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Friday, January 18, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
trying to be domestic
i have an unhealthy relationship with cooking.
don't like to do it, but i am trying to do it more... so to motivate myself & keep myself accountable, whenever i try a noteworthy recipe (i am super unmotivated by doing the same stuff over & over), i'm going to post it here...
tonight's recipe was basically trying to find something with what was in my pantry bc i never think ahead to shop... tuna cans, green beans, parmesan cheese... the result was a recipe i subbed the green beans in for white beans & the result was disappointingly healthy-tasting. i won't post that here....
on the other hand, the other night i tried something to used up refridgerated biscuits, baby carrots, & canned chicken... to which mike commented "file that one away for later!"... a winner...
here it is (with my changes in parentheses... i have a tough time doing as i am told):
Quick(er) Chicken Pot Pie
by the Editors of Easy Home Cooking Magazine
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes (i used canned chicken)
1 can (about 14 ounces) chicken broth
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 package (10 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed (i used cut up carrots & frozen green beans, then zapped them in the microwave)
1 can (about 4 ounces) button mushrooms, drained
1/4 teaspoon dried basil (i used herbs de provence instead of the herbs listed & added garlic)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup biscuit baking mix (i used refrigerated biscuits all cut up)
6 tablespoons milk
Preparation:
1.Preheat oven to 450°F. Place chicken and broth in large skillet; cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until chicken is tender.
2.While chicken is cooking, mix flour and butter; set aside. Combine mixed vegetables, mushrooms, basil, oregano and thyme in greased 2-quart casserole.
3.Add flour mixture to chicken and broth in skillet; stir with wire whisk until smooth. Cook and stir until thickened. Add to vegetable mixture; mix well.
4.Blend biscuit mix and milk in medium bowl until smooth. Drop 4 scoops batter onto chicken mixture. (i just dropped the cut up biscuits on top)
5.Bake 18 to 20 minutes (about 10 minutes with the fridge biscuits) or until biscuits are browned and casserole is hot and bubbly.
(by the way, please feel free to email me any recipes you find or leave them on the comments so others can see them, too!)
don't like to do it, but i am trying to do it more... so to motivate myself & keep myself accountable, whenever i try a noteworthy recipe (i am super unmotivated by doing the same stuff over & over), i'm going to post it here...
tonight's recipe was basically trying to find something with what was in my pantry bc i never think ahead to shop... tuna cans, green beans, parmesan cheese... the result was a recipe i subbed the green beans in for white beans & the result was disappointingly healthy-tasting. i won't post that here....
on the other hand, the other night i tried something to used up refridgerated biscuits, baby carrots, & canned chicken... to which mike commented "file that one away for later!"... a winner...
here it is (with my changes in parentheses... i have a tough time doing as i am told):
Quick(er) Chicken Pot Pie
by the Editors of Easy Home Cooking Magazine
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes (i used canned chicken)
1 can (about 14 ounces) chicken broth
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 package (10 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed (i used cut up carrots & frozen green beans, then zapped them in the microwave)
1 can (about 4 ounces) button mushrooms, drained
1/4 teaspoon dried basil (i used herbs de provence instead of the herbs listed & added garlic)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup biscuit baking mix (i used refrigerated biscuits all cut up)
6 tablespoons milk
Preparation:
1.Preheat oven to 450°F. Place chicken and broth in large skillet; cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until chicken is tender.
2.While chicken is cooking, mix flour and butter; set aside. Combine mixed vegetables, mushrooms, basil, oregano and thyme in greased 2-quart casserole.
3.Add flour mixture to chicken and broth in skillet; stir with wire whisk until smooth. Cook and stir until thickened. Add to vegetable mixture; mix well.
4.Blend biscuit mix and milk in medium bowl until smooth. Drop 4 scoops batter onto chicken mixture. (i just dropped the cut up biscuits on top)
5.Bake 18 to 20 minutes (about 10 minutes with the fridge biscuits) or until biscuits are browned and casserole is hot and bubbly.
(by the way, please feel free to email me any recipes you find or leave them on the comments so others can see them, too!)
a great idea
mark & mindy suggested we bring the johnny jump up camping... just hang it from a tree & instant fun.
first camping trip
moss park... orlando, florida
while dad sets up camp... we slept snugly in mike's 3 man backpacker tent (translation: small)
love to hike with dad...
... and chill with mom
around the campfire
happy campers
while dad sets up camp... we slept snugly in mike's 3 man backpacker tent (translation: small)
love to hike with dad...
... and chill with mom
around the campfire
happy campersbest wedding pic ever
just my opinion, but aren't these two so gorgeous & happy?
a sweet friend from Jesus film, Danika, got married after the new year to Greg, a great guy...
warms my heart :).
to see more pics, go to:
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
for mom
this is from an email forward i recently received ... author unknown.
I'm Invisible
It all began to make sense,the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm onthe phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it? 'I'm a satellite guide to answer,'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, and she’s gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package,and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on theinside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by there of? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees. I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make everyday, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become. 'At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.' As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
It all began to make sense,the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm onthe phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it? 'I'm a satellite guide to answer,'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, and she’s gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package,and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on theinside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by there of? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees. I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make everyday, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become. 'At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.' As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Friday, January 04, 2008
christmas with the bazemores IV
christmas smiles....
with aunt deb
christmas with the bazemores III
christmas with the bazemores II
christmas with the bazemores I
with papa & gigi... sweet boots, huh?
disney
hairs cut
been doing this every other year for a while now... i give my curls to "locks of love" ... an organization that makes wigs for little ones with no locks of their own.
oh, and no, hudson did not make a donation, but he seems to like mama's haircut.
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