Birthdays and the Great Freeze

On Friday night we enjoyed an early birthday dinner for Dan and Jamie who have birthdays today and tomorrow. Josh has a birthday this week, too, and Laura sent a couple photos of them enjoying an amazing sunset on the other side of our state.

On Friday we served Lovella’s Arroz Con Pollo which was enjoyed by everyone. It’s a dish that Jamie orders most often at any Mexican restaurant. We enjoyed it with brown rice and both corn and flour tortillas. We also enjoyed Pico de Gallo with added chunks of avocado. For dessert we had a family favorite, Applesauce Spice Cake.

We have been below freezing here for a few days. We stayed inside all day Saturday and I worked on my latest puzzle. I’m getting close to finishing.

On the way to church on Sunday our car was registering -5 degrees F outside.

We had a great Vision Sunday with a ministry fair. Our church theme for the year is Take The Next Step.

Colossians 2:6, Therefore as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.

We are now heading into another week of very cold temps and snow promised from Tuesday evening through Thursday morning. We always wait and see if the predictions are accurate. We have seen that many folks in many parts of the country are experiencing severe cold. How is it where you live?

The Promise of My Father’s Love ~Hymn

The Promise of My Father’s Love

The promise of My Father’s love
Shall stand for ever good,
He said, and gave His soul to death,
And sealed the grace with blood.

To this dear covenant of Thy Word
I set my worthless name;
I seal th’engagement to my Lord,
And make my humble claim.

The light, and strength, and pardoning grace,
And glory shall be mine;
My life and soul, my heart and flesh,
And all my powers are Thine.

I call that legacy my own
Which Jesus did bequeath;
’Twas purchased with a dying groan,
And ratified in death.

Sweet is the memory of His name,
Who blessed us in His will,
And to His testament of love
Made His own life the seal.

Words: Isaac Watts, 1709.

Sirloin Soup

This soup is rich and delicious and because it calls for Sirloin steak the meat is very tender.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 large leek, rinsed well and finely chopped
2 carrots chopped
1 pound sirloin steak, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper depending on your heat tolerance
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 quart beef stock
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Method:

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-high heat.
Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the leek and carrot and cook until soft, stirring frequently.
Add the beef, salt, pepper and spices.
Cook until the meat is no longer pink.
Make a slurry with the flour and 2 tablespoons water.
Add to the pot and stirring for a minute.
Add the stock and bay leaf, stir well, and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat and simmer partially covered for 1 to 1-1/2 hours stirring occasionally.
Remove the bay leaf, add the parsley, stir well.
Serve with good crusty bread.

This recipe makes about 4 servings.

Beatrix Potter

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Beatrix Potter and The Tale of Peter Rabbit and all his friends. For Christmas I received the sweet print above and the tea towel below from Josh and Laura.

Right now on our dining room table this puzzle is slowly, very slowly coming together.

It is very tough and I only have me to blame because I ordered it from my year long puzzle club Dan and Jamie gifted me for my birthday last year.

My collection of Beatrix Potter Figurines are here and here.

We had more snow and now we are having some frigid temperatures. We are celebrating our Dan and Jamie’s birthdays tonight. Making something new to me and I hope it turns out good for everyone! I’ll have to move that puzzle since it is on the dining room table at present.

Truth for Today #83

Thursday January 11th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth again this year!

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you!

Acts 4:11-12:

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

From Vera:

”He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.“
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭22‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV

From Karen:

Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

From Marilyn:

Proverbs 16, especially verse 2 – Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts will be established.

Shoveling the Hodgepodge

Here are the latest questions Joyce From This Side of the Pond has come up with for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. What’s a change you’d like or need to make this year?

Physically, I need to be more active throughout the year, not just in fair weather. Mentally, I need to be less selfish.

2. Break the ice, on thin ice, ice skating, tip of the iceberg, ice cold...which icy idiom applies to your life right now? Explain.

I’ll go with ‘tip of the iceberg’. I need to continue my efforts in getting rid of many of my possessions! Decluttering the storage areas in our home.

3. What’s a project you’ve been putting off? Will you get to it this month? This year?

See #2

4. Of the fruits that grow well in winter which ones have you tried? Which is your favorite?

pomegranates, clementines, persimmons, passion fruit, pears, grapefruit, lemons, pomelos, kumquats

I believe I have tried all but a pomelo which looks like it’s pretty close to a grapefruit. Since I’m supposed to pick a favorite, I’ll go with lemons.

5. What do you think it means to be courageous?

To fear God rather than man and have my actions, words and lifestyle reflect that.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We had 6 inches of snow fall Monday night into Tuesday. Snow Hats are in fashion…

First Weekend in January

The first weekend in 2024 proved to be a busy one. On Friday we enjoyed a last minute open house at the home of our friends and met some of their neighbors. On Saturday a big pot of borsch was cooked from scratch with broth from a seven bone roast. A few quarts of borsch will be shared this week. One small pot was delivered to our neighbor.

