food friday

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

We tried this one last week and thought it was pretty good and easy. We used the George Foreman grill since we don't have a "real" one. It worked just as good!

Prep: 5 min Total: 30 min. (includes marinating)

1/4 cup (Kraft) Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing, divided
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb)
1 tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil leaves

Place large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of grill grate; preheat grill to medium heat.

Pour 2 Tbsp. of the dressing over chicken in resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with the dressing. Refrigerate 10 min. to marinate. Remove chicken from marinade; discard bag and marinade.

Grill chicken on uncovered side of grill 6 min. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, cheese, basil, and remaining 2 Tbsp. dressing.

Turn chicken over; place, cooked-side up, on foil on grill. Top evenly with tomato mixture. Close lid. Grill an additional 8 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Makes 4 servings.

Serving suggestion: Enjoy with cooked spaghetti and grilled or steamed vegetables.

top ten tuesday

Top 10 things Jazz would rather play with than the cute toys she has!

10. anyone's toes she can sink her teeth into
9. the top of my shaving cream can...she'll chase it around all day
8. a piece of ice...she comes running when I go to the fridge
7. a Pepsi (not coke) bottle...any size works
6. any color sock...clean or dirty
5. dryer sheets...maybe they will help her breath
4. a plastic bathroom cup
3. straws keep her occupied for hours
2. our books...she now reads more than Justin
1. the new Dance Dance mat...she's no better at dancing than we are

we refuse to grow up

I'm fighting through the recent Blogger's block (as my friend Sheila says) to give you a huge glimpse into our lives. It's really a good thing we live on a farm. I would love to live in a nice little "neighborhood" one day, but I know our neighbors will think we're crazy.

For instance... we finally got a lot of rain the last few days, something that Jazz has not really seen much of, so we were really having to get creative in getting her to go outside. My strangely creative husband (love you babe!) decided to take Jazz out while wearing a wet suit (spring suit to be exact) so that he wouldn't get his own clothes completely soaked! I really think he looks for any excuse to put that ridiculous thing on. Thankfully, it was at night and maybe the few neighbors we do have didn't notice anything weird.

Jazz's new raincoat!

#2 - We went to Rose's the other day for the first time (and probably the last - oddly enough, we're loyal to wal-mart). We hung out a while in the toy section and ultimately left with a $5 remote control car to introduce to our puppy. She, however, was not as excited about it. She takes to the car about as much as she takes to the broom (!?) and the vacumn! I know our neighbors must think we play more than their kids do!


Ok, our final quirky decision of the week...We are now owners of Dance Dance Revolution. I have actually wanted this for a while, so I'm so excited! (It actually seems like the one fun workout I can think of). So we got it yesterday and had too much fun and laughs trying it out!! I've done some of those dance things at the arcades before, and I always joke about Justin trying them out, but I can't believe we actually own it now! We may be hosting some dance parties (!?) in the near future...so be ready! Believe it or not, Justin and I are pretty close dance competitors. Who knew! I learn something new about him all the time!


Anyways...I'm going to have to come up with a strategic plan for blogging regularly. Any ideas??All of my entries just seem to be embarrassing for me and Justin!



Here are some pictures of our weekend at home for my sister's birthday!

Just a cool picture of the family that Justin took! Unbelievable sunrays!

Jazz patiently waiting until Justin gives her permission to get her treat.

(And the vet said our dog is disobedient! ha!)

Our dog is advanced.

Jeni finally met Jazz!

A picture of my mom's flowers for her to see. She's finally taking a computer class and now gets on the internet to read my blog. I guess pigs are flying somewhere, too!

fishers of men

And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

Justin, Jazz, and I took a day trip to the beach on Friday and had such a great time. You can tell that we just wanted to get away and do something different because the wind and the drizzling rain all day did not really phase us. We had a lot of fun watching our puppy in the water and enjoying God's beautiful creation. Mostly, we fished all day - hoping to catch something good. Justin had a lot of good catches and we brought home a fair amount of fish to eat!

I did not have the best of luck fishing, however. So I had a lot of time to think as I baited and rebaited my line. This trip came after another week of sharing with young women about a God that I want so desperately for them to worship as their Savior and seeing them walk away without a making a decision that I know about. I haven't gotten frustrated or burned out at my job. Maybe just overwhelmed. There are a lot of lost women and men who are walking around in search of something that I have as a foundation for my life. I am so thankful for my God who has saved me, rescued me, and is daily changing me. I am thankful that people cared enough to tell me again and again about a loving, forgiving Savior who is Jesus Christ. I never want to tire of doing the same.

