This Is Her Crown, Our Crown

There is a stillness in the air
An electric pause holding the
World at bay, as the land's green
Hairs rise at attention, guarding,

Waiting for the thunderous call
The order to kneel before the
Deafening release of the skies'
Assault on the sun-baked lips
And leathred red skin,
Of soil cracked and abused
By desire and malicious greed

So the light of the world turns,
Hides his aged face and listens
To the thundrous exertion,
Waiting
For the exhale, the release,
The moment the collision
Ceases and his beauty can
Intercede with hope and promise.

For this is her coronation day
The  end of a darkness,
the rain of heaven overhead
Ends and he adorns her
With a crown of effervescent colors
Placed high above the beaten
Blades and wetted lands so as
To cast his light on a world reborn

Chicken Cordon Bake + Beer Bread

Ok... so super crazy hiatus is over. I AM BACK AND COOKIN' FOLKS!!! But be forewarned, the following recipes are highly addictive and will roommates fighting for servings, or maybe stabbing at their roommate with their fork to get a serving first...that may or may not be based off a true occurrence from 10 minutes ago. 

Chicken Bake
Time prep: 10 minutes + oven preheat time
Time to cook: 50minutes (TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!)
Servings: 2-3 (depending on how you dish out your serving)

Ingredients

• 2 medium to large chicken breasts
• 1/2 bag frozen cut leaf spinach
• 1 bag of deli sliced turkey
• 4 slices of packaged cheese
• 1 can of cream of mushroom
• seasoned salt
• garlic powder
• black peppercorn
• red peppercorn
• Italian breadcrumbs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. line a 9" pie pan with the spinach
3. sprinkle seasoned salt over the spinach
4. cut the chicken into long strips of chicken (1/4-1/2 inch think, length of breast)
5. cover the spinach with the chicken strips 
6. pour the cream of mushroom over the chicken, make sure its evenly spread over the contents of the pan
7. lay a 1-2 layer think of deli turkey slices 
8. bake for 25 min
9. take out of oven layer the cheese over the turkey
10. sprinkle red peppercorn and breadcrumbs over the cheese
11. bake for the remaining 25 minutes
12. ENJOY!!!!!

Beer Bread (THIS IS THE LINK I USED: http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/6717/beer-bread-i)

**SIDE NOTE: This was the FIRST time I have attempted to bake bread from SCRATCH!** 

-pictures aren't the best I assume it's one of those things that gets better with time-

Ingredients

• 1 beer ( I used Killian's Irish Stout)
• 3 cups self rising flour
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp butter
• garlic powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350* (if you cook these two together- they cook for the same time)
2. mix the flour and sugar together 
3. add the beer, using a wooden spoon -will become a stick ball of dough
4. add the dough to a baking dish (I used a 10x4 pyrex dish)
5. bake for 50 min
6. take out and spread the butter over the top 
7. sprinkle garlic over the butter
8. place bread bake in the oven for 5 minutes (While you serve the chicken bake)
9. take out of the oven, and out of bake dish
10. cut and serve
11. ENJOY!!!!

Winter Lasagna Rolls - Crock Pot

Alright so this is lasagna without any of the normal lasagna ingredients - weird I know. But who honestly has all those ingredients or all that time sitting around to make actual lasagna. This was a delicious creation rolled up in a lasagna noodle. 

Another Crock-Pot success!!!

Time to prep: 40 min
Time to cook: 1.5 hours in a crock pot
Servings: 2 (5 rolls)

Ingredients:

• 5 lasagna noodles
• 2 turkey burgers
• 1/2 bag of frozen sliced spinach (thawed)
• 1/2 cup of diced onions
• 2 ounces of fat free cream cheese
• 4 slices of pre-packaged american cheese slices
• 1 tbsp minced garlic in olive oil
• 1/2 jar 6 cheese marinara sauce
• **1 serving cup of Barbarito's Green Verde Salsa**
• 1 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
• 3 tbsp of water
• Italian Seasonings, Sea Salt, and Black Peppercorn

Instructions:

1. Bring a pot of water to boil, add the lasagna noodles, and make sure not to break them
2. While waiting for the noodles to cook, in medium sized frying pan cook 2 turkey burgers with a 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
3. After about 6 minutes with two forks shred the turkey burgers
4. Then add the garlic, onions, spinach and cream cheese and cook until the cream cheese is completely melted into the meat mixture

   

   This is after I started adding it to the noodles

5. Set the meat mixture aside, until the noodles are cooked al dente
6. Drain the noodles and lay them out long ways
7. Break each slice of american cheese, and lay about 3 of these thin slices along each noodle
8. Spoon the meat mixture along the noodle, over top the cheese

9. 

   This is what it should look like before you roll it

10. Using your fingers roll from one end to the other (I made it about 3 times around)
11. Place each roll in the crock pot (I managed to fit 4 rolls in mine with a 5th roll sitting on top in the center)
    
    
    
12. Pour the marinara sauce across the rolls (add the verde sauce if you have it)
    ***Make sure to add a small amount of water- approx 2-3 tbsp- to help prevent the rolls from cooking to the bottom of the pot***
13. Then sprinkle the feta cheese/ seasonings/ salt/ pepper over the rolls 
14. Cook in crock-pot for 1.5 hours
15. Serve and Enjoy!!!