time,” he told her. She was surprised his voice wasn’t hoarse after all the time he spent on the road trying to convince her to take him back.
The one good thing that would come out of this trip is it would get her away from him. Clear her mind. She and Garcia had been dating for over a year. She had no idea how or when their relationship turned so toxic.