All my questions that are unresolved don’t change the wisdom of Your will.
In every trial and loss, my hope is in the cross, where Your compassions
never fail.
When my fears come with no warning, in Your Word I put my trust.”
~Out
of the Depths, Sovereign Grace Music
_____________________
“Hold them [husband and children] loosely, as if you’re not holding them at
all.”
~Piper, This Momentary Marriage
_____________________
“Oh taste and see that God is good to us. Taste and see His never failing
love. Our God is good.” ~Taste and See, Sovereign Grace Music
____________________
“Be a ‘there you are’ person instead of a ‘here I am’ person.”
~Carrie
Sandom, in a talk on Romans 12:14-21
_____________________
“In Your love, I know You allow what I cannot grasp, to bring You praise.
In my uncertainties Your Word is all I need to know You’re with me every
day!”
~Every Day, Sovereign Grace Music
_____________________
“Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His Word, just to rest
upon His promise, just to know, ‘thus saith the Lord.’”
_____________________
“What if Your blessings come through raindrops? What if Your healing comes
through tears? What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?”
~Blessings, Laura Story
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Monday, April 20, 2015
Psalm 130
>>A Psalm of Degrees<<
1 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
2 Lord,
hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my
supplications.
3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall
stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
5
I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
6 My soul
waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than
they that watch for the morning.
7 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the
LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
8 And he shall
redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
God hears the cry that comes from the depths of our soul. He
hears the plea that rises out of heart-wrenching sorrow and anguish. His mercy
sustains us and His character is the substance of our hope. His written WORD is the primary source for the
comfort that He promises, for it is the Word that reveals the character and glory of
our God, which drives us to worship and bless Him. Through the Word, we find the steadfastness and unchangeableness of
our God on display and readily available for us to cling to for comfort in the
midst of our greatest sorrows.
And let me add that He gives comfort in His perfect timing.
Every time.
Thankful for God’s Word and His mercy.
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Bountiful Basket Week
I finally finished up our last bountiful basket so it was time to get another
one. It looks like this basket is going to make us eat our salads and fruits!
There are several kinds of fruit this time: apples, watermelon, cantaloupe, mangoes, pears, kiwis, and also some kind of orange/tangerine thing.
Any idea what these green, leafy things are and how to eat them? They look
like lettuce, but have a thicker texture than lettuce—they almost have the same
plastic feeling that cabbage has.
At the same time, their stems resemble celery.
Maybe they are in the collard greens family.
I haven’t tasted it yet, but my guess is that they are pretty mild-flavored.
If you have any suggestions on how to use this vegetable, please share them!
There are several kinds of fruit this time: apples, watermelon, cantaloupe, mangoes, pears, kiwis, and also some kind of orange/tangerine thing.
For vegetables, there are cucumbers, zucchini, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and something that reminds me of the Veggie Tales’ story of Daniel.
Can’t you just see Daniel’s enemies dancing around as they plot and sing of Daniel’s coming demise?
At the same time, their stems resemble celery.
Maybe they are in the collard greens family.
I haven’t tasted it yet, but my guess is that they are pretty mild-flavored.
If you have any suggestions on how to use this vegetable, please share them!
Describe Him: Father
He is our Father. But we were His enemies. For Him to be our Father, we had
to be made sons and daughters.
How did He become our Father?
Romans 5:6-8 calls us without strength, ungodly, sinners, enemies. Nothing we do can make us His children.
Rather, it is Christ’s death for us at the time when we were most helpless and estranged from a holy God that has made it possible for us to be His children.
1 John 3:1 declares our adoption as sons being entirely because of God’s love toward us.
What was the incredible demonstration of God’s love that has made our adoption possible?
Christ’s death and resurrection was the payment that made it possible for us to go from being God’s enemies to being His children. His blood satisfied the Father’s righteous demands for the punishment of sin.
How do we become His children?
John 1:12 says we become the sons of God by believing on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is that simple. It is in believing the Gospel message we become God's children.
