Downright Delcious Potato & Kale Soup

   Potato soup has always been a comfort food for me.  It's been a winter favorite of our family for years. When my kids were little I used a potato soup recipe that called for 2 cups of cheddar cheese.  Every kid I know will eat anything with cheese on it.  Even to this day my kids still like potato soup!

  Besides being so downright delicious, potato soup is also a flexible kind of soup. You can sneak all kinds of vegetables you need to get rid of into that soup, and when it's mashed up they'll never know what they're eating!  

    Every mom needs a standard clean the frig soup.  This recipe comes from my daughter-in-law's family cookbook. To it I added kale, carrots, and parsley--I saw the the kale and carrots as additions in other recipes.  And, of course, I added some cheese

 Potato Kale Soup

1.  Prepare vegetables:
(1)  Scrub and cut up 4-5 medium  potatoes.
(2)  Chop up 1 large onion
(3)  Mince 2 cloves of garlic
(4).  Scrub and chop 1-2 carrots
(5)  Wash a bunch of kale. 
(6)  Wash and chop 2-3 T of parsley.

2. Sauté onions and garlic: Melt 3 T butter in a large soup pot over medium heat then add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring, until onions are  just slightly brown.

3.  Make the soup:

(1)  Add 2 quarts of water.

(2)  Add the chopped potatoes along with the sautéed vegetables and cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender.

(3)  Then add kale and cook on medium low heat for 30 minutes.

(4)  Using a potato masher, mash potatoes until desired consistency is reached. As you mash the potatoes and the soup thickens, turn down the heat and stir frequently with a large spoon to prevent scorching on the bottom.

(5)  Add 1/2 cup of cream (I just used 1 cup of almond milk), 2-3 t of salt and 1 t of black pepper. (At this point I often take out my hand held mini blender and blend the vegetables up a bit more so they're really smooth.)
(6)  Add the cheese.  Taste and make any flavor adjustments

(7)  Cook for 15 minutes over low heat stirring frequently until ready to serve.

List of My Favorite Soups, Chili & Stew Recipes: 

Beef 

Grandma's Favorite Beef Stew  (My mother-in-law's delicious recipe!)

Mouth Watering Italian  Sausage Soup   (This is my friend Debbie's recipe)
Mulligan Stew (From my Come & Dine church cookbook)

Poultry

This is the Best Gluten Free Minestrone Soup!   (A recipe my son modified)

Mexican Fiesta Chicken Soup   (A recipe I got years ago from a Mexican cookbook)
My Thanksgiving Turkey Soup  (My very own special concoction!)
Gary's Incredible Gluten Free Arkansas Gumbo  (Given to me by a Bible study friend from Arkansas)
Jeannie's French Market Soup  (A friend from when my kids were little)
Southwest Turkey Soup  (From my Syre School cookbook)
Italian Wedding Soup - (A friend)


Fish
Northwest Salmon Chowder  (From my Heritage School cookbook)
Almost Like Ivar's Clam Chowder (From my Come & Dine Cookbook)

Bean & Legumes
Vi's Best Chili  (A  Bible study friend's great recipe)
Bethany's Crowd Pleasing Tortilla Soup  (One of my daughter's friends special soup)
Country Style Lentil Soup   (From my Heritage School cookbook)
Kathy's Texas Chili & Chips (From my Come & Dine cookbook)
Spicy Cuban Black Bean Soup (From a store recipe card)
Marilyn's Make It From Scratch Chili  (From my mother-in-law)
Lisa's Red Lentil Soup - From my friend Lisa
Texas Pinto Beans & Rice
Curried Lentil Medley   (From my Come & Dine Cookbook)

Vegetable

Downright Delicious Potato & Kale Soup  (From my daughter-in-law's family cookbook)
A Great Fall Soup - Make it From Scratch Corn Potato Chowder  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
French Pumpkin Soup  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
 

Asian
Chinese Chicken Soups  - Bok choy chicken, chicken & spinach, and chicken & cabbage (Modified from Internet search by our Chinese students)
Make Your Own Gluten Free Chicken Pho!  (Modified from a newspaper article)
Gluten Free Chinese Hot Pot  (Modified by a Chinese student)
Chinese Egg Drop Soup  &  Chinese Egg & Tomato Soup  (Modified  from a student's recipe)

