I’m not sure if you are a meat lover or not. I wouldn’t consider myself a meat lover, but, I love chicken wings. And not just chicken wings. Fried chicken wings!!! It gets very tricky when it comes to buying fried chicken wings because some restaurants make them too greasy, or you end up with hardly any meat attached to the bones.
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That defeats the purpose to me. Up until about 20 years ago, when I ate chicken wings, I had to have them with hot sauce. Now, I eat them with honey mustard sauce because I can no longer tolerate the hot sauce.
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A couple of weeks ago, I had a taste for some chicken. This time it was for honey garlic chicken. This is a super quick recipe. It satisfied my taste for chicken, gave me a boost of protein, and I had something sweet to eat at the same time. That’s what I call a win-win situation.
Photo by Katina Horton
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
3 tablespoons of minced garlic
3 tablespoons of
onion and garlic powder
black pepper
3 tablespoons of honey
1/3 cup of olive oil
Directions:
Cut the two chicken breasts into chunks and season them.
Mix all of the above ingredients, except the honey, into a skillet of heated olive oil.
When the breasts are browned, add the honey, mixing it well with a wooden spoon.
Optional: Add parsley flakes to the mixture after it’s done for garnishing.
The following is a post that I wrote a year and a half ago on another website. Enjoy! God bless!
Book Adventures
I am in the process of reading a book by Peter Mayle entitled, “French Lessons”. It is one that is filled with a lot of humor, surprises, and vivid introductions to French cuisine. The one thing that made me stop and think is a scene where Peter is in a restaurant with two friends, and they are discussing how to make an omelette. The conversation intensifies because one person is insisting on saying that you can only make omelettes with a fork. Another person insists on the fact that they have been making omelettes all their life with a spatula.
This conversation ends, and then the conversation begins on what cookware should be used for the omelette. There was a toss up between cast iron and copper pots. The person with the copper pots said that everyone else was at a loss for the best omelette without using one. Peter leaves the scene feeling like he needs to get one fast.
Isn’t this how it is in life? Instead of us learning about all the different ways that we can say or do something, we have to impose our ways on everyone else, instead of celebrating the differences. This leaves the people who are different feeling as if they are missing out on something. It helps when we get into conversations like this, if we could take a moment and think about how it would make us feel if we were the “oddball out”.
On to the recipe:
Background on the Whole Wheat Pancakes
Last week, I had to wait for an hour for my daughter to pick me up. To kill time, I decided to look around in two sections of the grocery store. The first section was the magazines and books. Featured on the front of one of the magazines was a picture of blueberry whole wheat pancakes. The picture left me with a taste in my mouth that I couldn’t get rid of. I decided that since I had some pancake mix and blueberries at home, that I would go home, and have fun making them.
They turned out really good! And I praised God for that! It is just the little things in life. Instead of using an egg like the recipe calls for, I used 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal. Then, I added 1/3 cup of sunflower seeds, 3/4 cup of cashew milk, and blueberries. For the oil for the pancake mixture, I used grape seed oil. I used coconut spread to cook and top the pancakes with. Lastly, since I didn’t have syrup, I substituted with honey. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Red Mill Organic HIgh Fiber Pancake & Waffle Whole Grain Mix
Their recipes:
Blend 1 cup mix
1 egg
1 tsp oil
3/4 cup of cold milk
Mix until blended.
Cook on preheated griddle on medium heat.
My recipe:
1 1/2 cup of mix
2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon of grape seed oil
3/4 cup of Cashewmilk
1 cup of Blueberries
1/3 cup of sunflowers
Mix until blended.
Cook on preheated griddle on medium heat with 2 tablespoons of Earth balance Coconut Spread.
Top with Earth balance Coconut Spread, blueberries, and honey.
Hope you guys are doing well on this beautiful Sunday afternoon in the Midwest. Be blessed! Here is a recipe for Chocolate Chunk Cookies:
Ingredients
2 cups of oatmeal
2 cups of almond flour
1/2 cup of chocolate chip chunks
3/4 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of coconut flakes
2 tablespoons of flax seed meal
1/3 cup of sunflower seeds
1/3 cup of sliced almonds
1/3 cup of walnuts
3/4 cup of almond milk
Directions
Grab a large bowl, mixing all of the above ingredients.
