Road Trip

Well, I've been super busy and haven't had a chance to update my blog. Over the next week, I will be posting a couple of posts about our recent road trip. Suffice it to say, we, well mostly Bob, drover over 3300 miles in 11 days. We had a fabulous time and I'll tell everyone all about and add some pics as well. Until next time.

White Chicken Chili

I recently posted on Facebook about making white chicken chili last weekend. I have had several requests for the recipe, so figured I would post it here. Bob and I were at the grocery store and came across Carroll Shelby's White Chicken Chili Mix. We decided to give it try! The mix comes with 4 indivual spice packets. You can make it mild or spicy, I went spicy and used all the spices. I also added a can of white beans and a can of diced tomatoes, so I guess it wasn't technically white chili, but it was delicous!

Carroll Shelby's White Chicken Chili mix
2 lbs of chicken-I used ground chicken, but you can also used diced chicken or even turkey.
1 can of white beans
1 can of diced tomatoes(optional)
water(the amount is on the box)

Brown the chicken or turkey. Add all the ingredients(except for the cajun seasoning) in a large pot and simmer. Add as much or as little of the cajun seasoning about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with bisquits or cornbread. I served it over rice, makes a great lunch or dinner! Leftovers were great for lunch as well! Enjoy!

Happy Birthday America!

Happy July 4th! I wanted to share a recipe for Calico Beans. A woman in my office brought in a crock pot full of these beans one day and I absolutely loved them, so had to get the recipe. I made them today for our early July 4th celebration at my mother in laws. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, corn on the cob and Calico Beans. They were a huge hit, so here is the recipe:

1 lb hamburger, drained
1/2 lb bacon, cut into small pieces(optional, I skipped the bacon altogether to cut down on the fat)
1 med onion, chopped
1 can lima beans, drained
1 can butter beans, drained
1 can of kidney beans, drained
1 large can of Bush's Baked Beans
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons dry mustard

Brown hamburer, bacon and onion together, drain. Put into crockpot with all of the beans. Mix the remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl. Pour over beans/meat and mix together. Heat in the crockpot. Great for family get togethers and picnics. You can add another can of Bush's Bakes Beans to stretch the recipe a bit more for a large crowd. Enjoy!!!

Shepherd's Pie

I made one of Bob's favorites for dinner tonight, Shepherd's Pie. I served it with biscuits and it makes a perfect, easy and delicious dinner. Here is my recipe:

Ingredients:
1-1.5 lbs of ground beef (I usually use lean, but sirloin or ground chuck work fine)
1 can of creamed corn
1 can of regular corn (drained)
1 pkg. of butter & herb mashed potatoes

Brown and drain ground beef. Put as first layer in a casserole dish. Mix together creamed corn and regular corn. Layer on top of ground beef. Make mashed potatoes according to package instructions. Layer on top of corn. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until heated through. The potatoes will be slightly browned on the edges. My mother in law sprinkles paprika on the top, I'm not a paprika fan, so that is a personal choice. Some recipes call for peas, carrots and sometimes Lima beans and also gravy, but I love the simplicity of this version. Serve immediately with biscuits and a crisp garden salad. Enjoy!

Old Navy Tank Tops

Well I really scored at Old Navy yesterday. I printed out a coupon for $2 ladies tank tops. The maximum was 10, so I purchased 10! For only $20 I am totally set for the summer with tank tops. I got 2 white and 8 other colors, such as red, orange, green, blue, coral, etc! The picture above pretty much looks like the ones I got! And you can still get them all weekend long without the coupon. Yesterday was just a preview day that you needed the coupon, now you don't. Have fun shopping, I did!

Lean Cuisine Spring Rolls

I recently came across the new Lean Cuisine Springs Rolls at the grocery store. They come in 3 varieties: Thai Style Chicken, Garlic Chicken and Fajita Style Chicken. I was skeptical when I bought them, but I was pleasantly surprised! They were delicious. I have not tried the Southwest yet, but Bob has and he said they were great. I would probably put some sour cream or salsa on this one. I love the Thai one, I dip them in sweet and sour sauce. I was surprised how much I liked the Garlic Chicken as they have caramelized onions and spinach, not 2 of my favorite things. I dipped them in ranch dressing, but I love to dip, so you might like them without dipping. Wow, they were really good! Highly recommend giving them all a try! I love having them for lunch at work, yum!!!! One thing I will mention, I microwaved them about 45 seconds to a minute longer than they say, seems to help the middle cook fully and get a bit crispy. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Old Navy tank top sale!

Just a quick link for everyone. Old Navy has a coupon good for tomorrow only for $2 tank tops for women and girls, limit 10 per person. Here is the link:  http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/info.do?cid=56526. Have fun shopping!

Something new for my hair!

So I was at one of my favorite stores a week or so ago and saw these pretty cool new hair accessories by Goody called The Simple Styles Collection. And they were new so naturally I had to give them a try (ask Bob, he says I am a marketer's dream, if it's new it's for me!). Anyways, I picked up the spin pins (both the large and the small) and the bun spiral. Both work really well (as long as my hair is dry, it doesn't work too well if my hair is wet) and seem way more grown up than the Scrunci I have been using. It's been so hot here in Florida that I really want to be able to put my hair up, but I really wanted something that looked a little more classy and I think I have found it! I'm still practicing using them, but it's not too hard, just takes a little practice. Check them out! Oh, and I got them at CVS of course and got $5 ECB for buying them!

CVS shopping

 

I love CVS! I admit it. It has seriously become one of my favorite stores. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I love a bargain. If you haven't shopped there much, you should. For example, I noticed they had the Garnier moisturizer I use on sale for $4.99, regularly $7.99. I had 2 $1 coupons along with $8 in CVS Extracare Bucks (ECB) that I had earned on a previous visit. So, I paid 39¢ for $16 worth of moisturizer (I figured I would get 2 while on sale). And then on top of that, they gave me another $5 in ECBs for being a member of their Beauty Club. For every $50 on beauty care (also lots of other personal care things) you get $5 in ECBs. So they basically paid me to take it out of the store. Another thing I recently learned about CVS from http://coupondivas.com/: CVS has a Green Bag Tag. You buy the tag for 99¢ and attach it to a reusable shopping bag. You get it scanned every time you shop and every 4th scan, you get $1 in Extra Bucks.

I recommend checking out the Coupon Divas website or check them out on Facebook. I have learned a lot. And in this economy I am all about saving money. Have fun shopping!!! I know I will!

Paper beads from Africa

One of my passions is designing jewelry. After some research, I came across a website where I was able to purchase beautiful paper beads from Uganda. They are made by the local women in the villages and selling these one of a kind beads allows them to rise out of extreme poverty. So far I have only created bracelets, but the reaction has been amazing. I plan to also try making some necklaces and possibly earrings  as well in the near future. Here is a picture of a sample bracelet:

I just love the idea that doing something I enjoy doing is also allowing me to give back to society. These women have some amazing stories and I am proud to now be a part of that. Bob has created a website dedicated entirely to my paper bead creations, Paper Bead Bracelets. As I add more styles to the line, I will update some pictures here. Until next time, thanks!

Miche Bag

My new Blue Zoe Miche cover

I got a great surprise when I got home from work today. Several months ago I applied to be on the Miche Bag consumer panel. In case you don't know, Miche Bag is a basic purse with a twist. It has magnets inside and you can purchase hundreds of different shells to change the look of your bag in seconds. Anyways, when they accepted me as a member, they said I would receive surveys to take periodically and as a thank you from the Miche Bag people, I would receive a Miche goodie bag every three months. Today I got my first thank you and it was a shell! I never thought I would actually get a new shell. It's called the Blue Zoe. It's a zebra print with turquoise trim. I will have to post a picture! Love, love, love my Miche Bag! Thanks, Miche!!

First Post!

Well, inspired by my sister in law, Stephanie and her cooking blog and my husband and his marketing blog (among others), I have decided to start a blog! My husband Bob has designed my banner and got me all set up. I'll be blogging about jewelry, fashion, coffee & wine, cats, books, and whatever else strikes me.

A little about me: My interests include jewelry making, my cats, shopping for a bargain, cooking, eating out and more! I work full time as a Travel Nurse Recruiter. In my free time, I create jewelry. More on that later. I have been happily married for 7½ years to a wonderful man. We actually met on line on Matchmaker.com. He was the first person that wrote to me and I was the first one he wrote. I guess it was fate. I knew the night we met he was the one. We have 2 cats, Lily and Tucker. I'm sure I will have lots to say about the two of them here on this blog as they have very distinct personalities and always keep us amused.

Well, I am going to sign off now and finish watching HouseHunters (another of my obsessions). Then, I have to go back to my jewelry making. Until next time!