Pacific N.W. Gumbo

I was creative the other day and started putting items from my fridge into a stock pot and this is the recipe I came up with. I call it Pacific N.W. Gumbo, because it is served like Southern Gumbo, but has North West ingredients. We don't grow okra in our neck of the woods, we grow mushrooms. Ground Beef is what I had on hand, shrimp and andouille sausage is a bit expensive for my budget. It is delicious and feels like comfort food. I hope you enjoy it like my family did. By the way it is loaded with fresh vegetables and is healthy too.

Pacific N.W. Gumbo

1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
2 shallots, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tsp ranch seasoning
4 tsp of taco seasoning
1 tsp Lawry's seasoning
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup cabbage, diced
4 cups of beef broth
3 cups of chicken broth
1 can of diced tomatoes with juice
3 T of tomato paste
1 cup zucchini, quartered and diced
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1/4 cup of red or yellow bell pepper

Hot buttered rice (the real thing, not instant)

Directions:

Make rice as directed on package ahead of time.

Brown ground beef, add shallots and garlic, add seasonings, carrots and cabbage. Saute a few minutes. Add beef stock, chicken stock, tomatoes with juice and tomato paste. Stir together and bring to a boil. Add remaining veggies and simmer another 10 minutes. Taste and season to your liking.

In a bowl add a half a cup of hot buttered rice, and ladle the gumbo over rice (about a cup and a half or two).

Balance of Life

We all have those reminders that we need to slow down and put things in perspective and live a balanced life. Well I need to slow down on my Inspired Living homemaking blog for while. I will not be posting as much during the Spring. You'll see posts, but not as frequent.

God is telling me to slow down and focus on a healthy balance in every area of my life. I need to give my time to God and spend more quiet time with him. Having quiet time is a daily discipline that will bring the rich rewards of balance, which is something I need, and I'm sure we all need.

Thank you for following my blog and please continue as there will be updates and posts to come.

Be Inspired to find balance in your life and inspire one another.

Little Black Book

A little black address book. You have one don't you? I do. Well mine is actually navy blue, but oh well. I'm not talking about the dirty secret little black book, I'm talking about the very important address book that we all need to have and keep in a safe place.

Let me explain... My husband and I have tons of websites and blogs that we visit and have made them our favorites on our computer. Not all of them have the same Access Id codes, passwords etc.. So the big question is "If my computer crashed or was stolen do I have any backup documentation to all the sites, blogs, passwords, access Id's, e-mail addresses to those places or contacts?" If you do, good for you! You think ahead. If you don't well it is not too late to get one started.

We have a vinyl spiral bound address book that is about 5 inches by 8 inches. Not little, but big enough to actually read and write information in. In alphabetical order we write down the name of the website, the URL, the password, and some have a registration number. About twice a year we print out our contact e-mail addresses since we are with Yahoo, and keep it folded inside the little black book. That way we can refer to the little black book, if we crash or forget our passwords etc.. It comes in real handy. Remember to keep it in a safe place. We keep ours in a fire proof safe.

50% Off Winter Clearance Sale

Hey girlfriends... If you have a Value Village thrift store in your area you may want to check out their Winter Clearance Sale on Monday, February 16th (President's Day). 50% Off everything in the store.

We have found great deals on gently used and/or brand new items. Such as home decor items, furniture, name brand clothing, sports gear, books etc... I have a fetish for cookbooks and usually find a few that I have to add to my collection.

Happy Bargain Shopping!

My First Blog Award

Wow! I've received my first blog award! Thanks to Angela at The Creative Homemaker for passing along this award to me. You should totally go visit her blog. Be sure to visit!

What is the lemonade award you might ask. It's an award that celebrates good attitude and gratitude. So I am passing it along to five other bloggers. I enjoy visiting all of them and seeing what they are doing, saying or creating. I think they show great attitude and gratitude. So be sure to check these out too!

When you receive your lemonade award, pass it on to others who show great attitude and gratitude. Share the love! Here's what you do:

1. Put the lemonade logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate 10 other bloggers who you think demonstrate good attitude and/or gratitude.
3. Link to your nominees within your post.
4. Comment on their blog to let them know they have received this award.
5. Link back to this post and the person whom you received this award from.

I only have five I'd like to share. My nominees for the Lemonade award are, and in no particular order:

Joy at Joys of Home
Shannon at Bless Our Nest
Rhoda at Southern Hospitality
Karol at Home Sweet Home
Nikki at Sneaky Recipes