Sunday Reflections
Good Sunday morning, friends! Welcome to Sunday Reflections, a weekly lifestyle post.
Sunday Reflections typically discusses what has been on my mind the week before and maybe a few teases of the week ahead.
My Sunday Reflections the last two weeks has been on crock-pot meals…in order to keep the house cooler. We have hit a string of triple digits.
Today, I am going to share one that Mr. B loves.
Thank you to all who emailed and answered the survey…it is always helpful to hear from you.
I am going to respond tomorrow to a few of the points you brought up…I will explain if I am making changes, or if I am not going to make changes.
And I might surprise you with tomorrow’s outfit of the day!
Of course, my reflections have been on your words since Friday, so I wanted to give it time in a post.
For now, get your morning beverage…and a cozy spot…and let’s look over my Sunday Reflections.
SUNDAY REFLECTIONS: CROCK POT BEEF STEW…SORT OF
Beef Stew has long been a favorite around here…Mr. B does love his occasional beef.
The reason I said “sort of” is because I do not add the mixture to thicken the sauce…it is more of a soup or beef mixture for us.
I know I do not write traditional recipes…your patience is required as you enter my non-traditional kitchen….here is what I do:
- The night before I cook, I marinate two pounds of beef stew chunks or cut up rump roast covered in Worcestershire sauce ( I like Lea & Perrins) and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper.
- The next night, I put these ingredients in my slow-cooker:
The meat
A bag of small carrots
5 stalks of celery chopped
1 bag of small gold potatoes, halved
1 yellow onion cut into pieces
2 large cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon of all spice
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon of cracked black pepper
Sprinkle on top one package of dry onion soup mix
Cook on low for nine hours.
THE NEXT MORNING
Stir the mixture
Smash the garlic cloves and stir
Remove the bay leaves
Stir in one drained can of La Suer English Peas…. I do love this brand for peas.
We eat it later in the day and warm it on the stove top.
But, let me warn you…Your House Will Smell Wonderful When You Wake Up!
If you do not mind turning on the oven, this is great with cornbread.
SUNDAY REFLECTIONS: LITTLE THINGS
I have done my best to resist temptations to not do too much in my new home…but sometimes little things make me smile.
Perhaps that is why I love accessories so much with my clothing…little things do make a difference.
Finials have been a favorite of mine for a long time because I also love lamps and lamp light. I change out my finials for Christmas too.
Recently I saw this BLUE & WHITE FINIAL on clearance at Ballard Designs…and I got very excited about it.
Now, whenever I walk by this lamp in the front entryway, I smile.
Speaking of accessories, Deborah asked me this week for a recommendation for a comfortable red shoe.
I want to make sure that everyone saw my answer, because this shoe comes in a warm red and in a cool red …I own the warm red and it is very comfortable.
I love the touch of bronze leather on the back.
This is the GLITZ WALKING SHOE at Easy Spirit in dark red…and remember PAMELA20 is your 20% off savings code all year long. The cool red is simply called Red Knit.
It is the closest my funky feet can get to a ballet flat design.
SUNDAY REFLECTIONS: WEEK AHEAD
Because of your comments, I am going to strive to do better about showing you what I wear in my regular life…though I have done that many times before.
It is funny to me that a couple wanted to see what I wear during each stage of my day…including blogging and cooking and regular life.
I am sitting here right now in my SOMA COOL NIGHTS SLEEP SHIRTS writing Sunday Reflections …and do not believe anyone wants to see that!
Oftentimes in the mornings, I dive right into work before I get ready for the day.
And, cooking? Well, if I am going to be cooking a lot, then I put on sloppy clothes…so I do not care if they have food splashed all over them.
If I am cooking light…such as the crock-pot meal, I may just put on an apron over what I was wearing at the end of the day.
But, I will do my best to share more of my regular, casual, small town life outfits.
The majority still want to talk clothing, but one person commented that there had been a boatload of fashion lately…that always happens at the beginning of fall and spring.
I want to keep you informed!
More tomorrow from the surveys……
As the vacation part of summer comes to a close, and the craziness of school and activities begins, I want to keep this Scripture in mind this week.
Sometimes, the family needs can be overwhelming…but if I focus on His instructions to pray, have time with Him, and trust…then I can go through all of the adjustments with joy.
As school begins this week, we will have our first grandchild headed into middle school.
I want to send him last week’s Scripture and pray these words over him as he heads out….. the verse was Deuteronomy 31:8. “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you, nor forsake you. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.”
Thank you for joining me today for Sunday Reflections….please leave any thoughts you may have. Until tomorrow…..
BE THANKFUL AND KEEP SMILING!
By Pamela Lutrell
For all your shopping, please use the links on my SHOPPING PAGE…thank you, thank you to all who shop this way and show support for this blog.
