Chicago Italian Beef

So, my husband and his family are from Chicago.

Wanna know how many times I hear, "I miss Chicago." ?

Every. Day. Mmhm.

I originally had this at Taylor's Aunt's house (she's from Wisconsin, sac relig, huh?) Anyway, it was amazing! I had to do some coaxing to get the recipe out of her, but I got it! I made it about two weeks later and Taylor was SO happy that day.

Today, my work is having a holiday potluck. I didn't want to put myself out completely, so I decided to make Italian Beef. It really is SO easy! Since I had to have it ready for work today, I placed it in the crockpot at 10 last night and it was ready by 6 this morning. Since we don't have a deli slicer, we shred our beef. It was so tender while shredding that it basically just fell apart when I took it out of the au jus.

Now, I'll be honest. Whenever I make this, I leave a whole roll jut for dipping. It's like that scene from "The Back Up Plan" with Jennifer Lopez when she's at Alex O'Laughlin's house...you know, where he has that stew on the stove and she's using bread as a spoon and napkin? That's me when I make this. Don't judge!


What you'll need:

- A crockpot
- 2 Packets of Good Seasonings Italian Dressing Mix
- 3 lbs. Chuck roast
- 2 Cups of Water.
- Chicago Hard Rolls
- Pepperoncini Peppers/Juice

Directions:

Take chuck roast out of packaging and either place whole, or in pieces into crockpot. Sprinkle Italian Seasoning packets on top of meat. Pour water over meat and cover. Add Pepperoncini Peppers (if you want, we normally just pour some of the juice in) Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Shred or use a deli slicer. Pile meat on the roll and dunk that sucker into the au jus!


Easy, huh? Now here' s the best advice I can give you while making this. DO NOT OPEN until about five hours in to stir, and then, LEAVE IT ALONE until it's done.

Crock pot Freezer Meals

So. I've calculated how many semesters it would take me to complete my AA degree and to be honest, it wasn't as bad or long as I thought it would be. After Spring semester, it'll take me four more semesters--count 'em--FOUR MORE until I can graduate!

Seriously, I can't tell you how long I've waited for this! I'm so, so close!
But to stay on track, it'll mean adding a little to my course load. So three classes a semester.

In the Spring, I'm taking two classes on campus and one online--which means that Monday and Tuesday nights are going to be extremely hectic.

Basically when I get off from work, I'll have a half hour to get the family fed, me fed, changed and out the door by six.

I spent the last few days scouring my Pinterest board to see what kind of freezer meals I had saved and by George, there wasn't many.

BUT I did have a lot of crockpot recipes saved!

I'm taking a few days to compile some recipes and then Linda and I are spending New Year's Day cooking for the day so that we have at least six meals in the freezer ready to go on those days.

I stumbled upon a website called Crock Pot Girls and I basically hit the mother load!

Needless to say, I am SO excited about this. I have a feeling this will make our lives a WHOLE lot easier!

I'll be posting results and pictures soon!

In the mean time, definitely check them out!

Milestones

There are SO many milestones that were hit this month!

One, April is officially WALKING! Can you believe that? I certainly cannot. Although, she's getting into everything she can get her little hands on, it's kind of fun. Most mornings when I'm getting ready for work or brushing my teeth, she just randomly shows up with that cute little cheesy smile. My favorite part is that she's been getting fancy and now she swings her arms when she walks. She sure knows how to play to her audience!

Last weekend we went to the park and she HATED every single apparatus...she cried on everything, even the swing! For a baby who spent most of her nights in her swing, she sure acted like this was the first time haha! And of course, there's my favorite picture of Taylor holding April's hand as they were walking to the car.


In other news, on Monday is me and Taylor's second wedding anniversary! Although, I may be spending that day on jury duty :/

Here are a few pictures:

April Rose

Life is a fickle thing.

For those of you who know my story with April, you know that I had to learn this the hard way.

I've loved and I've lost, but life always moves on. That is, until your entire world stops over one doctor's appointment.

I was having some weird problems (I won't get into detail) so I went to the doctor's to get checked out. They did blood work, a pregnancy test and a different test, which all came back normal. To see if they missed anything, I was ordered to get a CT scan on my abdomen which also came back showing that I had a few cysts.

I went back a week later because my doctor wanted to see how big they were to determine if I needed surgery. The ultrasound technician kept going, "Hmmmmm....your ovaries are shaped weird." I thought nothing of it, I mean, everyone's different, am I right?

She wanted to talk to the radiologist on site, so I was banished to the waiting room. Finally, they called me up into his office, which by the way, had no chairs.

"Did you know that you were pregnant?" I felt like my heart stopped beating for a whole minute. I shook my head, hoping for good news.

"I can't give you any statistics, but you will probably have a spontaneous abortion within two weeks." Seriously. Verbatim. I wanted to sit down so badly, just so I could catch my breath. Just to have documented proof of my pregnancy, they had me take another pregnancy test in the office.

