Chili Dog Enchiladas...What, what???

You read that right.  Chili Dog enchiladas.  Last week I was trying to avoid the grocery store and buy us a few days of not eating out, but rather eating up what we had in the good old fridge.  So, I stumbled upon a recipe that included all the ingredients that were magically in my house already.  Disclaimer: This recipe is not in anyway, shape or form healthy.  Just saying.  Thank goodness I plan on beginning to train for a 1/2 marathon in January because even my elastic pants are getting tight, LOL.

Here you are:

8 hot dogs (I used Nathan's)

8 soft taco size flour tortillas

2 cans of hot dog chili

1 can of tomato sauce

1-2 cups of shredded cheese (I used colby jack)

Mix together chili and tomato sauce.  Cover the bottom of a greased 9x11 baking pan with your chili mix.  Roll your hot dogs into the flour tortillas.  With the seam side down, place them into your pan.  Cover with the remaining chili mixture and top with cheese.  Cover with foil.  Cook at 425 for 30 minutes.  

And there you have it.  The most unhealthy, greasy, delicious recipe that you will adore me for.  Happy cooking!

The Reason for the Season

On Saturday I had the chance to have a "lazy day."  Nothing was scheduled.  Shannon was in town all day (he left Sunday morning) so I had an extra hand around the house and with Emme.  Friday night I prepared a sausage and egg casserole for Saturday morning to go along with our Cinnabon waffles.  Yes, that's right, Cinnabon waffles.

I saw a picture on Pinterest last week that sparked my curiosity.  Kind of like the chili-dog casserole I made that I haven't blogged about.  Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.  Anyway, back to the Cinnabon waffles.  I LOVE waffles.  And on Black Friday I picked up a belgian waffle maker.  It was like a dream come true.  But back to the waffles.  Did you know that you can put cinnamon rolls in your waffle iron?  Me either!  Dang they were good!  I just so happened to have the Cinnabon cinnamon rolls in my fridge.  So you take them out of the can and put one in each corner (that's 4 per cooking) and close the lid and viola!  Add about 1 tablespoon of Karo syrup and 1 tablespoon of water to that delicious cream cheese frosting and you have syrup folks.  Yes, Cinnabon waffles and cream cheese syrup.  Awesomeness!

After my sugar induced coma, I decided I wanted Emme to have the great salt-dough experience.  We made handprints and ornaments.  I baked them, she painted them, and now we have salt-dough that apparently didn't dry out enough to be painted.  So our soggy handprints and ornaments are sitting in my laundry room where Emme goes to take a proud peek ever so often.  I don't have it in me to tell her they were a flop, yet.  Needless to say, she had a blast.

With the flour out, I went ahead and made some sourdough bread starter.  Last week I made Amish Friendship Bread from starter I received from school.  I then read up on all the benefits of fermented foods and decided I should keep making bread.  So, I'm trying my hand at it.

Then I put together a bike for me.  Another Black Friday purchase.  When I was a kid I would ride my bike all day long.  I loved it!  I'm hoping that I find that love again and can enjoy some healthy fun, just not all day long LOL.

We settled down for the evening with family movie night.  Emme is so into Christmas this year.  It's really been a ton of fun to share in her excitement.  So, I rented two Christmas movies; Santa Paws and Beethoven and we cuddled and watched movies together.  

And there you have it folks.  My "lazy" unscheduled day is exactly what this season is about.  Making memories, creating fun, and spending lots of time with family.  I feel blessed that we made that happen yesterday.  I hope to never take for granted the healthy, happy family that I have.

Semi-Homemade Vegetable Soup

Are you ever in a hurry to cook dinner on a cold night?  You want soup but you don't want it to taste like it came out of a can?  I've perfected the semi-homemade vegetable soup just for you.  Here's what you will need:

1 jar of Traditional Prego spaghetti sauce (not the tiny jar, and not the gargantuan jar either)

1 can of diced tomatoes (I like the kind with basil and oregano)

1 box of beef broth

1 1b of ground beef (cooked of course)

1 small can carrots

1 small can green beans

1 small can corn

1 regular can of potatoes

Cook your beef and drain the fat.  Add a little salt and pepper if you're feeling frisky.  Open all of your vegetables and rinse them with water in a colander.  Put it all on the stove in your best pot and bring it to a boil, then simmer.  Or, fix it the night before and put it in the crock pot to simmer the next day.  Whatever your style, you'll be glad you did.  Enjoy!

