SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

So it's Super Bowl Sunday, and honestly, I could really care less. You see, friends, around here we are full force college football fans. Our Saturdays are filled with NCAA goodness..."Roll Tides" and "War Eagles" being shouted from the rooftops. So while I do love me some good football, I am just too exhausted to care about NFL after college season winds down.

BUT I love any excuse to cook and eat football food. If you remember, we have already had a football themed night, so this go around, we did NFL theme night. We had some creative stuff so be sure and check out the recipes below!!

I also love any excuse to gather around the table and talk, encourage, & pray with these sweet ladies:

L to R: Julie, Lindsey, April, Andrea, Brandi, Belinda, Shelly & Alison

But before we get to the recipes, I wanted to highlight a ministry project that we did this week:

One of our ladies has a long-time family friend who was recently widowed. Her husband of 65 years passed away unexpectedly and she has been going through a rough time dealing with that loss and grieving. 65 years, y'all... that's a long time!!

Another sweet lady in our group had a fabulous idea to send her a "BOX OF SUNSHINE" to cheer her up. So, of course, our wonderful group of ladies rallied around and each brought some yellow (or orange) items to include in this precious saint's "BOX OF SUNSHINE"

We had all KINDS of stuff like lotion, hand soap, a candle, journal, lip balm, vase with flowers, blanket, fuzzy socks with those awesome little grippies on the bottom, a photo magnet, loofahs, food items, word puzzles, peppermints, and more!!

I'm happy to report that our "BOX OF SUNSHINE" was a success!!! She loved it!

All right, so back to this delicious food...

Get ready to enjoy some of your favorite NFL football treats!!! Oh yeah... and go Patriots, Seahawks, Katy Perry, etc...  or something...


Food: Seattle Seafood Crab Dip
Team: Seattle Seahawks
Contributed by: Mallory

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp pepper
6 oz canned crab meat
Crackers

Combine cream cheese and mayo. Beat until creamy. Stir in remaining ingredients. Serve with crackers.


Food: Cheeseburger Dip with Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Team: Philadelphia Eagles
Contributed by: Lindsey

1 lb ground beef
1 - 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 pkg Velveeta cheese
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 can Rotel tomatoes
2 cups shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. Brown and drain ground beef. Add cream cheese, Velveeta, and Rotel. Cook over medium high heat until melted. Pour into a baking dish, cover with shredded cheese. Top with bacon and bake at 350F for 15 minutes until bubbly.


Food: Buffalo Chicken Ring
Team: Buffalo Bills
Contributed by: Andrea

4 oz cream cheese (1/2 - 8 oz block), softened
1/4 cup hot sauce
2 1/2 cups chopped, cooked chicken (1/2 in. pieces)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 oz)
2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury crescent rolls
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

Preheat oven to 375F. In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and hot sauce until smooth. Mix in chicken and shredded cheese until just combined. Unroll both cans of dough; separate into 8 triangles with "points" facing outward and the base of the triangle forming a circle in the middle of the ungreased baking sheet (dough will overlap; half of each triangle will hang over edges of cookie sheet. dough ring should look like a sun). Spoon cream cheese mixture on the half of each triangle closest to center of ring. Top with blue cheese crumbles. Bring each dough triangle hanging over side of pan up over filling, tucking dough under bottom layer of dough to secure it. Repeat around ring until entire filling is enclosed (some filling might show a little). Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until dough is golden brown and thoroughly baked. Cool 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into serving slices.

Food: Buffalo Chips

Team: Another Buffalo Bills fan :)

Contributed by: Belinda 

2 cups thinly sliced red potatoes
2 tbsp Frank's buffalo sauce (or more if you prefer)
Blue cheese, ranch, or green onions, optional

Preheat oven to 425F. Place thinly sliced potatoes in a large plastic bag, drizzle with sauce, and shake well to coat all the potatoes. Place potatoes in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes, flip over and bake an additional 3-5 minutes. Let cool and top with blue cheese, ranch, or green onions, if desired.


