40 Days and One Recipe

Welp, today is the start of Lent for those of us who observe it. I must admit, I'm pretty darn excited. It's been a while since I've had the ashes placed on my forehead and it certainly symbolizes a lot to me this year. I love periods of time that challenge me to become better.

In previous years, I've always taken a different approach to Lent - a time of self-examination, self-denial, and amendment of life. Instead of giving up a food or sweet something, I always decided to pray more. I wanted that period of self-reflection. So, in addition to praying every night, for the next 40 days [and hopefully after that], I will be starting every morning off with a meditation, a prayer of thanks, a prayer for peace.

Prior to this Ash Wednesday, I also decided there were some things I wanted to give up. Things that, with time, had lost a lot of importance in my life. I knew that what little time I was being spent with those things could be spent somewhere much more worthy of my time. So, those things have been gone from my life and I haven't looked back since :)

Now, where were we? Ah, yes... speaking of becoming better. Since the move to San Diego, I've been challenging myself to try a bunch of new recipes. When I went home for Christmas, one of the appetizer dishes I decided to make was stuffed celery. 

Here's what you'll need:

[This makes 16 servings]

+ 1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese, softened

+ 2 tablespoons sour cream

+ 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

+ 20 green olives with pimento, chopped

+ 1 bunch celery, cut into bite-size pieces

And here's all you have to do:

In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese and sour cream. Stir in the walnuts and chopped olives. Spread filling onto the celery pieces. It's also good on crackers.

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I found the recipe over here while scouring the boards for tasty treats. My sister-in-law who doesn't love olives even liked the stuffed celery. Shoot, I'd even spread that stuff on sliced cucumbers. Yum! Super easy to make and just the perfect finger food! Last Christmas, I made spinach balls and they were a hit as well!

In the spirit of Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras earlier this week, I made Shrimp Jambalaya and, I must say, aside from my chocolate chip cookies, it is THE greatest dish I've made! Hungry now? Go make some stuffed celery ;)

I can't wait to see what positive changes will take place in these next 40 days and all the fantastic new recipes I've yet to try :)