My New Fall Purse, or How I Met Frank

I have been searching for a new fall bag for months – I basically began the hunt not long after I found the career bag I needed to begin my new job in March. I bought that bag at my local White House Black Market after finding and then failing to purchase my number one choice from WHBM on St. Armands Cirlce in Sarasota, Florida. So, I settled for this one:



I have loved it, even though the top is too small and sometimes I think the silver clashes with my oh-so trendy gold jewelry, which I swore would never make a comeback.

Recently, I have had a torrid romance with Vera Bradley and her sassy print bags.



But when I got my new job, my Veras just didn’t seem polished and professional. I had new qualifications. This fall, my bag requirements were as follows: big, (but not huge) bright color, (possibly orange) and wide open at the top so I could cram lots of stuff into it with ease. Then I learned I would be attending a women’s conference this past weekend as part of my job and the pressure to find the perfect bag was amped up about ten notches! Most of you know that finding the perfect accessory takes time – often LOTS of time. Now I was down to a few trips into various favorite stores, with only minutes a time to look around. The intense pressure caused me to purchase this:



Notice the details: it’s big, (and huge) black, (not brightly colored) and narrow at the top. *sigh* This purse is going to be the death of me! I knew I needed something nearly tote-bag size in order to carry the things every girl needs at a weekend conference – bible, notebook, assorted writing instruments, bottled water, sunglasses, several cosmetic items and snacks. Anyone who knows me knows that my purse always contains snacks, candy & gum. Small children follow me because of this fact. This girl needs to be able to graze throughout the day! I can’t be starving while waiting for people to decide where we are going to lunch or trying to MapQuest the dinner restaurant on their iPhones.

So I grabbed this bag, this carry-on luggage, in a moment of fashion panic at my local T. J. Maxx. (Where you get the max for the minimum) I paid more than I wanted for it, but it really was the only option outside of a Michael Kors bag that I was drooling over. (I love you, Michael Kors, but I can’t afford your gorgeous designs – I have a child to educate.)

Turns out that this bag is so big it needed its own seat at the conference. Seriously. The foot room at the base of the seats at the Edward Jones Dome is almost non-existent and I was having issues just trying to fit my size 9 heels under my chair. So, my purse got its own seat. And then, my purse got its own name. Meet Frank, my new purse.




Frank and I have a love/hate relationship, but we are thinking about getting counseling, so there may be hope for us. Frank is a little too big, a little too shiny, and definitely too blingy. And what about that big “G” made of rhinestones? At first I thought I would tell people the “G” stood for grace, or God, but now I know what it really means – garbage bag. Like as in the tall kitchen size. Seriously, I carry Frank with bling turned into my body because I am horrified by the blinginess of it. This thing looks like a feed bag of some sort – I should fill it up with some M&M’s and head to the local cinema with it. (Actually, that is not a bad idea.)
So really, Frank is Frankenstein, my monster purse. Which turns out is not a bad theme for next month, so it’s all good.

18 Years of Blessing!

Over my life, I have heard the phrase "time flies" hundreds of times. Never has it been more true than today. This morning, as I awoke and saw my clock at 7:37, I had an immediate flashback to 18 years earlier, to the last minute of my first pregnancy & more importantly - childbirth. At 7:38 a.m. on September 7th, 1991, I became a mother for the first time. Austin came into this world four weeks premature, screaming at the top of his lungs, and thankfully, completely healthy. He was finally in my arms after 11 weeks of bed rest, 9 hospitalizations and countless hours of prayer for his health and safety. This child had already turned my life upside down and inside out. I was completely, blissfully in love from the moment he was placed in my arms.



God knew, as only He can, that this boy and I needed each other. In many ways, we grew up together, taking turns at being teacher and student. I was and continue to be, completely amazed and enthralled with watching my son encounter the world. He is so ready for anything that comes his way! Ever curious, always interested and imminently laid-back, he is a joy to know. Spending time with him continues to be one of my favorite things to do. Just the two of us hanging out and watching t.v. or in the midst of his cool friends; both are a treat. Even a trip to the local grocery store is fun - because we have fun together no matter what we are doing. No one makes me laugh harder or think more deeply than my son.



