A Promise is a Promise

So this morning I finally got around to breaking out the ole' Crockpot again. This week has been crazy with Red Ribbon Week madness and a class field trip I am truly thankful for a weekend with absolutely no plans! :) Time is flying by these days and I only have 3 weeks left of student teaching and although things can get crazy up there I am really going to miss all my kiddos. They really are a great bunch!

So today was mine and Mr. Man's 11 year "dating" anniversary! Gosh that sounds like forever, although we've only been married for almost 3 of those years. He was really sweet this morning and hid a card in my car so I would find it when I left for work. Too cute! Anyway, I thought it was only right that we actually ate a decent meal tonight to celebrate so I made the Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe I mentioned in a previous post. He loves this stuff so I think it was a good choice. Y'all will be proud of me too because I actually had enough brain power this morning to remember to take some pictures to post! So without further ado....

Alright so I tried to get a picture of all the ingredients you will need but I guess I wasn't as awake as I thought because I almost forgot the chicken broth until the last minute. And you'll notice by the picture the already sliced onion...yeah I got that far before I remembered the camera so you're lucky I had a moment of clarity!

Ingredients:
2 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans Ro-Tel (I actually only used 1 can and then used a can of dice tomatoes but I didn't want mine too spicy)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I added these in today)
1 can corn
1 onion, chopped
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1-2 cups of water
*1 packet taco seasoning 


(These ingredients are added after the soup is cooked and are optional)
tortilla chips
sour cream 
shredded mexican cheese


*So the original recipe had all these different seasoning listed but said you could just use packet of taco seasoning and seeing that I live in a typical American home and don't keep cumin or whatever it's called lying around I just opted for that. Makes this recipe super easy and remember that's an important part of getting into my recipe book.

(Looking at this picture I'm starting to think I may need a bigger crockpot. This was before the chicken was added. It was a close call this morning getting it all in there but I think it's because I added the additional can of white kidney beans.)


Put all of the ingredients but your toppings into the crockpot. Add the chicken last and make sure they are submerged the best that you can. Cook of high 6-7 hours or on low 8-9 hours. Shred chicken by stirring or remove and do this with a fork if need be. 

I like to add a few tortilla chips to the bottom of the bowl then pour some soup over it and top with sour cream and cheese....

MmmMmm it's good stuff and take it from someone that can't eat a lot of spice this is pretty mild, especially if you substitute the can of rotel with tomatoes like I did. I will say the aroma in this house when I got home hit me like a ton of bricks and I couldn't wake to sink my teeth into this stuff...I hope you'll feel the same way when you give it a try! Hasta Luego!

The Thrill of a Deal

So I mentioned in previous posts that I love couponing. It has become a big hobby for me and I love the thrill I get when I find a good deal. Now, for anyone that has seen the TLC show Extreme Couponing, I am no where close to extreme. I think I'm at just the right level of coupon crazy for my household at the moment.  I find most of my deals at CVS. I use to hate shopping there before couponing because I would go in for a few items and always seem to spend $30 or more. Now that I've figured out how to actually shop there I love it and can't wait for the next weeks ad to post to see what I can get.

The BIG thing to focus on there is the Extra Care Bucks. If you aren't taking advantage of this program yet...go to your CVS and sign up as soon as you can. I used to not even pay attention to my ECBs and I'll admit I would mostly throw them away before I started couponing. It breaks my heart now to think of all the free money I put in the trash before my eyes were opened to the savings world!

I would encourage everyone to consider couponing...it doesn't have to be a gazillion hour process like they portray on the show and you don't have to go out and buy 300 of something to get a deal (unless you want to I guess).  My family uses most of the items I have purchased and I have a nice stock of certain things that always seem to be on sale, but if I get to many of something I plan to donate. I don't need 100 toothbrushes and I don't understand anyone that thinks they do. I usually try to post my deals on facebook to share with friends but realized I haven't posted any of my deals yet here so I thought I would share with you guys.

