finding fulfillment

In a week filled with protests, legal actions, and words about being feminine, I realize that I'm very blessed... I do feel loved, protected, represented, and fulfilled as a woman, wife, and mother, because of God and the amazing husband that I have. I am privileged. I'm still learning what to do with that information, but I am.

 Anyway, in light of all that, it struck me as I stood at the stove this evening how particularly fulfilled I feel when a finished meal is on the table. I'm sure there's many of you out there who can relate. I actually love being in the kitchen, and food is a favorite thing of ours. :) Its an accomplished feeling to take raw ingredients and turn them into something yummy. My place is at home right now and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Last night we had leftovers (so glamorous, I know) and I made myself a cobb salad - kind of a McAllister's copycat recipe... I really enjoyed it so I'm going to throw it up here, but keep in mind it's just a lot of Pinterest recipes and and ideas kind of pieced together. :)

Cobb Salad
Chicken: I used thin-sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts, you could also use tenderloins probably. Cut into strips and marinate in lemon juice for 5-10 mins, then season with salt and pepper and grill (I used a George Foreman).
Dressing: I've used pre-made Chipotle Ranch before, which is so good - I didn't have that on hand. You could use regular Ranch dressing or I made my own Chipotle Ranch by combining Ranch seasoning, milk, and plain yogurt (in place of mayonnaise) according to the directions on the back of the Ranch seasoning packet. Then I blended it with probably a TBS of canned chipotle in adobo sauce. You also could combine Ranch dressing with canned chipotle, or make your own dressing with chipotle mayonnaise instead of regular. Basically whatever you have on hand. :)
Salad: Any combination of the following - lettuce, spinach, tortilla strips for salads or crushed tortilla chips, cooked corn (a great way to use up leftovers!), canned black beans (drained and rinsed), tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro, hard-boiled egg, avocado, shredded cheddar cheese, and then of course the chicken and dressing. Many cobb salad recipes also include onions in some form and bacon, but I didn't use those things.

I also made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins... I particularly liked this recipe because it doesn't use milk and it uses an entire can of pumpkin: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2014/09/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins.html. I used brown sugar because I don't have any white sugar on hand - but cut the sugar in half and the vegetable oil by a third and noticed absolutely no difference.

Our breakfasts and snacks have been much easier with these sitting on the counter ready to eat... :)

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