We have been blessed as a family with masses of memorable moments. Travelling by car all across this country over the years - from golf course to golf course - has given us ample opportunity to spend time together. We have bonded over long talks, listening to music, making up silly games like the "Motor Home Game", and laughter, so much laughter.




All my best stories revolve around the funny things Austin has said or done over the years. If you haven't heard the "Chochi Flo" story or the "She's not my mother!" story - you need only ask me. It takes very little to get me going on Austin B. stories or "Austinisms" as his Nana calls them.

Over these past 18 years, I have prayed thousands of prayers for this young man. I have asked the Lord to bless Austin, to mature him, to lead him. I have prayed for my future daughter-in-law since he was born. I've prayed for his safety, his friends, his education. The biggest and most important prayer over these years has been this: "May he one day own his own faith in God. May he come to know and follow hard after Jesus." The biggest and most important thing I have to say today is this: He has. He does.


Praise be to God. Thank you, Father. Thank you for this most miraculous gift. Thank you for letting me raise this child. Thank you for growing him into a precious and devoted follower of Yours.

Happy Birthday to my son, Austin!
In honor of your 18th birthday, here is your very own "A to Z" list.

ABF - From A to Z

You are:

A- Athletic, active, achiever
B- Blonde, bible-reading, basketball player
C- Caring, charismatic
D- Deeply devoted
E- Especially energetic
F- Faithful, fun, funny, friend to many - Feezy!
G- Guitar playing, godly, goofy, good GPA
H- Handsome, happy, hazel-eyed
I- Independent individual
J- Joyful, jovial, jokester
K- Kind-hearted, kid-friendly
L- Loyal, loving, laughs a lot
M- Muscular, manly, musical
N- Nice, noisy, non-stop
O- Outgoing
P- Positive, point guard
Q- Quirky, questioning
R- Relentlessing pursuing the LORD
S- Smart, silly, spunky
T- Trustworthy
U- Unique
V- Victorious in Jesus
W- Winsome, worshipful
X- Xcellent character
Y- Yearns for truth
Z- Zealous for the LORD

I love you, Bud.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

In my last post, I mentioned a Chicken Enchilada Casserole and several people have asked me to post that recipe as well. I never intended to do a recipe blog, but maybe that is what this will turn out to be. I do LOVE new recipes and have often said "I never met a new recipe I didn't like!" Seriously, I get bored very easily in the kitchen and love trying out new things. It would be fine by me to make a new thing every time I cook, but there are some people living in my house who would protest that program! They have some favorites and expect to smell them cooking every so often.

This is one of my personal favorites and a great dish for company. The first time I had it, I was the company! :)

Layered Chicken & Black Bean Enchiladas

2 c. chopped, cooked chicken breasts
Chopped fresh cilantro (1/4 to 1/2 c.)
2 - 15 oz. cans black beans, drained & rinsed
1 - 4.5 oz/ can chopped green chiles
1 - 10 oz. can enchilada sauce (your choice - mild, medium or hot)
small onion, finely chopped
8 - corn tortillas, six inch size
2 c. shredded colby - monterey jack cheese
8 oz. light sour cream

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Spray 13 x 9 glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
- Combine chicken, cilantro, beans, onions & chiles in a bowl and mix well.
- Spoon 2 T. of the enchilada sauce in bottom of dish
- Spread 4 tortillas over sauce, overlapping if necessary
- Spoon half the chicken mixture over tortillas
- Spread 1/3 of the cheese over chicken mixture
- Spoon half the remaining sauce and half the sour cream randomly over cheese.
- Repeat the layers; tortillas, chicken, 1/3 cheese, sauce
- Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes
- Uncover, sprinkle last 1/3 of cheese and bake uncovered for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

A couple thoughts:
For the chicken, I usually just bake up some breasts beforehand, using a little olive oil, salt & pepper. But you could use a rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled chicken - or even marinate it with something special. It's not a big deal. My husband is not a huge fan of the black beans, so now I double the amount of chicken and only use 1 can of beans. Don't freak out about the size of your baking dish, the original recipe called for a 12 x 8 dish but I only have a 9 x 13 and it works fine. Sometimes I mix the enchilada sauce and the sour cream and just pour it on the casserole that way. Depends on my mood. :)

Es sabroso!

