The Food Stuffs:
Prep:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Have a bowl and a pot on hand, as well as a greased baking sheet and a flat surface to roll dough onto. Be warned that this is one of those recipes I make by sight, scent, and feel and not by measurement. None of these measurements are exact, sorry! Use your own judgement! Makes about 8 little pies.
Dough Ingredients:
3 cups Flour
2 1/2 tablespoons Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Cup Butter (not soft!)
1 Cup Milk
Dough Instructions:
1. Place the flour in a bowl. Sift baking powder and salt into the bowl as well.
2. Cut a cup of butter into the dry mixture with a pastry cutter.
3. Burrow out a hole in the center of the mixture. Fill with milk.
4. Stir until just combined.
5. Flour your hands and then mix with your hands, kneading until a dough forms.
6. Spread the dough on a floured, hard surface. Use a rolling pin to make a nice flat dough. Keep the surface and the dough well floured so it does not get sticky and fall apart.
Filling Ingredients:
6-8 Apples, peeled and chopped1 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Filling Instructions:
1. In one pot, melt the butter over low heat.
2. When the butter is melted, add the sugar and brown sugar. Stir until the mixture is evenly textured.
3. Add cinnamon and nutmeg until it smells good : )
4. Remove from burner and allow to cool a little bit.
Putting It All Together:
1. Cut the dough into rough squares. The squares (don't worry if the edges aren't straight and even) should be about the size of a postcard.
2. Using a spoon, spread the filling on the squares, creating a thin, even coat.
3. Add the chopped apples to the squares.
4. Scoop remaining filling over the apples on top of the squares.
5. Fold the edges of the squares up around the apples and filling, creating little pies.
6. Press your newly made edges against the apples and sticky filling. They should stay up just fine.
7. Move each little pie to the baking sheet and bake in the oven until the dough is done. The edges of the dough will be slightly golden and the bottom of each pie should be sturdy.
8. Place on cooling rack.
Topping It Off:
When the little pies come out of the oven, sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar and/or sliced almonds. Best when eaten slightly warm with ice cream or cool whip.
Notes:
-If the folded pies aren't holding shape well, spread a little melted butter around the top edges and pinch the dough edges until they stay.
-For crunchy crust, spread butter on the dough after five minutes of baking. It is best to pour melted butter over the little pies.
-For easier clean up, place tin foil or parchment paper over the baking sheet.
Mmm.....
Thoughts on Selective Sacrificing
I love my husband, and I appreciate how much he sacrifices for me. But sometimes, I wish he would sacrifice differently. Sometimes, I notice that he doesn't have time for certain things I like (reading together) because certain things he likes (browsing the internet for odd facts and images) takes up so much time that he often has homework left to work on. A lot of homework left to work on.
This frustrates me. It makes me feel like he is willing to sacrifice, but only certain things that he feels like sacrificing. That doesn't sound like much of a sacrifice to me. In my mind once recently, I termed this condition "selective sacrificing."
Just as I was about to snap at him over the whole thing the other day, I was trying to think of examples of his unfair and unjust behavior to call him out on. Oddly enough, many of the examples that came to mind were actually of my own selective sacrifices. Thank the Lord for bringing those to mind instead.
I sacrifice for my husband. Often I try to make sure that my sacrifices are ones I am comfortable with or have planned for though...like eating dinner later than I desire. Or, spending less time in front of the TV to do things for him. I don't mind sacrificing my time cooking instead of relaxing (never mind that I enjoy cooking.) At times, I even sacrifice things like -wait for it- precious time reading together in order to spend more time with friends, playing the games that I like.
Both my husband and I selectively sacrifice. So do our friends. Maybe it's a bigger trend...
The more I think about it, the more I wonder about the nature of human sacrifice. The sacrifices I make and see people around me make often come out of a sense of exchange. If I sacrifice this for you, you have to sacrifice that for me. Then, further, we expect loved ones to sacrifice because we are entitled to their doing so.
I have, more often than I'd like to admit, expected my husband to sacrifice just because he married me. Being his wife, I am entitled. Right? Doesn't the Bible say we own each other? It's in there, I promise! We give things up to honor each other...so they shouldn't also honor ourselves. Or else, we aren't really sacrificing. Right? What a mess.
As I've thought about all of this (over-thinking, I know,) I've noticed that Christ has little to do with my thinking and feeling about sacrifice. Not when it comes to the people I love anyway. Even though I've heard that I am a giving person...that doesn't mean I give the right things or that I do so for the right reasons.
When the Bible tell us to sacrifice or give things up to honor someone, it isn't for our own gain in any way, shape, or form. Even things like "honor you parents" aren't that simple. Honor is ultimately to Christ. Like all things we are to do are ultimately to point to Christ.
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31.) This is an inductive statement. We are to reason that from the small, necessary things like eating or drinking, up to all of the bigger things, like making decisions and loving others, whatever we do is to be for the Glory of God.
Colossians 3:17 says "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
When I sacrifice, it shouldn't just be for my husband. It shouldn't be for a friend. It definitely should not be in any sense for myself. My sacrifices should be, ultimately, to glorify Christ. Even further, when I want something and someone has to sacrifice for it, I should rethink my desires. Reading together is great. Doing it for my sake, especially at cost to someone I love, does not honor Christ.
I need to be on guard that I do not selectively sacrifice because doing so is about me, not about Jesus.
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