Show us your life- Dinner Recipes!

This week on Kelly's Show Us How You Live, she is featuring favorite dinner recipes. You know I love sharing and getting new recipe ideas, so i have to join in! Mr.Pate's absolute favorite dinner here is chicken cordon bleu, but since I dont have it typed into the computer yet you wont be getting that one. So our second favorite recipe is Brown Gravy Pork Chops. These are the most tender, juicy, yummy things ever. I used to not even like pork chops at all, but these things changed my mind! Enjoy or as Julia would say Bon Appetit (i finished the book last night! yay! a post on that later)!

Brown Gravy Pork Chops

3 packets of Brown Gravy mix

4 thick pork chops (w/ or w/o bone)

1. Make the gravy according to directions on packet then pour into crock pot

2. Brown the pork chops in a skillet, until they are no longer pink. (really it is like 'whitening' the pork chops)

3. Place pork chops into the gravy

4. Cook on low 8 hours (or high for 6) then enjoy!

This post is also shared with Crock Pot Wednesdays at Dining with Debbie!

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MY AWESOME AUTUMN GOAL LIST

So I was randomly reading a blog the other day, and came across an interesting goal list. This goal list was not made up of things the person thought they needed to do, or should do, or felt obligated to do. it was not a list of things they would have to force themselves to do if it killed them. it was a list made up of things they wanted to do simply for the fun of it. yep completely focused on pleasure and nothing more. and i loved the idea of it! so without further ado, my list-of-things-i-want-to-do-in-autumn-simply-because-i-want-to-do-them-and-i-wont-feel-bad-about-it:

1. lay in my hammock at least once a week
2. have a leaf fight
3. eat a carmel apple with nuts
4. make s'mores in my backyard (yes i live in the city limits and if anyone of you tells on me i am coming after you!)
5. go to a bonfire and hayride (someone is going to need to have one of these so i can do this... please?!)
6. dress up for halloween
7. carve an amazing pumpkin (Sims family pumpkin carving 09 is just around the corner-oh yea!)
8. make something crafty out of some natural fall stuff...
9. make pumpkin choc chip cookies

Fall into Reading 2009

I am joining the Fall into Reading Challenge at Callapidder Days. What is it you ask? It is a low pressure reading challenge that helps keep you accountable for getting your reading goals done. Here are the basic guidelines:

• Create a list of some books you’d like to read or finish this fall. This is the only real requirement for participating in the challenge.

• Feel free to set some additional reading goals (such as reading to your kids two hours per week, getting through your pile of magazines, etc.). However, this is not required; setting additional goals is completely optional.

• Write a blog post that includes the list of books you want to read (and any additional goals you’ve set), and get ready to post it on your blog on September 22nd.

• Visit Callapidder Days on September 22nd to sign up for the challenge. I’ll have an official launch post up that morning, complete with an area for you to submit a link to your personal Fall Into Reading post, where it will be added to the master list of participants.

• Read! Work on your goals throughout Fall 2009.

• Report your results. Write another blog post in December to let everyone know how you did. (I’ll post an official wrap-up to the challenge on December 21st, where you’ll be able to share your results.)

• Have fun! Visit other participants to see what they’re reading. Write reviews if you’re so inclined. But most of all, enjoy your fall reading!

So I am working on my list now (which will only be a little different than my book list for 2009) and will post on tuesday. I don't know what it is but I have definitely caught the reading bug lately. Maybe it is the fact I am not working nights and weekends (or anytime for that matter- keep praying for a job!)?

All of you bloggers should totally join. And for my dear friends that only read blogs but refuse to grace the blog-world with your visual presence, start making your lists and be ready to post them in the comment section on tuesday!! Lets start reading folks!

a thought from julia...

i am currently reading "My Life in France" by Julia Child... well almost done actually. And it is a great read. she is just a funny and inspiring lady. anyhow, on one of the many pages i have been devouring lately, julia said:

"i was thirty seven and still discovering who i was."

this struck a chord with my heart instantly. i think it is because the season of life i seem to be in right now is continually showing me that i have alot to discover about myself. a few weeks ago, while talking to one of my very best friends, she said that she still finds herself thinking 'when is my life really going to start'. it resonated with me, because i find myself constantly thinking "well i will do such and such when i get older or when things settle down or when i get a job or when justin doesnt have to work so much etc etc etc". but the thing is, those times may or may not come and go and still i dont do 'such and such'. its like we are always putting that part off and putting the urgency of the mundane for today's work. do any of you do this?

randomness i know. and i am not sure i have a point, i just loved the quote and the reminder that i will continually be discovering who i am (especially spiritually) for eternity. but our Lord knows me so much better than I know myself.

** i was looking for this quote i love for this post, but cannot track it down. it says something to the effect of not sacrificing what is holy on the altar of what is urgent... anyone know this quote??

Crock Pot Wednesdays- Asian Tomato Beef

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This week I am using my crock pot for SnoWhite's Chicken Parm , but since thats not my recipe I thought I would share a favorite that my brother-in-law Dustin is making us tonight! It is from a Campbell's Cookbook (or several I am sure, they repeat alot!), which if you are not the most skilled chef is a great cookbook for you. It is yummy!!!

Asian Tomato Beef

2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 (3 or 3 1/2 lb) boneless beef round steak, 3/4 inch thick, cut into strips

6 cups broccoli flowerets

8 cups hot cooked rice

1. In slow cooker mix soup, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic powder, pepper and beef. Cover and cook on low 7 to 8 hours or until beef is done.

2. Stir. Arrange broccoli over beef. Cover and cook on high 15 minutes more, or until tender-crisp. Serve over rice.

Serves 8.

Head over to Dining w/Debbie to see what others are cooking in their crock pots. I love me a crock pot!