Once a son, always a son. Nothing can change our position as sons and daughters. The blessings of God being our Father are vast and incredibly great.
As our Father, He still demonstrates His love toward us in many ways. Yet these ways aren’t always happy, warm, fuzzy feelings: God also shows His love to us by correcting us. Hebrews 12:5-8 affirms the chastening of the Lord as a sure sign of His love towards His children. If the Lord does not punish and correct us when we go astray, the Bible says we are illegitimate and not His children. Thus, there are no exceptions: If He is our Father, He will chasten us.
Why does He, in love, correct His children? Verses 10-11 give the hope and comfort needed when in the midst of chastening: “…that we might be partakers of his holiness” and to yield “the peaceable fruit of righteousness…” He wants us to become more like Him. Wow.
Once we were God’s enemies. Christ sacrificed His life so we, through His blood, are now reconciled with God and call Him “Abba, Father.” Now we are His children and fellow-heirs with Christ.
What greater love than this could there ever be?
How did He become our Father?
Romans 5:6-8 calls us without strength, ungodly, sinners, enemies. Nothing we do can make us His children.
Rather, it is Christ’s death for us at the time when we were most helpless and estranged from a holy God that has made it possible for us to be His children.
1 John 3:1 declares our adoption as sons being entirely because of God’s love toward us.
What was the incredible demonstration of God’s love that has made our adoption possible?
Christ’s death and resurrection was the payment that made it possible for us to go from being God’s enemies to being His children. His blood satisfied the Father’s righteous demands for the punishment of sin.
How do we become His children?
John 1:12 says we become the sons of God by believing on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is that simple. It is in believing the Gospel message we become God's children.
Once a son, always a son. Nothing can change our position as sons and daughters. The blessings of God being our Father are vast and incredibly great.
As our Father, He still demonstrates His love toward us in many ways. Yet these ways aren’t always happy, warm, fuzzy feelings: God also shows His love to us by correcting us. Hebrews 12:5-8 affirms the chastening of the Lord as a sure sign of His love towards His children. If the Lord does not punish and correct us when we go astray, the Bible says we are illegitimate and not His children. Thus, there are no exceptions: If He is our Father, He will chasten us.
Why does He, in love, correct His children? Verses 10-11 give the hope and comfort needed when in the midst of chastening: “…that we might be partakers of his holiness” and to yield “the peaceable fruit of righteousness…” He wants us to become more like Him. Wow.
Once we were God’s enemies. Christ sacrificed His life so we, through His blood, are now reconciled with God and call Him “Abba, Father.” Now we are His children and fellow-heirs with Christ.
What greater love than this could there ever be?
The Blood + The Breath by Caroline Cobb
I came across a 3-song preview of Caroline Cobb’s album, The Blood + The
Breath a few days ago and basically, I just need to get the whole CD!
The theme of the CD is Songs that tell the story of Redemption, with each song based on a specific Scripture passage. At times, the lyrics are taken almost directly from the passage.
The preview songs talk about Christ’s prayer in the garden from Mark 15:26-52, Pentecost in Acts 1 & 2, and finally, a challenge to wake up and listen for the trumpet sound, based on 1 Corinthians 15!
To download the free preview of the album, as well as view a video of her song The Passover Song, you can find them HERE . Check it out!
Praise God for His work of redemption!
The theme of the CD is Songs that tell the story of Redemption, with each song based on a specific Scripture passage. At times, the lyrics are taken almost directly from the passage.
The preview songs talk about Christ’s prayer in the garden from Mark 15:26-52, Pentecost in Acts 1 & 2, and finally, a challenge to wake up and listen for the trumpet sound, based on 1 Corinthians 15!
To download the free preview of the album, as well as view a video of her song The Passover Song, you can find them HERE . Check it out!
Praise God for His work of redemption!
Monday, April 13, 2015
Because there's nothing quite like the church...
