November 8, 2024

Spiced Pumpkin Smoothie

November 17, 2014 by

2014-11-16 22.22.56 HDR

‘Tis the season for all things PUMPKIN!  Pumpkin pie, pumpkin chili, pumpkin muffins, beef stew IN a pumpkin, pumpkin in your oatmeal, pumpkin ice cream…what are some of your favorites?  Over the weekend, Robert and I took a roadtrip down to celebrate my brother’s birthday and treated ourselves to some nice large coffees to go along.  Mine was a pumpkin spice latte…deeeeee-licious!  And it got me thinking about other pumpkin-y&spicy beverages. Why not pumpkin&spicy smoothies!  So when we got back home that is exactly what I made!  The quantities below made up two big mugs-full…and about 8 ounces for me tomorrow morning  😉   (I think I am going to make these again as a healthy, hearty breakfast prior to Thanksgiving Dinner.)

This is SO in line with our healthy but oh-so-yummy POV!  Here’s a link to some of the healthy benefits and nutrition facts about pumpkin.  This smoothie is loaded with protein, fiber, low in fat, and full of flavor.  Of course, you can substitute any milk or milk alternative and your choice of yogurt.

2014-11-16 22.19.30
Also, I added a couple of smashed up graham crackers into the blender, too (and tossed a few crumbs onto the top of Robert’s smoothie.)  Hope you enjoy it, too!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin puree, FROZEN
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
2 cups almond milk
1 cup ice
1 really ripe banana (frozen, too)
2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup (or honey or agave)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated is superb!)
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
1 graham cracker (smashed up in a baggie) optional!

directions:

  • place all ingredients into your blender container
  • blend on high ‘til ice is thoroughly pulverized (this will depend on the strength of your blender)
  • pour into big mugs, add straw (or not!)

♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥

God loves you!  ♥  (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥  coleen

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I Will Stand In The Congregation

November 15, 2014 by

seekingHimthanksgivinggraphic

Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
I will praise and give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart
in the council of the upright and in the congregation.
The works of the Lord are great, sought out by all those who have delight in them.
His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious, merciful, and full of loving compassion.

Psalms 111:1-4AMP

I will stand in the congregation, and I will exalt You
Let the children of Your salvation lift Your praises, too
Hallelujah!

I will stand in the congregation, and I will praise Your name
With Your people in ev’ry nation I will shout this praise
Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!
You’re the only inspiration for my praise, O God
Hallelujah!

We will join as a congregation and we will exalt You
We will sing as all creation lifts the song anew
Hallelujah!

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This Week…Psalms 111:1-4

November 14, 2014 by

seekingHimthanksgivinggraphic

Over the next few weeks, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, we will be focusing on gratitude, thankfulness, and giving thanks to Almighty God Who has so richly blessed us.  As the Scripture passage quoted in this beautiful graphic (made just for us!), we will be joyfully proclaiming our ‘thanksgiving to Him with psalms’.  Over the past few days Ahmee, Ann, Cynda, Laura, and Tina have focused their writing to bring our attention to the following verses.

Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
I will praise and give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart
In the council of the upright and in the congregation.
The works of the Lord are great, sought out by all those who have delight in them.
His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
The Lord is gracious, merciful, and full of loving compassion.
Psalms 111:1-4

Cynda asked us, in The Power of Public Praise to consider this: “Where would we be if David and the other authors of the Bible had not shared their praise with us?  Our knowledge of God would be severely limited.  What if friends or family that had seen God work in their lives—deliver them from trouble and despair—hadn’t shared their praise with us?  Our knowledge of His faithfulness would not be as deep.  If we do not share our praise publicly, we risk limiting someone else’s knowledge of God.”

~   ♥   ~

Tina gave us a wonderful acronym T.H.A.N.K.S. to help us remember things to be thankful to God for in Expressions of Thanks!

Throne

  • We are to bring our request to the throne of the One who can grant them.

Heaven

  • When we call upon the name of Jesus, He will take them to our Father as our Intercessor.

Answered

  • God will, in His wisdom, answer our prayers.

