2/10 ~ Words

1. "It's not the SIZE of the dog in the fight, but the size of the FIGHT in the dog." - Archie Griffin, Cincinnati Bengals
2. "Are we underdogs again? Great! Great...I always root for underdogs...you know why?  Tell them no one thinks you're going to win, you're not good enough and it doesn't register." - Jeffrey Lurie, Owner, Philadelphia Eagles
3. "Talent sets the floor, CHARACTER sets the ceiling." - Bill Belichick, New England Patriots
4. "When you're GOOD at something, you'll tell everyone. When you're GREAT at something, they'll tell you." - Walter Payton, Chicago Bears
5. "WINNING is not everything--but making the EFFORT to win is." - Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers
6. "If what you did YESTERDAY seems big, you haven't done anything TODAY." - Lou Holtz, New York Jets
7. "A CHAMPION is simply someone who did NOT give up when they wanted to." - Tom Landry, Dallas Cowboys
8. "The man who complains about the way the ball BOUNCES is likely the one who DROPPED it." - Lou Holtz
9. "If it doesn't matter who WINS or loses, then why do they keep SCORE." - Vince Lombardi
10. "Your TALENT determines what you can do. Your MOTIVATION determines how much you are willing to do. Your ATTITUDE determines how well you do it." - Lou Holtz
11. "If you want to WIN, do the ordinary things BETTER than anyone else does them day in and day out." - Chuck Noll, Pittsburgh Steelers
12. "Life is TEN percent what happens to you, and NINETY percent how you respond to it." - Lou Holtz
13. "If you're not IN the parade, you WATCH the parade. That's life."- Mike Ditka, Chicago Bears
14. "Today I will do what other WON'T, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others CAN'T." - Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers
15. "Work isn't WORK unless you would rather be DOING something else." - Don Shula, Miami Dolphins
16. "Remember, TOMORROW is promised to no ONE." - Walter Payton
17. "We would ACCOMPLISH many more things if we did not think of them as IMPOSSIBLE." - Vince Lombardi
18. "It takes 20 YEARS to build a reputation and 5 MINUTES to ruin it." - Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
19. "There is NO substitute for WORK." - Vince Lombardi
20. "Winning isn't getting ahead of OTHERS. It's getting ahead of YOURSELF." - Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys
21.  "Once you LEARN to quit, it becomes a HABIT." - Vince Lombardi
22. "In order to WIN the game, you must first not LOSE it." - Chuck Noll
23. "If you're not gonna go ALL the way, why go at ALL?" - Joe Namath, New York Jets
24. "It's not whether you get knocked DOWN, it's whether you get UP." - Vince Lombardi

 Motivational quotes from legendary football greats found here

2.10.23: perfectly peeled hard boiled eggs

2.10.22: taco stuffed shells

2.10.21: dessert (football) cheeseball (shoutout to Meghan and Mickey!)

2.10.20: fabric flower pins

2.10.19: 🔥week 6 (and there's a cute Valentine bookmark idea)

2.10.18: organizing food containers

2.10.17: two toned swirly frosting

2.10.16: layered jello parfait perfect for Valentine's day

Crock Pot White Chicken Chili (v. #3)

Looking for different ideas for what to have for our Super Bowl get-together, I've done pulled pork so many times (which we love) and I feel like making something else. It's been chilly and windy (after SO MUCH RAIN) so I've been looking for a soup/stew/chili recipe instead this time...and the winner is white chicken chili. I've got a couple recipes to make it in the crock pot, and here is yet another one that looks good - it seems that all of the variations are pretty similar with minor changes. I'm trying this one for Super Bowl Sunday, with a couple changes. Here's the recipe and I'll add my notes after.  

• 2 1/2 c. 

  low-sodium chicken broth

• 2 

  (15.5-oz.) cans white beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 1/2 lb. 

  boneless skinless chicken breasts 

• 2 

  (4-oz.) cans green chiles

• 1 

  small yellow onion, finely chopped

• 2 

  cloves garlic, minced

• 1 

  jalapeño, seeded and minced, plus more for serving

• 1 tsp. 

  dried oregano

• 1 tsp. 

  ground cumin

• salt and pepper 
• 1 1/2 c. 

  frozen corn

For Serving (optional):

• Sour cream
• Sliced avocado
• Thinly sliced jalapeño
• Freshly chopped cilantro
• Lime wedges

1. 1. Add broth, beans, chicken, green chiles, onion, garlic, jalapeño, oregano, and cumin to the bowl of your slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours, until chicken is tender.
2. 2. Remove chicken from chili and shred. Use a potato masher to gently mash about 1/3 of the beans before returning chicken to slow cooker. Stir in shredded chicken and corn and cover and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Turn slow cooker on warm until ready to serve.
3. 3. To serve, top with sour cream, avocado, jalapeño, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice.

makes 6 servings 

recipe found here 

My notes: this is a pretty straightforward recipe and I'm sure is good - I like a couple things from the other recipes I've tried so this will be more of a mash-up version of them all haha. 

