swagbucks...extra reward alert!!

i promised not to fill your reader/feed/whatever with lots of information about swagbucks, unless it was really important!  however, this particular promotion is GREAT if you like free music and the like :-)

i've told you that i am stocking up on amazon gift cards with my swagbucks earnings.  well, this month only there is a special promotion going on when you snag an amazon gift card.  here's the blurb straight from them.

When you snag an Amazon.com Gift Card from Swagbucks during the month of September, you will be rewarded with a $1 promotional credit for Amazon MP3. With over 20 million songs, they're sure to have that new song you're dying to hear again or an oldie you don't already have in your collection. Start earning reward points today and snag your Amazon.com Gift Card and $1 Amazon MP3 promotional credit before Sept. 30th.

you only have TODAY and TOMORROW to get this.

and if you haven't signed up for swagbucks yet, please use any of the links in this post to start earning! you may not be able to take advantage of this promotion unless you're super dedicated, but you'll get cool stuff and i'll get referral bucks :-)

it's a great day to get more fingernail polish

today's agenda: cook, clean, go to target and buy a new shade of nail polish (because why not), play games/watch movies with anthony and his sisters (they're hanging out today and tomorrow with us), babysit for a family i used to nanny for (i haven't seen the kids for awhile so i'm really looking forward to that!) and just...chill.  i'm good with that plan.

how about you? anything crazy happening over your weekend?

recipe of the week: spinach tortellini soup (slow cooker!)

spinach tortellini soup (in the crockpot!)

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups vegetable broth

3 cups water

6 oz raw mushrooms, washed and sliced (i use the wild mushroom blend from whole foods)

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cayenne peper

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

freshly ground black pepper

2 cups cheese tortellini

4 cups fresh spinach leaves, torn

1 cup skim milk

1 cup whipping cream

fresh parmesan cheese to top

begin by stirring together in a crock pot the vegetable broth, butter, water, flour, mushroom, onion, garlic and spices.

 cover and cook on low from 6-8 hours

 add torn spinach leaves

 and tortellini.  stir together and cook for another 30 minutes or so

 add milk and whipping cream

 cook on low for another 20-30 minutes

 and enjoy!

 top with parmesan cheese if you wish. (we wish :-)

*adapted to eliminate pre-packaged mixes and to fit our tastes from this recipe

thursday's ten or so: currently (9.6.12)

currently listening to: mostly pandora, bryan and katie torwalt, Jesus culture, etc

currently reading: um, a little behind in that. a book i need to review on here and the hunger games.

currently looking forward to: football, fall clothes and foods, making pumpkin scones with natasha and (crazy!) our first anniversary

currently craving: pumpkin foods, butternut squash soup, and other fall things. unfortunately heat and humidity will keep me from making some of these for awhile!

currently thankful for: amazing husband, wonderful friends, a great job, former nanny families who still call me first for babysitting, and all the other blessings in my life!

currently discovering: all the great new local coffee shops! natasha and i went to the well last night and barista parlor is another new favorite!!

currently organizing: just finished the kitchen (again...really i love doing it so it's ongoing). now working on my closet and getting ready to start guest bedroom 1/office...that will take awhile.

currently watching: america's got talent, switched at birth and jane by design. and more than ready for my main shows to come back.

currently wearing: lots of head scarves, belts, and dresses with leggings. and toms.

currently wishing for: more toms, a great blender, a tv stand for the living room, and bookcases.

what about you? anything currently going on that you want to share? :-)

hey, it's ok (tuesday) 9.4.12

hey, it's ok

...to be a bit disturbed by the fact that a commercial for a drain cleaner feels the need to be sexy. um. what?
...to wish all my iphone apps had a "quiet time" feature like one i found the other day -- it won't notify you between specific hours if you prefer to set it up that way.
...to be kind of obsessed with shows on abc family. i'll leave it at that ;-) (i feel twelve...)
...to spend an entire saturday in loungey clothes and not leave the house
...to not feel bad about doing the right thing, even if it's unpopular.
...to blog, pinterest and tweet while hanging out in a classroom of sleeping children just to stay awake. {yawn}
...to crank up pandora while by yourself at work. mainly because otherwise you find yourself humming the naptime music while driving or in the shower and that is most definitely NOT ok.
...to be itching to decorate the guest rooms. it's about time they started looking a bit more "us".
...to think that it might be a good idea to get a wedding photo or two up in the house. digital is ok, but canvas would be great :-)

please visit amber's blog to link up and read other things you can be ok with!

