Friday Food ~ Stroganoff

I just had this deliciousness for lunch! It's a family favorite for my husband and I, and little Isaac loves it too! There is a little tang in the sauce, which makes it really rich and flavorful. Using the blender for the sauce makes this elegant meal actually very easy! I love easy...who doesn't love easy!?     

Vegetarian Beef Stroganoff

2 onions, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons margarine

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 cups soy milk

1 cup chopped vegetarian steak (I like to use a 13 ounce can of Worthington Prime Stakes)

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Ribbon pasta or cooked rice

Sauté onion with olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until they are lightly browned.  Place the flour, salt, margarine, soy sauce, and milk in a blender. Blend until well combined. Add the liquid into the sautéed onion. Heat until thick and bubbly. Add the sour cream and chopped vegetarian steak. Heat through. Serve over pasta ribbons or cooked rice.

Friday Food ~ Green Rice with Garbanzos

Something easy to make for dinner . . . yes, please! I developed this recipe recently when I was in the mood for spinach, but didn't want to just cook it plain. I wanted a one-dish-meal and this is what resulted! You've got protein from the garbanzo beans, vegetables from the spinach, olives, and onion. The rice (which could be brown rice if you wanted), completes the all-in-one idea. I served it with some whole wheat dinner rolls, Sister Schubert's from the frozen section are our favorite. The side salad you see is really simple. Tomatoes, avocado, hearts of palm mixed with a little lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. YUM!

Green Rice with Garbanzos

1 cup cooked rice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups frozen spinach

1 medium onion, chopped

½ cup vegetarian chicken-flavored broth

1 5 ounce can of sliced olives

1 15.5 ounce can garbanzo beans

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon seasoned salt

Place olive oil and chopped onion in large skillet on medium heat. Sauté until the onions are soft and clear. Add the chicken-flavored broth and spinach and cook on medium for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and heat through.

Jennifer's Baby Shower



Last Sunday, a fun group of women and myself had a great time celebrating our friend Jennifer's soon-to-arrive baby girl! Alex, the hostess, made so many creative and special foods and decorations and gifts! It was BEAUTIFUL . . . and everything was delicious!

The "spread"!  All was made by Alex, except the too salads I brought! Oh, and the cake was made by a well-known local bakery who always do an excellent job! Alex found so many great ideas on Pinterest and made them come to life! It was amazing!

Jennifer and me at her shower!

 

I tried out a new recipe for the shower! This is Mediterranean Orzo Salad! It was really yummy! The eggplant in it was wonderful! So easy to make, too!

 
Mediterranean Orzo Salad
2 TB extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups cubed eggplant
3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup orzo
2 tsp. capers
1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1/2 cup minced red bell peppers
2/3 cup pitted chopped mixed olives
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
ground black pepper to taste
grated feta cheese or Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly oil a 9 X 12 baking dish. Mix olive oil, eggplant, salt, and garlic together and roast in dish for 20-30 minutes. Cook the orzo pasta according to the package. Drain well. Mix all other ingredients together in a large bowl. Allow the pasta and eggplant to cool to room temperature. Add eggplant last and serve with grated cheese, if desired.

 (This recipe is from the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook.)

Quick Cinnamon Breakfast Cake

Quick Cinnamon Breakfast Cake

 

1 cup white flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

2 envelopes of rapid rise yeast

1/4 cup white sugar

2/3 cup warmed milk

1/4 cup melted margarine

1 egg (I use EnerG Egg Replacer)

 

Mix together and let rest 10 minutes.

 

Cinnamon topping:

3 TB melted margarine

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup chopped pecans

 

Icing: 1 cup powdered sugar, 1-2 TB milk, 1/2 tsp. vanilla.

 

 

After the dough has rested, place it in a small square baking dish (9 X 9 approximately). Sprinkle the cinnamon and nuts mixture on top. Bake in cold oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then drizzle with icing and serve.

 

Spiritual Growth and Motherhood

As a Mom, I know maintaining and strengthening my faith and spiritual life is so important. Staying connected to the saving power of Jesus is necessary all the time, but even more soo when our family life and household duties get us overwhelmed or frustrated. When we have the power of a living, thriving relationship with Christ, then He carries burdens for us, guides us through the toughest parts of life, and keeps us moving forward to more joy and more abiding faith.

