My Frugal Chicken

With Hubby in grad school, we try to keep a pretty strict budget. Part of my "job" is to stretch our grocery budget as far as possible. Some weeks, I fail miserably at that. Sometimes, I hit the jackpot with frugality. This is one of those jackpot times and I just have to share!!

Chicken is one of our favorite protein sources, but I have to confess that I hate to eat chicken that is still on the bone. I have been somewhat of a chicken snob in that I use a lot of boneless skinless chicken breasts in my cooking. But you can't make broth and it's way more expensive.

Last week, I bought a whole chicken on sale. It was around $5. On Wednesday morning, I plopped the bird in my 6 qt. crockpot with about 4 cups of water, some Lawry's seasoning salt, and a few bay leaves. I cooked it on low for about 8 hours. It made some good broth, and the chicken was fall-off-the-bones tender.

That night for dinner we ate the chicken with sides of homemade macaroni and cheese and steamed broccoli. That's meal #1.

Meal #2 was Thursday. I had leftover spaghetti and spaghetti sauce, and I remember reading recently on The Southern Plate how Christy made Spaghetti Lover's Soup. I decided to try it, using what I had on hand, and adding a cup of shredded chicken and a cup of broth, since I had meatless sauce. (And of course, I omitted the beans and added extra carrots and leftovers peas.) It was scrump-dilly-icious!

Then Hubby had a leftovers lunch of mac n cheese and chicken. (I'll count that as only half a meal.)

For Meal #3, I made Creamed Chicken over biscuits.

With 3.5 meals and plenty of leftovers out of a $5 chicken, I'm pretty darn proud of my frugal chicken. Granted, this is for a family of three. But I know that you could easily stretch a whole chicken into two meals for a family of four.

For more recipes and kitchen tips, please visit Lisa at Blessed with Grace for Tempt My Tummy Tuesday. And don't forget to be Blissfully Domestic too!

More of Him Monday

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If you have a More of Him post to share, please share the link to your post in the comments. Please link back here so that others can be encouraged and inspired as God shows us More of Him.

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(Preface: I hesitate to blog more about my cat, as I don't want these stories to hinder my search for a new home for her. She's a great cat really. Just a little too high maintenance for this older Momma with a toddler.)

Alternate title: I actually learned something from the annoying Siamese

This morning at 5 am, I learned an important spiritual lesson thanks to my Siamese cat, Ruthie. Her world revolves around her stomach, and unfortunately she is not like most cats, in that I cannot keep a bowl of food available to her at all times. If I do, she'll gobble the whole thing in one sitting and then proceed to throw up. Even feeding her 1/8 cup of food at a time can still result in a revisitation of her meal. (See Friday's post.) So we feed her at regular intervals during the day, including first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

However, Ruthie's idea of "first thing in the morning" differs from ours. She would love to get breakfast at 5 am or even earlier. She learned that she can stick her paw under our bedroom and rattle the door to wake us up in order to have her breakfast served on her time schedule. We finally got smart last year and have started putting the baby gate up in the hallway so that she cannot get to our door. The baby gate is at the end of the hall, and with a fan running for white noise, her Siamese meowling torture doesn't usually wake us.

A few times however, she has figured out how to get around the gate. One of them was this morning. Around 5 am, I was very rudely awakened by her shaking our door. I knew I had to get up or the banging would continue and would eventually wake the neighborhood.

I tried to slip out of bed to take care of Ruthie's needs, but Ladybug had awoken also and didn't want me to leave the bed without her. So I had to wake Hubby so that he could keep LB in bed. It took me all of three minutes to take care of Ruthie's breakfast, and I quietly slipped back into the bedroom and snuggled up to LB to get a few more winks.

As I lay there trying to fall back asleep, the spiritual lesson hit me. The baby gate had been set too high, and Ruthie had been able to slip under it to give me my wake up call. Sin is like that. If our spiritual gates, our armor if you will, are not set properly, sin will get through.

We may not notice it at first. A little desensitization to sin, then more sin can make its way into our hearts.

We need to be vigilant in our spiritual lives to make sure that our gates are in the proper position and in good working order. Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the "whole armor of God." Not just the pieces that are comfortable or that are fashionable, but the WHOLE armor. The whole armor of God is vital to staying protected from our enemy, the devil. We need God's truth and righteousness. We need God's peace. We need faith and the salvation that comes from knowing the Word of God. We need it all in order to withstand our enemy's attacks.

