Fall in the Midwest

Fall has come to the St. Louis area, and with it, several new experiences for us. First, its October, and we can regularly wear jackets. It is crazy! Who could have thought that a Jacket would be needed for more than two days out of the month of October. Second, apparently trees' leaves change color in the fall. Third, we are blessed with some amazing new friends. This past week a girlfriend of one of our sem friends stayed with us from Tuesday to Friday. It was a great time! Just having someone extra in the apartment made for good times! The best part of the week was Thursday night. Dinner was planned with the couple (our friend and his girlfriend) and two other seminarians. Now dinner was planned to start immediately after online registration for the winter quarter, which started exactly thirty six minutes late. So an hour after we had planned to start dinner, everyone was at the apartment, ready to eat. It was amazing, good stories, good food, and wonderful friends. We talked, laughed and hung out. After dinner we (the guys) played some Halo:Reach, while the ladies watched (we have some great significant others) and talked about how nerdy we are. 

As life continues up here, we continually grow, life is not always easy, but we are learning how to rejoice in struggle. I  could not ask for a better friend/partner/teammate to be walking this journey with me. God is moving, we are excited to see how He will use us!

-Ted

So I'm not much for cooking posts...

...but this particular dinner is my favorite to make because it's so easy. Just wanted to pass it along in case any of you are stuck wondering what to make for dinner. I didn't take pictures because I was too hungry, so...use your imagination. :)

Chelsey's Easy Bake Dinner

ingredients:

one boneless, skinless chicken breast per person eating

bacon

chive & onion cream cheese

fresh broccoli or green beans (I use 3 or 4 heads of broccoli)

diced garlic

olive oil

salt & pepper

lemon juice

grated parmesan cheese

pine nuts or almonds (optional)

steps:

1. pre-heat your oven to 425

2. cut up broccoli or green beans into bite-sized pieces - make sure they're as dry as possible so they don't get soggy in the oven.

3. toss with salt, pepper, diced garlic (I usually use a shallow spoonful), and enough olive oil to coat.

4. spread vegetables on a cookie sheet and set aside

5. on another sheet, place two pieces of bacon for each piece of chicken. place 1 chicken breast on one of the bacon spaces, followed by a spoonful of the cream cheese. wrap the ends of the bacon over the top of the chicken. do this for each piece of chicken.

6. place both pans in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. vegetables should be blackened/browned on the tips, and bacon should be done around the pieces of chicken.

7. put vegetables in a bowl; toss with a tablespoon of lemon juice. sprinkle parmesan & optional nuts over the vegetables.

There you have it! Easy Bake dinner! Let me know how y'all like it. :)