Taste of Home Tuesday: Hubby's Favorite Crepes

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 2% milk
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons sherry or chicken broth
2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, divided
15 prepared crepes (9 inches)
Additional sour cream, optional

Directions
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add mushrooms and onion; saute until tender. Sprinkle with flour; stir until blended. Gradually add milk. Stir in the bouillon, Italian seasoning and pepper.
Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in sour cream and sherry. Remove 1 cup sauce; set aside. Stir chicken and 1 tablespoon parsley into remaining mixture; heat through.

Spread 3 tablespoons filling down the center of each crepe; roll up. Drizzle reserved sauce over the top. Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Serve with additional sour cream if desired. Yield: 5 servings.

These are very very good!!

BASIC CREPES
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups 2% milk
4 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 teaspoons butter

Directions
In a small bowl, whisk milk and eggs. Combine the flour, sugar and salt; add to milk mixture and mix well. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Melt 1 teaspoon butter in an 8-in. nonstick skillet over medium heat; pour 2 tablespoons batter into center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to coat bottom evenly. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack.
Repeat with remaining batter, adding butter to skillet as needed. When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper or paper towels in between. Yield: 16 crepes

I did not realize I was supposed to refrigerate my crepe batter until I had the filling made and it was 6:00. I went ahead and made them right away and Justin and I both thought they were fine.

We had a ton of crepes left over so I got a can of cherry pie filling out of the cupboard and we had dessert as well!!

Come Awake!

As we have been preparing for Easter this song has been playing over and over in my head. I saw it posted on another blog and decided to share it too. I pray each of you have had a Blessed Easter!

God Deserves ALL the Glory!

Almost 3 weeks ago Justin and I found out we were pregnant again. I was in awe and couldn't believe that it was happening. We decided to tell everyone we knew who would pray with us for a healthy pregnancy. Fear and worry tried to capture both of our hearts as we began, but after spending time in prayer and the Word, God gave us both an AMAZING peace. His peace that has no explanation, it just is. We said up front that God was going to receive the glory out of everything that happened. I will admit I thought He was going to be receiving His glory in a different way then what I'm about to explain to you.

Wednesday afternoon at school I realized I was beginning to spot and I couldn't get ahold of Justin. At first I was just going to finish out my day as quickly as I could, holding it all in, and rush home to go to bed. Thankfully I teach with several great members of my family and I knew one of them didn't have kids, so I talked myself into going to tell her. She prayed with me, texted me verses throughout the rest of the afternoon, and kept encouraging me. Justin returned my call and we prayed together. God's unexplainable peace returned.

Wednesday night I felt pretty good. Thursday I decided to stay home from school and just take it easy. Laying in my bed or comfy chair isn't nearly as stressful as chasing around 18 five and six year olds! Despite the circumstances Thursday was a very good day for me. I took naps and relaxed. Just kidding, that's not the good part. I was able to spend the day relaxing with God. I prayed, read my Bible, read some challenging Francis Chan, and listened to sermons. We had been on the go so much that I felt like I was loosing ground. Don't get me wrong, I was still reading and praying, but I didn't have the time to listen to those extra sermons and read those challenging words that were feeding my soul and propelling me forward. Late Thursday night we lost the baby.

When I was a little girl I was super upset about something. I can't even tell you what it was, I just know I was crying my eyes out in the bathroom. As I was sitting there I heard, not in an audible voice, but yet I heard, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." God's peace totally filled me up that day. God has reminded me of that day many times since, and yesterday was one of those days. I have made some really bad decisions in my life, but God never left, He's always been there to pick me up, brush me off, and set me on the right path. God deserves ALL the glory!

Since January God has been working in my heart on surrendering EVERYTHING. This is a whole other post in and of itself. I won't go into detail on all of that, but when we found out we were expecting, surrendering took on a whole new meaning for me. I told Justin God had plans to take us to the next level in our relationship with Him. Once again I was expecting to arrive at that next level in a very different way, but that's not how it worked out. God still deserves ALL the glory!

I don't know if this is true for everyone, but in the past when I have lost a baby it has been the most painful thing. White knuckles, can't stand up straight, bite on a wash cloth kind of pain. This time it was nothing like that. God had His hand on both Justin and I and He deserves ALL the glory!