What is the condition of your spiritual gate this morning? Does it need repair? Has sin been finding a way through the gate and infiltrating your life?

I encourage you to put on the full armor of God today and every day. Rely on the resources that God has give you to withstand the attacks of the enemy in your life.

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. ¹² For we^c]">[c] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. ¹⁶ In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. ¹⁷ Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:10-11

Nothing Like a Little Cat Vomit in the Morning

I couldn't possibly make this up.

This morning, Ladybug decided to wake up at 5am, and I spent the next 45 minutes telling her to lay down and be quiet. We now have room darkening curtains, so the lights outside were not an issue. She just decided it was time to wake up. Hubby fell asleep studying in the guest room, so it was just Ladybug and me in the bed.

Finally, at 5:45 she couldn't stay in bed anymore and climbed out. While I am a morning person, my aging body does not spring out of bed, no matter what the time. So I slowly sat up, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and made my way to the bathroom.

Priority #1 in the morning is emptying my bladder. Priority #2 is feeding the Siamese, or the Siamese meowling torture will commence. And trust me, it is MUCH worse than Chinese water torture. Much worse.

After Ladybug had her morning milk-milk, I go back toward the bathroom to start getting cleaned up. As I am brushing my teeth, Ladybug sat down in the hallway. Oh good, I thought, a moment of quiet. Between LB bouncing around since 5:00 and the Siamese, it had been a noisy morning already and it was only 6:15.

I step out of the bathroom to find the reason that Ladybug was being quiet - cat vomit on the floor and she was playing with it! (No, I am NOT making this up!) I said a very unkind word about the cat, scooped LB up and put her in the pack-n-play. I grabbed baby wipes to clean up her hands and checked to make sure she hadn't put any in her mouth. Then I not so calmly clean up the cat vomit.

In the meantime, my ranting woke up Hubby so he emerges to see what's going on. In addition to all of this going on, I didn't sleep well due to a sore neck and shoulder, which usually signals the onset of a migraine. While LB was still in her pack-n-play, Hubby rubbed my shoulder (more like dug into it, but it was good). Oh yeah, before we sat down, I went on a cat hunt, found her, and threw her out the front door. She's an indoor-only cat. I was fed up, obviously.

So as Hubby was rubbing my shoulder, we talked. I realized there was a silver lining. At least it was chunky cat vomit and not slimy, been-in-the-stomach-for-a-while cat vomit.

I am serious, I could not even begin to make this up. That is how my morning started. How are you doing today?

To Swing or Not To Swing

As the weather warms here in South Carolina, I am looking for more outside activities to do with Ladybug. I know there are few parks around, but I hate the thought of driving somewhere just to play for an hour.

We live in a typical suburban-type subdivision, on a 1/3-acre lot. A smallish backyard with trees, but enough space to put a swing set if we want. I'm curious to know how many of my readers have backyard swing sets/slides/etc. If you do have one, what pieces of the set are "essential," i.e. your child LOVES the swing, the slide, etc?

If you don't have a backyard set, how often do you take your kid(s) to a playground?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!! Thanks!!!

WW - My Helper

Ladybug (almost 22 months!) is becoming a real helper to me. In the kitchen, she has a small stool to step up on so that she can be at counter level. She likes to stand there to have a snack or help me with unloading groceries. Or even play with her toys while I'm making breakfast.
(Don't you just love the hat and her look in the 2nd one?!?)

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More of Him Monday - My Journal

Welcome to More of Him Monday! This is a weekly carnival in which we can share encouragement with fellow Christian bloggers. Please read here for participation guidelines.

If you have a More of Him post to share, please share the link to your post in the comments. Please link back here so that others can be encouraged and inspired as God shows us More of Him.

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Long, long ago, before Ladybug came along, I was a regular journaler. I have many handwritten journals that document my spiritual journey. I would rewrite Scripture verses that were speaking to me, thoughts from a devotional book I was reading, and even my prayers to God. I love reading through my journals to be reminded of what God has done in my life.

Unfortunately, I have not regained my habit of daily quiet time since Ladybug's arrival in our family. As a brand new mommy, my excuse was exhaustion (of course). Then as she became more active, I would much rather be down on the floor with her, reading books, reveling in her discovery of the world. Now that she is a very busy toddler, I still cannot find a daily time for devotions.

