Creamy Vegetable Chowder

So, here's a good recipe for a cold day. This is one of my husband's favorites. It's just a good, hearty veggie chowder that my sister and I came up with one chilly day when we were messing around in the kitchen. I suppose it could be made without the milk too, and it would be just a hearty veggie soup. Experiment, anyone?

Creamy Vegetable Chowder

(Serves approx 6-8)

4 cups water

3 stalks of celery, chopped

2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped

 4 potatoes, chopped (I like to leave the skins on, to make it a little heartier. And I usually judge about 1 potato per person, or two smaller ones)

2 cans of corn (or about 12 oz of frozen corn)

1 large onion, chopped

1/8 cup lemon juice

2 cups milk

1/4 cup white flour

1 tsp crushed red pepper

salt and pepper, to taste

Chop all of the veggies into small pieces. (I was missing the onions this particular time. Not the same.)

Cook the water, celery, carrots, potatoes, onions, and corn in the crock pot on high heat until vegetables are soft, about 3-4 hours. Turn the heat to low.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour into the milk. Slowly pour this mixture into the soup, whisking until fully incorporated. Do not let it boil. Add the lemon juice*, red pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. Let cook for another 10-15 minutes, until the flour's starchy flavor is cooked out. (This means you have to keep sampling your soup . . . darn.) The soup will be slightly spicy. 

*I add the lemon because i gives the vegetables a nice "pop."

I like to serve this with homemade rolls. I will try to post my recipe for those soon! Enjoy! 

Sweetness

So, I just have to say,  my hubby is AMAZING!

He went to the store for something, and came back with this little tub of Haagen-Dazs ice cream, all for me. Just because he loves me. And let me tell you, it is GOOD.

Why wouldn't it be? The only ingredients in it are cream, skim milk, strawberries, sugar, and egg yolks. That's pretty much pure goodness there.

So yeah. I am happy. Because I love ice cream. And I love my husband too. :)

6 Ingredient Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

So my mom is on a Gluten-free diet for her health. Bummer. Sure doesn't sound like fun to me, but then  . . . I am a carbaholic. Anything involving bread, dough, chocolate . . . . I'm addicted . . . .

Anyway, confessions aside, I've been trying to find some recipes that she can eat. But of course, I have to try them out first, right? And if you're like me, a lot of gluten-free recipes are scary. Half of the ingredients, I have never heard of! So, simple and familiar has been my goal.

I found a recipe on this blog. Hers was a 5 ingredient recipe, and I just had to add one more to the mix . . . oats. I love chunky, hearty cookies, and oats seem to fill the bill pretty well when it comes to expanding your cookie dough.

Today was the perfect day for the "experiment." I mean, how many afternoons do I have the baby sleeping peacefully in her bouncy seat, the dishes done and the kitchen clean, dinner in the crockpot?, and me with practially nothing to do but have fun in the kitchen? Not many, lately. So I launched into the recipe.

(Here's a picture of Molly peacefully sleeping. And I didn't even tell her to!)

Anyway, here are the 6 ingredients. Drum roll please . . . .

6 Ingredient Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Makes about 1 dozen) 

1 cup of Creamy Peanut Butter

1 cup of firmly packed Brown Sugar

1 large Egg

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup Oats (I only had Quick Cooking, but Whole would work too)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Gently mix all the ingredients together.

 Form small 1 1/2 inch balls and flatten. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for about 9 minutes. Let cookies cool at least 5 minutes before removing them. 

The last step is always my favorite. Get a big glass of milk (hopefully you're not lactose-free too!), and try them out! 

They turned out to be delicious. A little bit crumbly, but as they cool they firm up a bit more. And with no butter or flour, they are a quick, easy cookie to make . . . which is probably not a good thing in my case. :) 

All right. Success! Time to give mom my recipe! 

Faith Like Little Molly

My daughter just turned 1 month old. Gosh, that makes me start to feel old! I feel like I just had her!

She is such a delight to me! I am continually amazed at just how perfect her little body is, how beautiful she already is. God must look at her as His creation and see that it is good. :)

I have been considering her a lot this week. Considering her and comparing myself to her. That has caused me to think a lot about the nature of faith. I feel like Molly is proving to me more and more what "child-like faith" looks like.

If you're unsure what I mean by child-like faith, here is a passage from Scripture. Mark 10:13-16 says,

And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

So, my goal as a Christian is to rely on the Lord with that faith, like a child has faith.

Molly depends on me for everything. When she is hungry, she cries, and I feed her. When she is tired or has a wet diaper, she cries, and I tend to her. When she is hurting, she cries, and I try to help her. She knows that I will answer, that I will (try to) provide what she needs. She does not fear me. She trusts me completely. She loves nothing better than to be snuggled up next to me, warm and content.

She doesn't know or understand days or times. She doesn't know there's such a thing as tomorrow. She doesn't worry. She simply lives moment by moment, and is only concerned about her immediate needs. She only knows the present, and perhaps remembers some of the past.

I have been praying that God would make me more like that. Able to depend on him completely. Able to "forget" about tomorrow, in a sense. Able to rest by his side, happy and content in the knowledge that He will care for my every need. Able to cry out to Him in faith, knowing that He will answer, and He will bring comfort and strength.

I am praying that God will teach me even more from observing my daughter how to better be His daughter.


My Cutie Pie. :)

Butternut Squash Soup

So tonight for dinner I tried a new recipe.

Not new as in, I've been searching for just the right one, recipe. New as in, never made this dish before. Ever.

That can be intimidating. Especially when you're cooking with a vegetable you've never cooked with before, and you're not even sure where to start. Thank goodness for the internet. Butternut Squash can be conquered with the proper know-how.

So I have a confession. I don't follow recipes. Well, I mean, I do . . . to an extent. A recipe to me is more like a launching pad for me to create my own unique recipe. Generally this works out great. There have been a few incidents . . . which we won't mention . . . but those are few and far between.

So saying, I did need to see a recipe today, to at least get an idea of what I was doing. If you're interested, it is here.

Here is the recipe I finally came up with after some tweaks. I made some homemade bread bowls to put it in and when hubby came home for dinner, it was a hit! I will definitely be making this one again. It is just a nice, lovely fall day soup, and it has so much rich flavor! Plus, it's healthy! Great for people on a vegetarian diet.

Butternut Squash Soup

3 pounds of Butternut Squash (about 1 large Squash)

3 cups of Water

1 large Onion

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups milk (or cream, if preferred)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

2 tsps of Cumin (to taste)

Olive Oil

Parsley

Thyme

Cut the squash in half and scrape out all the seeds. Cut it into pieces, about 8-10. Lay these on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with olive oil until lightly coated. Bake at 350 degrees  in the oven until the squash is soft when a fork is inserted (approximately 1-1 1/2 hours). 

Meanwhile, chop up the onion and boil it with the garlic in the 3 cups of water. Do this about 20 minutes before the squash is done, so it can get a strong flavor. Add salt and pepper, parsley and thyme, to taste (should be a nice, full, flavorful broth).

When the squash is done, let it cool, and then take the peel off and puree it in a food processor with the onion and garlic water. While pureeing, add the milk. When it reaches the consistency you want, transfer back into the pot and heat, stirring often. Do not boil. Add the cumin. When heated through, take off of heat and serve. 

Top with cream, grated cheddar cheese, or fresh herbs. Serves approx 6.

(***Sorry, I don't have any of my own pictures. This one's just an online photo. Still working on getting a card for our camera. Soon, though. :) ***)

Meet the Family!

As a proper start to this blog, I suppose we should start with introductions.

My name is Laura, and I am an incredibly happy woman. :)

I am a Christian, and I serve an amazing God (well, the only God, actually, to say it correctly). I was saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone over 10 years ago now,  and I'm trying to live my life following in the footsteps of Jesus. I'm so thankful for my church, Christ Fellowship of Kansas City, in helping me to stay close to Christ as I journey through this life. And of course, I am striving to become a great student of God's Word, which more than anything gives me the strength to be who God calls me to be.

 I have an awesome husband named Josh whom I love very much. We celebrate our first anniversary next week! It has been an awesome year together, and I'm looking forward to the rest of our lives. And I'm also so thankful for him as he continues to be the leader of our home that God has created him to be.

I have a one-month-old daughter named Molly who has my complete adoration. I can't stop looking at her and feeling her little hands and feet and trying with all of my crazy silly faces to make her smile . . . just a little smile. She's rocking my world right now, that's for sure.

I am pretty much in love with food. I'll admit it. I could eat all day long. Not a good habit, I know. But I love to experiment in the kitchen. I also play piano and sing, love to read and write, enjoy nature and the great outdoors, love DIY projects and crafts, crochet and dabble in knitting, enjoy a good cup of tea with a spot of milk and honey, loved gardening (especially herbs and flowers), and love spending time with my family.

I love so many things about life! I think that's why I called this blog "My Joyous Heart" because my heart really is full of joy. God has blessed me with this joy, and I want to share it with whomever I can. If you are blessed at all by anything you read or see here, I hope you will thank God for it. It is through Him that I live and breathe and do anything that I do.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are encouraged today! :)


Laura