Recipes

We have had some really awesome weather here! Yesterday afternoon the boys and myself got in the pool for awhile. It felt wonderful just to float around and enjoy the sunshine! Now, the boys, they don't just float around. There has to be wrestling, splashing, and all sorts of stuff with the floats. But, everyone had fun and it was nice to soak in the sunshine. Last night we went walking at a track very close to the house. There were alot of people out on the track. It was a very productive and enjoyable day!

Today I would like to share a couple of recipes. The first one is from Mrs. H, over at Heritage Schoolhouse. She has the best recipes! I have made several of her recipes and my family has enjoyed them all!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
(makes two pans-one to eat and one to freeze!)*

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
5 cups cooked chicken, shredded
20 flour tortillas
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
1 cup milk
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Mexican blend cheese

Beat cream cheese, water, onion powder, cumin, salt and pepper until smooth. Stir in chicken. Place 1/4 cup mixture down center of each tortilla and place seam side down in 2 greased 13x9x2 inch baking dishes. Combine soup, sour cream, milk and chilies; pour over enchiladas. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees fro 30-40 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!
*We ate most of the two pans!
Also, I let my chicken cook in the crock-pot along with the chicken soup. The chicken just shredded so easily.

Rocky Road Brownies
1 package German chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup skim milk
1 can fat free condensed milk
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup raisins
2 tablespoons reduced-fat chocolate chips

Mix cake mix with condensed milk, skim milk, marshmallows and raisins and then pour mixture (it will be very thick) into 9x12 pan that has been sprayed with pam. Top with chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 23-25 minutes. Makes 24 at 2 fat grams each.
This recipe is from one of my church cookbooks. Yum!!!

I hope you enjoy these recipes! Have a wonderful Tuesday!
Kim

Monday's Menu

Our week began yesterday in Atlanta searching for a church home for my college-bound son. I was a little discouraged, as it seems this search may take longer than what I thought, but after much prayer I feel better. We visited a congregation yesterday that does much good for the community, but seemed to be lacking in their biblical soundness. Once again, I learned that I need to spend alot of time on my knees and let God do the leading. So, after much prayer, I am ready to head out next Lord's Day to continue this search. This week there is alot of "projects" that need to get finished. Hopefully I will be able to "plan my work and work my plan". We will be starting school in about two weeks and I would like to have these things completed. Today includes the usual laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, cleaning the kitchen, and doing some work in the yard. One of my "big" projects includes finishing all painting that needs to be done. I need to go this afternoon to get some more supplies to do this. I hope to paint on Wednesday, then get the rooms back in order on Thursday. I also need to put the finishing touches on getting our school supplies in order and ready for use. Then, Friday night, is the homeschool Shakespeare play. I am looking forward to attending this as many of our friends are in the play. The mom who leads this does such an outstanding job!

The menu for this week is as follows:

Monday
Crock-Pot BBQ Chicken
Baked Potato
Rolls
Fruit
Tea/Water

Tuesday
Grilled Hamburgers
French Fries
Strawberry Salad
Tea/Water

Wednesday
Meat Loaf
Green Beans
Creamed Corn
Salad
Rolls
Tea/Water
*Ice Cream Social after church*

Thursday
Tostada Casserole
Garlic Bread
Green Salad
Rocky Road Brownies
Tea/Water

Friday
Homemade Pizza
Chips/Salsa
Oreo Pie

Saturday
Chicken Enchiladas
Rice
Chips/Dip
Watermelon
Tea/Water

Have a fabulous Monday!
Kim

Sunday's Thoughts

" Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, "See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God." Revelation 22:8-9 NKJ

A PRAYER IN SPRING
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night,
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill.
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

Robert Frost
Read at the Dedication of John F. Kennedy Park, May 29, 1987

Have a blessed Lord's Day!
Kim

Jane Austen Book Club

Yesterday our Jane Austen Book Club met to discuss Sense and Sensibility.
We had such a great time together! Our hostess, as always, did a fabulous job of making us all feel welcome. We had tea and cookies and wonderful discussion. I draw so much more insight on the books from meeting with these ladies. Everyone adds really wonderful questions and also adds great comments. After discussion of the book we just enjoyed each others company. We caught up with what everyone has been doing all summer and we also made our plans for the rest of the year with our book club.

