DC 2012

First, let me start off by saying...this was one of the greatest 3 day trips probably EVER!  I was able to do so much, and spend a lot of quality time with a lot of awesome people in such a short time.  I WISH my husby was able to make the trip with me!  It went by in a flash, but had an incredible time.  I got to tour the National Mall (by running it), have a close encounter with the Dog Whisperer, eat at a TON of amazing restaurants, visit Old Town Alexandria...twice, master the metro, experience Wegmans (although it was a total let-down), see what is so great about the Sculpture Garden (and I agree Pete, it rocks), and a lot more!  See for yourself... here is a peek at my trip! :)

Apricot Chicken

My cousin Jen Casano got me hooked on this!  As you can see, I don't often repeat meals (besides tacos obviously)...but this one I have made quite a few times!  It is easy for a weeknight meal...it takes an hour once it goes in the oven, but it literally takes 5 minutes to prep.  I usually put it on top of brown rice with roasted asparagus.  The ingredients seemed like a weird combination when I first read this recipe, but somehow it just works!  YUM!

Ingredients:
6 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 package of dry onion soup mix
1 (10 ounce) bottle of Russian style salad dressing
2 cups apricot preserves

1.  Preheat oven to 350
2.  Place chicken in casserole dish
3.  Mix the soup mix, dressing and jam together and pour over the chicken
4.  Cover and bake for 1 hour

See....EASY!  :)

What's cooking this week & Tallahassee

Going to make this quick, because it is late and hubby and I are going to watch a scary movie!  Here are the weekly recipe plans... 

Monday - Cousin Jen Casano's Apricot Chicken with asparagus

Tuesday - Taco Tuesday!  

Wednesday - Chicken with Leeks, Sun-Dried Tomatoes in White Wine Sauce with roasted potatoes

Thursday - Sweet and Spicy Citrus Tilapia with green beans

I only planned through Thursday, because on Friday I am off on another adventure!  It is a strange coincidence that this weekend I visited the state's capital, and NEXT weekend I will be in the nation's capital.  Two completely unrelated excursions!  I just got home from experiencing Tallahassee with Lisa, Jen, and Will...goooood times!  We went to Game Day, did a little tailgating, watched the Seminoles/Clemson game at Po' Boys, ate a TON of food, accidentally learned what LARPing is (google it, you won't be disappointed), and stocked up on my favorite wafer cookies... Quadratini's (Mmmmmmm)!  I have the next few days to decompress before packing my bags all over again! 

Crock Pot Applesauce

Seriously...can we talk about how amazing the crock pot is?  I absolutely love being able to just throw a bunch of ingredients into the crock pot, go about my day, and then BAM...dinner is ready!  Well this recipe isn't for dinner, but it is so good you just might want it to be.  Who am I to judge?  I found the recipe last year on Skinnytaste...CLICK HERE!
The only thing I did differently was that:

• I used a teaspoon of cinnamon instead of a cinnamon stick
• I used 1 tsp of splenda brown sugar, 2 tsp of light brown sugar, and 2 tsp of agave

Now we will be enjoying this delicious applesauce all week!  

What's cooking this week & Exhaustion

I came off of this week feeling JUST like this little guy...

I'm only planning through Wednesday this week, there is a lot going on!!! For the past few weeks, nothing has gone as planned...we had a lot of Subway, and Chinese food nights thrown into the mix. Oh well, it happens! I guess you can never be completely prepared! Here is what I have planned for this week:

Tonight - Chicken Tortilla Soup (will probably end up being a combo of this recipe and this recipe) & Crock Pot Apple Sauce (for tomorrow)
Monday - Pork Chops & Apple Sauce with mashed yukon gold potatoes & pear salad
Tuesday - Sausage Veggie Subs
Wednesday - Grandpas Marinara & salad

I am SUPER excited about making the crock pot apple sauce! I made it last year, and it makes the apartment smell amazing!!! I'm thinking I will have a few hours of yummy apple smell, before I start making the chicken tortilla soup. Those two scents are probably not the best combination, but I don't know how I could avoid it! I can't do the pork chops tonight, the apple sauce won't be ready in time. So much to think about! Anywayssss....

We are having another uneventful weekend. I can't really say we are being "lazy" again, because our thank you card project is finally coming to a close. At least that is one thing I can check off of my list. I am getting all of my relaxation in now, because the next two weeks are PACKED! Besides work being super intense (I'm convinced there is something in the water), we will be taking a trip to Tallahassee next weekend, followed by a visit to Washington DC the weekend after that (just me not the hubs). Exciting things coming up, but in the meantime I am spending some quality time with my couch! Is there such a thing as too much sleep? I have had TWELVE hours of sleep each of the past 2 nights, and that isn't counting the naps! It just doesn't seem natural!