avocado fries

Recently I've become addicted to the blog, A Cozy Kitchen.
Whilst browsing her recipes, I came across the one for Avocado Fries and knew I had to make them.  Being from NC, there is nothing I love more than taking something naturally delicious and healthy and frying it in oil.
Here's how it went down:
1. Fill your skillet about 1/3 full of vegetable oil and heat it on medium.

2. Take 2 ripe avocados, slice them lenthwise, take out the pit, and use a large spoon to scoop the avocado out of the skin (in one piece!). Then slice the avocados lengthwise again  into "fries"

 

3. Beat one egg and put it in a shallow bowl. Stir in a tablespoon of water.  Do the same with 1/2 cup of milk and one with 1/2 cup of flour (just the bowl part, not the beating). Dip your "fries" in the milk, flour, egg, then the flour again.   *Sorry I didn't take a picture of this. It was messy, and I was absolutely starving and grouchy!*   

4. When the oil is hot (adding a drop of water makes it "spit"), add your fries one by one, without letting them touch.

4. When the batter starts getting brown, turn them over, and let them cook till they are crispy. Take them out and let them dry on paper towels, like ya do with bacon.

5. Enjoy with something yummy, like a turkey burger!

Tip:  They were a little bland, as avocados tend to be.  The recipe suggests 'Lime Sriracha Mayo', but I bet they'd be good with homemade ranch too. :)

-little j

WWJD

"[WWJD bracelets] aren't magical. They're a reminder to be a better person, to live a better life. If you need a rubber band around your wrist to be that, here's an idea, take it off and snap yourself in the eye and see if that wakes you."

-Daniel Tosh

I love daniel tosh. He's hilarious and probably my favorite PK, but I'm gonna have to disagree with him on this one.

for the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ  John 1:17

Therefore there is no condemnation for those in Christ, for the Spirit of life has set you free from the Spirit of sin and death.   Romans 8:1-2

No, it isn't magical, but having scripture on my hand reminds me that I DO have the power to be a better person.

Hot/Not

Hot:

 Mustard! Only on clothes though. I bought these babies for $5 at Forever 21





Authentic Mexican food. As in, no one at the restaurant speaks English and they also have a raw meat market in the other half of the building. Of course, I'm the awkward one that confuses the waitress and messes up everyone's drink order. Go. Me.

sporcle
addicting as all get out.

someecards- freaking hilarious 

My chissy. How cute is that face?

----->

Not: 

Blogger! This is so “big brother”-ish of me to say, but I was almost afraid to list this one, in case “they” are reading and delete my blog or something.  But in all seriousness, I’m either really dumb or Blogger is super un-friendly, cause I have serious formatting issues.

People who pull up next to me in their car and yell at me because I didn't let them over.  Sorry I’m an bad driver. It’s why I don’t have a Jesus fish on my car.

1-800-CONTACTS commercials. Do they really pay somebody to come up with these? The kids I nanny are waaaaay wittier and would probably work for unlimited fro-yo.

Accidently yanking your earbuds out when you’re listening to a song. Seriously, is there anything more annoying?

Sporcle quizzes. I got 40% on “World Countries” and 88% on “Harry Potter Surnames”. I’m sure exactly what that says about me, but I’m sure it’s not good.

girls night in

In an effort to be frugal, Jasmine and I made dinner in tonight.  I made a pastry-wrapped-cream-cheese- stuffed baked chicken based roughly off this recipe.

The recipe said it was "easy", but I'm 22 and just graduated from college. Sometimes I choose not to make a frozen pizza for dinner because it would take too long for the oven to pre-heat, so "easy" is relative.

I probably wouldn't make this for myself after work, but it's definitely worth it if you're having friends over/ trying to impress a date.

1. Mix 4 oz of cream cheese, parsley, sprinkle cheese, and garlic powder (fresh garlic would be better, but lets be honest, how often do I keep garlic cloves around the house?) The recipe suggested using bacon, which I didn't have, but would prob be pretty yum.

2.  Cut a slit in 3 chicken breasts lengthwise, to make a "pocket" for the cream cheese.  Stuff all that artery clogging goodness in there.

 

3. Beat one egg in a small bowl. Take 3 sheets of puff pastry (or take your 2 sheets and cut them up to make 3 equal sized sheets) and wrap the chicken up in them, using the egg as "glue" on the edges.  If your pastry is big enough, you can totally wrap them up; however, I had large, ahem, breasts, so I left the ends sticking out a little.

