Psalm 73:23-26 "Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength and my portion forever." I read this verse this morning and I absolutely love it! I just love the rich promises within these words. God will, without a doubt, guide us throughout each and every day with his all-knowing, all-loving counsel. And we can eagerly await the wonderful glory that will come! This verse also made me stop and think about my level of spiritual maturity and my own relationship with Christ in truly desiring absolutely nothing else other than Christ on this earth. Are there things keeping us back from fully and solely wanting Him? God's word reminds us that the things of this earth fade and shatter but that God stands forever. He is the one who was, who is, and who is to come. Nothing else can compare!
You might notice a theme among these recipes. We got a taste of cooler weather and it left me wanting more! So I decided that warm, cool-weather food will most definitely make our fall stick around for a while! Well, my plan didn't exactly work out, thank you very much fickle Texas weather! But that didn't stop us from enjoying some yummy food!
From: pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground sirloin (I used ground beef)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 jalapenos, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 (15 oz.) can black beans
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans
1 (10 oz) can Rotel
salt and pepper to taste
1. Heat oil over medium high heat. Add beef and cook for 7-10 minutes.
2. Add onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and jalapenos and cook on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
3. Add beans (don't drain) and Rotel. Bring to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes covered, stirring often.
4. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
The most difficult part of this whole meal (other than keeping your balance and not slipping in the puddles of drool brought forth by the wonderful aroma in your kitchen) is chopping...and there's not very much of that! Just let it simmer away and you are in for a treat! I love the pinto and black beans in this chili..it gives it more of a tex-mex taste, which who doesn't love?? I topped ours with lots of cheese and served it with honey cornbread muffins (click on this link and it will take you to the post with that recipe...you might have to scroll down a bit).
We got another little teasing taste of fall weather last week so I was all over anything warm on Pinterest. Unfortunately, by the time I made this meal, our cool fall weather had left. Nevertheless we enjoyed this absolutely delicious soup and turned the A/C down a little bit. Think of the perfect marriage between broccoli cheese soup and potato soup. Now throw in some added veggies and there you have it! And the best part is, this soup is uber-creamy but does not contain any heavy whipping cream (perhaps it's the ten pounds of cheese that does it.....)
Cheesy Vegetable Chowder
From: luluthebaker.blogspot.com
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic
4 cups chicken broth
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup milk
2 cups chopped broccoli
2 heaping cups shredded cheddar
1. Melt butter in large soup pot.
2. Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender.
3. Add garlic and saute 1-2 more minutes.
4. Add chicken broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender.
5. Mix flour with water and add, simmer until slightly thickened.
6. Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through.
7. Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.
I topped ours with pepper and a sprinkle of dried rosemary. O.M.Good!! I've been eating the leftovers every day for lunch for the past 2 days and could probably eat it at every meal. Add it to your recipe book for this winter!
I found this next recipe on Pinterest as well when we were craving something sweet but didn't have any dessert in the house (a first for us...ha). I'm not gonna lie. The thing that most attracted me to this recipe on Pinterest is the words "no bake". Those words are almost as delicious in my mouth as these bites!! The best part is you can truly add whatever you want (or whatever you happen to have on hand in my case) to these puppies. The second time I made them (2 days after the first batch) I added a little bit of dark chocolate chips and slivered almonds just for kicks. So simple and so addicting!!
No-Bake Energy Bites
(aka Granola Balls according to my husband)
From: smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 cup coconut flakes (omitted...didn't have and not a huge fan)
1/2 cup ground flaxseed (again, I omitted)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
I added: a handful of slivered almonds and a sprinkle of dark chocolate chips
1. Mix peanut butter, honey, and oatmeal together in bowl.
2. Add your mix-ins (chocolate chips, flaxseed, etc.) and stir until well mixed.
3. Add vanilla, stir.
4. Chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes then roll into small balls and enjoy!!
So I might have omitted the parts that are good for you (except for the oatmeal) haha but these have definitely become a staple! A delicious dessert where I don't have to get out the hand mixer or use kitchen equipment whatsoever?? I'm sold :)
We tried this new dish, yet another Pinterest find, last night and OMG so fast and so yummy! And for a guy who claims to not like Asian dishes (not that mine is super authentic), my husband loved it!! The recipe says to serve it cold but I served mine hot and added chicken and stir-fried veggies.
Spicy Thai Noodles
From: asmallsnippet.blogspot.com
1 box linguine or angel hair pasta
(Of course I wouldn't check to see how much linguine I had left so I used a mixture of whole wheat linguine and egg noodles)
1-2 Tbsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sesame oil
6 Tbsp honey
6 Tbsp soy sauce
Green onions, cilantro, peanuts, toasted sesame seeds for topping
**For my halved version I added one chicken breast (cooked and shredded) and a handful each of chopped broccoli and carrots.
1. Boil noodles, drain.
2. Chop green onions, cilantro (I omitted), and peanuts.
3. Heat both oils and red pepper over medium heat in small pan.
4. Strain out pepper and reserve oil.
5. To oil, whisk in honey and soy sauce.
6. If adding veggies, stir fry over medium high heat in skillet.
7. Toss sauce (and any add-ins) with noodles.
8. Refrigerate and serve cold, or serve immediately warm.
9. Before serving, top with green onions, cilantro, peanuts, and sesame seeds.
Just the right combo of spicy from the red pepper and sweet from the honey. We are definitely having this again!! And the best part is, I'm taking the leftovers to work for lunch and trying it out cold. I added some chopped napa cabbage to make it into a cold asian pasta salad. Looking forward to naptime!!
So this past weekend I made a trek to the wonderful world of Hobby Lobby's discounted Christmas decor and had to majorly practice my prioritizing and "just say no" skills. After putting the majority of the items in my cart back, debating, putting back in, debating some more, then taking them out again (I looked insane, muttering to myself and furiously adding up numbers on my list), I decided to sacrifice some of the decorative items to put that money toward a Christmas tree! I did, however, get some goods to make a Christmas wreath for our front door! I stopped at the Dollar Tree to get a few extras as well. Thus commenced the sweatshop! Not only did James get to sit and watch football, he also got to watch his insane wife shed hundreds of tiny twigs all over the living room rug, furiously poke and twist wire, acquire scratches up and down her legs, and cackle with delight at the finished product! Unfortunately I have to wait until after Thanksgiving to hang my new obsession on our door (don't make me start my "Give Thanksgiving a Chance!!!" tirade - poor James had to bear the brunt of that one in Walmart as their Christmas trees show up way too early), but I am in love! And the best part about it.....less than 20 bucks spent baby!!!
Grapevine wreath.......$4.99
(sadly, wreaths weren't on sale - but still pretty cheap!)
2 red berry picks.......$1.27
2 garland picks.......$1.99
Letter "S".......$2.99
Ribbon.......$5.00
(I'm obsessed with this sparkly ribbon and will have to fight the urge to put a bow on everything in our apartment this holiday season....poor James.)
Ornaments.......$2.00
(You can get a tube of 7 ornaments for a buck at the Dollar Tree! Granted, they are plastic but they did the trick!)
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