Italian Stuffed Peppers

Italian Stuffed Peppers

We both really liked these.  Jeremy said they remind him of the flavors of pizza, but better for you.  Ground turkey , Italian sausage, or turkey sausage would all be good in place of the ground beef.

-bell peppers (whatever color you prefer), sliced in half and seeded
-1 Tbsp olive oil
-1 onion, diced
-1 lb lean ground beef
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 cup cooked brown rice
-1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
-1 (15 oz) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
-2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-2 tsp Italian seasoning
-1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
-1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Place peppers in greased 9x13 pan, cut side down.  Roast at 400 for 25 minutes.

While peppers roast, cook onion and ground beef in oil over medium heat, breaking meat up with a spoon while cooking.  Once meat is brown drain off excess fat.  Return meat to pan and heat and add garlic.  Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Remove meat mixture from heat.

In a large bowl, combine meat mixture, cooked rice, shredded parmesan, diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and worcestershire sauce.  Stir to combine.  Once peppers are finished roasting turn the oven down to 350.  Stuff peppers with meat mixture and return to pan.  Top peppers with remaining can of tomato sauce, then sprinkle with mozzarella.  Bake 30 minutes and serve.

Lo Mein

Lo Mein

I really liked this dish but I don't think that Jeremy was overly impressed.  I thought it was a great way to eat a huge variety of vegetables in dinner, and you could easily change the veggies to match your taste.  Add your choice of cooked protein for a complete meal.

-1 box whole wheat spaghetti (or desired noodle type), cooked al dente
-2 Tbsp canola oil
-4 cups shredded cabbage (or cole slaw mix)
-1 cup shredded carrots
-1 pack mushrooms, quartered
-2 cups broccoli, cut into bite size pieces and steamed in the microwave for 6 minutes
-4 green onions, sliced
-6 Tbsp soy sauce
-3 Tbsp rice vinegar
-6 Tbsp brown sugar
-1.5 tsp sesame oil
-1 Tbsp ginger, minced
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1.5 tsp sriracha sauce
-2 Tbsp cornstarch

Heat oil in large stir-fry pan or wok over medium heat, add shredded cabbage and carrots, cook until the veggies begin to soften.  Remove cabbage mixture and set aside.  Add mushrooms to pan, cook until almost done, then set aside with cabbage.

Whisk together sauce ingredients.  Add sauce to the pan.  Cook for 2 minutes (or until thickened), stirring often.  Add cabbage mixture, mushrooms, broccoli, green onions, and spaghetti to the pan.  Cook, stirring well until everything is well mixed and warm.   Serve.

7 weeks

Here is what is going on with Elisha this week according to babycenter.com;

Your baby's hands should be mostly open now — ready to reach out to the world. In the early days of your baby's life, grabbing was mostly automatic and instinctual and she couldn't let go if she wanted to. Although she can't really grab objects just yet, she can hold things placed in her hands. And, once she wraps her hands around something, she might not let go so easily. She'll also begin to try and bat at objects, so keep potentially dangerous objects far from your little one's reach. This means not holding hot liquids or sharp objects while you're holding her.

You may notice short periods of time when your newborn is quiet and alert. This is prime time for learning: Your baby's brain will grow about 5 centimeters during her first three months!

Use these calm intervals to get better acquainted with your baby — talk to her, sing to her, describe the pictures on the walls. She may not be able to add to your conversation just yet, but she's learning nonetheless.

New textures for her hands to feel and new sights and sounds (all in moderation) are all learning opportunities. Even bath time becomes a laboratory for understanding life.

With both eyes now able to follow things consistently and well, your baby can track a moving object much better, something she may have been able to do for only brief periods since birth.

The stores are packed with developmental toys, but you'll do just as well with everyday objects. Pass a rattle or a bright plastic ladle horizontally in front of her. Then try moving it up and down. This should attract your baby's attention, though she probably won't be able to smoothly follow things vertically for another three months and diagonally for another six months.

You can also play eyes-to-eyes by moving very close to her face and slowly nodding your head from side to side. Often her eyes will lock onto yours.

Elisha is doing great!

He seems to get more thick/ chunky each day now.  I absolutely love kissing those squishy baby cheeks!

He is such a sweet baby.  He almost never seems to cry without being able to be consoled with food, swaddling, or being held.

Fortunately he's a pretty laid back baby.  He puts up with a whole lot of harassment from his older brother and is a great sport about it.  Noah wants to touch Elisha all the time.  And touching involves Noah sticking his face about a half inch from Elisha's face while he talks to him and rubs his head.  At least all of Noah's smothering of Elisha seems to be out of affection towards him... I don't think I've ever seen Noah get mad or frustrated with Ellisha, even when he is crying.

6 weeks

Here is what is going on with Elisha this week according to babycenter.com;

Now that your baby's awake for longer periods during the day, you can use these times to support his sensory development. Try singing your favorite lullabies or playing music.

You don't have limit yourself to children's songs. Fill the house with the sounds of music — from the Black Eyed Peas to Mozart — and watch as your baby expresses his pleasure through coos, lip smacks, and jerking arm and leg movements.

Your baby might also enjoy the sound of wind chimes or a ticking clock. The more varied the offerings, the richer the impact. Inevitably, you'll notice that your baby responds to and favors some selections more than others as he begins to develop preferences.

