Bajio Chile Chicken Wraps

My easiest “Go To” supper is the Taco chicken you do in the crock pot:

6 frozen chicken breasts
3/4 cup water
1 packet of taco seasoning 

Cook on low 5 hours, shred chicken and cook on high lid off until liquid is absorbed. Serve on nachos, quesadillas, burritos, tacos, in a mexican casserole…you name it! 

  I thought these Bajio Chile Chicken Wraps sounded  like a fun change from that one, plus I was intrigued at the use of soda in it!  Check it out!! 

  BTW, we added roasted corn and sautéed red peppers to this dish and really vamped up the flavor!  I highly recommend it!

BAJIO CHILE CHICKEN WRAPS

• 4 whole Large Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• ½ cups Salsa
• ½ cups Brown Sugar (we’ll Do Less Next Time, Plenty Sweet)
• 4 ounces, weight Can Green Chiles
• ½ can Of Sprite Or 7Up
• Fixin’s Of Your Choice: Roasted Corn, Peppers, Tomatoes, Black Beans, Mexican Rice, Guacamole, Pico, Salsa

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Shred chicken with 2 forks, allow to cook 1 more hour. Juices should cook into the meat, but if they don’t, thicken with a little cornstarch mixed in water.

Here is how we did the roasted corn and red peppers, so simple but changes the flavor SO much:

Drain a can of corn, thinly slice some red pepper and saute them in olive oil until golden brown…Season with kosher salt.  

We served this on whole wheat tortillas with lettuce, cheese, the above mentioned roasted corn & red peppers, cilantro, guacamole, and southwest sour cream.  You really can add whatever you want!
If you want it spicier rather than sweeter add a hotter salsa and more green chilies.
 Easy peasy!  On to Brownies.  Well, Brownie POINTS that is…..

Look what the dashing Mr. Ferguson just brought in from out back. 

What a sweetie pie!

Mmm, did someone say pie?!

~T

This post linked to:
Full Plate Thursday

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This Chick Cooks

Wonka Wednesday

Made It On Monday

 

German Oktoberfest Pizza

  This pizza is going to sound CRAZY to you, just crazy! But I want you to trust me that it is DEEEEE-LICIOUS!

Check it out….

(click title to print)

Ingredients

• 1 whole Refrigerated Pizza Crust Or better yet, make your own!
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• Garlic salt to taste
• 1 pound Smoked Sausage, Cut Into 1/4 Inch Circles
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 cups Leftover Mashed Potatoes
• 1 cup Sauerkraut, Rinsed And Well Drained
• 1 cup Shredded Cheese
• 1 teaspoon Caraway Seeds (a Small But Mighty Ingredient, Super Important! Don’t Skip)

Unroll pizza dough on to a large cookie sheet or Pampered Chef bar pan. Flatten dough and build up edges slightly. Brush with olive oil and season with garlic salt. Bake at 425* for 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute sausage in butter until browned. Spread mashed potatoes over the baked crust. Top with sauerkraut, sausage, cheese and caraway seeds. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy! You can thank me later for helping you be brave….

~T  🙂

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“Courageous”: So Where Are You Men of Courage?

   A 3,000 member church, called Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, would most likely go unnoticed if not for the idea of reaching people for Christ through movies.  Real movies, like in the theatre.  A church competing for screen time with Hollywood big names?  And they funded these movies themselves, no less! Are they crazy??  Maybe, but people are taking notice after the success their last two pictures provided: 

Facing the Giants (2006) shocked Hollywood observers by making $10 million domestically despite being filmed on a $100,000 budget.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fireproof — the top-grossing independent film of 2008 — followed with a $33.5 million gross in spite of a $500,000 budget.

Additionally, following Fireproofs, “The Love Dare” book — a marital advice book featured in the movie — rose to No. 1 on The New York Times’ paperback advice bestseller list and has been in the Top 10 for 58 weeks.

Sherwood Baptist Church website states:

We exist to touch the whole world, with the whole Word, motivated by a passion for Christ and compassion for all people.

Members of the 3,000 strong flock provided most of the 1,200 cast and crew, working for nothing on these films. Producers only had to pay professionals for the most technical jobs such as editing.

The church announced it was making a film and asked congregation members who were interested to sign up for a film-making “boot camp”. Some were trained in lighting, sound, camerawork and makeup.

Associate pastors Alex and Stephen Kendrick got Sherwood Baptist into the moviemaking business with the making of “Flywheel,” a film that debuted in local theaters in 2003 and starred Alex Kendrick in the leading role. The Kendrick brothers have written and produced all three films.

“After much prayer, creative brainstorming, more prayer, wise counsel, and still more prayer, Sherwood Pictures is ready to move ahead with their fourth motion picture,” a statement at TheNextSherwoodMovie.com reads. 

 And this weekend, it arrived……

“Courageous”

The must see movie of the year!!!

Cost 2 million to make, funded by the church.

Grossed 8.8 million in first weekend of release. (PTL!)

Number 5 out of the top ten movies for the weekend.

  Dale and I give it 5 tissue boxes.  Or is it 4 thumbs way up? 

Either way, AMAZING film.  I have never been in a theatre with not one seat empty…it was a packed house!!!  I have never heard such bust-out loud laughter one minute, followed by sounds of sniffles and sobs the next.  This film is high action, highly funny and catches you in your heart.  You will never view your job as parents the same, I can tell you that. EVERYONE needs to see this film!

Story: Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, David Thomson, and Shane Fuller are confident and focused. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood. When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God … and to their children? Protecting the streets is second nature to these men. Raising their children in a God-honoring way? That’s courageous.

Quotes from the movie:

 “ I don’t feel like I started well. I want to finish well.”

“So where are you, men of courage? I believe every father should step up and answer the call and say “I WILL!”

“When you get married, have some kids. Your gonna figure out real quick how much you don’t know.”

Take your hubby and go see this……you won’t be sorry!  The Lord is using this movie in powerful ways to make huge changes in people’s homes.  Simply amazing.

  There are several follow up books, including The Resolution for Men and The Resolution for Women.  There is also Resolution prints you can sign, and hang in your home. 

  Our Sunday school class, who has been together for 8 years now, is doing one of the Resolution studies, I think there is one for couples. It’s my understanding, that we’ll be having a Resolution ceremony at its conclusion. I am sooo excited! 

~T

 

 

THE RESOLUTION

I do solemnly resolve before God to take full responsibility for myself, my wife, and my children. I WILL love them, protect them, serve them, and teach them the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home. I WILL be faithful to my wife, to love and honor her, and be willing to lay down my life for her as Jesus Christ did for me. I WILL bless my children and teach them to love God with all of their hearts, all of their minds, and all of their strength. I WILL train them to honor authority and live responsibly. I WILL confront evil, pursue justice, and love mercy. I WILL pray for others and treat them with kindness, respect, and compassion. I WILL work diligently to provide for the needs of my family. I WILL forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged. I WILL learn from my mistakes, repent of my sins, and walk with integrity as a man answerable to God. I WILL seek to honor God, be faithful to His church, obey His Word, and do His will. I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides to fulfill this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. —Joshua 24:15

Available for purchase here:

http://www.dayspring.com/courageous_the_resolution_8_x_10_frame_ready_print/

 

 

 

 

Can’t Leave ‘Em Alone Bars: Pumpkin Edition

  YAY! I am so happy it’s fall.  We just got the house clean from top to bottom so we could get out all our fall décor. 

  I am loving that evenings are cooler; we added a quilt to our bed, and before I know it, a fire will be crackling in our fireplace.  (Hopefully, it was like 90 today!) Cooler weather and thinking of fall in general, just makes me want to BAKE! And now that all our fresh peaches are gone (or put in the freezer for later this winter- yay!) it’s time to move on to PUMPKIN stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Every year I have a HUGE stack of pumpkin recipes. This year is no exception, except I may not need to try any of them, because I think we already have a clear winner.  

 I give you:

Can’t Leave Them Alone Bars: Pumpkin Edition

Have you tried Can’t Leave ‘Em Alone Bars?  They are stinkin’ amazing. AMAZING. AmAAAAAAAzing.  For real, yo.

  These are too.  Clearly the winner in my pumpkin category, you’ve gotta try them, no matter how ugly my photos turned out!  Seriously AMAZING!  If the recipe seems long or too complicated with its 3 steps, don’t worry, it comes together VERY quickly as each step is simple!

Can’t Leave Them Alone Bars: Pumpkin Edition

 

CRUST:

1 box yellow cake mix, reserve 1 cup

1/2 cup melted butter

1 egg, beaten

Mix together and press into a 9×13 pan.

MIDDLE:

2 eggs

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

15 oz. can pumpkin

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Mix well and pour over crust.

TOPPING:

1 cup reserved cake mix

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup chopped nuts optional

Mix together and spoon over pumpkin filling.

