That's what she said

Recipe

CAJUN STYLE STUFFED PEPPERS (Courtesy of Leah Schoonover)

6 large green bell peppers

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon Creole seasoning (can find at any grocery store, I think I found it in the seafood dept)

black pepper to taste

¾ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

1½ links of andouille sausage, diced

1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice

2½ cups chicken broth

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 lemon - cut into wedges, for garnish (optional)

Louisiana-style hot sauce

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease an 8x12 inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove tops and seeds from peppers. Blanch in boiling water 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent. Stir in garlic, and season with oregano, Creole seasoning and black pepper. Stir in shrimp and sausage, and cook until shrimp turns pink, 5 minutes. Stir in rice, and cook 1 minute. Pour in chicken broth and tomato sauce. Cook until thick, 15 to 20 minutes. Fill peppers with stuffing mixture, and place in baking dish.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until heated through. Serve with lemon wedges and hot sauce.

Yields: 6 servings

 

Arctic Hot Chocolate & Twinkles

Last night we wanted to get out and do something after being caged up in the house the past few nights. So, we made some hot chocoloate to put in our to-go mugs and drove up to Olympic Manor to check out the christmas lights (which exactly one year and three days earlier we had our first date!)

we loved the little nativity scene in the window!

this was one of my favorties. Nicely done.

HELLO candycanes!

I liked the stars in the windows

 
Santa and a snowman took turns moving up and out of the igloo!

Unfortunatelly, I couldn't get the last pictures to post. We definitly had one that got dubbed "the worst!" But, I hope you enjoyed looking at a few of them! If you get a chance before the new year, they are fun to look at!

 
   
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
   

Gift Review

I already shared my big presents with you, but I also wanted to share a few more things that I am loving right now!

 

I love love love this kitchen timer by Kitchenaid! I got it in my stocking from my hubs, he was probably sick of watching me use my cell phone everytime I had to time a recipe! It's super easy to use. Thank you babe a millon times!

 

 
  
This is a great movie for any cook and or woman out there! Again, got it from the hubs and watched it twice within 24 hours. Meryl Streep is so quirky and funny and Amy Adams is just her usual cute self.

 

 

 

I got this magazine subscription from my Mom & Dad and can't wait to get it! It always reminds me of my friend Lindsay every time I see it :)

 

 

 
 

I got this lotion from my dear friend Leah! I love trying out new lotions and I love even more that it is lemon scented!

 

 

 

Who am I

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.

I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.

Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

(Casting Crows)

Slow Cooker-Chicken Taco Chili

Technically it is a soup, but I call it chili because it comes out thicker like chili. A yummy crockpot recipe! And seriously can not get any easier!

 

INGREDIANTS

 

1 can black beans (undrained)

1 can pinto/chili beans (undrained)

2 cans corn (drained)

1 8 oz can tomato paste

2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies

3-4 skinless chicken breasts

1 packet taco seasoning

1 chopped onion ( I leave this out as it seems to be ALOT of onion and it cooks for a really long time and they get really mushy. It tastes great without, but by all means add if you like!)

 

Optional Ingrediants (Add as condiments after chili is done!)

 

Tortilla Chips

Cilantro

Cheese

Sour Cream

 

DIRECTIONS

 

Empty cans of beans, corn and tomatoes into crock pot. Stir in the tomato paste and taco seasoning. Lay the chicken breasts on top of the chili mix and slowly press down until covered by the chili.

Set on Low heat for five hours. After five hours, take out the chicken and using two forks, shred into bite size pieces. Return the chicken to the crock pot and cook an additional two hours.

 

Serve and enjoy!

Ringing in 2010

Do you have any big plans for New Year's Eve? Going out of town for the long weekend? Party with friends or family?

My husband and I decided last minute to have a few ppl over to help celebrate. We will eat some yummy appetizers, play games, monopoly if Flyn has his way, and probably watch the fireworks on TV. Pretty chill night.

In light of the holidays and all the sweets I have consumed, I've decided I am going to make some "healthy" appetizers. I want to make these stuffed mushrooms, yes I understand they have sausage & creamcheese in them, but they are still vegetables right? I also want to serve something other than the standard sparkling cider, anyone have any good recipes for a non-alcoholic punch?

