I love being home. I love being married. Put those two ingredients together and you have one great date night at home! If I love being with my husband in the warm atmosphere of our home, then one of the obvious places and preferences for our date nights is home. You might raise your eyebrows and say, “Date nights? Why do you need a date night? Your children are gone! You’re alone most of the time!” That is all true, but it’s also true that we have to be intentional about stopping our busy routines and demands to schedule quality time together as a couple. We need to plan time to just kick back and have fun, talk and connect regularly. Otherwise, we could both stay wrapped up in our own little worlds!

I’ve committed myself to creating a date night at home once a week this year. There are a lot of advantages about home dates:

One of our favorite places to go in the wintertime is Cracker Barrel, and we always have the hope of getting a seat in front of the fireplace (us and 100 other people!). Well, now that we have a fireplace, I couldn’t wait to pull our round kitchen table up right in front of it for a romantic and cozy supper meal!

Last week late in the afternoon, my parson-husband had some errands to run in town. Not long after he departed, I got busy “setting the stage” for our fireside dinner date! I pulled the table in front of the fire, lit candles, turned on Pandora, and made our dinner. I wish I would have taken a picture of his face when he returned home and rounded the corner of the living room and saw the table all set for our meal! It was priceless…and it made me really glad I’d gone to the little bit of trouble to make it special.

I didn’t fix a gourmet meal – as a matter of a fact, I used some leftovers and added a salad and rolls to it! It took very little effort to let him know that I was thinking about him while he was away. We spent about an hour and a half at the table, eating, talking, and just enjoying one another’s company!

Having a candlelit dinner might not be your cup of tea, but whatever it is that you and your  husband could enjoy at home, why not pull out all the stops and create an evening (or an hour) of a date night to surprise him?

The list is endless. The memories you’ll create will be worth the little bit of planning it takes to make it happen!

While you’re at it, why not keep a diary of your dates so you won’t forget the fun you’ve had?

Do you plan dates at home?  

From my country home,

As I sit here at my computer I hear the wind whipping around outside the window beside me. The snow is blowing making the backyard look like a vanilla milkshake being swirled in the blender. The leaves on the evergreen bush seem to be shivering as the wind whips through them, too. All is frozen out there, making me ever so glad to be inside beside the fireplace, praying for those that must be out in these bitter elements.

It’s one thing to have the cold on the outside, but have you ever had that kind of cold in your heart? You may not have intended for the temperature to drop, but some bitter thing happened in your life and then another, until the emotions and will both froze up inside of you. You felt as alone as my porch swing, waiting for someone to stop by and notice. No one does, and like my swing, the snow just keeps piling on, making you feel isolated and forgotten.

Last week my heart just needed to hear from the Lord. I needed Him to “melt some icicles,” if you will. While I was studying Daniel chapter 10, I asked the Lord for a practical truth that I could apply to my life. I know that the prophecy there is wonderful, but I wondered what was here that I could apply to my life. Then I saw it! After Daniel had seen the vision God gave, He was troubled. He called out to God, and God answered! I saw that the Lord does for me in my “Frozen Heart Moments” exactly what He did for Daniel.

Recently my engaged daughter told me she’s looking for some inexpensive recipes to file away for married life.  I love watching Pioneer Woman and similar programs on the Food Network, but honestly, who can afford all those pricey ingredients?  If I had beef brisket, three-inch thick steaks and fresh shrimp on hand, I could make a killer meal too!  But most of us live on hamburger and chicken, and have a budget to stick to!  So, I’m on the lookout for some money-saving recipes that don’t skimp on flavor, just cost.  

