Lets EAT!

I love food, you know that already :)
I bet you can't guess what is in it, ASPARAGUS.

So Monday night I had a craving for some good food. So my imagination was flowing and I was thinking about everything I had in the fridge. Finally I decided what I wanted to do. This dish really came together and was more than easy to prepare. It can be a one-skillet meal, which is even better!

^That is the finished product of yummy-ness.

Here is how I made it, now I ate this ENTIRE serving alone ( hey, I like food) but you can probably serve 2 people with it (well, probably SHOULD serve 2 people with it, but I bet you can't resist to eat the whole bowl)

What you need:
3 to 4 slices of bacon diced up.
small onion sliced thinly (I think I used about a half a large onion)
1 Large garlic clove (I sliced mine because I like to bite into garlic but you can mince it too)
about 10-15 asparagus spears snapped off at the woody stem and then cut into bite sized pieces ( I use thin asparagus, I like it much better than the big thick pieces).
2 large handfuls of baby spinach, I would say maybe 2-3 cups (remember it cooks way down so even though it looks like a lot it won't be)
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast diced into bite sized pieces (I only used half a breast)
5 grape tomatoes halved
Fresh grated mozzarella, please grate your own, pretty please? (Mozzarella can be a pain to grate, just stick it in the freezer for a little while to make it firm if you hate grating it, don't leave it too long!!)

Now, because I was making my meal and my husbands meal I sautéed the chicken in another pan but you can sauté your chicken and bacon together.

You really don't need any oil at all, the bacon will give you enough but if you find it hasn't you can add a tad of EVOO (or butter :P) My bacon gave me too much grease so at the end I served with a slotted spoon to drain some of it.

So in the pan put your bacon and chicken, once your chicken is cooked and bacon is still soft (don't let it get too crunchy) add your onions and allow them to get a little soft, then add your garlic (it burns easily so I waited until adding the last of the greens to add it), asparagus and spinach.

Once your asparagus is cooked to your liking ( I like mine not too soft, not too crunchy) add your tomatoes, you want to just lightly sautée them to get the juices flowing.

Then...my favorite part...CHEESE. Cheese is the best thing in the world, even asparagus takes a back seat when it comes to cheese. Add your cheese until it is melted

That is it, see how easy? It is fresh (halfway healthy, that counts right?) and it is really so good. You could even go a step further and serve it mixed in some Penne pasta you could just toss it together in the skillet and add cheese or you could go a step further and add cheese and bake it. There are always endless possibilities with food, always!

Time: Happy 2nd birthday Gavin.

Time, what is time really? When you are 5 and waiting for Christmas when it is only June, time is the slowest thing ever. When you are 8 and there is only 2 weeks of summer break left time just doesn't exist, days are minutes, hours are seconds. As a Freshman in High school 4 years is an eternity, as a Senior they were the fastest 4 years of your life. Then you become a parent. 9 months of pregnancy with my oldest that meant almost 40 weeks (well not quite because he was born early) of morning/mid-morning/noon/afternoon/evening/night sickness, With my daughter it was about 6 months of sickness then a broken tail bone and sciatica then there was the youngest, the pregnancy all issues aside was a breeze but it was NINE LONG MONTHS then the labor, Walker was 26 hours of labor at hour 18 I was positive I was going to be pregnant for the rest of my life and would never see him. Avery was 8 hours, not so bad but still an eternity when you are waiting to meet your child. Gavin was a c-section the fastest by far but still took forever. Then all of a sudden you blink or sneeze or something and they grow up. Where are my teeny little babies? They are all growing up.

