Mini Spinach Dip Bowls {Recipe}...oh and some ranting

So, I had some awesome plans to make some yummy superbowl food. Plans changed, big time. Congrats to the Packers! I was rooting for them!

Hubbs-to-be was sent on a job Sunday morning at 5:30am. He thought he would be home in time to have our lil party, which ended up being a pity party instead. Needless to say neither one of us were in good moods, and things just got worse.

We originally planned, since the beginning of the week, to have friends/family over. I was amidst making oreo balls, when I got a text from them saying that they would rather go over to someone else's house than come to ours. R.U.D.E....

{ Not only was this just some other friend's house, but this friend of theirs, is selfish, conceited, and well I don't understand her. I have avoided this woman so many times because I become an evil person whenever her name is brought up or when I see her. {literally, a fire lights up inside of me whenever I hear her name} She lives a lifestyle that I don't agree with, and I'd rather not be around people like that. Being around those kind of people rubs off on others, and I'm not about to let myself become anyone like her. I pray about this almost daily because my family/friends act oblivious to her lifestyle, and gossip about her. I don't want to be one of those people, I want to keep walking with our Lord, and in His word. I hate that I am judgemental and have a hard time forgiving people, but I'm seriously working on it. }

My feelings were severely hurt by my friends/family. I prayed amidst my extreme anger, when I realized that I was being that evil person again. I finally listened to God. Forgiveness is in the making. The man upstairs controls it all, and somewhere in all of this, there is a life lesson. I'm taking the following scripture to heart this evening as I'm writing this:

19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

As I'm writing this, it is now 3:00am on Monday morning. Brian is still on the job, and not expected to come home for hours. I plan on staying up. {yes, I'm crazy like that} I need some major time with God. I plan on doing my GMG James Bible Study for the week ahead tonight while I'm waiting on him to come home.

I had my pity party, and made some food, and now that I've ranted {gosh, I feel so much better}, it's on to the recipes I wanted to share.

I made Mini Spinach Dip Bowls, Oreo Balls, Mint Oreo Balls, Mexican 3-layer dip, and Chili. {I'll share the oreo ball recipes this week}. I ate everything but the Chili. Of course I only had a few of each, lol...I have ALOT of leftovers for whenever it is that hubbs-to-be comes home. The chili will be frozen for hubbs-to-be so he has food when he goes on jobs.

Mini Spinach Dip Bowls

this recipe is the modified version of Picky-Palate's Baked Spinach Dip Mini Bread Bowls

my modifications are in red, and I took a few things completely out to make things a little simpler, go see PP's version too!

13.2 oz roll of refrigerated french bread loaf,

1, 10oz box of frozen spinach, thawed and drained

2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

3 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 Cup light sour cream

2 Tablespoons fresh shredded parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

salt & pepper

1 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese-use 1/2 for sprinkling, and other 1/2 in the mixture

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 12 muffin cups with non stick cooking spray. Unroll package of french bread loaf and slice into 12 equal size slices, about 1 inch thick. Press each slice into about a 3 inch round, I did this by pressing in between my hands. Press into the bottom and up sides of the muffin cup. Set aside.

2. Place cream cheese, sour cream, cooked spinach and garlic, Parmesan Cheese, 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, Chili Powder, salt and pepper into a medium bowl. Mix until well combined. With a medium cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop dip into each of the centers of bread bowls. Top evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 15-17 minutes until just turning brown on edges. Remove and let cool for 3-5 minutes before removing from pan.

Makes 12 mini spinach dip bread bowls.

fresh out of the oven

ooey gooey, cheesy, and blissful mini bread bowls

*sneak peek of a new recipe*

Stay tuned! Off to go wash my eye out now, I touched it after washing my hands 10 times because I chopped jalapenos for the Chili.   God Bless,   Link Parties I'm participating in:

Good Morning Girls

Hey Gals,
If you haven't already learned that I joined Good Morning Girls' Winter Session, you do now!

I've been learning so much about our Lord through the GMG session and all of my new sisters on FB. We have a little group going and it is so convenient and amazing!

We are currently studying the Book of James over at GMG we have a Bible Study book club going on! James has such amazing words that are relevant to an everyday Christian life. It is the Christian how-to study guide. Read it, and I promise you, you will not be bored, and you won't regret it.

If you haven't taken a look at James, you should join our study! Visit GMG to learn all about it!

Here are my Week 1 observations, and we are currently on Week 2 and I will update those next week! There are a total of 12 weeks of study for James, which happens to be the same amount of time of our Winter Session.
On the top of each of my study notes, I've written one word to describe the verses learned. I've also made a list for the front of my binder that I write each word on for the 55 days we will be doing this (12th week doesn't have verses to study) Here are the ones I have so far, feel free to do the same.
{*I have the Life Application Study Bible NLT which has tons of information about each book of the bible, this is where I've found alot of information on James and his book.}

GMG Week 1: James 1:1-11

Joy
James1:1-2
James, *Jesus' brother, and leader in the Jerusalem Church, was a servant of God and wrote this letter(book of James) for Christians to follow. He lends important information to believers of Christ so that we are exposed to the appropriate Christian behavior.
The first that he tells us, is that when something does go "wrong" and we have troubles, which will inevitably happen, Christians need to take the opportunity to grow and gain joy. We shouldn't look at trouble as burden in life, but we should take it as a moment to strengthen our faith. A moment to become closer to God, which ultimately is a moment filled with joy!

