FeeDiNG SouLS and SToMaCHS: White Cheese Chicken and Spinach Lasagna

Another Monday. Another gathering. Another discussion. Another meal. Another full night--both stomachs and souls.  The topic: The Belt of Truth and The Breastplate of Righteousness.  The menu: White Cheese Chicken and Spinach Lasagna and Chopped Tomato and Cucumber Salad (to be posted).

For the White Cheese Chicken and Spinach Lasagna you'll need:

10 oz bag of baby spinach, lightly chopped
2-3 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (use 1/4 c with spinach, the rest with the white sauce)
pinch of salt

2 cloves garlic
1/2 c butter
1/2 c flour
1 tsp salt
2 c chicken broth
1 1/2 c milk
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp black pepper

9 lasagna noodles (I used the oven-ready kind to save time, but I prefer the kind you boil)
1 c ricotta cheese
2 c cooked, cubed chicken (Again to save time, I used the store oven-fresh whole already cooked chicken! I just cut-up the breasts and kept the rest of the chicken in the fridge to eat for sandwiches.)
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
Optional: fresh grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley for topping

Step 1
In a large sauce pan or in a dutch oven, braise the fresh spinach. To do this, pour about 2 T of oil on the bottom and lightly sauté 1/4 c onion.


Place all 10 oz (lightly chopped) spinach into the pan/dutch oven, and pour 1 T of oil on top of the spinach.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt, and cover. 



 Let braise (or wilt) over medium to medium-high heat.  Stir occasionally.  Once spinach is all wilted down and has a nice dark green color, remove from heat and set aside in a bowl.

Step 2

In the same sauce pan/dutch oven, sauté the onion in the 1/2 c of butter.  When the onion is soft (about 5 min.), press 2 cloves of garlic and add to the sautéed onion.



Stir in the flour and salt; simmer until bubbly.  Stir in the broth and milk and boil, stirring constantly for 1 minute.  

Stir in 2 c mozzarella and 1/2 c Parmesan cheeses.  Add the oregano and black pepper.  Set aside.

Step 3

Preheat oven to 350˙F. 

Using a ladle or spoon, spread 1/3 of the white cheese sauce mixture on the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish.

Add one layer of lasagna noodles. Spread all of the ricotta over the noodles.

Sprinkle half of the chicken, then add another layer of noodles, sauce mixture, 1/2 of spinach, and 2 c of mozzarella cheese. 

Add another layer of noodles, sauce, the rest of the chicken and spinach; and the Parmesan cheese.

Top off with a final layer of noodles and sauce. (Optional: top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese  and fresh chopped parsley.)

2nd layering of noodles, sauce, chicken, spinach

{The beauty of lasagna is that you can layer it any which way you want just as long as you have moisture a.k.a. sauce next to the noodles.}

Step 4

Bake for 35-40 minutes and enjoy! {Sorry, I don't have a finished product picture...I believe my small group and I inhaled it before I thought to take a picture of the final result!  When I make it again, I'll post a pic! :)}

And feeding our souls...

From the Armor of God study, Week 3 video:

"The Holy Spirit's job is to chip away at everything that doesn't look like Jesus." ~Priscilla Shirer

That means, if we expect to walk with Jesus, we must be willing to look like Jesus; and anything that doesn't (habits, friends, situations, traits, et al) will be chipped away by the Holy Spirit.  Are you willing?

"Righteousness is not manufactured; it is released." ~Priscilla Shirer

Whew! Good stuff. Good food. Can't wait for more!!

FeeDiNG SouLS and SToMaCHS: Beef Stew

Mondays get a bad rap. I get it. It's the start of a work week, an end to a weekend.  But Mondays for me are the best day of the week because I have the honor of meeting regularly with a group of women who come hungry both for food and for God.  (We are currently engaged in Priscilla Shirer's Armor of God study, which I highly recommend if you're looking for a Bible study.)

Comfort food is my go-to food when trying to figure out what to make for my small group.  I've had a hankering for soup lately plus fall is just around the corner (well, not so much for us here in Houston but anyway), so beef stew was on the menu.

Here's what you'll need:

• dutch oven    
• pre-cut beef for stew (2 lbs., 1" pieces)
• 64 oz  beef broth
• 1/4 c  red wine
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 2-3  bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 4 carrots, cut into 1" pieces
• 4 medium potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
• 1/4 c  diced onion                 

• measuring glass
• 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c water
• optional: french bread or other crusty bread cut into pieces and buttered

Step 1:

Over medium-heat, in nonstick Dutch oven cook beef until browned, stirring often.  Drain off fat.

Step 2:

Add broth, wine, thyme, bay leaves, and pepper.  Heat to a boil.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover and keep covered for 1 and a 1/2 hours.

Step 3: 

Add carrots, potatoes, onions. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 30-45 min. more or until beef is fork-tender and veggies are done.

Step 4:

In a measuring glass, combine flour and water until smooth.  Gradually add to broth mixture.  Over medium heat and stirring constantly, cook until mixture boils and thickens.

Step 5:

Discard bay leaves.  Serve hot with crusty bread and butter.  Serves 6-8 people.

"Satan's suggestions can never stand up against the light of God's Holy Word."

~Priscilla Shirer, The Armor of God, Week 2 : The Belt of Truth

More of God

If you know anything about who God is, you would know His timing is IMPECCABLE, perfect, spot on.  You would also know that not only is His timing perfect, but what He provides at that precise moment is also perfect.

My small group takes a break over the summer months as many of us travel and our schedules are a bit more difficult to match up, so I had been thinking about what Bible study we would do when came back together in August.  I had several in mind, but none of them seemed like they were "the one" we all needed to hear.  Do you know what I mean?  Any of the selections I had thought of would have been great and we would've certainly gotten a lot out of them, but none of them felt like they would hit us in the deep core of our beings, where we needed to be hit with the truth the most.  I briefly (and I mean briefly like a passing thought) prayed about it.  Without any effort God directed me to our next study.  Don't you love when He does that?!

The best part about being directed to this next Bible study that my small group will be doing is that God provided me with the opportunity to be a part of the launch team in promoting this new Bible study for women!  How awesome is that?!  Truthfully, when I applied, I did not think I would be selected to be a part of the team.  I doubted and came up with every reason why I wouldn't be selected.  How often in life do we sabotage ourselves like that?  Didn't God Himself pick out people who appeared "Least Likely to Be Used by God" for His great purposes?  Remember Saul/Paul?  He was killing the very people He later risked His life to save for the kingdom of God.  And what about Moses?  He was very self-conscious about His leadership skills and speaking abilities, yet God chose Him to speak to and lead millions of people.  Why does God do that?  So that His glory is shown; so that He is known.  The less we are, the more He is.

#ArmorOfGodStudy
http://bit.ly/AOGLaunch

The less we are,

 the more He is.  

As I write these words, I realize how challenging this--being less--is for me.  I have to ask for your forgiveness if any part of this blog glorifies me.  My intention is to glorify God.  I'm at constant warfare over how to make Him more and me less.  I know it involves a daily (even a second-by-second) surrendering of self.  This is the battle we all face.  This is the war we are in. Which brings me back to the excitement of this new Bible study by Priscilla Shirer that's coming out August 1: The Armor of God.  God has fully equipped us to fight in this ongoing spiritual warfare, and I CANNOT WAIT to find out more about this "equipment" and how to use it in my daily battles!  God's faithful provisions are perfect, and His timing impeccable.

Click on this link (see below) to find out more about this Bible study for women and join me in fighting for the cause of Christ!

http://bit.ly/AOGLaunch

All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 

~2 Corinthians 4:15~