This relationship I have with Christ, reminds me of my marriage in some ways, because I am committed to my husband through the great times and the mediocre times, and the really difficult times. Likewise, with Jesus, I will find that some times I feel more distant, but the commitment is still there. There will be times when I have to focus on important things, like feeding my newborn baby every 2-3 hours, and I won't have as much time for "dates" with Christ, but I will still be "married" to Him and in a relationship with Him. I always hunger and thirst for quiet time to read the Bible and pray, and I will do those things as much as possible, adjusting my life to accommodate these precious times of devotion and growth. If, I don't make time for Christ, then the relationship will suffer, just like a marriage suffers if the two people don't have open communication and or spend time alone together to connect and show each other love.

 There are times, however, when the stuff of life gets in the way and I cruise for a while, not really growing, but not really dying either. Complacency is in some ways even worse than being dead, because you no longer have motivation or desire. This can happen to us Moms as we get overwhelmed by all that is involved with family life and keeping up the house, but we need to notice when our spiritual "refrigerator" is getting empty and restock it. Just like we have to provide physical food for our families and go out and buy it and prepare it and serve it, in the same way we need to be responsible for our own spiritual food--getting it, eating it, and digesting it. Once we take the time to "eat" the Bible, pray, and put the principles into action, we will be stronger and stronger spiritually!

Faith grows as we spend time with Christ, learning from His words and sharing our thoughts and activities with Him. I am so busy sometimes with just keeping up with the necessities of living this life on this earth, that I don't think about heaven and eternal life. This world is so so temporary and the life with Jesus in heaven and throughout eternal life is so permanent and will last beyond all time.  I am going to make a specific effort to think about heaven at least once a day. I might turn off the radio in the car and describe to myself and my kids in the car what I think heaven will be like, what I want to ask Jesus about, and what I want to do up there that I probably won't get to do down here on earth. I want to make this a real part of my life.

My roses are really blooming right now in our backyard, and they remind me of a thriving, beautiful, Christian life....there may be thorns, but with Jesus watering our lives, shining his Son-shine on us, and the nutrients of his Bread of life--the Bible, then we are sure to find our life full of beautiful blooms representing the hope and joy of being connected to our Savior Jesus Christ.

Friday Food ~ Veggie Chicken Noodle Soup

Veggie Chicken Noodle Soup
12 cups water
3 TB McKay's Chicken Seasoning (vegetarian chicken seasoning powder)
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 potatoes, chopped
1 can Worthington FriChik, chopped (vegetarian chicken substitute)
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. sea salt
1 TB dry parsley flakes
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 16 oz. package ruffle noodles (or your favorite type)

Place everything except the noodles in a large kettle. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and slow boil until vegetables are soft, about 15-20 minutes. Add the pasta and cook another 10 minutes or until noodles are large, soft and fluffy. Serve with your favorite sandwiches, like grilled cheese.

Wednesday Away ~ Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge is located in the Olympic National Park in Washington. During our vacation this past summer, we drove the Hurricane Ridge Road after my brother recommended it. Earlier in the day we had hiked in the Hoh Rainforest and visited Marymere falls. Olympic is an awesome park for hiking and even the views while driving were incredible. Hurricane Ridge had some of the best scenic views we had seen all day It was amazing! The weather was beautiful and clear that day, so I was able to capture the far distant views in this photo. I used the Velvia effect in Photoshop to enhance the colors. If you take a vacation to the North West, I highly recommend Olympic National Park, and take some time to explore Hurricane Ridge. We didn't hike up there, because it was the end of the day for us, but they do have some really nice looking trails, too.

Friday Food ~ Popcorn and Smoothies Night

I love to cook and eat wonderful foods, but it is nice to have a break from all the preparation and work that goes into getting a full meal on the table. So, one night per week we have popcorn and smoothies night around here!

Simple Smoothies

2 frozen bananas

1/2 cup frozen blue berries

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

1-2 cups frozen strawberries

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

2-3 cups soy milk (or your favorite milk . . . you could even use juice like OJ or Apple Juice)

Blend until smooth. If you blender is having trouble processing all the frozen fruits, stop it 2-3 times and stir the smoothie with a spoon, or add a little more milk/juice as needed. I like my smoothies really thick . . . almost like soft serve ice cream! If you prefer a more juice-like consistency, then add more liquid or less strawberries. Make enough for 2 large cups, or 4 small cups. ENJOY!

