My Best Friend Micki

Today, a very special person in my life has a birthday! Most of the girls in our friend group are totally rocking into our 30th year this year. My beautiful best friend Micki has graced the world with her lovely presence for 30 days today! In honor of the celebration of her birth, I dedicate this blog post to her and the role of best friend she's played in my life for almost 10 years.

First, I stole an idea from a friend who recently did a blog post for her best friend's 30th birthday and found 30 M words that describe my wonderful friend. Micki Ellen Bennett Atkinson is... modish, magnificent, memorable, magical, magnanimous, marvelous, modern, majestic, merry, motherly, melodic, motivating, meticulous, modest, mighty, mannerly, meaningful, merciful, masterful, muti-talented, maternal, married, magnetic, marshmallow-lover, marketable, matchless, mature, mesmerizing, missed, and MY best friend!

In honor of your 30th Micki, I found 30 pictures of us on Facebook! Did you know that in the very first picture ever tagged of me on Facebook, I'm standing next to you??

We met as strangers in 2003, 10 years ago this summer, at Camp Garaywa as we debriefed our summer missions experiences. That day was the last day we'd ever be strangers again. We both started as transfer students at Mississippi College that fall and were pretty much inseparable from then on. 

The early years. Some things haven't changed at all. We can still have fun doing just about anything. We can go months (which we shouldn't!) without talking and feel just as close as we ever have. We still both like really grandma-ish nightgowns. And I can't recall a time I've ever been around you and not giggled at least once. However, a lot has changed! From serious things to jobs, homes, losses, marriage, and babies to silly things like... We are a heck of a lot better at making good hair choices than we were in these pictures that are (thankfully) a bit blurry.

You are my favorite secret keeper. I always, and have always, known I can confide in you with anything. 

So many memories. So much fun. So many stories. We could write a book!

We could also write a book called, "How to Be a Bridesmaid." How many weddings have we been in together? How many showers have we planned together? It cannot be denied by anyone that we make a good team!

We learned how to cook together. We learned how to be grown ups together. We learned how to not get lost (okay, we didn't learn that skill TOO well yet) together. We learned how to be Mississippi girls, living in a big, not Mississippi town together! We also learned that we don't care about tans and embrace our paleness together.

And though many who met me in later years may not believe it, if it weren't for you I would have never been the obsessed Harry Potter fan I am! Thank you for putting that book in my hands so many years ago and forcing me to read it. And then for rewinding and playing back the owl parts over and over again in slow motion while we giggled eating cinnamon sticks from Pete's Arena in your dorm room.

I wish we could both always live in the great state of Mississippi and be neighbors. I'm excited for your adventures and where life brings you even if it doesn't bring us to the same places. And I'm oh so thankful that I can always depend on seeing you at the annual Friendmas Party (and many times more a year of course, but the Friendmas pictures were a good theme)! We were at the first one, and if there ever is a last, we'll be at that one. We found a friend group together! The best one too.

Thank you for letting me be part of your life. Thank you for being part of mine. Thank you for the beautiful friendship you give me, and so many others. I'm beyond thankful that I have had the privilege of being a best friend, by your side, for so many great things, like your wedding, and so many things to come. The snapshot to the left isn't even one of the best ones, or planned, but so symbolic to me! I will always be here, standing by your side, your best friend. And one day when I get married I promise I'll do your hair too!

I love you more than any of the words in this blog post could ever say. Happy birthday best friend!

Meal Planning 101: Week 19

Remember how I always posted meal plans meant for Sunday on Monday? Well I found a new blog who does Menu Plan Mondays. So I'm just committed now to Meal Plan Mondays! It always worked a little better to post on Mondays, even though I usually use Monday also for Meal Prep Mondays. Meal Prep Mondays were never regular posts though, so I'll just sneak them in occasionally on Meal Plan Mondays. Also, is anyone else as obsessed with meal planning note pads as me?! I can't pass them up. Ever.

I'm full force back on the healthy train! Boot Camp Week 2 started today. Meal planning healthy meals and grocery shopping for them happened this weekend. Oh how I missed Sam's Club and my cheap big batches of produce and healthy things!

I also discovered Sugar Pears this week! How did I live so long and never know about the super cute mini pears?! I couldn't pass them up. To the menu! I'm starting a new thing this week where I bring lighter, smaller meals for lunch instead of leftovers, therefore creating more leftovers during the week, which isn't my reason, but a not so horrible side effect of my plan. And so, less meals on the menu list, but more things on the lunch ideas and make ahead lists. Fair trade right? 

