Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

As mentioned previously, I have a strange addiction to Pinterest. I am always pinning recipes to try.  I have tried a number, but occasionally, I will pin one, then go to look at the ingredients and think they are insane.  Such was the case with this sandwich recipe I pinned.  I got to thinking about it and decided I could easily make my very own recipe.  So this was inspired by Pinterest, but really has very few of the ingredients, if any, that were in the recipe I saw. Here is my very own recipe for 2 servings of Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches:

1-5oz. Can of Chicken
1 Tbsp. Light Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Vinegar
2 Tbsp. Frank's Red Hot Sauce
5 Sprays of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
2 Deli Thin Slices of Cheddar Cheese
2 Tbsp. Reduced Fat Blue Cheese Dressing, I used Wish Bone.
4 Slices Sara Lee Delightful Bread

Preheat George Foreman grill or a lightly greased pan or a griddle. Toast bread on medium setting in toaster.  In small bowl mix canned chicken, mayonnaise, vinegar, hot sauce, butter spray until well mixed.  Spread mixture on toasted bread.  Spread 1 Tbsp. of blue cheese dressing on top of each partially made sandwich. Top with a slice of cheddar cheese. Top each sandwich with remaining piece of bread.  Place sandwich in grill or onto pan or griddle.  Cook for just a minute or so and flip to continue cooking until cheese is starting to melt. Slice each sandwich in half and enjoy!

We served ours with no sugar added applesauce, which was delicious!  The sweet apple sauce made up for the kind of spicy sandwich.  If you keep track of your Weight Watchers Points, this sandwich is 6 points.  You could even get creative and add some chopped up celery, which would be delicious! Also, the hubby doesn't love blue cheese, so we left that out on his sandwich. He just had some ranch on the side. We both enjoyed the sandwich so much, hope you do too!

The Confessional

A couple random thoughts of the season...
1.) I think I'm addicted to Pinterest. Why would I think that? Well, I was in church on Sunday. We were sharing the peace and one of my Pinterest friends said she was having a hard time keeping up with me, I giggled and said we'd have to catch up after the service. I turned to shake hands with another church go-er and instead of saying, "Peace be with you..." I said, "pinterest..." I'm sure I turned like 6 shades of red. Perhaps I should pin more about God? Or...I could just focus on being at church! Sheesh, lol.

2.) I drive by this one house on my way to and from work.  I've been worried because I can't see baby Jesus in their nativity. I have been worried that maybe someone stole baby Jesus. Seriously...where could be baby Jesus be?  It occurred to me tonight that maybe everyone, Mary, the wisemen, etc. are WAITING for Jesus to come...as in Advent. Duh...I bet they put Jesus out on Christmas eve or Christmas day. It was like a riddle in their front yard. I get it now.

3.) I was listening to that song, "A Baby Changes Everything"...I was thinking, how did Mary know when she was pregnant? Sure, she'd have the normal symptoms, but how would she know how far along she was in her pregnancy? Like was the moment she saw the angel the start of 9 months?  What was her pregnancy like? Low and behold the gospel in church on Sunday said something to the effect to when Mary would be pregnant.  Hmm...all very thought provoking.  Also, I wonder if she wanted to have more babies or if she was content knowing she carried the Lord, Our Savior, to term?

Okay, those are my meandering thoughts of the day.  Some comical, but the Mary thing is perplexing to me.  I like to wonder what it'd be like to interview Mary. Anyway, hope you are enjoying the holidays!

*image from: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2011/12/marys-pregnancy-test/

Tupperware Bonanza

I had a Tupperware party before we went to Hawaii.  It was by far the easiest party I have ever toasted, I only provided a few ingredients, and the rewards were amazing!  If you want Tupperware, you should really consider hosting a party to get it.  Products with a lifetime guarantee aren't always inexpensive, but my party made everything super affordable.  I was able to get lots of credit, half off items, free items, etc.  I paid very little and now my pantry is ready to go. It was just like Christmas morning opening up my giant box of hostess items.  Here is what I got...which doesn't include the gift I got for booking a party or the hostess rewards I didn't take like another half price item or another item that was offered...still this is so much fabulous Tupperware:

A couple of these items have some really cool features...

This is the spaghetti keeper.  I am terrible, really, at measuring out spaghetti.  So, I was so happy with the little measuring feature. Woohoo!

This is the microwaveable lunch dish I bought.  It has a special lid that you can vent when you microwave.  What I also loved was the cold cup! It slips inside the left divided area and can come out before you microwave, how cool is that? I got one as a thank you gift with my party and ordered a second one, because I loved it!

This little container actually holds 2 oz.  I'm so excited to use it for taking dressing, mayo, cream cheese, etc. to work.  Also a perfect size for a small serving of peanuts. 

This is a 4 oz. container which came with the freezer set I bought (see the cute snowflake?), but I got some extras for snacks...like making my own lunchables! I'm happy I can save money on using plastic baggies and stop losing money buying cheap stuff at the store that doesn't last.

