A scientist in the kitchen...

Remember the veggies I roasted a couple of days ago? I said I might use them in a soup and tonight I did just that. 

I knocked it out of the park! The soup was so good. ( well, according to the parents- Caleb said it was too healthy) 

The roasted veggies consisted of chopped rutabaga, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and turnips. They were dusted with herbs, salt, and pepper. 

Today I put about 1 cup of them into my vitamix with about 1 cup of homemade chicken broth, and some red bell peppers and blended. I added them back into a heavy bottom pot ( I used my dutch oven) and warmed them up. 

In a separate pan I cooked a few pieces of bacon that I already chopped to about a 1 inch size. When they were chrispy I drained the grease and added some left over chicken that I cooked yesterday. This picture was before I cooked the chicken. It had fresh and dried herbs and some butter. 

I chopped the chicken then added them into the hot pan with the cooked bacon and a bit of the bacon grease. 

I chopped some garlic ( about 3 cloves) and some red peppers and heated them all up together. 

I then added about 1/4 cup of heavy cream to the pan and another 1/4 cup of the broth and heated it up. 

Meanwhile I was heating up some corn and green beans with some chopped jalapeño, salt, and oregano. I used canned because that is what I had on hand. Fresh is great but you go with what you have and don't stress. I added about 3/4 of them back to the vitamix and about 1/4 cup of heavy cream and blended. You could add some broth or water for the liquid if you didnt want to use the cream. I imagine you could use coconut milk too.

 I also added some brown rice/ quinoa pan. I got it from Costco, It is one of those that all you have to do is heat it up. It's perfect for soups because it warms up as the liquid does. 

I ended with added all it it back to the Dutch oven and heated it all throughly. 

A dopple of sour cream can be added to the top of you would like.

 I like. ;)  

Tonight I am thankful for being in my own kitchen and having a pantry full of food. I am thankful for the ability to try new things and to be creative. 

Saying no

I wasn't going to write a blog post tonight.....not because I didn't have any thing to be thankful for, but because I just didn't really have a story. I was good with not writing one. I was good with saying no. I then decided to write a quick post about how even though I said yes and I am writing, I am thankful for the freedom to say no. 

I am a rule follower to a Tee and I like to keep my commitments and not let others down. For example, i do not like being late because someone is counting on me getting there and we set a time so therefore it becomes a rule. Even with this blog I stated that it would be a daily post on thankfulness. I am not fooling my self that people will be let down if I don't post daily but it is a goal that I put out there and want to keep. 

I am thankful that I am not held down by that promise. 

Don't get me wrong, I am all for keeping commitments and not quitting but for me I keep doing some thing even when it cause stress to myself and family. I was choosing to not write today because I had no topic and didn't want to stress over picking one. I thought "man, I am happy I can say no and not be anxious over this" Then I thought " hmmm that could be my post" 

So here I am - writing a post about not needing to write a post lol

Are there things in your life that you still do because of a commitment even if it causes you stress or anxiety? How do you get through it and stay true to your word? 

Random fact for you: this picture doesn't go with what I wrote but I post it so something nice shows up  :) 

16 years in the making.

I remember when my sister and I first moved out on our own. It was the day after high school graduation and we knew enough about being an adult to make it. What we didn't know much about was cooking. We took a picture of our first thing we cooked in our apartment and it was a simple can of pop open biscuits. I am not sure what we ate the next couple of years but I know there was lots of Taco Bell since we worked there and I know that I never looked at a cookbook. 

Jerry and I met when I was 19 and when I got to know his mother I learned a few things...she was amazing at cooking and she could sew anything in the entire world she wanted. 

Jerry never put a single amount of pressure on me to cook well but I knew that I needed to step up my game. I wanted to step up my game.  Early on in our marriage I did make home made chocolate chip cookies and I made lasagna...one time. 

After that it was simple things Kraft Mac and cheese and chicken. If I was being super fancy I would marinate the chicken in BBQ sauce. I had some go to meals of the boxed noodles with canned spaghetti sauce and pre boxed casseroles. I was 20 yrs old and just barely off baby food myself and here I was trying to feed my own family. The awesome thing was that I was doing the best I knew how and that was great. My family was being fed and I could only go up from there. 

