Tamale Casserole (Happy Herbivore Cookbook)

FOUR of the six of us ate this and had seconds. Next time I will add tomatoes and possibly a bit more salsa...this was a little dry; but tasty. Recipe from The Happy Herbivore Cookbook. 

Forgot to get a photo - these are the leftovers. LOL 

Serves 4 - I doubled. 

Ingredients
1 C chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper - diced
1/2 C mild salsa
1/2 C frozen yellow corn
1/2 C black beans (cooked or canned)
1/4 C sliced black olives
1 T chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin

1 recipe cornbread mix  - not cooked - divided (only use 1/2 if  not doubling above recipe - make corn muffins for the kids who won't eat this).

Directions 
Preheat oven to 400*.

Combine onion, garlic, and pepper in 1/4 C of water in saucepan over medium heat.

Cook until water is mostly gone and the onions are translucent.

Combine all ingredients except cornbread batter and mix well to combine.

Spoon mixture into a greased pie or casserole dish.

Pat down firmly.

Divide cornbread batter in half, pour 1/2 over top of mixture in a thin layer.

Bake for 20 - 25 min until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Nutritional info: Calories 259; Total fat 2.4g; cholesterol 0; Total Carb 53.4; Dietary Fiber 6.8g;Sugars 5.6 g; Protein 8.6g


Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Cinnamon Fruit Oatmeal

Serves 2. From Dr. Furhman's  Nutritarian Handbook and ANDI Food Scoring Guide. 

Ingredients
1 C water
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 C blueberries
2 apples, chopped
2 T chopped walnuts (I used pecan)
1 T ground flax seeds
1/4 C raisins (craisins)

Directions
Combine water with vanilla and cinnamon and bring to a boil. Stir in the oats, reduce the heat to simmer.

When it starts to simmer - add blueberries. Heat until fruit is heated through.

Cover and let stand for 15 min until thick and creamy.

Mix in apples, nuts, flax seeds and craisins.

Note - I used a bit more vanilla. You could use different fruits. I used 1/2 the apple called for and I did add a bit of almond milk. 

Per serving: Calories 241, protein 13 g, Carb 41g, Total Fat 8.1 g, saturated fat 0.8g, sodium 7g

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Monday

I trust the camera to jog my memory at the end of the day for the blog...evidently all we did today was E*A*T! ::snort:: 

Hmmm.....SCHOOL - that took quite a bit of time. The younger ones and I finished The Samurai's Tale.  This is our last week on this time period. Zander and I continue to read The Hobbit.  

Nolan and I spent some time working on I John and have the first two verses "fairly well" memorized. I did nine word studies on the first two verses of I John. Around the table tonight we decided "he who has translated I John from Greek to English should be disqualified." ::snort:: We also realized that Michael's NASB was published in 1977 and ours were published in 1995...and you can tell in I John. 

The kids played outside. I did some PCOC prep. 

I made Tamale Casserole from The Happy Herbivore - a VEGAN meal which FOUR of us liked.  

We topped the night off with a chapter from The Secret of the Desert Stone, (a chance for me to grab a non-food photo).  I folded a bit of laundry as Michael read....I threw Arielle's snow things on the floor. This was a golden opportunity for Yuuki. 

She likes to burrow in to blankets and such until she totally wrapped.....the multi-colored blanket is Arielle.

 Not sure how much Arielle caught of the plot line. LOL 

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Family Project

We have a Family Verse and a Family Vision....

I have wrestled with my laziness in memorizing the Word. I used to have whole chapters memorized...then Google and search engines in Bible aps on ipads entered my world....and I became lazy. 

Memorizing is hard for me. I spent all of 2012 thinking about joining Ann Voskamp as her family memorized the Sermon on the Mount. 

I've spent weeks  trying to decide which passage I would tackle and KNOWING  I needed to commit to worshiping Abba with my mind through memorizing. I  considered attempting one chapter - Romans 12. I thought of Sermon on the Mount or James (both books I've taught so often I have chunks sort of memorized).  I contemplated memorizing a Pauline epistle or I John. 

