Recipe Holder Giveaway!

Strawberries are gluten free is having a great giveaway for a Mary Engelbreit recipe organizer with 48 recipe cards. She has GF menu plans as well as recipes at her site! Check it out and don't forget to register for the giveaway!

http://www.strawberriesareglutenfree.com/

Menu Plan Monday

This includes our dinner recipe for yesterday.(it was hit!) It sounds so good, I thought I would share it. It is from the cookbook "More for Less" and is called 'skillet beef with lentils' and we're having salad with it. Incidentally, I've discovered bags of broccoli slaw at our local grocery store and always add some, chopped up, to our salads...the little ones eat broccoli without knowing it, and it keeps our salads very crunchy. We're using ground deer in this recipe as that is what we have a lot of. Here is the recipe:

Skillet Beef with Lentils

bring 1 quart of water to a boil then add 1 1/2 cups lentils/ cook 20 minutes, then drain, reserving liquid.

saute in 2 Tb butter 2 chopped onions and 1 clove garlic, chopped

stir in 1 lb ground beef

dissolve in 2 1/3 cup reserved liquid 2 beef boullion cubes ( I'm using homemade beef broth) add to meat mixture, cover and simmer 10 minutes.

stir in reserved lentils, 2 Tb. long grain rice, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1 tsp. ground cumin.

bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes or until lentils and rice are tender and liquid is absorbed. (add more liquid if necessary)...at the end, add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, stir and serve.


Menu Plan Monday

*we're starting to add back in everyday, fresh carrot juice once a day, a kefir smoothie with frozen strawberries and blueberrys, and 'green lemonade' (green lemonade is made in the blender with romaine lettuce, spinach, fresh lemon and filtered water...along with a little stevia for sweetness) ...along with some salad every day, and fresh apples...trying to get some more enzymes and concentrated nutrition back after the holidays!*

Monday:
cheesy eggs with gf muffins
lentil quinoa stew
GF corndog casserole and salad

Tuesday:
cooked millet with apples and cinnamon
gf mac and cheese and apples
stuffed cabbage casserole and steamed green beans

Wednesday:
oatmeal
leftover skillet beef lentils
chicken tetrazzini (made with GF brown rice pasta) , steamed carrots

Thursday:
GF blueberry pancakes
chicken vegetable soup with brown rice
GF impossible cheeseburger pie, salad

Friday:
veggie omelets, homefried potatoes
baked lentil casserole with cheese, salad
Phillipino Feast! (at a friends) chicken adobo with rice, spring rolls and phillipino noodle dish. ( can't remember what it is called...sounds good, though!)

Saturday:
Brown rice custard
chicken salad on brown rice cakes, veggies
GF tuna noodle casserole, salad

Sunday:
cereal, banana, juice ( we usually have cereal only on Sunday, so we can get to church on time!)
GF pizza , salad
Ham and bean soup, GF sweet potato biscuits

~I find planning my menus makes my life so much easier...I can remember to take out what I need the night before, and the girls (I call them my prep chefs) , and our meals more nutritious...in addition to saving us a lot of money. I also love sharing recipes...and trying new ones! ~Sue~

Prayer Ornaments

I was blessed this Christmas season, to receive a lovely ornament from my dear friend Michaela. She has such a beautiful, passionate heart for missions. Michaela has graciously allowed me to tell of her beautiful ornaments and vision for her ministry on our blog. Each ornament is totally unique in its design and each represents fellow believers and missionaries serving abroad. Each child comes with a unique prayer request card made specifically for that country and Michaela also makes these beautiful prayer ornaments in magnet form too. Below is a picture of the beautiful ornament I received and what is written on the card that she came with.

Name: Ana

Ana is a representative of our brothers and sisters in Christ who live in Guatemala, South America. Whenever you catch sight of Ana on your tree, say a prayer for our fellow Christians in that country. They need our prayers of strength and courage. Below is a list of prayer requests for our brothers and sisters in Guatemala.

