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Welcome to the weekend, my friends! We’re home again at last. We had a whole lot of fun exploring Tennessee with our youngest son. (And before I forget, big thanks to Mary for emailing me and recommending we try Hillbilly Golf while we were in Gatlinburg. What a fun afternoon!) Let me just admit right now that I am ecstatic not to be leaving home again until mid-July for our annual family camping trip.
Bring on the summer company, barbecues with friends, and lazy afternoons in the hammock and the rocking chairs. I am ready for it all. (Lest you think my life is picturesque at all times, there will also be 14,793 dishes to wash, piles of laundry for everyone to do, and many more mundane tasks.)
But amidst it all, there will be blue skies, sunshine, warm rain that brings on disgusting humidity (reality check there), and as many outdoor moments as possible.
ON THE BLOGS this week: Crisp warm tortillas filled with chicken, bell peppers, and plenty of melting cheese are a terrific dinner or an excellent way to use up just a bit of leftovers. Who would turn down a piping hot chicken fajita quesadilla for lunch? (Not me!)
Red potatoes seasoned with Mexican spices are roasted and then tossed with sauteed onions, peppers, and beans, finished with a handful of barely wilted, warm spinach in this Black Bean Breakfast Skillet. Topped with a soft egg or scrambled eggs, this is a hearty and filling, slightly spicy weekend breakfast that can easily be doubled to feed a crowd.
Thanks to the magic of slow cooking, you can create these wonderfully buttery Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions with almost no effort at all.
With crunchy greens, juicy tomatoes, tender peas, cheddar cheese, plenty of bacon and eggs, and a bright, smoky dressing, this old fashioned 7 layer salad delivers more than you might be expecting.
Sweet corn, ripe bell peppers, red onion, and jalapenos are seasoned with a medley of aromatic spices and a touch of fresh cilantro to make each spoonful of this Fiesta Corn a fabulous blend of flavors.
Rhubarb Bars with a shortbread crust and tangy rhubarb custard filling are a fun, easy spring dessert. And this Rhubarb Sauce with Strawberry Jello is a favorite old-fashioned rhubarb treat. Serve it over ice cream or eat it in a bowl just like you would applesauce.
Moist, sweet, and lightly spiced, this carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is the food of which sweet tooth dreams are made.
Chocolate and toasted coconut stuffed inside chewy blondies, could any dessert possibly make me happier? For the moment, not a chance. These coconut cookie bars just plain make me happy.
Warm and fragrant cinnamon spice blends perfectly with cool, velvety ice cream to create an irresistible treat with caramelized pieces of cereal in this Cinnamon Toast Crunch Ice Cream.
What I’m CRAVING: My friend Rebecca is on a roll with some truly amazing pizza topping combinations. Her Chick Fil A Pizza sounds absolutely incredible!
favorite things: this cheese grater, this movie, and this music
My FAVORITE THING this week is this simple cheese grater. I’ve had the same grater (originally from IKEA) for over 15 years now and it’s the handiest grater I’ve ever used with its storage container and the rubber grip on the bottom to prevent sliding.
I’m thrilled to have finally found one on Amazon that I love just as much and I’ve gifted it to a couple of people already. It’s such an inexpensive tool and I like it much more than the fancier (and pricier) graters I’ve used in the past.
What I’m WATCHING: Jesus Revolution. So many people recommended this movie and yet, I filed it away mentally under “oh boy, another Christian movie that will have a good message, but will probably have horrible acting and… I really don’t want to watch it.”
I’m happy to tell you that I was wrong about this one. This movie is absolutely worth watching. It manages to convey the true message of Christ without being preachy or annoying. (And the acting is solid too.)
This is the true story of a young hippie’s search for belonging and a purpose in the 1970s. His path sets into motion a new counterculture movement that not only changed the course of his own life but the lives of so many others too.
What I’m LISTENING to: I’m still loving Nathaniel Rateliff so much. If you haven’t checked him out yet, do yourself a favor and give it a listen today!
“A happy heart is like good medicine, but a broken spirit drains your strength.” Proverbs 17:22 NCV
Wishing you a beautiful week full of little things that make you smile!
Mary
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