We had a special guest this week from out west! Christen lives in Wyoming, and attended a 2010 and 2011 Journey to the Heart. We were thrilled to have her come spend 5 days with us! Unfortinately we are lacking pictures of all the exciting things that happened over the weekend. Next time we need to remember to do more group shots!

One thing we learned about Christen, is that she LOVES hot peppers. In fact, she loves everything spicy! As a family, we don’t usually include jalapeno peppers and habanero peppers in our daily diet, but Christen showed us some tasty ways to include them (Since she puts them in just about everything) . One morning a few of the girls tried them in their eggs. Someone decided to fry a few so they would be less spicy. The result… well, let’s just say that when you fry jalapeno peppers, you end up inhaling the spice instead of eating it! We were all sitting around the breakfast table coughing and choking and laughing…

A few highlights from our week were:

- Doing a photo shoot an old farm behind our neighborhood.

- Preparing Christen’s special homemade salsa and gaucamole for our salads – a new delicious favorite!!!

- Singing choral arrangements and then sharing one at church (David enjoys learning them for us to sing, and Christen is an excellent pianist!).

- Playing a family game of Settlers of Catan!!!

- Visiting the horse farm in our neighborhood

- Designing fun t-shirts (another story for another time…)

- Laughing, talking, and doing fun projects all weekend!

Everyone made the most of the last night by staying up until midnight. Christen had a 7:40 flight, so some of us got up around 4:30 AM, fixed breakfast, and had a special devotional time before heading to the airport.

Thank you for coming to visit us Christen!

Apple-Berry Crisp

Serves 10

I posted this recipe on day 13, but wanted to share the yummier version we created this week! This recipe has the original oatmeal crust from our first recipe, but still includes the delicious crumb topping from our second recipe. Of course we made a few other changes along the way for further improvement .

To prepare the crust:

Brush 2 TBSP melted butter in the bottom of a 9×13 in pan.

Mix together 3-4 cups cooked oatmeal (we used steel cut oats) with 1 TBSP Agave syrup, 8 drops liquid stevia, and cinnamon to taste.

Spread in the bottom of the pan.

Bake @ 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until slightly crispy on top.

For filling, mix together the following ingredients:

3-4 TBSP melted butter

8 drops liquid Stevia (vanilla creme flavored)

1 TBSP Agave Syrup

3 oz Apple Juice

Cinnamon

1/8 cup (slightly heaped) Tapioca Flour

Prepare the fruit in a separate, large bowl.

4 cups yellow apples peeled, cored, and finely chopped

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Pour the filling mixture over the fruit and stir until thoroughly mixed.

For crumb topping mix together:

1/4 cup (4 TBSP) butter, softened

2 cups finely ground pecans

1 cup almond flour

3/4 TBSP Agave Syrup

6 drops liquid vanilla creme stevia

Pour the fruit filling mixture over the baked crust and sprinkle crumbs evenly on top. Cover with foil and bake @ 375 degrees for about 1 hour. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes longer.

Cool completely and refrigerate until cold!

Hannah’s Vegetable Soup

Enjoy!

Spanish Paella

Taken from Wisdom Booklet #49

32 oz short grain rice (we used brown basmati)

4-5 single chicken breasts, cut up (we eliminated this)

3 red peppers

3 tomatoes

3/4 of a lemon, juiced (optional)

Garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley (Either dried or fresh from the garden )

Brown the chicken breasts in olive oil in a large pot. Add 12 cups of water, and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, saute tomatoes and garlic in olive oil in another large pot. Stir in dry rice, cooked chicken pieces, 9 cups of the chicken stock, red peppers, lemon juice, and seasonings. Boil for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes more. Check to see if all of the water is absorbed. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Note: The cooking time is not very accurate. We had to let it cook for additional time until the rice absorbed all of the liquid.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Layer the following ingredients in the bottom of a large greased crock pot:

3 lbs stew meat

4 large carrots, sliced

5 medium potatoes, sliced (we eliminated this)

2 onions, sliced

10 oz frozen green beans

1 cup frozen peas

1 can cream of mushroom soup (we eliminated this)

1 can cream of celery soup (we eliminated this)

1 jar gravy (we eliminated this)

Cook 5-6 hours on high, or 10-12 hours on low.

Note: We did 1 1/2 of the original recipe to feed 10 people (our grandmother is with us for four months). In place of the soups and gravy, we thawed the stew meat by placing it in a pot and adding just enough water to cover the meat. We later poured this water over the layers of meat and vegetables, in place of the creamy liquids. We also added salt and tapioca flour (to thicken the stew) just before serving. It was delicious – unanimously voted the best meal on the diet so far!!! I think it has to do with the fact that it includes MEAT!!!

This is day 13 of our Candida diet. We miss gluten, and we miss dairy, and we miss most of our favorite fresh fruits. But I think we all miss SUGAR the most!!! Why is it so hard to go without sugar? Probably because everything seems to have some sugar in it no matter how small the amount. We decided to put our ideas together and cook up something sweet. Since we are allowed to have a small amount of honey, agave, or stevia each week, we took a little of this, and a little of that, and… perfection! We came up with something that everyone LOVES. We look forward to Saturdays now. Our mom works wonders with health food. She played the main part in cooking up this delicious recipe, and I know we are all grateful!

