Chicken & Cheese Crescent Chimichangas

from Simply Delicious: A Simply Swell Collection of Quick and Easy Recipes by the women of Elmbrook Church.

 

 Chimichangas are a favorite of mine.  In fact, I order the exact same lunch special featuring the chimi each time we visit the Mexican restaurant conveniently located down the block.  Last week I decided to give this simple recipe a try hoping to satisfy my love affair with this classic Mexican dish, and our children's obsession with crescent rolls.  

 

It's hard to duplicate a good chimichanga, and while these are quite different than the restaurant version I have come to love, they are quite tasty and definitely an easy weeknight meal.

 

Ingredients:

 

1/2 cup (1 medium) chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons oil

2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded (a rotisserie chicken adds great flavor)

2 (8oz) cans Pillsbury Quick Crescent rolls

1/2 cup favorite salsa

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese or Mexi-blend

sour cream

salsa

 

Optional:

lettuce, diced tomatoes, green onions to garnish

 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease.  In large skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil until onion is tender.  Add chicken; cook over low heat until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.  (If using a rotisserie chicken, simply add shredded chicken to cooked onion and garlic mixture and warm through.)  Remove from heat.

 

2. Separate dough into 8 rectangles; firmly press perforations to seal.  Spread 1-2 tablespoons of the salsa on each rectangle to within 1/2 inch of edges.  Stir 1 cup of cheese into chicken mixture.  Spoon heaping 1/3 cup of mixture on one half of each rectangle.

 

3. Starting at side topped with chicken, roll up crescent; pinch ends to seal.  Place seam down on prepared cookie sheet.

 

4. Bake for 16-21 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven, and top each chimichanga with additional cheese.  Bake an additional 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted.  Serve with additional salsa and/or sour cream.  Makes 8 Chimichangas.

 

  

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Packer Sundays



wise words for the homemaker

from Homemaking is Not a Holding Pattern

by Carolyn Mahaney

www.girltalkhome.com

 

 

 

Throughout my career as a homemaker I’ve been tempted to look past the

duties of the day to the more “important,” “significant,” or “exciting” work

of tomorrow.
 

“When the baby sleeps through the night, then I can begin to…”

“When the children are a little older I’ll have more time to….”

“When this sports season is over than I can turn my attention to….”

“If they ever graduate from high school, then I can finally….”
 

But there are no holding patterns in God’s kingdom. As homemakers, we

are not simply circling the skies of life, waiting for God from His control

tower to call us to real kingdom work. No, we’re doing that important work

today. As Dorothy Patterson observes: “preparation and care of the family

shelter are important enough for God himself to assign that responsibility”

(e.g. Titus 2:3-5, Pr. 31).

If God himself has assigned me the task of caring for my home, then I don’t

want to half-heartedly perform the duties of today, reserving my best

efforts for “tomorrow.” Rather, I want to follow the advice of missionary

Jim Elliot: “Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation

that you believe to be the will of God.” I want to unpack boxes and scrub

my new bathtub and run errands for the new home and take my son to the

soccer scrimmage for the glory of the One who saved me and who, by His

grace, called me to this wonderful work.

alexander days

"I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."

There are days when life feels like a page out of Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Mostly likely it is not a matter of waking up with gum in our hair; however, as a mom there is always the slight possibility of discovering an unknown substance (typically disgusting in nature) on a random body part ("What the what?") left by an unknown source (one measuring less than 4 feet).  On days such as these, when life feels out of sync, a series of unfortunate events, filled with poorly made decisions and failed plans, overreactions, and unnecessary strife we are tempted to succumb to the negativity of our day, throwing our exasperated hands into the air, praying for the very hour we can at last lay our weary heads on our pillows, shut our eyes, and wake to a new day, one that is not. so. very. bad.  

For me, the "bad" days are not exactly horrible, just those filled with a series of annoying circumstances and inconveniences that when combined leave me feeling deflated.  On those days, I have struggled to keep perspective, allowed my emotions to guide all parenting decisions, failed to have a heart of gratitude, and relied on my own strength to carry me through each moment of household insanity.  You would think at (almost) 35 weeks pregnant, I would recognize that at the moment I am, in fact, not very strong.  I'm pretty confident our 2 1/2 year old could push me over at any moment.  The physical challenges of my day being only half the battle, the real struggle occurs within as I daily battle the inner workings of sin in my life that draw my attention to the imperfections around me instead of gazing upward on the One who is perfect.

This week after a particularly stressful morning, the kind of morning where you look up at the clock and are dumbfounded to discover it is only 9 am, I was encouraged to read the following:
 

“...the duties God requires of us are not in proportion to the

strength we possess in ourselves. Rather, they are proportional to the

resources available to us in Christ. We do not have the ability in

ourselves to accomplish the least of God’s tasks. This is a law of

grace. When we recognize it is impossible for us to perform a duty in

our own strength, we will discover the secret of its accomplishment.

But alas, this is a secret we often fail to discover.” John Owen

We are weak, yet He is strong. 

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

 
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8

May I approach each new day with a heart of gratitude, and the knowledge of God's active presence in my life and all-sufficient grace that will equip me for every good work.


 



she cheers

Monday night, the little lady and favorite gal pal, Audrey, began a "Crazy Cheer Dance Class."  The class, an introduction into the wonderful world of cheer and hip-hop dance, provides our little lady the perfect opportunity to use her God-given booming voice and natural rhythm in an organized and spirited setting.  For the record, she was the only girl to dress-up for the occasion, but her poodle-skirt sure looked great as she twirled about practicing her "high T's" and "touchdowns."

 



about that time

With all of our summer travels behind us, we decided it was time to transition the little man into underpants.  With only two accidents in two weeks, we have experienced very few inconveniences with regards to potty training.  He approaches the toilet with confidence and gusto, pausing only when it comes to the tricky matter of going #2. 

 

The sight of our little man in big boy drawers kills me.  There is something particularly sweet about seeing your child in slim fitting undergarments.  The absence of a bulging diaper, a daily reminder that your little one is growing up.  It will be swell to have only one babe in diapers come November. 

 



houston, we have a problem.

 

These will in no way prevent me from gaining extra lbs in the final weeks of pregnancy.  But, they might just be worth it.

 

 

recipe from www.ambitiouskitchen.com

 

Nutella-Stuffed Brown Butter & Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Ingredients:

 

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1 jar Nutella, chilled in refrigerator

Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

 

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.  Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  The butter will begin to foam.  Make sure to whisk consistently during this process.  After a few minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma.  Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning.  Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

 

2. With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended.  Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined.  Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined.  Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

 

3.  Chill the dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

 

4.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Once dough is chilled measure about 1 1 /2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball.  Flatten the dough ball very thinly into the palm of your hand.  Place approximately 1 teaspoon of chilled Nutella in the middle and fold dough around it; gently roll into a ball.  Make sure the Nutella is not seeping out of the dough.  Add more dough if necessary.  Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and flatten slightly with hand.

 

5.  Bake the cookies 9-11 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.  They will appear sightly underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for two minutes.  Sprinkle with sea salt and transfer to a wire rack to cook.

 

* I substituted light brown sugar for dark as it was all I had on hand, and used 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips as I did not have milk chocolate.  As far as I'm concerned neither the quality or taste of the cookie suffered as a result of such daring culinary decisions.

 

** Be sure to enjoy a warm cookie after only a few minutes of cooling.  Perhaps while your children are bathing, and you are able to savor each glorious bite in peace such as I did (before dinner was actually served).

 

*** Upon tasting her first bite the little lady simple responded, "Um, yes." She then proceeded to devour her cookie.