Cookies for Breakfast

If you have read the blog long,

 you know that this couple is very habitual.

Weekly Breakfast ... in the order that they appear:

Oatmeal

Avocado Toast

Granola

Smoothies

Granola

Baked Treat

Baked Treat Leftover

Breakfasts require little thought,

but the baked breakfasts on Friday and Saturday

keep us from getting bored.

For years we have been eating Oatmeal Cookie Granola.

It is a great recipe.

We recently tweaked it.

The Coconut Oil was traded for Peanut Butter.

Now we have Peanut Butter Cookie Granola!

Check it Out!

Ingredients:

3 cups oatmeal 

1/4 cup natural peanut butter

1/4 cup honey

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1 cup raisins

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Makes 8-10 servings of granola

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, add and thoroughly stir all of the dry ingredients into the dry oatmeal.
In a separate bowl, mix the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla together.
Once this is well blended, add to the oatmeal mix.
Spread thinly on a baking sheet (you wont need to grease anything) and
bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until slightly browned, turning once or twice.

A Song of Comfort

Singing a song of comfort this week.

It is needed reminder that my God sees and understands.

My Savior cares.

I have a High Priest who is the example of grace that my heart wants to follow.

Perhaps you need the song today too.

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained

Too deeply for mirth or song,

As the burdens press, and the cares distress,

And the way grows weary and long?

Refrain:

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,

His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,

I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when my way is dark

With a nameless dread and fear?

As the daylight fades into deep night shades,

Does He care enough to be near?

Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed

To resist some temptation strong;

When for my deep grief there is no relief,

Though my tears flow all the night long?

Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye”

To the dearest on earth to me,

And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks—

Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

Just A Little Bit of Heat and a Frugal Meal

We are definitely in the Fall months now.

The evenings are cool.

The days are pleasant, especially when the sun is shining.

We are excited for a return to soup weather.

I have a turkey carcass from Thursday in the freezer just waiting to become soup.

We tried a fennel and chicken sausage soup last week that was oh so yummy.

But a couple of weeks ago,

I tried this bean recipe.

So easy, and so good.

It is also a good excuse to make cornbread muffins

or any fresh bread for that matter.
It also goes well with the leftovers of the pork from earlier this month.

The key is in the jalapeno lime oil that is drizzled in the end ...
Don't skip that step!

Jalapeno-Lime Black Beans

6 TBSP olive oil

2 c chopped green bell peppers

1 1/2 c chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 cans no salt black beans (drained and rinsed)

3 c vegetable broth

3 jalapeno peppers - minced

3 limes

1/2 tsp salt

Heat 1 TBSP of oil in Dutch oven over Med-High heat.

Saute bell pepper and onion for 4 minutes.

Add garlic and saute 15 sec.

Stir in beans and broth and bring to boil.

Reduce heat to med; cover and cook 10 min until veggies are tender.

Stir together 5 TBSP oil, jalapenos, juice of 1 1/2 limes, and salt.

Divide bean mixture between 6 bowls; drizzle with jalapeno mixture.

Cut remaining limes and serve with beans.

When You Have to Walk the Walk

Sometimes it is so easy.

Sometimes it is incredibly hard.

We have the reminder on our wall.

Sometimes you can't see the path that you will walk,

but you know the One leading you down the path.

"Oh for grace to trust Him more!"

Using the Slow Cooker

Usually one night a week I get home after hubby,

or we walk in together.

One night a week I am giving piano lessons to a family and we can't begin them until after school at 3:30.

On these nights, easy or make ahead meals are a must.

Today, I used the crock pot to make Pork Carnitas - 

basically Mexican Shredded Pork-

which we then put on corn tortillas with black beans and avocado and tomatoes.

The topping options would be endless which is nice for when we have been super busy and may need more calories, or it is easily scaled back when we have not been as active.

Pork Carnitas

Carnitas Meat:

3 lb. pork loin

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 C. water

Carnitas Rub:

2 Tbsp. chili powder

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. coriander

1/2 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. oregano

Combine spices and rub on pork loin.
Place in slow cooker along with bay leaf and water.
Heat on low for 6-8 hours, until pork falls apart.
Shred the pork with a fork, then continue to heat on low until serving.

Carnitas Topping/Filling Options:

Corn or whole wheat tortillas

Black or pinto beans 

Brown rice

Cilantro

Onions or scallions

Romaine lettuce

Diced tomatoes

Diced avocado

Shredded Cheddar cheese

Green chiles

Salsa

Carnitas Sauce:

1½ C. Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tsp. lime juice

½ cup skim milk

I didn't try the sauce, but it sounds like something that I would really enjoy.

