Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!! I know I have other things to catch up on, but I figured it's better to do a favorite for this week than to continue getting further behind! :D So here they are:

1) SCANDAL- I am obsessed. I am also very upset because I dont have access to season 3 yet :( So I am done with season 2 and just waiting now. lol. It is seriously one of the best shows I have EVER seen!

2) Lamp- We got our lamps a few years ago from a Pier 1 Imports in Miami. Well now, we needed another table lamp. John found one!!! I couldnt believe. It is now in our home and makes our little collection complete :D. Our house is slowing but surely coming together!

3) Meals- Kristen wanted in on my Sunday meal preperations, so we made a menu and she came over on Sunday. We went shopping and then spent about 2 hours making our meals for the week! It was MUCH more fun doing it with a friend. We are definitely going to do it more often together :D

4) Hubby time!- I hadnt seen John all week- literally. However, he was off last night and we finally got to spend some QT together. I adore that man. I hate not being able to see him in the evenings. And whenever we do get time together we usually have so much going on or a million things to do that we dont get much QT. We had a ton to do yesterday, but we decided to do a little but also spend some time together. It was wonderful. He is truly the best. :D 

5) Housewarming Party! This is actually tomorrow, but we've been getting ready for it and I am SO excited!!!


OKay more to come soon :D

The New Normal

The New Normal...

That's what I've been calling it in my head anyways. Life is honestly SO much better in the house. This is the first time in my adult life that I have actually felt stable. When John and I first got married, I went to grad school and lived on campus. We knew that wouldnt be permanent. After grad school, we moved to Miami. We knew that wouldnt be permanent either. After we moved back we knew we wanted to buy a house eventually, so we knew the apartment wouldnt be permanent either. But now, NOW I feel secure. I know that sounds crazy. BUT unless the Lord has different plans for us, we will not be moving for a long time. lol. The sense of stability that provides is simply amazing. I love it. 

I love our house. I love everything about it. I love turning off on the exit to go to our house. I love how remote it feels, but yet not too far away. I love pulling up in my garage and shutting the door behind me. I love walking into MY home, with Carter at the door wagging his tail at me. I even love cleaning it. Mopping gets exhausting since there is so much hardwood to mop, but I still dont even mind! I feel just so lucky, so incredibly blessed :D

Before we moved- I never commuted. In my adult life, I have always lived where I worked! When we moved I was going from no commute to a very long commute in terrible traffic. haha. Luckily, I knew this way in advance and I got it in my head that it was just going to be the way things were from now on. Now, honestly, the commute doesnt bother me. Now, the terrible drivers that almost kill me sometimes- they drive me insane. BUT I do my best to try to remember that it's all worth it for the house. So far in 2 months (AH! IT's BEEN 2 WHOLE MONTHS!) I've only let it get to me two or three times. I think I'm doing pretty good :D 

I've also had to adjust how do I most home related things. Since I spend A LOT more time in the car now and am just exhausted by the time I get home, I need to have dinner prepared ahead of time. I've been doing my best to cook everything on Sundays for the entire week! Some weeks have been better than others, but it's really quite simple. I just throw on a show I like to watch and spend about 2-3 hours in the kitchen getting meals ready. Some I freeze and some I just stick in the fridge. During the week I'll either pull them out to thaw or tell John where they are and he will cook them. Voila! Dinner is ready quick that way! AND it's cut down on how much we eat out- which is just fantastic!

Clothes are another thing that has changed. I HATE trying to figure out what I am going to wear each morning. So, I have tried getting all my clothes ready for the week. Then I can just pick out of those which outfit I want to wear. I need to get better about ironing Johns shirts. I've been leaving him hanging. Yikes! haha.

I still need to get in a better cleaning habit. I have been putting together a daily cleaning schedule that I would like to try to stick to. That way cleaning isnt so overwhelming during the week. I'm still working on it,but when it's finished I plan on hanging it in the house so John and I can make sure we tackle what we need to for the day.

Anyways, enough rambling for the day. I love my new normal and am VERY happy it is just that- my normal :D

Happy New Year!

It is so hard to believe that it is already 2014! Even harder to believe that we have been back home for over a year now. Crazy how time can fly. But it has and now it's a new year! SO HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I know I have talked about how I think resolutions are stupid, but the more I thought about it this year, the more I think I understand the purpose. Everyone always wants to feel like they have fresh start for things and a new year provides that! So I do understand. So I created some :D 

This year I want to:

• Complete a half marathon. I know, crazy. but I really want to do it. Not only that but the one I want to complete is in April. I know, even more crazy. I have started a training plan and hopefully I can stick to it. April 13th is the Rock and Roll Marathon and it's a pretty big deal it's coming to Raleigh this year. There will be a live band at every mile! And it is sponsoring the Jimmy V Foundation. So it's really perfect for me! I just have to be able to run it or at least most of it. haha. We will see :D Any words of encouragement are always helpful!
• I want to stop apologizing and feeling bad for EVERYTHING. If you know me, you know I do this. When I make a decision, I want to feel good about it. I know I always try to make the best decision for John and I or for just me, so if it isnt perfect for others I just need to learn to be okay with it. If it is best for us, it's best for us. This will take all year to work on. haha
• Start reading the bible more often. I dont want to say every day or anything, but a few time a week. I would really like to grow my relationship with the Lord this year. He has just provided us with so much and I want to make sure I am doing what He is asking of me. 

