What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail

Normally on Sundays I like to post the funny things my kids have said/done but they have been gone most of the past week so I don't have much to share.  Instead I thought I would share a blog post I read recently on the topic of Goals.  If you know me at all, you know I love goals and planning so this was a great read for me!
What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

Arms that Hold the Universe

Yesterday, we attended a funeral for a friend and former pastor of ours who died this past Sunday from a massive stroke that occurred early Sunday morning. On Monday morning, as I was driving to town, this song came on the radio and it just "fit".

Food Friday - Quesadillas

Quesadillas
adapted from  The Other Side of Fifty

I think I have mentioned before that Darryl got me a Panini Press for Christmas and I have used it alot.  One thing that I love using it for is to make quesadillas.  I have had this recipe on my pinterest board for a long time so I decided to try it out. It just so happened that Darryl was home this day so he got to test them out too.  I did leave out the beans - I don't care for the texture of beans inside something like this.  I also left out the banana peppers because I couldn't find any!  Next time, honestly, I would leave the spinach out . .. it got really stringy and mushy after the first day.  I think that you could throw in some thick salsa and it would replace some of the veggies.  (Or add other veggies!) One of the great things about this recipe is that you don't need the cheese because the mixture is thick and kind of creamy.  (Granted, I used cheese in mine!)

Chicken, Spinach And Cannellini Bean Quesadillas

1 1/2 -2 cups seasoned, cooked and diced chicken breast meat
1 TBSP olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 banana pepper, diced
a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (heaping) TBSP all purpose flour
3/4 cup chicken broth
4 cups fresh baby spinach, stems removed, coarsely chopped
1 (15.5 ounce) can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Cooking spray
Flour tortillas
Shredded cheese (Monterey Jack, cheddar or a combination of the two works well here)
Avocados, diced
Fat free sour cream

In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, red bell pepper and banana peppers. Season with the crushed red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Saute until veggies have softened, 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another minute or two. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir to combine. Cook while stirring for several minutes so that the flour loses its raw taste. Whisk in the chicken broth and stir until bubbly and smooth. Add the baby spinach and continue cooking for another minute or two or until spinach has wilted. Stir in the cooked chicken and cannellini beans and remove from heat.

Spray a large skillet or griddle with cooking spray. Heat over medium to medium-high heat. Place one tortilla on griddle and spread cheese over tortilla. Spread chicken, bean and spinach mixture over one half of the tortilla. Check underside of tortilla and when browned a bit, flip the half with just cheese over the half with the chicken. Remove from heat and cut into slices. Top with diced avocado and sour cream, if desired.

Weekly Menu

Last week was awesome.  I didn't cook for 4 days in a row.  Not a stitch.  That is my ideal break from life!  Then we ate Paninis a couple of nights in a row.  THEN I'm cooking a turkey today so my house will smell so good!

Here's what is on the plan for this coming week.

Friday - We have a funeral to attend this afternoon so I'm not sure what we'll do for dinner.  We may just pick up McDonald's just for the sake of "easy".

Saturday - Time to use up some turkey!  I think that "Chicken" and Dumplings along with a salad sounds good to me!

Sunday  - And, as you know, I always turn the left overs into Chicken Noodle Soup and add some rolls to make it a yummy dinner.  We'll have this after church.  For dinner that night, well, I don't like to cook so probably left overs/Mac and Cheese for the boys.

Monday - Crispy Orange Chicken, Rice and Egg Rolls - a carry over from a week or so ago.

Tuesday - Rainbow Chicken - I saw this recipe on Pinterest and, unlike I usually do, actually read the recipe to see if I thought we would really like it.  I think it is a pretty straight forward dish with some good seasonings and we love roasted veggies.  Some simple fried rice will go well with this along with some biscuits.

Wednesday - Applesauce Glazed Pork Chops, Pasta w/mixed veggies and Biscuits.

Thursday - It is time to have a winter favorite - Beef Tips and Noodles!  Yum!

What I'm Reading

Women Living Well
This week I read chapters 4 and 5.  Ironically chapter four dealt with media and how it now takes up so much of our time; the same topic I read in "7" also.  I think that the main point Courtney was trying to get across is to not allow media to identify you and your life but, rather, allow God,to define everything about your life.  Chapter five talked about Bible Studies and Mentor Groups.  I have to be 100% honest and say that this chapter felt slightly like a sales pitch for Good Morning Girls.  Now, please understand that I think GMG's is a wonderful source of accountability and Bible study and I think that the success of the program is fantastic.  this specific chapter just didn't speak to me a whole lot.



"7"
The chapters I read through this week included one on giving up all media for one month.  No TV, texting, e-mail, facebook, smart phones ect.  EEEEKKK!!  One of my own personal goals this year is to unplug a little more but I am not into giving it all up.  I need my sanity!  I moved on to the chapter on waste. I don't mean trips to the bathroom either ;-)  This chapter touched on the whole idea of planting a garden, buying at thrift stores and more.  I have to admit that this is not my forte.  I am not about recycling or saving the earth so I'm having a hard time coming up with a way to apply this to my life but I'm still thinking!

