I thought I’d share some of my favorite coffee cups. I’ll leave it up to Amy to tell you what to put in them though.

How’d you like to wake up to this mug in the morning? I think it’s great, perfect for “getting your heart right” before you start the day. “This is the day that the Lord has made”… I love the coffee cups with the verses printed on the inside. That way you get a glimpse of God’s word with each sip. The prayer on the outside reminds you of the potential and purpose of each new day. Love it.

Awaken My Heart Java Mug

Tall java mug with sunny yellow interior is decked with perky blossoms and a prayer Bless this cup of coffee, send me on my way. . . . Awaken my heart to the wonders of today! and Scripture reference encircles the inside This is the day that the Lord has made.” Psalm 118:24 . Holds 16 ounces of your favorite hot drink, safe for microwave/dishwasher; boxed for giving.

“Stoup” is a word created used by Rachael Ray, it’s thicker than a soup and thinner than a stew therefore a “stoup”
This stoup got a definite thumbs up from the adults in the family. I gave it a high 8 thanks to its quick and easy preparation. It’s also very healthy and quite tasty. I of course had to modify the recipe a bit due to lack of ingredients but it still turned out great. I didn’t have carrots so I substituted more sweet potato. I exchanged extra chicken stock for the white wine and I left out the bay leaf simply because I didn’t have one. In hindsight I would add only one chipotle chili. The stoup wasn’t too hot to handle but it may have been a bit more comfortable with one less chili.

Mom gave the Stoup an 8 she also thought one less chili would benefit us all. Mom’s normally not a big “chipotle” fan but liked it this time. Kurt and Dad also cleaned there bowls and gave positive marks.

As for the Roasted Poblano Quesadillas we were all pretty pleased and ratings ranged between an 7 and 9. They went well with the stoup and made good “dunkers”. I do think and Mom agrees the quesadillas would be tastier with a smoked cheddar. This was my first time to roast peppers and I found it to be really simple. I will definitely be doing more of it in the future.

What did the kids think about the stoup? Well…us grown ups ate it all before they got a chance to taste it. Actually after trying it myself I thought it a bit spicy for their taste so I made them some extra quesadillas. To sum it up this is one you’ve got to try! Here are the recipes below, I altered the one found on foodnetwork.com to match the way she made it on the show. There were a few variations in preparation so I went with how I saw her do it.

Smoky Sweet Potato Chicken Stoup
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray- 30 minute meals
See this recipe on air Saturday Apr. 28 at 8:30 AM ET/PT.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled
2 ribs celery
1 large onion, peeled and halved
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 to 2 chipotle chili in adobo, finely chopped, plus a spoon of sauce from the can
Salt and black pepper
1 teaspoon dry thyme, eyeball it
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine, eyeball it
5 cups chicken stock
1 large sweet potato
3/4 to 1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite size pieces
4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, a generous handful, roughly chopped
1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish, optional

Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, about 2 turns of the pan.

While soup pot heats, peel and cut the sweet potatoes into quarters lengthwise, then thinly slice into bite size pieces. Add the sweet potatoes to the pot while it heats, stirring to coat the potatoes in the oil. Chop carrots in half lengthwise then slice into thin half moons, add to pot. Finely chop and drop in celery then thinly slice the onion and add it as well. Add the garlic, chipotle, and adobo sauce and stir to combine. Season the veggies with salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook the veggies together 1 minute. Add the wine and reduce a minute. Add the stock to the pot, cover the pot, and raise heat to high. Bring the stoup to a boil, remove the cover, add the cut chicken and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn the heat off and add the scallions and cilantro. Serve each portion of stoup with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Serve with

Roasted Poblano Quesadillas
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

2 large poblanos
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 large flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Heat the broiler to high.

Char the poblanos under the broiler to blacken their skins on all sides, 7 to 8 minutes. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand 10 minutes.

Peel and seed the peppers, then slice. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and add a tortilla, cover the tortilla with 1/2 cup cheese and 1/4 of the peppers. Fold the tortilla in half and cook 2 minutes to crisp and char the tortilla evenly and melt cheese. Remove and cut into wedges; repeat.

Check out these cute Bibles at
Christianbook.com
These would make a great Girl’s Birthday or Mother’s Day gift, they are normally priced around $25-$30 but right now you can get them for $11.99. They have two other styles as well but they are priced at $22. I of course like the pink and brown one but they’re all pretty cute. I have a gianormous study Bible and have been thinking it might be nice to have a small one to take to Church.