Out of the Ordinary blog is doing a series on The Church during the month of April. I appreciate what has been posted so far. Hope they are a blessing to you as well!
Describe Him: Example
A while back, I started a series of posts called “Describe
Him A-Z”—a post for each letter of the alphabet focusing on aspects of the character of God, Christ, and the Spirit. I only got as far as D. Here are the previous posts on A through D: Advocate, Beginning, Comfort, Doctor. I’ve decided to work on completing this series, so here
goes!
As the title already shows, the Bible presents Christ as our example.
In Philippians 2:5 we find Christ’s mind as the model for where our mind should be: thinking and being like Christ are requirements for every believer. As the passage in Philippians 2 goes on to show, Christ humbled Himself, became a man, and gave His life for the world. How does this aspect of Christ’s life give us an example to follow?
Dr. Courtney, a pastor in Oklahoma and one of my teachers from Cornerstone, made several important points about this passage:
- Christ did not think it robbery to be equal with God (Phil. 2:6.) In not thinking it robbery, He did not have the need to defend anything about Himself. His life was not about protecting His reputation as God the Son. Instead, He humbled Himself because He had nothing to lose.
This freedom from self-interest and self-preservation produced a freedom to serve and give His life for us.
- As Christians, we are positioned in Christ. There is nothing we can do, or nothing others can do to us, to change this position. Christ is the one who has made us “In Him.” Why then, should we worry about defending and protecting our reputation before others? Our position in Christ gives us freedom from the need to defend ourselves. In turn, it grants us the freedom to serve others.
- By having this mindset as Christ did, we are able to be likeminded with other believers, to have the same love, to be of one accord and of one mind. We can act without strife and pride, and in humility see others as more important than ourselves.
Christ is our example to follow. And as Philippians 2:13 reminds us, “…it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
As the title already shows, the Bible presents Christ as our example.
In Philippians 2:5 we find Christ’s mind as the model for where our mind should be: thinking and being like Christ are requirements for every believer. As the passage in Philippians 2 goes on to show, Christ humbled Himself, became a man, and gave His life for the world. How does this aspect of Christ’s life give us an example to follow?
Dr. Courtney, a pastor in Oklahoma and one of my teachers from Cornerstone, made several important points about this passage:
- Christ did not think it robbery to be equal with God (Phil. 2:6.) In not thinking it robbery, He did not have the need to defend anything about Himself. His life was not about protecting His reputation as God the Son. Instead, He humbled Himself because He had nothing to lose.
This freedom from self-interest and self-preservation produced a freedom to serve and give His life for us.
- As Christians, we are positioned in Christ. There is nothing we can do, or nothing others can do to us, to change this position. Christ is the one who has made us “In Him.” Why then, should we worry about defending and protecting our reputation before others? Our position in Christ gives us freedom from the need to defend ourselves. In turn, it grants us the freedom to serve others.
- By having this mindset as Christ did, we are able to be likeminded with other believers, to have the same love, to be of one accord and of one mind. We can act without strife and pride, and in humility see others as more important than ourselves.
Christ is our example to follow. And as Philippians 2:13 reminds us, “…it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Ponderings
My mind [and life] is working through a dilemma… And while it isn’t something often discussed, I’m sure other Christians deal with the
same problem.
I’m talking about the consistent disconnect between what my heart and mind desires as a Christian and what I actually do as I go about life.
In a sense, it is the “Romans 7” scenario where “what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.” (Romans 7:15b) Except in a more specific situation. I keep thinking about about how rarely things—GOOD things—spill over from my heart and mind into my interaction with people in my every day life.
I want to encourage other people in their Christian walk. I want to discuss how God has been working in my life. I want to share my faith with my unbelieving coworkers. I want to be a student of the Word.
It just doesn’t really seem to ever happen. It seems oh, so hard to turn that want to into actions. You know the feeling? This is the struggle. Maybe it is also yours.
