Ephesians 2: 8-10

"⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  ⁹not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
 ¹⁰For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2: 8-10

Pastor Graham preached on Ephesians 2 yesterday in church. It really spoke to me on how so many people view religion these days. If we could train ourselves to see the world through a scripture based lens instead of looking at scripture through a world based lens what a difference it would make.

Some people believe in religion by subtraction, taking away things in their lives that they believe will hinder them from getting in Heaven. Some people believe in religion by multiplication, any religion will get you to Heaven just choose one. Others believe in religion by division, if you divide yourselves into a perfectly cut shape with perfect edges that will get you into Heaven. However, we were saved by grace through faith. Jesus died for all of us, if we would just ask him into our hearts we will one day rejoice in Heaven with the Lord.

Once you ask him into your heart you will be surround by christian brother in sisters that will help and enable you to do good works. Good works do not get you into heaven but allow you to share the word of Jesus Christ with the rest of the world.

How powerful a message....

Early Release!

Today we got out of work early so I decided to update my blog. Granted, we will be working late for the rest of the week and Saturday in order to test count all the department based inventory in the hospital...ewwww!!
Last weekend we went to Mandi and David's wedding and had a BLAST! One of the coolest things about the wedding was David's cake.

It was a GIANT Reece's cup! YUM!!!

We got to hang out with Chris's old boss and a few of his old co-works from the Frisco store...so fun!

That Sunday I traveled to Abilene for the day to watch Katie in ACU's production of Titanic. If you have ever seen one of ACU's plays/musicals you know what a fabulous job they do. If you ever get the opportunity to go see one...go! You're in for a real treat!

Here is Katie and I back stage! Love you KB!!

This past weekend Chris was off work and we had NO plans! Can you believe it!!! We really enjoyed relaxing and just being the Bendels! Saturday we went to pick out our Christmas tree and wanted to put it up that night. More pics of our purchases to come!

Here are a few pics of some of the menu items from the weekend.

Zesty roasted chicken and potatoes with sauteed zucchini! Yum!

Lexi's "Pink" salad recipe, a great "healthier" dessert....DOUBLE YUM!

Cashew chicken and egg rolls! Super easy!

The best part of our weekend was that we FINALLY joined Prestonwood Baptist Church. We've practically been members for a year and a half but it was time to make it official. We are so blessed to have such an awesome church home and bible fellowship group. We love having a group of friends to navigate through life and what it means to be a Christian in the world today.

Tonight I'm trying my Gran's chicken and rice recipe. I have a feeling it will not be the same but I've been wanting to attempt it for a while. Signing off until the end of the week. Wish me luck in inventory, prayers needed!

WB

Cupcakes!

Last night we had our good friend's, the Kisers, over for dinner. I wanted to make something really GOOD for dessert so I decided to take on cupcakes. I make a LOT of cakes but never cupcakes. Last time I made a red velvet cake I used a cream cheese icing recipe that contained cool whip and not much cream cheese therefore being light and not your southern red velvet with cream cheese cake. This time I made the classic, cream cheese and butter icing! YUM!

The best part is even if you don't have icing bags and tips (which I'm putting on my Christmas list) you can use a gallon size freezer bag and cut of a corner. The first round I cut a small corner and the second one I cut a little bigger. They turned out GREAT!

Go Red Raiders! Beat those Bears!!!

WB

Pulled Pork and Turtles!

I haven't had many food escapades these past two-weeks mostly because my brother cooked for us one weekend and we went out of town the next. I knew Nic could cook because while he was at school he would text me questions of how to do this or that and they were normally not the "easy" skill set. He invited us over last Sunday night for food and football.

Homemade pulled pork sandwiches and sweet potato fries! It was DELICIOUS!!!

Something about those Fogles....they SURE know how to COOK! YUM!

This past weekend we went to visit Gran and Aunt Kathy in Odessa. Chris had off Friday so we took advantage of a long weekend to make the drive. This is what we did all weekend.

haha well we did a little more than nap. We helped them bring in all their plants off the back porch. I cooked my homemade margherita pizza for them, we fed the turtles....oh, if you didn't know my Gran has 123 million turtles in her backyard and we have the pleasure of feeding and naming them when we come to visit. This is the "Chris" turtle...they have all sorts of names, "WhitneyNic", "X", "K", "#"...etc...

Sunday we went to Sunday school with Gran and then to lunch at Chris's favorite restaurant Mi Piaci!

This picture really does not show the spunky grandmother that we know...but it was the only one I got. By spunky I mean she says "put that in your pipe and smoke it" while watching the UT vs. OU game. I love her!!!

This week it's back to the grind...we have David and Mandy's wedding on Saturday and then I'm headed to Abilene Sunday to see Katie's play! Can't wait!!

Hope everyone week gets off to a great start!
WB

Saturday Morning

On Saturday mornings when Chris has to work I enjoy sitting in bed with coffee, cook books, and Food Network on tv. Some of the shows bug me, some require WAY to many ingredients and time. My favorites are RR's 30 minute meals, Sandra Lee's Semi-homemade, 5 Ingredient Fix, and Healthy Appetite. This Saturday I caught part of Giada at Home. Giada is the most cute little host anyone has ever seen...but her recipes are COMPLICATED! Lots of ingredients and time! However, today "I found a short cut"...she says so I instantly tune in. A cheese and chocolate chip danish made with frozen puff pastry dough! YUMMM! I decided to attempt the same recipe with my own spin.

