Encouraging Treats

My eldest sister and I usually pass by the grocery after going to church on Sundays. But yesterday, we decided to go home instead. I actually wanted to go and buy new ingredients at the supermarket, but somehow, God encouraged me to save money by skipping the additional expense. I remember getting a bit disappointed because I wanted to cook something new for our merienda and I couldn’t then, because our ingredients at home weren’t “enough”.

Nonetheless, I went around our kitchen and looked for ingredients that I could possibly use. After a few minutes, I found a frozen chicken breast in our mini freezer, eggs, milk, cherry tomatoes, unsalted butter, and some leftovers (less than 1 ½ cups of flour, a few pieces of iceberg lettuce, and sliced mangoes). While I was looking at the ingredients, I suddenly thought of making waffles with chicken.

Actually, I’ve never made savory waffles before, but because I didn’t feel like having waffles for dessert yesterday, I said to myself “Why not? I’ll give it a try.”

While I was preparing the ingredients, I began to appreciate what I had. Although some of them were leftovers, they were still pretty good and useful. Moreover, by God’s grace, I was able to use some of our fragrant and fresh herbs (Basil and Oregano) in the veranda and a few cherry tomatoes which were recently harvested. In less than 30 minutes, I was able to prepare a new snack for me and my sister!

God used that moment to humble me and encourage me to constantly have a grateful heart and a resourceful mind. Many times, I focus too much on “not having enough” of certain things (in and out of the kitchen) and because of this, I end up getting disappointed even more. I even remember the time when I was just thinking of starting a blog (about two years ago), I was discouraged to pursue it because I thought that if I didn’t have a DLSR camera, the photos in my blog wouldn’t look nice and it would affect the blog’s quality. But God gently rebuked me and encouraged me to focus my heart on Him and maximize the resources he has given me. I realized that I didn’t need that camera. I needed God.

I wrote this on my journal last February 29, 2012 while I was thinking about blogging: “But you spoke to me Lord and you reminded me to use what I have now (simple digital camera, old laptop, some kitchen tools and equipment…). Just like how you used the two fish and five loaves of bread and multiplied them to feed thousands, I know that you can use whatever I have right now to glorify you, if it’s your will.”

By God’s grace, He has been faithful in providing for my blogging needs since I started. :)

Hebrews 13:5 says: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

I really enjoyed making the savory waffles. God knew that I wanted to do something different this time and He allowed me to do so even with leftover ingredients! He also gave me a bonus by helping me save the money that I was supposed to spend at the grocery yesterday. Thank You, Lord, for this savory treat! :)

RECIPE (Good for 1-2)

Ingredients:

1-2 Chicken breasts

salt & pepper

unsalted or salted butter

Dried Spices: (1 tbsp) Chili powder, (1/2 tbsp) paprika, (1/2 tbsp.) cumin powder, fresh oregano and basil leaves

a few slices of ripe mangoes and cherry tomatoes

lettuce

Grated cheese

Waffle mix*

*Waffle mix:

3/4 cup flour + 2 tbsp. of flour

pinch of salt

1 tbsp. of sugar

3/4 cup milk + 2 tbsp. of milk

1/2 tbsp. baking powder

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup canola oil

Steps:

1. Pat dry the chicken breasts and rub the dried spices on them.

2. In a small bowl, mix the fresh herbs and butter until well combined. Rub on the spiced chicken breasts.

3. Fry the chicken and set aside.

4. Cook the waffles on a waffle maker.

5. Slice the cooked waffles into two.

6. Assemble the waffle sandwich by adding the chicken, tomatoes, mango, lettuce, and cheese on one side.

7. Cover the sandwich with the other half of the waffle. Serve and enjoy!

Encourage yourself one treat at a time. :)