Our next book will be Pride and Prejudice, which I am very much looking forward to delving into. We have a great harvest tea and Christmas tea planned. Hopefully, our Christmas tea will include a "special" speaker from a local college.

The afternoon was uplifting and very encouraging. I'm off now to our local curriculum fair to finish up buying our school supplies. My middle son and I also are working the yearbook booth for a couple of hours. That should be fun! I always get to visit with some friends that I don't get to see often.

Tonight is our pizza and movie night. I need to get the dough going before I leave for the curriculum fair. I'm not sure yet what our movie will be for tonight. Humm.... oh, maybe I will see a good one at the fair to add to our collection. That might work!!

I wish everyone a wonderful Friday. Also, a big THANK YOU for all the wonderful comments I have received about my oldest going away to college next month. You all are a wonderful support. Thanks a bunch!!

Kim

Outdoor Wednesday

It's Outdoor Wednesday time again! Thank you to Susan over at ASouthernDaydreamer for hosting this. This week I thought I would post pictures of our recent college orientation. Our oldest son will be attending Georgia Institute of Technology this fall. Georgia Tech history goes back to the Reconstruction era. During this time, plans were to develop the industrial base of the Southern United States. The Georgia School of Technology was founded on October 13, 1885 and the university opened in 1888. At this time, the university offered one degree in mechanical engineering.
The name was changed to the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1948 to mark the change from a trade school to a technical institute and research university.

This picture shows an interstate overpass that has been landscaped with overhangs, greenery, and benches. It has a very relaxing feel to be in midtown Atlanta. This area leads over to Tech Square, where there are classrooms, shops, restaurants, and the Georgia Tech Barnes and Noble.

This is Tech Tower, which was one of the two first buildings on campus. Tech Tower was constructed in 1888, along with a shop building.

The nearby Coca-Cola building.

There is alot of beautiful landscaping. This campus is right in the middle of a large urban area, but landscaping such as this just feels so peaceful.

Be sure to check out all the Outdoor Wednesday posts. I hope you enjoyed my Georgia Tech pictures. Have a great day and "Go Jackets!"

Kim

Quotes

"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God,
Then we will be a nation gone under." - Ronald Reagan
GOD BLESS YOU

Recipes

Today I wanted to share a few recipes from a wonderful church cookbook that I got about three years ago. I pull recipes from this book quite often. Most of the recipes are easy to make and low cost.

LASAGNA
1 lb. ground beef
2 1/2 T. fresh grated onion
1 1/2 large cans tomatoes mashed well before adding
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 T. chopped parsley (fresh is best)
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 lb. grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb. grated sharp cheddar cheese
lasagna noodles

Combine cheeses together and set aside. Cook meat in skillet until brown. Meat should be well broken and loose. Stir well, and drain. In large pot add next 9 ingredients to the beef. Simmer this while cooking the noodles. In large pot of boiling, salted water, add enough noodles to cover the bottom of casserole dish to be used. (About 6-7 noodles.) Cook until tender and drain well. Line your baking dish with cooked noodles. Add a layer of the combined cheeses on top. (You may add a layer of ricotta cheese to this, but it is optional.) Then add a layer of meat sauce. Top with remaining cheese mixture. Bake at 325-350 degrees for 40 minutes. Let stand about 20 minutes before serving. Serve with garlic bread and crisp tossed salad. Gwen Crane

* I made this last night for our family and we really enjoyed it! She had put in the recipe that she had been cooking this lasagna for over 30 years!


