New Beginnings and Numana

Wow! This past year has been FULL OF CHANGE...

1. God woke me up to the world around me.

2. God called me to Go

3. I went back to work

After spending a year at home with babies, I went back to work at ReachLocal in December. And just a few days ago, I began my journey working, full-time, with a hunger relief organization I have served with in the past. Numana is an organization that is close to my heart- so it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up! I had no idea that getting back into the swing of professional life was just preparation for new beginnings with Numana. I couldn't be more excited to serve with the Numana team in the fight against hunger!

Weston and I with Lindsay and Stan from Numana

So-- I'm writing to tell you a little bit about it. Will you join me in serving the starving? Will you help me spread the word about who we are and what we do? 

Who is Numana?

Numana is a hunger relief organization- we partner with churches, universities and businesses to host food packaging events where people of all ages and backgrounds come together and package thousands of meals. The meals are then boxed up, put on a truck, and we ship the food to partners all over the world- often to schools, orphanages, or disaster relief. We also distribute food domestically through local food banks. 

Why Numana?

After seeing pictures of a Numana event on Facebook, our church in Shreveport wanted in on the fun! We hosted our first Numana event, and it was actually the first Numana event in Louisiana. It was an incredible service experience for the church body, but for me- it was so much more! 

3D1L - Thank You from Brookwood Baptist Church on Vimeo.

It was through our "3 Dimes One Life" event that God challenged me to go see what life was like for others around the world. When we discovered the ministry in Rwanda that would receive the food we packaged, God called me and the church equipped me to GO. Numana opened door for a new missions partnership with Africa New Life Ministries where the people at Brookwood Baptist Church provided sponsorship for over 100 kids in Rwanda- something that will help them go to school and receive meals.

None of this would have happened without Numana. So when they approached me and asked if I wanted to join their team of 6 people, I said "ABSOLUTELY!"

How Can You Help?

1. WATCH THE VIDEO
Watch the ABOUT NUMANA video and learn about the global hunger problem and think about ways you can help serve those in need.

2. HELP ME SPREAD THE WORD
Would your church or business want to know more about this? I'd love to connect with them and answer any questions they have. Can you help me make that connection? Just send an email to your pastor/friends/co-workers introducing me and Numana and copy me (lindsaybrown@numanainc.com)

3. PARTICIPATE IN AN EVENT 
Would you like to participate or lead a Numana event? Let's make it happen!

Rwandan School Children lined up to receive their lunch- a huge bowl of Numana food!

Crock Pot Mania

After seeing about a zillion things on Pinterest about how easy and inexpensive it can be to feed your family on crock pot meals-- I decided to give it a try.

Photo Source

I prepared a total of 7 crock pot freezer meals in about 1 hour. You basically do your shopping, prepare each recipe in a gallon sized freezer bag, freeze and when you're ready- toss it in the crock pot for dinner.

So far we've had three crock pot meals and, although they're a far cry from Weston's normal gourmet cooking, they were easy, healthy and pretty tasty.

Here's what I made: (sources and recipes linked below)
Chicken Curry (x2)
Beef Burritos
Garlic Honey Chicken
Teriyaki Pork Chops
Hawaiian Chicken
Chicken Fajitas


Chicken curry recipe found here.
All other 5 recipes found here.

Pros:
1. It truly was inexpensive and easy to prepare everything.  1 shopping trip, 1 hour to prepare, 7 meals.
2. I love knowing exactly what is in each dish.  Meat, veggies, seasoning.  That's about it.
3. Aubrey is able to eat everything prepared.
4. Almost every recipe we have tried so far has provided enough for dinner and lunch the next day.

Cons:
1. Eating your dinner out of a crock pot every night can be pretty boring.  We got tired of it and ended up making yummy granola banana pancakes one night, even though we had a meal all heated up and ready to go.
2. Too mushy.  Since I only prepared recipes that included meat and veggies-- everything pretty much has had the same, mushy consistency.  All of the chicken or beef is supposed to be shredded before eaten, so it just feels like you're having the same thing every night.
3. Forgetting to put your meal on to cook can leave you in a bind.  If you forget to put your meal on before work- then you're forced to go hungry or put it on at lunch and cook on high heat, which I just isn't nearly as good.
4.  Hubby is a really good cook and he can normally whip up something spectacular in about 30 minutes.  I'm blessed because crock potting is not always necessary at our house :)

**notes-
Teriyaki Pork Chops- we bought at least 1 inch thick pork chops and they still turned out pretty dry.  To prevent them from drying out I recommend either 1) buying bone-in pork chops, 2) SLOW cook them-- don't cook on the "high" 4 hour setting like I did, or 3) make this recipe with chicken or beef.
Chicken Fajitas- yummy!  They were delicious.  The recipe calls for 1 tsp of salt, which I recommend leaving out.  Our dish was a little on the salty side.
Hawaiian Chicken-  Yum!