Vegetarian & Gluten Free Tom Yum Soup (A delicious Thai soup) 
Deluxe Miso Soup (Kenchinjiru)   (Adapted from Internet search)
A Thai Mom Teaches Me How to Make Tom Yum Kung  (A student's mom's recipe)
A Vietnamese Cooking Lesson - Lien's Vietnamese Sweet & Sour Soup  (An International student's aunt's recipe)
Cooking Beef Pho for Vietnamese Students  (Modified Recipe)
Asian Curried Chicken Soup  (From my Come & Dine church cookbook)
Rose's Very Own Recipe for Chinese Beef Bone Soup  (from Rose my friend from Taipei)

 

What is the Mystery in Colossians 1:25-27?

   Everyone likes a good mystery, and probably the greatest mystery of all is in the Bible.  And if it weren't for Paul's writings, we still might be trying to figure it out. And I have to be honest and say, if it weren't for the ministry of both Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, I never would have seen what the Bible was talking about on this matter!

      Paul tells us clearly in Colossians 1:25-27:  I became a minister according to the stewardship of God, which was given to me for you,  to complete the word of God, 

     the mystery which has been hidden from the generations, but now has been manifested to His saints.

    To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  

  
      In all his years of ministry Witness Lee  shared a lot on this mystery, which he shows from the Word has two parts. One part is the mystery of God which is mentioned in Colossians 2:2:  "That their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love and unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ."  

    It's almost like the whole focus of the gospels is that Christ wants to become the life-giving Spirit so that He can get into His disciples!  In John 20:22 it says,  "And when He had said this, He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit." The second mystery is  the mystery of Christ which is mentioned in Ephesians 3:4--By which, in reading it, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ.  It's clear from the New Testament that God wants all His regenerated believers to meet as the church. 

My granddaughter making a snow angel.

   Anyway I’ve always liked Ephesians 5:32 because it brings both parts of this mystery together—"This mystery is great, but I speak with regard to Christ (the mystery of God) and the church (the mystery of Christ)."   Last week  I read chapter 32 of the Life-Study of Colossians,  and these parts on pages 266-267 jumped out at me:  

 Furthermore, according to verse 27, this mystery is Christ in us, the hope of glory. The goal of this mystery is to produce the church.   Paul was troubled by the situation at Colosse.  The Jewish and Gentile believers were neglecting Christ and the church; they were focusing their attention on such things as Judaistic observances and heathen philosophy….Therefore, Paul wrote the Epistle to the Colossians in order to complete the word of God.…What is the completion of the word of God, the completion of the divine revelation?  In simple terms, to complete the word of God is to experience Christ subjectively and to enjoy Him in our daily living so that the proper church life may come forth to express God. This revelation is the completion of the word of God” (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Colossians. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1979, Print).  

    Following this passage, he mentions that in order to minister Christ to others for the producing of the church we need to daily spend time with the Lord in His word with prayer. This will cause us to experience the riches of all that Christ is.  Then when we are with our fellow believers, there will be something bubbling up in us from our enjoyment of God's word to help build up the church.  

You can listen to excerpts from the Life-Study of Colossians given in 1979 on The Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee. 

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Colossians:

What is God's Will in Colossians 1:9?
What is the Stewardship of God in Colossians 1:25?
What is the Hope of Glory in Colossians 1:27?
What is the Mystery of God in Colossians 2:2? (Part 1)
What is the Mystery of Christ in Ephesians 5:32?   (Part 2)
What is the Greatest Mystery?
What is God's Intention for Your Life?
From the Life-Study of Colossians - What Happens When We Pray?
How Does God Get the One New Man in Colossians 3:10?
What Does Colossians 2:7 Say About Spiritual Growth? (Part 1)
What is the Goal of Spiritual Growth in Colossians 2:19?  (Part 2)
What is Christ Doing at the Right Hand of God in Colossians 3:2?

Marilyn's Spectacular Gluten Free Oatmeal Cake

    I grew up loving oatmeal and I still do.  My mother-in-law always made this amazing oatmeal cake, and, of course, she gave it to me.    All I had to do was switch out the flours, and I did cut down the sugar by 1/2 a cup--so you can add it back, but the topping also has 1/2 a cup and that's a lot of sugar!!  

  I had a lot of fun making this cake with one of my grandsons!  What great memories cooking together.

   

Marilyn's Spectacular Gluten Free Oatmeal Cake

1.  Prepare oatmeal:  Pour 1 1/2 cups of boiling water over 1 cup of oatmeal and let stand for 20 minutes.
 

2.  Prepare dry ingredients - In a medium bowl put:  

(1)  1/2 cup rice flour, 1/2 cup sorghum flour, 1/4 cup tapioca flour, and 1/4 cup garbanzo flour (or another one).

(2)  Add leavening and spice:  1 t baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt, 3/4 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg.

3.  Prepare liquid ingredients - In a large mixing bowl put:
(1)  1/2 cup of  butter
(2)  Beat until creamy - about 2 minutes
(3)  Slowly add  1 cup of white sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar (I always reduce the sugar a bit, and it didn't alter it that much.)
(4)  Beat together for 2-3 minutes until well creamed
(5)  Add 2 eggs and 1 t sp.vanilla
(6)  Beat together for 1-2 more minutes

4.  Combine ingredients: 
(1)  Add the oatmeal to the butter/sugar mixture
(2)  Slowly add the flour bowl to this bowl and beat until just combined

5.  Bake:  Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Coconut Pecan Topping

Put into a saucepan:
6 T of butter, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, 4 1/2 T of cream/milk is okay, 3/4 cup of pecans (I've used walnuts), and 1 cup of shredded coconut and cook until combined.  Pour this topping over the cake and put the cake under the broil until it's slightly browned. Watch it because it doesn't take long!

Other Gluten Free Baking & Desserts on This Blog:

Breads: 
Gluten free & Low-fat Banana Bread  (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
Celebrate Fall With Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread   (A friend's recipe)
Delicious Gluten Free Zucchini Bread   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
My Favorite Gluten Free Cranberry Nut Bread    (From my daughter-in-law's family cookbook)

Cakes:
Gluten Free German Apple Cake   (From my grandmother)
You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free Carrot Cake    (From my daughter's husband's grandma)
Judi's Super Moist Gluten Free Chocolate Cake   (From a church friend)
Judi's Gluten Free Orange Chiffon Cake       (From a church friend)
Marilyn's Spectacular Gluten Free Oatmeal Cake    (My mother-in-law's--she's a great cook!)
Delicious Gluten Free Rhubarb Cake     (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
Grandma's Gluten Free Applesauce Cake  (From my grandma)
Old Fashioned Gluten Free Banana Cake      (From my grandma)
Rosie's Gluten Free Pineapple Upside Down Cake    (From my daughter-in-law's family)

Cookies:
Gluten Free Cowboy Oatmeal Cookies  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Mom's Go To For Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
The Best Gluten Free Recipe for Snickerdoodles  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Gluten Free Rocky Road Brownies     (From a church friend)
Mark's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies - Made Gluten Free!    (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
Judi's Gluten Free Oatmeal Craisin & Coconut Cookies       (From a church friend)

Cornbread & Rolls:
Beth's Amazing Gluten Free Cornbread   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)

Crisps & Pies:
Lena's Rhubarb Crunch (A crisp with a gluten free top and bottom crust!) (My daughter-in-law's mother.  She's an amazing cook, which I think most of us moms become after a few years!)
Delicious Gluten Free Apple Crisp  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Ginger's Outrageous Apple Pie  (From a church friend)
The BEST Lemon Meringue Pie with Mrs. Lauralicious Gluten Free Pie Crust  (Internet)

Desserts with Fruit:
Sensational Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake   (From the back of Costco's organic sugar)

Terrific Gluten Free Strawberry & Peach Trifle  (Modified from an Internet search)
My Favorite Gluten Free Strawberry Cheesecake   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Just Like Grandma's (But Only Gluten Free) Blueberry Cobbler (My husband's grandma)

Holiday Cookies & Baking:
Old Fashioned Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies  (Modified from back of the Libby's can)
Incredible Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
My Grandkids Favorite Gluten Free Peppermint Sugar Cookies  (From Syre School Cookbook)
Our Favorite Pumpkin Pie   (Modified from back of Libby's pumpkin can)
Perfect Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake  (From back of cream cheese box)
Gluten Free Polish Fruitcake   (Modified from Internet search)
Old Fashioned Gluten Free Gingerbread Cake  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)

