Weekend

Saturday was another marathon ‘date’ for A and Bethany, but first we picked up A and G and took them to the Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter craft day at the library. A had a present for the girls, LPS toys…and a Nerf crossbow for Bethany (he wants her to go to Dart Warz for extreme play night)

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My crew were the oldest kids there, but hey, crafts. I made a Pickett and he’s just the cutest thing. There were balloon crafts, clay crafts, a lantern craft, and a few others.

The staff hid 120 chocolate coins upstairs and let the kids go by age…so mine were the last to go. Everyone was allowed 3 coins, A gave Grace one of his because by the time she got up there, there weren’t any left. When we finished we went by Sweet Cooie’s because why not have ice cream before lunch?

We dropped G off, went home and the girls stayed home, A and Bethany went to Anthony’s, then King’s for snacks and eventually went downstairs to watch Thor and Ant Man. James and I ran errands and then came home to cook dinner. We had the Dolence family over for dinner and had a great time eating and talking (or playing games and watching Ant Man.) I made apricot chicken and added onion soup mix to the jam this time (no need to salt the chicken), brussel sprouts with bacon (next time I will fry the bacon a bit first so it gets crispy), green beans, salad and dump cake for dessert. Jennifer said they do the same dump cake (cherry pie filling and pineapple chunks) but use chocolate cake for the topping instead of butter cake – that sounds delicious and next time we have them over I need to make more dessert (11 people – 1 dump cake, we all got some but the kids wanted more.)

Sunday – church. Generosity versus misery. Be generous because you can’t take your wealth with you. Don’t make wealth your life’s pursuit. Every good and perfect gift comes from God, so be thankful and grateful. Do good (because God has called us to do good), do good works (not because it will get you brownie points but because we should share our bounty), be generous (because you have been given so much), be willing to share (because sharing makes you thankful and grateful.) Being generous will change how we feel about life.

I Timothy 6: ⁷ You see we came into this world with nothing, and nothing is going with us on the way out! ⁸ So as long as we are clothed and fed, we should be happy. ⁹ But those who chase riches are constantly falling into temptation and snares. They are regularly caught by their own stupid and harmful desires, dragged down and pulled under into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money—and what it can buy—is the root of all sorts of evil. Some already have wandered away from the true faith because they craved what it had to offer; but when reaching for the prize, they found their hands and hearts pierced with many sorrows.

I Timothy 6:¹⁷ Here’s what you say to those wealthy in regard to this age: “Don’t become high and mighty or place all your hope on a gamble for riches; instead, fix your hope on God, the One who richly provides everything for our enjoyment.” ¹⁸ Tell them to use their wealth for good things; be rich in good works! If they are willing to give generously and share everything, ¹⁹ then they will send ahead a great treasure for themselves and build their futures on a solid foundation. As a result, they will surely take hold of eternal life.

After church we changed to oil in the car, dropped Grace at a church meeting (at her friend’s church where she goes to youth group), Bethany got home from church (she is only working till 10am now) and we picked up Grandma and took her to King’s to get some stuff for lunch. James made skillet burgers, tomato soup and I had some cabbage salad. We dropped Grandma back at home, went back to the store to get dinners for the week (I didn’t have my list earlier), then James grilled fajitas for dinner and we watched the last episode on Netflix of The Series of Unfortunate Events (they need to make more!)

The week – gym (repeat), dance, NIA, Holy yoga, decorate a cake co-op, youth group, school at coffee shop in Golden, bird watching co-op, Wings over the Rockies day, church, passport photos (didn’t make it last week.)

Dinners for the week (and a few recipes) – “the good meatballs” (says Hannah), Jalfrezi chicken, sweet and sour pork, chicken Marsala, (Friday – international fest at church – I don’t have to cook!), beef stroganoff, pork roast.

“Good meatballs”
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup shortening
12 fluid ounces tomato-based chili sauce (or ketchup or tomato paste)
1 1/4 cups grape jelly

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, milk, egg, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and ground black pepper. Mix together, and shape into meatballs.
In a large skillet, heat shortening over medium heat. Add meatballs, and cook until browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from skillet, and drain on paper towels.
Add chili sauce and jelly to skillet; heat, stirring, until jelly is melted. Return meatballs to skillet, and stir until coated. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Chicken Jalfrezi
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, grated
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut in half
3 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
3 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken, and season with turmeric, chili powder and salt. Fry gently, scraping the bottom of the pan frequently and turning the chicken.
Pour in the tomatoes with their juice, cover the pan, and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes. Uncover, and simmer for another 10 minutes to let the excess liquid evaporate.
Add the ghee, cumin, ground coriander, ginger and cilantro, and simmer for another 5 to 7 minutes. Serve the chicken pieces with sauce spooned over the top. (You can also dump everything in the crockpot for 4-6 hours.)