BANANA SPLIT DESSERT
2 c. Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 stick margarine, melted
2 eggs
2 sticks margarine, melted
1 box confectioner's sugar
5 or 6 large bananas
1 large can crushed pineapple (drained)
1 large container cool whip
chopped pecans
cherries
Hershey's chocolate syrup
Mix the graham cracker crumbs with 1 stick of margarine. Press into 9 x 15 Pyrex. Beat until fluffy (15 minutes) the eggs, 2 sticks of margarine, and confectioner's sugar. Pour into crust. Add sliced bananas, pineapple, cover with Cool Whip. Decorate top with nuts, cherries, and syrup. Chill. Cheryl Downs

*We will be trying this recipe this coming weekend. It sounds delicious!

I hope you enjoy these recipes. I have said it before, you just can't beat church recipes! Have a super Tuesday!

Kim

Menu Monday

What a wonderful weekend we had. The weather has turned a little cooler and it feels great! On Friday night, we had our usual movie and pizza night, then on Saturday we started the day with chores, moved on to errands, and finished the day going to see the new Harry Potter movie. We all enjoyed the movie. We don't go to the theater alot, so it is a treat when we do.

Our week started yesterday with worship and fellowship. The lesson was basically on are we just doing the minimal or going beyond that in our Christian lives. I started thinking about that. Do I give myself FULLY to Christ or do I give "just enough" to get by? What was interesting is that later in the afternoon I was researching a church online that would be near my oldest son's college. One of the messages that kept coming across on their website was giving oneself fully to Christ. We are going to visit that church this coming week, as we are trying to find a solid church family for my son while he is in college. They have a ministry to the college that he will be attending. I would appreciate prayers that my son finds a solid, bible believing group of Christians to worship with while he is away.

I wanted to share our menu this week. I haven't done that in awhile. I do much better with a written menu plan than trying to wing it each night. Sometimes the menu gets moved from one day to another, but just having the plan in place helps greatly.

MENU PLAN FOR JULY 20-25, 2009

MONDAY

Lasagna

Salad

Garlic Bread

Fruit

Tea/Water

TUESDAY

Chicken Enchiladas

Mexican Dip

Chips

Watermelon

Tea/Water

WEDNESDAY

Hamburgers on the grill

Corn on the cob

Salad

Brownies

Tea/Water

THURSDAY

Chicken Casserole

Baked Beans

Salad

Rolls

Tea/Water

FRIDAY

Homemade Pizza

Chips/Salsa

Ice Cream

SATURDAY

BBQ Sandwiches

Slaw

Baked Beans

Apple Pie

Have a wonderful Monday!

Kim

Sunday's Thoughts

"Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles" doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:41-47 NKJ

"...whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own." John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address January 20, 1961 A PATRIOT'S HANDBOOK -Caroline Kennedy

Have a blessed Sunday!

Kim

Chattanooga Zoo

This week we visited the Chattanooga Zoo. We had a great time! It had been awhile since we last visited and boy, have they made some improvements! The zoo is really looking good. This is a picture of the boys at the entrance to the Red Panda exhibit. There are several different types of snakes to view.

These guys are so funny to watch. The way they interact with each other and with visitors is amusing!

I know this one was wanting some food. We didn't see the food dispenser until we were leaving this area. Sorry!

We enjoyed our visit and hope to see the Knoxville Zoo next. Have a super Friday!

Kim

Outdoor Wednesday

It's Outdoor Wednesday time again. I know I have said this before, but I just love this. Thanks to Susan at www.asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com for hosting this. On our way to Panama City Beach, Florida we went through Eufula, Alabama. This town had the most amazing houses right on the main street. It was quite a treat to travel through there. I did not get a great picture of this house, but I loved the porch and the detail on the roof.

Once again, the porch on this one was gorgeous and the detail in the railing was beautiful.

This house was in the middle of renovations. Just lovely!

Loved the windows on this one.

I just loved riding through "main street" in this town. Apparently in the spring they have a tour of homes. My husband's aunt has been on this tour before, so we are all planning on going down in the spring to do this. I can't wait!