Bake at 350* for 40-50 minutes.  (it will be a bit soft still)

Serve with whipped topping, warm. 

  OR, in my opinion, they are even better the next day, cold!

  But to get the full effect, you should try 1 at every temperature;  hot, room temp and cold so you decide for yourself.  Purely for scientific reasons, of course.

  Happy Baking!
~T

  P.S.  This is post 1 of 2 for today, remember I told you we went to see the new Christian movie that came to theatres over the weekend?  Well, head over to the next post for our take on “Courageous”.

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Playing The Grocery Game

   Remember my blog post “Go Big & Go Home” about once a month grocery shopping?  For 8 years now, that is how we rolled.  Go check it out, its big, its messy, but then you are done……

For a WHOLE MONTH. 

  Ahh, it was Heaven, and it was all I knew…..but THEN, as we have been going through our year of financial discipline,  I stopped going nearly all together.  Praise God, as He provides we are able to go again, just not ever $450 at a time anymore.  For this reason, I am ready to start a whole new way of shopping.  One that doesn’t require me to have that $450 ready when I go, instead I only need about $60. 

  We have 3 local grocery stores: Aldi, Dillons and Walmart.  Walmart and Aldi’s were my top 2 places to shop, due to budget reasons.  Dillons is much nicer than our Walmart, but MUCH pricier in my opinion.  I used to get a whole CART full of groceries at Walmart for $100. 2 bags at Dillons seemed to run me $75, so I never went…..

Until now.

I just finished a 4 week trial with The Grocery Game from thegrocerygame.com. The Grocery Game is a weekly list of the lowest-priced groceries at your local stores.  The idea behind this is to buy only what is on sale AND use coupons for these items as well.  Here is a break down of my 4 week trial:

Week 1) 

  I didn’t photograph all groceries, but purchased freezer pizza, Bugles, cracker packs, grapes, bananas, milk, mayo, salad dressing, granola bars, some school supplies, bounce sheets and lots of shredded cheese since it was on sale for $1.79.   I spent $80.17 and saved $40.  This was more than I was hoping to spend, but great savings none-the-less.  Besides, if I did this amount 4 times a month, I’d still be $130 under our grocery budget.  Oh and thanks to coupons + sales, I got free butter, free dip and free toothpaste, FUN!

Week 2)  There were less things on the Grocery Game “To Buy” list this week that we would use, but here is what I bought:

Treat bars, 2 jellies, 2 pens, Combos snack, cereal, milk, 2 crescent rolls, yogurt, bananas and cherry tomatoes.  I spent $28.98 and saved $20.18.  MUCH better percentage than week 1. 

  My only question is, will I be able to make menu from these sort of purchases week after week? Um, not unless we want breakfast for supper with some tomatoes on the side!  Also, some of this stuff is major junk food that I don’t usually let my kids have. 

   I am wondering when the pasta, tomato sauce, cream of soups, broth etc. will come through the list.  I guess if I just use this method to get us basics, we would still have cush in the grocery budget to buy some other ingredients, plus fresh items. 

Week 3:    I am loving this!  I spent $ 74.17 and saved $38.33 this week.  This is what I got:

Week 4:  I spent $63.04 and saved $36.18. 

  I am seeing how as you get further into this Grocery Game, you do see casserole ingredients go on sale AND you have a larger stash to make your menu from. 

  By month 2 & 3 of this, I will be set!  Our shelves are more full than they have been in a LONG time! It’s nice to have a stash of snack crackers, canned fruit, spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce and noodles overflowing the shelves.

Summary: 

The Grocery Game free trial was a success!!!! And as you can tell by all the recipes I’ve shared with you, we are still eating like kings! 🙂  YAY! We will definitely choose to keep this up until further notice. 

  If you DO decide to try Grocery Game, do the free trial. THEN, when you are done and ready to sign up for real, will you pretty pretty please use my referral link?   If you use this, it allows me to earn free weeks for sharing this with you. Thanks in advance! 

  Before you start, you’ll need at least 3 or 4 weeks stash of Sunday coupons, you’ll want to date and file each packet from here on out for easier finding, and a Dillons plus card to do this right.  After your free trial, it’s roughly $1.25 per week, basically $10 every 8 weeks, which you more than make up in savings your first shopping trip!  And they do all the work, you just locate and clip coupons and load your card! 

  I hope you love it.  It gets easier as you go!

Happy Shopping!

~T