Coming Soon: The Next Sisterly Guide!

Happy Monday to all of you!  I hope that you all had a great start to your week. 

I did… until I had to drive through a torrential downpour with tornado warnings to get to Zumba tonight!  Here is a pic I snapped, just before the downpour started. 

 

I hate driving in bad storms.  It took me close to 30 minutes to go 10 miles on the Interstate.  Luckily, Zumba was totally worth it!  It was a hard-core workout with tons of great songs.  I got to lead a few songs and co-lead some, too! 

Then I came home to yummy leftovers… Mexican Chicken Stew. 

This is going to be a quick post tonight.  I just wanted to let you know that you should get ready for the next Sisterly Guide!!!  It’s coming SOON!  Tomorrow, in fact!!! 

Can you guess the topic for the next Sisterly Guide???  If you think you know what’s coming, leave a comment!  We’ll see if any of you can guess it! :)

Stay tuned…

Mexican Chicken Stew and Spiritual Gifts

Happy Sunday to everyone!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  We had another weekend of amazing weather here in South Carolina.  Today, it was about 80 degrees here!  Can you believe it?  In February???  The weather in the south is so unpredictable in the spring and fall.  It could be 80 one week and then 40 the next!  I actually would like it to be just a little bit cooler.  When we start running the air conditioner, our power bill skyrockets!  I was hoping for a few more weeks or months of little-to-no air conditioning. 

This morning, I slept in a little (until 8:00)!  Woo hoo!  Amazing.  I used to think sleeping in meant sleeping until noon.  Now if I sleep until 8, it’s a small miracle!

I have a new breakfast favorite. 

Toasted whole wheat flat bread, topped with ham slices and a fried egg.  LOVE runny eggs!  This breakfast will really stick with you for a while, too.

While I ate, I was busy taking a “Spiritual Gifts” quiz.  Stay tuned for more information on that.

I quickly ate lunch and then threw ingredients in the crock pot for dinner tonight before heading out the door to Zumba!

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we had a “Souper Bowl Party” at work. 

Everyone brought in soups and stews, and we voted on our favorites.  I have been wanting to make the winning stew for a couple of weeks, so today I finally did! 

This PRIZE-WINNING recipe is courtesy of my coworker, Jennifer. 

Mexican Chicken Chili:

• 1 package of boneless chicken breast
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 can of black beans, washed and drained
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• 1 can of Rotel tomatoes and chilis
• 1 large jar of salsa

Dump everything in the crockpot and cook until the chicken shreds when stirring.  Great on rice, baked potatoes, chips, and as burritos. Top with sour cream, shredded cheese, and jalapenos.  EASY!

Well, you know me… I never stick to a recipe completely.  The only changes I made were due to available ingredients in my pantry.  I started with 3 frozen chicken breasts.  I added in a cup of frozen corn kernels, 2 cans of light red kidney beans (I didn’t have black), and 2 cans of Ro-Tel.  I omitted the salsa and the taco seasoning.  I added some cumin, diced onion, and cayenne pepper.  I cooked on high for 2-3 hours, then turned it down to low for an hour.  I took out the chicken, shredded it, put it back in, and stirred.  Then it was ready to go.  I ate it like a chili, with tortilla chips on the side and cheddar sprinkled over the top. 

It was delish!  If I’d had sour cream on hand, I would have used that as a topping, too. 

Thanks, Jennifer for the recipe!

So… about that quiz from this morning… I wasn’t sure whether I was going to write about this today or not… because I normally don’t get too spiritual on my blog.  But I decided I am just gonna “put it out there” anyway.

Our Sunday School class is reading a book called Equipped for Every Good Work.  It’s all about finding out what your spiritual gifts are, so that you can find places and ways to be involved in the church.  I was really interested in taking this quiz to see what my gifts might be.  Ryan and I both took it.  This quiz was no joke!  200 questions!!!  It took me 2 cups of coffee to get through it.  It turned out that my spiritual gifts were Faith and Healing!  When I saw that, I was like, “Wait!  What?”  But then I started thinking about it.

I think that if I had taken this quiz 2 or 3 years ago, I probably would have gotten completely different results.  But several things over the past couple of years have really taught me about letting go and keeping the faith.  When Ryan lost his job and ended up with a job with much lower pay, I wondered how we would make it through.  And I was pretty angry at what was happening to our family.  But he’s had an amazing year, and even though money is tight sometimes… we’ve learned that sometimes there is a plan that we can’t always see.  Sometimes you have to have faith that everything is going to work out the way it is supposed to… even when it happens in a way other than what we would expect. 

A good friend of mine said to me a few months back,

“If you’re going to worry, why pray? 

If you’re going to pray, why worry?” 

That quote has really stuck with me, and I am really trying to live by that now.  You know what?  It’s making like a lot less stressful and a lot more enjoyable. 

So… I’ll leave you on that note… Have a great week!

Liz

Who’s Got Two Thumbs and is TOO BUSY to Blog???

THIS GIRL!!!

No, I am not constipated.  That’s my “I’ve been too busy to blog” face.  I can’t believe you couldn’t tell!

So what have I been doing???

