by kathilipp | Nov 20, 2011 | Christmas, Home, Uncategorized |
Project #1 – What Do You Want Your Christmas to Look Like
Proverbs 19:21
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”
I know, I know. You want to dive in and start checking things off your list since it’s going to be a busy few weeks. I get it.
But, I want you to spend ten minutes determining how you are going to spend those next few weeks.
If we can go into the holidays being intentional about how we spend our time, physical and emotional energy, it truly will be the key to a more sane and sacred celebration.
Brainstorm about what is important to you. Some years, I’m looking for Joy. I want to experience that deep, abiding Joy that only comes from God and being with His people.
This year, it’s a little bit different; I’m all about the Peace. Between chaos in my ministry, chaos in our home lives, chaos in my husband’s job and a triple shot of chaos with my mom’s health, I need that peace that passes understanding. Here is what my mission statement looks like:
For Christmas 2011 I will share God’s peace with my family, my friends, and people I meet and I will to be done with my prep by December 20th so that I can experience peace during our celebration. I will read the Christmas story each morning of December.
And yes – I believe that God can deliver that – even during while at the mall. In December.
I’ve got a free resource to help you brainstorm and come up with a sentence (or two) about your intention this Christmas. Just go to my Facebook Author Page to download it (we’ll be putting all of our goodies up there!)
For a chance to win a copy of THE HUSBAND PROJECT sent to any address on your Christmas list (and it will be wrapped and a gift enclosure card will be added with your note!) tell me on my FB author page or here at the blog write your one sentence mission statement in the comments by Friday, November 25th. I’ll announce the winner next Monday!
by kathilipp | Nov 17, 2011 | Christmas, Home, Uncategorized |
Yes- it’s that time of year and Christmas will be here before we want it to be.
But there is no reason to fear! With a little planning and a few steps along the way (OK, 21. But I promise they will be easy…) you will have a saner and more sacred celebration this year.
All you have to do is sign up for the blog here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/kathilipp/KUHK and you will join all of us to get your Christmas under control, and be able to focus on Christ this season!
Wait for that first email to show up in your inbox on Monday to get started!
by kathilipp | Nov 15, 2011 | Uncategorized |
Happy Tuesday! Well as promised here is the amazing soup recipe.
Serves 4 to 6. Cooking time – 45 minutes.
Mirepoix
- 1 c. chopped onion
- 1/2 c. chopped celery
- 1/2 c. chopped carrot
2 T. olive oil
1 t. chopped garlic
1 bay leaf
1 t. cumin
1 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. smoked paprika
1/4 to 1/2 t. chipotle pepper*
1 small to medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 pint of chicken stock
Black pepper to taste
1 can of white beans (I use Trader Joe’s Cannellini beans)
Sauté Mirepoix and garlic in olive oil until veggies are translucent. Add remaining spices, stir for about 2 minutes. Add stock and squash, cook till tender (approximately 30-45 minutes). Break up squash into bite-sized pieces, add white beans, serve when fully heated through.
We like our soup with a hearty whole-wheat bread on the side. We buy ours from the Costco bakery – it’s a wonderful, chunky bread, high
in fiber and flavor. We buy about 8 loaves at a time and freeze them.
*Yeah, this soup has a tiny kick to it – a tiny one. But my husband and I love spicy food and we’re raising our kids to like a little heat, too. Whole milk is great for cooling the tongue, and they’ve learned to take a slug of milk, or a bite of bread, if the heat becomes too much for them. We keep things on the mild side, but I like that my kids, at 8 and 4, are learning to eat from a variety of ethnicities, flavors, and textures. And if they don’t finish it – no big deal. It’s about exposing them to new things, not about them loving it every single time.
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by kathilipp | Nov 14, 2011 | Uncategorized |
I am so happy to have Adelle Gabrielson as my guest blogger this week! She is sharing with us how “The What’s for Dinner?” Solution has changed her family’s life.
It’s 5:30pm on a Wednesday, and I’m lighting the candles in the dining room. The place-mats are out, dinner is on, and I’m adding a little ambiance before I call the boys to the table.
Sounds like I’ve been working in the kitchen all afternoon, right?
Nope. I got off work exactly one hour ago. Despite that, my family is about to sit down to a home-cooked meal that is made with fresh, healthy ingredients. Spicy Butternut Squash and White Bean soup with a hearty whole wheat bread. Lots of veggies, super healthy, and homemade.
