Sweet and Sour Chicken (shockingly not from pinterest)

Hello friends! This week has been busy for us with birthdays/family meals, time with friends and a wedding! So, we are only able to cook 2 meals at home this week. Tonight we cooked Sweet and Sour Chicken from Food Network. We are always on the hunt for healthier asian food recipes, as it is one of Jacob's favorite type of foods. This was our first food network recipe, but we will definitely be trying more! Jacob thinks it's better than Pei Wei...it involves quite a few obscure ingredients, but it tastes wonderful!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (the website calls for reduced sodium... we had an unfortunate homemade fried rice experience with reduced sodium soy sauce so we use the regular kind :))
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 4 teaspoons oil (the recipe calls for peanut oil...super targets in plano/the colony don't carry it...so we use oilve oil and add peanuts)
• 2-4 chicken breasts cut into 1-inch pieces
• salt and pepper to taste
• mixed bell peppers cut into 1-inch strips (the first time we made this we cut them up, this time we used frozen)
• brown rice (we still love Uncle Ben's Ready Rice)
• chopped peanuts (to make your oil peanutty and for garnish)

1. In a small bowl, mix honey, chili-garlic cause, vinegar, soy sauce, orange juice and corn starch. Set aside for later.
2. Coat the chicken with 2 teaspoons of oil and heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook for about 2 mintues. The high heat will help to brown it and make it look more like sweet and sour chicken since it isn't fried :) Transfer partially cooked chicken to a plate and reserve the pan.
3. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the pan. Add in peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp tender.This is usually when we add some peanuts
4. Stir in the reserved chicken. Whisk the sauce and add it to the pan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cauce is thickened and the chicken is tender.
5. Serve over rick and sprinkle with peanuts if desired.

Tomorrow we are trying the much anticipated cauliflower pizza crust. I had a friend try it earlier this week and she gave me a few tips. I also had to promise that we could order pizza if it wasn't good. SO if just a picture of Papa John's or Pizza Hut is posted, y'all will all know what happened! :)

I'm thankful to serve an omnipotent God. I'm thankful to serve a God full of love and grace, a God full of justice and conviction- a God who loves us too much to let us wallow in lives of sin. A God who isn't afraid and knows it isn't right to not let us know when our lives are out of sync with him. A God who isn't afraid to to yell "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY" or physically move us to where He wants us so He can work and be glorified. I especially love it when His perfect timing is so that only He, and not us, can receive the glory for his blessings.

We experienced just that this past week. Jacob and I went on the ultimate road trip (see previous post for details on that! :)). We had talked and planned for months, while still leaving enough room for spontaneity, as any road trip should have! We were even so excited that we left a night early. We though this was all us being spontaneous, but God had a bigger plan.

In January, God really put it on our hearts to serve. We had both served in the church and in our respective Bible Study classes before we were married, and suddenly not serving just didn't feel right. I felt as if I was taking and not giving, eating and not exercising, stealing without paying. I also had my fair share of moments where I tried to take God's job into my own hands and find places. God so kindly and gently closed doors, whispering to me, "Wait on Me, my child."

On our drive (which wouldn't have been "on the drive" if we had left when WE planned), Jacob received an email. God was dropping the perfect opportunity into our laps-- delivering it to our doorstep at His perfect time. As we though through, talked through and most importantly prayed through the opportunity, we saw how God had been preparing our hearts for this very time since before we were dating. We were overwhelmed by His sovereignty and grateful for an opportunity for Him to be glorified through us. We were in awe.

But, God wasn't done yet. That's one of the most astounding things about God-- While we were still sinners, Christ died for us, and while we deserve nothing, His blessings never seem to run dry. His plans for HIS glory are bigger and better than we could ever begin to fathom. When our plan is a small hole we dig with our hands, God's plan is the Grand  Canyon.

