Easter Oven Surprise

Oven Surprise Sticky Rolls

Surprise your household with this amazing treat on Easter morning! Made the day before, they rest in the oven overnight and only need to be baked right before serving.

Ingredients:

1 package Rhodes Frozen Dinner Rolls (18-24)

1 C. chopped pecans

1 C. brown sugar

1 small package of Cook & Serve Butterscotch Pudding

1 stick butter

Cinnamon

Instructions:

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray to grease the dish.

Line the pan with chopped pecans and sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon over the layer of pecans.

Space the 24 rolls in the pan.

Sprinkle the dry pudding over the rolls.

In a saucepan, combine the butter and brown sugar and stir constantly until the mixture is melted and comes to a boil.

Pour the heated mixture evenly over the rolls.

Spray wax paper with cooking spray and place the wax paper over the dish.

Place the pan in a cold oven and leave untouched overnight.

In the morning:

Briefly remove the dish and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the wax paper, return the rolls to the oven, and cook for 25-30 minutes.

At 15 minutes, cover the dish with aluminum foil to prevent burning.

Remove from the oven and invert onto a serving platter.

Serve warm! Feeds 15-20

Behind the Cupboard Door:

Granted, we are celebrating Easter, but I have a story related to this recipe from a Christmas long ago.

Having traveled from our home in Budapest to spend Christmas with family in the U.S., I wanted to offer the Oven Surprise Sticky Rolls for our holiday breakfast. Unaware of this intent, my son arose first on Christmas morning and thoughtfully heated up the oven to be ready for baking our traditional Breakfast Casserole. Imagine my shock when the aromas of cinnamon, brown sugar, and warm bread woke me from a deep jet lag sleep. Stumbling downstairs, I thought, “YIKES! The rolls! No one even knew to remove the wax paper!”

Well, the Sticky Rolls were no longer a surprise, but after peeling off the charred wax paper and removing the burned portion of bread, the rest remained a delightful treat as we gathered to celebrate.

So here is a hint to add to the Instructions: Inform any house guests that your oven is occupied.

[Note: The recipe originated in years past from one of our daughter’s roommates. As always, when I share a recipe, I ask that you pray for me when you use it. Thank you so much!]

A Heart Wrenching Question

How Can We Pray?

“How Can We Pray?”

The question stares at each of us as we gaze—horrified—into the face of evil, destruction, suffering, and death. Today, I offer one shareable website, Stand with Ukraine, with regularly updated prayer requests. May this tool encourage you, your family, your friends, your Bible Study, your church, your small group, your book club, your cooking club, your neighborhood, your carpool, your choir to pray urgently and specifically for God’s end to this heinous war in our midst. As you gather in classrooms, fitness rooms, boardrooms, and family rooms, will you bring your heart and the hearts of those around you to pray for Ukraine and her people?

“I love the Lord because He hears my prayers and answers them. Because He bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I breathe” (Psalm 116:1-2).

Living with Eternal Intentionality®

The words of James 5:16b say, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (NASB). How does this motivate you to pray with confidence in the grievous day in which we live?

My prayer warrior friend Ruthie says, “I am learning more about praying without ceasing in regard to this war.” (I Thessalonians 5:17) Relate any way that can you identify with Ruthie.

A Bible Study in a Duffle Bag

Frozen in place, the three of us stared wide-eyed at each other. His haggard appearance told me that the trip had not been easy. Now our friend, Larry, and I huddled together for whispered conversation in our kitchen while the children slept upstairs. This discussion was not for their ears.

Backstory:

In 1977 our organization, Cru® (Campus Crusade for Christ International®) asked Larry and me to go live covertly—live a double life—behind the Iron Curtain in communist Poland.

Those were the bitterly cold days of the frigid Cold War. Missionary activity, illegal under that atheist government, required rigorous tactics. And, Cold War food shortages complicated domestic matters. Strict rationing, empty shelves, and long lines made meal planning daunting. Facing these economic challenges within the communist system became an ongoing challenge for our growing family of five.

This story brings you into our kitchen and into our lives.

Frozen in place, the three of us stared wide-eyed at each other. His haggard appearance told me that the trip had not been easy. Now our friend, Larry, and I huddled together for whispered conversation in our kitchen while the children slept upstairs. This discussion was not for their ears.

On the previous cold, nasty Friday afternoon, Wiesiek boarded a bus, duffle bag in hand, and left the city. Not for a moment did we naively dismiss the seriousness of his journey, and throughout the weekend we thought of him often. His wellbeing weighed heavily upon us. We knew his whereabouts; we knew his undertaking. If caught in this criminal activity, our friend would suffer certain punishment.

Now on this Sunday evening, at long last, he was back! Desperate questions hung in the air: “Was the trip successful?” “Did anyone act suspicious?” “Was he ever followed?”

As stated, the severity of food shortages in Poland in the ’70s and '80s, dictated that extreme measures be taken—meat had to be purchased on the black market. Our friend Wiesiek’s cousin knew a farmer, and the farmer agreed to sell one of his steers, provided someone else would transport the meat. To protect each party involved, every detail had to be kept from nosy prying eyes.

Wiesiek picked a weekend with freezing temperatures (to prevent spoilage) and left his own family to travel by public transportation to the village.

Wiesiek selected a weekend with freezing temperatures (to prevent spoilage) and left his own family in the city to travel by public transportation to the village. Once on-site, our friend made the rendezvous with his cousin, who subsequently introduced him to the farmer. The farmer kept his word, honored the commitment, and—for the agreed-upon hefty price in cash—handed over the fresh meat.

Whew.

But Wiesiek still faced the return trip to Warsaw, where his family—and ours—nervously waited. He must transport himself and the cargo to its final destination without being stopped, questioned, fined, or arrested.

After schlepping his baggage into the outside compartment of the bus, our colleague boarded the crowded public transportation, found his seat inside, and set his sights toward the last leg of this clandestine journey. Several hours later, to everyone’s great relief, he made it back!

Now with Wiesiek inside from the bitter cold and in our midst, my burning question had to be asked; I simply could not wait any longer.

“Where is the meat?” “Where is the beef you traveled so far to purchase?”

“Here. Here in the duffle bag.”

— Wiesiek

With that, he stepped back, pointed downward, and said, “Here. Here in the duffle bag.” Throughout the conversation, this bulging meat-filled bag had stood unobtrusively between us on the linoleum floor!

As if on cue, with reverential respect, Wiesiek knelt down, opened his battered brown companion, and gently pulled out—piece by piece—the contents, our designated portion of “the project.”

“Shock gave way to wonder as I stared at God’s provision: “And my God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” ”

— Philippians 4:19

Shock gave way to wonder as I stared at God’s provision: “And my God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). A Bible Study in a Duffle Bag—not in theory or concept, not in assumption or presupposition. No. Right before my eyes was a Bible Study, a realization of faithfulness from the Hand of God. And, painted in the picture was Wiesiek, one who exemplified the words of Proverbs 18:24b, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

In the years to follow, over and again, God demonstrated His generous character and His Word became my personal testimony: “I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread” (Psalm 37:25). Despite barren stores and empty shelves, even during the ongoing severe communist economic crises, not once did we go hungry; not once did we miss a meal. Throughout, God used people like Wiesiek to help us. Food Angels, don’t you think, Food Angels who delivered A Bible Study in a Duffle Bag.

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

Put yourself in Wiesiek’s place. How would you have felt, risking punishment, to help these foreigners?

When have you seen God surprise you by providing for your needs? Did He use other people?

When has He used you to be the provision of blessing for someone else?