Thankful day 30

Day 30: What I am thankful for

Good doctors


Today, Eric had hernia surgery. I am very thankful for the skillful hands of the surgeon.  I am thankful for the wonderful nurse's staff at Dolores Hope Outpatient Care Center. I am thankful for the sweet lady who talked to me while I was waiting for Eric and she was waiting for her husband to come out of his hernia surgery.    Most of all, I am thankful for prayer and that today is over with and my husband is home with me!

Today is the end of the month. My friend made a very good point.  Why should we only express our thankfulness during the month of November? We should do it every day and say something that we are thankful for, because, there is always something to be thankful for! 

Thankful Day 29

Day 29: What I am thankful for: My parents!

My parents

Tomorrow morning, my husband, Eric, is having hernia surgery. We were trying to figure out what we were going to do with the kids, because I, of course, want to be there with him. It is an outpatient surgery, but we weren't sure exactly how long it was going to take. My parents came to the rescue, like always. They offered to pick up the kids after my mom got off work today. The kids would spend the night and my dad would take Shianne to school tomorrow.  We were going to play it by ear about me picking her up from school tomorrow, but it looks like my dad will do that too! Eric had originally been told that he was going in at 7am and we had to be there at 6am, but now his surgery is at 8am and we have to be there at 7am.  I am just glad that we don't have to get up as early! It's going to be a long enough day as it us!   My mom said that they might keep the kids Friday night also, so Eric can get some rest!

I am so thankful that my parents have ALWAYS been there for us! They are there when I need the help or need an encouraging word and most of all, they are there to pray for me when I need it! Thanks again for ALL that you do, Mom and Dad! I don't know where I would be in this world, if it wasn't for you both! I love you!

Thankful day 28

Day 28: What I am thankful for

Gorgeous days like today!

the view from my front sidewalk

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! ;)  

The sun is shinning and it is simply gorgeous! 

I am so blessed to live somewhere where it is so beautiful!

Leftover Thanksgiving turkey chili

We had tons of turkey leftover from Thanksgiving. I didn't want it to go to waste, so I decided to make chili again.  I am hoping that it will taste the same as ground turkey, with just maybe a different texture, because it is not ground up.  

I finely chopped up the turkey.  I cut enough up to make a double batch, but once I started mixing all the ingredients together, there was no way a double batch was going to fit into my crock pot!  So, I improvised. I had tons of meat, so I just added some extra beans, tomato sauce and a tad more seasoning! I hope it turns out alright, so here goes nothing! 

Game Day Chili

1 pound lean ground beef (I used our leftover turkey from Thanksgiving)

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 cans (15 oz.) red kidney beans, undrained (I used one 29 oz can of dark red kidney beans)

2 packages (1.25oz.) chili seasoning mix

1 can (15oz.) tomato sauce (I used two 8 oz cans of tomato sauce)

1 can (10oz.) diced tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel)

I added:

-1 can of black beans, undrained

-1 can of fire roasted garlic diced tomatoes, undrained

-1 extra 8 ounce can of tomato sauce

-1 can of Pinto beans, undrained

-1 extra onion

-about a 1/4 of a packet of taco seasoning... I thought an extra package of chili seasoning might be too overbearing!

Leftover Thanksgiving turkey all chopped up in the pan

Added the onion and bell pepper. I always think that looks so pretty! 

I drizzled a little extra virgin olive oil on it and cooked it

These are some of the extra things that I added

Mixed all the ingredients together and set the crock pot on high for 3 1/2 hours.

All done!

 

A little dollop of sour cream and lots of cheese!   

Super yummy! I actually got to sit down with my honey and eat dinner together, because he was off tonight! It was nice!

Thankful day 27

Day 27: What I am thankful for!

Faith! 

This has been a hard week for me mentally.  I am so glad that I have my family, friends and especially my faith to fall back on! Whenever I am scared or stressed, I just go to the scriptures! I am still human and let myself get the best of me, way too much, but I just pray and God is ALWAYS there for me!  I am so thankful for my parents raising me to be a Godly woman! I have to always remember that God is in control and He knows the plans that He has for my life! He knows what is best and I have to remember that! He has everything in His hands and I have to trust in Him and know that it will all be ok!

2 Timothy 1:7
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

I have a whole board on Pinterest called God is Good - all the time!
I have tons of encouraging scriptures and phrases!
 