With a growing awareness that I needed accountability or I would spend the rest of the 2013 debating  which passage would be most meaningful  to hide in my heart/head, I tossed my dilemma out to the family on the way to Sunday School. 

Michael's all time favorite book of the Bible is I John - I think -  he is pretty partial to Romans too. Anyway -  he jumped on  I John....and I slyly asked, "Will you join me if I do I John?" 

I first fell in love with Michael as he helped me memorize Acts 2 for Church History all those years ago....HE memorizes EASILY. . . He agreed....

105 verses.....2 -3 verses a week....this is doable. Arielle and Nolan are joining Michael and I. Zander and Stacia will continue to focus on their AWANA verses. 

The birth of a Family Project! ::snort:: I planned on making all the little helps Ann has for whatever passage I memorized. Michael admonished me to spend my time memorizing rather than organizing this project....and so I got out a little notebook which I can carry with me for review and began writing I John...a few verses at a time...a week at a time....we can do this.

I couldn't fit all 3 of this week's verses on the board in the living room - I may finally erase Arielle's "Wall" in the kitchen. She is o.k. with that if she gets a real Facebook account.

How about you? Is memorizing easy or hard? Do you have tricks which help you? Will you keep me accountable to this project? 

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

A Clear Sign

When the lawn nativity migrates to the living room it may be a sign it's time to take down Christmas decorations? 

A goal for the upcoming week.  

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Chick N Salad (Vegan)

This day began at 0345 with an international conference call....and then I had another conference meeting via Skype with the presidents of PWOC in Japan and Guam.  I fell asleep and woke up just in time to fix an early dinner of soup and sandwiches... I decided it would be a good time to try Mock Tuna Salad from Happy Herbivore. I've heard rave reports...but I didn't have kelp...and discovered I really like other seasonings she didn't use....so this morphed...it DID work well in a wrap for me while the others had pastrami sandwiches with their soup. The wrap didn't photo as well. ::snort:: 

15 oz can of chick peas - drained and rinsed
2 celery stalks
2 T pickle relish
1 T onion flakes - or chop a small onion
1 T nutritional yeast 
1T soy sauce
3 T vegan mayo
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 T Dijon mustard
Curry powder  - whatever
Old Bay seasoning - I go by sight
Pepper to taste

Mash chick peas or pulse a few times in a processor (don't want hummus so don't puree). 

Chop or shred celery and add to chick peas. 

Add remaining ingredients. Adjust seasonings to taste. 

Note Lindsay's Mock Tuna adds 1/2 tsp kelp, omits mustard, curry and Old Bay. I've been missing Halibut and Chicken Salad so I now have an idea of how to make a cholesterol free substitute. 

Today's lunch - 1 1/2 C Romaine; 1/2 Chick N Salad - wrap! Yum.

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Daniel's Delight

This has become my go to meal. I often eat it alone...but if I want more than veggies I put it  over rice, pasta or tonight a 1/2 a baked potato. I often sprinkle cashews on top and nutritional yeast. Tonight I added  pinto beans from my newly defrosted freezer.  This recipe comes from The Happy Herbivore Cookbook and was originally titled Buddha's Delight. I LOVE this cookbook.

Says it serves 4 - serves 1 or 2 around here as written! 

Ingredients: 
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 C thinly sliced carrots
1 C finely cut/shredded cabbage
1/2 C Cauliflower florets
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
2 T soy sauce
2 T raw sugar
2 C cooked rice

Directions:
Cook onion and garlic over high heat in 1/4 C water (water saute).

When onion is translucent, add remaining veggies.

Reduce heat to medium and cook until veggies are cooked but still crisp - 10 - 15 min.

Mix soy sauce and sugar together, pour over veggies, stir to coat.

Cook another 5 min and serve over rice, pasta, potato or plain.

As you can tell - I  use the veggies I have on hand...Mushrooms, broccoli, snap peas...yummy. Double the sauce if you have way more veggies than listed above.  

Nutritional info: Calories 179; Calories from Fat 10; Total Fat 1.1 g; Cholesterol 0; Total Carbohydrate 38.5; Dietary Fiber 4.5 g, Sugars 11.2g; Protein 4.2g.

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...