Category: Family

Pizza Rice

Last week, I got a text from a good friend asking for a recipe.  The recipe was in a book that I’ve had and loved for years, but had never really noticed.  I’ve noticed it now.  It’s 100% super kid friendly (that’s super friendly, not necessarily super kids, but you can interpret it as you’d like), low in gluten, and … oh yeah, DELICIOUS.

PIZZA RICE CASSEROLE
(serves 10)

4 cups cooked rice
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
dash pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup diced onion
2 Tbsp butter
2-8 oz cans tomato sauce
1/4 tsp garlic

Cook rice according to package directions.  Brown beef with onion in melted butter in a large skillet.  Drain off fat.  Add tomato sauce and seasonings; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Combine cottage cheese and cooked rice.  Put 1/3 of the mixture in a buttered 2 quart casserole.  Top with 1/3 of meat tomato sauce.  Continue to alternate layers, ending with tomato sauce.  Sprinkle with grated cheese.  Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

**I made a couple substitutions … 1) I used ground turkey instead of ground beef, 2) I cooked the meat and onions sans butter (they turned out fine), much as I love butter, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, and 3) I used some agave (lower glycemic index) in place of the sugar**

VOILA!

Okay, scratch that … much as I’d like to, I just don’t think I can pull of saying “VOILA!”  Anyway, and no matter, here it is.  Make it.  It’s good.  Your kids will like it.  So will your husband’s inner child who still wishes you made macaroni and cheese.

**Hey, this part is last on the recipe, but do it first, okay?  The Pizza Rice recipe is actually courtesy of a beautiful woman named Connie.  She is serving alongside her husband Dave with Josiah Venture in the Czech Republic.  To learn more about Josiah Venture, click here.  Or, check out Connie’s blog here!  You won’t regret it.  🙂 **

Week @ Large (the tree and garden edition)

Time for another Week @ Large moment!

The majority of this week is something I have no picture documentation of … primarily because my hands were otherwise engaged … in hand motions … teaching 150+ kids songs at our church’s Vacation Bible School all week.  Stay tuned though … I’m sure some crazy “hands in the air” pictures will emerge sooner or later.

I did take some other pictures though!

Look at these roses.  Aren’t they gorgeous? 

This is my parents’ front yard, by the way.  We were over there this week and the roses were just so beautiful that I couldn’t help myself and had to snap a few pics despite the fact that I have NO idea how to photograph landscapes. 

We also (finally!) made use of one of the kid’s Christmas presents (yes, I said “Christmas presents” … don’t judge me) – a membership to Morton Arboretum this week.  In semi-unrelated news … hey, the mosquitos are back! 

Today is a special day because it’s my beautiful mom’s birthday!  However, this event is often overshadowed by Father’s Day in our household.  Don’t believe me?  I found this in my local Starbuck’s this morning … (have I ever mentioned that my dad, a retired educator, works at Starbuck’s?  He does.)

Yes, it’s a couple days behind … but it’s actually up on the wall over the coffee bar.  This is my father’s sense of humor.  Speaking of humor, I also received an email inviting my family to a Father’s Day celebration along with several high-ranking politicians and A-list actors and actresses stating that Dad had “taken the liberty of inviting several other close friends” to his “celebration“.  In addition, the email stated that all of his “gifts” could be parked on the street until he has more room in the driveway.  Haha … my dad is such a joker … as if you could drive a Father’s Day card. 

So, there’s just a bit of our week with a taste of the weekend thrown in for extra flair. 

And don’t worry, I will definitely update this blog if I end up having lunch with Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and the Pope on Sunday.

Don’t Eat the Landscaping

Recently, as I was picking up* my house, I ran into a pair of my shoes (that I’d been searching for all day) sitting on top of the coffee table.  Where had they been before landing on the table?  I can only speculate …

*one of my endless side notes: I had to include the information that I was picking up the house.  It needed to documented.  It happens so rarely.  Ask my husband.

