My friend Esther shared the following to promote her idea for “Cravat Fridays.” After watching it, I support the concept 100%. Major LOLs.
1 Comment + Posted in: what i'm into
2 14.5-oz cans Italian-style diced tomatoes, UNdrained
1 2.25-oz can sliced black olives, drained
2-3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Cavender’s Greek Seasoning
Salt and pepper
Crumbled feta cheese
Directions:
1. Slice chicken breasts into strips and sprinkle evenly with the Greek seasoning.
2. In a large non-stick skillet sprayed with cooking spray, cook the chicken over medium heat until golden brown on each side.
3. Add the cans of diced tomatoes and olives. (The recipe also works with one can of tomatoes, if you don’t plan to let the juices cook down for a long time.) Bring to a boil.
4. Turn down heat to just below medium. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes (less if you’re only using one can of tomatoes). Check periodically to make sure all the liquid hasn’t evaporated.
4. Right before serving, sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese. Serve alone, or over rice or pasta – orzo pasta would probably be a good accompaniment to this. I added whole wheat shell pasta this time.
Add a Comment + Posted in: food
I subscribed to an Advent e-mail newsletter and I’m enjoying it so far! Yesterday’s entry really resonated with and encouraged me:
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (I Thessalonians 4:11-12).
In this season of Advent, we anticipate commemorating the birth of Jesus, the infinite, Almighty God becoming a small, helpless baby. When we think of Jesus, we often focus on his divinity, and on his divine mission of redemption which restores our peace with God. But this season reminds us that the God-man came into the world in the ordinary way, and grew in wisdom and stature in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52) in the ordinary way. He reminds us that living an ordinary life to the glory of God is a worthy ambition.
Our society worships celebrity. Our society worships material success. A poll of young people found that over 40% would rather be a personal assistant to a celebrity than the CEO of a major corporation, the president of Yale or Harvard or a U.S. senator. Sometimes we Christians can also get caught up in this focus on celebrity and material success. But Paul says here that living an ordinary life to the glory of God and doing our work with integrity is pleasing to God. The God-man himself spent most of his life living an ordinary life to the glory of God, starting with his birth.
Add a Comment + Posted in: christmas, reflections
Swaps are all the rage these days. Most of us have been to card swaps, or clothing swaps, which are a lot of fun. But what about a Christmas decoration swap?? I’m sure these are already happening across the country, but I came up with the idea totally on my own yesterday. I love reinventing the wheel. :)
Everyone has decorations they don’t need or want anymore for a million different reasons – the things are is too small/large/the wrong color scheme for their current home, they want to eliminate clutter, they want a more mature or kid-friendly look, etc. So get together with a bunch of friends (the more the better), bring all your unwanted decor, dishes, and serving pieces, and go crazy sorting through each other’s stuff! And have plenty of coffee, hot chocolate, and treats while you’re at it. I think it would be great to have this party the weekend after Thanksgiving. It would ease everyone into the Christmas spirit, and it’s in that crucial pocket of holiday time before people become excessively busy. Too bad I thought of it too late.
On another party-related note, I’ve wanted to have a casual New Year’s Day brunch ever since I saw The Neelys plan one a year ago. I have an Evite all prepared and know I need to send it SOON – I’m just afraid I won’t be able to manage a brunch for a small crowd (I’ll have to borrow a lot of Crock-Pots). I also don’t know how many people would actually come, or whether my friends would secretly resent me for asking them to get out of bed before noon on New Year’s Day. Stress!
3 Comments + Posted in: celebrate, christmas
The Christmas spirit has come upon me suddenly. When I was in Miami last weekend, I didn’t feel Christmasy at all – I’m not used to being there at this time of year. But now I’m placing orders online, shopping for decorations, and singing Christmas songs to the cats. Today at lunchtime, I went to the Pottery Barn outlet and found this beautiful velvet stocking for $1.97. That’s not a typo! The lighter green of the paisley is almost the same as my new living room walls and will look GREAT! I can’t wait to hang it. :)
I haven’t actually brought my tree and Christmas bin down from the attic yet, but I’m already thinking that I’d like some new Christmas decor. A lot of what I have is mismatched or not really my taste (or has too many memories attached). I’ll keep the traditional and meaningful things, but it’s time to replace the rest with something fresh. Still, I know it would be stupid to go bananas buying decorations when it’ll all be 50% off the day after Christmas!
Also at PB, I went crazy over tall glass vases filled with tall red amaryllis. (This picture is from Country Living and the closest representation I could find – I like their use of pinecones, too!) Their flowers and vases were too expensive for me, though. I may check out Hobby Lobby this weekend, since I see their florals are 50% off.
In the process of writing this, I came up with a great idea! But I’ll save it for tomorrow. :)