Squash Pie

Lovely, Autumn!  Cooler weather, leaves changing color, cinnamon and nutmeg...all the lovely things I associate with autumn.  And have you seen all the different types of squash there are?  As a kid, I thought squash was just those little yellow things (that looks like a zucchini, only yellow and smaller)...and I thought I was enlightened when I got introduced to acorn and butternut.  But when we were at the shop early this fall, I saw different types of squash I'd NEVER seen before!  Beautiful colors and odd shapes...I wanted to buy them just to give the kids a taste of something out of the ordinary.  Luke, trying to keep me from the display and in true Luke fashion was very expressive, "NO!  Not squash soup!"  lol  It's one of my favorite (and easiest) soups to make!

Well, today, I thought I should use up the over 20lbs of squash I have and instead of making soup, I thought to make a Squash Pie!  So Yum!  And it's perfect since today actually felt like autumn.  :)  I had my pie crust already prepped in the freezer.  When I make it, I just make a bunch and freeze them in flat-ish balls and then take them out when I want to use it and leave it on the counter to thaw.  So easy!

So, I cut the carnival and acorn squash cross-wise and put them face down in a couple glass dishes added a little water and cooked at 400 for 45 minutes or so and then I turned the oven off and left them in the oven and when I was ready to take them out, the meat was easily taken out and pureed.

3 cups squash pureed
3-4 eggs (I did 4 eggs b/c I had smaller eggs)
3/4 cup milk
4 tbs butter melted
1 tsp (or more if you like) pumpkin spice
1 tsp salt
3/4 Rapadura sugar (I was on the phone with my sister and put in one cup so it's a bit too sweet for my liking so I added a bit more squash but if you like to be on the sweeter side, go for 3/4 - 1 cup)

Mix well and put in the pie crust.  Bake at 375 for about 1 hour.  Try it and tell me what you think!

ENJOY!

P.S.  Luke LOVED it..wanted another piece.  ;)

God's Tootsie Roll

I try and limit the kids' candy intake.  I don't deprive, them...necessarily.  But if we do have candy in the house I usually give in to their candy request only after they eat their midday meal.  But a couple hours after breakfast, I had a moment of softness...or weakness, depending on how you look at it.  Jonathon was outside working with his daddy and I went to see how the grease monkeys were getting along.  Jonathon asked me out of the blue if he could have a tootsie roll.  Now, Jonathon is the type of kid that knows how things roll at home.  He is a very by-the-book kind of boy.  He likes to know the rules and endeavors to keep them.  So, when he asked me for a tootsie roll, he asked in such a way that I knew by his facial expression and tone that he "knew" I would say no.  For the fun of it I decided to just break the mold and say yes.  He looked shocked then perplexed and then confused and he asked me again..and I replied in the affirmative...with a grin on my face.  I left the scene and expected him to forget everything he was doing to hunt the candy down.

One hour later, Jonathon found me and he brought up our earlier conversation regarding the tootsie roll.  He wanted to know if I was serious and if he could truly have it.  I was taken aback and a bit hurt by his question and in just a few seconds had a whole bunch of thoughts cross my mind.  I was saddened that he missed the opportunity for a "treat" because he didn't take me at my word - the first time.  And then I thought, how many times do we go back to God asking him if He was serious about His promises.  We bring back the same sin...wondering if He truly forgave it.  Or the same need...wondering if He would truly provide for it.  The God of the universe, whose authoritative words spoke the world into being, whose strong hands shaped us and whose breath gave life, says what He means and means what He says.  And we hear His truths - the shocking, perplexing, amazing, unbelievable truths that are sure to bring sweetness to our lives - and instead of leaving everything behind and receiving that blessing, we come back an hour later and ask Him if He was serious.  How that must hurt His heart.  How could we possibly doubt His love when that is the essence of who He IS?  To doubt His offer is to doubt His Love and even doubt His character.  He laid it all out on the line so we could experience the good life.  And what great proof we have of His astonishingly magnificent love in the gift of Jesus!

God has offered you a tootsie roll...don't question Him and miss out - just take it!

