Christmas, already?

 Not to worry, there are still a bunch of shopping days until Christmas. I've just started getting embroidery patterns done now so I can dedicate a day for turning them into tote bags for gifts or selling during the distant holiday season. I liked the primitive effect of the artwork for this design. Hey, sometimes a cute Nativity scene works, too!

Fast Italian Chicken Bake

For a fast meal that looks like you fussed, this is super easy and very tasty, too. Since it bakes in the oven, you have time to prepare some hot buttered noodles, a big green salad, and a basket of warm garlic bread.

Fast Italian Chicken Bake
4-6 boneless chicken breast halves, skinned
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Vegetable oil spray a shallow baking dish.

Combine the cheese, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in the melted butter. Dip both sides of the chicken in the mixture and arrange in the prepared baking dish. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until chicken is tender and lightly browned. If chicken seems a bit dry, brush with some more melted butter towards the end of the cooking time.

The Boston Marathon - April 15, 2013

Hurt, death, and disaster are a tragedy in any event but when the mayhem visited on innocent people is deliberate, you can only shake you head in disbelief and wonder at man's inhumanity to man. Such was the horrible finish of the Boston Marathon yesterday afternoon. A bright, beautiful day bringing crowds of people out to enjoy the annual marathon was shattered by the cowardly bombing of innocent people. Three people, one a young child, started off the day in happy anticipation and will never return home. More than a hundred people will bear both physical and mental scars after surviving the attack. While most of us cannot be there in person to help, we can pray. I found this prayer for healing on the Catholic Relief Services site and it seem to address many of the needs in our world, today,  including the hateful attack in Boston yesterday.

Awaken Us

Lord of hopefulness, awaken us.
Show us the meaning in our labor,
That we may ever rejoice in the promise of the
seeds we sow.

Lord of righteousness, awaken us.
Show us the good path,
That we may walk in confidence in your wisdom
and understanding.

Lord of hospitality, awaken us.
Show us that our refuge is found in you,
That we may always provide shelter in times of
storm.

Lord of freedom, awaken us.
Show us the courage that called our forefathers
out of bondage,
That we may always stand with the bound and the oppressed and be their champions.

Lord of all peace, awaken us.
Show us the heart that stills even raging waters,
That we may still angry hearts and reconcile warring neighbors.

Lord of charity, awaken us.
Teach us of the unending return on our sacrifice,
That we may rejoice more fully in giving.

Lord, you have eyes for the just and ears for the cry of those who suffer.
Awaken in us a heart of justice,
That you may count us among their number.
Amen

Loving to cook and cooking for love . . .

I was listening to an interview with a chef and the question asked was what gave him his inspiration to invent and cook such interesting foods. He said that first and foremost, the main ingredient for success was . . . love!

I thought that was interesting because I know that I love to cook/bake but never fully realized that I do it because I love my family. I care about what they eat and the only way to control a good deal of their nutritional intake is to spend time in the kitchen cooking and baking.

Yes, we enjoy fast food on occasion but it is a treat. Many times, too, they say 'thank you' and venture that it would have tasted better done at home.

We've all heard it said that we raise our children as we want them to be as adults. If you don't raise them on a variety of foods and the necessity of actually eating one's vegetables, will they pass it on to their own families?

I knew a wife/mother who thought it was hilarious that she had married someone that came from a restaurant/gourmet background while she couldn't cook well. After their 25-plus years of marriage, I would have thought she'd have been past the amusement and learned to cook better instead of finding it funny that her husband didn't have really good meals.

Mothers who don't want to cook for whatever reason might take a moment to consider this: If your child or husband were in danger, would you rush to save them? Taking the time to to feed them healthily and properly goes along those lines, too.

Gluten-Free Success!

 Being relatively new to the gluten-free lifestyle, I'm still experimenting. I found a recipe on-line that looked interesting and contained no weird ingredients I'd have to go hunting for in order to accomplish the end result. As you can see from the picture, I managed to bake a reasonably presentable lemon cake with lemon curd filling. As we enjoyed our dessert, we suddenly realized that we had missed having cake and this one felt and tasted like cake . . . without the gluten.

Although we ventured into trying the gluten-free diet for the sake of interest, really, we have discovered that my husband has been having less digestive issues which leads us to believe he is one of the purported one in 133 that actually have some problems with celiac. In any event, he doesn't want to go back and as long as I am able to produce cakes like this, he sees no reason to venture back to the land of wheat and gluten.

Catholic Trivia Question!

My husband asked me about this the other day and although we know this saint by his first and famous name, who knows who Saint de Veuster is? I had to look it up, too!

Our Temporary Cat . . .

 There is a long saga around why this cat is hanging around our house. I will have to share it someday but, in the mean time, this kitty just loves being our temporary cat until we can find a good home for her. She is full-grown but on the small side with the most delicate of paws. She is, however, a hunter and we often find the remains of her hunting on our front porch and in the garage. Let's just say that we haven't found a single mouse or rat since she came on the scene.

She is a very loving, friendly little beast. She loves to be petted but lets you know with a firm pat on the hand when she has had enough. If you persist, you get the soft paw with a hint of claw. Uh, we haven't dared go beyond that as we assume the result might be a tad painful.

Today, she discovered the tree and all the fun she could have in it. She likes watching dogs go past underneath her not knowing there is a lurking cat observing their every move.