But I am learning to find small pockets of time in which I can journal. I keep a pocket size New Testament/Psalms/Proverbs in my tote bag. (I hesitate to call it a purse or a diaper bag; it is somewhere in between.) I also carry a brand new journal. When I have five minutes here or there, I grab the New Testament and read. Then as God speaks to me through His Word, I can write those verses in my journal.

I am approaching my journal-keeping differently than before. I am primarily using my journal to help me memorize Scripture. Once I write verses in my journal, I can read and re-read these verses during other small pockets of time.

I had been sort of beating myself up for not being able to find the 30-60 minutes of time for devotions, and for not being able to keep a journal. But I decided to give myself a break and work with the schedule that I have now. I know that my days won't always be consumed with caring for a 3-foot tall person who is exploring the world around her.

I also know how vitally important my connection to God is, and that that connection comes especially from the time that I spend in His Word. So I'm taking the time that I have to immerse myself in Scripture, and so far, it's working well.

Do you keep a spiritual journal? What has worked for you in making journal-keeping a part of your spiritual journey? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Neighborhood Watch

We live in a development of over 400 homes. We have a POA (Property Owner's Association) and a POA board of directors. We have a clubhouse, pool, and tennis courts. And we have a Neighborhood Watch.

Usually when I think about community service, I think about what I do through my church that serves the community. I've never really been one to be involved in civic organizations. My church involvement has kept me very busy, thankyouverymuch!

In the most recent newsletter, the chief Neighborhood Watch dude (for lack of a better title) said that if more people don't step up and volunteer, the NW will go the way of the dodo (my new favorite phrase). But I had actually been thinking about volunteering before that newsletter came.

Other than simply because it is community service and I feel that we all need to be service to our communities somehow, there are a couple other reasons why I feel I should volunteer. First, it would be a way to pray for my neighbors (all 400+ of them!). As I would be driving past each and every house, I would have the opportunity to pray as I drove by.

Second, it would also be a way to meet more neighbors. Frankly, that's been one of my frustrations since living here. I do not know any of my neighbors. I know them well enough to wave and maybe say hello when I'm out walking. But I don't know the names of any of my neighbors, other than what I read on their mailboxes. Where I grew up, we knew all of our neighbors and would even call them when we needed an egg or a cup of sugar. I hate not knowing my neighbors. (I've even thought of organizing a block party, but that's a whole other post!)

If I volunteer, I would have free training, and I would be able to pick the times that I "patrol." I'm sure I would be able to have Ladybug in the car with me, as the job would be to show presence and not necessarily confront.

What do y'all think? Have you ever been a part of a Neighborhood Watch? Should I step up and volunteer and help keep our community a safer place?

Professor Gifted Knight

I saw this over at Alli's blog - love it! I'm a superhero! Click here to become your own superhero. You choose your look, etc, and it generates a name for you. This was fun - let me know if you try it!

WW - Me and the Animals

Last week as I was preparing dinner, Ladybug (21 months) was playing and things got a little quiet. Parents, you know what that usually means - trouble. But I was pleasantly surprised when I turned around to find that Ladybug had crawled up on one of the chairs and was playing with her Little People animals on the table. She was so cute! Of course, I had to stop what I was doing to grab the camera and get a few shots.

You can see the remnants of a bruise on her left cheek. Please do not think that I beat my child. She was playing on a chair, stood up and wouldn't sit down, and tipped the chair over. She had a big cry but recovered quickly from her mishap.

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More of Him Monday

Welcome to More of Him Monday! This is a weekly carnival in which we can share encouragement with fellow Christian bloggers. Please read here for participation guidelines.

If you have a More of Him post to share, please share the link to your post in the comments. Please link back here so that others can be encouraged and inspired as God shows us More of Him.

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What do you do with painful memories?

As I was putting Ladybug to bed last night, memories of a very painful time in my life flooded my mind. It was unexpected, and events that I thought had been long forgotten played themselves out in my mind's eye. I wanted to chase those painful memories away, but God showed me an important truth.

His timing is perfect. Always.

Without going into any of the gory details, I went through a very painful time about seven years ago, just as I had met the man I now call my husband. Hurtful, hateful things were said to and about me. Thankfully, I had the promise of a future with a man that I loved that helped me walk away from that experience. While I know that God used that time to point me in a different direction, the emotional wounds are deep.

Back to God's perfect timing. As I was remembering this time from seven years ago, my mind jumped to four years prior. A door was temporarily shut because I had missed a deadline. I was angry, I begged and pleaded with the powers that be to allow me jump in two months late. To no avail. I had to wait ten months before the opportunity would come around again. That opportunity would put me on a three year track for what I thought at the time was my career goal.

