¡BIENVENIDOS A LA NOCHE MEXICANA!

Welcome to MEXICAN NIGHT! We sure did have fun tonight. I was pretty excited because I got the chance to break out my fiesta decorations, and the girls were excited because...well, they got to enjoy my decorations ;)

His name is Patrick. Patrick the Piñata. And his name might have been inspired by Spongebob.

 L to R: Patrick, Michelle lovin' on Patrick, Brandi, Lindsey, Holly, Caroline, Julie & Alison

Our church partnered with The Haiti Collective to send a team to Haiti for a week and minister to a group of orphans. It is clear in scripture that our Lord cares deeply for the orphaned and widowed. He steps into that role of protection and cares for them deeply.
"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." (Psalm 68:5) 
"He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing." (Deuteronomy 10:18)

In His word, we as Christians are also commanded to care for the fatherless and widowed. And let me tell you, when he gives this commandment, He ain't playin'!
"Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless." (Exodus 22: 22-23)

And we must also remember that we were once orphans in the sense that before we became born-again believers, we did not have a true Father, God our Savior. Christ also promises us in His word that He will take care of His children.
"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you." (John 14:18)

So as you can see, God has deep love and compassion for the orphaned and widowed. And as followers of Christ, we should too. After all, Christ takes care of us as His children, and we are called to be followers of Christ. Tonight, we chose to serve these sweet babies by putting together their snack for one of the days that Team Haiti was conducting vacation bible school. We put together 200 snack bags of homemade Snack Mix (pretzels, Cheez Its, and Chex cereal).

Mixing all the ingredients and getting ready to pack the bags

Look at these worker bees go :)

 Of course I made them smile for the camera! (they hate when I do that...but I'm relentless)

This is the "twinsies" crew

L to R: Alison, Holly, Caroline & Lindsey

And this is the blue crew!

L to R: Michelle showing off the fact that she actually got the bag to close, Julie & Brandi

And here, my friends, is why we serve. Look at that sweet baby. We may not ever know how Team Haiti, and the behind-the-scenes support from Flint Hill Baptist Church, impacted each of these children's lives, but for a few days, they were fed, loved on, paid attention to, prayed over, and they heard about God through songs, sports, coloring sheets, and more. May God bless these children and I'm certainly looking forward to seeing what God has in store for FHBC's newly-founded orphan care ministry. To God be the glory!

Aaaaaand now I feel the weight of guilt as I post the remainder of this blog... guilt because there are so many in this world who do even know if they are going to eat this week, and here we are having food parties every week and often times packing up leftovers. Leftovers! Our leftovers are someone else's 5 star dinner. We are currently in a sermon series on how to be rich. How to live a life worth living. One thing that our pastor has been speaking on is giving. Giving not only in the sense of giving your tithes and offerings, but also giving your time and efforts. Serving the Lord and serving Him through serving others. Think about that this week. Look for opportunities to serve the Lord by serving others. That homeless man you drive by? Give him your coat... I promise you he needs it more than you. Or give him some food and water. That family down the street that has been having a rough time? Bring them a meal, drop off an anonymous love offering, or just send them a card letting them know you're thinking of them. Pray that God puts people in your path this week that have a need. And meet that need.

Sorry I digressed a little there...nothing new to this group :)

So now I humbly present the recipes of the week:

SANGRIA

Contributed by: Caroline

1 bottle white grape juice

2 liter sprite

Fruit slices (here, Caroline use sliced green & red apples and oranges)

Mix well and let chill in the fridge. Serve cold.

BACON-WRAPPED JALAPENO POPPERS

Contributed by: Julie

Approx. 12-15 jalapenos

1 block cream cheese

3/4 cup colby jack cheese

Tony Chachere creole seasoning to taste

Bacon (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F. Mix cheese together with seasoning. Cut into and clean out peppers of all seeds and ribs. Fill with mixture. Wrap in bacon (optional). Bake at 375F for 30 mins.

CHICKEN ENCHILADA RING

Contributed by: Alison

2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken
1/4 cup chopped pitted ripe olives
1 - 4oz cup shredded cheddar cheese and monterey jack cheese blend
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp pampered chef pantry southwest seasoning
2 plum tomatoes
1 lime
2/3 cup finely crushed corn tortilla chips, divided
2 - 8oz packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup salsa
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 375F. Chop chicken and olives using food chopper, place in mixing bowl. Add cheese, green chilies, mayonnaise, and seasoning mix. Seed and chop 1 tomato. Slice lime in half. Using juicer, juice 1/2 of lime to measure 1 tsp juice. Reserve remaining lime for garnish. Add chopped tomato and lime juice to chicken mixture. Reserve 2 tbsp crushed chips; add remaining chips to chicken mixture and mix well. Sprinkle reserved crushed chips over cutting board. Unroll crescent dough. Place dough, sticky-side down, onto crushed chips; press down lightly, so chips adhere to dough. Separate dough into triangles. Arrange triangles, chip side down, in a circle on round baking stone (or round pizza baking sheet) with wide ends overlapping in the center and points towards outside. (There should be a 5-inch diameter opening in center.) Scoop chicken mixture evenly onto the wide ends of each triangle. Bring points of triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. (Filling will not be completely covered.) Bake 20-25 mins or until golden. For garnish, cut remaining tomato into 8 wedges. Cut remaining half of lime into 4 slices; cut in half. Arrange between openings of ring. Cut and serve with salsa and sour cream.


