Favorite Ingredients Friday--Appetizer & Snacks Edition

Overwhelmed With Joy is having an Apetizers & Snacks Edition for Favorite Ingredients Friday. As usual you will find many good recipes from many wonderful contributors.

Something I haven't made for a long time is this recipe. I have a hard time sharing when I do. Hope you like it too.

Fried Tortellini

1/2 pound frozen cheese-filled tortellini (about 60)
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Cooking oil for deep-fat frying
Cajun Aioli

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain in a colander; rinse, drain again, and cool. Combine egg and milk in a large mixing bowl. Add tortellini and toss gently to coat. Combine bread crumbs and Parnesan cheese in a plastic bag. Lift tortellini with a slotted spoon and add about one-fourth at a time to crumb mixture. Toss to coat with crumbs. Remove.

Carefully add about 12 tortellini to deep, hot oil (365 degrees). Fry for 1 minute or till golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Transfer to cookie sheet or ovenproof platter and keep warm in 300 degree oven while frying the remaining appetizers. Serve warm with Cajun Aioli. Makes 12 servings.

Cajun Aioli: Stir together 1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 3 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives; and 1/4 teaspoon each ground black, white, and red pepper in a small bowl. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

Eat well this weekend!

Awards--How Sweet!

Kim of mom-musings gave me two awards. That meant so much to me.

Kim is one of my favorite bloggers to read. I get the feeling that if I were to visit her at her home we could sit and talk and share about family and life and just anything. She seems like someone I wouldn't be self-conscious around. She loves her kids. You can just tell.

She actually said this about me:

Joyful Days--I always look forward to her Wordless Wednesday's pictures, great recipes, book reviews (not only of her own reads but for children also). Her entries are very thoughtful, she leaves sweet comments in other blogs and is just a nice person! I wish I could meet her!

Really????? (I feel like Sally Fields saying this) that made my whole day. So I am passing the bloggy awards--if Kim hadn't already received them, I would give a set to her. Here are the awards:

The Creative Blogger Award is for those who bring unique and creative elements to their blogs. For those who incorporate art, music, creative writing, photo's, and other beautiful visual effects into their website. For those who put a unique spin on things and come up with new ideas. This award is for the artsy, the funky, the inventor, and even the rebel. This award is for those creative individuals who stand out from the crowd.

The Thoughtful Blogger Award is for those who answer blog comments, emails, and make their visitors feel at home on their blogs. For the people who take others' feelings into consideration before speaking out and who are kind and courteous. Also for all of those bloggers who spend so much of their time helping other bloggers design, improve, and fix their sites. This award is for those generous bloggers who think of others.

And here are five bloggers who I think fit both of these descriptions.

Michelle at Scribbit--Michelle is...I don't know if I can say enough nice things about her. She is smart, creative and shares so much of her technical talent. Her posts range from children's crafts that are appealing to humor that is so subtle to wonderful recipes and did I mention how nice she is to un-technical people? She hosts a writing contest and she gives away awesome & fun stuff!! Oh and she has that custom search engine!! She is one of those cool moms too, but don't mess with her--she's been known to be packin'--there's proof!

Overwhelmed With Joy--How can you not enjoy visiting her site? Between the tiny bits of sweet Snuggle-Bug to the wonderful Favorite Ingredients Friday recipe carnivals to this latest Pay it Forward Book Exchange. This is one very thoughtful and creative blogger.

Mrs. Pear--I want to be her when I grow up. Even though I am already considerably older than her. She is tidy and organized and a sweet mommy. She is willing to help those challenged in the menu planning and freezer meals in the kitchen. She pre-blogs before moving and leaves a cool study for her readers. She said if I come to visit I can be Miss Pear's sister and she will adopt me. Oh will I eat well...

Amberly of Moments Amid Messes--She is a lot younger than I am too. But she has wisdom and a sweet manner that makes you feel you've known her forever. And can she take photos!! But then again she has the cutest subjects to photograph. Those are some cute kits!

Jenny at A Coach for Life--Jenny has encouraged me during a really tough time, recently. For someone I've never met for real, she seems like someone I've always known. She's jumped into bloggy-ville full steam and I get the feeling Jenny does everything to the utmost. She is fun & thougthful & very real. And she's gotten to meet up with several other bloggers!! Jenny--not fair.

The problem is that with awards like these, I know I am leaving out many, many cool, thoughtful and creative people. But these people can choose to pass the awards along if they want to and then we'll meet some more wonderful bloggers.

Thursday Thirteen

Five Thirteen things I love about Jesus.

Coach Jenny asked me to do this meme. If you want to see where this all started look here.

It’s been a hard one for me to do. Not because I can’t think up hundreds of things I love about Jesus. But because I didn’t want to narrow down to five. So I saved it for my Thursday Thirteen. I don’t know that I can do this justice. I’ve read so many eloquent and moving posts out there on this. But here is what I felt led to share…

1.He is not Santa Claus. Santa will only bring me good things if I am good, if I observe the correct holidays and if my family subsidizes his benevolence. Jesus loves me no matter what—now, He wants me to be the best I can be—but the gift is in spite of the fact of my frail and flawed self.

2. He loves little children. And wants us to have the heart of a child.

3. He saw the way people really were and met them as they stood. He touched the untouchable. He didn’t ask them to change until He changed them by meeting them.

4. He knows what I feel. He’s been there, done that, got the t-shirt and more. There is nothing I have gone through that cannot be understood by Jesus.

5. He wasn’t afraid to have a good time. Don’t let anyone tell you that Jesus didn’t have a good time—He endured the ultimate in hardships, but when He was with His friends he had a good time. He didn’t stay away from the wedding, from dinner parties, from gatherings. He was there.

6. He left heaven to walk on earth. I’m just waiting to do the opposite.

7. He wants to share His inheritance. I am the adopted child. I am wanted. I am heir to a kingdom.

8. He was the perfect sacrifice, the lamb without blemish. He fulfilled every prophecy about Himself. I am awestruck at that.

9. He meant what He said. He said, “I Am the Way, the Truth, the Life.”

10. He said what He meant, “No one can come to the Father except through Me.”

11. He grafted me into the vine. Through Him I am able to live here. “I am the Vine. You are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him he will bear much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

12. He is faithful…even when I am not.

13. Because He loves you as much as me…will you meet Him today, if you never have before? "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Revelation 3:19-21 KJV

What do you love about Jesus? Consider yourself tagged.

Thursday Thirteen participants are found at the Hub.

Wordless Wednesday

Polar Bear Encounter
For more Wordless Wednesdays visit WWHQ.

Time Travel Tuesdays

Annie is asking us to remember back to when we first met our husbands. Well…hmmm…blush. Yes I do remember. I’d never had someone take my breath away before or after.

My future husband’s first appearance in my life was when I was managing a retail store.

He came in to pick up his girlfriend’s check. She worked for me. She had called to ask if it was okay. I didn’t just go handing out people’s checks.

I had recently been left by my fiancé—we had been together five years. I was beginning to see that losing that relationship was truly a gift from God. And really had NO intention of becoming re-attached to someone very quickly.

Obviously my future spouse was attached. And his girlfriend, my employee—did I mention that??—asked if I would hire him—he was between jobs. I did. He was a pretty good employee. He had a knack for sales and apparently liked to spend time at the job.

Well…since you know the end of the story I think I will leave it at that. We actually do still keep in touch with his old girlfriend. So I think maybe it wasn’t too terrible and all. But I don’t know if I would recommend that avenue of meeting and dating.

He still says I’m the boss (but we know that’s really not true.) And he still takes my breath away.

Visit Annie and all the other Time Travel Tuesday participants--join in and share your story!

Back to School, Rush Hour and This and That

Today we ventured back into more of a structured school day. We never really “quit” school. Reading is required most days and summertime is often for things that we cannot fit into a more organized day. But we sat back down to workbooks today.

Oh the whining, wailing, moaning and gnashing of teeth.

And that was just me.

The children, while exhibiting all the signs of needing some structure back in their day are not sure that this will really help their attitudes. In fact they are sure a bit more computer time or game system time will really put them in better moods. I was almost tempted to relent. But once they smell the slightest weakness they know they have the advantage. So I held fast and slowly some order came to our day.

Boo realized perhaps he did know some math and remembered he had conquered some handwriting in the spring. Roo actually fell into the groove a little easier. Maybe it’s having gone through the transition more often.

Other news...

Have you ever played this game?

It's called Rush Hour.

I played it last week trying to rearrange the living room furniture. While it got dicey there for a while and I wondered if we might just have to resign ourselves to climbing across the furniture, I finally got done. The boys helped by sitting in the chairs urging me to push them around. Ummm...NO.

...and finally...I finished the 7th and final Harry installment. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Well done J.K. Rowling (as if you needed my vote) it was well done.

I went to Wal-Mart at 11:45 p.m. Friday night thinking everyone would be at Barnes & Noble or Borders. But there were some other people with the same idea. Some of them had been there since 8 p.m. I think we all got out at about the time. I've never done that for a book and totally enjoyed the people and the atmosphere--I felt sorry for the people who were trying to shop for things like food. The staff at midnight was courteous and well prepared. I think they hide all the good employees in the dead of night.

Going to try to continue on tomorrow with school. Wish me luck

Blessings.

Children's Book Monday

Favorite Poems Old and New
selected by Helen Ferris

We own several poetry books, both for adults and children, but if I was on a desert island and could only have one book of poetry this would be the one. We acquired it about six years ago and it is my go to book if I am looking for a particular poem for the children and often for me. Post it notes are flapping out of it in several places to help find old favorites.

The poems are divided into eighteen groupings by a general subject such as animals, historical figures and events, poems about self and so on. Each group begins with a simple line drawing by illustrator Leonard Weisgard. If you are looking for a certain poem you can search the indexes by title, author or by first line (often my method.)

With over five hundred pages of poetry it is truly full of favorite poems from a variety of authors from Aesop to e.e. cummings, from the Bible to Yeats. I’ve other volumes of poetry, some with more detailed illustrations, some with few authors and titles. But Favorite Poems Old and New is the source for most of our poetry study. I’ve found that the lack of pictures actually encourages imagination and gives children a chance to illustrate poems themselves.

Children's Book Monday is hosted by Elise at A Path Made Straight. Visit her and her guests to find delightful books to add to your family reading.

Grains of Gratitude

This week I have been grateful to be home--be it ever so humble and all of that. I am grateful my sweet husband had vacuumed, dusted and had all of his dishes and laundry done and out of the way so I could begin to take care of all of our accumulated laundry. Even with all the nice things my honey did, I've still spent the week trying to get back to the very vague routine I thought we had. It's finally coming together.

I am grateful for my boys being able to get along with each other and ME ('coz that's who it's all about, you know) for the most part. It helped with getting things accomplished.

I am grateful for summer weather, a my bed, and my craft desk. I got to spend just a little bit of time down there--and I am grateful.

What are you grateful for?

Grains of Gratitude is a Sunday meme to start the week off focused on things to be grateful for. It was started by Christine at Brady's Bunch.