A different kind of art

So my "God-sized Dreams" mostly include making cards and writing and encouraging others with both. The month of January was a bit sparse in both. So I'm linking up with Crystal Stine to share a little bit "Behind the Scenes" of my instagram feed lately (lots of baking)... and linking up with Holley Gerth, because I needed some encouragement for my heart today!

Thankfully, God has also given me another outlet for creativity... and I've been using it a lot this month. Maybe it was because I missed eating Christmas cookies, or maybe it's just because I love to bake!! First there were scones for the kick-off of Downton Abbey. There was birthday cake and cinnamon rolls (three times). Pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips.

Fresh bread (with a machine), and apple pie and banana bread. Banana cupcakes with homemade frosting and pumpkin cookies with glaze... And then there was the rainbow jello in team colors for the Super Bowl party. I just couldn't stop myself...

And that doesn't even count the home made pizza I make almost weekly, the new dinners I tried and the delicious corn fritters we had last night.  There is something about using my kitchen that delights me. Now if only I could learn to bake and eat healthy stuff!

I was getting a little discouraged about my quietness on the blog and my dormant etsy shop, but I was reminded that I do have other dreams (being a better wife and mom, being a real-life friend and encourager, etc) and the time I spent in my kitchen helped me do that when I shared some of the goodies I created.

All this to say, I haven't been writing lately, and all my good intentions for my card shop fell flat this month, but I still made art... in my kitchen!!



So on the long hard days, when you aren't sure you've done anything right (and believe me, I've had a handful of those this month), and when you aren't even sure what your dreams are, or how to pursue them... and you still haven't figured out what you want to be when you grow up, just look around you, look at what brings a smile to your face, look at what fills your instagram profile, look for the gifts and the graces from God. Chances are you might just find something that you've done right, something that fulfills the dreams of your heart. Sometimes you just have to be quiet to see them.

So friend, can I encourage you heart today?

Keep dreaming.

Keep taking snapshots of your daily life.

Keep spending time in God's Word.

Keep asking Him for guidance, direction and encouragement.

And Keep trusting Him to fill the desires of your heart!


holleygerth.com

Community Conversation: What do YOU need to hear on the long hard days?  and What do you like to create in the kitchen (any recipes to share with me)?

Falling in Love with my Kitchen again

I love the kitchen. It wasn't always that way. When I got married, my family joked that I needed a cookbook just to boil water... and truth be told we ate a lot of hamburger helper that first year (we also worked opposite shifts, so meals weren't really worth the effort.

Then I improved thanks to Taste of Home subscriptions and other great cookbooks. But I still made every effort to follow recipes to a T... I'm a big rule follower and that spilled over into recipes, measurements and ingredients.

Then, enter the internet... and allrecipes.com and my recipe "box" grew exponentially. I began to love cooking and had a few go-to meals that I perfected! Over time I could even make the meal without the recipe in front of me and I even learned to tweak recipes for my own liking. *Gasp*

Then I had a baby and I wasn't working full time any more, so I actually had more time for experimenting in the kitchen. I found great satisfaction in a meal well done. And then I had three more kids, one right after another, and time in the kitchen was limited. And when I did take time in the kitchen, these little toddlers didn't seem to appreciate my effort... and sometimes hubby worked later than scheduled and the meal "perfect" at 5:30 was cold, slimy, or otherwise no good anymore.

Sad to say, my meal planning, trying new recipes, taking pride in my kitchen efforts ... dwindled and I lost my spirit for food (Not that I didn't eat, believe me, I LOVE FOOD) but I started picking the easy stuff, the prepared stuff, the horrible-for-you stuff.


Enter Bread and Wine via the (in)courage Bloom book club

I'm not saying  Bread and Wine changed all this for me. I had started to make improvements before I picked up this book. I have been meal planning a little better since my sister-in-law made me the awesome meal planner for my fridge. I have been working on increasing the fruits and veggies we eat and other healthier options. But it was mostly because of duty--it's what I SHOULD be doing.

But when I picked up Bread and Wine, it breathed life into my soul and gave me a craving for the soul part of cooking again. I got giddy when planning out a few new recipes. And grocery shopping was almost fun again as I searched for never-before-purchased items!  And then I tried the recipes, and OH MY WORD, I started drooling! :)

 I loved the Sweet Potato Fries with Sriracha Dipping Sauce... even though I had never heard of sriracha before I picked up this book!

and the Maple Balsamic Pork Tenderloin made me feel so sophisticated (although I over cooked it... and the glaze became thicker than Molasses and hardened on my plate. I'll do better next time).

and making your own Basic Vinaigrette... WHY didn't I try this sooner?!?! It beats store bought by a mile!!

and the Dark Chocolate Mousse... soo simple, soo rich, soo perfect with raspberries!!