Noble

  • Our thoughts should always focus on what is good and noble. We are to train our thoughts on what is right and pure.

Knowledge

  • Our Father will give us a much greater knowledge of His Word. We will want to fill our minds and thoughts with His words, His goodness, His mercy, and His ways.

~   ♥   ~  

In Grateful for His Works, Ann encouraged us to be grateful.  She wrote, “Sisters, it is the will of God for us to be grateful for what He has done.  Each time we should show a grateful heart to the Lord.  Do not murmur when you face adversaries; think of His wondrous works and His care for you night and day.  In fact we need to be grateful and sing new songs to Him…the songs that will be like a sweet aroma to Him.”

~   ♥   ~  

Ahmee asked a really good question in Thankful for Life Itself:  “How often do you thank God for your life?”  She went on to remind us that in Psalm 139:14 David praised God for ‘…making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.’  And that we as human beings who are wonderfully complex.  We know to thank God for all good things.  Therefore, should we not stop to thank God for making us?”

~   ♥   ~

Laura shared with us her heart in her family’s loss of their little baby, along with a simple reminder of how thankful we are for the little ones in our individual families AND church families in Little Bundles of Thanks:  “…when we dedicate our children to the Lord we are thanking Him for sending us this little bundle of joy that brings love, pain, heartache, and everything else that goes along with it. In the company of other believers, we thank God for this little person and pledge…to teach the child to be a person who loves and honors God through worship and service.”

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~   ♥   ~   *

Oh, Lord, what joy and privilege we have to come before You singing out our gratitude and thanks for all You have done and are doing for us, Your daughters!  May we reach out to those around us—whether we spend time with them each day or we just ‘happen’ to meet them in the grocery store—sharing with them how good, how kind, how gracious, how merciful, how generous, how compassionate, how forgiving, how wonderful You are!  With our whole hearts may we sing Your praise and give You honor and glory!  Thank You, dear Lord, thank You for Your goodness, Your grace, Your mercy, Your love.  We love You and adore You…and we praise and thank You!  In Jesus’ name, amen.  HalleluJAH!   ♥

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Thank You

November 13, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Just a little while longer I wanna pray
Can’t get You off my mind so I came to say
Thank You, Lord, just for loving me
Many times I do forget
Every need that You have met
Oh thank You, Lord, I know You’re showing me

You are there when I am down and out, You’re holding me
Your love is so amazing, oh it changed me

Here I am with all I have
Raise my hands to worship You
I wanna say thank You, oh thank You
For everything, for who You are
You cover me and touch my heart
I wanna say thank You

I could have died in my sin but You saved me
Didn’t have any hope at all
You gave me peace divine, strength to carry on, alright
I should have been the one to pay
But instead You took my place
Amazing grace, it’s more than just a song

Even though I don’t deserve Your love for me
You look beyond my fault and You showed me mercy

Here I am with all I have
Raise my hands to worship You
I wanna say thank You, oh thank You
For everything, for who You are
You cover me and touch my heart
I wanna say thank You

I wanna say thank You for the sun
Lord, we thank You for the rain

Oh Lord, I love You
Thank You that’s all that I can say
Thank You for the love You gave

 Singer/Songwriters: Joe Katina, John Katina, Sam Katina and Todd Collins

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~   ♥   ~   *

There is no doubt about God’s love…we are fully aware that there is oh-so-very-much we have received from our Father God for which the only response is a wholehearted ‘thank You!’  Sometimes do you find yourself, like me, saying, “Oh Lord, I love You…thank You…that’s all that I can say!”

