Teriyaki Pork Kebabs with Baked Brown Asian Rice

Did you all have a good Weekend?  I am sooooo tired, but happy with our weekend.

On Friday we helped at Grandparents Day at the kid’s school. They go all out for their special guests!

It was a camping theme, complete with a forest photo booth, tour guide, classroom time,  gorgeous lunch buffet and a singing show.  Destiny had a solo that my mom got on video for me, she did just wonderful!  I hope to get the video uploaded to our 4 little Ferguson’s facebook page by the time you are reading this.   Go listen!  {Proud Mom moment!!!!}  🙂

After we helped set out dessert, we booked it over to the church, because Dale & I were pleased to get to help co-host The Art of Marriage Weekend there with some friends of ours Friday and all day Saturday.

We had just under 20 couples come, some from hours away.  Family Life Today does SUCH a good job making this fun and light-hearted, yet moving.  They offer real stories about hot topics in marriages today and make it easy to facilitate, they walk you through the entire process!

If you find one close to you, please go! Whether your marriage needs a boost out of a rocky place, or is doing just fine, we all can use the encouragement!  And if you love it as much as we did, I bet you will want to bring it to your own church!

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On to the food, because I know you want something NEW for supper, right?!  🙂

  Oh man, this meal was GOOOOD!  I wanted to find a recipe for Asian rice that you baked, in the oven, and when I couldn’t find one, I decided to just make one up using my own recipe for Baked Brown Rice, plus some Asian-ish ingredients added in. 

The result was delicious! And my house smelled amaaaaaazing while it baked. 

  Plus, these marinated pork kebabs were so tender they just fell apart in your mouth!

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Ingredients

FOR THE MARINADE:

• ½ cups Soy Sauce
• ⅓ cups Brown Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Finely Chopped, Peeled, Fresh Gingerroot
• 2 cloves Fresh Garlic, Pressed
• 3 teaspoons Sesame Oil

FOR THE KEBABS:

• 2 pounds Of Pork Tenderloin, Cut Into 2 Inch Pieces
• 1 whole Small Onion
• 2 whole Peppers, Green And Red
• 15 pieces Of Fresh Pineapple, Cut Into 2 Inch Squares

FOR THE BAKED BROWN ASIAN RICE:

• 1-½ cup Brown Rice, Uncooked
• 2 cups Chicken Broth
• 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• 1 teaspoon Salt And Garlic Powder
• ½ cups Sliced Green Onion Tops

Preparation Instructions

For marinade, combine soy sauce and brown sugar, finely chopped gingerroot, garlic and sesame oil. Reserve 1/2 cup of liquid in a clean container for serving with your cooked kebabs.
Drizzle remaining marinade over cubed meat, onion, and peppers. Refrigerate and let marinate at least 30 minutes.
For the baked rice, spread uncooked rice into the bottom of a 10 1/2 by 7 or 2 qt. baking dish. Pour in chicken broth, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, salt and garlic powder. Carefully stir and cover with foil. Bake at 350* for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove and let set 5 before removing foil and fluffing with fork, then stir in green onions.
While rice bakes, thread onto soaked wood or metal skewers, meat, onion, peppers and pineapple in whatever order you choose and grill 20 minutes or until meat is done. {Next time I want to add mushrooms too.}
Serve skewers over a bed of Asian Rice and drizzle reserved marinade over each serving.

DELICIOUS!

~T

Organizing Chaos

  You know I am a Super OCD Pillow Fluffin’ Fool, right?!  I probably fix my pillows like 15 times a day.  The kids have “Clean Up Time” at least 3 times a day, because I think they play better when it’s not messy.
I can’t stand clutter, and I am grumpy if I am not organized, and everything has its own space.

  HOWEVER, I HAVE 4 CHILDREN AND A HUSBAND, my life no longer stays tidy!

  So, I have come up with a method to Organize my Chaos…………

  Come on over to Marathon Mom to see me!  

  ~T

Home Sweet Home

Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”    Remember our year of financial discipline 3 years ago? God taught us SO much about ourselves.  He loved …

Texas Cowboy Pie

  From the 4 little Ferguson’s archives: Cook Once, Eat Twice: Pot Roast Edition!  We have made both dishes again recently, and remembered how much we loved them! 

  Yesterday we prepared an entire Pot Roast and used 1 1/2 cups in a Philly Cheese Steak Pizza.  Today we are using the leftover meat to make this amazing dish called, Texas Cowboy Pie!

