the recipe

I don't think I have ever posted a recipe... but this casserole got a lot of compliments, and it is quite yummy! This is something I found in Taste of Home... years ago. I first made it for a group of girlfriends that came to scrapbook... and I remember taking it out of the oven and being so pleasantly surprised (okay shocked!) that it looked as beautiful in person as it had in the magazine. And it was so delicious. This is my go-to meal... for a pot-luck or for a sick friend. So, here is the recipe... from the Taste of Home... with a few tweaks by me.

Chicken Biscuit Bake
1 can cream of "something" soup
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2-3 t Worcestershire sauce (you know I have plenty of this!)
4 c cubed chicken (or canned chicken, or a rotisserie chicken)
3 cups frozen broccoli florets, cooked (or not... thawed is okay)
1 medium onion, chopped (I never remember the onion!)
1 c shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever kind you have in the fridge!)
2 tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
2 eggs
1/2 c sour cream
2 t celery seed

In a bowl, combine soup, mayo & Worcestershire sauce. Stir in chicken, broccoli & onion (if you remembered it!) Transfer to a greased 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle the top with cheese. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Separate the biscuits and cut each in half. Arrange over the top of the hot chicken mixture (if you use the same biscuits I use, you'll get three long rows of 13 biscuit halves, with one extra.) In a bowl, mix together the eggs, sour cream and celery seed; pour over the biscuits. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes loner, or until golden brown. Easy. And delicious.

yesterday i was supermom

There are days I feel the need to be SuperMom... and on those days there is usually some kind of lesson involved. For me. Like... you don't need to be SuperMom, you need to let Me be in control... it's My job. And for a few weeks, I sit back and let God take charge... until I feel the need to be in charge again, and mess it all up. Like yesterday. I had commitments like crazy... to a group that is close to my heart... and couldn't let down. I had lunch to serve to 30 starving band kids... and then, dinner, too. And I had to make dinner for the instructors. You know, a nice dinner. Not fancy... just good, stick-to-your-ribs food. It was the first time I was cooking for them... and if you know me, I wanted it to be impressively delicious. Not necessarily for the compliments, but just so they would know I cared.

But it was my day off.
And my kids are home.
And I was sick on my last few days off.
So, I decided to do it anyway... to fit it all in.

I worked all morning to get my dinner & desserts "almost done," then I sat down with my kids and gave them the scoop:
1. We can try to go to the water park, but here is the deal- be ready when I get home from lunch. Ready... like waiting to get in the car.
2. This is going to be a short trip... we have to be back in the car by 3pm.
3. We are really taking a chance... weather, timing, etc. It has to be go-with-the-flow.
4. And I can't go on the slides and get my hair wet... because I will not have time to shower before I have to go and serve dinner!

I could see the light in their eyes... and hear the anticipation in their voices as they scurried off to get ready. I wanted to do this for them. And for me. To give them part of my day off... just for them. I knew I could be setting myself up for disaster... possibly a major one... but for them, I had to try.

And it worked out. I felt like God indulged me. For those two hours, we floated in the lazy river... I watched my kids on the diving boards and the slides... and we floated some more. I even had time for a heart to heart with my daughter when Cam hit the slides again and Laura & I were just floating down the river, hand in hand. God knew I needed this time to play... with my kids. And I made sure that I made the most of it.

And I managed to get my food done and served on time... macaroni & cheese, two chicken & biscuit casseroles- one with broccoli, one without, and cupcakes... red velvet & pumpkin.


Yesterday I was SuperMom... it is not a job I can handle on a daily basis though. And I am thankful that God does remind me of that now and again... because it is exhausting. I fought off the exhaustion for a bit... but by 7:30 pm.... I was fast asleep.

my real life

It's almost two weeks since my kiddos have abandoned vacationing and settled back into real life... and that goes for me, too. Even though I wasn't really vacationing. It has been an adjustment... once again fitting in the "must-do's" that vacations just don't demand. Though the floor in the piano room has finally been reclaimed... the laundry has begun to pile up by the washer... and the dishes, that are once again feeding four, are seeming to overflow the sink. There are tiny action figures peeking out from beneath a sofa... and armchairs are marking time in a waiting book. Somehow, there seem to be fewer hours in the day...

But there are also more I love yous ... and helping hands. There are sweet bedtime kisses... and rumbling laughter and flying penguins. And when I take a moment to push the mess from my mind, I realize that there isn't much more in life that my heart requires...

Sitting down and searching my heart for a Tuesday gift to unwrap is one of the best parts of my week. Reflecting on what makes my heart beat... my face smile. And it teaches me to seek out the treasures that God graces us with in every day.

wedding starts with w

In less than two weeks, Eric & I will celebrate the seventeen years that we have shared with each other since our wedding. Seventeen years. It makes me smile. It fills my heart with love... still. It was a beautiful day... but more importantly, it was the beginning of a beautiful life... and a promises of many more years to come.

Working my way from Z to A with Jen at Unglazed!