Nightshade Free Chicken Tortilla Casserole Recipe for Dinner on the Ground Potluck

What does a recipe have to do with Church of Christ Women Authors? Well, there are several cookbook writers on here, and each of us at some point are going to have to cook a dish for a potluck dinner. So, I thought I'd start sharing some of my favorite recipes. (It was my mom's suggestion -- great idea Mom!) Look for the tab at the top of the page called Dinner on the Ground Recipes for a complete list of recipes. I'll be adding to them as often as I can.

So, let's turn our attention to food! I love potlucks. I enjoy spending time with my Christian family, and getting to know everyone a little bit better, but I hate trying to figure out what I'm going to fix to eat.  This is partly because I suffer from serious food allergies, and making food is always a challenge, because I want it to be appealing to those without food allergies. (My family loves potluck because they can eat all the things we don't have in the house!)

Because of the food allergies I am constantly having to rewrite my favorite recipes. Eventually, I'm going to write my own cookbook for those who suffer with nightshade allergies. A few days ago I finally remembered a casserole dish that I used to make all the time for my family and decided I would make it nightshade free. I believe it's also gluten-free, but please double check before you cook it. (Those with gluten allergies know this much better than I do!)

Nightshade Free Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
1 white onion
1 stick butter
1 can sliced mushrooms, or  1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms!
1 quart whipping cream
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
1/4 cup Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Extra virgin olive oil
1 bag tortilla chips
1 Tbs cumin (I sometimes use more)
Cilantro, optional
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Dice the onion and place it in a sauce pan. Add butter, and cook over a medium heat until the onions are transparent. Add one drained can of sliced mushrooms, whipping cream and 1/4 cup Braggs Liquid Aminos to the saucepan. (This is basically a homemade cream of mushroom soup.) Stir often.

Add salt, pepper and 1 Tsp of garlic powder to the soup mixture and then turn the heat to warm.

Add 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil to a large skillet. Cut the chicken breasts into chunks and place them in the skillet. Cook until golden brown. Then transfer them to a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish.

Crush the tortilla chips while they are still in the bag and then pour the crushed chips over the chicken.

Pour the cream of mushroom soup over the chips and chicken. Sprinkle 1 Tbs of cumin over the mixture, add cilantro if you'd like and stir. (I like a lot of cilantro, but I am a Texas girl.)

Sprinkle the mixture with 2-cups of cheddar cheese. (Please note that store-bought shredded cheese does contain potato starch, so you might want to grate your own.)

Bake for 30 minutes at 450 degrees.


I hope you like this recipe and the new Dinner on the Ground Segment of Church of Christ Women Authors.
--Susan

For information about nightshades click: here.

Every Flaw Every Perfection December Book of the Month (BOM) by Susan Elliott

Click the image for more info.

"Every Flaw Every Perfection is a beautiful collection of poetry. It features romantic poetry, poems about day to day life, and a special poem written for Carl Amidon called "Picking Wildflowers." This is the fourth collection of poetry written by Susan Elliott. These poems are poems of the heart; including one in Gaelic with an English translation." (Amazon)

Words cannot express how much I love this collection of poetry. It is one of my favorites. Each poem included was written for a specific purpose and truly exposes the inner workings of my heart. I hope you enjoy it.

This month I will be sharing some of my favorite poems that are found within the book instead of giving you a definitive reading schedule. Poetry should be enjoyed and read in your own time. Every Flaw Every Perfection is available in ebook and paperback.

Poetry 

Poetry; what is this thing called poetry?
Is it mere words consisting of syllables,
symbolism, and meter, or is it more?

Poetry: What is this thing called poetry?

Is it something your high school English teacher
spoon feeds you as you kick and scream?

Poetry; What IS this thing called poetry?

It is the sound or rain.
It is a first kiss.
It is the boom-thump of your favorite song.

It is birth, it is death, and it is everything in
between.

Poetry is.

And that is what makes it beautiful.

(c) Susan Elliott

Is Your Easy Button Destroying Your Faith? Guest Post by Monica Mynk

(c) Susan Elliott

By: Monica Mynk

More and more I’m becoming convinced that Satan’s greatest weapon against us is time. It’s attacking us from every angle. No time to spend with our children, so they raise themselves on electronics. No time to plan and cook healthy meals, so we overeat unhealthy processed foods. No time to pursue deeper faith, so we cling to shallow Facebook memes founded on opinion rather than truth.

Most are familiar with Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, where everything is assigned its time. I think a lot of people stop there and fail to read on. I’ve thought about this passage a lot lately, in verses 9-13

What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is  the gift of God.

Then, skipping down to verse 22:

So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

IMHO, we’ve become a generation of completers. Check this off our list, knock that off the plans, finish this project… But we often sacrifice quality for convenience.

In reading these scriptures, I have to ask myself these questions.

Am I completing my God-given task? Do I even know what it is?
Do I rejoice in my life’s work?
Do I accept the fruit of my labor as a gift from God?
When I focus so much on completing and search for my “easy button” quick fix, I think the answer to each question has to be no. I say this to the first because God has warned me that serving him will not be the wide, easy path. If I’m trying to take shortcuts in every avenue of my life, how can I possibly serve Him to satisfaction?

As to the second question, the problem with a completion-oriented life is that as soon as you finish one thing on the list, you immediately shift your focus to the next thing. This is true even if that list is comprised of your service to God. How can you rejoice in something when you don’t take the time to reflect on it and appreciate how you’ve grown in the process?

And, to truly answer the third question, I have to ask myself if I’m satisfied with the outcome of my labor. How many times do we finish something only to declare it “not good enough” or “subpar?” My work is my heritage, and the fruit of my labor comes from God. A gift. As in not from me to myself. If I’ve put my all into something, using my God-given talents to the best of my ability, then my work should meet His expectations. How dare I call a gift from God unworthy?

Maintaining faith is not easy. God never intended it to be. The only way to keep it strong is continual service through Him.

So, rather than relying on my “easy button,” I need to remember 1 Corinthians 10:31 and do everything to the glory of God, taking the higher quality, more challenging path. In doing so, I think we’ll find it much easier to grow our faith.