All that we have received and will receive from Almighty God is due to His love. Because of His unconditional, faithful, steadfast love

  • we have eternal life

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

  • nothing can separate us from His love

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers,
nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:37-39

  • we have been saved

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us,
even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ
— by grace you have been saved….
Ephesians 2:4-5

  • Christ died for us

But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

  • His love brings us peace and quietness

The LORD your God is in your midst, a Mighty One who will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love;
He will exult over you with loud singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

  • He cares for you

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time
He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6 and 7

  • His love is steadfast and faithful

But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Psalm 86:15

  • we have the ability to love because of His love

We love because He first loved us.
1 John 4:19 

Wow!  Quite an array of wonderful blessings are ours simply because God loves us! So, what should be our response to this awesome love? What do we have to give that could even begin to show how the gratitude that fills our hearts and how thankful we are? The Katina brothers offer a good suggestion in the chorus of this song…

Here I am with all I have, Raise my hands to worship You, I wanna say thank You

Yes…worship and offering of thanks by praising God!  Throughout the Scriptures, other men (such as David and Paul) who loved God also expressed their thankfulness for His incredible love through praise.

By Him <Jesus> therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually,
that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.
Hebrews 13:15

I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness:
and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
Psalm 7:17

I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing the praises of Your name, O Most High.
Psalm 9:2

♪ ♬ ♪  Oh Lord, I love You  ♪ ♬ ♪
Thank You that’s all that I can say
♪ ♬ ♪  Thank You for the love You gave  ♪ ♬ ♪

As David prayed and worshipped along with the Israelites thanking Almighty God for His provision, may our prayer of gratitude and praise be the same:

Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty
and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as Head over all.
Wealth and honor come from You; You are the Ruler of all things.
In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name.
2 Chronicles 29:11-13

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Veggie Fried Rice

November 10, 2014 by

 

2014-11-07 20.47.12

Veggie Fried Rice

OK, I admit it…I do really, really, really love fried rice!  So yummy!  And totally limitless in variety…. You can prepare it with or without chicken or shrimp or ham or tofu! And so many choices of veggies to add: onions, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, asparagus, green beans,…some folks even toss in a bag of frozen mixed veggies!  You can even vary the type of rice or grain that you choose: plain white, or a scented rice (like jasmine or basmati); brown rice, wild rice…or even quinoa!  The point is you make it to your own liking!  But there is one thing you MUST have—cold rice (preferably a day old).

Really!  Reason being if the rice you use is still warm and ‘fresh’ it will stick together and be clumpy.  Not pretty!  I always try to remember when preparing rice or quinoa to make an extra 1+1/2 cups so that it is sitting in the ‘fridge just waiting to be turned into Fried Rice.

This dish is also an excellent way to use up bits and pieces of fresh veggies, like half of an onion or a piece of red or yellow bell pepper.  Even some leftover cooked veggies from last night’s supper can be added in at the last minute!

Trying a new recipe that includes an ingredient or two not usually found in your pantry or ‘fridge is a great way to add those ingredients!  Our Dana Kim has been an inspiration to me as she has introduced me, through her wonderful recipes, to some items I didn’t have on hand.  (Use the ‘Search’ bar on our home page for Dana’s recipes!)  One item I always keep in my ‘fridge is sesame oil.  It has such a distinctive flavor and a teaspoon or two added to a stir fry dish or a marinade or Fried Rice is just delicious!  You can find it at any grocery store, I would imagine, right in the ethnic foods aisle.  It almost always comes packaged in a glass bottle and the oil itself is very dark.  Try it!

Here is my basic recipe…I would love to hear how you made it your own!  Enjoy!

2014-11-07 20.47.23

ingredients:
1 large egg, beaten lightly
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic (I used jarred)
1 cup (or more) finely sliced cabbage (napa is especially nice)
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup frozen tiny peas, defrosted
2-3 cups COLD cooked rice
1/2 cup finely chopped pineapple, drained WELL (I use crushed from a can)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons your favorite stirfry sauce (optional)

salt and pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)
½ cup green onion slices, for garnish (optional)

directions:

  • add a few drops of olive oil to a large nonstick skillet and warm over medium heat
  • pour the beaten egg into the middle of the pan. allow to cook, undisturbed just ‘til cooked through (will only take 1 minute or so). remove the egg ‘pancake,’ set aside and chop into bits
  • pour in an additional 1 tablespoon of olive oil; when the oil is hot, add the onion, saute for about 5 minutes
  • stir in the bell pepper along with any other raw veggies; continue to cook for 5-6 minutes ’til the peppers start to soften
  • add the chopped garlic and any leftover (cooked) veggies; stir constantly for about 1 minute ‘til garlic is fragrant
  • add in the rice and peas; mix with a wooden spoon to break up any lumps. (if necessary, add a bit more olive oil.)  saute the rice veggie mixture, stirring just once or twice, allowing the rice to just begin to lightly brown (about 5-6 minutes)
  • add in the crushed pineapple; stir to incorporate
  • pour the sesame oil and the soy sauce (and stirfry sauce) into the mixture
  • reduce heat to medium-low and cook ‘til everything is heated through
  • toss the chopped cooked egg over top

♥    ♥    ♥    ♥    ♥

God loves you!  ♥  (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥  coleen

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Show Me Your Ways

November 8, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore He instructs sinners in His ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them His way.
Psalms 25:8 and 9 NIV

Show me Your ways
Teach me Your paths
Lead me in Your truth, O Lord
On You I will wait

You are upright
Teaching sinners the way
The humble You guide in justice
The humble You teach Your ways

All Your paths O Lord are mercy and truth
And Your secret is for those who fear You

You will teach me the way I should go
You will guide me in the fear of the Lord
In Your presence, You will give me rest

You will show me the path of life
In Your presence is fullness of joy
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore

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This Week…Psalms 25:8 and 9

November 7, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore He instructs sinners in His ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them His way.
Psalms 25:8 and 9 NIV

What a loving and kind God we have—He doesn’t just tell us that we must follow His ways (though He could do that).  He instructs and teaches us His ways. Who could be a better teacher than He?  No one.  And when we humbly seek His instruction and guidance, He faithfully teaches us His ways.

This week’s devotionals have centered on verses 8 and 9 of Psalm 25.  Earlier on in this psalm, David asks his God to teach him; listen:

Show me Your ways, Lord,
teach me Your paths.
Guide me in Your truth and teach me,
for You are God my Savior,
and my hope is in You all day long.

And these are the very things that my friends…Ann, Ahmee, Cynda, Laura, and Tina…have shared in the Seeking Him devotional blog this week.  Here is a short synopsis of some truths that they have shared.

Laura shared about the vital importance of being in a relationship with our Teacher:
“We become wiser the longer we stay in the Word of God and immerse ourselves in our relationship with Christ…By allowing God to be our Teacher, we gain the wisdom to be able to discern what is right and wrong. We become humbled and are able to teach others about God.”

Tina reminded us how humility allows us to be teachable:
“We, as believers, continue to learn every day. Each day is a new opportunity to learn about the wonder of our God. He shows us what is available to us. All we have to do is look and take action. God wants us to seek after Him and be teachable. We can do this by becoming humble. We are to ask God to reveal His heart to us and we need to be receptive to His Word.”

Ahmee wrote about God’s accessibility and willingness to teach us:
“…all you need to do is ask Him for help and He will guide you…One thing I love about God is that He is accessible. Even though He lives where we cannot physically see Him (like we would our friends or family), He is still ever so close to us. He also has a limitless wealth of wisdom and knowledge, and He is willing to share with us!”

Ann brought us back to foundation of asking and seeking:
“…seeking His guidance. And also make sure we are guided by the Spirit of God through the Word of God.” Take a look, again, at the some of the Scriptures she shared with us.
When we allow God to guide us…Psalm 32:8
He will guide us into glory..Psalm 73:24
He will guide our path…Isaiah 42:16 (also Isaiah 48:17, Luke 1:79)
He will guide us in all truth…John 16:13

Cynda focused on the value of biblical humility—’a lowliness of mind’ and being ‘submissive, meek, contrite, teachable.’  She wrote, “I would much rather bask in God’s grace than have God oppose me; wouldn’t you? Psalm 25:9 states that if we are willing to be humble, God Himself will teach us His ways. I couldn’t ask for a better teacher!”

How very thankful I am for each of these reminders!  I want to be humble and meek…teachable…soaking up like a sponge all that my Father chooses to teach me.  You, too?

