Recipes and Randomness

Wow, the last few weeks have been so busy. I've been subbing a lot in the afternoons, which means I stay until 5:30, which means I get home around 6:30, which means I don't have time for blogging :/ Hopefully this week will be less crazy and I can post a few things I haven't had time to post yet! But for now, here's a few recipes that we've tried lately that have been delicious!!

-This first one is a dish we had last night... it was SO yummy. And I actually can't take any credit for it. I worked until 5:30, so I sent the recipe to Z. He and Joe cooked it, and it was amazing!! I got this recipe from Six Sister's Stuff for Alice Springs Chicken {like from Outback}.  Not too many ingredients or steps... just yummy!

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness

seasoning salt

6 slices bacon, cut in half 

1/4 cup mustard

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons mayo

1/2 tablespoon dried onion flakes

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

2 cups shredded Colby/Jack cheese

Directions: 

Sprinkle and rub the chicken breasts with seasoning salt.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp.

In a small bowl, mix the mustard, honey, mayo and dried onion flakes.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Place chicken in the skillet and saute for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until browned.  Move chicken to an 11x7 inch or 9x9 inch pan.

Apply the honey mustard to each breast, then layer with mushrooms, bacon, and shredded cheese.

Bake in a 350° oven for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and chicken is done. 

-Here's another recipe we tried the other night. I wanted to make some yummy snacks to have while we watched the Academy Awards. I found this recipe on Pinterest and it was so yummy too! Here is a similar version from Love Decliciousness . I subbed the blue cheese crumbles for about 2 tablespoons of cream cheese. And we dipped ours in Ranch dressing! Yum!!

Ingredients

* 2-3 medium size chicken breasts

* Buffalo sauce (we used Frank's)

* Blue cheese crumbles

* Shredded cheddar cheese (we used colby jack but I think cheddar would be best)

* 1 container refrigerated crescent rolls (we used Pillsbury)

Directions

Boil chicken until tender. Shred. Mix in about 1/2 cup of buffalo sauce and the blue cheese crumbles. Separate crescent rolls. Spoon a small amount of chicken mixture on each crescent. Top with shredded cheese. Roll up and bake according to package directions.

-Okay, one last recipe! Something sweet ;) I found this on Pinterest too... and it was really good. We snacked on it during the Super Bowl, and then Z snacked on the left overs until we ran out of vanilla wafer cookies!! This recipe is from Eat Yourself Skinny. I served ours with vanilla wafers, but animal cookies would be good too! We also dipped apples in it... yum!

Here are your ingredients:

1 (18.9 oz) box Funfetti cake mix

2 cups fat-free plain yogurt

1 cup lite Cool Whip

Fat-free animal crackers

In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, plain yogurt and Cool Whip until completely combined and you see no more lumps.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill for about 4 hours.  Garnish with additional sprinkles if desired and serve with animal crackers, enjoy!  

On another note... it is snowing like crazy outside right now! Unfortunately, our car is in the shop, so we had to take a bus/train to work. This was kind of good because the roads are a little slushy, but no so good because it meant alot of walking and waiting in the snow. And it took me an hour and a half to get home :/ Here's hoping we get our car back asap!

Check back later this week... I promise to post more than once!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Sorry I have been a terrible blogger lately :/ life is BUSY here! I'm finally feeling more adjusted and comfortable at my job... and I love it so much! We really have the cutest, sweetest group of kiddos ever!! {Well I am a little partial to my sweet classes from Alabama, but these kiddos are pretty cute too ;)} I even got a few valentines goodies at school today! Love them ;) But anyways... happy valentine's day to you all! Right now, my sweet Z and Joe are cooking dinner for me and Lolly.. so sweet! It's been a long day... and an even longer week. So a dinner cooked by the guys sounds perfect ;) Let me just tell you about my frustrating week... I have gotten two tickets in the past two days for such random, frustrating stuff. I'm a little annoyed with Chicago today, ha! I got a parking ticket for having tinted windows yesterday... what?! And then today I got pulled over for talking on the phone while driving... who knew that was illegal?! Oh well. At least the ticket today proves that the ticket yesterday is not valid. If the officer could clearly see me talking on the phone, obviously our windows are not too tinted!! So needless to say, I'm ready for the long weekend ahead... {no driving or street parking for this girl}! But on a lighter note, I was reminded this morning while I was having a little quiet time about the true love that we should celebrate today and everyday. I was reading about the time leading up to Jesus's crucifixion, and I couldn't help but think about the amazing love He must have for us, so much so that He was willing to die for us. What a perfect picture and example of sacrificial love. I am so thankful that He love us that much!! I am also so thankful for my sweet hubby that the Lord put in my life... He is definitely my better half and I love him very much ;) So glad to have such a sweet valentine! And I'm also so thankful for our very loving families!! We miss you all so much. Wish we could give you all big hugs today! Okay, well I'll leave you with a few valentine pics...

