Easy easy easy Chix curry

So really love Indian food and have always been scared to try and make it myself at home. Every recipe I would find involved a gazillion spices I couldn't even pronounce or find and took WAAAAAY too much time to prepare. I just don't have the time to be in the kitchen all evening. So when I found this recipe and tasted its yumminess I was over the moon!! I have made it twice now! Here is the simplified version:

Ingredients:

Chicken (As much as you need to feed your family)

Carrots (" ")

1 Red Onion

Yellow Curry Powder

Cayenne Pepper

1 can of Coconut Milk

Whole grain rice or couscous

Chop chicken, carrots, and onion into approximately 1 inch pieces. Season chicken bites with salt and pepper and brown in large saucepan. Remove after browned. Add a little more oil to the pan and saute the carrots and onion until carrots are softened but still somewhat firm. Return the chicken to the pan. Add 1/4 tsp of Cayenne pepper and 1Tblsp of Curry powder. Then add the coconut mimlk. Bring up to a simmer and cook until the chicken is cooked all the way through. Serve with rice or couscous.

YUMMY! You can add more or less cayenne depending on how much heat you like. :)

Things that ain't so great generic:

Q-tips - generic cotton swabs are just way too fluffy. It feels weird in your ear.

Playtex tampons - I won't go into detail here. haha!

Hefty Trash bags - We used some GLAD bags not too long ago and they were AWFUL!

Olay Regenerist face wash - I have tried other cleansers and I always go back to Olay. She never lets me down.

Pampers and Huggies diapers - I know target brand diapers are cheaper but they just do not work on my boys. Plus, I always have coupons so they really aren't that much cheaper.

Iams dog food and Purina cat food - These are middle of the road pet foods. I know I could spring for the purely organic pet foods but lets be real...that shit is crazy expensive! These are affordable brands that aren't pure crap.

Almay mascara - I don't why it took me so long to find a mascara that didn't make my eyes burn! Thank you Almay!

Bare Minerals makeup - Those infomercials ain't lyin. That stuff really works and I will never use anything else.

Feel free to add to the list of your favorite non-generic brands! :)

For all you pregos out there...

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is pregnant or trying to get pregnant! This book is basically a compliation of diffferent birth stories told through the eyes of the MD. The Dr. is not an OBGYN but a family practitioner who has adopted a Midwifery Model of care when it comes to caring for her patients during pregnancy and delivery. She shows through the book that even though you are in a hospital you can still have the kind of birth experience want.

Homebirth is a great option for women who want it and have the means and opportunity to do so. I considered having homebirths with my kiddos, but due to insurance reasons it was not in the cards for us. I wish I had read this book before I had my first baby. I think then I wouldn't have seen the hospital as such an intimidating place. Like the hospital was some giant hurdle that I needed to overcome in order to have the kind of birth experience I wanted. Not so.
You can achieve all the joy, all the empowerment, and all the feelings of triumph and still have your baby in a hospital. I think this book portrays that beautifully.

Be Still

Lately I have been thinking a lot about my life and the progession it has taken. I can honestly say that today I am the person I always envisioned myself to be. I can also say truthfully that I am on the path to being the person I want to be. There is always work to be done. There is a real satisfaction that comes with knowing who you are and that you will always be ok with yourself no matter what.

I tend to be a real worrier. I find myself constantly trying to plan everything which always causes me undue stress. Because when does anything go according to plan? Never.

I have found myself reciting "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) a lot to myself over the past 2 years. It is so simple but it really brings me peace when I find myself overwhelmed.

I think this little meditation I do has been the reason for my truly blessed life. It reminds me that I am not in control and He knows the desires of my heart. Hasn't He always come through for me? Why do I doubt? It makes no sense!

So I try to remind myself to take a deep breath and be still.

~E