Monday:

Crock Pot Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers (used this recipe, but altered it for the crock pot) and Roasted Green Beans and Potatoes

Tuesday:

Leftover Peppers

Wednesday:

Leftover Peppers

Thursday: 

Avocado Pesto Alfredo Linguine & Roasted Broccoli

Friday:

Leftover Linguine

Saturday:

Leftover Linguine

Sunday:

Crock Pot Greek Chicken, Pitas, Layered Greek Dip and Greek Potatoes (Staff Dinner Party - Greek themed!)

Extras: 

I think I was way too excited about food prep and menu planning again and went a little crazy with it! From Saturday to Monday I made the following:  

• Breakfast Fruit Parfaits layered with different fruits, cottage cheese, vanilla yogurt, and slivered almonds. I actually made 8! The recipe will come soon. I'm hoping they last until next week. None of the ingredients expire until way later, so I'm thinking maybe? We'll see. 
• Jar Salads, 4 more.
• Cookie Dough Greek Yogurt, for easy healthy take to work after lunch dessert. 
• Homemade Peanut Butter, so easy! Recipe also coming.
• Banana Bread, 5 batches. Ridiculous.

The amount of Mason jars in my refrigerator is just a little obsessive. I just love make ahead things and food prep! I have a problem. At least it's healthy though right??

Did I mention I made homemade peanut butter?? Still in love with it.

Lunch Ideas: 

And lastly, I'll throw in last weeks lunch pictures to maybe help you come up with healthy, non-eating out, lunch ideas!

microwavable edamame + hummus + 1 pita

bird's eye mushroom & green bean steam in bag risotto + green giant singles broccoli & cheese* + 1 pita

green giant singles broccoli & cheese* + kroger 90 second  cook in pouch red beans & rice

The little Green Giant Just for One sides are one of my favorite lunch items! They are the perfect way to make lunch a little more rounded and have a bit more substance. They have several varieties!

Salad in a Jar & Boot Camp

Remember that whole boot camp starting this week thing that I mentioned in my last post? Yeah. It started. It's not called boot camp to just sound cool, it's intense! Today is the first day that I didn't make audible noises every time I moved to or from a standing position. Getting up, sitting down, it all hurt. I also left a trail of things everywhere I went that I dropped on the ground of floor. Just today I was able to pick up the bar of soap that I dropped in the shower two days ago. Sorry Starbucks about that pink plastic spoon I dropped on the floor and couldn't pick up, it just hurt too bad!

I would say it wasn't as awful as I thought it would be, but I won't lie... It was pretty awful!  Life is good, I don't feel like I've been hit by a truck anymore, and I'm proud of myself! However, my apartment is a wreck because my week consisted of nothing but wake up, Jesus & Starbucks time, work, boot camp, eat something I didn't have to stand to make, sit until I could convince myself it was better to take a shower at night than in the morning when I'd hurt worse, shower, sleep, rinse and repeat. I don't remember the last time I went to be before midnight every night in a week. Several nights I went to be before 11!

A few things I learned the first week: Burpees were created by Satan himself. I suck at sprinting. I can sweat way more than I thought I could. My entire body turns red when I work out intensely. I can do a lot more than I thought I could. Weight Watchers gives more Activity Points for doing intense physical activity for a reason! It's apparently normal to gain weight the first week of starting new, intense work out programs (we all did!). Even when it feels like my heart and lungs are about to leap out of my chest, my body can apparently keep going. Working out with people makes a huge difference! I need to marry a personal trainer so I have a motivator for life.

Now to the food! For me, lunch can be the hardest meal of the day to make healthy choices for. It's the one meal we usually aren't home to eat. So today I bring you my all time favorite lunch idea!

A few things you probably already know about me.

1. I love any make ahead recipe.
2. I like food prep work A LOT.
3. I love anything with layers.
4. I love anything in a mason jar, anything. 
5. I don't believe in paying money to eat out for lunch breaks!
6. I'm not a fan of the whole get up early to pack a lunch thing.