How do I learn to turn trivial conversations with other believers into times of spiritual encouragement and edification? How do I take advantage of the opportunity to witness when someone makes a comment that seems to indicate a belief in something other than the Truth of God’s Word? How do I make the study of God’s Word something that impacts me on a personal level? How do I go about life with such an intentionality that the Christian walk is seen as something real and not merely a spiritual front?
And as I write this, I feel like there’s a disconnect even now between writing about this and talking about it with someone because it is so much easier to write about than to actually talk about it and do it.
WHY?!?
I’ve been thinking about it: this struggle serves to keep me dependent on the Lord to accomplish His work in me. If I had the spiritual life all figured out, why would I need Him? If the transforming and sanctifying power of the Gospel was simply a once-for-all event, what about the rest of my life? Where would “being conformed to His image” fit into the picture?
It all points back to Christ, His Work, and God’s glory.
And so I take comfort—not in glorying in my failures—but in the confident hope of His promise to complete the good work that He has begun in me. (Philippians 1:6) My part is to walk with Him day-by-day, yield my body as instruments of righteousness, and obey Him, being a doer and not just a hearer of the Word.
I’m talking about the consistent disconnect between what my heart and mind desires as a Christian and what I actually do as I go about life.
In a sense, it is the “Romans 7” scenario where “what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.” (Romans 7:15b) Except in a more specific situation. I keep thinking about about how rarely things—GOOD things—spill over from my heart and mind into my interaction with people in my every day life.
I want to encourage other people in their Christian walk. I want to discuss how God has been working in my life. I want to share my faith with my unbelieving coworkers. I want to be a student of the Word.
It just doesn’t really seem to ever happen. It seems oh, so hard to turn that want to into actions. You know the feeling? This is the struggle. Maybe it is also yours.
How do I learn to turn trivial conversations with other believers into times of spiritual encouragement and edification? How do I take advantage of the opportunity to witness when someone makes a comment that seems to indicate a belief in something other than the Truth of God’s Word? How do I make the study of God’s Word something that impacts me on a personal level? How do I go about life with such an intentionality that the Christian walk is seen as something real and not merely a spiritual front?
And as I write this, I feel like there’s a disconnect even now between writing about this and talking about it with someone because it is so much easier to write about than to actually talk about it and do it.
WHY?!?
I’ve been thinking about it: this struggle serves to keep me dependent on the Lord to accomplish His work in me. If I had the spiritual life all figured out, why would I need Him? If the transforming and sanctifying power of the Gospel was simply a once-for-all event, what about the rest of my life? Where would “being conformed to His image” fit into the picture?
It all points back to Christ, His Work, and God’s glory.
And so I take comfort—not in glorying in my failures—but in the confident hope of His promise to complete the good work that He has begun in me. (Philippians 1:6) My part is to walk with Him day-by-day, yield my body as instruments of righteousness, and obey Him, being a doer and not just a hearer of the Word.
[Cheater] Ham Cured Chicken
Growing up, we would often have
a meal that we called “Ham Cured Chicken." It is chicken marinated for a couple days in a ham-brine and then baked like a
regular beef roast with lots of potatoes, carrots, and onions. The result is some amazing ham-flavored chicken and vegetables!
A few months ago, I wanted to make this dish, but I didn’t have the recipe or the special ingredients for the brine. So I decided to try my hand at figuring out a cheater version of it using only one main ingredient:
Probably the brine-soaked version of this chicken tastes way better, but I’m happy to settle with this simple, last-minute adaptation of it!
__________________________
NOTE: This can also be fixed in the crockpot—put it in for 5-6 hours on high and you’ll have lunch waiting for you when you get home from church!
Also, for the crockpot, boneless chicken breasts are the best to use. Chicken bones end up really tender after being in the crockpot for so long and might get mistaken for meat! (Yes, I know it sounds odd, but trust me, it’s true!)
A few months ago, I wanted to make this dish, but I didn’t have the recipe or the special ingredients for the brine. So I decided to try my hand at figuring out a cheater version of it using only one main ingredient:
Morton’s Tender Quick: Home Meat Cure.