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Ingredients

• 3 whole Large Potatoes
• Milk, Sour Cream, Butter, To Taste, For Mashed Potatoes
• Leftover Pot Roast {we prepared this in yesterdays post}
• ½ cup or more Your Favorite BBQ Sauce
• 2 cups Shredded Cheese
• Salt And Pepper, to taste

Peel and cube the potatoes into uniform sized cubes. Put potatoes in a pot. Cover potatoes in water and boil them, uncovered, until soft (this will take 10-20 minutes – use your fork to test). Drain liquid, reserving one cup of the liquid. Mash the potatoes until no lumps are left, adding potato liquid as necessary to reach your desired consistency. Stir in sour cream, butter and/or milk, as well as salt and pepper, to taste. Spread warm potatoes in the bottom of an 9×9 pan. I used my circle baker from Pampered Chef.

Mix BBQ sauce with leftover cooked, shredded beef roast (you needed 1 1/2 cups for your Philly Cheese Steak Pizza) and layer it on top of the potatoes. Top with cheese and bake for 15 minutes at 350F.

This is a delicious way to use leftover pot roast! You won’t believe how awesome it is!

~T

Philly Cheese Steak Pizza

From the 4 little Ferguson’s Archives, we are serving up some Philly Cheese Steak Pizza!  We made this yummy pizza for the second time, so I took the opportunity to get a fresh photo and share it again with you all.

  This Homemade Pizza features a layer of cream cheese, savory pot roast, loads of veggies and pepperocini’s covered in several kinds of cheese!

AHHH-MAZING!

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Ingredients

• 1 whole Pot Roast, Divided
• 1 can Beef Broth (14 Ounce Can)
• 1 whole Small Green Pepper, Stem And Seeds Removed Then Julienned
• 1 whole Small Red Pepper, Stem And Seeds Removed Then Julienned
• 1-¾ cup Fresh Sliced Mushrooms
• 1 whole Small Red Onion, Halved And Sliced
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
• 1 whole Pizza Crust, Medium To Large Size, Baked According To Package Directions
• Garlic Salt, to taste
• 8 ounces, weight Spreadable Plain Cream Cheese
• ½ jars Pizza Sauce, 14 Ounce Jar
• 2 cups (or More As Desired) Shredded Italian Blend Cheese, Divided Use
• ½ cups Pickled Banana Pepper Rings
• 1 cup Shredded Colby-jack Cheese
• ¼ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
• ½ teaspoons Oregano, Salt And Garlic Powder

Preparation Instructions

Slow cook the pot roast with salt, pepper and beef broth in a crockpot for 8-10 hours on low. Shred meat using two forks.

Take 1 1/2 cups of drained meat from the crockpot for tonight, then put the rest away for tomorrow’s dinner.  {Recipe coming Tuesday!}  🙂

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the peppers, mushrooms, onions and garlic in 1 teaspoon of oil until tender.

Roll or stretch the pizza dough to the size of your pan. Season the pizza dough with garlic salt to taste. Bake according to package directions. {My favorite homemade pizza dough recipe is on the back of the Fleishmann’s Pizza Yeast packet.}

Once crust is baked to almost golden brown, remove it from the oven and spread crust with a nice layer of cream cheese and pizza sauce. Set the oven to 350 F if it isn’t already at that temperature.

Sprinkle with 1 cup of Italian blend cheese. Top with sauteed pepper mixture, shredded beef, pepper rings, and remaining Italian cheese and Colby Jack Shreds. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and seasonings.

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 F.

Dig in!  Tune in tomorrow for how to use those pot roast leftovers….

Cook once, eat TWICE!

~T

Salted Caramel Deep Dish Cookie Pie

Oh my goodness! You know how I LOOOVE Caramel, but have you ever tried SALTED caramel? 

EEEK! Its AmAAAAzing!

  Stephanie from Back for Seconds Blog, is the genius behind this tasty dessert.  I love using my cast iron skillet for baking! 

  You can find more amazing at her site.  You will LOVE her easy recipes and stunning food photographs!

adapted from Back for Seconds Blog

Ingredients

FOR THE PIE:

• 1 cup Softened Butter
• 1-½ cup Brown Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Real Vanilla
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 2-½ cups Flour
• 12 ounces, weight Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 2 cups Caramel Bits
• Sea Salt

FOR THE SAUCE:

• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1-½ teaspoon Real Vanilla
• ½ cups Cream

FOR GARNISH:

• Vanilla Ice Cream
• Coarse Sea Or Kosher Salt

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*. In your electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Add the salt and soda, and gradually mix in the flour until well incorporated, stirring in chocolate chips last.