If you share any of these things in common with me. This recipe, which is more of an idea, is for you! I don't do these every week, I like variety! But it's one of my go-to make ahead favorite lunch ideas. I love salad! Love it. But before this idea, it was impossible to bring salad to work for lunch without bringing everything and the kitchen sink with me to work. And who wants to be that much of a diva and have a lunch bag bigger than the purse and work bag we already have, or am I the only one who carries three bags to work? If you layer these salads correctly, they can keep in the refrigerator for up to four days! Last week I made two, but I've made four before and had them every day for lunch.

First let's talk a little prep. Prep! It can be so easy with the right tools. So many prep tasks can be done before.

I used to hate carrots in my salads. I liked them dipped in hummus or ranch, but hated them in salads for two reasons. 1. Carrots are hard to cut up into bite sized pieces! Every time I tried little carrot pieces would fling across the room. 2. Stabbing little carrot slices with a fork is equally as hard. Carrots meet mini food processor. It chops carrots in seconds to little crumbly type pieces, about the size of bacon bits. Perfect!

Other prep involves chopping whatever you want in your salad. I usually use whatever I have. For this one my prep involved boiling and chopping eggs, sauteing some pre-cooked frozen chicken pieces, and chopping green onions. That's it!

Then it's all about the layering and ingredients. The most important thing is to keep the dressing and lettuce as far away as possible. Keep the wet stuff on bottom and dryer stuff on top. I layered this batch of salad with the following ingredients in the order listed.

• strawberry balsamic vinaigrette
• green onions 
• finely chopped carrots
• julienne chopped cucumbers
• quartered grape tomatoes
• dried cranberries
• a little sprinkle of mexi-blend cheese (close to expiration date)
• a little sprinkle of feta cheese (close to expiration date)
• cooked chicken breast, seasoned with Tony's, pre-diced
• a little sprinkle of turkey bacon bits
• one boiled egg, chopped
• romaine lettuce (Keep stuffing it, lettuce compacts!)
• dried french onions (left over from holiday cooking)

Did I mention this recipe can also be used to clean out your fridge/cabinets? If it can be put in a salad, put it in! Be sure to bring a paper plate or large bowl with you to work to pour out the salad. The blog where I found the idea, said to shake it up and eat out of the jar, but that's never worked for me. Just slowly pour it on a plate or bowl and eat!

I saw a blog that posted weekly pictures of what she brought for lunch, no recipes, just ideas. It was useful to me, and I'd be willing to do that if it would be useful for you! Yes? No? Let me know and I'll start doing it! 

Skillet Peach Blueberry Crumble (Sugar Free)

I know, I know. On January 2nd I gave you my list of New Year's Resolutions, which included a commitment to blog more. Yes, I am aware it's now January 19th, over 2 weeks later. BUT... I hadn't forgotten! I was steadily cooking and snapping pictures and fully committed to blog more. I was just also incorporating some of my other resolutions and getting used to adding those into daily life too. I'm 6 for 6 this week with taking intentional time out of my day to not be in my apartment having idle time and to be somewhere else without distractions where I won't find TV shows to watch, things to clean, or things to eat (aka Starbucks, and another coffee shop once). I'm starting to like being at Starbucks more than being at my apartment... I get a little upset when I walk in and someone is at MY table. I mean don't they know?! Since Starbucks breeds productivity for me apparently, I decided to try it out for blog stuff too. So productive! In addition to reading, journaling, praying, and listening to my Bible app, I also edited pictures for 3 blog posts, prepped all 3 to go out this week, AND organized all my other pictures into folders labeled with the recipe (or DIY project) and put them all into a BLOG ME folder! Aren't you proud?! 

First up... Sugar Free Skillet Peach Blueberry Crumble! 

A healthy one to kick off my commitment to blogging! You know I love sugar and am by no means committed to a sugar free lifestyle. I mean I do want to open a bakery the summer of 2014 and buy stock in sugar. However, this is one of the best sugar free things I've ever made and/or eaten! One of my RAs made a New Years resolution to not eat sugar. I like a challenge, so I decided to try and make something yummy and sugar free that she could eat and that the rest of us would like. AND I got to use one of my new cast iron skillets to do it!

Don't be fooled though. I start boot camp next week, so I've been taking every last moment to eat unhealthy things while I can. Confession - my first thing to make in a cast iron skillet was donuts. Fried biscuit dough donuts covered in glaze. And I made them twice in two weeks. I also ate Zaxby's for lunch today. Monday. Monday things are getting serious! I mean it is a competition and one of the winning prizes is a gift certificate to take a class at a cooking school. I'm gonna win, duh! And thus the cast irons will only be used for healthy things until April. They probably would have been mad at me if I didn't use them to make donuts at least once though right??

