Simple Stroganoff

Last night, I made a fairly easy stroganoff by combining two recipes I've recently been given. My mother-in-law gave me an awesome recipe book with their family favorites (which I will share one of those recipes very soon), and my sister sent me an easy stroganoff recipe she uses. Here's what I came up with when I combined the two:

Ingredients:

Stew meat (or ground beef)

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 can of water

1/4 cup Sour cream

Flour

Salt & Pepper

Preparation:

Salt and pepper meat to taste

Coat meat in flour

Brown on both sides

Combine meat with remaining ingredients in crockpot

Mix well

Cook on low for 6-8 hours

Just before serving, cook 1/2 pound egg noodles as directed

Mix well

Serve and enjoy!

Side note...

After using flour yesterday, I just had to unpack these cutie-patootie canisters. I've had these since my first year of college, and I am just now able to use them. A-dor-able! Just another one of those little details that makes me smile : )

Basic Baked Barbeque

Chicken, that is. The "c" didn't go with my alliteration.

I made up my own chicken dish tonight. I really enjoy barbeque chicken, but I'm not a fan of grilled chicken. I think it gets to be too dry, and I don't like the charred taste it gets. I also like to bake my food- it's healthier that way.

So... here's how I did it!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup barbeque sauce (I used Maull's and Bull's Eye)

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup worcestershire sauce

Sprinkle of garlic salt

2-4 chicken breasts

Preparation:

Boil chicken breasts to ensure a moist and juicy meal.

When cooked throughout, remove and place in greased baking dish.

Top with barbeque mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes so the chicken isn't toooooooo moist (a.k.a. bad for my sensory texture issues). I know this is a contradiction of early, but trust me, this makes the chicken the perfect texture.

Remove & serve with a tasty, healthy veggie.

I made my baked brussel sprouts that I posted about months ago. It was a truly tasty meal. I will be making it again!

Happy Easter!

I hosted Easter dinner this year. Since Tyler was spending Easter in New York with Andrew, I thought that it would be nice to have my family join me down here.

So, I started preparing last night.

It was nothing fancy, but I made a summer vegetable dish along with sloppy joes. They were a big hit today! I don't think anyone left hungry.

I was being pitiful this year because I thought it would be the first year in my life that I didn't get to dye Easter eggs. When Mom heard this, she postponed her annual egg dyeing day to today! So, we boiled 4 dozen eggs or so and got everything ready to dye.

We then got to work! Miranda was getting the dye ready at this point, and Steve was taking the picture. The rest of us jumped right in.

I dedicate this egg to my Love. : ) It was hard to be without him today, but it made it easier that my family came down. This is the first holiday we've spent apart... and we plan on making it our last. It's absolute nonsense to not be together!

I dedicate this egg to my brother, Tyler. He always dyes an egg green after writing "& ham" on it. So, I did this one in his honor.

Halfway through, Nana Helen joined us! She helped me finish my dozen. I am SO glad that she came over, and I hope she had as good of a time with us as we did with her. I'm going to miss her SO much once I move. She's pretty incredible!

This is a close up of our finished product. I like the tie-dye one the best.

BUT...

Although it was absolutely amazing having my family here, nothing compares to the church service we had this morning.

At the beginning, 4 people were baptized. That, in itself, was too cool for words. I couldn't think of a more perfect day to be born again. After our pastor had baptized those individuals, he made the announcement that the baptismal waters would still be there at the end of the service, and he would baptize anyone who wished to be baptized.

He then preached about the perfect love story... the love our Savior has for us. The love He felt for us when He died on the cross. The love God had for us when He watched His Son get nailed to the cross. The grace and mercy we do not deserve, but that Christ shows us because He loves us.

At the end of the service, 8 more people got out of their seats, dress clothes and all, to be baptized! The water does not save them, but the outward testimony of an inner change was AMAZING. It was the coolest Easter service I've ever been to.

Nothing was scripted, nothing was planned, it was not a show.

It was simply God. God showing His amazing love to undeserving people.

THIS is what Easter is truly about. I am humbled to worship such a big and almighty God.

I am blessed that I had family to share it with.



Outdoor Activities

Over the course of the summer, Andrew and I have made it a point to live healthier. As many of you know, we watch what we eat, we limit how often we eat out, and we attempt to particpate in physical activities. Andrew is much better about working out than I am, but I do try to get out and about often enough.

Our outdoor fun lately has been particularly nice!

Labor Day...

On Labor Day, Andrew and I enjoyed a hike on one of the trails at a local state park. The weather was nice, and the trail was easy enough to enjoy, but challenging enough to make us feel like we had a good workout.

After our hike, we had a picnic lunch at the park. The area overlooked the lake, and the cool breeze blowing up from the water was a nice refresher after our hike. I'll admit, I needed the rest!

We had a great day enjoying God's beautiful creations, and we are so thankful that we are physically able to go on hikes such as these!

This weekend...

... saw the purchase of bikes AND beautiful biking weather!

We received unexpected funding (God is SO good!!), and with our budget figured out well into spring and our savings account where we wanted it to be, we decided that we could afford to purchase Andrew a bike. Andrew decided to be tricky, and he talked me into go to the bike store with him.

I saw THE bike. We had Wal-Mart bikes previously, and we both despised riding them. It was more frustrating to ride them then it was worth, and we simply never rode them. These bikes are high quality, and the guy we worked with at the store gave us an awesome deal on them. He reduced the price significantly, and we truly left with our money's worth.

We took them out for a spin last night and relished in the cool night air. After an incredible church service this morning, we went on a 12 mile bike ride on the trail through town. It was absolutely beautiful... and the weather was amazing.

The purchase was big, but with our lifestyle, it was well worth every penny spent. We've already enjoyed them so much, and we're getting ready to take them out for another ride now!

So... until next time!!!