Last night I got such a sweet present from Lucinda Berry Hill. Thank you, my friend! You’ve made turning the ol’ double nickel so much better! 🙂 I love that basket heart too – don’t you???
God has blessed me with another year of life! Today I am the ol’ double nickel… old enough to receive a senior citizen discount at most restaurants and I could join AARP (but that will never happen because I am not a fan…). I am a fan of good health, happiness, faith and joy. I’m thankful for every day God gives me to begin again and do better with His help.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. – Colossians 3:12-13
Of all the things I could pray for, today I ask God to give me more compassion for everyone and everything around me. I want to be more relatable than ever because it’s what God wants for me. He wants all of us to be more gentle and kind with one another. I KNOW I need to have more patience and compassion for those young drivers… Lord help me with road rage!
Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace. – Albert Schweitzer
You are not going to believe this, but shortly after I wrote this post, Lucinda sent me a poem to design. As I read it – the little blurb about compassion just reached out and slapped me! I have to share it today. I love how God guides both of us to write – but it’s especially cool when we’re both directed to write so similarly! I just got chills when I read this.
Yes – I will make an effort to bring calmness where I walk, to show kindness and compassion, and pointing all to God. SEE why I got chills up my spine??? 
Love you, my sister in Christ! ❤
My husband gave me a a 3.5 qt. Dutch oven. Of course I’ll be trying it out today. So, let me share the recipe with you. Just one more thing… if you are not a vinegar fan, you may want to add a couple of packets of Splenda or Truvia to this. It’s got a pretty strong vinegar flavor. 😉
Vinegar-Braised Chicken & Onions (serves 6)
Ingredients:
2 lbs. pearl onions
Kosher salt
3 Tbs. olive oil
8 oz. pancetta (Italian bacon), cut into 1/4″ pieces
4 cloves garlic, peeled & crushed
5 lbs. chicken pieces (I use thighs & legs)
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 c. balsamic vinegar
3/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 c. golden raisins
2 bay leaves
Directions:
- Cook onions in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, 5-8 minutes. Drain and let cool. Trim root ends; peel.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add pancetta to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and pancetta is brown, 8-10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to a large bowl.
- Add onions to same pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer onions and garlic to bowl with pancetta.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add chicken to pot skin side down and cook, turning, until browned on all sides, 10-15 minutes per batch; transfer to bowl with onions.
- Carefully drain fat from pot and return to medium-high heat. Add both vinegars to pot and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pot. Add broth, raisins, bay leaves, and reserved chicken, pancetta, onions, and garlic to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until chicken is fork-tender, 35-40 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken and onions to a large platter. Skim fat from cooking liquid and discard. Remove bay leaves, and season sauce with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken and onions.
For dessert we will probably have some fresh sliced strawberries with whipped topping. Sounds like a great birthday dinner to me! 🙂
HEART HUNGER 