recipe of the week: ny deli mac & cheese

adapted slightly, but pretty much rachael ray's recipe (found here)

ny deli mac & cheese

1 pound pasta (i typically use elbow macaroni)

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon or so of italian seasoning

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup skim milk

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese

8 oz mild cheddar cheese

1/4 cup spicy deli or german mustard

1/2 pound pastrami, chopped roughly

6 slices rye bread

cook pasta according to package directions. 

meanwhile, heat a large skillet or saucepan and add the butter and italian seasoning.  when butter is melted, whisk in flour and cook for a minute before adding the chicken stock, milk and mustard.

 toast up the rye bread slices

 then pulse them in a food processor

 remove and set aside in bowl, then also chop the pastrami in the food processor

 shred cheese and mix well

 once liquids on stove have heated through, stir cheese* in a figure eight motion until melted and smooth
*but reserve just a bit of the cheese 

 add pastrami

 place cooked pasta in baking dish

 pour cheese mixture over noodles

 yum

 top with toasted rye crumbs

 add reserved cheese

 bake at 400゜ until browned and bubbling

and watch your husband enjoy :-)

thursday's ten or so: a little inspiration

i have so many friends who are dealing with difficult situations...and while this post is written with them in mind, who among us doesn't need a little extra inspiration?  so, here's a few random quotes/scriptures/etc for you :-)

if you can't feed a hundred people then just feed one
- Mother Teresa

a ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are made for.
- source unknown

He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me!
- psalm 18.19

grace makes beauty out of ugly things
- u2

we must be willing to let go of the life we have planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us 
- Joseph Campbell

every day may not be good, but there is good in every day
- source unknown

fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name, you are mine
- isaiah 43.1

no one has ever become poor by giving
- Anne Frank

courage does not always roar. sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day, saying: i will try again tomorrow
- Mary Anne Radmacher

be encouraged -- God sees you, knows you, and loves you. 
{-me :-) }

recipe of the week: southwestern style egg rolls

remember how i told you i split the ranch taco chicken meat between two recipes?

well, this is the other :-) i ran across this recipe on pinterest, but i knew we'd like a little different flavoring (and MEAT) in ours, so here's my adaptation.

southwestern egg rolls

olive oil for sauteing and brushing

1 pound chicken, cooked in crockpot with one tbsp ranch seasoning and one tbsp of taco seasoning

1 container egg roll wrappers

2 cups corn (i use fire-roasted from trader joe's)

1 can black beans

several handfuls of spinach (6 cups non-packed is 3 or 4 handfuls)

a generous bunch of cilantro

5 scallions, chopped

1 small container of sliced black olives

1 container of diced green chiles

1 container of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

2 cups cheese (i used the organic fiesta blend from whole foods)

you can add seasoning, but with the adobo sauce, seasoning on the meat, and cilantro i found we didn't really need any!

 heat oil on stove, and saute green onions, chiles and chipotle peppers for a few minutes

meanwhile, process spinach and cilantro in food processor until it's pretty fine. 

 combine corn, beans and greens in a bowl

 remove onion, chile and peppers from stove and process it with black olives

 add to the mixture, top with the shredded chicken and cheese and mix thoroughly

 put a large spoonful of the mixture in each wrapper and roll up (most packages have easy to follow instructions)

line them up on a baking sheet (i use parchment paper because of the messiness factor) and brush each side with olive oil

i made a batch of my ranch dressing and added one avocado to the mix. 

and it was so good!  definitely a recipe we'll keep around.