Presto!! Pesto is the Best-o!!

I tried to post this last night, and for some reason was only able to view or publish the following paragraph:

It's finally quiet, though temporarily in my house.  Everyone is napping but me, and I have wonderful scents of cheese and garlic wafting thru my kitchen.  Bliss.  Today has been one of those days where everyone is loud, rowdy, and in the right place but at the wrong time.  Days like this require pesto.  (Then again, what day doesn't?!)

So what does that tell me?  Hmmm...  perhaps something about a lesson in patience.  Which I suppose is only appropriate with the type of day that yesterday was.  Nothing was where it should have been, no one (under the age of 6) was willing to do what they were supposed to do, and me??  I was suprised I woke up with hair on my head this morning!


But I did.  And I woke up to the beautiful sun shining thru my window, reflecting little fractals in the 8 to 10 or so inches of snow still laying on the fields of my property and that of the wonderful neighbors across the way.  And quiet.  I woke up to quiet.  *insert amazing sound effects here*  How good is God!?!

So here is what I was planning on sharing last night.  A wonderful pesto chicken salad, that my 5-year old is absolutely in love with!

Pesto Chicken Salad Sammiches
Yes, sammiches!



Served with fresh baked fries!!  Yum-o!



»2 large chicken breasts, marinated in your favorite Italian style dressing

»Your favorite pesto

»Walnuts, chopped
»Mozzerella or Provolone cheese, shredded
»Alfalfa sprouts
»Tomato (it you'd like...  I didn't have any.)
»That amazing Italian Herb and Cheese Bread you made a couple of weeks ago (did I mention it freezes well??)
»Just a little butter

Grill or sauté your chicken.  While it's cooking, slice your bread for sandwiches.  When your chicken is done, cube it inot pieces about 3/4" and stir together with your chopped nuts and most of your pesto.  Spread a very light layer of butter on your bread, then spread pesto.  You just want enough butter that the bread doesn't soak up all the pesto.  Pile your chicken salad on one side, then cover both with cheese.  Place open faced in the oven until the cheese melts. 

When you remove it from the oven, place sprouts on, then close, and slice.  YUM!!


~Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.  John 6:35~

Spring cleaning, spring salad, spring-ey

As I fold oh-so much laundry and start thinking about plotting my garden and airing this house for spring, it has come to my attention that organization may well be a Biblical principle.  While we are no where told, 'Be ye organizedith," I see over and over again how God has organized everything, and how every little detail of life is so....  intentional.  It makes me wonder how I'm doing.  Am I intentional in my day to day tasks?  With he words I use when teaching (or disciplining) my children?  With the encouragement I give my friends?  With how I treat my husband?  It gives me a lot to think about.  Does this mean that I have to always have my refrigerator cleaned out and my cabinets arranged alphanumerically by size?  Probably not; but it sure sounds amazing!!! 

*big ominous silence*

Well then.  Back to the task at hand.  I'm pondering over lunch, since neither of the kiddos have yelped down exclamations of hunger, and still thinking about the amazing salad from the other night.  What?  You like amazing salads, too??? 

I thought you might!

Stelle's Spring Salad

         (yes, I know that it's winter.)

Probably the easiest salad I make, you need spring greens, glazed walnuts, fresh strawberries, feta cheese, and your favorite red wine or balsamic vinaigrette.

It's as easy as putting your 'toppings' on the greens, and serving with dressing.  Voila!

(And before you tell me that your kids won't eat it...  let me promise you that my five year old tells me that it's favorite salad, and that he loves feta cheese.  I think it may be the sweet berries and the glazed nuts that do him in.  :))

It makes a wonderful contrasting side to many a pasta dish or with grilled steak or roast.

Since it's soooo pretty, here's an up close and personal shot.



Ohhhh....  the freshness of it!



~Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.  And in Your book they were all written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.  Psalm 139:16~

Behold! The power of cheeeeeeeeeeeez....

It's sunny and cold.  I've got the front door open and the fresh air drifting in.  The fresh 35 degree air.  Did I mention that it's cold?  I'm starting my spring 'prep'; that time of year when I make sure that every surface in my house gets wiped, scrubbed, vacuumed and disinfected once a week.  A little compulsive, maybe?  Do we get sick a lot in my house?  No.  (Not to mention that I'm almost always prepared for company!)  But what do I do with the rest of my time?  Seeing as how I've yet to meet a carbohydrate that I didn't like, I bake.  Breads, cookies, cakes, muffins, cookies, breads....  it's amazing. 

So now that I plan on baking all day, (and night for the next week) what am I going to make for dinner?  Cheese.  It's simple, abundant, and full of goodness.

Cauliflower Cheddar Soup

You can go about this one of two main ways:

You can open two cans of condensed cheese soup, add milk and cauliflower or.....

Make cheese sauce.  Shred a cup (or two) of cheddar cheese, and melt in milk with just a little butter.  Once the cheese is melted and the two are well combined, stir in your cauliflower.  A whole head is best.  Once the cauliflower is the tenderness you prefer, stir in some cornstarch to thicken your masterpiece into soup.  Salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with extra cheddar.

Other cheese masterpieces??? 

Herb and Cheese French Bread



The wonders of yeast.....



5 tsp fast acting yeast

6 cups bread flour

3 cups warm (120 deg) water

2 tbs butter, melted in said water

1 tbs salt

1 tbs sugar

Italian herbs of choice, together, about a heaping palm full

shredded cheese

Let your yeast stand alone a bowl until it reaches room temperature.  Stir with flour.  Add salt, sugar, herbs and some cheese, stir again.  Stir in water/butter mixture.   When well mixed, roll out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes.  Place in greased bowl and cover.  Let rise until at least doubled. 

