Confessions of a Blogaholic

* I won't post a blog entry until I think it has a cute title : )
*After being gone for a week I actually felt a little overwhelmed trying to catch up on all of your blog lives that I had missed
* I haven't completely figured out that things that come out of the oven are hot and they burn you. At one point last week I had burns on my arm from pizza and on both of my hands from chicken pot pie.
*I really love having a clean house and am actually enjoying cleaning it.
* I love pizza. I probably eat it more than I should. We make pizza, I'll make Texas Toast pizza or bagel pizzas..I'm not picky : )
* I feel like I'm being thrifty by running outside and not having a gym membership.
*Sometimes when I'm making a group of friends take pictures who don't want to, I rationalize it to them by saying that I have to blog it.
* I used skype for the first time a few days ago to talk to my niece and I love it! How cool is it to be able to talk face to face with someone in a different town!
*After attending so many rodeo events in Reliant Arena, I feel that cowboy boots are required for entry.
* I enjoy putting things in the food processor and watching them shred into tiny pieces and knowing all I had to do was hit a button(only food of course).
*I'm pretty sure I looked like a 12 year old when I was skiing..purple goggles, pink hat, pigtails, pink jacket, 5'2"

So proud of our Baylor Bears for making it to the Elite 8! Sic 'em!

Easy Granola

This is one of my favorites to have around the house.

Easy Granola
From Real Simple

4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
¼ cup hulled pumpkin seeds or shelled sunflower seeds
½ cup pure maple syrup
2 tbs canola oil
½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup dried fruit (I used cranberries)
*Heat oven to 350. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss oats, almonds, and pepitas with maple syrup, oil and salt.
*Bake, tossing once, until golden and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.
*Add the dried fruit and toss to combine. Let cool. Granola will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Honey Chicken Stir-Fry

Honey Chicken Stir-Fry
From Taste of home Comfort Cookbook Diet
1 pound chcken breast cut into 1-inch pieces
1 garlic clove minced
3 tsp olive oil
3 tbs honey
2 tbs soy sauce
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 package (16 ounces) frozen broccoli stir-fry vegetable blend
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbs cold water
Hot cooked rice
Directions
*In a large nonstick skillet, stir-fry chicken and garlic in 2 tsp oil. Add honey, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until chicken is lightly browned and juices run clear. Remove and keep warm.
*In same pan, stir-fry vegetables in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes or until tender. Return chicken to the pan; stir to coat. Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; gradually stir into chicken mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Serve with rice

Hoisin-glazed Shrimp

Hoisin-glazed Shrimp
from Real Simple

Ingredients
Shrimp
Hoisin Sauce
Sesame Seeds
1 cucumber
2 Scallions
*Thread shrimp onto skewers (wrap end of skewers with foil)
*Broil, basting with ¼ cup Hoisin Sauce until opaque (2-3 minutes per side)
*Sprinkle with sesame seeds
*Toss 1 sliced cucumber with 2 sliced scallions and 2 tablespoons each rice vinegar and canola oil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with shrimp.
*I served it with white rice, butter and soy sauce.

Weight Watchers Chicken Salad

Weight Watchers Chicken Salad

*I honestly don't pay much attention to the amounts. Just add what you think looks right : )
¼ cup fat free yogurt
¼ cup fat free mayonnaise
6 oz cooked, skinless chicken breast
½ c grapes, red seedless, halved
2 medium scallions, chopped
1 tsp chopped walnuts
Celery
Apples
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Combine all ingredients in a food processor.

Taco Soup

Taco Soup
From Danee : )
Ingredients
1 lb beef
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can ranch style beans
1 can rotel
1 package ranch seasoning
1 package taco seasoning
Directions
*Brown the meat in a medium skillet.
*Combine all ingredients in a large pot(only draining the corn) and heat.

*Total Carbohydrates 11.75g per 1/2 cup

Choc-Oat-Chip Cookies

Choc-Oat-Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
* 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
* 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 1/2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
* 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
* 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)
Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat brown sugar, butter and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats, morsels and nuts; mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
BAKE for 9 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12 to 13 minutes for crispy cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

SB '10

Let me just begin by saying that until I got to college, I only thought that SB stood for my name, Sarah Beth. Once I was living in Collins freshman year, everyone started talking about how awesome SB'04 was and much to my dismay, they were not talking about me..... So in this entry let's all change the context of SB to mean Spring Break (tough I know).
So, some brilliant mind created a week of break in the middle of the spring semester and call is Spring Break or SB. This break is needed by both teachers and students. This year, Cody and I spent SB'10 in Keystone with some of our favorite friends, Warren & Danee and a whole crew! We went skiing 2 days at Keystone, 1 day at Beaver Creek, 1 day at Vail, the boys spent 1 day at A-basin and then we all had a final day at Keystone!! Yes that's right we were skiing 5 days, the boys 6!! What a wonderful week full of skiing, eating, shopping and games!
Our house
Keystone day 1

Keystone day 2


Beaver Creek

Danee riding the box
Warren's jump

Vail

Keystone the last day

Ain't my first Rodeo

Oh friends! I have had my fill of rodeo fun! Cook off, rodeo run, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and Brad Paisley! What a fun 2 weeks!! I have no pics from Kenny, but of course I have some from the others!
Tim McGraw

Brad Paisley


We also had a big event this past weekend. One of my best friends got married in Longview! She looked gorgeous of course and the wedding was so fun! I love my friends!

