Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, Kentucky
Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. ~ Genesis 33:1-3 Despite his encounter with God, Jacob is still afraid of his brother. Did you notice that he’s playing favorites with his wives and sons? By placing Rachel and Joseph in the back, he’s offering them his best possible protection. Bowing seven times is the sign of total submission; seven being the sign of completion in the Bible. Rather than approaching Esau in a fighting stance, ready for battle, Jacob comes in complete submission and humbleness. Oh that we could do that with our adversaries! How pleased God would be!
It’s wet out there this morning!
So what do you think a ‘Do Nothing Day’ (DND) looks like for me? First of all it was perfect weather because we were still experiencing steady rain that didn’t clear up until late afternoon.
I began my day with a shower first thing so Blaine could leave the gray tank open to save us tank space since we’re here for a week. Oatmeal for breakfast, sipping homemade chai tea mid-morning. My best intentions were to spend a great amount of time in Bible study, but somehow, I got sucked into making notes for the blog.
I finally got back on track.
Blaine baked a chocolate cake (with very little help from me), I began looking at Christmas ideas for one of our sons, prepared November birthday cards to mail, and watched a couple of movies while Blaine talked about making dinner, but decided I should do it.
He did wash all the dishes though! What a guy!
By the end of my ‘do nothing day’, I was feeling pretty tired. I think I was missing the activity, believe it or not!
Below are the Chai Tea mix recipe and the soup we had for dinner. Enjoy!
CHAI TEA MIX
1 C. non-fat dry milk powder
1 C. powdered non-dairy creamer
1 C. French Vanilla Flavored creamer
2 C. sugar
1 C. powdered sugar
1 ½ C. unsweetened instant tea
5 t. cinnamon
1 ½ t. nutmeg
4 ½ t. cloves
3 t. ginger
4 t. cocoa (for color)
1/8 t. ?? peppermint extract per cup if desired. (unsure of the exact amount, but not much)
Combine the first 5 ingredients. Mix together the spices then stir into the powder mix. Blend a little at a time in a blender until it’s a fine powder. Store in a zip-lock “freezer-quality” bag. Makes 8 ½ heaping soup ladles full. Lasts for a very long time!
When ready to serve, add 4 heaping t. to 1 C. milk.
HINT: I tweaked the original recipe to try to make it as close to The Chapel’s chai as I could. This is pretty close!
CHEESEBURGER SOUP Makes 2 1/4 quarts
1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onions
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
4 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
4 tablespoons butter, divided
3 ½ cups chicken broth
1/4 cup flour
6 ounces Velveeta cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
DIRECTIONS
Brown beef in a 3-quart saucepan, drain and set aside. In same pan, sauté onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 tablespoon butter until vegetables are tender (about 10 minutes). Add broth, potatoes and beef and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender (10–12 minutes).
While the saucepan mixture is cooking, melt remaining butter in small skillet. Add flour and stir for 3–5 minutes over medium heat until bubbly. Add to saucepan and bring entire mixture to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, and reduce heat to low. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper and cook until cheese melts, stirring occasionally. Add sour cream into soup and stir until completely mixed in. (Note: Be careful that the soup does not boil during this process or the sour cream will curdle.) Remove from heat.