Monthly Archives: October 2008

Italian Chicken

For those of you who didn’t know, my husband is a great cook, especially when he makes his own recipes! Several years ago, he made up a chicken and potato recipe that we call Italian Chicken. It is one of my absolute favorite meals!

In the past, I have called Luke into the kitchen to make the sauce because he had never measured the ingredients, and I didn’t know the recipe. A few days ago we worked together and wrote down the measurements. Now that we know the recipe, we can share it! If you try it, let us know what you think!

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. boneless chicken breast cut into strips
  • Sliced Potatoes
  • 1 c olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 2 1/2 T garlic salt
  • 1/4 c Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
  2. Place the chicken pieces in a 9×13 dish.
  3. Add sliced potatoes until the dish is full.
  4. In a small bowl, mix the remaining ingredients until the water and oil are mixed.
  5. Pour oil and spice mix over the chicken and potatoes.
  6. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour (stirring about half way) or until potatoes are soft and chicken is done.

My Favorite Nature Pictures

Because I got my dates mixed up, I am posting late for my own group writing project! 😐 So, if there is someone out there who still wants to participate, please don’t feel bad for submitting your picture late.

By the way, it doesn’t have to be just one picture. I am not sure I could pick one favorite picture, so I picked quite a few! I hope you enjoy them!

Which Pumpkin Pie?

Our church is having a pie baking contest next Sunday. Because of this and the fact that Phillip has food allergies, I experimented with egg free, milk free, nut free pumpkin pies over the weekend. First I tried a recipe using gelatin instead of eggs. Then I tried the regular Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe and used one small banana for each egg and homemade evaporated soy milk for the evaporated milk.

The gelatin pie was good, but it really does not taste like pumpkin pie. The Libby’s altered recipe turned out to be pretty good and still had a pumpkin pie flavor. Of course, it is really banana pumpkin pie (with whipped cream on top, of course).

So, the choice Phillip-safe pie to be entered in the pie baking contest is the altered Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe! And the best part? Phillip got to eat his first slice of pumpkin pie!

Goin’ Courtin’

On October 17, 1998 while at a park with the Gedeons, Luke and I talked about and agreed to a courting relationship. It was a big day for us because we knew we were serious about the relationship and were looking for characteristics in each other that we would want in a spouse. And, of course, it was a big day just because we really liked each other and it was no longer a secret!

After Luke asked me to “court” and I accepted, we went on our first date with Luke’s sister and fiance at a nearby restaurant. I have no idea what we talked about on that date because I was too dazed by the fact that I was sitting across the table from my first real boyfriend! I was so glad to be together with him, and I am still glad 10 years later!

If you want to know more about Luke and me and our history, read some from my perspective and some from his. You can also stay tuned for other “10 year” memories that I am planning to share with you! 🙂

A New Perspective on Life

A while back, when I was in a situation that I was not particularly thrilled with I said, “That usually doesn’t happen. Why did it happen this time?” This is a phrase I had been saying (or at least thinking) all my life. One day when I said the statement aloud, my husband said, “Well, you should be thankful that it doesn’t usually happen.”

Believe it or not, it actually took several years for the meaning of that statement to sink in. Instead of looking at the few times things are difficult for me and getting frustrated, I should be thankful for all those times when things are going well!

I must admit that this was a whole new perspective for me. Although I did not know it until recently, I have always had the tendency to look at the negative. I could take a good situation and make it sound awful, without even realizing it!! It was after this new perspective sank in that I was able to begin changing my negative perspective on life.

It is because of this new-found knowledge about myself and the way I view life that leads me to say that life is not worth living if there is no stress. Stress, for me, is usually caused by the most precious things to me. Things like my faith, my family, and my friends (wow……accidentally alliterated!). These things are worth getting stressed over. A stressful life with them is better, WAY better, than a peaceful life without them (if that is even possible).

Now all I have to do is remember this next time I am in the midst a stressful moment. Instead of getting stressed during those moments when all of my children are talking at once and expecting me to hear and understand them without anyone repeating a sentence, I should stop, take a deep breath, and say, “Praise the Lord that God gave me all these wonderful blessings!” Then I can sit down and teach my children conversation skills, such as waiting your turn to speak. 🙂

Note: This is my submission for the “What I learned from” group writing project over at Middle Zone Musings.

How to Cool my Heart

Every once in a while, I get an extended case (like several days) of heartburn…..or at least I think it is heartburn. It seems to have all the right symptoms, but the medicines that are out there (even prescription) do nothing for me.

So I get a light back rub (because firm ones hurt during this time) from my hubby and then sit up on the couch with a pillow on my tummy until I fall asleep. Usually I wake up anywhere between 2 and 5 am, and am finally able to lay down to get some real (as in comfortable) sleep. Then for the next day or two, I am very careful because just lifting my 2 year old can bring it back full force all over again.

Because of my experiences with heartburn, I have been doing a little research on the topic. The most interesting article I read was 20 Ways to Stop Your heartburn Fast. I was surprised at some of the suggestions like eating a baked potato, mustard, raw almonds, bananas, or cooked rice. It also suggested chewing gum. How odd!

So, does anyone have a suggestion of something that is not on this list that I should try when I feel a bad bout of heartburn coming on? I thank you in advance for sharing your suggestions! 🙂

Beep Beep

Tonight during supper, Peter said, “Hey, I can see my heart beeping!” After I corrected him, Anna started being silly and said, “Oh, you see your heart going, beep, beep, beep, beep……” Just for the fun of it, I started beeping in harmony with her and then Luke joined in. Then Luke said, “Hey, we should get everybody to join and see how many different beeps we can get going.” As soon as the words left his mouth, a car alarm went off outside, “beep, beep, beep……” The timing was unbelievable! 🙂

Me? Too Tall?

While rearranging our bedroom with slanted ceilings, Luke and I were struggling to find a place for our bed that would prevent us from hitting our heads when we get out of bed. We had an okay set up, but I still hit my head sometimes. It is also the beginning of winter, so we wanted to arrange our room so that no furniture is blocking our baseboard heat.

When we finally got the bed set up, we decided to check to see if we would hit our heads. This was a big concern for me because when one of the kids cries I tend to sit straight up before I’m even all the way awake. Go ahead. Think about that visual image and get yourself a good laugh……

When I did a test to see how it all worked out, my hair barely brushed the ceiling. I looked at Luke and said, “It is just right……unless I wear shoes to bed because shoes make you taller.”

Name That Kid

Having a large family makes for some interesting conversations sometimes. Here is how the conversation at breakfast this morning went:

Peter: Can I have yogurt?

me: Yes

Bethany: Can I have yogurt in a bowl?

Phillip: Can I have applesauce?

me: No

Bethany: I want yogurt

me: It is already in a cup. You don’t need a bowl.

Phillip: Why can’t I have applesauce?

Bethany: Can I have yogurt?

me: I never said you couldn’t have applesauce.

Phillip: You said ‘no’

Bethany: I want yogurt

me: I didn’t hear you ask

Peter: I’m just getting yogurt for Bethany

me: I was talking to Phillip

Peter: Phillip can have yogurt?!

me: No, he was asking about something else

And on and on it went. And that was with just three of my kids. Anna had not entered the room yet, and Candice was behaving fairly well.

I think a little bit of confusion will be eliminated once I learn to use names before responding to my children. It is conversations like the one above that will eventually push me to remember their names, so I can use them. 😀

Notes: Peter did eventually get thanked for helping out with Bethany, Bethany did eventually get yogurt, and Peter was surprised that Phillip might be getting yogurt because Phillip has a milk allergy.