Muffins:

Banana Nutty Muffins   (From my daughter-in-law's family reunion cookbook)
Gluten Free Tremendous Pumpkin Muffins    (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Bursting with Blueberries Gluten Free Muffins  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Toni's Outrageous Gluten Free Corn Muffins  (From back of a Bob's Red Mill package)
Sassy Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon Muffins   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)

 Puddings & Ice Cream:  

Dairy Free Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream (And other ice cream favorites!)  (From searches)

Baked Coconut Pudding  (Something I worked out from my Aunt Sue's rice pudding recipe)
Tangy Lemon Pudding   (From Internet search)

What is the Mystery of Christ Mentioned in Ephesians 5:32?

       When I grew up I always associated going to church with crosses on a building, hard wooden pews, and stain glass windows. Then in 5^th grade our family started going to the church in Yorba Linda in Southern California.  I didn’t think much about the funny name or that we met in a house instead of a typical church building.   



Our family went to spend the weekend at a mountain cabin.

     I didn’t understand how this church was any different from any other church until I was in junior high and started attending conferences with my friends that talked about the ground of the church.   Anyway like most junior highers who sit in two-hour meetings, I passed notes and whispered to my friends.  But when you hear something over and over, some things start to stick.  Many of the verses and some of the sharing got permanently etched into my memory.

   
Here’s some of what I remember, I'm just typing this while I'm thinking—In the book of Acts the believers didn’t call themselves by any name, just the name of the city they lived in.  We read every verse in the New Testament that had the word church or churches in it.  If you get out your Strong’s Concordance you can make a list.  It is amazing that church always goes with a city, and churches always refers to a region like Galatia where there were many cities. 

    And if you’re still thinking the church equals a building, it’s really helpful to go back and look at Matthew 16 and 18 where the word church is first mentioned by the Lord.  The Greek meaning for church is the called out assembly.     And in Acts 14:23 the elders were appointed according to every church, and in the sister verse in Titus 1:5 the elders were appointed according to the city.  These two verses point out that the eldership is according to one church in one city. When you read through Acts, you can see that there were thousands of believers that were raised up in this first church in Jerusalem.  These believers met like Acts 2:42 says from house to house, and they had fellowship with other churches and even gave for their needs. 

      In these conferences they would often go through church history which can be very fascinating depending on how it’s presented.  From the time of Acts there have always been a group of people who refused to buckle under the pressure of the pope, state churches, etc.  These ones--like  the Anabaptists, the Mennonites, the Moravian Brethren--met just like the believers did in Acts receiving all other believers (You can check that out in Romans 14).  Throughout all these centuries the Lord bit by bit recovered lost New Testament truths.

    Through many missionaries, the gospel came to China.  And through that the Lord raised up Watchman Nee to see the divine revelation that had been lost concerning the believers meeting according to their city. (You can read about this in Witness Lee's  biography about Watchman Nee called  Watchman Nee - A  Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age which I would encourage you to read.)  Through brother Nee's reading of the New Testament and church history, he saw that the ground of the church is not built around a person like Lutherans or a practice like baptism,  but simply the city a believer lives in.   Watchman Nee began to practice what he saw, and he was also faithful to speak what he saw, and over time hundreds began to meet  as the churches in their city.  

   Through the Lord's leading, Witness Lee became a coworker of Watchman Nee, and they labored together in China for many years.  Before the communist takeover, brother Nee sent him out in 1949 in order to preserve the truths the Lord had shown them.  After living in Taiwan for several years, Witness Lee was led by the Lord in 1962 to move to Los Angeles. I remember going with my father when I was in sixth grade to hear him speak there. I had never heard a native Chinese person speak before, and his accent was very strong back then.   As a new believer, my father was very encouraged  by his speaking.

   When I was a sophomore in high school, I tried to go back to the Catholic Church.  But I couldn't forget what I had heard. The next year some friends tried to convert me to something else, but I couldn't forget what I had heard. I planned to move after I finished high school to a city where the church was meeting.  During college I also went to some of Witness Lee's live trainings in Anaheim.  And I also read Further Talks on the Church Life by Watchman Nee,  The Practical Expression of the Church and The Ground of the Church by Witness Lee.  All of these books were a great help to me.

