Chicken Stew

By Jason


Lacey and I enjoy cooking together. With some of my Christmas spending money, I bought a new cookbook, Jamie’s Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver. We’re committed to trying one new recipe per week, and, already, we’ve had a few recipes (sweet potato and chorizo soup, macaroni and cheese with cauliflower, and baked carrots).

Yesterday, Lacey made a chicken stew recipe (with a sliced potato topping) from the new cookbook, and it turned out really well. We had enough to make a serving dish full and a little dish to stick in the freezer.

We had a few of our own twists. The recipe called for white wine, but since we don’t keep that on hand, we used apple juice (you can also use white grape juice). The stew was supposed to have 2 medium onions, but we almost always reduce the onion in recipes. We like to use dry spices, instead of buying fresh herbs. The trick is to use 1 teaspoon of dry spice for every 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs.

Jamie Oliver encourages his readers to teach four people how to cook some of their favorite recipes from the cookbook. Since there’s about four of you reading this post, I’ll include the recipe at the bottom of this post.

We’ll keep you updated on our progress through the cookbook. So far, I would recommend the book to others. For us, it’s a good mix of things we’ll obviously enjoy and some things that will be experimental.


Basic Chicken Stew

2 stalks celery
2 medium onions (we used 1)
2 carrots
Olive oil
1 heaped tablespoon of all-purpose floor
1 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper (to taste)
3 sprigs of fresh thyme (we used about 2 teaspoons of dried thyme)
1 pound diced, boneless, skinless chicken
2 cups white wine (we used 2 cups of apple juice)

Roughly chop celery and onions (we prefer to finely chop them). Peel and roughly chop carrots. Heat 2-3 tablespoons over medium heat in a large pot, and sauté celery, onions, and carrots for 10 minutes. Stir in chicken, flour, wine/apple sauce, and canned tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1.5 hours. Remove the lid during the final half hour; if the stew appears dry, add a splash of water.

Hot-pot Topping

1.25 lbs of medium potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
.5 stick of butter
Dried thyme

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel and boil potatoes whole for ten minutes. Drain potatoes and cool for 5 minutes. Slice potatoes length-wise in .25-inch slices and lay over stew in an oven-safe pan. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook in the oven for 40 minutes.

Redeeming the Commute

(by Jason)

In May 2008, Lacey and I decided to move closer to our church, Auburndale Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Since I work east of Louisville and our church is more in the southwestern part of Louisville, this move meant a longer commute to work. I spend approximately 100 minutes per day driving to and from work.

Actually, I enjoy the driving time. It certainly helps that most people commute the opposite direction! But I also enjoy “pleasure listening”: audio books, new music, sermons, and, even, NPR.

I have become lazy in my commute, though. Now, I spend a lot of time listening to sports radio or radio surfing. I realized recently how I am wasting away what could be productive time.

So, join me along I-265 and I-64, as I learn to redeem the commute. Expect a few posts a week, and maybe even a few ideas for maximizing your commute time.

The Many Faces of Riley

by Lacey

Big eyes.  Big mouth.  I'm afraid she's going to take after me.

Gotta love the tongue shot.

Sweet Riley.

This one is a good teeth shot.  She has four now!

I think this one is my favorite.  It always makes me giggle.

The scrunched up face is a new skill.

Adkins Life Update

So much has been going on since our last post that I don’t even know where to begin. Washington, D.C. was fun, but kind of crazy. More to come on that from Jason soon.

The weekend after we got back from D.C., we went to Tennessee to see my best friend from high school as Belle in a production of Beauty and the Beast. She was amazing! She was definitely the star of the show. She’s planning on moving to New York next year, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for her!










Before we headed back to Louisville, we had lunch with Jason’s parents. They definitely enjoyed the Riley time, and Kathy even received a Riley kiss (right), which is a rare occurrence!

Riley is not crawling on hands and knees yet, but she still manages to get wherever she wants to go. She has a very mobile army crawl, elbows and knees, and she scoots and rolls everywhere else. She also officially has two teeth. We just found them yesterday; they are the two middle teeth on the bottom. No pics of the teeth yet, but here are a couple of recent ones.

Jason is in a Fantasy Football league with some guys from church, and we went to one of their houses for them to do a live draft. Below is a picture of Riley with Ally, a little girl from church. Riley is wearing the Titans uniform my mom got her. I'm not really a football fan, but Riley looked really cute in her cheerleading uniform!

Some friends of ours, the Moores, are moving to west Tennessee. Brent is the new Minister of Students at First Baptist Milan. Since he went down there right away to begin his new job, Courtney had some packing to do on her own. I took this picture the day I went to help her do a little packing. We're really going to miss the Moores in Louisville. Their move has reminded us to be more diligent in spending time with our friends who still live in Louisville.

my baby, an Addiction?

by Lacey


In a recent article on MSN, Martha Brockenbrough compares a woman's desire to have multiple children to an addiction. She explains that the reasons a woman decides to have a child are the same reasons that she might succumb to alcoholism or other addictions. She dubs them "bumpaholics," in reference to the baby bump.

"The Belly-Rubbing High"
http://health.msn.com/pregnancy/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100243083&page=1

What a shame that bearing children has been reduced to an addiction akin to alcoholism, that wanting to be a mother means one has a serious disease of inadequacy, that being "only a mom" is something of which to be ashamed. Why cannot loving and caring for one's children be a natural, wonderful responsibility, a worthy occupation? Why cannot one's motivation to become pregnant (or pregnant again) be simply because she loves her husband and wants to have a family with him? Can a woman not enjoy being pregnant without being accused of having an unhealthy, financially restricting, earth-destroying, society-imposing addiction?