Yeehaw!

It's rodeo season!!! Last weekend Kel and Beth came in and we all went to Rodeo Cookoff. What a fun experience! I've always heard about it but hadn't gotten to go until this year.

Then early Saturday morning, Carolina, Kelly, Beth and I went down to downtown to run the 10K Rodeo run! We all finished with great times and are now getting ready for Big D half marathon in April! Woohoo!


Then we went to this cute little place called the Daily Review for a yummy brunch!!

Cody and I have already seen Kenny Chesney at the rodeo (so fun!) and have a few more concerts left! I love March!!

Recipes for the week:
Chicken Cordon Bleu
* I hate the way that the chicken in most crock pot meals turns out dry, so I ran home and started the meal at about 1 so it would be under heat for quite as long. It was better than normal.
3 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts
6 pieces thinly sliced ham
6 thin slices reduced fat swiss cheese
salt to taste
pepper to taste
6 slices bacon gently browned but not crispy
1/4 c. water
1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
1/2 c. white cooking win
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1. flatten chicken to 1/8-1/4 inch thickness. Place a slice of ham and a slice of cheese on top of each flattened breast. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roll up and wrap with strip of bacon. Secure with toothpick. Place in slow cooker.
2.Combine 1/4 c. water, granules and wine. Pour in slow cooker.
3. Cover. Cook on high 4 hours
4. Combine cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. Add to slow cooker. Cook until sauce thickens.

A friend gave me this deep dish pumpkin pie recipe back around Thanksgiving and I just got around to making it. So yummy!
Ingredients
* Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
* 1 3/4 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
* 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
* 1 cup chopped pecans
* 1 (15 oz.) can packed pumpkin (2 cups)
* 1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
* 2 large eggs
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* Ice cream or whipped topping
Instructions
* HEAT oven to 350°F. Coat 9-inch square baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.
* COMBINE flour, brown sugar and granulated sugar in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in pecans. Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture. Press remaining crumbs firmly into bottom of prepared pan.
* WHISK pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, cinnamon, allspice and salt in large bowl. Pour over crumbs in pan. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
* BAKE 50 to 55 minutes or until golden. Cool. Serve with ice cream or whipped topping, if desired.

Twice Baked Potatoes
My mom has always made these and I LOVE them!! I don't have exact amounts of anything though..i just kind of guessed.
4 russet/baking potatoes
milk (add by tablespoon to achieve desired texture)
butter (maybe 3/4 a stick)
cheddar cheese
salt
pepper
paprika
3 slices of cooked bacon broken into little pieces
Directions
1. Bake potatoes..I did this in the microwave - don't forget to poke holes in the potatoes to keep them from exploding : )
2. Half potatoes and scoop out the insides into a mixing bowl, trying to keep the skin in tact.
3. Add butter and mix with mixer. Then add the rest of the ingredients (milk, cheese, salt, pepper, paprika, bacon).
4. Put potato mixture back into the potato skins and sprinkle the top with cheese.
5. Place potatoes into the oven on 350 to reheat.

Cobb Salad from Food Network
Ingredients
For the Dressing:
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 small clove garlic, minced
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
* Cooking spray
* 1/4 pound sliced Black Forest or other smoked ham
* 2 hard-boiled eggs
* 6 cups romaine lettuce (about 6 ounces) coarsely chopped
* 2 cups watercress, thick stems removed
* 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced (about 2 cups)
* 1/2 avocado, diced (about 3/4 cup) ( I did 1 1/2 avocados b/c they taste good)
* 1 cup cooked diced chicken breast 1 (6-ounce) breast ( I left this out and add 1/4 pound ham)
* 1/2 cup crumbled Roquefort or Blue cheese (about 2 ounces)
Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and set aside.
Slice the ham into 1/2-inch strips. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and preheat over a medium-high heat. Add the ham to the skillet and cook over stirring frequently, until the ham is warmed through and crisped, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Remove and discard the yolk from 1 of the hard boiled eggs. Chop the remaining egg white and whole egg and set aside.
In a large bowl toss the romaine and watercress with 2/3 of the dressing. Put the dressed greens onto a large serving dish. Place the tomatoes on top forming a row down the middle. In strips on either side of the tomatoes place the avocado, chicken, cheese, diced egg, and the crisped ham on top of the greens. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and serve.