4. Brush the remaining egg over the top. Pop those babies in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes at 400 degrees. Cut some red potatoes into 1/4ths, drizzle them with olive oil, salt, and parsley, and pop in the oven for the last 20 min or so, and, voila, a dinner that looks like this.

Tip:
grease the pan with the chicken! or line the pan with foil! that puff pastry sticks to the pan like crazy!

Enjoy!

i know i'm getting old...

True story. I want a food processor for Christmas.

What is wrong with me?!? I'm only 22!

It's games of Bridge, AARP memberships, and Buick Lacrosse's in my future now...

radical? [today's devo]

The first time I tried to read Radical by David Platt, I got two chapters in, shut the book, and said
"I hate this book."

Whenever it would come up in conversations with other people, I would talk about how it was the Christian book that didn't change my life, and how it wasn't relevant to people who are already living out their faith.

Then, I decided I wanted to give it to someone I knew...because pridefully I thought,
"This person isn't living with the gospel in mind; I bet the book would help them."

So I decided to try to read it again.

The second time I tried to read Radical by David Platt, I got two chapters in, shut the book, and said
"I hate this book."

Not because I thought it wasn't relevant or because I disagreed with his theology, but because the questions it raised about the American dream and about my faith were so tough that they scared me.  When I finally put my big-girl panties on and thought about what he was asking, the answers made me sick.
 
How much do you love Jesus?

Do I love him more than my job? More than my car? Do I love him so much that all my earthly relationships look like hate in comparison?

I'm afraid to answer that honestly.

I'm not sure that my faith is "radical", but I hope that it can be. Over time, I know that he will break down those barriers of selfishness and sin, so that I can give more of myself to him.

"This is all that I can say right now.

I know it's not much,

but this all that I can give,

and that's my everything."

how jesus invented the high five (and dating rules)

“Jesus waited three days to come back to life. It was perfect! If he had only waited one day, a lot of people wouldn't have even heard he died. They'd be all, 

"Hey Jesus, what up?" 

and Jesus would probably be like, "What up? I died yesterday!" 

and they'd be all, "Uh, you look pretty alive to me, dude..." 

and then Jesus would have to explain how he was resurrected, and how it was a miracle, and the dude'd be like 

"Uhh okay, whatever you say, bro..." 

And he's not gonna come back on a Saturday. Everybody's busy, doing chores, workin' the loom, trimmin' the beard, NO. He waited the perfect number of days, three. Plus it's Sunday, so everyone's in church already, and they're all in there like 

"Oh no, Jesus is dead", 

and then BAM! He bursts in the back door, runnin' up the aisle, everyone's totally psyched, and FYI, that's when he invented the high five. That's why we wait three days to call a woman, because that's how long Jesus wants us to wait.... True story.”
-Barney Stinson   "How I Met Your Mother"

we are family

This is why I haven't been on blogger in 4eva...

I spent the last week with my family in the mountains for my dad's wedding. There's just something so... comforting about spending time with people who have all those same quirks and tell those same weird jokes that other people don't get.

Here are some things I overheard:

"It's all about confidence. If you want to sing like Adele, you just have to be sure you can." 

"We had so much fun back in '79."

S (who is 18 years old): "ahhh '79. what a good year."

J (driving through Boone): I wonder how much different my life would have been if I had gone to school here...

K: You're wearing a plaid shirt and driving a Subaru right now...so, not that different.

"Seth!"

 *no answer*

"Seth!!"

*no answer*

"Brah!"

"What?!"

I promise there will be real posts soon! My life is going back to (somewhat) normal this week. 

Love y'all!

here's "the situation"...

here

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I wish I was more like Snooki,

not in the getting wasted-GTL-fakebaked kind of way,

but in the sense that I could wear gym shorts and slippers out in public and not give a you-know-what about what people thought of me.

 She doesn't have an amazing body, a masters degree, or even a good sense of what is appropriate,

but she's got a kind of sweetness and confidence that makes me love her just a little bit. 

Even if I know I shouldn't be watching that show.

Is that weird? 

-little j

long time no see!

Dear friends!
I'm sorry I've been neglecting you (I'm afraid it will have to last a bit longer). Things have been mucho busy around here, and probably won't slow down till next Monday or so. I've been reading "Radical" by David Platt and making food for a wedding, so I definitely have lots to share...

if I ever get the chance to sit down and write it out.

In the meantime, this song has been my jam lately.

Everyday the world is made

A chance to change but I feel the same

and I wonder why would I wait till I die

to come alive, I'm ready now

I'm not waiting for the afterlife

this is way too mainstream...

 urbantraps.com

Maybe I could get more Mac users to follow me if I used this...

