Friday, January 8, 2010

Caffeinated Randomness: Challenge and Comfort...


To be totally random...I thought I'd start with a quote and scripture that have totally slapped me in face today.
"A sentence from Psalm 101 has been both challenging and convicting for me: 'I will walk in my house with blameless heart' (Psalm 101-2, NIV). When God speaks to me about being more loving, this verse reminds me to make application in my family first—and then to others. It forces me to ask, 'Am I more spiritual, more loving, or more fun somewhere else? Who gets my best—my family or others?'" -- Jean Fleming, A Mother’s Heart
AND then...randomly...share a picture of my redheaded woodpecker. I've had pilated, hairy and downy woodpeckers for years...but this is my first redhead! Isn't he/she pretty? I know, it's hard to see...but they are pretty elusive and it was snowing pretty hard when I took this picture. In the second picture you can see a downy woodpecker too...and a cardinal in the hedgerow if you really look back!
And my last helpfully caffeinated random comfort for the day is...a lovely chuck roast...
...and fresh bread...*sigh*....

Melt in your mouth Chuck Roast

by Bette McCumber
Ingredients
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1 medium green pepper, sliced
  • 1 celery rib, chopped
  • 1 boneless beef chuck roast (2 to 3 pounds)
  • 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian stewed tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup beef broth
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 4-1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup cold water

Directions

  • Place the onion, green pepper and celery in a 5-qt. slow cooker; add the roast. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, broth, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, soy sauce, pepper and pepper flakes; pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until meat is tender.
  • Remove meat and vegetables; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking juices if necessary; transfer to a small saucepan. Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir into cooking juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with roast. Yield: 6 servings.
Recipe from the JAN/FEB 2010 issue of Simple and Delicious Magazine

7 comments:

crittyjoy said...

Oh yum! That roast and bread looks so amazing!

What a neat photo of the woodpecker! So pretty :)

Happy Friday!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful birds! Upon learning about birds this year, my daughter and I learned how their coats change for the winter. It's so amazing. I know, silly I didn't know that before, but I didn't!

Karen said...

That quote and scripture slapped me a little too...pondering this...

I could smell that beautiful roast and crusty bread all the way over here!

Anonymous said...

I love that you have woodpeckers! So cool!

Kara With a K said...

What a cute woodpecker!

And that bread is calling my name!

Barbara H. said...

That Scripture is always convicting whenever I see it or think about it.

We had a birdfeeder on a post that we had to take down when the post rotted, and I miss looking at the birds that came to visit.

I haven't made homemade bread in ages, but it is hard not to devour half of it when it first comes out.

Susannah said...

Oh yes, I can see all three birds in the second shot. Wonderful!