Here is a picture of what I purchased today. Shocked that it's not 1000 Glade plug-ins? Well, welcome to the world of a typical couponer. These items were worth $50.43 and I paid $5.41 with $7 extrabucks back. So, let me breakdown what I purchased:

2- Glade "Lasting Impressions" - $11.49 ea.
1- Glade "Sense and Spray" - $11.49
4- bags of Hershey Kisses - $3.99 ea.

All of the Glade products were on sale for $5 ea. I had a $3 off coupon for each of these items and CVS gave me $4 extrabucks for spending $12 or more on these. So after coupons and ECBs the ended up being roughly $0.67 ea.

I was really excited about the candy because I wasn't sure the coupon I had was going to work since it said Halloween candy but it did so CVS had a ECB deal with these guys to give you $3 when you bought 4 bags. I had a $1 off coupon for all of them so they ended up being $0.75 ea.

Pretty exciting huh? Well, maybe not for everyone but it's fun for me and not as hard as I originally thought it would be. If you are interested in getting started I recommend checking out IamThatlady.com. She has some really great tips and a coupon database that I use for planning all of my trips. Hope you guys check it out! Toodle Loo! :)

Bad Blogger

So I've been a bad, bad blogger these last few days. I've been making some amazing Crockpot recipes and I haven't documented any of it. I'm going to blame it on the fact that it was benchmark testing week at school and I just wasn't in the mood to take pictures or write anything. Shame on me, I will try to do better next time. I can report that they were all super easy and so so good so I will make sure to get everything on here for you guys. I will mention that pretty much all of the recipes contain chicken....we are just a chicken family...well I personally can't eat certain foods after having my gallbladder removed so we are a chicken family because of me. I like turkey meat from time to time but I could probably eat grilled and /or baked chicken everyday and be perfectly happy! :) So anywho, I will be on my best behavior the next time I make these so I can post for you guys to enjoy. I can assure you that I will most likely be posting how to make "Chicken Tortilla Soup" first since Mr. Man absolutely loved it and ate most of it up and has already requested it again for next week.

Today I decided I really want to make a "Traveling" Bucket List. The man and I never get to go anywhere but I'm hoping once I secure a job and paycheck and his vacation time is upped next year we can start seeing the world together. So if anyone has a suggest of places I must see please leave a comment. I have never been out of the country and only to a limited amount of states. I really, really want to go to New York or any state up that way since the highest up I've traveled is Colorado (although I don't think it really counts since I was around 6 months old at the time and only have photographic proof of being there).

I also realized today how much I've fully transformed into an adult. Being surrounded by 5th graders all day and hearing the things they have to worry about makes me sometimes long for those High School days when my biggest worry was making sure I packed everything I need for a volleyball game and performing at a Friday night football game! And isn't it funny the things we get excited about now that we're older. I've officially become the Crazy Coupon Crockpot lady....my oh my how things change!!!

Until we meet again...

Another Success! :)

I've been having a lot of obsessive and addictive behaviors lately but it's all good things. First off pinterest has become one of my favorite sites ever. I get on it at least once or twice a day now....ok I'll admit sometimes more than that but it's just amazing. If you haven't gone yet ummm...just jump in with the rest of us, you won't regret it. Secondly, I've mentioned this before but I'm obsessed with coupons now. It's become almost a sport for me..haha...to see what I can get a deal on. I almost had a heart attack this weekend when the Hubs said he would like to go shopping with me...that's right you didn't hallucinate he said he wanted to come!!! He says he likes my new way of shopping...who knew all it took was saving him tons of money to want to spend time with me in a store! We went to Target and I bought about $70 worth of products and paid $38 but I got $15 in gift cards! I love it! Anywho, one of my favorite sites is iamthatlady.com. She has so much useful information so if you are interested in getting started I would check her out.

Now on to my last obsession....my CROCKPOT! I absolutely love how easy it is to dump everything into one pot and come home to a pretty much cooked meal! The better half is really enjoying it to! ;) I'm a little late at posting this but last Friday I broke out the Crockpot again to try another pinterest discovery, Potato Soup. It was pretty good, I personally like soups with a little more chunk to them but Mr. Man of Mine ate pretty much the whole pot himself and said to make more soon. So I've added this winner to my book...and it was really good when I crumbled a few saltines into mine so if you're like me give it a shot.