Food: Jambalaya
Team: New Orleans Saints
Contributed by: Alison

1/2 lb bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3/4 cup uncooked rice
1 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken breast, cooked and diced
1 lb kielbasa sausage cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 1/4 cup chicken broth
1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce
Black pepper

Slice bacon into bite-sized pieces and brown in dutch oven until crisp. When done, remove bacon using small scoop and drain. Add onion, bell pepper, and rice to bacon drippings and cook for 8-10 minutes until rice is golden... stirring frequently. Add in chicken, sausage, broth and tomato sauce, black pepper, and stir. Place dutch oven in the microwave, covered, for 10 minutes. Then stir and add in bacon and microwave for an additional 5 minutes (make sure your dutch oven is microwave-safe. if it's not, just cook on the stove until done).


Food: Marshmallow fudge brownies
Team: Cleveland Browns
Contributed by: Julie

1 box brownie mix (PLUS additional ingredients required per the box instructions)
1/2 bag marshmallows
1 container of store bought chocolate icing

Bake brownies according to package directions. Immediately after removing from the oven, pour 1/2 bag of marshmallows on top then let cool. Heat chocolate icing in microwave and pour over top then let cool again. Cut and serve!


Food: Rotel dip
Team: Green Bay Packers (a.k.a. "Cheeseheads")
Contributed by: April

1 block Velveeta cheese
1 can Rotel
1 lb sausage
Tortilla chips

Brown and drain sausage. Add all ingredients into a crockpot and heat until melted and mixed well. Serve with tortilla chips.

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Tonight, I leave you with two things:

1. A sweet picture of my precious little Valentines

2. The Word of God
"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

Thank you Lord for your great love. Thank you for laying down your life for me so that I may have eternal life. I can never repay you or understand your pure, unconditional love for me. But I do pray that I can honor you with my life. In your name, Amen.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

2015: out with the old, in with the new!! It's a new year and for many that means new goals, new resolutions, new beginnings. Whether that means resolving to lose 10 lbs, save more for retirement, land that promotion, be a better parent, go on a mission trip, or whatever your goal may be, it's time for a fresh start! And we are excited about the new semester of 'Tis So Sweet. We have LOTS of great projects planned out for this semester, so be sure to check the blog for updates.

But before we dive in to 2015, let's take a look back at 2014 and see what all God blessed us with:

We gathered items for and assembled Ziploc "goody bags", which includes a personal encouraging note and plan of salvation, to keep in our cars and pass out to the needy when we come to an intersection and see that man holding the cardboard sign.

We assembled door prizes for the Move Your Feet Move the World 5K which helped raise over $6,000 for missions!

We prepared 200 snack bags for the Haiti team to take to the orphanage.

We partnered with Mrs. Carl Ann and the Joy Club ministry on a couple of occasions. For their fall Joy Club lunch, we provided "to-go gifts" which were jars of "Friendship Soup".

On a separate occasion, we ministered to our seniors by baking them sweet treats!

We also wanted to show our appreciation to the pastoral staff, so we gifted them with each of their "favorite things"

We held a church-wide canned food drive competition among the life groups. Overall, the church did really stepped up and did a fabulous job to help stock the shelves of The Grace Place's food pantry and help those in need during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

Brother Bob's class ended up winning the canned food drive competition and as a thank you for their hard work, we held a special dinner for them.

We took to the streets of downtown Birmingham and provided hot dog dinners to 200 homeless people, which included a hot dog with any desired toppings, a bag of chips, cookies, and a drink.

We saw the Lord work mightily in our church, growing the number of families who have come, yearning to serve. Off the top of my head I think of the Mears' (pictured above), the Wilson's, the Caffee's, the Gober's, the Gibson's, and many more!!

We added a couple new members to the 'Tis So Sweet clan and our church family this year!! Brody Cockrell (pictured above), Bristol Williams, Blake Pilkington, Mason Gober, and Lincoln McCartney

We also have had a lot of fun incorporating our new THEME NIGHTS into our cooking. We started out with "football food" (pictured above...too many Alabama fans...)

