Catering

 
 Work can be lots of fun. Friday night we tackled our second catering job, it  was at the Field Museum here in Chicago. It was a very fancy event. We were serving four-hundred people . We totally beat the system working for this catering company. We get to go to fancy things without having to be invited! Perks: We could eat fancy food, enjoy their DJ, and listened to an actress and film producer speak.
   So this is us in our lovely little catering uniforms. It took me a little while to adjust to wearing a tie . I'm pretty sure the only time I've ever worn one was when I put my dads over sized tie on to laugh at myself. Ties are most definitely for boys. However, I am now able to sympathize . I completely understand the desire to loosen the tie .
   Anyway, it has been a really fun experience so far and I love being able to look over and see Steven working with me . Sharing experiences is a joy.

Married Young

    I love being young and married. I'm only 19 and yesterday Steven and I celebrated eleven months together. Next month we will be celebrating one year of a wonderful marriage. We got engaged when I was 17 and Steven was 19. It was the best decision I have ever made aside from becoming a christian. We got married three months after my 18th birthday.
    Being married young is certainly not for everyone. However, it should never be looked down upon whenever it happens. I think it is one of the most practical decisions you can make. For one thing, it lessons sexual temptation greatly. Secondly, we are at a very critical age in life where we are coming out into the real world and experiencing life for ourselves. I am convinced that we need each other at this time in our lives (and apparently God thought so too). We need the emotional and physical support of the other while we are heading out into the world.
    Since moving to Chicago I have met a few couples who were/are married young. They all agree that it was the best decision that they could have made and find it sad that it is so rare-partially because it is so looked down on.
    God chose young people all through the bible to do things to further his kingdom. He chose Mary to give birth to a savior,Samuel to deliver a message, and he chose David to slay a giant and be anointed king. Why is it so hard to accept young people serving as couples through marriage?
    I'm so happy and excited to be young and married because I still have so much of life ahead of me to spend with Steven. To be young and enjoying life together. It is truly a wonderful gift.

Indian Fry Bread

    I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner the other day before running off to work. I needed something simple, but yummy. So, once again I explored my cupboards to figure out what I had to work with. I ended up making my own version of Indian fry bread.

    First I made my Indian fry bread, which is really simple:

*3 cups of flour (I used whole wheat flour because it's better for you, but you can use whatever you have)

*1 tbs baking powder

*1/2 tsp salt

*1 1/2 cups of water

*Oil for frying (I used olive oil)

    My toppings: 

*Onion

*Mushroom

*Peppers

*Tomato

*Tomato sauce

*Parsley

*Garlic powder

*Onion powder

*Salt

*Pepper

*Basil

 

Combine all the ingredients together and put it in the fridge for about half an hour. While you are waiting grab some vegetables. You can use whatever you want. I used mushroom, onion, peppers and tomato's.

After you have chopped up your veggies, simply put them in a frying pan with some olive oil (or whatever oil you choose to use), and wait for them to get nice and tender.

Whenever you are ready to put your vegetables in the frying pan, get your dough out as well, so everything ends up done at the same time. Split your dough in half, make two balls and then flatten them out out bit. Now   they can be dropped into the heated oil. 

 

Let them in the pan until they get brown.They are big, so unless you have a giant frying pan you will have to do one at a time.

When it's done frying, sprinkle on some spices. I used-onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, basil, and parsley.

While your veggies ares till in the frying pan, get out some tomato sauce. It can be pizza sauce, pasta sauce, crushed tomato's, or whatever you have, and put it in with the veggies to cook. When it's all cooked, take it out and pour over your fry bread.

Now top it off with some more spices! I just used the same ones that I had put on the bread after it was done frying.

In the end, you have a delicious meal for two. They were huge though, so if you want to feed more people you can make the balls smaller so they feed more.

Chicagoland Summers

    I love Chicago in the summer! I must admit that the vast majority of the time I very much dislike Chicago. It's expensive, dirty and really not all that pretty (unless your somewhere up high looking out on the city...at night). I'm more of a country girl than I realized. I love mountains and nature! However, summers are really not that bad. I think winters are worse because I'm cooped up in the apartment and don't really have anywhere to go, and when I do have somewhere to go I have to walk there in the freezing cold! In the summer, on the other hand, the city is full of life, it's warm, and there is so much to do!
    Steven and I have gone out roller-blading the the past two nights, which has been lots of fun! Last night we went out by the lake and tonight we went out to Barnes and Noble for some fruit smoothies (buy one get one free). We spent a while reading books too.
    There is also all kinds of ministry going on in the summer to be involved in. Child Evangelism Fellowship has their summer ministry in full swing-so that can be a lot of fun. Steven has been teaching at a VBS in a Korean church this week, and today I went along to help. The Korean people are a very hospitable people. Afterwards, one of our Korean friends took us to us house and served us tea. It was lovely.
    In short, I am enjoying my Chicagoland summers a lot more than the winters.

Kreative Kooking

    Today has just been one of those lazy days. I got up late, ate a late breakfast, and then when lunch time came around, I wasn't really all that hungry. But I did want a little something to keep me going through the afternoon. I decided a smoothie would be the perfect thing to rectify this situation!

In my opinion, the key to cooking is working with what you have. We don't all have money to go buy tons of ingredients for yummy recipes we come across. When I get in the mood to make something I head to the kitchen, open the cupboards and start exploring to see what all I have to work with.

  Today, I stumbled upon smoothie ingredients! I found a can of pineapple, a few kiwi's, Activia yogurt, and a strawberry parfait. They all sounded like very delicious ingredients, ready to make a very happy Kayla.

Now of course your fridge or cupboards may contain different smoothie building components, and that's okay! Work with what you've got.

Now all you have to do is blend your way to bliss. I threw all my ingredients into the blender with some ice. I like icy cold smoothies which is why I added the ice, but you don't have to do that. Mine was a little bit tart, but I like it that way. If you want it to be sweet, my recommendation would be to add some honey or Stevia (I don't ever add sugar to anything I make).

Pour into a glass and wala! Find yourself a nice sunny place by the window with a book and your smoothie- now R-E-L-A-X.

Provision for Life

    I absolutely love how God always provides. I feel like every time he supplies for all of our needs it's a new revelation! Woah! God really does provide! Amazing. Reading through old journal entries is one of my favorite things to do. It can be so uplifting, because I can look back and see all the ways that God has provided. I have entries where I am crying out to God because I am empty handed and in need. In those instances everything looks completely hopeless, but I have to always keep in mind that nothing is impossible with God. All I have to do is flip and few more pages and there is always an entry about how God worked the situation out and provided for me needs.

    My parents would always talk about how God always provided for them when they had absolutely nothing. There was a time when they had nothing in the house to eat, yet they had company coming over for dinner. My mom prayed and groceries showed up at the door. This was only one of the many times that God gave them what they needed. I have seen many of them for myself as well, but it never seemed to make that big of an impact on me. I had everything I needed- a roof over my head, food, and people who cared for me. I never had to pay the bills or worry about them. Because of this, God's provisions for the family never seemed that big a deal. 

    Now that I am off on my own and working, it's a lot more stressful knowing that I have to pay the bills and buy groceries. Yet I can see God's hand so much more clearly! We really should not be able to pay rent every month because it's so expensive and we don't make that much money;however, we make it every month and still manage to have some money to buy groceries! It can be nothing other than God's hand upon us.

Philippians 4:19-And my God will supply all your needs...