$15 meal...or two or three or four!!!

I just threw together a good old-fashioned Sunday beef pot roast in the slow cooker, and am SO excited to turn it on in the morning and come home to YUMMY DELICIOUSNESS!!!!!!!! The roast that I bought was a nicer cut, and cost around $11.50. But you see, it has MUCH less fat on it. I know that the marble fat is what makes the meat taste delicious, but I'm trying to be healthy here people! So, I browned the hunk o' meat in some evoo (that's extra-virgin olive oil, in case you haven't ever heard a famous cook with the initials RR throw that term around) and also some yellow onions. I much prefer yellow onions to white, and hardly ever buy white unless it is the only thing there. I seasoned the meat with garlic powder, low sodium salt and pepper on all the sides, and made sure that each side was browned before setting the meat in an olive oil covered crock. Then I washed up some little red potatoes, carrots and mushrooms and placed them on and around the meat. Note: I don't really like mushrooms, but my sweet Erik LOVES them, so every now and again I have to incorporate them into a meal so that his tummy is happy! Not much I love more than to make my man happy with a good meal! SO, in the morgen, I will add a few inches of water in the crock and set it on low and hopefully it will be done when we come home from church! When it is all done, I will make some gravy out of the juices. My mom taught me how to do gravy...just take the juices from the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil in another pan, or the original pan if you have removed the meat and veggies from that original pan...and then, you take some flour and cold water and mix up in the blender - I think it is about a half to one ratio...so, 1/2 cup flour to 1 cup cold water...I usually end up with several cups of water and a few cups of flour to make sure I have PLENTY of gravy. I like to have leftover gravy so that I can make pot pies and freeze them for later! The gravy really is a season to taste adventure. Once you mix in the flour and water mixture, making sure to only use as much as you need to for a good gravy consistency (I love thick gravy, so I have to add more of the flour), then you bring that to a boil. And then season with more garlic powder, salt and pepper. It's YUMMY!!! And I'm sure it's NOT healthy.

Onto the pot pies...cut up the leftover beef and mix with your favorite frozen veggies, or fresh veggies that you have chopped and cooked until tender - for example, I sometimes do a mixture of carrots, peas and potatoes...but you could do broccoli if you like that I suppose! Mix meat and veggies with leftover gravy, making sure that there isn't TOO much gravy, but just enough to keep things really moist. Place in glass or porcelain baking dishes, and cover with a pre-made store-bought pastry, such as a pie shell. That's what I usually use and I make it fit the pan by stretching and prodding it, and it works! If you want a real pie, you can put a pastry on the bottom of the pan as well...but if you're trying to cut a couple of calories out of an already calorie laden dish, then just use the pastry on the top. If you're lucky, you may have enough meat and gravy left over for several pies! I usually end up with two or three! And they freeze wonderfully, so you can pull them out for dinner some night when you don't want to cook. Bake at 350 degrees for around 1 hour and 15 minutes. Make SURE that you keep the crust edges covered with pieces of foil if you don't want burned crust! And you can even start the pie out for the first 30-45 minutes with foil covering the entire thing if you want to. I often do that, and then it helps to ensure that it doesn't burn.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!

Erik is home from Asia!!!

Erik just returned home today from a two week Asia trip for work. I'm SO glad to have him home! I miss him a ton when he is gone, and the kids do too. It was just precious to see them interacting with their daddy today. And I always find it amazing that our Little Buzz, even at 8 months old, is VERY able to recognize and know his daddy, even after two weeks apart. So cool. Big Sister got to go with me to the airport, and she said something about how we were going to go and "catch" Daddy at the airport, which I thought was funny!

Just now, Erik told me that when reading the story of David and Jonathan in the Bible, Big Sister said that Little Buzz was her best friend, just like David and Jonathan were best friends. Awww - that warms my heart like NOTHING else! Children are precious, that's for sure.

I'm looking forward to singing at church in two weeks! I haven't sung in church for MONTHS now, and I really miss it. I need to figure out what I'll be singing within the next few days for the blended service...blended means more traditional than contemporary at our church. The emphasis for the Sunday I'm singing is prayer. Anyone have suggestions? I'm going to sit down and start to work through it all either tonight or tomorrow. The scripture that will be used that Sunday is Matthew 6:5-8.

Hope ya'all are doing well!

Cute

Yesterday, my sweet Bug girl said something quite funny as she observed the neighbor dog, a golden retriever, standing on her deck...

Bug: "I think Berkeley should climb up a tree or something like that."

Mama: "But dogs can't climb trees, usually."

Bug: "Yes they can, it's important!"

So folks, there you have it....from the mouth of a 33 month old girl...dogs climb trees! We learn things every day, don't we?

Just thought this might make you smile and laugh! :)

New Style!!!

