His Beauty for My Ashes

I don't know why I didn't understand this earlier, but better late than never. My husband and I have been married for 2 almost 3 years. He is an amazing husband, great father, and my very best friend, but he is in no way perfect. Amiss all the things he does to protect, love, and lead our family I would find myself angry with him for the littlest of instances. I was holding him to a standard that he would never meet; I was trying to live my "happily ever after" through our marriage. I was going through my Christian life without any joy.

Growing up my family life was far from perfect. Years of unrest, insecurity, and my parents separating gave me the inkling that this was not what life was about. I was damaged, we as a family were damaged. Through God's grace and infinite mercy He reconciled my parents and I have seen an amazing depiction of how God can truly work in willing hearts and minds. Even so for years I allowed the previous situations and instances to shape what I thought I could correct. Don't get me wrong I have a great relationship with my parents now and I truly have laid to rest all the resentment and anger I had for them personally; but I still was holding on to the idea that I still needed to be fixed, that my life was broken. 

While in a service I heard an evangelist speaking about how we as Christians so often look back and in turn are robbing ourselves of the great and full life our God wants for us. Then it clicked. My resentment toward my husband, my disgruntled attitude toward my Christian walk, and my unrestful spirit stemmed from my inability to forget those things which I and God had forgiven years ago. That's when I realized I wanted to trade God. In Isaiah 61:3 it says, "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified." I wanted that, I wanted God's beauty in my life for the ashes that I was holding onto. Crying out to God I settled that and now I can be as the verse said a tree of righteousness that the Lord planted.

It's so easy sometimes to hold on to that bitterness. Forgiveness is best done when you put it behind you so you no longer can see it. Learning to rely on God for your completeness and joy is an everyday thing. It's a choice. One I am more than happy to make each morning. Now when I look in the mirror in the morning I see God's beauty and not my ashes and let me tell you it's a much better view.

What I have learned... so far

Well it has been officially one year since our family started this Marine Corps journey with Jon and it has been filled with surprises, disappointments, jump up and down moments, and i never want to do that again moments. It's strange to think that a year has already come and gone because honestly I feel no more knowledgeable than I did last September. Does that say I have a slow learning curve... maybe who knows. What I have gleaned from the experience is a wealth of lessons that I now hold very dear to me. I wish I could say I learned them gracefully, but then who am I fooling... I hardly ever learn anything gracefully and certainly not  hard lessons. However, it is nice to know that I can take this new information and apply it later on. Maybe, I won't fail so miserably on the next test....

1. The sound of your husband's voice is irreplaceable. This was something that has been taught to me over and over again. From 3 months of deafening silence while he at boot camp to the days now that I go 12-14 hours without hearing anything at all from him. This makes me cherish the nights that we lay in bed as his deep baritone surrounds me telling the cheesiest of jokes or listening to him drone on about something someone said at work. Just hearing his voice makes all the difference. I wish I could say from the time we got married I thought this way, but I didn't. We were together 5 years before we got married and married 1 year before Jon enlisted. There were days that I rolled my eyes if I had to listen to him talk about sports, or tell a joke that I knew I wouldn't find even remotely as hilarious as he did. I took hearing him and all he wanted to tell me for granted. Those 3 months of boot camp were the most humbling months of my life. I can truthfully say that God used that time to help me see I was taking my husband's presence for granted. Now when he comes home his voice is the first thing I want to hear, no matter what he has to say.
2. God truly can make a feast out of 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. You know that parable about God taking a willing little boy's lunch and multiplying to so much food it could rival an Golden Corral buffet? Well, God did that and so much more for me. When Jon abruptly left for boot camp 5 months early you can say we hadn't saved up as much as we would want to. Now I Jon did write me at boot camp and said he could send money home if need be, but I really didn't want him to have to worry about us or have to undergo some drill instructor scrutiny to do so. Going from 2 incomes to just mine put a little stress on our finances. Being the planner I am I sat down to "calculate" the budget with the saving we did have just to make sure it would work... well it didn't not by a long shot. I remember just praying, God you know what I have and what I don't have so please take what I do have, it's yours anyways, and please make it work for the next 3 months. And you know what.... he did and then some. I even had some savings left when Jon came home. 
3. Your children are more resilient and smarter than you think. All I could think of was Landon as Jon left. He is going to be so sad and how am I going to deal with that? Landon had a great attitude. First of all he was so proud of his daddy and talked about him whenever he got the chance. It made me see that although they were apart he did truly realize why Daddy was gone. I would have never given him that credit on his own. It's great to see your children focus on the greater good and not the situation. We as parents could learn a lot from their example.