How do you like your eggs?

I'll take mine poached.

My sweet husband made the most wonderful breakfast on Saturday morning.

On the Menu:

Biscuits with Poached Eggs and Bacon

The eggs were perfectly poached, thanks to W's new single egg poachers from Williams Sonoma. If you've ever attempted to poach an egg, you've probably discovered that it's pretty difficult. These egg poachers are awesome!

The finished product was Ah-Mazing!

Surely you've got eggs in the fridge. Make some coffee, fire up the stove and poach some eggs! For breakfast or dinner, whatever suits you. Let me know how it goes.

Here is the best "How To" I've seen.

Birthday Nosh

One thing I'll miss most about Dallas is the FOOD! If we had all the money in the world Weston and I would definitely spend the vast majority of it enjoying yummy food.

My foodie friend Brooke had been raving and ranting about a fantastic place called Nosh. So when Weston's birthday came around we decided to give it a try. Per Brooke's recommendation, we requested a seat at the Chef's counter and ended up having one of the best meals and most fun dining experiences ever.

Being at the chef's bar was like being inside an episode of a Food Network show. We watched them prepare gourmet food, got to know the people next to us, and even snacked on some free munchies- courtesy of the chef. Our food was amazing!

Here's what we had:

A look into the kitchen from the chef's bar

Appetizer: Kobe Beef Meatballs on a crostini

My food: Braised Veal Cheeks with Black Truffle Grits and Brussel Sprouts

Weston's food: Crispy Duck Confit with Leek and Cauliflower Mash

Banana's Foster Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

We also had a Lobster Bisque Soup and Lobster Fritters (not pictured). Everything we tasted was amazing! We were able to watch them prepare most everything on the menu and it all looked fantastic. I was especially intrigued by the mac and cheese and the foie gras and chicken liver paté.

My Recommendations:

Make a reservation

Sit at the chefs counter at least once

Check out the chalkboard (that's where they write their daily specials)

Ask your waiter for recommendations

Have fun!

It really was a great experience! Go check it out and let me know what you think!

What's in a name?

Get a job. Check!

Get married. Check!

Have a baby. Check!

Buy a home. Check!

Start a blog....

Apparently when you complete all of the above you are supposed to start a blog. Or at least that's what it seems like. So here I go!

My intention is not to treat this blog like a diary. Nor is it to simply rip off some of my favorite blogs about design or style. I want to write about things I love-- food, family adventures, motherhood, good music, God, my new home, and anything else that seems interesting enough to share with the world.

Choosing a name for the blog was the hardest part! I wanted to choose a name that reflected something about me, my home, or the things I love. I wanted to use my last name- BROWN. I quickly realized that BROWN is a very unappealing word. One idea that came to mind was "The Daily Brown" (a tribute to Martha Stewart's puppy blog about her two frenchies)... but that just didn't have a nice ring to it if you know what I'm saying. Almost every title I came up with that referenced BROWN had some sort of potty connotation. The ideas were thoroughly entertaining, though. My favorite was "The Brown Movement."

So I settled on a name that means something to me.

"A Fairway Home Companion"

It's a salute to one of my favorite NPR shows, A Prairie Home Companion.

Weston and I headed to A Prairie Home Companion at the Winspear last August

It speaks to the new home we're buying in Shreveport, LA. Our new home sits right on the golf course. Right on the FAIRWAY, to be exact.

This is a home where we will: watch Aubrey grow into a little girl, cook gourmet meals, invite family over for the Holidays, decorate, experience community with other Christ followers, recover from life's many hurts, and soak in God's blessings. This is where Aubrey will crawl for the first time, take her first steps, and speak her first words. It's the place where Weston and I will continue to grow closer to each other. It's the empty canvas for all of my creative and decorative whims. It's where I will learn how to potty train a little one and operate lawn equipment. It will be HOME.

So.... enjoy!

Our new home! Shreveport, LA