Had fun with HALLOWEEN NIGHT

And Mexican night, just to name a few...

Overall, I would definitely call 2014 a success. We have seen such growth in our life group, both in numbers and spiritually, and I am so thankful for the Lord's provision and guidance over this group of ladies. We are very much excited about and looking forward to 2015 and what the Lord has in store!!

So, to start out our 2015 semester, our first theme night was "New Year's Resolution" so we did health foods...or at least modified versions of our favorite foods.

Before we get to the food, though, I want to touch on the outreach project that we did for our first meeting. Three members of our church's original Haiti team were called upon to go back for a 9-day stint and finish the "cataloging" work that was started on the first trip back in the fall of 2014. You see, just because a child is considered an orphan, doesn't mean that he or she has the chance to be adopted, or cared for through a sponsorship system. There has to be a system in place and they have to be entered into such system. 

One objective that a ministry partner of the church's called The Haiti Collective (www.thehaiticollective.com) has is to collect and record personal, medical, and other information about these 200-300 orphans in Haiti so that they can have the chance to be sponsored. During the first Haiti trip, we only had enough time and resources to collect information on a small portion of the orphans while we were there. Mrs. Patty McCartney, and Ryan and Casey Bly, answered this call without hesitation when they were asked to return and finish the job. Check out more info on their trip here: http://www.flinthill.net/grow/a-heart-for-haiti/

We wanted to help in any way possible, so we equipped the team with snacks for the 200 children once again:

The ladies getting to work in preparing snack mix (consisting of wheat chex cereal, cheez it's, pretzels, and granola) in 200 snack bags for the children

L to R: Belinda, Alison, Brandi, Holly, and Lindsey

L to R: Michelle, Casey, and Julie

Laura & Shelly

Special thanks to all these pretty ladies for helping meet the needs of the Haiti team

L to R: Julie, Michelle, Lori, Audra, Lindsey, Holly, Brandi, Laura (hiding behind Brandi's head...sorry!!), Shelly, Alison, Belinda

Does all that work make you hungry? Me too! Let's check out the healthy, yet delicious, recipes of the week!!

ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

Contributed by: Alison

1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp chili powder
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
4 flour tortillas
2 tbsp light spreadable butter
1 4-oz can sliced olives, drained
1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 400F. Brown turkey and onion in a large saucepan. Drain any grease and add pepper, chili powder and tomato sauce. Lightly spread tortillas with the spreadable butter and cut into fourths. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Alternate laying tortillas (butter side down) in the casserole dish, then a layer of meat sauce, then a layer of olives and then finally a layer of cheese. Repeat the layers three times. Slice up and serve with sour cream, lettuce, cilantro, tomato, etc. Enjoy!

VEGETABLE STIR-FRY OVER RICE

Contributed by: Shelly

1 pkg wild rice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, sliced into 1 in. pieces
1 green bell pepper, sliced into 1 in. pieces
1 onion, sliced into 1 in. pieces
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
Sesame oil to taste (approx. 1 tbsp total)

Cook rice according to package. While rice is cooking, heat olive oil in saute pan on medium to medium-high heat. Add peppers, onion, broccoli and mushrooms to saute pan along with a few drops of sesame oil and cook for approx. 5-7 minutes then set aside. Drain rice when done cooking, add 1 tbsp olive oil and 2-3 drops sesame oil and saute for approx. 5 minutes. Place in a large bowl and serve with sauteed vegetables on top.

CROCKPOT SWEET POTATO & CARROT SOUP WITH GOAT CHEESE CROSTINIS

Contributed by: Mallory

SOUP:
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

2 cups baby carrots (almost 1 lb)

1 small onion, chopped

3/4 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

4 cups chicken broth

1 tbsp maple syrup

3/4 cup cream

Place potatoes, carrots, onion, curry powder, salt, pepper, cinnamon and ginger in a greased crock pot. Add chicken broth and stir. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Puree soup in a blender or food processor a few cups at a time or use an immersion blender. Stir in maple syrup and cream. Serve warm.

