Creamy Chicken Italiano (for the crockpot)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix
1/4 c. water
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese (can be low-fat Neufchatel)
1 10 3/4 oz. cream of chicken soup

Place chicken in crockpot. Combine salad dressing mix and water. Pour over chicken. Cover. Cook on low for 3 hours (add 1 hour for frozen chicken). Combine cream cheese and soup until well blended. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 1 hour more or until chicken juices run clear. Serve over rice.

Easy and tasty, hope you like it. Got it from a good friend here in Logandale--Dottie Adams.

Life is good here: Taylor and Gabrielle had their last basketball games on Tuesday. They both had a good season. It was great fun to watch Taylor play when he really decided to show up for the games. Poor kid is too much like his mother; he has to turn off his brain and let instinct take over in order to perform. He does a better job of it than I do, however. Both kids are defensive menaces, but not foulers, in general (right, Taylor? :-))
We live in a windy, dusty, barren, hot-in-the-summer-and-cold-in-the-winter place, where I don't think anyone would choose to live based on anything like an educated decision. Most of us who live here do it because of the feelings we have about the place and about living here. Such a community, so many wonderful friends and neighbors, so much support. I'm finally to the place that if and when we move on, it will be with fond regret. (But I won't miss the wind. Or summer.) ;-P

Today's Recipe

Got this recipe from my sweet mother while visiting her over the Christmas break. It was a sweet, calm, relaxing visit, and I enjoyed my parents thoroughly. I feasted on this bread every morning, since Mom had made plenty. I copied it down to enjoy at home, as well as to keep the memories of my visit in my mind. Of course, since it was me making the recipe, I changed it--as always--but I like it. See what you think!

Round Whole Wheat Loaves

3 c. all-purpose flour
3 c. whole wheat flour
2 pkgs. (or 4 1/2 tsp.) active dry yeast
3/4 c. warm water
1 c. warm milk
3/4 c. shortening
1/2 c. honey
2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
melted butter

1. In a large bowl, combine the flours; set aside. Ina large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, shortening, honey, salt and eggs. Beat in half of the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour mixture to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide dough in half. Shape into round loaves. Place each loaf on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 35 min.
4. With a sharp knife, make a deep "x" in top of each loaf. Bake @ 375 for 30-35 min. or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks; brush w/ melted butter.

My variation: After punching dough down, separate into three equal parts, covering two while working with one. Roll each section into a flat circle and cut into 8 equally-sized wedges. Roll each into a crescent and put onto greased cookie sheet, pointed side down. Cover crescents and let raise 15-20 min. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Brush with melted butter.

Today we had a fifth-Sunday combined meeting wherein we discussed the relevance of the Personal Progress and Scouting programs for the youth, as well as some of the issues they face which may keep them from achieving their potentials. I was once again reminded what a blessing it is to have the Gospel, to have others who are working with me to guide my children and help them to be spiritually and physically safe. I know that my responsibility to teach and guide them at home is paramount, and must not be left to others, but I am grateful for those who serve in their callings willingly, and who may influence my children in ways that I might not. My greatest desire is that my children will grow up in peace because they have followed the voice of the Spirit throughout their lives. I know that they must develop mastery of self in order to achieve this end--if one has no self-mastery, his agency is lost. The only thing we truly have to give to our Father is our will, and if we don't develop self-mastery, we are not capable of giving that gift to Him, and we cannot progress. My goal is to find an take more opportunities to teach my children gospel principles in every day life.

Peanut Butter-Banana-Chocolate Chip Loaf

2 1/2 c. flour (I use 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 overripe bananas, mashed
1 c. milk
3/4 c. peanut butter (I like to use super-chunky)
3 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 c. milk chocolate chips

Mix together flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and chocolate chips. In another bowl, combine bananas, milk, peanut butter, oil, egg, and vanilla. Add wet mixture to dry mixture, stirring until just combined. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Can also make into muffins; bake at same temperature for 20-25 min. in greased or paper-lined muffin cups.

Yesterday while I was out walking with Kenji, I saw a perfect formation of geese flying overhead, reminding me again of the beauty of God's plan for us. When we are obedient to Him, staying within the parameters He has set, it is a thing of order and beauty. I love how everything true fits together. Learning new things is so exciting to me for that reason. I am jazzed to start a new online course. At the start of this week I was very out of sorts and stormy inside. It was like when I tell Gabrielle she looks "cloudy". I kept going over and over again about my college classes: whether or not it is worth it to continue in my emphasis, what other avenues there might be for me, etc. I allowed myself to get distracted again, looking at other majors at UNLV, NSC, WGU, etc. I even looked again at other emphases in the BYU program. Eventually, though, I realized that I'm just taking the bait and wasting time. I DO have time to work on my degree, and I'm not getting any younger. I may not get it done in 2 years, but I can get it done eventually. I mean, how cherry is it that I can do it all from home, and at so reasonable a cost? I'm just taking it for granted that the opportunity is there.
I ended up comparing it to my marathon training, for time and commitment. I wanted to qualify for and run Boston, so I made a plan, drew up a schedule, and stuck to it. It took me 2-plus years as well, and countless hours of running, so I can do this, too. I'm excited. I'm sorry i allow myself to get sidetracked, but grateful that the Lord is always waiting patiently to give me the answers I need when I am finally ready to receive them. One of my many goals is to listen for the voice of the Spirit more closely and heed its promptings more readily.
I'm grateful that my parents got their mission call yesterday, to the England Birmingham Mission!!! How great is that? Perfect for them, I think. My mom will come home with her accent doubly polished. The neatest thing, I think, is that they got their call on their wedding anniversary. What greater affirmation of the commitment they have had to each other for the past 42 years, all because they followed the promptings of the Spirit to be together; how many times they've followed the Savior and stayed together.
My recipe post today is for my dad, who passed his love of the combination of nuts and chocolate on to me (anyone notice how many of my recipes include chocolate?!? Yikes.)

Delicious Ham & Potato Soup

Ingredients:

3 1/2 c. peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 c. diced celery
1/3 c. finely chopped onion
2 c. diced cooked ham
3 1/4 c. water
2 Tbsp. chicken bouillon granules
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp. ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 Tbsp. butter
5 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 c. milk

Directions:

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Spring Already

We finally got our garden in, and none of the starts have died yet. The little onions are actually still standing straight up! Hooray! Hopefully we will be seeing little sproutlings from our seeds in the next week or so.
I am grateful today to live in a community where so many people do what they say they will do. Of course, it's not perfect, but all around me are people who serve my kids and serve me just because they've volunteered to do so. So many teachers and leaders who go the extra mile. I am grateful for people who talk to my kids, who really listen to them and help to boost their confidence. Because of these people, my children feel that much more valued. I'm so grateful for these examples of people who fulfill duties instead of shirk and disappoint.
I have moaned about the "safety" here--that it isn't real and won't prepare my kids for what they may find as they venture out into the world. But I've rethought things, and I'm so grateful that my kids will have an idea of how things can be. I don't know the purposes for my being here; it's been painful to be separated from my family and the beauty of my home state. Nature here is less inspiring to me, which has been kind of sad. But I have often felt that one of many reasons I could be here is to provide my children with the incubator they need for their futures. I hope they will follow the good examples they see around them, and learn to serve in their future communities, wards, vocations, and respective families. I know Troy and I will not be their only role models, and as they mature, those outside our family may have louder voices than ours. For this reason I am grateful to have so many loud voices which are building, uplifting, and light-bringing.