Welcome to the weekend, my associates! Oh, what a GLORIOUS week of climate we have now had in Ohio. Temps have been within the 70s for a number of days now! I’ve performed my finest to absorb as a lot of it as doable with lengthy walks each afternoon.

I’ve been informed this can be a false spring and the temps are about to fall once more. So, it’s unlikely to be this heat once more for some time. However as lengthy the solar continues to shine, I’ll be grinning up at it and hoping the vegetation all survive the approaching chilly days.

IN THE KITCHEN THIS WEEK: Loaded with our favourite Mexican flavors; this Southwest Hen Soup is barely spicy with chunks of tomatoes, corn, black beans, and tender rooster. I prefer to high my bowl with a handful of shredded cheese and a few tortilla strips.

Final evening’s dinner was this absolutely loaded Hen Potato Broccoli Casserole. It begins with fluffy mashed potatoes which can be blended with tender bites of broccoli and rooster, then generously sprinkled with bacon and cheese. The result’s a fully irresistible dinner.

Oven-roasted Cabbage with Balsamic Glaze is nothing in need of a loopy obsession. Strive it and you’ll perceive. I’ll be making it once more subsequent week. 

This Spinach Orzo Salad is crammed with cranberries, creamy goat cheese, tender pasta, and loads of recent spinach tossed in a tangy candy dressing. The salad might be served instantly or saved within the fridge for 2-3 days – making this an superior make-ahead meal for lunch or dinner.

My son requested chili (once more), so I’ll be making an enormous batch of the simplest and tastiest chili for straightforward dinners this coming week because the climate cools off once more. 

Skip the normal fried donuts and make these Apple Cider Donut Muffins! With a sugary coating paying homage to their namesake, these muffins provide a pleasant twist on a beloved basic.

Andes Mint Cookies are a soft-baked chocolate cookie loaded with Andes Mint items and unfold with an additional layer of mint goodness. They’re wonderful straight from the oven.

My FAVORITE THINGS this week are these tub salts. The eucalyptus and spearmint perfume is beautiful and the salts are the proper strategy to calm down on the finish of the day. The muscle and pressure aid is like nothing else I’ve tried. Together with this foaming tub, it seems like a spa expertise each evening.

What I’m LISTENING to: My children found some old-school DC Speak and it’s been going sturdy in my playlist this week. For the month of Lent this 12 months, I selected to surrender any media that isn’t faith-based, so it’s been enjoyable to re-discover some basic Christian rock after I need a break from basic reward and worship music.

What I’m READING: The Value of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This was not a straightforward learn, but I discovered myself drawn again to it every time I set it down. I completed the e book convicted, grateful, and challenged.

“Expensive grace is the gospel which have to be sought time and again, the present which have to be requested for, the door at which a person should knock. Such grace is dear as a result of it calls us to comply with, and it’s grace as a result of it calls us to comply with Jesus Christ. It’s pricey as a result of it prices a person his life, and it’s grace as a result of it offers a person the one true life. It’s pricey as a result of it condemns sin, and charm as a result of it justifies the sinner. Above all, it’s pricey as a result of it price God the lifetime of his Son: “ye had been purchased at a worth,” and what has price God a lot can’t be low-cost for us. Above all, it’s grace as a result of God didn’t reckon his Son too expensive a worth to pay for our life, however delivered him up for us. Expensive grace is the Incarnation of God.”

“Christian love attracts no distinction between one enemy and one other, besides that the extra bitter our enemy’s hatred, the better his want of affection. Be his enmity political or spiritual, he has nothing to count on from a follower of Jesus however unqualified love. In such love there’s not inside discord between the non-public individual and official capability. In each we’re disciples of Christ, or we’re not Christians in any respect.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Due to this fact, since we have now been justified by religion, we have now peace with God by means of our Lord Jesus Christ. By him we have now additionally obtained entry by religion into this grace wherein we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:1-2 ESV

Wishing you a stunning week stuffed with little issues that make you smile!

Mary