CROSTINIS:

1 baguette, sliced into 16 rounds
12 oz goat cheese
2 tbsp whipped cream cheese
1 head of roasted garlic
4 ears of grilled corn, cut from the cob (I used canned and it was just fine...)
1 pint of grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp olive oil
Dash of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 375F. Place bread slices on a baking sheet and bake until golden, about 10-12 mins. Remove and let cool slightly. While bread is baking, add goat cheese, cream cheese and garlic to the bowl of your food processor and blend until creamy. Toss tomatoes, corn, and basil with salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic. To prep crostini, spread each slice with goat cheese mixture then to pwith a handful of tomatoes, corn and basil.

APPLE BREAD

Contributed by: Audra's sweet mama

[RECIPE TO COME... STAY TUNED]


APPLE COOKIES

Contributed by: Lindsey

Apples
Peanut butter
Semi sweet chocolate chips
Granola
Chopped walnuts

Core and slice apples (using a mandolin is easiest way to get even slices). Spread peanut butter on top of apple slices and sprinkle remaining ingredients on top.


BREAKFAST MUFFINS
Contributed by: Lori

Hungry Jack biscuit mix (PLUS additional ingredients required on box to make biscuit recipe)

1 egg per "muffin"

Sharp cheddar cheese to taste

Turkey bacon, cooked and chopped into pieces

Preheat oven to 375F. Make biscuit batter according to package directions. Incorporate bacon pieces and cheese into the batter. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full with batter, then crack 1 egg on top of each muffin. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes or until egg is cooked and muffins are golden brown.

STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM
Contributed by: Belinda

[RECIPE TO COME... STAY TUNED]


DIET SUNKIST CAKE
Contributed by: Holly

1 box yellow cake mix
2 egg whites
12 oz Diet Sunkist
Orange food coloring (optional)
8 oz Lite Cool Whip, thawed

Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk together cake mix, egg whites, Diet Sunkist and a couple of drops of orange food coloring. Pour cake into a greased 9x13" pan, and bake for 30 minutes. Cool cake completely and top with Cool Whip.


CHICKEN SALAD
Contributed by: Brandi

2 - 10 oz cans chicken chunks, drained (or fresh... great way to use leftover chicken pieces!)
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/3 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Dash of garlic salt
Crackers

Mix together all ingredients and serve chilled with crackers.

BRAN FLAX MUFFINS

Contributed by: Michelle

NOTE: recipe makes 15 muffins. Adjust measurements accordingly.

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

3/4 cup Flaxseed meal

3/4 cup oat bran

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 cup skim milk

2 eggs, beaten

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

2 apples, peeled, shredded

1/2 cup raisins

1 cup chopped nuts of your choice

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin pan or line with paper muffin liners. In a large bowl, mix together flour, flax seed, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the milk, eggs, and vanilla; mix until just blended. Stir in the carrots, apples, raisins and nuts. Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

QUINOA SALAD

Contributed by: Julie

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cucumber, chopped

1/2 cup feta

1/2 cup olives

1 tbsp olive oil

2-3 tbsp lemon juice to taste

Mix all ingredients together and serve chilled.

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Tonight, I leave you with two things:

1. This awesome picture of my parents who recently celebrated 42 years of marriage!

2. The Word of God

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit that lives within me. Help me to delight in you. To find true peace and fulfillment in you and you alone, and not in the things of this world. Lord, I long to find my satisfaction and worth in Christ alone as your word commands. So help me to fix my eyes you instead of temporary things. In Your Name, Amen.

GREEK NIGHT~OPA!

Two of my favorite restaurants are Zoe's and Pita Stop. Hands down, Greek food is definitely on the top of my yummy goodness list. This week we decided to branch out of our "southern soul food comfort zone" and try Greek! Let's just say the results were FABULOUS! OPA!!!

