My Heart My Home

Where Have I Been??

Hello, all! Just in case you have been wondering about me, I'm still alive!

I've taken on a new part-time job at our local family-owned Christian bookstore working about 12-13 hours per week. It's a very new experience for me working retail and I have really been surprised at how much I like it. My experience has always been as a secretary sitting at a computer, so I didn't know how well I would like being on my feet and mingling with people. The job entails working the whole store - cash register, stocking, answering phones, answering questions, placing special orders, listening to customers who need to talk and/or be ministered to, arranging and rearranging displays, and even dusting and vacuuming the store. I'm enjoying it all and my co-workers have been very accepting of me. My first week at work I started a Facebook Fan Page for the store and the owner just thinks I am the cat's pajamas. Let's hope that continues. If you are a Facebooker, feel free to join the page and add to the number of fans!

I am also beginning to think that I am not the writer that I always believed I was. I just knew there was a wonderful writer inside me just itching to be released. But after trying to release her through this blog, she's not who I thought she was. (lol) So now I'm working on simply writing what's on my heart and doing my best. If something beautiful results from it, that will be wonderful. If it simply remains as writing from my heart, but not necessarily beautiful, that is okay, too.

Financial distress is also a powerful damper for me. Some people get moving when they are under stress and take on huge projects to get their minds off their troubles. Some want to sit in the recliner and do nothing because their strength is totally sapped. I tend to want to do the latter. It takes all my strength at times to muster meals and laundry.

Also, our minds have been consumed over the past few days regarding one of my middle son's best friends. He is 16 and had a stroke because of a freak accident playing football last Wednesday night. God is working powerfully in his body and the doctors now believe he will recover completely after giving some very grave news the first few hours after the accident. Praise our merciful Lord!

Anyway, I do want to come back and play on my blog. Hopefully I will be back later this week and back on my regular schedule with it.

Christine, your words are so encouraging to me! I did not notice your latest note to me from a few days ago until today. My email usually lets me know when there is a reply to one of my posts, but for some reason, I never came across that one. Your prayers mean so much! I pray for you, too, as I identify so well with so many of your struggles!

Tuesday Tastiness #22 - Italian Rice Bake

Did you miss Tuesday Tastiness last week? I have been battling a headache for a week now and am finally beginning to feel better. I used to have headaches on a regular basis and am so thankful that I don't suffer with them as I used to. This week has reminded me of that! It is very unusual for me to keep one for several days since I have changed our family's eating habits and I can't really put my finger on the reason for this one except that it might be hormonal. I'm at "that age", you know. But I'm feeling better now and on the upswing and can actually look at the computer screen for more than a couple of minutes without having to go curl up in my recliner in pain. I am very thankful for that today!

So on to this week's recipe!

This week's recipe is an Italian adaptation of the Mexican Skillet I posted a while back. Many of my recipes are very basic and similar in content which is a wonderful way to stretch those grocery funds when you are working with a limited budget. I can get by with the "basics" and create some very good meals out of similar ingredients. If you prefer pasta in your Italian meals, you could adapt this recipe to use pasta rather than rice. But I like the nutrition that rice brings to the dish, so I don't use the pasta.

My kids and one of their friends enjoyed this dish and gave it a hearty recommendation. I hope your family enjoys it, too!

Italian Rice Bake

1 lb. hamburger (I use grass-fed/finished when possible)

3 c. cooked brown rice (Cook 1 cup rice in 2 cups water)

4 cups (2 cans) diced tomatoes (fresh, canned, or frozen from your garden)

2 slices onion

1 t. garlic powder

1 T. salt (I use Real Salt)

2 t. Italian seasoning

3 cups cooked white beans (great northern or navy)

1/2 lb. grated cheese (or less if your family doesn't love it as much as mine)

Brown the hamburger. Cook the rice. (Hint: Cooked rice freezes very well. Make up a large batch and freeze in 1 or 2 cup portions to have available when needed.)

My children don't like chunky tomatoes or onions, so I put the tomatoes and onion in the blender and blend until smooth.

Stir all ingredients together, except cheese. Put into a 9 x 13 pan and cover with grated cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until bubbly.

Enjoy!!

This post linked to:

The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family

Real Food Wednesday at Kelly The Kitchen Kop

Monday Encouragement

I'm not sure exactly why, but I can't get enough of this song.

Sunday's Encouraging Word

"In Your name I will hope, for Your name is good." Psalm 52:9

Swagbucks - Just earned another $5 gift card

I will do my best not to inundate my blog with this exciting news every time, but I just earned another $5 amazon gift card - less than a month after I snagged two others and wrote about it here.

Exciting!!

If you sign up for a swagbucks account of your very own, be sure and get it via my swagbucks button on the upper right-hand portion of my sidebar. If you do, I can earn every time you do up to 100 points!

Monday Encouragement

The line I have typed below from this song reminds me of Psalm 77:7-14. When I wonder where God is (we all do it sometimes, don't we?), I just remember...He's done it before. He'll do it again.

Psalm 77:7-14 - "Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion? Then I said, 'I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High'. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples."

"You were faithful before...You'll be faithful again."

Sunday's Encouraging Word

I am so excited that, beginning today, our church's sermons are now being recorded via streaming video through UStream. I had to miss the service today because I was in the nursery watching the children and was able to watch it on my computer after I got home. How exciting! Watch this morning's service here:

Streaming Video by Ustream.TV

Tuesday Tastiness #21 - Sausage Gravy

As promised, today I will post my recipe for the delicious gravy I make with last week's recipe for beef sausage. 

I love to make homemade gravy. For a long, long time I bought the package of white gravy mix and added water. I decided it had too many ingredients that I didn't want going into our bodies, so I quit making gravy at all. Then I discovered that you can make delicious gravy with real, whole foods. And we are eating it again! This is a very basic recipe that many whole foodies use as a base for all sorts of good things. Let's get started!

Homemade Sausage Gravy

1/3 cup flour (I use a mixture of unbleached and whole wheat)

1/3 cup butter or coconut oil (real butter or good quality coconut oil)

3 1/4 cups milk (I use raw milk when available)

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

Pinch of Italian seasoning (optional)

1/4 pound homemade beef sausage

Melt butter and add flour. Stir or whisk until smooth and cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk and cook til thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Add seasonings and sausage and heat through.

Serve over biscuits or toast.

Delicious!

This post linked to:

The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family

Monday Encouragement

We sang this song in church yesterday. It is a Dennis Jernigan song that I had never heard before. I did a youtube search and really like this version of it. Find a quiet spot...and enjoy.

Sunday's Encouraging Word

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 (NIV)