Place parchment paper onto two cookie sheets.
Scoop the mixture with a small ice-cream scooper, making sure that you press the sides of the scooper against the bowl in order to drain off excess liquid before placing the scoop on the parchment paper.
About a year ago, I decided to come up with a quick meal based upon the few ingredients that I had at home. And guess what? It turned out pretty good. My son stated that it tasted Mediterranean, so I decided to go with that. I hope that you enjoy the rest of your Saturday.
Here is the recipe:
Mediterranean Dish
3 chicken breasts
1/2 cups of rice
1 1/2 cans of cut-leaf spinach
3 tablespoons of onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and curry
1/3 cup of oil
Cut the chicken into chunks.
Place the oil and breasts in a skillet, frying them for about 20 minutes.
While the breasts are frying, boil the rice.
Saute the cut-leaf spinach in oil.
Place all of the above ingredients into a crock pot for an hour, along with a half cup of water to give a mashed effect and enjoy!
Separation causes a lot of things. For babies, the peak time for separation anxiety is between 10 to 18 months. Even as adults, separation can be very difficult. Due to immigration issues or other circumstances beyond our control, separation happens. Families end up being torn apart. In marriages, separation occurs for the sake of hoping that broken pieces are glued back together again. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve had close friends that I was separated from for years due to my moving or their moving, and somehow losing contact information.
Photos by Sarah Pflug
Unfortunately, when I was a teenager, through no fault of her own, my grandmother was separated from her brothers for years. We didn’t have any of the contact information, and after so many years, she assumed that they all had died except for her. As God would have it, when I was at my last place of residence a few years ago, I decided to do an ancestry search to see if I could find any information on my grandmother’s side of the family. Lo and behold, I stumbled upon an obituary showing that there had been one brother left along with my grandmother. He had died nine months after her. It made me sad to know that my grandmother hadn’t spoken to him in so long, how she must have felt, along with all the “what ifs” floating through my head.
Separation brings on two friends: sadness and loneliness. These friends can only be mended by God himself, who is near to the brokenhearted. Because we live in a fallen world, we are prone to separated from anyone and anything. However, there is one thing that will always stand the test of time. That is, the love of God.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What are some of the cliche terms that you have said when you tried consoling someone who was grieving?
Did you say these terms to avoid feeling the other person’s pain, or in a rush for the other person to feel better?
What are alternative words that can be said to someone who is suffering?
Do you have pain competitions with others when they are grieving in order to make them have a reality check, or yourself feel better because you feel that you have it worse than them?
What changes can you make to insure that people feel loved during their time of grief?
It is amazing how we are all are wired up differently, and with this wiring, we all have different things that take us back to childhood. For the last few nights, I have been taking a quick five minute walk in the neighborhood in order to get a whisp of the slightly cool, fresh air and to hear the sound of the crickets. These two things have been my favorite since I was a kid. They remind me of visiting my relatives in Memphis and hearing the calming effect of the crickets at night.
Photo by Katina Horton
About a week ago, I was trying to decide what to make for dinner. My mind landed on the box of pasta that was still in the cabinet. I decided to jazz it up with my two favorite ingredients for most meals: spinach and diced tomatoes.
Here is the recipe:
Total Prepping and Cooking Time:
45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 box of penne pasta
2 jars of tomato and basil pasta sauce
1 tablespoon of thyme
3 tablespoons of parsley
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of cut-leaf spinach
1/3 cup of quinoa
1/4 cup of oil
Directions:
Boil a pot of water, adding the oil to the water to prevent the pasta from sticking.
Add the pasta and the quinoa once the water has started boiling.
While the pasta and quinoa are cooking, saute the spinach and diced tomatoes.
Drain the pasta and quinoa in a colander and dump them back into the pot.
Dump all the rest of the ingredients into the pot and stir.
Eat and enjoy!
Food for thought:
What foods do you eat, or activities do you participate in that take you back to your childhood? Would love to hear your comments!
