Five Days of Favorites: Day 2

This yummy recipe comes from my amazing sister-in-law, Sarah. She's such a gem and such a godly example of a wife and soon to be mom. Spending time with she and Ray never disappoints and is always a great challenge to us. She made this recipe while we were visiting for Thanksgiving and oh my word, it is SO good!! And SOOO easy!!

Day 2: Apple Butter Pork

1-1.5 lb pork tenderloin

Dijon Mustard

Apple Butter

Cream or 1/2 and 1/2

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place meat in casserole dish and spread dijon mustard and apply apple butter on top so the pork is covered.

2. Bake for about an hour or until slightly pink in the middle. Remove meat from pan & keep warm.

3. Take juice & drippings from pan & mix cream & apple butter until it's a gravy consistency. Serve with pork.

Enjoy!!

Five Days of Favorites: Day 1

Forgive my lack of blogging lately, our modem died so blogging went on hold for a bit. In the meantime I've been cooking up a storm for my fellas and out of town relatives. My oh MY how much my role has changed now that I have a full-time husband! I love having him home, truly. But let's be honest...we joke often about his love language: food! And his little boy takes right after him :) When Billy was traveling 70% of the time that was 70% less meals I had to work on. And 70% less of a grocery bill. So in the past two weeks I have been on a deal searching, meal planning, grocery shopping, food cooking frenzy. I love trying new recipes from friends and I've found several favorites since we said the vows 2 1/2 years ago. In spite of the weather and season I thought I'd spend a few days sharing some of my fall/winter favs!

Five Days of Favorites, Day 1: Brunswick Stew

This is from a sweet friend that brought us a meal after Luke was born. I love it for several reasons. First, it's delicious. Second, it's very easy. Third, it stretches a long way, which is GREAT for the budget - and great to serve with friends :)

1 whole chicken (3 lbs)

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 tbsp veg. oil

3 (16 oz) cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained & chopped

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp white vinegar

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp flour

1 cup water from boiling the chicken

1 lb red potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 (16 oz) can baked beans

1 tbsp hot sauce

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

1/2 tsp pepper

1 16oz can corn, drained

1 16 oz can lima beans, drained (** optional - we HATE lima beans so we never include them)

1. Cook chicken in dutch oven in boiling water to cover until cooked through. Pull apart and chop chicken. Reserve

2. Saute onion and bell pepper in hot oil in Dutch oven until tender. Add chicken, tomato & next 4 ingredients.

3. Combine flour & 1 cup water, whisking until smooth. Stir into chicken mixture. Add potato and next 5 ingredients

4. Cover & cook over medium heat stirring occasionally, about an hour - an hour and 15 minutes. Add corn and lima beans, cook another 10-15 minutes.

**Yields 16 servings

ENJOY!

Good times

Here are a few pics from Erin and I's first show with a Moms Sew Sassy table. It was a great success and we had a blast. There was a lot to learn but very fun...and very encouraging for us to keep moving forward and try another show!

Tree o' Little Girl Purses .. and Diaper Cases :)

Custom Christmas Stockings - These were for Tory and her lovely family (shadethatlamp.etsy.com)

Erin & I with our little table - SO fun!

Look for more posts on our etsy shop being added tonight and tomorrow morning!

Christmas Card Junkie

I absolutely LOVE this time of year. Even more, I love this time of year with my two precious fellas. Life definitely looks different this Christmas but I am so grateful. We kicked off the season this weekend by putting up our Christmas tree and decorating the house. And of course my yummy mulling spices and candles that keep the house smelling like Christmas :)

One of my favorite things about the season is all the Christmas cards we receive (which reminds me...time to send out Christmas cards!). I'm kind of a Christmas Card junkie. It's true. I love looking at Christmas cards sent to my house, sent to my parents houses, sent to friends houses, of people I know, don't know, people I wish I knew... I just love them. I love to get a glimpse of what friends and family are up to and I love displaying all of them in their many shapes and colors. I also love creating our family Christmas card. This year will be our 3rd Christmas together and after all my efforts in shopping around for the cutest card at the most affordable price I always come back to Shutterfly.com. They have the cutest and broadest selection of Christmas cards, hands down. Another great feature is their super easy-to-use editor tool which allows me to quickly and easily upload our own photos and see our custom Christmas card instantly before committing to anything. And most importantly, because I've signed up to their e-mail list I get tons of discounts and coupon codes which give me the best deal around for the quality.

