Tonight for supper I made mexican lasagna. A dish I created as we LOVE mexican dishes here in our home! prep..
simmering the meat mixture
(Sometimes I use ground turkey and other times I use chicken; I used chicken tonight)
Layering the dish..
meat mixture, corn tortillas, cheese and repeat..ending with cheese as your top layer finished meal: mexican lasagna..goes in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes..
Yesterday was a great day! We don't celebrate christmas but my dh has it off so we have made a traditional junk food day on Dec. 25. :)
We don't eat much junk food around our house so on this day we get all sorts of junk type foods and put them out buffet style and eat all day. We also watched several movies and played games into the wee hours of the morning with our older kiddos. One of the movies we watched was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. It was such a great movie. We had it watched years and years ago and I had forgotten much of it. I really liked it and it was great seeing a clean movie that we could all enjoy. My children are a great bunch of little and bigger people and I enjoy their company so much! We always have alot of fun together and spend so much time laughing and having a good time!
Today was a restful Shabbat day. :) This evening we relaxed around the house and Gabriellia made cookies. I took a quick minute to trim ZaraLayna's bangs. You can see her eyes so much better now.. :) I also got my chili in the crockpot for tomorrow and just have to remember to turn on the crockpot before going to bed. Thursday my dh surprised me by staying home! I didn't know he got the day off! It was so nice having him home! He took the littles with him for a trip to Walmart so I could get schoolwork done with the other children which helped me alot. Then he came home and we headed to the shop so he could show me his new car. My dh's boss bought a used car that the owner no longer wanted because he didn't want to fix it. He bought it with the sole intent to give it to my dh! I was surprised and thankful! My dh's car is on it's last legs and needs alot of fixing so this car was definitely a need! Hashem sure does surprise me in the way He works and who he works through..:) :):) Thursday afternoon after we got back home I got the children's school work from last week filed away and was able to get new school work up on our Wall of Fame that I made in the dining room for the children so they could show off their work. I love it when they come and point out their school work! They are so proud that it's on display. :)
What I have been learning...
The L-rd has really been working on my heart and showing me how important training my children to be good helpers is. It has taken me many years to feel in my heart it is alright to let my children do things around the house to help me. I always felt that if they did things for me and I wasn't doing it all that I wasn't being a good mama. BUT now I see how important it is to train them in the art of helping and having the heart of a servant. My children have always been trained to do chores and work hard but my heart never felt right about it because I felt like if I didn't do it all then I wasn't being a *good* mama. What nonsense I allowed myself to believe!! It is a direct reflection on the mama if her children are seen helping and working in the home. Children should be trained and taught in service to others. If they don't learn it first in the home then they won't serve others out in the world. How will a child know how to do the basic things needed in life if they aren't taught these things in the home by their mamas? (and even daddies!) Our homes are a training ground for our children..and so often the L-rd uses it to train us also as their parents!
Today my one main goal besides getting homeschooling done with the kiddos was making granola for my family to enjoy! I had planned on making it weeks ago but becoming pg and then sick until 17 weeks pg put a damper on all my best laid plans.. so we have been without granola for breakfast for a bit. Today though I got it made and plan to stay on top of it now that I am feeling better and hopefully things will stay at a more normal pace..
ETA: How I make my granola:
I start with rolled oats, not quick. I then add diced dates, papaya, (any dried fruit tastes great!) coconut and walnuts. (nuts of any kind work well) I also add powdered milk. I then melt crunchy peanutbutter with olive oil and pour over the oat mixture. I also added sucanat crystals, agave nectar and a little bit organic cane sugar as my sweetener. I mix this all together and then put on cookie bar sheets and toast at about 250 degrees for 20 minutes. I then cool and put into a sealed container. This keeps well and taste superb!! :)
My oldest dd and I went to India Garden for her b-day Friday evening. The above picture is what we ordered...mango chicken. It was delish!! :) And of course my dd Morgan-Britney above also...
Here are some pics of last week and our Chanukah baking days!
