What do you do on a 3 day weekend?

My weekend started out Friday night by going to see my brother and his improv  group at Seattle U. They really are quite hilarious. I was thinking of staying home because I was so tired from a busy week at work, but I'm glad I went to see him! Then Saturday was my super productive day. I cleaned EVERYTHING- bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedroom, did laundry, changed sheets, put clothes away, dusted, vacuumed, and more. It felt so good to get everything cleaned up (and now I don't want to touch or use anything that would mess it all up!) The rest of the weekend included church, clearing up the DVR by finally watching the Grammy's and a few other shows, reading (Sticky Faith by Kara Powell and Chap Clark and Love Times Three by the Dargers), shopping, and sleeping! Saturday afternoon I turned to pinterest as I thought of what I should make for dinner and this is the result...

Recipe #1 Crock Pot Shredded Chicken

While this post is about the most recent weekend, I actually made this chicken last weekend. It turned out SO well. The recipe can be found here. It was super easy to just throw it all in the crockpot and let it cook for a few hours. When it was done I shredded it up and bagged it for lunches and put a few in the freezer.

Recipe #2 Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

Now anyone who knows me knows that I rarely follow a recipe exactly step by step. (I've inherited that trait from my mom. Love you, mom!) We'll start with the fact that I didn't do this in the crock pot, I did it in a soup pot on the back of the stove. I also omitted the bell pepper (because I don't like them) and used the shredded chicken I had put in the freezer last weekend. The real recipe can be found here. I also made the honey jalapeño cornbread, found at the same site. This dinner got a big thumbs up from Luke and I've got leftovers in the fridge and freezer to take for lunches this week!

Recipe #3 M&M Samoa Blondies

Naturally, when I start to make dinner my mind jumps to what I'm going to make for dessert. So I head to pinterest and look in my cupboard for what I can create out of the ingredients I have. I found coconut in the freezer and thought I remembered a recipe for samoa blondies on pinterest. SO good! Samoas are some of my favorite girl scout cookies and these cookie bars have a very similar taste. The recipe can be found at Six Sisters' Stuff (one of my favorite places to find new recipes!)

I really love to cook and bake and I love sharing the things I make with others. Pinterest is a great place to find new recipes to try and I find myself trying at least one new recipe a week, sometimes more. I'm thankful for friends and family who are always willing to help me eat the things I create. 

I'm especially thankful for this guy who always eats everything I make! This was taken on Thursday night before we went out for Valentine's Day at BluWater Bistro. I am a blessed girl :)

The Best Sugar Cookies EVER

I love to bake and am constantly trying new recipes, but when it comes to making holiday cookies I always turn to my favorite sugar cookie recipe. I try others, but they are never as good as this one! This past week I made a huge batch of heart shaped cookies for Valentine's Day and I'm already thinking about the Easter cookies to come in a few weeks! Maybe I need to order some new cookie cutters.... :)

Sugar Cookies
1 lb. softened butter (no wonder they're so good, right?)
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 T. milk
2 T. almond extract (or vanilla, but the almond is what makes them special)
6 c. flour
1 T. baking powder

      Start by blending butter and sugar with a mixer (stand or hand will work just fine). Next add liquids- eggs, milk, and almond extract and blend until combined. Lastly blend in the flour and baking powder. It gets a little tough on a hand mixer when you get all 6 cups of flour in there, but you can always finish mixing with a spatula or even by using your hands.

      Once the dough is mixed (it will be a bit crumbly), flour your surface, drop a big scoop of dough down, and roll to desired thickness. I usually keep them on the thicker side so they will stay soft cookies as opposed to thin crunchy cookies. Cut out shapes and place them on a baking sheet (I use parchment so they don't stick or get as brown on the bottom). Bake at 350 for about 11 minutes or until they look set- one step before they turn brown! Take them out of the oven and let them sit for a minute before transferring to a cooling rack. They will stay good for about a week in a air tight container (although mine NEVER last that long) or you can store them in the freezer for eating at a later date (or eating frozen, yum!).

If I don't plan on frosting the cookies (or dipping them in chocolate- a real crowd pleaser, by  the way!) I will cover them with sprinkles before baking to make them a bit more festive. Because everything is always better with sprinkles right? I'm a three year old at heart :)

Friday night taco seasoning

Happy Friday! It has been a very long week of work (after a long week of being deathly ill) and I am so thankful to have a night to lay on the couch and watch TV like a bum. Friday night means lots of wedding shows on TLC, and [since I drove by Little Caesar's on my way home from Target] it also means pizza :)

Recently I have been pinning a lot of recipes on pinterest and have been trying to cook more real meals and have lunches to take to work. Yesterday I made a beef stew in the crock pot and (just like my mom) I couldn't find a recipe I really liked, so I just dumped a bunch of stuff together. Stew meat, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, AND sweet potatoes! I will never make stew without sweet potatoes ever again! It was so yummy. The sweet potatoes fall apart a lot more than regular potatoes and give the stew a great consistency and sweet taste.

Tomorrow I am planning on making chicken in the crock pot that I can shred and use for tacos, wraps, sandwiches, salads, and more during the week. This is the recipe I am planning on using. Hopefully it comes out as yummy as it sounds!

One of the things I need for tomorrow's chicken is taco seasoning AND I just happen to come across a recipe for homemade taco seasoning this week on pinterest. So tonight I made my own mix of taco seasoning to use on my chicken tomorrow. I feel so domestic making taco seasoning, but it was really easy! And the sodium intake will be much lower than seasoning from a packet. Looking forward to using this seasoning on a variety of different meals!

