Taste of Home Tuesday: Chicken Pot Pie

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) reduced fat reduced sodium condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) reduced fat reduced sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 cup plus 2/3 cup fat-free milk, divided
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 pkg. (16 oz. each) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
1 1/2 cups reduced fat biscuit/baking mix

In a large bowl, combine the soups, 1/2 cup milk, thyme, pepper and poultry seasoning. Stir in vegetables and chicken.

Transfer to a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. In a small bowl, stir biscuit mix and remaining milk just until blended. Drop by 12 rounded tablespoonfuls onto chicken mixture.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until filling is bubbly and biscuits are golden brown.

Taste of Home Tuesday: Thai Shrimp

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 to 2 tablespoons Thai chili sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 can (14 ounces) water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and chopped
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 head bok choy, trimmed
Hot cooked rice, optional

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and broth until smooth; stir in the soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce, ginger and garlic. Set aside.
In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry shrimp in oil until shrimp turn pink. Remove and keep warm.
Stir soy sauce mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in artichokes and onions; top with bok choy.
Reduce heat; cover and cook for 5 minutes or until bok choy is wilted. Return shrimp to the pan; heat through. Serve with rice if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

Taste of Home Feb/Mar. 2011

If you like hot/spicy food, then this dish is for you! It had a very good flavor, but we both used extra rice to compensate for the spice.

Valentine's Necklaces

I found a super cute idea for Gumball Valentine's Necklaces here.

Below are three necklaces I made for my nieces. They really seemed to enjoy them...we just have to keep them out of their mouths.:)

Christians

When I say...I am a Christian
I'm not shouting I'm clean livin'.
I'm whispering I was lost.
Now I'm found and forgiven.

When I say...I am a Christian
I'm don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
And need Christ to be my guide.

When I say...I am a Christian
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.

When I say...I am a Christian
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say...I am a Christian
I'm not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say...I am a Christian
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say...I am a Christian
I'm not holier that thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow.

by Maya Angelou

Taste of Home Tuesday

One of the blogs that I follow the gal does "Mennonite Monday's" where each Monday she makes something out of one the Bethesda Mennonite Church Cookbooks. Even though I am Mennonite and have several cookbooks, I don't use them as often as I use my Taste of Home magazine (my parents subscribed to it for me as a present) . Because Justin and I both love looking through the Taste of Home picking out different recipes we want to try, I decided I would steal her idea and start doing "Taste of Home Tuesdays". I like to plan our meals 2 weeks at a time. So as we plan, we will pick our Tuesday meals from one of my Taste of Home magazines and let you know how they tasted!

Today just happens to be Tuesday!! And we just happened to have a soup from the Taste of Home! Unfortuntly I thought about blogging about this as I was washing up the dishes after we ate, so there will be no pictures to accompany this post....you'll just have to take my word for it that this soup is yummy!

Chicken Tortilla Chowder
2 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
2 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 cups 2% milk
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 can (11 oz.) Mexicorn, drained
1 pkg. (10 oz.) ready-to-serve roasted chicen breast strips, chopped
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
3 flour tortillas (8 in.), cut into 2-in. x 1/2-in. strips
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
Additional shredded cheddar cheese, optional

In a large saucepan, heat the soups, milk and broth, stirring frequently. Add corn, chicken, and chilies; bring to a boil. Stir in the tortilla strips. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in the cheese until melted. Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired.
Taste of Home February/March 2010

I just boiled a chicken I already had and used it instead of the strips the recipe called for.

The Last Wedding

Kyle and Erin were married on January 1, 2011, at 1:11 in the afternoon. The following pictures are from the rehearsal, before the wedding, and the reception.

It was a beautiful wedding! We had a great time meeting Erin's family and getting together with family from out of town! Kyle is the last one in our family to get married....we're going to have to come up with some other occasions to get together.:)

Heart's Anyone?

Here is a super cute and easy heart craft! The step by step instructions can be found here. For the colored hearts she used paper that didn't look like "Valentine's Day". I love red so I went ahead and used red paper.