The last poem that I wrote was entitled “The Declaration”, and you can find that poem here.
God never makes a mistake with anything that he does. Just a few minutes ago, I was on Twitter doing some posting and scrolling, and I saw a post by Realistic Poetry. I decided to click on it and read it. They presented a challenge.
The challenge was to write a poem based upon two wooden figures leaning up against each other in a box. One figure has its arm slightly around the other figure. The first thought that came across my mind is whether or not I should enter the challenge. I’m glad that I did because God immediately gave me a poem.
The words that he gave me reminded me of how wonderful it is to be in the Body of Christ, doing life with believers who lift each other up, pray for each other, and bear one another’s burdens. Have a blessed Monday everyone!
12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one member, but many.
15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?
20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.
21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
I have been reading Brene Brown’s new book, Dare to Lead for a couple of weeks now. If I was just reading that one book, I would be done by now. However, I am reading about six books at the same time. What I love is that the Holy Spirit has intertwined several themes across the board with all of these books: vulnerability, shame, joy, gratitude, dealing with the unexpected, hustling for self-worth, and filling our thirst.
There are several things that stuck out with me so far in this book. I would like to quote three of them:
Quote #1
“Embodying and practicing gratitude changes everything. It is not a personal construct, it’s a human construct-a unifying part of our existence-and it’s the antidote to foreboding joy, plain and simple. It’s allowing yourself the pleasure of accomplishment, or love, or joy-of really feeling it, of basking in it-by conjuring up gratitude for the moment and for the opportunity”. (Dare to Lead, Brene Brown, pg. 83)
This reminds of last night. I got together with a group of friends. I allowed myself to not dismiss the reality that my life has been filled with lots of drama and trauma within the last six months. However, my heart was full. It was so, so full. I thanked God for my friends, the food, the fellowship, time to decompress, and the laughs from the movie. I thanked him for all his goodness in spite of what my real life problems were.
Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
Quote #2
“Something as simple as starting or ending meetings with a gratitude check, when everyone shares one thing they’re grateful for, can build trust and connection, serve as container-building, and give your group permission to lean into joy.” (Dare to Lead, Brene Brown, pg. 83)
The second quote was a Holy Spirit moment because just a week ago, I had an accident. I allowed myself to sink in anger about all the inconveniences, but then quickly gave myself a gratitude check. That post can be found here. The funny thing about it is that I titled the post “Gratitude Check” prior to reading page 83 of Dare to Lead. God knows how to bring all things together.
Quote #3
The last quote is from page 97, which was another Holy Spirit moment. It reminded me of my IT job from years ago, where I sought to prove that I could sit at the table with others who made a certain salary, instead of being discriminated against. I didn’t realize that the only table that I needed to have recognition at is the table of Christ. The “Heavenly Places” blog post can be found here.
“When people don’t understand where they’re strong and where they deliver value for the organization or even for a single effort, they hustle. The kind that’s hard to be around because we are jumping in everywhere, including where we’re not strong or not needed, to prove that we deserve a seat at the table.” (Dare to Lead, by Brene Brown, page 97)
A few days ago, I decided to try my hands at a simple spaghetti recipe. There were very few ingredients. It turned out pretty good. The only problem was that I put too many red pepper flakes. I would take a bite to eat, then feel flames at the back of my throat. This cycle repeated itself until the bowl was empty. Enjoy!
Here is the recipe:
Activity: Making Simple Spaghetti
Total cooking and Prepping Time: 40 minutes
Servings: about 12
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of chili powder
2 tablespoons of onion powder
2 tablespoons of garlic powder
2 tablespoons of basil
1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes
1 box of spaghetti
1 jar of pasta sauce
1 small can of tomato soup (low-sodium)
basil or spinach leaves (for garnish and eating)
Valley of Grace Cutting Board-Shopify Store
Directions:
Boil six cups of water with olive oil or butter so that the spaghetti won’t stick.
Add the spaghetti to the boiling water.
Drain the spaghetti.
Dump the pasta sauce and tomato soup into the pot.