Weariness

I'm going to be honest, I'm a little weary.  If you are reading this blog and you are prepared to hear the great and glorious things about being a wife to a ministry person, STOP reading now.  I don't want you to be disappointed.  

Last week on Facebook I posted something like this: "If you employ a self-employed person please be respectful and honor that employment" blah, blah, blah.  I was lashing out because on Monday, three days after Thanksgiving, Shannon called to check in with a pastor he was singing for this weekend.  In doing so, his date was cancelled.  The pastor forgot.  I suppose it happens, but it's lame.  Move on to the next phone call, all in a day's work you know, and yet ANOTHER date was cancelled in January.  Grrr.  While we are so thankful that Shannon is able to fulfill his calling and support our family, it hasn't come without sacrifice and once again, I'm weary.

I'm already worried about the next months, which are unusually slow for Shannon, and how we will make it.  He has one date booked in January, and two dates booked in February.  Sometimes that's how the cards fall.  What I can say is that we have always made it; somehow, someway.  Shannon received a message through Facebook from a friend in the industry that we trust and appreciate regarding his recent cancellations.  The message, wait for it....pissed me off to the core.  Sorry for the harsh language, but it really cut me to the bone.  And then I was bitter.

So along with my bitter and weary self-pity, I dwelt upon a few things.  For instance, I rarely ever get to go home to Texas to visit my family.  Why?  Well, when Shannon isn't traveling our weekends together (which are very rare) are spent doing the things around the house that we haven't been able to get to, or spending time as a family (which is rare) on the weekend doing things families who don't travel take for granted (i.e. family movie night) and so you get the drift.  How about vacation you say?  Well we take what we call "working vacations" that include ministry stops on the way in and the way out which means we worked while on vacation, wait....what?  Date night you say?  What's that?  Who takes a date night during the work week?  And those trips to the grocery store or shopping, alone, that mommies need every now and then?  Yeah, I don't get those.  My babysitter is out ministering.  I've always been a giver.  In fact, I can't tell you how many pairs of tennis shoes or uniform shirts I've purchased for my students who needed them.  But, I want to bless more.  For once it would be awesome to know just exactly what our budget was each month.  You know, like everybody else.  

So then I got grouchy.  Poor Shannon, he took the brunt of my grumpiness.  It's his fault right?  Or wait, maybe it's God's fault.  Whoa.  

Insert Life Assembly today.  The package.  The very special package.  The one we all want to open.  The one that is so special you can't find it on Target's shelf.  Pastor Andrew's sermon was for me today.    I must admit that my weary, bitter self has been on a partial vacation from church lately.  The last month has been full of school deadlines (151 page paper along with a research project) and I've found myself scrambling on Sundays to get it all done.  Lame, but true.  The Sundays that I have attended I've been working in the nursery (which I secretly love) and I haven't been privy to the message.  Anyway, I'm done with school for the semester and ready to celebrate the reason for this season.  But what I realized today was that I've spent way too much time making sure my cup was shiny on the outside, being the proud person I am, so that people wouldn't & couldn't see my weariness, my bitterness, my self-pity.  But, I've got to spend more time shining up the inside of the cup so I don't lose my joy.  

Galatians 6:9 tells us: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  

So, I will continue to press on.  I've prayed through my bitterness and self-pity (it didn't last very long) and I will remember what the Lord has in store for me.  I already have the package that most people are looking for, and that shall be my perspective.  I may not have it all, but I DO have it all.  And that Facebook message; well it was just what God wanted me to hear.  I needed to get my motivation back, even if it did include making me, ugh- mad!  So thanks Pastor Andrew, and thanks Jeff, for clearing up my sight this week.