The World is Coming to an End! (Not really)

I have lived through a few natural disasters in my short life, but I really don't recall reactions like I have seen here in the "south". This is a photo of the Walmart bread aisle. Everything is GONE! One gal told me she saw someone with 3-4 loaves, while others were going without. Seriously, I would have taken a loaf of white bread, just to have bread in the house.
I know that about a year ago this area experienced a severe ice storm that took power out of some homes for up to a week, but I am still surprised by the doomsday reaction of most people. After the floods hit our previous home, I recal people getting a little nervous when it rained real hard, but nothing like this. I had to chuckle a little at the people at Walmart freaking out about no bread. I did do my best to stock up on foods that don't need to be cooked and if we have no electricity for a week, we'll deal with it. We have a gas fireplace, so I know we won't freeze to death! I'll keep you updated on the storm...as long as I have electricity!

New Year Recipes

I am really trying to post more than once a month this year. So you may get a few random postings of my favorite activities, like cooking and eating, or sewing. I don't have any sewing projects in the que right now, but I have been doing some yummy cooking. My two favorite cooking items right now are my crockpot and my cast iron skillet. If you don't have a crockpot, you must be living under a rock, get one! If you don't have a cast iron skillet, you are really missing out. I purchased one right before Christmas and have used it a ton. Even with an old electric stove, the skillet heats perfectly and evenly. With my old non-stick skillet, I have to crank the heat to get things to cook. But with the cast iron, I can keep the temperature pretty low and get quick and even cooking. I've been using it for everything.
Here are a few yummy recipes I have created these first few weeks of the new year.
The first is a traditional southern new year's day meal. It is good luck to eat black eyed peas and greens as your first meal of the new year. So we made Hoppin' John for dinner.

1 cup dried black-eyed peas
12-16 ounces smoked kielbasa sausage (1 package)
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
2 celery ribs
1 fresh jalapeño chile, diced
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups chicken broth

Serve with cooked rice, sauteed greens (I used spinach) and corn bread

Directions:
Soak black-eyed peas overnight.

(If you forget to do this, you can “quick soak” them by putting peas in a saucepan, cover with cold water by 2 inches. Bring water to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat, soak peas 1 hour, drain peas in a sieve)

Quarter kielbasa lengthwise and cut quarters crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. Chop onion and mince garlic. Cut celery crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Wearing rubber gloves, seed and mince jalapeño.

In a 3-quart heavy kettle (or in a cast iron skillet) cook kielbasa, onion, garlic, celery, jalapeño, and bay leaf in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened. Add peas and broth and simmer, covered, 20 minutes, or until peas are tender. Discard bay leaf and stir in coriander and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve Hoppin' John spooned over rice. Don’t forget the cornbread!

It was so good!! I added a little extra salt and I may add some spicier sausage or even some dashes of hot sauce to spice it up a little.
My kids really liked it! Melanie claims black eyed peas as a new favorite food.

Another great recipe for the crockpot is Crockpot Chicken Cordon Bleu.
Again, who doesn't love chicken, ham, cheese and creamy sauce!?

We really enjoyed this and it was easy!! Now, if you really like traditional "brown in a pan then bake in the oven" cordon bleu, remember that this is in a crockpot and the texture will be a little different, but still good.

Ingredients:
4-6 chicken breasts, (approximately 2 lbs.) pounded to about 1/2 inch thick
thin Ham slices
Swiss cheese slices
1 can cr. of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sherry
S & P to taste
Panko bread crumbs

Directions:
Pound your chicken to 1/4- 1/2 in thick. Spray your crockpot with pam. Place a layer of chicken, then ham, then cheese. Follow with a second layer of each.
Mix together the soup, mushrooms, sour cream and sherry. Salt and Pepper to taste.
Pour Sauce over chicken. Cook on High for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
When serving cut through the entire depth of chicken. This gives you the ham and cheese on the "inside" flavors without having to take the time to roll each piece of chicken. Put on a plate and spoon some sauce over the chicken. Top with a sprinkling of bread crumbs to get a little 'crunch'.
Serve with steamed veggies and brown rice. Enjoy!
Have fun trying out some new recipes. More may be coming soon! :)

A Year to Hope

The New Year has finally arrived. 2010 is here! By the way, how are you saying the year? Twenty-ten? Two thousand and ten? Ten? I still haven't decided how to say it, but I am so glad it is here. 2009 brought so many changes to my life. I am hoping and believing that 2010 will be a year to put down some roots and begin to feel a sense of security and stability in life, again.
I have been mulling over some verses today that I shared with a friend who had a difficult 2009. James 1:2-3 says "Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds becasue you know that the testing of your faith develops preseverance." Several years ago, I did a personal study of Romans. I simply read a few verses each day and journaled about what I believed God was speaking to me. It took me more than two months to complete the entire book, but it was one of the most powerful scripture studies I have done. Many of those verses and the lessons I learned have stuck with me and become such a core part of who I am. One of the more profound revelations for me was when I linked the "lists" we often see in scripture, such as the Fruit of the Spirit to the following verses. Romans 5:3-5 "...but we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given." Demonstrating the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives is not a one time shot, all or nothing. It is a process of experiencing suffering and painful situations, letting those experiences develop character in our lives and living them out, as best we can with Hope.
Hope is really such an abstract concept. How do you define hope? How do you live it out in real way? What does true hope in God look like? Is it blind faith in the face of negative evidence? I guess in some ways it is. It is a faith that God has a purpose in our pain and a plan beyond what we can see. I recently sang at a women's event a Natalie Grant song titled "Our Hope Endures". The chorus says, "Our Hope endures the worst of conditions. It's more than our optimism. Let the earth quake. Our Hope is unchanged." As I start this new year, I truly am filled with hope and expectation that 2010 holds great things. I know it will not be without its challenges but my hope endures. This is my prayer for you and for myself.
"May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)