Day 2 in TX

Yep, I am in TX with my son-in-law, daughter, and 3 granddaughters. One on the primary reasons I came was to help, support, and encourage my daughter as my oldest granddaughter (6 years old) was in the hospital with a new diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes and is now home. Life has changed for this family dramatically but the same God of last week is present in this home today. 

I have seen my family love, support and pray for this adjustment. I have seen my oldest granddaughter learning to live differently when it comes to food, blood sugars, insulin and I am more than amazed at how well she is responding. Some kids are so resilient and I am seeing this in my sweet Annika. She is the same, happy, content, and trusting little girl she was last week before this new routine. Her mommy does such a great job explaining about carbs and numbers, snacks and of taking blood sugars and giving insulin.  

I love being here and just watching all the learning and loving that is going on in so many ways. So grateful for the gift of being able to come to TX!

ps I also saw today ways my only son and daughter-in-law are supporting from a distance as Carrie opened "this" package .... no coincidence that this morning before getting the mail Carrie and I were talking at the park about how she wants Annika to still be able to cook and make snacks with her in the kitchen! I love this  family and I am seeing yet one more time how good God is!

"this" package

Salad in a jar

Ok here's me in the kitchen this summer. This is my daughter's idea and it's a great one for summer and for me who doesn't always like to spend a lot of time making lunch and / or dinner.

 

 

 

As you can see I line up a total of 10 mason jars: 5 for the golfer and 5 for me. Prior to filling them I purchase a bunch of Trader Joe's boneless, skinless chicken breast. First, I wash it, poke it with a fork, and rub it with vinaigrette Italian herb olive oil, salt and pepper and sometimes a bit of bacon bacon and let it sit overnight in the fridge. Next, the golfer is kind enough to fire up the grill and cook the chicken. Then, it's time to get ready all the salad ingredients chopped and ready to put it.

Layer

dressing

broccoli slaw

any and every vegetable (no cucs or tomatoes they are too wet) you feel like adding

we both like red onions and the golfer likes mushrooms

hard-boiled eggs

cheese

spinach

romaine (pack it tight)

lid on the jar and presto

5 lunches / dinners for the week

 

 

 

1 hour later and in the fridge,

5 on top for the tall golfer and

5 on the bottom for shorter one, me ....

1 hour in the kitchen. Really. 

 

 



Goat Cheese Biscuits made with Mouka flour from some friends from the Czech

 

Yum ... goat Cheese Biscuits

These biscuits are especially yummy because of flour called Mouka.

Apparently they serve this at Art Smith's charming restaurant instead of bread before the meal. Because I did not own a cast iron skillet I purchased this before baking and for sure they tasted delicious because of the skillet too ...

Ingredients
2 cups of flour (I used one cup Pure Tapioca Flour and 1 cup Mouka)
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain yogurt (I used vanilla yogurt)
6 tablespoons cold butter, divided
4 tablespoons goat cheese, crumbles
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and place a 10-inch cast-iron pan into the oven while it's preheating.

Pour flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium-sized bowl. Cut 4 tablespoons of the butter into small pieces and add it to the bowl, with the goat cheese and the yogurt, Stir until the mix is moistened, adding an extra tablespoon of yogurt if needed.

Remove the hot skillet from the oven and place a tablespoon of butter into it. When the butter has melted, divide the batter into 12 biscuits, each about the size of the golf ball, (not to be mistaken for the golf ball my golfer hits often), and then nestle them into the pan-they'll be snuggled in there pretty cozily, and that's all right. I usually start by making a ring of 9 around the edge, then 3 in the middle.

Brush the tops of the biscuits with one tablespoon of melted butter. Bake for 14-16 minutes until browned on the top and bottom. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese.

This recipe is adapted from Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist

Promote Your Love from LVA

When I saw Lisa today at class she asked if I had read her post from Friday. I had not; but now I have! And because I want this written piece for years to come I am reposting it here on my blog. I have to say that the Why I love Easter is the part that stirs my heart!

PYL: The Best Guacamole Ever. Why I Love Easter. And A Disclaimer.

Guacamole is one of my favorite foods of all time. My homemade guacamole has received many accolades via friends, party-goers, and family.

“This is the best I’ve ever tasted”.

“No way, what do you put in this stuff it rocks!”

“Will you bring your guac to my party?”

Disclaimer. There are two women in my life who make better guac than I do. Morgan Luzier and Cindy Campbell-Lashley. I don’t know…maybe a little more love goes into it than I have to give. I’ve been to many restaurants, parties, and the like. I would always rather eat my guac. Unless one of these two spectacular women are making it.

But, you are going to get my recipe (below). And it is pretty darn awesome!

I’m hanging with the fam this weekend for Easter. I love it. I love them. I have the blessing of a hugely supportive and loving family and while we get into it big at times, we always love big, always. So Sunday I’ll be Easter egg hunting with my adorable nephew and nieces. We’ll be missing two major parts to my fam, my sis who lives in TX(she adores my quac) and her family, and my sis in Afghanistan (also loves my guac, and she doesn’t like guac, Huge props! She is scheduled to return home next week. SO Grateful for her safe return).

My job is to make the guac and bring it. Roger that. Can do.