Julianne

p.s. ~ I simply cannot type the word ENCHILADA - every single time in this post, I originally typed ENCHILDA. What the heck is an "enchilda" anyway? Does everyone suffer from this syndrome? I am married to a man named Brian, but I almost always type "Brain" instead. Do you have words you do this with? I have quite a list going. I would love to hear about yours!

Make This for Dinner Soon!

As promised, here is the new recipe I told you about. This came to me from a sweet friend who sends me the best recipes. She never lets me down! One of my all time faves from her is this wonderful Chicken Enchilada Casserole - it has black beans and fresh cilantro - yum.

Anyway, she e-mailed this a week or so ago, but I waited to make it until the weather was freezing and I was craving a hearty stew-type meal. It totally fit the bill and I just had the leftovers for lunch, putting the beef over mashed potatoes and just nuking it - very satisfying.

Braised Beef with Sun Dried Tomatoes

2 T. olive oil
2 lbs. stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 medium onion, vertically sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. flour
1 3/4 c. water
1 c. dry red wine
1 c. low sodium beef broth
1 c. sun dried tomatoes - packed without oil & chopped or cut into strips
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 t. fresh rosemary, chopped
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 bay leaf
1/4 c. flat leaf parsley, chopped

- Heat olive oil in large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add beef, cook 4 minutes, browning on all sides.
- Add sliced onions, cook about 7 minutes or until softened. Add minced garlic, cook 1 minute.
- Stir in flour, cook 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Stir in water and next 9 ingredients - through bay leaf. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
- Uncover and simmer an additional 30 minutes or until beef is tender.
- Discard bay leaf.
- Ladle into bowls or onto plates, sprinkle each serving with fresh chopped parsley.

I planned to use fresh rosemary from my garden but my plant was dead from the cold. Shocking, as it thrived through all last winter! I was disappointed to use dry rosemary - it just reminds me of all the pine needles we have vacuumed up through the holidays! And while I had some lovely fresh parsley, I completely forgot to add it to the finished product. That might have had something to do with two men standing in the kitchen, waiting for plates of food so they could watch the Duke vs. Davidson game on the big tv in the basement. :)

I made mashed potatoes to go with this - you could do that or rice or pasta. The juice is so tasty, you'll want something to soak it all up. (I used rolls, but I'm not saying how many.)

I also could not find my dutch oven, so I simply used a skillet to brown the beef, onions & garlic, then poured it all into a large saucepan/stew pot for the rest. No problem, except for the 30 minutes I lost, searching high & low for the dutch oven. (Who loses their dutch oven? If you borrowed mine or I gave it to you, I would love to get it back.)

For those of you who might prefer using a crock pot, here are some thoughts on how to do just that: Reduce the liquids (3/4 c water instead of 1 3/4 c, and 3/4 c wine instead a full cup). Since the crock keeps so much moisture in, this will probably be about the right amount of liquid. Try 4 hours on low and about 1 or 1.5 on high. You could also add some root vegetables to this, potatoes, carrots, etc. to make it more stew-like.

This is just a really nice, tasty meal. Highly recommended. Enjoy!

Julianne

New Year, New Blog?

Well, it's now 2009 and I haven't posted a new entry in two months. Where does the time go? It's not like life is too boring to report, it's exactly the opposite! Since November 1st:
~ I spent a weekend taking care of six children - by myself
~ My niece gave birth to her twin boys and
~ I got to go visit the new babies and family for a few days
~ We celebrated Thanksgiving
~ Basketball season began
~ I've been sick and had my hair cut - twice
~ December arrived and winter began in earnest
~ My best friend came to visit, shop and watch movies for three days
~ Austin took the ACT test, took his finals and played in 7 basketball games
~ I quit both my jobs
~ Christmas came and went in a flurry of shopping, baking, shipping, wrapping, worshipping and celebrating
~ We rang in the new year amidst a huge group of rowdy high school kids
and finally ....
~I put all the Christmas decorations away.

Whew. Makes me tired just thinking about it!

But now it's January and before the winter doldrums set in, I thought I would jump start the blog.

Tomorrow? New recipe!! We had it for dinner tonight and it was delish!

To all my friends who managed to get through the holidays and still keep up their blogs - my hat is off to you. Take a bow. You kept me laughing and with my sanity intact during a crazy haze of chaos. For that, I thank you.

