Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

When you haven't gone grocery shopping in about 3 weeks due to CRAZY life, like me, dinners can get tricky.  Luckily we have been living out of the pantry and I wanted to share this great recipe that was easy, quick to make, quick to clean up, and was good too.  I just had to share, it is a keeper!



Easy Chicken Pot Pie
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 can chicken broth
3/4 cup milk
1 can cooked chicken (find it by the tuna)
1 small bag of frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
2 refrigerated pie crust

1.  In a large saucepan, saute onion in oil until tender.  Stir in flour and seasoning.  Gradually add broth and milk.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 min. until thick.  Add chicken and veggies.

2.  Transfer to a 9 inch pie plate that is lined with one unrolled pie crust.  Top with other pie crust.  Trim, seal, flute edges.  Cut slits in top.

3.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.

Staying Up Late

Book #4 of 2011 is...
Between Friends
by Debbie Macomber

I have a confession to make. I bought a book for Matt's aunt, who was in the hospital, and before I gave it to her...I stayed up half the night and read it. Yes, it was a school night. Yes, I had other things that I should have been doing. Yes, there is a slightly moral issue about buying something for someone and then USING it before you give it. And, yes, it was that good of a book. Luckily, Matt's aunt is a kindred spirit when it comes to books and she laughed when I confessed and then SHE stayed up late and finished it too.

A Simpler Time

Book #3 of 2011 is...
The Happy Hollisters by Jerry West

I love to read books that remind me of a time when life was simpler.  I love being transported to a place where kids can ride their bikes to the ice cream shop and where parents give their kids warm milk and cookies before bed.  I love PRETENDING that I actually live in a time like that...and because of this I love to read my collection of Happy Hollisters books.  I wanted a simple read this week where I could forget for a few hours about the crisis in Egypt, the state budget in California, and the report cards that are due at work.  So I dug out the original Happy Hollisters book, curled up with a mug of warm milk (don't be grossed out, it is TOTALLY good with a swirl of cinnamon sugar in it...think latte) and lost myself in their world.  This is a great book and series if you ever need to be reminded of 1950's America at it's best.

Busy Day Chocolate Cake

Matt has the biggest sweet tooth and he would be happy if I planned desserts with the same energy and enthusism that I plan meals.  So last week I thought I would try this new recipe I saw for homemade chocolate cake.  It was described as being a "pantry" cake because it doesn't require anything you don't have on hand (no eggs or milk even) and it also promised that it is mixed and baked in the same 8x8 pyrex dish.  This cake was moist and rich and good and I wanted to share it.  It would make a perfect Valentine's Day dessert!

Busy Day Chocolate Cake

Mix with a whisk in 8x8 square pan:

     1 1/2 cups flour

     1 cup sugar

     3 Tbsp cocoa powder

     1 tsp baking soda

     1/2 tsp salt

Add wet ingredients:

     1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil because it's what I had)

     1 tsp vanilla

     1 Tbsp vinegar, white (I used apple cider because it's what I had)

     1 cup water

Mix with wisk or spatula

Bake 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Frost with simple frosting (confectioner sugar, milk and vanilla) or just dust with powdered sugar!

Feeling Better

I spent the weekend sick with a bad cold but one of the good things about laying low for a weekend is that I had a chance to read a book!  This book was highly recommended and loaned to me from a friend from church and it was another book that I wouldn't have picked up myself.  It was an intriging read that allowed me to escape from my achy, snotty body for awhile, thank goodness!

Book #2 of 2011 is...
Bel Canto
by Ann Patchett

This book is about a dinner party in a South American country that is taken hostage by a terrorist organization, but the hostage takeover goes ary and the rest of the book is about the days, weeks, months that these two parties spend encamped together.  Slowly the lines between terrorist and terrorized are broken down as everyone realizes the humaness of the other.  This is a book that questions how similar we all are once everything is stripped away and how, perhaps, really getting to know someone is the only way any real peace in this world can ever be achieved.  It was a good "food for thought" book.

Following Through

This past weekend I chaperoned a Jr. High Confirmation Retreat at the Lutheran camp, Mt. Cross, in Felton, CA.  I am teaching a confirmation class this year at my church and I committed to this retreat last August but as it drew closer the less I wanted to spend the weekend with a bunch of jr. high kids...I mean really?  But I am trying to stick to my New Year's resolutions and go where the Lord sends me...literally sometimes.  So away I went and I could not have had a more rewarding weekend!

