Kate's Kitchen

I enjoy cooking but I am probably a much better baker because truth is, I'm a recipe follower. Unlike Enoch and my momma, I can't just throw things together without a recipe, taste it, and state exactly what the item needs to make it taste wonderful. I've been trying to cook more lately since I've been out of school, and I'm trying to build a base of go-to recipes.  Last week, I made Broccoli Soup and Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps:

Broccoli Soup:
- 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. broccoli
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup of shredded carrot
- 2 tbsp. margarine
- 1 med. onion
- 2 tbsp. flour, cornstarch OR potato flakes
- salt & pepper
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup skim milk

I used a dutch oven because I'm in love with mine but you can use a small pot big enough to hold all of your ingredients.  Saute margarine and onions until onions are soft. Add flour, cornstarch OR potato flakes and stir.  Add liquid ingredients (milk, chicken broth), then add broccoli and carrots.  Season with salt and pepper.   Let the mixture cook down and once it looks like utterly disgusting goop and the broccoli is VERY soft, blend all of it in a blender.  I top mine with cheese and have some toast with it!

Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps:
- 24 ounces of chicken breasts
- 1 celery stalk (whole)
- 1/2 of a diced onion
- 1 clove of garlic, diced
- 16 ounces of chicken broth
- 1/2 cup of hot sauce (Franks or Texas Pete)
- Lettuce (the recipe recommended bib or iceberg but a head of romaine worked just fine for us)
- Shredded carrot, thinly sliced celery, & sour cream.

In a crock pot combine first 5 ingredients listed.  Cover and cook for 4 hours.  Remove the chicken and shred.  Discard all remaining broth (including celery stalk) except for 1/2 cup.  Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot along with the 1/2 cup of reserved broth and 1/2 cup of hot sauce.  Stir and let cook 30 minutes.  To serve place chicken on lettuce to eat like a taco (I was a little apprehensive about the lettuce but it was quite yummy).  I topped mine with some shredded carrot and sour cream that had Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing and Seasoning Mix stirred in.  This was a recipe I found on Pinterest and it was absolutely delicious! Enoch loved it too, and he decided to put his chicken on sourdough bread with lettuce and make a sandwich out of it, so there's another serving option.

Enjoy!

Fresh Beginnings

I dislike the fact that it has been so long since I last blogged so I'm really really going to try to jump back on the ball!

Major Life Updates:
I'm a college graduate.
I have a job! I will be teaching 5th grade at a new, local charter school; I am ecstatic, nervous, and thankful.

Yep that just about sums up my life right now.  I'm taking some time this summer to relax, spend time with Enoch & family, work a little, and prepare for the 2012/2013 school year.

I Can Trust God With My Future

The future is always on everyone's mind, right? It's definitely been on mine lately! So, when Eric Freeman spoke at TheTap at Daystar on Wednesday, it was exactly what I needed to hear (crazy how God knows these things). I encourage you to check out the link below to listen to the podcast from Eric's message. It's short and to the point, but I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders after hearing it. There's something freeing about knowing that I can trust God with my future and that there's freedom in God's will.

https://www.daystargso.com/media3

Merry Christmas 2011

I love love love Christmastime, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't just a teensy bit sad when it's all over. This year was wonderful as always, celebrating the birth of our savior, spending time with family, and having fun with traditions. One tradition I would love to see continue year after year was the banquet Daystar held for people that serve in the church at the beginning of December; it was so much fun to get dressed up and eat dinner with wonderful people. I uploaded 2 pictures below from the banquet of me and Jen and me and Enoch. Thank you Jen for taking great pictures! Alexa Stutts (a very talented photographer in our church-Google Alexa Stutts photography to check out her work) also took some very hilarious and memorable shots in her photo booth. Thank you Alexa for taking the time to do that for everyone!

Traditions at our home include making and eating alot of food on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! We tried some new recipes this year and we found the perfect Crab Dip recipe along with a very yummy spinach artichoke dip recipe, and a dip called Santa Fe Cheesecake was a huge hit. Us kids spent alot of time cooking on Christmas Eve while mom wrapped presents; then we all proceeded to fall asleep on and off while watching The Polar Express (Christmas movies are also a big deal around here-I lost track of how many times I watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and The Santa Clause). Mom never ceases to amaze me with her gift giving every year. It's like she can't help but spoil us even at the ages of 19, 21, and 22. My big gift this year was a dutch oven-LOVE it.

I try to do something crafty for my mom every year for Christmas; this year I used an idea I found on Pinterest (I'll admit I'm kind of an addict) to make her snowflake Christmas ornaments. It involved cookie cutters, fabric, and Elmer's glue. Very inexpensive and cute :)

Sighhh, now it's time to look onward to 2012 and the last semester of my undergraduate career. Student teaching here I come!

My Hope is in You

New favorite song, check it out!

Aaron Shust - My Hope is In You

I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God , in whom I trust."

Psalm 91:2

10 Years

I was 11 years old. It was a seemingly normal school day at home with my mom, Megan, and Steven. My mom got a call from her best friend who had a daughter with a husband in the Air Force. They were in the process of flying back to the USA from his base in Italy and were over Canada when all flights were grounded. My mom immediately turned on the TV, and I watched the first tower burn and the plane hit the second tower. I also watched the Pentagon burn and smoke rise from Flight 93 in Shanksville, PA. I watched both towers collapse. I had never heard the word terrorism used before. I began collecting newspaper articles and magazine articles in the months that followed 9-11. I still have all of them sitting in 2 shoeboxes under my bed. I created a 9-11 notebook with some of these articles as well as pages of journal entries I had recorded, noting my fears, sadness, shock, and hope at what had happened. That too still sits in my closet.

After watching a 9-11 special tonight, my heart is thankful and my heart hurts again for the families of those that lost loved ones. For the firefighters who were so brave and gave their lives to save others. For the firefighters and departments who's lives were forever changed permanently by what they experienced that day. For the children who are growing up today without parents.

September 11, 2001. Never Forget.

I'm Back!

I'm back from a 3 month blog hiatus!

It was an amazingly busy summer for me working at Quaker Lake Camp, and I enjoyed every minute of it!

I believe God has a reason for everything, and it was so cool to see how He used my past experiences in food service and kitchens and preschoolers and science in my job at Quaker Lake. I worked in the kitchen about 2 meals a day and then coordinated a preschool nature program that took place twice a month. I built great relationships with some awesome people and loved doing something different for a summer job that didn't involve tourists :)

Now I'm back at UNCG, a little over 2 weeks into my SENIOR year, and tackling things head-on. It was a little rough the first week or so, trying to get things organized and getting settled into a routine, but I'm getting there and am really enjoying my internship in 5th grade.

There are so many things running through my head right now about my future, where God wants me, and all the big things he wants to do through me. I'm really focusing on thanking Him for everything he's given me, including an incredible boyfriend that he brought into my life over the summer :)

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21