It is available in the grocery store next to regular table salt.
Yes, all you do is use 1 Tablespoon of Tender Quick for every pound of chicken, rub it all over the chicken, and then let it marinate for at least half an hour. If you have time, letting the chicken marinate for several hours or overnight is even better. The longer the meat marinates, the more seasoned it will taste. It will also end up with a pinkish color because it is “ham cured.”
When I made this the other day, I didn’t have much time before supper, so I just let the chicken breasts marinate for about an hour.
Meanwhile, I got the potatoes, carrots, and onions ready.
I cut up about 6 potatoes, 4-5 carrots, and a whole onion. Leftovers are always great!
And then they all went into a large bowl.
I don’t add too many other seasonings to this dish—the Tender Quick does most of the seasoning.
I do, however, drizzle 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of sage, a couple tablespoons of rosemary, and a teaspoon of regular table salt.
Mix together all of the seasonings and vegetables.
Before putting the marinated chicken into the pan together with the vegetables, make sure to rinse off the Tender Quick from the chicken.
I put all of the vegetables in the pan first (it doesn’t need to be greased or lined) and then placed the chicken on top. I figure the yummy flavors from the chicken will then drip down onto the vegetables and make them even yummier!
I’ve baked this dish uncovered and it turned out fine.
This time though, I decided to try baking it covered.
I was planning on baking it at 350 for about an hour.
After only 45 minutes the vegetables were already done.
The chicken needed just a few more minutes and then it also was ready to eat!
Just look at all that yumminess!
Probably the brine-soaked version of this chicken tastes way better, but I’m happy to settle with this simple, last-minute adaptation of it!
__________________________
NOTE: This can also be fixed in the crockpot—put it in for 5-6 hours on high and you’ll have lunch waiting for you when you get home from church!
Also, for the crockpot, boneless chicken breasts are the best to use. Chicken bones end up really tender after being in the crockpot for so long and might get mistaken for meat! (Yes, I know it sounds odd, but trust me, it’s true!)
Monday, April 06, 2015
Personal Bible Study: A New Approach
Personal Bible study is important to spiritual growth. Yet sometimes it
seems dry and tasteless. Or I don’t feel motivated to do in-depth word-studies
or make a list of detailed observations from the passage… So usually I end up
just reading the Bible. (Which, by the way, isn’t at all a bad thing!)
However, I recently came across a new approach to reading and breaking down a passage that I’m finding to be quite enjoyable and profitable!
It goes by the self-explanatory name of Phrasing.
In its most simplistic form, phrasing is just taking a set of verses and visually identifying each phrase and the relationship each phrase has to the phrase next to it.
Let me show you what I mean:
I’m working through doing a few verses each day from 1 Thessalonians. Here’s how I phrased 1:2-3:
3 Remembering without ceasing
your work of faith,
and labour of love,
and patience of hope
in our Lord Jesus Christ,
in the sight of God and our Father;
As you can see, each phrase is placed directly underneath the word it is related to. In other words, “for you all” from verse 2 is placed under “thanks” because it is telling us for what or who Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are thanking God for. “Making mention of you in our prayers” then is also placed under “thanks” because it gives us further detail of how they’re giving thanks.
In verse 3, there is a list of how Paul is remembering the Thessalonians: He mentions their work, their labor, and their patience of hope. And because this hope is in the Lord Jesus, the phrase is placed under the word “hope.”
The relationship of“in the sight of God and our Father” was trickier to determine. Does it refer back to the work, labor, and patience of the Thessalonians? Or does the phrase more closely qualify their hope in Christ?
After reading and re-reading the verse, I concluded that it modified the list of work, labor, and patience, instead of just their hope. To properly reflect this then, I placed the phrase “In the sight of God and our Father” directly under the words work, labor, and patience.
