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Lenten Devotional

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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 ...
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Marry Me Chicken & Pasta

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  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...
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Cranberry lemon cookies

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  Favorite. Cookies. Ever.  INGREDIENTS:  3 eggs 2 cups of sugar 3/4 cup softened butter 1 tsp vanilla  2.5 cups flour 12oz fresh cranberries (either frozen or cool from the fridge work well) 1 cup white chocolate chips 2 cups powdered sugar 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and more if needed Recipe: Preheat oven to 350 With a mixer beat eggs and sugar for 5-7 minutes - should double in size, be thickened, light in color, and form a ribbon when you lift the paddle out of the bowl. DONT SKIP THAT STEP! Add the butter and vanilla. Beat for 2 more minutes. Stir in the flour till JUST combined.  With a silicone spatula or spoon, mix in the cranberries and white chocolate chips.  Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, portion the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet about 6-8 to a regular sheet (these cookies are large and spread!) Bake for 18 minutes or a few minutes more. They will have golden brown edges. The tops might look undercooked.  Remove from the oven a...
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Lemon Gingersnaps

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  My kids love ginger and the kick in these make them feel a little more adult - so it's ok to eat :) This recipe came from a friend, Gabi, who knows how to throw down a beautiful dessert. Ingredients: 2.5 cups (320g) flour  1.5 tsp. (8g) baking soda 3/4 tsp. (4g) cinnamon 1 tsp. (4g) ground ginger 1/2 tsp (2g) ground cloves 1/2 tsp. (5g) salt 1/2 tsp. (2g) cayenne pepper 1/2 cup (113g) softened butter 1/2 cup (112g) sugar 1 cup (209g) packed brown sugar 1/3 cup (110g) molasses 1/4 cup (70g) of egg whites extra sugar in a bowl for rolling 1/3 cup softened butter 3 cups of powdered sugar  3 tbsp. lemon juice 1 tbsp. lemon zest  Recipe: Heat oven to 375. Combine the first 7 ingredients and set aside.  In another bowl, cream the softened butter. Then add in the sugars, molasses, and egg whites. Stir until combined.  Add the flour and spices mixture into the butter and sugar mixture. Mix till all incorporated.  Take the dough and make small 1-2inch round b...
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Homemade hamburger helper

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My 90’s kids know what hamburger helper is. This is a version of it minus pasta that makes me feel a bit better about the food going in my body. And it MOSTLY has all pantry ingredients give or take one. This also takes 30 minutes.    This makes enough for my family of five and leftovers for tomorrow.  Ingredients: 2 tsp. Olive oil or saute oil 2 lbs. ground beef 1/2 onion, chopped 1 green pepper, chopped More olive oil 2 lbs. small gold potatoes (they come in a 1 lb bag at the grocer) Salt & pepper 3 tsp. Garlic powder 3 tsp. Onion powder 2 tsp. Smoked paprika 1/2 cup of water 2 Tbsp. Yellow Mustard 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1/4 cup of ketchup - or more if you’d like 1.5 cups of sharp cheddar cheese Green onions, sliced Recipe: In a large saute pan heat the oil on medium. Add in your onion, green pepper and saute for a minute.  Add the ground beef and separate all the beef as it cooks into small pieces. Cook for about 8 minutes total. Then take out of the pan...
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Easy Peasy Wonton Soup

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The cold weather has kicked in and I really was craving some wonton soup. I like my soups to have a of stuff, not just broth. I am a big fan of utilizing Whole Foods ingredients and halfway with prepared foods. Hence the frozen wontons because I don’t have time to make the pork put in a wonton and then cook the wontons. Also, cost effective is essential with the way these teenagers eat up in here. I feel like canned soup has gotten more expensive, higher in sodium, low in quality and quantity. And buying at a restaurant for the whole family would not be cost effective. I will double this next time for the size of their stomachs. Also - you can make this VEGETARIAN if you purchase veggie dumplings/wontons and use bacon bits that are actually soy. This took me 30 minutes from gathering items, to chopping, to my belly.     Ingredients: 2Tbsp. Sesame oil 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2-3 tsp. Of grated ginger (don’t skimp on this it makes the recipe) 6  cups chicken broth or veg...
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Seasons Promised

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Here I am, beginning  in the land of the teenagers and loving it. These people are the ones I wanted and prayed for when I was in high school. I love littles, so this comes a a huge surprise to me. These are truly some of the sweetest and yet unnerving years in parenting yet. And I’ve only approached the edge.  Each parenting season is harder than others in their own unique ways and each season is easier than another. I would give ANYTHING for the slower pace we had when the kids were tiny. Watching them learn things for the first time - it’s so much more concrete than watching your teen figure out their hormones. At the same time, my kids all know how to tie their own shoes and can prepare themselves accordingly to leave the house at a specific time- varied obviously by emotions, but they can do it. The sleeping schedule from the season of littles is least desired and yet - I could use a nap and a cuddle midday myself. The rocking to sleep and the little games that k...
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