Taco Pizza and Fiesta time

My husband and I attend Epic Church in our town. We are more contemporary and do not do Sunday school. We do Lifegroups instead. Lifegroups are small groups and there are 4 levels to them. 1. being more of a game night/food get together and 4. being deep spiritual discussions. Chris and I lead a Level 2 this semester, and we are loving our group!

I get excited because I get to make a little delight this week. This time I was between 2. Either a cheddar, bacon, ranch pull apart bread OR taco pizza. Well, like any good wifey, I discussed it with Chris. He wanted taco pizza. Can you guess which one won? :D

Here's the ingredients:

2 packages Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 can refried beans(we used the jalepeno kind)
3 Roma tomatoes diced
1 small can black olives
1 lb lean ground beef(you can use chicken or turkey)
1 package taco seasoning
1 package 2 cups Mexican cheese shredded

Preheat oven to 375. Spread crescent rolls onto sprayed baking sheet. Spread the edges of the crust onto the edges of the baking sheet to make a crust. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until golden. My oven baked them golden delicious at 7 minutes.

While the crust is baking, brown the meat, drain, and add in the taco seasoning packet.

Place the refried beans in a microwave safe container and warm in microwave. Spread a thin layer onto the pizza crust. Follow with the meat, olives, tomatoes, and cheese. Bake in oven for another 3-6 minutes until the cheese is melted.

God Bless America

11 years ago, I was in 6th grade and in my last year at Brent Elementary School. The day passed like any other day. It wasn't until Daddy came home early from work that I knew something was wrong. Something in his eyes gave him away. Immediately he turned on the tv, and what I saw next changed my life forever. What I saw was rubble. Rubble from two towers that that morning stood proudly. Rubble that became a grave to many mommies, daddies, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, best friends, etc. The following days were filled with news updates, replays of the attack, and interviews with witnesses. It seemed like a permanent wound was opened to our American hearts. BUT the dream is still alive. God has prevailed, and His glory is still shining. He placed a dream and a will in so many men and women's lives that are today still fighting for the freedom that our forefathers fought for. I am very proud to be a member of this nation, and today my heart goes out to the men and women and their families who lost loved ones that day, during our war, and those who are still waiting for their loved ones to come home.

Please pray for them every day. We may recognize them today, but every day they are still risking their lives for each of us and our loved ones who are here and safe.

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

1 lb ground turkey
1 24 oz marinara. We used Newman's Own Sockarooni sauce
2 cups brown rice
2 cups Mozzarella cheese
3 cloves minced garlic
salt to taste
1 tsp onion powder
2  green peppers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground turkey and drain. Chop the peppers, and add peppers, onion powder, and salt to the turkey. Cook on low until peppers are soft. In another pan, add 2 cups brown rice to boiling water. Once the rice is soft, drain the remaining water. 

Spray a large casserole dish with non stick spray. In the casserole dish, mix the rice, spaghetti sauce, and 3/4 cup cheese together.

Once you're peppers are soft, add the meat/pepper mixture to the casserole dish.

 Combine. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is golden.

I hope you all enjoy this new recipe from the Rigoni kitchen. God bless you and yours!!

Irish Soda Bread

Today was a much needed rest/pamper day for me today. I woke up this morning to my precious Tedi prancing down the hallway, jumping onto our king size bed, and pouncing on me until I decided I was going to get up :) How I LOVE my Maltese!

I had my traditional coffee. I am out of stock of my staple 1 overfilled cup Cheerios and cup of Kroger yogurt, but my oatmeal was just as enjoyed. You can't forget about my WHNT in the morning either.

One of the highlights of my morning was finding Zumba on youtube.It's the little things in life really. I think I have found my new past time.

Chris and I enjoyed a night out for dinner at one of our favorites, THE Chick Fil A, and then went grocery shopping. He was at work on Wednesday and found a recipe for Irish Soda Bread that Ina Garten made, so I made sure we added all of our missing ingredients to the list.

Did I mention that we didn't get home until 0830? So.....ingredients mixed, dough kneaded, and placed in the oven by 0850. AND there is flour ALL over our kitchen. Another reason why I love my husband :)

I can't even being to tell you how amazing this aroma is! Three things in life that the aroma will make anyone stop: 1. Brownies 2. Icing(at least for me) 3. homemade bread.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/irish-soda-bread-recipe/index.html

Here is where Chris and I got the recipe from. If you have never seen her show, I highly recommend it. She is wonderful.

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for currants
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low with an electric mixer. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour. Mix the buttermilk and egg together in a separate bowl. Turn your electric mixer back on and slowly add the buttermilk/egg mixture.
 One well mixed, combine the currants with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix into the dough. It will be very wet.
Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Spray baking sheet with Pam and sprinkle with flour. Place dough on baking sheet and bake for 45 to 55 minutes.

Our loaf was finished earlier than 45 minutes. I would say ours had a hollow sound after 35 minutes of baking. We also forgot to cut an x in the top of ours.

Here it is. Yes it looks as good as it tastes. You and yours will have to make this :) I hope you all enjoy.

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!

There is so much excitement in the air that I can't stand it! Yesterday I had  a beach wave put in my hair, and I am so excited to be able to wash it and fix it for the first time tomorrow. BUT it doesn't end there! Sometime this morning, a very nice package will arrive, and Chris and I will be going to Huntsville to pick up my first car that I will be paying for!!!! I am completely overwhelmed and excited that I haven't been able to sleep :) I was up at 5:30 this morning. OUCH!