NIV Trimline Bible-in-a-Bag, Chocolate/Pink Floral By Zondervan Corp. NIV take-along trimline Bible is fashioned of chocolate brown Italian duotone&#174, with shiny strawberry pink banding, pink end pages, and a soft supple feel. Tucked in its own coordinating poly cotton canvas bag bordered in bright florals, fully lined and stylishly top-stitched. Trimline Bible 7″ x 3.25″ x 1″; tote bag 6″ x 5″ x 1.5″, convenient double handles. Bible features include: Double-column format Cross-references Words of Christ in red White satin ribbon marker Silver page gilding

———————————————————–

We’ve tried many new recipes lately here are two worth sharing:

Chicken Taco Cups
from Taste of Home

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 envelope reduced-sodium taco seasoning
1 small onion, chopped
1 jar (16 ounces) salsa, divided
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divided
36 wonton wrappers
Sour cream, chopped green onions and chopped ripe olives, optional

Sprinkle chicken with taco seasoning. In a large skillet coated with nonstick
cooking spray, cook and stir the chicken over medium heat for 5 minutes or
until juices run clear. Transfer chicken to a food processor; cover and process
until chopped. In a bowl, combine the chicken, onion, half of the salsa and 1
cup cheese. Press wonton wrappers into miniature muffin cups coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 5 minutes or until lightly
browned. Spoon rounded tablespoonfuls of chicken mixture into cups; top
with remaining salsa and cheese. Bake 15 minutes longer or until heated
through. Serve warm. Garnish with sour cream, green onions and olives if
desired.

Yield: 3 dozen.

These rated about a 7 on a scale from 1-10. Joshua loved them, Kurt and Charleigh said they were “ok” and Kaleb didn’t like them at all. I think we can tweak this a bit. It looks promising. 

Bacon Quiche Tarts
from Quick Cooking


6oz cream cheese, softened
5 teaspoons milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded Colby cheese
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and milk until smooth. Add the eggs,
cheese, green pepper and onion; mix well. Separate dough into eight
triangles; press onto the bottom and up the sides of greased muffin cups.
Sprinkle half of the bacon into cups. Pour egg mixture over bacon; top with
remaining bacon. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 18-22 minutes or until a
knife comes out clean. Serve warm.

Yield: 8 servings.

Simple, quick and easily modified. I made these in little heart muffin tins and the kids felt extra special. It’s not necessarily the recipe I liked but the technique and the ideas it gave us. The first time we made this I replaced the bacon with smoked ham and exchanged fresh chives for the onion and left out the bell pepper. That combination received a thumbs up from Kurt and I but the kids said it needed less cheese and more egg. The second time I used cooked ground sausage in place of the bacon, Cheddar in place of the Colby, I used red onion and red pepper. Reduced the cream cheese and added an egg. The kids loved this one but I had to increase the bake time for it to get done. The third time I actually had bacon, I used chives, left out the peppers but added 2 TB of chopped fresh mixed herbs. I think it we used a bit of rosemary, flat leaf parsely and maybe some thyme. I used the original amount of cream cheese and egg but doubled the recipe. Everyone was happy.  

Tonight I’m trying out Rachael Ray’s Smoky Sweet Potato Chicken Stoup and Roasted Poblano Quesadilla

Oh, and while we’re at it here’s a recipe that didn’t rate so well:

Amaretto Dream Cupcakes

Photos from the Taste of Home website/magazine

This picture is so dark it’s a bit hard to see. The tornado was about 10 miles away at the time of this picture. Brian James of KVII News said it was about a mile wide! The photo isn’t in black and white, this is exactly how gray and yucky it was outside.

Cactus and Tulia were hit pretty hard Saturday night.
With out telling you where we live I will tell you we are pretty close to Cactus. Here’s a few links to KVII’s coverage on the Tornado that hit Cactus
Picking up the Pieces in Cactus

Tornado flattens small town in Panhandle

We spent the evening watching for tornadoes. Here are a few of the smaller ones we saw from our yard. The pictures of the big one where just to dark and grainy. Needless to say it was an eventful night. We lost electricity so I’m not sure of the damage in our region. I heard Cactus was hit pretty hard.

So how is everybody? Let me know if you’re safe and sound.

OH, and it’s Kaleb’s 9th birthday today. We had a party planned for after church but Charleigh and Joshua spent the night vomiting so we’ll have to postpone it. Not to mention the lack of electricity may have made it less than comfortable for the guests…

9 years old! Can you believe it?

Hi Dad, I told you yesterday in person but I forgot to do it on here.

Happy
Happy Birthday!
I love you much!

Can you guess what this is?

Answer: In Comments

Each year on this day, April 16th, I stop and remember my friend Chalyn Imler. It’s been 14 or 15 years since her life was lost and ours were changed. Mortality showed its face that day and shattered the innocence of our youth. While I didn’t know her well I’ll never forget her.

Today I pray for her family who on this day are undoubtedly thinking of her too.