What's For Dinner?

Around our house I try to do a meal plan so it's easier for me to buy groceries and in the end I think it's a lot cheaper.  So..in order to keep the meals interesting around our house, I've been trying out a few new recipes. These are a few I've tried in the last couple of months with my (and Sean's) honest opinion. (Just click the title to be taken to the recipe.)

1. Shepard's Pie via Skinny Taste

I've never had regular Shepard's Pie, so I can't compare, but both Sean and I LOVE this dish. It's enough to last us for a couple of days and I think the flavor is awesome. We make this one a lot.

2. Crockpot Minestrone via Skinny Taste

I've only made this once and I wasn't a fan. Sean happened to like it. For me, the rosemary was just too strong and this is coming from someone who actually likes the taste of rosemary. I've thought about cutting down the rosemary and making it again, but I'm kind of on the fence with that one.

3. Turkey Burgers via Trying Our Best

I've been meaning to make these forever, but our commissary is always out of ground turkey. They finally  had it in stock, so a couple of days ago I made turkey burgers. Oh. My. These are delicious! And honestly quite easy to make. Thank God it was enough for leftovers, because I can't stop eating them.

4. Sloppy Joes via Skinny Taste

I used to make Manwiches for dinner. You know, ground beef and sauce out of the can. Then one day I decided to try the sloppy joes on Skinny Taste and I haven't looked back. They are great, packed with veggies and taste like normal sloppy joes. I'm actually making them tonight and Sean and I are both very excited about it.

Now...for a couple of recipes that are specfically for dinner, but I wanted to review them anyway.

1. Jalapeno Popper Dip

I found this recipe via Pinterest and thought it would be fun to make for our Christmas Eve party at my grandparents' house. It was a huge success. Everytime I've made it, people have asked me for the recipe. If you love jalapenos, then you are going to love this dip. It's addictive!

2. Nutella Peanut-Butter Cookies

I'll be honest, these were good, but not good enough that I'd make them over and over. For starters, I'd add some more Nutella then the recipe calls for. Seems like you could barely taste the Nutella and although I do love peanut butter, I don't love peanut butter cookies that much.

Any recipes you guys have made recently that are amazing?

Pumpkin Butter

Today, after a pleasurable ceramic shopping experience in Nove, complete with the best gnochetti with fresh mushrooms pasta I've ever had...I made pumpkin butter.

Pumpkin butter is like apple butter and let me tell you, it's amazing.



I got the recipe at SkinnyTaste.com, here is the link. The best part? All of the recipes are Weight Watchers friendly. So even if you don't follow WW (which I don't) you still know you are eating in a resonable manner. There's also been recipes this week for pumpkin crepes, pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin smoothies, all using pumpkin butter. Check it out! Go! Now!

What's for Dinner?

What's on your dinner list this week?

We're trying to stretch our money until payday, which is thankfully tomorrow, so I tried to find cheap recipes for this week.

Sunday and Monday we had taco soup, which is one of Sean's favorites. I like it because it's super easy to make. Find the recipe here. I've been adding hamburger meat and rice to it, but otherwise I make it the same.

Yesterday I made shredded chicken in the Crock-pot and wound up with some homemade broth to boot. I use Gina's recipe for it over at Skinnytaste.com. Find it here.
I used part of the chicken yesterday for my favorite chicken salad recipe EVER. It's addictive, I'm not kidding. Here is the recipe.

Tonight I'm using whole wheat tortillas to make chicken and rice burritos with homemade guacamole. Should be delish!

Next week I'm going to attempt pumpkin chili. I'm eager to see how that turns out.

Share your recipes! I'm always looking for new ones!

Oh and thanks to everyone who's already entered my 8x10 print giveaway! If you haven't entered yet, check the post before this and get your name on the list.

The Recipe!

Wow! I didn't expect everyone to be so interested in my taco soup. Here's the recipe though for those that are.

P.S. Evidently this recipe started with Weight Watchers as it is 2 Point Taco Soup

Ingredients
1 large onion, diced
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes & green chiles
1 (11 ounce) canned corn with red and green peppers (they call it Fiesta Corn)
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can low-fat or fat-free canned refried black beans ( I use organic black beans that aren't refried and I think it's way better that way)
2 cans water (3 1/2 cups)
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 package ranch salad dressing mix (dry)

Directions
Saute onion with vegetable oil cooking spray.
When softened, combine all other ingredients and cook until heated through.

The last time I made the soup I added cooked ground hamburger meat, which gave it a little more substance. Obviously it's no longer 2 point Taco Soup with the meat, but it's still good nonetheless.

Today I'm just holding down the fort here at work. My boss went to Germany for some sort of conference so I'll be splitting shifts with volunteers until she gets back. Sean left today...so this whole working extra hours works out pretty well.

Deployment is looming closer and closer. I'm doing the responsible thing though and denying that it is in fact getting closer. I haven't come to terms yet that I won't see my husband for an entire year. Blah....

We Have Communication!

