For the last five days, I have been reading Remember God by Annie F. Downs. It is good. I believe that it is a combination of things that pulls the reader in: the style of writing, the rawness of emotions, and then the fact that it is written in story form. I can’t believe that I am already on page 130 after just a few days.
There are several things that resonated with me while reading this book. I am going to discuss two: I was deep into the story of her Job experience, where everything seemed to go wrong right before Thanksgiving. Why? Because that is exactly what happened to me this year. You can find that whole story here by listening to the podcast: Dancing in the Rain.
The second thing is when she talked about the sweet spot of her life at that time. I heard one particular message on the sweet spot about three years ago, and it still resonates now. Basically, our sweet spot is the spot where we push past our comfort zone into the pain and hard work, but right where God can use this pain and tension for his glory.
I made the recipe below for a Christmas Eve get-together that I had with some dear friends who are just like family to me. Have a blessed week!
Activity: Making Simple Stuffing
Total Prepping and Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
cumin – two tablespoons
basil – two tablespoons
onion powder – two tablespoons
garlic powder – two tablespoons
minced garlic – two tablespoons
two zucchinis
two carrots
one onion
one piece of a celery stalk
two boxes of cornbread stuffing
6 slices of honey wheat bread
2 cups of broth
Directions:
Boil two cups of water with butter.
Saute the carrots, zucchini, and onions.
While the vegetables are sauteing, cut up six slices of bread into cubes.
Season with basil, and then place in the oven for 10 minutes.
Add the two boxes of cornbread stuffing mix and cubed bread cubes to the water.
Add the sauteed vegetables, celery, garlic, seasonings, and broth.
Throw it into a casserole pan at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.
This morning was the Christmas party celebration for my Moms’ Ministry small group. We had a ton of food and a ton of fun. This year has definitely been an eye opener from God to me, in realizing that yes, gifts are nice. They are wonderful. However, the best gifts in life do not come wrapped with a pretty bow. Because of God’s love toward us, we are indeed able to share this gift of love.
There is something about friendship, fellowship, food, and laughs that makes you appreciate all the wonderful blessings that life has to offer. I think the craziest part of the morning was when we played charades, which featured words that centered around winter and Christmas time. The highlights of this game was when I tried acting out Christmas stockings, and did a goofy swirl with my body. Then, we had the other team recreating the nativity scene. What fun!
Last night, it dawned on me that I had signed up to bring cookies and a cold pasta dish to this celebration. What I decided to do was to make spaghetti to eat, and then this morning, my wheels started turning, and that spaghetti transformed into my “Simple Spaghetti Casserole”. You can find the last simple recipe that I made here. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
God bless!
Activity: Making Simple Spaghetti Casserole
Total Prepping and Cooking Time: 1 1/2 hours
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of chili powder
1 can of corn
1 can of French cut green beans
2 tablespoons of vegan butter
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 box of spaghetti
1 can of pasta sauce
5 tablespoons of parsley
1/2 cup of vegan or non-vegan cheese
2 tablespoons of onion powder
2 tablespoons of garlic powder
Directions:
Boil one box of spaghetti in five cups of water.
Pour the olive oil into the water so that the spaghetti won’t stick.
Saute the corn and french green beans with butter and chili powder.
Rinse the spaghetti when done, then add the pasta sauce, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add all of the rest of the seasonings except for the cheese and parsley.
Cook for 10 ten minutes, and then dump into a large casserole pan, at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, completely covering with the shredded cheese and the parsley on top.
I had a busy weekend. However, it was a good kind of busy. I got a chance to enjoy my mom and niece who were visiting. I did plenty of cooking. However, I also had a lot of down time. Yesterday, I ended up watching a Hallmark movie that had a really good story line.
The main character’s sister, Alice, had died suddenly from heart issues. Alice’s death prompted Lois to go back to her hometown first for the funeral, and then secondly, to take care of the affairs of her estate. Instead of taking care of these things, and then going right back to her high-powered attorney job, she decided to stay for a while.
This visit was more than what she had bargained for. All the memories from her sister’s car accident came to the forefront. She also had to deal with the fact that she had become estranged from her sister over the years. Alice’s friends knew more about her life than Lois did.
It took her awhile to reconcile the fact that the car accident that Alice was involved in was indeed not her fault, nor Peter’s. Lois kept thinking that if she hadn’t been out with Peter, her boyfriend, then her sister wouldn’t have ended up disabled.
Towards the end of the movie, Lois discovered that Alice had birthed a child during her college years. She was finally able to meet her niece and the adoptive parents, and find true forgiveness for herself and Peter.