The first version of this recipe started with our everyday breakfast (oatmeal!) for the crust, and included a fruity filling with ground nuts on top. Delicious, right?! It was really VERY good, and you would not have guessed it had an oatmeal crust. But this second version is really yummy with the crumb topping!

Apple-Berry Crisp

Mix together the following ingredients in a large bowl:

Stir together the following ingredients and pour over the fruit mixture:

Pour into a oiled (olive oil) 9×13″ pan (we used a glass pan).

For crumbs, mix together the following ingredients:

Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the filling. Bake at 375 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until bubbly (If you use a glass pan, you will see the liquid bubbling at the bottom and up the sides of the pan).

I promise it takes much better than it sounds!!! (of course we have not had white sugar for 2 weeks though, and we only eat a small measure of agave and stevia once a week )

Lentil Casserole ~

Serves 5

Combine all ingredients in lightly greased 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. Cover and bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Add 2 sliced carrots, 2 cups sweet corn, and some celery, chopped small. Cook 30 more minutes.

Optional: Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top and heat 5 more minutes until melted.

Note: We usually double the recipe to make two casseroles.

January 3rd marked the beginning of a 4 month challenge for our entire family. Due to a number of health problems that have been present among various ones for years, we decided to try eating a very strict diet that has already helped some of us in the past (It was the Candida diet that cleared up Timothy’s rash that he had from just a few weeks old, until he was 3).

One of the challenges of the Candida diet is finding a variety of recipes to use that taste good and that meet the given requirements . My goal is to share some of those recipes here, over the 120+ days of our diet.

Last night we had a recipe that we’ve really grown to enjoy (most of us anyway !) With a few minor changes, we were able to mix up a double batch of this delicious Black Bean Chili for supper. Probably the hardest part was eliminating the usual toppings that make it creamy, more flavorful, and of course just plain unhealthy…

Black Bean Chili

Ingredients:

Directions:

Note; Rather than the usual sour cream, crushed corn chips and cheese for topping, we used rice or fresh avacado chunks…and of course a good healthy salad on the side!!!

For Christmas this year, David and I decided to sell desserts to the people in our neighborhood. We chose 5 of our favorite recipes to offer: Frosty Peppermint Dessert; Coconut Cream Pie; Frozen Peanut-Butter Chocolate Pie; Sugared Nuts; and Chocolate Peanut Butter Bark. It was a huge success, and lots of fun! I really enjoyed working with David to calculate costs, call up neighbors, look for the best deals while shopping, and finally spend today (Christmas Eve) baking for our wonderful neighbors. It’s such a joy to work with siblings! And it’s a really neat opportunity to reach out to our neighbors, to be a light to them during the few minutes that we cross paths. We love these opportunities to bake for a special occasion, and it’s a neat way to learn new entrepreneurial skills, grow in our understanding of business concepts, learn important lessons, and make a little money in the process!

This Saturday we invited mothers and daughters from our church to have breakfast and fellowship! One of the ladies planned a special devotional to share with us, and we participated in a fun gift exchange game. it was a really special time of fellowship and friendship with our church family!

One of the highlights of the morning was when Mrs. Wuerffel shared from the Gospel of Luke. She read portions from chapter one, where Mary encounters the angel and receives the news that she has been found favored and chosen to bring forth the promised Messiah. I think we are all pretty familiar with this story. But do we consider the price tag of being “highly favored”? Here are some thoughts that Mrs. W shared that we often overlook when we read this story.

- Mary was young, probably about 13 or 14 years old.

- Mary was betrothed, and had committed to keep herself pure for a year until she would go to live with Joseph. To be found with child during this time could have resulted in her death by stoning. Joseph’s accusation would have ended her life.

- Mary had to leave her family to go with Joseph to his home town. This meant a long rough journey in advanced stages of pregnancy, and an unfamiliar place without friends or family to help her deliver her child.

- Mary was rejected by the people who had loved her most. It is likely that her friends and family members doubted the validity of the truth she told them.

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” What a response! Of all the things she could have said, all the questions she could have asked, all the doubts she could have raised… “Be it unto me according to thy word…” Interestingly, Mary is referred to several times throughout this passage as “highly favored”. But consider the cost of being highly favored. There must have been times when she felt afraid, lonely, rejected, misunderstood, and falsely accused. And yet, she was favored! She was chosen by the Lord to be the mother of our Messiah!

This was a really special time. What a blessing to spend time together in fellowship, and to remember the story of our Messiah’s birth. While some people idolize Mary as the mother of Jesus, we often pass right by her. There are so many timeless reminders, valuable lessons we can learn from her life and response to being a chosen vessel of God. May we learn to respond as Mary did, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me, according to thy word.”

“And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.  For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away…” (Luke 1:46-53).