When picking out our Christmas Card this year I found several favorites but noticed that I was mostly drawn to the reds and blacks with black and white photos. Check out a few of my favs (which you'll likely see tailored to our family soon!) and click on the photo to access directly at Shutterfly:

Spread the Word!

Moms Sew Sassy

Yep, it's official! My friend, Erin, and I have ventured into the world of Etsy and opened up shop: MomsSewSassy.

We've had a blast so far scouting out yard sales and scavenging through the scraps bin at Joanne's. It started out pretty random just making pillows and covers here and there but as we started playing around with scraps and extra tid bits of fabric we decided to get creative and dive into bibs, diaper cases, passy clips, little girl purses, stockings and more. We offer custom orders, monogram and personalization. Sewwww fun ;)

Stay tuned for more info regarding a very FUN and UNIQUE Holiday Market featuring all local and handmade items right here in Raleigh...ours included!

Exciting News!

I can hardly stand typing this because it makes me just want to get up and SHOUT out how GREAT our God is! To God's glory it is with a joyful and humble heart that I get to tell you Billy got a new job that will keep him home 60% more of the time!!! This verse has been on my heart all week as I have remembered what the LORD has done. Praise Him!

Clap your hands, all you nations;

shout to God with cries of joy.

How AWESOME is the LORD Most High,

the great King over all the earth!

Psalm 47:1-2

When we first got married Billy traveled even more than he does now (which seems crazy since he is gone 80% of the time right now). I was in class at the time so it was almost a blessing for my grades. I was able to focus, study, read and write while he was traveling and then put it all away when he was home. But once we found out I was pregnant and then brought little Luke into the world things shifted a bit and we have both longed for Billy to be able to stay home more. After promises were left unfulfilled, job offers fell through on multiple occasions, and Obama's new tax law giving benefits to companies that hired the unemployed, I found myself frustrated, disappointed and longing for something different. There was at one point when we were so certain that Billy was going to get a new job - it was all things we prayed for, they were extremely interested and flew him to their headquarters to meet with their top 4 execs, it was the perfect salary...everything seemed right in our eyes but the Lord still said no. I don't really know words to describe how I felt....I just remember sitting on the floor looking at Luke play with his toys and crying out to the Lord wondering why another "no." Looking back on the past year I am so thankful the Lord did not give Billy a job any sooner, for my heart needed to be changed.

A lot of it was a battle with myself; What I wanted, what I pictured life to be like, what was convenient for me. But the Lord graciously reminded me that He is my portion, He is my strength, He alone is all that I need. I finally came to the realization that if this is what the Lord has for us, then that's ok. If this is what life for us will look like for the next several years, it's ok.

I've clung to Isaiah 40:31 during this time:

Yet those who wait for the LORD

Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become weary.

God is my strength and my shield and He is made perfect in the midst of my shortcomings. On the nights I couldn't fall asleep He provided ladies to stay with me. On the days that I felt alone and like I couldn't do it on my own He brought encouragement in many different ways. On the mornings that I just needed a good Word from Him to help me make it through, He delivered! He gave me new eyes to start seeing opportunities of how He could use this time and gave me new ways to serve my husband away from home. And after finally surrendering to Him He graciously and undeservingly blessed us beyond what we could have come up with ourselves.

I am so thankful and look forward to see what God has for us in the coming months. I'm sure it will be an adjustment (ie living together full-time for the first time ever) but I gladly welcome it!