On Saturday evening we attended a Karaoke party for a friend from church who turned 50. We met another couple from our community and had a nice time getting to know each other. There have been lots of predictions of snow that didn’t materialize until Sunday in the wee hours. We woke up to a pretty blanketed landscape.

The following collage is photos of our ride into church on Sunday morning. Our series in Colossians continues to be excellent.

We didn’t have anymore snow on Sunday but they are threatening us with more starting Monday Evening into Tuesday. Time will tell if they are right.

Hail to the Lord’s Anointed ~ Hymn

Hail to the Lord’s Anointed

Hail to the Lord’s anointed!
Great David’s greater Son;
Hail in the time appointed,
His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free;
To take away transgression,
And rule in equity.

He comes, with succor speedy
To those who suffer wrong;
To help the poor and needy,
And bid the weak be strong;
To give them songs for sighing,
Their darkness turn to light,
Whose souls, condemned and dying,
Were precious in His sight.

By such shall He be fearèd
While sun and moon endure;
Beloved, obeyed, reverèd;
For He shall judge the poor,
Through changing generations,
With justice, mercy, truth;
While stars maintain their stations,
Or moons renew their youth.

He shall come down, like showers
Upon the fruitful earth,
And love, joy, hope, like flowers,
Spring in His path to birth:
Before Him, on the mountains,
Shall Peace, the herald, go,
And righteousness in fountains,
From hill to valley flow.

Arabia’s desert ranger
To Him shall bow the knee;
The Ethiopian stranger
His glory come to see;
With offerings of devotion,
Ships from the isles shall meet,
To pour the wealth of ocean
In tribute at His feet.

Kings shall fall down before Him,
And gold and incense bring;
All nations shall adore Him,
His praise all people sing;
For He shall have dominion
O’er river, sea and shore,
Far as the eagle’s pinion
Or dove’s light wing can soar.

For Him shall prayer unceasing
And daily vows ascend;
His kingdom still increasing,
A kingdom without end:
The mountain dews shall nourish
A seed in weakness sown,
Whose fruit shall spread and flourish
And shake like Lebanon.

O’er every foe victorious,
He on His throne shall rest;
From age to age more glorious,
All blessing and all blest.
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove;
His name shall stand forever,
His name to us is—Love.

Butterflied and Roasted Chicken With Veggies

This is a rustic meal with rough cut vegetables roasted in a pan that can go from your stove top to your oven. Butterflying the chicken gives you the option to cook the chicken breast down which results in breast meat that is not dried out while you wait on the dark meat to be cooked thoroughly.

Ingredients:

1 -3-4lb. whole chicken
4-5 white potatoes, quartered
4-5 carrots rough cut
1 large onion, quartered
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed, optional
Seasoned salt
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil and more Olive Oil to coat the vegetables.
1 Tablespoon butter
Salt and fresh ground pepper.

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Rinse and pat the whole chicken dry.
Using good kitchen shears cut out the backbone of the chicken and set aside to make chicken stock or discard.
Flatten the whole chicken by pressing firmly on the breast bone. Remove any excess skin.
Prepare vegetables placing them in large bowl and season them with salt and pepper (to taste).
Add the smashed garlic.
Sprinkle the vegetables generously with olive oil and toss together to coat all the vegetables evenly.
Set aside.
Heat oil and butter in large oven proof pan or dutch oven.
Season chicken well with seasoned salt of your choice.
If you don’t have seasoned salt season with salt and fresh ground pepper.
Place chicken breast side down in heated pan to brown and crisp up the skin.
Turn the chicken over carefully and brown the other side.
Remove the chicken to a plate or platter while you go on to the next step.
De-glaze the pan with a little chicken stock or white wine.
Add all the seasoned and oiled vegetables to the pan.
Place the chicken breast side down on top of the vegetables.
Place pan with vegetables and chicken on the center rack of preheated oven.
Roast for 60 minutes.
Turn chicken over and roast for 10 more minutes or until meat thermometer registers 165 degrees at the thickest part of the dark meat.
Remove the chicken from the pan onto cutting board and cut the chicken into serving sizes.

You can return the chicken to the roasting pan or onto a platter at this point adding the vegetables.

Remove the chicken from the pan onto cutting board and cut the chicken into serving sizes. You can return the chicken to the roasting pan or onto a platter at this point adding the vegetables.

Serve with your favorite additions or no additions. We chose some salad and sour dough bread.

Growing Up Before Our Eyes

This little guy has graduated to a big boy bed! He is a happy camper!

Both of these chefs made their own dinner this week, Alphabet Soup. Addy read the recipe. They loved the experience and ate two bowls of their creation!

They are growing up with good skills and we are thankful. Hats off to their mom and dad!

All of our Christmas decor is stored except for the tree and ornaments. I’ll tackle that soon!

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage