Bruschetta Skillet Chicken

This is a simple stove top meal with good flavor. It would be good served with pasta on the side.

Ingredients:

  • 1-1/2 cups of grape tomatoes halved. (You can substitute a 15oz. can of chopped tomatoes, drained)
  • 3/4 cup shredded Italian blend cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 1 pound of Chicken Tenders
  • 1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
  • 1 cup small garlic or Italian flavored croutons, crushed slightly

Method:

  1. Stir together tomatoes, cheese and basil in medium bowl and set aside.
  2. Combine tomato sauce and garlic in large skillet: add chicken.
  3. Bring sauce to a boil over medium-high heat.
  4. Reduce heat to medium-low.
  5. Add the mixed tomatoes, cheese and basil evenly on top of the chicken.
  6. Cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
  7. Top with croutons and more cheese if  desired.
  8. Serve hot with pasta or another side dish.

Serves 4

You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of the tenders but you will need to pound them to a 1/2 inch thickness.

Twins 60th~Sunday

On Sunday in Texas twenty three of us gathered at Watermark Church for the 9am service.

The service was excellent with worship songs that glorified God and a message from the Word of God that challenged me. It was good to be together and to worship together.

After the service we toured part of the area where Leonard and Mandy work at Watermark. Such an impressive property that functions well.

From church we gathered at Leonard and Mandy’s for brunch. We had Mandy’s famous John Wayne Egg casserole and fruit and our sister Kathy had her hand in making blintzes for all of us, too. (Thanks for the picture, Michelle) This shows the first stage. After this stage they are filled with a lightly sweetened cheese filling (ricotta, or dry cottage, or farmer’s cheese) and rolled up and put into a baking dish and baked with butter and half and half. Rich and delicious. We were all full and content.

Photo above is from another time to show what the pans look like before they are baked. The photo below is how they might look when they are on your plate ready to eat.

We played a game answering questions about the birthday twins that Leonard and daughter Hope created on a phone app. We all logged in and answered the questions on our individual phones. It was fun and easy to include 20 people in a game sitting all over the living area.

Sunday evening we went out for Mexican food at Mariano’s Hacienda, two tables of eight and one table of seven.

After dinner our niece and nephew took us to the airport car rental center and I rented a car for our trip to Waco on Monday. More about that day in another post. Another good long day in Texas.

Truth for Today #67

Thursday August 10th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth again this year! 

Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV)

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on the earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith–that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

From Leonard:

1 Samuel 12:24

“But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.”

From Vera:

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭56‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?”

From Sheila:

Psalm 4:8

In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. 

 

Start the Day Just Right Hodgepodge

Swim lessons this week. Mom said, “JJ, look at me.” and JJ said, “I am”.

If it’s Wednesday it must be Hodgepodge. Thank you Joyce!

1. August 8th is National Cat Day. Do you own a cat? Are you a ‘cat person’? Your favorite ‘famous’ cat?

Never owned a cat and although I’m intrigued with cats and their antics I’m not a ‘cat person’. Our daughter and her hubby just got their second cat. The photo is of Willow and Ash. Willow is taking her time in accepting the ‘new cat’ into her territory. She does not look pleased that Ash is up on her perch!

I really don’t have a favorite famous cat. Garfield and the Cheshire Cat come to mind but they aren’t favorites. Katie reminded me of Crookshanks, Hermione’s cat in the Harry Potter series. I was just reminded of Felix the Cat, too.

2. Cat nap-copycat-scaredy cat-curiosity killed the cat-cat got your tongue-like herding cats…which cat phrase applies to your life in some way currently? Explain.

Herding Cats! I’m herding myself these days with a different schedule this week because of Vacation Bible School at our church. Our VBS is in the evenings. This throws my usual schedule out the window. The older I get the harder it is to change courses. 🙂

3. What’s your favorite or most- often-made one pot meal?

Chili of any kind using ground beef, turkey or chicken. So easy peasy.

 

Ground Chicken Chili

4. What do you wish you’d placed in a time capsule fifteen years ago?

My first little flip-phone.

5. Your favorite hour of the day? Tell us why.

Early morning with my Bible and a little Spurgeon or Alistair Begg, or John MacArthur, or John Piper or Martin Lloyd-Jones. God wrote the Bible and these men who followed (in Heaven now) and are following Him closely (on earth) have great insight to the world we are living in. God’s Word and my coffee early in the morning…divine. I’m amazed that Spurgeon writing over a hundred years ago is so relevant for today. His Biblical perspective is truth for today.  It’s because God’s Word stands forever as truth and is relevant.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Speaking of Vacation Bible School. Our theme this year is Keepers of the Kingdom. Our church is all decked out like a medieval castle and The Armor of God is the theme, standing strong in today’s battle for truth.