SOUTHWESTERN DIP
Contributed by: Mallory

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, rinsed and drained (or if you have time, I actually cooked 2 ears of corn and cut it off the cob)
1 medium purple onion, chopped finely
2 ripe avocados, cubed
Tortilla chips

The following dressing doesn't really have measurements, I just put it all in a bowl and played with it until it was the flavor I was looking for. Then poured it over the bean/corn/avocado/onion mixture.
   Honey
   Red wine vinegar
   Lime juice
   Garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients well and serve chilled with tortilla chips.


MEXICAN TRASH CASSEROLE
Contributed by: Lindsey

1 bag Nacho Doritos, crushed
2 cups shredded chicken
2 cups shredded cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 packet taco seasoning

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with nonstick spray. Mix together all ingredients BUT Doritos. Layer half the Doritos (approx. 2 cups) on the bottom, then spread half the chicken mixture, rest of the Doritos, and the rest of the chicken mixture. Add more cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake for 35 mins on 350F.


QUESADILLAS
Contributed by: Holly

[STAY TUNED. RECIPE TO COME...]


CREAMY POBLANO RICE
Contributed by: Michelle

1 cup Texmati basmati rice, uncooked
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (or 1 tsp regular table salt)
2 cups water
1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 can sliced poblano peppers (7.5 oz), drained
1/2 cup sour cream (low-fat is fine)
1 1/2 cups grated pepper jack cheese
Cayenne pepper to sprinkle on top (optional)

In a medium size heavy-bottom pan, add vegetable oil. Turn the heat to medium-high and heat the oil just until it starts to shimmer. Add the rice and cook, stirring often, until the rice turns chalky white and some of the grains start to brown very lightly. Carefully add the water, throw in the salt, and stir to keep the grains from sticking. When your rice begins to bubble vigorously, give it one last stir. Place a lid on the pan, reduce the heat to low (I set mine b/t 1 and 2 on my stove dial), and set your kitchen timer for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes is up, turn off the heat, leave the lid on, and let the rice rest until the pan is cool enough to touch without burning yourself (approx. 30 mins). Preheat oven to 375F. In a mixing bowl, combine the cooked rice, sour cream, poblano peppers, garlic salt, and 1 cup of grated pepper jack cheese. Spoon into a lightly sprayed baking dish. Spread evenly and top with remaining pepper jack cheese, and cayenne (optional). Bake at 375F for 20-25 or until cheese is melted and bubbly.


MEXICAN "FRIED" ICE CREAM
Contributed by: Brandi

3 cups crushed Corn Flakes cereal

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 (1.75 quart) container Vanilla ice cream

1 - 8 oz container Cool Whip

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup honey

Chocolate syrup

Caramel sauce

Take ice cream out of freezer and let sit at room temp for 30 minutes or so, to soften. Melt butter in a medium skillet, over medium heat. Add the crushed corn flakes and sugar. Stir to combine. Fry mixture for 5 mins, stirring constantly, until cereal is golden-brown. **Be careful not to burn. It may take less than 5 minutes!** Take a 9x13 dish and spread 1/3 corn flakes mixture into the bottom of the pan. Set aside. In a large bowl, add the softened vanilla ice cream and cool whip. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Using a spatula, stir and mix well to combine. Spread ice cream mixture over the top of the corn flake mixture in the bottom of the pan. Spread the remaining corn flake mixture evenly over the ice cream. Drizzle the honey over the top. Cover pan, and place in freezer. Freeze ice cream for at least 5 hours, or overnight. Cut into squares and serve with drizzles of chocolate syrup and caramel sauce. Enjoy!

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Tonight, I leave you with two things:

1. A picture of my "rockstar" niece who just turned FIVE!! Man, time flies... 

2. The Word of God

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10

Lord, I thank you so much for each and every one of these ladies and their sweet families. I thank you for their heart's desire to serve others, especially the orphaned and widowed. I pray that our efforts in Haiti are glorifying to you. I know that each of these ladies have faced, are currently facing, or will face difficult times. I thank you for your promise that you have a plan to prosper and not harm us, and I pray that through these difficult times, we will see it as an opportunity for You to shape and mold our lives according to that plan. In your name, Amen.