I know, I know. It's Saturday, but when you have the excitement of a check AND the first Alabama game of the season who can sleep? I decided since I was already awake why not go ahead and make the crimson dip for the Alabama football party tonight at my brother and sister-in-laws.

This recipe is extremely easy and quick. I'm sure it's going to be a hit tonight!

Ingredients:
1 8oz cream cheese
1 box Red Velvet Cake
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
3-4 tbsp milk

In a stand mixer(or a bowl), cream together the cream cheese and butter. Once they are mixed well, add 2-3 cups of the cake mix, and between each added cup add 1 tbsp milk. Slowly, one cup at a time, add the powdered sugar. Again, between each cup added, add 1 tbsp milk.

*The most helpful tip I can give is that this dip is all about texture and sweetness. If you are happy with less milk and a thicker dip, I would suggest only adding the 3 tbsp. I added the full 3 cups of powdered sugar and 3.5 tbsp of milk. It is a pretty thick dip, but in my personal opinion this one should be thicker.*

I hope you all enjoy :)

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!

Happy Tuesday, my friends

I realized last week that it has been quite a while since I have written. Between 2 to 3 12 hour shifts in a row and being exhausted, I really haven't had a chance to do much other than love on my husband and fur babies, chores, eat, and sleep.

Being busy with work and having late nights there isn't always easy. I feel guilty for losing time with my precious husband even just for a few days, but when days are crazy there is nothing else you can do but take a deep breath and do what you can. I remember 2 weeks ago coming home and telling him how guilty I felt, and we talked about it. Guilt the way I was feeling is not of God. We prayed together and I felt the weight of the world leave my shoulders.

I have always believed that when you are doing God's work and what He created you to do, you will have more attacks on you. For weeks, I have had terrible nightmares. I mean to

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle

I have officially been at Decatur General for a little over a month now, and I absolutely LOVE it! Nothing is better than living your dream and fulfilling the plans that God created you to do. I can have the worst day on the planet, but because one patient tells me that I made a difference all that is erased. Knowing that I can make a difference by caring for others is one of my loves, and I am grateful to live in a country where I can do just that.

Over the past 5 days, I have been quite the baker. I made 2 batches of the Golden Oreo Cake Batter Blondies. One for a get together and another to take to work. Have a mentioned that I LOVE my job? AND my co-workers. I knew this week would be filled with goodies galore, so when I thought about what to make for our lifegroup tonight, what better than something easy and more than likely already had the ingredients for.

I found this recipe from A Whisk and a Prayer. I have made this recipe a couple of times, but I always like to add a little spin on it to make it more "mine."

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

What you will need:
1 cup softened butter
2 tsp of vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips or any chips of your choice
optional: nuts, rainbow sprinkles(my FAVORITE garnish for anything sweet)

*I also added 4 pinches of brown sugar*

Mix the butter and vanilla together. Once they are combined, add in the salt, sugar, flour, chips, and any other toppings you chose.

Here is what is looks like all combined in my lovely red mixer. The batter is going to be a little thick. This is normal for the cookie brittle. 

Spray your baking sheet with Pam, and spread the dough completely on the sheet. I find it easier to use my Tupperware rubber spatula to flatten the dough and spread it out easier. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
*Make sure you check the brittle at around 15 minutes*

Wait for it to cool completely, and then remove in pieces from the baking sheet. I hope you enjoy this!

What extra toppings did you add to your cookie brittle?

Chicken and Dumpling Bake

Happy Monday my blog followers!
Let me tell you, once I walked that stage on May 5th I have hit the grown up world running. July 4 was my first day off in about a month, and I loved the sweet taste of freedom. No puns :) So Thursday when I had day #2 off, I was antsy. In my previous blog, I mentioned that a precious co-worker's FIL brought us Mexican for lunch one day. I had to pay her back somehow, but which recipe to choose? Luckily, she made it easy for me.

What better than chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes? I took those to work this past Friday, and all of the nurses and techs were VERY pleased :) Always makes my day to know I make tummies happy.

After I finished the cupcakes, I knew that the hubs and I were low of meals, and we had the ingredients for chicken and dumplings that we hadn't used yet.

Chicken and Dumpling Bake:
2-3 lbs chicken breasts
10 oz bag frozen mixed vegetables
1 cream of mushroom soup
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of 10 biscuits

My chicken breasts were frozen, and my waterless cookware cooked them in about 15 minutes. You can't get any better than that :) After the chicken was thoroughly cooked, I preheated my oven to 425 and cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces.

Spray your casserole dish with Pam or any other nonstick spray. In a large bowl, mix the chicken, soup, salt and pepper, and frozen vegetables. Once they are thoroughly mixed, pour into the casserole dish, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Halfway through the bake time, place the biscuits on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for the remaining 15 minutes or until golden brown. After the 30 minutes are complete, remove the casserole dish from the oven and place the biscuits on top.

I finished this recipe right at the minute that I needed to leave to go in for my last shift at Victoria's Secret, so I did not get a taste and I yet have had the chance. BUT my precious husband brought my repaired rings to the store and told me that the dish was incredible!! I am always thankful to know that I can cook dishes that he loves and asks for again. I didn't come into our relationship cooking. It is something that I picked up and really wanted to learn to do because I feel like its my duty as a wife. Chris is a fabulous cook, and I will always appreciate him stepping out of the kitchen for me to give this a try. I have fallen in love with baking and cooking and I know I have God and him to thank for that.