Domestic Goddess

i've been cooking up a storm lately! i've had domestic energy building up for a while now and cooking seems to be the method of choice lately for getting it out.

today's dinner:
Turkey Chickpea Chili with Cornbread Casserole--a great hearty warm comforting Fall meal!

Turkey Chickpea Chili- (45 min. total)
1 lb. ground turkey (i think the 7-15% is better than the 99% fat free...)
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 small sweet/yellow onion
1 clove garlic
1 c. shredded carrots (julienne, not think sliced shredded)
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 lg. can stewed tomatoes
1 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. flour to sprinkle in for thickening
1 tbsp. cumin (adjust to taste)
1 tbsp. chili powder (adjust to taste)
1 tsp. cayenne powder (adjust to taste)
salt to taste (i prefer sea salt)

chop the onion, green and red peppers. mince the garlic clove. cut or break up the carrots into smaller pieces. drain and rinse the chickpeas twice.
in a soup pot, short stock pot, or large sauce pan, saute the onion on med-low heat in a bit of olive oil until it begins to brown.
mix in the garlic.
push the onion and garlic to the outsides of the pan and add the peppers. cover the pan and let the peppers sweat for about 1-2 minutes.
move the peppers out of the middle to the outsides of the pan.
add the carrots, cover and let sweat for 2 minutes, stirring them at 1 minute.
move all vegetables to the outsides of the pan and turn heat up to medium-medium high (depending on your range and whether it is gas or electric...).
add the ground turkey, sprinkle about 1 tsp. of salt over the meat. stir the meat to break it up and cook until it is cooked through and no longer pink/raw. (cover and stir at intervals)
stir to incorporate meat and veggies. sprinkle on another tsp. of salt or sprinkle salt to taste.
add the cumin, chili powder, and cayenne powder, mix in well.
add the chickpeas, the stewed tomatoes (including tomato juice), ketchup, and chicken broth. stir to incorporate.
sprinkle chili with 1 tsp. of flour at a time, stirring well to incorporate, until the desired thickness is reached. taste and adjust salt and spices to your personal taste.

allow the chili to simmer on low heat while you prepare the cornbread casserole.

Cornbread Casserole- (35 min. total)
1 box cornbread or corn muffin mix
1 scant c. yellow cornmeal
1/4 c. butter
1 can sweet kernel corn
1 can sweet cream style corn
1 egg
1/4 c. heavy cream (+ extra for serving, 1-2 tbsp. per serving)
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

melt butter in casserole dish or baking dish (i used a 9" round casserole)
combine all ingredients right in the baking dish
bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until just golden on top

To Serve:
spoon Cornbread Casserole into a bowl, pour a little cream over the Cornbread Casserole, spoon Turkey Chickpea Chili over the Cornbread Casserole, sprinkle with some sharp cheddar cheese, and ENJOY!

time: my least favorite thing

time, is never on our side.
time is the great elusive mind game that one must learn to deal with in order to function effectively in life.
there is never enough time to "do it all" and there never will be; we must each make it a priority to find personal balance where all of the many facets of life converge.

when you sacrifice things that help to keep you well--sleep, personal endeavors, quite meditation, fun, relationships, exercise, nourishment-- for the sake of time to do things that "must" be done--school work, occupational work, commitments to others--this sacrifice bubbles over into ALL areas of your life and you can be neither completely effective nor completely happy in any of your pursuits. not to mention the fact that to continue to do so, will eventually run you down and bring you to a place where you begin to doubt your own personal worth.

find something that nourishes your spirit and make time to do it AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN. you may not be able to afford time every day, but one should never go more than a few days without at least an hour of personal enrichment.

rejuvenation and the slow turn around

working on slowly turning this day...the past few days...back around to a place of productivity and positive energy.

a short summary:
friday and saturday=good; spent some good fun time with my family.

sunday=started good but took a turn for the worse with my cousin from VA ending up in the hospital with a ruptured tubal pregnancy and me playing chauffeur/grandma-sitter/baby sitter for my g-ma and my cousin's 18 mo. old baby when i should have been writing a paper that is due on Tues...stayed up after everyone went to bed until 3am monday working on it.

monday=started too early as i had to, again, help my g-ma with the baby--a 33 lb. 18 mo. old whom g-ma cannot lift. so sleep deprived and annoyed--my g-ma is not the most tolerable person on the planet--i have to try to be productive. granted, my sisters provided some needed respite in the midst of it all... but the atmosphere was still not conducive to what i needed to get done.

alas, the slow turn around began when i got some good news from a wonderful friend regarding a certain type of journal i'm in LOVE with. i've not been able to find them in my local area. she's visiting her family out west and, as it turns out, found them at the local Borders and purchased a few for me; YEAH! i was so happy i wanted to cry, literally!! then, despite wanting more time to spend with my mom whom i've not been able to see much during my time home, i have run away to the local Panera Bread for free wireless and some, hopefully, quiet productive time and rejuvenation.

how is it that i always end up feeling like i need a break from my breaks?

still waiting for my decoder ring

the exclamation point that made my day:
do you ever think about how an exclamation point changes the tone of a written phrase? such punctuation can be especially meaningful when it is used by a person whom you wouldn't typically expect such emphasis from, OR in a situation where you wouldn't expect a certain level of emphasis. it seems small, but it was meaningful to me. am i reading too much into it? probably. let's just face it, i'm still waiting for my decoder ring.

cost benefit analysis

what is the cost of a full moment today and an empty heart tomorrow?

on the road to my future, divergent paths cloud my journey with uncertainty and i am lost."i'm happy to be with you now..." it says, as i lay vulnerable in it's warm outstretched arms. when given the choice between a fleeting "now" and an uncertain "future" how do i choose?

this pebble on my heart weighs evermore and more with each passing moment. "don't be sad. this is life, you've got to live it." it says. but at what cost? i wonder... am i wasting my time, wasting my life, giving myself away to a force that will bear me no return?

when the cost of a full moment today is an empty heart tomorrow, is there a benefit?

i think my heart knows, but do i?