Happy Weekend, friends!

Off to the great outdoors for Fall Retreat.

love, little j

pride and prejudice [today's devotion]

here

            So everyone knows the story of Joseph right? Even if you aren't a church-goer, you've probably heard about the dude whose dad loved him more than his other brothers, so said brothers sold him into slavery. After a whole lot of drama, Joe ends up as the right hand man to the Pharaoh.  Using his power, he saves the Egyptians from starvation during a really bad famine. What you might not know is that he later gets reunited with his brothers from another mother (literally. polygamy was IN during the OT), and is with his dad (Jacob) on his deathbed.  That's when things get cool.

Genesis 50:15-21
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said to one another, "If Joseph is holding a grudge against us, he will certainly repay us for all the wrong we caused him..."

But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result- the survival of many people. Therefore don't be afraid.  I will take care of you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.


When I read this, I couldn't help but think "how?" We know that we're supposed to forgive, but HOW do we do it?

Joseph remembered a few key things:
1. He knew his place. He knew that he couldn't control the actions of others, or deal out justice. He didn't try to be God.
2. He realized that God had used the situation for the greater good (saving the Egyptian people from starvation).

So I started thinking.... What is my first response when someone hurts me? Do I feel like they've trampled all over my "rights"? What are my actual rights as a child of God?

And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.    Ephesians 4:32 

What is my right? To forgive much from others because God has forgiven much from me.
Changes the perspective a little, doesn't it?  Ultimately, the issue isn't anger, but pride.

Have I forgotten that I, too, need forgiveness? Honestly, am I being prideful? Am I trying to ensure justice (God's job) in this situation? Do I believe that God will bring good out of every situation (even someone else's sin)? 

Asking these questions helps us tackle the "how" part of forgiveness. You can't force yourself to feel kindness towards someone who's hurt you, but when you view yourself in the truth of the Bible, it makes it much easier.

i need a mood ring

When I was in middle school, I had a friend (we're actually still good friends) who didn't think girls should say the word "crap".  He thought it was unlady-like, and because I am was extremely stubborn, I would try to fit it into a sentence as many times as possible. Then I would write it on pieces of paper and hold them up across the classroom so he could see.  I would also step on his shoes because I thought they were "too clean". 


Maybe I was a bit of a brat, I don't know, but regardless, I want to say that this week has been crap. Sorry, Alejandro.


Nothing major has happened, just a series of annoyances that have pushed me to the edge of sanity. You know, like when you start going into hissy fits because of  the smallest, most unlikely things?

Read the rest of The Sneaky Hate Spiral  at Hyperbole and a Half

Maybe you don't act like that when you've had a bad day; you're probably a lot more mature than that.


I would really just love a whole day to lay on the couch in 
my sweatpants and watch reruns of Law and Order: SVU for 8 straight hours. Unfortunately, the world doesn't stop spinning for me. but it should.


Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and exude awesomeness. 


G'night, friends.


PS- I realize this post had very little substance. Sorry. Sometimes my life is like that.

pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting

As you see, I'm still getting rid of that GIANT can of pumpkin puree. I used THIS recipe.

Words of Wisdom if you replicate:

the batter was really thick. I was only making a half batch, but still used almost the full amount of milk. they're really more like muffins than cupcakes.

the frosting was really runny! i suppose I could have added more powdered sugar, but I HATE dealing with the mess, so I didn't.

I also didn't have ginger so I just skipped it. I'm pretty sure you could use any fall-ish spice and they would still taste delish.

HELP!

HOW DO YOU GET THE CLUMPS OUT OF BROWN SUGAR?!?! this is the bane of all my fall food cooking endeavors.

lessons from an unlikely source

"If this is gonna be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we've got to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't wanna do it."

-Stephen Colbert

I don't watch "The Colbert Report" expecting to be taught a lesson about my faith, and I don't know if Stephen a believer or not, but this quote was more convicting and biblically accurate than a lot of sermons on the same topic.

a play-by-play of my almost death

"Imgonnadie
Imgonnadie"

"Wow these safety harnesses are very unflattering."
Ok I wasn't thinking that then, but I am now that I'm looking at the pictures.

"Camp counselor dude. Please stop talking to me so I can concentrate on NOT throwing up my breakfast."

"AHHHHH! .....
This is kinda fun."











One week later...

