First snow-Too good not to share

Most of the nation watched on T.V. as the South dealt with our snowpocalypse.... some may have laughed, but I assure you, it was no laughing matter to those in their car with children, trying to get to their children, those who spent 16 hrs in their car, or had to sleep in the aisles of CVS. That would have most definitely been Burke and I if I had been teaching this year! With that said, I guarantee those kids that were stranded at school had the sleepover of their dreams. :)

I was so thankful Ryan got home in 4 hrs. from his normal 20-25 min. commute (that was measly compared to most people.) He said he knew it was going to be bad when he left for lunch and already started to slide around. He left around 1:30 from his office. So thankful!

So we have been cooped up in the house since Tuesday afternoon! Well, we did play in the snow a bit, but when the temps are not above freezing for most of the day, it doesn't last very long. So here's what we did for Burke's first snow!

We played in it!

Outside...

And yes, that would be plastic bags around his feet... a pair of rain boots are on the to-buy list.

 and inside! We found the later to be much more comfortable for us warm blooded peeps.

Our sad attempt at making a snow man. :)

We also went fishing...

 built award wining towers...

drew in the "snow" (Epsom salt)

and decided animals should be added...

We made our own bounce house, 

made our own electricity, 

painted, colored, played hide and seek till we dropped, played with trains, blew bubbles and watched them freeze, and ate... a lot. (How do you people in the north do it? I would weigh 300+ if I lived up there!)

And here's what's too good, not to share.

These recipes. Check them out. They are now on my go to list now!

Oven Baked fajita Recipe from Metabolic Cookbook:http://tiny.cc/Metabolic

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel)
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into strips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken strips in a greased 13×9 baking dish.
In a small bowl combine the oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt.
Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and stir to coat.
Next add the tomatoes, peppers, and onions to the dish and stir to combine.
Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

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Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Hearts

{adapted from Better Homes & Garden Baking Book} 

1 stick softened butter

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar to roll cookies in

chocolate heart candies 

{Reese's peanut butter hearts are the best- I accidentally bought plain Hershey's hearts for these & they worked great too}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Clear out a shelf in your refrigerator so you can place the cookie sheet in there to cool the chocolate hearts {don't skip this step or your have a melted chocolate heart blobby mess on top of your cookies... believe me}  Mix the butter and peanut butter in a stand mixer for 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally.  Add in the sugar and brown sugar.  Mix until combined.  Add in the egg, vanilla, and milk and mix until well combined.  Slowly add in the baking soda, baking powder and flour until combined.  Roll each cookie with your hands then roll in white sugar.  Place on cookie sheet {I line mine with parchment paper for perfect evenly baked cookies and less mess, and I put 12 on a sheet}.  Bake for 9 minutes.  While baking, unwrap your chocolate hearts.  Immediately after removing from the oven, press a chocolate heart onto each cookie quickly, then quickly place the entire cookie sheet in the refrigerator to cool until chocolate hearts are solid again {they start to melt really quickly on top of those hot cookies so make sure they really are solid again before removing}.

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Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, about 5

Salt and pepper

1 cup of honey

1/2 cup of low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup diced onion

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Cornstarch

Sesame seeds

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place the chicken thighs in the crockpot insert and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil, garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine well. Pour over the chicken in the crockpot.
3. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours.
4. When done, remove chicken from stock pot and cut into chunks. Prior to putting the chicken back in the stockpot, combine some cornstarch in water and whisk it into the crockpot to thicken up the sauce a bit. Throw the chicken back in and stir around to recoat the chicken in the sauce.
5. Serve hot over a bed of white rice (optional) and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

P.S. We have officially decided we are ready for warmer weather. Come on spring!