The Devil and the Cheer

Keziah has been having a hard time going to sleep these last couple nights.  During the day, we of course, talk about God and the supernatural and at times the Devil comes up as a topic of discussion:  Why did he want to be God?  Where does he live?  And Luke always adds,  "I am going to kill him!"  There is a sort of fascination or curiosity when it comes to the supernatural.  I remember as a kid my mind played tricks on me and I'd "see" things in my room...and I was positive that sometime during the night, a witch would come into my bedroom and pull down my covers.  The only reasonable explanation after always finding my blankets off my bed when I woke up in the mornings.

Well, recently, Keziah has raised the subject of Adam and Eve and the Devil using the snake to trick Eve into eating the fruit.  I told her the story and she would ask questions and just chat to me about the whole scenario.  These last two nights she started behaving fearfully at bed time and wanted her door open (she already uses a night light) and she kept saying that maybe there was a snake in her room and she thought the devil would be in the snake.  I talked to her and prayed for her and even had her repeat in her sweet authoritative voice the truths of God's love for her and what He says.  But tonight it was the same deal:  difficulty going to bed.  After another reminder that God loves her, and that she is His daughter and He takes care of her and after insisting that the Devil didn't want to come into our house because of Jesus in us, I left the room to go and tend to the baby.  Antony checked in on her after 10 minute and she was still in there with her eyes wide open.  She was just wound up as tight as a spring.  Shortly afterwards, Antony came out and called to me and said, "Quick!  Come here!"  So he leads me right outside her bedroom door and I hear her sweet little voice saying:  "I. Am. A Child of God!" in a little cheer-type chant.  I stayed outside that door and heard her say it over and over with great conviction.  No less than 100 times.  Antony told me he talked with her and then walked out and turned off her night light and left her in the dark to repeat that simple phrase so that this crazy fear thing would be broken.  I sat in my living room and prayed - asking the Holy Spirit to comfort her with His love and peace and that this would be something she would remember - and that she'd sense His love enveloping her in that bed.  After a minute or two, the chant slowed in pace and her voice got softer and softer until she fell asleep.

Now, I know that she may not understand the fullness of what being a child of God means, and although I have a greater understanding, I am still learning what that entails.  But hearing her say it over and over stirred something on the inside of me!  I am a child of God.  I, am a child of God.  I.  AM.  A CHILD OF GOD!  I just pictured her saying it over and over in her bed - my sweet little pumpkin, facing that big fear with those 4 incredible words.  I was thinking about our positions as children of God and how confidence in our position as His children should help us face our own monsters in our lives.  Financial, marital, relational, physical, mental, past, present, future, shame, guilt, etc.  What monster has been terrorizing you, keeping you up at night, causing you to bead up with sweat at the mere thought of it?  Our position - our stance - our perspective - these are important in being free from the Frankenstein's in our lives.  If I keep my eyes on the ugly monster and forget that as God's child I am loved more than my mind can comprehend, I will miss the opportunity for my Heavenly Daddy to show me His moves in taking that thing down!  But it's remembering who we are and making our offensive from that revelation - I. Am. A Child of God.

What comes to your mind when you think of the aspects of being a child of God?  I'd love to know your thoughts!

Chocolate Pot De Creme

I was in the mood for a Yummy chocolate-y mousse type dessert and this hit the spot!  Not as light and fluffy as a mousse, but DEELISH!  It was a HIT with the kids, too.  :)  It would totally make for a great dessert for guests - it's got a fanciness to it...especially if you put it in a fun glass.   

Ingredients

• 
  
• 9 ounces high-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet)
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 6 large egg yolks
• 5 tablespoons granulated sugar (add an extra tablespoon if using bitter chocolate)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Directions

Place the chocolate in a blender. Whisk the milk, 1 cup cream, egg yolks, granulated sugar and salt in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula and almost boiling, 5 to 6 minutes.

Immediately pour the milk mixture over the chocolate in the blender. Cover and hold the lid with a thick kitchen towel; blend until combined and smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. Divide the chocolate mixture among ramekins or small cups and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

Whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream and the confectioners' sugar with a mixer or in the blender until soft peaks form. Top the chilled pots de creme with whipped cream.

