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Manly-man dinner for that special someone!

Herb Crusted Rib-Eyed Steak with Maple-Pecan Baked Sweet Potato

       ·            1 in. thick Rib-Eye Steak

·         2 tbsp of Herbs de Provence

·         2 tbsp EVOO

·          1 tsp. Salt  ¼ tsp. fresh Cracked Black Pepper

·         1 large Sweet Potato or Yam

·         1 tsp brown sugar

·         1 tsp. maple syrup

·         ¼ tsp. pumpkin spice

·         ½ tsp. butter

·         1 tsp. of chopped Pecans

Drizzle EVOO on Steak and coat with Herbs de Provence and Salt & Pepper on both sides

Marinate steak for 1 hour in fridge

Remove from fridge and let come to room temperature

Grill on a hot grill pan for 6-8 minutes on each side (med.)

Remove from pan and cover loosely to rest for 15 min.

Bake Sweet Potato until tender on 400 degrees

Combine softened butter, brown sugar, syrup, pumpkin spice in bowl

Top freshly baked & opened Sweet Potato with mixture and top with chopped pecans

Serve with salad or grilled asparagus. Enjoy!

GREAT SUNDAY DINNER FOR THE HUBBY!

Girl's Movie Night Goodies!

Make sure and tune in tomorrow cause we are cooking some amazing cookies! Since I am hosting a girl's movie night, I thought it would be nice to use my sister Tarsha and girlfriends as guinea pigs to try out my signature shortbread cookies that I plan to market in the very near future. We will be having and amazing Summer Orzo salad with saffron shrimp and spicy bbq wings! To finish it off I will be serving my cookies and we'll be watching the original version of "Sparkle." See ya tomorrow. Don't forget to catch up with me here..Verdegirl

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

Good Morning!  I is a lovely day here in the ATL!  I awoke bright and early and nudged my husband to get his lazy bones up and go power walking with me!  He gave me a look as if to say, "it is too early", but he gave in to his "angel" and accompanied me to the park and we did our thing.  We got our workout in and it was a great day to begin our day together.  I was able to finish my 5 mile walk so I felt accomplished.  So, what's  on the agenda for today? Taking the cowardly route, I text messaged my good friend Melissa and told her that I would not be able to work for her at the store she manages. This in fact is the second time I quit on her:(  She knows my schedule is sooooo hectic with home schooling, Bible Study with the seniors, Book Club, cooking and all sorts of other things that jump into my schedule each month. Hesitantly, she took it like a trouper and yelled at me but understood.  After sending my dear old hubby off to get that much needed check-up, I sat myself down and had some quiet time with the Lord. You know what I discovered today? I'll tell you. I wanted to understand how people show their faith in God.  I learned by reading Hebrews chapter 11 that the first thing that needs to happen is that we need to believe that God exists. Whew! That's a big one in light of a society that wants to remove the truth of an eternal Creator from the hearts of humanity! I never got how you could look up into the sky, look at all of the amazingly beautiful animals and even look at the faces of men and women and think to yourself, there is no God! Hogwash! The heavens declare the glory of the Lord. Creation shouts His name in all of it's majesty!  I considered the life of Abel. Simply put, he gave his very best to God and God accepted his gifts.  How simple is that. We want to give our best to things and people with the hope of a return but Abel just gave because he honored God and God in return honored him..Awesome! How about Enoch? He was known as a person who pleased God. How are you known? What type of impression or reputation have you established here on earth? Think about that for a minute. I want to be a person known for pleasing God!  Noah! Just saying the name Noah brings a shutter to most god-fearing folks. I mean come on, he built an Ark for crying out loud. Who builds an Ark. That's like me deciding to build the Oasis of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) in my backyard. How nuts is that?  Noah was faithful because he believed that God would do something that had never been done before. Do you have the faith to believe God for the impossible? God help me.  And let us not forget father Abraham.  He is our father in the faith.  Abraham had a heart inclined towards God and said in word and deed, "lead me Lord and I'll follow wherever, whenever, and however! He placed his hand in the Lords and obediently followed even though he had no idea where that was! How often I get frustrated with my husband when we are travelling and I feel my husband has lost his way and is leading us in the wrong direction. FRUSTRATED! I get frazzled because I do not trust his guidance. Abraham closed his eyes and said, "take me Lord." That frightens me. I have to be honest. There are some places I don't want to go. Some people I don't care to be around. Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land the Lord  took him too and still submitted his way to God. That is amazing faith.  More than that, this is the same person who believed God would provide a substitutionary sacrifice for his own son. He faith was so immovable, he knew that if he had to strike down his son God would raise him back to life. That's like saying God told me to kill my only daughter and I'll do it because I believe He will raise her up to life again. I must admit my faith does not stretch that far or does it? I don't ever want to find out.  I won't leave out lovely Sarah who laughed at God when told she would have her child in her old age.    Just think about that for a moment. You are an old lady, barren all your life and someone comes along and says you will have a child. She laughed but I think I would have cussed! When faced with her doubt and fears she was asked, "is nothing to difficult for God?" She declared, NO! She decided to believe that God was a promise-keeper! She convinced her own soul that God would fulfil His promise to remove her barrenness and He most certainly did! Help up Lord to have faith to believe that you will do what you have promised!  Blessings to you..Verdegirl

