Stuffed Pepper Casserole

I know it has been a while since I have posted any new ideas or recipes, so I apologize. We have been so busy lately and the holiday season is not even in full swing! 
I tried a new recipe a couple of nights ago and really loved it, the whole family did too! One of the best childhood recipes that I can remember, is my mother making stuffed peppers. It was one of her favorite recipes and she made it for most family get-togethers and other holidays.
When I got out on my own, I made it a few times, but found cutting and cleaning the peppers tedious. Also, I started to develop a food allergy to peppers. I could have them in small quantities, but eating a whole pepper would cause my allergy to trigger. So, I gave up eating my beloved stuffed peppers. 
That was until I came across this recipe - Stuffed Pepper Casserole! It was so good, so I hope you try it!

Stuffed Pepper Casserole
Yield: 7 – 1 Cup Servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb pound extra-lean ground beef
• 2 small green peppers, coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp onion powder
• salt to taste, optional
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 C long grain brown rice, cooked
• 1 24oz jar of low-sodium spaghetti sauce (If you are using a plain spaghetti sauce, you will want to add in 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning, 2 tsp season salt, 2 tsp onion powder, and 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder to give more flavor.)
• 1 1/2 C reduced-fat mozzarella cheese blend, divided

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook meat in frying pan until almost completely browned. Drain and rinse. Place beef back in pan and add peppers, onion powder, salt, and garlic cloves. Cook over medium-low heat until beef in completely cooked and peppers begin to turn tender.
3. In a 2 1/2 qt casserole, stir together the rice, spaghetti sauce (and added spices if using), and 3/4 C cheese.
4. Add in the beef mixture and stir until combined. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until heated through and cheese begins to brown. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

No-Bake Chocolate Chips Granola Bars

Hey Guys, I made this a couple of times this week and they awesome! No preservatives or additives and much cheaper than the expensive ones that you buy in the store. Wanted to pass along this time. Hope you try them. They are delicious!

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Granola Bars 

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups quick cooking oats {not rolled oats!}
1 cup crispy rice cereal
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Directions:
In a large bowl, stir oats and rice cereal together. Set aside. In a small pot, melt butter, honey and brown sugar together over medium high heat until it comes to a bubble. Reduce the heat and cook 2 minutes. Pour in vanilla and stir. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well to moisten all ingredients. Pour into lightly greased small jelly roll pan {about 12x8x1} and press out to be about 3/4 inch in thickness. {If your pan isn’t small enough, pack the mixture into one side. You really want to press them down so they stick together.} Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and press down lightly. Cool on a countertop to room temperature for two hours or until the chocolate chips are set before cutting into bars. Wrap in parchment or plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

Recipe Notes: If your granola bars don’t seem to be staying together when you cut them, you may have made them too thin or you didn’t pack them in tight enough. Stick them in the fridge for 20 minutes and that should help keep them together. {Be sure not to keep them in there too long or else they’ll become super hard!} The next time you make them, try reducing the butter to 3 tablespoons and really packing them down.

Amazing Crock Pot Recipes!

OK, I admit, I am a little obsessed with my crock pot. In fact, I own TWO of them right now. I recently went out and bought one that has a non-stick insert and is programmable and I just love it. 

I recently found two amazing recipes that I have tried out with my slow cooker and both are winners - Crock Pot Lasagna and Crock Pot Mac and Cheese. My family devoured them! The lasagna recipe is put together just like a traditional dish, but in the crock pot instead. I wondered if it was worth all the effort of cooking it in the crock pot if the assembly was the same as usual, but I thought I would give it a try. Boy am I glad I did! The noodles were soft and moist (not dry around the edges) and the slow cooking process caused the lasagna to solidify and firm up without over cooking it. Not to mention the slow method also allowed time for all the flavors and layers to come together excellently.  If you do decide to make this recipe, check the lasagna after 3 hours of cooking. Mine finished in about 4 hours. It simply was the best lasagna that I have ever made! So, for those who are on a quest for the best lasagna they could possibly make, here is the recipe:

