Wednesday Eats and Treats: Chicken Cilantro Soup

Last night, I took some chicken breasts from the freezer and put them in the refrigerator to thaw. I really had no idea what I was going to do with them, but decided I would cross that bridge in the morning. When I took them out this morning, I realized they were already cooked. That threw a wrench in my plan to make parmesan chicken and noodles. Instead, I looked in the fridge and saw a lonely, wilting bunch of cilantro. Clearly, it needed rescuing. 

Now I had chicken and cilantro. I went shopping in my pantry and grabbed up cans of corn, diced tomatoes, rotel tomatoes, and beans, plus an onion. Back to the refrigerator for some celery and minced garlic. After a few minutes of chopping, I tossed everything in the slow cooker and set it on low for 5 hours. (If my chicken had been raw, I would have set it on high or cooked it longer.) 

In retrospect, I could have sauteed the onion, garlic, and celery in some olive oil for better flavor, but my toss-it-in technique saved a step and the need to wash another pot! I also added a cup of uncooked rice during the last hour. I wouldn't do that again. It soaked up too much liquid and made the soup too thick for our tastes. If I had leftover cooked rice, I might put some in the bottom of each bowl and ladle the hot soup over the top of it.

The soup was great. I added a chunk of avocado to each bowl for creaminess. With tortillas chips and fresh fruit, we had a complete meal with very little fuss.

Slow Cooker Chicken Cilantro Soup

Serves 8

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts (1.5-2#)

1/2 bunch cilantro, thick stems removed

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 stalks celery

1 can corn

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles

1 can beans, rinsed (black, kidney, or pinto)

2 quarts (or more) chicken broth

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon black pepper

Optional: 1 lime or 2 tablespoons lime juice (set aside)

Directions

1. Toss everything, except the lime, in the slow cooker. 
2. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. 
3. Remove chicken, shred it with a fork, and return it to the pot. If desired, add the juice of one lime and cook for 15 more minutes.
4. Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips, cheese, and sliced avocado.

Monday Musings: Week 38

Aside from my spending report, today’s post has nothing to do with saving money, becoming a minimalist family, etc. It’s just me being transparent, sharing a very real struggle I face every day.

Here are my stats for week 38:               

Week 38 Spending
Groceries	$92
Miscellaneous (Doctor's office co-pay)	$25
Total	$117

Here is the share:

At the end of last week’s post, I mentioned that we had returned home to a mess and a lot of kid drama. A dear friend of mine noted the hint of discouragement in that statement, and I shared some details with her. I thought I might include a redacted version in today’s post – to protect the guilty.

-------

We came home to a house that looked like a disaster area and a report of younger kids who had made life miserable for the older kids who were in charge while we were gone. After having such a great weekend, it was quite a letdown.

 I know I need to lower my expectations so I don't get so disappointed. If I just expected the house to be a wreck, then I would actually be happy if it wasn't, right?

My friend shared –

When I get up to my eyeballs in problems, I can feel like I'm going to drown. 

And I replied --

This is where I am. Sadly, my go to response is to try to control the situation rather that trusting the Lord to walk me through it. I'm discovering that the first 35 years of my being a Christian were pretty simple. A problem came up, the Lord provided a way through, and I took it. But in the last 5+ years the trials are so multi-faceted, so intertwined with each other, so pervasive that the solution seems buried beneath all the what-ifs and the worry and the self-recrimination.

But the truth is that while the problems may have changed, the solution remains the same. The Lord will provide a way through, and I just need to take it. I need to loosen my grip on my life and tighten my grip on His life, and hang on while He navigates the circuitous path. I cannot pull myself out of every pit, but He can lift me up. I can't dodge problems, but He can carry me through them. And in the end (and even today), rather than being a bitter, angry woman who blames everything on others, I can know the sweet peace of resting in the arms of my Savior.

That's the place I want be. That's who I want to be. Now the challenge is to get there! 

Any suggestions?

Wednesday Eats and Treats: Cavatini for a Crowd

Cavatini for a Crowd

This recipe makes two 13 x 9 pans full of pasta. I made one to eat tonight and froze the other one for another meal. We served this with salad and garlic bread. My teen boys kept going back for more and more and more.

