"Leftover" Chicken Enchilada Recipe

I can't tell you the number of times I have heard other women say that they were going to use their leftover chicken to make enchiladas or tacos, and I always wondered how they did it. So, looking online last night, I found some recipes, but I didn't have the ingredients to make them, and was not going to the store. I looked in my pantry, and decided to improvise. (Did I mention that I have NEVER made chicken enchiladas before?) They were such a hit that I'm sharing the recipe with you all. Enjoy!!

Ingredients
2-3 lg fully cooked, diced, chicken breasts (mine were baked the night before)
3 C. (approx) Chicken flavored Rice-A-Roni cooked according to package instructions (again from night before)
1- 10.75 oz can Campbell's Southwest Style Pepperjack Cheese soup
1- 10.5 oz can Aunt Penny's white sauce (I'm sure any white sauce would work)
1/4 C water
1 TBS Chili powder
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp onion powder (or to taste)
8-12 Corn Tortillas
2-3 C Taco flavored grated cheese (from the bag)
Splash of water (approx 2 TBS)

Mix together soup, white sauce and 1/4 C water in medium saucepan, cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until hot. Reduce heat to low or set aside.
Place diced chicken and rice in microwave safe casserole or bowl with lid, season with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder. Add splash of water (just enough to ensure moistness of rice.) Mix well. Cover with lid and heat just until hot (heating times will vary.)
On microwave safe plate, place corn tortillas and wrap with paper towels, or light dish towel/ cloth napkin. Heat just until warmed and pliable. approx 30 sec- 1 minute.
In 11X9" glass baking dish, place 1/4 C of sauce, spread over bottom of baking dish. Place heated corn tortillas one by one, in baking dish, place a spoonful of chicken and rice mixture in tortilla, sprinkle light amount of cheese on chicken mixture, roll tortilla and push to edge of pan. Repeat until all tortillas are used or pan is full. Cover enchiladas with remaining sauce spreading evenly across all. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top, evenly. Heat in 350 degree oven until sauce is bubbly and cheese is fully melted (about 20-25 minutes.) Serves 8-12. Bon Appetit!

HINT: This recipe will only take approx 20 minutes to prep if using leftovers. Plan on approx 30-45 aditional minutes if making with uncooked chicken and rice in one day.

What Is A Proverbs 31 Woman Wannabe?

This post is for Ryan (the atheist) and for anyone else that wants to know exactly what I mean when I say I am a "Proverbs 31 Woman Wannabe".

First, I must share with you what Proverbs 31 says about this kind of woman:

Virtuousness:
Pro 31:10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.
Pro 31:11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain.
Pro 31:12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.

Industriousness:
Pro 31:13 She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands.
Pro 31:18 She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night.
Pro 31:19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle.
Pro 31:16 She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard.
Pro 31:24 She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants.

Homemaker:
Pro 31:14 She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar.
Pro 31:15 She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants.
Pro 31:21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
Pro 31:22 She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Pro 31:27 She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Godliness:
Pro 31:17 She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms.
Pro 31:20 She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
Pro 31:23 Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
Pro 31:25 Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come.
Pro 31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
Pro 31:28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her:
Pro 31:29 "Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all."
Pro 31:30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Pro 31:31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.

Now, to be sure, I do not fit every single one of these verses. But I would like to. I do not spin my own fabrics, and that's something I'm not so sure I would want to do. However, the idea of being able to make clothing for my family, that is both pretty and fashionable, and saves our family money is something that at some point I hope to do.

I do not have maidservants, either. That would be nice, but I'd probably just end up talking to them all day, rather than gettig anything done. I'm just a social person that way.

I do want to be a virtuous wife. I want my husband and children to praise me; to in essence be able to say truthfully that I am a good wife and mother.

I yearn to reach out to the poor, and to help them. I pray that I can always speak about my Lord with kindness and gentleness.
I strive each day not to be lazy or idle (though I don't always succeed.)

I pray each day that my husband will be successful in everything he endeavors, and he is (though not necessarily through anything that I do.) I pray each day that I am a help to him in that area, and never a hindrance. I strive each day to earn his trust, and to not do evil towards him, so that he always trusts me.

It is always on my mind that my outer "beauty" may fade, and not everyone will see me as charming, however that will not matter, because I will have beauty on the inside. My Lord will have provided it.

I would also like to help my husband provide for our family and our future, by making money doing something worthwhile, that also glorifies the Lord.

And lastly, but most definitely not least, I want to always glorify the Lord, and continue to walk the narrow path of His ways.

