Okay, one more...

via Melanie Johnson Photography

So frustrating...

I'm trying to go through all of my wedding photos (all via Melanie Johnson Photography), and they aren't all copying from my thumbdrive to my computer. On top of that, it seems that they aren't even all on the thumbdrive...
They are on an external hard-drive, but my not-super-computer-saavy self doesn't know how to access them there from my laptop. Grrrrr.....

But, this IS one of the photos that made it to my laptop, so I thought I'd share!

And, if there's anyone out there that might know how to access an external hard-drive through a wireless network via a laptop, please let me know. :-)

Trim-It-Down Tuesday: Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Today's recipe is brought to us by Stephanie O'Dea, once again, from the blog A Year of Slowcooking. It is sooooo good. And, when made with fat-free sour cream and garnished with low-fat cheese, it is low in fat and calories.



Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Ingredients
--1 pound chicken (I used boneless skinless chicken breasts cut up into small pieces)
--1 cup dried black beans (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
--4 cups chicken broth
--1 cup sliced mushrooms
--1 cup frozen corn
--1 jar prepared salsa (16 oz)
--1 1/2 tsp cumin
--1/2 cup sour cream (to stir in at the end)
--shredded cheddar cheese, avocado slices, cilantro (all optional)

Directions
(If you know you are going to make this the night before soak the black beans in enough water to cover and another 2 inches overnight. In the morning, drain the water and rinse the beans. If you don't have super hard water or live in a super high altitude, you can quick soak the beans by pouring boiling water over them and let them sit for an hour or two.)

Drain and rinse the beans. Add to the crockpot. Put in the chicken, and add the broth and salsa. Pour in the corn and mushrooms, and add the cumin. Stir, but don't disturb the beans---let them stay at the bottom of the pot, closest to the heating element.Cover and cook on high for 9 hours. Yup. High. For 9 hours. It took a crazy long time for the beans to soften, but they did. If you are using beans you soaked overnight, canned beans, or pre-cooked beans, you can cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5--similar to normal soup-cooking time.

For a thicker broth, you can use an immersible blender to blend a bit of the beans and chicken. If you don't have one, scoop out 2 cups of the soup and carefully blend in your traditonal blender. Stir the mixture back into the crockpot. Or, instead of doing that, you can also substitute 1 can of refried black beans for one of the cans of black beans - this is what I did!

Stir in the 1/2 cup of sour cream before serving, and garnish with shredded cheese, avocado slices, and/or cilantro. (For a lower calorie meal, I skipped the avocado slices)

Enjoy!!

I have a guest coming into town...

... for the weekend, and she's coming in tonight! So I am sorry that I don't really have much to post, I have been cleaning like a mad woman trying to get things all ready for her.

We're going to have a fun weekend, and I hope y'all do too!

Trim-It-Down Tuesday: Hot and Sour Soup

Today's soup is another slow-cooker recipe I found on Stephanie O'Dea's site (which is full of amazing recipes!). Since it is meat-less and has tofu in it, I decided to try it out on a night when Chris wasn't home as he probably would have refused to eat it. But, even though I've never cooked with tofu before, I thought it sounded delicious and low-calorie. A great combination in my book!

Slow-Cooker Hot and Sour Soup

Ingredients

--1 cup cubed firm tofu (I used one full package that I got at Kroger)

--2 cups chicken broth

--2 cups water

--1 package of sliced mushrooms

--1 can bamboo shoots

--1 can sliced water chestnuts

--2 tablespoon soy sauce

--1 teaspoon sesame oil

--2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

--1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes **

--green onion for garnish

Directions

Combine everything in your slow cooker. I used a 5 quart, and I think it was filled about 2/3 of the way full.

Cook on low for 7-9 hours or high 4-5.

Taste. If you need more of the sour flavor, add more rice wine vinegar. If you need more of the hot flavor, add more red pepper flakes.**

Garnish with sliced green onion.

** Warning: Do NOT add more than the 1/4-teaspoon of red pepper flakes at the beginning. I, being a lover of all things spicy, didn't bother to measure the red pepper flakes when I added them. After reading that Stephanie actually added more to her soup (of course, AFTER it had cooked), I just though "Eh, can't be too spicy", so I added about 2 shakes of the little plastic spice container when I was assembling the soup in the morning. BAD IDEA! The soup was so spicy, I had to add another 2 cups of chicken broth to dilute it. And even then, it was still spicy. Please know that if I thought it was spicy, then more than likely your mouth will be on fire. So, in conclusion, don't be a fool like me - take it easy on the red pepper flakes.

