What's for Dinner?: Taco Soup

I owe this recipe to my wonderful friend, Jessie Mayfield. It has become one of our family favorites and is so easy! You can either make it in the crock pot (I think its better this way!) or on the stove. I like to serve it with sharp cheddar cheese and tortilla chips. So yummy!!!! This recipe makes tons of soup! It is perfect for having company and tastes even better the next day! It also freezes well.

Ingredients:

1 can pinto beans (drained)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato sauce
1 can rotel diced tomatoes (I like "mild")
1 onion, chopped
1 bag frozen corn
1 packet taco seasoning (I like McCormick and Schmick's)
1 packet ranch dressing mix (I like Hidden Valley)
1 lb. ground beef (optional)
Water


Preparation Instructions:

Brown the ground beef and drain. Place in the crock pot. Add all the other ingredients and mix. Add water until you get desired consistency (I put in about a cup).

Cook in a soup pot on the stove for about 45 minutes or cook on low heat in the crock pot all day. Perfect for when I come home from work!

Sprinkle cheese on top and serve with tortilla chips.


Cost: $ 0.94 per serving

Ground Beef Round (15% fat): $4.89
Bush's pinto beans: $ 1.13
Hunt's diced tomatoes: $ 1.09
Hunt's tomato sauce: $ 0.60
McCormick and Schmick's mild taco seasoning: $ 1.00
Hidden Valley ranch mix: $ 1.75
1 onion: $1.38
1 can Rotel tomatoes: $ 1.15
1 small bag frozen corn: $1.00
Shredded Cheddar Cheese: $2.00
Tortilla Chips: $1.00

Makes about 18 servings

Life Update

Before we get any further, we're not expecting! :-) I feel like every time I say I want to share some news, people get really excited and that's the question that follows- haha! Although Austin and I are looking forward to that wonderful time in our lives, we are enjoying our current season of life!

Our little house on this beautiful second day of Fall!

I have not done a good job at updating the blog recently. I feel like August 1st was yesterday and we're already mostly through September! So goes the life that is regulated by the academic calendar! Here are some updates from our lives!

Jobs:

Last week was GO Week at Union, which is one of the busiest weeks for our office! There were so many awesome events, from chapel speakers from the IMB and NAMB, to sessions about adoption and the gospel and the marketplace, and "Missions Late Night" about the persecuted church. On top of all of that, the early bird deadline for GO Trip Applications was on Wednesday. Tomorrow is the official deadline! I can't wait to see how the Lord puts together the different teams and will use so many students in His kingdom work over J-term, Spring Break and the Summer.

Austin is still working for Health Connect America in Martin. It is technically part time (this is determined by the number of clients- 8 is considered full-time), so he is trying to figure out what the best option is at this point. His supervisor is about to resign, so that may change some things in the office. We know that the Lord will provide for our needs in His timing.


Church:

A few weeks ago, we became members at First Baptist Church Humboldt! The Lord is at work there- it is such a loving, genuine body of believers. It has felt like our home church for a long time. We've joined the choir (it's been several years since either of us were in choir!) and we've begun working on Christmas music. This is the first church that Austin and I have been apart of as a married couple and the Lord has already been so gracious to us! The week after we joined, a newlywed Sunday school class began. The teachers are Tommy and Debbie Smith, who Mary lived with over the summer. They are such a godly, hilarious couple! We are so thankful that they are our teachers and that we will be able to glean wisdom from them. The timing is also really cool for us since we haven't been able to be involved in a Sunday school class since we've been married (due to Austin's security job).


Exercise:

Mary and I have still been exercising together at Union. Things have been so busy between Rush activities for Mary and GO Week for me. We haven't been as consistent as we would like. It's just a day at a time, though!


Food:

I promise there will be more "What's for Dinner" posts soon! I've been trying out some new recipes and have some posts ready for next week :-)


House Projects:

We're in the process of cleaning out closets, including setting up a place for all my crafting supplies! Pictures to come soon! I'm also super excited about pulling out my Fall decorations, especially my wreath!


What we've been learning:

The past few months, we have been learning reliance on the Lord as our provider in a big way, especially financially. It's not a comfortable place to be, but this experience is teaching us the importance of accepting situations as they are, doing our best to get through it and taking it a day at a time.


Looking ahead:

We're excited to announce that we will be co-leading the GO Trip to Honduras this Spring Break along with our friends, Joey and Katie Hale! I couldn't be happier to be going back to Orphanage Emmanuel and having Austin come this time too! We can't wait to meet the students who will be serving alongside us.


More posts to come soon! Happy Fall!

What's for Dinner?: Chicken Fried Rice

This is the Southern Living recipe for fried rice and it is excellent! This is not the healthiest recipe I will share, but its a lot healthier (and definitely less greasy!) than fried rice from a restaurant. So, when Austin and I get a craving for Asian food, this is our go-to recipe! I like serving this with steamed broccoli. 


Ingredients

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup chopped cooked meat (you can use chicken, beef or shrimp- if you use chicken, it will be about 1 large, boneless, skinless chicken breast)
3 cups cooked rice (you can use white or brown rice)
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder


Preparation Instructions

Cook meat in a small skillet and set aside. Cook rice, measure out three cups and set aside.

Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat 1-2 minutes. Add eggs and gently stir 1 minute or until softly scrambled. Remove eggs from skillet and chop.

Heat remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil in skillet. Add onion and stir fry for 3 minutes. Add chopped, cooked meat and stir fry 2 minutes.

Add rice, soy sauce and garlic powder. Stir fry 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in egg.

Serve immediately.