A Very Special Reunion

The Starmer Family vacation - Gunnison National Forest: We have established so many wonderful memories in CO once again!  God was so gracious in his timing to allow my knight to be able to be with us for part of our week long vacation in the majestic mountains!  Honey, I pray for you every day.  Here is a small portion of one of my devotions on the trip home.  When I read it, I thought of you and hope it is a blessing to your heart. Know you are dearly loved by all of us here but more so by your great Father! This is a trying time, but we have and will make it through! I love you!

"Love Always Perserveres"

1Corinthians 13:7

Love always perserveres. It does not give up. This is why the love commitment of husbands and wives is "till death do us part." This is the assurance that accompanies love, for it is loyal in the face of hard times. Love becomes better instead of bitter when experiencing the raw deal.  God's grace and love provide you the lasting ability for extraordinary love. Indeed, if your heavenly Father didn't personally love you, you love would be lethargic.  It would be sluggish in its application to others if you were not daily loved by the Lord.  You can't be an unconditional lover if you don't receive the unconditional love of Jesus.  Therefore, love always perseveres in the pricess of being loved and expanding love.

Chipolte Meatballs

CHIPOLTE MEATBALLS

Yes, I seriously have a thing for meatballs (and Mexican)! I have not tried this recipe yet but it is on my list! Ever since the kids and I ate at the famous Chelino's in OK last week (sorry honey!), I've been thinking about what new healthy Mexican dish I could try.  (I'm sure you guessed this restaraunt is not very healthy!!) I may even save this one for when my man gets home. :) 

Meatball Ingredients

• 1 lb. 94% ground turkey (any ground meat will do)
• 1/4 c almond meal
• 4 T bacon fat or butter (not melted)
• 2 eggs
• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 t + 2 t oregano
• 1 c chicken stock
• 15 oz. diced tomatoes
• S & P

Guacamole Ingredients

• 2 avocados
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 t chili garlic sauce
• S & P

Method

Preheat the oven to broil.
Place the ground turkey in a large bowl. In the large bowl of your food processor combine the eggs, almond meal, bacon fat or butter, 1 t oregano, 1 chipotle pepper and some S & P. Process until smooth and add to the turkey. Mix with your hands until combined. The mixture will be wet, don’t fret. Form the mixture into balls and place in an oven safe dish. Broil until browned, about 10 minutes.
While the meatballs are browning, add the diced tomatoes, 2 chipotle peppers, chicken stock and 2 t oregano to the same bowl of your food processor and pulse until smooth. Once the meatballs have browned, turn to oven to Bake at 450°F. Add the sauce to your oven safe dish and continue to bake until the sauce has thickened a bit, about 15 more minutes.
Now for the guacamole, place all the ingredients into the smallest bowl of your food processor. Pulse until it’s the consistency you like.

Thank you Health Bent!

4th of July

"I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts."
Psalm 119:45

Sending all of our love and many prayers to my best friend and others who are serving overseas. Thank you for providing and protecting us!! And for that very special man in my life....sweet 16. :)

Happy Father's Day...miles away

Sometimes it takes a child-like faith to remind us how God wants us to respond in the best and worst of times. It is easy to feel overwhelmed by our responsibilities as parents and spouses leaving us in a spiritual fog when we lose focus on Christ's sufficiency to bring us through. However, it is my prayer for you, my sweet husband, that even in your absence you are still successfully leading our family in every way. We love you and miss you. Happy Father's Day to the most precious man, husband, and father.

"And such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God." 2 Corinthians 3:4-5

"Dirty Dozen" - Go Organic!

The EWG (Environmental Working Group) has just released the top 12 "Dirty Dozen" list of fruits and vegetables with the highest levels of pesticides. EEWWWW!! Washing prior to consumption still does NOT reduce pesicide levels to a 'safe' level. You need to go ALL organic when eating the following:

"Dirty Dozen"

Apples
Celery
Strawberries
Peaches
Spinach
Nectarines (imported)
Grapes (imported)
Sweet bell peppers
Potatoes
Blueberries (domestic)
Lettuce
Kale/collard greens

Thankfully, the report also gives us the “clean fifteen” – those with the lowest levels of pesticides. Due to budgeting, going all organic can be rather costly. So, if you have to, buy these non-organic.

"Clean Fifteen"

Onions
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Avocado
Asparagus
Sweet peas
Mangoes
Eggplants
Cantaloupe (domestic)
Kiwi
Cabbage
Watermelon
Sweet potatoes
Grapefruit
Mushrooms

The EWG points out that if consumers simply chose their daily recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables from the least contaminated list over five from the dirty dozen, they would reduce the amount of pesticides ingested by 92% – without having to shell out extra money for organics.


Thank you to "Putting the Kingdom First" Blog for this info!

Sweet Prince

Oh Baby! My sister-in-law is due in August so we celebrated on Saturday with a baby shower themed "Sweet Prince". I managed to do her cake for her special day but sadly I think my cake making days are over. Sanity does have a price! However, it brings me much joy to know it was well appreciated and enjoyed. Congratulations Jess!

Fabulous Pumpkin Cake

This healthy dessert is just plain awesome!! No grains, no dairy, no sugar!!! How can you beat that???? I found this on one of my favorite food sites..The Food Renegade. Thanks FR!!!

For the Pumpkin Cake

Preheat your oven to 350F.
In a medium sized bowl, combine all the cake ingredients and mix thoroughly to combine. Pour into an 8×8 oven safe baking dish (I suspect you could squeeze 12 cupcakes out of this recipe if you use a muffin tin). Bake until completely cooked through, about 30 minutes.

For the Pumpkin Cake
1 c pumpkin puree
1 c almond butter
1/2 c raw honey
2 eggs (from pastured hens!)
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t vanilla extract
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t cloves

For the Cinnamon Icing

1/4 c coconut butter
1/4 c coconut oil
1/4 c raw honey
1 t cinnamon

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and use either your mixing blade attachment or a whisk to beat the ingredients until fluffy.

Once the pumpkin cake has cooled, cut it into 9 squares and remove from the pan. Now…if the cake isn’t completely, 100%, no doubt in your mind, cool you are not allowed to proceed. I’m telling you, if your cake isn’t cool, the icing will just slide right off into a pile of goopiness and all will be wasted. If you haven’t experienced what disastrous-ness comes from not heeded the above warning, you only need try it one time to learn.

Use a small offset spatula or a spoon and drizzle the frosting over the top.

Store the Pumpkin Cake Bars you haven’t immediately annihilated in the fridge. The icing will harden in the fridge, let it come to room temp if you’d like it soft. If you’d like it softer, faster (for the impatient types, like myself) the frosting will melt beautifully if you stick the cake bar in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. Goes great with your morning coffee or tea!