Weekend Getaways and New Cities

Very recently my sister and her husband have moved up to Williamsburg, Kentucky. I was so excited when I found out that they were going to be only a mere 4 hours from me! So the first 3 day weekend Joel had off happened to fall on Valentine's day, so we made it a weekend trip to Knoxville (45 min. south of Williamsburg), to see my sister and Joel's best friend.

Of course our first stop had to be Wonderworks in Pigeon Forge!

I had never been to Wonder Works and had such a fun afternoon of hands on activities including rock wall climbing and roller coaster simulators! A definite "must-go" in my book!

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but Knoxville was not it. I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful downtown and the fabulous shops and local restaurant! Friday evening we went out to eat with Joel's best friend to the Downtown Grill and Brewery. The interior was very industrial, which is something Joel and I love, with seating upstairs and downstairs.  The atmosphere was fun and the service and food was fantastic!

Inside the Downtown Grill and Brewery

Neither Joel's friend or his wife are coffee drinkers so our first stop Saturday morning was to Starbucks!

Then we headed to my Sister's In-laws to met up with her and my sweet nephew before heading to lunch downtown again!

Isn't he just the cutest!?

For lunch we went to Café 4 where they have a small bakery and serve Brunch. You can find their menu here. We all went for a breakfast theme. I had a delicious waffle with their "fruit of the day" topping, along with Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries.

Doesn't that make your mouth water????

I also got to spend some sweet quality time with this hunk o' chunck

He had pees and carrots for lunch.

We spent the afternoon doing some shopping here and there. Then we all met up for some line dancing that night at a local "Honky Tonk." I had know idea how to line dance when I walked in, but it was super easy to pick up and so much fun! It was a sweetheart dance that incorporated some slow dancing, so of course I pulled my sweetheart out with me!

On Sunday, we ended up having to leave earlier than expected because a big snow was coming in and we wanted to make it through Ashville and the mountains before it got too bad, BUT we met up with my sister one last time for lunch at Calhoun's on the River.

The atmosphere here was nice and the view was beautiful. With seating right on the river and skylights throughout you get a full experience of God's Creation. The food was delicious. I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat so, I ordered the Calhoun's Trio, that comes with ribs, Tennessee BBQ pork, and Chicken fingers along with a side of your choice. It was PHENOMENAL. You can find their menu here.

We headed back to NC early Sunday afternoon, but made sure we stopped for a mandatory ice cream date. Even in Sub-freezing temperatures:)

Our weekend was so much fun! I know we will be making a lot more trips to Knoxville as we visit my sister and explore the city. I just love doing life with my best friend and can't wait for the many more adventures to come!

Lasagna Lover's Soup

I am a soup girl. Chicken Noodle, Cheesy Potato, Regular Potato, Minestrone, Chili...... I  just love the cozy feel of soup on a cold day!  So when I found this recipe on Pinterest for a Lasagna Soup , I knew I had to make it! When my husband learned I was going to attempt to put Lasagna in soup form, he wasn't quite sure what to expect, but after his 3rd bowl I'm pretty sure he loved it;) This soup is the perfect winter soup that classifies as some serious comfort food! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Ingredients

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 lb lean ground beef

garlic powder to taste

onion powder to taste

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes

1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes

2 1/2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 3/4 tsp dried basil

3/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp granulated sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

8 lasagna noodles, broken into bite size pieces (6.5 oz)

1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (5 oz)

1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese (2 oz)

8 oz ricotta cheese

Directions

Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, crumble beef into pot, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally until browned. Drain fat from beef and set aside. In another pot  Add in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, rosemary, fennel seeds, thyme, sugar, parsley, the cooked ground beef and season with salt and pepper, garlic and onion powder  to taste. Bring just to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare lasagna noodles according to directions listed on package, reserving 1 cup pasta water before draining pasta.

Add cooked pasta to soup along with 1/2 cup - 1 cup pasta water as desired. In a mixing bowl, using a fork, stir together mozzarella, parmesan and ricotta.

Ladle soup into bowls, dollop with a large scoop of the cheese mixture and sprinkle with chopped parsley (you can help the cheese melt better by cooking in the microwave after dolloping over soup for a bit but mine melted and mixed just fine!)

