Cut the green pepper into 16 each 1-inch pieces
Heat the grill.
Thread the metal skewers with the steak and vegetables, using 3 pieces of steak and 2 of each vegetable between cubes of steak per skewer.
Ensure that the vegetables separate the cubes of steak.
Example: Steak, pepper, mushroom, steak, tomato, pepper, etc.
(NOTE: Purple onion is an optional ingredient as well)
Whisk the remaining ingredients in the small bowl.
Place the skewers on the hot grill. Brush with the mixture.
Cover and grill the kabobs 4 to 6 inches from medium heat.
Grill for 15 to 18 minutes, turning and brushing kabobs 3 or 4 times with oil mixture, until beef is desired doneness and vegetables are tender.
The Side:
Rice Pilaf
Nothing goes as perfectly with grilled beef kabobs as rice pilaf.
1 cup water
1 cup white rice
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 cup frozen peas & carrots
1 tsp salt (Kosher or sea salt is best)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
good sharp knife
cutting board
measuring cups/spoons
colander
saucepan with lid
Mince the onion.
Rinse the carrots and peas.
Mix all ingredients in the saucepan.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.
Cover.
Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
The Vegetable:
Herbed Corn on the Cob
I know corn is technically a grain but this corn is so perfect hot off the grill alongside grilled kabobs or a grilled steak.
4 ears of corn
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup fresh parsley
container of cold water large enough for the corn
sharp knife/cutting board
measuring cups/spoons
Carefully peel back the husks of a corn, but don’t remove them. Remove the silks and wash. Put the husks back up over the corn and soak in cold water for at least an hour.
Mince the garlic.
Chop the parsley.
While the corn is soaking, mix the olive oil and the rest of the spices and let it sit for about an hour.
Remove the corn from the water and open back up. Pat the corn dry. Rub the flavored oil on the corn and put the husks back up over the corn. Place on the grill, turning regularly to keep from burning. Cook for several minutes, until the corn is heated through.
The Dessert:
Lisa's PB and J Birthday Cake
This cake is SO good. It is peanut butter flavored with a jelly filling. Perfect for an 8-year-old’s birthday.
FOR THE CAKE:
2 cups plus 2 TBS whole wheat flour (I used fresh ground soft white wheat)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp salt (Kosher or sea salt is best)
1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/3 cup natural peanut butter*
1 cup milk
2 eggs
FOR THE FILLING:
1 cup natural or homemade jam* flavor of your choice (I used strawberry)
3-ounce package flavored (preferably no-pork) gelatin (I used strawberry)
FOR THE ICING:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350° degrees F (120° degrees C)
Grease and flour cake pans.
large bowl/stand mixer
measuring cups/spoons
spatula/whisk
small saucepan
2-quart saucepan
2 each 8 inch round cake pans
wire cooling rack
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Put in large mixer bowl. Add the coconut oil, peanut butter, and milk. Beat for two minutes on medium speed. Add the eggs, one at a time. Beat for an additional two minutes.
Pour into prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350° degrees F (120° degrees C), or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
FOR THE FILLING:
While the cake is baking, prepare the filling so that it is cooled and ready to spread. In a small saucepan, combine the jam and the gelatin. Cook over low heat until the jam is melted and the gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
When the cake is cooled, place one cake round on the serving plate. Spread the filling on the top, almost to the edge. You likely won’t use all of the filling. Place the other round on top of the filling.
FOR THE ICING:
Don’t make the icing until the cake is ready to be iced. You need to work fast because it hardens as it cools.
In the 2-quart saucepan, bring brown sugar, butter, and milk to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil for one minute.
Remove from heat. Whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir gently for three to five minutes or until smooth.
Immediately ice the cake.
READER'S GUIDE: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
SUGGESTED questions for a discussion group surrounding A Carol for Kent, part 3 of the Song of Suspense series.
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 Song of Suspense 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.
Carol relied on Bobby’s parents to tell him about her pregnancy and the birth of Lisa.
1. Do you think Carol should have followed up on her own? Was she wrong to just accept what she considered child support and continue to raise Lisa on her own?
2. Carol and the Kents did not tell Lisa who her dad was because they wanted to protect her from the constant exposure and scrutiny she would suffer due to his fame. Do you believe this was a wise decision?
3. Do you think Carol sinned in any way by withholding that information from her daughter?
Bobby discovers that his parents didn’t tell him about Lisa because they wanted his income from his country music career.
