I ventured away from my favorite Cinncinati chili recipe last week and tried one with ground turkey, rather than ground beef.  I was amazed at how delicious this was!  This recipe also replaces the beans with corn – a nice swap out in my book!  I served it with avocado, sour cream and tortilla chips, and they were the perfect accompaniment!  Turkey makes it much more healthy by reducing the fat, but you could really fool people in your family with this perfect blend of tomatoes, spices and meat!  They’ll never suspect they’re eating healthier!

I found the recipe on My Fitness Pal’s recipe site.  This is super easy to throw into the crock pot, so you can have a hearty supper ready when you get home!  Here’s the recipe:

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Ingredients

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the turkey, season with salt and cook, breaking up with a spoon until turkey browns and is no longer pink; place into the slow cooker.

Add the oil to the skillet and sauté the onion, garlic and bell pepper over medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes. Spoon over turkey into the slow cooker and stir in corn and tomatoes, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, paprika and salt, mix until well blended. Pour chicken broth into the crock pot and add the bay leaf.

Cover and cook on HIGH 4 hours or LOW 6 hours. Serve with desired toppings.

When leftovers look like this, no one will complain!

Hope you’ll give this recipe (and ground turkey) a try!

With love from my country kitchen,

A few weeks ago I attended my daughter’s birthday surprise Baking Party with Francine Bryson, first runner up of the American Baking Competition.  Francine shared a couple of tips that I’ve implemented into my baking, and one of them is the addition of a flour jar with a sifting/shaker lid on top.  It’s helpful to have a jar like this filled with flour for:

Any time you need just a little flour, this is the perfect container to grab.  I was thrilled to find this jar at a little shop near me for  only $5.  The lid is metal with three openings – one for pouring, one for sifting out smaller amounts and also one for sifting larger amounts.  I love it because when I need flour at those times, my hands are usually a mess, so if I go to the canister to get the flour, I lift the lid with my messy hands and add flour to the lid, the counter and possibly the floor!

For those in my area, I got this in Jonesborough at a great new shop called, Type A.  It’s adorable with all kinds of fun merchandise that you need to check out!  If you’re not from here, any kind of jar with a shaker lid will work.  Those tall jars that many put confectioners sugar in would work well, too.

Another tip Francine gave was to crack your eggs on a flat surface, rather than the edge of your bowl.  That edge causes the egg shell to push into the inside of the egg, then fall into your bowl!  That makes complete sense; why didn’t I think of that before?

What helpful tool or tip could you share?

Stay refreshed,

I shared yesterday that I was recently in California for a Ladies’ retreat.  It was a great blessing! My husband traveled with me, and I was soooo happy to have him at my side!  We had a sweet time away.  We left on Wednesday and returned home Sunday night.

Let me share a few pictures, then a truth the Lord laid on my heart during my time away.

The striking thought during our whole trip was “common ground.”  Everyone in every part of the country or the world needs the Gospel –

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;  and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: I Corinthians 15:3,4

After receiving the Gospel for our salvation, we all need God’s Word to direct our every step.  Times spent at a retreat are for sharing the Truth from the Bible in relevant, practical ways.  Who needs help for life?  Who needs answers for the tough times we face?  Who longs for encouragement that it will be worth it all One Day? Sum it all up to ask:  Who needs hope? ALL OF US!  It’s a common need, a common thread a common ground.

It’s not just people at a retreat that need hope – it’s every single person we meet.  We were made aware of the desperate need when we talked to:

Some understood their need for hope that only the Lord can bring and theyare searching for the Truth.  Others rejected it bluntly and proudly.  We will pray for their eyes to be opened.

Are you filled with hope because you know the Lord as your Savior?  Or are your days filled with despair because your only hope is what you can conjure up on your own?  This Gospel Video will tell you how you can have a relationship with God now and for all eternity.

If you have the common ground of knowing Christ, with whom are you sharing the hope of the Gospel?  Don’t keep it to yourself; a whole world out there is desperate for the hope you possess!  Share the Gospel with someone today!

When was the last time you shared the Gospel? How was it received?

Lovingly,

This has been a week full of extra-sweet blessings!  Let me show you:

My husband and I had the blessing of spending a couple of days and one night in a lovely lake cottage recently.  This is owned by dear friends who graciously invited us to spend time here for a get-away.  Here’s where I sat for many hours while we were there…

I took no work with me – only magazines to read!  The breeze blew in the window, I read, marked pages and did lots of gazing out at the lake.  It was unreal how much those hours away did for us!

This is Watauga Lake – one of my favorites.  The mountains come right down to the water’s edge, giving amazing views!

I’m so  thankful for the kindness and generosity of dear friends, for time to rest, time away with my sweet husband, and God’s provision for us at a season when we really needed refreshment. I’m thankful for the sun that shone on one day and the rain that fell on the next, for coffee that warmed us in the chilly morning, and popcorn we snacked on that night.  

As I mentioned last week, our daughter, Whitney had a birthday on the 22nd.  Her sweet husband arranged for a big surprise and Alli and I got to be in on it last Saturday!  I won’t spill the beans, but will let Whitney share on her blog all about it, but we got to go to lunch with Whitney at her favorite place before the surprise happened.  We somehow missed getting a picture of the three of us, but here’s Whitney at the restaurant.  We had a fun time together, as always!

I’m so thankful for my girls and the relationship we have, for the chance to share two weekends in a row with Whitney, and the joy of son-in-laws who love my daughters!

This candle has been burning for many hours since September!  My sweet neighbor gave this to me, and it’s become one of my favorite Yankee scents for fall!  It smells like something’s baking in the kitchen!  It’s called, Sugar & Spice.  You need this candle, friends!  It’s a perfect scent for this season!

I’m so thankful for my neighbor, for our friendship and her kindnesses to me.  I’m glad we’re more than just people who live side-by-side!

Wish you could smell this!

I’m thankful for the ability to smell, to make the house cozy with a candle flickering on the counter, and for a home to make ready for fall.

It’s easy to overlook the little things, and forget to be thankful, isn’t it?  I fall into just being used to being so blessed and don’t stop to truly be thankful as often as I should!

An acquaintance of mine is dealing with cancer.  It’s attacking her organs.  She’s lost about 25 pounds in just a few months.  She can’t eat very much at a time without being sick.  The chemo is draining her of all energy and strength.  I imagine she will lose her hair – again, (this is her second time with cancer in two years).  I complain about gaining a pound, about my hair growing so fast, or being a mess, or being busy, when I should be thanking the Lord that I CAN eat, that I HAVE hair, that I have the STRENGTH to be busy.  Wow.  What an unthankful person I can be sometimes!  I’m asking the Lord to help me change that – to help me to be grateful for every little thing, because the little things aren’t so little after all.

We’re entering the season of gratitude.  How about joining me in starting early?  What can you thank the Lord for today?  Leave a comment and together let’s praise the Lord for every little thing!

With a grateful heart,