Mexican Chicken Yumminess

Well, this past week has been a bit crazy.  Demos was getting over a sinus infection, Arabella had an ear infection and then I started feeling gross. Of course I don't start feeling sick until it's time for my husband's work week to start..isn't that always how it goes?!  Well, on Saturday I had planned to make this dish I found on pinterest.  It didn't have a name on the pinterest link just ingredients and a picture. It looked super yummy so I thought why not.  Well, Saturday came around and I felt down right awful with zero desire to spend time prepping and cooking.  I figured I would just go get a pizza or something when my husband woke up (he works third shift so he sleeps during the day...it's a super bummer!).  Well, I finally decided I had all the ingredients so it was wasteful to not just use them.  After debating with myself over cooking, not cooking I finally decided I would just adapt the recipe and make it a crock pot recipe...anything can be done in the crock pot. THAT.IS.WHY.I.HEART.THE.CROCKPOT. :o) I found this super easy and super delicious!  My husband took a bite and responded with "oh wow, wow that's really good babe".  That's always a good sign :o)

So here's the recipe the way it was originally:
1 pound boneless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
 Salt, to taste
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
3 green onions, chopped
Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with taco seasoning; grill or sauté. Cut the chicken into cubes and place in a greased 8x8" baking dish; season with salt to taste. Add the enchilada sauce and toss to coat the chicken. Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken and bake at 350º for 10-20 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Scatter the green onions over the top. 

I'm sure it's yummy that way and I may try it that way some time.  

Here's the recipe my way:
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
taco seasoning
enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso sauce it comes in a small can)
package of shredded cheddar (could use your favorite Mexican or taco cheese)
salsa or taco sauce
sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt-will cut the calories down and is super yummy!
green onions
cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Take 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts and generously sprinkle each side with taco seasoning and then lay in crock pot.  Pour entire can of enchilada sauce over the chicken.  Cook on low for 4 hours. Once chicken is cooked pull it apart/shred it.  Pour desired amount of chicken inside a soft tortilla, top with shredded cheese. Then put in oven or broiler to melt and brown the cheese up a bit.  Once out of the over top with taco sauce or salsa, sour cream, green onions and cilantro. Then take a bite and enjoy!  This was my first time ever using cilantro and let me just say-YUMMMMMMMY! This will definitely be making an appearance in our house again soon!  Even my three year old liked it-he thought it was a taco! :o) You could also serve this over rice if you didn't want to eat it in a tortilla. 

Now...go get these ingredients and make your family and your tastebuds do the happy dance by having this awesome meal for dinner!  ENJOY!

                                             Here is the final product...DELISH!

Evidence of being a mom

Happy Friday to all!  I'm sure many are so thankful for the weekend to be here!  For me it's bittersweet.  I like the options the weekends bring but my husband works weekends and that just plain stinks and doesn't allow for us to participate in many weekend activities/events.  But that's besides the point...happy freedom to those of you that are off for the weekend! :o)

I've got many recipes I want to post and share along with a few other posts I'm working on but for right now this is what I have...."You know you're a mom when"....it's been a long week of sickness and just lots going on and not all great and truly some of the parts of the day make we want to pull my hair out while others make me chuckle pretty hard!  So here's my list....

You know you're a mom when....
-you can go days without showering and it doesn't bother you
-you get puked on and still continue shopping even though you can't reach all the way behind you where all the puke is to clean it up (totally happened this week...pretty stellar!)
-going to the bathroom in peace is a luxury you only get if it's the middle of the night..during the day you have about .3 seconds before the door flies open and you hear "MOOOOOOOOM"
-you can see your child is starting to puke and the closest thing to catch it is your hand and you without hesitation stick your hands under their mouth and cup them to catch the grossness that is now being spewed at you
-a hot shower in QUIET is a little taste of Heaven
-you're covered in snot, drool and most likely some more spit up and can share when and where each "spot" happened during the day
-your house can't stay clean longer than three minutes unless it's night and everyone is sleeping
-you hear a flush proceeded by screaming and a loud thump and discover your son is slammed the toilet seat on his well...I think you can figure the rest out.  OUCH!
-WHY? is asked 300,555 times a day in your house 
-every onject in your house is used as a weapon of some kind
-cereal is an okay dinner
-you've lost entire rolls of toilet paper to your child unraveling it because "I poo mommy"
-you find legos in your boots (ouch!)
-you hear "mom, mommy, mama" any place and turn around even if later you realize your kids are not with you
-7am becomes sleeping in
-coffee is a necessity
-in a store you hear "I need/want that" 1000 times in ten minutes
-you turn the radio up just a bit louder when crying is happening in the back seat
-you've touched more poop in your life than you ever knew was possible
-you've seen the same episode of Barney 26 times in one day
-you find yourself humming or singing songs from cartoons or even your kids toys


And the list could go on and on...I'm sure I'll add more soon.  Share your "you know you're a mom" when experiences with me!  I'd love to hear them!

