Recipe

Ok, I have never posted a recipe before, but i had to post this one i made for Brad and I last night, because it's The BOMB.

To give you some context, Brad and I have plans starting at 7 on Wednesday and Thursday nights, so since most of the time i don't get home from work until around 6, i've been on the hunt for healthful, super-quick, good recipes to make for us. It would be, and has been in the past, really easy for us to just run and get take-out somewhere, but we're trying to eat more healthily these days, and be wise with our money when it comes to eating out.

So, that brings me to the recipe. It fits all the things i was looking for...and is just delicious. I found it on CookingLight.com. And, actually, i've found quite a few great recipes on there lately that Brad and I have both really liked. This recipe is super simple, and you can easily substitute ingredients with what you already have in your refrigerator.

Here it is:

Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 12 ounces chicken breast tenders
• 1 cup chopped red onion (about 1) (I used green onions and it was really good)
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears) (I used frozen)
• 1 cup chopped zucchini (about 4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup green salsa (I used the regular salsa we had in our fridge)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring well. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; sauté for 3 minutes. Add onion, corn, and zucchini to pan; sauté for 2 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in salsa and 2 tablespoons cilantro. Cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently.

Working with 2 tortillas at a time, arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese. Broil an additional 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Sprinkle each serving with about 3/4 teaspoon of remaining cilantro. Serve immediately.

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Brad and I thought this recipe was delicious. Brad could have eaten 2 and been full and 1 was perfect for me. Any leftovers you have can be used to make soft tacos too!

YUMM!!!

If anyone who reads this knows of more recipes or sources for quick-healthy meals, i'd love to know what they are!

(Here's a link to the recipe website if you want to see a picture - http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001215924 )

Moving!!

Well, after a lot of driving around looking for rental properties, and a lot of craigslist searching, we finally settled on a place to live in Denton. We're so thankful for the Lord's provision in this, and we are so so ready to be up there!! Our lease starts on Aug. 20th, so only a little over a week until we can once again call ourselves Denton residents. We're so so excited!

So that said, here are my Top 5 reasons we're excited to move to Denton:

5) Independent restaurants and coffee shops: i.e. Greenhouse, Sweetwater, Denton Co. Hamburger, Jupiter House, Art 6, Beth Marie's....yessssss

(One Lewisville place we will miss is Tappy's Yogurt. Although Yogurt Story is good, Tappy's is a lot cheaper, and better in my opinion. Sorry if that offends any Dentonites.)

4) Things in walking/biking distance. We will be living close to the Denton Square and will be so close to so much stuff. We're really looking forward to this; and walking to friends houses. Brad doesn't have a bike...yet... I'm currently trying to convince him that he can't have the true Denton living/culture experience without a bike.

3) Living in a neighborhood. While we've been spoiled with the new-ness and amenities of our current apartment complex, we're really excited that our new apartment is in a neighborhood and not so isolated in a sea of other apartment complexes. We're excited to get to know neighbors, and families and be apart of a neighborhood community. (We've even already met a few neighbors!)

2) The Culture. Brad and I love how laid back and quirky Denton is. It reminds Brad a lot of cities and towns in the northwest United States where he grew up, and it reminds me a lot of Austin, my favorite city in Texas, and also where I grew up.

1) COMMUNITY. Community is our #1 by far. Since our dating days, Brad and I have both been pretty plugged in at our church in Denton. We have made some good friends there, but living 30 minutes away has made it difficult for those good friends to become great friends. We both are admittedly horrible at planning and living by a calendar, and we honestly would prefer not to. We're definitely more for the spur of the moment dinner, or movie, or whatever else might fall into that category. Thus far in our marriage, however, work schedules have made our availability limited, and planning ahead a necessity. We're looking forward to really doing life with people around us on a daily basis.

We just cannot contain our excitement for our impending move (minus the actual moving process)! AND I think I've decided to actually paint this apartment to make it feel more homey. I'm currently slightly obsessed with the Apartment Therapy blog, along with several "small space" interior design blogs. I'm hoping all this reading and looking at other people's apartments will actually come to some sort of fruition in the form of a super cute/not too girly(for the hubs) apartment.

Now we just need to start packing...

My Whataburger, My Sin

So yesterday I decided to have Whataburger for lunch. Now I'm not saying that eating Whataburger is sinful, but my Whataburger experience was eerily similar to my experiences with my sin. Well, let me just explain the experience and you can decide if you see the same parallels I did.

