Road Trip: Part 2

After we spent several days in Richland, Washington we headed over to Seattle. We stayed in the Paramount Hotel, which was just one block down from the Paramount Theater. It was right in downtown and that's pretty much where we stayed the whole time we were there.

We started our first evening by walking down to Pirate's Landing. It's a cool little place right on the water. We ate dinner at the Crab Pot.

We'd heard about it on the travel channel. We got one of their famous seafood feasts. It was a "culture experience" to say the least. Eating clams and oysters and king crab was fun. I don't know that I'm super crazy about the crabs and oysters though! Anyways the place gives you a mallet and pours the bowl of seafood on your table and you start whacking!

The next day we went on a food tour through the public market. That was one of our favorite parts of our road trip.

Our tour guide walked us through the market sharing with us the history of the market and all of it's unique aspects. We stopped at several shops and restaurants and sampled some of their popular offerings. At most stops, there was a representative from the shop to tell us all about their products and company.

We followed her pink umbrella so we didn't get separated!

Our favorite part of the food tour was the stop at Beecher's Handmade Cheeses. We sampled some of their macaroni and it was OUT OF THIS WORLD! You could also watch them make their cheese in another room.

Later that evening we went to see Mary Poppins at the Paramount Theater. (I didn't get a night picture because I didn't want to carry the big camera bag there) It was great!

It's completely different from the movie, and that sort of bugged me. They didn't sing, "I love to laugh"- which is my favorite song from the movie! It was still very good though and we had a fun time.

The next day we went to the Space Needle for lunch.

The restaurant was really nice and the food was superb.

Then we headed south to California! We had a great time in Seattle and we'd go back in a heart beat if the opportunity came again. It's a great vacation destination. There is so much to do there!

Stay tuned for our trip home!

employment!

A little announcement to do folks. Blake and I have jobs!

I'm going to be a teacher's assistant at the OKC downtown YMCA child development center. I'll start out in the 3 year old classroom and move to a new class room in the fall.

I'm really excited about it because I get to wear scrubs! Who wouldn't want to wear PJs to work! For the summer we can wear what ever we want, but once August gets here it'll be all scrubs. YES! I also get a free family gym membership so that's great too!

Blake finally got the call today from Tinker Air Force Base. He'll be working there as a civilian. Of course there are all sorts of perks with that. We're just so excited!!

We got lots good going on and lots to be thankful for!

Road Trip Part 1: OK to WA

Blake and I recently took a very long road trip. It all began when Blake's friend (from Richland, WA) asked him to be his best man. We were so excited for him and couldn't wait to go up there and meet his bride and see Washington. Right off the bat we knew we wanted to drive. Plane tickets are awful (price) after all!

This gave us a chance to see the country- we drove through 13 states including Oklahoma and put over 5,000 miles on Blake's 95 Toyota Avalon. It was a once in a life time experience. There are absolutely NO regrets!

Blake and I watch a lot of Food Network and we love Guy's Diners Drive-Ins, and Dives. We visited lots of places we saw on his show, as well as places we heard about on other shows such as, Man Vs. Food. We had a fantastic time learning after the different types of food throughout the country.

Our trip began with 8 hours of driving in Kansas. I have no pictures to show you of this- it was awfully boring BUT we couldn't wait to see mountains in Colorado. Needless to say... Colorado was MORE boring that Kansas! We saw nothing but flat flat very flat farm land until we reached the out skirts of Denver. We only drove around Denver so we didn't see much. We ate dinner in Colorado and continued into Wyoming. We spent a very long time driving on our first day but it was worth it! We could enjoy our trip a little more leisurely now.

Wyoming was beautiful. If I had another life, I'd like to live on a ranch there. It was truly spectacular- and cold! We drove through a little "snow shower" as the locals call it. Then Utah was beautiful too! We could see the following snow capped mountains for a very long time:

Our next big highlight was Shoshone Falls in Idaho.

Next came Oregon. Ironically this picture doesn't have trees in it. There were some gorgeous views of trees but we were on crazy roads that went up and down and round and round with no turn offs for pictures. We did see a turn off for this spectacular view though.

