Philippians 4:13

Gorgeous graphic by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

What a blessing this verse is! So many times we think that we just can't do a particular thing. And in a way we're right ... in our own strength, we can't. But in God's strength, we can!

Someone has said that the Lord's commands are the Lord's enablements. He will never call on us to do some task without giving us the grace that is necessary to do that task. It helps, too, to remember that all we do is to be done as unto the Lord, and for His glory.

"Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable." (Psalm 145:3)

Tortilla Soup

Mrs. B asked for my recipe for tortilla soup, mentioned in my post about the four-fruit crumble. It's a little different, but so easy. We really enjoy it. So, for Mrs. B and anyone else who may be interested, here's the recipe. It's a good day for soup here in New England -- cold and rainy!


TORTILLA ENCHILADA SOUP

4 cups chicken broth
2 cans chicken with rice soup
1 small boneless skinless chicken breast (frozen is fine)
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
1 can red enchilada sauce
Flour tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese OR cubes of velveeta-type cheese

In crock pot combine the broth, soup, chicken breast, salsa, and enchilada sauce. Cook on low for about 4 hours. Remove chicken breast from soup; shred it or cut in small pieces. Return to soup.

When ready to eat, cut flour tortillas into strips (scissors work bestfor this). Put tortilla strips in each bowl and ladle the hot soup on top. Top with shredded cheddar or cubed velveeta. About 6 servings.

This is another favorite in our “rotation” of crockpot meals. It is just delicious and soooo easy. Great with cornbread!

Oh, it just occurred to me that others might like my cornbread recipe too. So, here it is!

FAVORITE CORN BREAD

3 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1 stick melted margarine (1/2 cup)
2 cups buttermilk baking mix (I use the store brand)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal (I use the Hodgson Mill stone-ground brand)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9-inch square pan. Blend eggs, milk, and melted margarine. Sift sugar, cornmeal and baking powder together and add to egg mixture along with baking mix. (There will be some bran left in the sifter if you use the stone-ground cornmeal. Just add it into the mixture.) Whisk the ingredients together just until blended. Pour batter into greased pan and bake approximately 30 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the corn bread comes out clean.
(It may take up to 40 minutes, depending on your oven.) Makes one 9-inch pan of corn bread. Recipe may be doubled and baked in a 9 x 13-inch pan.

This may not be the healthiest corn bread in the world, but it may well be the best corn bread you’ve ever tasted! Wonderful with a bowl of chili or soup!

All About Mrs.T

Mrs. B and Mrs. Wilt both posted this fun meme. Here are my answers -- some are different today than they were yesterday, when I actually answered the questions but didn't have time to post them.

1) FIRST NAME? Mrs. (Also Honey, Sweetie, Mom, and Grammy.)
2) WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My great-aunt.
QUESTION NUMBER 3 DISAPPEARED AND WE DON'T KNOW WHERE TO FIND IT!
4) WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I get a bit teary-eyed whenever I’m missing my faraway daughter. So, a day or two ago.
5) DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes, but most of the time I’m in too much of a hurry to write my best.
6) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Smoked turkey.
7) KIDS? One boy, two girls, all grown up and out of the nest. Three granddaughters, one grandson, and another grandchild on the way .
8) WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Absolutely, but (as Mrs. Wilt put it so nicely) I’d probably drive myself crazy.
9) DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yes, as well as a blog.
10) DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Probably more than I should.
11) DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? No.
12) WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No.
13) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Homemade apple oatmeal or homemade granola.
14) DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Not usually.
15) DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I do OK with firewood, but I can’t heave 50-lb. hay bales around any more. Emotionally -- not too bad. Spiritually -- fairly strong.
16) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Some of the Girl Scout cookie flavors by Edy’s.
17) SHOE SIZE? 8 1⁄2.
18) RED OR PINK? Red!
19) WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My tendency speak before I think.
20) WHO DO YOU MISS MOST? My youngest daughter.
21) DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I would love to know how others answer these.
22) WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Jeans in a sage green color. Brown Mary Janes with no backs.
23) LAST THING YOU ATE? A meat loaf sandwich and marinated vegetables.
24) WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? ”Music for the Royal Fireworks.”
25) IF YOU WERE A CRAYON WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Aquamarine.
26) FAVORITE SMELL? Right now, Yankee Candle’s Cranberry Chutney.
27) WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? One of my Sunday School students (I teach ladies).
28) THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes and smile.
29) DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I found this on Mrs. B's and Mrs.Wilt’s blogs, so yes!
30) FAVORITE DRINK? Hot drink: tea. Cold drink: iced tea.
31) FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Basketball.
32) HAIR COLOR? Brown/silver.
33) EYE COLOR? Blue.
34) DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No.
35) FAVORITE FOOD? Anything Italian. Chocolate. Chinese food.
36) SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings.
37) WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? A dark green turtleneck and a lavender print flannel shirt. It’s cold up here!
38) HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs.
39) WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Well, I’m not actually sending this to anyone, so no one, I guess. Unfortunately, all my friends are so busy I wouldn’t expect a response from anyone if I did send it out.
40) WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
41) WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? "The Hidden Art of Homemaking", “The Secret of Guidance” by F.B. Meyer, and the Bible.
42) WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? A picture of blue water spots.
43) WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Nothing -- we don’t own a TV.
44) FAVORITE SOUNDS? The white-throated sparrow’s song. The song of the wood thrush. Waves on the seashore. Water cascading over rocks.
45) ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Neither one.
46) THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Nevada.
47) DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Occasionally I’ve been able to read my children’s minds.
48) WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? 56 years ago in New England.