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Hallelujah…Your Love Is Amazing

November 6, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah
Your love makes me sing
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah
Your love makes me sing

Your love is amazing
Steady and unchanging
Your love is a mountain
Firm beneath my feet

Your love is a mystery
How You gently lift me
When I am surrounded
Your love carries me

Your love is surprising
I can feel it rising
All the joy that’s growing
Deep inside of me

And every time I see you
All your goodness shines through
And I can feel this God-song
Rising up in me

Songwriters: Brenton Brown and Brian Doerksen

Performed by San Antonio Community Bible Church Acts Church Productions

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~   ♥   ~   *

Don’t you think this song is actually a prayer—a happy, joyous proclamation of God’s love?   How much our God must thoroughly enjoy hearing His precious possession—us!—sing out,   ♬ ♪ ♬ HalleluJAH!  Your love makes me sing!  ♬ ♪ ♬

And what incredible, awesome company we are in when we do sing ‘halleluJAH!’  In chapter 19 of the Book of Revelations, four times praises to God using the phrase ‘halleluJAH!’ is recorded.  Three times by ‘a great multitude’, and once by the ‘twenty-four elders and the four living creatures’ (who surround the Throne).  WOW!  This is company I want to be in; you, too!

  • verse 1
    After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God;
  • verse 3
    And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.”
  • verse 4
    And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”
  • verse 6
    Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude
    and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.”

This record in the Book of Revelations and a few in Psalms are the only records that tell us of praise being given by using the phrase ‘HalleluJAH!’  In doing a study on it, I found that it is used approximately  22 times in the Psalms.  Here are a few examples….

For great is His gracious love toward us and the LORD’s faithfulness is eternal. Hallelujah!
117:2

Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD because He is good, because His mercy endures forever.
106:1

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord. Hallelujah!
150:6

Hallelujah! How good it is to sing to our God for praise is pleasant and lovely.
147:1

There are so very many things we have been blessed with for which we should give praise to our great God!

  • mercy
  • grace
  • salvation
  • eternal life
  • fellowship w/believers
  • sanctification
  • peace
  • His Word

But one of the greatest things that God does for us and gives us is His love.  As the songwriters expressed to Him, “Your love is amazing…steady and unchanging; Your love is a mountain firm beneath my feet; Your love is a mystery—how You gently lift me when I am surrounded—Your love carries me; Your love is surprising…”.  And truly, it is!!!  Below are some of the many verses in the Scriptures which tell us about our God’s love for us…for all mankind.

Who shall ever separate us from Christ’s love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation?
Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?
Even as it is written, For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long;
We are regarded and counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors
and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.
For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels
nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers,
Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all Creation
will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:35-39

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16

This is how God showed His love among us:
He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.
This is love: not that we loved God,
but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:9 and 10

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
Verse 16

Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You.
Psalm 63:3

Doesn’t our Father’s steadfast, immeasureable, unconditional, immoveable, unchanging love just make you want to sing?

  *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~   ♥   ~   *

HalleluJAH, we thank You for Your love for us and the amazing ways You show it!

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Baked Ziti…Greek Style

November 3, 2014 by

This recipe came about because I needed to use up some ground lamb. In our efforts to eat more healthy, quality foods, we have been trying to use better quality meats…especially ground meat.  But sometimes these items come along with a price tag that is steep!  (Y’know?)  Last week, I came across some organic, grass-fed ground lamb at a really good price…oh, happy me!  But even happier hubby—he just loves lamb!  And, maybe because it was cold and rainy, I thought it would be good basis for a real comfort food meal!  Thus…Baked Ziti, Greek Style!

Now, this dish is a little decadent as it has a bechamel (or white) sauce and uses a couple of cups of ricotta. However, the other cheeses included only add up to four (4) ounces. Just be sure to use really flavorful cheese, and grating it yourself will give you a nice melting product. So this dish fit well into our ‘healthy but oh-so-yummy’ POV since it has lots of veggies (onions, mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes, spinach) and uses a meat that is of a really good quality.