Crock Pot Lasagna

Yes, believe it or not you can cook lasagna in your crockpot! Make sure you don't stir this recipe, or you'll ruin the layers you built so carefully.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 7 hours, 10 minutes

Total Time: 7 hours, 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 48-ounce jar chunky pasta sauce
• 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3/4 cup water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 15-ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 16 ounce package mafalda noodles (mini lasagna noodles)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

In a large skillet, brown ground beef with chopped onions and garlic. Season with season salt and pepper to taste. Drain thoroughly. Add spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, and water. Simmer 10 - 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, parsley, and egg, and beat well. Add half of the mozzarella cheese. In 5-6 quart crockpot, pour 1 cup of the beef sauce. Then top with a layer of mafalda noodles. Top with 1 cup mozzarella cheese, more ground beef sauce, then a layer of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers to fill crockpot 3/4 full. Cover crockpot and cook on low for 6-7 hours - DO NOT STIR. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve. Serves 8-10

If you have a new hot crockpot, check this after 4-5 hours.

The next recipe that I would like you try is the Crock Pot Mac and Cheese. This  is the most simple, but yet, the most delicious mac and cheese recipe that I have ever made. You just dump all the ingredients into the crock pot and let it cook. You do not have to boil the noodles beforehand! You can dump the uncooked macaroni right into the crock pot with the rest of the ingredients and  let it cook. It truly was that simply and everyone loved it!! I hope you will try it - 

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

Ingredients 

Cooking oil spray

2 cups skim milk

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1 egg

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 cups pre-shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

Spray the pot of the slow cooker or if using a liner bag, spray the bag well.  In a mixing bowl whisk together milk, evaporated milk, egg, salt and pepper. Pour milk mixture into the crockpot.  Add cheese and uncooked macaroni. Stir gently to mix.  

Turn slow cooker on low and cook 3-4 hours, or until the custard is set and the macaroni is tender.  (Do not cook more than 4 hours, or the sides will begin to dry out).  Serve at once.  

Jans tips:  between the 3-4 hour mark on low, the edges start to get that crispy, cheesey edge. My kids love that part, but if yours don't you'll want to make this when you know you can cut it to warm or serve it at about the three hour mark.  

The original recipe called for 1/4 tsp. salt , but I increased it for my own taste preferences. You can cut it back down if you prefer.  

Great Tip for Super Creamy Mashed Potatoes

With the holidays coming up, I started looking for recipes and tips for great food! After all, isn't that a big part of what we do to celebrate! 
So the next major holiday for our family is Thanksgiving. I love this holiday; people sitting around the table, delicious food (God willing) and lots of laughter and joy. What I don't like, is stressing about the timing of the food to ensure that it is warm. Sometimes I feel like I am conducting an orchestra, not putting a meal on the table :) That can be difficult to do when you have multiple dishes that all need to be served at the same time, at least for me. 
The dish that causes the biggest challenge for me is mashed potatoes. I LOVE mashed potatoes and I love for them to be creamy, steamy and rich! Doesn't that sound good? There have been a few Thanksgiving dinners that by the time the prep and set-up was done for the other dishes, the mashed potatoes had cooled and needed to be reheated. 
So I started to look for ways to eliminate this from happening and to ease my stress level and that is when I came across this tip on Pinterest - 

Creamy Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes



Here is the recipe: 
5 lbs sierra gold potatoes or red potatoes, diced with peel
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup butter, cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon salt, plus
• ¾  teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 1/3  cups milk, warmed

1. Place the potatoes, water, and butter into a slow cooker.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Cover, and cook on High for 4 hours.
4. Do not remove the excess water from slow cooker. This adds to the creamy texture.
5. Mash potatoes with a masher or electric beater, adding the desired amount of warm milk to achieve a creamy consistency.
6. Keep warm on low until serving.
7. Potatoes keep consistency for a couple of hours after mashing. Just keep the lid on the slow cooker and serve directly from there.