So here we are today, May, 11th, Gavin's birthday. He is 2. For some reason I cannot pull it together I am a total wreck. With Walker it was his 5th birthday and his first day of kinder then it was his 9th (and 10th and most likely every next birthday from here on out) With Avery 3 was hard. Gavin is only TWO. I think it is so hard since he just started walking recently, I have allowed my brain to believe he is still a "baby" he still needed me but now, yes he needs me, but he doesn't NEED me. Then there is the whole he is my last one factor. I don't know what it is that is causing me so much heartache but man when one of my kids graduates some one better call for a straight jacket. :)

I should be ecstatic (and I am, but still sad). If you follow my blog or know me in real life you know that Gavin has had challenges (to say the least) and his miraculous accomplishments are certainly something that I am proud to share. Gavin has come so far and we are so truly blessed. Gavin was born on a cool Monday morning we had to get up and leave early to be to the hospital for a scheduled c-section. I was going in somewhat blind to what we may encounter with spina bifida you really have no clue until after the child is born (unless you ask the perinatologist that will absolutely insist your child will have poor quality of life and most likely not walk and that you should abort immediately, thank God for my faith there was no way I could be swayed) Nervous and nauseous I was taken to this cold room full of faces I didn't know finally Jason was brought in and shortly we saw our sweet baby boy. 7lbs, 10oz I honestly didn't notice the huge cyst on his back where his spinal cord was, I do remember thinking man he has a huge nose, lol. He had a ton of blonde hair and the fattest cheeks I have ever seen. It was a strange feeling. I got to kiss him just before they whisked him away to the NICU. Jason went with him as I finished up my surgery. The next day Gavin went for his first surgery the closure of his back a delicate and precise surgery that ultimately would be a huge decision factor on what he would later be able to do. Our doctor was/is amazing. One week later I was devastated to find out that Gavin would need a shunt to remove fluid from his brain. I didn't have a choice and was less than prepared for that one. In the coming years we had countless doctors appointments, specialists, physical therapy, urologists etc... Anyway, you have all heard the stories, the scares, the praises, the miracles. Gavin is walking: unassisted. Gavin has not had to have a shunt revision in two years no huge medical issues at all, as a matter of fact you would never know looking at him that he even is "special needs".

With all of that said. Happy Birthday G-man. We are all so very proud of you. I am so happy that God picked little ole me to be your Mother.

So today is the "National day of prayer"

So here is my prayer:

Today I pray for our country, I pray for President Obama.

I pray for our troops, that they are safe while in battle and swift in coming home.

I pray for the military families that are without their Husband, father, son, brother, Wife, daughter, sister or mother.

I pray for the surgeons that their hands are steady and minds clear while they work.

I pray for all the doctors as they make diagnosis or treat their patients.

I pray for the broken hearted and depressed that they may smile again.

I pray for those that are hungry so that someone may give them a meal.

I pray for the lonely so that they may find a friend.

I pray for all the families that are carrying a financial burden so that they may find a way.

I pray for everyone, that their needs be met, their hearts be full, their spirits joyful and their kindness great.

I pray for the impatient person at the stop light today, so that he may slow down and not rush through his life.

I pray for peace, not just the normal "world" peace, PEACE, peace among mankind no matter the religion, race, sex that we can learn to love one another, smile at each other, HELP each other, embrace each other.

I pray that those that harbor bitterness and hatred that those feelings can be replaced by Happiness and Love.

This is my prayer, in Jesus name; Amen.

Something amazing happened today...

You know how we go through life looking for all the right answers, thinking that they will be some huge thing that will just smack us right in the face? Remember being innocent and self-less?

Today I took the kids out to play and Gavin has been so clingy lately with his allergies and teething the only way I could keep him happy was to sit with him in a patch of buttercup flowers. Do you remember those yellow blossoms that we used to pick when we were little and if it reflected yellow on your skin you liked butter or something like that. Anyway, today it got really windy like mad wind. I was trying to take a close up of the buttercups and although I could probably catch it with my camera and the wind I didn't feel like taking 500 pics to get one and I said something a long the lines of "stupid wind". Avery looked at me and said "Momma it is just Jesus blowing the wind" I responded with "I know baby but I was trying to take a picture". She looked at me and Sternly said "momma! just wait a minute, I have to talk to Jesus" I knew what she was going to say and kept clicking fighting the wind and I hear that little sweet voice say " Jesus, can you stop blowing the wind for just one minute, my mommy is trying to take a picture of this pretty yellow flower". Do you know what happened? The wind stopped, I sat my camera in my lap my eyes big and looked at Avery and she said "see momma, he stopped it, take your picture" (she is 3 ya know) so I put the camera back on the flower and clicked, one time and I got this:

I added the words and it is going in her room. I want her to always remember that day, I know that I will.

