Recipes

I haven't shared any good recipes lately but I've got some new ones that I really like so I thought that they would be good to share.

Corn Salad
4 ears corn - Cut corn off cob and boil on high for 5-7 minutes or until tender. Rinse with cold water to cool off a little.
Mix corn in a bowl with the following -
1/2 - 1 package of cherry tomatoes (quartered)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 oz feta cheese
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

This is a great summer time recipe and it's nutritious. It is good right when you mix it up or served cold.

Bruschetta Chicken
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
~1/4 c. flour (to coat chicken)

2 tbsp melted butter or margarine
~1/4 cup bread crumbs
1-2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

store bought bruschetta or make your own with the following:
1 medium diced tomato
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 2-3 teaspoons dried basil
1 clove minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
dash of red wine vinegar

Coat chicken pieces with the flour. Put chicken in sprayed casserole dish.

Mix the bread crumbs, melted butter, parmesan cheese, onion powder, and garlic powder together. It will be moist and crumbly. Place this on top of chicken. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20-30 minutes depending on how thick your chicken pieces are.

If making your own bruschetta -
Dice the tomato and garlic. Mix them with the basil and olive oil and vinegar.

After the chicken is done put the bruschetta on top of the chicken and bake another 5-10 minutes just to warm it up.

This is a yummy recipe! It would be great to serve with a salad and french bread. This recipe is good too because it uses a lot of recipes that you probably have on hand. In the summer this is a great recipe to use your tomatoes and fresh basil.

Hope you enjoy these!

Thoughts...

I really enjoyed last Wednesday night's Bible study class led by Roger Warner. There were 2 verses that I especially appreciated hearing again. I want to meditate on them in the next few days and think about applying them to my life.

"I know O Lord that a man's life is not his own. It is not for man to direct his own steps."
- Jeremiah 10:23

I think this verse is a good reminder that I need to let God lead my life in the direction that He wants it to go. God will show me what to do/where to go if I will just follow His lead. There is NO reason for me to spend so much time WORRYING about choices to make and the future if I put my trust in God to lead me and guide me to that place that He wants me to be.

"Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."
-2 Peter 1:2-4

This is another verse that tells us to rely on God. He will give us EVERYTHING that we need and he has promised us great things.

I need to meditate on these verses a while so that I can be assured that He will take care of me and provide for me what I need if I will rely on Him and follow His Word. I should be so relieved of the burden that I don't have to figure out everything by myself. Sometimes when I have something on my mind I feel like I can't sleep/relax until I get it solved. These verses give me assurance that I should trust God to take care of me and not feel like I have to do them on my own.

Any thoughts?

Coming up -

It will not be many more weeks until Nolan's 6th birthday and the beginning of 1st grade. I am just starting to plan his birthday party and just beginning to think about the start of a new school year. I know that he will be happy to see his friends again and it will be good for him to be back into the learning routine.

Chevy's birthday is only 3 weeks earlier than Nolan and this weekend will be his party. I always know that I need to start planning Nolan's party when I get the invitation to Chevy's party.

Also, I'm looking forward to seeing some of my aunts and uncles in a few weeks when my dad and Karen have a get-together. One thing that I've been thinking about lately is all of the cousins that I have and probably have lots in common with that I hardly know. I don't even know how many 1st cousins I have on my dad's side of the family. I wish that I knew them better and had close relationships with at least some of them. It is sad to me that I could pass some of them on the street and not even know who they are! Anyhow - I will be glad to spend some time with at least part of that side of the family in a few weeks.

More Summertime Fruits and Vegetables

This past weekend my friend Leeann and I went and picked blueberries. Someone that she knew of was offering them to whoever wanted to come and pick them. We had a lot of fun picking them together and talking while doing so. (Although we initially had trouble figuring out what a blueberry bush looks like!) We went back today and picked more. I've been enjoying blueberries and yogurt for lunch the last couple of days. I've got a couple of recipes that I want to try with the blueberries and, of course, now I want to plant my own blueberry bushes so that I can have fresh blueberries all summer long.

We also have been getting green beans and okra from our garden now. I made up my own recipe of oven fried okra and they were a hit. I cooked some green beans for supper last night and they were okay (not as good as other people's though...SOMEONE please tell me how to make green beans taste yummy!) We are still getting some cucumbers but not nearly as many as a few weeks ago.

I am so thankful for the wonderful foods that God has given us. We are so blessed!

A Cleaning Project

Last Thursday through Saturday, the boys were out of town with Grandma and Papaw while camping at Dan Nicholas Park (they had a great time - thank you Grandma and Papaw!) While they were away I decided it would be a good idea to clean their room. If you've seen it lately, you would understand why! There were toys everywhere and you couldn't even see the carpet. So, I took most of the stuff out of the room and cleared the way for Brent to shampoo the carpet. Then, I sorted the items into several piles - keep/put away, get rid of/donate, sell on Ebay, and trash. I was proud that I was actually able to come up with some things to give away this time. In the past when I've cleaned their room I couldn't bring myself to get rid of much of it. Maybe it helped that I was listening to The Dave Ramsey Show while working. It reminded me that, according to Dave, you should "get rid of/sell so much that your kids think you might get rid of them." I cleaned out the closet in their room (that mostly had my stuff in it!) and made space for more of the bulky toy items. I even put their shoes in the shoe holder pockets! I was so excited because when I finished and replaced everything you could still see the floor. Now, if the boys should WANT to play in their room, they can. You know what else? They've been more entertained in the past few days because they've found toys that they haven't seen lately!

Quick Beach Trip

On Sunday the boys and I drove down to Holden Beach to spend a couple of days with Grandad, Mimi, Chevy, Maddy, and Richard and Betty. We really enjoyed getting to spend some quality time with them. Elijah especially enjoyed the boat ride with Grandad and Papaw Richard. Nolan enjoyed getting to spend time with Chevy...they get along so well together. They played Nintendo DS's together and played on the beach together. We all enjoyed getting to play with Maddy. She's the best baby that I've ever been around and one of the cutest too! I really appreciated the time with my dad and Karen. I don't get to spend as much time with them as I would like and it was nice to get to spend some relaxing, unhurried time with them. Grandad and Papaw Richard tried to help the boys and I fish from the side of the boat while it was docked. Nolan, Elijah, and Chevy all caught fish...I never did catch even the smallest fish. So, Dad had to show me how to reel in the big fish.

What do you think about his BIG catch?? The sad thing is that I couldn't even catch one of those!

Dad and Karen - thanks for letting us come down and spend time with you. The three of us had a great time and appreciated it very much! We love you!