The Mothership

  I don’t usually fold this laundry. I’m folding it out of love for an overwhelmed teenager. As I’m folding, I’m thinking about how the laundry pieces used to be tiny and the amount I used to fold was mountainous. Thoughts flood of how quickly that season of doing everything for them has passed. How now its even harder to change my survial responses to more of a listening response. While I was in that season of tininess, it took a daily dose of grace to remind myself that the moments are fleeting.  I find a shirt and of course, it is littered with words of empowerment, but most boldly stands the word PERSPECTIVE . As I have parented as of late, I don’t think I’d be winning any awards of compassion or understanding. Infact I hear quite regularly "I don't know...you don't understand." I’ve never done this teenager thing of raising semi-adults while I myself am headed through my own emotional roller coaster. I feel like I could wallow in self-pity for all the times I cou...

This dish is so easy. It took a total of less than 1 hour to put together, bake, and cool off so you can eat it. If you use regular pasta - I would bake it for an extra 5 minutes. My mom passed this recipe on to me and I doctored it a bit.  Ingredients: 1 - 16oz box of pasta (I used Chickpea pasta) 3 cups of water 5 oz. Spinach 16 oz. Of frozen meatballs (I used meatless) Sprinkle of salt 1 - 24 oz jar of pasta sauce 1/4 red onion, chopped Parmesan cheese or cheddar cheese or both - a couple handfuls. 2 cups of mozzarella  Fresh Basil or parsley for the top of the dish Recipe : Turn oven to 450.  Spray a 13x9 dish.  Place noodles, water, spinach, meatballs, salt, pasta sauce, spinach and just a handful or two of Parmesan or cheddar cheese into the dish. Give it a good toss to make sure everything is incorporated.  Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Be sure to give a good stir about every 10 minutes.  Take out and sprinkle on the two cups of mozz...

I'm always looking for a way to make something a little more festive, a little heartier.  I don't really care for just a plain hot dog and salsa is good, but it's always better with avocado.  I also generally eat a salad for lunch, but a lot of times, I don't have the time to chop everything right there on the spot.  So I make this salsa/topper (and I usually make a lot of it) and I can use it for various things during the week.  Preparation is key to me eating well during the week when things get so hectic.  Here are the various ways I eat this: on top of a hot dog/brat/sausage on top of a bed of lettuce as a salsa with chips (or just a fork) on tacos on top of a burrito Recipe for goodness: 2 avocados, sliced and cut into bit sized pieces 1 can of corn, drained OR 1/2 bag frozen corn 1 large tomato 1 red/orange/yellow pepper, chopped (just one, not one of each) 1/2 red onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tsp. of Cumin Powder 1 tablespoo...

  I love it when recipes take me less than an hour from start, combining or chopping, to finish - my plate. This recipe was a crowd pleaser AND it was easy cleanup AND tasty. In this recipe I made the chicken the night before in a crockpot, so that is how I am writing the recipe. You could always bake the chicken ahead and shred ahead or pan fry and make right before you combine everything. I just wanted to make things easy for me - hence the crockpot. Ingredients: For the Chicken 4 chicken breasts 1 cup broth 1 cup water 1 tbsp. oil salt & pepper sprinkles of spices like cumin, garlic, onion, paprika  For the Quesadilla 4 cups chicken breasts (you might have a little extra leftover) 2 tbsp. olive oil 2 tbsp. lime juice  2 tsp. chili powder 2 tsp cumin  1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/2 of a red bell pepper, diced 1/2 of a yellow onion, diced 4 cups Mexican cheese blend  1 cup shredded mozarella 1...

Standing in a line, with family and friends, waiting for ashes to be placed upon her forehead, stands a girl who wants to be part of what everyone is doing, but has no idea why she waits. She recognizes that this time is solemn and not a celebration; a very different season than the Christmas season just a few weeks ago. Among other lessons, one she learns, “ you must give up your treats until Easter morning when you’ll wake up to a full basket of treats! ” 10 years later, the lesson learned is relinquishing the desire for whatever it is that has been “given up” and promised for 40 days. Then, regrettably, 10 days into the practice she’s forgotten what the practice was or at least the zeal behind it. It’s now a fleeting memory of a desire that she thought had strong conviction, but must have lost its luster.   This may have been a similar experience as yours or maybe this seems foreign. You might have a well disciplined practice throughout your life already and don’t feel ...

  We eat a lot of chicken. So pairing it with other things makes me feel versatile. Make it in a crockpot and I’m all in! Ingredients: 5-6 chicken breasts, skinless Salt & pepper Cooking oil - I used avocado oil 1.5 cups broth (chicken or vegetable) 3 Tbsp. Cornstarch  1 cup heavy cream or milk  2 tbsp garlic powder 2 tsp oregano 1tsp dried thyme Red pepper flakes - optional 1/2 jar of sun dried tomatoes, chopped 2 Tbsp. Butter More salt & pepper Favorite pasta Spinach Basil or parsley Grated Parmesan cheese Recipe: Drizzle a tiny bit of coooking oil on the bottom of the slow cooker. Then, place the chicken breast in the bottom of the slow cooker. Drizzle a tad more oil on top. Then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper over the chicken. In a bowl whisk together the cornstarch and chicken broth with a whisk. Add in all the seasonings and Parmesan. If you use red pepper flakes, just be careful as it can be spicy. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Then place the...