     Last week when I  was reading chapter 18 of the Life-Study of Colossians,  I read about how the mystery of Christ is the church.  And on pages 147-148  Witness Lee gives some of his own personal testimony about seeing how the church should meet: 

      Allow me to testify of my experience about becoming assured regarding the ground of the church.  In 1932 we began to practice the church life in Chefoo, my home town…Eventually I concluded that if were to be a man, I had to believe in the Lord Jesus; that if I were to believe in the Lord, I had to love Him; and that if were to love Him, I had to take the way of the church. As a result, I received the full assurance concerning the ground of the church.  I had not only faith, but also the knowledge which caused me to have certainty. For more than forty-six years I have not changed my position with respect to the church ground, no matter how much I have suffered because of the stand I have taken....Concerning Christ as the mystery of God, we need faith, knowledge, certainty, and thorough understanding. (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Colossians. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1979, Print). 

   So I’ve shared with you a little bit of my own journey with this truth, and I would encourage you to read the verses, pray, read these books online, and check out the resources on Living Stream Ministry's website. 

Here's a blog I checked out called Grace & Truth that has a really helpful post on this topic.

Blog Update 5-11-14:   I just read the Congressional Record from April 29, 2014 which contains a speech on both Watchman Nee and Witness Lee's ministry in China and abroad.  

You can listen to excerpts from the Life-Study of Colossians given in 1979 on The Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee. 

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Colossians:

What is God's Will in Colossians 1:9?
What is the Stewardship of God in Colossians 1:25?
What is the Hope of Glory in Colossians 1:27?
What is the Mystery of God in Colossians 2:2? (Part 1)
What is the Mystery of Christ in Ephesians 5:32?   (Part 2)
What is the Greatest Mystery?
What is God's Intention for Your Life?
From the Life-Study of Colossians - What Happens When We Pray?
How Does God Get the One New Man in Colossians 3:10?
What Does Colossians 2:7 Say About Spiritual Growth? (Part 1)
What is the Goal of Spiritual Growth in Colossians 2:19?  (Part 2)
What is Christ Doing at the Right Hand of God in Colossians 3:2?

Heritage's Gluten Free Shepherd's Pie

Winter comfort food.  What are your favorites?  I like shepherd's pie because it is so versatile.  A few weeks ago I even made it vegetarian, and it was still good.  Well I guess anything smothered with cheese tastes good.

This recipe comes from my Heritage School cookbook from my first teaching job.  I made some adjustments to it like adding garlic, switching out the tomato paste for tomato sauce, and adding Worcestershire sauce.  Have fun with this basic recipe!

Gluten Free Shepherd's Pie 



1.  Prepare vegetables:
(1)   Chop up 1 small onion
(2)  Chop up 1/2 of a green pepper
(3)  Mince 2 cloves of garlic
(4)  Scrub 6-8 medium size potatoes

2.  Cook the potatoes until tender.  Drain the potato water into a cup.  Add 2 T of butter and mash, then add 3/4-1 cup of milk, 1 1/2 tsp.of salt,  and 1/2 tsp. of black pepper and mash until just right.

3. Prepare filling:
(1)  Brown 1 pound of hamburger meat
(2)  Add the onion and green pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes.
(3)  Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
(4)  Add 1 can of tomato sauce and 1 can of diced whole tomatoes
(5)  Stir in seasonings:  1 tsp. of salt, 1/2 tsp. of black pepper, 1/2 tsp. of oregano, 1/2 T of brown sugar, and 1 T of Worcestershire sauce.
(6)  Taste and adjust seasonings
(7)  Add 2 can of drained green beans.

4.  Bake:  Pour the meat mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan and mound with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with 1 - 1/2 cups of grated cheese.  Cover with foil and bake at 335 for 30 minutes.

List of beef recipes on this blog:

Gluten Free French Dip Sandwiches  (An Internet search)
Marilyn's No Peeking Beef Stew    (My mother-in-law's recipe)
My Mom's Amazing Gluten Free Spaghetti  (My mom's fantastic spaghetti)
Fantastic Gluten Free Carne Asada    (An Internet search)
Acapulco Delight - a Mexican Enchilada  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)