In an effort to try some new recipes that don’t break the bank, I tried a new dish that was meatless this week.  That was a little hard for me because I expect to have meat for supper!  The new recipe – Black Bean Cakes with Avocado-Corn Salsa that I tried was from the November issue of Southern Living magazine. Their recipes are always delicious and I felt sure that this would be a hit.  All the ingredients gave the indication that this was really tasty – not some nasty dried up old bean dish.  The end of the story about this recipe is that we loved it!  The words from my  husband were, “You can make this again!”  Yay!  The other great thing is that this recipe cost me about $1.65 per serving!  I added Spanish rice, corn chips and canned peaches on the side, making it a total of about $2.50 per serving!  Could you go to a Mexican restaurant and order a meal for that amount?  No way.

This is so tasty, and the presentation is impressive with the colors in the salsa on top of the bean cakes.  

Black Bean Cakes
3/4 cup diced red onion
4 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix
2 (15-oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded pepper Jack cheese, divided
6 tostada shells
1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese


Avocado-Corn Salsa 
Ingredients
1 tablespoon lime zest
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 small avocado, diced
1/3 cup diced red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Salt
Pepper

Whisk together lime zest, lime juice, canola oil, Dijon mustard, and dried crushed red pepper in a large bowl. Stir in corn kernels, halved grape tomatoes, diced avocado, diced red onion, basil, and cilantro. Add salt and pepper.

Bean Cakes Preparation
1. Sauté onion in 1 Tbsp. hot oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat 4 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic. Remove from heat.
2. Prepare Avocado-Corn Salsa; chill until ready to serve.
3. Mash together taco seasoning and 2 cups black beans in a large bowl with a fork. Stir in panko, next 2 ingredients, onion mixture, 1 cup pepper Jack cheese, and remaining black beans until well blended. Shape mixture into 6 (1/2-inch-thick) patties.
4. Cook patties in remaining 3 Tbsp. hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
5. Preheat oven to 400°. Place tostadas on a 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; top with Cheddar and remaining pepper Jack cheese. Bake until cheese melts. Top with black bean cakes and salsa.

I’m continuing my search for inexpensive recipes and will be sharing them with you in upcoming posts.  What do you fix to cut costs on meal preparation?

From my country kitchen,

I got the nicest housewarming gift from a friend a couple months back…it was a food Saver/ Vacuum Sealer like This one…

To be honest, it’s not something I would have thought to purchase for myself, but my sweet friend had one and knew how useful they are in keeping foods fresh, so she ordered one for me.  I’m SO thankful for it!  At Christmastime when I had an abundance of goodies, breads and soups leftover, rather than chunking stale items in the trash can, I got out my sealer and put those little gems into vacuum sealed bags and then froze them.  They won’t have freezer burn or taste old when preserved like this!

Also, buying meats on sale assures me that they’ll be fresh when I separate them into smaller packages.  I have sealed crackers and chips, too.

If you like to buy in bulk, I’d highly recommend a sealer like this!  It will keep you from tossing things that have gone bad before you had a chance to use them!  This is a great tool!  Freshen up your foods with this sealer; I think you’ll be really glad you purchased this.  Thanks again, Becky!

Oh, and be sure to refresh yourself by being in church on Sunday.  Nothing will encourage you like the preaching of God’s Word and the fellowship of other believers!

Be refreshed,

Have you heard about choosing one word for the new year?  It spoke to me when I read this idea.  It will be the word that defines each day, and then the whole year.  It will guide decisions, define choices.  It may refrain or it could push one forward.  What One word could characterize last year?  What word would you want to order this year?

My Word is JOY.  I want to have joy when spending time with the Lord.  I desire joy to be the epitome of my marriage.  I want it to be the driving factor of my service to the Lord, the work I do at home, and the attitude in which I minister to others.

Some antonyms of joy are:  sadness, sorrow, seriousness, melancholy and woe.  Who wants to be around a person with that kind of disposition?  Who would want that kind of Christianity?

My verse for the year that will remind me of my word is – Acts 20:24 – But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

So, today, I move forward.  How?  With joy.  Joy in trials, hardships, good times and bad.  By God’s grace, I desire to begin and finish 2014 with Joy!

I’d challenge you to think of a word that will motivate you this year.  What word will it be?  It’d love to hear!

With joy,