thankfultwenty. [Slow Cooker Beef&&Broccoli]

Nicole's Official Thankful 20.
It's the small things. :)

[Thankful for this crazy kid!] 

1.  Going pee BY MYSELF.  If this ever happens it's a miracle, a joyous miracle. A shower is even more awesome.

2.  When the Wii remotes actually have batteries.  This is a rare and elusive thing.  If they don't have working batteries I then try to rotate the same 6 batteries hoping some combo of 2 will magically work.

3.  Free stuff.  Anything free makes me pretty happy.  Things to do with the kids, free food, free baby-sitting.  I'll take it all.  And the best?  Free coffee of course.

4.  When you get a really good lock screen/wallpaper combo on your cellphone.  Yeah, that makes me happier than it probably should.

5.  Unsolicited advice.  I really love when a stranger tells me something I don't want to hear or care their opinion about.  Oh, the baby's too old to breastfeed?  You don't think my carrier is safe?  Actually that was a joke.  Please leave me alone.

6. Mom time.  I am so grateful to have such an awesome husband that is always encouraging me to take a little time for myself.  Trips to Target, coffee with a friend, a nap.  All awesome.  I love him so much for that.

7. The "ignore" button on my cell phone.  It's not that I'm trying to ignore you, I swear, I mean I acknowledged that you're calling me by hitting ignore. Right? ;)

8. Pacifiers!  Tulip is a pacifier baby, just like her big sister Lily.  Those little inventions have saved many a Mom [&Dad] hours of crying.

9. E-mail.  That way if I have something I need to say to you that's too formal to text but I'm really avoiding having to talk to you about than I can e-mail you!  Problem solved.

10.  Potlucks.  Cook one thing and you magically have a whole meal with lots of options!  Hopefully some of them are semi-decent.

[Thankful for my new Kitchen-Aid!  Thank you Mama!]

11. Coastal.com.  Free glasses?  Yes, please!  Without them I would be rocking 3 year old glasses with a super weak prescription or ripped contacts that I'm sure would be eating my eyes alive.
If you want a pair just use the code: FIRSTPAIRFREE  Your welcome!

12. Bobby pins.  Without them I would probably cut my bangs off in a fit of rage one day.

13. Group texts.  When I can't be with my best friends I can at least harass both of them via text about watching Magic Mike at noon on a Tuesday.

14. Airplanes.  Without them I would never get to see my extended family.  At least not without an 8 day boat ride.

15.  Pinterest.  I'm sorry I love it so much, I just do.  I have a rad shirt that says, "Keep Calm and Pin Something" I'm that cool.

16. Tom Hardy.  Especially in Lawless when he's wearing a cardigan.  Yeah, pretty much.

17. That I'm not in The Walking Dead and I don't have to listen to Andrea & Dale every minute of the day.  Two most annoying people EVER.  I hope the walkers get you!

18. Magic erasers.  Otherwise my kid's wouldn't get to use the walls as their own personal coloring pages.  Oh, there not supposed to do that?  Could have fooled me.

19. Cloth diapers. Thank you for saving us ridiculous amounts of money every month & covering cute butts in the process.

20. Breaking Dawn Part II.  Not because it was so good but because I can finally stop making Andy take me to see them and we can do something different for our anniversary than watch the world's most ridiculous love triangle made square.

I know this was supposed to be a Thanksgiving thing but I've been kind of grumpy lately.  Shit has been going wrong, life has been frustrating and hard but I need to remind myself there is SO much to be thankful for.  The big & the little.  Thank you God for it all. <3

And now I leave you with this tasty recipe for.....

Slow Cooker Beef & Broccoli 

1 cup Beef Broth

2 tbs. Sesame Oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lb. sirloin, cut into strips

1 16. oz. package Broccoli Florets

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

2 tbs. Corn Starch

White Rice for Serving

[1] In a bowl whisk together beef broth and cornstarch.  Pour into slow cooker.

[2] Add sesame oil, garlic, brown sugar & soy sauce to slow cooker.  Mix well.