Skillet Sugar Free Beach Berry Crumble

Recipe adapted from myrecipes.com.

Ingredients: 

• 1 bag of frozen blueberries (12 oz)
• 1 bag of frozen peaches (16 oz)
• 2/3 cup Splenda (can replace with equal amount of sugar)
• 1/4 cup plus 2/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
• 1/4 cup Splenda brown sugar (can replace with brown sugar, increase to 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup light butter (I used Brummel and Brown), melted
• Optional - vanilla ice cream for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a 10-inch cast iron skillet with cooking spray. Combine frozen blueberries, frozen peaches, Splenda, and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Whisk together the cornstarch and remaining 2/3 cup water in a small bowl until smooth. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the peach berry mixture. Gently stir in the lemon zest and reduce heat to low. Continue simmering the fruit, gently stirring, until the juices have thickened and the mixture is more on the clear side than the creamy side. Remove the saucepan from the heat and scoop the mixture into the prepared skillet.

Stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Add the melted light butter, stirring until butter is mixed evenly. Using your hands, work the butter into the flour mixture, squeezing until crumbly. Sprinkle the topping over the peach berry filling.

Bake until the topping is nicely browned, 30 to 40 minutes. Top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream or eat just like it is!

My personal preference, is to top it with a small scoop of ice cream and let it completely melt until it looks messy and not quite as pretty and picture perfect. I love melted ice cream with berry desserts.

How are your New Year's Resolutions going? 

A New Year

It's the second day of a new year. A new year full of motivation, hope, and inspiration. Oh how I'm in desperate need of all those things and so excited about them. This isn't the first time I took an accidental two and a half month break, but probably the first time I've had real reasons. Warning - sad update, but do not despair, hopefulness will come at the end.

Since I last blogged, on October 11th, a lot has happened. My dad's health began to decline rapidly. On October 14th, my favorite day, I was blessed to be surrounded by loving friends all day. It made the news of finding out a transplant for my dad wasn't an option and no treatments would work. The news we received that day was that there could be months, weeks, or days left in his life. It was exactly one month and four days later that we lost him.

November was HARD! On the 6th he was hospitalized and started to lose memory. My brother and I got there on November 7th. We sat in the hospital waiting, praying, and crying until the 11th. The real world demanded work, so we had to go back. On Sunday November 18th, we got the call. Again I was blessed to be surrounded by loving, incredible friends and support that day. His memorial was the day before Thanksgiving. It was hard, but most of the time I felt better than I thought I would.

Then came December. December was way worse than I even knew it could be! For the rest of my life I'll feel the urge to hug anyone, stranger or not, when I find out they've lost a parent, spouse, or child. I wish we could all get together every year before Christmases without our loved ones to hug each other and talk about the ones we miss and the reality of how hard it is that the "Most Wonderful Time of Year" for most people is different for us now. It really is something you can't understand until you've been through it and it just plain sucks! Again, so thankful for friends and family that give hugs, read negative texts, deal with bad moods, help clean apartments, fold clothes, give gifts, don't get mad about unanswered phone calls, and take me in so I'm not alone even if I think I want to be.

And now it's January! I have officially changed my favorite holiday to New Years. It's so full of hope, motivation, inspiration, and renewal. It truly is a breath of fresh air. Of course I know I'll still have sad break down moments, but January and a new year feels like the sun coming out after a big scary tornado warning or hurricane landfall (can you tell I'm from Mississippi?). I'm [hopefully] getting chosen for boot camp that starts at the end of January to lose the weight I put on while I've done nothing but eat out or eat holiday food and leftovers since October plus more. Also, back to meal planning! Back to blogging healthy recipes (and meal plans). However, I can't promise not to blog some of the unhealthy hits I made for the holiday though. You didn't think I stopped cooking totally did you?!

I discovered one thing I can count on, no matter how sad I get, I will still cook impressive things for other people. I might be eating frozen pizzas and way too much drive thru food, but I'll make three delicious, impressive Wintermint cakes in one week and too many batches of poured icing sugar cookies to count.

And so... HOPE! I'm full of that stuff (hope) right now. So full of it that I actually made realistic achievable New Years resolutions. I even came up with objectives for my goals. This is serious guys! Of course I'll share them with you, because I'm all share-y like that.