I have been SO impressed by how adorable the backgrounds are from thecutestblogontheblock.com, and I just had to check it out. If you are looking for some fun new duds for your block, go to this site! It's FREE and it is really cool, I think. Hope you like this new look. I love the colors, except I'm wondering if the green background is sort of distracting and makes it harder to read...let me know your thoughts if you want to!

Amazing story of life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZVf_o1C2nI&NR=1

I just watched this clip of a_bortion survivor G_ianna J_essen, whom I remember reading about when I was a girl. (by the way, all the underscores are so that people cannot find my blog with an online search by typing in this topic) She is the same age as me, and survived a s_aline a_bortion! Apparently the a_bortion dr. wasn't in the room when she was delivered at just 2 lbs, 7.5 months gestation...otherwise he would've had to strangle her or suffocate her so that she wouldn't be alive. TERRIBLE!!!!!!!! BUT, praise the LORD...the nurse was able to SAVE HER LIFE by sending her in an ambulance to a hospital where they took care of her in an incubator, and some precious believers adopted her. And NOW she has an AMAZING story to share and a ministry. I don't like how one of the news anchors in this interview is so short and attacking with her, but she stands up for the truth. AMEN GIRL!

When my Bug was just several weeks old, a girl came to my door who was pro-ch_oice and she was raising funds for some group in our city. She was very nice, but I remember her looking at my little girl after she told me why she was there, and then looking at me and asking me if I was pro-c_hoice, and I said, "no, in fact now I'm VERY pro-l_ife, especially after having this baby." I could tell that she was somewhat taken aback, but very respectful of my stance. She actually seemed to be touched by it. Ever since then, I've wondered about that girl and what happened to her. I have prayed for her several times and for the pro-l_ife movement, that God would be glorified, and that He would help people to see how awful a_bortion is. I know SOOOO many people who would be very happy to adopt the many babies whose lives are being taken from them.

Also, I remember in college having a pro-l_ife week where we had special speakers in chapel. One of the speakers was a woman who had two a_bortions herself and later realized her terrible mistake. She ended up getting married to a neat pastor after she became a C_hristian, and then she and her husband had four children together. She said that every year, her family has a special commemoration for those two babies that she lost. They light candles and remember them, and they talk about reuniting with them in Heaven one day. I remember her saying that one time they were on a beach vacation, and she looked out to see her four children playing in the sand and water, and realized that there should've been two more...that really struck me.

Another speaker that week in chapel was a former a_bortion dr. She shared how cold hearted she had been and how insensitive she had been to the lives that she had taken. God changed her heart, and she became a C_hristian. Now she is very pro-l_ife, and goes around telling people about her story...about what really happens in an a_bortion clinic...

All this to say, I believe that the Lord blesses those who preserve the lives of babies...and that all children are blessings, regardless of how they were conceived. However, honestly, I have no idea how I would react if I was raped or the victim of incest and then became pregnant with a child. No idea. But I believe that those babies are blessings too, and that God can make good come out of evil. And again, there are just so many people who are ready to adopt babies - so many many loving homes available.

If you're reading this, and you've had an a_bortion, please know that I am not condemning you. We all have our stories, don't we? Believe me, I am far far far from being perfect...learning things every day about how imperfect I really am. But I am saved by the blood of Jesus, and He has given me a mind to think and to learn, and I'm trying to be wise. I want to live by His grace alone.

If you are needing help or someone to pray with about this matter or any other, please let me know and I would be glad to pray for you.

May God bless your week.

Valentines Day

We had our Valentines Day celebration tonight at our house! I set the table with a new heart patterned vinyl tablecloth that I found at my favorite huge store that starts with a giant T, and we lit some candles, and put out the red "you are special today" plates, along with cloth napkins and our fancier silverware. I spent some time today preparing for this big meal, and made homemade lasagna! It was so delicious. We had yummy spinach salad, garlic french bread and then for dessert...dun dun dun...presenting CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES!!!!!!! YUM! I have wanted to make those things for a very long time, so it was fun to have them tonight! We all enjoyed them, along with strawberries and whipped cream. All day, my Bug was talking about our fancy dinner coming up, and she waited and waited for her Daddy to come home from work! It was a special time. I just wanted my family to know how much I love them and care for them, and every ounce of effort to create a special meal was WELL worth it! :)

Bug and I have been creating LOTS of valentines lately, and she has enjoyed it so much. I am a sucker for the valentine stickers, lacy heart doilies, valentine papers...you name it, I want to get it to create the coolest valentines around. I think we'll still have several more days of making valentines. It's just too much fun to put away! Also, I'm hoping to still have a cookie making/decorating time for my Bug. She really loves to make cookies.

Also, the Lord led me to look up many verses on love today, as I prepared a bunch of valentines for my sweetheart. It was such a good reminder to me that HE is love...and HIS love is much stronger than any human love. Amen to that!