We have only just begun this journey and I'm sure there will be other great things to cope with but, the way I see if we're learning we're growing and that's just fine with me.

Friday Letters

  Dear Hubby, Thanks for always remembering to kiss me goodbye in the morning. Since you leave at the crack of dawn it's nice to know that you want me to know you will miss me but you don't wake me up. How sweet are you? Dear Landon, You are getting way too big! When I see you in your school uniform each day I truly can't believe you are in kindergarten. Where did 5 years go? Dear Schoolwork, I really need you to take it easy on me. I mean I know that I am only taking 3 classes but you are really heaping on the assignments! I am not ready for you not one little bit, Oh and 5 page paper due next week... write yourself... please? Dear Lawn Care Guys, You guys are amazing! Since our riding lawn mower died 3 weeks ago the lawn has been left to it's own devices. Rain everyday in Jacksonville... well you've seen the lawn... enough said. Dear Weekend, Please don't go quickly.

Guest Blogging

Hello again! I was a guest blogger over at Bri's spot online, Tiny Texan. Check it out!

Why Building Furniture Can Be Fun...

As I have ranted previously I am redecorating the house. I would have to say that I am not the most knowledgeable about home decor, but I have been looking at a lot of websites and doing my research and it has paid off... at least I think so. With painting and changing the flooring being out I have taken to finding ways to update the rooms with as little impact to the actual house structure as possible. While scouring the internet I found a website that has free plans for furniture to build. I am not the handiest person with a hammer although I do say I am very crafty when I want to be :)! With that being said I persuaded the hubby to undertake this project with me. A new headboard for the guest room. All in all the project was great and lots of fun for me! (seeing as though Jon did most of the heavy lifting) It's all done and I love it. Now I just have to work on layering on the accessories.... Which is kind of hard because this room doubles as my office. I'll figure it out one of these days. But seriously this was not a hard plan to follow at all. We had the lovely person at Lowe's cut all our boards so it was basically just and assembly project. And the best part it only cost around $90. Yay for saving money! You can find the project here. These are pictures of the hubby hard at work. He really was concentrating the whole time...

We actually stained the headboard with a dark walnut stain and used a satin polyurethane because we didn't want it to be shiny. From the before to after I think it looks awesome!

Before with the twin size bed

After with a full size frame

You see you really can change a room on a budget with just a little hard work and lots of planning. I look forward to attempting some other furniture pieces although I have found some great consignment and thrift stores down here with some awesome finds. So I might not have to...

Renting is Interior Design's Red Headed Step Child

We have really settled in and are starting to make this house our home. I have started to watch entirely too much HGTV and have been scouring blogs looking for design inspiration. You want to know what I have learned? Not much! It seems the home design world has forgotten about us renters. How frustrating is it to fall in love with an idea only to be limited by the constraints of your rental agreement. Even though you would love those wood floors there is no way your property manager will allow you rip up the carpet. Oh and that beautiful shade of gray that would look great in your guest bedroom would require approval and for you to purchase an extra gallon of the owners color so that when you vacate said property you can paint it back to that dreary neutral shade that is stock in new builds. I have been looking for ways to spruce up and "design" our house but I'm not going to lie its not easy being the red headed step child of the design world. So without much motivation or inspiration I press on in hopes of uncovering some design ideas that I can incorporate into my "temporarily borrowed" abode. As I finish a room I will pass on the advice. I know many people have got to be in my situation right?