This made me think though … how much time I could lose every single day in fruitless speculation over how things got to be where they currently are when I find them.  My children seem to be masters at putting things where they absolutely shouldn’t go (including at times, THEMSELVES), and short of bubble-wrapping the entire house as a child-proofing measure, I’m slightly at a loss.  Still, when I’m not in the stress of the moment, they make me laugh hysterically (maybe too hysterically).  So, please feel free to enjoy some amusement at our expense … someday they’ll be geniuses, right?

Here are some of my favorite questions from the past few weeks …

Why is there a graham cracker in the VCR slot?

Who put Daddy’s tie on the dog?  (toy dog … our kids are our pets right now, thank you very much)

Why are there match sticks in the door jamb?  …and for that matter, how did you get matches?!

Why are you eating Grandma’s landscaping?

Why is there a half-eaten lollipop stuck to my dress pants?

Why is Daddy’s cell ear-piece in the high chair?

Where are my keys?  …and why are they in the pac ‘n’ play?

Who locked Mommy’s bedroom door and then closed it?

Who took the toilet paper (cardboard) tube out of the recycling? …and ate a bite out of it?

How did Chase get stuck in the bunk bed ladder again?

How did this sippy cup get in my bed table drawer?

Why are there action figures in the bathroom magazine basket?

And, my absolute favorite …

Why are you sitting in the refrigerator?

Ever asked yourself a crazy question like this?  Please share.  I need to know I’m not alone.  Or at least, that I’m not the only crazy one.

One Hope

Remember Carrie, my bratty little sister?  Okay, well, for the moment, put the brat thing out of your head because this is way too cool to be bothered with silly sibling stuff.  Is it out now?  Good.

Carrie (or “Care” to me) will be working with One Hope Ministry in Tulsa, Oklahoma this summer.

One Hope is a ministry seeking to transform the inner city by targeting the devastating cycles of poverty, racism, abuse, and violence. We believe that the hope of the Gospel can change individuals who are imprisoned in these cycles and can transform families and communities by destroying the cycles themselves. Our goal is to combat the cycles of devastation in the inner city  with research based and relationally oriented programs that specifically target kids who are at-risk for being the next wave of those cycles.  ~www.onehopeministry.org

Unlike many large cities where our poorest are often located directly within the city, Care describes many of Tulsa’s projects as being totally removed.  The city has moved the poorest of the poor into a field outside the city.  Kids growing up in this environment are totally isolated.  Those who can go to school face high drop out rates and failing public schools, not to mention large areas of economic depression with few prospects available.

Working with One Hope as a “getAHEAD” tutor, Carrie will be one of a team of people seeking to close the learning gap for at-risk kids in school and taking every opportunity to share Christ.

The night before she left, I asked Care why she cared so much about this particular ministry and why I should care with her.  She looked at me and said “Why? Because it’s the only thing that matters in 500 years, that’s why.  Everything else is going to go away, but what you do to help people come to Jesus and have a better life … that’s priceless.  That’s the next generation, and the next generation after that.”

You can go to One Hope’s website to better understand their mission, “getAHEAD”, and One Hope Academy.  There is also a video page with several informative shorts on the ministry, the impact, and better understanding the gang problem.  Why should you care in this moment?  Why should you learn about this ministry?

For the small children (ages 5, 6 and up) who are turning to gangs to follow in their older sibling’s steps, refusing to use certain crayon colors in the classroom because it represents a rival gang’s signature color … for the 12 and 13 year olds being targeted by gang recruitment and pressed to prove themselves with acts of aggression, violence and speculatively even murder … for the small boy failing his classes whose mother keeps him alive by prostituting herself … for all the children who have no fathers… for all the children caught in nightmare cycle after nightmare cycle with no hope.  Why?  Because there is HOPE for these children:

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 [ESV]

Please go to One Hope’s website and prayerfully consider how you can be involved with this amazing ministry as they seek to rescue and impact the next generation.

To become a “Friend of One Hope” and receive regular prayer updates, contact: onehopeministry@gmail.com

Follow One Hope Ministry on their blog: www.onehopeblog.wordpress.com (side note: the daily life stories of these kids are amazing!)

Do you have more questions or want further information on One Hope Ministry?  Contact Pastor Joe Blankenship at: be2Himglory@gmail.com

Get all the latest news and info sent to your inbox.