A Wedding in Memphis (and my birthday weekend)

I know I have been terrible at blogging, so I'm now attempting to make up for it with several posts at once. :) The last weekend in September we went to Memphis for our friends' (Lindsay & Will) wedding. They are a very special couple and 2 of the most fun people we know. Casey & I felt honored to be invited to their rehearsal dinner, which was one of the best I've ever attended. The wedding was wonderful. Lindsay was absolutely beautiful. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday weekend. Just to show you how sweet the bride is, she sent me a birthday text message while Casey & I were shopping, just a few hours before her wedding! At the rehearsal dinner, people mentioned several times how selfless Lindsay is....seriously, I wasn't thinking about anyone's birthday on my wedding day...it was all about me! :) Lindsay is awesome! Casey & I had lots of fun spending the weekend together and also spending time with some of his college friends who now live in Memphis. I'll have to take pics of all of them and their sweet families next time we visit...I have a feeling it won't be too long. It's becoming one of our favorite places to go!

Rehearsal dinner

Lunch on my birthday

Jessica (Lindsay's sister-in-law) and me
We usually stay with Landon (Lindsay's brother) and Jessica (his wife) when we go to Memphis. They are tons of fun too! They now have a precious daughter, Kaylee, who is 10 months old. I can't believe I didn't get any pics of her...next time!


The happy couple

Praying on the Armor

I have a fabulous prayer book that I highly recommend to everyone. It's called For the Family by Sylvia Gunter. You can order it here if you're interested. I frequently give it as a gift to newlyweds and new parents. This summer we gave one to each couple in our small group. It has really changed my prayer life. Honestly prayer has always been a challenge for me, as far as staying on topic and presenting my thoughts clearly to God. This morning, as I was praying on the armor, I wanted to share this prayer from the book. The author recommends printing them on index cards (the ones you pray most often) and have them in different places so you can pray them wherever you are. As I type them up for myself, I will also try to post them.
*Update - I posted this today before I left for church...I went to the late service. Our youth pastor spoke today mainly about parenting teens in a message titled "Fractured Generation", which obviously I don't have teens yet, but it was an awesome message. The last Scripture in our notes and that he shared was Ephesians 6:10-12 that says "Finally, be strong int he Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." I love when God speaks to me so clearly, as in giving me the same word multiple times in the same day. This has been happening a lot lately. I just get so excited to hear from God! It really fires me up...just had to post that part too!

Praying on the Armor

The Word of God commands us to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power (Eph. 6:10-18). We must daily stand firm against the devil's schemes by putting on our spiritual armor. It is as important to dress spiritually each day as it is to dress physically. Therefore, declare daily that you are obeying God's command to stand in all the armor available to intercessory soldiers in the battle for our families.

Father, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. They are merely fallen angels cast down from heaven by the command of the true and living God. They are in subjection to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We are in Him and stand in His already-assured victory. Therefore, we put on the full armor of God, so that when the fiery darts come, we may be able to stand our ground.

We stand firm because we have taken up these weapons:

• We buckle the belt of truth around our waist - Truth is the Person of our Lord Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life.
• We put on the breastplate of righteousness - The Person and sinless sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ is our Righteousness.
• We put on our feet the sandals of preparation of the gospel of peace - The person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is our peace.
• We take the shield of faith which extinguishes all the flaming arrows of the eil one - The Person of the Lord Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith. He is all the faith we need.
• We take the helmet of salvation - My Lord Jesus Christ Himself alone is my salvation. His mind guards our minds.
• We take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God - The Word is the Person of Jesus who came in the flesh and defeated the works of the enemy. His Word never returns void.
• We clothe ourselves in all of Jesus and prayin the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
  

"No weapon formed against us will prevail, and we will refute every tongue that accuses us. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from Me," declares the Lord (Isa. 54:17). The One who was born of God keeps us safe, and the evil one cannot harm us (1 John 5:18). In Jesus' name, Amen.

Pasta and Pizza Recipes to Try

We really like pasta...we typically use whole wheat pasta in place of whatever is called for. You can find whole wheat pasta in almost all varieties now. We also use whole wheat pizza crusts whenever we make a pizza at home. I'll continue to add to this collection as I find more recipes we want to try.

Pasta with Asparagus

Pesto Chicken Pizza

Greek Chicken Pasta We LOVE Greek food. We will prob use whole wheat penne or bowtie pasta.

Pesto Pasta with Chicken

California Chicken Spaghetti

Pasta Hot! Hot! Hot! (super easy and ingredients we almost always have on hand)

Spinach and Feta pasta

Penne with chicken and asparagus

Twelve Minute Pasta Toss

Chicken Recipes to Try

Casey & I are spending the morning watching football...which I love, but it's also very hard for me to sit still very long. So I'm finding new recipes for us to try. I'm looking for recipes that are quick and easy, healthy, inexpensive, or all of the above and of course tasty. I thought I'd post them here so that I can go to the list any time I want a new recipe and my cooking friends can check out the recipes too. After beginning my search, I decided to categorize the recipes to make it easier to find what I'm looking for, so this page will be all chicken recipes. So far I've spent a few hours searching allrecipes.com (my favorite recipe site)...I'll add to this collection and the others as I find more yummy new recipes in other places.

Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Vinegar and Garlic (I'm going to try this without the flour. I was thinking of doing this when I read the recipe. Then I read the 1st review which said it was better when the flour was omitted. This was also reduce the carbs in the recipe.)

Braised Balsamic Chicken Yes we really like balsamic vinegar. This one meets all of my criteria above.

Good Easy Garlic Chicken I will try using olive oil instead of butter as suggested by a reviewer.

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken One review suggested adding chicken broth with the lime juice...I will make it this way.

Blackened Chicken

Spicy Chicken Breasts

Simple Lemon Herb Chicken

Ten Minute Szechuan Chicken Szechuan chicken is one of my faves when we go out for Chinese. Hopefully this one will be a yummy at-home version.

Chicken enchiladas

Salsa chicken

Honey mustard grilled chicken

Feta chicken

Cousin Cosmo's Greek Chicken

Balsamic Chicken and Fresh Mozzarella

Paprika Chicken with Mushrooms

Garlic Chicken

Chicken with Asparagus and Roasted Red Peppers

Simply Parmesan Chicken

Menu Plan Monday...on Tuesday

One of my sweet friends recently pointed out that I've been very bad at blogging lately, so I thought I'd better get back at it! :) Here's our menu for the week.

Monday - Taco salad

Tuesday - Rotel chicken spaghetti for small group (Recipe below)

Wednesday - Chicken quesadillas with black beans

Thursday - Casey has dinner at church. I'll have left-overs or something quick & easy.

Friday - Date Night
***Happy 6th birthday to our sweet nephew, Andrew!

Saturday - Hamburger Vegetable soup

Sunday - Baked Salmon with asparagus

Rotel Chicken Spaghetti
4 chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 box spaghetti
1 stick of butter
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped bell pepper
8 oz sour cream
1 lb Velveeta cheese
1 can Rotel tomatoes
Crushed Ritz crackers (topping)

Cover chicken with water and boil with salt and pepper to done. Remove chicken from broth (keep broth) and set aside to cool. Chop when cool. Cook spaghetti in chicken broth per package directions. Meanwhile, sauté bell pepper and onion in 1/2 stick of butter or oil until onions are clear. Cut up Velveeta and melt in microwave with Rotel tomatoes. Add sautéed onion and bell pepper to cheese mixture. Mix chicken, spaghetti, sour cream and cheese mixture in large bowl. Pour into 9x13 casserole dish. Melt 1/2 stick of butter and mix with crushed ritz crackers for topping. Add topping to casserole. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
*We use whole wheat spaghetti, reduced-fat sour cream, and 2 % Velveeta to make it a little healthier. It's still very yummy! :)

Menu Plan Monday - 9.21.09

Monday is here again. We had a wonderful rainy weekend at home. Casey has been traveling a lot lately, so it was great having him all to myself on Saturday. We relaxed and watched football all day. Roll Tide! We will be out of town this coming weekend for our close friend's wedding, which happens to be on the same day as my birthday...my 26th on the 26th :). Since we will be gone all weekend, I only have 3 meals to plan this week. Check out all the menus at orgjunkie.

Monday - Sun dried tomato and kalamata olive chicken with zuchinni
Tuesday - Baked ziti, salad, and garlic bread for small group (recipe below)
Wednesday - Basil grilled chicken with grilled veggies and wild rice
Thursday - Casey has dinner at church internship, so I will have left-overs or something easy.
Friday - Friend's rehearsal dinner
Saturday - Wedding & dinner out
Sunday - Dinner on the way home

Baked Ziti

-1 package whole wheat ziti noodles cooked according to directions on package

-1 lb. ground beef

-1 jar pasta sauce (maybe 2 jars depending on how saucy you want it)

-1 onion, diced

-1 16 oz. container ricotta cheese

-shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown ground beef with onion. Spread thin layer of sauce on bottom of baking dish. Then layer the ingredients in this order: cooked ziti noodles, sauce w/ meat, ricotta, and mozzarella.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Menu Plan Monday - 9/14/09

Here's our menu for the week.

Monday - Potato soup...Mom is in town and she cooked this while I was at work :). I made 3 casseroles for small group tomorrow night. Looks like we're going to have a really big group this semester!
Tuesday - Chicken casserole, green beans, rolls, and banana pudding for small group (recipes below).
Wednesday - Honey chicken stir fry
Thursday - Casey has dinner at church every Thursday this fall. I will either get something out or maybe have cereal for dinner...I actually miss that sometimes. :)
Friday - Date Night
Saturday - Salmon, asparagus
Sunday - Greek chicken, Greek salad

Chicken & Rice casserole
-4 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
-1 can cream of chicken soup
-1/4 cup mayo
-1/2 cup sour cream
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. pepper
-1 Tbsp. lemon juice (I usually add more).
-2 cups rice (We prefer brown/wild rice).

Mix ingredients together. Top with cornflakes. Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 40 minutes.

Banana Pudding
-1 package Jello vanilla pudding
-3 bananas, sliced
-1 box Nilla wafers
-1 can condensed milk
-1 cup milk
-1 tub cool whip
-1 tsp. vanilla flavoring

Combine pudding mix & milk. Blend on high and slowly pour in condensed milk. While beating on high, scoop in cool whip. Layer trifle bowl with Nilla wafers, banana slices, and pudding mix. Top with Nilla wafers. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Enjoy!