I tried to do a better job this time with pictures so here is everything you need:

1- bag frozen hash browns
1- large Swanson chicken broth -(I used reduced sodium)
1- pkg cream cheese (don't buy fat free, it won't melt)
1- small onion chopped
1- can cream of chicken
1- tbsp ground pepper

Add everything to the pot but the cream cheese.

Once it's all in stir and set on low for 6-8 hours. Again I did this while I was at work so it ended up being close to 9 hours. During the last hour add the cream cheese set it on high.

This is what it looks like after 9 hours. (I'm thinking maybe since mine ended up being a little longer than the time stated it was a little less chunky but I'm not sure).

I added shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream to mine...oh and the saltines too but I didn't get a picture of that. It was really good and if you like potato soup I'd give it a shot since it's that easy! Bon appetite! :)

Crockpot Success!!!

I'm super excited to share my Crockpot adventure with you and super stoked that it actually turned out, not to brag or anything, but it's awesome...it got the Hubs approval so I know this recipe is a winner. Thank you once again to pinterest for my inspiration. This is the easiest Chicken and Dumplings recipe and I hope you all give it a go because you won't regret it....I promise! So without further ado..let the adventure begin!

Here is my lovely little crockpot. Like I said before I have never used a crockpot before and I love that there is only two heat settings on this so you can't really screw it up!

And...I didn't think to take pictures while I was preparing all this at 6:30 this morning but I had a random moment of wakefulness and managed to snap one once everything was in the pot. Ok so ingredients are:

2-boneless chicken breast - I bought mine fresh but I'm sure you could use frozen just thaw beforehand.
2-tbsp butter (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)
1-tbsp dried parsley (I just kinda eyeballed this)
1-small onion diced (I couldn't find a small one so I used about half of a regular size white onion)
2-cans of cream of chicken
1-can of chicken broth
4-large flaky Grands biscuits (I bought a small can of 5 biscuits and ended up just using 3 but next time I may do 4)

I started by putting the chicken breast in and then I added each ingredient in the same order I have listed above. I also added a little water to my cans of cream of chicken to try to get it all out.

Alright, because I had to go to school today I set my Crockpot on the low setting at about 6:45 and got home about 4:00. Using a fork and spoon I shredded the chicken inside of the pot. It was so tender at this point it kinda feel apart on it's own. The above picture shows what it looked after shredding. The original recipe said to cook everything on high for 4-6 hours but I think everything turned out just fine on low for about 9 hours. (Sidenote-since the hubby comes home for lunch I put him to work today...well, he just stirred the pot a little for me. Not sure if this was important or not but I wanted him to check on things)

Ok at this point it's time to add the biscuits. Cut each biscuit into 9 pieces and slowly add them in. I stirred for a little to make sure they were nicely covered. Then set the crockpot on high and cooked for 30 mins. The dumplings are a little doughy compared to what we are used to but I kinda like it that way myself.

That's it! Isn't it super easy? I hope you give it a try...I'm so happy my first Crockpot adventure was a success! :) Feel free to share any Crockpot recipes you love since this is the one and only in my cookbook! Ciao

Another day....

Another day with no dollars....

So I've officially made it halfway through my student teaching and it feels like it has flown by. I guess that is a good thing because I am learning so much and getting great experience but not getting paid for it! The check account is hurting too! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I might be able to line up a job mid year but I'm not holding my breathe. Hopefully I will be able to sub regularly and make enough to pay the bills. I am thankful I have a husband who is supportive of this career decision I have made and makes enough on his own to cover everything right now but it will be nice to make my own money. Not sure why but I feel better when I'm making my own mula and can support myself. Anywho, just pray that teaching jobs will be abundantly open this coming school year. I can honestly say right now this is the best career decision I have made and feel that this is where God wants me to be. I just have to wait for his timing I guess.

Let's see....I know I said I would post more pictures of my pumpkins when I finished them....well...so far I've done 2 and I've done about half of another small one. What can I say...I've just been lazy when I get home from school. I love my little dears but they wear you out! Hopefully, I'll have a spurt of craftiness kick in sometime this week and I will get those done and post. I bought this gourd looking thing too to cover...it kinda looks like a giant pear but I think it will be cute!

As far as cooking, I haven't been doing a lot of that lately either. I basically come home and plaster myself to the couch. The hubs asks me frequently if I plan on getting up from my perch which I kindly as possible answer with a grunt of no. I am the best couch potato ever I think....if it were a sport I would win hands down....however, I have been inspired a lot lately by recipes I've stumbled across of pinterest and one I plan on tackling tomorrow is Chicken and Dumplings in the crockpot. My other half loves himself some C & D and I've never made it myself. This is kind of an experiment since I've never used a crockpot either so here's hoping all goes well.  I thought I would share the recipe on here in case you get a hungering for some! Looks good and EASY! Toodleoo! :)

http://www.bubblecrumb.com/2010/02/14/crock-pot-chicken-and-dumplings-recipe/

Black and White Pumpkin Patch

So in my last post I mentioned I've become obsessed with Pinterest.com....talk about spending time on the internet. It's like a little slice of heaven online! I've pinned so many craft ideas in the few weeks I've been on it. Probably enough to fill a years worth of craft time in (and I'm still adding like my life depends on it). Lots of cute house ideas too, if the hubs and I ever get one of our OWN! Anywho, I was finally able to head on over to Michael's and grab the supplies I needed for a fun fall craft. I thought I would share what I did incase any of you would like to give it a try! Happy crafting! :)


Scrapbook Pumpkins

So here is the post I stumbled upon that inspired me to get crafting. Aren't these scrapbook paper pumpkins so darn cute. The blogger this came from budgetbeautifulbungalow said she was inspired by a magazine. She cut out stripes of scarpbook paper and applied them vertically on her pumpkins with mod podge then once they were dry used a mod podge sealer. Mine turned out a little different.

Step 1
The first thing I did was paint the stem of my pumpkin black. I had picked a black and white design and wanted my stem to match. I purchased a funkin from Michael's that was already white but I noticed some black ones too...maybe if I do another one this size I will get a black one.

Step 2
Next I took the scrapbook paper I wanted to use and cut it into strips. I just kinda eyeballed it. The funkin I got was the smallest size they had and I ended up using about a page and a half of my paper to cover the whole thing.

Step 3
The messy part begins. Using a foam brush and matte mod podge...I'm sure you could use sparkle or gloss if you wanted...I applied some glue to the pumpkin first then placed a strip of the paper vertically, starting at the stem and working down. I made sure the paper covered the whole side and some of the bottom before I trimmed off the extra. Then I went back over the paper with mod podge, making sure it was glued well to the pumpkin. I did notice that I was having trouble with wrinkles to I decided I would cut my strips in half and that seemed to help. Work all the way around until the whole thing is covered.

Step 4
Once the whole thing is covered let it dry completely (probably around an hour) then apply a second coat of mod podge to make sure it is sealed. I don't have any sealer but if you do I would apply one or two coats the next day. **You'll notice in the picture I started this project on newspaper to protect my dining table...well in the process of rotating my pumpkin, smarty pants me noticed it was sticking to the newspaper and removed some of my scrapbook paper...luckily I had a small glass vase that I was able to prop it up on and once I was finished I let it dry on it with no problems.

WALLAA! Pretty cute huh? Hope I inspired some of you to get a little crafty this season. I love fall, it's my favorite time of year here in Texas and now my house will be nice and festive with a little bit of a twist from the normal fall decor. I also bought some smaller pumpkins and gourds and I plan on doing the same to them with different paper. I'll try to post them when I'm done and decide where their place on honor will be in the casa.

Thanks for stopping by! :)