Tuesday Suppers... one day late

Hello all! I really do apologize for not updating my Tuesday Suppers in what seems like forever. I really have no excuse other than I have been a very uninspired blogger as of late, but with a little push from my ever encouraging husband I am back on track. Although I haven't posted a supper in a while it doesn't mean that I lack for inspiration in the kitchen. Being in my own kitchen adds some inspiration in  itself. It's nice to be the one to decide what's for dinner and actually have control over all the ingredients in your kitchen. Although living with my mom while Jon was away was awesome I am enjoying being able to create in my new kitchen. So this week is a meal i actually cooked a few weeks ago that got rave reviews from both Jon and Landon... which is actually really hard to do. Oh and it wasn't even the least bit hard. Here's how I did it...

Smothered Chicken and Roasted Parsley Lemon Potatoes
Serves 4

12 chicken breast tenders
2  medium yellow peppers, sliced in strips, about 1/4" thick
2 medium red onions, sliced in strips, about 1/4" thick
1 package of sliced baby bellas (you can find the carton in the produce section)
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 lbs of baby yukon gold potatoes, halved
2 lemons, zested
3 tbsp parsley, chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup chicken stock
salt
pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp paprika
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400F.
Dry off the potatoes and place on cookie sheet. Add 2 tsp of olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Place in oven for 10 minutes.

Pat chicken breast tenders dry. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in large skillet. Season both sides of the chicken breast tenders with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Cook in pan turning after 5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.

Flip and toss the potatoes in the oven to make sure the brown evenly on each side. Place back in oven for 5 minutes.

Add 1 more tbsp to the same pan you cooked the chicken in and saute the peppers, onions and mushrooms. Once soft season with salt, pepper and 2 cloves of the minced garlic. Saute for another 1 to 2 minutes, be sure not to burn the garlic. Remove from pan.

Add the remaining mined garlic to the potatoes in the oven and toss, replace in oven and roast for 5 minutes then remove. Toss with lemon zest and parsley.

In the chicken pan add the butter and garlic, cook the roux mixture until light brown about 1-2 minutes. With a whisk slowly add the chicken broth, bring to a boil and simmer until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve place 3 chicken breast tenders per plate, top with sauteed onions, pepper and mushrooms, then top all with gravy. Serve alongside the potatoes.

I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did!

Why I Could Learn to Love Jacksonville...

It has been a while... moving, work from home set up, and getting settled has taken a while. When we first moved to Jacksonville I was a little underwhelmed. Okay this wasn't my first trip here, but I was wanted to believe that there is really more here than I saw the first time around... As much as I would like to say there is well it's just not what I am used too... Needless to say I was a little bummed when I started to realize that it was going to take a little more optimism on my part to make this my experience here what I wanted it to be. So I have complied a list of the "Reasons why I could learn to live Jacksonville..." it seems to be growing so I guess that is a good sign right? I am up to 5...
#1 My two favorite people are here. Of course I can't imagine life without my two guys. My husband and Landon Jacksonville that much more interesting.

#2 Sunday sundaes at Sonic. So I am enjoying the Sonic seeing as though I never lived near one. So we have decided to start a tradition of getting sundaes on Sunday after church. Landon is so cute with his sundae.

#3 Nutella from the Commissary. I have become addicted to Nutella. Then my very gracious husband brought me home a 2 pack of huge Nutella jars from the commissary.... I knew there was a reason why I married this man.

#4 The best table side guacamole. We went to this Mexican restaurant called Pancho Villa. We had the most amazing table side made guacamole. And then to top it off the served it with the best tortillas I ever had. Since Jacksonville is lacking a Chipotle I was more than happy to find this place!

#5 The $3.99 BBQ plate at Cookout. This was some great pulled pork. Need I say more?

I guess you could say the town is growing on me which I guess is good because well be here for a while... Last weekend I went back to the DMV (DC, Maryland, VA area) for the wedding I was coordinating and of course to see my new niece.

 Everything went well and it was great to see everyone, even if it was briefly. Although I was sad to leave, I know now that home is wherever we are all together. So for the time being it is Jacksonville, NC... our little adventure.

My new neck of the woods...

