White Chicken Chili

 

 

White Chicken Chili is SO good! I love it over mashed potatoes. It is so easy and so yummy on a cold day.

It is:

Chicken Bullion

Onion

Chicken Breasts

Canned Navy Beans (DO NOT DRAIN..add the whole can..the "goopiness" helps to give it texture)

Diced Green Chilies (don't drain)

Dice chicken and onion. Add beans, chillies, chicken bullion and some water. Season to your liking. Cook on high 4ish hours :)

Food...Camera is missing...Trip...God's Awesomeness

So, I was taking pics yesterday and now it (the camera)  has apparently vanished. I am really hoping I laid it somewhere and that I do not have to rummage through the trash to find it.

Yesterday, I was making Potato Soup (with chives, bacon, and cheese to top it). I made several gallons (I think like 4 gallons) along with banana bread, corn muffins, & apple cinnamon bread.

Today I made something new!

Slightly Spicy Chicken with slightly spicy rice! I am meeting with the Seniors Group today and I was kind of lost as what to cook. I found chicken on sale, so I knew chicken something. This am I took my standard spices plus Mrs Dash spicy seasoning and boiled my chicken breasts (boneless..they were frozen despite the night in the fridge, so they got boiled!). I added the spices to the water while they were boiling.

Then I took a cup of the broth from the cooked chicken and used it in my rice (I used one part broth to 4 parts water). I added bullion, more seasonings, canned diced tomatoes and green chilies. Then I cooked the rice as "normal" (the directions on the bag).  YUMMY. I have corn and green beans as my side dishes cooking in my crock pots as I type.

Off to the day. Tomorrow we are planning to go to Virgina for a quick trip & a tour of a museum we missed last trip, followed by a "home improvement" work day. Even in a small home, there are always projects to do!!

And I have to share the awesomeness of God! My van was acting up. I just decided there was nothing I could do about it right now. We had to many other financial "commitments." So I drove my husbands car as needed and tried to not drive the van too much. Well, we needed the van for an upcoming Singles Sunday School race thing the guys are doing, so I decided to not panic over the money and just take it in. I was pretty sure it was the same thing as last year I had repaired. About $350 -700 ...depending if they needed to replace one or two of the thingies.

Well, I woke up the other day and decided to trust God on it. I really did too. I had a peace about it. I did not even stress in my tummy! I took it and and waited. {Note: my kids were FANTASTIC waiting!} Then the guy told me it was the same thing, and even though the warranty expired a few months back, the parts store was going to just give me a new one anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, that was just the mercy of God. The total cost $77. For labor. Now, if the cost had been  $700, it still would have been the mercy of God. I had something priceless... The knowledge that the Lord would take care of our needs. And the reminder of the absolute truth...is not life worth more that what you eat, or what you drink, or the clothes you wear (or the car needing fixed).? Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you. Oh, how we get caught up in so many temporal things, but with Jesus, we can fully trust Him to provide if we seek Him first!

Repainting Cabinets & Expectaions In Life

When we moved into our small home, I did not like the cabinets. So, I painted them. I loved them! They were almost school bus yellow!

 But then we decided to rip them all out and start over. The problem is that takes a lot of time.  Shopping, shopping, shopping, ordering, waiting, etc. Then we found out we might be moving. So, why invest so heavily in a home we might not live in for only a few more months, then convert back into a rental.

So for now I have repainted them with an enamel paint from ACE. It is SO awesome. When I painted them last year, I did  no prep really. The paint would peel and chip off, a pain to deal with. This time I bought a hand sander and we went over the to be painted areas a little. The enamel paint is adhering really well. I did the interior and exterior of the cabinets. I also reused the high quality hinges that were on the doors. We washed them, I spray painted them (the finishes in spray paint are AMAZING these days!) and they look really nice.

Here is where I am at...I did all the lower ones..I have no enthusiasm to do the top ones. Maybe next week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And talk about expatiation management! I never, ever, never thought I would put industrial shelving in my kitchen to store stuff on!(below pic) But, it really works well for me right now. I can easily access what I need & I can see what I have. I am trying to stop wanting everything

  to be "magazine" worthy. In my last home I did that, and it really makes no since. I want a nice looking home, but it does need to be functional and practical, and frankly not stressful. Today I tried to remind myself that in the end of my life, these things wont matter...my home style, my colors, my "look". What will matter is my heart and service before God, time spent working on my marringe &  my children's hearts that I tend to in lieu of stressing over my decor.  So today I am trying to focus on those things!And as Scripture admonishes me, even in my small space, to be content with whatever I have. In all things.

New Kitchen Floor

So last Monday I put in a new kitchen floor. We are anticipating doing a "new kitchen"..cabinets and the whole thing, but for now a new floor is sufficient until we do the extreme remodel!

I used the same vinyl plank stick flooring as I put in the bathroom (refer to that post for those pics) but in a different pattern and color. I was not as happy with this flooring, nor the results. The backing did not seem as consistant as the other I have used. But, nevertheless, for under $150, we have a  nice fresh upgraded look that should last until we are ready to upgrade the whole kitchen. It REALLY brightened the space and I like bright so that rocked!

Simply Simple

I wanted to share this neat-o way I have found to save time with my bill paying (I do not want to keep an online log, just not my style). I typically pay bills twice a month. I used to be a mess, and concerned I would miss something. Then I went to Dollar General and found this practical bill organizer for about $2! I am now on my 2nd or 3rd one, and they save me loads of time. I keep all needed account info, and confirmation numbers in it. They have pockets for paper bills or whatnot. I don't miss anything this way, and I can easily compare this months expenditures with last months. And if I cannot recall when I did pay last years car renewal , I can simply pull it out and look. I think some of the other methods are lots of extra work or expensive, and therefore not appealing to me. This is simple, efficient, and easy.

Simple Simplification

My dear sister in law, who doubles as my dearest girlfriend, just let me know that this year she picked a theme word...simplify! I think that is neat because she knew nothing of this blog and I knew nothing of her word! Anyhoo...if you have a desire to live a bit more simply here are some easy ways to do that. A note: if you have a family in house, it can be a bit harder to quickly simplify material things. Give it time and remember that it really is a journey (I used to think that sounded so hokey)..you have to keep at it..and there really is not a destination because life travels and you have to go with it!

~~~Stuff not only clutters our space, it clutters our time and can even clutter our peace~~

1) Think, really think, before you buy. I LOVE to shop sometimes. I enjoy a bargain, but I am getting better about not getting it just because it is a great deal.

2) Don't start a new project until you have finished an old incomplete one!

3) Set aside a part of time each week to organize one area. Rotate the area. In a month you can have 4 areas complete. (for those of you whom are at home moms with several little ones, moms who home educate, or moms who are overwhelmed with keeping it all done...I strongly recommend Titus2.com and their homemaking book, Manager of their homes. It takes a bit to implement, but it can most certainly help to keep your home (and sanity) in order and things caught up.

4) Get a box. Every day find one thing to give away & put it in the box. On Saturday (after a week of collecting) take it to donate somewhere. This is an easy way to get rid of stuff. We all almost have too much stuff!

5) Have a catch all bin. It is for all the stuff (mail, misc items, etc) you don't want to deal with or don't know what to do but you don't want to toss...Once a month go through it until it is all cleaned out. This prevents drawers from becoming cluttered with things long forgotten.

Happy Simplifying!