Mascarpone cheese with strawberries! First you add mascarpone cheese, cream cheese, vanilla, sugar, and lemon zest. Then add strawberries and combine.

Roll out puff pastry and cut into four squares.

Put your cheese mixture in bottom right corner and roll to opposite corner.

Bake at 400 degrees for 13-15 minutes until golden brown!

Of course mine did not turn out near as pretty as Giada's, but I'd say it was a good days work! I just stored them in the fridge and popped them into the oven for a few minutes before icing and eating!!!

Two Christmas's ago Paula, Chris's mom, got me a subscription to Cooking Light magazine. They have the most wonderful ideas and recipes. They also have great pairings of dishes with desserts and wines, a very good read! I got a new one in the mail on Friday just in time for the weekend. I was planning on making chicken spaghetti when I came across a white wine marinated steak recipe. This is made with chuck eye steak, but I could not find that so I got chuck tender steak (which is WAY less fat). This was probably the biggest hit of the weekend, along with another recipe I've been wanting to try, gorgonzola bacon twice baked potatoes!

We have A LOT of ground turkey at our house, so when the word "steak" is mentioned it's pretty much always a hit. :)

Well that's all for my exciting cooking adventure this weekend! Can't wait to see what this week brings!

Much Love,
WB

Jerk Chicken Casserole and Oreo Truffles

Yesterday we celebrated accounting day at work! This consisted of lunch at Breadwinners (one of my favorite places).

Presents!

Bowling at Main Event!

Then getting off early to shop/sleep/cook...whatever our hearts desire. My getting off early meant tackling a new recipe.

WARNING: If you do not like Caribbean food you will not like this dish.....

I had printed off a dozen or so recipes the weekend before and really wanted to attempt this jerk chicken casserole.

The dish consists of chicken thighs, sweet potatoes, black beans, green onions, jerk seasoning (all spice, pumpkin pie spice, cayenne pepper, salt, thyme) and a sauce to top it off (honey, lime juice). Needless to say you can tell this dish is sweet, Chris did not dig the sweetness but I thought it turn out pretty good. All you do is rub the seasoning on the chicken and brown in a skillet (which veg. oil) for about 2-3 minutes each side. Then layer black beans, sweet potatoes, and chicken. Add honey and lime juice to skillet and add corn starch to thicken. Once it comes to a boil pour over chicken dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

We added some crusty bread....YUM!

Luckily I redeemed myself (in his eyes) with some Oreo Truffles. This is kind of a cake bake recipe I found on Bakerella .

1 pkg Oreos

1 8 oz cream cheese

1 pkg white choc morsels

Process all but 6 or 7 Oreos in food processor. Combine with cream cheese and roll into balls. Place on wax paper for icing.

Process your last few Oreos for topping. Melt the whole package of white choc morsels on stove over medium heat. Constantly stir so they do not scorch.

Spoon over balls and top with Oreo crumbles! Refrigerate when dry and ENJOY!!! :)

Tonight I think I'll try Leanna's Gma's chicken spaghetti!!

Much Love
WB

That's no fish story...

Friday the Medical Center of Plano threw their employees a tent party! We placed top 10 (HCA wide) in the employee satisfaction survey. When I say tent party I mean air conditioned, tiki hut, non-alcoholic margaritas...the whole 9 yards. We even got a rolling cooler with speakers in the lid...awesome!!! The food was phenomenal so of course our whole accounting department stuffed our faces with all sorts of Caribbean style food.

Chris was off so when I talked to him after lunch I told him what a superb time we had and how completely stuffed I was. His tone suddenly changed when I said "We can have whatever you want for dinner because I'm not going to be hungry until tomorrow!"

I left work and headed to the grocery store to pick up some things for a brunch we were hosting on Saturday morning. When I came in this is what I saw.....

My sweet husband in the kitchen cooking me dinner! Not just any dinner...Orange Roughy and scallops with a corn relish!

Asparagus with a balsamic drip...

On top of Rice Pilaf!!! Talk about an aggressive recipe, I would have been totally intimidated! I think I'll let him take on cooking a few nights a week :) .

Saturday we had the cousins over for brunch. We try to get together every few months to keep up with what is going on with everyone. I didn't take any pictures of the food but everyone brought something, so we inhaled breakfast casserole, monkey bread, fruit, pigs in a blanket, mimosas, coffee....you name it!

Saturday night we went over to the Alexander's for a cookout! We had so much fun hanging out with old friends...too bad the game was a total downer! But I got a new dip recipe from Lex that I will def share once I attempt to make it myself. Thanks Lexi!!

Sunday morning we woke up and had coffee in bed and I decided to use the left over crescent rolls Elizabeth left for cinnamon rolls.

This is one of my dad's recipes...my FAVORITE! Yay for breakfast in bed!!! :)

Is it sad that I'm already counting down the days to the weekend?? At least Monday is OVER!!

Much Love,
WB