Praise the Lord I finally now have internet! Coming from the DC area to Jacksonville, NC has been a real change of pace. I mean I real change of pace... I never thought I would live a house that has a backyard the size of a football field (okay maybe half a football field) and that just beyond my fence would be an honest to goodness corn field! Welcome to North Carolina, or at least my neck of the woods now. We decided to live a little outside of the city because the houses are larger and once we saw the house we definitely had to have it. It's amazing that what we pay for rent for this 3 bedroom house is way less than what we paid for our 2 bedroom cramped apartment back home! Craziness... well I have settled in for the most part. Coming from an apartment means we have quite a bit of dead space to fill in the house, but we are working on it. So far I have finished 3 rooms. The guest room which I have already posted pictures of, the kitchen....

and Landon's/ Guest bathroom...

Now I only have the our bedroom and bathroom, the great room (which is proving to be really hard to fill up the space), and Landon's room. I feel really good at the progress we have made so far. Jon checked in on Monday so he has been gone pretty much all day but we did get a new car! It was something that we have been meaning to get for a while but the move just proved how necessary it truly is. It's good to have two cars because now I don't have to drive him to work everyday. That makes a difference since we are a good 25-30 minutes from base. I'm getting use to everything and getting around. Tomorrow I go to enroll Landon in school so that will be exciting... my little man is all grown up and going to kindergarten. Then it's back to work on Friday... 

We're Here!

So we finally made it to Jacksonville this past Friday! After packing our things virtually by myself and anticipation for the past 4 months it's great for it to be over! I have my husband back on a more permanent daily basis which feels amazing. I keep
thinking when do you go back to Virginia beach and then I remember oh yeah your done! His graduation was great and I couldn't be more proud of Jon. Landon is loving the new house and truth be told I am too. It has so much more room than our apartment and it's nice to have our own space again after staying with my parents. Every room is pretty much under construction but I did manage to get the guest room slash my office together. Which is great because I have to be back online with my job by Friday! I'm just praying the Internet is all set up by then!

Oh what a mess!

Everywhere I look is a mess! Boxes, bags, piles... Chaos. This is what my room looks like. This is what the basement looks like. This is what the garage looks like. No matter how many times I attempt to clean or sort there is seemingly an unmountable amass of stuff that we have somehow accumulated. Since we have been staying with my parents most of our stuff is packed. Of that I am grateful, but even so there is so much to do before we exit the DMV and enter North Carolina. I am ready to just be done with it. Between my graduation, work, planning my sister's shower when I come home I want to just sleep! Jon was able to come home this weekend which was a welcome distraction. Although we got some packing done it was no where near what I thought we would accomplish. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations? Seeing as though my friend Serinia and I only accomplished 3 measly boxes in our "packing" day maybe I'm shooting for the stars. From here on out I just plan to do a little a day. Maybe then I will see the sun rising above the horizon of my mountainous collection of stuff. As one of my new favorite quotes says... "If plan A doesn't work the alphabet has 25 other letters stay cool." Oh and i almost forgot about the wedding I am working on. It's coming along. We were working on centerpiece samples this week. I'm excited how they came out...

Tuesday Suppers

I have finally gotten some normalcy back to my life and schedule. Except for the disarray that is my bedroom and the mounting boxes in the garage everything is pretty much back to normal. Who am I kidding! My life will be anything but normal in the next 4 weeks. We have started looking for a house in Jacksonville so hopefully we'll find something that works for us soon. The process is more than daunting and I am starting to feel a little crazed. What do I know about renting a house 6 hours away?! My Dad has helped us get in order the steps we need to take, but I am still a little apprehensive. With that being said I have been cooking so I can get back into posting some more quick weeknight suppers. This week is Pan Seared Chicken Breast Tenders with Parmesan Garlic Roasted Broccoli and Steamed Brown Rice...

