Shelley's Chicken Salad

This salad comes from one of my good friends, when I visit her house it is mandatory that she make it for me :)

2 cans or C shredded chicken
2 stalks celery, diced
2 stalks green onions, diced
1/4 C mayonnaise (I use Veginaise)
2 red apples, diced
1 t curry powder
1 t dill
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and cover tightly. Rest in refrigerator 2 hours to blend flavors.
Serve over lettuce leaves, on bread or in celery stalks. Very yummy!

3 Meals from 1 Chicken

This week is "Tech-Week" for my sons theater group, which means - no time for cooking each night, I HAVE to plan ahead and be very strategic or be ready to increase expenses and eat out. Since non of us are big fast food fans, I set to planning. I was essentially planning for meals ready to eat fast meals and was not planning on going to the store, so I turned to what was already in my freezer and my pantry and hoped for the best. A beautiful whole chicken was frozen, so I sat it to defrost and wondered..."just how many meals could I make out of this one chicken?" I scoured my home recipe book and found some help and imagination or "divine intervention!" filled in the rest.

I oven roasted my chicken (skin on) with thyme, salt, pepper and white wine. The spice combination was designed to give it flavor but not so much distinct flavor that I couldn't add other flavors to it. After cooling, I picked it apart, every evidence of meat was claimed and portioned. Then one, two, three I cooked three easy meals for my family of 4 that were easy to reheat and portion friendly, needed for the demands of the week!

Meal 1: Chicken & Cheese Burritos Enchilada Style
11/2 C Shredded Chicken
1/2 Onion sautéed              (Tip-cook other half of onion and add to salad below)
2 C Shredded Cheese         (Tip-shred extra cup of cheese for salad below)
2 C Enchilada Sauce - homemade or canned
4 Large Flour Tortillas
Briefly put each tortilla in skillet of warmed sauce to coat. Remove to greased 13X9 pan and fill (I stuffed!!) with chicken, onion, salt & pepper & cheese. Roll into Burrito, seam side down. Continue with remaining 3 tortillas. Add remaining sauce to burritos, topping with cheese. Bake 25 minutes at 375.
Made 4 servings

Meal 2: Chicken & Dumplings
3 C Shredded Chicken
1 10 oz can Cream of Chicken
1 C Chicken Broth
1 C Milk
1/2 t each Thyme and Pepper
1 C Bisquick
1/4 more Pepper
1/3C more Milk
Combine chicken through Pepper in large saucepan over med-high heat. Stir constantly. In bowl stir together Bisquick through milk just until moistened. Drop Bisquick dough by spoonfuls into boiling chicken mixture. Turn heat to low and simmer 10 minutes, uncovered. Simmer 10 more minutes, covered or longer until dumplings are done.
4 Servings

Meal 3: Mexican Chicken Salad
1 C Shredded Chicken
1/2 Sauteed Onion
1 Can Black Beans
2 Carrots
1 C Shredded Cheese
Optional-1/4 t Cumin
Romaine Lettuce
Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil, Honey & Red Wine Vinegar to taste
Top cut lettuce with carrots, beans, cheese, onions and chicken. Salt & pepper as desired. Mix vinegar, oil & honey for dressing.  Also fabulous with a squeeze of lime, salsa &/or sour cream.
Made 4 servings

Enjoy!

The Practical Life

What exactly does that mean... "Practical"? Webster was a huge help in picking apart the word with me and my mind went racing away, as usual, with new interpretations. Here is some food for thought on The Practical Life.

practical, adjective, noun. adj.

1. having to do with action or practice rather than thought or theory. I find it interesting that theory and practical are in opposition to one another, interesting just because I never thought of it before. We all have our beloved theories on life, parenting or how to boil water, but do we practice them? Do we hold onto these theories more as impressive thoughts to be heard by others but not seen? Some of us have become "arm chair Christians", have we not? Quite possibly the difference that lies between a Practical Life and a Theoretical Life is one that has a track record, a life where one's theories are being tried out, tested and lived. When I do not act on my beliefs, how do I know how real they are or if they will 'hold water'? God speaks about such a life in James 2: 14-17. A theory that is put into action, over and over again is practiced and made stronger... it seems like a beautifully designed cycle. The theory gets stronger as it is practiced, the action is refined as it is practiced... The Practical Life!

2. fit for actual practice.. I love this definition! I will exchange the word "fit" for "equipped" and trust you won't mind. I am a Certified Kolbe Advisor (check out www.kolbe.com, contact me for more, I seriously passionate!) I am 100% convinced everyone is uniquely designed to fulfill the desires God has placed in our hearts, this is His will for our lives and is one of the most exciting things to grasp in our entire lives. As we allow ourselves to dream and have the courage to step out towards those dreams, we practice living how we are meant to live. If you are a housewife, you are equipped. If you are a COO, you are equipped. If you are retired, divorced, a grandparent, single, unemployed... YOU are equipped! Whatever you are doing or are going to do, God has given you the necessary items in your "tool kit" to be successful, satisfied and overwhelmingly happy as we practice them. How do I know this? Eph 2:10 - "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good things, which God created beforehand that we should walk in them." Oh, how I love the promises that reassure us for our Practical Life!

3. useful. Life! Your life, my life, is useful. What we do, every day IS useful. When we are practicing our purpose, when we are using what God has given us (tools, skills, theories, etc) to do his will. Col 3:23-24 reminds us that as we do these things for the Lord, and forget that it's for people, our blessing comes from the Lord. Geez, it is hard to see sometimes, isn't it? Among the laundry, the messes, the problems and the noise there often isn't a break, much less a warm fuzzy from Heaven saying "Hey, Great Job on that chicken! It rocked and it was worth hand picking the basil and lemons in 112 degree heat, I could really taste it and ..... THANK YOU!!!!!" .... not going to happen. But, I'm not waiting for it either because my satisfaction is not in the thank you, it's in the lemon. What? Yup, it's in knowing that I am useful. Because of the way God made me, personally, I know that I feel satisfied when I create. One way I get a lot of joy is from creating meals for my family - I just do, I can't explain it, it's instinctual. As I follow my God given desire, I find myself practicing my skill I am having a great time doing it because I am also being useful with my creations... now, tell me how cool God is!

The same is true for you. The Practical Life you lead is the actions you take, not only those brilliant thoughts you have. You have been created with YOU in mind, perfectly fitted and equipped with a tool box for your real construction site of life. You are useful in your Practical Life as you use your natural instincts for your work, you will experience true freedom and satisfaction in doing things as you were meant to, for God's glory. So have at it, Ladies and remember the Lemons!

Love you~ Misty