maybe it will come to me

I signed on here so that I could post about something that Andy and I were talking about this morning. I can’t remember what it is though. I thought that maybe if I signed on and started typing it would come to me. But I’ve got nothing.

So I guess I’ll share with you some of the Joys I’ve been having lately in the kitchen and beyond.

Yesterday I was busy making large amounts of food for my Meal Swap group. We make lots of food at once and then swap with eachother. I made Sloppy Joes and Pizza Pasta. I was stirring up the 3 pounds of cooked beef when our vegan friend came over to do some repairs for us. I was flattered when he said it smelled good.  He was probably smelling the yummy spices in my pizza sauce.

This morning the family enjoyed the pancakes with fresh pineapple and coolwhip.  Quite the treat indeed.  I like to use a master pancake mix that I found in my More with Less cookbook:

• 3 c. ww flour
• 3 c. white flour
• 6T. baking powder
• 6T. sugar
• 2 c. powdered milk
• 1 c. wheat germ (optional)

Then when you make the pancakes, you use 1 1/2 cups of the master pancake mix with 1 c. water, 1 egg and 1 T. oil.  Yummy yummy yummy.

YAY!!! I just remembered what I wanted to say.  I knew it would come to me.  I was so tickled this morning when I realized that Deacon has asked to call my mother every day since my grandma (her mother) died.  This morning before we had gotten him out of his crib, I could hear him in his room talking about her.  He said “Judy, love talking grandma Judy”.  It’s so neat how the Lord has used him to bring her joy during her grief of losing both of her parents this past week.  Oh what wonderful therapy little ones can be.

Yesterday, I recieved one more call

Yes, it’s true.  Yesterday, my mother called me to tell me that her mother, my Nanny, had passed away.  Now all of my grandparents are with the Lord.  My nanny died only weeks after her twin sister and only days after her husband.  I’m sure that she is so glad to be reunited with them.

Nanny, here are some of my fondest memories of you:

-Your gifts were always never-ending and original.  You liked to shop at garage sales and send me the collection of eclectic treasures that you would find.  They were so fun.

-The 5 dollar bills that you sent to me in my birthday cards were the most crisp and valued pieces of paper I ever owned.  5 dollars was a fortune to me.

-You were so crafty and loved to make things for us.  I still have the doll quilt that you made for me so long ago.  It is well loved.

-Some people say that I look like you, and I think that is really special.

As I think about all of these grandparents (3) that have passed on to glory within the past month, I was comforted by the words of this song.  We will miss them all dearly, but are so glad that they are no longer suffering in their old bodies.

trying to catch my breath

Our family has been SO busy the last few days. Here’s a few highlights of the things we’ve done over the past few days.

SATURDAY

Played music at a park for an event called “Pickin’ and Piggin’”. There was music provided by local musicians and BBQ vendors from all around the state. After I was done playing music, I tried so many different kinds of barbecue. I never knew that it could be so good until I moved here. I’m a big fan of the vinegar-based BBQ. I’m embarrassed to say that before I moved here, I thought Barbecue was synonymous with cooking hamburgers and hot-dogs on the grill. Boy, was I ever wrong

SUNDAY

I got a double-dose of my husband’s preaching. He preached in the morning at a church about 45 minutes south of here and then in the evening at our home church, First Presbyterian. I thought he did a great job. If you’re interested, you can hear the sermon on our church’s website: http://firstprescolumbia.org/Media/Audio/Audio_Evenings.asp

MONDAY

I tried to catch my breath yesterday, but that didn’t really happen. The boys were quite a handful. They were probably so exhausted from the big day on Sunday. Church is a big event for such little people. In the evening, we all went to the SC Musicians and Songwriters Guild. It was great, we got to hear about different events that are happening in the area that I can possibly become a part of. Also, there was an open floor where musicians could share their songs with us. I would have liked to play, but Owen was sleeping so soundly in my arms and I didn’t want to disrupt that. Deacon enjoyed the music too. Andy didn’t get to hear much of what was being said because he was too busy drawing cars and trucks for Deacon.

