Cooking

It is that time of the month again to replenish my freezer with meals. Today I have made four meals of fajita's, three of split pea soup, two of white chili, 2 of chicken tacos, and 2 of chicken burritos. It is tiring but really I have only been in the Kitchen for about 5 hours and I am just about done. Tomorrow I will do Tortilla soup and then just a few crock-pot meals for the month makes about 22.

Here is a great recipe I found and Love it! It is from a lady in my ward. Try it, it is so good!

Hi,

I'm glad that you liked the chili, it is one of my family's favorites! Here's the recipe:

Creamy White Chili

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes*
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cans (15 1/2 oz each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/2 cup whipping (heavy) cream

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion, and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chopped green chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and heavy cream. Serve immediately.

I have used chicken tenders that I cut up and cook with the onions, but I have also bought a rotisserie chicken and just used some of the meat from that, and I have also just put two cans of Swanson chicken in. If you use chicken that is already cooked, just brown the onions and garlic a while before adding the chicken.

Enjoy!

Jane

Baby Shower Fun

One of the many things I love doing is hosting baby showers. This shower I co-hosted with two other friends and it turned out really good. We did a diaper cake and diaper garland and had lots of fruits, veggies, and bread! It was really fun to do and I hope I can do more baby showers in the future.

Book Finished

Well, it took me only a month and I finished reading the 1,077 pages of The Count of Monte Cristo! It was a page turner that got started very quickly and has a wonderful story line filled with love, mystery, and revenge. It was really good and I don't totally hate the ending it was just a little sad that's all. I can't believe I enjoyed it as much as I did. I went to the book club about a week before I finished it and I almost lost my motivation to finish since a lot of the ladies there didn't really love the ending. Now that I read it I get what they were saying but the way the writer tells the story you kind of expect the ending before reading it.

Now I am on to my next read. "I Am a Mother" This book is a short fun read so far and every time I put it down it makes me feel good about being a Mom. I can't wait to finish it and return it since I am borrowing this one from a friend who loves it.

Hair Cut

I got another great hair cut from Bubbles Salon. I really like it and it is nice to get rid of that last cut that wasn't so great!

Tablecloth

I have had pretty good luck with my sewing projects lately but this next one I am about to share was not so successful. I finished it but I didn't do a very good job. I was under some stress and I just didn't care much plus the type of material I used you can't just unpick and try again you have to cut off the part you messed up and try again. Don't get me wrong I may end up doing just that some day to fix it. For now it is used for a blanket for 3 year old's and luckily that audience doesn't require perfection.

I present to you the Picnic tablecloth:





As you can see from the second photo it is for the preschool co-op I am doing. The kids like to sit on it.

Burp Cloths

I found a great new baby shower gift idea I totally love. Making burp cloths. It is such a fun and easy project and I had to share my good find. I love this Blog she has a lot of cute ideas and things I will try and do over and over again. I used a thin fleece inside instead of quilting batting, it saved me a few pennies and I think it is softer and matches so I don't have to worry about cutting it out perfectly.

The Count of Monte Cristo

I am taking on the book challenge for my ward's book club and am reading the very long but very beautiful(or so I hear) book of The Count of Monte Cristo! Wow, before this year I have hardly read anything and now I am reading this and get this...I'm enjoying it!

I had to blog about such a thing as this and tell you of my experience in the library yesterday. So I had the book on hold so I could go pick it up easier and when I went to pick it up I saw an older copy of the same book for sale for only 50 cents. I had to buy it since I figured it would take me a little longer than 3 weeks to finish. Can you believe that? It was fate and now I am reading a classic I actually like. Now the hard part is to finish it by the end of October in time for book club. Wish me luck:)