This past year we have been beyond blessed. I cannot wait to see what this year brings for us! Hopefully, I can be successful in my resolutions too :D

Merry Christmas!

Christmas this past year was busy and all over the place! haha. Unfortunately, John had to work on Christmas :(. Our Christmas adventures looked like this:

Christmas Eve: Dinner at John's parents house, Christmas Eve service (where we saw tons of old friends!), and games! This was also Carter's BIRTHDAY!!! He's 3. Cannot believe it. We gave him some treats of course :D

Carter opening is birthday present from his grandma and grandpa!

Christmas Morning: We went to my mom's house and did Christmas presents with Mawmaw and Pawpaw and my family.

Carter loving on Pawpaw...haha

 They became friends really quick :D

 Love that this man humors me. haha

 :D

Christmas afternoon: John went to work :( My mom, brother, and I went to Jacksonville to spend some time with Grandma Brinn! We did a Chinese buffet and got to spend some time with her. It was really nice :D

Love this lady!

Friday after Christmas: BINGO! with my family. It's a huge family affair and we have done this ever since I was a little girl. When we were little mawmaw and pawpaw would buy little gifts and when you bingo-ed you got to pick one! We also play a white elephant version where you can steal from others. haha. We hadnt played in a few years but we decided to play again this year! We had a big ol' crowd too! There was me, John, my mom, my brother, his girlfriend, sherry, my in-laws, Julie, Joel, Mawmaw, Pawpaw, Stephanie, Aunt Rhonda, and Uncle Marcus! Whew! It was fun. Me and John teamed up and would steal the presents we wanted. haha. 

Newlyweds..lol

 Mom and dad Martin!

 Pawpaw and Aunt Rhonda

 Chris and Brittany

 Sherry and Mawmaw :D

Late Friday night: Krystal and Josh came to stay with us for the night before they headed back to Maryland. We exchanged presents and hung out. :D Short, but sweet!

Saturday after Christmas: The family staying with mom came over to see my house!! Carter snuggled good with Mawmaw!! It was so sweet :D

Sunday after Christmas: Johns parents and Julie and Joel were coming over to our house to celebrate Christmas with us! I made a big brunch for everyone :D Then we exchanged presents and just hung out for awhile before John had to head to work. 

I made Frittatas

 and Cinnamon Roll Casserole and Hashbrown casserole

 Fruit Salad (brought by Dad Martin), Bacon, and Sausage Gravy (YUM)

 Bojangles biscuits! (I made from scratch from a recipe we found!!) and Sausage Crescent roll things that Dad Martin brought too- delicious!

 Table set! My Mawmaw handmade all those place settings!

 Present time!

Carter too!

 First Christmas as a married couple :D

 Watch out! Shes on the loose! haha

 Spoiling my puppy!

We had an incredibly blessed Christmas this year. I am so thankful we were able to spend it with so many people! I cant wait until next year when we wont be moving right before and we can really enjoy the entire season :D

Nom Noms

These are seriously some of the best new meals I have made in a LONG time. SCORE! for trying out some new recipes and most of them being delicious!

Chicken Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

*I found the recipe awhile ago and cannot find it again. I recreated it recently and guessed at the amounts of stuff. It was still delicious. However, you can play with sauce ingredients to get it the way you want it!

Ingredients:

Chicken cut into bite size

Rice

Frozen stir fry mix (thawed)

2 tbsp peanut butter

2 cups chicken broth

Siracha (to taste- I like a lot)

1tsp soy sauce

1tsp Worcestershire sauce

Peanuts

Instructions:

Mix together the peanut butter, chicken broth, Siracha, soy sauce,

 Worcestershire sauce and peanuts. Place in saucepan and cook until well blended. 

Cook rice.

Take a little of the sauce and pan fry the chicken to give the chicken flavor. 

Cook until no longer pink.

Add the stir fry to the mix.

When the rice is done, serve on plates. Add the chicken stir fry and top with more of the sauce! YUMM-O!

