Menu Planning Monday-12/21/09

With Christmas being this week, meals are going to be light and easy to cook. I've still got a TON of Christmas baking to do (yay! More recipes to come!) and Christmas being on Friday (which means a big meal for us) I'm not looking forward to doing much else this week.

So...here we go...

Monday-

Cheeseburgers, mac and cheese, green beans

Tuesday-

bean soup, cornbread

Wednesday-

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn

Thursday-

BBQ Pork Ribs (w/homemade bbq sauce), not sure on sides yet..lol


Friday-

Christmas Dinner! We missed Thankgiving dinner so we're using it for Christmas!

Turkey
Bread Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Dinner Rolls (homemade)
Candied Yams
Mac and cheese (homemade)
Corn Pudding
Lemon Meringue Pie
Peanut Butter Meringue Pie
other goodies that Mom is baking...lol

Do you menu plan? Join us at Menu Planning Monday!

Down Sick....

I apologize for the lack of content the last few days. I am down with the flu and a fibro flare. I appreciate ya'll hanging in there with me.

"Please take my Life from me"

As a sat doing my daily readings (a couple books and my Bible) last night, I kept being hit in the face with one concept. We are to die to Christ. The Bible is obvious in this (or at least it is to me.) Gal 2:20 says "I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (KJV)

Paul is speaking here telling us that the old Paul (the sinner) has died but through Christ he lives because Christ lives in him. I have always loved this verse, but I don't think that its meaning fully set in until last night.

I don't have a specific pattern I follow when I read my Bible. I pray before I even open it that God will show me what I need to learn and will guide me to what He wants me to see. I then open my Bible. It may seem simple or silly to you, but I have never had it fail. I always take something from it.

Last night was no different. I prayed for wisdom and God's teaching and opened my Bible to Jonah. Now we all know this story well I'm sure. God told Jonah to go preach in Ninevah, Jonah disobeyed and was swallowed by a great fish. He repented and God caused the fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land. Jonah then went into Nineveh and preached the destruction that the Lord had planned for the people. The people repented and God showed his mercy on them.

What I didn't know is that Jonah was displeased by the fact that God showed them mercy. He prayed to God about his anger. Jonah 4:3 says "Therefore now, O LOrd, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live."

This verse struck home with me. The circumstances were entirely different than how it hit me b/c Jonah was literally praying for death, but it made me think.

This is what we should be praying. We are to die to Christ. To essentially kill the old us and replace it with what God wants us to be. In Christ we are made new people. It is better for us to die for/in Him than it is to continue to live as our former selves.

Anyhow, I'm rambling. My point is that we should all be praying Jonah's prayer. We should all be asking the Lord to take OUR lives from us and replace them with HIS life for us.

I certainly know that I am. When God speaks, I listen. :)

Have a good one all.

Sing It Sunday

Today's song is another by EH&SS. You'll probably see a lot by them as they are my favorite group.

I want you all to listen to the words of "Out of Bondage." The first verse has been me until just here recently. It's only been by the grace of God that I've started moving past it all.

I hope that if you're in bondage that you will turn to the Lord and let him free you like he has me.

Sweetest Saturday-Peanut Butter Meringue Pie

Ah..desert. I love to bake so I thought that I would share my desert recipes with you each week. A new one every Saturday!

Peanut Butter Meringue Pie-

My aunt has been making this pie for as long as I can remember. It's so rich and soooooo good.

1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1 pie crust, frozen pet ritz deep dish, baked
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. milk, skim
3 large eggs, separate out yolks
2 Tbsp. margarine
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Combine powdered sugar and peanut butter; mix with a fork until mixture resembles coarse meal. Spread most of the mixture (3/4 of it) in the baked pastry shell; set remainder aside.

Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in large saucepan then combine with cold milk and margarine.
Cook over medium heat until mixture is hot. Lightly beat egg yolks.
Mix some of the hot mixture in to the egg yolks to temper them, then add egg yolk mixture to mixture on the stove.
Continue to cook over medium heat until mixture thickens.
Remove from heat immediately.
Stir vanilla into hot mixture and pour pudding over peanut butter mixture in your baked pie crust.

Beat egg whites and cream of tarter with mixer until soft peaks form; sweeten with 1 teaspoon sugar and beat until stiff. Spread over filling. Sprinkle your reserved peanut butter mixture over meringue.

Bake at 325 F for 20 minutes.

Cool before serving. (Best if cooled at least 4 hours in fridge)

Makes 1 9-inch deep dish pie.

Whoot! I did it!

Freebie Friday

Who doesn't like free stuff?

Here's a few for this week.


Free Walmart Samples-Prilosec, Huggies, Pampers, Benefiber this week.

Free books-Check out the Gutenburg site for free downloads of great books by authors like Jane Austin and more!

The Mutopia Project provides sheet music for download by composers like Beethoven, Bach and more. This is an awesome site and since all of the songs listed are public domain, you can download and print them for FREE!

Get a coupon for a free bag of Stacy's Pita Chips just by becoming a fan on Facebook! Click here to become a fan! *The cinnamon chips are FANTASTIC!*

Get a free sample of NuWave Comfort Patch. Click here.

Free 2010 Calendar from Pillsbury. *Must be a new member to their newsletter* Click HERE

Free 2010 Calendar from Betty Crocker. *Must be a new subscriber to newsletter* Click HERE

Enjoy!