And that’s pretty much all there is to phrasing! Can you see how simply breaking down a passage into phrases and then arranging the phrases to reflect their relationship to each other is helpful in understanding what the passage is saying? It is amazing how clear a passage becomes when you take the time to just look at the words and identify their relationship to each other!
I’m thankful to have come across this method and appreciate its contribution to my time in the Word.
_________________________________________________
In case you want to learn more about the technicalities of phrasing, here are some resources to get you started:
> These posts were what originally introduced me to the approach of phrasing: How We Study the Bible and Find Phrases.
> In doing a little searching online, I came across the actual chapters from Mounce’s book at this website…available for free download HERE!
However, I recently came across a new approach to reading and breaking down a passage that I’m finding to be quite enjoyable and profitable!
It goes by the self-explanatory name of Phrasing.
In its most simplistic form, phrasing is just taking a set of verses and visually identifying each phrase and the relationship each phrase has to the phrase next to it.
Let me show you what I mean:
I’m working through doing a few verses each day from 1 Thessalonians. Here’s how I phrased 1:2-3:
2 We give thanks to God always
for you all,making mention of you in our prayers.
3 Remembering without ceasing
your work of faith,
and labour of love,
and patience of hope
in our Lord Jesus Christ,
in the sight of God and our Father;
As you can see, each phrase is placed directly underneath the word it is related to. In other words, “for you all” from verse 2 is placed under “thanks” because it is telling us for what or who Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are thanking God for. “Making mention of you in our prayers” then is also placed under “thanks” because it gives us further detail of how they’re giving thanks.
In verse 3, there is a list of how Paul is remembering the Thessalonians: He mentions their work, their labor, and their patience of hope. And because this hope is in the Lord Jesus, the phrase is placed under the word “hope.”
The relationship of“in the sight of God and our Father” was trickier to determine. Does it refer back to the work, labor, and patience of the Thessalonians? Or does the phrase more closely qualify their hope in Christ?
After reading and re-reading the verse, I concluded that it modified the list of work, labor, and patience, instead of just their hope. To properly reflect this then, I placed the phrase “In the sight of God and our Father” directly under the words work, labor, and patience.
And that’s pretty much all there is to phrasing! Can you see how simply breaking down a passage into phrases and then arranging the phrases to reflect their relationship to each other is helpful in understanding what the passage is saying? It is amazing how clear a passage becomes when you take the time to just look at the words and identify their relationship to each other!
I’m thankful to have come across this method and appreciate its contribution to my time in the Word.
_________________________________________________
In case you want to learn more about the technicalities of phrasing, here are some resources to get you started:
> These posts were what originally introduced me to the approach of phrasing: How We Study the Bible and Find Phrases.
> In doing a little searching online, I came across the actual chapters from Mounce’s book at this website…available for free download HERE!
Thursday, April 02, 2015
In Our Fridge...On Our Plates
Despite my {sarcastic} rant against quinoa and EVOO in a previous note, I
really have been working on eating healthier. The main way that has been
happening has been by ordering a Bountiful Basket (a $20 box filled
with 3-5 different fruits and 3-5 different kinds of vegetables)! All said, it
is probably a good 10-15 pounds of produce that needs to be consumed in some way!
The last two baskets have filled our refrigerator with apples, pears, oranges, a pineapple, green, yellow, red, and orange peppers, squash, zucchini, onions, tomatoes—cherry and regular, 2 avocados, 3 heads of lettuce, celery, beets, 2 cabbages, radishes, carrots, and asparagus. (And I feel like there were a couple other things, but I can't remember what they would be.)
Because it is a lot of fresh produce for the two of us to eat, the key to making sure we’re not wasting our money is to make sure that we don’t let it rot in the refrigerator… Sooo, the responsibility lies on me to make meals that use up these things!
Here is a list of the dishes that I made/plan to make with the produce from the last 2 Bountiful Baskets:
Cucumbers – cream cheese/cucumber dip (to go with potato chips!)
