What's cooking???

Good afternoon/early evening Dear Ones.      I hope and pray that everyone is having a blessed day!!!    It is a rather dreary day here in my neck of the woods, but, that's ok.    If you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then guess what, the SON is shining brightly for you!!!!    So rest in that knowledge and enjoy the SONshine in your life today!!!     I just wanted to share a little meal prep and what goes on in my kitchen on a weekly basis.    So, come join me at my kitchen table.    (Just a little disclaimer here, please forgive any spelling mistakes or punctuation mistakes you may see.    I try real hard to catch them all, but I just don't so a lot of mercy and grace will be much appreciated.   Thank you.)

Back in very early 2020, just after Christmas of 2019, around New Years of 2020, I subscribed to an online, mail order produce box.   The company is called Misfit Market.     They offer 2 different size boxes on a weekly basis or every other week and you can postpone a box if you need to.    You can get a Misfit box or a Madness box.     With the Misfit box, you get to choose 12 different veggies and fruits, it's perfect for a family of 2 or 3 people and it usually weighs between 10 and 14 lbs.     With the Madness box, you get a choice of 14 different veggies and fruits and it usually between 14 and 18 lbs.    I think those are the weights or very close to them anyway.    It's that simple.   You can cancel at any time.    No requirements at all.

Anyway, I subscribed to this box of produce on a weekly basis.   Then along comes the pandemic.     I had no idea at just how much of a blessing this weekly box would be for my husband and me.    This company is a phenomenal company!!!   They have the BEST customer service of any company I have ever had any dealing with!!    This has been such a huge blessing for us.    Having constant and steady fresh, organic vegetables and fruit has been wonderful.    Another reason it is perfect for us is because when I look for produce in the store (before the pandemic) I was always at a loss as to what I should get.    With this, it's easy.    All of it grown organically.    It's fresh from the farmer.    Sometimes there are blemishes on the produce, sometimes they are overly large or overly small, just not food that the supermarkets want to sell.    So, we get it.   After having been blessed with these boxes for about a year, I thought I would share a little about food prep.

For me, food prep has always been a hard thing to do, a daunting task.    I can't really put my finger on why it has been so hard, but I think after all these years in the kitchen, I finally found my rhythm for food prep.   hahaha     It may have been an issue for me just because keeping fresh veggies and fruit on hand was an issue.    I would go to store with intentions of getting some and come out empty handed of anything fresh.   No.1 reason was the price and still is the price in the stores.    No.2 reason is because most of it looks ready for the garbage by the time it's put out.  

A quick story about this when I first started getting these boxes.    I switched from the Misfits box to the Madness box, the larger of the 2.    When one of my boxes came, I was in awe of how much produce I actually got.    I sat down with phone in hand and done some comparison shopping in my kroger app and the walmart app.   I couldn't get everything at one store.    The Madness box is a little over $30, it may be $35 plus taxes and shipping.    Anyway, I was pricing the exact weight of what I had gotten from my Madness box, and organic produce.    The grand total of the produce that I paid between 30 and 35 dollars for was over $90 between kroger and walmart!!!!!   YES, it was!!!!    I was was absolutely gob-smacked!!!!!    hahaha  So, as I go about my journey with Misfits Market, I continually praise the Lord for such a blessing.      

I know most of us do produce prep as soon as we get our produce into the house.      Some go into full blown cook mode and I don't blame them one little bit. I am just not that organized to do that.      But, I do want to share with y'all what I do, because it may just be an easy way to get started on meal prepping.     I have lock and lock boxes that I use only for prepped food storage, that's it.     I do have 3 larger lock and lock boxes that I store cooked soups and stuff like in.      But, as you can see in the first picture, there are two rounds on the left and the top one has red and green bell pepper tops and bottoms diced up, the bottom one has cipolini onion diced. the middle two oblong ones have celery and carrot sticks in them and then the tall one on the right has strips of red and green bell peppers in them. 
 

I always have onions, carrots and celery on hand and the others vary according to what I have.      I do cut most everything up in sticks and then they are so easy and quick to dice at that point.     When those get empty, I refill them asap, because at meal time, those boxes are the starting point for our meals.       The next box is of sliced mushrooms, they are ready to do what ever I wish to do with them, they are ready to go.

The other 2 pictures are 2 of my "go to" meals.     I fix these weekly and we will enjoy 3 or 4 meals from each.     One is what I call "chicken corn chowder" and it starts off with at least 2 to 2 and a half cups of mixed veggies that I diced, sauteed in the instant pot and then the other ingredients added.    It usually has carrots, celery, onions, bell pepper (red green yellow), and broccoli, then the rest of the ingredients that I just throw in.       It is a crowd pleaser of 2.    hahaha 

 

This next dish is a teriyaki pork, chicken, or beef, (what ever meat I choose) brown rice and another 4 cups of fresh veggies to start the dish off.    It has watermelon radish, 3 different kinds of onions because you can't have too many onions, celery, carrots, broccoli, red and green bell peppers, I'm sure I'm missing something from that mix of veggies.     But these are 2 of our faves for the time being. 

