Wednesday 4 March 2009

An Indian Tale . . .



Once upon a time, an old Cherokee Indian was teaching his grandson about life.

"A struggle is going on inside me," he said to the young boy. "It is a tough one and it's between two strong wolves. One is evil . . . he is envy, greed, guilt, resentment, self pity, lies and false pride. The other is goodness . . . he is joy, serenity, compassion, humility, benevolence, and truth."

"The same fight is going on inside you as well and inside every other person." He added.

The grandson looked up at his grandfather with frightened eyes and asked, "But tell me Grandfather, which one will win?"

His Grandfather replied . . . "The one you feed."

May we all feed the good wolf from day to day and allow the bad wolf to starve. That is my prayer for each one of us.

As I look out at our garden this morning I can see the results of the strong wind and all the rain we had yesterday. The grass is full of branches, having been blown off of our trees, and I have noticed that the water dish from our bird feeder is laying across the lawn and broken in two. As I lay in bed and listened to the wind blowing against our windows last night I was a bit worried that I would wake up in Oz this morning!! My goodness but it was terribly strong. The worst I have heard yet! I would imagine that there are a lot of branches down all over the Estate this morning. I have to work quite late tonight, so don't be worried if I am late showing up here tomorrow morning. This happens from time to time. I shall just be sleeping in. You never know who may show up instead though . . . I see we had a special visitor yesterday. I'm glad that you didn't mind my guest cook for the day!

I cooked Todd a delicious chicken dinner last night. Earlier this week I had gotten a lovely little vegetable box from Waitrose for a very good price. For only a couple of pounds I got some tasty little new potatoes, green beans, chanteney carrots and broccoli, just enough for two people. I steamed each of those and then I cooked some Chicken Breasts to go along with them. Dinner was ready in no time at all!



*Cheesy Sauced Chicken Breasts*
Serves 4

This is a very tasty way to stretch two chicken breasts to feed four people. Warm and comforting, it never fails to please. It's also very quick to throw together.

2 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts
3 TBS plain flour
salt, pepper and garlic powder
2 TBS olive oil
4 ounces of Italian Cheese blend
(One that has provolone, parmesan, mozzarella, etc. in it)
1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) milk

Take each chicken breast and slice through them horizontally to give you two flat pieces from each, totaling 4 pieces altogether. Place them one at a time into a small baggie and pound to flatten them a bit and make them an equal size. Season each piece with some salt, pepper and garlic salt. Dredge with flour, shaking off any excess.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Once it is hot add the pieces of chicken and brown them on first one side and then the other. This should only take a few minutes per side. Once they are browned, sprinkle and divide the cheese over top of each one in equal amounts. Turn out the pan and add the milk. It will bubble up. Cover with a lid and let it to sit on the residual heat of the burner for several minutes, until the cheese has melted and a rich cheesy sauce has formed. Divide amongst four heated plates and serve immediately. Delicious!

18 comments:

  1. Hi Marie,the winds were the same at the coast, Rosster rings every evening and he said it almost blew him away getting out of the car from work.We had rain and it was very bitter here at home,but not the strong winds.The small vegy packs are ideal at times for one living alone as myself.Odd times I buy them,but I usually buy loose veg so I can cook plenty my daughter delights in taking it home for the Grandsons suppers they love Grandma's cooking LOL.I just wish they would visit as many times as they eat my leftovers lol!!Still the young ones of today like to do there own thing as we all do I suppose.Looks very tempting your meal.Love the little indian story today.Don't work too hard tonight.I hope you have a good sleep afterwards.Sorry about your broken bird bath.Have a lovely day I hope Todd hasn't too much damage to help clear up if he helps in the grounds..Take Care God Bless
    Kath .