We had also been looking for somewhere to live, as our lease at our current apartment is almost up. Although it wasn't something we had been good about in the past, we brought that request to God and asked that He provide a place of us to live. We knew of a house that was up for lease, but after talking with the owners, we didn't think it was going to work out. We continued praying that God would provide a place for us to live. On the way home from Vegas, God delivered the house that we had written off and didn't think could work. Again, God proved Himself and provided in a way that He would be so magnificently glorified. We know it is exactly where God wants us and are excited to see how He can use us in our new home!

I think that's the most wonderful and overwhelming part about God's plans- He is glorified despite us. Humans sin, we mess up, we are not dependable. But God and His purposes are sovereign. He reigns and redeems even our mistakes so that He is always glorified, so His character is always proven and true. I'm so thankful to serve a God like that.

Vegas Vacation

Jacob and I were blessed to go on a really fun ROADTRIP last week to LAS VEGAS! We had planned to leave on Saturday to drive to the Grand Canyon and spend the night, spend Sunday morning at the Grand Canyon and get into Vegas that day, stay until Friday morning and take Friday/Saturday to drive back to Dallas. We got really excited at 6 on Friday night and decided to start our jouney early! We packed and were on the roady by 6:30! We drove off into the sunset for our vacation!

We got up bright and early to drive to Williams, AZ and the Grand Canyon, where neither of us had been before!

We got to Vegas on Sunday night and just explored our hotel and the strip.

On Monday we layed out at the pool and saw Murray, Celebrity Magician at the Tropicana. We were on the 1st row, like 3 feet from the magic! We could see some of his secrets, but we are still talking about where some of the items disappeared to!

On Tuesday we saw Spiderman and ate Burgers and Barbeque at Excaliber! Our feet were tired of walking so we needed a rest!

On Wednesday, we learned how to play Craps, ate at the Monte Carlo buffet for the second time and saw Cirque de Soleil's Ka. This was probably our favorite day, so it gets 2 pictures.

 Below is the stage for "ka."

On Thursday we went to Old Downtown Vegas for the Freemont Street Experience.

Then we drove for a really, Really, REALLY long time back to Texas!

We had a great time getting away and making lots of memories! Hooray for our first married vacation and roadtrip!

Smashing Smashed Potatoes

After our Vegas Vacation last week (look for that in our next post), we are trying to eat healthier! We revisited a recipe for smashed potatoes. They satisfy my craving for french fries but are much healthier because they are baked.

Our recipe is adapted from Caramel Potatoes recipe! It's not super exact but it's never turned out poorly! :)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs (or desired amount) of small red potatoes- we usually buy the bag and if they are too big I cut them in half or quarters
• 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• garlic powder
• rosemary
• salt & pepper

1. Scrub the potatoes (and cut them if necessary) and lay on a foil lined baking tray. Add 3/4 cup of water to the potatoes and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes at 500 degrees.
2. When the potatoes are done, remove them from the oven and let them cool- I usually let them cool for about 30 minutes because they are really hot!
3. Toss the potatoes in a medium bowl with 3 tablespoons of olive oil until completely coated. Lay the potatoes back on the lined baking sheet.
4. Take a cup and "smash" the potatoes until they are about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. This is harder than it looks-- Jacob always has to do this job!
5. Drizzle the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil on the potatoes. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, garlic powder and rosemary.
6. Place your potatoes back in your 500 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until crispy brown. They are kind of caramelized when you take them out and they are DELICIOUS!

Enjoy! :)

An Old Favorite Recipe: Lime Chicken Tacos

One of our summer goals was to explore recipes that did not use our favorite appliance- the slow cooker. This week, I'm bust working all day at a camp through my school district. So, we decided to bust out an old favorite in our slow cooker. These Lime Chicken Tacos were the first thing we cooked together after we got married (or, let's be honest, ever), and they are still our very favorite dish. They are adapted from pinterest and from a recipe from Taste of Home. We have added our own little twists to it, though.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 cup black bean and corn salsa (we really like the Market Pantry kind. I could probably eat my weight in it)
• tortillas (I like corn, Jacob likes flour)
• shredded cheese and guacamole to top

1. Place the chicken in the slow cooker. Combine lime juice and chili powder; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender.
2. Shred chicken in slow cooker. Add salsa.
3. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve on tortillas with desired garnishes.