Thankful day 25

Day 25: What I am thankful for

I am glad to be home from work already! After last week's mini vacation for Thanksgiving, it was hard getting up for school and work this morning!  This is going to be a tough week, so I am glad that I can be home relaxing and also work from home the rest of the week!

Thankful day 25

Day 25: What I am thankful for

Movies!

Today, my friend, Jen, treated me to a movie! We went and saw the last movie in the Twilight saga, Breaking Dawn Part 2! It was good!  

I hadn't been to the movies since Eric and I saw The Hunger Games!  I love going to the movies, but I don't get to go to the theater very often. It's expensive! I am a total Redbox girl and love our free rentals that we get every month!

I am thankful to my friend for inviting me and getting to escape into movie world! ;)

Thankful day 24

Day 24: What I am thankful for

Pjs and lazy days!

Today is Saturday. After two days of celebrating Thanksgiving, which I loved by the way, I am totally turkey-ed out and feeling like a day of vegging!  So, guess what? That is what the kids and I are doing!  A nice relaxing day, in our pjs, playing games, playing the Wii and maybe watching a movie or two! I love days like this and I thankful that I have my family to spend it with!

Thankful day 23

Day 23: What I am thankful for

More turkey and all the fixins! 

Yesterday, we had Thanksgiving dinner with Eric's step-dad and family.  We enjoyed lots of yummy food and good times.

Today, my parents came over and we did the whole Thanksgiving shebang all over again!  Turkey, sweet potatoes, asparagus, brussell sprouts, dinner rolls, stuffing and cranberry sauce! Yummy to my tummy!  And I made mini pumpkin cheesecakes! 

It was great to celebrate Thanksgiving all over again and to be with family!

Thankful day 22

Day 22: What I am thankful for!

Thanksgiving! 

I am thankful for this wonderful holiday that brings together family and friends!   We get to stuff ourselves on yummy food and enjoy great fellowship!

Thankful day 21

Day 21: What I am thankful for: Pinterest!

 

 

And I have! ;)

It's true! I am a Pinterest addict!  I am thankful for Pinterest! It is my go-to place for recipes and craft projects alike!  I have so much fun looking at all the cool ideas!   I have found some yummy recipes and some great projects on there!   

Pinning since January 3, 2012, I currently, at this exact moment, have 102 boards and 4,883 pins! Wow!

Thankful day 20

Day 20: What I am thankful for

Healing!

Just to think that a few months ago, I was home with a broken arm!
I am thankful that I have full function of my arm. 
I am thankful that I can completely straighten out my arm.  
I am thankful that it no longer has a huge knot, or scar tissue, in it! 
I am thankful that I can pick up my kids!
I am thankful for healing!

Thankful day 19

Day 19: What I am thankful for

School!  

I just asked Shianne what I should be thankful for today.  

She told me school!  

I said, "Honey, I am not in school".  

"But Mom", she says, "if there wasn't school, where would I learn?"

You have to love the innocence of children!    

So you know what, I am thankful that my daughter has a heart for learning! That she loves school so much, that she gets upset if she is absent! And for the record, she has not missed a day this year!

Thankful day 18

Day 18: What I am thankful for

CVS!!!

I am thankful for CVS!  I know that I have said that I was thankful for coupons, but tonight I am thankful for CVS. I got a bunch of freebies tonight and got ECB (extra care bucks - CVS money) back, so I can spend it on anything I want!

Thankful day 17

Day 17: What I am thankful for

A blessed marriage!

I love you, Mom and Dad!

Today, is my parent's 39th wedding anniversary!!!  On November 17, 1973, my parents became one!  I am truly blessed to have such an awesome example of a marriage!  

My grandparents celebrated their 64th anniversary in July of this year! My family comes from a history of long marriages! 

As Eric and I come up on our 10th wedding anniversary next year, I pray that we will have such a long and blessed marriage!  No one is perfect, but we will try!

I am thankful for such a wonderful and blessed example of marriage!

Thankful day 16

Day 16: What I am thankful for

Sleep

This whole week, my stomach has been bothering me. I woke up this morning and wasn't feeling the greatest. I was really glad when my boss texted me and told me that I could work from home today (which I have been doing all week).  I ran a quick errand and then came home and went back to bed. When Jacob woke up, Eric got up with him and let me sleep! 