I got to spend the weekend surrounded by 160 wholesome and awesome jr. high kids who really renewed my faith in the next generation.  These kids were kind to each other, they were full of God's light, they were humble and vulnerable and not in love with Justin Bieber...it was SO refreshing! 

I also got to meet the moms (the other chaperons) of these great kids and they were so generous with me about sharing their knowledge and experiences as parents.  Parenting a jr. high girl doesn't have to be the horrible years of parenthood, instead I got to witness bonds between mothers and daughters that was inspiring and gave me hope.  It turned out that spending time with these strong Lutheran moms and being surrounded by these great girls was good for my soul and following through on my commitments was good for me too.  When you go out on a limb (or out of your comfort zone) for God, God will always meet you there and you will be blown away by the view.  Sometimes I just need to remember that.

Simple Things

This year I am trying to focus on the simple things in my life that bring me comfort and joy.  One of the simple things I enjoy is curling up or stretching out with a good book.  Over the years, books have played a part in making me a who I am, they have stretched my empathy, they have helped me to discover new ideas, places, and people, they have made me wiser, and they definately help me unwind.  I am going to keep track again this year of the books that I read, good and bad, and I hope that you will read along with me!  Books are a simple joy that I just can't get enough of.

Book # 1 of 2010 is...

The UnNamed

by Joshua Ferris

This book was a Christmas present from Matt's cousin.  I appreciated this book because it is one that I wouldn't have purchased for myself, but it was a good read.  In this book, a man suffers from a disease that no one else has...he can't stop walking.  It is the story of this man's struggle with his condition but really it is a love story as he and his wife deal with his illness that everyone else dismisses and discredits.  It brings up questions about the seperation of body and soul and it discusses the limits of one's will over one's body, which is something that everyone can relate to.  This was an interesting read that made me think for days afterward.  Thanks Darin for this great gift!

New Beginnings

 

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer."

-Zora Neale Hurston

I have had years of wondering, years of asking...here's to a year of answers!

My personal hopes for this year are...

1.  That God will use me in His great work.

2.  That God will continue His work in me, refining me and building my character.

3.  That I will use my energy and my talents for my little family first, daily making them my first priority.

4.  That I will desire to live simply but will do much with my time.

That's it!  2011 is going to be a year of blessings and changes, I know that already, I just hope that I am ready and willing to go the distance when God calls me. 

Blessings on Your New Year!



It's Official

Matt and I are now officially Mr. and Mrs.! 

We are so happy and excited to be starting this new chapter in our lives together.

We are also so grateful for the love

of family and friends who surrounded us on that day.

Married life, is AWESOME!

"Standing beside you,

I took an oath to make your life simpler

by complicating mine and what I

always thought would happen did:

I was lifted up in JOY."

-David Ignatow

The Reading Continues

I have been too busy with life and apparently too busy reading to do much posting so here is a recap of the last few weeks...in books!

Book # 30 of 2010 is...

Three Weeks with my Brother
by Nicholas and Micah Sparks

This was such a great book!  I was surprised by the difference in this book from other Nicholas Sparks books, it was so real and honest and insightful!  This book was also suprisingly informative.  As I read I traveled to all of the coolest and holiest places in the world...it was a really good read.




Book # 31 of 2010 is...

The Glass Lake
by Maeve Binchy

Maeve Binchy is absolutely one of my favorite authors...and this book is one of the best she has written!  The story was so engaging that two nights in a row I stayed up until all hours just to finish it.  The story, like most of Binchy's books, takes place in Ireland and it is such a twisting and heartrenching tale.  If you haven't read Maeve Binchy...read this book, it is one of her best!





Book # 32 of 2010 is... For Time and All Eternity
by Paul Bailey

This was a very different book that explored plural marriage in its hay day.  It was a book of historical fiction which I always like reading, and it was about something I know very little about so it was a really interesting read.


Book # 33 of 2010 is...
Heart and Soul
by Maeve Binchy

This is another great book by Maeve Binchy.  It is a typical Irish Binchy story...a good read.






Book # 34 and # 35 of 2010 is... The Quilter's Legacy and The Master Quilter

by Jennifer Chiaverini

These are both great books.  These Chiaverini books have really lived up to my expectations.  They are all in a series, but they are completely self-contained.  In other words, you can read them in any order and still get all of the characters and all of the "stuff" in them.  They were both fast reads.

A Moment of Gratefulness

This morning as Gunner and I went for a run, I was struck by how WONDERFUL life is.  Right now, in this moment, I want to take time to pause and feel grateful for the love and light that fills my days. 

