Mid night snack :)

We picked up some super flavorful and delicious grapes from safeway this week.
This evening after dinner I put a small bowl of them in the freezer... an hour later they are perfectly frozen and oh so delicious. perfectly healthy little mid night snack.
and not to mention.. you don't have to feel guilty about this one!

Snow storm

I just wanted to share a few of the pictures that i took during the snow store :)
sometimes being snowed in isn't all that bad.

Exploring for inspiration

Today was my day off.. I spent the afternoon venturing to value village, 2 different good will's and my favorite craft store. I was hoping to find some inspiration. I found all of these goodies :)

Check back to see what goodness will come from this junk :)

Doritos Chicken Casserole

So this evening I was in the mood for a casserole. Sometimes there is nothing better that a little comfort food for dinner. Something simple but yet so delicious. I searched around on pinterest for something that caught my eye.. when i stumbled upon this tasty treat- Mexican Dorito Casserole. My inspiration and the basic recipe came from this lovely blog: http://www.jamhands.net/2008/12/mexican-chicken-casserole.html

so here is my version:

Mexican Dorito Casserole

Ingredients:

3 c. shredded cooked chicken
1 c. shredded cheese (I know that I definitely used more than this)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes (canned tomatoes with jalepenos)
1/2 packet taco seasoning (or more- to taste)
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste.. some people don't like there food spicey)
Bag of doritos

First start off by preheating your oven to 350 degrees

I read recipes all the time that require shredded chicken but they never give much direction on how to shred the chicken.. we all know its super easy but I thought I would give an easy tip just in case you don't know how.. all you have to do is boil the chicken until it is cooked all the way through and then using your finger and/or a fork to shred the breasts. it ends up looking like this:

After shredding the chicken simply add all of your ingredients into a bowl and stir it all up. I ended up adding extra sour cream to mine because i wanted to make sure it was nice and moist.. but you could add more cream of chicken soup if you prefer

Next be sure to spray a baking dish with pam. I would say to use at least a 2 quart dish. By the time I was finished my dish was filled to the very brim.

Once your dish is greased start out by crushing a layer of doritos in the bottom. Next put a layer of the chicken mixture, than repeat the doritos, followed by another layer of the mixture.

Once you have your casserole layered in the dish finish it off with a layer of cheese on the top.

Put in the oven and bake for at least 40 minutes or until the cheese starts to turn golden brown.
Once it is finished it looks like this:

We also made a side dish of mexican rice which was perfect with it!
Dish yourself up and enjoy :)

House Sitter for Life

Within the past year I have come to think that I have big sign on my back that everyone but myself can see. I am pretty sure that it reads "Single, responsible, live at home, and broke as a joke". I say this because I constantly get asked to house sit for someone, and i honestly don't mind it most of the time. Especially when I get the opportunity to stay in a big gorgeous house with some lovely little animal friends. I just had the chance to house sit for the Okazaki's and although it was only for two nights I certainly enjoyed myself.


Who know this big fluffy polar bear could be such a good snuggle buddy?

and it decided to snow while I was there. just enough snow to make everything turn white.

Catch up!

It's been a couple of days! I need to keep up a little bit better! My weekend wasn't terribly exciting.. I spent most of it feeling extremely icky and working! I did get some fun mixed in there as well though. Friday I spent the evening with my parents and a few of their lovely friends. Saturday I spent doing nothing.. Until the evening when I met up with miss Kaila and we sat and watched movies :)

I did however go to a pet store down in Sumner over the weekend...I know that sounds super boring but this place is filled with CRAZY fish tanks with CRAZY fish! Check these little babies out!

Jill and I also ventured on another walk on Monday! We loaded up little Winnie and headed a different direction on the trail this time! We ended up walking 6 miles! And we crossed over this lovely little bridge!

We also spotted this goat hanging out on top of this little structure! So cute! E had to walk up tiny little stairs to get up there and he was scarring his head on the limbs of the tree.

Birthday girl

My Beautiful best friend celebrated her 23rd birthday this year and she honored my by allowing my to spend most of her special day with her. I started out her birthday with a flat tire which ended up working to our advantage. I was able to get my tired fixed and get up to snuggle her and winnie :) we took the morning nice and slow. Jill got ready and I played with the happiest little Winnie :)

Once we were all set to go we headed out to lunch at the olive for a delicious lunch and a little wine tasting :) Here is the birthday girl :)

Jill is definitely an amazing mom and I love watching her with Winnie. Winnie decided she was hungry right when our food was delivered to our table :)

Whenever Jill and I got to lunch at the Olive Garden (which isn't very often) we always seem to take a nap after our meal. While Jill was pregnant we went out to lunch at Olive Garden and after leaving the restaurant we went back to her house and crashed on the couch for at least two hours. We did the EXACT same thing this time.. after we ate all 3 of us (little miss W included) went back to Jill's and crashed on the couch for at least and hour and a half.. pretty amazing if you ask me. When we woke up from our nap we decided to leave Winnie with Jill's mom and head out for one last special birthday treat... A cup cake and a latte :)

The celebration continued the next evening when Jill's mom hosted a small dinner for the birthday girl!

Here's her adorable birthday cake

The evening was enjoyed by all.. a delicious dinner (the meal is always amazing when Val is cooking), a glass of wine, apples to apples and a lovely company :)

A Lovely Winter Walk

So I had yesterday (Friday) off of work... and I couldn't think of a better way to start my day than a nice long walk with my best friend and her amazing baby girl, my niece, Winnie! Two of my favorite people in this entire world. Jill, along with her fiance and her family, are being extremely amazing and supportive in my journey to get healthy! Friday morning was crisp, cold, and sunny.. perfect walking temperature.. so we bundled up and hit the Orting trail.

The best part about the Orting Trail is that if you start walking at the right place you end up walking most of the way along the river.. which is absolutely gorgeous.

Little Miss W was looking as cute as ever.. but she was taking life so seriously.. such a serious little face.

Not only is the river amazing to walk along but I love all of the trees and animals along the trail! In the fall the tree's are amazing and full of color and they are even beautiful in the winter when they are bare.

We spent our time chatting up a storm, catching up on life, talking about exciting wedding plans, and trying to get little miss W to smile.. we almost had her here! she was thinking about it.

we were walking along the trail when we stumbled upon this giant bird!!! This thing gave Jill and I both the heebie jeebies! I decided to try and take a closer look at him.. and he started following me along the fence! When I would stop.. he would stop.. when I would turn and walk a different direction.. so would he! and he was staring me down with his creepy orange eyes!!

By the end of our walk and lots of raspberries blown by her loving mama Winnie finally showed us her pretty little smile! Love both of these ladies! I can't wait for more walks with these ladies :)