I didn't use the ramekins - I found some fun champagne type glasses at Goodwill.  Before I refrigerated it, I divided the chocolate mixture: some of the glasses just had the chocolate creme, then I added about 5 drops of coconut extract (with a good stir) to a few others and a couple with peppermint extract.  Antony LOVED the mint ones...the coconut ones were great too!  SUPER easy and tastes like something you'd get at a fancy restaurant!  I like that.  :)

                                                      

                                                       Ooo, la, la! ;)

The FEAR of the Lord...and the backyard mess.

Jonathon was asking me what it meant to "fear the Lord"...so I began to explain to him that to fear the Lord simply meant to respect Him - to love what He loves and hate what He hates.  I found a truth in this to apply to me and Antony...but boy, it's not easy to be humble and admit it!  Oh yes, the pride is getting a beat down.  Just when you think you are doing pretty good - BOOM - you see how FAR there is to go!

With the joys that having 4 children at home and homeschooling brings, it can be easy to have excuses of why certain things can't be done.  My hubby is a very orderly kind of guy.  So much so, that when we met a couple recently, for the first time, by the end of the few minutes that we spent chatting together they were sure that Antony had been in the military.  I thought that was hilarious...they'd got a feel for his personality in no time!!  Had he joined the military, he certainly would no doubt have made it to General.  I, on the other hand, am the complete opposite of what order is...not that I'm chaotic...exactly.  Just focused on what I have set my own mind to do.  I am a mother.  As mother's we can be quite set on our plan.  And no doubt, we have a plan.  We have a certain way that we like things done and placed and said and cooked and stirred and washed, etc.  So, yes, I do like order.  I appreciate it.  But it doesn't mean that he and I are on the same page of the dictionary when we look that word up.  Why?  I forget things...I forget that the kids were playing outside in the sandpit, in the mud, using my kitchen utensils while digging for gold, exploring, making a mess and generally having a magnificent time, once they set foot in the house.  Because once they set foot in the house, it's time to shake out the sand out of diapers and clothes, sweep up the kitchen floor from their sandy footsteps, scrub mud off feet and noses, or in Marc's case, the inside of his nose.  I've got clothes to put in the hamper and I have to make sure four kids are bathing and keeping the water IN the tub and of course make sure to keep soap out of eyes, or in Keziah's case, out of the inside of her nose, and do this while ensuring the evening meal comes out perfectly.

So, how does this relate to the fear of the Lord?  I know it seems to totally disconnect, but have patience my friend, you will see the light shortly.  The picture of the backyard mess I gave you and my good reasons for forgetting said mess, is similar to what happens with the inside of the family car.  By the end of a journey in the car, after a long day of errands including library and food shopping, by the time I get everyone/thing in the house, I have forgotten what the inside of the car looks like because I'm on to the next task. So, this has been happening for a long time.  Okay Lisa, just bare the pride.  It's been happening for years.  Of course, Antony would be the one to tidy it all back up and reset it for us.  And it would slowly get back to the unacceptable point and then he'd clean it up again.  Yes, the kids would assist, but the tasks always end up being time intensive.  And, of course, he'd give me the same lecture, ahem, loving talk, as the last time we dealt with the same issue.  Something about keeping clean, the importance of teaching the children, etc.  All very valid points and I heartily agreed with him.  And truly I did want to do what he wanted.  I really wanted the cleanliness and order.  It felt great to have it.  But I would start off well and end up with the same messes...and the same husband-wife conversations.  Well, something happened after this last episode.  As I watched him and the the kids clean up the backyard,  I began to truly connect with the whole thing...I truly saw that I had been amiss.  I had not loved what Antony loved and hated what he hated.  Oh, I acknowledged that what he wanted, a clean car and clean backyard, were good things.  I even wanted to do those good things.  I knew how important they were.  But I never personalized them.  I never made them my own.  So of course I would fail because his standards never became my standards..so the other "more important" things, that were all my own standards was what I did.  And at that moment something clicked over.  I took on what he loved.  I determined he would see the respect I wanted to show him.  I apologized to the kids for not respecting daddy enough to make what was important to him, just as important to me and then I asked God to forgive me - in front of them.  They watched me - wide-eyed and open-mouthed, but that day is set and we are consistently doing what is important to Antony and to me...and passing those important things down to our kids.