Chopped ham, chicken and ground beef are mixed into spaghetti sauce with sauteed onions, green peppers and mushrooms. Layer to bake with pasta and cheeses.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup butter 1 onion, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 2 (4.5 ounce) cans sliced mushrooms, drained 2 pounds lean ground beef or Italian sausage 2 (24 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce 4 ounces chopped ham

1/2 cup cooked and cubed chicken 3 ounces sliced pepperoni sausage 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes salt to taste ground black pepper to taste 1 pound shaped pasta (wagon wheels, twists, etc.) 2 pounds mozzarella cheese, shredded 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a small skillet, saute onions, green peppers, and mushrooms in butter or margarine. Set aside.
2.	Brown hamburger in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain. Mix in tomato sauce, pasta sauce, chopped ham, chopped chicken or turkey, pepperoni, salt, and red and black pepper. Add vegetable saute to hamburger mixture.
3.	Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
4.	Spread a little sauce over the bottom of two 9 x 13 inch pans. In each pan, place a layer of pasta, a layer of mozarella cheese, a hamburger sauce layer, a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, and another layer of mozarella cheese. Repeat layers. Cover pans.
5.	Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. If you want your cheese soft instead of crusty, cover with foil while baking and take off for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking. (Adapted from Cavatini I recipe at allrecipes.com)

Monday Musings: Week 37

9/15/2014

Here are my stats for week 37.               

Week 37 Spending
Groceries	$22
Gifts	$66
Miscellaneous	$16
School	$16
Piano Lessons	$20
Benevolence	$36
Toiletries	$15
Total	$191

Last Friday, I went to Dallas with my friend Regina. We spent the day together celebrating her upcoming birthday. Then our husbands met us for a lovely dinner, and a visit to Trinity Hall – an Irish pub where we enjoyed listening to and singing along with live Irish music. Regina’s husband used Price Line to get a great rate on a really nice hotel, and we were able to…ta-da…sleep until we woke up! It was fabulous! I loved the leisurely pace of Saturday. The hotel gave us a 2 p.m. checkout time, so we took our time packing up. Syd got to use the workout facilities, but I was sorely disappointed there was no hot tub or pool.

After lunch at a Mexico City-style taqueria, we parted ways with our friends and went on our own expeditions which included a little Christmas shopping and a trip to Pick-n-Pull. You would have thought Syd was in heaven. Pick-n-Pull is a self-service automotive salvage yard. You get to poke around, find a car similar to your own, and then commence pulling parts from it that you can use for your vehicle. I decided to stay in the car and read since he was “just running in to get one part for the van.” This place isn’t located in the best part of Dallas, so I didn’t feel safe sitting there with my windows down. So I baked in the car while Syd had a heyday. I can hardly complain. He patiently tags along when I am fabric/craft shopping, and he even uses his keen eye for color to help me match threads and fabrics.

I was very thankful to have the opportunity to step back and be refreshed since we returned home in the early evening to a houseful of kid drama. This is our lives right now. I’m sure someday I’ll be haunted by the quiet in the house, but right now I’d give just about anything to have some peace and joy around here during waking hours. 

Monday Musings: Week 35 & 36 and August Spending Report

Last week our family took a mini-vacation to the Metro-mess – a.k.a. DFW. After attending my Daddy’s 82^nd birthday bash with 30 family members at my sister’s home in Allen, we spent the night at a hotel where we enjoyed swimming, big comfy beds with lots of pillows, an HGTV-watching marathon, and a lovely breakfast. Then we ventured over to Main Event for a fun day of laser tag, a ropes/gravity course, miniature golf, billiards, and games. It was fun to get away and play together.

 

 We’re working out the kinks in our new routine – in anticipation of basketball practices, Josiah’s work schedule is changing. Gideon is learning about the wonders of public school and homework, plus he’s decided to play fall baseball, so we have to work that game schedule into our routine. It looks like evenings are going to be way busier than I like – twice a week basketball practice, piano lessons, weekly baseball games. We’ve always made eating dinner together a priority, but it’s going to be tough this fall. It looks like it’s time to break out the slow cooker!

Here are my spending reports for 2 weeks, plus the August analysis.