TUESDAY

This morning, I woke up and got both kids into the car by 8:00. We went to the food Co-op that I am a part of. I am the nursery worker, so I watched the kids while the other ladies sorted and bagged the food. I really regretted that I didn’t get up a bit earlier to make a cup of coffee. I needed it! I was watching 11 children and 8 of them were little boys between the ages of 1 and 3! Needless to say: it was a madhouse! We got home and I’ve been trying to fit all of my fruit and veggies into the fridge. We are so excited to have such yummy food available to us at such a reasonable price.

I’m hoping that things slow down for us soon. I can’t believe how big the difference is from 1 to 2 children when you have a full schedule.

I’m off to enjoy some yummy pineapple. I’ll have to save some for tomorrow’s breakfast though. One of my new favorite things is pancakes with fresh pineapple and cool whip on top. Andy always makes fun of me because Cool-whip is such an artificial food with no real substance. But I just love the stuff. It’s so girly and light. There is nothing like it. Besides, I am terrible at whipping cream. I can never get it right.

Another one of those awful calls.

I just got the news that my Grandfather who was about to turn 92 went to be with the Lord. He was one of those people that you thought would live forever because they were in such great health. Unfortunately, after a car accident over the weekend, he had some spinal injuries which led to his death. My Grandmother is also in hospice because of a stroke, and she is not expected to live much longer. Our family anticipates a joint funeral for them; would have wanted this.

Their love for each other was unmistakable. My grandfather took such amazing care for my grandmother for so many years. Even after a long, healthy, full life, death is hard to witness.

This is a picture of Grandpa and Grandma with Deacon at his 90th birthday party in May of 2006.

Grandpa, Here are some of my favorite memories of you:

-I loved it when you chattered your dentures. I didn’t know they were dentures, and I tried to do it with my teeth, but I couldn’t ever get it right.

-You could fix anything. Your house is filled with so many things you’ve fixed over the years. I loved to count the clocks that you’ve bought from garage sales (broken) and fixed. It was especially fun at 12:00 noon.

-I thought it was the coolest thing in the world that you had a drinking fountain in your house.

-I really enjoyed the metal puzzles that you would make. I would spend hours at your house trying to get them apart and back together again.

A couple of months ago, my grandfather mailed me one of his clocks. Nanny (what I call my grandma) wanted him to send a clock to each of his grandchildren. My clock is a simple desk clock. It is set to western time because they live in Arizona. I still haven’t fixed the time on it and I don’t really want to. Every time I look at that clock, I think of my grandparents and it makes me smile.

on earth as it is in heaven

This video was just too adorable to not share.

An unexpected birthday celebration

Monday was my dear husband’s birthday. One year older. I just love birthdays. They make me feel like a little kid again. Andy doesn’t have the same enthusiasm about them as I do, but he still had a great time celebrating his birthday with those he loves. Since we were in Ohio, we were able to celebrate his birthday with family and our favorite friends around. It was such a nice evening.

I made Chicken Cilantro Enchiladas for everyone for dinner along with a side of Vigo rice and beans. The enchiladas recipe was the best one that I’ve tried yet. It’s a pretty inexpensive meal if you’re able to get the chicken on sale, or use a whole chicken. Here’s the recipe:

Chicken Cilantro Enchiladas

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or you can use a whole chicken)

2 c water

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2-3 sprigs fresh cilantro

2 10 oz cans mild enchilada sauce

4 c grated monterey jack cheese

8 green onions, sliced

2 T. chopped cilantro leaves

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

Tabasco sauce, to taste

10 corn tortillas

Bring chicken breasts to boil in water with onion, garlic, and cilantro sprigs. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove chicken from broth; reserve 1 and 1/3 cup broth and combine with enchilada sauce and save remainder for another use. Cool and shred meat.

For filling, combine chicken, 2 cups cheese, green onions, and chopped cilantro leaves with salt, petter, and Tabasco sauce to taste. Add 1 cup enchilada sauce/broth mixture to moisten filling.

To assemble, warm tortillas on hot skillet or microwave (15sec) until flexible, turning once. Dip each corn tortilla in enchilada sauce mixture until coated on each side and lay flat. Fill with 2-3 T. chicken filling and roll tortilla. Place filled tortillas, seam side down, in lined 9×13 baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce over filled tortillas; sprinkle with remaining 2 cups cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes, until sauce bubbles and cheese is melted. Top with your choice of lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and sliced avocados.

The bonus to this recipe is that you can make extra and throw it in you freezer for future use.