In life, we are a lot like Lois, we think that “if only” we would have done or not done something, then things wouldn’t have turned out as they did. It is part of the bargaining stage of grief. However, Satan also uses it as a foothold to keep us stuck in life. He wants us to pride ourselves into thinking that we are in control of all of life’s details. The truth of the matter is that we are not. God is. We will not know all the reasons that he decides for things to be the way they are.
I love making bean concoctions. The last one that I made can be found here. Below is a recipe that I made a little over a week ago.
Activity: Making Simple Beans and Zucchini Soup
Total Prepping and Cooking Time: 35 Minutes
Ingredients:
cumin – 2 tablespoons
chili powder – 3 tablespoons
onion powder – 2 tablespoons
turmeric – 2 tablespoons
2 zucchinis
1 cup of brown rice
2 cans of kidney beans
1 can of pinto beans
2 tablespoons of butter
Directions:
Boil one cup of brown rice.
Cut up two zucchinis into chunks.
While the brown rice is boiling, saute the zucchini.
Heat up the beans in a large pot, along with three cups of water.
I have been reading Brene Brown’s new book, Dare to Lead for a couple of weeks now. If I was just reading that one book, I would be done by now. However, I am reading about six books at the same time. What I love is that the Holy Spirit has intertwined several themes across the board with all of these books: vulnerability, shame, joy, gratitude, dealing with the unexpected, hustling for self-worth, and filling our thirst.
There are several things that stuck out with me so far in this book. I would like to quote three of them:
Quote #1
“Embodying and practicing gratitude changes everything. It is not a personal construct, it’s a human construct-a unifying part of our existence-and it’s the antidote to foreboding joy, plain and simple. It’s allowing yourself the pleasure of accomplishment, or love, or joy-of really feeling it, of basking in it-by conjuring up gratitude for the moment and for the opportunity”. (Dare to Lead, Brene Brown, pg. 83)
This reminds of last night. I got together with a group of friends. I allowed myself to not dismiss the reality that my life has been filled with lots of drama and trauma within the last six months. However, my heart was full. It was so, so full. I thanked God for my friends, the food, the fellowship, time to decompress, and the laughs from the movie. I thanked him for all his goodness in spite of what my real life problems were.
Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
Quote #2
“Something as simple as starting or ending meetings with a gratitude check, when everyone shares one thing they’re grateful for, can build trust and connection, serve as container-building, and give your group permission to lean into joy.” (Dare to Lead, Brene Brown, pg. 83)
The second quote was a Holy Spirit moment because just a week ago, I had an accident. I allowed myself to sink in anger about all the inconveniences, but then quickly gave myself a gratitude check. That post can be found here. The funny thing about it is that I titled the post “Gratitude Check” prior to reading page 83 of Dare to Lead. God knows how to bring all things together.
Quote #3
The last quote is from page 97, which was another Holy Spirit moment. It reminded me of my IT job from years ago, where I sought to prove that I could sit at the table with others who made a certain salary, instead of being discriminated against. I didn’t realize that the only table that I needed to have recognition at is the table of Christ. The “Heavenly Places” blog post can be found here.
“When people don’t understand where they’re strong and where they deliver value for the organization or even for a single effort, they hustle. The kind that’s hard to be around because we are jumping in everywhere, including where we’re not strong or not needed, to prove that we deserve a seat at the table.” (Dare to Lead, by Brene Brown, page 97)
A few days ago, I decided to try my hands at a simple spaghetti recipe. There were very few ingredients. It turned out pretty good. The only problem was that I put too many red pepper flakes. I would take a bite to eat, then feel flames at the back of my throat. This cycle repeated itself until the bowl was empty. Enjoy!
Here is the recipe:
Activity: Making Simple Spaghetti
Total cooking and Prepping Time: 40 minutes
Servings: about 12
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of chili powder
2 tablespoons of onion powder
2 tablespoons of garlic powder
2 tablespoons of basil
1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes
1 box of spaghetti
1 jar of pasta sauce
1 small can of tomato soup (low-sodium)
basil or spinach leaves (for garnish and eating)
Valley of Grace Cutting Board-Shopify Store
Directions:
Boil six cups of water with olive oil or butter so that the spaghetti won’t stick.
Add the spaghetti to the boiling water.
Drain the spaghetti.
Dump the pasta sauce and tomato soup into the pot.