Just last week I tried the Goat Cheese Biscuits, and was disappointed to find that all my freezer jam was still ... frozen! So I just ate them plain--still delightful! Just a perfect tang with a lot of salt, that will taste DELICIOUS with jam! I'm hoping that they reheat well, so that I can try them with jam in the morning! The strawberry jam is defrosting now!! (edit to add: they tasted okay reheated, but nobody else in my family raved about them, so I will have to have company before I make them again)

I have all the ingredients for Blueberry Crisp and the flourless brownies and the Enchiladas... so there will definitely be some more cooking going on around here!!

What I loved about this book is that it is so much more than food and recipes! I learned so much, just from the first few chapters and I haven't stopped learning and underlining (and tweeting) the good stuff!!

I have mostly been trying these recipes out on my husband and kids, but I am looking forward to inviting people into my home again and embracing life around the table.

Community Conversation: What is one of your go-to entertaining recipes? What is your favorite cookbook or food website?

PS. you can pick this book up at Amazon or Dayspring... and probably your local bookstore! (attempt at affiliate links present)

Bacon Feta Chicken

I salivate just thinking about this delicious concoction. When I made it this time, I came to the conclusion that my family is finally big enough that I need to actually do a full recipe. My kids actually like this one... and cutting a little bit of chicken off of mine isn't working anymore. I have been halving it for years (except for the bacon and feta cheese... you can never have too much)!!

Here is the full recipe

Bacon Feta Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup feta cheese (or more)
1/4 cup crumbled bacon (or more)
salt/pepper to season
1 Tbsp oil (or bacon grease) to brown chicken in
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp basil

Cut a pocket in each chicken breast.

Fill with bacon and cheese, secure with toothpicks.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Brown chicken in oil (or bacon grease for more flavor)

Add undrained cans of tomatoes to skillet. Sprinkle with basil.

Cover and simmer 10 minutes.
Uncover and simmer 5 minutes longer until chicken is no longer pink and tomato mixture is thickened.

Printable Recipe

mmm.... so delicious!! :)
linking up with Feasting in Fellowship

Cheddar Chicken Soup

It's been a mild winter, but I have still discovered that my favorite recipes lately are soups. I also discovered Soupapalooza, so I'm linking up!!

I've had this soup for ages and we love it. I have had to add to the original because my family has grown! :)  and I've increased the vegetables to make it a little healthier. This soup is made delicious by it's secret ingredient!

Cheddar Chicken Soup

Ingredients:
2 cups diced potatoes
2 cups diced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 cups chicken broth

Dice your potatoes... and your celery & onions... and your carrots, using the handy-dandy Pampered Chef Food chopper... one of my favorite Kitchen tools. Mine is starting to crack and I am very sad!!

Combine first 5 ingredients and bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes until vegetables are tender.  Add 1 cup water w/ bouillon cube if you need more broth.

Dice your 3 cups cooked chicken (with Pampered Chef food chopper, as well)

Add SECRET INGREDIENT: 1 Tbsp steak sauce (I highly recommend A1)

Then add 1 1/2 cups milk. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium.

Stir 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper together till smooth.

Gradually stir into soup until boiling and slightly thickened.

Add 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese. Heat and stir on medium low until melted. Do not boil.

Serve and enjoy!!

It even passes the test of my most picky 4 YO!!

 

Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset

also linked up to Works For Me Wednesday, because my Pampered Chef Chopper works for me!
and Feasting in Fellowship; Tasty Tuesday

Printable Recipe available here

Project 52 --True Love

What is a better definition of true love than the combination of chocolate and peanut butter!?! 

I found this lovely idea of chocolate candy hearts on peanut butter cookies... on Pinterest!

and Peanut Butter Blossoms is one Christmas cookie I didn't make this year, so I thought it would be a great idea for Valentine's Day, but when I mentioned it to my hubby, he told me that he's a traditionalist and prefers them with regular Hershey kisses in them... I wanted to try Dove Dark Chocolate, being that it's my favorite and all.  So when I was shopping for kisses, I found Hershey hearts, and figured that would be okay...

So we got started and it's a project that the whole family was involved in. My Honey assembled all the ingredients... we made them from scratch, not a bag mix!!

some of my girls removed wrappers from chocolate candies... we used Hershey hearts and kisses

and then all the kids had a turn to put the chocolates on the hot peanut butter cookies (with only 2 minor burns).

and my darling husband could tell the difference between the kisses and the hearts... apparently they DO taste different, even from the same brand!! :)

linked up to Project 52 ~True Love


Previous Project 52 entries:
Drink Up
Shadows
Self-Portrait
I Dreamed a Dream
Made with Love
Resolution

One Sentence {Sunday}

Today I made Friendship Bread... and I wish I could share it with each one of you!


Go visit Robin this week for more quick blog posts... and join in yourself!!