Cabbage – Runzas! Also thought of making stir-fried vegetables, but didn’t get around to it.
Lettuce – Taco Salad, Grilled Chicken Salad
Squash/Zucchini – Zucchini Skillet (with black beans, tomatoes, green peppers and corn to make into a Southwestern-style quesadilla), Zucchini bread
Carrots – Baked Carrots and Potatoes (seasoned with rosemary and olive oil [or if you prefer, EVOO]), Hobo Foil Dinners
Celery – Celery and Peanut Butter sticks
Beets – Pickled beets (still need to get my mom’s recipe for those!)
Avocados – Guacamole
Green/Yellow/Orange/Red Peppers – Chicken Caccatori (or however you spell that dish), Fajitas or Fajita Chicken Bake, Porcupine Meatballs, Scrambled Eggs/Home-fried Potatoes, Zucchini Skillet, Biscuit Pizza
Onions – In anything and everything!
Tomatoes – Zucchini Skillet, Fresh on Santa Fe Sandwiches
Radishes – Dipped in Ranch (I admit, Isaac was the only one who ate any…)
Asparagus – Sauteed with garlic and soy sauce
Fruit – Fresh for breakfast, Apple pie, occasionally an apple for Isaac’s lunch
And so far, we’ve only had to throw out some of the radishes, part of the asparagus, a carrot, and a little bit of the lettuce…I’d say that’s a pretty good track record!
(By the way, you should check into whether Bountiful Baskets are offered in your area! Just pull up www.bountifulbaskets.org and it gives a list of the states and cities that offer basket pick-ups. Sign up is free!)
The last two baskets have filled our refrigerator with apples, pears, oranges, a pineapple, green, yellow, red, and orange peppers, squash, zucchini, onions, tomatoes—cherry and regular, 2 avocados, 3 heads of lettuce, celery, beets, 2 cabbages, radishes, carrots, and asparagus. (And I feel like there were a couple other things, but I can't remember what they would be.)
Because it is a lot of fresh produce for the two of us to eat, the key to making sure we’re not wasting our money is to make sure that we don’t let it rot in the refrigerator… Sooo, the responsibility lies on me to make meals that use up these things!
Here is a list of the dishes that I made/plan to make with the produce from the last 2 Bountiful Baskets:
Cucumbers – cream cheese/cucumber dip (to go with potato chips!)
Cabbage – Runzas! Also thought of making stir-fried vegetables, but didn’t get around to it.
Lettuce – Taco Salad, Grilled Chicken Salad
Squash/Zucchini – Zucchini Skillet (with black beans, tomatoes, green peppers and corn to make into a Southwestern-style quesadilla), Zucchini bread
Carrots – Baked Carrots and Potatoes (seasoned with rosemary and olive oil [or if you prefer, EVOO]), Hobo Foil Dinners
Celery – Celery and Peanut Butter sticks
Beets – Pickled beets (still need to get my mom’s recipe for those!)
Avocados – Guacamole
Green/Yellow/Orange/Red Peppers – Chicken Caccatori (or however you spell that dish), Fajitas or Fajita Chicken Bake, Porcupine Meatballs, Scrambled Eggs/Home-fried Potatoes, Zucchini Skillet, Biscuit Pizza
Onions – In anything and everything!
Tomatoes – Zucchini Skillet, Fresh on Santa Fe Sandwiches
Radishes – Dipped in Ranch (I admit, Isaac was the only one who ate any…)
Asparagus – Sauteed with garlic and soy sauce
Fruit – Fresh for breakfast, Apple pie, occasionally an apple for Isaac’s lunch
And so far, we’ve only had to throw out some of the radishes, part of the asparagus, a carrot, and a little bit of the lettuce…I’d say that’s a pretty good track record!
(By the way, you should check into whether Bountiful Baskets are offered in your area! Just pull up www.bountifulbaskets.org and it gives a list of the states and cities that offer basket pick-ups. Sign up is free!)
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