Sweet and Sour Chicken

3 to 3 1/2 pounds chicken (This time I used just two boneless chicken breasts)
1 (13 1/2 oz) can chunk-style pineapple
1 cup sugar (I use Splenda)
3/4 c. cider vinegar
1/4 t. ginger
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 green pepper, cut in strips (optional because no one in my family will eat this)
2 T. corn starch
1 T. soy sauce

Heat over to 350 degrees.

Flour chicken.  Pan sear (brown) chicken in olive oil.  I used my cast iron frying pan for this. 

Drain pineapple in a separate bowl.  To the pineapple juice, add enough water so the liquid makes 1 1/4 cup juice/water. 

In a sauce pan, combine the juice and all remaining ingredients except the pineapple and green pepper.  Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.

Arrange the chicken in a shallow roasting pan.  Usually I use my glass baking dishes but on this particular day, I left the chicken in the cast iron pan (since that can go in the oven).  Pour the cooked sauce over the chicken.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.  Add pineapple and peppers.  Bake 30 minutes longer.

This is delicious served with rice and a green vegetable!

Double Rainbow

Seven a.m. driving to work.
The eastern sky ahead of me is painted with golden hues and streaks of pink.
God's paintbrush was full of brilliant colors that morning.
This sunrise that He painted was breathtaking.
What I didn't pay attention to was the western sky behind me
as I drove into work.
See, the western sky was getting dark as if rain were going to roll in.
As I got out of my car, this was the western sky

This brilliant, full-color Kodak-Moment rainbow with a second bow starting.
This quickly snapped photo doesn't do the colors justice.
I needed to get into work so I couldn't stand outside to enjoy this phenomenon .
God is quite the Artist.  And what color He chooses to get our attention. 
And when He has our attention, He says, "I love you...this beauty is for you to enjoy."
That is why I am So Amazed!

W-E-L-L

Another great devotion from Grace For The Moment, Volume II, Max Lucado.  Here is the October 3 entry:

I give you this...prayer for the thirsty heart.  Carry it just as a cyclist carries a water bottle.  The prayer outlines four essential fluids for soul hydration:  God's work, God's energy, his lordship, and his love....Just think of the word W-E-L-L.

Lord, I come thirsty.  I come to drink, to receive.  I receive your work on the cross and in your resurrection.  My sins are pardoned, and my death is defeated.  I receive your energy.  Empowered by your Holy Spirit, I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.  I receive your lordship.  I belong to you.  Nothing comes to me that hasn't passed through you.  And I receive your love.  Nothing can separate me from your love.

Hockey Tryout Food

Kidlet Three is starting his tryouts for hockey this week.  Believe it or not there are five days/nights of tryouts.  The first was last Sunday.  In prepping for the day, I asked Kidlet Three what he would like for lunch.  See, he gets a little nervous for tryouts and I thought food would bring comfort.  Did I just hear some laughter out there? 

Anyway, Kidlet Three picked Spaghetti and meatballs for his lunch.  I've never made meatballs when I make spaghetti so I was really surprised about this.  But I made them.  Here is a pictorial essay of spaghetti and meatballs for Hockey Tryout Food.

Kidlet Three did a great job on day one of tryouts.  I believe he is going to rock on his next tryout adventure, too.  The hockey gifts that God placed inside of Kidlet Three are amazing.

Green - It is Good

This is a planter outside of my work building.

Can you see the door in the background?

That gives you some perspective as to how BIG this planter is!

I stopped to investigate this planter the other day

and became spellbound by the beauty and details on the plants.

There are multiple plants in the planter, as you can see from this picture.

 I've never seen flowers like this.  They are beautiful.

And the leaves of this variegated plant made me speechless. 

The greens, the purples, the details that are on these leaves took my breath away.

As I stood there, I shook my head in disbelief. 

That God loved us so much He would create such beauty just for us to enjoy.

Genesis 1:11-13; 31 

God spoke: "Earth, green up! Grow all varieties

of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree."
And there it was.
Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Three.

...31 God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Six.

Oh God..thank you for Your goodness to us!  Thank you for making green and such variety in the plants You gave us.  I applaud Your creativity and details.  Thank you, thank you!  You are amazing, Oh Lord!  Amen

Grilled Herb Chicken

I found this recipe in a magazine years ago and decided to try it this weekend.  There were many "yums" and "oh this is good" comments as we were eating our meal.  Here is Grilled Herb Chicken for you to make and enjoy!

Marinade:

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

2 T. finely chopped onions

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 T. grated lemon peel

1 t. minced fresh thyme (I used 1/2 t. dried)

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

3 boneless chicken breasts

In a large resealable bag, combine the marinade ingredients and chicken.  Seal bag and turn to coat.  Refrigerate overnight, turning bag occasionally.

When ready to cook, heat grill.  Drain and discard marinade.  I put aluminum foil on the second rack of the grill.  Maybe it is my imagination, but the chicken seems to be more moist when grilled on the foil for the majority of the grilling time.

Grill, turning occasionally.  I do throw the chicken on the plain rack for 5 to 10 minutes at the end of the grilling time.

We enjoyed our chicken with a baked potato and sweet corn from the freezer. 

I bet you'll lick your plate on this meal!  It is an amazingly good recipe!

Mysteries

Mysteries.  Like...where have I been?  And why have I not posted?

Well, there is some Weird Flu going around.  It comes with extreme fatigue, headache and achiness.  It has been knocking at my door for over a week.  Several days last week I came home from work and went right to bed.  Perhaps this approach kept the Weird Flu from totally setting in because I haven't been bedridden yet.

Mysteries of God are also swirling in my head.  God became my Lord and Savior when I was 18.  I am now 52.  There have been many situations and times in my life that I have wondered if God knew what He was doing.  There have been even more situations and times that I have experienced God's great faithfulness, peace and strength.  Thankfully those faith times have impacted me in tremendous ways.  They "outweigh" the mysteries that I have no answers for.

Do you have questions for God that you would like answered?  Do they seem like mysteries?  Well, I think you should ask Him about those times.  You might get an answer or you might get a "wait" signal.   A wait signal is okay.  It is one of His mysterious ways.  He knows when we are ready to hear the answer and that "waiting" is the best thing for us.

Mysteries are fun.  God is awesome.  What a good combination.