When You Don't Have Much To Start With

Maybe you're not starting with much.  Just the tiniest amount. Barely there.  A thimble-full.  A glimmer.  A bit.  A morsel. Just a crumb.  A fleck.  A trace.  A shred.  A shadow or whisper.  A mustard seed of faith.

But a little faith is all it takes.

Then, as you start to spend time in God's presence- it grows.

As you get deeper into His Word - it grows.

As you begin to know Him - it grows. 

As you surrender more and more of yourself to Him - it grows.

You begin to see signs of Him at work in your life.  And it grows.

You begin to accumulate the fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  And you see these grow also, making your faith even stronger.

You accumulate a treasure of God's riches.

And you will end with so much more than you could have ever imagined.

Cooking by the Seat of My Pants

Sometimes what starts out looking like a recovery-less setback actually turns out to be a fortunate series of events.  Take yesterday's dinner for example...

It all started when I planned to make THIS Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken recipe for dinner.  However, I quickly realized someone had finished off my lemon juice.  It's hard to make lemon chicken without the lemon.   I did, however, have lime juice.

OK... I can make this work.  Although plain ol' lime chicken sounded a little bit... um, boring.  And a whole lotta lime-ish.  What could I do to make this better?

I decided to add some chili powder and cilantro.  Chili Lime Chicken.  That's a thing. Right?  Well, if it wasn't before - it is now!

It turned out to be quite tasty.  I know this, not just because I ate it myself - but because the Man of the House told me so.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 cup chicken broth (fat free, low sodium)
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• ¼ cup flour ( option: use corn starch for gluten free)
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons dried cilantro
• 
  

Directions

Place chicken thighs in slow cooker. 

Combine broth, juice, flour, cumin, chili powder and cilantro - stirring with a whisk. Pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on low heat for 8 to 10 hours. 

I served it over brown rice with steamed broccoli and avocado slices.  Yummy!

Have you ever had to make last minute changes to a recipe? 

Sunday Inspiration: Look Ahead

Friday Favorites: Cause I"m Random Like That

I couldn't decide on a theme for this edition of Friday Favorites.  The items I had in mind to share with all of you were just too diverse.  And since it's been a couple of weeks since I shared some favorites with you, so I didn't want to skip again.  Which is why this week's list is going to seem kind of all over the place.  Let's be honest here...  some days are just like that - a little of this and a little of that.  In fact, most of my days are kind of like that.

OxiClean White Revive:

I wasn't sure what to expect the first time I used it.  To be honest, I wasn't expecting much more than my regular OxiClean delivers.  Then I went to remove the load from the washer and BAM!!!   My whites haven't been this white since they were brand new.  (btw... there's a printable coupon for $1 off on the product website right now)



Talenti Coffee Chocolate Chip Gelato:

Coffee. Chocolate Chip.  Gelato.  Um... Yes! Please!  The container I bought of this stuff is hidden so far back in the freezer.  Not just because I might hurt anyone else in the family who tries to eat it, but so I don't see it and want to eat the entire thing every time I open the freezer.  I think I've found my new go-to PMS comfort food!


The Jersey Swing Dress:

These dresses from Old Navy are my new summer uniform!  I have the sleeveless version in black and orange, and the short sleeve in black and white stripe. (I wish I had the foresight to have bought it in several more colors)  They are SO comfy, and can easily be dressed up or down as needed for different occasions.  They've been on sale for a while, and many sizes and colors are selling out fast.  So, if you want one - you better hurry!!

Have you made any great discoveries recently?

Reducing Your Paper Towel Waste

Back in January, we made the switch from paper napkins to cloth.  This has gone well for the most part.  However we were still using paper towels.  And going through a lot of them.   While any little bit of progress to reduce waste is good progress - I couldn't help feeling that we could do more.

It was time to make the move to "un-paper towels".

I considered just buying some and did a lot of looking online.  (Just search "unpaper towels" on Etsy.  You'll find plenty of options if you want to purchase some yourself)   But being a cheap thrifty DIY type of gal, I decided to make my own.  Which meant it was time to hit up Pinterest for some inspiration.

After a lot of looking around.  And I mean A LOT...   I finally came across a tutorial by 104homestead.com which was a nice, simple, no-frills, and fast solution for creating your own unpaper towels.

I am very pleased with the results so far.  They clean up small spills well.  The grand kid has used them for wiping face and hands during snacks and lunches.  I have used them for drying my hands.  I've used them to set bread on while making sandwiches.  All the usual paper towel type jobs.

They live in a cute little wooden box on the counter next to the sink - right where the paper towel holder used to sit.  And the female offspring was thrilled to inherit my old paper towel holder, since she's been looking for one for her own kitchen.

The male offspring had expressed some concern about what we would use for cleaning windows and mirrors.  I resolved that buy picking up a pack of microfiber cloths just for this purpose.

Would you consider switching to cloth towels in place of paper towels?  Or have you already made the switch?  I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

To Read About My Switch to Cloth Napkins - click HERE

To Read the Tutorial I Followed  For Making My UnPaper Towels - click HERE 

Sunday Inspiration: Simple Living

Pepperoni Pizza Spaghetti Squash

The Man of the House loves pizza. That is not an exaggeration.  He would eat pizza several days a  week if he could.  If you ask what he wants for dinner - 97% of the time the answer is going to be "Pizza".  I'm pretty sure you could bribe him to do almost anything by offering him a good pizza.  You get the picture... he enjoys his pizza.

We recently discovered that he also seems to have a sensitivity to gluten.  Which puts quite a damper on that whole "He loves pizza" thing.  Fortunately many of his local pizza spots do offer a gluten free pizza crust.  And I have found a frozen gluten free crust that he likes just fine.  But a lot of the gluten free products are highly processed and have some ingredients which some may find a little questionable.

I am big into the spaghetti squash this year, and am always prowling Pinterest for new recipes to try with it.  Which is why I was happy to spot the idea of using the typical pizza toppings with spaghetti squash to create a gluten-free pizza-ish treat!

It's easy as... well... pizza pie.

Start by cooking  the spaghetti squash as usual.  For me, this means cutting the squash in half length-wise.  Scoop out the seeds.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Place face down on a baking sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Once your squash is cooked, use a fork to loosen the strands of flesh from the shell.  Leave it in the rind.  It's going to act as a bowl for you!

Pour about a 1/2 cup of your favorite pizza sauce onto the spaghetti squash strands and mix.  Top with shredded mozzarella and pepperoni.

Place under the broiler for 6 to 10 minutes.  (Until cheese is melted, bubbly, and golden)

And...  ENJOY!!