Spray 12″ cast iron skillet and press half the cookie dough into the skillet and top with the 1 cup of caramel bits. Top with remaining cookie dough, pressing to edges. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of caramel bits on the top and press slightly into the dough.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cookie comes out clean.

While you wait, make your Caramel Sauce by combining in a saucepan over medium heat, butter, brown sugar, cream, and vanilla. Cook and stir for about 10 minutes or until the caramel thickens. Let cool about 5 minutes before using.

Serve a pie slice of your cookie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of caramel sauce and a sprinkling of coarse salt.

  You all, this dessert is uber rich, and as I mentioned before…..

SO AMAAAZING!

~T

Grace Full Mom: Dairy Free Dinners

  I am blogging over at Grace Full Mom today!  My friend, Elizabeth asked me to guest post today!  You all know I am a full fat, dairy lovin’ FOOL, but when she asked me, oh so sweetly, if I could …

4 little Ferguson’s Photography: Florida Family 2013

  Remember these little guys?   They are now 16 months old!  I was honored to get to capture their family.  1 is a hard age to capture, and times TWO of them, we were using a duck whistle and …

Florida Family 2013

  We love when our Florida family comes to visit!  My brother Chad, Sis in law, Lauren & my nephews, Brayden & Colby came to visit for almost a week.  They have changed SO much since last time, when they were itty bitty crawling babies!!!!!!!!!

  We had so much fun with them, it’s always that much harder to say good-bye though. Wish we could convince them to move to the Mid-west already!  🙂

  Anyhow, here are the photos from their visit.

Due to lack of space at my house, Chad & Lauren moved into mom’s side of the duplex.  She moved over to Grandma’s side.  God is so good to have worked out my mom and Grandmas “neighbor” status. He knew they needed each other close by!

We hung at Mom’s some nights, but were over here at our house most of the time. 

  Mom and Great Grandma were brave and kept all 6 kids between the duplex sides OVER NIGHT, so we could have a date night with Chad & Lauren!  HOW AWESOME!

  It’s State Fair time, so we went and walked around and ate yummy food.  I didn’t take my camera because I wanted to hold hands with my man, but we got this shot before we left.  My favorite part of the night was watching Lauren peel herself off the floor of our “boat” during the ride Ye Old Mill.  Lest you think I wasn’t fazed by this ride, I will tell you my throat was sore from all the screaming I did. 

Saturday morning I was privileged to be asked to do a food demonstration at an awesome kitchen store downtown, Apron Strings.  They asked for me to make a seasonal food, so right away I said BBQ Chicken Pie. It always reminds me of Back to School!

Mom and Lauren were GREAT helpers and I wouldn’t have gotten my prep done in time without them. Next time, I will go earlier until I know my way around that kitchen a little better.

  And yes, there will be a next time! They asked me to come back in January.  I am thinking Settlers Beans and Cornbread, what do you think?

The rest of the time we just hung out.  Honestly, with 6 kids in the house, and 4 extra adults with mom and Grandma coming over for supper, it was a loud, full house and there was always something going on.  I LOVE that part!  There is nothing better than being elbow to elbow with your loved ones talking loudly over each other. 

We also made sure we had the extended family over for Sunday Night Snack Supper.  Food, fellowship and some outside duck & chicken feeding fun. 

You break it, you buy it BUDDY!

The 2nd Cousins

Monday was no school, so we headed to the Fair with the whole crew!

With 3 strollers, 6 kids, 5 adults and an Electric Scooter, we soon had to divide up, but it was still a great day. 100* hot, but great!

  Because it was dollar day, we were able to do a lot of the rides.  Pax pretty much hated all of them!  Here he is on the Carousel, it was all fun and games until his hat flew off, then he sobbed and sobbed. I think he thought HE was flying off next.  It broke my heart, and I almost jumped the fence to rescue him, mid-ride, but he did fine inspite of the sobs.

  The big kids thought Chad & Lauren were the COOLEST Uncle & Aunt EVER after they did the White Water Ride with them.

  Destiny met up with one of her friends from school and got to go with her and her mom the rest of the afternoon.  I knew they would take good care of her, and she’d be able to do more big kid rides, but I missed her too!  Just another step in the process of her growing up and away from me.  Pax hated these rides too, every turn he would hollar, “I DON’T WIKE DIS WIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

  All except the truck.  That one was the most slow, boring one ever, but he loved it! Is my adventuresome one finally taming?!?!?!?!

  One day Aunt Gena brought over a 32 pound Watermelon she grew in her garden.  We had it for after school snack, and would you believe most of it was gone in 20 minutes?! It was goooood!