1 Timothy 6:10 says: For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
4. Do you believe that what the Kents did was evil?
5. How hard was it for you to accept that Bobby had no choice but to forgive his parents?
6. Do you believe Bobby would have been justified in not forgiving his parents?
7. The Bible says we are to forgive those who wronged us not once, not twice, but seven times seventy times. Search your heart. Are you harboring unforgiveness that might be coming between you and God?
Carol is very quick and very ready to release any negative feelings about Bobby. She knows that he didn’t know about Lisa and guesses that her past would be completely different if he had known.
8. Do you think you would still continue to harbor ill feelings toward him, almost out of habit instead of logic and fairness?
9. Even though she knew he didn’t know about Lisa, she still used his absenteeism during an argument. As human as that may be, what could she have done differently, in her mind and heart, so that nothing like that ever comes in between their relationship again?
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After Bobby rescues Carol, Nick tells him that there will be remorse for his actions – and other things.
10. Do you think Bobby’s actions during the rescue of Carol were justified?
11. How might Bobby better cope with his feelings about what he did and how he feels?
Nick suggests that the killer might be possessed by a demon.
12. How realistic do you think that might be?
13. Is there any indication given to us, Biblically, that possession is just “a thing of the past”?
14. When Judas was preparing to betray Jesus, the Bible tells us that a spirit entered him.
Luke 22:3-6 says: Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.
Do you think Judas was still responsible for his actions?
SONG OF SUSPENSE SERIES
The Song of Suspense Series…
A MELODY FOR JAMES
MELODY Mason and James Montgomery lead separate lives of discord until an unexpected meeting brings them to a sinister realization. Unbeknownst to them, dark forces have directed their lives from the shadows, orchestrating movements that keep them in disharmony. Fire, loss, and bloodshed can't shake their faith in God to see them through as they face a percussive climax that will leave lives forever changed.
¯¯¯¯
AN ARIA FOR NICK
ARIA Suarez remembers her first real kiss and Nick Williams, the blue eyed boy who passionately delivered it before heading off to combat. The news of his death is just a footnote in a long war and her lifelong dream to become a world class pianist is shattered along with her wrist on the day of his funeral.
Years later, Aria inadvertently uncovers a sinister plot that threatens the very foundations of a nation. Now, stalked by assassins and on the run, her only hope of survival is in trusting her very life to a man who has been dead for years.
A CAROL FOR KENT
BOBBY Kent's name is synonymous with modern Country Music and he is no stranger to running from over zealous fans and paparazzo. But he has no real idea how to protect his daughter and Carol, the mother of his only child, from a viscous and ruthless serial killer bent on their destruction.
A HARMONY FOR STEVEN
CHRISTIAN contemporary singing sensation, Harmony Harper, seeks solitude after winning her umpteenth award. She finds herself in the midst of the kind of spiritual crisis that only prayer and fasting can cure. Steve Slayer, the world renowned satanic acid rock icon, who has a reputation for trashing women as well as hotel rooms, stumbles into her private retreat on the very edge of death. In ministering to Steve, Harmony finds that the Holy Spirit is ministering to her aching soul. The two leave the wilderness sharing a special bond and their hearts are changed forever. They expect rejection back in their professional worlds. What neither of them could foresee is the chain of ominous events that threaten their very lives.
EXCERPT FROM A MELODY FOR JAMES
A Melody for James was voted the July Clash of the Titles WINNER and voted The Book Club Network's August Book of the Month in 2013. If you missed A Melody for James, buy it now in Paperback or eBook wherever fine books are sold.
PLEASE enjoy this special excerpt from the upcoming full length Christian suspense novel, A Melody for James, Part One of the Song of Suspense Series.
ANGELA Montgomery nearly missed it. She had lost herself in memories of her recent birthday celebration marking the passing of her 30th year on earth. Her husband, James, her junior by 2 short years, had gone all out. Being "much" younger, he had decorated the entire house with black balloons and held a surprise "wake" for the passing of her late youth. Daydreaming and lost in feelings of love and adoration for her beloved groom, Angela nearly failed to recognize the moment when it happened.
When her consciousness shifted from her reverie back to the present, for several breaths she simply stared at the smart board in front of her and ran through the calculations again. Then she tried to ignore the little shivers of nervous excitement that danced up her spine.
