Blessed with Grace

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday….Chicken Salad for a Tea Party

2012-05-15T01:32:36Z

Tomorrow is our MOPS Annual Tea. As hostess of our MOPS program, I am making sure everything will be perfect for our mothers. I am excited about this menu and cannot wait for tomorrow morning to arrive. Thankfully the other members of our steering team are helping prepare the food. So, with all the help it is sure to be great.

We are serving cucumber sandwiches, individual fruit pizzas, chicken salad served on crescents, blueberry scones, yogurt served with fresh fruit, and finally oreo truffles. I will have water, coffee, lemonade, and raspberry tea available. What do you think? Don’t you wish you were a mother of preschoolers (MOPS) mom?

Today I want to share my favorite recipe for chicken salad, which I am requested to bring each year for the Tea. I have shared this in the past, but it has been a few years. So, I thought I would share it again. I just stepped out of the kitchen after making the chicken salad and had a hard time not eating it!

The Ingredients to add with Chicken

Combine chicken with celery, almonds, bacon, and grapes.

Mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, and salt will be added to the dry ingredients.

Chicken Salad with Bacon and Almonds

4 cups cooked, cubed chicken
2 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
4 to 5 slices of bacon crisply cooked and crumbled
1 cup seedless purple or green grapes, sliced in halves
1 cup mayo ( I use Kraft olive oil mayo)
1 cup sour cream ( I use light sour cream)
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Combine chicken, celery, almonds, grapes and bacon.
In another container, combine mayo, sour cream, salt, and lemon juice.
Toss chicken mixture with the dressing and chill thoroughly before serving.

I hope you enjoy this chicken salad recipe. It truly is awesome and I know you will enjoy it.

If you are looking for other salad recipes then Come join The Salad Social at TidyMom sponsored by The International Olive Council’s Add Some Life. There are many great salad recipe being shared all week. There is also a great giveaway! Don’t miss out!

Don’t forget to visit Blessed With Grace Facebook page for even more recipes and fun. Sign up for a free subscription to Blessed With Grace by email and you won’t miss anything!

Tempt My Tummy {Spotlight}

2012-05-13T01:20:05Z

My big blue sky.

Happy Saturday. It is a truly gorgeous day in St. Louis. My husband and daughter have been outside all day. When I wasn’t running errands or getting my Mother’s Day pedicure, I joined them. I love days like these. It is so pretty, I had to take a picture of our pretty Midwest blue sky. I hope you like it.

A relaxing laid back day, such as this, is the perfect time to look back at our TMTT link up and bookmark the recipes I will have to try soon.

I hope you have had a chance to visit many of the recipes. If you have not, let me share with you a few that caught my eye. First, if you did not see my Iced Lemon Pound Cake, you don’t want to miss it! This cake is super moist and beyond lemony good. I cannot wait to make it again. Soon!

Ellen at A Season for All Things, shares a new variation on Chicken and Rice Casserole. I always love finding new versions of this family classic.
I am a Texas girl, through and through, even though I now live in the Midwest. And, this Texas girl LOVES Mexican food. Mrs. Happy Homemaker share many great Cinco De Mayo recipes. She ALSO shared an incredible recipe for Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes! You don’t want to miss these!
The Nourishing Home share a recipe for fluffy almond flour pancakes. Looks like a great way to start your morning.
Looking to get more for less? Frugal Follies shares Cheap Chicken Cacciatore.
I LOVE banana bread. If you do too, you will enjoy trying this variation with Recipe Addict’s Hawaiian Pineapple Banana bread. Yum!

I hope you enjoy checking out the spotlighted recipes from this weeks link up. Now I am hungry and thinking about the overly ripe bananas in the kitchen. I may be trying out Recipe Addicts bread much sooner than later.

What are you craving right now?

Don’t forget to visit Blessed With Grace Facebook page for even more recipes and fun. Also, be sure to sign up for a free subscription to Blessed With Grace by email and you won’t miss anything!

An adoption story…

2012-05-11T14:57:22Z

Today I want to introduce you to my friends Eric and Darci. Eric is our youth pastor and I consider Darci a dear friend. They have two children of pre-school age whom my Grace plays with on a frequent basis. Eric and Darci have felt the Lord lead them to expand their family and directed them to Haiti and Operation Love the Children of Haiti. My friends are currently in the process of adopting two precious children. (Aren’t all children precious?) I would love to share their story and encourage you to visit their website- Doubling our Blessings. Eric and Darci are raising money to aid in their adoptions. As many of you know this can be a very expensive journey.

Here is Eric and Darci’s story in their own words:

Our Adoption Story

Eric and I had talked about adopting since before we got married. It was always something that we knew that we wanted to do. About three and a half years ago, we felt like God was calling us to adopt from Haiti. We already had one child (Jeremiah) and I was pregnant with our second (Kaylie). We were not sure what the exact timing would be and how it would all work out, but we knew that it was what God was calling us to do.

In January of 2011, I went to sign up for an adoption/orphan ministry conference in our area. As I read through the list of speakers, I read about one woman that was adopting two children from Haiti. I was able to get in contact with her and hear about the orphanage that she was adopting from. She gave me their website, and Eric and I checked it out. We loved what we saw. We applied and were approved to adopt from Operation Love the Children of Haiti.

The day after we received our approval, the orphanage director sent us pictures of the children that were waiting for forever families. There were two children that caught our eye, even though Eric and I looked through the pictures separately. Eric and I prayed about it, and decided to pursue adopting Eveline and Rolvensky. We were drawn to their broad smiles and the descriptions of their fun personalities. We knew that these were the children that God was bringing into our family.

We worked hard to gather all of the necessary paperwork as quickly as we could. We traveled to Haiti in June of 2011 to submit our dossier and to meet our precious children. Since that time, we have waited and prayed. Our paperwork is still working its way through the appropriate channels of the Haitian government before our adoption is finalized. We are praying that it will move quickly and be finalized soon!

It has been a long, difficult road. I think that it has been more difficult than I imagined. And I know that we are only at the beginning! However, we are confident that we are pursuing what God has called us to, so we would not change a thing. Please join us in praying that Joshua Rolvensky and Amanda Eveline will officially be part of our family soon!

I hope you will take the time to visit their site, Doubling our Blessings. If God is calling you to donate, that would be awesome. But, more important, please pray for them during this time as they wait for their children to come home to them. Thanks.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27 (NIV)

Are we really thinking about getting a puppy?

2012-05-10T03:27:02Z

I can’t believe we are talking about it. Hubby has refused to even humor such discussions for so long. Every time Gracie brings up the subject of getting a puppy – WHICH IS EVERYDAY – my hubby will remind her we are not getting a dog. End of subject….. Until recently. Well, she still thinks we are not getting a dog, but hubby and I have started researching breeds and talking about what type of dog would be best for us. Grace turns 5 soon. Maybe a puppy will be her surprise gift.

My daughter and I are both allergic to many things- including dogs. And, she is asthmatic. However, there are dog breeds which are considered “hypoallergenic“. So, we are looking at a list of these types of dogs. I am blessed to have some special ladies in my life who are dog trainers and groomers. NICE! I consider them experts. They deal with all types of breeds everyday. I am thankful for their insight. These ladies have been giving me some great advice regarding temperament, personalities, upkeep, etc. for certain breeds.
Here are a few of the breeds we are considering:

Havanese

Maltese

Bichon Frise

Cavachon

Schnoodle

Aren’t they all just so cute? How will be decide?

Do you want to know more about the hypoallergenic breeds? GO HERE for a thorough listing at www.dogbreedsinfo.com.

Now, do we buy a puppy from a breeder? Do we find a dog to adopt from a rescue shelter? So many ways to go. I will definitely let you know what we decide. Until then, I would LOVE to hear from you. Is your family a dog family? Or, are you cat people? Is a fish the only pet ever allowed in your home? Does the family dog sleep with the children?

I am curious. Tell me about your family’s pet and how you chose it.

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday…Iced Lemon Pound Cake

2012-05-08T00:47:39Z

Happy Tuesday! I love link up day and all the great recipes you share, each week!

Today I am sharing a recipe I originally found via Pinterest. Awe, Pinterest. Do you love it as much as I do? I pinned the iced lemon pound cake recipe to my Tempting Sweets board and knew I would be coming back to make it soon.

On Friday night I helped organize a “BYOC Night” (bring your own craft) at our church for the ladies. It was fun. Women brought their craft projects and we provide the food and refreshment. Ladies could sit and visit while scrap-booking, make wreaths, crochet, and even one friend was quilling (the art of curling paper). Her work was beautiful! It was fun night.

For the event, I baked the super easy iced lemon pound cake. All you have to do is dump all the ingredients into your bowl and begin mixing. EASY! The recipe originates from Picky Palate’s blog and HERE is her recipe. It was super so simple and I received MANY compliments throughout the night. If you love lemon, you must bake this cake.

Iced Lemon Pound Cake

1 box yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Signature Yellow Cake Mix.)
4.3 ounce cook and serve Lemon pudding mix (You can use instant pudding, as well.)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk (I used skim.)
8 ounces sour cream (I used non fat)
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Icing

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 2 loaf pans generously with cooking spray (PAM Baking spray).

