My Favorite Kind of "Me Time"

So, everyone needs a little "me time".  I try to get some in everyday.  The best way for me to unwind is to take a bath.  I get a book, sometimes some bubble bath and spend about a half hour (or longer).  Some days that is the only me time I get and after a long stressful day at work, it works really great for me! 

So how do you get in YOUR me time?

Chicken Enchilada Soup

I made this for dinner last night and it was DELICIOUS!  And since I wasn't feeling well, it was the perfect dinner!  I didn't take any pictures (gonna have to get better about doing that so I can be a better blogger) but here is the recipe and some notes I have on it!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can enchilada sauce

2 cups milk

1 cup of cheese

9oz bag of frozen chicken strips, cooked and cut

crushed tortilla chips

In a 3 quart sauce pan, combine all ingredients except tortilla chips.  Heat over medium heat until cheese is melted.  Serve and top with tortilla chips.

See?  Super easy and soooo good! 

A Few Notes:

- This soup was very runny, and I like mine much thicker, so I ended up having to add quite a bit of flour to thicken it up.  Next time, I will try only using 1 cup of milk.

- Also, I think I will try it with low fat cheese and 98% fat free soup to make it a little healthier.  It's not incredibly unhealthy as it is, but it could be better!

- Matt added a little sour cream to his and said that made it even better!

Try it and enjoy!  I love recipes like that, because they are SO quick and easy.  And I usually have all the ingredients on hand, so I'm sure it will become a staple in our house!

Disney Vacation 2011

Well I guess a month later is better late than never!  Matt and I had an amazing time on our vacation!  We arrived at Disney about 10:30 am and went to check in.  Our room wasn't ready, but we didn't figure it would be, so we got some lunch in the food court at the resort, then headed to Animal Kingdom.  I'll share some pictures from the room (which was refurbished a week or so before we arrived...everything even SMELLED new!) and from that first day at Animal Kingdom today!

YAY!  Finally at Disney!  Matt in front of the entrance to Animal Kingdom.

Baby Elephant, and a bigger elephant reaching for a snack!

Rhinos, I couldn't believe how close they were.  All of these pictures were taken on the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride

Gorilla, sorry about the angle :)

The new bed/bedspread. The gold pillow is actually mine, but it fits in nicely doesn't it?  We had already unpacked a little before I remembered to take any pictures!

The dresser, fridge, and new flat screen TV.  The fridge is in the cabinet.  Also we have all kinds of things sitting on there.  The towel Mickey that was on the bed, wedding cake in foil, our toasting glasses from our wedding (we brought Sparkling Cider from the Apple Barn to bring with us) and some chips and salsa from Paradiso 37!

I have TONS more pictures and lots more stories, so I'll try to post those in the next few days!

Meal Plan for week of 3/28

I cooked every night last week except one, but I didn't really FOLLOW my meal plan.  We never had tacos (mostly because I don't like ground beef and Matt doesn't like ground chicken and I don't like to cook 2 meats and waste most of it), or the BBQ Chicken, and we had breakfast for dinner one night.  Anyway, here is the plan for this week.

Monday - Chicken Enchilada Soup
 - If I like this I will share the recipe, however I'm very picky about soup!
 - I will also probably prepare this tonight (Sunday) and reheat it tomorrow

Tuesday - Tacos
 - We'll try this again, maybe I will feel like eating ground beef!

Wednesday - Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
 - I bought some of these frozen at Wal-Mart for something quick, easy, and mostly healthy on nights I close.  They are pretty good!  I throw some honey mustard on them, and they're good to go!

Thursday - Quesadillas
 - Looks like it's gonna be a Mexican week at the Smith house!

Friday - Eat out or leftovers...or who knows, maybe I'll decide to cook afterall!

I appreciate the recipes you guys left last week!  I will definately be adding them to my collection and trying them!  I'm trying to find some recipes where I can "sneaky chef" myself.  I'm really picky about textures, so being able to puree or mince stuff will hopefully help me get some healthier things in my diet!

