Chicken Paprika

This dish has become a new holiday favorite.  My stepmom makes it for us when she comes down at the holidays!  In fact, it's what we had for Thanksgiving dinner.  My husband and I want to find a quicker way to make it so we can enjoy it more often, perhaps with boneless chicken breasts.

 

Chicken Paprika with Spatzle

1 3 - 3.5 lb cut up fryer

1/2 C flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 C butter

1 Large chopped onion

2 Tbsp paprika

1 C chicken broth

1 C light cream

1/2 C sour cream

In bag, shake chicken in flour, 1 tsp salt, and pepper 'til coated. Save 2 Tbsp flour. Brown chicken in butter, pour off fat, but return 3 Tbsp to skillet. Saute onion 10 minutes or so. Add paprika, 1/2 tsp salt, and broth. Bring to boil, lower heat. Add chicken, turning to coat. Cook, covered, 30 minutes or 'til tender. Remove chicken. Stir in cream. Make paste of saved 2 Tbsp flour and sour cream. Slowly stir into pan. Cook, without boiling, 'til thick. Add chicken. Serve over spatzle.

Spatzle

3 C sifted flour

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp white pepper

3 eggs, beaten

1 C water

1/4 C melted butter

Combine flour, salt, and pepper in medium bowl. Make well in center. Add eggs and water and mix thoroughly. Scoop up dough onto spatula or lage spoon and cut off small pieces with a knife directly into a boiling pot of salt water. As dough bits rise, scoop off with a slotted spoon. Place in covered bowl with melted butter and keep warm as the rest cooks.

Tea Tuesday

Very belatedly, I am sharing a little Chinese New Year goodie-box that a sweet friend gave to me this Tea Tuesday. Chinese New Year was six weeks ago! One of the packets contains green tea, but they're all so cute, colorful, and unique that I haven't been able to bring myself to open any of the candy or tea yet. I'm just enjoying looking at it! The little coins have symbols embossed on them that stand for various New Year's greetings: good luck, prosperity, etc. We'd gone to lunch that day at a Chinese restaurant with crunchy egg rolls flavored with sesame oil (one of my favorites), jasmine tea, and a delicious chicken and noodle dish. I love that tea is very much a multi-cultural affair, one that crosses boundaries easily from one country to the next.

Thanks to bleubeard and elizabeth for mentioning my blog today - she has quite a fun blog herself!

As an Orthodox Christian, this week is the high point of the year: Holy Week, leading to the feast of feasts, or Pascha. I am looking forward to attending services this week and then staying up all night Saturday as we celebrate with a midnight Liturgy! A blessed Easter/Pascha to all of you!

2010

My hope for myself and all of you in 2010: new growth, new roots put down for nourishment, new leaves stretching toward the sun. I will be trying to do more seed gardening this year, so these things are on my mind. I plan to stay home this festive eve and take time to review 2009 and reflect on the year ahead - not to set resolutions so much as just to refocus and reevaluate. Will it be possible to thin out those parts of my life that are unhealthy or unproductive, making room for better things? Like the nasturtium seedlings above: I hated to pull them out of the ground, but I knew if I didn't that the ones left behind would not be able to grow as strong. I admired the way they sprouted so confidently out of the seeds, and then I left them in the garden to return to the soil. I'd love to hear about your goals for 2010.


For those of you I'm not linked with on facebook, I wanted to share that I have an essay out in the new issue of Relief: A Literary Christian Expression. (It's only in print, not online. And a disclaimer: their bloggers are an odd lot and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of this author! But I always enjoy the essays, poems, and short stories in Relief.)

Christmas 2009

Christmas was special for us this year because we had family visiting to spend the holiday with us. We have not spent Christmas with family since 2003, when we last returned to South Dakota for the holiday. Given the blizzard they're still in today, I'm glad we didn't attempt it this year! When family and friends visit, we get out and do things we don't usually do. This time it included a trip to Galveston and a walk on the beach, attending a great performance of The Christmas Carol at a downtown Houston theater, visting Lakewood Church per the request of visting family (what a contrast to my last post! photos of the Osteens were the only iconic images around), perusing and sampling the huge cheese selection at a new H.E.B. in West University Place, a long walk in a new park, a carol service at a local Methodist church, and my very first 3D Imax experience - wow! Cooking a large meal and opening gifts were all the more fun for having family with us. I am grateful for the company of loved ones at the end of the year.

My thoughts are now turning to 2010 and the things I want to work on. Home projects are at the top of the list - installing a gutter, dealing with water problems, and lots, lots more. Removing clutter to make the home more pleasant is a part of that, although the challenge seems huge. Craft and sewing projects are there, and a more consistent prayer and devotional life, as is trying to exercise more and plant a small spring garden. I don't make resolutions, but I do form loose goals!

How was your Christmas? What are your thoughts for 2010?

Top photo by my husband

Life as a Christmas Elf

Today I mailed off my last packages. Here are a few things that I included as handmade gifts, some of which might be quick for you to make as last minute gifts if you need ideas! (If you're a family member and have secretly discovered my blog, I guess your surprises are ruined! ;-)

Desk calendars for those with office jobs (4x6 inches), using wallet-sized prints of my flower photos and free yearly calendars downloaded on the web.

Beaded earrings - copper, glass, minerals, sterling silver.

Guilty pleasure - pretzels in almond bark with sprinkles.

Typed, printed, and bound booklets of the favorite family recipes my MIL wrote out by hand for our wedding.

Herbal sachets (many of these are for my own closets, fabric stash, etc.) They do contain lavendar, but also whole cloves, thyme, mint, and rosemary. They smell wonderful! I tried out a few decorative stitches on my sewing machine for embellishment, and even broke into my vintage hankie collection for a few of them.

I also did some simple scrapbook pages, easy cookie cutter clay ornaments, pottery for one lucky person, and made a pile of photo notecards. I haven't been able to craft much this year with study and travel, so it has been rather fun to get back into it. The hardest part of Christmas prep remains: cleaning and straightening my house before visitors arrive! I hope your Advent season is going well.

Magical Surprises

Last Friday, the very unexpected happened: it snowed in Houston. All day long. The flakes here were fat and fluffy, and enough accumulated to turn the yard white. This is a rare gift that I very likely will not see again in my time here. It made me quite happy and very tickled - what a joyful treat!

Today, looking at these pictures, I can't help but think about the unexpected snow as a metaphor for other unexpected good things: the upcoming feast of the Nativity, when God took on human flesh and was born in a manger, for one. I'm also thinking of changes that I've seen in people's lives and how heartwarming it can be. And even some changes in my own life. Spiritually, if you would have told me eleven years ago that I would soon become an Orthodox Christian and spend afternoons like today listening to the Paraklesis service sung by Eikona, I would have not taken you seriously. But God and life can surprise us - just like the snow did a few days ago!

Are you enjoying any unexpected events lately?

Advent Calendar

We're back from yet another trip, this time to attend the wedding of my husband's sister in Ohio and then to celebrate Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania with our good friends and adorable godchildren. But more on that later! I've admired the envelope-type Advent calendars that I've seen on many craft blogs (the envelopes are often clipped clothespin style to twine along a wall, etc.) and so I decided to whip up a quick one to take to our godkids. It's pretty self-explanatory from the photos, and it was a lot of fun to make. Using a packet of 20 icon cards about the life of Christ as the envelope inserts (available from the Greek Archdiocese website) was a good way to keep the focus on the reason for Christmas. For the other 5 days, I inserted photos of my husband and me and included little notes to the kids. There are countless ways to vary this idea.

I'll be trying to whip up some more Christmas crafts for gifts in the next week or two. Will you be crafting?

Thankful

{A purple coneflower from my barefooted afternoon shooting flowers in Rapid City in early October}

I find myself thankful for so much these days: the blessing of growth through God's grace, my husband's new job, finishing my master's exam (yay! passed with an A - what a blessing to be finished with it!), our sweet little dog, slightly cooler temps and time to plant some winter annuals and cabbage seedlings in my garden, our fall travels, all of our friends and family who are expecting little ones, finding courage to face my flight fears, and another Thanksgiving upon us.

I hope that you have much to be thankful for this year. I suspect that most of us do, if we just know where to look!

