A year later... still cooking!

Well, hello there!

Haven't been around for a while.  I miss writing - I miss having an outlet to be snarky, silly, rambling - and well, not really caring who reads because I know my mom will.  :)  Regardless, I felt like it was time for Easley Park to have an updated look and to be dusted back off.  So, here we go.  Back to blabber some more!  :) 

What do you write when you are christening a blog update?  Especially one that has been coming for - nearly a year?  How about food or kids?  Which brings me to today.  Tonights dinner was a success - or so I considered it.  J ate more than three bites on her own {she's over three now - and well, a bit strong willed} {HEY - I'm being nice - remember that I haven't written in a long time?!}  Well, I thought I would share my dinner with you.  Because - I can't believe how EASY the core part of this is!  It's nuts easy....  So here's our dinner - Green Chili Enchiladas!  

There are a number of green chili enchilada recipes floating on pintrest.  Most look similar to me - and probably taste similar.  Several suggest using a rotisserie chicken.  Well, we didn't have one - and living in our tiny town - it's not a five minute drive to go get one.  Entering option number TWO!  Easy crock pot shredded chicken.  This is good for SO many meals.  From chicken tacos, to the base for taco soup, to the chicken enchiladas we had tonight!  YUM!

Here it is:  

Shredded Chicken 

{originally for shredded Taco's}

• One pack of chicken
• Once jar of Salsa {I usually make my own right before I make this, today I was lazy - it tasted just the same and yummy!} 
• 1/2 pack of taco seasoning.  

• Place Salsa in Crock Pot.  Place Chicken on top.  Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.  
• Cook on high for around four {4} hours.  
• It is done when it shreds easily with a fork!  Try NOT to eat it from the Crock Pot.  
• (Obligatory warning...  Don't be dumb.  Raw chicken isn't good for you.  It also needs to cook quick enough to NOT spread bacteria.  Act responsibly and don't get sick...

We do this basic recipe regularly!  This is the link to the original blog posting about this.  {http://pinterest.com/pin/100486635405935283/}There is an amazing soup below to use up left over chicken.  BUT tonight we wanted enchiladas.  Well, over at the Joyful Mama she whips up a mean chicken enchilada.  My girls love them - I just like to turn up the heat a little bit more.  

Here is the Enchilada Recipe.  I made a few adjustments - and am still playing with making it a bit MORE spicy.  But right now the kids love it - and so does Brad.  

Chicken Enchilada's

• 10 corn taco shells
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken {I use the above crock pot chicken here!}
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese {OR whichever cheese I have on hand!} 
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan

2. Place a bit of chicken and some cheese in each tortilla. Roll up in tortillas and place in   pan.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  

4. Stir in sour cream and chilies.  Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.

5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

7. Top with chopped tomatoes. 

Much thanks to the Joyfull-Momma's Blog for this yummy dish! Here is the original blog posting: http://pinterest.com/pin/100486635407265051/

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Meg and Brad

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Meg and Martha

This week I decided we HAD to get back into our meal planning, both with deciding in advance what we were going to eat, as well as planning to shop for it. Having moved back to my second favorite small town - Wilmore, Kentucky (Taos has to come first....) - there are a FEW drawbacks. First, you can't run to your (not so favorite but still a huge convenience) superstore for a few items to throw together for dinner. Nor can you run for other needs. Nope, you have to plan - and of course me planning means intentionally buying locally - but other things you just have to get elsewhere.

Ok, so back to my dinner. Part of my inspiration was an idea I had! I was given this beautiful cookbook for Christmas (YEP, that long ago!) and hadn't ever had time to read it. It got packed when we moved (errrr early February - oh yeah - my last blog date here too!) and it just got unpacked! It was like Christmas all over again! The title is "Martha Stewart's Dinner at Home" - and it has 52 delicious meals planned - including dessert. Which my poor little family complains they don't get enough of.

SO - tonight we started - once (or twice if I am inspired!) a week we will eat with Martha. I will stick as closely to her cookbook as possible and try new things. It's not the Joy of Eating - nor is it Julia Childs - but I do love Martha and parts of it are very different from our normal fair.

{JUST TO WARN YOU, I had to change menu 1 just a bit.... I couldn't find a reasonable priced lamb}

Menu 1.

• Baby Lamb Chops with Lemon Strips
• Asparagus with Aioli
• Quinoa, Pea, and Mint Salad
• Vanilla-Poached Rhubarb

Ok, so I had to sub out the lamb. Instead we decided to use a bustameal.com recipe - Pork Medallions With Apricot-Orange Sauce. It had great reviews and tasted GREAT! We agree, it was very nice.