I tried this recipe and it was AWESOME!! The potatoes were really creamy and rich and they stayed warm. After the potatoes were finished cooking and whipped, I kept them on warm for the entire dinner and they were delicious, plus super easy to make. I hope you try out this tip! 

Lending a Helping Hand

Lately I have been thinking a whole lot about what it truly means to be a community and to really take care of each other. I am sure this means different things to each of us. We all have different needs and different ideas of how to help each other. I believe this is one of the best strengths and one of the most beautiful facets of the body of Messiah. What an opportunity for the body to serve one another in ways that we may never expect and for God to use us uniquely! Isn't that encouraging and exciting!!

So at our meeting to launch the women's ministry for KSS, the topic of help with cooking or recipes came up. It seemed that most, if not all, were wanting this type of help. And God, in His sovereignty, has me right where I need to be so I am able to launch this part of our ministry. Do you really think that is coincidence (wink, wink)?

Since losing my part-time job this summer (don't worry, I was not upset about this) I have been cooking and baking more. I love to cook, well, most days. I love to try new recipes, I love making comfort food and the thing that I love the most is finding news ways to make recipes easier to make - think semi-homemade, if you will. 

I am a pretty good cook, if I say so myself. I was not born with these skills and they have come hard earned. My mother was a marginal cook, at best, and I never really developed a desire to learn how to cook, even though my grandmother was one of the best cooks I have ever come across. You see, these skills came about very organically and with great necessity. With a husband and five kids in the house, you can only eat spaghetti so many times! So, I had to sharpen up my skills to accommodate our family. All that I have learned has been self taught, through trial and MANY errors and with an adventurous spirit :) Remember, when our children were growing up, we did not have the internet readily available, the Food Network, or Pinterest (btw, if you have time and are willing to sift through it, you can get some great tips and recipes)

So having said all of that, I really feel that this is something that God wants me to do. Not to mention that we have a need for this in our community. And God in all of His awesomeness has put this blog upon my heart as a way for us to interact, to share and to edify each other. So I hope this blog will serve you and meet your needs. And what I really hope and pray for is that it helps build a stronger and better community for us!

Why Do You Worship Him?

I know that it has been a while since I have blogged. We have just wrapped up the busiest 2 months of this year for us. The rest of the summer should have a slower pace and it looks like we will actually get to have a vacation! The last vacation that we had was 3 days in the Bahamas after our mission trip to Cuba. Now, if I reflect on that mission trip, it would be a blog in of itself. So, I will save that for another day. This will be the first vacation that we have taken that is not connected to some other ministry trip since 2003. So exciting!

As I said, our summer has been very hectic and busy so far. We have traveled all over the place and have met a lot of new and interesting people. Even though it can be tiring, I cannot imagine that I would do anything else with my life. The ability to travel so much and to meet so many believers is a true blessing. I love to see how others worship God and find great comfort in the fact that someone who 50, 500, or even 5000 miles away worships the same God as I do and are learning and studying the same scriptures as I am! It makes me feel connected to something that is bigger than me. It helps me to understand the Bride of Christ in a deeper and more meaningful way. Such a diverse group of people!

But even in the diversity there are challenges that transcend location, ethnicity, gender and list goes on. What the Father has been saying to my heart lately is a reminder that we need to evaluate from the time to time WHO we worship. Yes, when posed with the question, many of us are quick to say it is God whom we worship. That is what I would say and those of you who are reading this blog who are believers would most likely answer the same way. But if we are honest with ourselves, is it true?

Do we worship God for who He is? I mean, He is the Great I Am. Before anything, He was and is and will be. He is the Ancient of Days and our creator. He is worthy of our adoration and praise. After all, we were created to worship him. Do we worship Him alone? Do we worship Him no matter what? In the good and the bad? Or do we worship Him for the good times or for the blessings that He has given us? Have we forgotten to worship Him just because He is worthy?

