Displaying a Christmas nativity scene is a long-standing tradition, but it can also present a bit of a skewed view of the actual events of Jesus’ birth. While each person depicted in a traditional nativity scene is a part of the Christmas story, not all the characters were present in one place on the night Jesus was born. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were in a stable that night due to the overcrowding in Bethlehem’s inn (Luke 2:7), but the Bible never mentions whether or not animals were present—in fact, it never even mentions a stable. The shepherds, once told of Jesus’ arrival, left their flocks to worship the newborn King (Luke 2:16). However, the angels, which are often part of nativity scenes, bore the good news to the shepherds in the fields (Luke 2:8–14). As far as we know, there were no angels flying visibly over the place where Jesus was when the shepherds arrived. In addition, the wise men (the Bible never says how many there were) were also probably not present that first night. The magi visited Jesus some time later, when He was in a house (Matthew 2:1–11).

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CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Vegetables, Grains	Tex-Mex	Tex-mex, Vegetables	6	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1	tb	Canola oil
1	md	Yellow onion — diced
1		Green bell pepper — seeded
		And diced
2		Celery stalks — chopped
2		Garlic cloves — minced
1	cn	Crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
2	cn	Black beans — drained
		(15 oz ea)
1/2	c	Water
1/4	lb	Prepared seitan — diced* 2 chipotle chilies —
		Seeded, minced*
1	tb	Chili powder
1	tb	Dried parsley
1	tb	Dried oregano
2	ts	Ground cumin
1/2	ts	Ground black pepper
1/2	ts	Salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in large saucepan.  Add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic;
saute 5 to 7 minutes.  Stir in crushed tomatoes, beans, water, seitan,
chipotle chiles and seasonings. Cook uncovered over low heat, stirring
occasionally, about 25 minutes. Add water if necessary during cooking.
Remove chili from heat; let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with
warm bread and a dollop of low-fat yogurt if desired. Makes 6 servings.
Note:  Chipotle chilies, or smoked jalapenos, are available dtried or
canned in adobo sauce, a pickling brine of tomato, vinegar and spices. To
use dried chipotles, stem, seed and toast in a dry cast-iron skillet or on
a baking sheet in a 250 degree oven 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer chilies to
bowl; cover with hot water. Let stand until rehydrated, about 20 minutes.
Mince or puree with soaking liquid. Canned chipotles in adobo sauce can be
seeded, and minced or pureed as desired. Seitan: A chewy, meat-like, high
protein food made from boiled or baked wheat gluten. Per serving 289 cal,
19g prot, 2g fat, 55g carb, 0 chol, 837 mg sod. Formatted by Mary Wilson
(BWVB02B).
Recipe By     :
From:                                 Date:
From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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