I am thankful for sleep! I still don't feel the greatest, but I feel a bit more rested!

Cheesy broccoli carrot soup

Cheesy broccoli and carrot soup

Today was cloudy, overcast and chilly! So, I thought that it was a perfect day to make some soup for dinner! 

Broccoli cheese soup 

Ingredients
- 1 whole onion, diced
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
- 1/3 cup flour
- 4 cups whole milk (I used 2%)
- 2 cups half and half (1 pint)
- 4 heads of broccoli cut into florets
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 3 cups grated cheese
- small dash of salt (more if needed)
- black peper
- chicken broth if needed for thinning

Preparation Instructions

Melt butter in a pot over medium heat, then add the onions. Cook the onions for 3 to 4 minutes, then sprinkle the flour over the top. Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute or so, then pour in milk and half-and-half. Add nutmeg, then add broccoli, a small dash of salt, and plenty of black pepper.
Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender. Stir in cheese and allow to melt.
Taste seasonings and adjust if needed. Then either serve as is, or mash it with a potato masher to break up the broccoli a bit, or transfer to a blender in two batches and puree completely. (If you puree it in a blender, return it to the heat and allow to heat up. Splash in chicken broth if needed for thinning.)

the ingredients

The heads of broccoli were so pretty, I just had to take a picture!

My kitchen helper, Shianne, and her favorite veggie, broccoli

 

I hate chopping onions! It always makes me cry and my eyes burn!  Well, I have learned a trick. I put lemon juice on the onion while I am cutting it and voila, no tears!  Also, I saw another trick online and that is to have a candle burning, while you are cutting it. So, tonight I did both the lemon juice and the candle! Worked like a charm!

I added carrots to this recipe.  I just eye balled it and put in how many I wanted until it looked good!  This is after the onions and carrots had cooked in the butter and you pour the flour on top.

After all the broccoli and everything else had been added

After the soup had been cooking for a while

Lots and lots of cheese added to it

Yummy to my tummy!

The soup was very good and easy to make!

Thankful day 15

Day 15: What I am thankful for

Cooler weather 

And no, it doesn't snow here, but us desert rats think it's cold if it drops below 80! ;)

And I thought that this graphic was so cute! I love penguins! 

 

I live in the desert. It is normally very hot here. It is mid November and we are FINALLY down in the 60 degree range! And I am loving it!

So, today, I am thankful for cooler weather! I love wearing jeans and sweaters. I love drinking hot chocolate! I love sleeping under the blankets and snuggling! I love snuggling under a blanket and watching tv or movies with the kids!  I love being in my pjs! 

Thankful day 14

Day 14: What I am thankful for

Coupon blogs!

You may say huh? Why would I be thankful for that? I say, yes, I am thankful for coupon blogs! I follow a lot, and when I saw a lot, I mean about 15 or so different coupon blogs. Besides my couponing friends, you know who you are ;) , coupon blogs are my go-to resources for finding good deals!

These are the ones that I have on my interest's lists on Facebook! *These are are my favorites!
The Frugal Find*
Addicted2Savings4U
Live2Save2Live*
TotallyTarget
Budget Savvy Diva*
Southern Cali Saver*
Passion for Savings
Coupon Pro
Girls With Coupons
Cuckoo For Coupon Deals
IheartCVS*
Wild For CVS
 

Thankful day 13

Day 13: What I am thankful for

My crockpot!

I started using my crockpot last year. Well, I had a very old one that my GG Papa had given me and it was leaking!  For Christmas, my parents got me this one! I was so excited! With my daughter in school, I really wanted to start using the crockpot to make dinner for our family! 

Needless to say, I have been getting good use out of it!  Thanks, Mom and Dad! Love you!

Crockpot Lemon Chicken

The ingredients

Today, I tried another Pinterest recipe. I pinned it last week and my MIL had tried it and said that it was yummy!  

Crockpot Lemon Chicken 

-Put cube of butter in bottom of crock pot. 

-Lay chicken in pot. 

-Drizzle with lemon juice and then sprinkle Italian dressing packet over chicken, and pop the lid on. 

-Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 6-8 hours.