Addiction!?! Is this woman truly implying that having children is like an obsession with drugs? I'm not sure I even have the words to address that implication. Frankly, it's preposterous and degrading! I refuse to be compared to a drug addict or an alcoholic.

I adore my daughter, but not because I yearn for the attention she gets me or because I have a self-worth issue. Do not mistake me. I do have a self-worth issue. The issue is that on my own, I am worthless; however, my daughter is unable to heal that. She is unable to even put a band-aid on it. Only one person can remedy my self-worth issue, and it is not myself as so many would lead one to believe. It is Jesus the Christ.

You have heard it repeatedly, but how true it is. We live in a fallen world. A world that demeans the value of human life in every possible way. A world where children are not beautiful blessings, but rather inconveniences, financial burdens, addictions. They are things that can be purchased, sold, collected, or thrown away at one's discretion. How horrifying!

Do we as believers of the Gospel show those who believe this way that we value human life... pregnancy, children, family? How do we do it? Is it simply by defying them and living our lives in our little bubbles? Is it by holding a sign up in front of an abortion clinic? Is it by praying for them? How?

I'd like to know what you think.

How Much Weight Will Jason Gain in DC?

On Saturday, I will fly out to Washington, DC, to participate in a two-week grant review. The review process is a pretty sweet deal. The Department of Health and Human Services is paying for travel, hotel arrangements, meals, and a nice stipend.

I’m really excited about one aspect of the review process: dinner. Reviewers will be reimbursed for dinner expenses up to, get this, $31 per night.

Now, I LOVE to eat out. Lacey and I don’t eat out much together because of money; so, eating out every night for two weeks is an appealing prospect.

$31 dollars a night, though, seems a bit excessive. Lacey and I rarely spend that much together! After perusing a few online menus, I can tell you $31 per night is not outrageous for DC.

Perhaps, this rare occasion affords us the opportunity for our first interactive Adkins family blog competition. I will weigh myself the night before I leave for DC and the night after I return from DC. Guess the two-week weight differential and post your guess in our comments section (e.g., +10.5 lbs, -5 lbs).

The guess that comes closest to the weight differential (within the nearest half-pound) will merit a special DC-related prize for the winning weight-prognosticator. Guesses must be logged by 11:59:59 EST August 7, 2009.

Here are a few variables worth considering while determining your guess (yes, singular guess, one per person please).

1. It is likely that my method of transportation to restaurants will consist of my own two legs. Many of the restaurants I’m considering are within a 4 block area of the hotel.

2. For those wanting to scan potential menus, I will be staying at the Madison Hotel in DC. Be advised: I don’t like fish.

3. $31 per night may seem quite exorbitant, but I’ve seen several restaurants where a simple pasta dish and a drink (non-alcoholic) will be pushing my reimbursement level.

4. When budget allows, I will definitely be ordering dessert. A few of my favorite desserts include banana pudding, key lime pie, bread pudding, and vanilla ice cream. Also, I will probably consume sodas and coffee, when budget allows.

For the purpose of full disclosure, you should know that this grant competition, including the grant review, is funded by the stimulus package (a.k.a., the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009).

So, while the data may be inconclusive as to whether or not your hard earned stimulus dollars are stimulating the economy, they certainly will be stimulating my waistline!

Adkins Life Update

I thought I'd give an update of what's going on these days and include a few recent pics of Riley!

Jason is off of work for three whole weeks! Sounds like a nice vacation right? Not quite.

This week he is taking a week-long summer course at Southern. Then, this Saturday he leaves to go to Washington D.C. to spend two weeks reviewing grants. During the first week of his D.C. adventure, Riley and I are going to go to Tennessee for a few days to spend some time with the grandparents. Then during the second week, we're taking a road trip up to see Jason! We decided that two weeks was just a little too long to spend apart if we could help it! Hopefully, we'll all get to do a little sight-seeing before Jason drives back with us at the end of the second week.

Jason will stay busy while he's there, but if he does have spare time, he will be pretty conveniently located - two blocks away from the White House! If you think to, say a word of prayer for safe travel and visits for all of us.

Riley is growing and changing constantly. She currently weighs about 14 to 14.5 pounds. She rolls all over the place. You can place her on one side of the room, and she'll roll to the other side. She makes all sorts of cute noises, including the traditional goo goos and gaa gaas. Jason and I are still battling for the first word, Mama or Dada. She smiles a lot, but she outright refuses to cuddle! We love her to pieces and find such joy in all of her little accomplishments!

I am spending my days taking care of Riley, doing some housework, and crafting a little bit. My current crafting goals include working on Riley's quilt and finishing up the tons of works-in-progress that I rediscovered while organizing my work space. Here's to emptying the storage container full of half-completed projects!

Here are a couple of pics from the weekend we went home for Fourth of July. It was the first time that some of my family members got to meet Riley! In the first picture is my Uncle Larry, my Granny holding Riley, and me. In the second picture is my cousin Angel who is expecting her little bundle (Catalina Jolie) on her birthday, July 31st!

Here are of couple of snapshots from an evening we spent with the Goulds. Emily is about 12 weeks pregnant so she is brushing up on her baby skills. In the second picture, you see her son Austin giving Riley a hug. He seems to like her quite a bit as long as she isn't scratching and pinching him (which she tends to do a lot)!