First, a cute little chalkboard reminder!

 Second, a picture of me and my valentine!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Whirlwind

Oh my... the last two weeks {ish} have been CRAZY!! Here's a quick run down of why I haven't been blogging and what we've been up to ;)

-So we moved... seemed to take forever to get everything out and cleaned up. You never know how much stuff you have until you have to pack it up and move it!! And we have WAY too much stuff, ha! We moved all of the big stuff the last Saturday in January... and seriously took every day until February to get the rest. Exhausting. But so glad it is over!

-Also, I started a new job! In the middle of packing and moving, I was offered a job at the little school I have been subbing at the past few months. It was such a God-thing. I am now the assistant for a 3-4 year old class. Bunch of cuties!! Plus it was perfect timing {besides how crazy I was with moving and all ;)}. I am really enjoying it, and slowly learning the ropes! So thankful!

-We finally got that snow I've been wishing for! We ended up getting about 6 inches over the past few days! So pretty... but a little messy to drive in :/ Thankfully they clear the roads super fast, so it hasn't been too bad.

-In the midst of the subzero temps and piles of snow, our car decided a heater wasn't necessary! Seriously?! Our air conditioner went out in the middle of a summer in Alabama, so it just figures our heater wouldn't work in the middle of winter in Chicago. Thankfully, Z thinks it might be an easy fix?! This car has become quite a lemon :/

-We had to get a new car tag {Ours expired the last day of January, and we got a ticket the very.next.day. ugh!} which meant we had to get an Illinois state tag. It was seriously an act of congress. By the time I finally left with car tags, I had made three visits to the Illinois DMV, paid almost $200, and brought in every document you can imagine... including a marriage certificate. Oh my. So glad Z went with me the final time to keep me calm, ha! That place brings out the worst in people, myself included!! ;)

Okay so I'll leave you with a picture to show how much snow we got {after the first day of snow} and of me and Z last weekend :) Have a great week friends!

Snow Flurries and Promises

It's snowing this morning! Not a lot... I don't think it's sticking... but it sure makes these frigid temps a little more tolerable! Z and I both want to see a blizzard after all this talk of how much snow Chicago gets in the winter. Here's hoping ;) I have a to-do list a mile long, but instead I'm sitting here, watching the snow {flurries} fall outside. It's making for a pretty unproductive morning! Quite peaceful, but unproductive ;) Speaking of peaceful, I came across this verse yesterday on one of my favorite blogs that definitely spoke peace to me- 

Exodus 14:14- The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still-

The blogger who shared it is recovering from brain surgery AND waiting to go get her little girl that she and her husband are adopting from the Congo. She talked about how everything seems so out of her control... but thank goodness because the Lord is fighting for her even when she can't fight for herself. Wow. Just thought I would share because it spoke so strongly to me! So as I sit here and watch the snow and add to my to-do list {making a list is the first step, right?!}, I'm thankful for my heavenly Father that is fighting for me, even in situations where I can't. Because He knows {and I know} my life would be such a mess if I were in control. So glad He is and I'm not! I hope you find comfort in the promise that the Lord is fighting for you today too!

Brrr!

Well, we survived the coldest weather I have ever experienced. I'm sure it can {and might} get worse. But 0 degrees with wind chills near -20 is cold enough for me!! We are now thankfully back in the teens. Never thought that would sound warm ;) But after the weather we had all weekend, the teens are unfortunately an improvement. So what do you do on a long weekend when wind chills are below zero?! You stay inside ;) We watched movies, football, Seinfeld marathons, ate soup, made chili, and pretty much avoided leaving the apartment!! We did brave the cold long enough Sunday for church and brunch at Yolk! I will say that we have been super spoiled with our heated garage... so when we did have to get out, we at least had a warm car waiting for us. I'm not looking forward to parking outside for the rest of the winter once we move! Speaking of moving, it looks like we're moving this Saturday!! I'm excited, a little sad, and ready for it to be over ;) So now I'm off to pack and clean...