I am feeding not only two adults, but one eight year old who although loves vegitables, doesn't like meat. I am also feeding a two year old that hates all vegetables {except winter squashes and peas - usually uncooked}. So, as you can see, I never have a HIT all at once.

Until tonight! I couldn't believe it. Everyone enjoyed this meal. The huge hit of the night for J and myself was the Quinoa, pea, and mint salad. The last time I tried to cook quinoa it was a flop. Tasted horrid - flat and odd. Perhaps I shouldn't have waited to try again! This was delicious.

The Asparagus recipe called for a nice poaching, but we all prefer to have it oven roasted. So I again veered and roasted. The aioli sauce was a hit - and it's subtle garlic flavor enhanced the asparagus in such a way that little E ate four servings! Sweet girl.

Brad was in charge of cooking the pork medallions. Such a surprising flavor. They were pan seared and then cooked down with slivered onions and sliced dried apricots. There was nothing of the gooey sweetness that is often added by apricot preserves being spooned over dry meat. This was exceptionally delish! Of course, Brad is rather talented when it comes to cooking meat. I tend to be like E and love the veggies more. But, over ten years of marriage to my carnivore, I have come to love some delicately cooked steak or tenderloin!

It was very a delight to have my first meal with Martha a success. I felt a tad sad to have left behind her beautiful baby lamb. But, I do want to make this idea "do-able" for my self and the family. If you are interested in the meals they are found in the book Martha Stewart's Dinner at Home or also found on the following links.

Well, the girls are in bed. I have a cup of decaffeinated hazelnut coffee here, and another Masterpiece Mystery to finish with my love. Oh, and we haven't had our dessert yet! {He just started on it, stating - "mmm mmm mmm, that's so good"! } Hope you decide to try rhubarb sometime, it's our new spring happiness!

{I have included the Pork Medallions recipe, it's not available in Martha's cookbook but it available at Bust-a-meal. I use this program for meal planning - we love it!}

{Pork Medallions With Apricot-Orange Sauce}

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, cut into 8 (1-inch-thick) slices
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1/2 cup dried apricots, sliced
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1. Mince garlic
2. Thinly slice onions
3. Chop parsley
4. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Sprinkle pork evenly with salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
6. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned.
7. Remove from pan; keep warm.Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan.
8. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until tender.
9. Stir in sliced apricots, broth, juice, garlic, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; bring to a boil.
10. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.
11. Remove from heat; stir in parsley.
12. Serve sauce with pork.

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Waiting....

Find me in the river
Find me on my knees
I've walked against the water
Now I'm waiting if you please

We've longed to see the roses
But never felt the thorns
And bought our pretty crowns
But never paid the price

Find me in the river
Find me there
Find me on my knees with my soul laid bare
Even though you're gone and I'm cracked and dry
Find me in the river, I'm waiting here

Find me in the river
Find me on my knees
I've walked against the water
Now I'm waiting if you please

We didn't count on suffering
We didn't count on pain
But if the blessing's in the valley
Then in the river I will wait


The last number of weeks we have been at several different churches.  As a pastoral family we enjoy visiting and seeing how others "do" church.  New ideas, new excitement, new friends - it's all new and usually very interesting.  Every week has been a touch from God on my (Meg's) life.  As I have encountered people, pastors, and worship moments I have heard God calling my name.  Calling me to lean forward - to reach out - and to not allow human emotion overcome my knowledge of HIM!  


I'm not going to tell stories - to lie.  


I've been struggling.  I never have done well with change (not initiated by me?!).  I like routine - as long as I set it.  And who am I kidding - I love leading - following has taken years to even begin learning.  Submission and Obedience were taught from infant-hood, and honestly, I fought them most of my years.  But God didn't give up. (OR my parents!)  He has taught me to lean into him - to submit to him, to my Husband, to my calling.


But it still isn't always easy.


I am excited to be where I am.  But I morn what could have been.  The calling I feel and felt.  The pain and sorrow  of lives, friendships, and memories left behind.  Most of all, I fight an internal battle.


One that speaks of a desire for life to be fair - which my father always reminded me was never promised.  Of a world that my daughters grow up with friends and love and security offered by more than their parents.  


Regardless,  life was never promised to be fair.  And I wasn't told that I would get to live on the mountain top - physically, spiritually, or emotionally.  BUT it's what I do in the valley - I think is a huge lesson.


So, I sing this song - if I am waiting - in the valley as of late.  You are more than welcome to join me - in the river.  For out of it flows life.....

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