Slow Cooker Tuesday ~ Week 10 {Italian Chicken}

Sometimes, you need a recipe that can be adapted to meet dietary needs.

You see, our Kati is on a strictly non-fat diet as she awaits her gallbladder surgery. I am trying to cook foods that she can eat, but that the rest of the family wants to eat too! This week, I pulled another recipe from those that my friend Jill shared with me, and it was a perfect fit. 

Photo by Bekah

I made the recipe as directed...almost! I used chicken tenders instead of the breasts, as they are even lower in fat. Also, I did not include the Parmesan cheese when I assembled the ingredients in the slow cooker. Instead, we passed the Parmesan at the table for those who wanted to (or who could choose to) add it. Served with Barilla Plus® Thin Spaghetti and a green salad, it met all the requirements for nutrition, flavor, and visual appeal.

(If I make it again, I will do as Jill had suggested and double the sauce ingredients!)

Ingredients: 2 pounds chicken breasts (frozen is fine) 1 package dry Italian spaghetti sauce mix 14.5-ounce can regular or Italian stewed tomatoes or dice tomatoes 8-ounce can tomato sauce 1 teaspoon oregano Parmesan cheese   Directions: Place chicken in crock pot; sprinkle with dry spaghetti sauce mix and oregano. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours, or on HIGH for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.  Serve with pasta and top with shredded mozzarella and/or Parmesan cheese.  NOTE: If you like lots of sauce, double the sauce ingredients.

Do you tweak recipes to suit individual dietary needs? 

Looking for a recipe from another week?

Week 1: Cranberry Pork Roast

Week 2: Mexican Chicken

Week 3: Beef Ragu

Week 4: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Week 5: Cashew Chicken

Week 6: Chocolate Fondue

Week 7: Crock Pot Chili

Week 8: Crock Pot Rice Pudding

Week 9: Spiced Fruit Compote

Sunday Snapshots: A Ninetieth Birthday Party!

We have had a string of Sunday afternoons in which we have not done our usual thing. We have had all sorts of out of the ordinary events, including a baby shower, sickness, an out of town wedding sickness, and a birthday party. 

Yesterday, we attended a ~90th~ birthday celebration for Ron's uncle! His children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren honored him with a lovely surprise party (he was truly surprised!), and the room was filled with family and friends and good food and festive decorations. There were games, old and new photos in a slide show, music, words of wisdom, and a few (happy) tears. Uncle Paul is still healthy, active, and keen, and attributes at least some of his mental acuity to daily word search puzzles. He is quick to tell you, though, that the Lord has blessed him!

Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you!

I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry you, and will deliver you. 

Isaiah 46:4

A Personal Photo Challenge {Words and Letters}

I have been looking forward to participating in Donna's Personal Photo Challenge this month. March's theme is "Words and Letters" and that is right up my alley! Words? I love them! 

I have been noticing photo-worthy words all month, I have mulled over lots of ideas, and I took around a hundred pictures. But then, when I chose my favorites and began to process them, I realized that "books" was my sub-theme! 

Here are my choices for this month's challenge, all taken with my Canon Rebel T3 and all edited in PicMonkey. 

The first subject is a vintage book, a gift from a friend. I decided to add a cup of Lady Grey to my composition, for what better way to enjoy a book on a chilly afternoon than with a cup of tea? I cropped my image for greater focus, boosted the saturation, and warmed the colors slightly. 

I love the burst of color in this basket of cookbooks that sits on the bottom shelf of my kitchen island. Again I cropped. This time I increased the contrast a little, and cooled the color. 

This last photo features a portion of our collection of picture books. (A smallish portion, actually.) I chose to go with an artsy feel for this one, selecting "HDR" from PicMonkey's special features. 

If you'd like to kick your photography up a level, then I'd invite you to try one of Donna's monthly challenges! Although Donna herself is a photographer extraordinaire, she has encouraging words and helpful comments for all who participate. 

Thank you, Donna, for another great challenge!

Lightening and Brightening

Feeling the need to brighten my corner of the world, I have begun to add some lighter touches to my home decor. I'll be ready for spring when it arrives. In the meantime...

I have debuted this beautiful new table runner, made by my dear friend Jodi. I think I have shown great restraint because, although Jodi gave it to me for Christmas, I have kept it tucked away in my linen cabinet until the change of seasons, just waiting for the calendar to turn. No matter that it snowed up a storm as soon as I put it on my table. It is a herald of springtime to me.

Again, I went in search of cheery flowers. This time, I found a pot of sunny yellow tulips. Cheery indeed! They are atop the kitchen island in an old crock, and they make me smile. (Do you have any tips on replanting these outside later?) 

I couldn't stand the winter white berries in this crock in the living room one more day. It's a bit too early for forsythia, so as a temporary measure I plopped in one of my topiaries. Bekah says it's too small for the crock, and I think she is right, but it's green and it's staying. For now. 

What about you? Are you lightening or brightening the corners of your world? 

Slow Cooker Tuesday ~ Week 9 {Spiced Fruit Compote}

Yes, Slow Cooker Tuesday appears on a Wednesday this week. (Explanation ~here~.)

Many years ago, I made a dish like this once or twice from a recipe that I had clipped from our local paper, but I misplaced it. Of course, I was able to find many similar recipes via google search, and so I took the elements I liked from several sources, and made my own version of a hot spiced fruit compote. 

It was better than I remembered, and now I am thinking of all the ways I could serve this! Tonight we enjoyed it as a side dish, accompanying rotisserie chicken and a green salad. But I could also see this compote as a dessert, maybe with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. I am also imagining it atop waffles, although I'd probably add a bit more cornstarch to the recipe so it would have a thicker consistency. Actually, I think it would be a great addition to many breakfast or brunch menus.

I believe I'll have the opportunity to try out some of my ideas, because my family loved it and would like to have it again! 

Ingredients: 29-0unce can sliced peaches, drained 20-ounce can pineapple chunks, drained 15-ounce can apricot halves, drained 15-ounce can sliced pears, drained 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained 1/2 cup brown sugar    1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 4 tablespoons butter   Directions: Combine all ingredients in slow cooker; stir gently. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours, or on HIGH for 2 to 3.

Do you enjoy looking for new ways to serve a dish that you make? 

Looking for a recipe from another week?

Week 1: Cranberry Pork Roast

Week 2: Mexican Chicken

Week 3: Beef Ragu

Week 4: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Week 5: Cashew Chicken

Week 6: Chocolate Fondue

Week 7: Crock Pot Chili

Week 8: Crock Pot Rice Pudding

Tuesday Potpourri (And a Long Story)

Gathering some bits and pieces here today for a little chat. (Do you like a chatty post? Sometimes they are my favorite ones to read as I visit my blog friends.)

I will start with a medical update, first of all, because it is the most important, but also because it directly or indirectly affects everything else in my chat!

We finally have some answers about Kati's health. After two weeks of pain, visits to doctors (including two overnights in the ER), multiple tests, and w-a-i-t-i--n-g for results,  Kati has been diagnosed with a diseased gallbladder (but with no stones) and has an appointment with a surgeon next week. In Kati's words, "I am ready to get that bad boy out!" There is a sense of relief in knowing the root of the problem. In the meantime, she is following a totally fat free diet and the pain is always there, but manageable.

Because of Kati's health issues, we were not able to make the trip to Lancaster last weekend to join the Rabes for Lindsay's wedding. Boo hoo! We had been planning this for months. Ron had taken a vacation day for Friday and we were going to make a whole weekend of it. We prayed for direction, but the closer we got to the wedding date, we realized that it would not be wise to travel. Sigh.

(Want to take a peek at some wedding photos?) 