Endurance
James 1:3-4
As a Christian, Satan often tempts us, but God often tests us. There is a difference. When God tests our faith in Him, we ultimately find a way back to Him. In these tests, we grow stronger in our faith. Our strength to continue(endurance) with life grows when we are tested. Once our endurance is complete, we won't need anything else, and will have complete and ultimate faith in God. Daily, our endurance, or strength to continue, is enough. We are constantly growing our love for Him in every moment.

Loyalty
James 1:5-6
God is generous. He wants us to ask Him of things, like wisdom. We may often need wisdom and we shouldn't be afraid to ask God for it. He will not deny us of our askings. When we ask for anything from God, we should be doing so full-heartedly with the Lord. Our faith should be in God alone, not divided. A person without full faith (divided loyalty) in God is unsettled, being ripped apart and thrown around by Satan. If we trust in our Lord with all of our heart and soul, Satan has a much harder time trying to destroy us.
Expectance
James 1:7-8
If you are unstable and not completely loyal to God, you should not expect him to do anything for you. God answers prayers and opens His arms to His loyal followers. Do not stray from God's word, or you will not receive anything from God.

Honor
James 1:9-11
If you are a follower of God, consider yourself blessed and if you are poor you should feel that God has honored you. You have more to boast about than the rich. The rich only have achievements and material things. The rich will fade away from only being humbled from what they have gained. Their possessions and acheivements will fade because they are humbled not honored. Be thankful that the Lord has blessed you. There is no need to boast for any reason. The lord honors the poor & humbles the rich. Be thankful for your blessings, your achievements, your possessions. Don't take the Lord's honor and humbling for granted.

This is what I have learned through week 1...week 2 is very powerful so far {temptations}. I'm loving this bible study and my new sisters! I am so blessed!

Have a blessed week, see you next time!

God Bless,
 

I am proud to say...

That there are 2 new things I'm starting this year!

First of all, I started a facebook page for my GMG winter 2011 group. There are 11 of us total so far! If you are interested in a women's accountability group for quiet times with God, check out my post about joining...PLEASE Join Me...

Second, I have been thinking about new blog challenges and such. I found this wonderful challenge from a friend on facebook, she posted a link to the original host of the challenge, and is participating. I am joining in!

It's called Project 365. You take at least one picture EVERY DAY of the year! So I started on January 4, and will end next January 4th. Honestly, if I get in a routine of this, I might just take a picture every day for the rest of my life if I stick to it...lol

They have tons of suggestions, and since I have an iPhone with a great camera on it, it's simple and convenient for me to take a picture daily. I'm posting the pics to a private facebook album by date for myself to look at. I may eventually make it public. You don't have to look at my fb album though, because I will be posting my pics on a weekly basis here on my blog!

How awesome will it be in 1 year, to see what my life was like today! I will be a wife to wonderfully amazing man in a year from now, and there are so many things to look forward to. I am so excited about this challenge!

I encourage you to join me in this fun filled journey over the next year! If I get enough followers commenting on this post, *hint hint* then I will add a linkup eventually so people can join me, and we can all see each other's lives through pictures!

I will post every MONDAY, the pictures from the previous week in chronological order. Be looking for a post on this coming Monday for the pics!

As I leave for the night, focus your prayers on the victims and their families of the Arizona shooting. Our world has been flipped upside down in this past week with shootings in schools, malls and now in front of grocery stores.  Pray and be grateful for what you have today, because tomorrow it could be taken away from you in a split second!

***Project 365 is in no way my creation. The original creator is linked above. ***

God Bless,
 

Hello 2011!

Good Morning!

What a beautiful first day of 2011 it is in Texas today! The sun is sparkling, the weather is nice and cool. Everyone is in a great mood for the new year ahead.

I know its been a while since I've posted. The holiday season took over my life for the past 2 weeks.

I'm starting the year fresh with confidence and faith, why should I start it any different? I'm getting MARRIED this year!

If you would like to join me for the Good Morning Girls Winter Session of faith accountability, read my post on the session here.

Brian spent the NYE in Pecos, TX on a job. We got to ring in the new year via cell phones. I counted down on the phone along with my family and we all rang out "Happy New Year"! It's sad that we didnt get to ring in the new year with a kiss, but it is what it is, and God has a reason. I just have to be confident in God's plan for us.

Here are some recent pics from the holidays...see you soon!

Our sad Christmas tree...but I loved it

Tori girl and Brian on a road trip the day after Christmas

Brian @ McBrides in Austin...this was his Christmas present...a Weatherby Vanguard .270 Sub MOA...another one for his collection of rifles

Me and my mom on NYE! Happy 2011

Tori and Brian again

On the road trip to JC before NYE

On NYE! serious this time

Christmas tree in JC at the PEC lights

More lights from PEC

God Bless,

Please JOIN ME!

Hey all! I am putting together a group over at Good Morning Girls for the Winter GMG Session that kicks off on January 15th. If you haven't heard of this before, read here for more information.

I would love for anyone to join me in a group I have started. So far there are 5 of us who have joined and we would love to have more members!

This group is basically a group of women who want to grow spiritually with each other. They contact each other every week day via facebook/twitter, email, text, phone call, etc. Each member of the group holds the others accountable for the strengthening of their own spiritual growth with our Lord.

I'm new at this GMG session deal, however, I am so excited to have some accountability for furthering my spiritual growth with Christ. If you would like to join, email me, facebook/twitter me. {aboyd.txdanscr(at)yahoo(dot)com}.  I will need your info like your Name, City & State, Facebook/twitter info, email, blog/website address.

Hope to hear from you all soon...and p.s. new blogs are coming up...I have a whole list of ideas/posts that will coming up in the near future! Hope everyone has had a blessed Christmas and New Year holiday season.

God Bless,