Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Now that it's officially winter here (and COLD!) I'm in the mood for soups. If they can be made in the crock pot that's an extra bonus. Do all the work in the morning and have dinner ready with minimal clean up? Yes please.

Here is what you need:

(not all pictured)
3 frozen or fresh chicken breast
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can rotel
1can black beans
1 can white beans
14 1/2 oz. can chicken broth
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
2 cups water

1 bay leaf
1 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 T. fresh cilantro

1/2 bag of frozen corn

Put everything in the crock pot except for the corn. Stir well. 



 Love my Pampered Chef garlic press! I found it at Good Will! :)
 Ready to be stirred!

Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. In the last 1/2 hour of cooking, remove the chicken and shred it. Place the chicken back in the soup and add the corn. Let cook another 30 minutes.

Serve with tortilla chips, cheddar cheese and sour cream.


 Enjoy!

Linking:
Weekend Bloggy Reading

Saturday, November 26, 2011

New Designs

I'm getting ready for an open house next weekend where I'll be displaying some of my jewelry. Here are a few of the items I worked on yesterday.


Ceramic and brass


 Ceramic and brass filigree.


 Ombre Pearls


 Patterned silver 


 Brass filigree chandeliers. (These are up on my Etsy shop.)


 Silver stitch.


 Brass birds and iridescent green seed beads


Kidney ear wires and howlite.


Sunday, November 20, 2011

Menu Planning



It has taken awhile to tweak things, but I finally feel like I have a good system for meal planning and grocery shopping that works well for us. I thought I'd share it with you!

We go grocery shopping twice a month for our main groceries and may occasionally stop to get a few extra groceries for a dinner with friends or if C runs out of something. This has saved me so much time! When we first got married I tried to shop less frequently, but it seemed like I always ended going to the grocery store a couple times a week.  

My System:

Between trips I try to take stock of things and write down items we are running low on on a master list so I don't forget. If I use the last of the granulated sugar to make cookies, I write it down. Notice toothpaste getting low? Goes on the list. I just love when I do a huge shopping run and get home to discover I forgot toothpaste and butter. You know you've done it too! :)

I go to several stores; Aldi, Fare-way, and Wal-Mart. Aldi is the cheapest place to buy groceries, hands down. You save at least 40% off name brand items. I get a lot of basics there, kleenex, toilet paper, butter, eggs, salad dressings, olives, sugar, frozen chicken breast, juice, cooking oil,etc...

I buy most of my produce, some meat, and a few more specialty items like wheat pasta at Fare-way.  I get things like lotion, shaving cream, and artisan breads (when I buy them.) at Wal-Mart. It takes a little more time to go to several stores, but the savings is worth it. We spend about $320 a month on groceries for our family. That includes diapers and other supplies like shaving gel, lotion, paper products, etc...

We also have been able to save money on our grocery bill by doing the Body by Vi 90 day challenge.
We take a meal replacement nutrition shake for breakfast that only costs $1.87. You can save even more with their 3 for free program; refer three, your product is free. By doing this we basically get all our breakfast groceries for free. You can learn more at our blog theVicouple.com

Another way to save money is to plan meals ahead of time.
My mother taught me this. Thanks, Mom!

Every two weeks before I go shopping I sit down with my recipe box to make a list. I write down the names of each of the three stores. I pick a recipe and then write down the name at the top of my sheet. 

This time the meals I picked were tacos, spaghetti and salad, hamburgers and fries, bean bake, etc...


Then I add all the needed ingredients under the appropriate store. Here's an example of tacos:

I go through and do that for each meal. It actually only takes about 15 minutes. I also add fruit and other healthy snacks like nuts, fruit leathers, and granola bars. I usually plan a few things for lunches too like quesadilla ingredients, and sandwich or salad stuff.

I usually plan for 8 supper type meals for two weeks. That gives us some leeway if we go to our parents or have leftovers to eat up.

I write down the meals I buy ingredients for on our calendar and cross them off as we make them. If I'm in  a hurry I pick a meal that doesn't take long to prep.

So there you have it! My method for meal planning.

Do you have a grocery shopping/ meal planning tip to share?
    Leave a comment!


Thursday, November 17, 2011

5 {Thankful} Things


1. Darling S&P shakers my mom surprised me with for my birthday.
 They bring a smile to my face when I see them on the table!





2. Moments like this:





3. Christmas lovelies!





4. Carmel and Twix Custard. To. Die. For.





5. My shiny new Lisa Leonard Necklace!!


Linking up at:

five days five ways | 5 Things Thursday

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

C's 14 month update.

Time for a C update again! The days and months seem to have such a way of flying by!



Right now C's latest and greatest fixation is buttons. He discovered that by pushing the buttons on the humidifier in his room he can make the fan go on and off. Endless hours of fun there folks! Today I had the cd player on and he noticed there were buttons on it. I seriously only got to hear the first 7.35 seconds of each song on the CD before he pushed a button and switched it.