Since we were home, we were able to go out for breakfast with Ron's siblings and their spouses to celebrate his mom's 86th birthday. Seven of the eight siblings were able to attend, and we took up a whole corner of the restaurant!

Here is Ron's mom surrounded by her children...

...and here she is with the "out-laws" as my late brother-in-law used to call us.

Slow Cooker Tuesday? Also affected by medical stuff. Because I have been discombobulated, I forgot to purchase the ingredients for my recipe last week. Plan B was to stop by the grocery store after Kati's appointment yesterday, but then there was a snow storm and I made a beeline to get home afterward. So this week's Slow Cooker Tuesday will be on --ummm-- Wednesday?

Do you want the behind-the-scenes story of our harrowing journey to the doctor yesterday? 

Yes, harrowing!

I don't really like to drive on a good day, but yesterday morning was terrible. A predicted snowstorm descended on our area shortly before we left for Kati's appointment.

I have no ice scraper in my van. (I have never needed one. Unless Ron is driving, I don't go out in bad weather.) Kati went to get her wimpy little scraper out of her car. But her doors were frozen shut, so to break into her car, she kind of slammed her hip into the door...which opened it, but which also caused her pain which caused her nausea which caused her to -- okay, I'll stop. You know where this is heading. We were off to a rocky start. 

After I got the windshield cleared and the wiper blades broken loose, we began the twenty minute drive. As we drove, the windshield continued to frost over and I could hardly see, although Kati saw a car in the ditch not far from home and that took my confidence down the tubes.  We stopped off at Ron's office so that he could scrape the van windows with his Big Boy scraper (and we absconded with it), and his de-icing lasted almost until we arrived at the doctor's office.

On the drive home, we had to stop every three or four miles to de-ice the windshield.  When we finally reached the road towards home, there was a police car parked fully across it. (Presumably, the SUV we had seen earlier was being retrieved from the ditch.) So we had to backtrack and go the long way around, adding miles to our journey and more stops to scrape the windshield. It took us 65 minutes to make the 20 minute trip! 

Did you need all those details? Probably not, but Ron says I am not one to make a short story short, so there you have it.

All in all, we are grateful to have a diagnosis and an appointment with the surgeon, and to have made it safely home!

And since I have already said so much, I'll leave you with one more inglorious detail.

We had the defrost turned up so high, trying to keep the windshield as warm as possible, that, although the ice continued to form on the outside of the car, inside we were sweating in our drawers. (I can't believe I just used the word "drawers" on the Internets. All pride is gone in one fell swoop.)

Enough said.

(Or too much?)

Photo-a-Day ~ Week 4

Tidying up loose ends here with the last week of  Kati's photo challenge...a photo-a-day...

day 22: blue
I love the blue band around this old pitcher.
(And it is the perfect vessel for a bunch of red tulips.)

day 23: your shoes

Alas, I have reached the era of comfortable shoes.
I have some cuter shoes that I wear for special occasions, but my feet loudly rebel and ask for this pair.

day 24: your bedside table

As we make some changes in our bedroom decor (a paint job is slated for April),
this bedside table is here until I find exactly what I want in a price that I can afford.

day 25: green
Dried limelight hydrangeas hang on the pot rack above my kitchen island.

day 26: light
I almost missed the light.
The day was mostly cloudy with the sun peeping through only now and then,
but just before sunset, I captured this thin light faintly shining on the dining room wall,
shadows cast from inside and outside the window.

day 27: something you ate
I started to show you the package of Lance crackers I grabbed as we ran out the door at lunchtime,
but this salad is much prettier, so I'm glad I waited for dinner.

day 28: sweet
These are the pretty shortbread cookies that Bekah made to share with her book club.

And there we go, a photo every day for the month of February. Thank you, Kati, for challenging me to stretch my thinking and try some different things! 

{Gathering the Moments} February

There were so many gray days in February. The gray was almost palpable. 

