Photo courtesy of The Pioneer Woman

Photo courtesy of The Pioneer Woman

 

Ok…so I’m trying to be a Proverbs 31 woman and realized that a P31 woman wouldn’t throw away perfectly good food. So…I proceeded to try to figure out what I could do with perfectly good remains of a roast we had earlier this week. Hmmmm….let’s see! I know…Beef Stew!

But I had never made it before and didn’t really know how in the world to go about making it. I started perusing some of my cookbooks that have barely seen the light of day, only to find that Beef Stew can be a complicated thing.

Back to the drawing board. I went back to my “frig” and scoured some more to find that I had other things left over from different meals during the weak. I decided to throw a bunch of unrelated stuff in the pot, risk wasting the perfectly good leftover roast, and take my chances…

Let’s see…

Roast…sliced and diced…cooked carrots cut a little smaller…roasted potatoes diced…a can of corn….some frozen okra…don’t forget that leftover gravy….ok…that doesn’t look like enough liquid…let me add some water….ok…wait…a little more…that looks about right…now…won’t all that water make the stew too watery?…I need some flavor…how about a beef bouillion cube…I’ve always had those on hand and never known what to do with them….let’s let that simmer….ok…maybe I should add a little seasoning…ok…that one has never been used before…let me try a little random concoction of seasonings and see what I come up with ….alrighty…a little garlic power cuz garlic is in everything…

I didn’t know I had it in me but….

After all of that tossing and guessing and hoping…my husband sat down to eat after having the kids on errands this morning. I asked him not to eat out w/the kiddos cuz I had made lunch. Everyone came home to eat. Jessie said that he was so glad that he hadn’t stopped by Whataburger! Jessica said that the soup was better than the soup her Granny makes! We had to force feed Sumo (yes…I know there is irony here with the name) but whatever no big deal. We always have to force feed my preschooler so I didn’t take it personally.

Wow…imagine that…later tonight Jessie said that this was the best beef stew he had EVER had. The pot throughout the day has slowly dwindled down to little of nothing as my family has eaten a little here and a little there…

Whooda thunk?

I wonder if that is how God works out wonderful creations with me. Really, he doesn’t want his creation to go to waste and so he takes a little here and a little there of my leftovers that are really not good anymore standing on their own. What God can do with my “leftovers” is amazing…

God starts with Chrystal…sliced and diced…pride that’s been cooked and he cuts it a little smaller…independance that’s been roasted and diced …He adds a little can of purpose….some frozen hope that she thought wasn’t worth anything…don’t forget that leftover prayer….even though she wasn’t a prayer warrior let me work with what she gave…ok…that doesn’t look like enough faith…only a mustard seed worth…let me add some love….ok…wait…a little more…that looks about right…now…won’t all that love make the new Chrystal to watery and wimpy…i need some flavor…how about some of my power…I always have that on hand and never can find anyone who wants to do something with it…..let’s let that simmer….ok…maybe I should add a little seasoning…ok…she can use some of the Holy Spirit’s discernment and vision…and I don’t want to forget FIRE cuz that one has never been used before…let me try a little random concoction of seasonings and see what I come up with such as passion, selflessness, righteousness, purity of heart….alrighty…a little grace cuz grace is in everything…

I didn’t know I had it in me but….

God did and I’m amazed at the work he is accomplishing in my pot, my vessel of clay.

More than my husband loving the stew, I want to hear him say the same thing about the work that he sees God doing in the soul of his wife.

That’s when I’ll know that I’ve really turned into the P31 woman. I don’t mind simmering awhile so that everything is just right. A little heat won’t hurt anything 🙂

 

I have yet to document my own recipe for Beef Stew.  So far, it has been working for me to just throw leftovers in a pot and heat it up!  In lieu of my own recipe, I feel confident in pointing you to The Pioneer Woman for her Beef Stew recipe.  Everything I’ve tried from this woman has left me singing first soprano and doing a high kick!