One Pan Cheesy Smoked Sausage and Pasta Skillet

  Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb Hillshire Farm Smoked Turkey Sausage, sliced

1 cup diced onion

1 Tbsp minced garlic (about two fresh cloves)

2 cups Chicken Broth

1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup milk or heavy cream

8 oz dry pasta (any small pasta will do)

1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, each

1 cup shredded Cheddar-Jack cheese

1/3 cup chopped scallions, for garnish

Instructions

Add olive oil to a 4-5 quart saute pan over medium high heat. 
Add onions and sausage and cook until lightly browned. 
Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
Add chicken broth, tomatoes, milk, pasta, and seasonings. 
Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. 
Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until pasta is tender.

Turn off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese. 
Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cover for 
about five minutes to allow cheese to melt. 
Top with sliced scallions and serve.

Makes about 4 servings.

1. 
   

   Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Ingredients

1lb Ground Beef

1 package of egg-free extra-wide egg noodles

1 cup Sour cream 

Cream Cheese (4 oz)

1 can (15oz) tomato sauce

1 package of shredded cheese

1 bunch of green onions- diced

Italian Seasoning

Garlic Powder

Instructions

Brown your ground beef. Season with salt and pepper and cook until browned. 

Add the can of tomato sauce and the cream cheese. Simmer. Season with the seasonings-to taste. Preheat oven to 425. Cook your  noodles according to instructions. Next, lightly spray your baking dish with olive oil. Drain your noodles and then add to the noodles the green onions and sour cream. I used more sour cream than called for, but I love sour cream :D. Mix it all together. You should have two mixes now- the noodles mixture and meat mixture. Layer the bottom of the baking dish with half the noodle mixture, top with half the meat mixture, then top with half of the shredded cheese. Do a second layer the same way. Cook for 5-7 minutes. For the last 3-5 minutes broil it, but keep an eye on it! :D DELICIOUS!

**These next few recipes are all from the same site. This lady has some amazing freezer recipes! I'll copy her link to them all, but I'll also put the recipe in here just in case for some reason the site ever goes away. These are too good to lose!** 

These are her instructions for freezing them if you choose to do that: 

"I make my freezer meals 2 ways. One way is to just make them all in a 2 day process. Compile my list, shop, and do meat prep. Then the next day I assemble them. The other way I like to do it is over the course of a week or two. I buy the ingredients enough to double the recipes, then I make one for dinner and just double it and put one away in the freezer. Then by the end of about 2 or 3 weeks, you have 10 meals frozen in the freezer ready to go for later. Your meals will do well in the freezer for 2-4 months. "

Layered Enchilada Casserole 

Ingredients

2 cup cooked, shredded chicken 
1 can diced tomatoes, drained (15 oz) 

1 can black beans, drained (15oz) 

1 tub Santé Fe Blend Philadelphia Cooking Crème 

2 cup shredded cheese. ( I used a combo of 3 cheddar and Pepper Jack) 

3 flour tortillas (I used 6 inch) 

Instructions

1. Mix the chicken, tomatoes, beans, and cooking crème in a bowl. Combine well. 

2. Place a 1/3 cup mixture on bottom of a pie plate or 8X8  freezer pan. I buy the foil ones. 

Top with 1 flour tortilla.
3.Top tortilla with chicken mixture and cheese. Repeat layers and end with chicken 

mixture on top and top with last bit of cheese.
4. Double wrap in heavy aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn.  Label.
Cooking Instructions: Thaw and bake uncovered at 350 degrees
30 minutes or until heated through.

Quesadilla Casserole 

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef 

1/2 cup chopped onion 

2 tsp chili powder 

1 tsp ground cumin 

1 tsp dried minced garlic 

1/2 tsp oregano 

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional) 

16 oz tomato sauce 

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed 

1 can (8 3/4 oz) whole kernel corn, undrained 

1 can (4 1/2 oz) green chilies, undrained 

6 flour tortillas (8 inch size) 

2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese 

Instructions:

1. Brown beef and onion in a large skillet on medium-high. Add tomato sauce, beans, corn and green chilies. Mix well. Stir in all of the spices except the red pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat low and simmer 5 minutes. 

Add red pepper to taste if desired. 

2. Spread 1/2 cup of the beef mixture on bottom of 9X13 pan (sprayed with pam). I like to use the foil pans for freezer meals. Top with 3 of the tortillas, overlapping as needed. 

Layer with 1/2 of the remaining beef mixture and 1/2 of the cheese. 

Repeat with remaining tortillas, beef and cheese. 

3. Double wrap with heavy duty foil and label.  

Cooking Instructions: Thaw and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes 

or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 

Enjoy!! 

We put sour cream on ours. Guacamole would be yummy on it too.

Chicken and Wild Rice

Ingredients: 
1 box wild rice with seasoning packet (4.3 oz)

1 can cream of mushroom soup 

1 can cream of chicken soup 

1 can water 

1 small can mushrooms, drained 

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, uncooked 

1 cup slivered almonds 

Instructions:

1. Mix together rice with seasoning packet, both cans of soup, and water.  Stir in mushrooms. 

2. Pour in to 8X8 freezer dish, I use the foil pans.  Top with 6 chicken pieces and sprinkle with slivered almonds. 

3. Double wrap in heavy duty foil, label and freeze. 

Cooking Instruction: Thaw and bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour until chicken juices run clear and rice is tender. 