The reason this whole issue has come up for me is in the discussions that I have had with people in our travels for Chosen People Ministries. Often people will be compelled to share a prayer request or a praise report with us. It is an awesome blessing to have people share their lives with us. But sometimes people share their disappointment with God for not meeting their needs or desires. And sometimes they share that they haven't been going to services or haven't prayed in years because of those disappointments.

Now I understand that sometimes horrible things happen. And most of us would cry out to God during these times for a solution to the problem, whether it be healing, provision, deliverance, etc. And we SHOULD cry out to Him. He is our loving Father and we should go to him with our every need and even our desires. But, if for some reason, He answers us differently than we expect and it doesn't turn out the way we had hoped, do we hold it against Him? Do we even blame Him? I know that I have in the past, have you? I think that Job said it best:

And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21

For Such a Time as This

I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust." Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

Psalm 91:2-4

Neal and I were honored to attend the National Day of Prayer reception on Wednesday night and the service today at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington , D.C. The above scripture verse is the theme for this years National Day of Prayer. How poignant is this verse, especially during these times! If ever there was a time that we needed to be reminded that God is our refuge and fortress, the time is now.

We had heard about the National Day of Prayer before, but sadly it was mainly through the scarce coverage of the secular media, so you can imagine what we really knew about the event. However, it is an interesting tale to tell of how we got invited to the event in the first place! The director of the event, Faye, contacted Joel Rosenberg, (author of Epicenter) to see if he knew how to get a shofar for the event. Joel contacted Mitch Glaser, who is the president of Chosen People Ministries (and our boss!), to see if he knew of anyone who could help them out and he contacted us. He knew that we had one so he gave our contact information to the director. We were more than willing to let them use our shofar, which was to be used to open the Thursday morning event. She in turn, invited us to the private reception on Wednesday night and the prayer service on Thursday. We really did not know what to expect, but graciously accepted the offer. We were more than happy to also represent Chosen People Ministries at this event.

What an amazing night! Dr. James Dobson and his wife, Shirley, opened the event. We were introduced to the speakers of the National Day of Prayer; Joni Eareckson Tada, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Father Jerome Magat, Ambassador Raymond Joseph, Senator Elizabeth Dole, Congressman Allen West, Chaplain Barry Black, Justice Paul Newby, Dr. Dick Eastman, Captain Ryan Voltin, Chaplain Brigadier General Howard Stendahl, Vonette Bright, Bobby Little, Dave Butts, John Bornschein and special musical guests Ginny Owen and Jared Anderson. Quite the impressive list!

So here we were, sitting in a room with pastors, national speakers, congressmen and congresswomen, Dove-award winning artists, and national ministry leaders. Many of these people we had listen to on the radio or have seen on TV. Why had God brought us there? Why us? Who were we in comparison to those who were there? Then the Lord clearly and most distinctly spoke to my heart; why not?

Were we not all gathered there to lift our prayers to our Father in Heaven? Were we not all brothers and sisters in the Lord, who felt the burden to pray for our nation? All of us, His children, gathered in His Name to pray for His guidance and protection. It did not matter who we were, what mattered was why we were there.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

I think the most powerful part of this experience for me was when a chaplain that was leading us all in prayer for our judicial and legislative branches asked everyone in the room to kneel when they prayed! Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, got down on their knees and bowed their heads in prayer...congressmen, congresswomen, national pastors, national speakers, ministry heads, heads of state, judges and the list goes on and on. What an awesome and humbling experience; all of us on our faces together before our God!

What an honor and privilege to lift up our petitions to our God, who loves us. We serve a God who cares deeply for us and will hear us! It doesn't matter who we are or even who we think we are...if we are called by His name and come to Him with a humble heart and pray.. HE WILL HEAR US! He sees and knows us. Praise His Name!