The Mothership

2 - 32oz. Containers chicken broth 2 - 10oz cans of Condensed cream of chicken (I use a gluten free, organic version) Water  1 tsp. Dried thyme 1/4 tsp. Salt 1/4 tsp black pepper  5 chicken legs 4 chicken thighs or 3 chicken breasts (thighs will give you a richer flavor) 4 Large carrots, peeled and sliced 1 white onion, chopped 4 celery stalks, chopped 2 bay leaves 4 oz. dried wide noodles (I use egg noodles) 2 handfuls of chopped kale OR 1 cup of frozen peas Multigrain bread or rolls to eat along with it.  Recipe : In a large pot on the stove combine the broth, condensed chicken soup, thyme, salt and pepper.  Take the 2 small cans that the condensed soup was in, fill them each up twice to add water to the pot (four fills in total). Stir altogether. Add chicken, carrots, onion, celery, and bay leaves. Bring pot to boiling; reduce heat to low, but still bubbling. Simmer covered for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender Remove chicken from ...

1 cup butter, softened  1&1/2 cup packed brown sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 can of pumpkin  4 cups all-purpose flour 2tsp baking powder  2 tsp cinnamon  1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp ginger 1/2 tsp cloves 1&1/2 cups chocolate chips 2 cups chopped walnuts  Icing/glaze 1&1/2 cups powdered sugar 2-4 tablespoons of almondmilk  1tsp Cinnamon  Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheets.  In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the pumpkin.    In another bowl put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Add to butter mixture by spoonfuls beating well to combine. Dough might seem stringy. Stir, with spoon or spatula, the nuts and chocolate chips into dough slowly until well combined.  I use two soup spoons to drop onto cookie sheets. Grab a hunk of dough with one spoon and scrape dough off with ...

She sits gazing...gazing at what I am not sure. I am blinded by the light emitting from around the outline of her silhouette.  She is bathed in a radiant glow that also gives off an aroma.  I step closer to realize the woman is scented in a fine perfume. She is not concerned of others. Nor the details of her physique.  But she has her eyes on one thing... The light that emits from her is because of her faith...it has saved her. She is peace. She is radiant. She exudes joy, wonder, and forgiveness. She is the presence of peace because she has made His heart her home. I see all of this, taking in each detail without even seeing the details. Details of the heart are not something one can see at first glance. But as you study them they become the dominant features. Her spirit is so in tune with God's because her spirit is God's. She shows abundant love because she has been forgiven much. Her hands hold an alabaster jar. All of her senses pointedly looking and activating to th...

I love zucchini bread. But it usually has a ton of butter and a ton of sugar. So I experimented a bit. This still has sugar but a lot less than my normal loaf AND it was super moist!  This makes two 9x5 loaf pans.  Recipe: 4 cups shredded zucchini, about 2.5 regular sized zucchini  2 smashed bananas 1 cup applesauce  1/2 cup maple syrup 3/4 cup honey 2 tsp pure vanilla extract 4 cups whole wheat flour Cooking spray 1 tsp salt 4 tsp cinnamon  2 tsp baking soda 4 tsp baking powder 1/2 bag chocolate chips 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional  Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 9x5 loaf pans with parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray. Set aside.  Shred the zucchini. Set aside.  In a large bowl combine the banana, syrup, honey, applesauce, and vanilla.  Stir in the shredded zucchini.  In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder. If it seems really dry, add in small amounts of milk ( I used almondmilk). Do ...

This can be a stand alone dish or a side dish  Ingredients: 1 spaghetti Squash Olive oil Salt, dried oregano leaves, and powdered garlic 1-2 big slicing tomatoes, sliced into at least 6 slices  1b of ground beef or meat substitute  Salt, Oregano and garlic 5-8oz. Of a spicy cheese, shredded Fresh basil Chopped red onion Warm oven to 425. Slice squash vertically and remove seeds of squash so it is in two halves. Brush some olive oil on the inside of each half. Season with salt and garlic powder. Place squash with insides facing down on cookie sheet. Bake for 40 minutes till squash is aldenté and able to pull out in shreds.  Towards the end of the squash cooking, begin cooking your ground beef; or I used a meat substitute. I sauté the meat in the pan, adding salt, garlic, pepper, and oregano till fully browned. Set aside Grease a 7x11 glass pan. Slice tomatoes into 12 or so slices. When the squash is finished baking, let it cool for a few minut...

This woman and I have parted ways before…   The first time she was gone for a week at camp.   When she left for college.   When she moved out of our apartment and married her husband (how dare she).   When I moved to New Jersey   the countless vacations she dare to take without me.  Each time I am sad. I deal with my sadness in many ways but more than likely my sadness moves with tears. Tears as I sit and think about the countless ways she has supported me most recently and pretty much all my life. Tears of the fun adventures we have been on and now take our families along too. Tears of the times I dared be upset with her. Tears of how she is ALWAYS putting other people before herself. I can’t even remember the last time she said, “no! That’s a bad idea.” to me because she is always along for the shenanigans.  She is just lovely.    She is leaving me again. And the tears are rolling. They have been rolling for weeks. It stings a lit...

In church we have been going through a series titled "Emotional by Design." Knowing I am emotional is not a mystery to most of you. However, if for some reason this is the first time you've stumbled upon my writings, this is something that is integral to the understanding of my mind.  Writing about how emotional I am, or why it is a good thing and not a bad thing or how God has wired me, is not for this post. But, I did want to give you backstory of where something came to mind. During one of the services my pastor was discussing healthy emotions and unhealthy emotions. I went back to thinking of a time when my emotions, thoughts, and every part of my being were unhealthy. My heart immediately rushed out to the years of my adolescence. The actual feelings of loneliness, depression, comparison, and insecurity flooded my body with physical reactions. Isn't that amazing that the memory of a feeling has the ability to bring you back in to a crippling state of anxiety and ...