Small Update

I have so much I want to talk about right now, but it will have to wait! I can't wait to tell you all about my experience so far as a student teacher (I know I have the best mentor teacher ever!), my experience on the Women's Ministry team at church, and our marriage mentors. I promise to update soon, but my bed time is precious to me now that I have to get up super early every morning!

(These are some future projects I have in mind!)

{via this blog}

{via this blog}

{via this blog}

Sweet Dreams!

Tasty Tuesday

Last week, it snowed here in Conway, so I knew I had to cook something warm for dinner. I cooked White Bean Chicken Chili and it was the perfect match to a cold snowy day! I found this recipe on www.allrecipes.com. If you haven't ever checked out that website, you must! Below I have the original recipe I found on the website along with some changes I made.

Ingredients:

- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil {I used EVOO}

- 1 onion, chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 {14.5 ounce} can chicken broth

- 1 {18.75 ounce} can tomatillos, drained and chopped {I used a jar of salsa verde}

- 1 {16 ounce} can diced green chilies {I used three 4.5 cans}

- 1 {15 ounce} can peeled tomatoes

- 1 {10 ounce} can diced tomatoes with green chilies

- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed

- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

- 2 {15 ounce} cans of corn

- 2 {15 ounce} cans of white beans

- 1 pound diced, cooked chicken

- salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil and cook onion and garlic until soft.

2. Stir in broth, tomatillos {salsa verde}, chilies, tomatoes, and spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Add corn, chicken, and beans; simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Great meal to eat with cornbread!!

Hope you enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday!

Today I want to share two recipes with you: a roast and whole wheat chocolate chip cookies!

This is my mom's roast recipe! I used to love coming home from school and having the smell of roast cooking in the crock pot! It is super easy and you cook it in the crock pot so it makes your whole house smell delicious!

Ingredients:

- Roast

- Onion soup mix

- 1 can of cream of mushroom soup

- Carrots

- Potatoes

- Non-stick cooking spray

- Crock pot

Spray your crock pot with non-stick cooking spray and place your roast in the crock pot. Mix together the onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup. {I usually add a little water so its not so thick, mom's suggestion} Pour it over the roast.

Then you add your carrots and potatoes and set your cook time to your preference! So easy and so yummy!

Now for the whole wheat chocolate chip cookies! Don't let the whole wheat fool you, that doesn't mean they are good for you! But maybe a little better! I got this recipe off the back of Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flour bag.

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup granulated sugar

- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar

- 1 cup butter or margarine, softened

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 1 egg

- 2 cups Gold Medal whole wheat flour

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1 bag semisweet chocolate chips {I used half chocolate chips and half butterscotch chips}

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, stir sugars, butter, vanilla, and egg until well blended. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.

2. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoons about two inches apart.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown

Burlap Wreath

Hey guys! Last night I was reading through blogs and found this DIY Burlap Wreath. I absolutely love decorating with burlap so I had to try this! Click here to see how to do it.

This is how mine turned out. I love it!

Tasty Tuesday

Hello there! I have decided to dedicate Tuesdays to food and will be calling my posts "Tasty Tuesdays"! Every Tuesday I will be posting a new/old recipe I have tried in the past week. I love to cook and I love it when other people share their recipes with me, so I will share with you some of my favorite recipes!

Have you eaten your veggies today? Today, I am going to share with you a new smoothie recipe that I got from my friend CarrieBeth. I have heard of people making smoothies using spinach, but it honestly sounded terrible to me. And don't even get me started on the nasty green color they make! CB assured me that you couldn't taste the spinach. I love spinach, but only in salads. I thought this was a great idea, so I decided to give it a try.

Ingredients:

- Frozen Strawberries (5-6)

- Banana (whole)

-Yogurt (optional)

-Apple juice (about a cup)

-Spinach (about 2-3 cups)

What a great way to get two servings of fruit and a serving of veggies!! And it's yummy too!! Hope you enjoy!

First Snow Day of the Year!

Today was the first snow day in 2011! I love being in Conway when it snows! The people who own the Country Club are nice enough to let everyone come and sled down their hills! Any time it snows, we head there along with everyone else in Conway to sled! Hope you enjoy my pictures!

Christmas Recap!

Maybe my New Year's resolution should be to blog more, but unfortunately, I never make New Year's resolutions! I'm not sure why, but I don't. If I want to be healthier, read more, be more organized, etc, then I start right then. Why wait until the beginning of the year? Every time I made a NY resolution, it lasted maybe a month so I gave up! I promise to get better at blogging more often though!

Jonathan and I had a great Christmas and New Year's! I didn't take many pictures though, maybe that should be another NY resolution. The weekend before Christmas, we went to see my parents in Bentonville and the weekend of Christmas, we went headed north east to see his parents. We had a great time visiting all of our family! Jonathan and I love to do our own Christmas together as well, so we celebrated Christmas early for us. These are some of the few pictures I took of our "Christmas morning."

{My Christmas morning coffee}

{This year we watched Home Alone 2 while opening presents}

{Hershey opening her stocking}

{Santa brought her another duck toy!}

{Hershey loved her new bones!}

{Jane Austen Seven Novels...can't wait to read it!}

{Jonathan's new hunting boots}

{Our new bedding!}

I hope you all had a great Christmas too!!