All day I've been staring at my phone and waiting for some sort of contact from Sean. Finally as I'm getting home from work I notice a text message from him. I was so excited it's not even funny. We talked for a few minutes on the phone and now we are texting. This has totally made my day!

Now..to answer a question from yesterday.

If you are looking for the recipe for mozzarella dip, look no further. You can find it here.

Also I have found two pairs of boots I really like. One pair is $100 cheaper than the other, but both have their merits. Unfortunately the website I found them at will not let me save the picture, so if you would be so kind, would you mind looking at this link and then this link and telling me which you like best?

Last, but not least....some of you know I also blog on shejustgotmarried.com. Well, they are currently having a giveaway and I thought I'd share it with you guys.

Basically it's a book on how to deal with your in-laws, so if any of you out there feel like pulling your hair out when you deal with them, then this book is for you.

Check it out here.

Shoe Addictions

Well, I'm happy to report that I finally got to watch the Sex and the City movie last night. I really enjoyed it, even though I've heard a lot of people say they didn't like the ending. Honestly, I wasn't suprised by the ending and I did really enjoy the movie, even though it was a little longer than I thought it would be.

Other than that I just went to the gym and did some weight-lifting and swung by the commissary to pick up a few food items that we needed.

I'm hoping Sean gets home at a decent time tonight, even though it's only been one night I really do miss having him around and I hate not being able to hear from him even in a text.

Can I just say I love the Walk the Line soundtrack? I think I'm going to download all of it on ITunes. Actually I think I prefer Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon singing then June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash. Sean was shocked the other day when I told him that it was really them singing, I guess he thought it was a voice-over. Walk the Line is one of our favorite movies to watch together, we also really like 50 First Dates. Sean has secretly admitted to me that when he has watched them apart from me he's cried on several occasions. That was a shocker when I first heard it since I've never seen him cry! Don't you just love it when they admit that stuff to you?

I was driving back from lunch yesterday and noticed a dry-cleaners sign that I'd never looked at before. It had the name of the dry cleaner and underneath it had it's slogan. The slogan just happened to be, "A Great Place to Drop Your Pants" I laughed so hard! I have never seen anything like that. I'm going back this weekend when I take pictures around town to take a picture of it. I promise when I do I'll post it on here so you guys can get a laugh.

I'm loving these shoes:


I have them in black and I really like them, so I'm thinking I might have to get them in red too.

I also like these:

Can I admit something? I'm addicted to shoes! Sean mocks me for my massive pile of shoeboxes in our closet, but I really have cut down on my shoe buying and I've even gotten rid of a few pairs that I never wear. When I was a shoe salesgirl I honestly bought a new pair about every week. I could afford to because I knew when the great sales were and also when shoes were marked really low I could have first dibs on them. I miss those days! Not really, because I hated retail, but the discounts sure were nice!

I'm waiting on my mother to send me a banana pudding recipe and a potato soup recipe. I've asked for them twice in the last couple of weeks and she keeps forgetting. Granted she's a busy lady, but I really want those recipes! Just thinking about the banana pudding makes my mouth water. That recipe comes from my grandmother who makes the most amazing pies you'll ever eat. She does homemade crusts that are so good, that you'll actually want to eat the crust by itself. Almost everytime I come home she makes me a pumpkin pie, regardless of the season just because I love pumpkin pie so much. I wish we were going home for Thanksgiving this year, I'd really like to experience some of her pie....

Recipe Poll

Here is the poll as promised. Vote away!

Oh and special thanks to all the BATW people and fellow military spouses that have stopped by and showed their concern for us facing the upcoming hurricane. I appreciate it so much!

Recipes, Hurricanes and Movies

First of all this morning I'd like to thank everyone who weighed in on my makeup dilemmas. All the advice was much appreciated and I'm going to be looking into buying some of the products you mentioned soon. What would I do without you ladies?

Ok, as far as an update on the recipe blog. I've had several people volunteer to help in one way or another, so I really appreciate you ladies doing that! As soon as we get a name chosen I'll be making the account and then Emily has volunteered to do a template for us, so that will help out a lot. I'll also be setting up an email account so that if you don't want to put the recipes in the blog yourself, you can email them to us and we'll put them in for you. I'm still trying to decide the best way to catergorize the recipes. I wasn't sure whether to do it traditionally as in appetizer, main course, dessert, etc. Or do it by the author's blogger name. What do you ladies think?

Other than that I just need a few more suggestions for names and then I'll be putting up a poll for that. I think it's safe to say we should have this blog up and running in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully....

In other news, everyone it seems in Louisiana is watching Gustav and just where it plans on going. The news around here is filled with predictions of where it will track to and New Orleans news is abuzz with evacuation plans. Sean told me last night there is word that if it hits somewhere near here and is bad enough that his unit will be sent out. For some reason during Rita and Katrina units from Ft. Polk weren't sent. Odd is it not? They were 5 hours away from New Orleans, yet the 82nd was sent in. I'll never understand our government and how it works. However, I'm actually glad that we decided not to go on that Elvis cruise that I tried to convince Sean to go on. Looks like now with this hurricane it would have been cancelled anyway.