And finally, after 3 days we reached Richland, Washington!!

We enjoyed getting to know everyone. Our hotel was right on a river and had a great park and trail. When Blake was out doing best man sort of things I enjoyed long walks. Then came Sunday (our anniversary!) which was the day of the wedding. It was lovely and everyone had a great time.

My favorite thing I ate for the first part of the trip was in the basque region on Boise Idaho. It's called Bar Gernika.

I had an amazing pork sandwich. It was just so good I can't even begin to explain it. I've never loved pork so much. I want to go back to Boise so that I can have that sandwich.

Stay tuned for "Road Trip Part 2: Seattle"!

Healthy Meatball Stew

Blake's aunt and uncle own a cattle ranch, or farm... or whatever they call it! They have abundantly provided us with endless amounts of beef which we are SO thankful for. I spend lots of time looking for beef recipes... specifically ground beef. One of my favorite dishes is meatballs... they are pretty calorie and fat packed so when I came across this HEALTHY meatball dish... I became excited. Now, of course a little egg yolk and breadcrumbs would make this yummier (cream makes mac and cheese heaven after all). But there are some good flavors going on which makes up for it. Have a look and see if this one is for you!

Here is what you need:

1 lb lean ground beef

2 TB finely chopped cilantro

2 ts ground cumin

1/2 ts salt

1/4 ts pepper

2 ts olive oil

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 cup diced tomatoes

3/4 cup water

3 TB tomato paste

2 TB lemon juice

2 TB fresh mint (I didn't use any)

Step 1: Combine the dried spices. Mix beef, cilantro and half of the spices in a bowl and combine. Form into 24 meatballs. (I like to place them on wax paper on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer for 15 min. It helps them keep their shape when you cook them)

Step 2: Chop onion and garlic. Heat oil on medium heat in a large non stick skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop tomatoes. Add tomatoes, water, tomato paste, and remaining spices. Bring to boil.

Step 3: Add meatballs to skillet. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until meatballs are cooked through and sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes.

As you wait... you can freeze your leftover tomato paste. Put one tablespoon of paste per snack size baggie. I was able to make 4 baggies. Now... next time you need a little bit of tomato paste... you don't have to buy any!

Now find room in your freezer for it!

You can also make some couscous or rice.

All right, now that 30 minutes have gone by, add the lemon juice you squeezed. (Because fresh is best). Sprinkle with mint if you want to use mint (I didn't feel like buying any).

And here is your healthy meatball dinner!

African Meatball Stew

1 lb lean ground beef

2 TB finely chopped cilantro

2 ts ground cumin

1/2 ts salt

1/4 ts pepper

2 ts olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped or minced

1 cup diced tomatoes

3/4 cup water

3 TB tomato paste

2 TB lemon juice

2 TB fresh mint (I didn't use any)

1. Mix together beef, cilantro, half of the dried spices, and mix until combined. For into 24, 1 in. meatballs.

2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 min. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, water, tomato paste, and remaining spices. Bring to boil.

3. Add meatballs to skillet. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until meatballs are cooked through and sauce is thickened, about 30 min. Stir in lemon juice and sprinkle with mint.

Spicy Veggie Soup

Hey everyone! It's been quite a while since I've last written a blog- and an interesting one at that. I had to do a lot of ministry ones for class, speaking of which- NO MORE CLASS! I've been super busy getting ready for finals, getting ready for graduation, graduating, preparing for vacation, taking vacation... whew! Now I have lots more time! I'll do another post after while to talk about the trip and the rest of my life but for now... soup is on my mind!

If you got a whiff of the pictures I've been posting on Facebook from the trip, you'll see that we ate a LOT on our trip... including an "all-you-can-eat" Vegas buffet! So it's time for me to eat lots of veggies and lean protein so I can feel human once again.

The spicy veggie soup is based off of my daddy's tortilla soup, but it doesn't have chicken and I've cooked things a bit differently. Enjoy!