General Tso's Chicken

I am not a big Asian food eater. I am always a little questionable at the meat and what they consider "real" meat. This annoys my husband, who LOVES to eat Asian food.  So 99% of the time, if we eat Asian food, I cook it at home. This recipe is a little lengthier BUT so worth it! You can make the sauce and breading mixture in advance to make it go quicker the day of as well!

Ingredients

(Chicken)
– 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 1-inch cubes
– 1 1/2 cups cornstarch
– 1/4 cup salt
– 3 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
– 3 cups vegetable oil for frying, plus 1 tablespoon for stir-frying
– 5 dried red chilis, roughly chopped
– 2 tsp minced garlic

(Marinade)
– 1 tablespoons soy sauce
– 1/4 C. of Rice Vinegar
– 2 egg whites

(Sauce)
– 1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
– 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
– 1 tablespoon soy sauce
– 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
– 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
– 1 teaspoon chili paste (If you don't have this you can substitute 2 tsp cayenne pepper and red       pepper flakes)
– 1 teaspoons sesame oil
– 1 tablespoon sugar
– 1 teaspoon cornstarch

 Steps:
(1) In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, and egg whites. Coat the chopped chicken in the marinade mixture and let sit for 10 minutes.
(2) In a small bowl, combine the chicken stock, tomato paste, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, chili paste, sesame oil, sugar, and the 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Stir until well combined. Set aside.
(3) In a large bowl or deep plate, mix the cornstarch with salt and pepper. Add the marinated chicken and toss to coat. Shake off any excess before frying.
(4) In a large thick-bottom pan/skillet. Heat vegetable oil on high until it begins to bubble and sizzle/pop. Turn heat down to medium, and start frying your chicken.
(5) Working in 4 or 5 batches, add the first batch of chicken cubes (about 6 cubes per batch) and fry until golden brown on the outside and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat until all your chicken is cooked.
(6) Turn stove off, drain the oil into a heatproof container and save for discarding. Leave about 2 tbsp oil in your wok.
(7) Reheat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped dried chilis and garlic, and stir-fry until just fragrant, about 20 seconds.
(8) Pour in the sauce and stir until it begins to simmer and thicken, about 1 to 2 minutes.
(9) Serve on a bed of rice. Pour sauce over chicken.

Dijon Chicken Panini

It's Here! It's Here! I know you had dreams last night about this recipe and woke up with drool on your pillow.... and rightfully so. This Panini was so delish, it had my husband asking for seconds and thirds and quite possibly fourths! So enough about the amazing-ness of this sandwich, here is the recipe: 

Ingredients
       Dijon Chicken Marinade: 

• 1/3 cup of Dijon mustard
• 2 T. apple cider vinegar
• 2 T. honey
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt

       Panini: 

• Slices of whole wheat bread
• Smoked mozzarella cheese
• Cooked bacon
• Dijon chicken
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard

Directions: 

Combine mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and honey in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Add spices and stir. Pepare chicken breast and place in a large plastic storage bag. Pour marinade over chicken. Gently shake chicken in closed bag to cover chicken completely. Refrigerate 1 hour. Grill or bake chicken. If baking, preheat oven to 350 cook 20 minutes flip and cook another 20 minutes. Once chicken is cooked, butter one side of each bread slice, spread mustard on non-buttered side of one slice of bread. Add one slice of cheese, as much bacon as you'd like:) and chicken. Top with second slice of bread and toast in a George Foreman Grill, Panini press, or you can toast in a frying pan and flip, or oven. Cook until cheese is melted and bread is golden brown. Enjoy!

Ranch Cheddar Chicken

I know sometimes I get in a rut with my cooking. Working full time with a husband who's schedule is almost never predictable make it hard to enjoy cooking, especially when a lot of nights it's just me. So I get in this rut where I buy the same groceries each week, and make the same meals each week, because they're easy!

Well, the husband challenged me to get creative in the kitchen, like I used to when we were first married. Not such a subtle hint, huh ;) So this week I took the challenge and did, and boy was it worth it. I have the BEST chicken recipe I have ever eaten and it is so easy to make! So here it is.