So, what did the Cape Verdean princess cook today? Was it some special, fantastical dish that was sure to please? Could it have been one of Giada's specialties? You know I love Giada! Or was it some new creation I created to get my husband calling me angel even when he is asleep on the red chair! Are you crazy! I cleaned up the house, took the kids power walking and the dog, went to my favorite store of all; Walmart and then rushed the kids to karate school! Heck no! I simply butter-flyed and  pounded out some fresh skinless chicken breast, seasoned it with my favs, drizzled on some evoo and grilled them on my nifty indoor grill! Smart and healthy huh? Well, I also cooked some brown rice, and sauted cabbage.  After the chicken was almost done, I brushed on my son's favorite; teriaky sauce to finish and let me tell you the kids loved it and so did hubby! I was quick, healthful and yummy! Try it, you'll surely like it! Now that your go to quick meal in a hurry...Blessings to ya...Verdegirl; MUAH!

Today was a great day! Have you ever been called some one's angel? Well today my husband text me that I was his angel and some other things that I won't repeat:)  SSSSHHHH! Marriage talk...or is it Pillow talk?
I learned an amazing life changing fact today about my faith in the Lord. I learned from Charles Stanley that when our desire to obey the Lord is stronger than our attraction to sin, we will know at that time we are making progress in our spiritual life. Have you ever felt like your walk with the Lord is stagnant and that you are not growing as much as you'd like? I have on many occasions blamed my church leaders for not "feeding" me enough good spiritual food. When in essence the responsibility for me going from babe to mature believer is entirely up to me.  As I get older (48), I realize that my increase in years does not equate to maturity in the eyes of God.  As I go after God with all that I am, then I know that as the years pass and my love for Him grows and my obedience towards Him deepens, then and only then will I see my umbilical cord drop off and my developing spirit begin to soar to new heights.  Like a child who is dependant upon their parents to lead them in a way that is right, I am dependent on my heavenly Father to help develop my character and allow me to grow to my full potential in Him. I do realize however, that I will not completely grow up until I am perfected, but in the meantime, I am determined to be an adult in my spiritual life and not crawling around on the earth waiting for someone else to pull me along. I needed Hebrews 5:12-14 today!
Aside from my epiphany, I took my two youngest  out to the park and "made" them power walk 2.5 miles with me! Hooray for mommy! They were panting harder than the dog, but they did it even though they moaned and groaned half the way around! I am so proud of them. My youngest daughter is a lil' pudgy and I realize it is my responsibility to feed her healthy foods and get her the exercise she resists.  Since I home school the kids, it is difficult outside of structured sports teams to get them the activity they need. I do have them enrolled in Karate which is great but they need more physical fitness. Unfortunately, as a home school parent I am not entitled to participate in PE within the school system I live in but boy oh boy do they take that school tax out every year! Crazy, huh? I pay school taxes  but can't utilize any school activities! Go figure! I say I should be allowed something for my bucks?  Enough venting for now. I will close by saying may the Lord grant you His peace, wisdom and in site into the mysteries of God through His glorious son, Jesus Christ!..

Try this scrumptious dish! It will tantilize your senses with the warmth that only the fall can bring. Add some crusty bread and you have a dish that is sure to please the wandering soul in search of the comforts of home!

Portuguese Soup

·        1 package of Gaspar Portuguese Linguica Sausage cut into bite sized pieces

·        1 large can of red kidney beans

·        1 large can of crushed tomato

·        1 large container of chicken broth

·        3 cups of water

·        6 med. Red skinned potatoes quartered

·        1 bag of fresh kale, chopped

·        2 tbsp of tomato paste

·        1 small yellow onion

·        1 small green pepper

·        1 small red pepper

·        ½ cup of chopped cilantro

·        3 garlic cloves finely chopped

·        3 tbsp of Lawry’s seasoning salt

·        1 tsp. of crushed black pepper

·        1 pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

·        3 tbsp EVOO

·        Chopped parsley to garnish

·        Warmed crusty bread as accompanyment

In a large pot or Dutch oven, fry linguica sausage until brown with 2 tbsp of EVOO. Remove meat from pot and set aside, covered. In same pot, sauté peppers, onion, garlic and cilantro until tender with remaining EVOO. Add in red pepper flakes, tomato paste.  Add chicken broth, seasoning salt, pepper, water, crushed tomato sauce and kidney beans and bring to a rapid boil. Reduce heat to med/low and add in kale and cook until tender. Add in potato and linguica sausage and cook until potatoes are fork tender.   Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with warm crusty bread to soak up the juices. Enjoy!