“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” Willie Nelson
A week of gratitude and blessings
I am grateful for what some people think of as the little things. A roof over my head, food in my belly, a job, because to others these things are not so little.
“Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.” Fred De Witt Van Amburgh
A week of Gratitude and Blessings
I am thankful for my friends. Even though I don’t get to spend as much time with them as I’d like to. I am glad to have them in my life. The offer inspiration and encouragement beyond what they realize and I am thankful for that.
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” Robert Brault
A week in Gratitude
I am thankful for my very bouncy, smart and energetic little boy who teaches me something new every day. I am thankful for all the times he grabs my hand and leads me away from whatever chore I am engaged in and tells me “Play with me” so I can remember what is important and I am thankful that sometimes instead of asking me to play he instead helps me with my tasks, as I find encouragement that I am teaching him great skills for the future.
What do you do when you leave the card with your recipe at home that you would like to blog about today? You pull it out of your memory. I stumbled upon this recipe a few years ago I can’t remember from where. I wrote down all the ingredients, but that’s it. I didn’t write down the directions, so I had to kind of wing it, so it’s fitting I left that little notecard with the recipe at home on the kitchen counter to carry on with the tradition.
Spinach and Artichoke Casserole
Spinach (4 boxes of frozen or two bags of fresh)
1 can of artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
2 Boxes of cream cheese
1 small can of water chestnuts (drained and chopped)
Mushrooms (optional, but a good way to sneak in extra veggies)
Red Bell Pepper (optional, but a good way to sneak in extra veggies)
1/2 onion
1 Stick Butter
Garlic (I use 3-4 cloves)
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
1/2-1 cup of Parmesan Cheese
Thaw butter and cream cheese (and spinach if you use frozen).
Finely Chop onion, artichoke hearts, water chestnuts, spinach, mushrooms, red bell pepper and garlic.
Mix all ingredients well in a large mixing bowl, you want the cream cheese and butter to be well distributed throughout the mixture.. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
Pour all ingredients into a casserole dish and sprinkle parmesan on top.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
That folks is my secret recipe. . . too yummy not to share.
Happy Eating!
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody Beattie
A week in gratitude. . .
I am thankful for my husband. My best friend and partner in crime. My personal handyman. A man who works hard for his family, whether the task is earning money or fixing a clogged sink, I am thankful for a real man who isn’t afraid to work with his hands and voice his opinion on what he believes.
Have you ever noticed that irritating things come in three’s? Last week was the curse of the threes’ in our house.
It started with a finicky air conditioner making squeaky type noises that never mean good things with machinery. A call to our trusted AC guy fixed that for a reasonable price. . .
Next a check engine light. Don’t those always make your heart drop into your stomach? Turns out this one was because I didn’t screw the gas cap on tightly enough the last time I had gotten gas.
And number 3. . . a backed up kitchen sink. This one took lots of dirty work, but the husband managed to fix it for only a few dollars.
It used to be when things would go wrong, I would let them effect my whole world, but nowadays I just roll with the punches. It was lovely to see our AC guy, who is one of the nicest people. A check engine light just reminded me that I need to stop being in such a hurry all the time, to slow down and take my time, and a backed up kitchen sink led to a water conservation game that I plan on continuing. It seemed fitting these things came the week before Thanksgiving to serve as a reminder to be thankful for what I have and how blessed I really am.
Hope you all have a lovely holiday week!
“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” Charles Dickens
A week of gratitude and blessing. . .
I am thankful for parents who act like parents and support me during times of need and in times of blessing, and who still call to check in with me and make sure “I’m not in a ditch somewhere.” Because by definition of parent, if they are doing it correctly, it is their job to “bother” you.
The holidays are rapidly approaching and since Thanksgiving is a food-centric holiday I thought I’d share some of my favorite recipes this week to add to your Thanksgiving table.
Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce
Last year I was looking for a cranberry sauce recipe that was real cranberries and I stumbled upon This post from the Lemon Bowl, an easy cranberry sauce recipe.
INGREDIENTS
12 oz bag fresh cranberries
½ cup orange juice
½ cup water
2 tablespoons sugar or honey
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon ginger
INSTRUCTIONS
Place all ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on Low heat for 3 hours.
Using a wooden spoon, gently mash the cranberries until desired consistency is reached.
This recipe was a big hit last year and I plan on keeping it around for years to come.
-Frederick Douglas
Learning Simple 