I'm pondering the infinite question once again, "What will I fix for supper?" Well, I've got to run into the store, so I was surfing the net for a few good ideas. This one seems to fill the bill for sure.

Crawfish Andouille Fettuccini
Prep Time: 45 MinutesYields: 6 Servings
Comment:
Probably the two ingredients most associated with Louisiana cooking, crawfish and andouille, come together in this wonderful pasta dish. The light, smoky flavor of andouille adds the perfect touch to the fettuccini

Ingredients:
2 pounds crawfish tails, cooked
½ cup diced andouille sausage
1 pound fettuccini noodles, cooked
¼ pound butter
2 tbsps chopped garlic
½ cup diced onions
¼ cup diced celery
¼ cup diced red bell peppers
¼ cup diced green bell peppers
1 cup sliced mushrooms
½ cup diced tomatoes
¾ cup flour
1 quart crawfish stock or 1 quart water seasoned with chicken bouillon
¼ cup dry white wine
1 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup tomato sauce
1½ cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp chopped basil
1 tsp chopped tarragon
2 tbsps chopped parsley
¼ cup sliced green onions
salt and black pepper to taste
Method:In a heavy-bottomed 3½-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onions, celery, bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and andouille. Sauté for 5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted. Sprinkle in flour and blend well. Whisk in crawfish stock, white wine, lemon juice and tomato sauce. Whisk well until all is blended. Bring to a simmer and hold for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add crawfish tails and cream. Return to simmer and cook 10 minutes. Add basil, tarragon, parsley and green onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and toss with pasta.

I'll just add my very own Angel touches to this one and it should make for a fantastic dinner with a green salad, and some whole wheat french bread.

Here's how I do a "speed up" on this long prep recipe! I learned early on in marriage-sometimes when you are under a time crunch you've got to look for a shortcut or two.

I'll omit the wine, mushrooms and tomatoes. Instead of the fresh veggies I may just opt for a package or two of seasoning blend found in the freezer aisle. I use PictSweet brand. It works out fine especially if you hate chopping as much as I do. I'll opt to not use the tomatoes or the tomatoe sauce and just throw in a small can of rotel, drained. Use the chicken bouillon in water instead of the crawfish stock( the sprinkle bouillon is great or remember 1 cube per cup) I always keep a jar of minced garlic in the fridge, so that cuts down on prep as well. I'll also add some grated Parmesan and Asiago cheese I keep on hand to the final sauce. A small block of velveta would push this over the top, but might not help if you are watching your diet. I'll use whole wheat fettucini instead of regular for a healthier option. Also if you not so crazy about crawfish you could throw in cubed chicken breasts and it would still be great.

While I am making the sauce I'll start the water to boiling, get the salad open and into the bowl so it can chill. As the sauce finishes up the girls will help me get the table set and were off to an easier night without so much work.

Hope that helps. Leave me a comment if you tried the recipe!

Also if you unload the dishes before you start cooking , just rinse and load directly into the dishwasher instead of throwing things into the sink while you are cooking. It takes sometime to form a habit of doing that but it really cuts down on clean up afterwards.

I'd really love to know who's lurking so drop me a comment and let me know you've been here. Just click on the number behind the title of this entry at the top of the post!

We had a great weekend and are gearing up for a week full of lifegiving investments. That means lots of meetings and caregiving for members of LifeChurch, counseling sessions and mentoring opportunities. It's so fantastic to be a part of such an awesome thing that God is doing in so many lives. Our service today was a fantastic win in everyway. Joel shared about doing church the Chik -Fila way and how we should focus on being simple, sincere and excellent.

hmm, excellence. That is a challenging word isn't it?

Here is what the thesaurus tells us about excellence:

Entry Word: excellence

Function: noun: 1 exceptionally high quality

Synonyms :distinction, Excellency, greatness, preeminence, superbness, superiority, supremacy

Related Words: faultlessness, flawlessness, impeccability, perfection; goodness, value, worth; consequence, importance, notability

Near Antonyms: averageness, badness, inferiority, mediocrity, ordinariness, worthlessness

2 a quality that gives something special worth

Synonyms: distinction, Excellency, merit, value, virtue :advantage, edge, superiority

Near Antonyms: blemish, defect, failing, fault, flaw Antonyms: deficiency

That is a whole lot to be thinking about- being a person of exceptionally high quality! There is a verse in the Bible that really hones in on this virtue in a simple way:

Ecclesiastes 9:10 (New International Version)

10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, [a] where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

Simply said, God wants us to strive to be our best and enjoy the work He has given us here to do. Whether or not it's paying bills, cleaning, changing diapers, going to get groceries we should put forth our best effort. I'll post a few tips for making the daily grind easier for you so you can find those areas of excellency and shine with your gifts! Remember this is your time to shine for Jesus. You can reflect His face in the simple things you do each day, and it will make the world around you sit up and take notice. Just giving a smile to that tired clerk at Walmart instead of a gruff "I'm fine" can make someone's day. Be friendly-you never know what someone around you might be going through.

