Chicken Gumbo

Good Tuesday morning!

Believe it or not, after our wonderful, snowy four-day weekend, I received a call at 5:38 a.m. this morning saying school would be delayed until 10:00 a.m. because of road conditions. (Did I mention it started snowing AGAIN last night?) That was fine with me. After I recovered from the heart attack I had at 5:38 a.m. this morning because the phone rang, and it had to be HORRIBLE news, I rolled over and went to sleep again for two more glorious hours. Other than summer vacation, the only thing better than a four-day weekend is a four-day weekend... plus two hours! We'll take it!

The Gallery Pics are from Mr. Faulkner's birthday celebration last Saturday. I have too many pictures from this weekend to post them all in one day. We're going to have to spread them out a little.

NOTE #1 - We have some Newbies on the blog, so I'll refer you to my sidebar. Click on Newbie Info for intricate "How To" instructions.

NOTE #2 - Also, if you are a Newbie, please read Josh's Journey (also listed on my sidebar). It's the main reason I started A Simple Life.

NOTE #3 - We'll be introducing our March Special Guest Monday, March 1. She's working on questions as this "goes to press." Hints will be forthcoming next week.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK - The Mikie and Belinda Story - Part One

I am almost 100% certain I have already written about how Mikie and I came to be, but it's not in last February's posts (the Love Month) and it's not in last January's posts (our anniversary), so I'm going to share a little of our story THIS February, and hope I don't bore you to tears. (If nothing else, there's a good Chicken Gumbo recipe below!)

Mikie and I met at Shades Mountain Baptist Church when we were both 22 years-old. I had recently moved to Hoover into an apartment with a roommate, was working as a legal secretary downtown, and I was looking for a new church home.

I had grown up in a smaller church in Trussville, so leaving the familiar and comfortable behind was exciting, but also terrifying. Thankfully, I had a friend from my law firm who was also looking for a church home, and she was more than willing to accompany me to Shades.

Our first Sunday morning there, my friend, Kelley, and I sat on the front row of the balcony overlooking what was then the largest church I had EVER seen in my life. How would we ever meet people? The Sunday School classes must have at least 100 people or more in each class. It was just too big. It was just too scary. It was just too... interesting. My goodness. It was a people-watcher's dream!

Kelley already knew some people who attended the church. Her childhood friend, Alesia, was a member of the Singles Department at Shades, and we were supposed to meet her as soon as the service was over. As we were waiting for the service to start, Kelley leaned over and whispered, "There he is." She had recently been on a date with a young man from Shades, but they both knew after the date they were supposed to be friends.

"Which one?" I asked, and she pointed out a very nicely-dressed guy with a mustache talking to a group of people below us. I watched as he threw his head back laughing and took a seat with several other people.

"He's cute," I whispered back.

"He's really sweet, too," she said. "Oh, and he's sitting a few seats down from Alesia." I then turned my attention to Alesia and the other people sitting next to her. Little did I know, that packed pew of people would impact the rest of my life in such a sweet and wonderful way.

And little did I know, I would one day be writing a little story about meeting a cute guy with a mustache who threw his head back while laughing that very Sunday morning.

Because, you see, I met my husband that day... as well as several of my groomsmen and bridesmaids. It's pretty wonderful how God works, isn't it?

I wish I could say we met, dated, and married within a year, but our storybook wedding was almost four years away from that first meeting. And I'll share more details tomorrow.

Chicken Gumbo

In honor of Mardi Gras (and people who do not cook gumbo with a lot of seafood ingredients), I found a Chicken Gumbo recipe I think will do the trick. I know it has a lot of ingredients... but it makes up for it because you just throw EVERYTHING into the slow cooker. It's okay. Really.

You will need:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 2" pieces)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen okra (thawed)
2 links diced andouille sausage
1 cup chopped onions
2 chopped celery stalks
1 green bell pepper (seeded and chopped)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups reduced-sodium tomato juice
2 cups cooked rice

1. In a slow cooker, combine the chicken and all remaining ingredients except the rice. Mix well to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.

2. Serve over rice.

See? The ingredients may be a little voluminous, but you can't beat the directions! And when you take into consideration 9 out of the 17 ingredients are just a 1/2 teaspoon of this or a 1/4 teaspoon of that, it is not that difficult a recipe, is it?

This recipe was borrowed from www.foodnetwork.com.

I'm fixing the Chicken Gumbo, Dirty Beans and Rice (or is it Dirty Rice and Beans... hmmm) and a King Cake Friday night for some friends coming over. We're going to do Mardi Gras a little later than normal, but I think it will still be fun. I'll have pictures next week. (And for my friends who are coming for dinner... and who may be reading this... and are now worried about the menu, there will be hot dogs in slow cooker #2... and did I say King Cake? If worse comes to worse, we'll just have cake!

Have a fabulous Tuesday. Mikie and I are going to attempt to have our weekly date tonight. (That's three out of three! We're doing great so far. Only 48 weeks to go!) Tomorrow's post will have a fun Seasonal Tradition, as well as Wednesday Wisdom. Part Two of The Mikie and Belinda story will be posted, also. I know you can't wait!

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda