As you have more than likely noticed, I am having to take a break this week in my blogging. We have an insanely busy week. I will hopefully be back in the swing of things next week.

Idea Wednesday

I have been leading a study on Nancy Wilson's The Fruit of Her Hands. This week's chapter was Principles and Methods. I feel compelled to say that I would never want anyone to think I see my ideas as principle. I love hearing ideas from others and know that I will practice some and not others. Feasting and any idea I give is just a method to assist in practicing the principle of celebrating the Sabbath. Okay, now that is said so let's move on to some ideas. As I have tried to think of ways to get the family involved I have decided to let them take more of a part in the menu planning. For those of you who know me well, know that this is a huge sacrifice for me. I love reading through cookbooks and magazines to find different recipes and wait for my husbands response as to if it is a do over or not. He just has to say two words to make my day."Company worthy" There is nothing better to my ears than hearing those words after I have worked really hard to prepare a nice meal. It is a little of a joke because the children will say it just to be polite. But, if it is not true they usually cannot say with out a very strange look on their faces. Anyway, I realized that one of the things that makes their special days so special is the fact that they have control over the menu that day. They will not plan the entire Sabbath Feast. Maybe just the dessert. I shop according to sales therefore, some weeks there is not as much flexibility. They then of course get to help cook the dish they chose. This is also a great way to help prepare your daughters to be comfortable in the kitchen. This may not be something exciting in your home, but it has been a hit in ours.

Recipe Monday

I have stated in the past that when we decided to make Sabbath feasting a consistent part of our week, I knew some things had to change. One thing I did was make our week night meals more simple. This saves time, energy and money. I usually do a once a week soup night. Soups are easy and quick to throw together. A pot of soup can usually give us two meals. Served with a loaf of bread or grilled cheese sandwich, it is filling enough for the boys. This is a new soup we tried recently and we really enjoyed it.

Sausage and Lentil Soup

2TBS olive oil 3/4 tsp dried thyme
1lb smoked sausage 1 bay leaf
7 oz smoked ham shredded 9 cups chicken broth
2 large onions chopped 16 oz can peeled crushed tomatoes
1 large bell pepper chopped 1/2 lb dried lentil
1 carrot diced 12 large spinach leaves cut into
2 cloves garlic minced small pieces
1/2 tsp ground cumin Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until done. Remove sausage and allow to cool. When cool, slice in 1/8 inch slices. Discard all but 2 TBS of drippings from pan.Reheat drippings and add ham, onion, green pepper, and carrots. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, thyme, and bay leaf. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, sliced sausage, tomatoes, and lentils. Cover and cook over low heat for 2 hours. After 2 hours turn off heat and discard bay leaf. Add spinach, salt and pepper and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

Another way to make things easier during the week is to make dishes that freeze well.If you work outside the home, these meals can be pulled from the freezer in the morning and cooked when you return from work. The following recipe is good for that. I believe this recipe would make a great feasting dish as well.


Chicken Breasts in Sour Cream Sauce 1 cup sour cream
8 slices dried beef(in a jar) one 103/4 oz can cream of
8 skinless boneless chicken breasts mushroom soup
4 slices of bacon cut in half 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms(optional)

Preheat oven to 300. Lay one piece of beef on each chicken breast and wrap with piece of bacon. Place in a casserole dish seam side down. Repeat with all of the chicken. Mix together the other ingredients and pour over the chicken. Cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Serve with rice.

When I freeze this dish I prepare it and then put it in the freezer before I cook it.

Please share any good recipes that are good to make your week a little easier.

St. Patrick's Day

We will be feasting with friends this weekend, so I have not planned my usual Irish feast for the weekend. But, I wanted to encourage you to celebrate this holiday. If you Google Irish feast or St.Patrick's Day feast you will find many recipe options. In the past this has been a lot of fun for us. Have your older kids do the research on St. Patrick. There are a lot of interesting facts there. Let the little ones make big shamrocks as place mats. Label each leaf as either Father, Son or Holy Spirit. It is a good example of three in one. Be creative and have fun! Feel free to share your ideas and let us know how your feast turned out.

Idea Day

My husband and I have always felt a calling towards international missions. We have done several short term trips. For various reasons it has never worked out to do it full-time. Because of this calling we have a fascination with people from other nations. Sometimes I feel as though my children are not developing this fascination. I have decided a good way to help in this area would be to designate once a month international Sabbath feasting. I will pick a country and cook food from that region. We will learn together about their culture, their spiritual climate and other interesting things. We will make this a missions centered night. We will discuss ways to pray for this nation and point out the differences in the gods they may serve and the God we serve. If you have teenagers this would be a great opportunity to let them invite friends and their families. Get the kids involved. Give the older ones the responsibility of researching this country. If you have one that likes to cook, have them find the recipes. The little ones can help make center pieces that incorporate that country in some way. Be creative. I think this could be fun for the entire family. It will also be a good reminder that Christ's Church is made of all nationalities and we will all participate in the Lamb's High Feast one day. Please share your ideas.

Sick Children

Feasting did not happen this weekend. Jackson had a temp of 104 all weekend, therefore my time was spent holding and trying to rehydrate him. I HATE when the babies are sick. The older ones can at least tell me what hurts them. At 10 months all he could do was look at me with a little pathetic look on his face. Anyway, when I first started this blog it was to give ideas about feasting. I have decided to make Monday recipe day. Hopefully this will be helpful as you spend your week planning your feast. Wednesdays will be general ideas. Please share any recipes or ideas. I spend a lot of my time trying to find ways to feast on a budget. For that matter eating in general takes creative budgeting for most families. Therefore, my recipes will be for feasting and sometimes weeknight meals as well. This week I will share a couple of potato recipes. Potatoes can be dressed up to make a very elegant side dish to a feast. Our favorite is roasted potatoes. Cheesy mashed potatoes are good as well. Abondante Living has a Asiago Potato recipe posted that is great. Potatoes are probably one of the most inexpensive side dishes. Here are my recipes.

Roasted Potatoes

Cut red potatoes into cubes. Coat them in olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed rosemary. Spread them in one layer on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 45 minutes turning the potatoes every 15 minutes.

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

5 large potatoes
6 oz sour cream
8 oz cream cheese
2T butter
2tsp onion salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Boil peeled potatoes until tender. Mash until smooth. Add remainder of ingredients except Parmesan cheese and beat until light and fluffy. Place in a well-buttered casserole and dot the top with butter. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Cover and bake about 1 hour or until it is heated through. This dish can be made up to 2 days ahead. Do not cook in oven until you are ready to serve it.

This Week's Feast

Our kitchen has been torn apart this week. We are having some remodeling done. I was not sure when it would be functional again. We hope by tomorrow we can put the furniture together in time to feast on Saturday. I am so ready to really cook again. Anyway, because of this I am not sure what we will have for our feast. I am thinking about an Italian roast that I found in Gourmet magazine. I believe I can put it in the crock pot. If it turns out decent I will share the recipe. I will do the Olive Garden salad that I shared a few weeks ago, some garlic bread and something great for dessert.What are you planning?