First of all, I am lucky to be home on this Friday morning because my "full-time" job where I teach kids one-on-one is only four days a week...that means I ALWAYS get a three day weekend.  What a blessing in helping me balance work and home.

I am grateful for how strong and healthy my body is...a 2 mile run makes me feel satisfied and at peace with my physical body.  My skin, my wrinkles, my thighs...running helps me put the insecurities of my body into perspective.  It reminds me that I am strong and healthy, and that these are the things that really make you beautiful.

Matt and I had a long talk on the phone early this morning (he is en route to South America for work) and I am so grateful for the love and friendship of this wonderful man.  His life has been so blessed by a wonderful job that challenges and engages him, and I know that blessings in Matt's life are blessings in my life as well.  I am so lucky that I get to go through life with Matt, he is everything I need him to be.

I am so grateful that my life includes Gunner and Bailey.  Having good dogs makes you understand unconditional love.  If you have never had a dog lick your tears when you are sad, or run next to you ready to defend you, then you have missed out on one of life's greatest rewards.

I am so thankful that I live where I live!  I live in a place where I can run through fields of sweet alfalfa for two miles and never step on a paved road or see another house or person.  I live in a place where my neighbors (a mile or so away) invite me to dinner and watch out for me when Matt is away.  I live in a home that has been lovingly created through the years with handcrafted quilts, homemade curtains, and walls painted by friend's helpful hands.

I am so grateful for friendships that keep me honest and grounded!  My two best friends from high school are still the ones I turn to when life is overwhelming or when I want to scream, laugh or cry.  And even though neither of them live in my same time zone anymore, I know I can call them any time, day or night...and I do.  I am also blessed to have friends who I get to see daily and who are never too busy with kids and life for a hug or a talk.  I am also so grateful for the strong women in Matt's family who have become my family as well.  His aunts and cousins who encourage and strengthen me have helped me heal. 

My high school friend Suzette, when she visited this summer.

(Becky is coming to visit in a few weeks!)

Matt's aunts and me shopping last Thanksgiving...early.

I am also so blessed by the friendship and love of my church family.  My Lutheran church is full of good people who are wise in the ways of the Lord and who love and support Matt and I, come what may.  I am "mothered" and "sistered" by many of the amazing Lutheran women in my church and I grow and learn from their love. 

I know this is all a little sappy, but I really wanted to take a moment to recognize the good stuff.  God has blessed me over and over again and being grateful is a way to show my thanks.  Life is short, but life is good. 

The Reading Continues

I have not been keeping up with my book posting!  What does it mean when you are reading books faster than you can get them posted?  Yikes.  I guess it means that I like to read more than I like to write posts about reading.  So here are the books that I have read in the last few weeks.

Book #26 of 2010 is...

The Cross-Country Quiliters

by Jennifer Chaverini

Yes, I have read another book by this author.  Her books are really well told stories that I don't want to end!  This book was about  a group of friends who decide to work on a quilt (a square each) even though they live far apart.  But each friend has things going on in her own life that she promises her friends she will work on or figure out before she can start her quilt piece.  The book weaves the individual stories of these friends nicely and it is just a real feel good book but it has some substance and it isn't really very predictable.  I LOVE reading about quilting and friendship which is making Jennifer Chaverini my new "go-to" author for a solid good read.

Book # 27 of 2010 is...

The Runaway Quilt

by Jennifer Chiaverini

I know...another one, but they are all so different and yet just as good as the last one!  This book was about the underground railroad and a family's history of helping slaves escape to the north comes into question years later.  This book develops the idea that quilts were used to signal passangers on the underground railroad and it explores the history of one family during this monumental time in American history.  It is again beautifully written and woven from present day to the Civil War era.  A story that makes you WANT to quilt!

The Runaway Quilt: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel

Book # 28 of 2010 is...

The Art of Mending

by Elizabeth Berg

This was a book that really hit close to home.  It is about three siblings, two sisters and one brother (named Steve), who are forced to reexamine the memories of their childhood.  When one sister confronts her other two siblings with devasting allegations about their mother, the three have a difficult time reconciling their varying experiences in the same house.  When their father suddenly dies, the three siblings must face their past, their differing experiences of their mother's love, their own culpability in causing each other pain, and their common need for love, acceptance, and forgiveness with each other.  This was a book that was hard to read for obvious reasons, but it helped me to understand how children can be raised in the same home and yet be so different even in their understanding of each other.  A heavy, emotional read.