This was a busy week. We are getting closer and closer to the holidays coming upon us. In my Tuesday morning MOM’s group, we are studying the book entitled, “Pierced and Embraced” by Kelli Worrall. This past week, we dissected the chapter entitled: Forgiven and Set Free: The Woman Caught in Adultery.
This chapter hones in on the sin of judging and condemnation. If you haven’t already, you can check out the poem “If We’re Judging” here, and the podcast, “Broken People Judging Broken People here. One of the most fascinating things in scripture about this story is the question of what was Jesus writing in the sand when the scribes were trying to trip him up on the law and how he was going to handle the situation of the woman caught in adultery. The other question that lingers is “Where was the Man?” Well, I guess that is food for thought.
On that note, a few nights ago, I decided to make what I call simple chicken soup. It turned out pretty good, and it requires very few ingredients. Here is the recipe, and have a blessed weekend!
Activity: Making Simple Chicken Soup
Total Prepping and Cooking Time: 3 hours
Ingredients:
1 1/2 boxes of chicken broth
4 tablespoons of chili powder
4 tablespoons of cumin
3 tablespoons of italian seasoning
1 tablespoon of butter
1/2 cup of water
1 small whole chicken
1 1/2 cans of corn
1 1/2 cans of french cut green beans
Directions:
Set the slow cooker for 3 hours on high.
After rinsing off, place a small whole chicken into a slow cooker of of 1 1/2 boxes of chicken broth and 1/2 cup of water.
Add 3 tablespoons of chili powder, cumin, and italian seasoning to the chicken.
Rinse off excess water from the cans of corn and green beans, and then saute them in a skillet.
Dump the vegetables into the slow cooker after 2 hours and 15 minutes.
After 2 hours 45 minutes, carefully cut of the chicken into pieces while in the slow cooker.
Background Story on the Red Beans and Couscous Mix:
Last night, my small group, “The Bible Babes”, were back in full swing. It felt could to see everyone after such a long, summer break. We are diving into Kelly Minter’s book, “All Things New”. The session video that we watched last night set the tone for the study by having us to dive into two concepts: 1) using our weakness to enable God’s strength to be present and seen by others, and 2) keeping our hearts wide open to others, even when we have been faced with some relationship challenges. Of course, wide open hearts do not take the place of exerting boundaries. However, it helps us to be vulnerable, release shame, and allow God’s grace to move in our hearts. It definitely takes the Holy Spirit to be at work in hearts to thrive, even in the midst of our pain.
Red Beans with Couscous Pic 1
As you all know by now, I am doing something with beans and legumes almost every week. About a week ago, I made a recipe that is almost gone unfortunately. It is what I called my Red Beans & Couscous mix. I didn’t use canned beans. If I would have used canned beans, the red beans and couscous mix would have been done in about 35 minutes. It ended up taking two hours just for the red beans to be ready. I literally dumped all kinds of ingredients into this mixture. Last week, I made “Black Beans and Mixed Greens”. You can find the recipe here.
Red Beans with Couscous Pic 2
Here is the recipe:
Activity: Making Red Beans & Couscous Mix
Total Prepping and Cooking Time: 35 minutes with canned beans, 2.5 hours with regular beans
Ingredients:
1 box of couscous
1 can of mushrooms
1 can of mixed vegetables
3 cans of beans or 1 bag of beans
vegetable broth or chicken broth (non-vegan)
3 tablespoons of turmeric
3 tablespoons of cumin
3 tablespoons of garlic powder
3 tablespoons of onion powder
3 tablespoons of chili powder
1 cup of nutritional yeast
Optional: vegan mozzarella cheese or regular cheese on top
Red Beans with Couscous Pic 3
Directions:
Boil the beans in water according to whether they are bagged or canned.
Saute the mushrooms and mixed vegetables while the beans are boiling.
Boil the couscous and fluff with a fork when done.
Dump all of the above ingredients into a big pot, pouring in about two and a half coups of broth.
I am sure that you’ve caught on to the fact that there are a lot of beans, legumes, and rice going on here in this house. One thing about those three items is that they are quick, inexpensive, and tasty when just the right spices are added. It is so easy to add any vegetable to beans and rice and call it a day.
After making sure that you have some type of added fat, such as olive oil, avocado, or butter, you have everything that you need for a healthy dinner on a tight budget. Last week, I featured a recipe using garbanzo beans here.
Black Beans & Mixed Greens
Life Application
On yesterday, I went to my mom’s group. We are currently studying the book Pierced and Embraced by Kelli Worrall. After the holidays, we’ll be diving into the study on the book of James by Beth Moore. The chapter of discussion yesterday was: Sought Out and Satisfied: The Woman at the Well.
