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We are blessed! Adam has been called to be the associate pastor at St John Lutheran Church. We will be near family, which we are especially thrilled to hear. During the call service, both of Isaac's grandmas had tissues to catch their tears of joy! This church is large, has a school and we already feel utterly and completely welcomed. The moving process and house plans are underway and we are thrilled to be getting the ball rolling towards this new chapter!

Thanks be to God!

Today is THE DAY

Today is THE DAY!

Adam and I began this journey in August 2005 when he began the pre-sem program. Now here we are, years later, excitedly awaiting to hear where we will be moving to, who our new flock and church family will be, and where we will be calling "home."

"Each day I long for home,
long for the sight of home."
- The Odyssey

Muffins for Toddlers

The original title for this recipe is "Toddler Muffins"...but that sounds kinda funny, doesn't it?  So I switched it around a bit. ;-)  Isaac loves LOVES these muffins and your lil one may enjoy them, too.

Muffins for Toddlers

makes 24 mini muffins

Ingredients*

¼ c Vegetable oil

½ c brown sugar

2 large bananas, mashed

1 (4.5 oz) jar baby food

2 carrots, grated

2 eggs, beaten

¼ c yogurt

½ c white flour

½ c wheat flour

½ c oats

1 t baking soda

½ t salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 24 mini muffin cups or 12 standard muffin cups.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in the mashed bananas, squash, carrots, and eggs. Stir in the flour, oat bran, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt until just combined. Spoon the batter equally into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Store at room temperature for up to two days, or freeze.

*After reading some of the comments, I changed up some of the ingredients.

Countdown Corner

I remember when Call Day was over 350 days away. 

I remember when the countdown was 182 days.

I remember when we finally broke into the double digits.

But today...today is day nineteen. NineTEEN. NINETEEN. We are finally in the teens, people!

Some of you may not be surprised, but we have a "Countdown Corner" in our kitchen.

A thoughtful fabulous friend snail mailed me this colorful countdown chain. 

Every morning we tear off yet another chain, the length gets shorter little by little. 

This chocolate countdown calendar is a sweet and delicious gift from yet another special friend. 

Every morning I pop the day's chocolate into my hot cup of coffee...or I may share it with the hubby. 

When we first began seminary, people told us, "It goes by so fast!" I believe them! The counting down continues and soon we will be in the single digits.

Because I've Been Asked...

...over and over, here are a couple easy crock pot meals that could easily be turned into crock pot freezer meals. 

Southwest Chicken Tacos*

Ingredients

5 chicken breasts

1 can diced tomatoes with chilies (drained)

1 packet taco seasoning
1 can corn (drained) or frozen - optional
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed) - optional 

(To stretch this meal, add the corn and black beans.)

Directions

Place chicken breasts in crock pot. Dump can of diced tomatoes. Sprinkle packet of taco seasoning. Cook on low for 8-10 hrs. Shred meat using forks and  eat plain or serve on whole wheat tortillas with 2% cheddar cheese and non-fat refried beans.

This recipe could easily become a freezer meal (in fact, it is on my to-do list!). You can cook this, then put it in freezer bags...or put the chicken and other ingredients into the bag. Freeze it. Then, when the time comes (like packing season...or unpacking season), simply thaw then pop into the crock pot and cook away. Easy peasy! Quick note: If you get discount meats (exp. date is soon), I suggest you cook the meal then freeze it. 

*To be honest, I can't find the original recipe - I've been making this for years and the recipe is so simple I memorized it rather than printing it out. However, as you can see, thanks to Google, there are 5 billion different ways to make a southwest chicken taco meal. If you'd like to experiment with some variations of this recipe, Google leads the way! (Or Pinterest! ;-))

Idea: Sometimes this dish seems to last  f o r e v e r  in our house because it is just the two of us. To change it up a bit, a make a couple quesadillas with this southwest chicken yumminess:

Southwest Chicken Taco Quesadillas

Oven at 350*

Spray a cookie sheet with non stick spray. Lay two whole wheat tortillas on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle a bit of shredded cheese on each tortilla. Spread approximately  1/3 c of southwest chicken yumminess on tortilla. Top with shredded cheese (feel free to add some caramelized bell peppers, onion, black beans, refried beans, etc...get creative!). Place tortilla on top of each quesadilla, spray tortilla with non stick spray, then pop the cookie sheet into the oven. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Bbq Chicken

by me, myself, & I

Ingredients

5-6 chicken breasts

¼ c brown sugar

1 bottle bbq sauce

6 strips of partially cooked bacon, chopped

Directions

Place 5-6 chicken breasts into crock pot. Sprinkle on brown sugar and bacon. Squirt entire bbq sauce onto chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs. Shred with fork. Serve on whole wheat buns with shredded cheddar cheese.

Same as the previous recipe, you can cook beforehand or stuff a freezer bag with the ingredients then thaw for when you're ready to pop it in the crock pot.  

Greek Yogurt Revisited

As with chess, and other strategy games, I had beginner's luck. This Greek yogurt was also one of those times when I had a little bit of luck.... After wasting a few gallons of milk, I decided to try a different way to make Greek yogurt. Maybe it was the type of Greek yogurt I'd mix in with the milk. Maybe it was the milk. Maybe it was the crock pot. I don't know. Regardless, I felt like I needed to change things up a bit.

My mom gave me the following "word of mouth" recipe:

Greek Yogurt

Ingredients

2 % gallon of milk

1 c unflavored Greek yogurt

Directions

Pour milk into crock pot.

Turn the crock pot onto HIGH for one hour.

2 hours on LOW.

3 hours OFF.

Take out 2 c of the warm milk and pour into bowl. Whisk in the Greek yogurt. Then pour the yogurt/milk mixture back into crock pot.

Wrap crock pot with warm blanket and leave overnight.

In the morning, drain for 5-6 hours. (To drain: set colander in large container or bowl. Lay unfolded cheesecloth in colander. Pour yogurt/milk mixture into colander.)

Reserve the whey. 

This recipe worked great! I know it's hard not to, but don't "peek" on the yogurt. Thinking about how the milk is turning into yogurt is neat, but if you lift the lid the heat will escape and may negatively affect the outcome of your yogurt.  Because of how long this process takes, I've found that starting this recipe at 2 or 3 in the afternoon works best for our schedule.  For me, this recipe seems to be easier/more fool-proof than the previous one I posted.

Speaking of the previous post, I haven't yet tried the "Indian Street Beverage of My Dreams".... Cardamon is the magic ingredient for that special recipe and it is nearly $13 at the grocery store. I just couldn't put it in my cart. I couldn't even touch it, actually. Maybe someday I'll be able to try this drink or find a smaller portion of cardamom somewhere. In the meantime, I need to find something to do with all of this whey!

For Guidance in Our Calling

The time when we wait for our vicarage assignment or call can be...well, tough. We know that the Lord truly knows our inmost thoughts and desires, but sometimes (we are human - and He knows that) we still worry. All of the unknowns. All of the questions. There is fear. There is excitement. Anxiety. And prayer. 

Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

The following is a prayer from the Treasury of Daily Prayer (p. 1,315) that helps keep our focus on Him.  Graphic design is not in my repertoire, but I turned this message into a printable. It is hanging in our home where we can see it and be encouraged. There are two versions you can right-click, save and print for yourselves. (I insert this jpg into a Word document to get it evenly spaced on the page.) Enjoy, friends!

Lord God, You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that Your hand is leading us and Your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

         

"For Guidance in Our Calling" full size printable in black and white:

"For Guidance in Our Calling" full size printable in color: