Thursday, February 28, 2013

What's Cooking Good Looking

How do you feel about your Crock Pot?

I LOVE MINE

 Somewhere along the way we were given this great little cook book called

THE COMPLETE SLOW COOKER COOKBOOK


And it truly is complete

If you're a working wife/mother, this book is essential to your kitchen-success! There are many sections to this book from easy appetizers to more fancy meals for company. I like the "Every Day" section. I have so many recipes I have yet to try, but you can never go wrong with chicken.

I was more than elated when I found out I could cook a whole chicken in the Crock Pot!

So today, I'm making Lemon Roasted Chicken in the Crock Pot!

Whole Roasted Chicken

1 Lemon, quartered
1 small onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic
1 (3 to 4-pound) whole roasting chicken, rinsed and patted dry, and giblets removed
1 to 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Parpika
1 tsp dried Thyme

I've never really enjoyed touching raw meat, but sometimes the ends do justify the means. It's always hard to not loose my breakfast when i'm preparing a chicken so I try to eat breakfast after I'm done getting lunch ready. First quarter the lemon and the onion. I had a small chicken so I only used half a lemon and 1/4 of an onion.


This is always a pretty view! Spread those legs wide and stuff the tasty inside! I put in a slice of each and used pre-minced garlic (1 small Clove Garlic - 1/2 to 1 tps mince), then alternated till chicky was full.


Measure out all your spices and put them in a bowl. I've always liked how they look together before mixing; I almost feel like a professional chef! 


Take your Olive Oil and give that chicky a good rub... come on girls, we've all been practicing for this with our daily dose of hydrating moisturizers. Next mix those spices together and generously rub it into the chicken. I tend to do this IN the Crock Pot as to not make a mess on the counter. 



Get that lid tightly on the top and set for 6-8 hours on low. I like to set it for 8, that way it's falling off the bone when I come home from work.

DON'T ADD WATER!!! 
It will magically make its own by the time you get home from work



You can make gravy from the juice at the end by addint 2 Tbls of flour and turn the Crock Pot on High (or transfer to a sauce pan to cook over medium heat). 

Dinner is always good when made in a Crock Pot! It's a life saver for the working wife/mom. 

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Me or the Circumstance?

Often times, during the dark spots in our lives, we wonder what's to blame for the emotions raging inside of us. Often times in the middle of the dark, we see it as the circumstances surrounding us; the lamp that broke or the friendship that failed. However, later in life we look back and, more often than not, see that the dark spot was due mainly to an attitude we had or our outlook on life.

Especially in Christian circles we're encouraged to never place blame on the outer but on the inner. It seems the trend now-a-days in this great nation of America is any dark spot is a spiritual issue. Spiritual leaders and desciplers like to pick apart poor souls going through their dark spots finding ways to prove it's their lack of faith or something missing in their spiritual walk. But is it ever just the circumstance?

We see countless times in the Bible that Satan is a deceiver, the enemy, even a prowler (1 Peter 5:8). Is it so unfathomable to believe that he would use circumstance around us to create our dark spot? I think almost everyone would agree with me.

I'm not a theologian, I can't debate or defend or exegete till the day's end. All I know is dark spots exists; they're real, they're deep, and they're painful. Why do we add on the pain and guilt of a "spiritual" failure? Are we not human? Are we not prone to wonder and make mistakes? But when the phone never stops ringing and you feel like your home life is falling apart, can your spiritual walk really be to blame? I look to the example of Job who, by definition, did nothing against God (Job 1:8). Yet Satan was allowed to rain pain, suffering, and loss into his life. Job was judged by his friends saying he must have cursed God in some way, yet Job had not. Job sat in soot, scraping boils off his skin. Even the example of Christ headed to the cross; in the days and moments before his suffering, He Lamented to God to take this cup from Him (Luke 22:42).

I do think it all comes back to our response to the situation. How do we handle the dark spot? Where do we turn to when dark and twisty starts to take a hold? Why do we harp on spiritual failure when a person is going through a hard time in life? Not every person has a deep dark secret they are keeping. Sometimes Satan just wants to deceive and make us loose.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The New Blogger

Over time I've seen countless friends and family members maintain blogs for any number of subjects. Yet I've never found the drive or the inspiration to put into word the thoughts on my mind or the projects in my life. I've always been fearful of expressing myself in this way; that those around me would judge or find fault in my spiritual life or beliefs. I'm not a good "arguer" or defender with words.

But now the time has come. I've tired every hobby from Paula Dean Cook Books to Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. I think Blogging is the only natural next step. Who knows what this will turn into but I'm excited to share crazy, busy, stressed out, young married life in my journey as a mrs. with you all.