A Year of Shiloh

A year ago today, we brought our goofy dog Shiloh home with us. He was eight months old. We met quite a few more of our neighbors taking him out on evening walks and have had a good source of entertainment in the evenings when he races around the house or when he meets his puppy friends for playdates. It was a rough adjustment for my husband, who did not grow up with pets, but he has now become quite fond of the dog and will even pick him up to cuddle and tells me how cute the dog is. I started out saying that Shiloh would not be allowed on the furniture and would not sleep in our bed – and of course, neither of those are now true (although he does usually sleep in his crate.) He adores children and it has been so cute to watch our little nephew, only two, playing with Shiloh. He hasn’t had any accidents in ages, even when visiting new houses, although we are still working on the chewing issues – shoes, pillows, and books are favorites. I love how Shiloh is always happy to see me, full of enthusiasm, affection, and playfulness. I miss him when I’m gone. If you would’ve told me a year ago that I’d be this attached to a dog, I wouldn’t have believed you. But now I believe.

Related posts (with cute photos):

Ten Months Old

Meet Shiloh

Summer Wedding

We had a little adventure this last weekend, taking off to Cincinnati for my husband’s brother’s wedding. The first and foremost thing for me was dealing with my flight phobia again. I still depend upon sedatives, but it seems like it’s getting a bit easier. I even find myself regretting not flying for seven years – think of all the other places I could have seen and how much more often I could have visited my family in that time! But better late than never.

The wedding was a brilliant celebration, held in a lovely old church which is now the Bell Event Centre. Our new sister-in-law is a delightful young woman. We visited with lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins, and I even met some of my husband’s relatives for the first time. I ran around taking lots of photos. The food was fantastic, the new-grassy band was a pleasant change from typical wedding music, the bride was beautiful, and the venue spectacular.

We also snuck in a whirlwind tour of the Cincinnati Art Museum. I easily could have spent a few more hours there if time had allowed – a gorgeous old building with a large collection. Visiting these old eastern towns is always such a shock to my western eyes – so many big, old buildings, both beautiful and run-down.

Any weddings for you this summer? Any new sights? Please do share.

Stories, Written Down

This May, my aunt asked if I would help her type up and re-organize the handwritten life story of her 88-year-old mother. I was immediately curious and happy to be of assistance. I’ve spent much of the past two weeks typing these pages, piecing memories together that sometimes jumped around from one section to another one. It was fascinating. M. was born in 1921 in Nebraska, lived without indoor plumbing or electricity into her mid-20s, raised eight children of her own while working hard as a farm wife, married a man who was one of 14 children.

Seeing this story written down also makes me think of Facebook and the emails I’ve been exchanging with high school and college classmates about where the last decade has taken them. I still have somewhat mixed feelings about FB; as I mentioned a while ago, the magazine Real Simple had an article about it that spelled out exactly how I feel. I was reluctant to join at first, but I have to admit that I’m enjoying it now, although I have purposefully limited the amount of time I spend looking for old friends. I do find sparks of affection welling up for these people who once shared my life and feel relieved to know where they are, to know that they are doing ok. That said, it is also somewhat disorienting to have so many different slivers of my life coming together on one screen. There’s also the reality that it is impossible for my friends to truly understand who I am now, and likewise for me to know how they’ve changed, without real, face-to-face interaction. FB also stirs up a feeling that I often have, a wish that I could gather everyone I love into one town and not have all my friends and loved ones scattered so far away. It provokes a desire to sit down for coffee in real life with them, rather then sending paragraphs through cyberspace. Having been out of touch for years with most of these people, and now so easily seeing updates on their lives online, also makes me feel as though I’ve stepped into another dimension of reality!

Speaking of stories, I had another birthday last week. These are some of my birthday peonies, which conveniently arrive in groceries right on time. (It’s too hot down here for them to grow.) I need to focus on writing the next chapter in the story of my life, reinterpreting the last chapters, and hopefully making it a story worth reading!

What chapters are you writing right now?

Happy May Day 2009

Happy May Day, all! I'd love to leave a little basket of candy or a small nosegay on your front door! Since I can't, consider this my May Day surprise for you. Our garden seems to be doing well so far.

