Catching Up

It has been over a week since my last blog post. A lot has happened in the past week.

We're going to rewind to Thursday and Friday, as I was prepping for Relay for Life.

First and foremost, I met and exceeded my goal of $750. I actually ended with more than $800, which is absolutely amazing. I spent all day Thursday and Friday running errands and making sure we had everything in order for Relay. I made signs, went to party city for decorations twice, and baked more than I've ever baked in one day, ever before. I baked over 4 dozens cupcakes and close to 100 cake pops.

Did somebody say Bake Sale?

Then before I knew it it was Saturday morning. We got our site set up and we were all decked out in neon and ready to rep the 80s. 

Our team, Notorious C.U.R.E. or "The Little Team that Could" raised over $3,500.  It was a great day or celebration, remembrance and lots of people fighting back! As an event, we raised over $111,000! Thank you to every one who was involved, no matter the amount of involvement!

After Relay, bright and early Sunday morning, I returned home. I power-showered, took a quick cat nap, packed up the car and headed north back to Alma.

I knew moving back to campus after 6 months away was going to be an adjustment, but I never knew how hard it really would be. I've been at home cooking, spending time with family and having the freedom to go and do whatever I wanted. Now I am back in a dorm room, not to mention alone for the first time, with suite-mates I don't know and trying to make the best of it. Keeping busy is going to be key for me. I have made a promise to find some time, every single day, to do some sort of workout whether it be a run, a walk, some time on the weights.. anything. Just something to keep me up and moving.

I will begin "work" (one of many) tomorrow and will be working about 6-8 hours a week in the lab. Friday I will begin giving tours again, which I am really looking forward to as I really enjoy the interaction with potential students and their families. 

Friday evening I am actually heading home for the weekend. This was not planned, but came up as I was spending time with some of my sorority sisters and realized that one of them is actually heading home my way on Friday, which has really helped me pull through this week.

After I return from the weekend at home there will be only 18 days left until I can return home for summer and not have to be back here until Mid-August. I am definitely looking forward to having Ashley & Jes as suite-mates in the fall, because I know that will change the whole environment of my living situation. 

Until then, I'll just keep pushing through. Just keep swimming... just keep swimming.

Cailee

xoxo

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Last night I made a delicious dinner that I wanted to share with all of you.

First of all, let me start by saying I have never had stuffed shells in my life. When my mom suggested we try a stuffed shell recipe, I didn't know where to begin. She found this recipe on one of her Facebook friend's profile. (Thanks, Isa!)

Our delicious stuffed shells!

I never follow directions perfectly but I will tell you what I did instead.

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken breast, cooked and chopped. (Instead of chopped, I shredded in my mixer!)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 6 green onions, diced
• 1/2 each of red, green, yellow, & orange bell peppers (or 2 whole bell peppers of your choice), diced
• 3 (8 oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened (not melted)
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with chiles (don’t drain) 
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tsp cumin ( I also added other spices)
• 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup of picante sauce   I used salsa. 
• 1 can of corn
• 38 large pasta shells, cooked al dente (38?! Im not feeding an army. We made about 12 or 15)

Because I cut the shell amount down, I also cut the rest of the recipe in 1/3.

Instructions

1. Cook pasta shells in well salted, boiling water until al dente.  Drain the pasta and set aside while you make the filling. I actually made them over an hour apart. The shells were fine :)
2. Cook, drain and shred chicken.
3. Mix chicken, drained black beans, diced peppers, and seasonings in a mixing bowl. 
4. In another bowl, mix the cream cheese, chicken stock and undrained tomatoes with chiles. When thoroughly combined, pour it over the chicken mixture and mix well.
5. Pour salsa into bottom of the pan. :)
6. Using a spoon (or your fingers - which is much more fun!) fill each of your shells, setting them into the pan.
7. When the pan is full, drizzle the shells with more salsa and then sprinkle with the shredded cheddar cheese.
8. Cover the baking pan tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. ( I actually baked about 45 minutes and they were perfect!)

I also made some fried rice and a corn, black bean, salsa mix to go with it. It was a perfect Mexican meal!

Harry S. Truman once said... 

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

Happy Cooking!

xoxo

Brunch -- The perfect mix of breakfast and lunch.

It is good to know that even though I am almost 20 years old I am not too old for an Easter basket!

I woke up bright and early to shower and begin cooking for our lovely Easter brunch. I cut up all the fruit for our Honey Lime Fruit Salad. I figured letting it marinade together while we were at church would be a perfect touch.

Then we headed off to church.

After church, and a quick stop at Tim Hortons (Got another winning Roll Up The Rim!), I returned to my kitchen. I covered my new dress with my Starbucks barista apron I got for $1 at Goodwill and got to cooking. Aside from the fruit salad, I made ham, hashbrown/egg baskets, fresh strawberry muffins, and Easter sangria (for those of age!). 

  

 

Check out my Easter Brunch Pinterest page with some of these recipes -- Easter Brunch '13

The afternoon was full of sunshine, egg hunts, delicious food, family and friends.

I feel like this photo is a perfect photo to describe the afternoon. :)

After our family headed home, Nick and I were off to family party #2, with the McIntosh family!  We ate delicious desserts, played Corn Hole for hours on end, and even found time to watch a movie and hangout before the day was over.

As always, I hated saying goodbye to Nick last night, but I know I will be seeing him again in a few weeks.


And then for today...
I found out I am going to be an RA on 2nd floor Brazell and am happy to say that I am going to have the best suitemates, Jes and Ashley!

That's all for now.

