Author Archives: Ellen

Mango Crockpot Chicken

Sandy at 4 Reluctant Entertainers shared this recipe on her blog and I decided it would be perfect for my Saturday Company/overnight guests. Sandy has the gift of hospitality and if you are timid about entertaining she has a lot of great tips and inspiration on her blog for you.

Spray the inside of your crockpot with whatever cooking spray you like. Load it up with whole boneless chicken breasts. I used boneless/skinless half breasts – 6 of them. Pour 1/2 a plastic tub of the Mango Peach Salsa that Costco sells over the chicken. Cook on low all day long. Do not open, do not stir. When it is done you can shred the chicken and stir it into the sauce.

This is what it looked like before I shredded the chicken.

After I shredded the chicken

 

Here is how we chose to serve the chicken up this time around. Build your own soft tacos with corn or flour tortillas, cilantro, rice, more salsa, beans, onion, cheese, and jalapenos.

Here’s Dear’s creation before he gobbled it up.

After the 4 of us had our fill I still have enough of the shredded chicken left over to serve up a lot of meals this week. Let’s see there’s chicken enchiladas, chicken salad, chicken tacos, chicken burritos, chicken soup…

My brother Tim and his wife Letty came up to visit us on Saturday and stayed overnight. The beauty of cooking a meal in the crockpot is that you don’t have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen while your company is around. We went out for lunch and did a little antique shopping in Old Town Camarillo while our dinner was taking care of itself. The toppings were all easy to put together at the last minute especially since I made the 90 second Uncle Ben’s Santa Fe Rice :0). Everyone gave the recipe a thumbs up!

Thanks Sandy!

Tonight I used some of this leftover chicken for chicken enchiladas.

 

I bought Green Enchilada Sauce for these. Heat up half the sauce in a saucepan and heat up each tortilla in the sauce to make it more pliable. Fill the tortilla with the chicken and some cheese. Roll up and put in baking dish. ( I sprayed the baking dish with Pam before I filled it with the enchiladas) After all the tortillas are in the baking dish cover with remaining sauce and with more cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or so…

Here are the baking dish of enchiladas after they have been heated through.

They made a great dinner for Dear and I with a fresh salad on the side…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I posted on my blog from 2007-2015 hostage and replaced them with big black and grey boxes with threats. So discouraging…as I’m slowly trying to clean up thousands of posts!

ABC Wednesday ~ F is for

F is for Friends of the Library Bookstore!

Camarillo has a beautiful new library with a fabulous Friends of the Library Bookstore.

It is one of the bigger Friends of the Library stores that I’ve ever been in.

Their sections include hardbound fiction, paper back, Classics, Children’s, Travel, Food, Gardening, Craft, Poetry, Mystery, Science Fiction, Magazines, Large Print, etc.

Everything is reasonably priced. The majority of the books and magazines range from 25 cents to $2.99. Some of the more collectible books are priced higher.

These are some goodies I picked up yesterday.

I’ve purchased lots of books here that are in wonderful shape for a fraction of the price when brand new.

My favorite find this time around is this classic children’s book by Burgess that has a copyright date of 1910.

For more ABC Wednesday click here.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I posted on my blog from 2007-2015 hostage and replaced them with big black and grey boxes with threats. So discouraging…as I’m slowly trying to clean up thousands of posts!

Bridging the Gap ~ Day 3

Today for Alice’s Bridging the Gap photo challenge I’m going into my archives and “across the pond” to show you a couple fun bridge memories from England.

 

In April of 2004 we took our daughter to Great Britain to follow the haunts of her favorite writers. This bridge over the River Wye is in the town of Bakewell close to Pemberly Chatsworth House, where parts of the new Pride and Prejudice movie were filmed.

Bakewell claims that Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice was written while she stayed at the Rutland Arms, although others claim that it was written while Jane Austen stayed at Haddon Hall. No matter where Jane Austen stayed, everyone agrees that Pride and Prejudice is based on the surrounding area with Lambton being the portrayal of Bakewell and Chatsworth House being the model for Pemberley.

 

This foot bridge is on the grounds of Blenheim Palace. That’s Katie and Dear on the bridge. In 2004 I knew nothing about bloggers or blogging. I so want to go back to Great Britain now that I blog. I think my photos would look a lot different from the perspective of a blogger! :0)

For more Bridging the Gap photos visit Alice at Iwasborn2crea8. This is a week long photo challenge but it is being considered for a one day a week challenge in the future. Consider joining in and showing us your bridges…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I posted on my blog from 2007-2015 hostage and replaced them with big black and grey boxes with threats. So discouraging…as I’m slowly trying to clean up thousands of posts!