[3] Add in sirloin.  Cover and cook on high 6 hours or low 8 hours.

[4] Add broccoli florets, mix and cook an additional 30-40 minutes depending 

on how done you like your broccoli! 

[5] Serve over steamed rice! 

The Kramped Kitchen.

I really wanted to title this blog The Kramped Kitchen.

I really thought it reminded me too much of the Kardashians.  But then I thought, they don't own the letter K, they can't just claim it and act like they thought of changing the C into a K for everything first!

I probably thought about it a little too much, so yeah.....in the end I won.  It's a Kramped Kitchen kind of blog!

We live in a small home.  Really an apartment, which I have never wanted.  I'm not an apartment person, I don't like having rules, I like yards & parties & space.  I like being able to park and then walk into my front door with two flights of stairs in my way.  But alas, I know now, I don't always get my way.  Our home is small but it is OUR home.  Wherever I am with my family is where I want to be.

Our home does resemble a docked ship, it's small, doesn't really have windows, just small port hole type things where I hope to get a glimpse of sunshine or a gust of air.

It's not perfect but is there anything in this life that is?  We're here in Hawaii doing mission work for our church, work that we love doing and feel called to do.  For that work we are blessed enough to get free rent & utilities.  So before I complain I try to think about how blessed we are to be in this place, together, doing God's work.  If that isn't a life I want to lead then I'm not sure what is.

But our kitchen is small.  For sure, luckily I love a good challenge!  I can cook and bake with the best of them with what I have.  And up until less than 2 weeks ago I didn't even have my own oven and stove.  I used an electric wok and a big toaster oven for everything.  Sometimes it takes not having something to remind you to be grateful for those things you do have.

But now I do have an oven & stove.  Hallelujah!  Albeit, a 3 burner stove, but no matter.  I just use the empty slot to hold my utensils jar.  It works out for everyone.  We don't know how long we'll be here or where God will take us next but I will rejoice no matter how hot the day with no air conditioning, how small the bathroom or how we don't have full walls between our room and the kids, seriously.

Above:  My kitchen "nook" area.  Our back door that leads to a fire escape.  Chalkboard for a menu that I never change so it's never true.  The toy box has all the kids books in it.  Also doubles as a pantry area.  Flour. Sugar. Potatoes. Etc.

Side:  My main, ok only, cooking prep area!  Also where I bake.  My mixer just stays right there.  My wonderful husband hooked up extension cords to the island so I can use my mixer there.  I also usually have my iPad on it's little kitchen stand that I got for my birthday so I can reference recipes....or FB while I work. 

My awesome pot rack right above me, I have to be careful tho cause if I put the wrong pans in the wrong spots I hit my head a lot.  Coffee maker fish tank.  Spices from Trader Joe's.  

Thank you Mom!

I love it.  My little kramped kitchen.  I belong here. 

Today I loved it so much I didn't want to leave.  Deep cleaned it a bit, top of the fridge, under the sink kind of cleaning.  

Baked blueberry cupcakes with Maple Brown Butter frosting.

Made roasted artichokes & Baked Lemon Pasta for dinner.  So good.  My kitchen is definitely small, but as cheesy as it sounds it is full of love. <3

Roasted Artichokes

[These remind me of home, wild artichokes grown along the Delta.  

But I'm sorry to say, Manny's, these are better than yours!]

You need:

Artichokes

Garlic

Lemon Juice

Olive Oil

[1] Prep your artichokes.  Trim the bottoms so they lay flat and trim the tops of the leaves so they're not all pokey.  Scissors work best for the top part.

[2] Spread the leaves a part a bit so you can get flavor inside.

[3] Drizzle with olive oil and squeeze half a lemon over each artichoke.

[4] Slice a clove of garlic thinly and poke into different parts of the artichoke.

Season the whole thing with sea salt.

[5] Wrap tightly in foil.

[6] Place artichokes on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees F for an hour.

Unwrap and enjoy!

I suggest serving them with a lemon mayo or some melted butter.  Tasty!