8 chicken breast tenders
2 crowns of fresh broccoli, florets separated from the stem
olive oil
2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt
pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups steamed brown rice

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. On a baking sheet arrange broccoli so it is in a even layer. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper
3. Roast in oven for 15 minutes.
4. Remove the broccoli from the oven and sprinkle with parmesan cheese
5. Heat olive oil to coat the bottom of a medium skillet over medium heat 
6. Season chicken breast tenders on both sides with the garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper
7. Add to skillet and brown on one side without moving for 5 minutes
8. Flip and cook through on the other side, remove from pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes
9. Season the steamed brown rice with the butter, salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Finals, Orders, and New Adventures

I'm so sorry to have neglected this space for so long. So much has happened in 2 weeks. I have finished all my finals and will be graduating in a few weeks. I really thought I would never get here. Of course it was always a goal of mine but when you're elbow deep in textbooks, Legos, and other responsibilities it's easy to get discouraged. So I am just glad this one part is done and I can kind of catch my breath for a moment. So on top of finishing up finals Jon got his orders!!!! So in just a little over a month we will be moving to.... Jacksonville, NC! That's right he will be at Camp Lejeune and we will be starting another new adventure. It's strange how I was anticipating this time when we found out where we were moving to but it actually was quite anticlimactic. Needless to say we are looking forward to tackling this adventure together. We only have about 25 days till he graduates and it can't come soon enough!

Tuesday Suppers

So let me start by saying I am postponing my Tuesday Suppers post. I have been crazy busy with finals and projects I have barely eaten this past week for dinner. When I get home I pretty much have been working on my final projects and papers for school. Seeing as though tonight's dinner consisted of microwave popcorn and raspberry lemonade I think postponing the post would be in everyone's best interest. Ahhh I feel like I'm back in culinary school. Back to the days when a bag of chips was all I saw in the way of food outside the classroom. Yes me and my fellow culinary students ate many a bag of microwave popcorn. What you thought we were whipping up Beef Wellington with whipped potatoes and haircot verts? I'll be the first to tell you we all probably ate just as much if not more junk food as the average college student. Well my books aren't going to study themselves... Or can they? Any suggestions? At least I have one thing to smile and dance about... Just broke the 30s! Happy dance ensue now!

Friday Letters

 

Dear Hubby, Thank you so much for such a great weekend last week... now if only we could do it again this week, sigh. Back to the real world I guess. Just think we only have 43 days until you graduate! This long distance thing is about 7 months too old...

Dear Landon, I know you miss Daddy because I do too! Your understanding about what Daddy does cracks me up. When I asked you what Daddy does the conversation was too funny...

Me: You know Daddy's a Marine right? What does that mean?

Landon: He beats up bad people.

Me: It's a little more complicated than that Landon.

Landon: Nuh uh, and Marines are better than police officers.

Me: No they're not they have different jobs.

Landon: Yes the are because they have bigger guns.

Me: *sigh*

Dear Planner, I really need to open you one week and see a blank page, I mean completely blank. I have been running at the speed of light for the last week and I need a break. Like a big one, okay maybe a little one, please?

Dear Yard Sales in DMV, Please have something I can temporarily use as a TV stand. Since the hubby decided our old bedroom furniture should go and I sold it on Craig's List last week I need something desperately. I don't think my neck can take the strain from looking at the TVon the floor anymore.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

From Richmond With Love

So I am sitting in my room eating a piece of delicious pie... What kind do you ask? Lemon Chess Pie from Richmond, VA. Yesterday I came home from class and was greeted with this wonderful confection that my Uncle Junior in Richmond UPS'ed me. I was elated! Me and this pie have some very fond memories... Ones that include my Great Grandmother that passed away almost 12 years ago. I miss her dearly. She was born in 1912 so she had some pretty awesome stories to tell. She was probably the biggest driving force in me working towards getting my degree. As I am winding down classes and graduation is just on the horizon it seems fitting that I got this slice of her memory and hometown of Richmond. Although I am only one step closer to my ultimate goals (Bachelors in Marketing and eventually my MBA) I know she would be proud. Oh and this pie, it taste just as good as I can remember.