"Heeyyyyy …" Donald Andrews clicked a few keys on the laptop in front of him, magnifying the image on the smart board screen so that it covered the entire wall. "Did we just …"
Angela rose, her legs feeling uncharacteristically stiff, and walked forward while staring at the screen. "You know what, I'm cautiously going to say yes. Yes, we did."
Alvin Berry let out a loud, "Whoop!" He removed the ever present knit cap from the top of his head and tossed it into the air. The group collectively looked at each other and grinned. Years of work, and the breakthrough sat right there on that smart board, staring back at them.
"We should celebrate," Lorie Frazier announced. She pulled her glasses from her nose and casually tossed them onto the stack of papers in front of her. "We need to celebrate, then we need to call a press conference. But only after we get to the patent office."
Angela looked back at the screen. "We have to be sure."
"We're sure," Alvin said. "Look at that beauty. It is so simple yet so elegant."
"Call James," Lorie said. "Tell him to make us a reservation in the most ridiculously expensive restaurant Atlanta has to offer. Tell him we're going to celebrate."
Despite her naturally conservative nature, Angela started to let the feeling of giddy excitement take over. She laughed and hugged Don as she pulled her cell phone from her pocket.
Her husband would probably jump up and down or do a little dance of celebration. She felt like she might just as easily be making a call to announce that she was expecting their first child instead of the conclusion of this long project.
For five years, she and this amazing team of engineers had worked to perfect this revolutionary data storage solution. For five years, usually working six days a week, usually not less than twelve hours a day, they'd toiled in this basement lab in her inherited home. While she'd hoped and prayed for all that time, now that the reality of what they'd accomplished actually shone back at her from that beautiful smart screen, she realized she hadn't ever really been certain they'd succeed.
But they had.
She got James' voice mail. "Darling," she purred, knowing he'd hear the smile in her voice, "We did it. We're done. I cannot wait to show you. Come home. Come see. We need to celebrate."
As soon as Angela hung up, she gave Lorie a hug and said, "I vote for cheesecake."
"Copious amounts," the nearsighted genius agreed. "Oh! With strawberries! And really good coffee."
Angela felt her heart skip when the red security light started flashing. Her eyebrows crowded together in confusion. Why was the intruder alarm going off now?
Angela had inherited the farmhouse from her late uncle at the age of 17 and lived there throughout her lengthy matriculation at Georgia Tech. For a brief time when this venture was just beginning, she and her brand new husband, James, as well as their business partner and his best friend, Kurt, had all lived there under the same roof.
During the initial months and years, Kurt and James had renovated the basement entirely; installing a T1, a two post rack of networking gear, a four post rack of high performance servers; and most importantly, a state-of-the-art security system, designed and built by her brilliant husband himself. For the last five years, they had hardened the basement into a panic room with steel reinforced doors, magnetic locks, and pinhole security cameras. It took two-factor authentication to even get into the room.
When the magnitude of the fact that the security alarm was still sounding sunk in, Angela whirled around until her eyes met with Don. When she spoke, she hated the shrill edge of panic she detected in her voice. "Back it up to the Snap."
His fingers clicked on the keys with the speed of machine gun fire as spoke. "There's no time. We didn't do an incremental yesterday bec
ause the waffle was running a defrag."
"Right. Execute a differential and encrypt it." She waited a few heartbeats while Don's fingers played out a staccato percussion on his laptop.
With confusion clouding his eyes, he looked up and announced, "Our hard line is down."
Alvin pressed a series of keys on his computer and several small screens appeared on the smart board, all showing different angles of her home. Men in masks moved through the empty house with military precision, high powered and very deadly looking carbine rifles tucked tightly into their shoulders at the ready. They stared around every corner through the sights on the short rifles.
Lorie gasped and said, "What is going on? Who are they?"
Fear and panic tried to take over. Her stomach turned into ice and Angela felt like her breathing wasn't productive, like she could never get a deep enough breath. Focus, she said to herself. You will have time to be scared when it's over.
"Can you remember how we got here since the last backup?" Angela asked Alvin, her hand pointing in his direction like a knife blade. If she'd ever met anyone whose memory rivaled her husband's, it was Alvin.
His voice sounded flat, emotionless. "Yes. Of course I can."
She watched a crouched figure outside the entrance to the lab tape two liter plastic bottles filled with water to the hinges of the security door. The security that James and Kurt had installed was tight, state-of-the-art even, and the door was sealed. But no seal in 100 miles would withstand the blast of a shaped charge pushing water ahead of a supersonic shock wave. It would slice through the steel door faster than the world's most powerful cutting torch.
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