September Freezer Cooking

It was my turn to choose the meals in September.  My dear friend Jamie showed up with three huge glasses of caffeine.  Now that's a friend, folks!

I chose the following:

• Taco Lasagna rated 3

• Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu rated 5

• Chicken Enchiladas  (serves 12)  rated 5

Cook 4 large chicken breasts and cut into 24 strips.  Melt 1/4 c. butter in Dutch oven.  Add 2 c. chopped onion and 4 minced garlic cloves.  Saute until tender.  Add 2 16-oz cans diced tomatoes, 2 8-oz cans tomato sauce, 2 4-oz cans chopped green chiles, 2 t. sugar, 2 t. cumin, 1 t. salt, 1 t. oregano, 1 t. basil; mix well.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer covered for 20 min.  Remove sauce from heat, dip each tortilla into the sauce, place 1 chicken strip and 2 T. Monterey Jack cheese in tortilla and roll.  Blend 1 1/2 c. sour cream into remaining sauce, pour over tortillas.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until heated through.

• Minestrone rated 4

1 lb ground beef
1 lg onion, chopped
1 lg. potato, diced
1 c. carrot, sliced
1 c. celery, sliced
1 c. cabbage, shredded
3 1/2 c.canned tomatoes, undrained
1 crushed bay leaf
1/2 t. thyme
1/2 t. basil
2 1/2 t. salt
pepper to taste
1/4 c. regular rice
3 c. water
Brown meat and onion. Add other ingredients. Put in plastic bag and freeze if making freezer meal.Cover and simmer several hours or put in crock pot.

• Pizza Pasta Casserole--4

• Chicken Pot Pie (this one was a repeat and had a rating of 4.8)

Start with 4 c. of cubed, cooked chicken.  Combine with 4 c. frozen hashbrown potatoes, thawed, 1 pkg frozen mixed vegetables, 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, 1 can condensed cream of onion soup, 1 c. milk, 1 c. sour cream, 2 T. flour, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t pepper, 1/4 t. garlic powder, 1-2 c. shredded cheddar cheese.  Divide between two 9-inch deep pie plates.  Roll out pastry (you can make it or buy refrigerated) and cover.  Cut slits in pastry, trim, seal and flute edges.  Thaw, bake at 425 for 30 min, reduce heat to 350, remove foil over edges, and bake 50-55 min or until golden brown.

• Hawaiian Chicken--2

• Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup--4

We always have a great time.

Cool or Gross?

I'm curious for your vote.  Do you find medical sort of stuff cool, or gross?

I have an ingrown fngernail.  I'm sure it's from chewing my fingernails (again!  I had quit the habit, and have recently started again).

In this picture, it hurt terribly.  It was a constant throb of pain.  I soaked it in salt water several times a day for a couple days, and put garlic on it to draw out infection. Then my handy-dandy husband punctured the yellow line along my nail and released quite a lot of pus.  (I spared you that picture.  You're welcome).

It was much better after that.  While tender to the touch, it no longer throbbed with pain.  It was healing, even as it looked strange from the peeling skin caused by the heat of the infection.  I put frankincense on it twice a day for yes, we jumped on that essential oil bandwagon along with everyone else.

Then I was making butter a couple days ago and nearly dropped my bowl.  In my desperate save (for yes, I did save the butter) I managed to SMASH the same finger.

Hello new throbbing and blood blister!

It looks terrible.  Truly, it looks worse than this picture communicates.  We have punctured it one more time and released a LOT more pus.  (If I have to do it again, ok, I promise, I'll get a picture!)

Destry tells me I need to go to the doctor or he is not going to feel sorry for me when my finger has to be amputated.  I say it's itching now, so it's healing fine.  What do you think?

Some Light Reading

The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl

This is not a feel-good book.  It's well-done, although I think she left a lot to the ending, and it gave me lots to ponder.  Mostly, it made me think about the motivations behind people's actions and the way one decision leads to another and another.

I also couldn't help but think of how we are influenced by our past. . .the effect we have on others.

The Boy in the Suitcase is a strange book, starting with a relief worker discovering, as the title implies, a boy in a suitcase.  It travels through various countries, the plights of impoverished and displaced refugees and young girls selling their bodies to survive, to the desperation of the very rich attempting to secure what money cannot buy.

It's strange and unsettling, but worth reading.