We pray for all sorts of things sometimes the way he answers isn't exactly the answer we are looking for but today was a wonderful reminder of how wonderful a simple, self-less prayer is and that prayer certainly does work.

Dear vegetables:

Oh, how I love thee. When spring time hits and fresh veggies are available I am super stoked, I cannot wait to cook (ok eat) them. So this spring I am a tad depressed that I haven't gotten my garden up and running but soon it will be and I can get the summer and fall harvests.

Asparagus is in right now, so many people turn their noses up to this wonderful veggie. It grows wild around here and people stop along side the highways to pick it. I love it and it is really good for you, actually I was just reading in a magazine how aspargus is proven to be a belly flattening food so it is my new fave for sure!! I think people hear "asparagus" and think some nasty green slime that comes from a can,I can't stomach that myself. Fresh or none for me, thanks.

So I am going to tell you a couple of my absolute favorite ways to eat asparagus. I cannot pick one so these are in no particular order what-so-ever.

First:
Shrimp scampi that alone is an absolutely amazing thing to eat you can make the super fattening kind or you can use a bit of low sodium chicken stock instead of soooooo much butter, either way is freaking fan-tabulous. So whatever your favorite shrimp scampi recipe is, whip it up but first fix some risotto. (you don't have to use risotto, I have used angel hair pasta, jasmine rice and orzo) Sautee your asparagus, don't over cook it please, it will cry and so will I. Just until it is a little soft but still crunchy and add it to your scampi. Now you gotta put this baby together: plate (on something oven safe) the risotto top with shrimp scampi and asparagus grate some FRESH mozzarella and FRESH parmesan (please use fresh, pretty please that stuff in the green can is not what we want here!!) now stick it under the broiler, just a little while long enough for the cheese to melt. This is an easy amazing dish!!!! the picture below is actually with orzo.

Second: Asparagus Omelet. OH.YEAH.

So one morning I decided I wanted asparagus now I am all about eating supper for breakfast and vice versa but this particular morning I wanted breakfast AND asparagus so I thought why not an omelet, right?
This one is rather simple, you could jazz it up with some tomatoes too if you like or even add some bacon or prosciutto!
All I did was prepare my omelet as usual in another pan I sauteed some asparagus with garlic. I softened some cream cheese and mixed it with some parmesan then dolloped it right in the center of my omelet topped it with the asparagus rolled it up and topped with mozzarella, that is right, I love some mozz!

Third: Grilled asparagus wrapped in bacon. Man do I ever love this and it is simple, olive oil on the asparagus wrap a strip of bacon around about 4 stalks and throw it on a hot charcoal grill, it doesn't take long to get done and be careful not to have the grill too hot or it will burn up quick! You can use your imagination for this too! I would think you could use just about any thing you wanted and add even more, a kabob with this and some cherry tomatoes and onions would be good as well. I don't have a picture of this but today for lunch guess what I had, yep, asparagus! I sauteed it then wrapped the bad boy up in some prosciutto stuffed it with cream cheese popped it in the toaster oven long enough to melt the cream cheese a tad and TA-DA! make sure you don't salt the asparagus when using prosciutto, it is VERY salty! And, as luck would have it, I did indeed photograph that!

So there you have it, just a couple amazing dishes with asparagus, I know it looks funny but really once you try it, you will fall in love with it!


