Thursday, November 27, 2008

A Commitment to Kindness

Happy Thanksgiving! I have so much to be thankful for, starting with my wonderful husband of only 47 days. He is truly the very beat of my heart. But wait, there's more! Good health, a beautiful home, and a secure job. My fantastic family and friends. Sunrises, crisp fall days, apple pie, fleece, the library, my car, woodland creatures, and my silly Christmas (well, Thanksgiving) cacti. And the list goes on and on. So lets just say I'm very happy. This year more than ever, I feel the need to give to those who aren't as fortunate as I have been. So, I have decided that every day between now and Christmas, I will try to do something kind for someone else. I haven't really defined what "something kind" is, but so far I have bought cookies from a young woman at a bake sale, volunteered to be a part of The Army of Women (http://www.armyofwomen.org/), and donated money to two local food pantries and a toy drive. I'll keep you posted!

On to more mundane things - dinner last night. Actually, it started yesterday morning by loading up the slow cooker with two small onions (cut into chunks), three boneless chicken breasts, two cans of Ro-tel tomatoes, and one package of taco seasoning. I turned it to low and set the timer for eight hours. When I got home from work, I shredded the chicken using two forks, and added a can of drained black beans and a cup of corn. This recipe was sort of ad-libbed from http://littlehomeontherange.blogspot.com/, in a blog posted back in May. It was ad-libbed mostly because I couldn't remember where I had "filed" the recipe! Anyway, we served the chicken mixture on whole wheat tortillas with shredded cheddar cheese, salsa and brown rice. I'm not going to lie to you - it was MESSY! But it tasted great. Next time, I might add some hot Ancho or Chipotle Chile powder to make it spicier.

Today we travel to my parent's house in Pennsylvania for a true Thanksgiving feast. My mom informs me she has "cut back" on the number of vegetables she is making this year. I'm not sure what that means, as one year we counted nine different vegetables, not counting the mashed potatoes. But she is a fabulous cook, so I'm sure whatever she makes will be delicious. My husband made an apple pie, which I know will be yummy because we had a "test pie" earlier this week. The two of us ate the whole thing in 3 days. The proverbial icing on the cake will be a bottle of wine that we bought in Sonoma Valley on our honeymoon. It's going to be a great day!

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