Cut up the stick of butter and put it on the bottom of the crockpot

Put 4 chicken breasts on top 

Squirted lemon juice over the chicken and then sprinkled the Italian dressing mix on top of that.

Set the crockpot on high for 4 hours and we are good to go!

The chicken smelled so good and looks all buttery! It was just falling apart and the 4 hours wasn't even up yet!

I made some corn, Ranch mashed potatoes and a side salad for me and dinner was done!

This chicken was SO good!  It was so easy to make and it just melted in your mouth! I will totally make this again and again! Yummy!

Thankful day 12

Day 12: What I am thankful for

Handy professional friends

Today, I am thankful for my husband's friend who is an electrician.

Last night, my husband was leaving to get me some papers for the Sunday coupons.  He pushed the button to open our garage and it opened.  When he went to push the button to close it, the power went out in our garage! It turned out the power was out in our garage and our master bedroom. I was really glad that it wasn't the middle of the summer and hot!  

This morning, Eric called his buddy to come and take a look at it.  Eric initially thought that our breaker had blown and it had to be replaced.  It turns out, after checking a couple of the plugs and stuff, that it was a combination of a loose wire and old plugs.  His buddy replaced it all and fixed everything for us!

So, today, I am thankful for his friend for fixing that for us!

Thankful day 11

Day 11: What I am thankful for

 Happy Veteran's Day!

Today is Veteran's Day! I am very thankful and grateful to those who serve our country and provide us the freedom that we have!

This is for all of those who have served in my family!

My GG Papa: Ernest Santiago

My Grandpa Conner: Jack Conner

My brother-in-law: Benny Smith

My brother-in-law: Josh Hirshorn

My cousin: Ronnie Santiago

My Great-Uncle: Ted Santiago

My cousin: Brandon George

I am sure that are many more, but I can't remember all of them!

Thank you for all that you do or have done!

Pumpkin bread and sloppy joe meatloaf

Pretty pumpkin bread

It was a very chilly day here in the desert. Our high was only 64 degrees!  I had the house open and there was a nice breeze going! I thought it would be a perfect day to do some baking! 

Since I had stocked up on pumpkin this week (I have 30 cans!), I decided to try another new pumpkin recipe out!  I wanted to make some pumpkin bread, since my banana bread has been such a hit! 

Pumpkin bread 
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
3 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda 

1-1/2 teaspoons salt 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1 can (15 oz.) canned pumpkin 

1 cup vegetable oil 

2/3 cup water 

4  eggs 

1-2/3 cup (10-oz. pkg.) REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips 

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1 cup raisins (optional) 

 

I did a double batch, so everything times 2!

 

Directions 

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 8-1/2x4-1/2x2-1/2-inch loaf pans. 

2. Stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside

3. Stir together pumpkin, oil, water and eggs in large bowl; gradually add dry ingredients, stirring until well blended. 

4. Stir in peanut butter chips, nuts and raisins, if desired. Pour evenly into prepared pans. 

5. Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. 

6. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Makes 3 loaves.

 

Eggs, pumpkin, oil and water

flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon

My daughter helped me mix these ingredients together.  I have to remember the next time that I do a double batch, I will use to separate bowls, because it got really full! 

 

Mixing it all together

Adding the peanut butter chips

2 dozen cupcake style, 8 mini loaves and 1 full loaf

The cupcake style muffins are all done! Yummy!

So pretty!

 

 

For dinner, I tried out another new recipe.  My kids love sloppy joes and I had noticed a recipe on the side of the can for meatloaf.

Sloppy joe meatloaf

2 pounds of ground beef (I used a 20 ounce package of ground turkey)

1 can of sloppy joe (15.5 ounce can)

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup quick cooking oats, bread crumbs and crackers (I used 1 and a half packages of crackers)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, combine 3/4 can of sloppy joe sauce, ground turkey, eggs and crackers; mix until well blended.  Place meatloaf mixture into a loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.  Remove from oven  and drain off excess fat.  Top with remaining sauce and bake an additional 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow meatloaf to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.  Makes 8 servings.

The loaf ready to go in the oven

Poured the last of the sauce and baked for another 10 minutes

I made some garlic butter crescent rolls (plain ones for the kids), to go with dinner

Dinner is ready! 

This meatloaf was super easy to make. It was very moist and had great flavor, because of the sloppy joe mix.  My daughter and I really liked it!