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  2. What a pity about your broken birdbath...and all that wind! We had strange weather all day yesterday--it started out so nice, but my evening fog so thick you couldn't see across the street, the fog horn down at the harboring blaring all the night--LOL! Your chicken dinner looks superb, Marie! That cheesy sauce for the chicken is so nice. I was on MSN Messenger a long while last night but didn't see you... :o( Hope we can catch up soon...Have missed talking to you. I have some news to share. Hope you are having a great day, dear friend. :o) LOVE YOU!! ((HUGS))

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  3. So sorry about your birdbath!! That is a great recipe!! I havent had a good cheesy chicken for a while! Thanks :)

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  4. March winds can be strong and do damage. We were blessed with a quiet night but still very cold. This morning the sun is coming up and will melt the frost off as it is supposed to go above freezing today. I hope the long day is a good one for you.

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  5. great posts. and a good way to illustrate the good vs evil in all of us each and every day!
    hugs
    tina

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  6. I always do that with chicken breasts - it's amazing how much fills you up when you don't have a big hunk of meat on your plate, isn't it?!

    We had winds like that last week! Knocked over our basketball hoop and sent our patio furniture flying into one corner of the yard. Fun cleanup, it was not!

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  7. Hi Marie! What a wonderful story. I also love to come over and see what you are thinking/doing. You are so inspiring!

    Those veggies look delicious and chicken too! YUM!

    I hope you are having/had a good day today!

    XOOXXO
    Jen

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  8. We are experiencing really bad winds right now too. It is hard to even go outside. Hope your yard will be ok.
    This chicken looks great and your cake is wonderful looking. I am thinking I should make it soon.

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  9. MMM that chicken looks so tasty! I'm definately going to try that! Thanks for sharing!

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  10. I've always enjoyed that Indian tale and it's a really good one to keep in perspective when wanderering through life~
    I hope you have a beautiful Weds.
    Rebecca

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  11. I love that story. It's got so much meaning and so few words.

    I know I desperately owe you an e-mail. Ben's parents are driving into town as we speak, so I'll give you a quick update:

    1) One of the editors went into ICU three weeks ago and I've been having to edit his newspaper on top of my own stories ever since.
    2) The paper I work at laid off 150 people last Thursday, including my boss and two editors. There's lots of change and lots of scared people.
    3) They found a lump in my right breast and have to biopsy it. They don't think it's cancer but have to check b/c of mom's history.
    4) Ben's parents are coming today and staying until Sunday. And bringing Ace. Bitty and Bear are going to revolt.

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  12. You always include such nice thought provoking stories. I look forward to your blog every day. The chicken recipe sounds so easy and yummy. I made your date bars from last Saturday and are they delicious! I was worried at first because they were awfully crumbly, but that was because we couldn't wait for them to cool completely before having a taste!

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  13. I hate the wind. We get hard, hot Santa Ana winds quite often.... much too often!!! They fill our yard and pool with trash, dirt and leaves. They cause havoc all over our south land. They also seem to come with wild fires that spread to cover thousands of acres. I like rain but wind is never welcomed by me.

    I hope that you were able to get some rest last night in spite of the wind and rain. You surely need your rest for the long night you must put in. I am sorry that you have to work so hard. As always my prayers will be with you.

    I am late reading your post today because I just got out of bed. My stomach has been acting up since last night and I have been a dizzy dame as well. However, after spending all day in bed I am feeling better. I have to go to church at 6:00 pm to help finish sewing the school bags for the humanitarian center....so I decided that I should get up and get dressed. I don't think I should show up at church in my nighty... but I would if I could.

    I hope that working tonight will not be too hard on you. I am sending love, Lura

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  14. ps... I really like the story you put in today. I try to feed the good wolf in me and keep the bad one at bay.

    The chicken looks so good to me even with a stomach ache today. I will try it out for sure.

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  15. I love the story you shared, I will be borrowing it for my lesson at Stake Primary Leadership in May. My portion is on Nourishment of the spirit, and this is a good way to use a different perspective. I think your cheesy chicken is going to be on my menu next week!

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  16. cool story!

    and that chicken looks so yummmmmm.

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  17. If I feel better later I'll be making some version of this! I only have mozzerella and monteray jack. Should work!

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  18. I love your music and your pages and I love you because no one that isn't simply wonderful could make this blog. Muah!

    I hope happiness is in your life and that you find Peace forever more.

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