In Honor of the Slow Cooker

My Slow Cooker or Crock Pot, has been an invaluable appliance in my kitchen! When I was working full time, and now as a stay-at-home mom, my slow cooker can usually be found in the kitchen simmering something. I decided I just have to share some of its recipes and wonderful uses. Slow Cooking is not just limited to chili's, roasts, and soups! Have you ever tried a slow cooked banana bread, or chocolate fudge pudding? What about waking up in the morning to slow cooked porridge? Don't forget cooking dried beans. Using dried beans instead of buying cans of beans is a lot more economic; plus you can rest assured your food won't have any additives or preservatives.

I just recently purchased Crock Pot's newest VersaWare slow cooker. I LOVE this crock pot because I can use the stoneware on my stovetop to brown ground beef or do any sauteeing the recipe might call for!! No more dirtying multiple pots and pans! This is truly a one-pot wonder.

Some advantages when it comes to using a slow cooker:

• Frees you up during 'dinner' hour (one of the worst hours of the day with small children in tow)
• Lunch/Dinner is ready when you walk in the door after church
• Breakfast can be hot and ready as soon as you get up
• The slow cooker needs virtually no tending while it cooks, freeing you up to do other chores or recipes
• The slow cooker will tenderize less expensive, tough cuts of meat and make great stews out of them
• The slow cooker allows you to be out of the kitchen for extended periods of time -sometimes even all day
• It is low in electricity costs since it only uses a minimum amount of heat
• It keeps the food warm and ready to serve anytime since the crock pot is made up of ceramic or porcelain
• Unlike boiling, you only need a few cups of water for cooking foods in a crock pot

I'd love to hear some of your slow cooking experiences, the pros and cons, how it has made your life in the kitchen simpler?

Lie: A career outside the home is more valuable and fulfilling than being a wife and mother

TRUTH:

• In the will of God, there is no higher, holier calling than to be a wife and mother.

"No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds." (1 Timothy 5:9-10)

• God uniquely designed the woman to be a bearer and nurturer of life.

"Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living." (Genesis 3:20)

• There is no greater measure of a woman's worth or success than the extent to which she serves as the heart of her home.

"An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit." (1 Cor. 7:34)

• God's plan is that a woman's primary attention and efforts should be devoted to ministering to the needs of her husband and children.

"The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." (Genesis 2:18)

Since the feminist movement of the late 1960s, the western world has definitely succeeded in sending the message that a life at home, serving our family members, is unfulfilling, unexciting, not as important. A woman will miss out on everything else life has to offer, if she limits her time and energy to her family. True identity and potential is found in a career somewhere.

The world has sent this message...and it's spread into the church community. In fact, women of my generation, my mother's, and even some of my grandmother's have never known life without the pressures and expectations of this forward thinking and drive toward equality women of the world have adopted.

For certain, the lie that a career outside the home is more valuable and fulfilling than being a wife and mother is one that I have rejected. I know that God has called me to make my family my first priority. However, there have been many times while wiping another dirty bum, or preparing another meal, or cuddling someone after another bump or hurt when I've been brought to tears wondering if this is all there is. Is it what the world expects from me as a woman? Or is it Satan trying to distract me away from the things God values for me? Certainly Satan is using the world to lure me away from God's will. A combination of Satan's deception and my own tendancy toward selfish gain, and self fulfillment gets me into these wonderings. Without the truth and knowledge of what Scripture declares, I may very well get trapped into the world's thinking and stay there!

I realize this may be a controversial subject among women. I am not afraid of what they think. I am only concerned about what God desires for me.

One Forgotten Onion

This afternoon I went to grab an onion out of the bottom of my pantry and to my surprise, it had a nice LONG sprout growing out its top! Instead of throwing this beauty out, it found its place on my window sill.

Even with my other sprouting projects on the go, I am desperate for Spring! And this greenery on my sill is so gorgeous and a reminder that Spring is only around the corner. It's nearly March and it dumped about eight inches of snow today! Unbelievable.

So, what to use this new found plant for? I plan on trimming the greens and using them in future salads, and perhaps egg-drop soup one of these cold days, if the weather keeps up!

Sprouting!