As I'm reading this book I am thinking of what my own personal challenges will be for each of the topics she discusses.  My goal right now is to finish up this book by the end of the month and I plan to start my first challenge(s) in February.  


Power of a Positive Mom
Well, I didn't read a chapter in this book.  Oops!  So,instead I will say that my goal for next week is to have read Chapters 2-4 and do the book study questions..

I've actually picked up a couple of new books to add to my reading list for this year.  One is a book my mom picked up at the bookstore for me and the other is one that I saw at the bookstore.  Looking forward to sharing those soon!

What We've Been Doing

I thought I would share the fun we've been having without the kids here :-)

I don't have a ton of photos but Darryl and I have had a lot of fun!  On Friday, once parents left with the boys and the parents of the extra kids pick them up, Darryl and I headed for town.  We had reservations at PF Changs - a resturant we had never eaten at but had heard so much about that we finally decided to try.  First I'll say, it was good food . . kind of unique but good.  We got egg rolls which were not the best I've had but weren't awful either.  I also ordered some Crab Rangoons which were actually the best part of my entire meal.  Dinner was good but not nearly as good as the hype.  How's that for a middle of the road review?  After dinner we went to see a movie - We saw Book Thief which was a really, really good movie.  Yes, we also enjoyed popcorn and lemonade :-) 

Saturday morning we slept in (such a rarity!) and hung at home.  I had to run to the grocery store and then we got ready for this . . ..

 We attended a wedding for a "kid" we've known for 12 years.  He and Darryl have been friends for all of those years and it was such a privilege to attend.  We got to hang out with all of the folks that Darryl used to work with and it was just plain fun.  I can chalk this up as one of the most enjoyable weddings we've attended in a long time.  And no, I did not take my camera.  I told myself that I wasn't going to take it to weddings anymore unless it was an immediate family member and guess what?  It was SOOO nice to not take photos!

Sunday was a totally 100% "veg" day.  Sleeping in; hanging out in PJ's all day; Watching football without interruption.  We did receive news part way through the day that a Pastor friend of ours had passed away from a massive stroke suffered just that morning.  He was 46 and leaves behind his wife and 6 kids.  Not what we were expecting at all.  It is still a little surreal.

Monday morning I took Darryl to work so I could have the truck.  After coming back home (he goes to work at 3:30 AM) I will admit that I got a Sausage Biscuit from McDonald's on the way in because my stomach was growling and I was so glad I did.  Why?  Because when I got home, I crawled into bed, snuggled under the covers and went to sleep without being hungry.  It was such a relaxing sleep . . .something I seldom get it seems!  I got up and got ready to head out for a day on my own!  My first stop was lunch at Grand Traverse Pie Company - my all time favorite lunch place.  From there I started shopping :-) 

 This lamp is my favorite purchase.  See, Nate's lamp broke months a year ago and I just have never found one that I liked to replace it.  I promised myself that I WOULD get him one this week while he is gone.  So, while at Target I found this awesome Dinosaur lamp.  It's my favorite item because I know he is going to be so excited when he sees it! (Mom, don't show this him please! ;-) LOL)

Some more of my treasures!  I had to much fun wondering through Target, Hobby Lobby, Bed Bath and Beyond and more. 

My new decor for the door thanks to Hobby Lobby.

And finally this.  My poor truck is stranded outside of the garage.  Why?  Well, my garage door is broken :-(  When I was leaving home today I noticed the door did not shut so I hit the button again and noticed the door was a little crooked.  Once we got home, Darryl checked it out and one of the giant springs broke.  We have had this happen once before years ago and it is fixable but this time it has also bend some of the metal pieces that hold it all together so I'm not sure what it will entail to fix it.  I'm just thankful it happened after I got out of the driveway . . .that spring is a lethal weapon AND I would have been unable to get out of the garage. 

For the record, my Christmas decor is still outside.  Maybe it will come down today ;-)

Homeschool Corner

As I mentioned last week, we are having a lot of fun learning in different ways and we started out this past week with a "winner".   Are you ready?

 Yes, we learned about Static Electricity.  On Sunday morning while I was . . . .well, still resting in bed . . .they decided to unzip one of the bean bags to see what it looked like on the inside.  They discovered it looked like snow and decided to create a snow storm.  It was everywhere.  I really couldn't (and didn't) get mad especially when Nate looked at me and said, "Mom, you don't have to say it, I won't do this again."

 The good news is that my boys love to vacuum and begged and begged to vacuum so I let them.  Two hours later we were done.  Granted, little bean bag pieces of puke showed up the entire week in the oddest places like in the sink, on my desk, in our lunches . . ..

 We also learned that grape Popsicles turn months purple (except by the time we got the picture most of it was gone!)

And that if we put our hand closer to the camera, it is blurry.  (And that "white" Popscicles taste really good . . .kinda like Lemonade.)

And, finally, we learned how to turn a table upside down and use it to do gymnastics.  Josh did this too but I was unable to get a photo. 

I think it is time to get back to book learning .. oh wait, the kids are gone this week :-)