Any "Sneaky Chef" ideas?

Meal Plan for week of 3/21

Matt and I have been trying to come up with some ways to save a little money and eat a little healthier, and the best way to do both is to EAT AT HOME!  In the past we have a had a really hard time doing this, but the past few weeks, we've done a pretty good job.  So I thought I'd share my plan for this week.

I am by no means a chef, and I like simple recipes with only a few ingredients.

So here goes...

Monday - Tuna and Rice
 - this one is super easy and really good.  I don't like tuna, and I don't like rice, but I LOVE this.  Here is the recipe.

1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 cup minute rice
1 can of tuna, drained (I prefer in water)
1 cup of cheese (I like shredded but sliced will work as well)

Prepare rice as directed.  Add soup and tuna and mix well.  Spread tuna and rice mixture in a baking dish (I use a square pyrex dish usually).  Cover with cheese and cook for 20 minutes at 350.

Tuesday - French's Fried Onion Chicken
 - this is a first for me but it only has 3 ingredients.  Matt and I really liked it...especially with honey mustard and ranch!

1 lb chicken breast
1 1/3 cups French's Fried Onions
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400.  Crush onions in a bad.  Dip chicken in egg and then into onions.  Cook for 20 minutes.
 - A few notes:  I used chicken tenderloins, and they only needed 15 minutes to cook through.  I didn't spray the pan with cooking spray and I wish I had, the chicken did stick a little bit.

Wednesday - Tacos
  - Pretty self explanatory, although Bi-Lo has ground chicken, which I think is delicious on the tacos, but Matt doesn't like it.  I don't really like to prepare two kinds of meat, so I usually just use the ground beef.

Thursday - BBQ Chicken
 - I have several different ways that I make BBQ chicken...in the crock pot, marinated, etc.  This will be the kind that I marinate.

1 bottle of BBQ sauce (I like Honey BBQ)
about a pound of chicken
Shredded cheese

Put the chicken in a gallon size bag with half the bottle of BBQ sauce at least 1 hour before cooking(I usually do it the night before).  Cook 20 minutes at 350.  About halfway through, brush with BBQ sauce.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese.

Friday - eat out?


Well, there it is, and so far I've stuck to it!  Yay me!  I'm always looking for new easy recipes...do you have any?

A week (actually more) without cable...

After the huge storm we had a week ago Monday, we were left with an unscathed house, thank GOD for that!  We do, however, have 3 trees down in the front and back yards.  One was the huge pine tree from our front yard.  I haven't uploaded the photos of the damage yet, but it's pretty incredible.  All of our trees were pulled up by the roots, and we are talking BIG trees!  Well long story short, the pine tree in the front yard tore the cable out of our house, and we've been without cable and internet ever since.  (I'm writing this at my parents' house).  Between the rain and our tree guy havnig to put priority on those with trees on their houses, we still have all our trees.

I have never been so glad that we have a huge movie selection!  I thought I'd share some of the things we have watched this past week!

1. Harry Potter - we've seen these many many times, but they are always good, even the 5th or 6th time!

2. Waking Sleeping Beauty - we got this from Netflix, it's a documentary about Disney Animation in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.  I highly reccomend it to anyone who is interested in Disney history or loves Disney movies.  I love all things Disney, but this movie explored how Disney animation "came back" from a slump before The Little Mermaid turned things around and what happened after.

3. Community Season One - I love this show, but it doesn't come on at a good time for us to watch it (I think it conflicted with Bones).  Wal Mart had it for cheap the day after Thanksgiving, and I bought it.  I'm so glad that I did.  I've gotten lots of laughs from it!

4. Knight and Day - Another Netflix movie (we miss being able to watch them instantly on the X-box).  We liked it pretty well, although I have trouble watching Tom Cruise movies.  I tend to see him as the guy who jumped on Oprah's couch til about halfway through the movie.

5. Iron Man - a go to favorite.  We've seen it many times as well and love it every time!

We were so glad to have these movies!  What are some of your "go to" favorites?