Thirty in Thirty

Here it is January 21st already.  I can't believe the month is almost over.  As I look forward to the rest of the year I'm faced with the reality that in less than two months I will be turning the big 3-0!  Not sure how that happened.  I used to think that "30" was sooooo old.  Now that I'm fast approaching it I realize just how old it is not.  Our sense of "old" is so off when we are teenagers and in our early twenties.  Growing up and "older" I've realized more and more how wonderful life truly is and what a blessing each day is.  So I have decided that this year is going to be filled with lots of new and exciting things...I know the Lord has incredible things ahead and I'm praying and waiting on Him for the big things in life-like a new job for my husband (he just finished his masters in education), finances, location and such things.  In the more simpler exciting things I've decided to make a list of "thirty in thirty"....thirty things to do in this new stage and decade of my life. Some things I've always wanted to do, some things I'm scared to do and some things that I haven't even thought of yet.  So I'm putting it out there-what do you think I should add to my "thirty in thirty" list???  I will be posting the official list on my birthday (March 5th) but until then will be compiling a list and taking suggestions....so suggest away!

New Recipe!

As some know and the rest of you will soon find out I am a HUGE fan of the crock pot! I have two and think there's nothing better on a winter day than throwing dinner in there and letting it simmer all day.  I've been wanting to try a crock pot chicken tortilla soup for a while but never found a recipe that said "YES" to me. I remembered my friend Kim makes one so I thought I'd ask her about her recipe.  Well, I must say THANK YOU to Kim because we had chicken tortilla soup for dinner last night and it was awesome!!!  Kim's recipe doesn't call for a crock pot but I decided I would throw it all in there and let it simmer all afternoon and let me tell you it made the house smell awesome!!!  This soup was a huge hit in our house and it will definitely be made again soon!  My advice to you-MAKE.THIS.SOUP.  Go to the store, get the ingredients and make it today!  Go!  Here's the recipe:

1 large jar of Walmart Great Value white corn and black bean salsa
2 small cans of chicken stock
1 rotisserie chicken (you can use regular cooked chicken breast if you don't have a rotisserie chicken or don't want to spend money on one. I plan on just using raw chicken breast next time and throwing it all in the crock pot and then shredding the chicken)
Tortilla Chips
Mexican Cheese (I used Great Value Fiesta Cheese)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Take apart chicken and tear into little pieces (or throw in uncooked chicken breast) and throw into crock pot with entire jar or salsa and chicken broth.  Cook on low for 2-3 hours and then leave on "stay warm" setting so it can simmer and blend all the flavors together until it's time to eat.  If using uncooked chicken you may need to cook it closer to 5-6 hours before chicken is done and able to be shredded.  Once soup is cooked and it's time for dinner put into bowls and top with your favorite tortilla chips and cheese. Only thing left is to enjoy! 

                                           This is the soup while simmering in the crock pot

                                                     This is all done and ready to eat!

New Year, New Me

Here it is January 1, 2013.  New Year's day-the day people all over the world make resolutions to lose weight, eat better, read more, try new things, etc, etc...whatever the resolution is the goal is to better ones self in some way, shape or form.  I'm not a huge fan of resolutions for the new year...basically because in reality who keeps them? Why do we wait for a new year to be a new person...we can start any time.  I have however decided this year to make some resolutions and this blog is part of them.  My goal is to grow daily in my walk with the Lord, be a better wife, mother and friend. To continue in my learning of photography, craftiness, getting healthier and all around being who the Lord created me to be.  I've felt the urge to start a blog for a long time but never could come up with a name or basis for it.  Today I really felt the Lord urging me to get on it and He gave me the name and ideas to discuss on this blog.  So I hope you'll join me on this journey of daily life that includes crumb covered floors (no matter how many times a day I vacuum there are still crumbs-they're never ending and why this blog has the title it does), diapers, cooking, cleaning, crafts and all things that make up this life that is far more exciting and wonderful than I ever dreamed it could me.  

Here is one of my favorite verses and it was "verse of the day" on biblegateway.com...thought I'd share because I think it's a great one to start the new year with!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 
                                                                                                                                     2 Corinthians 5:17