Day 185

Day 185 - moving day for BrittanyWillis and her hubby!! So excited for them!!! And I got to drive the uhaul (which gave Thomas McClelland a heart attack!!)

Day 184

Day 184 - today, we said goodbye to an amazing woman and my heart hurts. We will be forever changed because we knew her and we are grateful for the time we had while she was with us. We got this wonderful gift jewelry box that she made and we will cherish it always

Day 183

Day 183 - oh yes!! It's gonna be a great day!!!

Day 182

Day 182 - after waiting 7-10 days (or more) we finally got our new bed delivered!! It's so comfy and it moves at the head & feet!! What do I do first??? I curl up and watch Sherlock!! I think kitty likes it too!!

Day 181

Day 181 - fabulous Chinese food lunch with Brittany Willis and now watching "Wentworth" on Netflix with the Hubbs! Good day!

Day 180

Day 180 - yeah, it's finals week...don't feel like cooking....nachos for dinner!

Day 179

Day 179 - the homework is never-ending but the payoff will be worth it!!!

Day 178

Day 178 - fabulous lunch with the Hubbs at Tucanos and now watching "Lucy"!! Fantastic day!

Day 177

Day 177 - how do I spend my date night with the Hubbs??? We play in toy stores :-)

Day 176

Day 176 - got to play in the OR today!! Got to observe a super cool surgery and wear the poofy blue hat! Definitely a fun day!!

New Recipe: FD Fall Harvest Soup!

Since its snowing here today, I wanted to make a hearty, healthy soup for dinner! This one turned out better than expected! Hope you enjoy it too! Its gluten-free and can be vegetarian/vegan if you use vegetable broth

To make this easier, I bought my carrots & butternut squash already cubed - so the prep time on this recipe was only about 10 mins!

FD Fall Harvest Crockpot Soup

Ingredients:
1 pound Butternut Squash (peeled, seeded & cubed)
1 pound Carrots (peeled & chopped)
1 pound Sweet Potatoes (peeled & cubed)
1 pound any type of Potato (I used Russet - unpeeled, cleaned & cubed)
1/2 of a Sweet Onion (chopped)
3 cloves of minced Garlic
4 cups low-sodium Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth
2 cups fresh Kale
1/2 tsp salt
*optional: one 12oz container frozen Green Chile (or you can use diced Green Chile if frozen isn't available where you are!) of whatever heat you prefer - this adds some extra kick to the soup!

Also, feel free to add chicken or another FD approved protein, but make sure you allow enough time for it to fully cook in the soup - or cook it before you add it to the crockpot :-)

Instructions:
- Add everything to the crockpot except the kale
- Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours until veggies are tender (but check it around 5 hours, my soup was perfect in this amount of time!)
- Add kale & stir lightly, allow 2-3 minutes for the kale to wilt a little
- Serve & enjoy!!!

Nutrition Information: 
Servings - 6
Calories per Serving: 171
Fat per Serving: 0.4g
Carbs per Serving: 36.8g
Protein per Serving: 4.4g

Day 175

Day 175 - after trying to clean my old crockpot, I decided that it just couldn't be saved. So I picked up my new Crockpot 2.0! It's fancy! And no parchment paper will ever go near it!

Day 174

Day 174 - snuggly kitties make the evening fabulous!

Day 173

Day 173 - happiest of birthdays to my amazing Hubbs, Thomas McClelland!!! I hope you have a fantastic day and a fabulous year! I can't wait to continue sharing life's adventures with you!!

Day 172

Day 172 - watching the Packers with some of my favorite men!! Great food and great friends!! Happy Sunday!!

Day 181

Day 171 - so 24 hours after my crockpot disaster, our house still smells like nasty cauliflower and I don't think the crockpot is salvageable....

Day 170

Day 170 - so after an epic dinner fail that may or may not have destroyed my crockpot, it's dinner date out!! Tom is thrilled, can you tell?? Oh, and American Sniper was absolutely amazing!!!

Day 169

Day 169 - she just loves helping me with my homework :-)

Day 168

Day 168 - it's so rare that it snows and I have the day off! So grabbed my Thor beanie & I went on amazing 2 mile walk in the beautiful weather this morning! What a great way to start the day!!

Day 167

Day 167 - so in Vegas I learned I have REALLY expensive taste in purses! So what does this unemployed nursing student do?? She finds a glorious knockoff handbag from China for $34 that will tide her over until she can afford & justify the purchase of a $1600 purse!

Day 166

Day 166 - my baby used his fabulous credit score to buy something new today! What is it?? You'll find out in 7-10 days :-D

Day 165

Day 165 - Go Pack Go!! Thomas McClelland was a little pissed about that personal foul call!!

Day 164

Day 164 - fabulous couples massage at the Downtown Day Spa thanks to Jasmine Campos and a date day in Santa Fe! Good times!!

Day 163

Day 163 - slowly adding distance to my runs! Feels good!

Day 162

Day 162 - after a long day in the ER, a fabulous pot of tea is just what I need to relax! :-)

Day 161

Day 161 - got to hang out with little Eli this afternoon and got a new Ninja blender! I've never been so excited to get a new appliance!! Made yummy bell pepper soup for dinner! Woot!

Recipe Time! FD Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

Okay, here's my tweaks to make my crockpot Bell Pepper soup FD approved! I also made 3 freezer bags of soup to pull out on a busy day!

Ingredients for One Crockpot (just multiply everything by 4 to make the extra bags)

3/4 lb lean ground turkey, browned and drained (so for 4 bags, its 3lbs of turkey)

3/4 chopped bell peppers (4 bags = 3 bell peppers)

1 28oz can diced tomatoes

1 10oz can tomato paste

4 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon honey (optional for FD)

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 minced garlic cloves 

salt & pepper to taste

550g of cauliflower rice (made in food processor)

Shredded cheddar cheese for on top

Instructions: 

- Combine everything but the Cauliflower rice & cheese in a crockpot (or ziploc if freezing). Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours

- Add cauliflower rice & allow to simmer for at least 15 mins

- Enjoy! *if you want to spice it up, add some Frank's Red Hot or Sriracha to your bowl!*

NOTE: if you're making freezer bags - combine all ingredients except for cauliflower rice & cheese in a gallon-size ziploc and freeze. Allow to thaw overnight & throw in a crockpot before leaving for an easy, FD approved dinner! 

Nutrition Info - Makes 6 Servings

Calories per Serving (excluding cheese): 247 cals
Carbs: 30g
Fat: 5g
Protein: 18g
Fiber: 5g

Day 160

Day 160 - you know you're working out hard when you have to bust out the "rolling pin of torture" on your quads :-P

Day 159

Day 159 - busy day today! Food is prepped, laundry and dishes are done, house is (semi) organized, lifting workout done, nail polish is removed, nails clipped and dangly earrings are taken out! Totally ready to go back to school tomorrow!! Now, it's lazy time watching Criminal Minds with the lazy kitty!!

Day 158

Day 158 - finished my first running workout of the new year! Working on adding distance in 2015! Also watched the Cowboys beat Detroit while catching up on some reading :-)

Day 157

Day 157 - date day with the Hubbs! Saw "Into the Woods" which was sadly disappointing, but had a fabulous healthy dinner after! Also hit the weights when I got home! Overall, great day!

Day 156

Day 156 - a fantastic violin performance from the kiddo this morning, lunch at the new Bubba's 33 and getting the kitty glare while review the nervous system! Great Friday!

Day 155

Day 155 - fabulous family breakfast at Egg & I, kitty loved the snowy weather and now playing Pirates of the Caribbean LIFE to kick off the New Year!!