You don't want to miss our next chick night, February 12th (Sunday) at 5 pm. We'll be learning about Charm and Grace. A lesson in etiquette and also how to be a lady that brings a smile to God's face. Have a great week, and shoot a link out to a friend. I'll be posting some of my most "excellent" recipes this week! Oh, and the ballerina-that speaks of Charm and Grace to me in a vivid way!

We recently went to see the movie " The End of the Spear" as a family. What a refreshing, life-infusing movie! If you haven't gone I highly recommend it. It's not very often that we get to the movies, and when we do I can't always say that we left receiving a very motivated message for our lives. This movie is well worth the $6.75 I had to pay for my ticket. (Yikes! I can remember when we paid $3.00 for a ticket and felt like it was highway robbery!)

It's almost been a week since I sat in the theater with tears spilling down my cheeks, and I can honestly say that I am still thinking deeply about the events of the film. God spoke to me is such a deep way about purpose and being a life-giver through this film. If you'd like to see the trailer for "End of the Spear" just click TRAILER! A portion of the proceeds from this movie go to support world missions-I think it is 50%. Which is also another good reason why you should check it out. View Showtimes for our Tinseltown Theater.

You might be wondering why this movie was such a tool for God to re-infuse my heart with purpose. Well, I don't want to give away the plot but I will elaborate a bit more about my personal experiences as a missionary.

I married Joel at 17 and went down directly to the mission field. Matias Romero, Oaxaca, Mexico to be exact. I had never been out of the US so it was a huge drastic culture shock for me. We were young, in love and on fire for God in a passionate way.

I didn't imagine all of the hardships we would face, nor did I really understand the depths to which our beliefs would be tested. Those first years were incredible with so many people's lives being changed. Most people there in those remote ranch areas loved us, but we did face those who didn't. I remember the night a bounty had been placed upon the lives of my husband, and 2 other missionary men who worked with us. Of course, the men decided that if we were to be effective at all they had to go into the village just as they had always done. If we backed down under the pressure of evil, would the God we serve really be represented as the Savior we so fervently preached.

I remember the agony of the long wait wondering if they would make it back alive as they had to hike in several hours in the open jungle, alone and unarmed. I can still feel my heartbeating for hours like it was about to jump out of my skin. If something happened, what do I do? Do I leave, can I find my way back to the States? Are they going to come into town after the women as well? Would I be able to take care of the other two young women under our care if a tragedy occurred. How could an 18 year old face the pain and tragedy of loosing her husband as a martyr, before her first child was even conceived? Would I still be able to worship God if my worst fears came to pass. Would I be bitter or would I stand firm.

The hours of that afternoon will forever be ingrained in my mind as I had to surrender my life totally and completely to God's control and trust Him with my life or our death. Our purpose for life was and is totally and forever in His Hands. After restless hours, I remember hearing the sound of the CB base with the most wonderful staticy sound of " Angel are you there? I'm about 30 minutes from town" and I knew that once again God had been faithful.

The realization as I watched the movie came suddenly and quietly just as His voice many times does. As the tears flowed down like rain, I whispered in my heart of hearts-
"Father, that could have been my family-you could have chosen for my husband to give his life in total sacrifice. Why did you choose to spare us? "
I heard God whisper in a quiet confidence" I saved Joel for today-now is the time to fulfill your purpose. Your seed of greatness to reach so many is to be sown here, and now. The best is yet to come-your destiny of lifegiving will be known throughout the nations because you chose to count the cost. But your purpose is to show how to be a life giver right here where you drew your first breaths of life. Reach out to those around you-show them what it means to know me and to be an instrument of my love.

As we walked out of the theater into the cool night air, I realized that I had been divinely setup. A refresher course in Purpose 101 was needed and God knew just how to give me the most excellent pop quiz. How can you be willing to die for someone if you aren't willing to live FOR them?

See, God knew I had been struggling a bit with ME, you know that stinking selfish ME that shows up right when you thought it was under "control". You know which one I am talking about, right? The "ME" that jumps into the driver seat without permission, the ME with a capitol "ME", the one that constantly hinders our growth, keeps us focused on our wants instead of the needs of others. The "me" that makes us get so worried about how we look on Sunday morning, that we are hurried and frantic and forget to realize it's not about us anyway-it's about those around us who are hurting, those who just need a hug, or a word of encouragement. Let's work together as LIFEchicks to put me in the backseat or even the trunk if we need to so we can focus on giving life to those who so need it.

Isn't God great? It's just a blast to see what He has in store. I hope you all make sure you attend this Sunday for our last message from the "ME-church Series". Joel has been working super hard on making this weekend a great experience. A little bird told me that there are going to be some really cool things happening you won't want to miss. Put "me" on the backburner and invite a friend this weekend. It's gonna be awesome.