Justin has grown so much in his spiritual walk since January as well. I am so excited to tell you that he has the very same peace that I have filling his heart. Neither one of us have been angry or mad at God. Yes we cryed together, but there is no anger! That my friends is a true miracle of God! God deserves ALL the glory!

The last, but most important reason that God deserves ALL the glory, is this special season! God gave up His Son, because He loved me so much! I only know what it feels like to give up a baby I've never met. God chose to give up His Son so that I could stand up and say, "My sins are forgiven, Jesus loves me!"

"He will never leave me nor forsake me!"

"HOLY HOLY HOLY
is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come!"

"Worthy are You, our Lord and
our God, to receive glory and
honor and power; for You created
all things, and because of Your
will they existed, and were created."

There are going to be people who will want to tell us that things could have been different...if we would of just had more faith...confessed more...believed more...

No

"It is not how big our faith is. It's how big the God of our faith is"

The God of my faith is the creator of the universe!
He's the God that took the time to create a caterpillar that miraculously changes into a butterfly.
He's the God who created the human body.
He's the God who paints the sunsets.
He's the God who is all powerful!

"The Lord reigns, let the
earth rejoice:
Let the many islands be glad.
Clouds and thick darkness
surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are
the foundation of His
throne.
Fire goes before Him
And burns up His adversaries
round about.
His lightnings lit up the world;
The earth saw and trembled.
The mountains melted like wax
at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of
the whole earth.
The heavens declare His
righteousness,
And all the peoples have seen
His glory."

Taste of Home Tuesday: 1-2-3 Grilled Salmon

Ingredients
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic
6 salmon fillets (5 ounces each)

Directions
In a small bowl, combine the oil, soy sauce, mustard and garlic. Pour half of marinade into a large resealable plastic bag. Add the salmon; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Refrigerate remaining marinade.
Drain fish and discard marinade. Using long-handled tongs, moisten a paper towel with cooking oil and lightly coat the grill rack. Grill salmon, covered, over high heat for 5-10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Drizzle with reserved marinade. Yield: 6 servings.

The marinade was very good on the salmon. Justin thought it would also taste good on chicken so next time will substitute chicken instead.

Taste of Home Tuesday:

Ingredients
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 flour tortillas (10 inches), warmed
4 leaf lettuce leaves
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef
8 thin slices tomato 4 slices red onion, separated into rings

Directions In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, mayonnaise, cumin, salt, chili powder and cayenne until smooth. Spread 1 tablespoon on one side of each tortilla; top with lettuce, roast beef, tomato and onion; roll up tightly. Cut on a diagonal. Yield: 4 servings.

I will admit I was rather skeptical about the mixture I was to spread onto the tortilla, but it was surprisingly very good! It's nice to have a quick meal idea for those busy evenings.

Taste of Home Tuesday: Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
Hot cooked angel hair pasta

Directions
In a 10-in. ovenproof skillet, saute garlic in butter and oil until tender. Stir in the shrimp, lemon juice, pepper and oregano; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.
Sprinkle with the cheese, bread crumbs and parsley. Broil 6 in. from the heat for 2-3 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve with pasta. Yield: 4 servings.

After dinner Justin decided we no longer need to go eat at Red Lobster this scampi was so good!

What's the Point?

What's the point of trials in our lives? They are no fun, they can be confusing, they can be painful, and they just down right stink! Why does God allow it? I was reading a post from another blog and Julie was talking about a couple of trails in her life and how she was changed. Go here to read about it.

I love how she talks about being changed. She's exactly right, God uses the trials in our lives to change us. James tells us all about it in his first chapter, he goes as far as to tell us to consider them joy. Over the weekend I heard a speaker (James McDonald) speak on this very subject. He said we are on this earth to to display the superiority of life with God. So when a trial comes we need to ask ourselves how it will advance that purpose? Trials are a proving ground in our lives. James 1:3 & 4 says, "knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have it's perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing."

I've been thinking a lot the past couple of years about glorifying God in all I do. It's so easy to glorify Him when things are going according to plan and are just great. It's a totally different story to glorify Him when things are hard and painful. However, we are called to glorify Him at all times.