Just Have Faith

Many of you make a habit of reading through the Bible each year

(or maybe each time through takes longer than a year).

It often amazes me that new things stand out each time through.

It should not amaze me, but it does.

As wives, mothers, or wives and mothers-in-training,

we must be filled with the Scripture in order to help to protect and guide the home.

I was reminded of that this week.

Hubby reminded me of a Bible account that I had used in our decision making a few years ago - 

it had returned in some decision making this past month.

Yes, you can make a difference!

This week, I have been reading in Matthew.

I just finished reading about a variety of people who were rewarded for their simple faith.

Most of these examples had faith for healing,

but the heart of the passage applies to many situations.

Are you doubting?

Do things look impossible?

Are you in a hard place?

Place your faith in the One who deserves that faith.

He will not let you down.

Are you in the Word?

Dig, glean, hide it in your heart.

It will never be time wasted.

Relief

Relief:  

*alleviation, ease, or deliverance through the 

removal of pain, distress,oppression, etc.

* a means or thing that relieves pain, distress, anxiety, etc.

* money, food, or other help given to those in poverty or need.

* something affording a pleasing change, as from monotony.

*release from a post of duty, as by the arrival of a substitute orreplacement.

God is definitely our strength and has been sustaining us through a wilderness experience of many years.

Flesh and heart can fail and have failed, but God has been faithful

and He has now also given direction out of the wilderness.

Praise the Lord for His peace, His leadership, the relief that only He can provide.

Interruptions

Well, last week had good intentions.

Weeks of tree hauling,

2 days of power outages,

more wind storms,

more trees to haul ...

It has been a busy few weeks.

Before the craziness,

we had an Italian themed dinner at church.

Lasagna was the dish I brought,

but dessert was the fun one.

I wanted to stick with the theme.

In my search, I came across a Gluten-free Pumpkin Spice Tiramisu.

I had never tasted plain tiramisu,

but how could pumpkin spice, coffee, and cookies go wrong?

I ordered the Gluten-free ladyfingers.

I found some single serve instant espresso packets.

I set to work.

It was actually a very easy recipe and quite quick to make.

It was a success in my home and requested for Christmas :)

We expected a very sweet treat,

but it was just perfect.

Gluten-free Pumpkin Spice Tiramisu.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 large eggs, separated

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup mascarpone, at room temperature

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 cups brewed espresso, at room temperature

One 5.3-ounce package gluten-free ladyfingers, such as Schar

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment,

 beat the cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form; 

transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate. 

In the cleaned bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the cleaned whisk attachment,

 beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. 

Add 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff peaks form; transfer to a small bowl. 

In the cleaned bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the cleaned whisk attachment, 

beat together the egg yolks and the remaining 1/3 cup sugar on high speed until thickened and pale yellow. Gently fold the mascarpone, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and a third of the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture.

 Gently fold in the whipped egg whites and refrigerate. 

Place the espresso in a shallow plate. 

Dip both sides of the ladyfingers into the espresso and 

arrange in a 9-inch pie dish to completely line the bottom. 

Top with half of the pumpkin mixture, 

more espresso-dipped ladyfingers and the remaining pumpkin mixture. 

Top the pie with the remaining whipped cream and chocolate shavings. 

Refrigerate 8 hours or up to overnight, until ready to serve.

Two Times Tuesday

For the second time in two weeks,

we have been shown God's power and His protection.

Yesterday we were in the path of a tornado again.

By the time I got word, it was too late to seek shelter in a brick building

(typically the local college about 1.5 miles from us).

I sat in the bathroom for about 20 minutes while the rain and wind escalated.

A tornado passed through the park again.

tree behind (with what is left of our wood pile - thankful to have found folks to share it with)

neighbor beside us

trailers and tornados are a bad combination

I am thankful that we had finished our tree.

Now there are 3-4 more down.

2 at the trailer behind us,

2 at the trailer beside us.

Power has been out for 15 hours so far.

So thankful that the weather is not cold yet.

Thankful for the gas hot water tank.

Thankful for the grill to heat my breakfast soup 😀

Timing is Everything

On this Thankful Thursday,

I am thankful for God's perfect timing and protection.

This morning,

hubby went out to a truck with a flat tire.

Chances are that in the 25+ trips to the dump

I picked up the screw that had caused the flat.

We were both thankful that it did not leave me stranded on the side of the road,

that the trees were finished,

that hubby wasn't delayed at work.

I am thankful that my lessons were cancelled today so that I could get the tire taken care of.

We are also thankful that we had 2 tires for the truck that we had saved.

Instead of having to purchase a new tire, we just swapped out the rims.

Yes, we could grumble and complain,

but God's timing is perfect and His protection is evident.