Don't feel like you need to bombard your baby with music all the time, though. Babies need quiet time, too. An overstimulated child may cry, look away, tense up, arch his back, and become irritable. Try giving your little one time to regroup before moving on to more play.
Self-expression

Your baby may not be able to talk yet, but his face is sure telling you a lot. He's experimenting with different facial expressions — pursing his lips, raising his eyebrows, widening or squinting his eyes, and furrowing his brow.

Your baby may be trying to tell you something — perhaps a diaper change is in your future — or maybe he's just exploring his newfound abilities.

Elisha is doing great!  He's continuing to grow like a weed and chunk up all over.

This week we ran out of the disposable diapers that I got at my baby shower, so he is now solely wearing his cloth diapers.  Since he's so little, and they are so big, they are making him look a little pear shaped right now, but he'll grow into them before I know it.

His umbilical cord finally came off this week so we were finally able to give him his first bath, which he actually seemed to enjoy.

He's starting to prefer sitting up to reclined positions, he loves to look around and check out his surroundings.

He continues to give a few grins and smiles here and there and has also started making some joyful sounds and noises from time to time.

We've gone backwards a little with sleeping and he is getting up around 1/2 am, and then again around 4/5 most mornings, sleeping through the night every now and then.

Testimony

Shannon and I came to find out that we were both about to post on a very related subject, so we decided to make it one. Enjoy.

Shannon

As I mentioned before, "remember" was a big word for me last year. I felt God continuing to tell me to "remember" all the things He did, said, and experiences that He gave me. Now He's building upon that, and I continue to hear Him tell me to not just remember, but to share the testimony of all that He does.

As I've been reading through the Psalms this year I find verse after verse admonishing me to share the testimony of God's goodness, faithfulness, miracles, provision, and deeds.
Psalm 96:2-3 Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.
"Publish his deeds... tell everyone".

And as all this has been burning in my heart, He also added the following verse;

Revelation 12:10-11 “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth- the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

"and they have defeated him [the accuser] by... their testimony". There is power in a testimony, power to defeat the works of the enemy. No wonder the Psalms continue to admonish us to proclaim, shout, and tell of all the good things that God does!!!!!! As Ephesians lists the armor of God as mostly defensive items (except the Sword of the Spirit), we now find an ongoing offensive tool to defeat the works of the enemy is to share our testimony with others... therefore activating faith within them, and helping them to receive the same character and acts of God in their own lives.

So I will continue to share and shout from the rooftops all of the testimonies that God gives me, and I hope you'll do the same, friend!

Jeremy

In life and ministry, we are not without our share of troubles and hardship. We have, however, decided early on that the words that we release from our mouths, as well as the ones which we type on the blog or social media, would be words of faith. Anyone can express what appears to the natural eye, but the reality of the situation, is that we have been made fully whole in Christ and are seated in Heavenly places. We lack for nothing! We do not confess the work of the devil, we confess the victory and blessings that Christ accomplished on the cross. Because of this, we are entitled to everything that He has. 

We do not fear, we have His courage. 

We do not worry, we have His Hope.
 
We do not doubt, we have His faith. 

That is what we confess. He is our testimony. That said, there is a time and place to humbly share some of our failures or lessons we learned by mistake that we have made, but those will be exceptions made as God leads. 

I hope that you will join us in confessing the goodness and victory of Christ, even if our natural circumstances appear hopeless.

5 weeks

Here is what is going on with Elisha this week according to babycenter.com;

Your baby's neck muscles are getting stronger, which allows her to hold her head up for short periods. She can support it for a few moments while lying on her stomach, for example, and she can probably turn it from side to side. She may be able to hold her head up when she's in a car seat or front carrier.

Smiling happens at about the same time in all cultures, so get ready for your baby to reward all your loving care with a beaming, toothless, just-for-you smile. This will probably make your heart melt, even if you've just had your worst night yet.

Your baby may start sleeping longer at night (maybe four to six hours) sometime between 6 weeks and 6 months of age. It's a broad range, and much depends on your baby's development and your behavior.

Most sleep experts suggest putting your baby to bed while she's still awake, but drowsy. This will help her learn to fall asleep on her own, a skill that will come in handy for you both when she wakes in the wee hours of the night. You can help your baby reach that milestone sooner rather than later by establishing healthy sleep habits from the start, such as a bedtime routine with a calming bath, a baby massage, or a bedtime story.

Elisha is doing great!  He is continuing to fill out and form little fat rolls just where babies should have them.  And then there's those cheeks... I LOVE fat baby cheeks!

He has given us a few precious smiles and grins here and there, and my knees go week every time.  So sweet, so much innocence, and trust, and joy.  He's also starting to interact, engage, and look at us more.  

This week he has grown out of his newborn clothes and is now wearing size 0-3 months.  Since he's filling out a lot more quickly than Noah, I'm thinking I can start putting him in his cloth diapers soon (Noah's thighs weren't big enough to fill them out until he was 2 months old).

I always thought that Noah was a great baby... he slept through the night from 8 weeks on, and didn't cry much during the day.  He did cry almost every day from 5-7 pm straight, deep screaming cries, but for a baby, I wrote that off as normal and thought he was such a good and easy baby.  I was nervous that Elisha would be more difficult and that I'd be disappointed that he wasn't as easy as his brother.  I didn't think it was possible, but Elisha is an even easier baby than Noah.  He doesn't cry much, and when he does it's usually cured by someone holding him.  Overall he is very happy, easy, laid back, and not very demanding.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

I made this Cream Cheese Pound Cake to top with strawberries and whipped cream for a friend's birthday.  I thought it turned out great, and will probably not make any other pound cake recipe again.  The only change that I made was to use reduced fat cream cheese instead of regular.