It has been a rather frantic week, anticipating our big road trip to SD and trying to prepare and pack for my month up there. We are taking Shiloh the dog along with us; I am a little nervous about him escaping! But I am so happy to be going home again to spend time with my family and friends, take lots of walks and hikes, and visit my favorite little restaurants. I am not sure how often I'll be around, but I hope you have a wonderful month of May!

A year ago: May blizzard in South Dakota, May Day

Pascha Morning

I’m always thankful for Orthodox Holy Week and Pascha (aka Easter; Pascha is the Greek translation of the Hebrew pesach; both mean Passover, which is so appropriate). Amazingly, we have passed through them already, after our journey through Lent. I am thankful for the quietness of Holy Week and the opportunity to focus particularly on the foundation of our faith; I am thankful for the exuberant joy of Pascha as we celebrate the Feast of Feasts, the Resurrection of our Lord, the harrowing of Hell. Pascha is the only night of the year where I’ll stay up until 4 a.m., celebrating the Liturgy and then a potluck with our church family. It is a joyous time.

Early Pascha morning, I found myself chasing off death in the form of the neighbor’s black cat, who’d ventured into our yard to try to rob the mockingbird nest. I was awoken by the cat screeching as the parent birds showed their anger, so I quickly dressed and ran outside in the dark to chase the cat off. With a flashlight, I spent the next 45 minutes looking for the baby birds. I am happy to report that I found them, darling little fledglings who were not quite ready to fly but close to it. I held one in my hand after I caught him; he gazed at me with his dark eyes with solemnity, his beak and legs much larger than I’d expected. In fact, his little feet wrapped tightly around my fingers. It was quite touching. I put him back in the nest, which was built in our lovely jasmine vines right near the bedroom windows. The other one escaped me and ran into the thick nandina bushes. They peeped their pitiful distress calls and cried all morning, and eventually their parents started feeding them again. I even called a wildlife refuge center in case we needed to take them in. I humbled myself the next day by walking into a dog salon and asking for a bag of dog hair to spread along my fence line to keep the cats out. They seemed to think it would work. My own dog endured many hits in his rear end from the adult birds; it was actually very funny to see his surprise and shock each time; of course he was not injured. I am so happy to report that the baby birds are now up in the trees, not adept fliers but at least gaining competence. So far, the story has a happy ending.

Sewing

I wanted to share a few of the projects that I've worked on in the last month or so. Sewing still remains rather frustrating to me and at times I continue to wonder why I torture myself so! First is a tote bag adapated from Last Minute Patchwork & Quilted Gifts. I made three of these, two for gifts. My attempts to attach snaps with my Crop A Dile were not successful, so I just sewed some ribbon inside the top in order provide a way to close the bag.



My little nephew up north recently celebrated a birthday and I sewed two owls for him, adapted from some free patterns on the web. Apparently he has joined the owl craze that is sweeping the nation.

And lastly, I took a binding class at a local quilt shop a few weeks ago and started out small with potholders, also gifts. I really don't like to bind, but it's nice to finally know how to do it!

Any projects you'd like to share?

A Nosegay for You

I wanted to share some of the beautiful little moments that have come my way lately.

First of all – ranunculus for sale at the grocery store! I tried valiantly to grow ranunculus in Bakersfield, and would have succeeded were it not for the creepy beetles who came along and ate all the blossoms at their peak. I don’t often purchase flowers, but these reminded me of peonies. I love their curly stems.

A beautiful wee tabby at one of the garden centers we visited this week. She was curled up on a shelf on one of the displays and was quite hidden, but was more than happy to accept a chin rub. Don’t you love it when businesses have resident pets?

Phone calls with my sister, one in particular on a snow day when the entire town was closed in. And another one this afternoon. I always enjoy our chats.

An e-mail from a friend that I hadn’t heard from in a few years, informing me of the birth of her third baby and the pending adoption of another foster child. I am blessed to know there are people like her out there. And she’s still several years away from age 30!

A small quilt binding class. Binding has been my last hold-out. I need to practice, but at least I (sort of) know how.

A delicious cool front that came in Friday night, just before our big day of yard work. It made our work much easier. There’s something so gratifying about physical work.