Prayer Requests:
Pray for strength for our fellow Christians. Guatemala is a country which is not open to the Gospel and many Christians endure persecution, both minor and major, for their faith.
Pray that the church will grow in Guatemala and that more and more people will come to know Christ as their Savior. Guatemala is predominately a Catholic and/or traditional religious country, if religious at all.
Pray also that pastors and christian aid workers will be effective in the many ministries being held in that country to serve the people. Guatemala is one of the top ten worst countries for human trafficking and child slavery- many people are hurting and need the truth of the Gospel.

Thank you for your prayers!

"You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.........His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. he is a shield for all who take refuge in Him." - II Samuel 22: 29, 31

If anyone is interested or would like more information about these beautiful prayer ornaments, please contact me at: mmbbg72493 (at) gmail (dot) com

Sabbath Rest...

Thought I would share this devotional from Max Lucado on this day of Sabbath rest..

"In this fast-paced world in which we live, the very thing we need to do is what we often don't do: We need simply to sit still and open our heart to the counsel of God. Then we wil be well prepared for whatever the day brings.

Sometimes the most Godly thing we can do for ourselves is to go to sleep. Sometimes, the most Godly thing we can do for our family and friends is to take a break and regather our strength.

Perhaps the words of the carpenter, promising rest, are so compelling because of our endless desire and quest to rest-not just to rest in the body, but to rest the heart, to find peace, to finally settle down in a valley fertile with contentment.

Do you know where to find rest? Where you find a clean conscience? Where you find the ability to sleep at night and live with yourself? By living in the pleasure of the Father who made you.

If you want to bring under control a fast-paced-lifestyle, you must eliminate the unnecessary; if you want to be where God wants you to be, you must concentrate on the necessary. ~PRAYER~

*Father, help us to use our time wisely, to take advantage of the opportunities we have to be just the type of Christians you want us to be. When it seems like we don't have enough time to do what we need to do, increase our gratitude for the challenges of each day. And, help us meet those challenges in ways that please you."

~May you all have a blessed, restful Sabbath day today....praising Him, worshiping HIm...in contentment and gratitude. We have had a 24 hour stomach virus going around here...but it seems to hit one person at a time, a week apart...last night Ronnie started vomiting and he is still sleeping...if he follows the pattern, he will be able to keep down some gatorade today and maybe a few pretzels later on....and will simply want (and need) rest today. We were supposed to get together with another family for dinner and fellowship today, but I think it will be a quiet day of rest at home...just us. Looking at the coming week on the calender, this might be the only day and evening we will have to rest and just be together quietly....busy week coming up. All very good things....just happen to fall in the same week. Be blessed today.....~Sue~

Provision, Generosity and Frugality...

Provision....Generosity, and Frugality....I'm very excited about this post! I'm going to start, by saying "Thank you, God, for your constant provision for our family!"This picture above is 20 quarts of turkey stock!!! The excitement of this is that one of my best friends does not like turkey very much and gave me 2 turkey carcasses to freeze after the holidays. Well, I pulled them out this morning, and made 20 quarts of golden, rich stock.

I got a huge platter of meat when I deboned them after cooking the stock...I couldn't believe how much meat I was able to get off those bones!

We had so much, I was able to make a large bowl of turkey salad to put on rice cakes for lunch ( my husband, who isn't gluten free had 2 big turkey salad sandwiches)...with some leftover.

I froze a large bag of meat to make Turkey Tetrazzini sometime in the coming weeks, which will feed our family dinner and have some leftovers for lunch as well.

and I took some of the stock and meat and made turkey soup for dinner with thai rice stick noodles....delicious! I have enough of the soup left for another large meal or lunches with some cooked brown rice.

So, thank you, Rhonda, for your generosity! Our family is continuously blessed by you!!!

And....how is that for frugality?! LOL I actually had fun today planning this meal...and this post as well! (my daughters couldn't understand why I was taking pictures of food....for a blog post, of course!) The girls and I even had some time today to run to the yarn store for the supplies to make a special "Dr. Who" scarf for a friend, and to return a gift at Best Buy and get a special old movie tin with 10 old movies that we love.