Friday Food ~ Raspberry Lemonade in a Tea Maker

I love the Raspberry Lemonade they serve at Olive Garden, so my husband, Jason and I decided to try to make it at home! We used to make it in a pot with tea bags, but they Jason's parents gave us a tea maker for Christmas last year, so since them we've been making it in there. It's so much easier!

Raspberry Lemonade

9 Raspberry Herbal Tea bags

Lemonade mix = 2 quarts

Water & Ice

Add ice to the tea maker as you would to make tea. Add 2 quarts worth (enough powder to make 2 quarts) into the pitcher with the ice.

We use this kind of Raspberry Tea!

Place 9 tea bags in the "tea area" of the tea maker.

Add the correct amount of water as your tea maker requires. Push start!

Once the tea maker turns off, just stir the Raspberry Lemonade until it is well mixed and all the lemonade powder has dissolved. Enjoy!

Thursday Thoughts ~ Inspiration

Plato, The Republic

"Pindar: Hope, he says, cherishes the soul of him who lives in justice and holiness, and is the nurse of his age and the compassion of his journey, hope which is mightiest to sway the restless soul of man."


I praise God for the hope of heaven and eternal life! The time we spend on this earth is like a blink of our eye compared to the eternity God has promised us by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. Our Heavenly Father made a way for us be saved from the death penalty our sins place on our lives. The penalty of sin is death, and that death would be eternal.

Romans 6:1-14 ~Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.


For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Thursday Thoughts ~ Psalm 23

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Friday Food ~ Granola

We love to start our mornings off with a hearty bowl of granola! Isaac even enjoys granola! I have seen so many different recipes for granola, and each one adds something unique. I took the recipe my parents gave me and the one from my mother-in-law and created this recipe! It works out really well, because we can both enjoy aspects of the granola we used to eat when we were growing up.

Granola

1 large container of old fashioned oats (approx. 10 cups)

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup coconut

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup hot water

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup oil

1 cup chopped dates

Mix first five ingredients in large bowl. Mix brown sugar, water, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, and oil in small bowl. Combine all together, except dates. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Stir the granola ever 15 minutes during the baking time. Once you take it out of the oven, mix in the chopped dates.

Add all the grains, seeds, and nuts together.

Mix the liquids and sugar/salt together really well. Pour into bowl with dry ingredients and mix. Dump onto dry baking sheets, and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Stir every 15 minutes. Add dates at the end. Store in an airtight container.

Tues. News ~ Hummingbirds

I recently got a new camera, and used my 75-300 mm lens to snap this shot in our back yard! I plan to go outside this afternoon and try to capture some more images of hummingbirds! Hiding under our mulberry bush is the perfect spot to get photos like this one!

Did I mention, I absolutely LOVE hummingbirds! They are so beautiful and so interesting to watch. I got a hummingbird feeder last year, but was not able to really attract them because the season was off and the feeder's location was kind of hidden. This year, I was determined to set up my feeder in a way that will actually attract the hummingbirds! I purchased a shepherd's hook-style plant hanger, and used that to hang my hummingbird feeder in the left side of our flowerbeds in the back yard. We have had lots of hummingbirds this year and I have been so happy to see them! I make the nectar for them to drink, and it is very easy to do! You just put 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. So 1 cup of sugar for 4 cups of water. I boil the water, then add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Then I chill it in the refrigerator. When it is really hot, you have to change the nectar out of the feeder every day or two, because it will go bad. The solution keeps in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.

I will soon need to put the feeder away, however, because they need to migrate south to warmer climates or the winter will kill them.

I am already looking forward to feeding them again next year!

