Spicy Spaghetti

I had barely walked in the door when my fifteen-year-old-always-hungry teenager says, "Mom, what's for lunch?"

Quick on my feet, I tell him I have ground beef thawed out and could make spaghetti. "What kind?" he asks. "My kind, of course."

"Spicy?"

"Of course sweetie. What other kind is there?" I replied.

So while whipping up a batch of his favorite spaghetti, I thought of INSPIRED WOMAN!

I think you'll love this recipe that originated from a lack of ingredients and a need to make my spaghetti sauce thicker!

You'll need these ingredients:

• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• 1/2 pkg. Spaghetti Sauce Mix (dry)
• 1 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes (or Rotel will also work)
• 2 Tbsp. Dry Peppered Gravy Mix
• Spaghetti Noodles

Brown your ground beef (I like to add some season salt to mine) and start boiling your water for the noodles. In a blender or bullet, mix the canned tomatoes and dry seasoning with 1/2 can WATER to make the sauce. After meat is cooked thoroughly, drain the grease and add the sauce mix. (The water will probably be ready for noodles by now so don't forget to cook!)

Now for the secret ingredient: Add your dry peppered gravy mix to the sauce and meat as it begins to bubble a bit. I used to get this at Sam's (it's great for Saturday morning biscuits & gravy --a southern favorite!) but now our local Walmart sells it as well. Use your spatula or spoon to mix into sauce and allow to bubble a few more minutes. The sauce color will change some, but the results are fantastic! Not only does this add a little kick to your spaghetti, but it also creates a nice, thick sauce.

Serve with your favorite veggies and/or garlic bread! Voila! Hopefully this will become a new favorite for your family too! Enjoy!

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Great principle to teach tweens and teens is the "Eyeball Principle."  Live today as if your future husband or wife could see into your life.  Would they be embarrassed or jealous by the way you treat the opposite sex?  Proverbs 31:12 says "She does him good and not evil ALL the days of her life."  "All" means before you even know them!  Teens should live every day in a way that brings honor to their future spouse.  (Eric and Leslie Ludy)

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What Are The 7 Pillars Of Your Home?

Parents have been given a supernatural responsibility by the Lord when a child has been placed in their care.  The Bible says, “Children are an inheritance from the Lord.  The fruit of the womb is his reward.”  Children are gifts from God and He entrusts parents with the commandment of training them up in the ways of the Lord.  It is our God given job to raise them to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind. 

Any home that is going to withstand storms of life begins with a strong structural base.  Many times when you see buildings being erected, the first foundational parts will be strong metal pillars.  The Bible says in Proverbs 9:1-2, “Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars.”  What are the seven pillars of wisdom that I am putting into my children?  What do I want them to capture while living at home?  What habits do I want to develop in them that they will subconsciously pass on to the next generation?

Here are my seven pillars of wisdom that I want my children to learn from their time at home:



1.       Love God’s Word and prayer. 

Josh 1:8  This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest
observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

2.       Be faithful to the house of God. 

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as
the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much
the more, as ye see the day approaching.

3.       Be respectful to all authority. 

Eph 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.  Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

4.       Be grateful and thankful for everything you have. 

Phil 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings

                                                        5.       Discipline the flesh and work hard. 

Prov 22:29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings…

       6.       Be humble, teachable and quick to repent. 

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

       7.       Live holy, be a person of integrity, and hunger for God. 

Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:










In order for these principles to be caught by my children, I must model them.  The Bible says in Deut 11:19-20,  

“And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.   And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:”

Today think about the seven pillars of your house, write them, and set them before your children so that their spiritual structure can be developed while they are in the nest.  Then, when they spread their wings to fly they will be equipped to soar like the eagles. 

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Crock Pot Beef Burritos

Are you a busy mom and need help getting dinner on the table? Never fear, a make ahead crock pot freezer meal is your answer! This meal is Dillingham family approved and is now a favorite of the whole clan! Getting five boys to agree on anything is quite the accomplishment around our dinner table.

You can either combine all of these ingredients in one bag and freeze, or compile them on the day you plan to cook it. If you do freeze it, just be sure to thaw it in the refrigerator the day before, or the microwave before placing in the crock pot.

Ingredients:

• 1 London Broil or top round roast (about 2 lbs.)
• 1 diced onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, I took out the seeds to reduce the heat, but you could certainly leave them in - use just 1 pepper! (It's in a can, and then freeze the other peppers)
• 1 and 1/2  teaspoons  chili powder (you can adjust this according to your taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin  

Instructions:

1. Add all of the above ingredients in a gallon sized freezer bag and freeze.

2. When you are ready to cook the meal, dump the thawed contents of the bag into the crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours.

