Three Cheese Tortellini Soup

This soup is sooooooo good!!!

I got this recipe a couple weeks ago and finally got around to making it tonight.  Honestly, I questioned how good it would be because there are so few ingredients and the directions are so simple.  My skeptical self had a bite.....and another, and several more.  I will now be making this regularly.  It's wonderful.  It's fast.  It makes enough to feed five or six people.  It's inexpensive.  Let's face it.  It's perfect, people.  Stir up a simple cornbread muffin mix and you have yourself a meal.

1 package Three Cheese Tortellini

1 lb ground beef

1 can Italian diced tomatoes

1 jar picante sauce

1 tablespoon basil

3 cans chicken broth

Brown ground beef.. (I cooked it in the microwave using my Pampered Chef Micro Cooker for eight minutes.) Boil tortellini and drain.  Mix all ingredients together until warm.  

Enjoy!

Dreaming of Chevron

Where are those questionnaires, ladies?  Let's go, now!  Chop Chop!!

So, I've been in the "I want to rearrange furniture and redecorate my whole house" type of mood lately.  It all started when I sent a big plant from my foyer to the curb...literally.  I never watered it, it was ugly, completely dried up, and frankly I just didn't want it in my house any longer.  In taking out the plant, I'm left with an entire corner of my foyer empty.  The space looks so much bigger now, and I just want to redecorate the entire area! Here are pictures of what I'm dealing with.

 

I've had the black table since I moved in.  It used to be under the mirror, but it left the doorway to the kitchen a little crowded.  I decided to move it to it's current location and it makes the area much more open.  Also, I always wanted a lamp on top of the table, but there wasn't an outlet on that wall.  Now that I've moved it to where you see it above, I do have an outlet.  I will be getting a cute lamp to go in my entryway asap.  I think it would be good to add some height. I'm thinking about moving the black corked cabinet door over the light switch and painting a canvas with my favorite verse on it to go over the black table.  I also want a round chevron rug to go in the doorway.  I need something large to cover the majority of the floor because some freak of nature person thought white laminate flooring was the way to go back then.  It is super hard to keep clean and regardless of how often I mop, it just looks dirty to me. Next issue....the wall with the mirror looks empty with nothing below it now.  There isn't enough space for another table or shelf.  Do I leave it or what other options do I have?  I'm open to suggestions.  So, all you Martha Stewarts and Candance Olsen's, hop on it!

I Love These!

....Questionnaires.  More than I love posting them, I love reading YOUR answers.  If you copy and paste this post, change my answers to your own and re-post, I will enter your name into a drawing for a $100 gift card from Target.  Okay, that's a lie.  But I will really be happy.  Just do it.

1.  Most hated chore on the household chore list? Definitely cleaning the shower

2.  What bad habits of other people drive you crazy? Incorrect grammar, smacking

3.  What is your worst travel experience? Getting sick on the flight from Las Vegas to Oakland, CA

4.  Last thing you ate? Kashi crackers

5.  Favorite lunch meat? honey ham

6.  Favorite cereal? too many- Banana Nut Cheerios at the moment

7.  Where's the farthest you've been from home? Antigua

8.  Favorite TV show? BIG BROTHER- in mourning the finale is tomorrow night

9.  What time did you go to bed last night?  11ish
10. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? for sure play the piano
11. If you have 30 minutes of free time, what do you do?  pinterest/facebook/blog
12.  What did you do growing up that got you in trouble?  I had a very bad "smart mouth"- feel guilty about it
13.  What one thing do you miss about being a kid? no financial responsibility
14.  Song stuck in your head today? Amazed by Zoe
15.  If you HAD to change your name, what would you change it to? anything that didn't start
       with an A, so my monogram initials wouldn't be aBc
16.  Sweet or salty? salty
17.  Favorite home cooked meal? My mom's meatloaf and mac n' cheese (INCREDIBLE)
18.  Favorite grab and go meal? Fuji apple chicken salad from Panera
19.  Have you ever been horseback riding? once when i was little- thing bucked me right off
20.  Favorite soup? Potato or Tomato Basil

Who's next?