Here is what you need:

1, 28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1, regular size can Rotel

6 cups water

5 ts chicken base

Kosher Salt & Ground Pepper

1 medium onion, chopped

3-5 garlic cloves, chopped or minced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

4 (or more) large carrots, chopped

1 large squash, chopped

1, 10 oz bag frozen corn

Any other veggies you fancy

Now, here is the base for the soup:

This is a tomato based soup if you haven't noticed. It's also pretty spicy (and this is coming from a Texan). If you don't want the heat, replace the Rotel with another can of diced tomatoes. I use chicken base because it's cheeper than buying 6 cups of chicken broth, but you could certainly use chicken broth or bouillon cubes, or whatever you'd like.

The first thing you do is prepare your carrots and onion (and celery if you like that... but I HATE the stuff). Next it's time to make the broth.

Add the onions and carrots to a large pot and add six cups of water. Put on high heat.

Add 5 ts of chicken base... it's better to use too much than not enough. Don't be shy! Also if you buy this stuff... keep it in the fridge... I learned my lesson the hard way! Cover your pot and bring it to a boil.

Meanwhile...

Prepare the other stuff.

Next, add in your tomatoes, rotel, squash, garlic, and half of your cilantro. (Note: it's not good to cut squash rounds in half because you'll loose all the inner part!) If the big rounds bug you... just use small ones!)

Cook covered, on medium heat for 30 minutes.

Last add the corn and remaining cilantro and cook a few minutes, until corn is cooked. Keep warm on stove until ready to eat!

Good with cheese, cornbread, fritos, or tortilla chips... but be careful because that stuff makes a healthy meal unhealthy! We had leftover cornbread so... ya know... had to have some. Like my cheese... it's just a cheese stick... haha.

Anyways, I love this soup because it reminds me of home, reminds me of my daddy. It reminds me of when we'd have friends over for soup and all of the laughter and happiness it brought. I hope you'll make this some time. It makes a lot... so just freeze what you don't eat in individual portions and if you take it out in the morning, it'll be good to go for lunch.

Spicy Veggie Soup:

1, 28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1, regular size can Rotel

6 cups water

5 ts chicken base

Kosher Salt & Ground Pepper

1 medium onion, chopped

3-5 garlic cloves, chopped or minced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped and divided

4 (or more) large carrots, chopped

1 large squash, chopped

1, 10 oz bag frozen corn

Any other veggies you fancy

1. Add carrots and onion to 6 cups of water, add chicken base. Cover and bring to a boil.

2. Add in all remaining ingredients, except corn and half of the cilantro. Cover, cook on medium for 30 minutes.

3. Add corn and remaining cilantro. Cook about 5-10 min longer.

4. Enjoy with whatever fixin's you fancy!

Ministry Notes: The Prophet

When I think of prophets, I think of Jonah. Jonah was a slow learner... which reminds me of myself and I think that's why he sticks out to me so much. God wanted him to travel to Nenivah in order to motivate change in the hearts of the people there. As kids we learn that Nenivites were mean and Jonah was scared, but it was really so much more than that. Nenivites were cruel... they did things that make interrogators in the Republican Guard look like saints. The truth was that Jonah wasn't scared of them- he hated them. He didn't want them to be saved. They didn't deserve God's grace.

Just as Jonah was a prophet, ministers are to be prophets. We are to proclaim that Jesus will return to take the believers with him to Heaven. We can't have the heart that Jonah had. We must want everyone to receive God's grace. In a land of "justice for all" it's often easy to forget about God's grace. Ultimately when my life is over I don't want justice- I want grace. God's grace will cover a multitude of sin and we must remember that as we minister to others.

Ministers must be prophets who go to everyone- good and bad- to tell them the story of Jesus and of his soon return.

Ministry Notes: The Evangelist

Many people are well aware of the great commission Jesus gave in Matthew 28:19-20:

"Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And I'll be with you until the end of the age".

This commission is extended to everyone. It's one of the definitions of an evangelist.

One of the jobs for ministers is to evangelize to others. Even more importantly though, they should prepare the members of their congregation to evangelize to others. Ministers should provide opportunities for them to learn, train, and act out evangelizing.