Our Wedding

April 21, 2012

Lakeside Park, KY

It was a PERFECT day!

Our beautiful church...just a few blocks from my house

First look..we decided to see each other beforehand so that we did not have to take pictures after the ceremony

The reception

Happily Every After!

Crockpot Chicken Chili

As I have said before, I love easy, peasy, cheapy recipes...here is another!

Here's what you need:
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can Rotel tomatoes (I use 2 cans and the kind with green chilis)
1 package Hidden Valley dry ranch dressing mix
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 8 oz package light cream cheese (I use light or fat free)
3 chicken breasts (I use 3...or more! I like lots of meat in my soup :)

Drain and rinse black beans. Place chicken at bottom of pot, then add corn (undrained), rotel (undrained), and black beans. Top with seasonings and ranch mix. Stir together. Place cream cheese on top. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6 hours. Stir cream cheese into chili. Use 2 forks to shred chicken. Stir together and serve.

You can add more chili powder and even hot sauce if you like it spicy but I thought it had great flavor without adding anything extra (plus I don't care for spicy food) I plan to add in some pinto beans too the next time I make it.

Enjoy!

Planning, planning

I am a "planner" so I am definitely having fun (even in the very early stages) of planning my wedding. The big day is Saturday April 21, 2012. It will be in Lakeside Park, KY. And I already have the most important part picked out....

The GROOM!!!!

You thought I was going to say the dress, right? Actually I have that too :)

:)

Jamie asked me to spend the rest of my life with him...I said YES.

April 21, 2012 is just the beginning!

6 months

Thanksgiving together

Christmas time

Playing the Wii at my sister's house

Beautiful silver standup Kitchen aid mixer...Christmas present from Jamie

Fun week night date...Applewood By the River Looved the fried mushrooms :)

He picks a good bouquet of flowers

At our first Red's game

Hanging out at my parents house

I started dating a wonderful guy 6 months ago. In some ways it seems forever because we have been friends for so long. In other ways, things are still NEW. It has been an incredibly fun journey!He is so sweet and good to me. Sometimes I wonder how I would "manage" my own house if he wasn't around to fix things, install appliances, etc. etc. Many times I have come home from work to find the leaves raked, snow shoveled...one time he even broke into my house and did the dishes. I don't deserve it!
I LOVE spending time with him and also love that he enjoys going home to my parents just as much as I do. He bought me a Kitchen aid mixer for Christmas..and I didn't even ask. He has EVEN gone shopping with me a few times (something I NEVER imagined I would do with my boyfriend LOL) He is truly my best friend!

MY HERO...MY GRANDPA!

On August 13, 1950, at just 19 years of age, Raymond was granted the 3rd highest medal available (among more than 200 medals) to a soldier in the US Army. It might also be interesting to know that this medal is only granted to 1 in about 500,000 soldiers and only 1 Silver Star has been awarded since the current conflict with Iraq has ensued. This gives you some idea of its extreme significance.
The following is a synopsis of the actual presentation of the award made on August 13, 1950:
By direction of President Harry S Truman, the Silver Star (which you can see on display here tonight) for gallantry in action is awarded to the following named officers and enlisted men: Private First Class Raymond E. Collingsworth, RA15412586, Field Artillery, United States Army, a member of Battery B, 52nd Field Artillery Battalion, 24th Infantry Division, is awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action on 16 July 1950, near the Kum River, Korea. The 19th Regimental Combat Team, to which the 52nd Field Artillery battalion was attached, had been overrun by overwhelmingly large enemy forces. The enemy had also succeeded in placing a road-block between the withdrawing American units and safety. Several attempts had been made to clear the block. Private Collingsworth approached the senior officer present and volunteered to undertake any duty assigned to him. In the face of withering enemy fire, he assisted in rallying drivers, in overturning wrecked vehicles blocking the road, and in moving unattended vehicles that were impeding progress. He assisted in leading the wounded on operable vehicles and volunteered to man a machine gun that was mounted on one of them. With the approach of dusk, it was determined that a last effort should be made to clear the road-block since, at that time, enemy fire would be less accurate. Just before the signal to move was given, the driver of a quarter-ton truck abandoned his vehicle, thus blocking all behind him. Private Collingsworth coolly took over. He secured an automatic rifleman and a rifleman to assist himself and the convoy started. Private Collingsworth drove skillfully and courageously, refusing to stop even when other vehicles did so. He drove through three islands of enemy resistance in his break for safety. By his daring coolness and gallantry, Private Collingsworth assisted materially in extricating a group of completely surrounded men from certain annihilation. His actions brought high credit to himself and to the military service. He entered the military service from Dayton, Ohio.

World's Best (and easiest) Peanut Butter Fudge

So I made up the name of this fudge because we never had one for it. It is the easiest recipe for fudge I have ever come across. And one of the best!

The end result is a creamy chocolatey peanutbuttery fudge! :)

Ingredients:

1 lb of powdered sugar

1 cup of chocolate Nesquick powder

2 sticks of butter

1 cup of creamy peanut butter

Melt 2 sticks of butter

Mix in peanut butter

Stir in Nesquick

Stir in powdered sugar

Spread in a pan (I usually use a pie pan or something similar in size)

Refrigerate at least 1 hr

Enjoy!

Something new

Hamburger Ranchera...yum!

I just love new EASY recipes...so here is another ! :)

Hamburger Ranchera

Brown 1 lb of hamburger, adding 1 small can of green chilis.

Drain.

Mix 1 bag (I didn't use the whole bag) of lime tortilla chips, 1 large can of mushroom soup, 1 small can of olives, and the hamburger in a large bowl, crushing the chips.

Spread in a 9x13 pan and cover with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 deg. for about 15 min (to melt the cheese).

I fixed black beans to go with it. Love the lime taste that the chips add.

Enjoy!

RJB

Rylee Joy Baker made me Aunt Dani on April 1st. I love her to pieces!

Mother's Day

Bath time
All dressed up for church

1 day old
1 hr old