Goodnight

XOXO

If April showers bring may flowers, what does snow in March bring?

Being from Michigan, I am used to all sorts of crazy weather. However, when I woke up to a fresh layer or snow this morning... just 6 days from April, I was displeased. The house was freezing and I was hungry. It was not a good mix.

Also, I was craving pancakes.

To the kitchen! I whipped up a delicious batch of pancakes which not only cured the hunger but also helped with the warmth situation because I was busy and working around heat. After that I began to plan dinner. What is perfect for a cold, gloomy day? A nice big pot of chili!

There is just something about the smell of chili cooking in the crock pot, that goes really well with a cold winters SPRING day. Our recipe really has no exact measurements and changes every time but it has the same basic framework.

You will need:

1/2 lb of ground beef/turkey mixture browned (Obviously you can use all beef, all turkey, or no meat at all.)

1/2 a can of corn.

Some pieces of celery, cut thin.

A small onion, chopped.

A large teaspoon of garlic

Chilli powder, garlic powder, any powders you like really...

2 cans of diced tomatoes

2 cans of beans. We prefer one kidney and one "chili beans" or black beans.

Some pepper or whatever seasonings you like.

And if you're my boyfriend then a big ol' bottle of hot sauce, but I prefer to leave that one out.

Saute the celery, onions and garlic to "sweat" them. (or have them run a mile, your choice.) Once they start becoming translucent, they're done.

Toss it all in to the crock pot and let it cook together for about six hours.

We will be enjoying our chili with freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, crackers and hot rolls.

What is your favorite dish on cold and gloomy days? Or a favorite crock pot recipe??  

Grease.

So last night I was going through the fridge and found two almost-empty jars of pickles.

I don't know about you but the first thing that comes to mind when I see pickles is deep fried pickles, one of my favorite snacks or appetizers!

I looked up a quick recipe in my favorite cookbook - Pinterest!

1 cup flour
1/2 cup corn meal
Milk
Seasoning Salt.

We did not have cornmeal but we did have Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix which is mostly just flour, corn meal and some sweetening ingredients... why not!?

I cut the flour amount by half, doubled the corn meal since it included flour and was ready to rock.

As the oil heated I dipped the pickles first in flour, then milk (to create a glue-like mixture) then into the cornmeal. After five to 10 minutes in the hot oil I pulled them out and left them to dry on a plate lined with paper towel.

Add ranch and enjoy!

Loaf.

Yupp thats right...loaf - of the meat variety!

Tonight dinner is meatloaf and mashed potatos.

This recipe comes from Sharon McIntosh - Nick's mom- except we gave it a a few slight tweaks.

1lb ground beef.
1lb ground turkey.
Minced onions and peppers
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup milk
1 cup oats

And the secret sauce to top it off. (Ill give you a hint ... It contains two common condiments and a sweet touch!)

As far as potatos go, if theres one thing I hate its boxed mashed potatos.
So I threw about 8 small potatos in the water until soft and smashed and mashed them with butter, a splash of half and half, milk, garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mmmmm.

 

 

Eat up!

Leftovers for Lunch

Two nights ago as I was preparing dinner I saved some chicken to be used in another meal. Today, for lunch, I had the perfect idea. Chicken, cheese and pepper flatbreads.  Nothing like making up a quick snack that tastes so good!

All you need is:
Flatout Foldit Flatbread
Some freshly grated cheddar cheese (or whatever other cheese you prefer)
Two small peppers (I used yellow and orange - the choice is yours!)  -- Sauteed to soften.
And some grilled chicken. I cooked mine up the other night then grilled it up on the George Forman for a few minutes before throwing them in the flatbread.

Once all your ingredients are ready to go, all you do is throw it all in the flatbread and grill it on the George Forman or any other panini grill for five minutes.

These would be great along with a salad or some soup.

A healthy, delicious lunch in less than 10 minutes!
Enjoy!

Tastes.

Yes, tastes. I like to taste things and make things, bake and create things. I love being in the kitchen. I am going to use part of my blog to share with readers the creations that come from my oven, mixer, stove and fridge.

Tonight's dinner: Italian Herb Penne Pasta with Assorted Vegetables.

It was so fast and delicious.

Dinner was unable to have much thought put into it tonight as it was a busy day. At lunch time my dad and I ran to Kroger to find something. As I was off gathering lunches for the next week - salads, soups, and flatbreads - dad went off searching for dinner. A few minutes later he placed a package of chicken breasts in the cart. Looking at it I simply asked.. "whats for dinner?" and he said "chicken." Well, Silly daddy but chicken is not a meal. Chicken cooked in what? Chicken sauteed with what? Chicken in a casserole? He said "chicken." We had only a few minutes left before he needed to head back to work so as I looked around in a panic to create a meal I noticed Philadelphia Cream Cheese cooking cream. Normally a premade sauce or cream isn't appealing to me. I will take the few extra minutes to make one up myself. But this one was intriguing - the Italian herb one to be exact. So I bought it. I also bought vegetables, noodles and of course the chicken that dad was so gracious to plan out.

1 lb. of Chicken - Grilled in the George Forman and sliced thin.
1 package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cooking Cream - Italian Herb
A cup or two of baby carrots, broccoli and cauliflower
A small package of Penne noodles
A few small red, yellow and orange peppers - sliced.

Wash the veggies and steam them for about five minutes.

Cook up the noodles.

Stir it all together and in about a half hour you have a delicious dinner!

After cooking, cleaning and doing some homework... I am finishing off my evening with a cup of Banana Nut Coffee!

Till next time... happy cooking! (or eating, depending on which you prefer to do!)