I have been doing sprout research lately, and decided THIS is something I must do, and it is so much FUN! :) There is so much satisfaction gained from watching little greens emerge in a jar, and then, of course, eating them.

(Above) here are my radish sprouts after they soaked for about 8 hours. Notice the little sprouts emerging from the seed. :) So EXCITING!

Here are the Red Clover sprouts after soaking as well.


Red Clover after 2 days of rinsing and growing in the glass mason jar on my kitchen counter.

Red clover after the sprouts have fully emerged. The leaves greened up after being exposed to a bit of indirect sunlight.

Red Clover after about 4 days, it was finally rinsed and de-hulled and dried off a bit. Now they can be eaten in sandwiches or salads!

Yumm!

One of the best sites I've found online regarding sprouting is http://www.sproutpeople.com/. So much information on the nutrients found in this SUPERfood is available on different websites.

Happy Sprouting!

Lie: My sin is not really that bad

This chapter in "Lies Women Believe" about sin has been an eye-opener to me this past week. I have recognized some things about myself... and it's downright humiliating, which is probably where Christ wants me to be, so it's a good thing.

Those of us who have grown up in good homes or in the church and have learned
how to "act right" are particularly susceptible to this deception. Some of us
would never think of being a prostitute or having an abortion or living a
homosexual lifestyle. We wouldn't consider using profanity or embezzling money
from our employer or divorcing our mate.

---- Nancy Leigh DeMoss pg 99

In a nutshell... that basically summarizes my view of sin for the most part. Yes, I know worrying, discontentment, anger, being argumentative, dishonesty, and rebellion against my husband are sins... but somehow they don't seem as 'serious' as murder or adultery. I like the quote she included from Jeremy Taylor, "No sin is small. No grain of sand is small in the mechanism of a watch." It's the little sins that will lead us to destruction. Eve simply ate a fruit... she didn't brutally kill anyone and then spin a web of lies to cover it up... she just ate. Just? This one single act of rebellion against God plunged all of mankind into sinfulness and separation from God, requiring atonement and forgiveness.

Lord, Please help me recognize the seriousness of my own sin and what it really cost Jesus Christ at the cross of calvary.

Lie that I have believed: I can sin and get away with it.

For awhile now, I have wanted to blog about something other than food or my kitchen.

But to be perfectly honest, I haven't felt much like exposing my heart on here. So instead of making myself completely vulnerable to whomever, I'll share some Scripture I read this morning. Maybe it will affect the reader the same way it did me. You don't have to share. :)

"For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths."

Prov. 5.21

"The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a man; it searches out his inmost being."

Prov. 20.27

Why do I sin without stopping to contemplate the consequence(s) of my sin, or what it will REALLY cost me? Not to mention what it cost Jesus Christ at the cross?

Meal Planning Monday

Monday: Beans & Franks with boiled red potatoes
Tuesday: Roast with roasted red potatoes and peas
Wednesday: Mexican Corn Chowder with Corn Bread and Salad
Thursday: BBQ Roast Pizza with leftover Salad
Friday: Spaghetti noodles with linguini sauce and vegetables and garlic bread

Green Smoothie - Spadish?

My latest 'Green Smoothie' concoction was delightful this afternoon for lunch. Thought I'd share it.

1/2 C Apple Juice
1 C Spinach Leaves
1 Lg Radish
1 Apple
1/2 Banana
8 Ice cubes
Blend on High in the Vita-Mix for 40 seconds. Drink immediately.
Yields approx 2.5 Cups

Sourdough Starter

A year or two ago, I made a sourdough starter and let it die rather quickly! In fact, I don't know if I had truly achieved an active starter in the first place.

Two days ago, I mixed together a fresh starter and this one is turning out MUCH different than my last. It is so exciting! :)

This starter was made by:

1. Mixing 1 C warm water with 1 C unbleached all-purpose flour

2. Left in a warm place (20-30 degrees C) with a small opening in the lid to let air in and out

3. Fed every 24 hours by throwing out half of the starter and mixing in 1/2 C warm water with 1/2 C flour

Tips:

1. Do not mix starter with any metal utensils. Doing so may kill the bacteria that grows.

2. Do not let sit in a zone higher than 100 degrees F. That may also kill the starter.