I’ll give you one guess, and I think you’ll get it right away.  Yes, I’ve been busy dancing up a storm.  Every day, as a matter of fact!  I’m having a blast… but being so busy means I’ve let some things fall on the back burner.  Cooking is one of them!  This week, I have picked up fast food several times.  Sometimes I’ve made good choices, like this one:

 

It’s one of the flatbread sandwiches from Dunkin Donuts.  This one was the Turkey Sausage and Veggie Flatbread breakfast sandwich.  They are really delicious!

Confession…sometimes I’ve made not-so-good choices… like the Taco Bell trip on Tuesday night.  (I DID order my tacos Fresco Style, but it’s still not what I would consider to be a healthy, wholesome meal.)  I’m doing a TERRIBLE job of planning my meals in advance…which means I end up doing something quick and easy.  When I am eating dinner at 9:00 p.m. I am past the point of being hungry… I am famished… which means I usually don’t make the best choices.

So tonight, when I got back from teaching Zumba, I decided to make some of my Sorta Homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup.  This was really a treat after this busy week I have had. 

I had a Cascal instead of a “real” drink.  Bubbly but low-cal!

So… one thing I LOVE about teaching Zumba on Thursday nights is that it makes me so excited for Friday… and the weekend!!!  And tomorrow’s a JEAN DAY at work!  I have lots to smile about!

I hope all of you are having a good week!

Reader Question:  What falls “to the wayside” when you get busy?  Your house?  Cooking? Laundry?  All three plus more?  How do you get back on track?

Early Case of Spring Fever

Today, I had one of those days that you usually have to wait until May to have. 

The weather was beautiful!  It definitely did not feel like February.  It was in the 70s here in South Carolina!  I know we've got to have some cold weather heading our way, but today was so nice!

We got up early this morning and headed to Columbia to spend the day with family. 

These three boys...

plus Poppy...

had a golf date.

So these three sisters...

plus Sadie...

had a date for some outdoor fun.  We enjoyed some time at the playground...

...and then headed to Zoe's Kitchen for a "Girls' Lunch."

Sadie ordered a PBJ... and as soon as it arrived, she promptly laid down in the booth and went to sleep! 

We mush have worn her out!

Tonight, we were in for a treat.  Can you guess what we ate?

David cooked Low Country Boil!  He even added in some crab!  Everything was so delicious! 

Adrienne made a colorful, tasty salad that was so wonderful!  I love that she put squash in the salad!  It added a really colorful touch.

My contribution was the dessert.  I decided to do a Frozen Yogurt Buffet!  I had two flavors of yogurt: Vanilla and Pomegranate-Blueberry.  My toppings were coconut, mixed berries, peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, and chocolate syrup.  I forgot to take a pic of my buffet, so I made a little bite-sized sundae to photograph.  Yumalicious!

Hope all of you are having a nice warm weekend with family and friends!

A Night With the Girls!

After a long day at work yesterday, I was really looking forward to a special event...

dinner with the girls at White Horse!

I always thought this was a weird picture for a restaurant...

Meredith and Angie

Me, Laura, Mandy, and Jenn

This wasn't just any dinner... we were gathered to celebrate Meredith... because she's getting married in just a couple of weeks!  I am so excited for her!

The White Horse is this fun restaurant here in Rock Hill.  They are known for their drinks, particularly the "Hop, Skip..." and also some of their dishes like the Charlie O'Chicken.

Fun fact... Ryan and I ate at the White Horse just before we got engaged!

We had fun toasting to Meredith, catching up, and of course eating!

Cheers to Meredith!

Chips and Dip

I decided I was in the mood for a burger, so I had the Cheddar Cheese Burger.  It was SO good.  Exactly what I wanted!

Then we let Meredith open her gifts.

There is nothing like a night with friends!  I am so glad we could get together!  And now... it's time to go see some MORE special people...

Who doesn't love a free dinner?

After school, I took Sadie to one of our favorite places:

Earth Fare!

Sadie loves going there because she can push the kid-sized carts.  Sometimes this is risky, because she likes to grab random items from the shelves and put them in her cart.  I've found some strange items when we have gotten to the checkout line... However today, she was a good little shopping helper.

I wish I could do all my shopping at Earth Fare, but we just can't afford to do all our shopping there.  However, Earth Fare has THE best deals.  I have mentioned their coupons before on my blog, and they are great!

Today I got all this:

plus a batch of Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies that were in the oven when I snapped this...

for only $11!

If you sign up for Earth Fare's email list, they will give you a coupon for a free dinner!  You get either a whole chicken OR veggie burgers, a bag of baby carrots, and a container of garlic mashed potatoes.

Click here to sign up.

So here's my free dinner.  I decided to try Earth Fare's Spicy Bean Veggie Burgers.  LOVED them.  They definitely have a kick!  I didn't have monterrey jack cheese, so I topped mine with a little mozzarella and salsa.  YUM!

I also was so excited to try one of these CasCal drinks! 

I've been seeing them on the Food Buzz site and on other blogs.  So tasty!  It's fizzy and is not overly sweet.  It is kinda like having champagne!  It was a fun treat after Zumba!

Well, goodnight all... it's Friday-Eve!  Yahoo!