2. Place all cake ingredients in no particular order into stand mixer, beating until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Divide cake batter between two prepared loaf pans spreading evenly. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before removing loaves from pans.

3. To begin icing, place powdered sugar into a large bowl. Drizzle in lemon juice stirring until smooth and thick, a good drizzling consistency. Drizzle icing over cakes and let set for 20 minutes for a firm icing.

Don’t forget to visit Blessed With Grace Facebook page for even more recipes and fun. Also, be sure to sign up for a free subscription to Blessed With Grace by email and you won’t miss anything!

Tempt My Tummy {Spotlight}

2012-05-06T22:57:20Z

Welcome to another week of Tempt My Tummy Spotlight, where I highlight a few recipes from this past week’s link up. There are so many to chose from, I hope you enjoy.

For a healthier take on chocolate chip cookies, you need to check out Mrs. Green Jeans’ recipe with some pretty great ingredients. They look wonderful.
The herbed cheese souffle recipe from Chocolate, Chocolate and More sounds very tempting. You will want to see her step by step picture instructions!
Mary’s “Grown-Up Goldfish” will have my mouth watering the next time Gracie asks for a handful of her favorite snack.
Wanting to make and store your own fresh minced garlic? Here is a great “how to” from Frugal in Florida.
Finally, easy no-bake peanut butter balls from Talking Dollars and Cents grabbed my attention. I LOVE peanut butter. Yum!

I hope you take the time to visit some of these sites and recipes. Remember to leave a comment and let them know you found them from Tempt My Tummy {Spotlight}.

Are you having a blessed weekend? I pray you are. The weather is sunny and 90 degrees here in the Midwest, causing my daughter to jump in a bathing suit as soon as we arrived home from church. She soon commenced playing in the water sprinkler. Awe… the life of a 4 1/2 year old.

Living life with no regret…

2012-05-05T16:00:49Z

My friend, Marc Leonard.

On Tuesday I received word that a dear friend had died. I was stunned, in shock, and heartbroken. He was only 43, but he had lived a full life. I won’t say he lived a life without regret. Having fought the demons that accompany one who suffered abuse at a young age, fought addiction, and illness brought on from poor choices, he had some regrets. But, I have never known anyone who lived what life he had to the fullest, looking for ways to help others, bring people happiness, and searching for the best in every moment.

Here is a post from Marc’s Facebook age from just one week ago,

“Laughter is the best medicine, or so they say. However I find tacos and re-dsigning a friends room to be good for the heart and the soul. Call me crazy, but there is something very rewarding about leaving something better than you found it…. that goes for people too.”

Wow, when I read that again, this morning, it just hit me hard. That really was how he thought , leaving something or someone better than he found it. Marc never passed a homeless person without stopping. He would talk with them, find out their story and what brought them to the streets. He would see what he could do to help – many times giving all the money in his wallet. Or he would go buy a bag of groceries, a meal from a fast food chain, and once he bought a small portable radio so the guy could listen to the radio – because that homeless person said he missed being able to listen to baseball games on the radio. Yep, that was Marc. You see, he knew that but for the grace of God, he could have been homeless too.

I won’t say Marc was always up and happy. He had some very low moments as well. As I said, he fought his demons. Battling years of a mental illness, he had his ups and downs, nearly losing his life when he found himself at his lowest. I wrote about that HERE when God’s miracle brought him out of a coma and, I believe, God healed him of the hopelessness in Marc’s life. God answered the prayers of many, and Marc found his hope and joy for life again.

We all have times in our life when things are not going “our way”. We question God, we wonder what our purpose is, and God’s will for our life. Marc had those struggles. But, I think in the end, he knew his purpose. It was to help others. He inspired so many to do the same. Within the last year, he created Spoon for Life. His personal business where he handcrafted unique jewelry using antique spoons. Why spoons? The spoon represented feeding the homeless. The proceeds from the jewelry were used to feed people who needed a meal. When you bought a piece of jewelry Marc had an expectation that the bearer of the jewelry was charged with “paying it forward”. You were to do something for someone else and let others know about it. So you could inspire others to do the same.

More words from Marc,

“Sometimes something as little as a phone call, giving someone a hug, saying “I love you”, apologizing when your wrong, or giving someone a Spoon for Life piece with some meaningful wording on it can make a huge impact on someone.
And if we all did these thing more often, this world would be a far better place”.

In the end, Marc’s heart gave out. Probably many years of “living life to the fullest”. I like to think his his heart was so full and he had given ALL his heart had to give to all of us – his friends, his family, his children, complete stranger he met off the street…. his heart had no more it could give.