Ranch Cheddar Chicken:

Ingredients:

•        4 Bonesless skinless chicken breast ( I used tenderloins because they were on sale)
•        1/2 C. Mayonnaise
•        2 T. dry ranch dressing seasoning
•        1/4 C. grated cheddar cheese
•        1/4 C. panko bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken in a large baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ranch, and cheddar cheese. Spread on top of the chicken breasts. Sprinkle the panko crumbs on top and spray lightly with cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

That is it! One of the easiest recipes I've made and perfect for the working homemaker. I made enough to eat leftovers 3 times this weekend for lunch while Joel was at work..... but he ate every last crumb last night! Definitely going on the menu rotation! Hope y'all enjoy this chicken recipe as much as I did!

Happy New Year!

I cannot believe we are already saying goodbye to 2015. Where has this year gone? Like so many others I have taken this past week and reflected on this year and all the many things that have happened. So many new things and changes have been made. Many trials were overcome. And many achievements were made. But looking back on 2015 there is one thing that I can say: Everything that God allowed to happen in 2015 was beneficial to me.  Not a single hard time, trial, struggle, or pain hurt me. In fact, every single thing that happened this year made my year and my life so much better. What a picture of what a loving and merciful God we serve. He never tells us or causes things to happen that will hurt us. I am amazed looking back that Joel and I have made it through this year. It's been a wonderful but very tough year. But God saw us through. 

As I focused on 2016 I decided that this year I will make it less about me and more about God. So instead of setting goals for what I want to achieve for my personal life, I have decided to set goals for what I want to achieve this year in my spiritual life. I have assigned each goal a verse or verses that I can memorize to help me stay on track and remind me of my goals for this year. So here they are!

1. To show more kindness, encouragement, and love to those around me.
     -Galations 5:22-26
     - Ephesians 4:32
     - Luke 6:35
     - Micah 6:8

2. To finish a study on Psalms, Hosea, and Galatians
     - Joshua 1:8

3. To be more confident in sharing the Gospel with others
     - 1 Peter 3:15
     - Romans 1:16
     - Matthew 5:16

4. To intentionally strive to know my Savior and create a bonding relationship with Him
     - James 4:6-10
     - John 15:5
     - Proverbs 1:1-33

I will be writing my verses down and putting them on display to remind me each day of my spiritual goals. I encourage each of you to do the same! I love each of you and hope you all have a very Happy and Blessed New Year!

Psalm 119 Study: My Delight

Today's Reading is Psalm 119: 169-176

Psalm 119: 174- " I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight."

This is the last day of the Psalm 119 Study, and it did not disappoint! I have enjoyed this study so much. Who would have thought you could find so many promises, blessings, and wonderful facts about Christ in one small chapter of the Bible?? I feel like so many times we overlook the book of Psalm because we associate it with poetry. But poetry is a love language and David, Solomon, and the other authors of Psalm definitely wrote about the deep, immense love of God. So here is my thoughts from the final day: 

God and His Word is my DELIGHT. When we cry out, the Lord gives us understanding. When we ask or beg God for something He delivers it. He gives us restitution, grace, mercy, a new life! We just have to ask!! He gives us knowledge, righteousness, help, and delight. And each and every one of these things can be found in and gotten from Scripture. All these things can be gained from a ritual study of God and His Word. 

The Lord provides each of our needs, right when we need them. He gives us a clean slate each and every day. He gives us every single tool we need to succeed in life so that we can succeed in eternity. 

The more we study the Bible, the more we learn about Christ, and in turn the more we desire to learn more and more about Him. And the more you know, the more you gain from a deep relationship and interaction with Christ. 

God is love. Everyday, He does things that prove that He loves us. He gave His only Son to prove how much He loves us, and He sent the Bible to show, throughout the pages, His steadfast and unyielding love for us. Unyielding love. It never stops, Never runs out. Never fails. All these things God has given a wretched sinner like me and you. 

When you stop and just dwell on this, God's Love should bring you the greatest delight in your life. It should be something you desire each and every day. Everything in the Bible points back to Christ and His love for us. Every day remember how much we need the Lord and His Word. And He gives it freely because he loves you.

HIS WORD IS OUR DELIGHT