Happy 7th Anniversary Josh and Laura!

I couldn’t have asked God for a better match for our son Josh in his wife Laura! We thank God so often for bringing these two together. They are a great compliment to each other. They serve God’s people together well. I’m not just saying this because I am their mother either.

This is a photo from the Summer Bible Teen Camp they directed this past August. Arrggh! They make good pirates, too…

Happy 7th Anniversary Josh and Laura. Your father and I love you dearly and thank God for you and your marriage!

ht: top photo by Jeremy? Pirate photo by?

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I posted on my blog from 2007-2015 hostage and replaced them with big black and grey boxes with threats. So discouraging…as I’m slowly trying to clean up thousands of posts!

Ruby Tuesday

 

I went to the “Happiest Place on Earth” last Wednesday and these are some of the Ruby shots I took while I was there.

Clarification: For those of you that don’t know, Disneyland in Anaheim, California, is the “happiest place on earth”.

For more Ruby Tuesday visit Mary at The Work of the Poet.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I posted on my blog from 2007-2015 hostage and replaced them with big black and grey boxes with threats. So discouraging…as I’m slowly trying to clean up thousands of posts!

Bridging the Gap ~ Day Two

This bridge is in the city of Bothell, Washington. It connects the Sammamish River trail across the Sammamish River to Bothell Landing. Bothell Landing is home to  several historical buildings and is a city site for celebrations and concerts in the summer.

When my kids were little we lived on a hill above this area and we’d hike down to Bothell landing with family and friends for fun. We’ve moved away from this area but it still holds good memories.

When I’m in Washington 2 of my walking buddies and I walk the Sammamish River Trail and the Burke Gilman Trail for 6 miles. We stop short of this bridge.

This is a picture of me, ellen b., on this bridge on Blake Lewis Day in Bothell May of 2007. Blake was one of the final two on American Idol that year. He was about to give a concert at Bothell landing to honor his hometown.

For more Bridging the Gap entries head over to Alice’s.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site and have replaced my photos with black and grey boxes of ugliness. I’m slowly deleting those boxes from my blog and trying to update so many posts, very frustrating.

 

Bridging The Gap ~ Photo Challenge

Alice from Iwasborn2cree8 is hosting this challenge. Here’s what she says ~

“This Photo Challenge is BRIDGING THE GAP. The idea is to post photos you’ve taken, or you are in, showing a bridge. Tell us something about the bridge, and/or what was happening when you took the photo. Of course, link back here, and leave a message, so we can all come have a look at what you’ve left for us.”

Here’s my first entry…

This is the bridge you cross traveling South on Interstate 5 from the State of Washington to the State of Oregon. More specifically from Vancouver, Wa. to Portland, Oregon. My husband and I travelled from Seattle to the Los Angeles area a couple Saturdays ago. This bridge crosses the Columbia River. This crossing comes about 3 hours into our 17 hour journey :0)

To see more bridges from around the world click on the link above.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site and have replaced my photos with black and grey boxes of ugliness. I’m slowly deleting those boxes from my blog and trying to update so many posts, very frustrating.

God Holds the Future in His Hands ~ Hymn

 

God Holds the Future in His Hands

Dread not the things that are ahead,
The burdens great, the sinking sands,
The thorns that o’er the path are spread,
God holds the future in His hands.

Refrain

God holds the future in His hands
And every heart He understands.
On Him depend,
He is your Friend,
He holds the future in His hands.

We know not what tomorrow hides,
Of sun or storm or good or ill;
We only know His dear hand guides,
And He will be our Father still.

Refrain

His hand created earth and sky,
The zephyrs and the storms that rage,
And years to come and years gone by
To Him are but an open page.

Refrain

Live close to Him and trust His love,
Assured that while on earth we roam,
Whate’er may come, He bends above
To guide His children safely home.

Refrain

Words by James Rowe, 1922.

Zephyrs are west winds in case you were wondering…

Photo Hunters ~ Wrinkled

 

This was a mural I took a photo of at Venice Beach, California. They all look wrinkled to me…

For more Photo Hunters visit tnchick

Early birds can find some Photo Hunters here and here.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site and have replaced my photos with black and grey boxes of ugliness. I’m slowly deleting those boxes from my blog and trying to update so many posts, very frustrating.