In a small skillet, sauté onion and celery until tender.
In large mixing bowl, combine rice, celery and onion mixture, and the remaining ingredients. Stir well and then pour into a greased 1½ quart casserole dish.
Bake for 1 hour.
***
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
Makes one 9 x 13-inch sheet cake.
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
Dash of salt
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ cups mayonnaise
1½ cups lukewarm water
1½ teaspoons vanilla
Preheat oven to 350º F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the first five dry ingredients till blended, then add the mayonnaise, water, and vanilla. Beat till smooth.
Grease and lightly flour the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
***
Mama’s Best-Ever Chocolate Frosting
Makes enough to frost one 9 x 13-inch sheet cake.
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1½ ounces bittersweet chocolate (or ¼ cup unsweetened
cocoa powder)
Dash of salt
1 cup water
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Prepare frosting while the cake bakes. In a small saucepan over medium heat, mix sugar, cornstarch, chocolate or cocoa, salt, and water, stirring constantly, till mixture bubbles and thickens.
Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla, blending thoroughly.
Spread over the cake while still warm.
About the Author
Born and raised in west Michigan, Sharlene MacLaren attended Spring Arbor University. Upon graduating with an education degree, she traveled internationally for a year with a small singing ensemble, then came home and married one of her childhood friends. Together they raised two lovely daughters. Now happily retired after teaching elementary school for thirty-one years, “Shar” enjoys reading, writing, singing in the church choir and worship teams, traveling, and spending time with her husband, children, and precious grandchildren.
A Christian for over forty years and a lover of the English language, Shar has always enjoyed dabbling in writing—poetry, fiction, various essays, and freelance work for periodicals and newspapers. She remembers well the short stories she wrote in high school and watched circulate from girl to girl during government and civics classes. “Psst,” someone would whisper from two rows over, always when the teacher’s back was to the class, “pass me the next page.”
Shar is an occasional speaker for her local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) organization; is involved in KIDS’ HOPE USA, a mentoring program for at-risk children; counsels young women in the Apples of Gold Program; and is active in two weekly Bible studies. She and her husband, Cecil, live in Spring Lake, Michigan, with Mocha, their lazy, fat cat.
Through Every Storm was Shar’s first novel to be published by Whitaker House, and in 2007, the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) named it a finalist for Book of the Year. The acclaimed Little Hickman Creek series consists of Loving Liza Jane; Sarah, My Beloved (a finalist in the 2008 Inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest, sponsored by the Romance Writers of America); and Courting Emma. Shar’s last series, the popular Daughters of Jacob Kane, comprises Hannah Grace, Maggie Rose, and Abbie Ann. Livvie’s Song is the first in her latest series, River of Hope.
To find out more about Shar and her writing and inspiration, you can e-mail her at [email protected] or visit her Web site at www.sharlenemaclaren.com.
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