Cooking Thursday - #6 February 4

Chicken a la King

1 lb shredded chicken ( I buy the big bags of Tasty Bird drumsticks or thighs and then shred them)
 olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
Mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
Heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 bay leaf

In a big stock pot, fill halfway with water and add the chicken thighs or drumsticks.  Boil until chicken is cooked through, once done, remove chicken to a bowl, let cool down and then shred.  Don't throw out the stock, we'll be using it.

Now I like serving my chicken a la king with rice, so in a microwave rice cooker, I add 3 cups of the chicken stock, a little bit of salt and 1 1/2 cups of rice.  Cook it on HIGH for 6 minutes, then cook for another 15 minutes on MEDIUM.  Gives you nice clumpy steamed rice.

Back to the chicken.  In a cast iron pan or a skillet (I prefer my cast iron though), add a little bit of olive oil to the bottom.  Add the onion and garlic and cook stirring frequently until onion is transparent, using a ladle, add a little of the stock and stir well.

Add the rest of the veggies....the mushrooms, green pepper and carrots.  Season with salt and pepper and the bay leaf, stir well and add a little more chicken stock.  Simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until the veggies are cooked, remember to keep checking and adding a little stock at a time, you don't want it to burn and you don't want it to dry out either.

Once the veggies are done, add the shredded chicken. 

Cook for another 5 minutes, then add about 2 cups of heavy cream, turn the heat down and simmer for just a few minutes for it to thicken. 

I like making mine a little thicker, so I save a bit of the heavy cream, pour it into a small bowl, add about a tablespoon or 2 of flour, whisk well then add to the pot and stir well until it's as thick as I want it.

Remove the bay leave and serve over the rice.  Enjoy!

{ Yarn Along }

If you know me, you will know that two of my favorite things are books and yarn.  Matter of fact you can always count on finding one or both very near me at all times.

When I came across the blog Simple Things, one of the things that caught my eye was that the author seems to love yarn and books as much as I do, then I noticed that every Wednesday she has this great feature called "Yarn Along" in which you post a picture of your yarn along with the current book you're reading.

So I've decided to join in every week, I think I'll really enjoy playing along and visiting all the participants.

For today's Yarn Along you can visit here.



I just received these two books in the mail and have already started These is My Words.  I am absolutely loving it, it's just my kind of book, it is a little hard in the beginning with the words and the way it's written but in no time I was well underway and not even noticing anymore.



I also received Sarah's Quilt which is the sequel to These Is My Words.  I can't wait to read that one too.



As for my yarn, I'm still slowly working through my African Flower Crochet Blanket, it is gorgeous and so soft and I'm just in love, I only wish I had more hours in the day to get more done.

If you want to join in, remember to go visit Ginny at Small Things and add your link to the list.  Just snap a pic of what you're currently reading and knitting/crocheting/sewing, remember ONE picture of them together and then talk about it or not. 

He brings me peace and joy

My husband is by far the best thing that has ever happened to me.  There is just no doubt in my mind that I am one of the luckiest women on earth to have snatched up such an amazing man.

I have had a bit of a hard time lately, there has been a lot going on which has brought me sadness and hurt and has left me broken at times, vulnerable and weak.

If it weren't for my faith and the belief that not only does the Lord only give me what I can handle, but, that he is also taking care of me and will see me through these obstacles, I don't know if I would have been able to continue with a smile on my face.

But that is exactly what I do.  I smile, oh I complain too and I whine and I vent but usually it happens for 5 minutes after I find out something that I don't like.  It's normal, it's human nature, no one likes being tested, no one likes hearing sad news but it's how we get through these times that matters.

Truth be told, the curve balls that life has thrown my way over the years, has made me into the woman I am today and I thank the Lord every single day for that.

I don't even know where exactly I'm going with this post other than to say that I love my husband and that his strength and his love continues to see me through it all.

He does things that for some may seem small but to me are the biggest display of affection, of the love he has for me and when you have that in your life, you know that you can conquer anything.

He adores me and he finds my love for photography a cute thing. He is my biggest supporter in everything that I do and so, with that in mind, he decided to give me a present for which he had been saving for a while.

A new camera, my newest baby, my current obsession. My Canon EOS Rebel T2i.  It's a beauty and he knows how much I use my cameras, I am constantly taking photos, so he says this is a good investment because it will get put to good use.  He knows me well.

It's a little intimidating, I mean this camera has some power behind it and I feel a little like a fish out of water, but I'm forcing myself to use it in the Aperture and Shutter Priority settings, totally going out of my comfort zone but I feel that if I can conquer those, I'll be good to go.

But with all this rambling I forgot to tell you what has been going on around here.  

Well I took Nicholas to the allergist this morning and he has set up an appointment for Thursday morning for the skin test, we will finally find out what he is allergic too and that is such a relief for me.

On Wednesday night we will find out where we're moving to and when we're moving.  I can't wait because as much as I hate the idea of having to leave our house and move yet again, I also just want to get it over and done with.  There's nothing worse than sitting in a home in shambles, boxes everywhere and not knowing exactly where you're heading.