A few pinteresting recipes

A while ago I made a promise to myself that I would actually try more of the recipes that I post on pinterest (instead of just pinning them and letting them sit there!). The past two days I've tried two different recipes, both of which were very successful with my taste-testing crew.



Recipe #1 Monster Cookie Bars

Peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips, reese's pieces (instead of m&ms)...what's not to like?? The recipe can be found at the Domesticated Duchess. Everyone has LOVED these. I can't get Luke to stop eating them :) Whenever I tell someone what is in them he always adds that they are 60% sin...haha.





Recipe #2 Slow Cooker Kielbasa & White Bean Stew

The recipe says to cook it for 8-10 hours on low but I didn't get it started until about 2 this afternoon. Instead of dry white beans I used canned and cooked it all on high for about 4 1/2 hours. I added a little flour/butter mixture to thicken it a bit and it turned out very yummy! Everyone gave it 2 thumbs up! Found at Kalyn's Kitchen.

Finding Joy

November Blessings Part 3:
19. Yummy Thanksgiving food for lunch at work.
20. Parents who truly care for their children and are concerned with what is in the child's best interest.
21. My almond sugar cookie recipe :)
22. Spending Thanksgiving with a great family. I'm thankful for my family back at home too. Such a blessing to have 2 loving families in my life.
23. Playing fun games with fun people.
24. Waking up early and getting a lot accomplished.
25. Beautiful Christmas music.
26. Being taken care of when I'm sick.
27. A 2 year old wanting to say a prayer for his mommy and the "baby in mommy's tummy!"
28. People who truly appreciate things you work really hard on.
29. A bombardment of hugs, love, and "Emily!!" screams from a few special 2 year olds who I've missed a lot lately....guess they missed me too :)
30. Feeling well enough to go out and see a funny play.

After stumbling upon the book, One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp a year or so ago and since I started following her blog, A Holy Experience, I have thought a lot more about what it means to count blessings and find joy in every aspect of life. There are gifts, both big and small, surrounding us every day, and sometimes I need that gentle reminder to stop and see all the ways in which I have been truly blessed.

Ann has created a calendar that helps give a little direction when it comes to counting blessings- things like 3 white gifts, 3 gifts of hope, a gift bringing laughter, etc. She made it for 2012, but I'm going to try and use it in 2013 (starting with this December). Maybe she'll come up with a new one for 2013, but for now my plan is to follow this calendar of  joy dares.

If we all found joy in each day the world would become a much more lovely place to be.

Birthday Blessings

November always brings so many things to be thankful for and I think it's a good reminder for me to stop and take the time to remember all the blessings in my life. This weekend I was able to celebrate my birthday with some of the most wonderful people I know! Thursday afternoon Luke and I went to see Wicked and it was incredible! I have been listening to the soundtrack since July and it was so fun to finally see the production. Friday I went to work and had a class of two year olds sing "happy birthday" to me which was very fun. Little "J" kept telling me it was our birthday. I said no, its my birthday and he laughed and so noooo its OUR birthday. Well, I'm okay sharing with that sweet little boy. Then we had story time at church and the kids sang "happy birthday" and we had mini cupcakes to celebrate. One of the 2 1/2 year olds kept saying, "It's Emily's birthday! We have to sing to her!!" It was very cute. And then last night we went out with my brother, his girlfriend, and my roomie for dinner at Buca di Beppo and dessert at home (salted caramel pear pie- yum!) I'm so thankful for all these wonderful people who made my birthday a very special one.

November Blessings Part 2:
10. Productive days getting lots of chores done.
11. Peaceful Sunday mornings at KidTown.
12. Playing with a sweet 2 year old, reading him stories, and putting him to bed.
13. The warmth of a heater.
14. Kids who remember your birthday from last year.
15. Loving parents.
16. Flowers and sweet cards from Luke.
17. Going out to dinner with some of my favorite people whom I love dearly.
18. Children who are generous with their giving.

I am looking forward to a short work week and celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday with Luke and his family. I'm excited to bake cookies and make sweet potatoes, do a little shopping, spend time with people I love, and continue remembering all the things I have to be thankful for.

30 Thankful Days

Last November I kept a simple list of things I am thankful for each day. Ideally I would love to do this every day all year long, but clearly I'm not so great at it. However, for November I have committed to be thankful in all circumstances. At the end of each day I think back over the events of that day, and consider a small blessing that turned into a big blessing on that particular day. As my dad always says, we are truly blessed - blessed with good health and a great family. Blessed with a roof over our heads and plenty of food in the fridge. Blessed with employment and a comfortable life. My mom always uses the phrase "There but for the grace of God, go I" and I've always understood the idea behind that saying, but I looked up a better explanation of it and I think it fits perfectly. This historical phrase website (called the phrase finder) describes it by saying: I too, like someone seen to have suffered misfortune, might have suffered a similar fate, but for God's mercy. It is only by God's grace that we are blessed, and by responding in thankfulness we are all acknowledging these blessings in our lives.

November Blessings Part 1:
1. My brother, Bob, and getting to see him perform with his improv group at Seattle U.
2. The return of red Starbucks cups and gingerbread lattes :)
3. Laughter with friends.
4. The women on the Alumni Falconette Board.
5. A great day at work in my new classroom, Orange Giraffes.
6. A night at home with Luke - eating chili, watching tv, and simply enjoying each others company.
7. A surprise visit from Luke after a long day at work.
8. Hugs from 2 year olds who say "I got you!" as they squeeze their little arms around your neck.
9. Sunshine on a chilly fall day.