Anyway, not much else on the agenda today. Sean has CQ duty tonight from 5:30 until 6:30 tomorrow morning, so it will just be another quiet night for Boomer and I. I am going to the gym tonight since I've neglected to go the past few evenings. I've been bad about going lately, I'm not sure what my problem is. I'm never going to lose those 10 more lbs by the end of October if I don't get with the program ASAP! I say that and then I go and eat a mini-country ice cream cone for a mid-morning snack. Guess I'm hopeless!

Anyone have any good suggestions for movies they've seen lately? It doesn't have to be a new release, but I'd like some more movies to add to my Netflix list. I have a bout 20 some on there right now, but I'd like some more good suggestions. I prefer comedies and I'm not really a fan of horror, if that helps any!

Important Announcement

OK ladies, it looks as though I am going to be making separate blog for all of our recipes to be housed at and hopefully in the near future we can make them all into a big cookbook.

Here's what I've decided so far. As Lindsay suggested, I'm going to make it a multi-user blog so others can get into the blog and edit, add recipes, etc. That way you won't have to wait for me to do that.

Next, I'm not limiting this to just spouses, if you are a military girlfriend,sister, mom, fiance you are welcome to contribute. The more recipes the better!

Also I'd like to have a catchy name for the blog. I think we should take suggestions and then perhaps have a vote on it.

I think this one website is going to be so much better than having to go back and look through past posts and archives trying to find delicious recipes that you girls have posted over the last few months and in some cases years.

So, start gathering the recipes you want to contribute and start thinking of a catchy name for this website! Also if anyone wants to help setting up the blog I'd be grateful!

The Great Recipe Swap

It's Friday! It's also my 50th post, so I'm thinking something more unusual is in order for today.

I was thinking about maybe a recipe blog. I'm also up for new recipes and trying things out and I'd love to try some of your favorite recipes that you love to make.

I'll share one of my faves and if you want, post one of yours in the comments. If there's a story behind it, feel free to share that too.

Don't be shy!

I'm posting a recipe for Potato casserole. My mother makes this a lot and it's my all-time favorite dish. Sean loves it just as much as I do and often requests that I make it. (I knew I married the right man!)

Potato Casserole
2lb package frozen shredded hash browns
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup margarine, melted
1/2 tsp salt.

Combine all ingredients in a very large bowl and then smooth the mixture into a 9x13 pan. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Crush 2 cups cornflakes, smooth on top of the casserole, then bake for another 15 minutes.

So let's hear those recipes!

Ahh....the weekend

Ah...it's Friday. My favorite time of the week. A whole weekend ahead of me. What to do?

I'm not really sure what Sean and I are up to this weekend. He originally thought he was going to work, but found out today he doesn't, so that's a whole free weekend for us. I think I might be making dinner for Sean and his friend Skeen sometime this weekend, but other than that I'm planless. I'm sure I'll fit some working out and cleaning in there somewhere. It seems as if there's always something to clean around our house.

In the mornings when I'm taking Sean to work he likes to listen to talk radio, it just so happens that in the paticular time slot that I take him to work Dr. Laura is on. So let me ask you this. Does anyone dislike Dr. Laura as much as I do? I find her to be extremely condescending and all around a big know-it-all. Sometimes her advice isn't so bad, but she just comes across as either you take her advice or continue to screw up your life. I don't think she's right all the time and just listening to her aggravates me. As soon as Sean's out of the car I always have to change it just because she irritates me so much.

I had some gumbo today. It was pretty good although I would have liked to have had some shrimp in it. My former roomate Mari made gumbo for us a few years ago and it was probably the most delicious gumbo I've ever had. She had chicken, shrimp and sausage in it. So good....today's gumbo was filling though.

I've been trying out a lot of new recipes lately. The Kraft food magazines that I have been collecting the last few years is where I get the majority of my recipes. They're always so easy and don't have a lot of complicated ingredients to get. Last night I made a pasta dish that was pretty good. A little bit of a tangier sauce would have made it perfect I think. I always love it when Sean cooks though. He's honestly the better cook of the two of us. See....I'm a recipe follower. Sean is more of a instinct type of cook. He just knows when things are ready. I think the things he makes the best are potatoes. Since we've been together he's made a lot of different potato dishes and they are always to die for. If any of you out there ever visits us I recommend that you request him to cook.

I'm still looking for a job. I guess I didn't get the Internet Department Director job at the car lot since they have yet to contact me and he was supposed to make his decision in the middle of this week. I'm ok with that. I just know that by the end of this month I need to be making money. I actually applied for an on-post job yesterday which pretty much is what I've been looking for. It's a Museum Specialist at the museum here and I'd be cataloging items and basically creating an archive. I honestly don't feel qualified for it, but how will I ever learn those specific techniques unless I get a job with a museum? That's why I went ahead and applied for it. The worst they can say is no. I just want to find something soon.

Well....I think I'm out. Hope ya'll have a great weekend!