Another thing he recently discovered was that I keep paper towel under the sink. It didn't take him long to unroll it all over the kitchen, giggling as he did. :)



C. is also realizing that when he hears the garage door in the morning and hears the car door shut, then Daddy is going to come through the back door. Last time he got so excited he was panting and giggled when he saw Hubby walk through the door. That really makes Daddy's day!

Visiting Daddy at the fire station!


C still loves to eat a lot of different things. Peas, pear, and cheese are current favorites.



C had his first ear infection a couple weeks ago. We actually took him into the doctor for a cough and then found out he had a (minor) ear infection. Antibiotics cleared it all up.



Crawling is pretty much a thing of the past. C is all about walking now... and running! :)

C loves to pull power cords out of outlet, so Mommy has to keep a close eye on him! He also is really into reading and will bring us books to read. Not only does he love to read, but he insists on sitting on our laps to do so.




We watched two of my nephews last week and I was reading aloud to them and C wanted to sit up on the couch with us too. Hubby set C next to his cousin and all the sudden we looked over and C was patting his cousin's head! It was the funniest thing!




We dedicated C a couple weeks ago at our church. Several family members and friends were there, which made it a special time.



Slow Cooker Mediterranean Chicken

I made this today and thought I would share the recipe with you all! This is one of our favorites! So easy and delicious! I got the recipe from my mom. 

This serves 4. I use a 4 Qt. crock pot for the two of us. You could double it and put it in a 6 Qt. crock pot and it would feed 6-8.

You will need:
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
1 jar black olives, cut in half
1 can mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes, drained

4 boneless chicken thighs or leg quarters

2T. Quick tapioca 
1 1/2 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 c. Chicken broth

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In bottom of crock pot put; olives, mushrooms, artichoke hearts and diced tomatoes.


Next sprinkle on the tapioca:


Then put your chicken on top. Sprinkle on Italian seasoning and pour broth over the top.


Cook on high for 3-4 hours. (low 7-8)

Serve over pasta and sprinkle with parmesan.
Mmmm...





Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Excited!


 A couple months ago I stumbled across 'Five Days... 5 Ways' blog through WIWW. I loved Abbie's personality, her sense of style (She's a thrifter, like me!), and her great DIY projects.


Last month I won a giveaway through her blog for a Lisa Leonard gift certificate. I was so excited! I have been eyeing Lisa's jewelry for awhile. I ended up picking this beauty:

Lisa's shop

This month Abbie is doing another giveaway (including a pair of my earrings and Lisa Leonard gift certificates) that is also for a great cause. I'll let her explain:


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Hi there, folks! My name is Abbie
from:
five days five ways | because every day is different
…and I’m so excited that Elyssa is having me by for a visit to share with you something I’m passionate about, which could benefit you guys in more ways than one.
Pinky promise.
How so?
Well, I’m hosting a huge giveaway/fundraiser to help build a new classroom for a Christian ministry to orphans in Uganda that is home-grown in East Texas where I live.
There are FIVE prize packages, chock-full of amazing handmade goodies and gift certificates (Lisa Leonard, anyone?) that you can win just by visiting and leaving me a comment.
Here’s just a small taste:
2011-10-31
BUT!
If you want extra entries, you can also donate to:
Parental Care Ministries: The Father's Love in Action
…using a special button on my blog which will track your entries so we can see how much we raise and who wins!
Honestly, folks, these kids are incredibly humble and deserving! (Their idea of a special treat is an apple…I’m not kidding).
So, if you want to help us raise the money to build these precious children a new classroom + have the opportunity to be one of 5 lucky folks to win some awesome loot, please come check out The BIG PCM Fundraiser/Giveaway on my blog.
No amount is too small, and every dollar you give is matched up to our goal of $5,000 (wow!). Which means, if you give up Starbucks just once, you’ll be donating not $10 but $20 (just kidding…but at least $8, right?) to a truly worthy cause.
Hope to see you soon!
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 Be sure to stop by Abbie's blog to get entered in this giveaway and support this worthy cause!
 


Friday, November 4, 2011

Trick or Treat!

Last year we didn't dress C up and do anything for Halloween because it was cold and he was so little...and I was overwhelmed with having a new baby and didn't want to leave the house because it would throw off his routine forever. Yes, I was a  bit over dramatic...  

Anyhow, this year we decided to take C out trick or treating in our neighborhood and he loved it! He liked his costume, loved watching the other kids, and liked taking candy. :)

Ready to go!

I loved carrying my bucket!

"Faster, Mommy!"

"Helping" Daddy hand out candy.

"Why walk door to door when I have access to an unattended bucket?"

"My bucket isn't full yet!"

We also discovered that C liked his first taste of candy. A lot.
I can't say I was surprised.