Other than that, the soup was really really good! Tasted like restaurant soup, albeit not as salty. It wasn't too mushroom-y, and honestly the tofu didn't bother me - it wasn't too noticeable. This soup would be great to have if you had a cold, or didn't feel well. If you want it to be more "filling", pour it over a little bit of cooked rice. That was what I did for leftovers, which were yummy.

Christmas Ornaments?

Of course, we've already seen the Christmas decorations, all ready to spring forth and be totally in our faces as of today (you know, now that it's November).

I normally don't think "Christmas" at this time of year. But, I am kind of in a quandry. I received the Crate and Barrel Holiday catalog last week, and in it were these ornaments. I actually saw these at Crate and Barrel last year and really liked them. I love the colors, and I like that they are hand-painted.
But, with the wedding and all going on, they weren't top of my priority list. Plus, they're not the cheapest. $40 for a set (although, you do get the lovely red storage box included...). So, I thought I'd wait and catch them on sale after the holidays - but that didn't happen. Since this is something they sell every year (I'm assuming here), I guess they hold whatever they don't sell for the next year.

Earlier this year, we received a late wedding gift.... a gift card to Crate and Barrel that we've been holding on to.

So.... knowing that they won't go on sale.... and that I have a gift card.... do I get them? Or do I find a more practical item for the gift card?

Gremlins!!

It was bath-time at the house last night.

From top to bottom: JJ, Charlie, Murphy, and Riley. Rascal got an exemption... until this weekend.

Stark Carpet Warehouse Sale

If anyone is interested in or wants a copy of this coupon, leave a comment and a way for me to email you.

It's going on Nov. 5th through the 8th at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY, in case you can't read the picture. There should be a lot of great stuff there!

My current obsession: Lamps with Black Shades

Black shades are still pretty traditional and can act as a neutral, but are much less common than white or ivory shades. And while they don't let out as much light, they do create a kind of cozy feeling which is lovely as the nights grow cooler.

They work well in modern settings.

As well as more traditional ones.

I've decided that I'd like to use at least one or two black lampshades in our house, I think it's a nice change to the standard white that we have everywhere. The problem is, I need to find a good and affordable source!!!! (So if you know, please share!)

What do you think - do you like black lamp shades?

*Image credits: Eddie Ross, Canadian House and Home, Burke Decor, Decorpad, Eddie Ross, Elle Decor, Burke Decor, Eddie Ross, Desire to Inspire

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words...

Last night was spent running a few errands... one of them being buying a gift for a very special lady who is turning _____ tomorrow, Chris' grandmother. I don't know that she would appreciate me broadcasting her age throughout cyberspace, but we'll just say that she's over 40 and still going strong!

So, since I didn't really have time to put together a beautiful or thought-provoking post, I thought I'd steal one I saw over on Linda's blog last week! ;-)
This is a little Q&A with yours truly where I answer each question with pictures I found on Google Images.
Let's get started!

My favorite beverage:

Followed veeeeeery closely by:

My hometown:

(where I was born and spent the first 9)

Where we moved over 20 years ago, and what I consider my hometown now:

Which is home to:

(bonus points if you can guess)

My favorite TV show:

(I have several. I am kind of a TV addict.)

My occupation:

I work for a high end designer trade showroom as a sales rep selling rugs and carpeting. I did go to school for Interior Design, but I got my job right before I graduated, and I have been working here ever since.

This is the fun one!

My first car:

The year was 1992, and I had a 1983 Firebird (mine didn't have gold wheels...but it was this color!) I thought it was very cool.

It was followed very shortly thereafter by a silver 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity after the Firebird's engine burnt up (and not because of my driving, but because it was a piece of crap to begin with!)

Yeah, this car didn't even have a clock. It had one of those old radios with the knobs you turned that moved the needle up and down the dial.... remember those?

My favorite dish:

Chips and salsa - but restaurant fresh chips and salsa.

And pretty much anything Mexican.

The celebrity you have been told you resemble:

Sandra Bullock

And once, a drunken Irish lady in Cleveland (I was up visiting friends) said I looked just like Catherine Zeta Jones. But I think it was the whiskey talking....

The celebrity on your "to-do" list:

Gerard Butler

Hi there handsome....

Favorite childhood toy:

The Barbie Doll!

And now for your enjoyment, a random picture!

Here's Charlie, our Lhasa-Poo cutie pie.

I had fun playing along, and if you'd like to - consider yourself tagged!