Author: Dora Hiers

A Little Recipe Love and Sweet Freedom a la Mode by Jennifer Hallmark

/ Dora Hiers / 5 Comments
Don’t you just love recipes passed down through the generations? I do, and I’m thrilled that Jennifer Hallmark was willing to share this recipe today. Check out…Halupki or Stuffed Cabbage Rolls


One of my favorite dishes Mom makes for the family is halupki. It was passed down from her mother. When Mom was a child, her mother, Lena, would rise early, cooking for a houseful of children. She would go to the slaughterhouse for fresh ground beef. As Grandma mixed the ground beef and rice, Grandpa would sneak bites of the raw beef mixture, certainly not recommended today. Grandma harvested cabbage from her garden across the road from the house. Enjoy!

Halupki or Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Yield: Serves 8

2 ½ pounds lean ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 pound bacon, cut small
1 pound cooked rice
Salt, pepper, Nature Seasoning, to taste

Sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons vinegar
Wash rice, cook only ten minutes. Drain excess water, rinse, then set aside. Fry bacon and onion until golden brown. Drain excess oil.

Put rice in large mixing bowl. Mix in ground beef, bacon and onions and mix well; add seasonings. Set aside.

Cut cabbage, core out about two inches deep and place head of cabbage in boiling water to steam until leaves can be removed easily. Repeat until you remove all cabbage leaves that are big enough to roll. Line the bottom of a large pot with leaves you don’t use.

Scoop filling and place in leave, tucking in ends and rolling. Pack stuffed cabbage in pot, then fill with sauce, adding hot water until barely covered. Place a plate on top, weighted down to keep stuffed cabbage from floating. Cook on medium low for an hour. Good served with hot sauce or ketchup.
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Sweet Freedom a la mode
Sweet Freedom a La Mode
For some, the fourth of July is a celebration of freedom; for others it is a reminder of bondage. Of pain. Of fear. Of hopelessness. But there is a hope that is deeper, a love that is truer, and a freedom that no one can ever snatch away. 

These pages contain numerous stories: a woman longing to start again but bound by the failures of her past; a young man who, upon reaching adulthood, must face his fears of death; a woman offered a chance of true love but held back by crippling insecurities. 

Is God even there? Does He care…enough to reach down and pull these men and women from the messes they’ve landed in, some of them by their own hand? 
Freedom. Peace-saturated, joy-infusing freedom. 

Jennifer Hallmark
Meet Jennifer Hallmark: writer by nature, artist at heart, and daughter of God by His grace. She loves to read detective fiction from the Golden Age, watch movies like LOTR, and play with her two precious granddaughters. At times, she writes. Jennifer and her husband, Danny, have spent their married life in Alabama and have a basset hound, Max.

Little Boy Hugs and…

/ Dora Hiers
I’m hanging out at Seriously Write today. Well, really I’m enjoying time with my family but don’t tell anybody. lol

No writing on the agenda for me today. No. Today’s all about little boy hugs and skirting make-shift beds with an attitude of gratitude. 

But, if you have a free moment or loneliness strikes, and you’d like some company, stop over and say hi > Seriously Write.

Wishing all my friends and family (those not here at our house) a blessed Thanksgiving!

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.  ~ Psalm 100:4 NIV

Curl Up with this Holiday Romance…

/ Dora Hiers
Buy Links: Pelican Book Group & Amazon

“Do you believe in second chances, Chaney?” His voice rumbled near, tickling the bare skin on her neck.

Was he referring to them? Or to his skating career? The air compressed from her lungs, but somehow she managed to squeeze out a raspy, “Yeah.”

His gaze never left her face, but his fingers moved to toy with the ends of her hair. Sliding the strands through his fingertips, a tic tightened his jaw and his lips firmed into a straight line.

Of its own accord, her palm reached up to cover his cheek, his whiskers scratchy against her skin. It wouldn’t ease the pain or regret over his past choices, but perhaps she could offer small comfort now.

“Do you think we might have a second chance?” His lashes dipped to hide his expression from her. She almost missed the naked vulnerability, the loneliness.

“A second chance at…?” She held her breath, waiting, hoping he wasn’t referring to their Olympic dreams.

“Us.” His lips covered hers, gentle and tentative, soft and tender. When her hand curled around his neck and dragged him closer, he deepened the kiss and slid one arm around her waist while the other cupped her cheek, his thumb wreaking havoc with her pulse.

Oh, dear God in heaven, I love this man. What will I do if he leaves again?


What readers are saying about Christmas in the Rink:
“Tis the season for love, faith and joy and what better way to experience them than by reading this book!” ~ Sally Shupe

“…a marvelous novella that reminds us dreams may be set aside for a reason and forgiveness can heal hearts. A lovely story for the season!” ~ Julie Steele
“Washed up Olympic hopeful looking for part time mechanic’s job.”
Not quite the glamorous life Conner Weddington envisioned during those countless hours of high school skating practices; but after his mother’s untimely death on Christmas Day, Conner joined the Army and left everything behind, including the father who despised his dreams, and his beautiful skate partner, Chaney Mitchum.

Chaney Mitchum understands why Conner left, but he stole her Olympic aspirations along with her heart. She’s never matched that graceful rhythm with another partner, so with her dreams squelched and an adorable niece who requires her attention, Chaney fills her days with diapers and students, not pleasure skating or romance.


Now that Conner’s back in town, will he reclaim the joy he once felt about Christmas and faith? Can Chaney and Conner rediscover their poetic elegance on the ice?

Buy Links: Pelican Book Group & Amazon