Four months isn't so bad,right?

Four months since my last blog post?!?! This officially puts me in the "terrible blogger" category!

Since February I have been nothing but busy! So I'm going to use this blog to catch everyone up and then I'll get back to regular posting!

So, the end of January through the middle of March I spent every second planning 2 different parties! In February I threw a surprise birthday party for one of my very favorite people on the planet! My lovely grandma turned 70 on February 16th. (If you've ever seen her, this is shocking, I know!) I turned out perfect! There was a fantastic turnout and she was actually surprised! It was a wonderful party and I'm so happy I was able to do it for her! She deserves it more than anyone I know <3

The day after the birthday party I started putting all of my party planning energy into a bridal shower for my soon-to-be SIL, Hollie! I was so excited to do this for them. Once again, the turn out was wonderful and they got lots of great stuff to help with starting their life out together :)

After the shower I finally was able to take a break from party planning. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to plan parties and events, but it completely consumes my life! I can't think about anything else until it's over and the constant obsession over every detail is exhausting. But, it was all completely worth it!!

April was a HUGE month! My baby  little younger brother got married!! Seriously, if you had told me 5 years ago that he would be getting married, I would have never believed you! But, while he was deployed in Iraq, through a friend, he found his one and only. They balance each other so well and I couldn't have dreamed of someone more perfect for him! They had a beautiful wedding and I was so honored and excited to be a part of it!

May was spent mostly doing end-of-the-year school stuff with big K. She got through Kindergarten beautifully. I am amazed at how much she learned this year! She excelled at reading. She made a 100% on all of her AR tests (reading comprehension) and spelling tests! She also does really well in math. As someone who is terrible at math, this makes me beyond happy! She was blessed with an AMAZING teacher that she absolutely adored :) Overall, it was a wonderful year, but man am I glad it's over! Being the parent of a school aged kid is hard work!

The end of May brought more party planning. This time it was for my baby <3 On turned 2 on June 2nd! She had a great Belbo (Elmo) party. She had a blast and got to play with all of her grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncle. I seriously cannot believe my sweet baby is 2!!! I will do another post with updates about her and all of the fun new things she does and says.

Lastly, I need to touch on a few things from the beginning of the year. 1.) I'm still trying out new recipes every week. I seem to have a lot more misses than hits, but I'll post the ones we do like in an upcoming post. 2.) I'm still living a healthier lifestyle and having great success. I'll give an update on my progress and the changes I've made.

Whew!!! I think I'm mostly all caught up now. I'm excited to start more regular posts. Lots of fun things coming up this summer!

New Recipe Week 4

The Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Toast

I know, I know who needs a recipe to make cinnamon toast? But, let me tell you this isn't just any cinnamon toast. It is far superior to any you've ever had. As usual, Mrs. Drummond has come through again! It was super easy and quick to prepare and everyone loved it. This will definitely be a regular on our weekend breakfast menu!

Ingredients

• Stick of softened butter (or more if you're feeding more than 4)
• As much good cinnamon and sugar as you want
• 1 tsp Vanilla (this makes all the difference!!!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F
Smash up butter with a fork
Add sugar, cinnamon and vanilla
Mix well
Spread onto slices of bread. Cover the entire surface!
Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes
After 10 minutes turn on the broiler and broil until bubbly and brown around the edges. Keep a close eye on it. It burns quickly. This makes the cinnamon, butter and sugar nice a crispy, but the bread stays soft.

New Recipe Week 3

Skinny Chicken Enchiladas

I L-O-V-E Mexican food! So, when I saw this recipe on Pinterest for "Skinny Enchiladas" I knew I had to make them. They're only 275 calories per serving!

Prep: The prep wasn't too bad. The original recipe doesn't include preparing the chicken so that took about 30 minutes. The original blogger also included a tutorial on how to fold the tortillas so they will stay rolled which was very helpful.

Verdict: They were good. The chicken mixture had a really good taste. It's a good base recipe for any kind of chicken enchiladas. I wasn't a big fan of the sour cream sauce. The recipe calls for cream of chicken and I felt like it took over the taste of the dish. The sauce was also a little thick and slid off of the tortillas when served. I will definitely make these again minus the cream of chicken and with something to thin out the sauce a bit.


Ingredients

• 16 oz. fat free sour cream
• 1 can fat free cream of chicken soup
• 1 tbs. freshly chopped cilantro (1/2 tbs dried)
• 2 1/2 cups cooked chicken breast
• 1 can Mexican Rotel
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 8 low tortillas (I used 100% whole wheat)
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack and colby cheese blend
• 1 can diced green chiles (The Rotel has quite a bit of green chiles in it so I left this out)

Directions

• Preheat over to 350 F.
• Mix sour cream, soup, and cilantro in a saucepan. Heat through and set aside. Watch this carefully. It will make a big mess if it starts boiling!
• Spray skillet with non stick cooking spray and combine cubed or shredded chicken, Rotel, onions, and green chiles. Heat until onions are transparent.
• Microwave tortillas between 2 damp paper towel for about 10 seconds to make them a little more flexible.
• Fill each tortilla with about 2 tbs of chicken mixture and top with a bit of shredded cheese. Roll the tortilla and put them seam side down into greased 8x11 baking dish.
• Pour sour cream sauce over the enchiladas and top with remaining shredded cheese.
• Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.