Yes, if he could, he would tell you live a life without regret. Touch other people and impact the world making it a better place for everyone. I would add, make sure that life is also one pleasing to God. I know Marc loved God and knew Jesus as his savoir. I am most grateful for that.

Here is Marc, living life to the fullest, until the very end.

He will me missed…

One final word from my friend,

“Peace, love, joy, serenity, material things, days on earth, and pretty much everything of any real importance.
Don’t take what you have for granted cuz it could vanish overnight. Cherish it, share it, and make the most of it.”

- Marc Leonard

eMeals {Winner}

2012-05-04T02:29:14Z

Congrats to Liz from Liz’s World who is the winner of the three month subscription giveaway to eMeals.com. Thanks to all who came by and participated.

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Timestamp: 2012-05-04 01:56:18 UTC

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Tempt My Tummy Tuesday… Sunday Pot Roast

2012-05-01T00:34:26Z

First I want to remind you to head over to my eMeals giveaway for a free THREE MONTH SUBSCRIPTION. There is still time to WIN! The giveaway ends on May 3rd.

I do not know what Sunday morning looks like at your house, but at our home it is a frantic rush. My husband runs the sound system for our church and I sing on our praise team. That means we get to rise and shine extra early, getting to the church for sound checks and rehearsal well before other members arrive. Our obligations also mean we are usually some of the last to leave after the services are over. So, when do I have time to prepare a fantastic Sunday lunch? Well, I don’t. Therefore I prepare a casserole the night before which will just need to be reheated or I go to my trusty friend, the crock pot! I love the crock pot as I can dump everything in, turn it to high, and expect a tasty meal when we walk in from church. An added bonus is how awesome the house smells when we walk in the door. The savory smells tell me how hungry I am.

This past Sunday I cooked a chuck roast and it was super easy and yummy. Thankfully I remembered to defrost the chuck roast on Saturday, and I had fresh broccoli and carrots to steam and serve with the meal. Now, my hubby is a huge mashed potato fan. But to save time, we often prepare and serve instant potatoes, especially on Sundays when everyone is hungry and ready to eat as soon as we arrive home.

Easy Sunday Pot Roast

2.5-3 pound chuck roast
1 medium onion, rough chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

Prepare the crock pot. (I spray PAM in mine.) Wash and dry off the roast. Generously cover both sides of the roast with the Montreal Steak Seasoning. Next cover each side with many dashes of Worcestershire Sauce. (We love the flavor of the Worcestershre so I use more.) Put the chopped onion on the bottom of the crock pot. Next place the pot roast on top of the onion. Finally pour the cream of mushroom soup over the roast. Now, just put on the lid, crank the heat to *high and let it cook until you get home.

*I usually have the roast cooking for about 4-5 hours on high. Or you can cook it on low for 8-10 hours.

I served the steamed broccoli, carrots, instant mashed potatoes, and toasted french bread with our meal. It was so good.

Again – here is the link to the eMeals 3 month subscription giveaway

Don’t forget to visit Blessed With Grace Facebook page for even more recipes and fun. Also, be sure to sign up for a free subscription to Blessed With Grace by email and you won’t miss anything!

Tempt My Tummy {Spotlight}

2012-04-28T13:57:54Z

First I want to remind you to head over to my eMeals giveaway for a free THREE MONTH SUBSCRIPTION. Don’t miss out!

I know it can be overwhelming to try and visit all the great sites that link up to Tempt My Tummy each Tuesday. I have decided to start sharing a “Spotlight” post each weekend, highlighting a few recipes that really tempted me. I hope you enjoy this new series and find the links helpful.

Below are a few tempting recipes I would like to spotlight today:

You must see the recipe for the Lady Behind the Curtain’s Italian Purse appetizer. I cannot wait to make these for an upcoming event.
Will Cook For Smiles created her own version of a Dessert “BLT” using clever ingredients. FYI – if you are a fan of Nutella, you do not want to miss it!
Buffalo chicken recipes seem to be popping up in many places and all over Pinterest for sure. This one really grabbed me, from Frilly Details. Her Buffalo Chicken Salad looks great!
I know we all love a new crockpot recipe and I am always trying to find new ways to cook pork roast. Thanks to This Southern Mom Cooks, we have a Tangy Crockpot Pork Stew recipe to use.

I hope you enjoy visiting these blogs. When visiting their sites, make sure to leave a comment and show some love. It is always a great thing to support our community of bloggers.

Have a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Don’t forget to visit Blessed With Grace Facebook page for even more recipes and fun. Also, be sure to sign up for a free subscription to Blessed With Grace by email and you won’t miss anything!