Musical Musings

There's nothing I love more than a good praise and worship session. That's one of the reasons Chase and I adore our church home. Neither of us came from churches with a big choir, but you wouldn't believe the energy and passion that they add to our Sunday morning services - it's a blessing just to witness their worship. I think it's so amazing that God can be glorified through any genre of music - though it's not surprising; He did create all things.

One of the artists I love to worship with is Kari Jobe. Her music and voice take me back to the days when I worshiped at Discovery Church. She doesn't make very many trips to our area, but she's coming to Church of the Highlands on April 7th, and I"m dragging Chase with me. I can't wait!

If you've never heard any of Kari Jobe's music, listen here (for my Mother, who always asks me "Is it on YouTube?" ha).

Leave of Absence

I'm back. I know all 3 of you missed my infrequent posts :)

Truth is, we Tysons have been busy since the last time I wrote! We spent most of our weekends in February and March on the road.

We went to Gatlinburg with Chase's family for a nice little weekend getaway - whole family in tow(National Lampoon style, ha). It snowed while we were there, but not enough to stick. I wish I had taken pictures....

Speaking of snow, we finally got more than a dusting here in Birmingham. It was lovely!

We celebrated Dad's birthday with the Walker grandparents(again, I didn't take any pictures). But here's one of my favorites of Dad and I from my wedding.

We also said goodbye to a dear friend and loved pastor. If you never got a chance to hear him share the Word, you sincerely missed out. He was a true example of faith, and will be greatly missed.

'Go-to' Dinners

I love to cook, but I'm absolutely terrible at planning a menu. Most nights I leave work thinking, "What in the world am I going to fix for dinner?". I have an overflowing well stocked pantry, but sometimes it's just hard to put together a meal on those nights when, "nothing sounds good."

I'm not sure where I found this idea, but I have a pretty little list taped to the inside of one of my cabinets with 'go-to dinners'....the ones you know you always have the ingredients for and can make fairly effortlessly. When I was growing up, my mom's go-to was always spaghetti. My 'spaghetti' is a recipe I've adapted over time from Kraftfoods.

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

(click here for the original recipe)

1 1/2 cups multi-grain penne pasta
1 9oz. package of fresh spinach leaves
1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
10-12 oz of Ragu or Marinara/Pizza Sauce (I usually do half/half)
1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes with onion, garlic, and basil (slightly drained)
2 oz cream cheese, cubed
1 Cup of Mozzarella cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

COOK pasta as directed on package, adding spinach to the boiling water the last minute.

COOK and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 3 min. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer on low heat 3 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in cream cheese.

DRAIN pasta mixture; return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole or 8-inch square baking dish.

BAKE 20 min.; top with remaining cheeses. Bake 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted.

The recipe above is SO versatile. If I don't have fresh spinach on hand, I leave it out. I typically mix equal amounts of pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce because we like this flavor better than just using spaghetti sauce. You can dress this pasta up as much as you like, and if you're in a real hurry you could probably serve it without baking....but it tastes so much better baked.

I usually serve it with garlic green beans or the E-A-S-Y broccoli side dish below. (adapted from Publix Apron's Simple Meals).

Broccoli Italiano

12 oz broccoli florets

2 tsp. of roasted garlic (regular is fine)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Break broccoli into bite-size pieces. Place in microwave safe bowl.
Stir in garlic, olive oil, salt/pepper.
Cover and microwave on high 4 minutes, stirring once, or until crisp-tender.
Stir in cheese and lemon juice. Serve.

little e

I'm really late posting this, but our good friends welcomed a sweet baby girl in early January, and we love her! Little Elaina Grace was born on January 5th and weighed an impressive 9lbs 9oz. We can't wait to take them dinner so we can visit with them again.

 

 Jonathan held Elaina, but not before they made him sit down and use the Boppy pillow for support. He didn't need it though....turns out he's quite a pro.

We've developed a 'new baby routine' now that involves meeting at Momma Goldberg's deli in Homewood and then proceeding to St. Vincent's where we try to avoid paying for parking (stuffing Kristi in the back of the SUV or Chase parking in some obscure lot). If you're in our young married group, you're welcome to join us for our (what seems like) monthly baby visit.

Taking One for the Team

Alternate Title: Why it's not always a good idea to bring men to yard sales.

It's no secret that my man loves football. Since college football has ended, Chase has been watching more NFL games. We don't really have a favorite team, but Chase has followed it more closely this year as he and some of the guys from church made a Fantasy Football league.

Now that I have confirmed his love for football, you can probably understand his rationale for buying the helmet/snack holder below. (The top of the helmet lifts off as a lid.)

Chase found this beauty at the Junior League of Birmingham "Bargain Carousel" a few years ago. I lamented about his choice and even pleaded with him to put it back. After all, we didn't know any players for the Vikings, and never followed their season. I lost. We bought it.

Fast forward two years and duhn duhn duhn duuuuuhhh ....Brett Farve suits up this year as a Viking. No one saw it coming. All I know is that it gives Chase ultimate satisfaction to say, "Good thing we bought this Vikings helmet." He is particularly proud of this purchase as I'm typing this entry and watching the Vikings playoff game right now.

Thanks.a.lot.Brett.