• increase the amount of chicken to 2 lbs. 
• adding another cup or so of chicken broth (3 1/2 - 4 cups)
• add an extra 1/2 cup frozen corn
• I'm omitting the fresh jalapeño from the chili, will serve on the side as a topping.
• will sauté the onions and garlic before adding to the crockpot. 
• adding 1/2 t. paprika, 1/2 t. dried coriander 
• cooking on LOW for 7 hours before shredding the chicken 
• add 1 block (8 oz.) cream cheese, cut into smaller pieces, cook until it melts and you can completely incorporate it into the chili. 
• add 1 T. lime juice.

Other similar recipes on the blog ~

• crockpot white chicken chili v.#1 (taco seasoning, white corn or hominy, cream of chicken soup)
• Macey's crockpot white chicken chili v.#2 (caramelized onion, cayenne, sour or whipped cream)
• Kyle's white chicken chili (stovetop - rotisserie chicken, monterey jack cheese)
• Jane's white chicken chili  (stovetop - diced chicken, light cream cheese) 

In addition to the chicken chili I'm making mini pigs in a blanket, deviled eggs, and touchdown brownies. Others are bringing shrimp cocktail, cheese tray, chips and dip, and a veggie tray. YUM! I'm excited haha. 

2/12/24 update: I made this chili as stated above with all my notes and it turned out fantastic. Everyone loved it. Of course I got busy tho and forgot to take a picture! Next time...

2.9.23: cinnamon sugar pretzels

2.9.22: valentine felt gnome

2.9.21: tt: baking center organizing (see my sprinkle storage update here!)

2.9.20: 🔥week 6

2.9.19: monthly maintenance projects

2.9.18: colored pencil tattoos

2.9.17: sweet potato toast

2.9.16: 'bee mine' honey bear

Pink Ombre Cake

I came across this pink ombre cake in my photos - I made it for P's graduation and think it'd be a great Valentine's Day dessert. This is before I started blogging so didn't take very many pictures of the process back then, but you can still see it so I'm sharing anyway. The ombre-effect in this layer cake looks impressive but is an easy technique. 

For this 4-layer cake, mix a box of white cake according to package directions. Evenly divide the batter into 4 separate bowls and color the batter using food coloring - in this case I went with pink but it can be any color you want. Tint all 4 bowls the lightest color you want the first layer to be and set aside one bowl. Add a few more drops to the 2nd bowl; a few more than that to the 3rd bowl, and as many drops as it takes to achieve the deepest color you want to the 4th bowl. Look at all 4 bowls in a row and decide if you like the variation in light-to-dark sequence and add more drops as needed. Start light, you can always add more but you can't take it away! Add each of the 4 bowls to prepared cake pans and bake according to package directions. Cool completely and frost with buttercream and sprinkles as desired. 

2.8.23: citrus marinated chicken

2.8.22: heart treat holder or bookmark

2.8.21: Valentine caterpillar by Brooke

2.8.20: double chocolate kisses cookies

2.8.19: diy: air freshener

2.8.18: make a heart-felt Valentine card

2.8.17: mini bundt brownies

2.8.16: Valentine slider box (to hold chocolates)

Honey Garlic Chicken

I saw a video clip of this recipe on Pinterest, but when I googled to see about more detailed instructions this recipe is everywhere so I don't know who to credit for the original source. 

There's a reason it's everywhere - it's darn delicious! Also quick and easy - win, win. And I'm putting it in the chicken recipe rotation for sure. We loved it. 

The only thing I did a little different is omitting the minced garlic and adding chicken seasoning - I love garlic but Dave doesn't so I didn't want him to see the little pieces of garlic! Still delicious.