Monday: Mommy Menu ~ Subs with Potato Salad & BBQ Beans

My parents went on a cruise recently and stayed with us right before the trip and right after. The port where their boat departed from is close to where we live. They were traveling for their 45th wedding anniversary! AWESOME! Two of their best friends went on the cruise with them, and they also came and stayed with us on the last weekend after the cruise. I served this meal to all of them, and now I'm going to share it with you! Note: There won't be too many details on the sandwich, because a sandwich can be made so so many different ways --make it your favorite way!!
Potato Salad
8 potatoes
1 purple onion
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. mustard
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. horse radish sauce
2 large spoonfuls of sweet pickle relish
1 TB vinegar
2 hard boiled eggs (optional, and not included in the photos below)
dash of red and black pepper

Chop and cook the potatoes and let cool.

Chop the purple onion into really small pieces.

Mix all ingredients together really well. Chill until ready to serve!

Grandma's Barbecue Beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can navy beans

1 can great northern beans

1 pkg Griller crumbles (vegetarian ground beef substitute)

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 T. soy sauce

1 T. lemon juice

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

olive oil

Heat a pan at medium and add about 1-2 TB olive oil. Saute the onion and pepper until soft and slightly browned.

Rinse the beans.

Add the beans to the onion and pepper pan, and add all the other ingredients together. Simmer on medium-low for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with a delicious sandwich of your choice. We had Vegetarian turkey subs, which included lettuce, tomatoes, onions, black olives, pickles, vegetarian turkey slices, and various sliced cheeses.

Tues. News ~ Little boy . . . Little fish

Is he a boy . . . is he a fish? It's hard to tell when our son gets in the pool!

Watching him swim and explore the pool has been one of my favorite memories from this summer. The first time I took him to the pool this season was with his two best buddies Amelia and Connor! Isaac has never been afraid of the water, and laughed and giggled last year when I took him swimming at our friend's pool. He was about six months old back then, and now he's 18 months! I didn't know what to expect, and so when Isaac took a dip under the water and came up laughing and excited, I was very surprised! Then he broke free from my hand, and went completely under with a kind of belly flop-like dive. Keep in mind, it's only about 1 foot of water, but I was still really amazed. He loves the water and wants to go swimming ever chance he gets. He's definitely part boy, part fish! The other day, he found one of his swimmy diapers in the diaper bag and followed me around the house saying "swimming, swimming, swimming"! I didn't have time to go that day, but we went with Daddy over the weekend, and he didn't want to leave. He even tried jumping (or scooting) off the edge of the pool into Daddy's arms, which he watched his neighbor friend, Thomas doing! I'm taking him to the pool later today! Gotta get into that refreshing pool while we can, because the season is drawing to an end as the start of another school year is around the corner. But that's another story for another day!

Friday Food ~ Peach Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Many happy memories in my life involve pie. My Mom is the queen of pie making, and I only claim the title of pie princess, because she is still occupying that throne! This is originally my Mom's recipe, so I did not "make this one up" as I did the majority of the other recipes you will find on this blog of mine.

Oh, how I wish there was just one more slice of this left in my refrigerator right now. It was divine!
Peach Pie

crust
2 cups all purpose flour
2 TB wheat germ
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup ice water (ice to chill the water is VERY important)

filling
7-8 fresh peaches, or one bag of frozen peaches (this one was made with fresh)
1/2 cup sugar (the peaches were extremely ripe, so I didn't feel the need to add lots of sugar)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup cornstarch

Peel and slice the peaches.

In a small bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch.

Combine cornstarch mixture with peaches.

For the crust, mix the dry ingredients well.

Measure the oil, then put some ice in a bowl of water. This is very important, because the icy water will combine more completely with the oil than just tap temperature water. Hold the ice cubes back with your hand or a spoon as you pour water into the oil. Mix really, really well with a fork. That's the way Momma taught me, so that's the way I suggest you do it! ;-) (ha ha)

Mix the liquid with the dry, and don't mix it too much, because that will make the crust tough. Mix just enough to combine. Separate the pie dough into two equal lumps. Roll the pie crust out between wax paper.

Peel the top layer of wax paper off, and then lift the bottom sheet with the pie crust dough and dump it into the pie pan. Peel away the wax paper. Lightly touch the dough and press it to evenly distribute it over the bottom and sides of the pie pan. Dump the peaches in.

Roll the top pie crust dough out in the same way, and then form pretty edges all around the pie pan. Cut slits in the top of the pie for the steam to escape while baking.

Enjoy!! I think I'll make another pie this week! It just looks so yummy and I love pie so much!