P.S.  I've loved hearing several of you say you tried the Honey Garlic Chicken this week.  Hope you loved it as much as I did!

PicMonkey

Let's face it.  Auburn football has been nothing less than a crapshoot the past two weeks.  So when the game was set to come on today, I decided to give myself a little distraction to prevent turning into a mean serpant-like snake while watching like I did last week.  As the television was on and I listened to the game, I decided to give my blog a makeover.

Let me just say- PicMonkey is so awesome!  You can basically do anything from editing photos to designing collages, and the best part is....it's FREE!  In honor of my team (and the fact that the colors orange and blue look totally awesome together), I went with that color scheme.  I found a background on The Cutest Blog on the Block, added a HTML gadget on my blogger dashboard, and installed it.  I loved the header template they provided, but I couldn't fit the title of my blog into the small design it offered.  That's when PicMonkey came to the rescue.  Obviously, it's very plain and basic, but it serves its purpose.  If you know me, you know the entire layout will probably change in a few weeks, so taking hours to design one would be a waste.    It's simple, but it's me.  

Can I insert here that I've blogged three times in the past few days?  Yes.  You're welcome. I hope all three of my readers are happy.

Honey Garlic Chicken

Two in two days...record.

I've been all about trying new Pinterest recipes lately.  The favorites thusfar have been ones in which I can use my crockpot.  There's nothing like being able to throw something in a bowl, turn on the heat, and pronto....five hours later, it's done!  The following recipe is one I made THREE TIMES last week.  It's sooooo good and soooooo easy!

Honey Garlic Chicken

6-10 frozen chicken tenderloins
minced garlic
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup honey

Place frozen chicken tenders in the crockpot.  Drop minced garlic on top (I usually use 1-2 teaspoons.  Just "eyeball" it.)  Whisk ketchup, soy sauce, and honey in small bowl.  Pour over chicken and cook 4-5 hours on low.

You can thank me later.

I'm Baaaaack!

That was a pretty long hiatus!  Summer was great- BUSY, as usual.  I got to travel a lot, which I love.  I counted the other day and I have now visited 20 states out of the 50.  Sign up below for which state you would like to accompany me to and we will plan the trip.  Don't fight over Hawaii, now.

School is now in session.  I adjusted fairly well to getting up early and getting back into the swing of things...partially thanks to Xooma and my new found energy.  And, I have absolutely no shame in putting a plug in for this product.  Don't knock it til you try it.  "Haters gonna hate" (right, Bekah?) is my motto.  I am 110% convinced it was a gift from God to me and He has answered my prayers in more than one way due to my becoming part of this company.  Ahhh, I feel better.  #soapbox

In other news, remember the post I wrote a couple months ago about finally catching the blasted snake that was in my yard and the relief I felt to now be able to walk in my front door without the terror and fear of one slithering across my feet?  Yeah, well forget what I said.  I found a snake skin yesterday.  A skin measuring approximately three feet.  A skin right beside my front doorstep.  I.am.not.happy.  It flat out makes me MAD.  Thankfully, fall is coming and those jokers better run for hibernation because I'm on a stakeout to strike them with some venom of my own.  Then, come May, God willing- the house may be for sale.

Since my last post, I've also begun my 36- you read that right- 36 year of life.  A day I dreaded and expected to be pull of grief over the things in life I don't have turned into a day of celebration and blessings, thanks to my friends and family. I felt loved...and it was awesome.  The most amazing thing is I've decided on this, my 36 year, to change a few things.  I'm choosing HOPE this year.  I'm choosing to fight harder in my rounds with Satan and go to battle with my breastplate ready.  I'm not bowing down to his gimmicks and he will not cause me to bow down to his lies that I'm not worthy.  My God is the God of hope and as Joyce Meyer says, I will "expect something good to happen to me today."  It's phenomenal how much lighter I feel and how happy I've become.  I still have to fight, but the victories are outweighing the defeats.  A new favorite verse: Psalm 20:4- "May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed."
I can't wait to see what God has in store for me!