The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

I realize my friend Amanda was "underwhelmed" by this book, but I enjoyed it.  It wasn't as good as Big Little Lies, but I am simply enjoying Moriarty's writing style.

It was a little confusing at first as each chapter introduced a new set of characters whose lives would ultimately intersect.  But once I knew the characters, I enjoyed thinking about the storyline and evaluating my own marriage.  What choices would we make if we had such secrets?  How would we handle them?  How well do we really know one another?  And what place is there for forgiveness in our marriage?  Do we dwell in losses of the past?

I also had to ponder the concept of putting friends in a box, assuming we know them and taking them for granted.  I wonder how often we are guilty of doing this.

It was a fun and easy read for this busy baby season of my life.

The Best Yes

The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands by Lysa TerKeurst

My local book discussion group chose this book to read and discuss.  While I don't think I have a huge problem saving my "yeses" for the most important things (I've worked on this off and on in the last 20 years), it still was good to review the idea and Lysa TerKeurst did a good job with the concept.

Some of my favorite quotes:
"When I tell someone no, I visualize my family and see myself saying yes to them."
"Whenever you say yes to something, there is less of you for something else.  Make sure your yes is worth the less."
"Be intentional about leaving enough unscheduled time on my calendar for relationship moments to happen."
"The decisions we make dictate the schedules we keep.  The schedules we keep determine the lives we live. The lives we live determine how we spend our souls."
"God's promises are not dependent on my ability to always choose well, but rather on His ability to use well."

There really were lots of good things in this book.  She lists questions to help the reader decide what the later consequences will be of saying "yes" to something now.  She challenges us to be brave enough to step out on faith and say "yes" when it's our yes, rather than being paralyzed by indecision.  She challenges us to know when to say no to self so we can say yes to someone else.  She cautions us to say no right away when it's needed, rather than letting pressure build until it's harder or more complicated to say no.

But best of all, in my perception, she focuses a lot on gaining wisdom as we're faced with opportunities--especially the very difficult opportunities life throws at us.  This is the best of TerKeurst's books that I've read so far.

Big Little Lies

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful story about motherhood, friendship, and imperfections.  In fact, I rather wish I hadn't read it yet so I could read it on my upcoming plane ride to New York (eeeek!  Sorry, that squeal just bubbles out of me when I think about it!).

I want to be friends with this circle of women.  They have their unique quirks, insecurities, and individual histories and trials and I love each one of them in spite of--or because of--them.  I like that this book is real, that no one has a sugar coated easy life, but rather they are all dealing with life in all its messy glory.  At the same time, the book is hilarious.  I laughed aloud several times.  Usually it was at Madeline.

For example, I am absolutely stealing her signature exclamation:  "oh calamity!"  Consider yourself forewarned.  I also cracked up at her description of this midlife version of PMS.  "Now, for one day every month, she had to fake everything:  her basic humanity, her love for her children, her love for Ed" (103).  (She had to fake her basic humanity--some days, my friends, some days!)

Even while the book was entertaining, it made a few more serious points that I enjoyed pondering.  As Madeline turns 40, she ponders:  "She didn't want to admit, even to herself, just how much the aging of her face really did genuinely depress her.  She wanted to be above such superficial concerns.  She wanted to be depressed about the state of the world, not the crumpling and creasing of her skin.  Meanwhile, Ed got sexier each year that went by as the lines around his eyes deepened and his hair grayed" (82).  (And I insert, yes!  Tell me what's up with that?!  How is my husband getting better and better with age, while I. . .uh. . .)

Yet while one woman is bemoaning her fading appearance, another bears the burden of extreme physical beauty which "had nothing to do with her, it was just random luck, it wasn't a decision she'd made" (165).

I also loved Mrs. Ponder's observations:  "Mothers took their mothering so seriously now.  Their frantic little faces.  Their busy little bottoms strutting into the school, ponytails swinging.  Eyes fixed on the mobile phones held in the palms of their hands like compasses" (2).

There was some language in this book, and some thematic elements that might bother the more sensitive reader.  But I enjoyed the writing, I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the story.  This would make for a fun book club discussion.

Eating In at The Restaurant

I don't think I'll be eating at that restaurant again anytime soon.  There was a fly in my salad, they wanted to put chicken soup on my steak, and the waiter spilled my Pepsi.

