Adonai

God is so AMAZING!!!!

That's all.

Raw "Cooking"

Well, I'm in Oklahoma learning how to "cook" raw foods.
I thought it was going to be either really hard or really gross, but I was wrong on both accounts. It's super easy and so far it has been Delicious!! I've never wanted an iPhone, but it would have been nice to have one this week so I could take pictures of what we're making and post them on here. Oh well.

The website of the Chef/teacher is www.purerawcafe.com
Here's an excerpt from her website on what raw food is:

What are Living and Raw Foods?

Living and Raw foods are uncooked vegetables, fruits, soaked and sprouted nuts, seeds, and grains that contain powerful enzymes. At Pure we combine these vibrant ingredients to make incredible tasting cuisine. International cuisine from Italian, Asian, Mexican, and American dishes that taste unbelievable. Living raw foods have a much higher nutritional value than 'cooked' foods. When you heat foods to a temperature above 105 degrees you destroy the vital nutrients and enzymes while creating toxins. Heat changes the chemical make up of the food which creates substances that the body can no longer recognize. This causes unwanted damage within our bodies. Without the vital nutrients and enzymes we loose the 'life force' of the food and we get sick with illness & disease.

Day 1 consisted of learning different Mexican meals. We learned how to make:
Corn and Veggie Tortillas (which were Awesome!!)
Chile Spiced Beans (although there were no beans, it tasted just like beans)
Queso Cheese (no diary and delicious)
Awesome Guacamole
Fresh Tomato Lime Salsa
Baja Burritos (AMAZING!!)
Spicy Green Avocado Soup (I'd make it without the spicy-ness)
Chocolate Brownie with Frosting (to die for!!!)

Day 2 was all Italian cooking. We learned how to make:
Herb Pizza Crust (we get to eat it tomorrow... stay tuned on how it tastes...)
Scallion Basil Cheese (soooo good!!!)
Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
Lasagna (same note as the pizza crust...)
Rawmesian (homemade Parmesan cheese, minus the cheese part... DELICIOUS!!!)
Strawberry Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting (tasted the batter and it was like ice cream! Can hardly wait to eat the cake tomorrow!! and we were out of honey, so it's just cream cheese frosting and it's still amazing!)


Tomorrow we're learning how to make Asian/Thai food!! Mmm!!!
Thanks for reading :)

Disneyland!!!

For my birthday this year we went to Disneyland!! My best friend and her husband came with us, as well as half of Vince's family!! We had a ton of fun and got some good pictures. The weather was an amazing 80* and the wait for most of the lines was about 5-10 minutes. Couldn't have asked for a better day!! (you can click a picture to make it larger if it's hard to see on here)

Chinese Cashew Chicken

We loved this recipe!! I used turkey instead of chicken; I also didn't use any bean sprouts or green onions (baby steps for my picky husband) and it was still delicious! Vince thought it was good and he ate all that was on his plate... even the mushrooms!! And the best part is that it is a CrockPot Recipe!! Easy cooking and even easier clean up.

Ingredients

• 1 can (16 ounces) bean sprouts, drained
• 2 cups sliced cooked chicken
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions with tops
• 1 can (4 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 cup whole cashews
• Hot cooked rice

Directions

1. Combine bean sprouts, chicken, soup, celery, onions, mushrooms, butter and soy sauce in 4 1/2-quart crock-pot slow cooker; mix well. Cover; cook on LOW 4 to 6 hours or on HIGH 2 to 3 hours.

2. Stir in cashews just before serving. Serve over rice.

TIP: For easier preparation, cut up the ingredients for this recipe the night before. Don't place the stoneware in the refrigerator. Instead, wrap the chicken and vegetables separately, and store in the refrigerator.

Whole Wheat Penne with Broccoli and Sausage

I found this recipe in my friend's recipe book and tried it for dinner tonight. It was delicious and Vince liked it!! Here is the recipe and a picture I took of my plate. Hope you like it as much as we did.

Ingredients

• 6 to 7 ounces whole wheat penne pasta
• 8 ounces broccoli florets
• 8 ounces mild Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
• 1 medium onion, quartered and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Add broccoli during last 5 to 6 minutes of cooking. Drain well; cover and keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Crumble sausage into skillet. Add onion; cook until sausage is brown, stirring to break up meat. Drain fat.

3. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute. Add sausage mixture, lemon peel, salt and black pepper to pasta; toss until blended. Sprinkle Parmesan evenly over each serving.

Our Love Shack

Here are some pictures of our Apartment. There have been a few changes since I took these pictures, but you get the idea. The Christmas decorations have all been put away, so my awesome book shelf is back where the tree is in the pictures. I have a desk that matches the book shelf, and that is now in our bedroom (I'll post pictures of that once I get my computer set up). Lastly, Vince's parents bought us a beautiful kitchen table and 4 chairs for Christmas!! I am still working on decorating our bedroom and will post collages of everything when complete. Enjoy!

Our entry way and living/family room. The couches are from my grandparent's house down south (thank you, nannie and papa!!). I made the pillows and the art on the wall. Our "coffee table" is the chest that used to be at the end of my bed; I just put a piece of fabric over it as a "table cloth".

We no longer have the white Wii stand on the left of the tv and it makes the room feel bigger.
We decided to give Koda the porch. He has a cot back there (thanks, mom!) and a water bowl. He loves laying out there. I think when it gets warmer again, I might put a chair out there to read outside while he sleeps.

Another angle of the tree and tv.

I LOVE our tree. I couldn't find a tree skirt I liked, so I laid some white batting around the base to look like snow. It matched the tree and was super cheap! I can hardly wait to set it up next year!!

Our washer/dryer is in that little closet. LOVE it!!!


Koda has a little basket of toys. His food is now where the mirror is, and the mirror is in our room. And a picture frame is hanging on that wall straight back.


The Santa towels are now put away, but I still love our spacious Black and Green kitchen.


Our bathroom. My best friend painted the art on the wall. She's amazing!


My mom's bathroom inspired me to make this for our bathroom. It smells so good!

Sleeping Beauty

I woke up the other morning to Koda sleeping like this and it made me laugh out loud! The longer I look at this picture, the more I can't stop laughing. He may be stubborn, but he's a good boy; lovable and hilarious.