In a coming post, I want to put into words what God has been doing in my life, and our family for the past 2 years...with simplifying, contentment, organization, and creative frugality...but this meal was such a perfect example...and I am so very, very grateful for God's provision, Rhonda's generosity and God's gift of creativity and creative frugality!!! ~Sue~

Reflections on 2008

Our family is so blessed! On Jessica McDonald's blog, she had a great idea of posting all of what happened that year. This year has been a combination of laughter, tears, blessings and burdens. Our Lord has seen us through it all and for that, I am so thankful! New friends have come into our lives, and we've also been getting together with old friends as well. 2008 was a good year, and God really revealed to us that his way is the best way and his plan is perfect. Here is the lowdown on 2008...

January: Ronnie celebrated his 6th birthday with a huge party with eight little hyper boys... ugh. He had fun, but the noise...Ronnie had his first corrective surgery to re-align his hips, and we pretty much stayed at home during the three months of recuperation.

February: Same ole, same ole... Ronnie was receiving postcards by the pound thanks to my mom's idea: Postcards for Ronnie. She made up a chain email and emailed it to all her friends and family, who in turn emailed it to their family and friends, etc. People we don't know sent the sweetest cards and postcards, most of them from Europe and Asia! That definitely brightened his mood!

March: Ronnie began scooting around on the floor, rejoicing at this new found freedom. Ronnie moved up into the spare bed in Anna's room so it would be easier if he needed his parents at night (His bedroom and Meghan and my bedroom are on the first floor). Again, nothing earth shaking as Ronnie was still in his cast.

April: Ronnie got his body cast off, celebrated my Aunt Pammy's birthday, and went to the aviary where we got a special backstage pass to meet the new penguin, Sid. Ronnie loves penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins...get it?) so he was thrilled. They said because he went through what he did (surgery wise) he deserved something special. We were so grateful to the Pittsburgh Aviary that they thought of him.

May: Finished up school (Meghan: 9th grade. Me: 8th grade. Ronnie: kindergarden.)

June: Summer finally starts... we went to a baby shower for my cousin, other than Church, our bible study, and get togethers with friends it was a pretty slow month.

July: Our adorable cousin Ty was born July 5th, Meghan celebrated her 15th birthday, Daddy celebrated his 46th birthday, we had the oppurtunity to help church friends move to Altoona, and had our dear friends, Michaela and Morgan, sleepover to have fun and eat popcorn.

August: My mom turned 43, our cousins Ben and Crystal tied the knot, as well as a christening for Ty, and a trip to Keystone Lake for a day trip.

September: Ronnie's Cub Scout meetings began with what is probably the biggest den in scout history: 12 boys! Luckily, we're getting a den chief to help encourage the boys and keep order. He also started hockey with Dad as parent coach. He enjoyed it immensly, and so did Dad!

October: For some reason, October was really busy for, of all people, me! I had numerous babysitting jobs, and school too. And we had my costume party. Major fun, I went as Juliet and Meghan went as Meg March.

November: I turned thirteen, Anna turned four, and more babysitting...

December: CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS... You were with us for all that, so I won't bore you with the details, Ronnie had his second and hopefully last surgery, taking out the metal they put in the first time... he is such a trooper!Then Christmas came and went, New Years came and went...viola! 2008 in a slightly large nutshell!

I wonder what 2009 will hold... hmmm... anyways, that was our year. I'll be back soon to post something new: a tag! Made by me, I will be tagging the first four people who comment on this post. Good Luck!

Sara

An Hour into 2009

Hello all!

It is now almost an hour into 2009. Mum, Dad, Sara and I, stayed up and talked, munched and finished by watching the ball drop. It was a blessedly quiet and calm (for the most part) New Years Eve. We ate a late 'dinner' of philly cheese-steak Gluten Free pizza and salad for those who wanted to be healthy. We had shrimp and cocktail sauce as well and for dessert: root beer floats. Anna sat on the floor tilting her cup and head back to get the last few drops of it. After watching Journey to the Center of the Earth we tucked the littles in and to my personal delight, That's Entertainment II came on TCM. Sara was......less than thrilled but I delightedly kept up a running commentary. All the 'That's Entertainment' documentary films come on TCM on New Years Eve and day. It's always a treat for me.

