Happiest Place on Earth...

Tomorrow we are going to DISNEY WORLD with AJ's parents, brother, sister in law, and 3 kids. We are very excited because neither of us have been in YEARS! I will definitely ride "It's A Small World" in homage to my family because I used to torture them by wanting to ride it 500 times in a day. :P

Our Current Favorite Dinner

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

Ingredients

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg Stove Top stuffing for Chicken

1/2 cup water

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Heat over to 400 degrees. Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moist.

Layer chicken, basil, cheese, and stuffing mix in 13x9 inch or 3 quart baking dish.

Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

This is one of AJ's FAVORITE to eat and my FAVORITE to make because it's sooooo easy and sooooo good! You gotta love Kraft Food & Family magazine!!

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

AJ & I spent Thanksgiving in New Jersey with family. We ate dinner on Thursday with AJ's parent's, Michael, Josephine, Chris, Bobby, Tony & Janet. It was delicious! I made my annual Cranberry Salad and it was a hit! (Thank you for the fool proof receipe, Mom!)

We went to Long Island on Friday for AJ's cousin's wedding. It was so great seeing AJ's aunt & uncle and cousins... I wish we saw them more often! The wedding was absolutely beautiful and so much fun.

Congratulations to (Big) AJ and Vanessa!!

Slow-Cooker Hearty Beef Chili

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1 can (15 oz.) dark red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (15 oz.) light red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1-1/2 cups mild salsa
1 can (16 oz.) no-salt added tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 onion, chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed, drained
1 cup shredded cheese

Directions:
Brown meat; drain. Add to slow cooker with remaining ingredients except cheese; stir. Cover with lid.
Cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours (or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours).
Stir just before serving. Serve topped with the cheese.

This was my first attempt at making chili and I am pretty proud of myself! Next time I make it I think I will add a little more tomato sauce because it needed more liquid. While the corn was different, I don't think I'll add as much next time.

Hey Strangers!

I think I'm going to start posting here more often.

I got a new job in October. An 8-5 job!! Now that I have a normal schedule, I can actually get back to being domestic... cooking, baking, cleaning, etc.

I have a couple of new recipes that AJ & I have tried so keep watching!

Our First House!

Since starting my new job in November, I have been VERY BAD at my quest to become domesticated! The hours I work at very hectic so while I haven't been cooking that much, we have done something completely domestic.

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

After a few weeks of looking around Roanoke, we found "the one" in SW Roanoke City. We love it and are scheduled to close on March 6th. Keep your fingers crossed for us!!

Easy Cranberry Salad

With the new job starting this week, I haven't cooked ANYTHING this week! I don't want to leave my readers (I mean reader, my mom.. haha) disappointed, here is a recipe that I inherited from my mom. :)

Ingredients:
1 large cherry Jello
1 can cranberry sauce
1 can crushed pineapple
2-3/4 cups Ginger Ale
1 cup chopped pecans
1 small can of mandarian oranges

Directions:
Bring Ginger Ale to boil then dissolve jello in hot Ginger Ale. Add cranberry sauce, pineapple, nuts, & oranges. Mix well and refridgerate.

You can also experiment by using different flavors of Jello like 1 small cherry & 1 small cranberry or 1 small raspberry... anything that you feel will taste yummy!