Book #29 of 2010 is...

Empire Falls

by Richard Russo

This was a book about a family and the town they live in and how the history of the town is their family's history as well.  It was an okay book with twists and turns throughout that kept my attention, but it was hard to relate to some of the characters and it was lengthy in some of the memories and descriptive moments.  It was an okay book, overall, but it's not a keeper...this one is getting donated to the library. 

Rotten Tomatoes

That is the smell at my house right now...

Be grateful there is no picture.  We have eaten, picked, canned, pickled, frozen, and LOVED this garden to DEATH but the summer garden is SO done and it needs to be pulled out.  Unfortunately we have been so busy with work and life that it just hasn't happened yet.  Matt and I can barely look outside right now without being overcome with guilt.  I have plenty of fun plans for our winter garden, but they have to wait until that old summer garden is tilled under.  This is the LEAST appealing part of gardening, getting in there with the moldy, old veggies and weeds and destroying everything we spent hours putting together.  I can't wait for the lettuce, broccoli, potatoes, and carrots of the winter garden...if only I can convince Matt to do all the hard stuff so that I can get on with the fun planting of seeds!  Meanwhile, all I hear in my head these days is this old nursery rhyme...

"A man of words and not of deeds,

Is like a garden full of weeds."

I know, I know, an awful mantra...we have GOT to get out there this weekend!

The Reading Continues

Book # 25 of 2010 is...

The Grapes of Wrath

by John Steinbeck

I've never read this book before, which is pretty amazing because I majored in American Literature in college.  It has been one that I have always MEANT to read, but it was never required and so it just never happened...until now!  I feel like it is sort of cheating to say that I read it because I listened to this book "on tape" (CD really) and because I listened to in in the car it was a fast "read."  I like "reading" heavy books this way because it doesn't use up any of my reading time.  Does that make sense?  I'm driving in the car a certain amount of time anyway and so I get to "read" useful books with my wasted driving time.  Grapes of Wrath IS a useful book!  Don't smirk.  It is a book that every Californian should have in their repertoire because of the historical narrative that it tells.  It is a beautifully written and moving book.  John Steinbeck is a master at storytelling. 

The Reading Continues

Book # 24 of 2010 is...

Five Little Peppers

by Margaret Sidney

I re-read this book from my childhood on a whim.  I had forgotten how special this book is!  I was discussing old childhood favorite books of mine with Matt's aunt and we both remembered reading about the Pepper family.  I was inspired enough by the memory to check it out of our public library and I re-read it last weekend.  It is truly a childhood classic and would make a great read-aloud book to read to kids. 

Packing a Lunch Idea

I hate plastic sandwich bags!  I hate buying them (it is literally like throwing away money) and I hate using them because I eventually toss them into a landfill...NOT AWESOME.  But I had sort of accepted the idea that when packing a lunch I just needed to deal.  I have invested in plastic containers for sandwiches...but be honest, how many tubs do you want to haul to work?  Even with a container for my sandwich, I was still using two or three sandwich bags for pretzels and carrots and cookies every day. 

UNTIL I DISCOVERED THESE...

SNACK TAXIs...someone's brilliant idea for reusable/washable bags (so glad that it is finally cool to be earthminded).  Throw these laminated fabric bags in the washing machine and they are new again.  Plus they have really chic looking fabrics to choose from (or plain green, brown, and blue colors if you are Matt, and NOT into chic looking when packing a lunch).  They also have sandwich/bagel size bags and lunch bags.  Please check out their website and go green with your lunch, every little bit helps!  Too bad I didn't come up with this brillant idea!

http://www.snacktaxi.com/

Preserving the Garden - Canning and Pickling!

This is just a picture of one batch of canning!  I have been a busy bee for the last few weekends trying to preserve some of our garden bounty for this winter.  The canned tomatoes are great for spaghetti sauce later, and the pickled okra are great gifts for Christmas.  Pickled okra is great as an appetizer (it tastes like a dill pickle, only better) and it is also great in Bloody Marys.  It is just tons of work to get all that picked, washed, in jars, and then canned.  Especially since the okra is horrible stuff to pick.  It gives me an itchy rash if any part of the plant touches my skin, so I have to suit up to pick it and then hop in the shower right after being out in the rows.  I hope to be done with all the canning by next weekend.  Okra is easy to pickle though, once it is picked and washed. 

