I found this recipe on All Recipes, the all-knowing power of all things related to cookery. I tweaked the innards a bit to mimic a dish we had at a Mexican restaurant, so this version is my take on the original. I also halved the original recipe, and the directions reflect this.

Stuart loved this meal and ate 3 himself. That made my day. :-)

Beth's Version of "Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce"

* 6 corn tortillas
* vegetable oil for pan-frying
* 1 cooked boneless skinless chicken breast half, shredded
* 1/2 can enchilada sauce (about 5 oz)
* 1/4 cup frozen corn
* 1/8 cup butter
* 1/8 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1/2 can chopped green chiles, drained
* 2 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry tortillas (one at a time) for 5 seconds on each side to soften and make them pliable. Add more oil to pan as needed. Drain between layers of paper towel and keep warm.
3. Cook chicken, enchilada sauce, and corn until heated through, divide among the 6 tortillas. Roll up each tortilla and place seam side down in a greased baking pan.
4. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until mixture begins to boil. Slowly add the broth, stirring with a whisk until thickened. Mix in the sour cream and chiles, heat thoroughly but do not boil, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture over the enchiladas.
5. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until heated through. Top with Monterey Jack cheese and bake for 5 more minutes.

This recipe isn't as difficult as it looks, but it is a bit time-consuming. I felt that it was well worth the effort. I made this dish with Joanna's yummy refried bean recipe to round out the meal.

I'm currently in a very encouraging women's Bible study, in which we are discussing the book of Proverbs. The lessons are thematic, rather than by chapter, and we have had many wonderful lessons thus far. I just returned from an especially meaningful one on the subject of money, prosperity, and wisdom. This prayer was the last topic for discussion of the evening:

Proverbs 30:8-9

8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.

My husband loves cookies, (and I love to bake!) but it can be so difficult to find time to make a fresh batch after a long day of work. Plus, since there are only 2 of us, we could never finish a whole batch, even if we wanted to! So, I've started freezing the leftover dough.

I've found with homemade dough, especially ones made with real butter, that it is nearly impossible to scoop it out once frozen. So, I freeze the cookie dough (chocolate chip, peanut butter, and oatmeal all work great!) in cookie sized portions and place them on a wax-paper covered baking sheet. I place them like that in the freezer for an hour or two, just until they have hardened a bit. After that, I place them in gallon size freezer bags which are labeled with the oven temp and bake time, as well as the cookie type and date of preparation.

When I'm ready to bake, I just take the desired amount of cookies and place them on a cookie sheet, then bake for 1-2 minutes longer than the recipe states. Fresh cookies, with little time! Works for me!

For more Works-for-Me Wednesday, visit Rocks in my Dryer.

Let me step on my soapbox for a minute.

The other day Stu and I headed out to the suburbs to return a shirt I had received for Christmas. (Apparently this was the only location for this store in Houston . . .) Anyway, this store was located in a regular old mall, and immediately upon walking in I felt uncomfortable.

I've avoided the mall lately since I tend to find myself wanting everything I see, which is not good when one is on a budget. (Plus it's the principle of the thing. I don't need more stuff!) This particular mall was an overstimulating zoo. My senses just simply felt attacked. Everything was from the floor to the ceiling decorations to the storefronts was brightly colored, loud music was blasting, and the smell of Cinnabon was drifting down the way. It was like being at the Discovery Zone, only with stores where you would be enticed to spend to your heart's content.

I don't remember malls being this assaulting. It gives me a headache just thinking about it! Growing up, the closest mall was a dreary shade of greens, mauves, and white. Is this a new trend? Are there other malls like this in Suburbia? Or am I just overreacting?

Okay, rant over.

Seriously, though, I want to pursue godly simplicity in my life, and it can be so difficult when surrounded by places that purposefully exist to drain my pocketbook.

Our pastor's sermon series continued this week on Joseph, and the topic was about suffering. We sang the hymn "It is Well with my Soul" during the beginning of the service, and I thought I would post on it today.

I first remember connecting with this hymn at my grandfather's memorial service back in high school. The two stanzas especially have stuck with me through the years. Whenever I am struggling with something these words come to mind and comfort me. The hymn was penned in 1873 by Horatio Spafford.

From Wikipedia:

This hymn was writ­ten af­ter several trau­matic events in Spaf­ford’s life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871, shortly followed by the great Chi­ca­go Fire which ru­ined him fi­nan­cial­ly (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the S.S. Ville Du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business. While cross­ing the At­lan­tic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with an­o­ther ship, and all four of Spaf­ford's daugh­ters died. His wife Anna sur­vived and sent him the now fa­mous tel­e­gram, "Saved alone." Shortly afterwards, as Spaf­ford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daugh­ters had died.

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain

This is one of my favorite Psalms:

Psalm 139
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain!
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

I'm looking forward to this weekend for no particular reason. It's one weekend closer to my sister visiting me, and one weekend closer to the Super Bowl, but the weekend itself holds no special excitement for me. And I like it that way.

After having so much fun last weekend, I'm hoping to get several things accomplished--starting some seeds, cleaning the bathroom and kitchen (again!), finishing a book, and tackling a sewing project. For tonight I plan on curling up on the couch with a cup of chamomile tea and a good book. It's my favorite winter pastime, and the Lord has seen fit to give us a beautiful cold evening.

The weekend is a glimpse of what my life would be like if I could stay at home. It can be hard sometimes to stay content in the situation God has me in right now, since working full-time is not my cup of tea. Sure, I enjoy aspects of it, but I would love to be able to set my own schedule and accomplish more at home than is possible now. I would love to be able to spend a week focusing on one sewing project, or a whole morning puttering in my garden. I would love to have a home that is clean most of the time, and a home where I can create a warm place for my husband and friends. *sigh* Pardon me. Here I go rambling again. It's not that I'm unhappy, I just long for other things. Good things, but not the best for me yet. God is just having me practice my patience, I guess.