1. Wait for it... Blog more! That one is for you. And me! Makes me feel good. How? Plan it! Use Mondays off to prep posts. I did 53 posts in 2012. I am aiming for at least 100 for 2013.
2. Exercise - Boot Camp will help me achieve this!
3. Lose weight - Boot Camp, blogging healthy recipes, meal planning.
4. Paint - This is the only one I don't have a plan for. I just haven't done it in years.
5. Read more - Make a list of books I want to read.
6. Listen to the Bible in a year - Downloaded the app last night!
7. Get new glasses - Stresses me out to pay for the eye doctor and glasses in the same visit. I'll make an appointment for one pay check and get glasses the next!
8. Call my Nanny more - I just set a reminder in my phone.
9. Save more - Set aside $50 every pay check (in hopes of maybe going to France to visit my cousin AND go to France).

Last but not least, I found a verse that is my most important and overall goal for 2013.

10. Psalm 145:2 Everyday I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. - Talk to Jesus, read His words for me, and worship Him through singing (privately, not just during song time at church).

I really am so hopeful about 2013. My only New Years resolution for 2012 was to put myself out there and go on dates. I did it, but it wasn't good for me other than knowing it's better to wait for a Godly man to pursue me than have dating experiences. So here's to 2013!

Did you make any New Years resolutions?

Meal Planning 101: Week 17 & 18

Is anyone else as excited as I am that stores FINALLY have seasonal creamer?! It just makes everything better. Mornings, coffee, days, motivation. It's all better because my coffee tastes warm and cozy. 

The weather, and maybe the presence of seasonal coffee beverages, definately influence my cooking and meal planning too. It's been happening already with my baking, but it's now taking over my cooking! My meals this week are full of stew, crockpot meals, fall salad condiments, and even savory pumpkin. Since I neglected you last week, I'm giving you last week's meal plan and this week's! I've also been going baking crazy and making things left and right. Expect recipes soon.

My fav bread in the banana bread extravaganza was the pumpkin one. A pumpkin chocolate pizookie also happened. 

Monday:

Leftover Corndog Muffins and Balsamic Crash Potatoes

Tuesday:

Baked Chicken Fajitas and Mexican Salad

Wednesday:

Leftover Fajitas

Thursday:

Chicken Fajita Salad

Friday:

Dinner at the Mississippi State Fair

Saturday:

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup and Fancy Grilled Cheese

Sunday:

Green Chili Beef Stew (this recipe but with beef instead of pork) and Perfect Brown Rice

Monday:

Leftover Stew

Tuesday:

Pumpkin Ravioli with Thyme Rosemary Brown Butter and Fall Chopped Salad

Wednesday:

Leftover Ravioli

Thursday (today):

Crock Pot Ranch Roasted Chicken and Potatoes with Butter Beans

Friday:

Frozen Pizza and Cheesy Shells*

Saturday:

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese Bake and Corn*

Sunday (OCTOBER 14TH!):

Chicken Tamale Bake, Homemade Guacamole, Homemade White Queso, Homemade Pico Salsa, Smashed Beans, Jenny's Grandma's Apple Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream and Homemade Caramel Sauce**

*My friend Jessica is coming to town and staying with me for a few days! Normally I'd never have two back to back pastas and especially not two back to back macaroni and cheese dishes. However, Jess was my roommate when I first started cooking! One of my first cooking accomplishments was getting her to like macaroni and cheese which she had never liked before. It's embarrassing to admit it's just shells and cheese (not Velveeta even, the powder cheese kind) from a box that I doctor up! A. She loves pizza. B. She requested my box mac and cheese. C. She loved buffalo chicken stuff. Thus the Friday and Saturday meals.

**If Sunday looks over the top and fancy, it is! Two things happen on this Sunday, October 14th. 1. It's my favorite day! It's been my celebrated favorite day for 10 years now. Wow, just realized it's our (mine and October 14th's) 10th Anniversary! Makes the fancy meal even more worthy. And 2. It's Lat-Webb Family Fun Night with the Lat-Webb Staff! We have FFN twice a semester and it's just a time for us to set aside time to be intentional and have staff (family) bonding time and have fun. We cook, we eat, we play games, we laugh, we love.

I also make a Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal dish for make ahead breakfast for the week that I think I'll share soon.

Finally found the perfect no chill, no spread sugar cookie recipe! I went a bit crazy with my mini fall cookie cutters.