Pickled Okra (makes about 4 pint jars)

3 cups water

3 cups white vinegar

1/3 cup salt

2 tsp dill or dill seeds

4 cloves of garlic

3 1/2 lbs small whole okra pods

1.  Prepare jars and lids in boiling water to sterilize. (I run my jars through the dishwasher, high heat, and I put my lids in boiling water in a saucepan where I leave them until I am ready to fish them out and use them.

2.  Put dill, garlic, and okra into sterilized jars.

3.  In a saucepan combine water, vinegar, and salt.  Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve salt.  Reduce heat to low but don't take off heat.

4.  Ladle hot liquid into prepared jars.  Put a sterilized lid on each jar and place jar upside down (inversion method of canning)

5.  When jars are cooled turn them right side up and test the lid to see if they are sealed.  There should be no resistance in the lid.  (The boiling liquid causes the lid to seal).  If the jars aren't sealed (sometimes they just don't seal) then place them in a pot of boiling water (enough water to cover the top of the jars) for 15 minutes. 

Wait at least one week before eating the pickles in order for them to "cure."  But if you leave them sealed, they can be stored in the pantry for up to one year. 

The Reading Continues

Book #23 of 2010 is...

Where or When

by Anita Shreve

This was a quick read, and like Shreve's other books it has unexpected twists right up to the very end.  I needed a book that was different and this fit the bill.  It was a book that describes a forbidden love, and it pushes the boundaries.  In fact there was a few times while reading where I didn't know how to feel about the main characters.  This was a compelling book because of the complexity of emotions it brings out in the reader, and I would tell you more about the plot, but I don't want to ruin any of the twists and turns for you!

The Reading Continues

I know that I have been doing A LOT of reading lately...but don't judge me.  My house is clean...sort of and no one is starving.   Besides...

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability."

-Sam Keen

And that is just the kind of beautiful thought I need before I go back to school/work.

Book #20 of 2010 is...

The House on Mango Street

by Sandra Cisneros

This was another book that I had to read to prepare for my 10th grade English class.  I have read parts of it before (it is a book of short stories) but this is definitely not a book I would have picked up to read on my own.  I think it is on the reading list because it is written by a Hispanic author and it is very much a book that details Hispanic culture.  I don't know how I am going to teach this book this year because I didn't really enjoy it at all...and there are many OTHER Hispanic authors that I do enjoy reading.  Oh well, I guess I just won't spend as much time on this one.



Book #21 of 2010 is...

The Quilter's Apprentice

by Jennifer Chiaverini

This book was AWESOME!  I sort of bribed myself to read The House on Mango Street knowing that I couldn't start this book until that one was finished..  This is a brand new author to me that I discovered by reading a magazine article about her (Country Woman Magazine...one of my favorite things).  This is the first book in a series of 14 books (I think?) about friendships and quilting.  This book was not the fluff book that I thought it would be though, it was really well written and had some historical and technical quilting info.  If you like Debbie Macomber books (as I do) but always wish that there was a little more substance to the storyline you will REALLY like the Elm Creek Quilts Series by Chiaverini.  I am definitely going to read more from this author!


Book #22 of 2010 is...

Madness in the Family

by William Saroyan

William Saroyan is my most favorite local author.  I loved him when I read his novel, The Human Comedy.   He first started writing in 1934 and is from Fresno (begrudgingly so).  His books are fun because they refer to many familiar streets and sights around the valley.  But they are also thought-provoking and deep.  His Armenian background is also a part of his books and it adds a richness to the stories he tells.  This is a book of short stories and his singular voice and shrewd humor give each story such a sense of fullness and life.  For example, one story in this book ends with this moral, "In short, don't count on being terribly spiritual unless you are also always slightly sick.  A proverb seized upon eagerly by Fresno."  This is a quick read and full of funny and just good stories.  Besides who wouldn't love a book called Madness in the Family?  Goodness knows there is always plenty of that.

The Reading Continues

Book #19 of 2010 is...

Hiroshima

by John Hersey

I read this book because it is required reading at my new school for my 10th graders.  It was an interesting, devastating, and sickening book...sort of like watching a train wreck.  But, like a train wreck, you just can't look away and this book was a page turner.  I read it quickly because I wanted to know what would happen to all of the characters in the end.  I was also really surprised that this book was written and published in 1946, so soon after the bomb was dropped.  It is a book that is VERY sympathetic to the Japanese people and while it is not so surprisingly American to be so compassionate, it is sort of interesting that there was a publisher and a market for this book so soon after the war.  Either way it is a good thing for students to read and know about.