Faith, Food and Family

Do you suffer from CHAOS like me? That's Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome, by the way for those of you not familiar with the Flylady . I have the book Sink Reflections and can't recommend it enough for those who struggle in this area. For me, the desire to be clutter free has always been there. I just hold on to too many things for way too long. I used to keep every single piece of clothing that my little girl wore. EVERYTHING. I finally started to really go through it and decided what to keep and sell/donate within the last 3 or so years. It was hard for me because I held an emotional attachment to those things, like many of my other things. It has been a process for me throughout the last 3 years or so that I would occasionally go through and purge items. It was something I didn't do all at once. I have been watching those shows lately, like Hoarders, on tv. I realize I have some of those tendencies. Not to keep everything little thing, but that emotional attachment ...

Hi everyone! I'm sorry it's been a bit since I've blogged anything. It's been a very different few weeks. The kids were out of school (alot) for snow. Now we're moving. You probably won't hear much from me this month. However, I am so excited to get back to blogging. And hopefully that things will settle down and get back to normal. So please bear with me and more yummy recipes will be coming! Thank you all! God bless, Amanda

This dip is extremely good and addictive! A friend of mine from MOPS has brought it twice to a Mom's Night Out and it disappears! So easy and so good! I highly recommend you make this soon! I made it the other night and served it with Triscuits (fire roasted tomato flavor). So yummy! Jalapeno Chicken Dip 2 8oz packages of cream cheese 1 can of cream of chicken soup 2 cups of cooked diced chicken (could use canned) shredded cheese (I used mexican style) jalapeno slices (jarred) In a sauce pot over medium heat, combine cream cheese and soup until creamy. Then add chicken and heat through. In a baking dish (I used an 8x8 dish), pour cream cheese mixture in and top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is nice and melted. Then remove from oven and top with sliced jalapeno peppers. Serve with crackers and/or chips and enjoy! I'm all for making things healthier and lower in fat. So I used reduced fat cream cheese and healthy request cream of chicken soup with fantastic result...

I made this last Thursday for our Thursday morning coffee group. I really like this recipe. The cooked sugar mixture is so yummy! I think you could even do it in a square or rectangle pan and get that yummy sugar mixture on each piece. Monkey Bread 2 cans Grands biscuits 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup cinnamon 1 stick butter 1 cup brown sugar Cut each biscuit in fourths and shake in bag with sugar/cinnamon mixture (save mixture for future use). Arrange in bundt pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Melt butter and mix in brown sugar, bring to a boil and lower heat, cook approximately 2 minutes. Pour over biscuits, lifting edges and allowing mixture to reach bottom of pan. Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Happy eating! This is being shared at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday . Go check it out for more great recipes!

This is a very yummy rice recipe. I served it with burritos and it was a delicious addition! I found this recipe on Allrecipes . I love finding recipes on that site. You always can read through the reviews and see what people thought and what they changed. Mexican Rice 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice 1 teaspoon garlic salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup tomato sauce 2 cups chicken broth Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin. Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Happy eating!

The kids went back to school last week, on Tuesday to be exact. I had planned to get to the store last week and make some new things to post on my blog. Well, unfortunately snow changed my plans. I did not leave my house after Wednesday of last week due to the weather. I won't drive in anything like snow or ice. And we had both. I did get out yesterday and went to Food Lion. They had some good deals. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get everything I needed and had planned to go back out today. Only now I am hearing there is lots of black ice out after some precipitation last night/early morning. I'm ready for it to thaw out! The kids have now been out of school due to weather since Thursday. I honestly don't see them going back tomorrow either. I do love having them home. I just haven't enjoyed being stuck in the house. Not for this long anyway. It's supposed to get warmer on Thursday. I am ready for it! Bring on the warmer temps!

I'm sorry I don't have a finished picture of this. The kids devoured it before I took a picture. I will make it again soon and take a picture of it but for now I am showing the ingredients. This is an extremely yummy and addictive dip. I like to serve it with Ritz type crackers. Townhouse, generic brand, anything like that will do. It's so easy to make! Heavenly Ham Dip 8oz cream cheese (I usually use the low fat one) 1 5oz can of ham 1-2 tbsp dijon mustard (this is to taste, you might want more and you can use reg instead of dijon if you like) Place all ingredients in a bowl and combine well with a fork. Enjoy! Happy Eating! This is being shared at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday .