Halloween Weekend

Happy Halloween Friends!

On Friday, Colin and I were invited to one of his coworker's house for a Halloween party. Costumes encouraged. We don't own any costumes and couldn't find anything in town on a last minute's notice, so we raided our closets and came up with...

Cowboy and cowgirl! It also could have gone farmer and farmwife. We already owned our own boots. We put on some tight jeans and button up shirts, and there you have it, costumes. Colin also wore a straw cowboy hat he found at goodwill, which is what made him look more like a farmer, so he added a twine belt and put a handkerchief in his back pocket. I wish we took pictures to share!

Tonight we are hoping for some trick-or-treaters. I sure hope we get at least a few, because we loaded up on candies!

Hope you have a spooktacular evening!

Frittata

The following recipe is my favorite to make for breakfasts. It is so fresh and tasty. Measurements may be varied based on your preferences. This combination of ingredients will be sure to please a hungry belly.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter
2 green onions, chopped
Small red pepper, diced
Small yellow pepper, diced
1/3 C ham, diced
6 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Handfull fresh spinach, chopped
Feta, cubed

Turn oven on broil.

Directions:
1) Melt butter in skillet on medium heat.
2) Add green onions, peppers and ham. Saute until cooked, about 5 minutes.
3) Whisk eggs in a separate bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4) Pour egg mixture in saute pan. Add spinach. Stir.
5) Add feta to top.
6) Let cook until just top is left to cook. Broil in oven until top is done and egg just begins to brown. (This should be done in same skillet...if your handles are not metal and may melt in heat, cover them with tin foil.)
7) Serve with bacon brushed with maple syrup about 5 minutes before being done and enjoy!

I like to cook my bacon in a 400 degree oven. I put thick-cut bacon on cookie racks over a pan covered in tin foil if you don't want the mess of grease. Usually after about 15-20 minutes, they are ready to be brushed with syrup and cooked for 5 more minutes. So good!

What is your favorite breakfast to serve?

Dancing

I want to share with you some quotes from a study I just got done reading. The book was called When Wallflowers Dance: Becoming a Woman of Righteous Confidence by Angela Thomas. Fellow blogger Andrea mentioned something on one of her posts that reminded me of some certain quotes that I felt like I should share with you all.

"Dancing is used to describe living fully in Christ's love. Dancing is about loving people in perfect step with His love for you and enjoying a grown-up, passionate life, free of emptiness and fear. Inside the strength of His embrace, you can become the woman you have always wanted to be...the one He dreamed of when He created you."

Are you dancing? What stops you from dancing? Perhaps fear, lack of faith, lack of discipline, busy-ness, low self-confidence, sin, or just being stuck in a rut. What are some tools you have around you that encourage you to dance? For me, it is a song, my Bible, a quote on my refrigerator, a picture, a meeting with a friend, or a meaningful sermon. What works for you?

I love the part of the quote that says, "You can become the woman you have always wanted to be...the one He dreamed of when He created you." God had a vision in mind when He created us. He knew the lives we would lead and the loves of our lives. What do you think was his vision for you? I will be pondering these thoughts right along with you this week.

My wish for you all:
"More than anything...love God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and dance! Dance the dance of your life for the glory of God!"

Cheese Danish

Ingredients:
•8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
•1/3 cup sugar
•2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
•2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
•1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
•1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
•2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
•1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.

Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.

New Beginnings

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."

~Judy Garland

Cheers to new beginnings! Here are some butterflies springing to life for me:

 

 

~Colin got sworn in with the Waupaca Police Department and began his first day on the road Saturday. He is enjoying his field training and is keeping happily busy with his new career.

 

 

~It is my second month being on birth control pills. My cycles are back on track, praise God. Please pray that my cysts will dissolve. I have a prescription for one more month. I will be doing a lot of praying to determine what my next steps are in trying to conceive a baby after these 7 weeks are up. God has given me a renewed sense of hope.

 

 

~This is the 10th day we have been moved into our home. Everything is unpacked and nailed to the walls. Pictures to come. It is very relaxing here with a golf course view and plenty of trees and squirrels.

 

 

~The small community of about 6,000 has been very welcoming and kind. We moved here not knowing anybody, so it has been nice having neighbors and community members step up and help us to feel at home.

 

 

~We have found a coffee/sandwich shop called Sisters that we are in love with. It may not be too difficult after all giving up the 1-mile-away-from-us-Starbucks that we had in Eau Claire. I love my espresso.

~I know that one month from today, we will be cutting down our Christmas tree. It is mine and Colin's tradition to get our tree and start getting in the holiday spirit the day after Thanksgiving. I heart Christmas.

 

 

May God bless all of you.

"My child, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared."

~Proverbs 3:21-26