Week 35 Spending (Aug 24-31)
Groceries	$148
Entertainment	$52
Total	$200

Week 36 Spending (Sept. 1-6)
Groceries	$174
Entertainment	$138
Clothing	$35
Toiletries	$48
Total	$65

August Spending Report

Category	Spent	Budgeted	Savings
Groceries	$402	$700	$298
Miscellaneous	$70	$120	$50
School	$88	$50	($38)
Entertainment	$103	$75	($28)
Toiletries	$4	$50	$46
Piano Lessons	$0	$80	$80
Clothing	$76	$60	($16)
Gifts	$0	$75	$75
Hair Care	$0	$30	$30
Benevolence	$0	$35	$35
Discretionary Cash	$25	$25	$0
Total	$768	$1300	$532

That $532 total savings represents 41% of my monthly budget for August. This money will be most likely be added to our emergency fund. I expect our school and piano expenses will increase in the coming months.

We've determined we are going to be intentional about spending the entertainment budget each month. We need to spend time doing fun things together and building memories. We're hoping to go to the beach before the cool weather kicks in, and we're planning a trip to San Antonio in December. We usually camp at Beaver's Bend in November, but school and work schedules make that a challenge. It might just be a few of us going this year. We'll see what we can do!

Wednesday Eats and Treats: Homemade Buttermilk & Dressing

Buttermilk gives an extra dose of deliciousness to so many foods, from waffles and pancakes to biscuits, cakes, and salad dressing. The problem is, I always find myself running out of the stuff. In a pinch, I've tried adding lemon juice to regular milk, but it's not the same. So, you can see why I was excited to discover a simple way of making my own buttermilk. It only takes a couple of minutes to combine the ingredients. You do need to plan ahead because the mixture needs to sit for 24 hours.

Simple Homemade Buttermilk

Ingredients:
3.5 cups of milk, whole, low-fat or skim
1/2 cup of buttermilk at room temperature

Directions:
Mix the milk and the buttermilk. Allow the mixture to sit in a warm place for 24 hours. Stir and refrigerate.

That's it. You have a fresh quart of buttermilk. Be sure to save 1/2 cup of the mixture to make the next fresh batch of homemade buttermilk.

Tips:
If you have milk that it sour, don't throw it away. It makes great buttermilk. 

Buttermilk freezes well, so if you have extra and it looks like you're not going to use it, pour it into pint size freezer bags, lay flat, and freeze. Then you'll always have buttermilk  at-the-ready.

Buttermilk Dressing

Ingredients:
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Spices: Begin with garlic and onion powders, add some dill or parsley. Try different combinations until you find one that suits you.

Directions:
Mix buttermilk, mayonnaise and spices with a whisk. 
For best flavor, chill for at least 3 hours.

Tips:

For dip, thicken dressing with additional mayonnaise.

Next week, I'll share my grandmother's recipe for buttermilk pancakes. You don't want to miss it!

Just in case you're a bit of an information hound like me, I found an interesting article on the history of buttermilk. Click the link if you care to read it.

Monday Musings: Week 34

The weekend was a bit crazy. Nathan and Amanda were in for a weekend visit, and our church had a last- hurrah-before-school-starts trip for the youth which encompassed all of Saturday. Gideon and Miriam started school on Monday, and for some strange reason, I felt compelled to start "getting down to business" with Josiah and Esther and our home-school efforts.

Needless to say, these are the reasons my Monday Musings are coming to you on Tuesday, and why they'll consist of little more than my weekly spending report and an update on my knee. I was tempted to skip the post altogether, but I don't want to start down that slippery slope.

Here are my stats for week 34.                  

Week 33 Spending
Groceries	$45
Entertainment	$10
Clothing	$10
Basketball camp	$70
Total	$135

My knee is much better this week, but I still need to baby it. If I walk or stand too much, it starts to ache. Today was the first day I tried wearing shoes other than flip-flops and it was a mistake. I thought a good supportive athletic shoe would do me good, but as I was tugging to get them on, my knee twisted and “Ouch!” Then I was climbing a step stool to get a jar of salsa from the top shelf of the pantry when I missed a step and came down full force on my left leg. So, I’m back to ice packs and flip-flops.

Except for taking Josiah to work in Tigertown, I haven’t ventured further than Roxton – a trip to the school for Gideon’s Meet the Teacher night and a couple of trips to the café. This has obviously kept my spending down, since a trip to Wal-Mart still scares me. Fortunately, Syd has been a champ and has gone to the store for necessities, like those delicious ribs and sausages he grilled when Nathan and Amanda were here. You know, sometimes, you just need to throw the spending plan out the window and splurge on fresh beef!