Five on Friday!

So I'm am very late to the game on this today but it has been a crazy busy week and I am finally settled in on the couch with a fuzzy blanket and my computer and I am reaady to start this edition of Five on Friday!

-One-  Pasta Jambalaya.  D has made me pasta jambalaya a few times the past couple of months and he is loving mixing up the recipes and trying new things each time until he 'perfects' his signature recipe.  Last night we both finally had a night off together and we cooked together and had the best time!  It was so refreshing to be prepping and cooking dinner together and catching up on our weeks and I loved it!  {Latest recipe to come tomorrow!}

-Two-  Hot Chocolate!  It has been absolutely FREEZING here this week and we got about 5 inches of snow between last night and this morning so I have been treating myself with some delicious hot chocolate topped with whipped cream.  So comforting on a cozy winter night :)

- Three-  This little nugget Capone.  He is my favorite pup in the world.  D has been working a lot of nights lately so Capone has become my official couch snuggle buddy.  Can't get enough!

-Four- Wine: I had a rough week at work due to some major staffing changes at work and D was the sweeetest and stocked up my wine rack with different white wines.  He is the most thoughtful man I know and I am so lucky to be able to call him my husband in a little over 4 months!!

-Five- SUPER BOWL!!!  I am so excited for the Super Bowl on Sunday!! We are having a few friends over and it is sure to be an awesome day full of delicious food, yummy drinks, and most importantly, FOOTBALL!

{One of my coworkers shared some delicious broncos themed donuts with me this week}

I hope you all had an amazing week!  We are gearing up for a really cold weekend ahead but big plans to try on some different shoe styles with my wedding dress tomorrow!  More wedding stuff to come next week!

-T-

Today is a special day…

Today my heart overflows with love for my new baby niece, Ashlan Grace. She was born at 10:58 PM Central time on January 27th, 2014. She came in weighing a healthy 9 pounds 12 ounces. She is perfect. 

My sister Michelle is nothing short of a rock star. She was induced early yesterday morning and she powered through hours and hours of labor. {after already going into “false” labor a week and a half ago and having on and off contractions ever since}.

One of my favorite things that Michelle and Kyle have done with their two baby girls is not tell us the name until she is born. I absolutely love the anticipation and excitement. I was texting my mom over and over again “What’s her name?! What’s her NAME?!” and finally got to hear it when we called and she put us {me and my other sister Jen} on speaker phone.

In 17 short days I will get to snuggle that little bundle of joy and shower her with a million auntie kisses. Being an auntie is one of my greatest joys in life. I absolutely love Shélan and Ashlan and I will soak in every second I get to spend with them!

Today also marks 130 days until the big day! I feel like Wedding Day 2014 is going to be here sooo soon and I’m really trying to get all my ducks in a row! We checked a big item off of our to-do list this weekend when we placed the order for our invitations!! I love the way that they look and I was thrilled to use a 35% off and free shipping coupon on the order. Keeping things within or under budget is a big priority for me and this was definitely accomplished with the invites. SO EXCITED!

On another note, last night we made a loooong trek to the VA Hospital downtown Denver to get D’s staples taken out. It was less than an easy process {for him…all I did was sit and watch} but they are all officially out and he can continue the healing process now without all that mess! The VA Hospital is only 3 short miles from my sister Jen’s house so she invited us over for an AMAZING dinner of Cajun Chicken Pasta! It was soo good. She got the recipe here. I highly recommend it! The snow/weather conditions are making driving around these parts a huge pain but it was nice to get some quality sister time in after the usual 25 minute drive to the VA took 1 hour 40 minutes.

Tonight we have more fun things on the agenda! We are going to check out the hotel where we will be staying on the wedding night, meeting with the priest to get more things in order, and then having dinner with an awesome friend of mine. We used to work together and he moved a couple hours away last year and we hardly get to see each other so it will be awesome to catch up! After that D will head to work and I will head home to relax and catch up on the DVR ;)



Happy Tuesday All!

Super Bowl Party Food- Buffalo Chicken Dip!

I am posting one of my favorite Super Bowl snack recipes today for the Super Bowl Party Food link-up!  I don't have that many posts yet with recipes so I can't link to them but this one is a must-share!

My sister always makes the best buffalo chicken dip and the recipe she uses was her best friend Ashley’s.  Ashley passed away a couple of years ago and every time my sister or someone else in the family makes this, we think of Ashley and the absolutely amazing person she was.  This dish is a perfect appetizer/snack for Super Bowl parties.  I love when I have a recipe that is nostalgic and warms up my belly and my soul.  

{I wanted to share Ashley’s original recipe card in her hand writing :) }

In my family, we prefer this dish to be baked, however, you can also cook it up in a crock pot so it will stay warm throughout your Super Bowl celebration.  {We’ve also baked it and then transferred it to a crock pot to stay warm…something about baking it just tastes better than starting it all in a crock pot!}

 

I am so excited to join this link up today and check out some delicious recipes!!

Bisquick Ultimate Chicken Fingers {Recipe}

Happy Hump Day all!  I am so excited to be halfway through the work week!  Tomorrow my awesome friend Ashley and I are going to the Lady Antebellum concert here in Denver and I cannot wait!! We bought our tickets in September and the show was originally scheduled for November...we were so disappointed when it got postponed to January but it is FINALLY HERE!  Hopefully I can squeeze a recap of it into my Five on Friday this week.

Anyway, I am getting a little ahead of myself :)  Today is all about easy week night meals.  I made these Ultimate Chicken Fingers for dinner last night and we LOVED them.  They were so quick and easy and absolutely delicious.  Plus they were baked so that makes them health-ier right?

I found the recipe on the back of my Bisquick box you can find it here or below :) 

 I served this up with some yummy Parmesan rice and corn.  We only made enough chicken for two servings but next time I definitely want to make extra and add it to my salad the next day for lunch!

D is at work tonight so I'm hoping to cook up something simple for one.  Early next week {or this weekend if I can make it happen} I will be posting a yummy shredded beef taco recipe and a chili recipe. Yumyumyum!

Hope you all have a nice relaxing night!

-T-