This chapter led to a pretty good discussion, as we dived right into talking about all the labels that we give ourselves as individuals, along with the lies that Satan feeds us in regards to these labels. Jesus made a special trip to meet this woman whose mind was set to fulfill a fleshly need: thirst. Little did she know that she would receive the everlasting water of life: Jesus himself.
I hope that you guys have a blessed night!
Here is the recipe:
Activity: Making Black Beans & Mixed Greens with Rice
Total Prepping and Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
Cumin
Turmeric
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
1 1/2 cups of rice
1 can of mixed greens
2 cans of black beans
1/4 olive oil
Directions:
Boil the rice.
While the rice is boiling, saute the mixed greens in olive oil, and heat up the beans.
Dump everything into one skillet once the rice is ready, and mix and stir.
This past weekend was one of a lot of relaxation, mixed in with an onset of allergies that came crashing my way. When my allergies get this bad, the best thing for me to do is to try to relax as much as possible, although this was my plan for the weekend anyway. While relaxing, I got caught up on the episodes of Baked in Vermont and Focus on the Family that were sitting in the DVR box. I am not a super sweets person. However, by the time that you finish watching this show, you’ll be wanting to bake with whatever ingredients that you can get your hands on.
On Sunday, I stopped at the grocery store after church to get the ingredients for this super quick vegan meal. I love the challenge of making healthy meals involving all different kinds of beans and legumes. One thing about this meal is that it only requires a few ingredients. I made the same recipe a couple of weeks ago. However, I used black-eyed peas instead of black beans. Both meals were good and filling. The black bean version kept me full longer. If you decide to give it a try, send a comment down below, or an email with your thoughts on how it turned out.
Here is the recipe:
Activity: Making Vegan Black Beans with Quinoa & Zucchini Mix
Total Prepping and Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
3 teaspoons of onion powder
3 zucchinis
3 cans of organic black beans
1 box of Earthly Grains Quinoa/Brown Rice Blend with Rosemary and Olive Oil (from Aldi’s)
1/4 cup of olive oil or butter
Directions:
Place the three cans of black beans and the brown rice with rosemary packet into a pan of two cups of water. (I only used a fourth of the packet to cut down on sodium).
Add the onion powder.
Cut the zucchini into strips with a potato peeler.
Saute the zucchini strips.
Dump the zucchini into the pan after about 18 minutes, letting the mixture cook for another 12 minutes.
Enjoy!
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35, NIV
Last week, I went on an adventure of trying to figure out what meals to make with the ingredients that were left. You know that it’s time to go grocery shopping soon when you start getting really creative. Either that, you’re feeling adventurous, or you’re bored. One of the three. What I ended up doing was making my own version of chili. It turned out pretty good. Last night, I decided to make it again since I had leftover ingredients. My son actually gave me a thumbs up. If he doesn’t like how something tastes, trust me, he isn’t scared to speak his mind in that area.
Racing to Get Out
It’s funny because I heated up a bowl of chili. Then, I decided that I would take a walk for some fresh air, and also drop three books off at the Train Station library while I was at it. Right before leaving out, I went upstairs to grab something. That’s when my son asked, “What are you eating down there?” And to which I replied, “A chili concoction that I made. Do you want some? Of course, the answer was yes. I had to quick heat him up some because it was starting to get dark outside, and then rush to take a quick fifteen minute walk and head on. If you are feeling adventurous, how about giving it a try. Drop a line below to let me know how yours turned out. Here is the simple recipe:
Because of the fact that my daughter is vegan, I am constantly trying to come up with vegan recipes that are fun, tasty, and simple. For quite some time now, I was thinking of trying to make vegan hamburger patties using the ground crumble, but I was unsure of what the results would be, considering that the ground crumble could simply fall apart if it isn’t bound well.
Finally, last week I gave it a try. To be more specific, I gave the vegan bites a try. The hamburger patties will be for another day and another post. I made one big bowl of this mixture. At first, I only cooked about 20% of the bowl, and refrigerated the rest. Later that day, I cooked the rest of the bowl. I noticed the difference immediately. Refrigerating the mixture causes it to stiffen and thicken up to a better consistency. Thus, my recommendations for you would be to make the mixture, and refrigerate the mixture for one hour, and then start scooping the bites. The one thing that I like about this recipe is the fact that the Mexican crumble has enough of a spicy kick, that you don’t need a lot of seasoning. Please enjoy and have a wonderful Labor Day!