It started with a great hunger. I didn't eat breakfast yesterday morning. (I know, I know, its the most important meal of the day! I get it, and thanks for your concern). By the time lunch came around I'm starving. So it starts with my desire, I must find something to satisfy this current hunger. And what does my genius mind come up with? Whataburger! Yes that will fill the void! It can't be that bad for me? How can something that tastes so good, be bad? Nope it can't be bad, and why would I have a desire for something that is bad for me, right? After all the folks at Whataburger are so concerned for my well being, that they will let me put whatever I want on my burger. So what will satisfy me today? I know just the thing, a double cheeseburger with lettuce, ranch and jalapenos. I know what your thinking, "this guy builds a great burger!" But you have to remember I've been practicing for many years, you'll get it one day, it takes practice.

O.K. so now I have my burger and regardless of the little voice in my head that says, "Hey Brad, this is probably not good for you!" the desire for this well built meal is too much for me to stop now, plus it smells unbelievable! So I dive in and take my first bite. Just as I imagined, fantastic! Maybe the best bite I have ever eaten! I am so glad I did this! When I finish this burger I will be so happy and satisfied! I start devouring this sandwich as fast as I can, meat, cheese, ranch, and jalapeno can get a little messy but, I couldn't care less, I want more and I want it now! I finally get to the last couple bites, the last 30 sec of eating bliss were amazing!

Then completely out of left field, like a blindsided punch to to stomach (You know that's how Houdini died! not from eating but a punch to the gut), "Uh Oh, I don't feel so good, what have I done? This was not smart! THIS WAS NOT SMART!" But I have to finish the race, those last couple bites must go down. So I throw them back, and to be honest with you they were the worst two bites of burger I have ever eaten. No joke! Where did this grease come from? I don't remember the meat sliding down my throat like this in the beginning? Is that the feeling of acid coming up my throat to welcome the last bite of my lunch? I think it is!(ladies sorry for the gross word picture, but then again sin is gross) How could something that was soooo good in the beginning be soooo awful now? I have done something wrong, I have done something very, very wrong!

Loosing energy,... Getting dizzy,... Sick as a dog now! My body officially hates me. Not only do I feel horrific, I know that it will only get worse as the day goes. There will be consequences... Oh there will be consequences! Boy, I wish I wouldn't have eaten that burger, now its time to pay the piper. How could this happen? My day has gone from great to tragic. In less then 10 minutes I've gone from a wonderful taste explosion, to wanting to curl up in the fetal position ( but I can't do that, after all I'm in public that would be embarrassing). Oh, double-cheese-burger-with-ranch-and-jalapeno... You tricked me! You lured me in with you succulent smell and promises of lunch bliss. Just to kick me out onto the street, licking my wounds. Then it hit me, this is just like when my sin luers me in just to kicks the mess out of my soul.

When the day is done and my wounds have healed, I have two options. I can repent and see that Whataburger is not good for sustaining my life, and not go back to that well. Or, I can shake this one off and continue to go back until it slowly devours me.

Yesterdays lunch was a great analogy to me of how my desires can be blinded by sin and taken down a road to ruin before I can even catch myself. Lord may our desires be for you, and guard our hearts from evil.

Has anyone else felt this way?

Looking Unto Jesus.

Recently the Lord has really been showing me how selfish I am. It's crazy, really. But praise the Lord that I have Christ, in whom i'm fully known. The piece below is was written by Charles Spurgeon and was a great encouragement to me this morning.


"Looking unto Jesus."
- Hebrews 12:2

It is ever the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self to
Jesus; but Satan's work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly
trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, "Your
sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent
enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the
joy of his children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus." All these
are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by
looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from
self: he tells us that we are nothing, but that "Christ is all in all."
Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee-it is
Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee-it is Christ; it is
not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument-it is Christ's
blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou
art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the
source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and
finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our
prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we
are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and
have peace with God, it must be by "looking unto Jesus.
" Keep thine eye simply on him; let his death, his sufferings, his merits,
his glories, his intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in
the morning look to him; when thou liest down at night look to him.
Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard
after him, and he will never fail thee.

"My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name."


Hopefully i'll give yall a real blog soon. We haven't been able to spend much time on the internet as of late. Soon :)

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."
1 Cor. 13:12

Love you guys!

Hello

Hello friends.

I do realize it's been a while...my last real post was at 1 month of being married, wasn't it? and we are now close to hitting the 6th month mark. wowza. I actually have written several blogs (about 6) since those last few posts, but i tend to rabbit trail and never come to a conclusion in any of them, so i decided to spare you the pain of reading.