    I almost cried when I packed back up the baby toys and put away the cribs.  We miss the Bontrager Family already!  The good news is, we MIGHT get to see them again over Thanksgiving!!!!

  Tomorrow, I will share their family photo session that I took their last night here.  Busy, don’t hold me back, 1 year olds are always a challenge, but we did our best! 🙂

~T

Mary & Martha

You are invited to a Mary & Martha Party!

Come on in………………..

  Ok, ok you are right, my house isn’t big enough and you are all too far away!
{If you are a local and want to come, please message me, I’d love to have you!!!!  Tomorrow night at 7 at my house…}

  However, I am still so excited to introduce you to…..The Mary & Martha Company!

  I will be opening my home tomorrow night to neighbors and friends for a fresh ground coffee and dessert bar, and a whole lot of fun looking at verse covered, Christ-centered decor, dishes, trays & jewelry! Bags and pillows, too. 

  My friend Stephanie is here today to tell you more about this great Christ-Centered Company….

  Hi everyone!! I feel like I am posting on a celebrity’s blog—know what I mean? Wow! Thank you, Tonya!

   Let me first start off by saying, I have been reading Tonya’s blog for a couple of years now and look forward to her posts everyday. Sometimes, when you read blogs, it feels like you’ve known someone forever. For instance, I work in the same town Tonya lives in, so it should not shock me if I see her and her four precious babies shopping at Hobby Lobby. Now, all instincts told me to run up to her and act like we were old friends. But, she had NO IDEA who I was at the time. I am blessed to say that through different circumstances, we have met and I now consider her a “real” life friend of mine!

  I am also blessed to be able to share with you all on this blog about my Mary & Martha business. About a year and a half ago, I decided to become a consultant with Blessings Unlimited—a home based party business of Dayspring. I will be the first to tell you, I am NOT a salesperson. In fact, I would consider my first job as a wife and mom. THEN, I am a labor and delivery nurse, which has brought me so much joy. But, for some reason I was continually drawn to this business called Blessings Unlimited. Although I had never heard anything about it, except through the Dayspring website. Through prayer, discernment, and many talks with my husband, I decided to take a leap of faith and become a consultant. Not knowing what that would look like for me, I thought– at least I can purchase really beautiful gifts for my friends and family with God’s word woven throughout. The start up cost was not a risk and I could make this be whatever I wanted it to be.

  God had other plans for me as I attended their National conference just weeks after joining. I started to market the products and having people in my home for open houses and introductory gatherings for Blessings Unlimited. People LOVED the products as much as I did! And from there on, it has become a big part of my life.

  Blessings Unlimited changed its name to Mary & Martha in July. Of course, just as any time something changes, it took some getting used to. Like maybe about 10 minutes for me! I sat there and listened to the vision and was captivated. We still had our wonderful scripture based products—that would not change. But our mission and our vision suddenly became more clear. Meaningful entertaining…made simple.

  It is time to bring people back into our homes without feeling like it has to be “perfect”. Or that you have to serve the “right” things. It is all about the “people” in your home. I just love that.

  Mary & Martha is about “LIVING in the &”. It’s about loving God & loving others. It’s about your business & your ministry. It’s being Mary “&” it’s being Martha. Never have I loved that little ampersand so much. It just makes so much sense to me.

  The products speak for themselves. They are beautiful and meaningful and laced with the word of God. I love knowing that with each gathering I am bringing the word of God into the lives and homes of many women. And I am praying with our new Mary & Martha vision, that we are equipping women to bring others into their homes. To not worry about making it “perfect”—but rather embracing the “people” in it.

  From what I know of Tonya, she is doing this so well. When I came back from our National Conference, she was one of the first people I contacted. And now, she is sharing this with all of YOU! I know there are many of you who are unable to just come hang out around Tonya’s kitchen table and taste her yummy desserts (I personally can not wait for that part!). But hopefully this gives you a bit of an idea of what Mary & Martha is all about.

  Is God tugging at your heart to share a combined business and ministry? I would love to talk with you! Are you wishing you could join other friends of Tonya in a shopping experience of bringing God’s word into your homes?

  You are in luck!!

  We have set up an online party just for you!!!!

Just follow this link and your order will be counted towards Tonya’s gathering.

  Wanting to host a Mary & Martha gathering yourself? I can help you find a consultant in your area.

  Thank you, Tonya, for the opportunity to share with so many…..

Here’s to living in the “&”!!

Stephanie Kauffman, Mary & Martha Independent Consultant

“Our motivation is ministry, our method is business, our message is Jesus.”

—James Barnett, President of Dayspring.