A few weeks ago, we would have been eating frozen chicken nuggets in front of the TV – again. Trader Joe’s freezer section was my main-stay. Every day at 3 o’clock my husband would call me and ask “What’s for dinner?”
I hated that phone call. I hated that question. I don’t know! I’m too busy to worry about dinner -I work full-time, I volunteer in about three-too-many areas, and I am also trying to write a book. How can I possibly know what’s for dinner until about 15 minutes after I get home?
We were eating processed, frozen foods and take-out — and spending a lot of money doing it.
That is, until I read The “What’s for Dinner?” Solution by Kathi Lipp. I’ve always loved Kathi Lipp. Now my husband is pretty well head-over-heels for her, too.
As of today, just about two weeks since I read the book, we have three family-sized portions of frozen chicken breasts, trimmed and marinated, waiting in the freezer. $1.77/pound. (Yes, you read that right!) We also have three packages of cooked chicken, ready for salad or soup. Two meatloaves, pre-cooked, ready to re-heat. (I know it ain’t very posh and Martha Stewart, but I LOVE meatloaf.) Three dozen Italian-style meatballs, scratch made, two spinach quiches, three Shepherd’s pies, and four packages of pre-chopped and measured Mirepoix (a mixture of celery, onion and carrot that is the base for most soups). And a partridge in a pear tree. (Just kidding.)
“That seems like a ton of work!” you might ask -but it really wasn’t. Following Kathi’s advice, instead of preparing one meal, we prepared four. We ate one, and froze three. Instead of tossing the produce into the crisper, where it would turn brilliant colors and be thrown out two weeks later, we washed and chopped it on the spot.
With Kathi’s help, we are ending our old, wasteful, unhealthy ways. We are planning ahead. We are LOOPing (Left Overs On Purpose)
and we are eating better, day by day, bit by bit.
Last night, I set out my Dutch oven (because enamel is a snap to clean after soup), a can of white beans, and my squash. I also pulled a
can of chicken stock and all my spices out of the cupboard. The longest part of tonight’s dinner preparation was peeling and cutting the squash, and my husband was happy to do that bit. (Guys love to play with knives – it’s the whole cooking with danger thing. Barbecuing and knives…they love it.) If there’s no danger-loving guy around, you can buy pre-cut squash in the refrigerated section of Trader Joe’s, or simply do it up the night before.
A little forethought, and my family was able to sit down at the dining room table together on a weeknight and enjoy a great meal.
Tomorrow, when my husband calls me and asks “What’s for dinner?” I’ll have an answer. “Marinated flank steak and with an orange and feta arugula salad!”
Sounds a lot better than chicken nuggets, or frozen pizza, don’t it? Like I told you. He’s head over heels.
Oh I almost forgot, I want to share with you the recipe for the Butternut and White Bean Soup I made…
Tomorrow! Stay Tuned.
by kathilipp | Nov 9, 2011 | Uncategorized |
I am currently working on my next book- 21 Ways to Connect with your Kids- and I need you!
If you are willing to provide comments, stories, ideas, fun things, serious things, things that you plan to do, things your parents did with you, that strengthen the parent child relationship I want to hear them!
Please contact Sunnie- sunnie@kathilipp.com with your name and contact info.
by kathilipp | Nov 8, 2011 | Uncategorized |
It is time for another prize!!!
Roger and I went to Disneyland last week and I finally got to go on Areiel’s Undersea Adventure. Loved it! And now, I still have Dory on the brain –Remember the motto, “Just keep swimming,” that had been a theme for many of you earlier this year?
Well, I want to know what things you have had to keep swimming for, those things that you kept pushing towards and why? We all need inspiration from time to time and while you inspire me as I read your “I kept swimming” story I am sure you will inspire other readers and may even inspire yourself to tackle the next hurdle, the next chore or that thing you have been putting off because you are unsure of yourself, fearful of conquering or just lacking the gusto to get up and starting moving towards the finish line!
I want you to tell me, in the comments, a time when you just kept swimming. A time when you were working towards something, a goal you have, a dream you want, and when something came up, you just kept swimming.
I will put all your names in a hat, pick one, and will send you one of my adorable, motivating, stuffed Dorys.
For a chance to win a copy of THE HUSBAND PROJECT sent to any address on your Christmas list (and it will be wrapped and a gift enclosure card will be added with your note!) tell me on my FB author page or here at the blog write your one sentence mission statement in the comments by Friday, November 25th. I’ll announce the winner next Monday!
