What's in my bag today...blessings.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go away for a night.  It was great!  No husband or kids counting on me, just time for myself.  It was called a Girlfriends Getaway, and it lived up to the name.  It was a retreat through my church.  We had a good time and were reminded that we are Princesses/Warriors in the kingdom of God.  It was really refreshing to hear the stories of ladies that I know from church.  I had no idea about some of the things they have walked through or are going through now.  It's very easy in life to feel that you are all alone, even when you are surrounded by people who are also going through a tough time.  I applaud my friends for their courage in sharing some hard things with all of us. 

I was driving home from Target today and I was just hit with a wave of gratitude.  I have so many things to be thankful for.  I am blessed beyond what I had ever hoped for my life.  Gods kindness/mercy/grace/love for me, still surprises me.  I am convicted that I do not love Him as He loves me and I hope that each day I can grow to love Him more.  I have to thank Him publicly, a shout out if you will.  It is because I have Him in my life that I am here today.  There are so many different bad turns my life could have taken, but didn't because I trusted in God to lead the way. 

On the dinner table front, I am still trying new things.  Last week I didn't plan that well, but I did try one new dish that I really liked.  I had some turkey sausage and I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it.  I had resigned myself to just sauteing them and making a starch and veggie, when I stumbled on a recipe.  I took out some Stove Top (gasp)for a side and there was a sausage bake recipe on the back.  It was super easy and pretty quick.  If you don't want to use Stove Top, you could always make your own croutons or buy the plain stuffing mix at the store.  First you add hot water to the stuffing in a baking dish and set aside.  Then sautee the sausage until mostly cooked, then add peppers(I used diced frozen peppers), and onion (also diced frozen), and frozen spinach and cook until tender.  Pour this mixture over the stuffing and then pour a can of diced tomato on top.  I then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and baked in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes.  I didn't use any seasonings because the stuffing was seasoned (Pork).

Last night I made a Stromboli. First you take the dough out of the fridge a couple hours ahead of time and let it get to room temp.  It's much easier to work with.   Then I cooked a box of frozen chopped broccoli. While that was cooking I chopped up some chicken that I had cooked the night before.  When it was done I mixed it (drain the water if there's any in the pot) with the chicken and a few tbs of pesto (store bought in a jar).  I then spooned it onto the dough I had rolled out.  Lastly I sprinkled cheddar cheese on top (you can also mix it throughout if you want).  I folded over the dough on each side and the ends and cooked it in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes.  You want to watch it to make sure the outside doesn't burn or get too brown.  We all loved it!

Later this week I'm going to try a meat loaf with dried cranberries.  I've always been pretty strict about keeping fruit out of my savory dishes, but I gotta get out of my comfort zone sometime.  I may not use as many cranberries as they recommend, just in case we don't like it we can pick them out!  Also in the line up is a Mexican macaroni and cheese.  I'll keep you posted!