Prayers~

Praying for peace for my sweet sister in law today. She is to undergo a biopsy similar to the one I had done a few weeks back.  It was to have been performed last week, but her blood pressure was too high.  Praying it has come down with the meds and that they can move forward, and for peace for her as she awaits the results. Like me, she is ready to put it behind her!!

Reflections~

Oh how true this is.  Happy Sunday my friends.

Oh no you didn't~

In case you missed it on Instagram...

#cairn#dorothy#halloween#wherearemyrubyslippers
#wearenotinkansasanymore#humans

So not amused!

she does however know who feeds her

What's for Dinner Wednesday~

Okay, it was actually what was for dinner Monday and Tuesday, but I digress.

Slow-Roasted Filet of Beef with basil parmesan mayonnaise accompanied by Scalloped Potatoes.

Oh so good (the first time and the second time around).

The filet of beef recipe can be found here. And, the scalloped potato recipe here.

Since there are only two of us, we opted for 4 filet tenderloin steaks that we secured with a skewer. Hence why we got two hearty meals from this dish.  We normally serve a peppered beef tenderloin at Christmas with  horseradish sauce, but I am considering using the basil mayo this year as it was quite delicious and the green color would be quite festive.

My apologies for the lack of posts as of late, but we were enjoying spending time with our girls!  Time spent together is few and far between these days.

Have a blessed week my friends!

Reflections~

Just something to ponder on this beautiful Sunday.

Reflections~

Loving this one! Have a Blessed Sunday and a fantastic week.

What's for Dinner Wednesday~and Thursday and Friday

This week you get three meals in one!  The first is a fabulous dish from Mike of The Iron You blog. Mike's delicious dishes NEVER disappoint.  So, if you are looking for fabulous healthy meals, check out The Iron You.

Asian Glazed Meatballs

So delicious.  You can find the recipe here.

Another quick meal was Grilled Rib Eyes with Horseradish sauce accompanied by Sauteed Spinach.

Hubby marinated the Rib Eyes in red wine and then grilled to perfection.  For the sauce I mixed one cup of sour cream with 3 TBS Dijon Mustard and 2 TBS Prepared Horseradish (this is the sauce we serve alongside our Peppered Beef Tenderloin at Christmas time).  Normally I like to use fresh spinach, but we had a bag of frozen on hand so I used that.  In a saute pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil and about two tablespoons of minced garlic, add spinach and cook until heated through (or if using fresh, until wilted down).

The final meal was good old Chicken Noodle Soup, gluten free of course.  I have been fighting a bit of a head cold this week, most likely due to fall allergies and the soup really hit the spot after a crazy day teaching my littles.

I have to confess this is one of those dishes I just wing it every time I make it, but the basics are always the same.

I make ours in a crockpot, but you could cook on the stove as well in a stock pot.

Ingredients (again, adjust seasonings to your liking):

2-32 oz cartons of Low Sodium Chicken Broth (we use Pacific brand, I like low sodium so we can add our own amount of salt)

1 rotisserie chicken (I usually pick up the "naked" variety at Whole Foods)-Shred the breasts and save the wings and drumsticks for a hearty lunch the next day (or if you have very spoiled dogs like we do-no leftovers!)

Carrots-I slice up a couple handfuls of baby carrots (cause I am lazy like that)

Celery-3-4 stalks depending on size, sliced about 1/4" in thickness

Onion-1 medium, chopped

Noodles-I used a package of thin 1 inch long gluten free noodles from Whole Foods this time around (sorry, forget the brand)  You can use whatever type you like.  I have a hard time finding GF Egg Noodles.

Salt, Pepper, Celery Salt and Garlic Powder to taste (roughly 1-2 tsp of each, you can add more later).

Place all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for about 5 hours, or on high for about 3.  It cooks quickly, just be sure to test the carrots for doneness.

Perfect for a fall day, rainy day, or to feed a cold (or is it feed a fever?-I can never remember).

Enjoy!! And, have a blessed weekend.

Reflections~

Amen.  Praying you all have a very Blessed Sunday!  I was the recipient of an amazing surprise on Friday evening.  My baby girl, #2, flew home to surprise me.  She planned it all on her own, informed dad last minute, and had her sister in on the act.  Those two!!  After last week, having both my girls home together, if even for a moment, was such a blessing from Him!!

Fall Is In The Air~

It is finally starting to feel like fall around these parts.  We may even see lows in the 30s come Sunday morning.

I finally got around to adding a few more touches of fall here and there in our home, and thought I would share them with you.

I still have plans to add a few more things...cozy throws, a few new pillows, some great smelling candles.  All of those things are what make our home feel warm and inviting during the coming months.

In the kitchen, I filled our tiered stand with various miniature pumpkins and gourds.  I filled my favorite white vase I picked up at Target last year with sunflowers, perfect for this time of year.  And, the candle is a new favorite scent from Seda France-China Musk.

Bringing my giant clamshell into fall was a quick change, just swapping out my glass fishing floats for some miniature white pumpkins.  They are a favorite of mine this time of year.

A simple collection of white ceramic pumpkins I picked up at Hobby Lobby last year create a simple vignette on our sideboard.

A closer look.  The white color allows me to move them around from room to room each year.  Last year I had used them on our mantle.

My little friendly fox, that I also picked up at Target last year (and painted gold), sits atop our bar cart.

The acorn I picked up at Home Goods was a quick swap for my urchin bowl filled with starfish, to add a bit of fall to our front entry.

And, I love this little squirrel votive holder.  I believe I picked this up at Target last year as well.  Yes, hubby says I spend way too much time money at  Target.  Is it a bad thing that both of my girls first words were Target???  I kid, but close enough.

I hope everyone has a Blessed weekend.  I am looking forward to the cooler temps we have been promised!

What's for Dinner Wednesday~

With fall in the air, and craving some much needed comfort food, we made a wonderful pot of Beef Stew Stroganoff the other night.

This recipe is super simple, yet oh so delicious!!

Beef Stew Stroganoff
Makes 6 servings

Gluten Free Bible cookbook (we picked this up at  Target and it did not disappoint)

Ingredients:
2 TBS olive or canola oil
1 1/2 pounds lean boneless beef (bottom round), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 cans (about 14 ounces each) gluten-free beef broth
1 cup sliced mushrooms (we omitted as hubby detests them, and I have a slight night shade allergy and need to limit)
1/2 C thinly sliced carrots
1/2 C chopped red bell pepper
6 ounces unpeeled baby red potatoes (about 6 small), quartered
1/4 C sour cream (Whole Foods now carries a wonderful lactose free version)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add beef; cook and stir until meat juices evaporate and begin to caramelize. Add caraway seeds, salt, black pepper and thyme.  Pour in broth, stirring to scrape up browned bits.  Bring to a boil.

2.  Add mushrooms, carrots and bell pepper to saucepan.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer 1 hour.

3.  Increase heat; add potatoes.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20 minutes.

4.  Stir in sour cream; cook 2 minutes or until heated through.

Editorial note:

We cooked in our Staub Dutch Oven.
During step one, hubby added 1/4-1/2 Cup Red Wine.
Step 3, he simmered about 30-40 minutes (this made the meat extremely tender).
Toward the end of step 4, he added about 2 TBS corn starch.
We served over a bit of white rice.

A wonderful hearty fall dish!!