Fast forward to 18 years later and I have done a 180. I adore cooking. I love everything about it and I have read a billion cookbooks.

-All of those books are cookbooks-

 

 I love being "taught" about cooking by reading different techniques in all the books. 

In 2006 I was brought to a crossroad and forced to make a decision because of my diagnoses of MS. I never ate much vegetables and really could care less if I ever added them in. 

Tonight I am sitting here being very thankful for my many cookbooks. I have so many options to pull from when prepping for the week's meals. I am very thankful that my best 18 years ago had tons of room for improvement. I am also thankful for Netflix. I am loving all the food shows on there and tonight while I look through a couple of my favorite books I can watch Top Chef Masters. 

I want to be know for a few things years from now. I want people to say that I loved Jesus with all my heart and I want to be know for being an awesome cook. 

Will I ever write a cookbook? Most likely not, but I will continue to read, continue to learn, and continue to share what ever random recipe I might come up with. 

I slowed down instead...

   Have you ever woke up in a cranky mood? It's a new day, you are alive, kids are good, and you are feeling bratty.  Well, that is actually what happened to me about 15 mins upon putting my feet to the floor. Like many other families we are very busy and this means that things get put to the side when life goes full force. For me that is usually house work and just walking to the kitchen set me off this morning. I stepped over Ava's ponies....for the third day. I saw Caleb's cup on the coffee table from playing games last night. There were shoes on the floor....right next  to the basket they go in. I ended with seeing a sink full of dirty dishes because the dishwasher was already full since we are off schedule with our chores. 

I woke up with a SUPER Power that no one wanted, the ability to see everything that needed to be done.....all.....at....once. I saw my garden that needs tweaking, bills to be paid, laundry to wash, fold and put away, shelves to hang, walls to paint, people to call, food to prep, bible to read, children to teach, weight to be lost, money to make, porch and rooms to clean, and even an art room to de-clutter. Seeing this meant Jerry was in for a heap of trouble because I need his help to do some of it. My heart was full of discontent and frustration over us not getting it done. I was already mad at jerry for not reading my mind and having it done before this point. I was aware of the crappy mood and there lies my thankfulness. Seeing my stinking attitude meant I could hit it head on. I had to do some serious prayer and I,on purpose thanked God for things in my home. I, on purpose, thanked God for my husband and for his awesomeness. I have learned years ago that focusing on the bad will only make it worse. It NEVER fails, a bad attitude can go away if we choose to focus on things we are thankful for. 

Years ago I was out of town with Jerry and our two kids, at the time, for our anniversary. I was at the hotel all day waiting for him to get back so we could spend the evening together. He was exhausted after a full day of working at the factory ( electrical engineer at Saturn) and he went to sleep soon after getting back. I was so hurt and angry. I literally felt heat coming from my ears. I was in the sitting area feeding Caleb, who was about 8 months old, and I was just "praying" about my rude husband. I felt like the Lord told me to be thankful. I said I have nothing to be thankful for. He impressed on my heart again to just be thankful. I was like "ok, I am thankful for ........( many moments passed by as I had nothing ) his...legs. He has nice legs and a nice butt" That was it. That is the only thing I could say to God. The amazing thing is that is all He needed. So many times when God wants obedience and we want to give him perfection. He does not want that, he just wants to see your heart and that you are willing to give your best, how ever crappy that is. Once I obeyed and said the only two things I could see past my anger then God stepped in. My heart broke and I cried. I automatically saw all the amazing things my husband does for his family. I cried because I was so thankful for him and so ashamed of my selfishness. 

The point to that is you can give your best even if your best is a bowl full of crap and God will meet you there. 

Today that is what I did, I gave God my best, which was a ungrateful, I want it done now, attitude and exchanged it for, Thank you for our house, thank you for our kids and their toys. This took awhile and I had to pair it with worship music but it worked. I still see all the things I want done and I still want it done now but it is not causing the anxiousness I felt before hand. I was able to clean my room I was able to dust and clean the kitchen and I was able to slow down and catch lighting bugs with two of my kids. 