Before I began gathering the moments, I thought that gray might be the color of the sky and the color of the month. But as I gathered, I found beauty in the gray. 

There were red roses, a home sewn heart from my dear granddaughter, tender moments, sweet treats, and expressions of love. 

There was a lovely post-Valentine luncheon hosted by my mom where the girls of the family were treated to all sorts of beautiful food and time together and chocolate to take home.

There was cold outside, but warmth inside. The warmth of candlelight and slow cooker meals, knitting projects and coffee surprises in the afternoon.

There were happy faces with sunny smiles that broke through the gray. Gatherings with family and with friends. 

And there was gray. 

Kati's illness, yes, and failed plans. But there are those of our family and friends who are facing so much more. Some health challenges. Some grief. Some the dark night of the soul. 

And so, as time continues and another month ends and we walk into the next, I pray that the Son who is The Light will pierce the gray. May we be able to say with the Psalmist, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 

Again with this month, I am inviting you to join me in "gathering the moments." You may wish to share two or three photos, or several collages, or bunches of photos...with words, or without words. The link-up below will be a gathering place for us to reflect and share and connect. (The link-up will stay open for a week, so you have plenty of time to gather.)

Slow Cooker Tuesday ~ Week 8 {Crock Pot Rice Pudding}

Today, my special guest is special indeed...my own daughter Kati, who blogs at Kati's Little Corner of the World!

Kati's blog is a treasure trove of photography, crafts, hymns, vintage decor, and the occasional niece-and-nephew stories. Oh...and recipes. Lots of yummy goodness. Don't hate me because I get to be one of the taste testers.

I was happy to be a taste tester for this one...mmmmm good! 

I love making desserts of all varieties. One thing I hadn't tried making was rice pudding. Mom makes the stove top kind almost every year for Dad's birthday but I've never tried it myself. I've come across several recipes for crock pot rice pudding on Pinterest so I decided to give it a try. It was easy to put together and not time consuming at all. I took this recipe as my inspiration but I changed a lot of things to fit our tastes. 

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup half and half
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

1. Combine whipping cream, half and half, milk, sugar, rice, and vanilla in a slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or until creamy, stirring once or twice.
3. Stir in cinnamon and raisins.

Thank you, Kati Grace! ♥

So, readers, have you ever turned to your slow cooker to make dessert?

Looking for a recipe from another week?

Week 1: Cranberry Pork Roast

Week 2: Mexican Chicken

Week 3: Beef Ragu

Week 4: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Week 5: Cashew Chicken

Week 6: Chocolate Fondue

Week 7: Crock Pot Chili

Plans For This Week

"Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'" 

James 4:15

Plans made. Plans changed. Plans on hold. Plans up in the air. 

That is life at our house since Kati became ill last week. 

The good news is that all of the "bad" things have been ruled out. (Thank you, Lord!) But yet we wait for test results and answers. 

We are seeking His guidance in making decisions, great and small. "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." (Jeremiah 10:23)  

And so we put all of our plans into His hands.

Plans (Lord willing...see above!) for the blog this week...

Sometime tomorrow I'll post this week's Slow Cooker Tuesday recipe. Guess what? Kati is guest posting for me this week! Poor girl! How can she be up to doing this? Well, she is not a procrastinator like her mom, so she had already made the recipe (twice!) and had written her post before she became ill. 

On Friday I will be posting this month's Gathering the Moments, including a link-up in which I invite you to join me. (Again, the link-up will stay open for a week, so you have plenty of time to gather. Details ~here~.)      

Then on Saturday, I will be sharing the last week of February's Photo-a-Day Challenge. (Yes, I realize that it will be March by then!)

As I have indicated, we are planning loosely around here. These are my plans...Lord willing. And if anything changes, I know you'll understand.

(Maybe you'd like to listen to this old hymn, as sung by Amy Grant..."Sweet Will of God." Beautiful.)