Easy New Recipe

I rarely share a recipe here, (in fact I dont think I ever have), mainly because there are so many blogs,with great new recipes, but I cooked up something last night that was easy, cheap, delicious, and HEALTHY! So, I wanted to share it. My husband loves eggplant Parmesan. I can make it, but it is a little bit of trouble, and turns a healthy veggie into a high fat meal. I decided to try a healthier version, and I was happy with the outcome.

One eggplant- cut ends off and chop it into pieces

Pour about 2 tablespoons olive oil into a 9*13 pan, sprinkle in some rosemary, oregano, thyme, garlic (fesh chopped or powder, salt, pepper. Stir in the eggplant until it is coated. Add more olive oil if you need to, just to coat all the pieces very lightly.
Add about a half of an onion, sliced.

Put this into the oven, set on 400, cook about 30 minutes.
While that cooks, cook some pasta. I actually used whole wheat spaghetti, but that is not my usual choice.

When the eggplant is a soft and browned, but not mushy, remove it from the oven, add 1/2 can diced tomatoes with garlic, (or Italian spices). Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese, serve over the pasta.

Easy, my husband loved it, and I still feel healthy this morning!

New insight from a Troubling Passage

I planned to write this post today, and then a rather strange thing occurred. You see, a friend shared some insight on a passage we studied in our Tuesday morning Bible study which I thought was brilliant. I shared her insight with several people and marveled at it, and planned to blog about it today. Last night I told her that I thought she had the best explanation for a difficult passage that I had heard. She said that she did not come up with the insight,that it came from a Bible study we did years ago, she just remembered it when we got to the passage this week, but that originally I was the person who told her. We both got a good laugh about that. I have often said that Teressa remembers things I say that I do not remember, and apparantly this is one. So, now it is a little strange to post, because I was apparantly the one who first shared it, but, still, I felt that it was helpful, so here goes.

The troublesome passage is Acts 15. The gospel has spread to the Gentiles, many have believed, and churches have been established in many cities. Then, some men from Jerusalem began to tell these new Christians that to follow Jesus, they had to first be circumcised and follow the Jewish laws. This caused a great uproar, and the church in Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to find out. The leaders had a big conference,where some "Pharisees who were believers" argued that new followers truly must submit to circumcision and obey the law. Peter stood up and reminded the group that God had opened the door to the Gentiles, sending Peter to a Gentile home and showing him that God indeed meant for Gentiles to come to Him without having to be Jewish first. Then Paul and Barnabas shared their experiences of seeing many Gentiles put their faith in Christ, and seeing God perform miracles among them.

NOW we get to the problem. James, the half brother of Jesus, who by this time seems to be the leader of the church in Jerusalem, stands up and says this:
“And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood.
-Acts 15:19-20

That bothers me. Paul strongly says that we are free from the law, so why does James demand that Gentiles do these things, and the other leaders agree. Our study had a possible explanation, that these would help with unity because Jewish Christians could freely eat with Gentile Christians. That is ok, but what about pork, or all the other unclean animals? I read other commentaries which made sense, but did not quite satisfy me.

On Tuesday, Teressa said that all three of these things were associateed with the worship of idols. In their idol worshipping past, these Gentile Christians would have sacrificed food to an idol, then eaten the food as an act of worship. Sexual activity was a part of idol worship throughout the Roman Rmpire, with temple prostitutes part of the culture. And the use of blood sacrifice was a common part of pagan idol worship, which sometimes included drinking the blood.
These practices would have possibly been a normal part of life for the new Gentile believers, with strong ties to idolatry. It was the thought of James and the other leaders that, because of past of the Gentiles, it would be healthier for them to refrain from these things.

That is the best explanation I have for this passage, that James was concerned for the well being of the new believers, not for the protection of the Jewish law. I feel much better about James now.

Helpful tips

Here are a few helpful tips, some I have used for years, some from other sites, I thought you might enjoy.


Reheat Pizza Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

"Boil" eggs for salads in the microwave. Crack the eggs into a small dish, puncture them with a fork, microwave for a minute, cut through and move the done edges to the inside (don't actually stir or you end up with scrambled). Microwave another minute or so.

Roast your vegetables for great flavor. Any fresh vegetables, just,toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, roast uncovered on pan in hot (425ish) oven, cook about 20 minutes, until as done as you like them, delicious.

To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip to eliminate static cling. It works; you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... Ta DA! ... Static is gone.

Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

De-fog your windshield: Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Re-opening envelopes: If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily.

Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies: To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup an d gone forever!

Drop a small object on the carpet and can't find it.  Place panty hose over the end of the vacuum hose and start vacuuming. The panty hose will trap anything to large to fit through the tiny hose and keep it from getting sucked into the vacuum

Stuffing a dryer sheet in you back pocket will repel mosquitoes.

If you place a wooden spoon over a pot of boiling water, it won't boil over.