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Quite Tasty

I must say that I am quite proud of myself tonight. It is not unusual for me to make up recipes, but this one is probably the absolute BEST.
The basis of this recipe is from leftovers of  Aidells Spicy Mango Jalepeno Chicken Sausages (these are sweet and hot and Oh, so good). I broiled a package of them for dinner last night and we had some left over. Originally I was considering making pizza with them, but after a package of dry Tortellini noodles from Trader Joe's my creative wheels started turning.
This soup turned out SO good that I wrote out a recipe, and want to share it with you all.

Mexican Tortellini Soup


1 c dried tortellini
1 med. Onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lg. green pepper, chopped
4  Aidells Spicy Mango Jalepeno Chicken Sausages, grilled and sliced
1 heaping tablespoon of chicken bouillon paste
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 can water
1 can black beans
1 ¼ cup frozen corn
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Grated Cheddar/Jack cheese


Cook tortellini according to directions on the package, drain, and set aside.  (It is really important that you cook the tortellini separately, otherwise it will suck up all of the juices of the soup and you will have a casserole rather than soup.)
Saute onion, garlic, and green pepper until just tender.
Add sliced sausage, cook 2 -3 minutes.
Add bouillon paste with a couple of tablespoons of water and stir to mix.
Add spices, stir to mix.
Add 1 cup of water, diced tomatoes, black beans, and corn, stir to mix.
Simmer for ½ hour, or until heated through.
Add tortellini and simmer another 15 min, or until heated through.
Serve with grated cheese on top.

ENJOY!

NOTE: I have no problem with you sharing this recipe with your friends, please just give credit to where it is due. Thank you for your consideration.

Day Nine of Lent

Today is Day Nine of my Spiritual Journey through Lent.

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(via Flickr)

A couple of months ago I talked to a friend of mine, Laurie, about Lent.

It was not a long conversation, but enough to peak my interest in observing it this year.

My upbringing was Baptist, and as an adult I have attended more Charismatic fellowships, neither of which holds an observance of Lent.
 My intention was to subject my whole being to "sacrifice" and "prayer", including praying intently for something very specific; however, in this process I have learned there is more....so much more.

The Holy Spirit has caused my heart to reflect much deeper on just "who" is this God that I call Heavenly Father; and "who" is this man named Jesus whom I say is my "friend".

 (via Flickr)

My chosen "sacrifice" for Lent has been sugar, as in the form of "dessert"....God knows how much I love my sweets!

  (via Flickr)

As my lust for "sugar" rears its head, rather than groan and moan about being "deprived", I have found myself remembering the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus went through, and mine pales in comparison.

 I mean, really, Jesus was spit on, whipped and beaten until there was no more flesh, a crown of thorns was shoved on his head, and he was forced to carry the very cross on which later he would hang.

 Later, on top of a hill called Golgatha, he was laid on that cross, with arms outstretched nails (which were more like spikes) were driven into the palm of his hands, and the top of his feet. If all that wasn't enough, that cross was raised up and dropped into the ground to stand, with Jesus hanging there. After several hours with barely a breath left in him "Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit'^[e] When he had said this, he breathed his last." (Luke 23:46 New International Version)

 To believe what I have written in this last paragraph, you must believe that the bible is true. I do, with all of my heart.

 I am looking forward to these next several weeks leading up to Easter and this spiritual journey called Lent.
As I do, I will write to you, my friends, and share what good things the Lord has done.

Blessings to you.

March Ten-on-Ten

1 - Air Cast

2 - My Chauffer - Sweet Hubby

3 - Lunchtime

4 - My coworker and friend: Laurie

5 - A surprise gift from Laurie ( I have really been wanting to order this book) - thank you Laurie SO MUCH!!

6 - Knitting during lunchbreak

7 - Christian Alexander (he is 20 months today)

8 - Another :)

9 - Tonight's dinner: Apples, orange, and banana with a bit of Cinnamon (hubby home late tonight)

10 - Buck looks like he's watching TV - hmm..maybe he was!

ANOTHER PROJECT

We started another project yesterday. As most homeowners of older homes already know, there is ALWAYS something to do. I have said in previous posts, probably on my old blog, that this house had been a rental before we bought it. We have been so grateful for this place and have taken our time to decided what is really necessary to be done and what can wait, or perhaps not be done at all.

