Nothing better in the fall than coming home to a nice stew that’s been cooking all day.

Dori’s Crockpot Harvest Stew

2 (14.5 oz) cans fat free broth
12 oz cooked ground beef
8.5 oz can corn, drained
1 large sweet potato(es) (peeled and cut into bite size chunks)
2 TB diced sweet onion
½ c. sliced celery
15 oz can cut green beans, drained
¼ c. diced roasted green chilies
14 oz Original Recipe Stewed
8 oz unsweetened applesauce

Put all in 5 quart slow cooker and cook low for 8 to 10 hours. Add salt and pepper if you need to when you serve.

Yield: 6 servings. Per serving= 244 Calories; 2g Fat (9.4% calories from fat); 14g Protein; 23g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 16mg Cholesterol; 599mg Sodium

Yum!

Orangesicle Pie

8 oz light cream cheese
6 oz fat free orange yogurt
3 tsp Splenda
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 small pkg sugar free orange gelatin
1 c. Cool Whip Lite
25 reduced fat Nilla Wafers

Place wafers in the bottom of pie plate and set aside. Beat cream cheese and yogurt until smooth. Add sweetener and vanilla extract and continue mixing. Sprinkle gelatin in mixture and continue beating. Fold in whipped topping. Pour over Nilla Wafers and chill for at least 2 hours.

Yield: 6 servings. Per serving= 199 Calories; 9g Fat (43.3% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 22mg Cholesterol; 336mg Sodium.

I love these!

A nice light cookie. These spread out a lot while baking so space them apart and use about 1 tablespoon of batter for each cookie.

Angel Macaroons
16 oz box angel food cake mix
1 c. water
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 c. flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine all ingredients. Place by the tablespoonful onto a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Yield: 32 cookies. Per cookie= 64 Calories; 1g Fat (11.1% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 111mg Sodium.

This is a good dip with a little kick.

8 oz light cream cheese
1 tsp onion powder
2 slices bacon, crumbled, divided
1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (with 1 tsp. sauce), finely chopped
1  tsp. smoked paprika
2 green onions, sliced
 

Yield: 8 servings. Per serving= 78 Calories; 6g Fat (67.1% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 17mg Cholesterol; 197mg Sodium.

Yummy!

2 tsp lemon extract
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 egg whites
1 egg
3 TB poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine all ingredients in medium bowl. Pour into a Bundt pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 deg for 50-60 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert to serving plate. Could also make a glaze to drizzle over cake.  
Yield: 16 servings. Per serving= 154 Calories; 5g Fat (26.3% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 12mg Cholesterol; 225mg Sodium

I’ve been reading Everything by Mary DeMuth and I keep being amazed at the number of quality books promoting a relationship with Jesus. And I don’t mean, “oh here’s just another book about Jesus.” I mean I really believe God is speaking through several people right now and we should all listen.
Mary’s book describes how we seem to want a comfortable life, but what God wants for us is that crazy love relationship with Jesus where we give him our everything and he is OUR everything. We leave the comfortable life and follow hard after Jesus.
But wait, Crazy Love–yeah, that’s a book by Francis Chan. Also talking about being so in love with Jesus you live your life for him.
But wait, there’s more! I started reading Jeff Goins’ book Wrecked while waiting for an oil change. Right away I was hooked as Jeff describes how we want to sit on our couches and wonder why life seems to be missing something, when what we should be doing is getting out of our comfort zones and reaching out to others. It’s an example of of our crazy love for our Everything. I don’t think it’s an accident these books were written and released so near each other. I often find repetive nudges like these when God is speaking. But I don’t think he’s just speaking to me. What could we do this week to stretch beyond our comfort zones?

I made these for a family reunion yesterday. They are very tasty, but not healthy!

Grasshopper Brownies
1 box (makes 13×9) brownie mix
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2 egg whites
20 Cool Mint Oreos
7 oz marshmallow cream
4 drops green food coloring
1/2 tsp mint extract

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine brownie mix, applesauce, egg and egg whites. Add a splash of water if needed. Crunch the Oreos in a plastic bag; add to brownie mixture. Pour mixture into 13×9 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Combine marshmallow cream, food coloring and mint extract. Swirl into brownie mixture. Bake until brownies are done.

I’m reading Everything by Mary DeMuth so periodically I’m going to be posting bits of the book that speak to me. I hope they speak to you too.

Our need for control shoves away God’s ownership in our lives, and keeps us at the helm. In relinquishing control, growth flourishes. We learn to trust the sovereign One with our lives, to no longer micromanage even our relationship with Him. That type of journey thrives from the inside out.