Tuesday Suppers

So this is post #2... before I jump into the recipe for Semi-Homemade Pasta Vodka Sauce with Pan Seared Chicken let me recap the great weekend I had in Virginia Beach. Jon is really busy even at night and on weekends. His school requires a lot of work outside of the classroom so I decided to go down on Saturday. Well that and Northern Virginia traffic is murder on friday evenings! I was going down solo this time so Landon stayed with my mom who he affectionately calls Fifi... long story. Fifi is his favorite person in the world so I was so surprised when he said he wanted to come with me. All the times I have asked him if he wanted to ride down with me to Virginia Beach he has told me no in effort to stay with my mom. I was shocked! It was hard to leave him, but the waterworks lasted only as long as it took my mom to ply him with pancakes. See what I mean... my son sells me out for my mom and pancakes any day. I got down to Virginia Beach in only about 3 hours so I had some time to kill before I could meet Jon. I went the mall and walked around until I decided I better go to Starbucks and start my term paper before I didn't get anything done. I started to fall asleep so I left and read in my car a while where I promptly fell asleep... just as I was going to get out the car and walk around Jon called and I was on my way to get him. It was so good to see him I don't think I stopped smiling for a good 3 hours. After checking in at the hotel we got all dressed up went to this great restaurant in downtown called Sonoma.

I had every intention of taking pictures of the great food...but I was kind of wrapped up in the fact that I was with Jon so I only got one of the dessert which was a blood orange cheesecake, delicious! We always seem to find great restaurants together.

Sunday we went to a church where we have some friends and it was awesome to see them. Since Jon had to be back at base by 3 to get back to his work for school we grabbed some Chipotle and headed over there. I hated to leave him, but we only have 47 days left so time is dwindling. Oh and for the record I don't think Virginia Beach likes me very much because I had snow last time and monsoon downpours this time... go figure!

Semi-Homemade Pasta Vodka Sauce with Pan Seared Chicken

1/2 pound whole wheat penne pasta

1/4 pound of pancetta, diced

1 jar vodka sauce

2 chicken breasts

2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp sugar

olive oil

salt

 pepper

grated parmesean cheese

1. In salted boiling water cook the pasta until al dente (with a little bite)
2. Slice chicken breast lenghtwise to make 4 thinner cutlets, season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides.
3. In a medium sized skillet over medium heat add olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add chicken breast and don't move for 4 minutes or until browned on one side. Flip back and forth until cooked through and skin is brown. Remove from skillet and set aside to rest.
4. In the same skillet saute pancetta and garlic adding olive oil if necessary to prevent sticking. Try hard not to brown the garlic.
5. Add the vodka sauce and sugar, stir to combine, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Toss the pasta with the vodka sauce.
7. Slice chicken breast and place on top of pasta.
8. Top with parmesean cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy!

Running in Flats

Today was a great albeit busy day! It started at 5:15 am with me dragging myself out of my bed. I am so not a morning person, but somehow I manage it each morning. I went downstairs to check on the collard greens I put in the crock pot before bed last night. We had a farewell luncheon for the big boss today so I had to make something. From there I showered and dressed then attempted to rouse my less than enthusiastic son from his deep slumber. A child after my own heart! After I ironed his clothes and dressed him we brushed teeth and hair and flew out the door. I made excellent time and for DC traffic that means it took me 45 minutes... And I dropped Landon off at my friend Serinia's house. I had to make it to work early and school wasn't open yet. As I landed at my desk I worked up until 12 when I had to leave. This is when the day got real interesting. I had to volunteer for a conference for my class downtown. So I hopped on the bus to metro, thankfully my job is metro accessible, and made it to the hotel. It was so much fun to work the conference and great hands on training for hopefully my next job. I greeted the attendees, directed guests, pretty much anything that needed to be done. Phew, I was so tired from running around I was thankful I had chosen my comfy flats to wear today! Then I caught the metro back to the station got on the bus to pick up my car and then hightailed it to Landon's school to pick him up. If only my day ended there... I had to get Landon's hair cut! These are the times I really miss Jon because he always took care of these things... So needless to say I didn't cook. I barely made it through the line at Chick fil-a. So here I am enjoying my lemonade and looking forward the weekend with Jon ... and him studying... and my term paper. Well at least I can see and touch him... Friday can't get here soon enough, Virginia Beach here I come!