With all that said, we have been putting up with this horrible light blue carpeting for quite awhile now. We've tried cleaning it a few times, but each time spots that had not been there before were there when things dried. That was frustrating to say the least, and just plain NASTY! We have been talking for a couple of years about eventually putting wood laminate flooring throughout the house. We had been thinking that our next project would be replacing the windows since the current ones are not energy efficient at all. That idea went out the window, ha, no pun intended, when we ripped up the carpet in the dining room yesterday and finished pulling up the tack strips today.

Did I tell you that Rick and I work so great together? He is the best teacher too. Before working for Weyerhaeuser he worked for a remodeling company in Tacoma. This is his real passion, but as with any construction type work, jobs can be hit and miss. It has been such a joy for him to work on our place, and he has taught me quite a few things along the way. 

For now we put down an area rug we had in storage.

This project is going to take awhile since we don't use credit cards. What that means is we will buy necessary supplies each payday. The cool thing is that when the project is done, it is done - no payments!

I will be sure to post updates on this project, and more.....

LAST WEEKEND OF FEBRUARY : Part Two

Christian is so serious..

 

 

 

Today we got the pleasure of having Christian, Caleb's son, spend a few hours with us.

His mommy, Jamie, dropped him off around 9:30, visited briefly, and headed off to work. This was the first time he has stayed with us alone and I think Jamie was a tiny bit anxious as to how he would do...I assured her that he would be fine, as we watched him with our dogs. I was pleased that he didn't even cry when she left.

We had a nice time together. As you can see in the pictures above and below he loved the iTouch - he thought it was a phone like his daddy's.

Here are a few more pics of our time together, he is such a sweetie!

Buck's size didn't even bother Christian in the slightest!

Thank you Caleb, and Jamie, for the privilege of this time with your precious son.

LAST WEEKEND OF FEBRUARY : Part One

 

Port Gamble

If you are a Face Book Friend then you already know that Rick and I took a day trip to Port Townsend yesterday.

Our 9th wedding anniversary was this past Wednesday, February 23rd. Since we both had to work, and different shifts from each other, we set aside yesterday to celebrate. It was Rick's idea to go to Port Townsend, and his idea to head up I-5 to Edmonds and take the ferry over to the Penninsula.

His family settled in Georgia when he was around 11 years old, before then they traveled since his dad was in the military. Needless to say, ferry boat rides are still a novelty to him....it is really rather endearing.

We stopped in Port Gamble and I fell in love....with this quaint little town (already in love with the hubby). It is just so clean. We didn't go into all the shops since we were headed to PT, but are definitely looking forward to visiting again.

Onward to Port Townsend!

First stop, McDonalds for a quick bite. Now I must say, it was already a very cold day, but somehow I don't think that they got the memo to turn up the heat. It was almost as cold inside as it was outside, so we ate in our car....TOASTY WARM! 

Snack done, into town we go......

After circling the town once,  we found a parking spot in front of "The Green Eyeshade" a lovely little "kitchen" store. I came away with a couple of  "finds"....like a cookbook called "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey", and YES it looks as wonderful as it sounds, AND it was 40% off! I cannot wait to put a few of the recipes to the test.

Out into the cold again....that wind was pretty "nasty"....and it didn't help that we were walking into a headwind......thank God for so many cool stores to duck into!

Rick was such a sweetie by being so willing to go into my idea of  "fun" shops, such as "Diva Yarn and Trim". I have never seen such unique trims. I wanted SO bad to buy some, but honestly didn't know what I would use it for, so I resisted the urge and told myself I'd wait for another visit. I wasn't as impressed about the "yarn" part of the store, perhaps because it wasn't even close to being as cool as "The Artful Ewe" in Port Gamble, now that is a place for all knitters to visit!

We poked our noses into a few more places and decided another favorite was the "EarthenWorks Gallery". We fell in love with some of the artwork there....just a tiny bit too expensive for us...another great place to visit though.

We decided to follow Hwy 101 back to Olympia.  By this time it was starting to "spit"out snow and when we reached Hoodsport we were in snow and it actually started sticking to the road between there and Shelton....did I say that we really LOVE our Subaru Outback?

We ended our trip with a final stop at Papa Murphy's for a half Cowboy and half Canadian Bacon and Pineapple Pizza.

 Home....warm, cozy home....Pizza, beer, "Cops" (Rick's favorite) and a very contented heart.

Without sounding too sappy, did I tell you that I have the best husband in the whole world? Well, I do!