Recipe: White Bean Chicken Chili (Crock Pot)

May24

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White Bean Chicken Chili

I made this dish while my parents were visiting for little man’s first birthday. It was a hit! Because of that, there were really no leftovers after the men had a second helping.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb Chicken, cubed or shreaded
1 medium Onion, diced
3 c Chicken Stock
1 (15 oz.) can White Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can Cannellini Beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 c Corn
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1 1/2 tsp Cumin
1 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
1/4 tsp Salt1/4 tsp Pepper
1 1/2 c (6 oz.) Shredded Cheddar
Sour Cream
Cilantro

Instructions:

In a crock pot, combine all ingredients except for the sour cream and cilantro. Cook on low all day (6-8 hours) or high for 3-4 hours. Serve topped with sour cream and chopped cilantro.

Recipe: Turkey Apple Brie Wrap

May6

Turkey Apple Brie Wrap

Turkey Apple Brie Wrap

Ingredients:wpid-20130414_192108.jpg

Spinach TortillaLettuce
Turkey, sliced thin
Apple, sliced thin
Brie, sliced thin

Instructions:

Layer your tortilla with lettuce, turkey, apple slices, and brie. Wrap up and enjoy!

 

Recipe: Crock Pot Party Meatballs

May3

Crock Pot Party Meatballs

I made these meatballs for little man’s first birthday party and everyone loved them! It was easy to throw it all in the crock pot in the morning and continue on with party preparations. By the time the party started, they were done and delicious!

Ingredients:Chili Sauce

32 oz. Frozen Meatballs
16 oz. Chili Sauce
10 oz. Grape Jelly (low sugar)

Instructions:

Dump everything into your crock pot. Stir it around to coat the meatballs. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 2-3. Stir once more before serving.

Recipe: Layered Dip

May1

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Layered Dip

I served this layered dip with tortilla chips at little man’s birthday party. Everyone loved it and we loved what little leftovers we had.

Ingredients:

Black beans
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour cream
Shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Simple really, just layer on everything in order starting with the black beans and ending with the cheese. It’s great to make ahead and store in the fridge.

A Wonderful Visit

Apr30

You may have noticed that I haven’t been posting over the last two weeks much. Well, my parents were in town visiting for little man’s first birthday. We were pretty busy. I finally finished and mailed off the last of the thank you cards and things are slowly returning to normal. So, over the last week and a half, we had a party with little man’s friends, visited Colonial Williamsburg, saw a very wet Virginia Beach (it poured down rain), strolled through naval history at the Mariner’s Museum (my dad’s favorite), learned about military history at the Casemate Museum, and petted lots of animals at the Blue Bird Gap Farm. I loved having my parents in town and so did little man. While they were here we ate tons of great food. We went out to two awesome restaurants and I cooked some new delicious dishes like Moroccan Lamb, Beef & Broccoli, and a White Bean Chicken Chili. The recipes will come soon I promise! In the mean time, here are a few stock photos of the places we visited. I’ll upload some of my own pictures soon too. Enjoy! And now I’m off to resume my mom duties and to clean the banana off my pants that little man just smeared. :)

Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg

Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach

Mariner's Museum (The Monitor)

Mariner’s Museum (The Monitor)

Casemate Museum

Casemate Museum

Blue Bird Gap Farm

Blue Bird Gap Farm

*Please note that I do not take any credit for these pictures. They are thanks to a Google images search for the purpose of showing you a representation of the places I visited. I hope to replace these with some of my own pictures in the future.

1K B4 K: Week 14 & 15 Update

Apr30

It’s been a crazy few weeks but we’ve been at the program for fifteen weeks now! We read 36 books in Week 1, 24 books in Week 2, 40 books in Week 3 which brought us to completing our first 100 books. Then we read 43 books in Week 4 and an astounding 68 books in Week 5 where we read our 200th book! After that, in Week 6 we read 49 books, in Week 7 we read 31 books, and in Week 8 we read 27 books, including our 300th book! Then we read 32 books in Week 9, 17 books in Week 10, and 40 books in Week 11 when we read our 400th! We read 10 more books in Week 12, and 22 books in Week 13.

Books We’ve Read This Past Week:

  1. I’ll Always Love You
  2. Peter Rabbit’s Easter
  3. Pony Brushes His Teeth
  4. Big Red Barn
  5. Baby Touch and Feel Farm
  6. Noisy Barn
  7. The Story of Easter
  8. The Tale of Peter Rabbit
  9. The Very Hungry Caterpiller
  10. 5 Busy Ducklings
  11. The Very Hungry Caterpiller
  12. The Airplane Trip
  13. All Fall Down
  14. Say Goodnight
  15. Growing Vegetable Soup
  16. The Little Blue Truck
  17. The Very Hungry Caterpiller
  18. Scuffy the Tugboat
  19. The Alphabet Book
  20. The Alphabet Book

With 36 books from Week 1, 24 books from Week 2, 40 books from Week 3, 43 books from Week 4, 68 books from Week 5, 49 books from Week 6, 31 books from Week 7, 27 books from Week 8, 32 books from Week 9, 17 books from Week 10, 40 books from Week 11, 10 books from Week 12, 22 books from Week 13, and 20 books from Week 14 & 15, we have read 459 books and we are quickly reading our way to 1,000 books before Kindergarten. It’s never to late to start reading so grab a book and read along with us. What book are you reading now?

Recipe: Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Apr29

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

7 c Potatoes, cut into chunks
6 Cloves Garlic (whole)
1/2 c Milk
1/4 c Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbs Butter
1/2 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Pepper
2 Tbs Sour Cream
1 Tbs Olive Oil

Instructions:

Bring a pot of water and the 6 whole cloves of garlic to a boil. Boil potatoes until they break apart with a fork (20 minutes). Drain off potatoes and keep the garlic with the potatoes. Mash potatoes and add remaining ingredients. Whip everything together and enjoy!