So, is there anything you aren't making important that is important to a spouse, your children, or God himself? Please share it with me...I'd love to hear your response!
  

The Light-bulb

Last week, Antony was helping me clean out the refrigerator...Yes, I know..I am blessed.  :)  Well, after over a year of not replacing the light-bulb in the refrigerator, he fished around on the top shelf of the cabinet to find...a spare!  Sure enough, it worked perfectly and immediately the change shocked me.  Let's face it.  The difference a light-bulb in a refrigerator makes to a mom is pretty intense.  We practically have a best friend relationship with those things - you love them b/c they take care of the things that are important to you - and sometimes when they are empty you get a bit miffed but you fill her up and you're back on speaking terms.  Well, it has taken me almost a week to get used to the new brightness in my refrigerator.  I actually told Antony that every time I open it, I feel like there's almost something wrong with the refrigerator until I take the second to mentally adjust my thinking to the fact that having the light-bulb operating in the fridge is right and that it's meant to be this way.  It wasn't until a couple days into the fridge transformation that I had the revelation...I was a bit slow on the uptake.  But I suddenly thought, "In what areas of my life have I been living without a light-bulb?  What areas of my life were at one point operating in the light but for some reason or another the light was extinguished?  And instead of taking the time to replace the light, I adjusted and got used to seeing that area of my life from the Darkness' point of view instead of getting the truth that comes only from the Light that is MEANT to be operating there?  Where had I allowed wrongful thinking to take over - covering my sight - giving me only a partial picture, stopping me from living to the full?  Which crevice or corner have I forgotten about, leaving it in the dark and tricking myself into thinking it's no big deal...b/c other light-bulbs in my life are working just fine.  I adjusted to not having that light-bulb to the point that when I finally got my light back, it actually felt weird - almost wrong.  But that's what the darkness does.  If we don't immediately deal with an issue with the truth and light of God's Word, then slowly our eyes (soul) become accustomed to the darkness and we get tricked to the point where the truth almost seems weird.  That's scary.

Also, why did I never take the time to change the bulb?  Over one full year that light-bulb was within my reach and I had the means to make the switch:  to replace darkness with light.  But it all comes down to a choice.  First, I have to ask God to show me what parts of my life have gone dark.  This takes openness and sensitivity to hear Him...humility to admit I am wrong and the courage to make the choice to make the switch.  Changing our thinking comes when the decision to change is verbalized and then commitment becomes internalized.  And unlike Antony making things easy for me and changing the fridge bulb, only I have the power to make the choice to replace the darkness with light in my thoughts, ideas, and actions.   And, OH!  How much better life looks when we are seeing it through the truth that Light brings!

Chicken Tenders approved: Black Bean Soup

Here's a GREAT recipe that will help you get rid of some leftovers and also give the kids some great nutrition and it's DELICIOUS! 

Day ONE

Black beans (cook them as normal).  Add coarsely chopped 1 green pepper, 1 onion, plenty of garlic and a couple peeld zucchini in a mixer and blend until smooth.  Heat cocounut oil in pan and cook for a few minutes.  Add salt, cumin, pepper and dried oregano to taste. Then add to black beans. 

Make brown/white rice.

I like to mix my rice for extra wholesome goodness.  Heat one cup brown rice in some cocunut oil constantly stirring...add 1 1/2 cup water when hot and let cook about 10-15 minutes (can not dry up) add  one cup of the jasmine rice with another 1 1/2 cup water.  Cook down and cover simmer until done.

I make turkey or ground beef patties and a steamed veggie.

Day Two

Take leftover beans and rice, add Chicken broth to it and liquefy.  Pour into soup pot.

Steam one Acorn squash or butternut squash and when cooked, liquefy with some of the hot water in steamer.  Add squash mixture to soup pot.

Brown and mince ground beef or turkey (I prefer taste of ground beef).  Season with salt and cumin or a Jamaican Jerk flavour or Mexian flavoring.  Add to soup mixture (juices and all).  Stir and serve with shredded cheese, sliced avocado, salsa or by itself...SOOOOO delicious! 

The kids LOVE it and ask for more!