(I get these in my email inbox and wanted to share this one with you..I know I have had to deal with this and thought it might bless someone else! )
Va-Yiggash For the week of December 26, 2009 / 9 Tevet 5770 Torah: Bereshit / Genesis 44:18 - 47:27 Haftarah: Ezekiel 37:15-28
Self Punishment
And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. (Bereshit / Genesis 45:5; ESV)
Some of us, when we realize that we have done something wrong, get very upset with ourselves. The details of the event play over and over again in our minds. We try to think how we could have done it better. We earnestly apologize again and again, but never feel forgiven. Others may feel just as bad, but deal with it differently. Instead, they internalize their sense of guilt and shame and never talk about it, allowing it to fester inside of them. Joseph was concerned that his brothers would be too hard on themselves for how they had treated him. They certainly had done him wrong. Enraged with jealousy, they wanted to murder him, but in the end sold him into slavery. We can hardly imagine what the subsequent years for Joseph were like. Even with how things turned out in the end for Joseph - after years of slavery and imprisonment, he was promoted to second in command in Egypt - few people would have what it takes to console the very ones who were the cause of their years of suffering. Yet he does console them. Joseph's understanding of what God was doing through his terrible circumstances gave him perspective and the ability to not obsess over his brothers' wrongdoing. Joseph was not saying that they didn't do wrong. He wasn't saying that they didn't need to face their guilt and deal with it before God. What he was trying to do was share with them a godly perspective to keep them from mishandling their guilt. When we do wrong, we are guilty. We need to deal with that. How we deal with it is another thing. Punishing ourselves, which is what Joseph was encouraging his brothers not to do, doesn't do anybody any good. It doesn't change what happened or appease the one we have wronged. All we can do for the wronged party is express regret through a sincere apology and make restitution if the situation warrants it. Self punishment shifts the focus of our wrongs to ourselves, which is most likely how we created the problem in the first place. Wallowing in failure may give the impression that we are taking the situation seriously, but actually prevents us from effectively dealing with our guilt. Joseph's perspective on his situation is the key to being free from self punishment. Without saying that his brothers were free from any responsibility for their wrongs, he understood that ultimately God was in control of their lives. Some may think that to accept what Joseph was saying regarding how God used his brothers' wrongdoing for good purposes would lead to their not taking their wrongs seriously enough. Perhaps they would start to think that there is no such thing as evil, since God uses everything - including jealously and murder - for his purposes. This certainly wasn't Joseph's understanding. Later on he would say to them, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (Bereshit / Genesis 50:20). The key to freedom from self punishment and from the guilt that spurs it on is to understand the relationship between our actions and the God who rules the universe. Do we really think that we control the destiny of others? Beating ourselves up for our wrongs furthers the lie that somehow we rule over life, when God, the Master of the Universe, is always in control. Once we accept that, then we can face our wrongs properly. Self punishment completely missed the point. Wrongdoing is fundamentally an affront to our Creator. Apart from apologies and restitution, we can only be free from guilt through the forgiveness of God. So many of our misdeeds can never be resolved through anything we say or do. But God has made provision for our guilt. Through the sacrifice of the Messiah and acknowledging the seriousness of our wrongs, we can be free from guilt. The Messiah was severely punished on our behalf. So, stop beating yourself up!
Today is the last day of Chanukah.. We're going to be making raised baked donuts... We're using this recipe from cooks.com..
BAKED RAISED DONUTS
In a large saucepan bring to a boiling point:
1 1/2 c. milk
Remove from heat and stir in:
1/3 c. shortening 1/4 c. sugar 2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. nutmeg
When lukewarm - add:
4 3/4 c. sifted flour 2 lg. well beaten eggs 2 yeast cakes, dissolved in 1/4 c. lukewarm water
Beat dough until well mixed. Cover pan and let stand in a slightly warm place until dough is light and double in bulk, about 60 minutes. Turn dough onto a well floured board, turning 2 or 3 times to form a stiff ball. Roll lightly (avoid stretching) until about 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a 3 inch cutter. Place rings carefully 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Brush rings with butter and let rise in warm place until double in bulk (about 20 minutes). Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. As soon as donuts are removed from oven, brush again with butter and roll in granulated sugar. Makes 2 1/2-3 dozen.
Yesterday the children made pretzels. They really enjoyed shaping them! I thought they tasted very good.
On our children's b-days we let them pick the place they would like to go and we then treat them out to a meal wherever they choose. We only take them and enjoy the time with them one on one.. Morgan-Britney chose to go to India Garden and then to a movie at the cheap seat theater. We love Indian food so we are really looking forward to it. We're heading out after our Shabbat celebration this evening..
Tomorrow we are having our Chanukah Feast. We are going to be having a turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and several other traditional dishes. I am then going to be making a few traditional Chanukah foods.
These recipes are from recipegoldmine.com
Sweet Potato Tzimmes
5 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cut in chunks and cooked 4 large carrots, peeled, cut in chunks and cooked 1 cup pitted prunes, chopped 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/3 cup honey 2 tablespoons melted margarine 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper Salt, to taste Orange juice, optional 2 or 3 apples, peeled and sliced
Mash sweet potatoes and carrots. Mix in the prunes. Add cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Combine honey and margarine.
Grease a 2-quart casserole dish. Alternate layers of mashed seasoned vegetables and apples, dribbling honey (and juice) mixture over each layer. End with vegetable layer. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes.
Sweet Kugel
This is a wonderful Chanukah treat.
1 (12 ounce) package wide egg noodles 3 eggs, slightly beaten 1 (16 ounce) carton cream-style cottage cheese 1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup corn flakes cereal
Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well; set aside. Combine eggs and next 7 ingredients; stir half of cottage cheese mixture into noodles. Spoon noodles into a lightly greased 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Pour remaining cottage cheese mixture over casserole; bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour. Sprinkle with corn flakes, then serve.
Yields 10 to 12 servings.
Me and the children have to head to the chiro at 1pm this afternoon. He is treating me and all but 2 of my children also. I am glad to be going in again. My hips have been popping in and out and clicking. OUCH!
Have a great day everyone!
Shabbat Shalom!! I leave you with this..may this be your prayer on this Shabbat!
Come and make my heart Your home. Come and be everything I am and all I know. Search me through and through 'till my heart becomes a home for You.
A home for You, Lord. A home for You, Lord. Let everything I do open up, A door for You to come through, And that my heart would be a place where You want to be. Come and make my heart Your home. Come and be everything I am and all I know. Search me through and through 'till my heart becomes a home for You.
You are my portion, filling up everything. You are the fortune that's causing my heart to sing. That it's amazing, that You could make Yourself at home with me. Come and make my heart, Come and make it Your home. Come and be everything I am and all I know. Search me through and through 'till my heart becomes a home for You.
ground turkey and other times I use chicken; I used chicken tonight)