The video left a little bit lacking, and there are a few variations online when I tried to find more details - here's what I ended up doing and just Google if you want to see similar recipes:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about a pound total)
• 4 T. butter, divided
• 2 T. olive oil, plus more to drizzle
• 1/4 C. honey
• 3 T. vinegar
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 1/2 t. Montreal chicken seasoning blend (more to taste)
• salt and pepper
• flour for dredging

Score the chicken by making cuts both vertically and horizontally across the top of the chicken, don't cut all the way thru. Rub the Montreal seasoning, salt and pepper on both sides. Drizzle a little olive oil over top. 

Put some flour on a plate or shallow bowl and dredge the chicken in it, flip and coat the other side as well. Dredging just means to lightly press the chicken into the flour so it's coated, then shake off the excess.

Melt 2 T. butter and 2 T. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, scored- side up, and cook for about 5 minutes until golden brown; flip and cook for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked thru. Turn over so the scored-side is up. Add the remaining 2 T. butter, honey, vinegar, and soy sauce to the pan and stir to combine (leave the chicken in the pan and just work the sauce over and around it). Continue cooking and stirring until the sauce has thickened, about 3-5 minutes. 

Notes: 

• Obviously you don't want to over-cook the chicken so keep an eye on it, you might need more or less time depending on the size of your chicken. 
• you can make more sauce by increasing the amounts, it's really good and I'll make more in the future. It's great over pasta or rice.
• Yes the name of this is 'honey garlic' and I didn't use garlic, I get that! If you want to add it, the video shows adding 3 cloves of minced garlic along with the other sauce ingredients. 

score the chicken keeping bottom intact

rub in the spices and lightly drizzle with olive oil

dredge in flour

cook in melted butter and olive oil 

once the chicken is just cooked thru, flip it over again and add the
remaining butter and other sauce ingredients 

cook and stir until the sauce is thickened. 

2.7.23: TT dust mop hack

2.7.22: Miss Lori's painted wood hearts 

2.7.21: 🔥 week 6

2.7.20: candy slider box

2.7.19: hide a key container

2.7.18: oatmeal chocolate cranberry cookies

2.7.17: sliding side lunge

2.7.16: "Palentine"/Valentine dinner menu

Tip-sy Tuesday: Valentine's Day Charcuterie Board

Today's tip is just an easy way to make a standard charcuterie board 'Valentine-y'...cut out heart-shaped pieces of hard cheese using a small cookie cutter and arrange along with other meats, cheeses, crackers, and fruit (or whatever you like on your meat and cheese tray). This one has white and yellow cheddar hearts, or play around with different types of hard cheeses. 

I feel like I've posted this in the past but cannot find it anywhere. If you seen it before then ignore this post and I'll see you tomorrow with something new hahaha!

2.6.23: crochet afghan/fleece blanket mash-up

2.6.22: 🔥 week 6 

2.6.21: bumblebee valentine and pickup truck by Brooke

2.6.20: alligator pear salad

2.6.19: sheet pan curried shrimp biryani

2.6.18: making a master grocery list

2.6.17: making heart artwork from dots 

2.6.16: Nana's pralines

Flamingo Valentine

I love flamingos, so when I saw this idea for a flamingo valentine I sat right down and made one with materials I have on hand - my scale is off but you can still see how cute this will be once I have the correct size pipe cleaners! I have these hot pink super thick fluffy pipe cleaners (chenille stems) and skinny thin orange ones - this would be better with either a larger heart body, thinner pink pipe cleaner for the neck, and/or thicker and longer orange stems for the legs. Over all it's still cute tho so I'm showing it to you even though it isn't 'perfect'. 

This is a very easy and quick craft, definitely kid-friendly as long as they can cut and glue. You'll need 

• a big paper heart for the body
• 3 smaller paper hearts for the wings, fold in half
• pipe cleaners for the neck/head, and the legs - make them whatever color you like!
• scrap piece of cardstock for the beak/head
• sequin and gem for the eye
• black marker to color in the end of the beak
• feather for the tail
• glue, scissors

glue one folded heart on the left side of the middle of the heart, glue another on the right side with folds touching, add the last heart in between. Fluff. 

Note: you could leave off the wing hearts and write a Valentine message on the larger heart instead if you'd rather! 

Bend and shape the legs. Glue the legs, tail, and S-shaped body to the back of the larger heart. That's it!
 