New Recipe Week 2

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

For this weeks recipe I turned to Pioneer Woman. She has never failed me and I love her. Her recipes are delicious, easy to follow and she has great pictures! Like a lot of her recipes, this one isn't the most waist line friendly, but it was good!

You can find the recipe here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/03/sour-cream-noodle-bake/

Verdict: We liked it! Big K was sick so she didn't eat any, but everyone else enjoyed. The leftovers were very good also. It was quick and easy which is always a plus. It wasn't the best dish I've ever made, but it will definitely be added to my menu.

Picture update

New Recipe Week 1

  So this was the first week of my goal to try 1 new recipe every week. This week I chose a Crockpot Honey Apple Pork Loin. I'm not really sure why I chose this recipe. Other than bacon, I'm not a huge fan of pork. Thanks to an unfortunate experience in the OSU Student Union Food Court I have a fear of consuming undercooked pork. So every time I attempt a recipe it always ends up being really dry because I've overcooked it. The Hubs really likes a non-dry pork loin and the ingredients in this recipe appealed to me so I gave it a try.

The verdict: Just so-so. It did have a really good taste. I was a little worried it would be really sweet, but it wasn't at all. But...it was dry :( The original recipe did not call for any liquid to be added. I made some gravy to put on top and it helped. Next time I will definitely add some apple cider and maybe marinate it overnight.

I will give it another shot in a couple of months. If it comes out not so dry, I'll definitely add it to my rotation!

Crockpot Honey Apple Pork Loin  
original recipe can be found here.

I forgot to take picture...sorry :)

Ingredients:

• Pork Loin (I used 1lb.)
• 2-3 Red Delicious Apples, sliced
• Honey
• Cinnamon

Prep: There is next to no prep time with this recipe. Other than having to touch the meat I didn't mind it at all. Slice 2 apples and put them in the bottom of the crockpot. Sprinkle with GOOD cinnamon. Next, cut slits in the pork loin about ever 1/2 to 1 inch. Drizzle honey into each slit and push a slice of apple into each slit. Place the pork loin in the crockpot on top of the apples. Drizzle honey on top of entire loin and sprinkle with more cinnamon.

Cook: Cook on Low for 6-7 hours and enjoy the amazing smell all day. Do NOT remove the lid when cooking! (If you use a bigger cut of meat, it shouldn't change the cook time much)

Better late than never. Goals for 2013.

Well, it's halfway through January and I have finally decided on a couple of goals that I want to achieve in the upcoming year. Thanks to my busy mind that never turns off, pinterest and my constant urge to organize something I have a million goals that will probably never happen. However, I have narrowed it down to 2 obtainable goals that I can focus most of my energy on.

1. Getting back on track with my fitness goals.
  This time last year I was doing so well! I was at the gym 5 nights a week, I had completely stopped drinking pop and the pounds and inches were melting away. I loved the results I was getting and I have never felt better about myself. Towards the end of the summer I decided to stop going to the gym because I just couldn't justify spending the insane amount of money it was costing every month. I thought I could just work out at home, save the money, and get the same results. Fast forward 6 months and I've only worked out a handful of times. When I'm home I am mom. There is always someone wanting my attention,someone needing something, someone getting into something,laundry to be done, dishes to be loaded, meals to be cooked and floors to be vacuumed. Even if I try to set aside 30 minutes to work out, the chances of it being uninterrupted are almost non-existent. Don't get me wrong, I love my job as a mom and wife, but I find it almost impossible to step out of those roles and do something for me. I'm not making excuses. That's just how it is.
  When I started going to the gym I found myself eager and excited to go. Not because I love spending 30 leg burning minutes on the elliptical or doing squats, lunges and crunches, but because when I stepped into the gym I was me. I wasn't mommy,wife,chef,chauffeur or laundry folder. I was Shanon and I was doing something for myself. For an entire hour I didn't think about anything else. It was my therapy. When I would get done I would be so exhausted, but I would feel so good about myself. In turn, I believe it made me a better mom and wife.
  Also, working out and eating healthy go hand in hand for me. When I work out I am much more disciplined with my eating because I don't want all of that hard work to go to waste. By no means do I deprive myself, but I certainly think twice before indulging.
  Finally, the last reason for this goal is to set an example for my girls. I want to show them a healthy lifestyle. I want them to grow up with a healthy self image. When they're grown I don't want them to have memories of their mom complaining about her weight or eating herself into obesity. I want them to remember sitting down at the table with me and eating healthy meals. I want them to remember going on walks, playing at the park and just being active with me. I want them to know that the number on the scale does not matter.I don't want them to believe that their self worth is not based on what they see on TV and read in magazines. I want them to grow up have a happy, healthy and active lifestyle.

2. Expand and organize my recipe box.
  In the 7 1/2 years that the hubs and I have been married, my cooking has definitely come a looooong way. I'm very proud of how far I've come, but I feel like I'm in a bit of a rut. I seems like we have the same meals over and over and over. So, this year my goal is to try 1 new recipe every week. In addition, I would also like to organize all of my recipes in a way that is easy to plan and rotate meals. I plan on doing a weekly post of the recipe I tried for that week. I'll also do a post when I find a good way to organize them. Suggestions are greatly apprecitated :)

So that's it. Seems doable, right? Please feel free to hold me accountable:)