Tuesday Suppers

Cooking is something that I love to do. I have very vivid memories of stirring pots of goodness with my grandmother and frying chicken in the kitchen with my mom. Food has always been a part of my life. When I got married it was like embarking on a new food journey via my husband and son's palate. I so enjoyed perusing the endless cookbooks I own creating new and exciting dishes on a whim. Food was my medium of choice, my artistic outlet. As my friends started getting married I started getting a lot of questions like how do you cook every night? How do you come up with new, exciting, but easy weeknight meals. I started to realize that many young wives either A don't like to cook or B lack the energy to create new meals every night. With that being said I decide to take a stab at posting a new weeknight meal on my blog every Tuesday. This way I can keep a catalog of meals that I create (so I can recreate them, I am horrible at writing things down :) and hopefully can share some good ideas with all you!

Tonight's supper recipe is really fun. Jon loves anything Mexican so I often times find myself making tacos and enchiladas of various types. One that I had completely made up on a whim is Roasted Shrimp Enchiladas. They actually came out pretty good. Here's the recipe enjoy!

Roasted Shrimp Enchiladas

1 lb 26-30 count raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1 cup of cooked white rice

2 limes

1/4 bunch of cilantro

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1 8 pack of whole wheat tortillas (or any kind you like)

1 cup of shredded Mexican blend cheese

chili powder

garlic powder

salt

pepper

olive oil

Heat oven to 425F. 

On a baking sheet coat shrimp with 1 tsp of olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp of chili powder, 2 tsp of garlic powder. Toss to coat.

Roast shrimp in oven until pink about 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and toss with the juice from 1/2 lime.

Turn the oven down to 350F.

In a skillet over medium heat saute onions and green peppers in 2 tsp of olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine rice, onions, green peppers, and shrimp. Season with additional garlic powder, salt and chili powder.

In a blender or food processor combine the juice of 1 lime, cilantro, 1 tbsp chili powder, and the can of fire roasted tomatoes with the juice. Pulse until combined and tomatoes/ cilantro are finely chopped.

Spoon 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a shallow baking dish.

Fill the tortillas with the shrimp and rice mixture and roll, Add to the baking dish.

Top the rolled enchiladas with tomato sauce and cover with cheese.

Bake in a 350F oven until cheese is melted.

I served the enchiladas with a green salad dressed with lime juice, honey, and olive oil as well as some corn that I steamed in the microwave (I believe it was the southwest variety of the steam fresh vegetables). Very quick and satisfying, also fun to make. Enjoy!

Counting the Days...

This week I realized that I shouldn't count down days. Being the over obsessed planner that I am I tend to try and make sure I am on top of everything.  So of course I am counting the days until Jon finishes school and we get to be together again. (its 55 days if you were wondering :) But then I started thinking of all the other things that I could be counting down. Like my last day of work, my sister's baby shower that we are having early since I am leaving, the last day of classes, my graduation, the move.... you get the picture right? I was totally overwhelmed since it seems like all of these things are within days of each other! After I stared at my planner for about a good 10 minutes in silence thinking there is no way everything I need to write down will fit in these pages I took a deep breath. Then Jon called. He is so much better at this not knowing and going with the flow stuff. I think that's why our marriage works so well. I freak out and he calms me down. He told me not to worry about all the stuff I was stressing about because I always get it done. I am a very capable wife and mother I told myself.... I can do this whether the Marine Corps gives Jon his orders in 2 weeks when I had expected them or 2 weeks prior to him reporting I can do this. Sigh... see that's why I love my husband. Only he knows that all I should be thinking about counting is the days until we are together again because that's really all that matters. Oh and it helps for me to be able to see him while he does it... I love Face Time!

Friday Letters

Dear Hubby, I miss you so much! Especially when you call me on what I should be doing...like paying attention in class. Oh and just to let you know I will be sending your surprise very soon!

Dear DC area weather, Would you please pick what you want to be like? I'm really sick of bundling Landon and me up in the morning only to realize when I leave work all my hard work was unneccessary because you have warmed up to normal temperatures...

Dear Landon, Thank you for being mommy's trooper and running errands with me. A small request though? Can you not fall asleep on the way home because there is no possible way I have learned how to carry you and all the purchases in the trunk in one trip!

Dear Sewing Machine, Sorry for threatening to return you to your previous owner yesterday. I really do love you... I was just a little frustrated with you, but have I  gotten over it especially when you helped me make this ipad case for my hubby.

Hope you all have a great weekend!