This to me is what it means to be a Proverbs 31 Woman, and why I am a Wannabe. I probably will never actually make it to Proverbs 31 Woman status in my life, and I doubt that the original Proverbs 31 Woman did it all at once- we already know she didn't do it all on her own. If you strive to be a Proverbs 31 Woman, consider yourself welcomed to the "Wannabe club". All Wannabe's welcome. If you've already arrived, and are no longer a Wannabe, please do share your success story, I'm sure we'd all like to hear how we can succeed too. Blessing to you all.

There is no "MORE" to this post.

Photo courtesy of litlnemo

To The "Invisible" Moms

I received this in an email today, and I just wanted to share it with all you other moms out there. It is a moving story of one invisible mom, and it applies to us all. Blessings to all of you!

This excerpt is from Nicole Johnson's novel, The Invisible Woman (Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville, TN, 2005) For more information, check out the author's Web site at www.freshbrewedlife.com.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.


Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction . But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime, because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself.

I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Great Job, MOM!

There is no "MORE" to this post.

Photo courtesy of Stuck In Customs

Three Years Ago Today and Yesterday

Three years ago yesterday was one of the best memories I have of my mom. I had taken a four day weekend by taking the day after Veteran's Day as a vacation day from work, and wanted to do some home decorating. I had so many household chores to do though. What to do??? Oh yeah, I thought to myself, Mom has a foreign exchange student that wants to earn some extra spending money, maybe she'd be willing to come over and do those chores so I can do what I wanted to do. I called Mom, and said, "Hey Mom, do you think Severina would be willing to come over and do some housework, while I do a couple other things around the house? I can pay her $40." She said "Let me ask her." "She said that would be fine. We'll be over in a few minutes." "Great. Oh, wait Mom, do you have a staple gun? I borrowed one from Dad, but his is a really old one, and the staples don't seem to fit." "Yeah, I have an electric one. Let me see if I can find it." "Ok, see you in a bit."

A little while later my mom was at my house, I had shown Severina what I needed done, and had shown my mom my "craft" ideas. I wanted to recover my cedar chest, because the fabric that was already on it, just didn't go with anything. I also had some ideas for some curtains I wanted to make. The curtains would have to wait for another day, but my mom had a lot of ideas about how I could do them. She was very "crafty" that way. :) So I unscrewed the top from the cedar chest, and measured out the fabric, and proceeded to try to use my mom's staple gun. KaChunk! Kachunk! Click! Nothing! The darn thing was stuck. "Mom what's wrong with this thing? It seems to be jammed." "Let me see it." I look up from what I'm doing and see her pointing it at me. I notice it's still plugged in. "Mom! Unplug that thing before you shoot me!" She chuckles and unplugs it. Then she gets it to work and hands it back to me. KaChunk! Kachunk! Click! Nothing again!!! "Arghh! Moooommmm! It's jammed again! Hand me dad's. I think your staples will fit in his gun. Oh good they do."

Meanwhile, my mom is fidgeting with her's again. I look up and KaChunk! A staple flies across the room! "MOM! Unplug that thing! You're gonna put someone's eye out!" She chuckle sheepishly, says "Sorry" and hands the gun to me again. I take it back, and begin working again. About 5 minutes later, KaChunk! Kachunk! Click! "Aww! Geeminie! It's jammed again! Mom, this is a piece of junk! I'll get done faster using Dad's!" I get up and go check on Severina's progress and check on my two year old. I come back into the kitchen where my mom is, and notice that she's looking down the "barrel" of the staple gun, and ONCE AGAIN, it's still plugged in! "MOM!!! UNPLUG THAT THING!!! "I DON'T HAVE TIME TO TAKE YOU TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM WHEN YOU SHOOT YOURSELF IN THE EYE!" She looks at me like "I'm fine, I know what I'm doing. I've been fixing staple guns longer than you've been alive" and all that. If you're a mom, or a child of a mom, you know the face. But she unplugs it. We finally get it to work long enough for me to finish the covering. However I notice as I get to the end that my mom had "helped" me while I was in the other room, and her corner was all bunched up. Oh well, I'll remove the staples and fix it when she's gone. I'm done with this. It was so much more frustrating than it needed to be. Why couldn't she have just gone home. I didn't need her here. All these thoughts were going through my head.

Today, I am so glad that she did stay all day long, and for the memory of that day, because the next day, she died. She had a sudden heart attack at the age of 48. So today, it's been three years since she died, and I think I can safely say that time does heal all wounds. I'm not depressed today, like I have been the last couple of years, and I can actually smile without doing so through a sheen of tears. Thank you, mom, for your silliness; for your scatter brained-ness, and for the memories. I love you, Mom!

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