"I don't want to burst your bubble, but Mikel's 5 year old daughter did the high-ropes course when we were there." -JP

The title of this post is a little overdramatic, but it's how I felt at the time. 

Happy Weekend!

sweet apple pie

here

So I made baked apples today (told ya that I adore fall food), but am an idiot and forgot to take a pic. So I promise that my apples looked pretty much like that. They aren't exactly the prettiest dessert, so I guess it's no big that I forgot to photograph them.

They were surprisingly simple. Here's what I did:

Take 2 fugi apples (although a lot of the recipes seemed to use something crisper, like Granny Smith), and core them.  I used a knife to cut the shape of the core, then used a teaspoon to shovel all the guts out.  Be sure to leave at least half an inch at the bottom. 

In a bowl, mix about 1/2 cup of oatmeal (I used regular, but I'm sure instant would work too), 1/2 cup of brown sugar, a little hot water, nutmeg, and cinnamon to taste. 

Spoon the oatmeal mix into the apples, put a lump of butter on top and bake at 350 degrees for  30 minutes. 

Voila! Perfect fall treat.

why i love blogging

Yates Mill Pond in Raleigh

Truth time: I had a blog before this one.

I thought that every post had to be a really deep, thought out, well- written analysis of what I was learning about my faith, and that I couldn't write about a "trial" until I had come out of it and could perfectly understand what I had learned.

Clearly, I ditched that idea when I restarted the concept of "Big J and little j" with blogger (sorry wordpress).  In the past 5 months, I've written posts with grammatical errors, secret passive aggressive comments about an ex, waytoopersonal stories, and honest confessions about struggles with my faith.  Consequently, I love this blog so much more. Why? Because it's me. Even when I don't get home until 11pm, I still want to write posts to you guys, because it's my creative outlet.  It's a chance to express stuff that maybe I wouldn't say in everyday life.

That's the beauty of blogging. You get the opportunity to understand someones passions and talents that maybe you wouldn't have been able to IRL. There are people that (unfortunately) I've not been able to spend a lot of time with, but I still can understand a deeper part of them through blogging.

Of course, I'm not suggesting that blogging is the same as actual friendship.  I would never replace hearing my best friend laugh out loud at my lame jokes (she is the best at making me feel funny), with having her write a comment on a post. However, I think blogging is a cool supplement to friendship that we didn't have before it got all trendy and cool.

So I guess I'm saying thanks to you, friends, for reading this thing, so that I'm not just typing all this nonsense out into the world wide web. And thanks to all the people who write the blogs that I follow. I wish I was able to spend more time with you in the real world.

i am the worst environmentalist ever.

Remember this post when I got up on my soap box (soapbox??) about being a good steward of your resources?

That was coming from the girl who didn't tithe last week because I was out of checks and was too lazy to drive to the bank before church to get cash.

So yeah,  I'm a little bit of a hypocrite. Also, I read in the 'winston-salem monthly' that our area (Northwest NC) ranks one of the highest in the nation for "food hardship among households with children", so I've been feeling a little uneasy about the amount of excess I have in my life. 

I have closets/dressers full of clothes, but I rotate between the same two weeks worth.  

So, I'm going to keep track of what I wear for a month and anything that doesn't get worn gets donated, including shoes and (gulp!) scarves. Those of you that know me personally know what a big deal that last statement was.

Being practical though, I'm not going to count dress clothes or my field clothes. 

I need you, friends, to keep me accountable! 

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Matthew 6:25

why i was born a girl (and am happy about it)

This idea for this post was born on Thursday when I watched "The Hurt Locker" with Lacey.  In one scene the guys get drunk and take turns punching each other in the stomach. 

After watching that moment of utter nonsense, we brainstormed a list of reasons that we are grateful to be girls.

I'm adding "we never shot each other with airsoft guns" to that list.

 

1. They serve Brisk iced-tea with lemon under the name "sweet tea" at the fair. C'mon people. It's the DIXIE classic fair. Serve real tea.
2. Riding "The Zipper" and "Ring of Fire" are easy, but the pirate ship will make you throw up. Thanks, Girl Behind Us, for letting us witness that moment.
3. Cheese and butter on an English Muffin is actually pretty good. It's amazing what you'll eat when you haven't been grocery shopping in a while.
4.  Watching a guy propose in public is romantic for 3.8 seconds. After that it's straight up PDA. Get a room! P.S. Thanks for ruining one of my favorite Sister Hazel songs.
5.  Even though it's a totally guy-ish movie, I really liked "The Hurt Locker". It could just be Jeremy Renner in a military uniform though... I don't know.