2.5.23: 🔥week 6

2.5.22: wine and design (on a dollar store budget)

2.5.21: valentines wreath by Brooke

2.5.20: baked pork chops

2.5.19: heart shaped cork trivet

2.5.18: paracord camera wrist strap

2.5.17: crock pot mac and cheese

2.5.16: valentine poppers

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 5)

Dear Campers ~ 

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

1/28: 🔥 week 4

1/29: 3D paper heart

1/30: TT aluminum foil cleaning hack 

1/31: avgolemono soup 

2/1: touchdown brownies (caramel pretzel)

2/2: heart-shaped paper box 

2/3: words

What's Cooking ~

• grilled pork chops, herbed rice, chopped salad (kit)
• grilled thin chicken breast, white beans in marinara, roasted green beans 
• turkey pot pie, chopped salad 
• burger salad
• honey garlic chicken, buttered noodles, roasted asparagus

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• Cathy told me about a Nora Roberts series that she likes - I read 2 out of 3 this week and am loving them! 'The Awakening', and 'The Becoming' are part of the Dragon Heart Legacy series and both are ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ in my book (pun intended); it's a little of everything - different worlds with dragons and wars with gods, magic, adventure, romance, comedy, and also a present day storyline. I get this might not appeal to you if you aren't into Fantasy genre but I'm really enjoying this series. 

That's it for this week! See you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever we can think of to make at camp - bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

2.4.23: pumpkin snickerdoodle muffins

2.4.22: sprinkle racks

2.4.20: tip-sy tuesday: messy lily pollen

2.4.19: man-day monday

2.4.18: last minute super bowl ideas

2.4.17: super bowl party games

2.4.16: super bowl party planner

  

2/3 ~ Words

2.3.23: heart mosaic

2.3.22: slow cooker crack chicken

2.3.21: valentine layered cookies

2.3.20: football stadium brownies

2.3.19: 🔥week 5

2.3.18: football toss game

2.3.17: root beer bbq pulled pork

2.3.16: cookie bites

 

Heart-Shaped Paper Box

Unlike the geometric heart I failed at making on Monday, this paper box is much easier and straightforward haha! I followed the directions I found here at instructables and had no problems putting this together. 

They have a free pattern for the pieces - two different size hearts for the box and lid, and two rectangles for the lid side and the box side. Cut out the shapes, fold according to the template instructions, make little  snips around the edges so the rectangles will curve nicely, glue everything in place. Not hard!

for the template, instructions, and video click here at instructable, or here at essyjae

2.2.23: salad bundles

2.2.22: dry ranch seasoning mix

2/2/21: tip-sy tuesday room temp butter tip 

2.2.20: 🔥week 5

2.2.19: groundhog day card or decoration

2.2.18: super bowl games

2.2.17: preserved lemons

2.2.16: organizing wrapping and tissue paper

Touchdown Brownies (aka Caramel Pretzel Brownies)

I don't have a picture of these terrific brownies, but they looked and tasted great so I'm sharing without a photo - I will definitely be making them again so I'll try to remember a picture next time! 

The inspiration for these came from here at the baker mama (click for the original recipe); I just made a couple changes because I really like Ghirardelli brownie mixes so I didn't make these from scratch, and I omitted the nuts because Dave is allergic. Note the name is 'touchdown brownies' because she makes them for gameday tailgating - for the rest of the year I'm calling them 'caramel pretzel brownies' haha

Here's what I did:

• 1 box of brownie mix for a 13x9" pan, and ingredients listed on the package 
• 1 jar (12-15 oz.) caramel sauce
• 1 cup caramel bits, divided
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips, divided
• small pretzels (football shape if you can find them, otherwise I use snaps or small twists)

Mix the batter following package instructions, fold in 3/4 cup caramel bits and 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips. Bake the brownies according to the package instructions. Let cool 30 minutes. Spread the caramel sauce over the top, place the pretzels evenly over the caramel, top with the remaining 1/4 cup caramel bits and 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips. Let cool another 30 minutes. 

Notes: 

• if you want to remove the brownies whole from the baking dish, first line the pan with parchment paper before putting batter into the pan. Once cooled you can lift them out using the parchment paper as a 'handle'.
• place brownies in the fridge for at least an hour if you want the caramel sauce to set up. 
• if you don't have mini pretzels you can break larger ones into smaller pieces, it'll taste the same!

2.1.23: stuffed shells

2.1.22: TT heart shaped cake

2.1.21: pleated paper heart

2.1.20: Miss Lori's winter wreath

2.1.19: Jen's baby poop party dip

2.1.18: squat challenge

2.1.17: triple berry muffins

2.1.16: repurposed frame