Thanks for looking at my Outdoor Wednesday pictures. Be sure to check out all the Outdoor Wednesday posts. Have an amazing Wednesday!

Kim

Good Tuesday Morning! I just found out about a give-away over at http://neattidy-mary.blogspot.com/2009/07/100th-post-giveaway.html . Mary is celebrating her 100th post, so go check out her give-away and be sure to enter.

I want to share a recipe today that came from my Gooseberry Patch calendar. I made this to take to the 4th of July party.

Root Beer Float Cake

18-1/4 oz. pkg. white cake mix

2-1/4 c. root beer, chilled and divided

1/4 c. oil

2 eggs

1 envelope whipped topping mix

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, 1-1/4 cups root beer, oil, and eggs; beat until well blended. Pour into a greased 13"x9" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes; cool completely. In a medium bowl, combine remaining root beer and whipped topping mix; beat until soft peaks form. Frost cake. Makes 15 servings.

This was very easy to pull together. It was funny when people were trying to guess what was in it. We like to make root beer floats, but I never would have thought to put it in a cake!

Have a super Tuesday!

Kim

Week in Review and Upcoming Activities

We are back from college orientation and boy, was it exhausting! There was alot of great information to take in and Clint was able to get registered for classes. He was also able to get alot of items taken care of that needed attention. I think it was just very physically and mentally tiring! We did have a great time and enjoyed being there. Clint actually had to stay on campus, which was a nice intro to dorm living! I wanted to share pictures today of our trip to the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament in Atlanta. We went there a couple of weekends back. We went with my brother-in-law, nephew, and some boys from their neighborhood. It was such an enjoyable night. The food was awesome! The entertainment was just as wonderful!

We had been wanting to go to this place for quite some time. It was well worth it! The tickets were actually purchased at the end of last year during a special that Medieval Times ran. They ran a half price ticket special where you had six months to use the tickets. So, all in all, it was a special evening at a discounted price!! Gotta love that!!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Kim

Week in Review and Upcoming Activities

This summer has been filled with wonderful activities! I feel like we have been able to take the time to visit with family and friends. I am just loving it! There is still so much I would like for us to accomplish before we begin the school routine again. Speaking of school routine, I am in the process now of finalizing our curriculum for the 2009-2010 school year. I always think that is a fun thing to do, search out new items, review what worked last year, take out what didn't. Hopefully by the end of next week I will have our schedule pretty much finalized. I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th! We celebrated with our church family at the home of one of our members. Every 4th they open their home to the church for good food, great fellowship, and exciting fireworks! This year was no let down, it was a super time as usual. Thank you to the McGhees!! I thought I would share a few pictures of the festivities! As you can see, everyone just relaxes and has a great time!

There is always volleyball games going on. The young ones play, then the teens, then the big challenge, the eighteen and over game. Mike and I have the best time playing in this game. We played four games this year before everyone needed a rest!

This week we will be heading to my oldest son's college orientation for a few days. This is an exciting, but also emotional time (for mom!). I will be glad to see his dorm room and get his schedule. This is all new territory for us, so prayers would be much appreciated! I wish everyone a wonderful week. I will post pictures of the orientation when we return.

Enjoy your week!

Kim

Outdoor Wednesday

It is Outdoor Wednesday time again! I just love, love, love this! Thanks to Susan over at www.asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com for hosting this. I wanted to show some more pictures of Fall Creek Falls for my Outdoor Wednesday post. Their are several falls within the park and they are all absolutely stunning! It was very humid on this day, so we didn't spend alot of time hiking to the falls. You can see some of the swimmers in this picture.

I just thought this scene was very relaxing and inviting. Soothes the soul!

This is another one of the falls. Just lovely! God created a most awesome beauty in nature!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of Fall Creek Falls. Be sure to check out all the other Outdoor Wednesday posts. Have an incredible Wednesday!

Kim