We had so much fun this past evening and we'll always remember it. At the dinner table, we also reflected on God's goodness in the past year. Ronnie said he was grateful for his 'Blue-Bear' his Leapster, his Darth Vader laptop, and his star-wars-oh, and for God healing him too. (As Mum was quick to remind him.) Anna prayed the sweetest prayer and told the Lord that He was (and I loosely quote): "The best and most perfect God....." She's so sweet. I was grateful for daily, especially lately, being reminded through simple things, of His mercy, grace and love in our lives. I pray that our family may have another year being reminded of the Lord's love, grace and forgiveness. God is so good!

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die

A time to plant and a time to pluck what is planted

A time to kill and a time to heal

A time to break down and a time to build up

A time to weep and a time to laugh

A time to mourn and a time to dance

A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones

A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing

A time to gain and a time to lose

A time to keep and a time to throw away

A time to tear and a time to sew

A time to keep silence and a time to speak

A time to love and a time to hate

A time of war and a time of peace

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Yippee!!!! We're Gluten Free!!!! (again!)

Yippee!!!! We're gluten free...again! I've spent the entire day cleaning out my kitchen, rearranging my cabinets, getting all of my gluten free grain and pasta organized...while taking a break perusing past issues of 'Living Without' magazine for inspiration and encouragment...and recipes! Yesterday, we got millet and brown sticky rice ground into flour, so I have a fresh supply...I'm ready.

For those of you who don't know...a little backround...I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue in the year 2000. I've also been anemic since I was around 20 years old. When I was finally diagnosed, I did hours and hours of research...what WAS it, what could I do about it, what was in my power to control...and became passionate about nutrition. I researched and bought an electric grain mill ( the only one made in the USA), ground whole wheat and made all of our food from scratch. Well...I felt no better, but assumed that it took time. Then, I had a little boy January 2002...he was nursed exclusively until around 10 months when he started food...but even before he started food, his stools were never normal and he was much gassier and crankier than my first 2 babies were.

We found out when he was around 18 months old, that I was 'sensitive' to wheat, soy and peaches. ( of all things!)...well, when I started googling the symptoms of food sensitivities, all of Ronnie's symptoms became clear and after speaking with the pediatrician, I took him ( and everyone else) off of all gluten and soy. We saw a difference in Ronnie right away...I didn't notice much difference in my pain or fatigue. Then, we switched to natural sweeteners and I noticed a difference. Well...over the years, after having all the children tested, we've discovered multiple sensitivities...Meghan reacts to peanuts, Sara used to get bellyaches from wheat...Ronnie and Anna both do better without wheat...and the last time I was checked, I was reacting strongly to wheat, soy, peaches, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and corn. Well...I've been able to cut out almost all of those...but I need more discipline to get rid of them all! LOL

Knowing that Ronnie's surgery was December 3rd, I made the decision not to worry about a special diet for the holidays, starting with Thanksgiving. Well...I started a fibro flare shortly after Ronnie's surgery, then the past 2 weeks...I've been feeling much worse, and sick to my stomach as well. Thought maybe expecting....nope. Thought maybe the stomach virus...nope. I quit gluten 2 days ago, and no stomach upset at all...and a little more energy besides! It was pretty clear to me that I needed to live this way. So, I've been looking back thru past menus, different recipes, and planning my menu for the next 2 weeks...and feel such a peace about it! I know God couldn't possibly make it clearer to me that I need to live this way...along with simply eating fruits and vegetables raw..the way God made them. Will be dusting off my copy of 'Nourishing Traditions' again...making kefir smoothies daily, juicing carrots, and making 'green lemonade' (romaine lettuce, spinach, apples and lemons with filtered water in the blender...it's delicious!)....knowing that I'll feel better, be healthier and so will my family. So to celebrate...we had our gluten free New Years Eve!

We made a wonderful GF pizza crust, baked it, then brushed it with olive oil, added a sprinkle of garlic powder, then put sauteed chipped steak, mushrooms and onions on and put mozzerella cheese on top. It was sooooo good! With a salad, with garlic vinigrette, and some cold shrimp. Now we're watching a good movie with a roaring fire in the fireplace( while the wind blows and it snows outside)...then some special rootbear floats for dessert. What a great way to ring in the new year...we're all together as a family, remembering what we are thankful for over the past year, having some special food...mostly healthy ( minus the floats!)...and gluten free! I'm actually looking forward to getting back to simple, healthy eating! Here is to a healthy new year! ~Sue~