One other thing while we are on this whole veggie kick, radishes these amazing little red and white wonders that can put your mouth on fire with their spicy hottness. They too are a veggie that gets left at the wayside, you either love them, or you hate them. I can sit with a salt shaker in the garden and make an entire meal out of the radish row. I love them. Some people don't, but did you know you can sautee them??? That is right sauteed radishes you can even cook the green tops too.When you sautee the radishes they take on a potato like texture, sometimes (depending on the radish) they can be a bit sweet and sometimes a tad hmm, bitter (for lack of a better word) kinda like collards or kale and the tops are the same. You can roast them too, roasting ANY root veggie makes them OH so sweet (but that is a whole different blog post) I promise you though the bite of the radish gets lost in the cooking process so if that is what has held you back give these ways a try and I bet you can find a new veggie to love! Just so happens, I have a picture of the sauteed Radishes. I wanted to add some grated parm to the top but I figured I shouldn't, I never realized how much I love cheese LOL!

ALSO I wanted to add one more thing, balsamic vinegar is also a nice combo with roasted radishes!!

So, give new veggies a try and if you don't like them the first time, try them another way!

Redirected

Thursday evening I read something that I wanted to blog about I laid in bed the majority of the night thinking of words to put together for a blog. I had some thoughts thrown together because I never totally write out what I am going to type before hand. I was prepared to talk about love, loving everyone and hating no one, the thing I had read was nasty it was talking about God and not in a good way. The words hurt because although I had known this person was not a Christian I had loved her I have never talked badly of her or her religion (or lack there of). I couldn't understand why there was no discretion, no care for whom she may be hurting by her words.

Then Friday when I woke, something terrible had happened I got hurt times 4. I had woken in a wonderful mood ready to start my day and read a message sent to me that cut so deep that words cannot even describe. It was gossip, gossip is so evil but yet so common, we have all taken part in gossip in one way or another, we have all talked badly of someone we do care about we get wrapped up in the now and forget what we are actually doing.

This all came at a very hard time for me and oddly enough it couldn't have happened at a better time... I have been trying hard to strengthen my relationship with the Lord and this was a small eye opener to things I have done in my past, gossiping. Only one thing can hurt just as deeply as the words I read yesterday and that is knowing that the feeling I am feeling I have caused in someone else at some point in my life.

So today, friends, I come to you and urge you to think before you allow your tongue to lash out, think before you let words of hatred leave your lips. Regardless of your religious beliefs gossip remains the same someone is being hurt, deceived, trust is being broken and friendships will crumble.


I have always been told that for every door that closes another will be opened for you, yesterday I lost 4 friends that I love very much but as I drove home from my oldest sons ball game I received a friend request on FB a friend from my past and this was the first thing I read on her page:

Dear God, I come to You as humble as I know how. I confess my sins, those known and unknown. Lord, You know I am not perfect and I fall short everyday of my life, but I want to take time out to say thank You for Your mercy. Thank You for my health, my family and friends, the roof over my head, food on my table, and everything I have.

What a perfect ending to a very imperfect day.

Proverbs 18:8 “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.”

Sweet, sweets.

Last night I sat on the couch and craved a dreamsicle, you know, those yummy orange popsicles with the cream in the middle. Then I thought, I wish I could make that into a teeny tiny little bite so A) I wouldn't be cold whilst consuming and B) I wouldn't eat a WHOLE popsicle. Then I thought, FUDGE!!!!

So last night during my whole 4 hours of sleep I dreamed about fudge, Creamsicle fudge, pina colada fudge and blueberry cheesecake fudge. Today I set out to conquer it and I did!!!!

This first was creamsicle, this is so good (and I think will ship the best) Yummy creamy melt in your mouth orange and vanilla goodness..

Then it was pina colada, this has chunks of pineapple, macadamia nuts, coconut and rum extract. I am telling you one bite and it is HELLO PARADISE all you need is a beach and maybe a cabana boy, or 2 :D

Last but not least, Blueberry cheesecake. This fudge, oh this sweet little morsel of heaven is so good. You get the satisfaction of eating an entire cheesecake in one tiny bite.

So that is what I have been doing today. Making the world a little happier one piece of fudge at a time :D!