We hope that you enjoy as much as we have! :)

Favorite Recipe of the Week!

As we are cooking at home more (and branching out from our beloved slow cooker) this summer, we have decided to post our favorite recipe each week!

This week, our favorite recipe as been Kung Pao chicken! Mmm!

We adapted a recipe from blogchef.net that we found on pinterest. Here is the recipe:

• 2 chicken breasts (cut into 1 inch by 1 inch squares)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons chopped onions
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts (we added some extra to the top because we are addicted and obsessed with peanuts)

1. Combine chicken and cornstarch in a small bowl and toss to coat. Heat sesame oil in large pan over medium heat. Add chicken and stir-fry for 8-10 minutes or until cooked. Remove and set aside.
2. Add onions, garlic, red pepper flakes and powdered ginger to the pan and stir fry for 15 seconds. I also had to add a little more sesame oil because my pan was pretty dry at this point! :)
3. Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Mix wekk and add sauce to the pan.
4. Return chicken to the pan and coat with sauce. Stir in roasted peanuts and let simmer for 2-3 minutes to make sure chicken in coated. The recipe said to top with green onions We chose to top with peanuts!

We also ate ours with Uncle Ben's Ready Rice- Jasmine. We are really obsessed with these rice pouches since we live in an apartment and have a small stove that makes it difficult to have more than 2 pans going. The rice is also perfect and quick. This one is a little higher in calories than we like (it has 250 calories per cup), but we really like the sweet flavor when we make Asian dishes.

This little experiment went really well! The chicken had good flavor with a little kick to it, so it paired well with the sweeter rice! Hope you enjoy! :)

Always Enough

Plenty. Adequate. Sufficient. Enough.

We live in a society where enough is a seldom used term. We always desire something extra, something more. Just one more Kate Spade purse. Just that other pair of Toms (especially since my first pair is so comfortable). Just one extra shot of espresso in my latte, because what is 50 more cents in my already $5 latte. What's a few extra dollars or cents, calories or sugar. Society pushes, and we continue to plead for more.

But, what about when this craving of "more, this never being enough implodes not only from our wallets and debit cards, but also into us, our schedules, activities, plans, desires and dreams. Just one more work out class. One more club to help with after work. One more way to make and save a little extra money to buy a house. Even one more Bible study or place to serve. Even when good things continue to beg for "more" it can leave you exhausted, burned out and, unfortunately, complacent about the things, people and relationships that matter most.

I am terrible at saying no. I first started to struggle with this about a year and a half ago. I realized one days how many glasses of water I felt like I strategically balanced on a tray...I was a girlfriend, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a mentee, a table group leader, a bible study leader, a Sunday School member, and a speech pathologist by day. As each of these roles began to demand more and more of me, I felt as if my well held up glasses of water were out of room on my tray...they felt as if they were overflowing and were about to drown me. I felt as if I was a tiny speck of a person standing helplessly on a beach, looking up in fear as a towering tidal wave encased me. I was fighting to keep my head above water. What can we4 do-- what options do we have when we literally cannot be enough.

After weeks of coping any and every way I could conjure up- with lethargy and apathy, exhaustion and giving all I had to every activity I partook in, something, or Someone intervened- the only one who is more than enough for all of us. The Holy Spirit brought to my heart a conviction-- that all of my time, my schedule, my commitments were God's. Just like all of our money is God's in the first place, so he is the only one fit to have control of it, all of our time is also God's, and he desires to reign over our planners, Outlook calendars and iPhones, too. Christ is enough for all of us. He took all of those fragile and full glasses of water, all of those responsibilities and roles. Now, I know that as I trust more fully in Him and know that He is all I need, that I am enough, as long as I give him control and rely fully on His strength. As God and His purposes for me govern my time, my energy, my roles. I know that I have- and am plenty. As He was and is enough to cover and redeem my sins, He is also enough as I relinquish control of the reigns of my life to Him.

Thankful to serve a God who gladly yearns to control and comfort, despite my attempts to be enough.