L to R: Alison, Shelly, Julie, Caroline, Michelle's head, Lori, Brandi, Samantha

The girls talking about something surious :)

L to R: Michelle, Shelly, Julie, Brandi, Caroline

L to R: Lori, Sam, & Alison hanging out

Good thing Lori has 3 dachshunds at home, because this one was ALL OVER her. Buddy loves Lori!

Digging in to the deliciousness!

Yummy!

Now that brings us to...the recipes of the week!

DOLMADES (STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES) WITH TAZIKI SAUCE

Contributed by: Michelle

1 cup uncooked long-grain rice

2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

1 medium white onion, chopped

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

1 tsp salt

2 large lemons, jiuced

1 liter chicken or vegetable stock, heated

30 grape leave, rinsed and drained (from jar or use fresh but boil until tender)

In a large saucepan over med-high heat, saute the onion in 2 tbsp EVOO for a few minutes, add rice, dill and mint. Continue stirring until onion has softened. Slowly pour in half the heated stock. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer for 10 mins, or until rice is almost cooked but still very al dente. Stir in half the lemon jiuce and remove from heat, cool until easy enough to handle. Line the bottom of your pot with a few extra vine leaves you have so the dolmades will not burn while cooking (hint: use the broken or unusable ones). Take one leaf, place shiny side down, and spoon 1 tsp (only 1 tsp or they will burst open) or more/less according to size of the leaf, but you want to easily be able to tightly fold; remember that the rice will still expand more while cooking. Fold over both sides of the leaf towards the center, and begin to snuggly roll up from the bottom to top. You may have to slightly fold the top sides even more inwards (think slightly triangle) to get a prettier roll. Once you've finished rolling one, place it seam side down in the pot. Repeat placing the dolmades together so as to not leave any gaps and allowing the leave to split open. Try to stack the first layer all facing the same direction and when you begin the 2nd layer, switch the direction for a criss-cross pattern; repeat until finished. Sprinkle the top with remaining lemon jiuce and oilive oil. Gently pout the remaining stick just enough to cover the top layer. Place a flat weight - like a small, upside down plate - on top of the vine leaves, cover the pot, and simmer for 45-60 minutes - making sure not to boil, When close to the time, check one to confirm that the rice is tender, taking into account that they will also slightly cook a little more while cooling down. Remove from heat, remove cover, and let cool for another half hour. Transfer to a plate-dish and serve with lemon slices and taziki sauce.

GREEK PIZZA
Contributed by: Lori

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 (10 oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

2 1/4 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Ground black pepper to taste

1 (14 oz) pkg refrigerated pizza crust

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 large tomato, thinly sliced

1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400F. If using a pizza stone, place in oven to preheat. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet; cook and stir onion and garlic until tender, about 5 mins. Add spinach and continue to cook and stir until all liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and season with basil, lemon juice, oregano, and pepper. Allow mixture to cool slightly. Unroll pizza dough on preheated pizza stone or a large baking sheet and brush with remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Spread spinach mixture over dough, leaving a small border at the edge of the pizza crust. Top with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Press tomato slices into seasoned bread crumbs until coated; arrange tomatoes over pizza. Spread remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and feta cheese over tomatoes. Bake in preheated oven until pizza crust is golden brown and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Enjoy!

BAKLAVA
Contributed by: Alison

18 sheets fillo dough

150 grams melted butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2 cups walnuts

1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 375F. In a food processor, chop walnuts into tiny pieces. Place chopped walnuts with confectioners' sugar and cinnamon, toss to combine. In a separate bowl, melt butter. Lay out one fillo sheet at a time, brushing with melted butter. Cover the buttered sheet with another sheet, while brushing butter again. Repeat with the third sheet. You should have three buttered sheets. Apply 1/3 cup of walnut mixture onto the buttered sheet, spread evenly over the sheet. Roll up tight into a roll and set it on a baking dish. Repeat until you run out of ingredients. Brush baklava with melted butter. Bake it at 375F for 25 minutes. In a small pot, combine sugar and water, cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. Add honey and stir to melt. Pour liquid mixture over baklava and set to rest for at least 3 hours. Slice baklava rolls into your preferred sizes. 