Twins 60th~Part 2

First things first here are the twins’ families.

Lana and her husband of thirty five years, Steve.

Leonard, Mandy, Hope and Andrew. Leonard and Mandy have been married 17 years this month.

 

Lana and Leonard each had words of appreciation and love to share with us before we sang a family favorite, Bless Thou the Lord, O my soul. 

Lana was emotional all day long and we cried and laughed with her.

Leonard shared these verses for us from 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20:  For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?  For you are our glory and joy. 

A prayer for our meal and then we enjoyed a delicious plateful of barbecue brisket, sausages and all the trimmings.

After dinner, we were called up for Line Dancing.

Getting ready to Line Dance!

After Line Dancing it was time for cake!

It was a wonderful party from beginning to end.  After cake we had a chance to speak up and encourage Lana and Leonard with affirmations of their contributions to making our lives better. Both Lana and Leonard have been so generous with their time, advice, prayers, talents and resources over the years to their spouses, children, nieces, nephews, siblings and friends. It was good to hear several speak up and share special memories.

The joy continued on Sunday and that will be another post.

60th Birthday Part 1

This will be the 2nd of a few posts covering our time in Texas the last weekend of July.

We started with photos at the hotel before our drive to the party at Circle R Ranch in Flower Mound.

Josh and Laura above.

My sister Kathy with her daughters and granddaughter.

 

The twins with their nieces (and my niece’s, too). One of Lana’s nieces is twin Leonard’s daughter. She’s in the white boots. For the record the twins had many nieces and nephews from their other sides of the family at the party, too, along with brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law and Lana’s Mother-in-law. Friends of Steve and Lana’s from Washington and friends from Leonard and Mandy’s church were also in attendance.

Our son, Josh, with his cousin Andrew. Andrew is Leonard and Mandy’s son, one of our nephews.

More niece photos!

Moisi and Nadia would be thrilled to see so many of their people together.

The siblings in order of birth starting with Kathy on the left and ending with twin Leonard who is the youngest by a few minutes. Two of our brothers were not at the party. Our brother Steve planned on being there but got sick at the last minute. Steve would have stood between our brother Tim and our sister Lana. Our other brother would be between me and Vera.

All the sisters with our dear friend Heidi. We all grew up in the same Russian Baptist church. Heidi has been a dear friend for years! She was also the twins Sunday School teacher about 55 years ago!!

My younger brothers, so dear to me.

The youngest and the oldest!

Nephew David and our son Josh, friends since they were toddlers!

Josh, nephews Lenny and David.

Our son with Nikki who is the daughter of Ken and Heidi. Our kids have been friends from birth! Nikki and her brother lived across the street from us in Huntington Beach back in the 80’s.

Our brother Tim and his dear wife Letty.

Dear and me with our forever friends, Ken and Heidi.

A huge thanks to Josh for being our ride the whole weekend and to Laura for so many great photos.

Next post will be as full of more photos including line dancing.

Thine is the Glory ~ Hymn

Thine is the Glory

Thine is the glory,
Risen, conqu’ring Son;
Endless is the victory,
Thou o’er death hast won;
Angels in bright raiment
Rolled the stone away,
Kept the folded grave clothes
Where Thy body lay.

Refrain

Thine is the glory,
Risen, conquering Son,
Endless is the victory,
Thou o’er death hast won.

Lo! Jesus meets us,
Risen from the tomb;
Lovingly He greets us,
Scatters fear and gloom;
Let the church with gladness,
Hymns of triumph sing;
For her Lord now liveth,
Death hath lost its sting.

Refrain

No more we doubt Thee,
Glorious Prince of life;
Life is naught without Thee;
Aid us in our strife;
Make us more than conquerors,
Through Thy deathless love:
Bring us safe through Jordan
To Thy home above.

Refrain

Words: Edmund L. Budry, 1884.

One Pan Chicken Enchilada Meal

Good Saturday to all of you. Today in my kitchen I wanted to share one of my favorite ways to make a meal. One pot meals are quick and economical and can be real tasty. The clean-up is simple, too. This week in preparation for my post today I made two one pot meals. One was a lasagna pot meal that I saw on My Mother’s Apron Strings blog. With that idea tucked in my head I came up with this one pan chicken enchilada meal. Another great thing about this recipe using these ingredients is that it is Gluten Free!