I am thankful that I have a choice. I get to choose if I stay in my funk or I can make choices that help me get out. This is a great lesson because somehow today an explosion of blankets happened in Caden's room this afternoon ( It was clean yesterday ) and I found this while writing the blog and pausing to go tuck him in. 

I am not even sure what happened.  I choose to be thankful that he has a room and obviously plenty of blankets. I am thankful that he is safe at home with me. Tomorrow we will tackle that. Today he sleeps on a folded blanket. 

Vulnerability and confessions.

In light of my post a couple of days ago about my daughter and the doctors appt today, it has sparked a few conversations with friends. Each talk this week and all of them in the past, after a melt down, share a common thread of confessions, sadness, and hope. I have yet to talk to a mother who has not felt madness at a child, hopelessness for how to help, and shame on how they responded. I have learned that because we are all human we all make mistakes, we all respond in ways that is less than stellar, and we all want to pull the "do over" card a few times. I have learned that we all feel alone and we feel like we are the only ones who can act like a total jerk to the ones we love. 

As parents we have this standard that can be impossible to get up to and for most of us, not reaching that idea of the perfect parent, can make us feel like failures. We carry shame with us and shame can cause silence. We don't speak for fear of what others will think. We don't share our challenges because no one will understand. 

This is a lie. 

This is not the truth. 

Talking to others can bring healing, it brings hope, suggestions, answers, and peace. 

I am grateful and so thankful that we are not alone. I am thankful for friends that love me through my confessions of bitterness and pain. I am thankful that when I am open about my trials it allows others to be open. Shame is broken when we speak. Forgiveness happens when we talk. Hope starts when we share. For this I am thankful. 

Family, High fives, and Jamie grace.

Today I am super duper thankful for my church family. I love that they teach the Word of God. I love that they do not back down and water down the Word just because it may go against what the world is teaching today. I love that the leaders are creative and fun and always praying for new ways to reach the lost. 

On Wednesday night I have been serving up stair with our youth group. 3 of my 5 kids are in there so it only seems fitting that I would help out. Tonight a young man named Bryson spoke and he did an awesome job. He was funny and got his point across by using silly examples like pretending his sin was high fiving everyone. It was great! I am so thankful when speakers do a great job on keeping the audience awake and interested.  

I am thankful that I go to a church where famous people can come and not be ran over by fans. They are respected and treated kindly and normal. Tonight Jamie Grace was upstairs in the youth service and then joined my small group. She was down to earth and was able to talk with  the girls about our group question. Back in May she was here and was we got a picture with her then. Now we are old friends. 😜 

We live in a world where it is all about filling our own needs. We are always asking " what about me, what do I want, what do I get?" Going to a church that serves others is wonderful. It is a family that looks out for each other and has got your back. The enemy wants people to feel alone. He wants us to feel exposed, like no one has our back. I am thankful for where I am in my life and for my church family. 

I get to choose.

I live in a free country where I get to decide just about every avenue of my life.  I have the option to choose where I want to live, what doctors I want to go to and what subjects I want to learn more about. Today I am thankful that I get to choose what foods I can eat. I am so thankful that in just about every town there are many different grocery stores to choose from and inside there are thousand of options for which to feed our families. 

Today I chose Costco and Publix. Before we left on our vacation we ate all of our main food. We did not have any eggs, milk, bread, fruit, cereal, or even oatmeal for a quick meal. Jerry picked up some of these items when he came back in town but today I am thankful for the chance to go full grocery shopping and I am thankful for a full fridge. 

I get to choose this. I get to choose to buy foods that feed my body, that heal me, and that make me feel good. 

When I was juicing before we traveled I felt great. I wrote about how my back had very little pain. Today, after two weeks of not great eating choices, I feel a lot of pain again. Today I bought veggies for more juicing. I get to start feeling better again. 

I also got to use the juicer my friend Rachel let me borrow. I am in love I tell ya!! 

I have written about how my old juicer was so loud and I posted a short video clip of how I had to bang on it to get food un-caught. It is awesome 😏 

This new juicer was so quite that no one knew I was using it. Now that was truly awesome. I am very, very thankful that Rachel saw my video on Instagram and offered her juicer to borrow. I love social media. I am thankful for that. Each day is new and each day comes with victories and trials. You have to take a pause and choose to be thankful in all situations.