But had I started that process when I wanted to, the painful time would have come a year too early, a year before Hubby was in my life. It would have been even more devastating to have those doors slammed in my face with absolutely no options. Because I missed that deadline eleven years ago, the painful experience of seven years ago gave me new direction rather than crushing me.

A lot of that may not make sense, but the details from that time are just too confusing to someone who didn't walk through it with me. Through it all, I never doubted that God had a plan for the pain. I am so thankful for God's perfect timing that not only allowed me to go through such a life changing experience, but also that His timing showed me the new doors that He was opening for me.

A saying that I learned a long time ago is this: Faith is knowing that God is the Lord of time, even when my idea of timing doesn't agree with His. I can't say that I always understand God's timing. But I will say that I am thankful that He allows me to see in hindsight how perfect His timing really is.

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Your turn. Where have you seen More of Him in your life?

Grilling Goodnes

1. Did you learn anything new this week? I learned that the Carolina pines have started to produce pollen, because now that I am over my cold, my spring allergies have started up!

2. Will you wear green on St. Patty's Day or do you not give a hoot?? If I wear green on the 17th, it is totally accidental. Sorry, I really don't give a hoot.

3. Do you wash clothes throughout the week or only on a specific day? No specific laundry day. I do try to do a load or two during the week and the rest on the weekend. Laundry is the bane of my existence.

4. What is one of the most popular 'spams' you get in your junk email inbox? "I found you a job!" Who said I was looking?

5. Are you where you want to be? (you decide the meaning of the question for your answer) I am a firm believer that there is ALWAYS room for growth, spiritually, mentally, emotionally. So no, I am not where I want to be. Spiritually, my goal is to be like Jesus Christ, and trust me, I know that I have not arrived yet!

6. Do you know how to swim? Yes, although I hate putting my face in water because of my contacts.

7. Do you take trips with your girlfriends? I was going to say no to this question. But I do take business trips with my girlfriends who are in the same business. We have a blast together! I haven't gone on any overnight trips since Ladybug was born, and I am looking forward to going again. I just don't feel that Ladybug and I are ready to be away from each other overnight. (Every parent/child is different.)

8. What was your favorite purchase this week? (big or small) The only thing I have bought this week is groceries! But I am a fan of eating, so I'm not going to complain about that!

For my regular readers who do not participate in Grilling Goodness, I'd love to learn more about you too! Please pick one question and answer it in the comments!!

For more Grilling Goodness, don't forget to visit Tina at Golden Goodness.

WW - Ready for My Close Up

Ladybug (21 months) has not learned how to strike a pose for the camera yet. Instead, she loves to get up-close and personal anytime we try to take pictures. Makes for some interesting shots, let me tell ya! Here are a few that turned out good, mainly because my knees kept her from getting too close!

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Administrative Note: I am going to cut back to posting four times a week because my schedule is a little too hectic right now. My business is keeping me busy, in addition to taking care of my family and church responsibilities. It's a good busy, but it keeps me away from the computer. Just wanted you to know so you didn't worry about me!

More of Him Monday - Dealing with Disappointment

Welcome to More of Him Monday! This is a weekly carnival in which we can share encouragement with fellow Christian bloggers. Please read here for participation guidelines.

If you have a More of Him post to share, please share the link to your post in the comments. Please link back here so that others can be encouraged and inspired as God shows us More of Him.

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Thank you for the comments and encouragement on last week's post on disappointment. I know it all comes down to the fact that I expect certain behavior from those who call themselves "Christian." It's about expectations.

But I realize that there is only One who will ever meet my expectations all the time. And that is God. He is the One to whom I need to turn when I am feeling disappointed by the people around me.

The Book of Common Prayer has a wonderful prayer that is helping me move beyond my disappointment.

"Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that You have done for us.... We thank You also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on You alone."

While people, even Christians, will continue to disappoint me, God never will. When I try to lean on the strength of other humans, they will fail me. But the blessing in the failures, even my own failures, is that I learn to depend more on God. I am learning to lean on Him more.

So I am thankful for the disappointments, the failure, the hurt feelings, because they cause me to remember that there is only One on whom I can rely and depend.

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Your turn. Where have you seen More of Him in your life?

Dealing With Disappointment

Y'all. I'm disappointed. I really try not to have high expectations of other people, but I do have higher expectations of people who call themselves "Christian." I guess I shouldn't, because of the whole sinful nature thing.