Goulash

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef

1 can tomato soup

6 oz can tomato paste

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni  (I used whole wheat noodles)

2 Tbsp Italian seasoning (more to taste)

1 can (15oz) corn, drained

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1-2 cups shredded cheese (depending on your “cheesiness” preference)

Instructions:

1. Brown Ground beef with onion powder and garlic powder.  Drain.
2. Cook noodles according to package, drain
3. In a large bowl, combine soup, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, noodles and ground beef.  Stir in corn.
4. Transfer to an ungreased 8X8 freezer baking dish and top with cheese.  I buy the foil pans.  Easy peasy and you wont be missing a pan while this meal is in the freezer waiting.
5. Cover with foil.  I like to use heavy duty foil and double wrap it to prevent freezer burn.  

Label and freeze.
Cooking instructions: Thaw and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes 

until heated through and melted cheese.

Potato Soup

Ingredients
30 oz bag of frozen, shredded hash browns
32 oz container of chicken broth.  Veggie broth works fine too

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

8 oz cream cheese (not fat free, it wont melt in)

Instructions:

1. In a large freezer bag, combine everything except cream cheese.  Double up on your freezer bag and squeeze out any air to avoid freezer burn.  Label it and put a date on it.  

Cooking instructions: Thaw soup and place mixture in crock pot.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.  About 1 hour before serving, add in the cream cheese and heat until thoroughly melted.  

This is great with toppings of cheese, bacon, green onions, and sour cream

*note- I buy the cream cheese and just keep it in the fridge ready to go….it will keep for a long time 

Meatballs

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef

1 small, sweet yellow onion

2 tsp garlic salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 eggs, beaten

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine beef, onion, seasonings, bread crumbs, and eggs.  

Mix well.  Shape in to 2 inch balls and place in a lightly greased baking dish.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  

Allow meatballs to cool and store in freezer containers.  Freeze up to 3 months.

Million Dollar Spaghetti

Ingredients
16 oz spaghetti noodles

2 lb jar of marinara sauce

1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup cottage cheese

2/3 cup Parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded cheese ( I use cheddar/colby blend)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9X13 pan or two 8X8 pans.
Boil noodles according to package, 
drain and stir with a drizzle of olive oil so they don't stick together.
In a stand mixer combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, 
and sour cream. Mix well and set aside.
Brown ground beef and onion until no longer pink. Drain. 
Add in jar of marinara sauce and stir.
Begin by layering half of the noodles in the bottom of your greased pan.
Top with 2/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese.
Layer on the cream cheese mixture.
Top with remaining noodles.
Spread marinara sauce with ground beef over top.
Bake for 30 minutes then sprinkle with 2 cups cheese 
and return to oven for another 15 minutes.
Let cook for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

December!

December was a blur! Between moving and the holidays, I feel like it's been full steam ahead! Lots of fun though! Over the December we:

• Bought and received new couches! YAY!
• Finished installing all the blinds in our home.
• Decorated for Christmas. We only did a little this year because we dont have many decorations and there are SO many things to buy when you buy a house. haha :D I did make the tree topper this year! I LOVE IT!

• We were both able to take some time off of work. I had 9 whole days off in a row!! (2 of them were not planned as I got sick :(. BUT the days off were amazing nonetheless.) We got to spend SO much time together. Brad came over a ton- we LOVE living near him! Carter does too!

                                       

• We also started and finished working on Johns Christmas present which was getting and installing everything for surround sound!! We had some of the speakers, but we decided to do the back speakers as in-wall and in-ceiling speakers. I looks SO good! I am so proud of him for all of his hard work this!
• Celebrated Christmas (another post to come!)
• John found a dog and we ended up keeping her a few days until we found her family. John found her wondering down Cornwalis Rd and he didnt want her to get hit by a car. She had an electric fence collar on, but no tags. She also didnt have a microchip. We made some fliers and posted them at the gas station down the road. Luckily a neighbor saw the posting and told the owners. This sweet girl just turned 12. We were glad she had a family!! They had not set up the electric fence yet and had put her in the garage while a Time Warner Cable guy was at their house. The son didnt realize it and opened the garage. She was very sweet! The family was VERY happy to have her home.

• We mounted the TV! or rather John did :D

 

• We had some people over for cornhole and football! 

Of course Brad played some for us too :D

I have a backyard!!:D

Meet Ty! one of the cutest 2 year olds ever :D

I am sure a lot more happened, but I just dont remember! haha :D I'll keep updating you and hopefully since things are settling down I can be more regular :D