Dorrito Crusted Chicken Breast

I love trying new recipes and I absolutely love this Dorrito Chicken recipe.  Super easy and super tasty!

All you need is a package of chicken breast, buttermilk, egg, flour and Nacho Cheese Dorritos.

I cut my chicken breast into strips and then marinated them in buttermilk for 2 hours.  After that I rolled each piece in flour and then dipped them in a beaten egg mixture.  Prior to this I put about half a bag of Dorritos in a zip lock bag and crushed them up.  After the egg mixture I put the chicken in the bag and coated each piece with crushed Dorritos before putting them in a pan.  Then I baked them at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

We dipped our chicken strips in ranch dressing and it was 

DEE-LISH!!

The Garden Table

A while back I decided to take the floor of our old swing set fort and turn it into a table, so we hauled it up to the garden and I have used it the last couple years as a gardening table.  

This year I decided it needed a make over.     

A little red pain, a little white paint and lots of help from Bethany and this is what we came up with! 

We used a bunch of my Stampin Up stamp sets, some white craft ink, some artist paint brushes and more white paint... 

We added some of our favorite quotes...

And a little something to represent each person in our family.  Including Daisies paw print...

When It was all dry I sprayed a clear sealer on top of the whole table and our project was complete...

 We love it!  But, I may have lost my garden table.  Bethany sits on it and reads, but I guess that works too!

Redeeming Love - Book Review

As a christian I cannot with a good conscience promote this book.  I have heard many people say that this is one of the best books they have ever read, a book about redemption and God's love.  It is really hard for me to understand how this book can even be considered a christian novel.  I felt very uncomfortable reading it and if it was not for my agreement to read and review it I would of tossed it in the trash, which is exactly where it is going after I write this review.   As a mother of a teenage girl I would not want to chance her picking it up and reading any part of it.  I don't watch movies with bad ratings for sexual content and I don't want a book with sexual content within it's pages sitting on my book shelf.  On top of my disappointment with that I was very disgusted by the way the Author twists the Word of God around.  Also, at one point Mary the mother of Jesus is compared to a harlot by saying that she (Mary) became pregnant by Someone other than the man she was betrothed to marry.

The book is about Angel, a harlot that was sold into prostitution at the tender age of 8 years old.  Michael Hosea is supposed to be a prophet whom the Lord tells that Angel is the one He has chosen for him.  Therefore Michael visits the brothel where Angel works several times to talk with her and he eventually "buys" her and takes her home.  Angel does not want to be with him and feels like she now has a different owner and will never be truly free.  There are lots of details about what a prostitute does and lots of details about a husband and wife's intimate life.  Angel leaves several times, Michael goes gets her.  She finally falls in love with him, leaves him once again, ends up back in a brothel, finds God and starts a home to help "retrain"  prostitutes and get them out of their life style by teaching them a trade and helping them find a decent job.  There is no mention of helping the women find God which was disappointing as well.  After three years pass Angel goes back to Michael and as she is walking through the field to see him for the first time in three years she begins shedding her clothes and by the time she reaches him she is naked and they live happily ever after.  Yeah, I'm serious.

In a nutshell the book does not line up with the word of God and in my opinion makes a mockery out of a Bible story (the book is supposed to be based on Gomer).  If you want to remain pure stay away from this book and if you are a mother and decide to read it anyway please use discernment when it comes to your daughters.

***This book was provided to my by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Oh Deer

The other day while we were swimming I looked up and seen just a flash of something brown going down.  I figured that it was a deer bedding down.  I was surprised that one would be so close in the middle of the day especially considering we had the radio blaring.  I told Bethany about it and she got out of the pool to investigate.  She sneaked over to the spot and seen a baby deer.  She hollered back and told me so I headed to the house to get a camera.  By the time I got back outside, Bethany informed me that they were gone, she shared with me that it was twin baby deer.  One was laying down and the other was standing.  She was so excited and had never before got to be so close for so long to a deer like that.  I was sorry I missed it, but very happy for her.  

Since then we have seen the momma deer and the babies quite a bit.  They have made a home right on our property and we couldn't be happier!   They are such a beauty!  Many a night when I let Daisy out to go potty there they are, all three of them right in the back yard.   This past Sunday morning they ventured into the front yard and were right by my car for a while before they went along their way.  Dakota was able to get a few pictures through the window!

Homemade Rose Scented Powdered Laundry Detergent

I love making my own laundry detergent and have been doing so for years.  My favorite way to make it is the highly condensed liquid form and you can check out my blog post and directions for it here!  Even though it is what I use the most I occasionally like to use powdered detergent so this week I decided  to make up a batch and rather then use Felsnaptha like I normally use I decided to use a bar of rose scented castile soap and I absolutely love it!  It smells so feminine!  I'll definitely make more when this batch is all gone!   

I used one bar of castile soap and grated it with a cheese grater using the very fine side (you can use felsnaptha or ivory). Then I added one cup of borax and one cup of washing soda and a scoop of oxi clean.  To mix it up I put it in a quart jar and shook.  

Adoring Addie - A Book Review

Adoring Addie by Leslie Gould is book two in The Courtships of Lancaster County series.  When I read the first book in this series - Courting Cate I was not real impressed with the book and was a little leery of this series, but I decided to give it one more try when I had that opportunity to read Adoring Addie and I am so glad I did. I absolutely loved this book!  It's like an Amish Romeo and Juliet romance and the author Leslie Gould writes the story in such a way that keeps you interested from beginning to end.  There were even a couple places that I laughed out loud!  I love both Addie and Jonathan's characters and the fact that their love is so strong amiss all the obstacles that are in their way makes you root for them all the more.  There was also a surprise twist that was quite clever!  Definitely a good book to add to your library!

