Christmas Cooking for Those You Love

FOOD AT THE CENTER
Kelly Minter grew up around the dinner table. She explains, “My family was committed to having dinners around the table every night.” Some of her best memories were made during these moments when they shared stories about their day. During those formative years, she realized that food was important in showing hospitality and forming relationships. When she began leading Bible studies, food also played a key role as it evolved into recipe swapping while cooking and eating. After LifeWay approached her to write a Bible study she began including recipes. Six Bible study books later, the recipes have been included in each Bible study.

Kelly met Regina Pinto, the co-author of the cookbook and a talented Chef, at church. They both work with Justice and Mercy International. Since Regina is Brazilian they invited her to come along to the Amazon jungle since she knows the language and could also help cook.

When asked why she wrote the cookbook Kelly shares, “My prayer is that family members, friends, and even strangers will find not only safe harbor around your table but also the attributes of Christ Himself.” In addition, she also wants to provide people with easy and accessible meals. Kelly also talks about the staples she always keeps in the house that are easy to throw together in a pinch. She explains, “I never leave the grocery store without picking up basic ingredients like onions, garlic, spinach, and sweet potatoes.”

When picking the recipes for the book, Kelly began by including what she liked to cook and then organized it by stories and topics with chapters like; The Food That Brings Us Together; Fresh From the Garden; The Tomato; The New Church Potluck, etc.

Easy recipes prepared with Christmas shopping left-overs:
Butternut Squash and Sausage Risotto pg. 77
Turkey Soup pg. 134
Christmas Rice pg. 217
Charcuterie Board pg. 94