Hamburger Cookies

When I was a kid we made Hamburger Cookies. It's been awhile since we made them, but over the weekend I went to a BBQ to celebrate a friend's birthday and wanted to take something fun to share. Since it has been ridiculously warm lately (and I'm NOT complaining!), I wanted to make something that did not involve turning on the oven. Enter Hamburger Cookies. They got many compliments at the BBQ and since they are so easy to make I wanted to share "recipe" with you!

What You Will Need:
Vanilla Wafers
Grasshopper Cookies
Vanilla Frosting
Coconut
Green Food Coloring
Yellow Food Coloring
Sugar Water
Sesame Seeds

What You Do:
Tint coconut green using the green food dye. This becomes your "lettuce." Also tint some of your frosting yellow with the yellow food dye. This becomes your "mustard."

Spread yellow frosting on the bottom of a vanilla wafer. Top with a grasshopper cookie (your "meat patty"). Spread white frosting on the bottom of another vanilla wafer. Add some "lettuce" and place on top of the "meat patty." Repeat with the remaining cookies/frosting/coconut. Brush the tops of each cookie with sugar water and top with sesame seeds.

If you let the cookies sit for a couple of hours before serving, the vanilla wafers will become slightly soft, just like hamburger buns!

It's just that easy and these cookies are guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser at your next party! Enjoy!

Book Review: The Fiddler (Beverly Lewis)

I discovered Beverly Lewis’s books a couple years ago. I began with her Abram’s Daughters series and have worked my way through her other series’ since. I always get excited when I hear she is releasing a new book because I love her books so much. The Fiddler, the first book in her new “Home to Hickory Hollow” series was no exception. Blending new characters with a few characters who readers may remember from the “Heritage of Lancaster County” series, Beverly Lewis’s newest book does not disappoint.

This book follows the story of classical violinist, Amelia DeVries, who, unbeknownst to her parents, is also a fiddler, going by the name of Amy Lee. After one of her secret performances she, through a variety of circumstances, finds herself in the middle of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and in the company of young Michael Hostetler, an Amish boy who is trying to decide if he wants to stay Amish or become an Englisher. The book follows Amelia’s struggles as she tries to decide what she wants to do with her life and her violin/fiddle career and Michael’s struggles as he tries to determine which life path he should proceed down.

I greatly enjoyed this book and am eager for the next book in the series, “The Bridesmaid, “ to be released.

I received this book for free from Bethany House’s book blogging program. My opinions in this review are my own.

Book Review: Chasing The Sun (Tracie Peterson)

Hannah Dandridge is trying to keep her family together.  When her father disappears in Mississippi during the Civil War, she finds herself trying to take care of not just her younger siblings but also her family’s newly-acquired ranch in Texas. Meanwhile, William Barnett returns from the war, wounded, only to discover his family’s Texas ranch has been seized and is now being occupied by a stubborn young woman and her younger siblings who have no intention of returning the ranch. Throughout Chasing the Sun by Tracie Peterson, we see how Hannah and William eventually settle their differences and determine who truly has a right to live on the Texas ranch.

I enjoyed this book. Honestly, I’m a sucker for Christian western fiction and this book did not disappoint. As part of the “Land of the Lone Star” series, this book has me eager to read the rest of the series. This is one of those books where I was drawn in and did not want to finish the book until  I finished it.

If you, like me, enjoy a good Christian western, I recommend Chasing The Sun by Tracie Peterson. It would be a great addition to your summer reading list!

I received this book from Bethany House’s book blogging program. My opinions are my own and I was not required to leave a positive review.

Book Review: Need You Now (Beth Wiseman)

Review of Need You Now by Beth Wiseman.

Tired of the big city, Brad and Darlene Henderson move their family out of Houston and into a smaller town called Round Top, Texas. Their middle daughter, Grace, does not handle the move very well and takes up a dangerous activity.

Darlene decides to take a job outside the home working at a special needs school for the first time in many, many years. She enjoys the job and feels like she is making a difference, but at the same time tensions begin to rise between her and her husband. When a divorced parent of one of her students begins paying attention to her, Darlene feels like someone is actually listening to her for the first time in a long time. When Brad blames Darlene's and her job for Grace's issues, a wedge is driven between the two and only God can fix things.

Darlene does befriend their neighbor, the lovely Layla Jager, a former well-known actress. Layla doesn't open up to people easily (fearing they will only like her for her celebrity status) but Darlene manages to get her to open up and the friendship is beneficial to both Darlene and Layla.

This is Beth Wiseman's first contemporary fiction novel, and while I think I prefer her Amish fiction, I did enjoy this book. The story drew me in and was a good read.


Thank you to BookSneeze for providing me with a free review copy of this book!

Bee Day 2012

Book Review: Song of My Heart (Kim Vogel Sawyer)

I love a good Christian historical romance. I don't know what it is about the endearing female protagonist and the charming male cowboy who sweeps her off her feet. Granted, they can be a bit predictable, but I love them.

Song of My Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer, however, while predictable in parts, took some twists and turns that I did not quite expect.

I absolutely loved Sadie. I'm pretty much convinced that if she were not just a fictional character, and if I had lived back then, we would've been fast friends.

And what is not to love about Miss Shelva and Miss Melva. You can't help but smile at their antics. Their brother, Asa, however, is part of the reason the story took some turns I didn't quite expect. I expected Asa to be a sweet little man. I was wrong.

My all-time favorite character, however, was (not surprisingly) Thad McKane. Typical fictitious cowboy/sheriff/good guy. And the guy you root for the entire time. Thad had a lot to overcome and it was fun to watch him grow throughout the book.

The whole story was very engaging and enjoyable. This was only the second book by Kim Vogel Sawyer that I had read, and I've enjoyed both so I think it is time to get my hands on some more of her books because I am sure they are just as enjoyable!

With endearing characters, a sweet love story and just enough mystery to keep things interesting, I would  recommend Song of My Heart!

This review copy was provided to me by the publisher. I received no compensation and was not required to give a positive review. Thank you to Bethany House for providing me with this book!

Books Read in March 2012

Somehow, and I'm not quite sure how, the month of March segued into the month of April without me even realizing it. I mean, I knew that we were writing "4" for the month when writing the date, but for some reason the fact that we did, indeed, change months somehow slipped past me. And that is why I am a whole week late sharing with you my list of books from March. What I hate to admit, however, is that I only read one book in the month of March. I'm not sure why, it just happened that way.

1. Longing (Karen Kingsbury) - 319 p.

Which is a whopping 319 pages during the month of March. And 4947 pages in 2012. I can assure you that April will have a better total, as we are already 8 days in and I've finished two books. *whew*