A taste of Africa...right to your home!

African Peanut Soup

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

2 Onions, chopped

2 Red Peppers, chopped

4 Garlic cloves, chopped ( I add more to kick up the flavor! )

28 oz. crushed tomatoes (with the liquid)

8 cups vegetable broth

some pepper

some chili powder (say about 1/4 tsp.)

2/3 C EXTRA crunchy peanut butter (I use a little over a cup)

2/3 C uncooked brown rice

Now to cook....

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Cook onions and bell peppers until lightly browned. Stir in garlic AFTER almost done to prevent burning. Stir in tomatoes, vegetable stock, pepper, and chili powder. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Stir in rice, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes (or until rice is tender).  Stir in peanut butter until well blended, and serve.

Personally, I like my veggies a little crunchy. So, I only let the the veggies cook a couple of minutes. This will allow them to be more crunchy. This is a full flavor soup and if you add that extra garlic and peanut butter it just tops the soup off! 

And there you have it! A little taste of Africa that is brought right to your home! Oh, Yum! Comment on this post and share your favorite recipe!

Some advice from David...

This morning, coffee in hand, I began to read out of Psalms. I struggle with sitting still before the Lord and letting Him speak to me. I tend to get caught up with the chaos of life and then another day is gone before I know it. Then God's Word hit me like "BAM"!

"I don't consider myself with matters too great or awesome for me. But I have stilled and quieted myself, just as a small child is quiet with its mother. Yes, like a small child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord-now and always." Psalm 131:1b-3

I have gotten away from sitting in the presence of the Lord and just listening. Quite frankly, I am the one who does all the talking in His presence-how it needs to change! I know I am missing out on great plans God has in my life because I have such a hard time just waiting for God. Big things are happening in the world around me; God may want me to be a part of it. But, how will I ever know until I sit and listen. This is going to take a lot of hard work because I am a person who like to be busy.  I encourage you to come on this journey with me! So I keep reading, and it gets better.

"He vowed to the Mighty One of Israel, 'I will not go home; I will not let myself rest. I will not let my eyes sleep not close my eyelids in slumber until I find a place to build a house for the Lord, a Sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel.' " Psalm 132:3-5

David was so dedicated to what God wanted him to do that he vowed he would not put his physical condition before God. What a sacrifice David was making. God had given him a job and David took it so seriously that he vowed not to rest until he accomplished his job. Sometimes I feel like I am unable to carry out the things that God wants me to do because the task ahead seems so large. Then I look at David,  a man who won't rest until he accomplishes the task God put before him, and I realize God would not ask me to do something that I could not do and I should seek after that task or plan until God allows me to accomplish it. My question to you is, "What is God asking you to do?"

Meat. Enough Said.

Okay, here it is! My first attempt at blogging. It is so over whelming to decide where to start. So, something everyone might be interested in--my journey back to eating meat! After not eating meat for close to three years, I am back in the meat world. This is no easy journey. After several weeks of an upset stomach, that nearly killed me, I overcame that battle. The next battle I had to deal with was cooking. Now, I love cooking. But, the meat--yuck! If the meat is not pre-cut, then it will not be cooked in my kitchen! Maybe, I can get over this too! 

So, the decision is this--to eat meat or not? The days I eat meat I can tell the difference it makes in my body. Fruits and veggies just make me feel so light and unweighted! But, when I eat meat I don't have to eat as much. Toxins are filled with meat, but then there is the natural and organic. I think, for now I will continue eating meat, for the sake of boredom after cooking only veggies for so long. Oh, those poor little chickens.