Julianne

The Soup Nazi

If you are a "Seinfeld" fan, you know who the Soup Nazi is. I'm a big fan, I think we probably quote from "Seinfeld" at least once a day around our home. The Soup Nazi is a hilarious episode, but it makes me crave soup. That and a cold snap send me to chopping veggies and buying broth every time.

We have several favorite soups around here. My first fave came from my dear mother telling me about how her boss made this simple soup that was so good. Two cans of chicken or beef broth, some minced garlic, onion, salt, pepper and whatever vegetables she had in her crisper. I added meat and some pasta and it became an immediate family favorite. It's so easy, any bonehead can make it. Mom & I call it "Bonehead Soup"!

I've recently picked up a few new tricks in the soup category and am happy to share them with you. There are TWO.

No Baked Potato Soup - from my friend, Caryl

Buffalo Wing Soup - from this blog

These two are so yummy that I keep making them in a cycle, along with Football Soup. Brian is totally over soup now. He asked me the other day - "We've been married for more than 22 years. When have you ever known me to order soup in a restaurant?" Oh well. My love affair with the "meal in a bowl" continues...

NO Baked Potato Soup

Love this one. I've traded it in for a recipe where you had to bake the potatoes as step one. No more!
You Need:
12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2/3 c. butter
2/3 c. flour
7 c. milk
4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
bunch of green onions, chopped
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. sour cream
1 t. salt
1 t. ground black pepper

Cook bacon until crispy - I use the microwave. In a soup pot, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, whisking until thickened. Stir in potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, simmer 15 minutes.
Mix in bacon, cheese, sour cream, salt & pepper. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.
Serves 6

I use skim milk, light sour cream and to heck with it, regular bacon & cheese. :) We usually reserve about half the bacon for garnish - my boys don't love the texture of the bacon in the soup. This soup is really fast when you are in a hurry.

Buffalo Chicken Wing Soup

You need:

2 cups cooked and cubed chicken
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups fat free milk (no higher content than 2%, or it will curdle)
3/4 cup chicken broth
4 oz Velveeta
1/2 cup hot wing sauce (Use Frank's if you can find it!)
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp garlic salt

A 4 to 6 quart crockpot will work well for this soup. Make a roux with the flour and butter. Melt butter on medium heat, then whisk in the flour. Set aside. Chop up the onion and celery, and dump it into your crockpot. Add the cooked and cubed chicken. Pour in the chicken broth and milk. Add Velveeta. Add the salt. Stir in the flour and butter mixture. Add hot sauce. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4. The soup is done when the celery and onion reach desired tenderness. This is so yummy - I think about making it all the time. Serve it with the Cheesy Beer Bread recipe from here and you might make grown (or teenage) men cry!

I hope you enjoy these recipes! They have blessed me and I pray they will bless you and yours as well.

Pumpkin Biscotti, Google & A Birthday

This morning I am searching for a pumpkin biscotti recipe. I want to bless a dear friend with something home-baked for her birthday. She loves biscotti and I love pumpkin - a match made in heaven.

Google is one of the best things ever invented. I do not know how I managed before the days of "googling"! I managed, just don't know how.

So I "googled" 'pumpkin biscotti', thinking that there would be little returned. Was I wrong! Apparently, this is a baking trend I've completely missed out on all these years. I've made all sorts of biscotti in my life, but I never dreamed of pairing my autumn favorite (pumpkin) with my Christmas favorite (biscotti). So, so glad and delighted that others have gone where I have failed to travel!

In my "googling" this morning, I came across a new blog to follow. Where I am going to find the time to follow yet another blog, I have no clue. But it's another cooking blog. I am addicted. I love recipes. New ones. As I've said before, I would be happy to make something new at every meal and never visit the same recipe twice. Except for that Italian biscotti recipe with the orange zest & espresso beans, and the Cappucino Cheesecake, and Creamy Chicken Pasta, and The Barefoot Contessa's Turkey Lasagna. Oh, and Garlic Lime Chicken! Okay, I take that back. Some recipes require revisiting!

Check out the new blog with the pumpkin biscotti recipe.
I'll let you know how the cookies turn out!
I ♥ Google. And pumpkin. And biscotti. And my friend, Christine. Happy Belated Birthday, Panini!

Have a blessed day!