My little ones love to play restaurant.  I'm trying to do better at setting aside what I'm working on to play with them.  It really is so refreshing to actually play with them and hear the precious things they say and that work will still be there later (believe me!).

For example, at one point Kiana was ordering and Easton was the waiter.

Easton:  And what would you like to drink?
Kiana:  I'll have wine.

(At my surprised look)
Kiana (giggle):  I'm just kidding.
Curious where this idea came from, I asked:  Who do you know who drinks wine?
Easton:  King Saul.  And Jesus.
Kiana:  Yes, Jesus drank wine at the Passover.

Well, alrighty then!  I barely suppressed my grin.

A little later I realized that playing with your children is a great way to train them in parenting skills for their future.  Kiana was the mommy and Tyrell was the baby and  Tyrell was crying and crying and pitching a fit and I was a random lady at the restaurant.

Me:  What is wrong with him?
Kiana:  Oh, he's mad because I won't let him play with the candlestick.
Me:  Well, he needs to not act like that.
Kiana (with head tilted, hands flying, dramatically making his excuse):  Oh, well he's only 1.
Me (very seriously--this is a teaching moment!):  That doesn't matter.  When you're a mommy, you can never let your children pitch a fit.  You are the mommy and if you say he can't play with the candlestick, then he needs to learn to obey without pitching a fit.  Now go tell him mommy said no and he needs to stop his crying. If he doesn't stop, you will need to spank him.

 (You have no idea how many times I have wanted to give similar counsel in the store, restaurants, church, etc. to real mommies!)

Cherishing the moments. . .

The Song

I went to see The Song at the movie theater with Alan and two other couples last Friday when it opened.  In the interests of full disclosure, I will admit that my interest was first piqued by the fact that my distant cousin, Ali Faulkner, had a leading role.

I keep thinking about the movie, however, and that raises it up a few notches from just going to see my cousin in a movie.  I'm also looking forward to watching (and discussing!) it with my teenagers.

In a nutshell, the movie is about a singer who gets married and his love for his wife inspires a song which rockets him to stardom.  He begins to travel more and their marriage is tested, each of their characters are tested, and they have to decide where to go from there.

But it's about so much more.  I keep reflecting on the many messages and themes woven throughout the movie and the more I think about it, the more I like it.

I love the way Scripture was woven through the story.  I recognized passages from Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon, and think some were from Proverbs.  This was incredibly well done.

I love the idea.  I really, really love the general idea of the story.  The main character, Jed King, is the son of David King.  David. . .as in David of the Old Testament.  David was a famous artist who made some big mistakes--such as seeing a friend's wife skinny dipping, betraying his friend, and experiencing the friend's death.  Does this story sound familiar to anyone?  Then David's son, Solomon. . .er, I mean Jed. . .is determined not to repeat his father's mistakes.  He asks the Lord for wisdom.  And he experiences all that the world has to offer before declaring them vanity, vanity.

I look forward to discussing with my children the importance of seeking a man or woman of integrity to marry.  Integrity and strong character.  Who will they be when the trials of life come?  How will they handle adversity, temptation, mistakes?   Who they are is so much more important than being whisked off your feet or flattered by attention and charming words (or songs).

I look forward to discussing with my children the importance of "leaving and cleaving"--of transferring your loyalty from your family of origin to your spouse, even while honoring your parents.  Marriage is to be held in honor and the marriage bed undefiled, and this movie provides a good opportunity to discuss this.  Unfortunately, the marriage bed is a prime place to practice selfishness, and it's good for people to have the proper expectations and attitude before going into marriage.  This was tactfully handled, but as I have discussions with young christians, I think some of the points that come up in the movie are good for people to consider and discuss prior to marriage.

The forbidden or "strange" woman of Proverbs 5-7 is fleshed out in the character of Shelby Bale and she comes right out and reveals her worldview to Jed.  "Remove your way far from her!" you'll want to shout, but alas, Jed is one of those people who doesn't learn from the mistakes or teachings of others--he has to take the field trip.  Oh how I hope and pray my children will choose to learn from the wisdom of those who have gone before rather than insisting on learning the hard way.

While there were times I thought the movie dragged a little, and I wasn't a fan of the music, I still liked "The Song."  For it was the song--the story--of living and loving and falling and growing and being picked up.  It's about being human and about being forgiven.  It's a life story of redemption that I can relate to.