A baby shower...

Last weekend, the small group I belong to hosted a baby shower for the daughter-in-law of one of us. It was so lovely and seemingly effortless that I want to share it with you.

We didn't want the grandma-to-be to have to do anything, so the rest of us divided up the tasks. The gal whose home we used, assigned duties to the rest of us.

She in turn had a lovely table ready complete with beautiful fresh cut pink tulips.

She also had a couple of pink balloon bouquets around. (Yes, the expected baby is a girl!) She went with the pink and white theme all the way down to the serving dishes, pitchers, and the paper plates and napkins. As the hostess, she also provided lemonade, coffee & tea. One more sweet thing she did was make party favors in the form of little white boxes tied with pink bows, and inside, Hershey kisses. And if that weren't enough, the talented hostess also handmade the invitations and got them mailed.

Another lady in our group was assigned the task of receiving the rsvp's. She kept the rest of us posted on how many to expect so we could plan our food contributions accordingly. We ended up with about 25 ladies.

Another gal was in charge of the dessert, and she decided on two awesome cakes baked and decorated by her talented daughter. One was yellow with a lemon curd filling, and the other chocolate with raspberry filling.

I was given the task of deciding the menu, then assigning items to be furnished by each one.

Here's what I came up with:

chicken salad sandwiches on mini croissants

fresh veggies and dill dip

fresh fruit cups drizzled with key lime pie flavored yogurt

What do you think?

We had a party game ready in case we needed it, but as it turned out we didn't. There was plenty of good conversation, good food, and lots of gifts to be opened!

Finally, all of us turned in our receipts to the hostess, who then divided up the total cost of everything and five of us shared the expenses equally.

A lovely shower, a beautiful day, and a very special brand new mother-to-be!

Here's how I made the chicken salad:

I took 12 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut them in half. Then I put a large pot on the stove filled 2/3 full with water and brought it to a rolling boil. I then dropped the chicken into the water and let it come back to a boil. Next, I shut the heat off and covered the pot, allowing the chicken to poach for about 10-15 minutes. It is done when the chicken is white all the way through. Next, I took the chicken out of the water and allowed it to cool. While the chicken was cooling, I chopped a couple small onions and about 2/3 of a bunch of celery finely in my food processor. I then cut the chicken up in small pieces and mixed the chicken, celery and onion in a bowl with Hellman's mayonnaise, enough to cover. I then added a little salt and pepper to taste.

Baked Penne

Here is a great dish that is easy to make. It was served as dinner to out-of-town guests who attended a birthday party that we went to last weekend. (Wasn't that a thoughtful thing to do so we didn't have to go scrounging for a restaurant?) I could not believe how delicious it was!

This can be made up ahead of time and then baked when you are ready. I made it this week and I will make it again soon and put it in my freezer, ready to bake. This recipe fills a 9 x 13 pan.

Baked Penne

1# lean hamburger

1/2# ground Italian sausage

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves chopped garlic

2-3 cups shredded mozzerella cheese

1 jar Ragu or other spaghetti sauce, approx. 22 oz.

1 can seasoned, diced tomatoes, approx. 14 oz.

1 box Barilla whole grain penne pasta, 13.25 oz.

Brown the meat, onion, and garlic together in large skillet. Drain excess grease if necessary. While meat mixture is cooking, boil pan of water and cook pasta according to directions on box. Drain pasta. Add spaghetti sauce and diced tomatoes to meat mixture and continue cooking about 8-10 minutes. Now you are ready to layer much like you would a lasagna. Start with sauce in the bottom of 9 x 13 pan and make layers of meat sauce, pasta, cheese, ending with cheese on top. Bake covered for about 30-40 minutes, until thoroughly hot and cheese is melted.

*Note: This would be a great dish to take to a family in need, either hot, or ready-to-bake. Add a tossed salad and some dinner rolls, and maybe some simple brownies or ice cream, and you have a very simple but lovely dinner to deliver.

Something different for Easter dinner...

I just felt like doing something a little different than our usual ham and scallopped potatoes for dinner this year. What do you think?

Our menu consisted of chicken cordon bleu, ham, sweet potato casserole, green beans, and tossed spring salad with cranberries, pine nuts, and blue cheese, and the traditional hot cross buns.

Since it was my hubby's birthday as well, we had cake and ice cream for dessert. A friend gave me this idea of putting the ice cream in cup cake papers the day before, so we wouldn't have to stand there scooping out ice cream when it was time for dessert. It worked out really well. I filled the papers in the cupcake pan with vanilla ice cream and added a few colored sprinkles, then put it back in the freezer overnight.

Here is the chicken recipe. I love that this is prepared the day ahead, and only takes 20 minutes to bake before serving.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Pound chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Add a thin slice of ham, and a slice of mozzarella cheese. Carefully roll. Dip in a mixture of mayonnaise and a little water. Roll in seasoned bread crumbs, and place seam side down on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam. Bake 20 minutes at 425 degrees F.

Move over Martha...

I finally put away the last vestige of winter this week as I threw my winterberry wreath in the trash. It had served me well for several seasons, but wouldn't make it through another Ohio winter! Here's what I put on our front door in its place:

I'm so proud of myself because during the winter I found the makings for this wreath at our local Salvation Army store. It is a 25 inch grapevine wreath, and there were about ten bunches of artificial spring flowers that came with it. All for $2.97!!!

