Fall is Here!

I don't know about you, but fall is exciting to me. It's such a wonderful time to reflect on God's beautiful creation as the seasons change and a variety of colors spread across the landscape. The air starts to get a little crisper and if you live in the Northwest, it starts to rain more frequently. I don't know about you, but I love the smell of rain-- and the sound is so relaxing.



via Verizon Mobile

It's also that time of year when you reach for your warm beverage and hold it close (if you've never done this, you really need to try it. It makes your warm beverage that much better). Chai lattes, pumpkin spice, hot cocoa.. yum!

Let me know what your fall favorites are!

Also, if you're feeling the fall check out this blog called OneYoungLove. She has a special fall give-away!!!

Happy Fall <3

Idea #13: Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate

So I found this recipe on Home and Hearth and thought it was worth a share. I don't know about you but nothing quite gets me excited for fall like pumpkins. Anything pumpkin and my ears start to perk up and I'm intrigued.

So it's not surprising that as I fumble along through pinterest (yes, a guilty pleasure), I'm stopping and pinning everything pumpkin. I even made a board called "pumpkin"...

Enough about pinterest..

This recipe looks delightful and it surprisingly doesn't even look that bad for you (can you say a guilt-free dessert/beverage?!) I even wonder, to make it a little more guilt free if you tried it with dark chocolate instead of white.

Let me know if you give it a try! I'll most likely be making one this weekend :o)

from Home and Hearth

Idea #12: BBQ Chicken Tacos

Last night we (my boyfriend and I) were planning on having burgers for dinner. When we got home from work, we realized that the beef was still in the freezer. If you're like us, you're ready for dinner and looking for something quick, and not having the meat defrosted puts a damper on that. We took this opportunity to look at what was waiting to be eaten in the fridge and pantry.. left overs, sandwiches, cereal, etc.

 

I discovered 2 defrosted chicken breasts just waiting to be cooked. I took this opportunity to be a little adventureous. If you know me, at least lately, I've been glued to recipes, especially new ones, and feeling a little lost in the imagination of cooking. I've been nervous to experiment with mixing ingredients together on the account of "what if it tastes aweful and we're stuck with eating the rest of it for dinner" -- a little negative, I know.

 

We'll last night was different. I decided to have a little fun and hope for the best..

 

Here are some other ingredients I tossed in:

 

1/2 green pepper

1/2 red onion

1 lime

1/4 cup cilantro (guestimate)

1/3 cup BBQ sauce (of your choice)

 

I started by adding about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and the diced red onion to a skillet on medium heat. While I was waiting for the oil mixture to heat up, I sliced the chicken breasts into about 1/2 inch strips (so that they were easy to put into tacos AND cooked faster). I added the chicken to the skillet and squeezed the juice from the lime on top. Once the chicken was browned on both sides (about 7 or so minutes), I added the diced green peppers, cilantro, and BBQ sauce to the chicken mixture. Once added, I covered the skillet until the mixture was boiling. I then reduced the heat to low for another 5 minutes.

 

While this was wrapping up, i gathered together some toppings. I diced a small tomato, chopped up some lettuce and pulled out some cheese. We also heated up our tortillas by wrapping them in a damp paper towel individually and microwaving them for about 20 seconds.

 

And that it!! I think it turned out fantastic and my boyfriend even told me that it was really good.. even without me asking :o)

 

Let me know if you give this a try and let me know how yours turns out!!

Happy Tuesday!