Our New HOUSE!

We bought a house!!!  We closed on it today so it's officially our new home!!  We're still in the process of moving and are a little between places, so my posting will be a little sparse this week.  We are so thankful for how the Lord has blessed us and can't wait to use our home to have people over!  It still feels unreal that we have a place to call ours - we are so excited!!!  I'd say that I'm afraid I won't be able to fall asleep tonight, but I'm already tired from moving (side note - it's been in the 90s here!).  Happy Monday!!

Right Now...

This is what our guest room looks like!  The rest of our apartment doesn't look much better, so please excuse my lack of posting the last couple days.  More news to come next week! :)  Have a great weekend!

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken with Red Rice

This is a recipe you want to make ASAP.  I found it through pinterest and made it a few days later.  The verdict:  the best dinner we've had in a while.  It was that good!  It combines so many of my favorite things (bacon, cheese, chicken) and there's the perfect amount of kick with the jalapenos.  Don't let the "stuffed" part scare you away; it's not hard and I didn't have any problems with it falling out.

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

4 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I only used 4 but I think there's enough filling for 6)

1 cup seasoned panko (I used regular panko and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder)

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.  

Stir together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, and jalapenos in a small bowl.

Cut a pocket horizontally through the thickest side of each chicken breast, and fill with 1/4 of the cheese mixture. (Imagine it to look like a loaded baked potato; arrange the chicken breast so that the pocket is facing upward with the cheese mixture inside.)

Roll the chicken breasts in the panko to coat.  Place chicken breasts on prepared baking sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

source:  recipe adapted from cassie craves

Red Rice
2 Tbsp canola oil
6 scallions, sliced, white and green parts separated
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups long-grain white rice
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 tsp chili powder
salt & black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, 1-2 minutes.  Add the rice and cook, stirring often, until the grains are opaque, 2-3 minutes.  Add the broth, tomato sauce, chili powder, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper and stir to combine.  Bring to a simmar and cook, covered, until the rice is tender, 25-30 minutes.

Remove the rice from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and fold in the scallion greens before serving.

source: recipe from Real Simple, March 2012

The Weekend

Happy Monday!  We had such a great weekend - and I hope you did too!  In an effort to keep one of my goals for April, I actually took pictures throughout our weekend :)  The highlight of our weekend was strawberry picking!  We picked two gallons and then made four batches of strawberry jam!  (I used this recipe).  Saturday night we went downtown for dinner, but unbeknownst to us it was prom night somewhere.  We ended up having a two-hour wait, but it was a beautiful night and watching all of the prom-goers eating their dinner ended up being quite entertaining.  Thankfully the food at the restaurant was spectacular and worth the wait.  Sunday was church and relaxing a little, and the weekend ended with a beautiful rainbow Sunday evening!

How did you spend your weekend?

{hard at work picking berries}

{almost a full bucket}

{some of the best strawberries I've ever had}

{one of our favorite traditions is going to pick fruit}

{so very thankful for this man}

{old warehouse on the west end}

{a freezer full of strawberry jam}

{gorgeous rainbow over our apartment complex}

{double rainbow}

Summer Tote

via

The is the perfect tote!  I'd take it with me everywhere this summer.  It's not too bulky so I could use it as an everyday bag, but I love the extra room it'd have for goodies from the farmers market or sunscreen and a book for the beach.  Oh I'm so ready for summertime!

Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread

I'm not typically drawn to low-fat recipes.  I just like eating food that taste good, even if it means I need to eat a little less because it's fattening.  I don't really know why I tried this low-fat banana bread recipe, but I'm glad I did!  The oatmeal gives it such good texture, and though it's no chocolate bourbon-spiked banana bread, it is good and has managed to disappear in two days.  I mean if it's low fat that means we don't have to eat in moderation, right? :)

Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp canola or walnut oil

1 egg, beaten

2 egg whites, beaten

3 large ripened bananas

1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and oats.

Mash the bananas in a smaller bowl.  Add the oil and whole egg and mix thoroughly.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.

With an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the egg whites until medium stiff peaks form.  Fold the egg whites into the batter in three additions.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, about 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes.  Flip loaf onto a wire rack and cool another 10 minutes.

source:  recipe from joy the baker

The Secret to Happiness

Happy Monday!