Ellen’s Chicken Enchiladas One Pot Meal

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves
  • 1 – 7 oz. can of diced green chilies drained
  • 1- 4 oz. can of diced jalapenos drained (optional)
  • 10 oz. package of Queso Fresco grated (Mexican cheese)
  • 1 – 28oz. can of green enchilada sauce (mild)
  • 1 – 15 ounce can of pinto beans drained.
  • 10 count package of white or yellow corn tortillas sliced.
  • 1 cup Mexican blend grated cheese

Method:

  1. Use a stove top 4 quart or larger dutch oven to heat the oil.
  2. Add the chicken, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, green chilies and jalapenos (if using).
  3. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink.
  4. Remove the chicken mixture to a plate.
  5. Now it’s time to layer the ingredients.
  6. Add to the same dutch oven 1/3 of the enchilada sauce.
  7. Place one third of the cut up corn tortillas evenly on top.
  8. Put 1/2 the chicken mixture on top of tortillas.
  9. Place 1/2 the queso cheese on top.
  10. Add all the beans on top of the queso.
  11. Add another layer of the tortillas.
  12. Add the second 1/2 of the queso cheese on top.
  13. Add the next 1/3 of the sauce.
  14. Add the second half of the chicken.
  15. Place the last portion of tortillas on top of the chicken.
  16. Pour the last 1/3 of the enchilada sauce on top.
  17. Sprinkle the top with the Mexican blend grated cheese.
  18. Cover and cook on medium low for up to 30 minutes. After about 15 minutes use a turner to gently slide down all around the edges to lift up the bottom portion so the bottom doesn’t burn or stick.
  19. After the 20-30 minutes of cooking take lid off and let it cook off some liquid for 5 minutes longer.

You just want the ingredients to be heated through and for the cheese to melt nicely.
Serve with a salad or veggies.
This can serve 4 to 6 people.

I didn’t get photos of all the layers but these are the first layer and the middle layer and the last topping of the Mexican blend of cheese. The last photo shows the spatula going down the edges of the pan all around to lift the bottom layer gently.

My family really enjoyed this dish with the jalapenos but it did add some good kick to it so if your family is sensitive to spicy meals just delete the jalapenos. They also enjoyed tortilla chips on the side.

Pre-Party Fun

After our short hop from Spokane to Seattle we met up with two of our kids for our flight to Dallas.

Once in the Dallas area we gathered at Steve and Lana’s just a short drive from our hotel. We had dinner, swimming and catching up with friends and family. A houseful and a pool full.

We gathered again on Saturday morning and for our son’s signature breakfast dish.

We enjoyed a great time of singing some old hymns before the twins opened a few presents.

     

Addy created some birthday artwork signed by both Addy and JJ for their Great Auntie and Great Uncle. We gifted them each with a podstakannik that our parents brought with them from the old country with glasses from our Aunt Anna.

What is a Russian podstakannik?
Traditional Russian tea-glass holder “podstakannik”, meaning “pod” – under and “stakan” – glass. It has been traditionally used during travel in railroad cars for tea drinking so as not to hold the hot glass with your bare hands.

~Soon it was time to head back to our hotel to get ready for the big event on Saturday evening. I’ll share photos from the party on Monday.

We arrived back home late on Tuesday of this week and are recovering from the great time we had. Laundry is done and now I need to mow our acres! We are still in the middle 90’s for temps here but it feels cool compared to our time in Texas. Morning temps in the upper 50’s and low 60’s have been great for morning chores! We have some smoke in our skies from fires still. Hope all is well in your corner.

While we were away I was saddened to read that our great bloggy friend, Vee at A Haven for Vee had been called home to heaven on July 23rd. Vee was such a wonderful bloggy friend. Her comments always made me smile. She had a way of reading between the lines and leaving such meaningful comments. She noticed things that others missed. The Mennonite Girls Can Cook even credit our name to one of her comments! Vee, we will miss our encounters with you but rejoice that you are with our Savior and LORD! 

Truth for Today #66

Thursday August 3rd

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth again this year! 

Ephesians 3:1-6

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence though our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

From Vera:

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.”

From Awakening Wonders:

Luke 1:45

Blessed is she who believes that what the Lord has promised will be fulfilled

~ Luke 1:45

From Nikkipolani:

Exodus 10:10-11

“Then he said to them, ‘The Lord had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you. Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired.’ And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.”

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