That said, our lives looking back in the last 4.5 months have been quite a whirlwind. I like to call that whirlwind Baseball Season. Practice or games every day (minus Sundays, thank you, DBU) for Brad, and me attending as many games as i can, and every other evening filled with either a rare date night with hubby, or a rare friend hangout. I cannot believe it's almost June. CANNOT BELIEVE IT.

I have to say, I am quite thankful baseball season is over. It ended Saturday, and I officially declared Sunday the "1st day of the rest of our lives". The end of one chapter, and the beginning of another. Bitter sweet, definitely, but we're thankful that the Lord has given us a call, and are just anxious to see where he takes us.

This week, we kind of feel weird. We leave for Riveria Maya, Mexico on Saturday, and feel like we're kind of on hold with everything until we get back. The next few days will be filled with errands, dinner with friends, and then we're off to the beach for a week! ohhh i cannot wait! Brad's been to Mexico, but I have not. In fact, i've never seen beaches like the ones we will see, so you can bet that i'll be taking a ton of pictures (and i will definitely post some on here).

When we get back, i'll try my best to give you more details of what's been going on in the last 4.5 months, and maybe i'll do a "10 things i've learned in 6 months of marriage" post.

Until then....

Love you all.
~Elise

On Missing the Company of Christ, and "Mornings and Evenings"

My friend Kimberly posted a blog this morning that includes a passage from "Mornings and Evenings" by C.H. Spurgeon. This was such an encouragement to me this morning because it seems to directly address my struggles as of late. I hope you take a look. And, if you don't read "Mornings and Evenings", I highly recommend that you do. You can recieve it as a daily email by subscribing here.

Hello

Well, Brad and I have been talking about blogging a little lately, so I just decided to go ahead and make us one. We cannot commit to blogging at any frequency, but I hope that on occasion we (yes, Brad too) can provide some incite on our struggles, thoughts, lessons, etc. in hopes that the Lord will use our words to move in the hearts of whomever might come across our blog.


For anyone who might stumble across this blog and have no idea who we are, we are Brad and Elise Welker. We are very much newlyweds, being that we were married about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I think one of the things that excited us most about getting married is simply that we finally have a companion to be by our side to do life with every single day. We love our friends and families deeply, and strive to love the God of the Bible, with His help, more every single day.


All of that said---here's a little taste of this past Saturday:


We went to Ikea this weekend and got some stuff for the apt. Both of us, having always lived with other people and not being shoppers, pretty much hate buying home stuff because we just would rather spend our money another way. Also, the fact that we've always lived with other people put us in the position of having virtually nothing by which to stock our apartment...thus the need for shopping. Because of the immense kindness of our friends and family through wedding gift-cards and money, we actually have money to spend on that kind of stuff.


That said, we found ourselves at Ikea on Saturday....overwhelmed at the site of it, and uncertain that we would actually make it out alive. I actually really enjoy going to Ikea, especially when it's with someone else, and i know that i have no money to spend. In that situation, i don't get overwhelmed, but gather ideas for "future furnishing and decorating". Basically, i like it when i don't have to make actual decisions. This was not the case on Saturday...hence the hyperventilation on both our parts upon our entrance to the store.

I digress...

We have a huge list of stuff we'd like to have for our apartment, so that it will feel more like an actual home, rather than a few rooms with white walls. The problem with Ikea is that they have almost everything on our list, and multiple options of those things. As we began our trek we would see something we liked, ask the other, who would say "oh yeah", and write it down. Then we would see something we liked better than the last thing, write it down, and cross out the last thing. By the time we got to "The Marketplace", we had an entire shopping list filled with about 3 options of several things, most crossed out but still visible enough on the list to remain an option for purchase. Thankfully, our family had planned on going to see a movie at a time that didn't enable to actually purchase anything right then, so we both got a break to breathe, focus our attention on something else, and then go back...decisions made...with a purpose.

And we did: We utilized the shortcuts of the labyrinth that is Ikea, stared longingly at the Cafeteria as we passed it, made a few decorating decisions in "The Marketplace", picked up our end tables from the warehouse, and paid a lot less money at the register than we predicted. Overall, it was very successful, and we left Ikea with only minor mental and emotional wounds.


End tables and lamps put together, decorations hung. yesssss.
now we just have to go back w/ a truck to go get the dresser and bed frame we've picked out... :)



Now, if you've made it this far down the blog, i'm impressed. Hopefully posts in the future will have much more substance than this, but nevertheless, i have officially blogged for the first time in 9 months. Ashley, be proud :)

Love you all.

~Elise

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works" Hebrews 10:23-24