I love Easter because I don’t spend nearly enough time with this amazing arsenal of support also known as my immediate family. My sis Kelley, her adorable kids, and quiet but solid hubby. My bro, Adam, the amazing transformationalist and shining example of resiliency and inspiration, with his loyal, loving and ever sweet wife (plus the awesome little nephew growing inside her), and my parents, who taught me above all, LOVE.

It is why I love Easter so much. LOVE.

You may or may not be a fan of the Bible, Jesus, and God (I have had my moments of struggle) but one thing I can say is that Jesus demonstrated a life of LOVE. Whether or not you consider him a messiah or just an extremely rocking human that offered this world a better view and left it better (Let’s be honest. Dogma is what creates the negative view on him, not his actual life or message), I believe you can agree with me on some of his most poignant words.

“Love your neighbor as yourself”. This is huge. If you don’t love yourself how can you love others? And if you repeatedly judge, chastise, and criticize…well then this speaks to how you deeply feel about yourself. Pay attention to your insistent thoughts of others, for they are a reflection on how you truly view yourself.

And then his final words.

“Forgive them. For they know not what they do”.

What finer lesson could we receive from this life? Nailed to a cross by many that swore an oath of loyalty to him. Mocked by the masses. Humiliated in front of the world and tormented. These were among the last words he offered in this life.

“Forgive them. For they know not what they do”.

Ultimate. Radical. Unconditional. Forgiveness.

Available to you. If you so choose. To accept what is.

Whatever is spoken, thought, or acted out against you. Forgive them.

When you make a mistake. Hurt others. Deny yourself the worthiness that is your gift upon arrival in this world. Forgive yourself.

Forgiveness. Available to you. Whenever. Wherever. You are willing to receive.

Enjoy this Friday, whatever your religion, belief, or state of mind. If you are a lover, a hater, a protagonist, an antagonist, an ally, an enemy. Judgmental. Perfectionist. Addicted. Saved. Willing. Resistant. Open. Closed. Whatever you are, wherever you are….you are loved. You are forgiven.

Xoxo, LVA-

And now for more goodness…here’s my recipe. Enjoy it!

 

The Best Guacamole Ever. With A Disclaimer.

Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

This is the best recipe for guac ever. Excluding my friends Cindy and Morgan…maybe they put a little more love into it. I don’t know. So this is possible then the third best guac recipe of all time!

Author: Lisa Van Ahn

Recipe type: Appetiser

Cuisine: Guacamole

Serves: 6

Ingredients

·         6 large avocados

·         2-5 tbsp. of cilantro, chopped

·         1 red onion, diced

·         1 fresh lime-maybe two if you are feeling lime-y

·         4 tbsp. of pace pic ante salsa

·         1 tbsp. of sriracha -more if you like it spicy

·         1-1/2 tsp. of worcestershire sauce

·         Kosher Salt

·         Fresh cracked pepper

Instructions

1.    Cut avocados in half, pull out the pit and scoop out the pulp into a bowl.

2.    Chop 3-5 tbsp of cilantro and add to the bowl. Add up to 5 tbsp. if you love cilantro.

3.    Add diced red onion.

4.    Squeeze 1-2 limes over the bowl. More lime if you love it.

5.    Add pic ante, sriracha, and worcestershire.

6.    Mix with a hand held immersion blender until well blended but still a bit chunky.

7.    Season with a healthy amount of salt and pepper and mix together with a spoon.

8.    Serve with chips. Or be particularly healthy and serve with fresh crudit’e.

Another Family Favorite

Ok  ...  so soon  ... I will be trying a gf rendition of this favorite family recipe .... I got the idea to try corn taco chips as the beginning layer to this pie from Brian at Fillmore House B&B here:

http://www.fillmorehousebandb.com/

I will let you know how it turns out but for now I share the recipe for all and I'm linking up to:




Taco Pie
Ingredients:
1 pkg, flour tortillas
1 lb. hamburger
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can mild enchilada sauce
1 can taco sauce
1 pkg. shredded cheddar cheese

Brown the hamburger and then drain. Add all of the soups and sauces. Grease a 9x13 pan and begin to layer. Tortillas, hamburger mixture, and cheese until pan is filled. Bake at 350 degrees fro 30 minutes or until cheese on top is melted.

enjoy ....

"above all, love each other deeply, ... offer hospitality to one another ... each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering

God's grace in its various forms ..." I Peter 4:8-10

my mom's reciepe for Hershey Pie

I was over at my daughter's the other day and she showed me this family recipe book that she is making on her computer. It was a combination of several recipe's she has collected in her almost 5 years of marriage.

 I was impressed to say the least and I thought mmmm ... ah ah how could I copy her idea?

Then I found this blog during some computer time and decided to link up every once in a while and post one of my favorites so ... today I'm linking up my Hershey Pie recipe here:




From the Kitchen of Kay Walker (my mom)

Hershey Pie
Ingredients:
20 large marshmallows
1/3 cup milk
1 large Hershey chocolate bar (plain or almond)
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1 graham cracker crust 8 oz

melt first three ingredients on low heat stirring often. Once melted take off heat and let cool.
Stir in heavy whipping cream until well blended. Pour into graham cracker crust.
Refrigerate until firm. Serves 8.

"Hey God, I loved my mom and loved that she passed this recipe on to me. I appreciate You providing me a convenient store to pick up all these ingredients easily. Now since I want to glorify You with my body, help me to eat only a small piece of this pie on special occasions. Help me not to over eat ... thanks, I love You!"

In His Arms, Beth