 

At the end of the week, if I haven't used everything in my little boxes, it goes on the dehydrator and then added to my stash.     Then I refill the boxes.     When I was fixing my chicken corn chowder, I emptied them all and when I refilled them, I happened to think about sharing this with y'all.    I hope that someone can use this little bit of info and see that meal prepping doesn't have to be scary.     It used to be for me, but it's not any more.     When I cook beans sometime this week, I will have a head start on the onions being diced. also, if I want to, instead of dehydrating anything left, I can bag it all up and toss it in the freezer for the next teriyaki rice and whatever dish, since that always starts with a ton of veggies.     

Just a few of the staples that I always try to get is all kinds of lettuces and greens, all kinds of onions, celery, carrots, mushrooms, potatoes of all kinds including sweet potatoes, all colors of bell peppers, broccoli, radishes of all kinds, cauliflower, apples, oranges, pears, plums, mandarins, mango, ginger, zucchini, yellow squash.     Those are just a few of the items that I try to keep on hand regularly.    Having all these wonderful foods at the ready, cleaned and prepped makes meal time a pleasure and it's not a chore anymore.

When my little boxes get empty, about 15 to 20 minutes and I have them full and ready for the next time I need them.    It is so very refreshing for me to be able to meal prep and enjoy it and then I have my version of "fast food" on hand, but it's healthy!!!    Not all fast food can claim that.    So, YAY!!!     I hope someone finds a little bit of inspiration from this post and that you can see that it is pretty easy to get started with meal prepping.

I hope and pray that y'all enjoy the rest of your day and that can see God clearly in it all.    I pray that you can call Him "Daddy" thru the shed blood of Christ.    That's what we get to call Him when we know His Son.    How special is that!!!!!     That gets me shouting every time!!!!!    

But, I'm afraid that we, as Christians, are in for a hard time coming from people who do not know Him.    We will have to stand firm and believe that God is faithful.   We will have some hard, bleak days ahead of us.    We need to be prepared and the only way we can be prepared is to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior.     Paul said that to live is to serve Christ and to die is to be present with Christ.    Persecution of Christians in our land is about to begin, if you know Christ, keep what Paul said in your mind.    Jesus Christ bled and died for me/us, so as long as we have breath in our bodies, we should live for Him.     If we are living for Him, that will mean persecution.     We just have to remember that the end result will be in the presence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.    

Also, keep in mind that we are sojourners here, we're just passing thru in this life, the next life will be eternal.    This is world is NOT our home.   We are strangers in a strange land.    I know a lot of people make fun of Christians for what we believe and that's ok.    I've never been a "go with the flow" kind of person, let them make fun of me and let them make fun of you too.    Just remember one thing.  What you believe matters and it will show in how you live your life.     I don't want anyone to ever mistake me for someone who doesn't care, but I also don't want anyone to mistake me for a pushover.     When I'm quiet, I'm usually studying my surroundings.      I'm studying what I see and also what I don't see.    I'm usually praying and asking God to help me to discern between the truth and the lies.    Sometimes I ask Him to make clear what I don't see.     

Dear ones, again, just remember that what you believe DOES matter.    I can't stress that enough.     Everyone sins.    Everyone!!!      Don't let anyone tell you they don't.     If you have unconfessed sin in you life, take care of it.     It's not becoming for a child of God.    Ask our Father for forgiveness and then ask Him to help you.     You can't wait for it to go away, it doesn't.     You can't wait for God to take it away, He won't.    But you can ask God to help you through it, and He WILL!!!!    

As the day approaches, get in the Word.     Read the love letter written just for you.  Understand just why it matters so much what you believe.    Share with someone you know that God loves them and He wants them to be able to call Him "Daddy".  That's what Jesus called Him when He called Him "Abba Father".    He was actually calling Him "Daddy".     I love that.    He is just waiting for you to call on His glorious Name.    Please do.    I will probably never see you in this life, but I'm counting on seeing you at the Master's Table one of these grand days and then we can talk about it all.   Just know that Jesus loves you all, dear ones, and so do I.  love, hugs, and blessings beyond measure, patty

Thought for the Day....What you do matters

Good morning from my neck of the woods, Y'all!!     We got up with about a half inch of white stuff on the ground!!!   WHAT?!?!?!?!     hahahaha     Yes, we did.   Thankfully, the ground wasn't frozen, so it had even started to melt before I even seen it.    Just looked out the window a few minutes ago and it was still spitting a little.    It is gorgeous to look at, but I'm getting to the age that I don't want to ever have to get out in it again.     We used to be dare devils and had to get out in the snow and go driving, regardless how treacherous it was.     No more, I finally have good sense and don't want to act so reckless in my old age.  hahahaha 

I love looking at a fresh blanket of new snow.     There is just something so comforting about that sight.    One of the things that always pops in my mind is how scripture says that thru the shed blood of Christ, our sins can be washed as white as snow.     So, when I see a new a blanket of snow, no matter how thin the covering is, it's like the covering of Christ over us and when God looks at us, all He sees is His Son.    We must be a beautiful sight in God's eyes when He sees His Son while looking at us.     Can you even imagine the love that God must feel for His Son and in turn, He feels that same love for us.    That is something, that at just the mere thought, of the depth of our Father's love for us, it totally melts my heart.    It makes me feel ashamed sometimes of how I may feel towards another person.     I never want to withhold the love of God from another human being, even though I may think that person is not worthy of the love of God.     At one point in time, I wasn't either and I'm sure in the eyes of some, I'm still not worthy.    And to be quite honest, on my own, I'm not worthy.     I could never be worthy enough on my own.     I'm just so thankful to my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, that I don't even have to try to be worthy of the Fathers love.     Jesus IS worthy and He is my covering, just like the blanket of snow outside covering all the barrenness of winter, He covers the ugliness of my life and makes me acceptable to our Father.