About the book:

Addie Cramer's parents are insisting she have a relationship with Phillip.  The only problem is that Addie does not feel the way she thinks she should feel about someone you are to marry.  She has always done everything to please her family and she doesn't want to disappoint them, but when she meets Johnathan Mosier things begin to change.  It is love at first site and despite the on going feud between the Cramer family and the Mosier family, Johnathan and Addie know they must be together.   They decide that their only hope is to reconcile their families, but to do so means they must find out what started the feud to begin with.  Are the secrets that they uncover too much?  Is their love strong enough to keep them together?

***This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for my review.

Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken Breast

I love easy crock pot recipes!  I love them even more in the summertime!  I ran across a recipe for barbecue chicken breast and thought I'd give it a try!  And guess what?!  It was DEE-LISH!   The chicken was unbelievable tender and the BBQ sauce that it was cooked in was the best ever.  So good that I've begun to use it for other recipes as well (ribs, porkchops etc.)

All you need is 4-6 chicken breasts.  I bought a package of chicken breast and they were very large so I used four and cut each of them in half for a total of 8 pieces.  Put your chicken in the bottom of your crock pot.  In a separate bowl combine a twelve ounce jar of barbecue sauce, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of vinegar, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper and 1 tsp. of garlic powder.  Mix all the ingredients together and pour over your chicken.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.  I stirred mine about half way through the cook time, but if you are not planning on being home while it is cooking it will be just fine without stirring!  Enjoy with your favorite sides!!!

Best Barbecue Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts
l-12 oz. jar bbq sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder

I almost forgot to mention that this would also be a great freezer meal!  Just combine raw chicken and all sauce ingredients in a zip-loc bag and freeze until you are ready to make it.

The Outcast - A Book Review

The Outcast by Jolina Petersheim is a modern retelling of The Scarlet Letter.  I have never read The Scarlet Letter, but I know enough about the story that I knew what this story would be about.  With that and the beautiful cover I was anxious to read the book.

Rachel is the mother of an illegitimate baby and the talk of her old order Mennonite community.   She is unmarried and refuses to repent and she refuses to name the father of her child, instead she bears the sin of both her and her partner.  Eventually she is driven out of the community by the bishop who is also her twin sister's husband.

Secrets always have a way of coming out and when Rachel's baby gets a life threatening illness, there are choices that must be made that will bring light to the darkness and will forever change the lives of everyone involved.

I really didn't like this book at all.  I really don't like when an author writes from the first person perspective, but what bothered me the most is that it switches from Rachel telling the story to Amos telling it.  That in itself can be confusing, but that was not even the worst part of it.  The story starts at Amos' funeral.  So a good deal of the story is being told by a dead guy.  He apparently is overseeing the goings on of his family from heaven.  This was just too much for me.  I could of gotten into the story more if it was not for this detail.  I wish that it all would have been told from Rachel's point of view.  The only bright part of the story for me was Judah, Rachel's childhood friend who loves her and is willing to look past her "sin" and marry her if only she will have him.  There are several twists and turns to the story so if first person narrative does not bother you (and the dead guy thing) then maybe you would enjoy it!

***This book was given to me by Tyndale Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

A Hopeful Heart - A Book Review

A Hopeful Heart by Amy Clipston is the first novel of the Heart of Lancaster Grand Hotel Series.

Hannah Glick is an Amish women with a 10 year old boy and two 16 year old girls that are twins.  Her husband suddenly died of a heart attach 4 years ago and even though her community offers Hannah love and support, she finds herself still struggling with grief.  She works at the Grand Hotel as a maid to help make ends meet.  It is there that she meets wealthy businessman Trey Peterson.  It has been a year since Trey lost his wife and daughter and him and Hannah feel an instant connection and become instant friends as they offer each other support as they journey through their grief.

Joshua Glick is Hannah's brother in law and he has always loved Hannah.  He helps Hannah out by running the business that her late husband ran and he finally declares his love for Hannah and asks for her hand in marriage.

Before long Hannah finds herself with two proposals and some tough decisions to make.  Should she follow her heart or stay with what is safe and familiar?

I definitely have mixed emotions about this book.  It is a fast and easy read which I really like.  I like the author's style of writing, but I just didn't care much for the story line.  I found Hannah to be very selfish.  To give up one of her daughters for an Englisher was a pretty low thing to do. I also found it a little hard to believe that she fell for him to begin with.  I would of loved to have seen her end up with Joshua.   I will give the series one more chance with the second book and I just hope I'm not disappointed.

***This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for my review.

Rainbows for Rainy Days - A Book Review

As long as we are living on this earth we are bound to face rainy days. There is no escaping it.  This journey that we are on sometimes includes cloudy days.  Sometimes it rains, sometimes it pours and occasionally we find our self in the middle of a full blown storm.  It doesn't matter how close you are to God, there is no miraculous, spiritual umbrella that is going to shield you from the rain.  It's during those storms that even the best christian can find themselves discouraged.  I've been there.  You've been there.

Rainbows for Rainy Days by Catherine Campbell is a 40 day devotional designed for just such times.  I know, for me, that when I am feeling discouraged and in the midst of a storm, a small word of encouragement is just the thing I need to give me the strength to face the day, to face tomorrow, to remember that even though it is raining, there is a rainbow, a promise, that God will never leave me, that He will not put more on me than I can bear, and that He loves me more than my mind can possible comprehend.

This beautifully written book is full of God's promises.  Each of the 40 day devotions  include a scripture, a short little story, words of encouragement and beautiful pictures.  I am sure this book will be a blessing to those who read it.  It would make a great gift too!!

***This book was provided to me by Kregel Publishing in exchange for my honest review.