Right here!

Me: "Where's my pretty baby?"
Remi: (raising her hand) "Right here!"

It is my prayer that she would always know how precious she is, that God loves her more than she could ever dream, that she is priceless and won't ever settle for a man who treats her less than so, that she would always have a willing heart to hear God calling for her, and that she would always answer "right here!"

From my Kitchen Friday

This is lunch our-style: tortilla chips and the very last bit of our homemade salsa, chunks of cheese from our new favorite Amish bulk food store, and fresh veggies and dip. Mmmm!

Happy Friday!!

Homemade taco seasoning

I have had a few requests, both here on this blog and in "real life" for the recipe that I use for taco seasoning. As I have mentioned before, we love Mexican food, but I don't like the idea of getting pre-packaged and processed food items if I don't have to. I have really loved my Healthy Choices cookbook for this very reason. The recipe that I use for taco seasoning comes straight out of there. It is easy to make up right when I need it, although you could probably also make up a big batch and use it as needed.

Taco Seasoning Mix
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. oregano

Mix and use as 1 store-bought package.

Perseverance

Of all the books in the Bible, the ones I love the most are the letters. Corinthians, Philippians, Ephesians, James. They, among others, are letters meant to send a message of encouragement or warning to the people who would be receiving them.

The book of James begins with a lesson on persevering through trials. Right out of the gate it says "consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance" (James 1: 2 & 3). You will face trials of many kinds, and through them you will grow. Have you ever asked God to give you more patience? How about more peace, faith, or love? I can't say for sure, but I would guess that when you ask God to fill you with something that you lack (patience, kindness, self-control), He doesn't just pour it right in and fill you up. Chances are, if you ask Him for more patience He is going to put you in situations that test your patience. Probably, if you ask Him to make you more kind He is going to put in your presence someone who is very difficult to tolerate. If you ask Him to strengthen your faith, most likely you will soon find yourself in a situation that will require tremendous faith to get through to the other side. Our initial reaction in these situations is to react negatively and say, "but God, I asked you to give me more, not show me how much I lack!" But, if you take the opportunity to let these situations actually grow and strengthen you in patience, kindness, etc., you will persevere. Your patience will indeed grow, your faith will be strengthened, you will be more kind.

"Consider it pure joy whenever (when, not if) you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."  (James 1: 2 & 3)

Weekending

Poor sick baby girl

Here is a round-up of the things I have been loving this week:

* Darlene at Time-Warp Wife is doing a three week Bible study on Esther. I love the story of Esther, and was so excited when she announced the study. This has only been the first week, so there is plenty of time to jump in!


 

 *Over at Keeper of the Home there is a great post on waiting on God. I am sure most all of us have been in a place where we were waiting on God to move in our lives in some way or another. Check our her post to find some encouragement.

* Sheila from To Love, Honor, and Vacuum has just finished up a great series called 29 Days to Great Sex leading up the the release to her new book titled The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex. If you are married and are interested in improving your sex life (whether your sex life is suffering in any way or not), check out her series. If you click on the 29 Days link, scroll down just a bit and you will see the whole list of posts.

Enjoy your weekend!

From my kitchen

Sick 2 year old on my lap during all of her awake hours for the past 3 days = a quick "From my kitchen" Friday post. I hope you don't mind :)

German Pancake with Strawberries

Food on the brain

It seems like since my success at finally having a working meal plan began, I have been making lots of yummy new recipes. This has resulted in there being more pictures of food on my camera's memory card than there are of my kids. As I have mentioned before, we love Mexican food. So, I was delighted with the result of a new salsa recipe that I came across. I changed it up quite a bit because I didn't have fresh tomatoes and I didn't want to use any hot peppers because I knew my kids would be eating it. It came together very nicely.

 Halve one red and one orange bell pepper, chunk up a small onion or halve a large one, and add 7 or 8 garlic cloves. Roast until blackened.

Pulse in food processor just until chopped up, not until pureed. 

Measure out one cup of fresh cilantro and then chop it up. 

Pour can of tomatoes into a bowl, add your chopped up pepper mixture, and mix until well combined. Add cilantro, salt, and cider vinegar. Mix together and it will look something like this. And yes, I put that whole bite in my mouth. 

 It went well with taco salad made with bulgar burger, and it was the first to disappear on my kids' plates.

 
  Fresh Salsa
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 orange and 1 red bell pepper
1 small onion
7 to 8 garlic cloves
Bunch of fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cider vinegar

1. Slice up the peppers and onion and place them on a sprayed cookie sheet. Add whole garlic cloves. Roast in a 450 degree oven, stirring frequently, for 15 to 20 minutes or until blackened.
2. Put roasted vegetables in a food processor and pulse until chopped up, not until pureed.
3. Add chopped veggies to the tomatoes in a medium sized bowl and mix well.
4. Measure out 1 cup of cilantro leaves and then chop them up.
5. Add cilantro, salt, and cider vinegar to salsa and mix well.