Beautiful, meditative Liturgies at church, especially Presanctified Liturgy and Adoration of the Cross. These services, for me, have so embodied the often-quoted story about the ambassadors sent to learn about Orthodoxy who reported back that ‘they knew not whether they were in heaven or in earth’ during the Liturgy. My mind often wanders during services – how easily I lose my focus – but there are also profoundly beautiful moments.

Preparing a small birthday gift for my husband’s 87-year-old grandma. I love sending mail to elderly people.

No, it’s not all sunshine and roses around here, but small moments mean a lot to me. What blessings, big or small, have come your way lately?

Fifth Photo Tagged

I was tagged by Martha to open my fifth photo folder and post the fifth photo in that folder. This photo is from my sister's wedding in 2005. My husband is escorting my dear Grandma Helen to her seat. The wedding was held outdoors, overlooking beautiful Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park. This photo is bittersweet. The wedding and the weeks leading up to it were delightful and full of celebrations - the bridal shower, a small bachelorette party that involved a surprise limo ride through the Black Hills and a stop for dinner at our favorite restaurant in Hill City, an authentic British tea for the ladies in the backyard a day or two beforehand, and a rehearsal dinner at a local park with our favorite Chinese restaurant catering. One of our good friends and I shared matron of honor duties. Another good friend was the impromptu coordinator and later stayed in our cabin, snoring all night - although we were all too wound up to sleep well anyway! The bitter part is that Grandma passed away less than a month later. We four granddaughters (my sis, our cousins, and I) were all very fond of her and she is still deeply missed. But I rejoice that she was able to be there for all four of our weddings and that I was able to see her again that summer and see how excited she was about my sister's wedding.
If you want to play along, consider yourself tagged.

Happy Valentine's Day; Memory Eternal

Great Aunt Marion

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! Here’s a peek at some of my crafting, as well as at a little bouquet for my sister’s arrival. Our redbuds are just beginning to bloom; these are the only branches I could reach to snip. I’m so excited for her visit with my little nephew. We’ve had more out-of-town visitors than usual the last few months, and we’re really enjoying it. Of course, it does mean that I’m fairly absent on my own blog, as well as yours! I do miss keeping up with all of you.

This little bouquet is also serving as a small memorial of sorts. Late last night we found out that my Great Aunt Marion passed away (sister of my grandma and Uncle Louis). She became rather reclusive in the last decade or so, but I have very fond memories of visiting her in the tiny North Dakota town where she lived. She had a large old house; mourning doves were always cooing in the cottonwoods and elms outside. We didn’t have mourning doves in western South Dakota, so their sound was novel and new to me. It is a sound I will forever associate with peaceful visits to my family. Like her siblings, she was a character. Also like her siblings, she didn’t talk much about things that happened in the family many years ago, leaving many of us in the dark about things we’d really like to know more about. I’m mourning her passing. I can still hear her sweet voice with its heavy northern accent, see her sitting on her porch with a cigarette. I’m also mourning the family history that was lost with her. Lives are such mysteries to me. For how complex and rich our lives are, so often what I know about my older relatives can be summarized into a single paragraph. This seems like such an injustice to who they must have been. I wish there was a better way to hold onto the essence of who our loved ones were. For all the photographs and memories we have, they still fall short of capturing who the person completely was. No doubt this is at least a small reason for the pain of death.

Birthday Visitors

We were blessed by a visit from some old dear friends and our three little godchildren this last week. We celebrated all of the kids' birthdays. To their delight, they had a chance to decorate their own cakes. Blowing up balloons also proved to be quite entertaining - or rather, blowing them up and then letting them fly around the room as the air escaped! We were able to attend Liturgy together, play at the park a few times, make parachutes out of garbage bags to toss off the landing (Transformers in tow), play silly games, and make block towers. I always have a renewed appreciation for mothers after our visits and their daily disciplines of feeding, cleaning, and caring for their kiddos. And of course, our gratitude to be these children's godparents is even more strengthened by our time with them. They have blessed and charmed us with their little ways.

We also visited a railroad museum, where a friendly, grandmotherly guide made our visit just perfect for little boys.

A trip to the zoo was also in order, although most of us were recovering from stomach bugs! My favorite part was visiting the goats and scratching their necks. They were pretty sleepy!

Any birthday memories? Zoo memories?