This is the lid to one of my microwave n serve containers.  I like the instructions on the back...and the valve.  You don't do anything, other than put the container in the microwave and it does all the venting!

So, with my new kitchen additions, I had to use them.  I decided to make a recipe.  I vaguely recalled that you could take a cake mix and mix it with a can of pumpkin.  I was guessing I could bake the cake in the microwave just the same.  At my party, we made a chocolate cake in the microwave, so I had a general idea of how long to bake it.  I mixed one yellow cake mix with one 15 oz. can of pumpkin.  Then I added 1/4 cup of mini chocolate morsels.  I sprayed the inside of my 6 1/2 cup microwave n serve with cooking spray. Then spooned in my batter.  I microwaved for 9 minutes (in our ancient microwave) and voila...cake!

I had some caramel topping in the fridge, so I decided to pour 3 tsps on top, kind of like a glaze.

I sliced our cake into 14 pieces and served up a piece with a little dollop of whipped cream.  Delicious!!

An update on the interview process

While I was in Hawaii I got a phone call about the job.  They decided to open it up to external candidates, but didn't have any who met the qualifications.  He asked me a couple of follow up questions...like where I want to be in five years and if I could do the customer service piece day in and day out.  Then let me know I was still a top candidate and that I'd hear about a second interview the end of this week or beginning of next.
Yesterday, my supervisor called to let me know she had received a reference check from the person doing the second round of interviews.  She said she gave me a good a recommendation.  I believe it's between two of us to get the job.  Thanks for your continued prayers, I will keep you updated.  It'd be so nice to know before Thanksgiving, but that seems like wishful thinking. 

All that's going on

Do you ever have days where you are so anxious that you feel shaky from your toes to your fingers?  Today was one of those days.  I'm not even sure with where to start about why I am so anxious.  I have been praying for a change.  Praying for God to continue to take care of us financially and to take care of a situation with my back.  I am still waking up every morning and going to bed every evening in pain.  I am so thankful that my back pain is not as intense as it was, nor is it to a point that I need pain killers.  It's intense at times, but I can tolerate it.  When I visit with my doctor, he wants to put me on a permanent lifting restriction.  I'm not suppose to lift more than 20 pounds.  To do my job, I am suppose to be able to lift 50 pounds.  What might be shocking to some is that I actually was lifting that amount on a frequent basis until my last back episode.  My doctor doesn't want me to lose my job, so has been writing me temporary restriction notes.  I know that this can't go on.  I need to find a job that I can thrive in and give my back a chance to get stronger, etc.  I have been praying and praying and praying.  I prayed that God would somehow take care of my career, take care of my back.  Within a couple days an opportunity came up.  I was asked to apply for this position.  The more I heard, the more excited I was.  It's like I have fallen head over heels for this opportunity.  I feel like it's more than coincidental. 
Today I had my first interview.  I think it went well.  I'm just nervous from my head to my toes.  I feel so vulnerable.  Like I have bared it all and I've put it all out there.  I know that if this doesn't work out I'm going to be crushed.  I feel like there is more at stake than ever before.  I also am worried that I've counted my chickens before they hatched.  What if I read too much in to what they said when they asked me to apply?  I was incredibly flattered, I just hope they still think that I'm a great candidate.  A second interview will probably happen while I am in Hawaii.  Which means I could also get an offer or be told I wasn't selected while I was on vacation.  The opportunity is amazing and I'm excited to do whatever it takes to move my career forward, but I'm so nervous about what will happen if it doesn't work out. 
I need to let go and let God. Let go and let God. Let go and let God.  Trust that it's all in his hands.  Breathe in and breathe out.  All will be the way it is suppose to be.  For now, I'm just a ball of stress. Hopefully, I can sleep tonight and hopefully I can relax, breathe, etc.

Twenty Six.

When my dear husband started working on publishing a game, I started thinking about what kind of game I would create.  I have one idea that has been lingering in the back of my head, I'm not sure how to execute it, so I sat on it.  Recently, a new game struck me.  It's a combination of poker and a word game.  Immediately, I knew what I wanted the cards to look like. I wanted brown cards with distressing, lots of words, a typewriter font, and swirls.  Almost like magic before my eyes, J had designed the cards I was describing.  We were able to play test rounds of the game, which went pretty well.  I chose to call the game Twenty Six, because that's how many letters are in the alphabet.  I also wanted that to be the part of the game that was kind of risky.  Score as many points as possible, but go over 26 in your round and you get a zero! We have changed the letter counts, changed points values, and added in some fun bonus point opportunities.  When all was said and done, the game came together beautifully! I am hoping that it's been published in time for holiday gift giving and more importantly for families to spend quality time playing games together over the holidays!

So, without further introduction...you can check it out and purchase it here! 

Fallinter

While we have been enjoying the colors of fall, we were graced with over 10" of snow in the last twenty four hours.  We ended up being without power or heat for 16 hours.  Despite the cool weather, I loved seeing fall colors poke out behind tufts of white snow.

Our source of light and heat!