I hope you all have a wonderful new year's and let me know if you have any good "healthy" appetizer ideas for me!

A Sam Family Christmas

Flyn and I had a wonderful first Christmas together! We spent the morning opening presents with the family in good ole M-town. Then we headed back to our place in the afternoon to finish our presents, rest and have Christmas dinner.

Look at these beautiful earings & bracelet Flyn got me! So glamorous.

 

 
And as if he hadn't gotten me enough already, he got me a JCrew gift card so I could spoil myself even more :)

 

 
He also got some fun loot!

We didn't have your normal Christmas Dinner, instead we had Chicken Tikka Masala, and guess who forgot one of the main ingrediants for it? Thankfully 7-Eleven was still open, so I sent Flyn to grab some whipping cream last minute. Perhaps we will start a tradition of having a non-christmas type dinner every year?

I did make a pecan pie and I will have to say, for my first pie ever, it came out really good! I used another Pioneer Woman recipe. I didn't have time to make the homeade pie crust, so instead I used a store bought grahm cracker crust. It turned out great! Don't hate me, but I think I actually prefer the grahm cracker crust to homeade!

 

 
New Year's plans?

One Year

Can you believe it's been a year?

Here's to one year of dating, engagement, wedding and being married all rolled into one!

It all started...one year ago. I was really nervous for our first date. I almost blew it too. Earlier that morning Flyn and I had been texting and so I asked him playfully, if he was going to tell me what we were doing that night for our date? His text back went something like this, "I was thinking we would just take it easy tonight and grab coffee somewhere. " but having the dinosaur of a phone that I do, I didn't get all of his text, only the words, "no". So, I texted back, "You are no fun!" Meaning that he was no fun in not telling me what we were doing that night. In a second he was calling me, probably wondering, Who is this girl? What does she want from me? Coffee isn't enough? We talked things out and realized that the mis-communication was my phone and its stupidness!

Well, if you are wondering it all worked out! We got married two weeks and one day ago! I miss you and I am sorry that you have to be traveling today babe. I love you very much and am so proud to call you my husband and my best friend.

 

Happy Anniversary!

12-25-2009

7:45am Right now we are getting out of bed headed over to my parent's house to uncover the heaping mound of presents that is sure to await us. I was told that if we are not there by 8:30 our presents will be given away! That is one way to get someone motivated!

After spending some time with the family, Flyn and I will come back to our place to exchange our own presents and I am attempting our first Christmas Dinner! Still deciding what is on the dinner menu!

Merry Christmas from the Sam Household to yours!

The day before Christmas....

and all through the house, not a creature was stiring, not even a mouse...

Almost finally finished up our Christmas shopping last night! There may or may not be a few things left I still need to get. Now, if it's one thing I hate, it's shopping last minute for Christmas presents! Why you ask?

1. Because it's crazy out there! Have you ever tried to make your way through crowds of busy shoppers and lines of cars in downtown on Christmas Eve? Word of advise from an experienced christmas-eve shopper, give up now and go home!

2. The worker-customer ratio is way off! I went to Barnes & Noble last night, there was a HUGE line going back into the book aisles because there was only one person at the register! Okay so you may have saved your store some money in labor costs, but you also probably lost customers not willing to wait 30 minutes to buy one book.

2. All the presents seem to have vanished off the store shelves! Out of the five people I needed to shop for last night, I found three presents. Not good odds when Christmas is only one day away.

3. It makes me feel like I didn't put enough time into my presents when I shop so late for them. But, I would like to say that in my defense there were a few things that have taken presedence in my life over the past four months, sorry! And don't worry family, I have put alot of thought into your presents this year!! Enter Amazon, I love them! And the fact that they ship your gifts in a very timly manner straight to your house, who knew!

4. I feel rushed, which in turn makes me forget about the real meaning of christmas and I hate that. I am sorry Jesus, for forgetting that this is all about you! I get so wrapped up in the glitter and glitz of the holiday and making sure everything is perfect that I have forgotten that it is you that we are celebrating!! Thank you for gently nudging me every time I forget!

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your families & friends and don't forget the real meaning we celebrate it!