3. When the meat is cooked, strain the juices (to remove the peppercorns and onions) and then add the juice back to the slow cooker. Shred the meat and add back to the juice in the slow cooker for about 20 minutes.

You will also need:

• 16 burrito sized flour tortillas
• Any toppings you prefer on burritos, such as cheese, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, etc. 

 I also highly recommend making and adding Cilantro Lime Rice to your burritos!! This made it sooo yummy!! Just cook up some rice on the stove top or in your rice cooker and add lime juice, chopped cilantro and salt to taste.

Our children actually ate the leftovers the next day!

This is a way of preparing and cooking meals that I discovered and  I love it! One Saturday for a few hours, my wonderful husband and I were able to put together 7 meals and stockpile the freezer. On a busy day, I just pull a meal out and throw it in the crock pot. It couldn't be easier!

*I used a 4 quart slow cooker for this recipe.

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A Graceful Walk

Ladies,

We did it!  Today, on this lovely fall morning, we open our hearts once again and welcome you to TheInspiredWoman.org as a blog. We’re back with an updated look, new contributors and fresh inspirations for your day!  As before, I’ve filled this site with wisdom from women that I most respect and am confident have a message just for you.

Speaking of you, my purpose as we kick off our blog is all about YOU. Recently I spoke at a women’s brunch where I realized just how much we women nurture everyone and everything in our lives, except often we fail to do the same for ourselves.  We have such “full plates” and  “all our balls in the air”; however, we neglect to care for the one that needs to be strong to hold it all in place.  So today this blog, truly this entire site, is a time just for you. 

Galatians 5:25 says, “If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”  We have a choice how we go through this life.  We can go through it gracefully or truly it can be ugly to look upon.   Galatians 5 talks about both of these so well! Our responses in life can vary from selfishness, envy and jealousy to self-control, peace and joy.  So, my question to you today is simple.  How do you want to go through this life?  Let’s choose a graceful walk together.

I imagine that you, like me, don’t want to choose ugly.  Yet, we’ve all seen ugly!  Obviously I’m not talking about how one looks, but rather how one acts. Have you ever seen an adult throw what seems to be a fit?  They may as well be that kid in the check out line at the grocery that doesn’t get her candy.  Why is that?  Could another choice have been made?  Absolutely!

Why doesn’t someone choose to act the way they truly would like to act?  It’s simple! Matthew 26:41 says, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”  The only way we will make the ultimate choice we desire is when we are strong in spirit.  Like an athlete, the only way to have this kind of strength is to do what’s required to get it.  In this case, the answer is time in His presence. 

2 Corinthians 4:18 talks about this higher way of living.  It says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.”  We all need some eternal time, those moments spent looking at God.  Those times when we receive strength that only comes from His Word and His presence.  In this place, He is magnified to us and our problems are minimized.  Now, we respond differently when the problem looks so small, because our God looks so big.

Proverbs 18:14 depicts what I’m saying so well since “The spirit of a man sustains him, but a broken spirit who can bear.”  In other words, when one's spirit is strong she will stand in troubled times, but if one's spirit it broken down how will she remain on her feet.   So, ladies, I know we are busy and that everyone else seems to need our care; yet, if we don’t care for ourselves we really can’t give those who we love our best. 

You know, there really is no choice at all.   It’s a mandate from Heaven that we must heed, called time in His presence.  The results will have you walking graceful in no time at all.  “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Isaiah 40:30, now that is a picture of graceful!

Walking graceful together,

 Judi Jo

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Caramel Apple Salad

Caramel Apple Salad

Now here's a great recipe for all those tasty apples that are harvested in the fall!

1 3oz pkg Instant Butterscotch Pudding
1 8oz ctn Cool Whip
1 8oz can Crushed Pineapple (in juice)
3-4 cubed and unpeeled Apples
1 C. Miniature Marshmallows
1 C. Dry Roasted Peanuts
2-3 Snickers Bars (chopped)

In a medium bowl, combined pudding mix, Cool Whip and pineapple.  Stir until well blended.  Stir in apples and marshmallows.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Before serving, fold in peanuts.  You may add in chopped Snicker bars along with the peanuts.

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Peanut Butter Bundles

Oh, my!!!  These are so addicting, so quick to make & disappear so fast! Here's the simple Recipe:

1 cup dark Karo Syrup
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Peanut Butter
6 cups Special K Cereal 

Simply bring the Karo Syrup & Sugar to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Let boil for one minute & remove from heat.  Stir in the Peanut Butter until melted, then pour on top of the Special K cereal.  Now, drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper & they will be ready to eat as soon as they cool. 

Enjoy,
Judi Jo 

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