While we were fishing, the monotony of putting the bait on the hook was not something I enjoyed, but the potential of what I could catch kept me going. God began to teach me a lesson as I continually threw the bait and continued to catch nothing. Not only was I not catching anything, but the fish were taking my bait again and again. This was only teasing me and causing me to think that I had actually caught something. That is truly how it works when sharing our faith. In order to see people saved, there has to be a continual commitment to share again and again about the Savior that has so graciously saved us. We may get glimpses of hope as they listen and ask questions. But even if they walk away, seemingly unchanged, we can know that we must not be discouraged. The potential of what God can do through our faithfulness to repeatedly share the Gospel far outweighs the struggle of sharing truth without obvious results along the way. God knows each and every one of the people that we are sharing with and loves them with a matchless love. We must be faithful to not grow weary in the task to which he has called each of us.

Maybe an obvious analogy, but one I needed to be reminded of in order to have the strength to complete the task God has called me to. What a blessing to be his instrument of change in someone else's life - if only I put my faith in him to fulfill his plans in his timing.

Jazz checking thing out in the Wal-mart parking lot on the way to the beach

She's not too sure about the ocean.

But she loved digging in the sand!

One of Justin's fish!

unbelievable

I must have thought that word atleast 50 times when I was standing in line at Wal-mart today. I don't ever go to Wal-mart not expecting to wait in line, but today topped the charts in terms of ridiculous things I have encountered at Wal-mart. Prepare for my venting....

Today, after I had a cart full of groceries, I got in a line behind one person after I had passed up lines with 4 or 5 people in them. No brainer, right? Apparently not...the other people seemed to know what I didn't. And that was - the lady I was behind was taking full advantage of the fact that Wal-mart will match any other competitor's price. Translation: she had 3 or 4 ads with her from various grocery stores and expected the cashier to change every Wal-mart price to match the sale price at every other store for the items she had. I must say - I was dumbfounded. And this is why I thought "unbelievable" over and over again for the next 10 (yes, atleast 10) minutes that I waited for 3 (yes, 3) cashiers to go through her items and correct the prices at the register against the prices in the ads.

I wasn't angry...I was just amazed that this was happening. It does baffle me that people do not think about how their actions affect those around them. (I couldn't change lines because there were also several people behind me at this point). In fact...I think I would have stayed in line anyway, just to make sure what I was seeing was actually what was going on. It was truly unbelievable.

I wish I could say the story stops there, but it doesn't! After the cashier had (very patiently) rung up each of the ladies' items, the customer handed over about 20 coupons to be scanned as well. At that point, the cashier informed the customer that she would be unable to use the coupons because she had used the sell prices from other stores (many were BOGO free items). The lady was furious! And again, I was dumbfounded (that's the best word for my disbelief at this point). She refused to pay for her items without being able to use the coupons, and after yelling at the cashier, she asked to speak with the manager. All I know is...I had already finished checking out (and I had a lot of stuff) and the lady was still there complaining. I can't help but tell you that the words "I wouldn't have wasted an hour here - I would have gone to Food Lion if I knew this was going to happen" actually came out of her mouth. UNBELIEVABLE. I must say...everyone around her wished that she would have gone to Food Lion. And I must say...it just would have made sense (seeing as their items were already on sale). I mean, I like to get good deals...but the whole scene I witnessed today seemed very selfish. I'm a huge fan of coupons. In fact, I'm usually at Lowe's Foods with my many coupons each week because they double them and if I'm lucky the things I have coupons for are even on sale. But this....this was a whole other level.

Ok...I think I'm through venting. I wish I was ready with a spiritual application, but the majority of things that have run through my head today have been more about how ridiculous that lady was. Maybe there will be something to come. We'll see. Until then...I'm waiting to see what will happen on my next Wal-mart trip.

cool things happen when you don't have your camera

Wouldn't you know...I forgot the camera last night when we went to the lake again. Don't worry, I know no one needs to see anymore pictures of our cute little dog at the lake. (I know I'm competing with the adorable babies that are being blogged about!) haha...But, the one night I forget the camera I catch the biggest fish I've ever caught! I couldn't believe it.

Justin and I took a canoe out on the lake - prepared to enjoy a nice relaxing time of fishing. I could really care less if I caught anything because we weren't going to keep any fish this time to bring home. Too bad we hadn't brought the cooler, because if we had, the large bass I caught would have been our dinner tonight! I'm usually pretty good at reeling the fish in and taking it off the hook, but last night I literally screamed when I saw the fish jump out of the water! It echoed all around the lake and freaked Justin out. So...thankfully my wonderful husband saved the day and finished reeling the fish in and taking it off. We considered keeping it for a few seconds, but thought better of it. Plus...Jazz was freaked out, too. The fish was bigger than her!

Anyway...it was a fun night of fishing...something Justin and I love to do. Our dog is fitting right in with us. She still loves the water. She jumped right out of the boat last night and swam around for a little while. She's fearless. She's funny-looking now, though, 'cause Justin and I gave her her first haircut! We haven't done her head, yet, so she's got a tiny body with a big head! She looks hilarious, but still adorable. We're contemplating a trip to the beach, just so we can see her in the waves. We'll see how the weather is the weekend!