I really held it together while I was still there. When they finally let me go, the second I got in the car I burst into tears. It was just--I found out I was pregnant, and then immediately after hearing that the baby probably doesn't stand a chance. I was crushed, terrified, distraught, you name it. I called my best friend and told her and just cried.

I had to pick up Taylor from work a few hours later. He walked up to the car, thinking nothing was wrong. As soon as he got in, I once again burst into tears, having to tell him the news. He took it way better than I did, but there was still that fear.

Two weeks later, I had a threatened miscarriage. I ended up going to the Naval Hospital on base, and they were able to take a good look. Luckily, everything worked out.

The few moms I've talked to had the same anxiety about that first OB appointment. For me, I felt like I was holding my breath. I can't tell you how many times I prayed that day. As soon as they placed the wand onto my skin, I heard the heartbeat and started to cry.

The rest of my pregnancy went okay, all up until my 34 Week, 6 Day mark. My water broke that morning. I still had a month left! I progressed very slowly, almost to the point where they even started prepping me for a C-Section.

At 4:08pm on August 30, 2013, our little baby April was born. In the pictures, you can see how tiny she was!

Almost a year later, our little baby is growing like a week, telling us to, "Stop!" and turning our world upside down. I can't even remember life before her. I can, but good lord! I can't imagine a world without April. She is one of the best things that happened to us. Because of her, I have grown up and become a better person.

So to my little April Rose, Happy (almost) Birthday! You are loved even more than you know!

April Now

See how skinny her legs were?

Quiche

I'll be the first to admit that I am very skeptical to things I'm not familiar with. When I was younger, my family ALWAYS made fun of me for being a picky eater. I've had quiche before, but it's all about how it's prepared. The first quiche I ever had was god awful! So one Sunday morning, after choir practice, one brother made a few quiches for breakfast so that everyone could have a quick bite before service. Was I skeptical? You bet your bottom dollar I was. But did I want to be rude? No. So I grabbed a slice of this quiche and oh man! I was changed forever!

No what's even better? Once you combine all the ingredients, I recommend putting it in an air tight container and leave it over night to make the next day. It gives the ingredients a chance to meld together.

First things first.

Line a broiler pan with foil and place four strips of bacon on foil. Bake at 350 for seven minutes, then flip strips over and continue baking to preferred texture.

Next, in a bowl, crack four eggs.

Then, add two cups of half and half and whisk until well blended. Should give you an off white color.

The next thing is to add one package of Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix and whisk again until well blended. I know it sounds weird, but trust me on this one. It makes all the difference.

Add two cups of sharp cheddar cheese. And I say sharp because it's the best to use with this kind of quiche.

And finally, when your bacon is done baking, crumble bacon or cut into bite sized pieces and add. And, you guessed it, whisk until blended until it looks like this:

My next suggestion is to pour mixture into an air tight container and let sit over night. When you're ready to put into the oven, either buy the Pillsbury ready pie crusts or make your own (more power to you) and unroll into pie plate. Pour mixture in center, making sure to evenly distribute all of the ingredients. Place in oven at 350 for 45 minutes or until you stick a toothpick/fork in center and comes out clean. This should be your finished product:

Let me know what you guys think!


Quiche

4 eggs
2 Cups of Half and Half
1 Package of Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix
2 Cups of Sharp Cheddar Cheese
4 Strips of Bacon or bacon bites
1 9 inch Pillsbury Ready Pie Crust

1. Place four strips of bacon on a foiled broiler pan and cook seven minutes on one side, flip, and bake to desired texture.

2. Combine eggs and half and half, whisking to make sure all yokes are broken and mix until blended. Combine Vegetable packet, cheese, and bacon (once finished baking) and mix until blended.

3. Preheat oven to 350. Unroll pie crust into 9inch pie plate and pour mixture into the center, using a fork to evenly distribute ingredients.

4. Put Quiche in oven for 45 minutes or until you insert a toothpick/fork and it comes out clean.

Ah, the fresh start of a new blog

Hello, friends and family!


So this is my first blog, ever. Next to Facebook, this is how my family and friends can see how we're doing!

Since we've moved to Sarasota from North Carolina, I've always had that good feeling of knowing that I'd get to see Taylor at lunch every day. For those of you who don't know, I was working at a place where I was VERY unhappy. So much so that I'd come home and just harp on hating every minute of being there. But there was always this ray of sunshine when Taylor would pick me up for lunch.

Since March, I have a new job that I LOVE and that everyone works as a TEAM and skips the drama of a small office altogether. And still, what made my day better is knowing that Taylor would be there for lunch.

Unfortunately, that'll be changing. I guess I shouldn't say, "unfortunately," (it's quite unfortunate for me, anyway) but Taylor will be starting University of Tampa in just three weeks! Although I won't be seeing him at lunch anymore, I know he'll be happy starting his new school.

And just to brag a little more, he received his AA in just one calendar year! YAY!

These were just a few pictures from the weekend. Including his 20oz "I Graduated with my AA" steak.

And as you can see, Henry LOVES his cousin, April!

Anyway, until more fascinating things happen, this is it. :)

Amanda