FETA SPREAD
Contributed by: Caroline

1/2 lb feta cheese

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 tbsp minced fresh mint or 1 tsp crumbled dried mint

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, plus more if desired

6 pepperoncini peppers, chopped

Ritz Crackers

In a food processor, combine the cheese, olive oil, farlic, mint, red pepper flakes and pepperoncini and process until smooth. Serve with crackers.

GREEK CHICKEN DIP
Contributed by: Samantha

1 package Taziki sauce (premade from the store)
1 can chicken
Pita chips

Drain chicken and mix well with sauce. Serve with pita chips.


MEDITERRANEAN COUSCOUS SALAD
Contributed by: Brandi

1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cups uncooked couscous
1 cup cubed plum (Roma) tomatoes (3 medium)
1 cup cubed unpeeled cucumber (1 small)
1/2 cup halved pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup chopped green onions (approx. 4 medium)
1/4 cup chopped fresh or 1 tbsp dried dill weed
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp crumbled feta cheese

In a 2 qt. saucepan, heat broth to boiling. Stir in couscous; remove from heat. Cover; let stand 5 minutes. In large bowl, place tomatoes, cucumber, olives, onions and dill weed. Stir in couscous. In small bowl, beat lemon juice, oil and salt with wire whisk until well blended; pour over vegetable mixture and toss. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour to blend flavors. Just before serving, sprinkle with cheese.


PASTITSIO
Contributed by: Julie

CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE


FALAFEL PATTIES OVER GREEK RICE
Contributed by: Mallory

1 pkg greek rice (I actually think I used dirty rice...)
Taziki sauce for dipping (buy premade at the store)
2 cups roughly chopped white onion
6 garlic cloves
2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained (hint: I used canned garbanzo beans...same thing)
1 cup lightly packed parsley leaves
1 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Canola oil, for sauteing

Add the onion and garlic cloves to the bowl of a food processor and pulse just until they are finely minced. Remove the mixture and set it aside. Add the chickpeas, parsley, cilantro, salt, chili powder, and cumin to the bowl of the food processor and pulse until they are roughly blended but not pureed. Return the onion mixture to the food processor, along with the baking powder and just enough flour so that when you pulse the processor, the mixture begins to form a small ball and is not sticky. (NOTE: start by adding 1/4 cup flour, and then the remaining 1/4 cup. You can add more if the mixture is still too wet.) Transfer the falafell mixture to a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Once chilled, use a small ice cream scoop or spoons to form the mixture into balls (NOTE: I just used my hands... you can also add more flour if it's too wet to scoop). Set a large saute pan over medium heat and add a liberal amount of canola oil so that the pan is well-coated. Let the pan preheat for 3 mins then add the falafel one by one, browning them on the first side for 3 mins, then flipping them once and browning the second side until the mixture is cooked throughout. Transfer to a paper towel-lined cooking rack (or a paper towel-lined plate like I did), and immediately season them with salt. Repeat this process until you have cooked all of the falafel. Serve with taziki sauce for dipping with or over Greek rice.


PASTA SALAD
Contributed by: Shelly

1 box tri-colored pasta noodles
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1/3 cup olives, chopped
Feta cheese, to taste
Greek seasoning, to taste
1 1/2 tsp olive oil

Cook pasta according to package, add remaining ingredients in a large bowl and toss well. Serve chilled or room temperature.

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Tonight, I leave you with two things:

1. A picture of muah with my first buck!! Thanks to my husband for putting me on this beautiful deer. Plenty of venison recipes to come :)

2. The Word of God

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24

Thank you Jesus for the sacrifice that was made for us so undeservedly. Thank you for these women that are so dear to my heart and sacrifice every day for their families. Help us to have a fresh perspective each day and remember to put you first. To do everything to the best of our abilities each day in order to serve and glorify you and you alone, not man. In your name, Amen.