Sunrise from Abilene State Park
Lovely reflection this morning. I always enjoy them. Thank you for being with us daily in such a personal way. I love a slow cooker and that is pretty much how I cook my pot roast (sometimes adding mushrooms in towards the end). I have often thought about cooking overnight but never have. Hmm. Thank you for the link reminder. I need fall shoes and I thought those looked a bit summery, but it led me to red loafers! I had bought stone Valinas last spring, so I went for the Valtina for fall. There’s a little texture in the styling. Fingers crossed that the red blends with my red brick tops as well as my tomato and that my bunions are happy. Thank you, Pamela, for the thought and discount! Hoping my red vest and shoes work! Happy Sunday.
Happy Sunday, Deborah! I will be excited to hear what you think of your purchases!
Happy Sunday Pamela! I always enjoy your Sunday morning reflections. It jumpstarts my day and week. The heat finally broke here and it is a comfortable 75 degrees. We are able to have the windows open this morning and getting smoke free fresh air. The wildfires and heat have made it difficult to get that daily fresh air into the house. Plus I love hearing the birds. I’m still suffering from fatigue and don’t know if it’s from that stomach bug I had all week or just my chronic problems. But I miss going on walks with my husband and Trixy. The cooler weather brings me hope that tomorrow will be better. Thank you for your kind reflections.
Hi Sydney…I had fatigue the whole week after my stomach virus so it really may be just that. I am just now getting my mojo back…I hope yours returns very soon. Having that fresh, beautiful air will help. So glad to have you here today.
Thanks for sharing again today. Great scripture for the week.
I am inspired to use my crockpot now and not wait for weather change which is what I often do.
Have a wonderful week
I am using my crockpot more now. Somehow I thought I would use it less as an empty nester…but once I begin to cook with it, it is so much easier and a great way to infuse flavors and spices. And the big plus of keeping the house cooler during the warmest time of year. Thanks so much, Audrey…hope I inspired you to do some new cooking.
That recipe looks good and easy. I know my husband would like it. And I like to use the crock pot often.
I haven’t had a chance to comment on your survey the other day but I will send my response through email.
The two verses and good ones to start us off this week.
Happy Sunday Pamela. I tend to forget about the slow cooker in the summer but with the long workdays this week I will pull out some recipes to see which can cook for 6-8 hours. I delivered my show quilts today and checked that the supplies for my area had arrived at the center. Packing up last to pack up so it was with relief that I saw all the supplies are there. I will relax once everything is hung on Wednesday and until then I have to tell myself to trust in the Lord that it will go smoothly. People have been so helpful after I explained my restrictions. So once again your scripture reflection is exactly what I need to focus on.
I hope he likes it, Paula. Mine sure does. Thanks!
I know God is with you throughout the week, Kathie…I hope it is a huge success and that will get some rest toward the end of the week. Blessings!
Wonderful post and beautiful photos. The beef stew looks delicious. God bless you. Thank you so much for sharing, and warm greetings from Montreal, Canada.
I love Montreal! I traveled there for work once and was so inspired by the city. Thanks for being here Linda.
Dear Pam: Love your reflections including scripture which tells us that God always walks with us in this life. It makes the great times more joyful and the challenging times easier. I wish that someone had reminded me of this when I was entering middle school. It was a tough transition for me. Blessings on your week and everyone’s week.
As a former teacher, I observed middle school was tough for most. Thank you for sharing! Aren’t we all happy to be past it …but pray for family!
Pam, Your scripture from last Sunday stayed with me on Monday as we were traveling and flying, changing planes several times. I’m not accustomed to flying so was very nervous but the verse from Deuteronomy kept me calm and trusting in God’s care. Your beef recipe sounds delicious, but I have never cooked anything overnight. No, I take that back since I recently cooked my pear butter in the crock pot over night. I enjoyed reading all of the answers to your survey yesterday. Personally, I enjoy whatever you send to us so I did not reply to your questions. I’ll be happy with whatever you decide as long as you continue to write your blog.
Celia, I am so blessed by your comment and last week’s Scripture has seen me through a few plane trips too. Have a week full of peace and blessings!
So glad to hear Kathie is getting the help she needs with the quilt show – I’ve been concerned for her. Continued prayers for healing and for the necessary support! Something I’ve been making in my crock pot lately is a BBQ pork roast, which I turn into pulled pork sliders using my favorite grocery store rolls. It is easy to reheat and it’s something all three grandkids will eat – rare! I appreciate the pot roast recipe and will try that when it’s cool enough to bake cornbread. Another really easy recipe for crock pot roast is this: Cut an onion in 1/2″ slices. Place half the onion in the bottom of the crockpot. Brown your roast, after coating with dry mustard, seasoned salt, black pepper and flour. Place the browned roast on top of the onion, then top with the other half of the onion. Pour in two cans of Campbell’s Golden Mushroom soup (NOT cream of mushroom!) plus one soup can of water, and cook for at least six hours. The soup creates sort of a mushroom brown gravy that is delicious, and the meat is so tender it falls apart. Super easy and quick! I really appreciate the verses for our kids going back to school. Our church held the “blessing of the backpacks” today for everyone returning to campus, from the PreK kids to college professors, which is one of my favorite services of the year. This has been on my heart all day as I pray for my three grandkids who go back this week. May all the kids and teachers we love have a safe and rewarding school year!
I love the idea of praying over the backpacks! How wonderful…thank you for sharing the ceremony!