Let me tell you, this recipe fills a huge casserole! I used a 4quart casserole which holds more than a 9X13 baking dish. And we got 8 generous servings (maybe 6 if you are feeding manly men!) out of it.  Enjoy!

2014-10-28 20.50.23

Baked Ziti…Greek Style

ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground lamb
a couple sprigs rosemary (or 1+1/2 teaspoons dried chopped rosemary)
1 teaspoon dried marjoram (or oregano)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (I always use a lemon-pepper-salt combo)
1 large onion, finely chopped
6-8 ounces Baby Bella mushroom, chopped small
1 carrot, peeled and finely grated
3 (or more!) tablespoons chopped garlic (I use jarred)
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup dry red win

1 pound macaroni (I used GF rotini)
16 ounce bag of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
bechamel sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 rounded tablespoons all-purpose flour (I used GF all-purpose)
1 cup milk (I used coconut milk)
1 cup chicken broth
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg (just a bit!)

2 cups ricotta cheese
dried oregano
4 ounces freshly shredded cheese (I used smoked gouda and a really sharp white cheddar)
directions

for the meat sauce:

  • heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat
  • when hot, crumble the ground lamb into the pot, and saute ‘til lightly browned
  • strip the leaves from the rosemary stems (if using fresh herbs) and finely chop
  • season with rosemary, orgegano, s&p
  • once the meat has browned, remove from pan, draining away juices
  • add 1 tablespoon olive oil along with the onion and carrot; saute for 6-7 minutes
  • add the chopped garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for an additional minute or so
  • stir in tomato paste, and cook for another minute or ‘til fragrant
  • stir in broth and wine, bring up to a boil; reduce heat to low and gently simmer ‘til pasta is ready

pasta:

  • prepare pasta according to package directions but UNDERcook by 2 minutes (then it won’t be overcooked after baking)
  • add the defrosted spinach into the pasta water for the last couple of minutes
  • drain the pasta/spinach and add back to the pasta pot
  • toss the pasta with the meat sauce
  • pour the pasta into a large (4 quart) casserole

bechamel/white sauce:

  • melt the butter in a medium saucepan, adding the diced onion
  • cook ‘til the onion is soft and translucent, approximately 5 minutes
  • sprinkle the flour over the cooked onion and, using a whisk, stir constantly for 1 minute; adjust the heat to VERY low and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes to get the starchy taste out of the mixture. do not let the mixture brown
  • increase the heat back to medium and immediately start slowly pouring in 1/4 cup or so of milk while whisking briskly; (just keep whisking!)   as this is absorbed, continue to slowly and steadily add the balance of the milk followed by the broth whisking constantly as the liquid becomes absorbed…this will take about 3 minutes
  • adjust the heat lower again and let this mixture simmer gently for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, to taste

2014-10-28 20.48.42

to finish:

  • combine the ricotta and dried oregano
  • spoon the ricotta evenly around the top of the casserole, spreading to cover the pasta/meat mixture
  • pour the bechamel sauce in an even layer over top the ricotta; top with shredded cheese
  • place casserole into a preheated 425 degree oven; bake for about 20 minutes or ‘til middle is hot and edges are bubbly

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

God loves you!  ♥  (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥  coleen

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Answer My Prayer

November 1, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Answer me when I call to You,
my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
Psalm 4:1

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~   ♥   ~   *

You will answer, ask and it is mine
You will answer, seek and I will find
You will answer, ask and it is mine
You will answer, seek and I will find

Whatever I do and wherever I go You will be there
Whatever I need and whenever I call You will answer
I make the mistake of working on my own
But then I awake to see I can’t alone
You wrap Your arms around me, then You comfort me
And give me just what I need

When troubles defy You know that I can rely on Your providence
When tough times annoy I can count it pure joy, perseverance
The trials that I’ve had and the things I’ve done
The good and the bad comes to everyone
With any situation it’s assuring to know
Anytime I can go

That special place alone I long to meet You there
I’m happy knowing You’ll answer my prayer

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , ,
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