Wait patiently, my friend.

Re-knead your dough, then form into your loaves, boules, or pans, cut across tops and sprinkle with cheese.  Cover and let rise again. 

When it has about doubled again, bake at about 400 until they sound hollow when tapped on.

~ She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:27 ~

Color me orange....

Orange is my favorite color.  There are songs about pink, and yellow, and blue, and black....  and probably others....  but I'm a fan of orange.  Something about the vibrancy of it.  It makes me happy.  It makes my insides 'feel' warm.  It's just great.  With a little help from a great friend, I bring you my latest orange experiment.  It's just fantastic.  :)

Honey Citrus Chicken

1 mandarin orange

1/2 lemon

1/2 tbs olive oil (ish)

1 tbs honey

palm full each of marjoram and oregano

2 chicken breasts

Obliterate the orange and the lemon half.  You want all the juices in a bowl.  Warm the honey until pourable, and add the orange and lemon juice to it.  Add your olive oil and spices, stir and add your chicken.

Marinate for about 2 hours.  Grill over medium coals until done. 

And what would a citrusy chicken dish be without a colorful complementary side???

 Quick Broccoli Salad

Dressing:  1/2 C Mayonnaise (I buy the olive oil stuff)

                about 1 1/2 tbs vinegar

                about 1 tbs sugar

Whisk together in a bowl.  You want your dressing to be sweet and tangy, but more tangy.  The other ingredients are sweet!  Adjust the amounts to suit your taste.

In another bowl, combine broccoli florets (about 2 'heads' worth) a generous handful of craisins (or raisins if you have them on hand) and about half as many sunflower seeds (or almonds) and about 1/4 cup chopped onion.  Toss with dressing.  Serve chilled.

~  'Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.'  John 8:36 ~

It never ceases to amaze me...  fog.  Yes, fog.  I read somewhere that in a square mile of fog, there is only one gallon of water.  After I finished being amazed, I wanted to know how that was measured...  of course, but decided to just let it be.  Sometimes the willing suspension of disbelief for just a few minutes lets you relive part of your childhood.  When what you didn't know, you didn't know.  It was, essentially fog.  You just didn't see it.  :)  But it shielded you from the things hidden in it, and beyond it.  How fantastic.  It's like A Midsummer's Night's Dream all over again.

In the spirit of all foggy winter days, I have prepared a tortelloni soup, how great it is.

Tomato Tortelloni
1 can tomato sauce, rinsed, and 3 cans water
3 Roma tomatoes, diced (or 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained)
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 lg onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
a palm full of each: basil, marjoram, oregano, parsley, brown sugar
1/2 palm full of each: rosemary, thyme, fennel
dash of cumin
salt, pepper, and Parmesan to taste

Place all ingredients in a large sauce pot, or your slow cooker, and let simmer until veggies are cooked.  Meanwhile, make tortelloni.

Tortelloni
Pasta Dough:
2 3/4 C flour
3 eggs (or comprable egg substitute)
1 tsp salt

Mound the flour on a clean, crack free surface.  Dig a well in the center of the mound, and crack your eggs into it.  Scramble the eggs with your fingers, slowly pulling the flour into the middle with them.    As dough forms, add water, a couple of drops at a time, if it is too dry.  If it's too moist, add flour.  Knead dough like you would bread for 10 to 15 minutes.  Wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest for at least 15 (but no more than 20) minutes before rolling out. 

When you roll out your dough, only use 1/2 at a time, keeping the other portion covered.  Using a rolling pin, roll away from you, turn, and repeat, on a floured surface until desired thickness.

Using a circular cookie cutter, or a glass cup, cut out circles.  Place filling inside, fold in half.  bring the edges (the points) together in the middle, wrapping like a fortune cookie.  Let dry for about 20 minutes before cooking.

Filling:
     I prefer cheese filling for this soup.
2 parts riccota 
1 part shredded mozzerella
1 part parmesan

stir together in a bowl.

Once your soup base is ready, and you're ready to eat, cook your tortelloni in a pot of water until they float.  Then spoon into soup.  Let stand in soup for about 5 minutes before serving.  Garnish with parmesan.


If you don't feel like making your own tortelloni, you can purchase the frozen ones, or buy the tortellini in the dry pasta section of the grocery store.

~ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7 ~

It's pita, I mean, pizza.... it's... it is.

We all have those days.  We say, "I'm having one of those days," but we mean that we're having a normal day, because those days happen more often than not.  Yesterday was one of those.  No, not those, but the days we all wish to have more often.  The kids were well behaved, even napped while company was at the house.  The house that was actually clean.  The dogs got along well with their company (yes, my dogs had company as well) and a wonderful evening of fellowship was attained.    Yet this morning hasn't been so easy.  The kids are everywhere, into everything, and loud.  I haven't managed to get anything done that I want to, and I'm stuck pondering a question I was asked last night.  "How do you instill Christian values into your children when they don't communicate well enough to understand?"  Yikes.  Wow.  With that running thru my brain, it's been a pita, I mean pizza, I mean.....  day.  Voila Pita Pizza.  Made fresh with your leftovers.  :)

Pita Pizzas
1 pita (non pocketed) per person
marinara or other sauce
your favorite leftovers

Build a pizza atop you pita.  Warm in oven until cheese is melted.  Slice and enjoy.

I think I'll take my cue from what Paul wrote in Romans 13:14; Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.