2012 New Year Resolutions

Oh 2011, where have you gone? I swear, it was just yesterday when I greeted you with lofty aspirations of moving to a new state (check), getting a new job (check), losing weight (is there an opposite to a check mark?), reading the Bible all the way through (nope, didn’t do that either), graduating from school (check!!!) and others I’m sure. 

Yes, the year has gone by quickly, and now I’m left sitting here at the end of the year wondering what will come in 2012. I have to say, I have VERY lofty ambitions for this year, some I dare not say in fear that they may not come true! It’s not like a wish though, if I want my ‘resolutions’ or ‘goals’ to come true, then I have to make it happen. So here it is, some of my goals for 2012.

·         Lose 50 pounds (yes mother, I have gotten that big since you’ve last seen me)

·         Gain some of it back... when we start a family :-) (yes mother, hopefully we get to the point this year when we’re ‘ready’ so that you can ‘finally’ be a grandmother) P.S. God, if we could have twins - one boy and one girl - and just get it over with, I’d be delighted. Thanks! Oh and never mind if Marty says otherwise, he agrees. I told him so! 

·         Payoff debt (school is too darn expensive these days!)

·         Stop drinking soda (well at least stop drinking it like water) 

·         Travel with family, and to see family (I know, it’s been some time since I’ve seen some of you... the pendulum goes both ways though. I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.)

·         Explore Minnesota, which in essence means to get away from the television and do some fun stuff outside (I would love to white water raft and snorkel, even though I have a deathly fear of cold dark water. This ought to be a riot!)

·         Organize my home (having a bigger home means that there’s more space to stash stuff. True story.)

·         Decorate my home (new home = brown and beige, where’s the color?!) and work on landscaping 

·         Read the Bible all the way through (this year it WILL happen)

·         Collect all of the genealogy that my family has completed so I can say I finished my family genealogy (okay, I may give it a once over just to validate a little) 

I just realized that I have a couple comments on my mother in there, Freudian slip! Much love to you mom, take it as a complement! 

Okay, so now that my goals are out there for all the world to see, let’s make it happen! Well, maybe next week... 

Drumroll please...

It's official! We're buying our house tomorrow!! I'm so excited I could just squeal! Wow, that was a lot of exclamation points. Okay, so I don't have great photos, but here's what the front looks like.

The hubby is over there today taking a look, making sure everything is good to go and they put our sod in, and our cute little boulevard tree! I have to be honest, I'm a little scared I'm going to kill it all! I don't know the first thing about taking care of a yard. Guess I'll figure it out fast though, right?!

 I just can't wait to sign for it tomorrow and get the key! More photos to come!!

Couples Shower - Success!

One of my best friends is getting married (YAY!), and although her wedding party and family are out in California, I wanted to throw her and her fiance' a couples shower to celebrate. Things are too crazy to handle a bit hectic right now, but with a little planning and organizing, things went off without a hitch. I'll have to post some photos later on, but for now I'll just paint a mental picture for you. Their wedding colors are purple and green (so popular and cute right now!), so I stuck what that for the decorations - balloons, tablecloths, napkins, etc. 

Since we were planning on feeding a lot of people, we decided to make something easy something really delicious for everyone, our chicken enchilada recipe, spanish rice, and refried beans. Our co-host made a salad, we brought chips, salsa and guacamole, and cupcakes for dessert. Don't forget about the drinks though! To make it easy we bought pre-mixed margaritas, sangria, water, and a bunch of soda. Menu, check. 

For games, we wanted to do something fun for everyone, so we played some beer pong (in the living room since it was raining), the shoe game, and ended playing Bonsai. 

Mix that with some music and we all had a great time!

Now, what you've been waiting for - the recipes! Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Body For Life Cookbook. Yes, it's a diet food. No, it's not gross, in fact, it's delicious! The recipe says it serves 4, but my husband and I like to eat, it it easily serves 6!

1 pound chicken breast
About 4 TB. taco seasoning
4 green onions, slices
2 TB. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (we leave this out, ew!)
3 cans (10 ounces each) green enchilada sauce
8 corn tortillas
1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded lettuce
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 tomato, diced
1 can sliced ripe olives

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Place the chicken and taco seasoning (don't measure, just eyeball it) in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer about 15 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink on the inside. Drain the chicken and let cool, then shred with forks.

In a skillet coated with cooking spray, add the green onion, cilantro, and jalapeno and saute for 2 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and 1 can of enchilada sauce. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is heated through.

Pour the 2 remaining cans of enchilada sauce in a medium bowl and microwave for about 2 minutes, or until warm. Dip each tortilla in the enchilada sauce and fill with 1/8 of the chicken mixture. Roll up and place, seam side down, in the baking dish.

Pour remaining heated sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 15 minutes.

Divide the lettuce among 4 plates, place 2 enchiladas on each plate and top with a spoonful of salsa, sour cream and tomatoes and olives. Serve and Enjoy!

Variation: If you like cheesier enchiladas, you can add cheese inside the enchiladas as well!

Super Easy Spanish Rice

1 cup medium grain rice
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 can tomato sauce, small
5 cups water
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion salt
1 tsp garlic salt


Slowly brown rice in oil. When rice is browned, add tomato sauce and water. Add all seasonings next. Get rice boiling, then lower the heat to a slow, rolling boil. Cover and let cook for 30 mins. Do not stir.

Refried Beans

2 lg. cans refried beans
Queso Fresco

Heat up beans on the stove, top with crumbled cheese, hide the cans. Enjoy!

Coming Soon - Big News!

I can't even handle the anticipation right now myself. I have some major news coming up and can't wait to share! Stay tuned! 

Best Martini Ever

Okay, I know, its been FOREVER since I've posted anything, but come on now, I'm a busy gal! No excuses, but it really has been crazy lately. That aside, I want to share a recipe I just came across for my favorite drink that I get at The Keg (steakhouse) every time I go: a french martini. Yum! Hands down, this has to be the best drink ever, and they just posted the directions on their FB page. Lucky us! 

The Keg French Martini

Ingredients
1 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Chambord
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
2 oz. Red Cranberry Cocktail
Fresh Raspberries

Add the ingredients (except raspberries) to a martini shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously. Fill a martini glass with fresh ice and strain the contents of the shaker into the glass. Garnish with a few ripe raspberries.

Voila!

Take a word from the wise (me... for once), be careful when drinking because they're really smooth!

Enjoy!