My version of chicken cacciatore

I used chicken thighs and legs in this meal but you could also use chicken breast to lower the fat content. Next time I think I will remove the skins before I cook the chicken. Ingredients: One package of chicken legs and one package of thighs. (This amount would feed 7 of us, 3 being children with leftovers) One onion, sliced Two bell peppers, sliced (I used red peppers) 6-7 cloves of garlic, minced 4 cups chicken stock (I used homemade, recipe to come later) 3 cups tomato sauce 2 cups or one large can of diced tomatoes Salt and pepper 1 tablespoon oregano Olive oil Instructions: Heat a large pot (I use a Dutch oven) to medium high heat and put enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Season chicken with salt and pepper and brown a few pieces at a time in the pot. You aren't looking to cook it through you just want to brown the outside then set them aside on a plate. Keep browning a few pieces at a time until all of the chicken is browned. Next, add the sliced onion, pepper and garlic to the pan and season with salt and oregano. Cook for a few minutes then add the chicken stock, tomato sauce and chopped tomatoes and add salt to taste. Turn the heat down to a simmer and add the chicken back to the pot. Simmer on low until chicken is fully cooked. This will take about an hour. You can serve on brown rice or quinoa. This can also be cooked in the slow cooker. Any leftover can be used as a start for soup.

Lessons from the garden

I love how God uses our everyday experiences to teach us about Himself as well as how we relate to Him. I strongly believe that if we will take the time to look past what seems to be just a mundane ordinary task, we will hear God desiring to speak His truth in our lives. I believe this is especially true when those task involve being outside in the midst of the creation of the Creator. There is something about being outside that just makes me feel that much closer to my Heavenly Father and Creator. Today (Saturday) I was outside working in the garden area. I am starting the process of getting it cleaned up and ready to plant for our spring/summer garden. Because we have a large presence of sand spurs in our yard, we have found that the best chance we have at keeping them at bay in the garden is to put down black plastic. However, despite the plastic there are still weeds and such that end up growing through any hole that they can find in the plastic. So today I was removing the dead weeds that took over one section of the garden after we finished harvesting our bounty last year. In almost every hole that we had made to put a vegetable plant, a weed had take the opportunity to make its home in the now abandoned hole. As I was removing these insidious plants from the plastic, God spoke to me. When I first started this task today, I have to admit that I was a little overwhelmed at what I saw. This particular section was covered in weeds. These weeds were the ground cover type of weed, meaning they spread out for what seemed like miles all intertwined with each other. I couldn't imagine why I was seeing this many weeds when we had put down the plastic to prevent such a take over of weeds. However, being determined to prepare the garden for its upcoming production I set out little by little removing the weeds. With each part of these weeds I removed God started to speak His truth into my heart. The more I worked the more I learned about the weeds and why it seemed that there were so many of them. There actually were not that many individual weeds, but the design of the weeds is what made them so insidious. From one small hole one weed would sprout up and then in turn spread out and around from the center covering as much ground as it could. It didn't take me long to figure out that if I could find the root of the weed then I could loosen the root and the entire weed could be removed. Some of these plant probably measured at least three feet in diameter, but if I could find the root then I could more easily remove the weed. So, I am sure you are wondering just what God spoke to me as I was removing these weeds. You see these weeds are like the sin in our lives. They take every opportunity they can to root themselves in the soil, just like sin takes every opportunity it can to root itself in our lives. Every time we leave holes in our lives by not focusing our entire life on God, sin enters and spreads. And if we continue to let it spread it will take over and keep us from producing the fruit that God desires to produce in our lives. However, with some work and renewed focus we can allow God to remove those areas in our lives that have taken over. Did it take some work and effort and sweat to remove these weeds? Of course, but once I figured out that what I had to focus on was the root of the weed then I was able to remove the weed with greater ease. So, many times we focus on the effects of our sin, when in truth if we want God to remove the sin from our lives we must find the source of the sin. And more times then not, the sin in our lives is a result of not focusing everything on God. When how we think, feel and act are not focused on God then we leave holes that sin can creep in and take hold. God created us as a complex creature. We have thoughts, emotions, physical abilities and a soul. All of these combine to make us the most cherished of God's creation. God created us in His image and because of that we ourselves are complex. That complexity leaves a lot of opportunity for us to loose focus. We have to be strong spiritually, mentally, emotionally, relationally and physically. But thank God He does not leave us to do this on our own. In fact, God has been teaching me that I can not do it own my own, I must rely on Him. I can do nothing good on my own and until I give everything to Him and focus all of me on Him, then I can not produce anything good. Every time I removed one of the large weeds it made me desire to move even more. The more I worked the more confidence I got and the less focused I was on what I thought at first was an overwhelming task. The closer I get to God the more clearly I see the sin that needs to be removed in my life and the more I desire to remove that sin. With every sin God points out in my life and helps me remove, the more I learn to let God have control. Yes, it takes work and yes, it is hard but the end result is worth it. The end result of my work in the garden will hopefully produce and abundance of fresh vegetables for my family and friends. The end results of the work of God in my life are the fruits that His Spirit produces.