It's funny to have a blog, but not really anything exciting to blog about.....
I feel a little weird posting things like "this is what I'm doing" all the time - but I don't really know what else to write about, so.......yeah - this is what I'm doing:
Life is busy, duh. My 2nd round of nursing school apps go out next week, and I'm starting to (kinda) freak out about them. My heart really isn't in these ones (come on Linfield, just accept me!), so I guess "freak out" isn't quite the appropriate term. If I don't get accepted to LB, I won't be devastated. The program frustrates me. That said, however, I'm realizing that with this attitude I'm sort of half-assing this application specifically....which I've recently decided is probably unacceptable. Urgh. My stupid conscience. SO - here I am........working through round 2 of essays...and trying to make them good. Yuck.
This term has actually been pretty decent. My classes are, for lack of a better word, easy....and my schedule isn't terribly interrupted, so I'm grateful. I'm surprised to find that I haven't made MORE progress on these apps, but somehow life always gets in the way doesn't it?
With my two classes at LB, I still work, of course, and am learning as well that training for a marathon is relatively time consuming. What's up with that? Oh yeaaah when you want to run for a few hours, you actually have to find time in your days somewhere. Thank goodness for spring forward and the extra daylight. On top of those things, I've moved.....sort of. I'm transitioning at my parents place for a time (which I'm actually totally loving, I kinda forgot how beautiful it is out here all the time), and then moving into a place in town April 1. I am SO excited it is unreal!
In addition to working, studying, running (and cross training), and moving, I'm somehow managing to live socially, attempting to stay involved in the Dox community through my home group, as well as actually have friends, and a boyfriend (sooo thankful I managed to get such a nice guy). It sounds like a lot when I say it like that, but for the most part, I'm happy. Busy, but happy.
I think that one of my biggest outlets in life will always be making delicious food. I've thought about maybe sharing some recipes on here, but have never actually done it, so...yeah....I think I'll do that now: I made this soup last night. ITS SO GOOD. I don't really measure, so enjoy my "ish" instructions:
Chicken Tortilla Soup for the Soul
For the stock / shredded chicken
1 whole chicken, maybe 4ish or so pounds?
2 quarts water
1 large can green chili peppers, as spicy as you want
1 onion, quartered
2 sticks celery, cut into thirds
A few dehydrated ancho chili peppers (ooh, or maybe some chipotle in adobo?)
I think that's about it. Throw all of those things in a big stock pot and just let it simmer for a couple hours or so. Remove your chicken and place on a platter, then strain your stock through a fine mesh sieve, or cheesecloth, reserving the liquid for the soup. Shred the chicken with a couple forks...ITS HOT! Don't burn yourself (I did...)!
This whole part could be omitted, and you could just use chicken stock from the store, and either poach, or bake chicken breasts and shred them - but really this is super easy.
For the soup:
Shredded chicken from above
4-5 Cups stock
1.5-2 tsp. Cumin
1ish tsp. Garlic powder
1ish tsp. Chili powder
Salt/Pepper
1 sweet onion, diced
2 bell peppers (get different colors in there!), diced
A few cloves of garlic, minced
1 15 oz can, good diced tomatoes
Small can green chili peppers (or you could even get the tomato / pepper blend thing)
Half cup of your favorite salsa
2 15 oz cans black beans
3ish Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp cornmeal (or polenta, whatever you have)
Garnish:
Fresh cilantro
Avocado, diced
Sour cream, or greek yogurt
Strips of corn tortillas (I just cut them right into my bowl of soup, but you could fry them too)
Squeeze of Lime
Shredded queso (everyone likes cheese!), if you want it.
Sooooo, lets see:
I'd start with combining all your spices in a little bowl.
Once you've shredded your chicken, place it in a big zip-lock bag and add maybe half of your bowl of spices and shake the crap out of it. It's fun, and it gets all your spices stuck to the chicken! YUM.
Heat a few glugs of olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat and add your onion and peppers and sauté for a few. Add your minced garlic and the rest of your spice mixture. Stir around until it looks / smells delicious....maybe 2-3 minutes. Add the cans of tomatoes and chilies, and your salsa stir it up. Add your stock and the tomato paste. Let this all simmer together for a few minutes, then add your beans and chicken. At this point I let it simmer for 30 minutes to get everyone acquainted. After about 30 minutes, I added my 1tbsp corn meal to about a half cup of very warm water and let it sit for a minute. The corn meal soaks up the liquid pretty well. Add this to your soup (it's good). Let simmer another 30 minutes. Taste it. Add more salt. More pepper. Maybe a little something spicy (mine was pretty mild, but the flavor was good).
SERVE AS DESIRED.
Go crazy here. cilantro in the soup is so good with avocado and tortilla strips. I put yogurt in mine as well and, unfortunately, went back for seconds.....which made me extremely uncomfortable the rest of the evening.
Might I suggest drinking a bud-light lime whilst eating this soup? It's a perfect, somewhat trashy combo...and I love it.
I stole this picture from someone else's blog, I have to admit. It's really just to get your mouth watering. Their recipe was similar, but I tinkered it to my liking....and didn't use red onion as a garnish, but you could!
Alright - here are some other pictures of my life:
I know that I'm the last kid on the band-wagon, but I've JUST gotten sucked into Lost. IM SO CONFUSED ALL THE TIME! This is the reason I go to bed so late because I just need to see one more episode........ugh.
My favorite new babe was born! Riggens Baylor Bushnell. Soooo blessed to have been involved in this little guy's coming into the world. Love him. Love his mama.
Had a fun time at my dad's new "Log Cabin" - aka the coolest house in Portland. Laura made a point to look frightened in most every picture....
Playin rockband? Kelly and I were pretty good...
Again with the weird looks, Laura.
Pool may have been more fun for the boys...
Noah and I spent this past weekend in Bend visiting all his friends (who are AWESOME, I might add). This was the closest I could get to us taking a picture together.....it works.
Of course, they had to climb the sculpture...
As the rain was coming down in the valley, central oregon was incredibly beautiful. We sunned ourselves on these rocks for a bit....
....and then the boys tried to climb them. Which they did quite well in jeans and normal shoes, I might add.
Life is good. I'm trying to savor it, instead of focus, too much, on what's coming next.
Time to clean!
A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34
Sometimes I think that I dream too much, and that reality has become a foreign concept.
Favorite songs are tied, I couldn't decide:
"Somebody that I used to know." - Walk Off the Earth
"The ballad of love and hate" - The Avett Brothers
LOVE!
