Reminiscent Of Loved Ones Gone But Not Forgotten ...

Farewell 

Farewell to Thee!  But not farewell 

To all my fondest thoughts of Thee; 

Within my heart they still shall dwell 

And they shall cheer and comfort me. 

Life seems more sweet that Thou didst live 

And men more true Thou wert one; 

Nothing is lost that Thou didst give, 

Nothing destroyed that Thou hast done. 

Anne Bronte 

1820-1849 

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth 

you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Kahlil Gibran

We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.

Kenji Miyazawa

Although it's difficult today to see beyond the sorrow,

May looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow.

Author Unknown

Psalm 30:5

Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Psalm 34:18

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 46:1-2

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.

Thanks for stopping by ~ Julie :)

Spicy Tortilla Soup

A warm, velvety soup, filled with spicy chicken and zucchini squash, topped with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and a slice of avocado.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ingredients:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1 cup onion, shredded

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 medium zucchini, sliced and quartered

8 cups water

6 chicken breast

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can Rotel

1 can 15 oz. tomato sauce

1 can 12 oz. can corn, undrained

3 tsp. cumin

4 cubes chicken boullion

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 bag of Tortilla chips

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese

2 or 3 avocados

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To make broth, boil chicken breasts in 8 cups of water until chicken is cooked. Remove chicken, allow to cool, then shred. Add bouillon cubes to broth.  Add all remaining ingredients except chips, cheese and avocado to broth.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Spoon soup in bowls, add chips, cheese and a slice of avocado.

Thanks for stopping by!  ~Julie :)

Hungry?!

Ever wonder if some of the plants in your backyard or nearby park are edible?

If the answer is: YES!

Then, keep reading...

If the answer is: NO!

I'm with you, but we are going to be a good sport and go along anyway...

This morning my husband found this AWESOME website:

http://www.foragingtexas.com/

(Merriwether's Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Texas and the Southwest)

and he had a brilliant idea called:

"Let's go foraging for edible plants in our neighborhood park!"

So, we got out the double-stroller (which, by the way, did quite well off-roading; I may have to review that on here sometime, ha ha), packed up the kiddos, grabbed water and our handy dandy list copied from the above mentioned website and headed out on an "adventure"! :)

You are still with me, right?

Okay, so are you ready to see what we found?

Did you bring your appetite???!!

There are acorns somewhere 
in that photo...I think.

Guess, what? Acorns are edible!!

And if I had to eat out of the park,

I would be eating A LOT of acorns I believe.

Plus, also, squirrel.
Mainly, because they would be fighting me for my acorns, but also because they would taste way better than the other things we found!  No, really.

Fair Warning:  It is going to get much worse before it get's better...

Many kinds of Algae are edible (with a LOT of boiling, etc.)

Tasty, right?


This may be a good time to say...  Don't use these photos to eat ANYTHING!!  
These photos are purely for entertainment!!!


We found Alligator Weed or Smartweed, not sure which...

Pony's Foot

Dandelion

What, you can't see the dandelion in that last photo? It is there.  Look harder.


Lichen

Honey Locust

We digress...
Also, in our neighborhood park...


I want to learn THIS:

DISC GOLF!!!


Okay, back to the point...


That was all the edible things we found in our neighborhood park.


I had a great time and learned a few things.
Most importantly, I will be VERY thankful
each
and 
every
single
time
I forage in my fridge for something edible!

Ephesians 5:20
Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanks for stopping by!
~ Julie :)