Happy Friday!

So I have to admit that I'm a little bit *jealous* of the snow y'all got in Alabama! Ha! I'm pretty sure you guys got more than we've had up here!!! It's just COLD here... and really if it's going to be this cold, it should SNOW!! So I'm *kind of* wishing we were in Ttown yesterday to enjoy the snow day ;) Oh well... speaking of cold... I just saw a local news weather forecast for next week. Monday's low is zero. ZERO. What in the world?! That is not okay!! Here's hoping we make it through the winter! ;)

Yesterday I subbed for a first grade class at the little school right by our apartment.. loved it! I did, however, forget my gloves, scarf, and toboggan during recess duty... not my brightest moment {it was about 28 degrees}! Glad my coat has warm pockets and a hood ;) Oh and by the way, I still think it is *crazy* to have outside recess when it is so cold! We used to cancel outdoor play time if it dropped below 40, ha!

So glad it's Friday!! And even more excited that Z is off on Monday!!! We have NO plans this weekend, and I couldn't be happier about that!! {Although whatever we end up doing, I can almost guarantee it will be INDOORS!}

Oh yeah, so we're still trying to figure out all of the logistics with moving at the end of this month {when our current lease is up}... trusting that the Lord has it all in His hands! Here are a few verses that I came across yesterday that always are so comforting, even when things seem a little crazy!!

Luke 16:22,25,31

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear...Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?...But seek first His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."

Have a great weekend friends!

A Random Monday Post

How is it already Monday?! The weekends seriously go by at warp speed!! Oh well... Friday's just around the corner ;) Seriously though, we had a good, somewhat productive weekend! I'm in a pretty random mood, so bullet points might be the best way to sum it up, ha!

• Friday night, Z had a business meeting/Christmas party {Christmas mid January?!} so Lolly and I decided to have a girls' night out! We have been dying to try RPM Italian {big Giuliana and Bill fans!!}, and we just have not been able to talk our guys into going... so it seemed like the perfect place for girls' night! We forgot to make reservations until Friday, so of course all they had available was 4:00... no thanks. We decided to wing it and hope for a table?! Turns out the bar area is first come, first serve, so we found two seats at the bar pretty fast! The prices didn't look that bad, the decor was pretty, and it definitely had that "see and be seen" vibe. But then our food came out... I ordered tortellini and Lolly ordered ravioli. We literally each got five pieces of pasta on a plate... five! That's it! We ate our very tiny portions of pasta, paid way too much for such a small meal, and then went and got some more food, ha! So needless to say, pretty disappointed in RPM :/
• Z and I are looking for a new apartment. We have literally been spending almost any time he is off work scouring the internet and racing to appointments. I'm so over it!! Ha! There are SO MANY apartments in this city. We've had the hardest time deciding even which part of Chicago we want to live in, much less which building, and which unit! And don't even get me started on how much it cost if you want to keep your car. I forgot how spoiled we are with the parking being included in our current rent. I really was starting to wonder if we would ever find the right one. We finally saw one last night that felt like home ;) Now we're praying it all works out before someone else snatches it up!!
• After a FULL day of looking at places on Saturday, we met our friends for dinner {always love dinner dates!}. We were wanting to try somewhere new, so we found a highly recommended pizza place in West Chicago, Coalfire Pizza. This was not your typical Chicago pizza. It was thin crust and SO delicious!!! Love finding new favorites!
• I think the Chicago winter has arrived. It was 13 degrees this morning when I walked to the school I sub at. 13 degrees. And the weather channel app said it felt like 3 degrees. And the children were playing outside when I arrived. There were literally icicles hanging from all of the cars, the school's gate, the trees. Ugh!! Too cold!!!
• Yesterday in church, the pastor used the Alabama national championship game in his message, so funny! I thought Z was going to stand up and let out a "roll tide!" Thankfully he resisted the urge ;)

Okay I think that's all the randomness I have for today! I seriously need to clean this apartment... and start cleaning out/packing! I'll share more details about the apartment hunt/our potential new place soon! And maybe some pictures if we get the place we love!!!