In between all of that, I've had a good cry here and there because of some family stuff we're dealing with and I thank you all for the prayers you have showered upon my family, we are ever so thankful and so touched.  Maybe one day I will be able to share more with you but for now, I can't and I want to respect my family.

So that's what is going on, this is me, just pushing and plodding along from day to day, surrounded by laundry and homeschooling, cooking and packing, crying and laughing, busyness and laziness, but always determined to not let things get me down.

I'm an optimist, I'm a realist and I'm a worrier, but most of all, I'm a child of God and I prefer....or rather....choose, to take one day at at time and to not overwhelm myself with negativity and thoughts of things that I can not change. 

Happy Homemaker Monday - #6 - 2011

It's going to be a really busy day for me.

Hope you all had a good weekend and have a good week ahead :)

The weather in my neck of the woods:
43 degrees and still just a little cool in the mornings, enough to wear a jacket.


Things that make me happy:
My amazing husband


Book I'm reading:
The Shelter of God's Promises by Sheila Walsh
Born under a Lucky Moon by Dana Precious


What's on my TV today:
Pretty Little Liars on TV tonight
Deadwood Season 1
Being Human on Syfy


On the menu for dinner:
Meat Lovers Lasagna

On my To Do List:
Nicholas has an appointment this morning to get tested for allergies
Get more moving boxes
Pack a bit more
Homeschooling


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Haven't tried anything new lately, I do have some to try and will be doing that this week

In the craft basket:

Knitted Broken Cable Cowl


Looking forward to this week:
Finding out which house we're being moved to so we can our move organized


Tips and Tricks:
Moving is an integral part of military life, we've learned to become pros at packing up a house and being gone within a short period of time.  Whether you're doing a full move yourself or having the movers do it for you, I ALWAYS pack my own boxes and keep an inventory of what I have in them.  I assign them a number and write down the corresponding number on a sheet of paper with details of what is in each box.  When we get to the next house, it's much easier to locate whatever I'm looking for.




My favorite blog post this week:
Didn't get much reading done last week


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
Simple Homeschool



No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Me and my girl

Lesson learned the past few days:
That pain and heartache hits everyone and you're not immune.  My family is having to go through something heartbreaking and we're all struggling to stay afloat and deal with the news.  I can't go into detail but I ask you all for prayers, we need a LOT of prayers to surround us all but especially my dad and stepmom.


On my mind:
My father and stepmom, they are going through a rough patch and I really would appreciate some prayers for them.
Our upcoming move within the next week or two.


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.

Psalm 42:1

30 Day notice of relocation

Being a military family has it's perks and I have to say that it's one of the most rewarding ways of life you'll ever encounter.  But with that also come a lot of cons and I mean a lot, a lot of little annoyances here and there, the constant packing and moving from base to base and country to country, never really being able to place roots anywhere until you retire.

For the most part it's a wonderful way of life but you're also at the mercy of the Military and their housing, yes, the dreaded four letter word that every military member cringes at.  HOUSING! 

They like to keep us on our toes and you don't ever feel like it's YOUR house, you're just a guest.....you add your touches here and there and try to make it a home but in the back of your mind you know that it's not really your place and when they want you out, they want you OUT.

Friday afternoon we got a knock at the door and were presented with a letter.

Dear so and so....this is your 30 notification of relocation.  We decided that we want to renovate all the homes right this very minute, so therefore you will pack up your things, come to a meeting next week and draw a house out of a hat, then move into that house.  If you don't like it, you can trade with another family that is being relocated.

I would say it's surreal but unfortunately it's the second time that this has happened to us on this base, the very first time I'm sure my older blog readers will remember, we had just arrived at this base 6 months prior and were told to move out of our house into this one.  Now, we're being told to move out of this one to another one and frankly, I'm getting pretty tired of this.

July will be 4 years that we've been at this base and in that time period we've moved 3 times and lived in 3 different houses, tell me that is not ridiculous???

So here shortly, in about a week or so, we'll be doing this again:

 

 

And I'm sure right after that, I'll be making another post on how sore I am and how everything in my body is killing me.  Such is the life of a military wife!

I'm starting to pack up the house again, pretty much going to pack everything that we don't need for our daily living.  Then I have to start cleaning, luckily I like to keep a clean and tidy house so it won't be hard when we have our inspection.

We have our pre-inspection sometime the end of next week or beginning of the following one, even though they're renovating and tearing it apart, we still have to leave it as if it was being moved into. 

So, packing, looking for more boxes, coordinating the kids schooling so they won't miss too much when we have no internet during the move, having to organize the dish and phone transfer to a new house plus changing the address on everything AGAIN.

There's doctor appointments, my car being repaired and all sorts of other little things going on in the middle of this move.  I pray for patience and I pray for an extra hour or two in a day.

If you see some sporadic posting from now until we're in the new house, you'll understand why.  :)