Fabulous Four-Fruit Crumble

Yesterday we had our monthly fellowship dinner at church. The first Sunday of each month, we have a potluck meal after the morning service and then hold an afternoon service at two, rather than our usual evening service. This dinner is always a nice time to reconnect with people over a great meal. I usually bring something in a crockpot for the main course, although with summer coming my main contribution will likely be a main-dish salad. That's what I'd planned to do for yesterday, but the weather was cool and rainy so I opted for tortilla soup instead. For dessert, I thought I'd make a rhubarb crisp or crumble. Rhubarb is gloriously in season right now, and I had some in the fridge, all cleaned and diced. But when I got it into the baking dish, it really looked like a small amount. I remembered a recipe I have for Four-Fruit Pie, which calls for rhubarb along with apples, raspberries and blueberries and is really yummy. So I adapted my rhubarb crumble recipe to four fruits. While in the recipe-modifying mode, I also changed the 1 cup of butter/shortening called for to 1/2 cup of canola oil. Much healthier! The dessert turned out to be delicious, and we only had a serving or 2 left to bring home out of a 13x9" dish. I thought someone else might like to try it too, so here's the recipe:

FABULOUS FOUR-FRUIT CRUMBLE
3 cups diced rhubarb
2 medium apples, chopped
1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)
1 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
TOPPING:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup canola oil
Combine fruit, sugar and flour; place in greased 13x9x2” baking dish. Combine brown sugar, oats, and flour; mix in oil until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit mixture. Bake at 375º for 40 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.
Yield: 10-12 servings.

Enjoy!

"When the going gets tough..."

 

“... the tough go shopping!” I think the original saying was “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” But shopping works for me!

A week ago Saturday my husband surprised me by coming home from work and suggesting, “This would be a good day to spend in a store.” It was raining -- hard. None of the Saturday afternoon tasks he had planned could be done. I was only too happy to go along with his suggestion. The store he had in mind for himself was Lowe’s. I had any number of places nearby to Lowe's from which to choose.

It may be surprising, but I chose Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart in the town we’d be in is much nicer and more well-stocked than the one in our own town. So I spent a couple of hours there, wandering the aisles and looking for things on my list. One particular goal of my search was to find a few items to spiff up my kitchen. I’d been so inspired by Kelly’s essay at FlyLady.net -- “The Cost of a New Kitchen” that I wanted to find a few simple items to help with that goal. I found some really cute place mats that featured all different fruits on a green-checked background. The walls in my dining area are sort of a retro green, and I have a strawberry theme in both kitchen and dining area. So these mats were perfect. And only 97¢ for two! I also bought a new dish drainer for my sink. I’ve only seen these items before in neutral colors like white or cream or brown -- but I found a RED one. It’s actually called “Intense Red” and looks perfect in my strawberry kitchen. And it makes me smile every time I look at it!

The other thing I was looking for was some sort of container to corral loose recipes I have stacked on one corner of my kitchen counter. I have an old, tall recipe file box there, but I seldom use the recipes in it anymore. My most frequently used recipes I keep in a photo album kept with my cookbooks -- works perfectly. And I have an expandable file folder full of clipped recipes to try. But most of these on my counter are recipes I use quite a bit and don’t have room for in the photo album. I think inevitably I am going to have to buy another one of those, but knowing me, I also know there will probably always be a stack of loose recipes on my counter. What I want to do is reorganize a lower cabinet and be able to free up enough space to store the old tall file box in there. I can’t just throw those recipes out -- they are from my childhood and my kids’ childhoods, and every now and then somebody asks me for one of them. Then for the loose recipes -- well, what I found was, I think, intended to be a planter. It’s galvanized metal, long and narrow, with an embossed ivy design. I think it will hold my recipes just fine, and look neater and decorative at the same time. I plan to put index cards in it for dividing the recipes into categories. We’ll see if it works. If not, I can always use it as a planter! Now, to get that cupboard reorganized...

We also went to a consignment shop that day. I had hoped to find some clothes -- I’ve lost quite a bit of weight and need to find some smaller, inexpensive things -- but I didn’t find what I was looking for. I did, however, buy 2 books -- a Gooseberry Patch Christmas book #2 which I passed on to my daughter, since I have that volume, but it’s a keeper and I knew she would use it -- and a hardcover book on making crafts to sell that has some really practical ideas in it.

We ended our rainy-day outing with supper at a favorite diner. It was such fun to dash in out of the pouring rain to a warm, bustling place full of good cheer and comfort food. (I ordered breakfast.)

What a wonderful way to spend a rainy afternoon!

The earth is full of God's riches!!

I just finished writing a summer devotional book for children. It will go to the printer on Monday. This is the 6th such project I have undertaken. This year, more than ever, I have been refreshed and encouraged as I wrote the devotional pages for each day. It was such a blessing to be reminded afresh of the precious, basic truths of God's Word. I wish every adult Christian could have this opportunity to see God's Word from a child's viewpoint.


As always, I have included many verses from the Psalms. Psalm 104 was a rich source for me as I wrote a number of devotional pages concerning God's creation. This year's book has a Western theme, so I wrote many pages about desert flora and fauna. Here is a photo taken last summer in Nevada's Ruby Mountains.

Trying a new experiment

I don't really have time to be doing this, but as I've said before, I seem to need to try to do something creative every day. I've been inspired, as I've looked at Scripture graphics, to try and create some of my own using my own photos. I really know absolutely nothing about doing this, but decided to give it a try. Here's one of my first attempts, using one of my favorite Scripture verses and a photo taken in Lamoille Canyon in Nevada.

It may not work, but I'm giving it a try.