Independence Day Chips & Salsa

Independence Day Chips & Salsa

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
	1 pound ripe plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
	1 jalapeño chili pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
	2 garlic cloves, minced
	3 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro
	2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
	2 tablespoons olive oil
	1/4 teaspoon salt
	White and blue tortilla chips

1. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, jalapeño (if desired; remember to wash the hot oil off your hands after chopping), and garlic.
2. Stir in the cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, and salt.
3. Transfer the salsa to a serving bowl. Serve with plenty of tortilla chips. Serves about 8.

Guacamole Chicken Wraps

Guacamole Chicken Wraps

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup guacamole
• 4 spinach tortillas (8 inches)
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 2 packages (6 ounces each) ready-to-use Southwestern chicken strips
• 4 lettuce leaves

Directions:

Spread guacamole over half of each tortilla. Layer with salsa, cheese, chicken and lettuce to within 2 in. of edges. Roll up tightly.
4 servings

Tips of Hosting a Cookout

Hello! Last night, my father-in-law hosted a cookout at his home for some friends and family. Since we are currently living here, we got to join in the fun of preparation! Here are a few thoughts I had...

Tips on Hosting a Cookout:

1. Do your house cleaning on the day before the party if possible. On the day of the party, just touch up where it is needed.

2. Plan out the menu before going to the grocery store. Be sure to plan accordingly for the number of people invited.

3. Be sure to have enough seating in the same area for everyone invited. Provide tables in several areas for mealtime.

4. If you are inviting a large number of guests, ask a few ladies to bring a dish - a salad or dessert - for the meal. They will enjoy helping and it relieves stress from you.

5. When providing drinks such as tea, lemonade or pop, also provide cold water bottles for others to enjoy. Especially on a hot day!

6. Have a designated person to grill the meat and another person to organize and set up the food table. You can then attend to hosting your guests! In our case, Eric grilled the food and I organized the food table.

7. As soon as your guests arrive, offer a cold drink to everyone while waiting for the meal to begin.

8. Have games, toys or activities for children who may attend. You do not need to entertain them but you have things to occupy them and keep them happy. We had children's movies playing, a tent to play in, toys in the girls' room and swings in the backyard. The children played while the adults fellowshipped.

9. Once the meal is finished and everyone is done eating, wash any containers or dishes for any guests. They will appreciate taking home clean dishes instead of dirty ones!

10. Smile and have fun! Enjoy and talk with your guests! Make them feel welcome and give them a good time!

Have a great day and happy cookouts!

The Reno Rodeo

The Reno Rodeo

Last night, our family attended Family Night at the Reno Rodeo! Every June, the pro-rodeo circuit comes to Reno for 10 nights. We love to attend! This year was Autumn and Sierra's first time for a pro-rodeo. The girls had a great time! We couldn't find their cowboy hats so they wore two of Eric's hats! They were so cute!

The Reno Rodeo is the fourth largest rodeo in the world! It pays out over $3 million dollars in winnings which is an amazing amount! The stands were packed out with standing room only. They have bull riding, bronc riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling, steer roping and more! They also had a man parachute down with an American flag flying high with a tribute to America - this great country we live in! It brought tears to your eyes and goosebumps to your arms! After that...the National Anthem and a prayer. Many other events to entertain as well...kids riding on sheep (mutton races), a rope trick rider with his five-year old son, viewing of the beautiful horses from the rodeo, the Rodeo Queen and more. It was a great family memory of our life here in Nevada! :)

Our 7th Wedding Anniversary!

Yesterday - June 23 - was our 7th wedding anniversary! For those of you who may not know our story...here is a short summary!

Eric and I had our first date on January 23, 1999 at Connie's Pizza in Chicago. I know...1999 seems like an ancient date! LOL! We were both in college - I was a senior and he a freshman. I know again...I don't need any cradle robbing comments! LOL! We worked in the bus ministry together in the same division in Chicago. He was on route 89-5 and I was on route 89-9. His bus captain, Bro. Marco Lariviere, advised him to break up with the girl he was dating and ask me out. He followed his advice and asked me to our after-Christmas party with our bus division to Connie's Pizza.

I, being quiet and shy, did not think that this date was going to go well! Eric was completely opposite of my personality - outgoing and well, wild! LOL! He was a true freshie in every sense of the word! I was looking for someone serious to serve the Lord with his life. At the end of the date, we were able to talk one on one and Eric told me his dreams and desires of serving the Lord. I learned some of his background (which makes for another interesting story!) and how he fought to come to Bible college. I saw his heart for the Lord and his determination to one day work in the ministry and serve Him. I think that night...I knew somehow that he was the one. Even though I enjoy his fun and loving personality, his ability to make me laugh, his crazy and fun ways...I was even more drawn to his heart for the Lord. I saw the true Eric inside. Some people have never seen that side of him. They have only experienced his outgoing and funny side. Yet that night, I saw who he really was. And I am thankful I did.
For exactly 2 yrs. and 5 months later, I married the man I met that night.

It has been a wonderful and amazing journey for these past seven years of marriage. Our marriage is very happy and peaceful. Yes, we are normal people with normal disagreements and quirks. But we are happy and love each other. I believe we balance each other and make a good match! I am so thankful for my husband of 7 years!

For our anniversary, we went downtown Reno. We journeyed down to the Riverwalk on the Truckee River that flows through downtown. It is a beautiful and peaceful area with flowers, huge rocks and the sound of the water flowing down below. We marveled at the changes made since we had been there in the city. We also enjoyed a prime rib dinner at the Sedona Cafe downtown. We have already planned a future date of biking the bike trail along the river!

