Saturday, October 22, 2011

Chicken Chili

Chicken Chili

Yum!! I am making this for our small group tomorrow! My sweet sister-in-law, Vanessa, shared the recipe with me and said I could share it here! It is very easy to make and so very delicious. It is called White Chicken Chili but since it is technically not white, I'll just refer to it as chicken chili =)

Chicken Chili

3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cooked & cut up
3 cans great northern beans
1 jar salsa
1 carton chicken stock (I use a little less than the whole carton)
2 heaping teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
16 oz pepperjack cheese

Combine all ingredients except for the pepperjack cheese in a large pot. Boil 15-20 minutes. Turn off heat, stir in cheese. Serve with sour cream and tortilla chips.


I am going to make this in the crockpot for the first time tomorrow. I plan to put all but the cheese into the crockpot before church and let it cook on high until we get home. I'll stir in the cheese before we head up to small groups. My kids really like this. I usually reserve a little chili without the cheese for them but they always want seconds of the spicier version.

And because I LOVE to bake I will be making these cookies for tomorrow as well.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

I'm FALLing Behind

Aren't I funny? My husband just said no. =)

I have all these posts in my head that I am sure someone is just dying to read but I hardly turn my computer on anymore! I got an iPod about a month ago thanks to Swagbucks! Do you use Swagbucks? You should. I saved up $100 in Amazon credit (just since January of this year) thanks to Swagbucks so I used it towards the purchase of my iPod.

Search & Win

I take most pictures with the iPod now. Not quite the quality of my Nikon but very convenient.




A few updates.

First, the pumpkin patch. It's October. We're waiting on the Great Pumpkin but I'm pretty sure we must have been bad this year because our pumpkin patch is bare. Completely. Gone. Not even a vine is left. I don't know what happened. Maybe the driest summer ever combined with the wettest day ever. We'll try again next year.



Second, I am so close to the weight loss goal I set at the beginning of the year! I have lost almost 20 lbs since January and am 11.8 lbs from my goal weight. The goal date (31 lbs by my 31st birthday) is Nov 16, less than 4 weeks away! I've got to stay focused! I am competing in Shrinkvivor right now over at Shrinking Jeans! It is such a fun competition and it is really keeping me on target! We are currently in week 4 and thankfully I have avoided exile thus far! I would love to make it to the end!



Third, school. It's going. It was going really well but I think I am trying to do too much at once. I love history and science. I want to do them both. I am struggling with getting it all done though. I'm also trying to teach writing skills and handwriting and grammar all at the same time. And the Prairie Primer which more than likely requires more organization than I care for. And of course reading and math. And Bible. And all the fun holidays coming along. And music. And clearly, since I can't keep up with it all I'm trying to do to much but I want to get it all in and I want to enjoy it and more importantly, I want the girls to enjoy it all without feeling totally overwhelmed. And I feel like I am failing teaching reading to Kennedy. I wish it wasn't so hard for her. I want so much for her to be able to read the books I was reading in second grade. She is doing so much better and she longs to be able to read well. I wish it wasn't such a struggle for her. Now I'm crying. Moving on ...



Floors. We pulled the carpet up in our living room this last weekend. The guy we bought the house from who was remodeling it for his own family promised me the floors underneath the carpet were just as good as those throughout the rest of the house. Only he neglected to tell me that he didn't throw down any drop cloths when painting and that the beautiful floors were under a layer of paint.



 I'm not exactly sure how it has happened but my wrist is literally black and blue (and still swollen) from 3 days of scraping paint off the floor. We are kind of stuck at this point. There are still specks of paint all over the floor and there are 2 pretty bad places. The floor is pretty dull and definitely needs a new coat of polyurethane. I don't want to have to strip them completely because they aren't that bad but I'm afraid to try to redo them ourselves. However, the quotes we are getting are all in the neighborhood of $1,000. Way more than we have or were planning to spend on the floors. If anyone has redone floors and has any advice PLEASE share!



Lastly, it's fall. And cold. =( I miss summer. It is going to be a long winter! But that means yummy food like white chicken chili! I will post my sister-in-law's recipe tomorrow!




And one more thing. The new Casting Crowns cd, Come To The Well -- AMAZING!!! Love it! Love it! Love it! I bought Adam The Well by Mark Hall a few weeks ago as an "I'm thinking about you" gift. I recommend it strongly, too!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Dayspring Giveaway!! All Day Long With Jesus



We have a winner! Random.org picked #1, Wendy!! Wendy, I'll email your code!

Yay! Finally, the giveaway I mentioned a while back! Sorry for the delay, I was waiting on the go ahead from DaySpring (which I got several days ago and just haven't had a chance to blog)!


Firstly, I am so excited to be part of DaySpring's product review team! I love their products!



A few weeks ago DaySpring sent the recordable story book All Day Long With Jesus for me to keep and review! I was so excited to get it! Adam has had to work nights with this new (since March) job occasionally and the kids have greatly missed story time with Daddy before bed. The book came very quickly and Adam sat laid down to record the story the night the book came in.



The quality -- superb! It has a great, thick cover and sturdy pages.

Ease of use -- excellent! The directions were clear and concise. Adam was able to record each page and if he messed up at all he only had to re-record the page that he messed up on. When he was finished he simply slid the button over to lock and screwed the battery cover back on. The sound quailty is great!

The verdict -- LOVE! I love it, Adam loves it, the kids love it! The story is very cute and a great reminder that all day, no matter where we are or what we are doing, Jesus is right there with us!




And the best part? One of you will be the lucky winner of your very own copy of All Day Long With Jesus! To enter simply leave a comment and make sure that I can contact you (meaning- leave your email address if it isn't linked to your account!). The contest will close on Monday, October 17th at 10 PM eastern! I will choose a random winner. The winner will be sent a code to receive the book for free, you'll just need to pay shipping.

FTC Disclaimer: DaySpring gave me the recordable storybook, All Day Long With Jesus, for review.However, all opinions are my own.

Can't wait to get your hands on one of these recordable storybooks? You can purchase your own HERE.

PS - DaySpring is currently offering free shipping on orders over $25 with code ship25 (not valid with other coupon codes)!!