So it took me about an hour to cut the flowers apart with a wire cutter, and hot glue them onto the wreath. The ribbon for the bow I made cost me $1.00 at Dollar Tree. So for a total of $4.00 I have a nice new look for Spring!

Then last week I found a little consignment shop that unfortunately is going out of business. But lucky for me, this beautiful ceramic pitcher was on sale for 60% off. My kitchen colors are butterscotch, barn red, and navy blue. I had been wanting to make a spring-like centerpiece for our kitchen table so this was perfect. The pitcher cost $7.00 and I added $3. worth of artificial daisies, which made the arrangement about 20 inches high.

Another "find" over the winter at a different consignment shop are these large 12 inch diameter House Beautiful heavy wooden charger plates. They are navy blue, and the original price was $22. each. I got them for $5. each! The large butterscotch colored cloth napkins I found at a discount store for 25 cents each. I love the new look of my kitchen table, which by the way, was green for about 12 years until we painted it barn red, except for the top.

I'm so excited that Spring is finally here. I love home decorating on a budget. I hope some of you will share some ideas with me! Happy Spring!

"...train the younger women...to be busy at home..." Titus 2

Passover Apple Crisp

Here's a favorite recipe I like to use at this time of year. The Jewish people only use unleavened bread during Passover, to recall the haste with which their ancestors fled Egypt, leaving no time for dough to rise. It's very easy to make, and quite delicious.

5-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Matzo topping:
1/c cup sugar
2 large matzo crackers, crumbled (what I use)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped almonds
(Combine ingredients)

In a bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon and toss. Use cooking spray on a large pie dish or other baking dish and place apple mixture inside. Spread the Matzo topping over all. Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake. When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees F. and bake uncovered for 45 minutes until apples are tender and topping is crisp. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Finding time for quiet time...

It seems like I have posted about this before. I'm not sure. Maybe it's just that I have shared this experience with many younger woman. But if I'm repeating myself... well, let's not go there!

I read a blog post today that reminded me of my own experience from years ago. Life was very busy. I worked a full-time job outside the home. I was mom to two active boys. Hubby did some international business travel which sometimes took him away for a week or more at a time. We were all active in our church. You get the picture.

Every now and then I had an opportunity to go away on a weekend women's retreat with the ladies from church. Such blessed times! One time we decided to do a "partial" silent retreat. We stayed at a convent about 4 hours from home. It was situated on lovely grounds, and all our meals were served. Our rooms were private, clean, and plain. There was a combination of scheduled sessions interspersed with free time to walk the grounds, meditate, read, or do whatever we wanted. We were not permitted to speak until after breakfast and chapel. That meant we got up in the morning, showered and dressed, and went back to our individual rooms until it was time to eat. We ate together, but silently. We attended chapel and had communion, all in silence.

It is amazing how you can clear your head of so much static just by being quiet. Even after we were permitted to talk, instead of a bunch of female chatter with one another, we seemed to maintain a rather hushed, reverent tone of voice with each other. It was like everyone respected the fact that we all most likely had a lot of deep thinking and soul searching going on, and no one wanted to break into the holiness of the atmosphere of the retreat.

One morning when I was alone in my room praying before the breakfast hour, I told God how grateful I was for this "time apart"...time that I could just be alone with Him. I was feeling so blessed and refreshed. Then it happened. I cannot explain it, but I know I somehow heard and recognized the voice of God. He quite distinctly said these words to me: "You know, you can have this special time with me every day of your life if you will just get up before your family and meet with me."

For several years after that, I got up between 4 and 4:30 am and went downstairs to our family room. I lit a candle and turned on the soft lights, and spent about 1 1/2 hours reading my bible, journaling, and praying. It became a habit and it was a real time of intimacy with my Lord. It gave me strength to face the day ahead. I had time to not just talk to God, but listen to Him.

Eventually I no longer needed to get up so early to have my quiet time. I cut back on my working hours, my family grew up, and I had plenty of time during the day to do my bible study and prayer. But I did miss it. I think I missed it the most because it was an idea that God had personally given to me. A special gift from Him to me.

Now, so many years later, I am revisiting this old habit. Back in November of last year I renewed the habit of having my quiet time early in the morning. Nowadays our alarm clock goes off at 5 am and my hubby leaves for work at 6:30. I take that first hour, between 6:30 and 7:30 to read, pray, and journal. I'm not totally where I need to be with this yet, but I'm getting there. There are many temptations not to do it: watching the morning news on TV, checking email and writing or reading blog posts, laziness, tiredness, etc. But this renewed habit I am forming again really blessed me this past year through the holiday season. I can honestly say I was not stressed like I normally get, and I felt like I lived every day very intentionally. Now, because I babysit two of my grandchildren several days a week, and help my mom get around the other days, my life seems busier again. That calls for more consistency in the ordering of my day.

I'm not the same person I was 25 years ago and my situation is different than it was then, but my need to have uninterrupted time alone with myself and with God remain. In the blog I mentioned above, (another Jackie) uses a portable basket filled with her bible, journal, pen, devotional, and a candle. I'm going to do this too!

I would love to hear how others manage their quiet times. Let's share some ideas! And I will leave you with a haunting thought I've had for months: What would our lives look like if we spent as much time alone with God that we spend on the internet?

Humm....

For newer readers, this is a post I wrote last October, before I reinstated my early morning discipline for quiet time.

Traditional Irish Blessing

I've never been to Ireland and I'm quite sure I don't have a drop of Irish blood in me, but I do love the music and many of the beautiful Celtic blessings. Here's one for you today.