The pictures above...the Lear Theater. It looks like it should be in the deep South somewhere, doesn't it? Also, some beautiful flowers hanging from one of the bridges across the river. Lastly, Eric and the Truckee River.

Thanks for listening! Have a great day!

Butter Pecan Pumpkin Pie

Butter Pecan Pumpkin Pie

A yummy ice cream pie for hot summer days!

Ingredients:

• 1 quart butter pecan ice cream, softened
  
• 1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked
  
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg
  
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
  
• 1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
  
• Additional whipped cream
  
  

Directions:

Spread ice cream into the crust; freeze for 2 hours or until firm. In a small mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg; fold in whipped cream. Spread over ice cream. Cover and freeze for 2 hours or until firm. May be frozen for up to 2 months.

Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before slicing. Drizzle with ice cream topping; dollop with whipped cream.

Yield: 6-8 servings.

My blessings...

The Lord has given me some great deals for our new home! I wanted to share them with you...
We bought at side-by-side black fridge from a couple moving to Malaysia for $250! My special blessing...it has the feature of filtered ice/water in the door. :) Hey, little things make me happy! Today we bought a black stove and black dishwasher from a couple living on Lake Tahoe -Tahoe City - who are tearing down their home and rebuilding. They purchased these appliances in 07 - they are less than one year old! We bought the stove for $150 and the dishwasher for $50! At a garage sale, we purchased a wonderful Kenmore grill for fun summer grilling for only $100! My husband is now the Master of the Grill and has cooked some yummy meals for us. Yesterday, we had grilled avocado-swiss burgers hot off the grill. Mmm! At the same garage sale, we purchased a Honda lawn mower that had been used only two times. Our grand total for a great lawn mower - $50! Lastly, I purchased a cute little cherry side table for our living room for $30 from a lady who is an interior designer and were moving out of state. I am thrilled with my great deals the Lord has given me! However, my father-in-law has put a pause on my furniture/appliance buying until we actually purchase a house! LOL! He said we are running out of room! That's OK...I am out of money anyways!
Have a great day from Reno!

Our Home Church

I want to introduce you to our new home church - Liberty Baptist Church of Reno, NV! I am very excited to become members of this church. Our pastor is Bro. Steve Snow, his wife, Tamara, and their three daughters - Erica and Emily -6yrs. old (they are twins) and Erin is 4 yrs. old.
As you know, we attended First Baptist Church of Hammond, IN from March 05 to May 08. We enjoyed the church there and were involved in the ministry of Reformer's Unanimous. Yet in the midst of greatness...I missed the small church. I don't know what church you may attend and what size it may be. Most of my life, we attended small churches. Not little as unimportant or insignificant though! Small in numbers but great in the eyes of the Lord!

I love my memories of my childhood church days...
-Vacation Bible School on hot summer days
-Teen prayer groups
-Youth Conference and Pastor School trips
-Duties such as cleaning the church, mowing the lawn, organizing big days
-Working a van route to bring children to church
-Teaching SS classes
-Singing specials with my family
-Potlucks - hey, we're Baptists! LOL!
-Easter sunrise services
-Christmas plays
-Teen rallies

I love greeting our Pastor and his family on Sunday morning. I love the opportunity to work in the nursery. I love the opportunity to participate in the special music. I love the opportunity to work with my husband in the junior church in the future. I love the opportunity to help build a great work for the Lord here in the North Valleys of Reno.

I hope my children's memory bank of their church will be full of wonderful memories as mine!

Update on the Tastet family...

The above pictures are Eric and I visiting after church Sunday night at Josh and Jenny Musser's home. We were enjoying a cup of coffee and peppermint cake on their front porch. :) The picture of the beautiful valley was taken on our way home from an afternoon of fishing on the Truckee River. We decided to take a back stone road and this is one of the views it offered! God's beautiful country!

I realize that it has been nearly three weeks since I have posted on my blog! It has been a busy three weeks for sure! We left on our trip West to Reno, Nevada on May 27...if you would like to read about our move and see pictures...visit our family website at babyhomepages.net. Type in our last name - Tastet - and you will be able to visit our site. If you would like an e-mail notification when the site is updated, please add your name and e-mail address to our website. We would love to keep in touch with all our friends and family!

Our current update...we are living currently with Eric's dad, Sonny, until we are able to purchase a home here in the Reno area. We are currently waiting on an answer from an offer that we made on Friday on a home. So until the Lord provides the home He has for us...we are patiently waiting! :) We are still living out of boxes to some extent...it is hard to fit two households in one home! Most of our things are in the garage except for clothes, etc. We are thankful to be able to stay here for the time being.

The girls have adapted quickly to our new life here! They love their Papa Tastet! He loves to tickle them with his beard and they just scream for him to do it more! They are keeping him busy! He has made two tree swings for them, set up the tent to go camping, made chairs out of logs, bought ice cream from the ice cream truck, took them off fishing excursions, hosted BBQ's with the family.

Eric has started his new job and everything is going great. He has Fridays off and we have already made a family fishing trip to the river! :)

As for me...I can't describe how happy I am. Reno and Nevada is truly my home sweet home! Nevada is a far cry from the area I grew up in. LOL! I am from the cornfields of Ohio - in fact, the flattest county in the state of Ohio! The Midwest region of the country. God gave me a love for the West - the desert mountains of Nevada - I believe so that I could stand behind my husband in his desire and dreams to start a Baptist church in this area. I have seen many women pull their husband away from the will of God because they are still attached to their parents, family and area where they are from. They are not happy where the Lord has led their husband and therefore they never give their heart to the ministry. I praise the Lord that He has knit my heart with my husband in this area. We share a love for this area and the people here. It is a wonderful thing to be one. I am looking forward to sharing my love with you! Thank you for listening! Have a wonderful and blessed day!