I would love to know that every person that I have ever known and the multiple billions of people I won't ever know, would and could know the love that God has for them. 

Sometimes, we place ourselves in God's position as judge and jury over the world and when we do that, we are even judging the Creator of the Universe.     I don't know about you, but that's one job that I don't want or need.     I can't even handle small obligations, like being kind to someone, very well.    I don't make the wisest of decisions even on a good day.    So with all the hurt and pain that I carry around on a daily basis, I can't be judge and jury over God.    Oh, I don't mean to carry around a boat load of hurt and pain, but it seems I do.     And I'm afraid as long as I'm in this earth suit, that I'll continue to pick up the things from time to time that I have laid at the foot of the Cross.    And I don't even mean to do that, but sometimes we find ourselves going back to what has been so familiar for so long.  We go back and visit those things that brought us so much pain, hurt, discomfort, and division and sometimes we even pick them back up and drag them along behind us like a decaying corpse.     The stench precedes us.    We reek of death once more.    Not that eternal death has a grip on us again, because it doesn't!!!    We just lose sight of what God sees and when we do, we make poor decisions.

Let me say this.    We are not to go back in the past.    Anything we've lain at the foot of the Cross is no longer ours, it belongs to Jesus.    So, unless Jesus wants to take us to a point of more healing, leave the past alone and when the enemy comes knocking at your door, wanting to take you back, let Jesus get that door for you.    He can deal perfectly with the enemy, we can't.

As far as looking back and remembering where we have been and seeing how far we have come, that's a good thing.    That is how we share our testimonies.     We have to look back and see where we was to know exactly just how far we have come, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.    That is an amazing thing to see.     It is an amazing and powerful thing to see in others also.    Just don't go back to graveyard of your sins and hang out there expecting something good to happen. Even if it is familiar, no good thing will come from it.    Remember that your direction is toward the unfamiliar things of God.    You are a part of the Kingdom of God.    Moving towards God gets us out of our comfort zone.   It stretches us to see and embrace life differently.     It forces us to acknowledge sin.    It forces us to see our own sin.    It forces us to our knees in repentance because we want to be in right relationship with our Father, thru Christ.   It forces us to get out of the safety of the familiar and get in unfamiliar territory and that's where we will find God.    With out stretched hand waiting to guide us thru the narrow path.

In scripture, we are of told of 2 different paths.   One is wide and has lots of people on it and it's a path to death and destruction.    The other path is narrow and few are the people on it.    The narrow path is the path that leads to an eternity with Christ.   And the decision is ours to make.    There will be some snares along the way on the narrow path to try to throw us off.      But when we let God hold on to our hand, knowing that under NO circumstances will He ever let go, we will make our destination on time.    Not because of anything we done, but because God held our hand.

So, with all that in mind, always remember that what you do matters.    Regardless of how small or insignificant you may think it is, it matters.    You may be the only person that said thank you to someone who was feeling under appreciated.    You may be the only person that smiled at the cashier today and that person just needed to see one friendly face to know that all hope is not lost.    You may be the person that helped someone find their vehicle in the parking lot.   Just try to be the person that you hope shows up when need a little comfort from God.    We are put here for a reason and that reason is larger than ourselves.    While we are NOT Jesus, we are to show the love of Jesus.    So, what we do matters.

Who is this for????    ME!!!!!     I have a tendency to forget all of this.     I do.     I ask the Lord to help me remember.    He does help me.     I am so thankful and appreciative for Him being in my life.    I don't like it when He shows me my sin.   I really don't.    But it's the only way to be able to acknowledge my sin, confess my sin and ask for forgiveness of my sin.   I believe that Jesus is the only answer to my sin.   I am a sinful creature.    I recognize that in myself.   So, once again, I repent of my sin and seek forgiveness.    NOT to be saved all over again.   That's once and done.    I want to always be in right standing with the Lord and for what ever I have said, thought, or acted upon, I want that covered by His blood too, so I can always go to Him and not be ashamed of what ever it is that may be standing between us.    It's like apologizing to your friend.    You want to always know that you can go to your friend with anything and being in right relationship makes that possible.    Being in right relationship with Christ all the time makes it possible to go to Him with anything.   I hope and pray that this makes some sense to just one person.

I hope and pray that you all have a blessed day today.   If you have unconfessed sin, today is a good day to take care of that.    It was for me.    Tell someone you know that Jesus loves them so much.    Tell someone that what they do matters to those around them.    hugs, love, peace and blessings be y'all's today. patty