People are always going to be disappointing; they'll never live up to the standards that I think they should strive for. Except for the grace of Christ. See, I really do believe that most of the time, most Christians can behave better when they are striving to live in Christ. And it disappoints me when they don't, because to me, it means they are not striving to live in Christ.

Do you not know that grace means that you are free to live life abundantly in Christ? You no longer need legalism or religiosity to find a place in God's family. Now, as Paul says in Romans, we are not free to continue to sin. Our goal as Christians is to become more like Christ. Just like anything else worth attaining, reaching that goal requires work and discipline. And I know that sometimes it's easy to get side-tracked in our journey toward Christ-likeness.

But, c'mon people! Let go of the legalism!! We are not bound to a list of rules and certain behaviors. I don't have to wash my hands a certain way before coming to the Lord's table on Sunday. I do not have to say my prayers a particular way or with special words or gestures.

What God desires is a heart that seeks Him! It's about the heart, folks. And you don't know my heart, so you cannot judge by my action whether I am seeking Christ or not. (Hopefully, you see the fruit of the Holy Spirit in my life as I seek after God.) But I also don't know your heart.

However, when I see other Christians acting legalistic, I get disappointed, because their actions tell me that they don't "get" what being a Christian is all about. Life is Christ is about grace, not legalism.

I know I'll continue to be disappointed in people. And I know that I will also disappoint other people. I just had to get this off my chest today.

WW - Spring

Well, it doesn't FEEL like spring this morning! But the forecast is calling for a high temp of 70 on Saturday, so I am not going to complain today.

I took these pictures last Wednesday, when Ladybug and I went for a walk. I love spring flowers, I love the sunshine, and I love being able to get outside!

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Tiny Talk Tuesday

Ladybug (21 months) is having a language explosion! So many new words, I'm not sure if I can keep up with her. And the way that she is using signed and spoken words together to get her meaning across is amazing!

New word this week (and I'm sure I'm leaving some out): cookie, go, car, bean, broccoli (sound like "bra"), baa (for sheep), leg, three, four, nine, bus, frog, pig.

And the MOST exciting, at least to me, is that she said, "Mummum" for the first time this weekend!!!! She has been signing MOMMY for a while, and of course she has been saying "Dada," but to hear her say "Mummum" made my heart melt!!

Ladybug is also letting her desires be known in so many ways. When she doesn't want something, she'll say "no" in the nicest way. Really, she sounds so polite! She also likes to sign and say "again" when she wants more of something. (She has moved on from signing and saying "more.")

She is amazing, and I am so blessed to be her Mummum!

For more Tiny Talk Tuesday, please visit Mary at Not Before 7.

The Lazarus Project

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus can be found in Luke 16:19-31. This is not the same Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead. This is a parable that Jesus told to the Pharisees to expose their religiosity for the fraud that it was.

This story is about the need to have compassion for the poor, whether it is convenient or not. And this week, our church has been challenged to participate in the Lazarus Project, to better help us identify with the poor.

Let's face it. Americans are RICH when compared to the rest of the world. Even low income Americans have more than the poor in countries like Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world. Our challenge this week is to eat in a way that helps us to identify with the poor. A very common meal in poorer countries is beans and rice.

A few weeks ago, I ask my tweeps (Twitter peeps) for their favorite inexpensive way to fix beans and rice. I received some good responses, and all this week, I'll be posting some of those recipes on my recipe blog.

We are not fans of beans in our house. For one, the unfortunate side effect that they cause. And also because the high sulfur content in a lot of beans can trigger migraines for me. Hence my reason for not being familiar with ways to prepare beans and rice. We won't be fixing many of those recipes this week, but I wanted to share the recipes anyway. I also put together a small collection of recipes to share with our church in case anyone else needed meal ideas during this week.

In addition to the spiritual discipline of denying ourselves the modern American meals for the week, another goal of the Lazarus Project is to collect money to help a nutrition program in Haiti. All of the money that we save during the week by not eating lavish meals will be collected during next Sunday's worship services.

I am very excited to see what this week holds. A lot of Christians observe the practice of giving up something for Lent. The reason for that is to sacrifice something dear to us so that we can better identify with the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us. And even though our Lazarus Project is only for one week during Lent, I am looking forward to seeing what lessons God has for me this week.

Do you observe the practice of giving up something for Lent? If so, what have you sacrificed this year?