White Chili Recipe

I think Friday or Saturday was the first official day of fall, but it definitely isn't feeling like it in Southern California...and I know it is even worse in Arizona. But in the spirit of fall, I wanted to share a delicious fall recipe. This White Chili is one of George's favorites. I will ask him what he wants to eat for dinner and it is always this chili! It is super easy...I make it in the crockpot so it pretty much just involves dumping a bunch of stuff in the pot.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey, browned
• 1 cup medium salsa
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 cup water
• 2 (14 ounce) cans great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (8 ounce) package jalapeno pepper Cheddar cheese, cubed (I just use Pepper Jack)

Directions

1. In a large pot or saucepan combine the browned turkey, salsa, corn, water, beans and cheese. Stir together and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes, or until cooked through and cheese has melted.

George likes to eat it with Scoops

We enjoyed watching ASU beat USC yesterday!!!! We were able to watch the entire game on espn.com.

Tuesday Update

Hope everyone is having a good start to the week. The week is already going by really fast for me so that is always nice!

George and I hit up Porto's Bakery again this weekend (this time the location in Glendale, CA). We went there a month or so ago and have been wanting to go back ever since. It didn't disappoint...and I have decided that they have the best creme brulee ever...like it even beats the stuff I had in France! Andi's birthday was also this past weekend so we celebrated with her. George went with Sergio to a bakery in downtown LA to get Andi's favorite cake, Chocolate Banana, from a place called Cliffton's. It looked delicious, but unfortunately (or maybe fortunately!) I am not a fan of bananas.

My company's big integration is happening in a two weeks so it is crunch time! We have all been busy getting the final stuff done in preparation for the big "go-live" day. My time in my "mini-team" is also coming to an end in two weeks. I have been managing the four employees on my team for just about 5 months. I remember thinking 5 months ago that October seemed so far away, but now that October is just about here, it seems like April was just yesterday. Crazy how that always seems to happen. I have learned a lot as a new manager and I am really thankful to have had some great employees on my first team.

I just got back from the gym and oh my goodness...I took the cycle class and this really tiny Asian lady was the the instructor. She was really hardcore and was yelling things that I didn't understand. So who knows if I actually did the work out that she wanted us to do, but either way it was really tough and I am BEAT!

I got a kick out of George the other day. I came home from the gym to this....both guitar and his video game controller in hand. I guess he couldn't decide :)

Flight Booked

Just a quick post before bed...

George and I had dinner with my dad tonight. He had a quick trip to an account in the area again so we joined him for dinner at his hotel! 

Also, I just booked my flights for a trip to Rochester in October...October 19-23 to be exact! My dad and I are going to there for the University of Rochester's Homecoming weekend (my dad is an alum of their MBA program). They are having a bunch of neat events in the area....I'm sure I'll have a blog post about it when the time comes :) Of course, we are also going there to spend some time with family!

I love having a trip planned - the anticipation of a trip is great. Anyway, I was so excited that I had to share...now time for bed!

A New Hobby???

I'll start this post off with a picture from the weekend. Andi and I had breakfast with her friend in South Pasadena and then we met up with the guys in Old Town Pasadena. It is a really cute area with lots of little stores and restaurants.

I am in the middle of making dinner....minestrone soup! This is my first attempt at minestrone soup, but it is looking pretty good! I am serving it with garlic flat bread from Fresh and Easy. If you have a Fresh and Easy near you, the flat bread is delicious!! It is tasty with pasta, soup, and just by itself.

I came across these two blog posts last week (http://savedbylovecreations.com/2011/08/quatrefoil-stenciled-corkboard-new-martha-stewart-decorative-art-paints.html and http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/2011/09/40-martha-stewart-paint-projects-and.html) and they inspired me to try stenciling. So, I went to Michael's and picked up some paint, brushes, and stencils. Here is what I've made so far:

The supplies! (I love the brown and light turquoise together) 

And here is my work in progress...I am stenciling a corkboard that I have had laying around for awhile (I think I used to have it hanging in my dorm)

Definitely not as perfect as the two other blogs, but I'm learning. I think I need to be more gentle with the paint application. If you know me, that is much easier said than done. I am more of a get-it-done and figure it out later kind of person :)

I also made this tote bag with the stencils (the turquoise didn't show up as well on this one)

Real quick! I wanted to say congrats to my sister Emily (http://eswarren.blogspot.com/) on her spiffy new job. I just realized that I have no idea the name of the company, but what I do know is that it is a consulting firm (owned by a Las Sendas resident) and she will be doing their event planning among other things. It sounds like it is a perfect fit for her background and her skill set. CONGRATS EMILY!!!  

Now back to slaving over the stove!

Phoenix Trip

Blogspot/Blogger just changed their format in the place where I write my posts...it is confusing me! 

Hope everyone had a great weekend...even thought it is Thursday and basically the weekend again (I'm not complaining!) George and I had a great time in Phoenix with our families and friends. As usual with our trips to Phoenix, we kept very busy! Here are some pictures to prove that :)

Love this picture of Paisley...even though George's eye looks kind of creepy! Haha

I had the pleasure of watching Paisley on Friday while Brian and Terrisa were at work. It was so much fun to spend the entire day with her! We started off the day with a walk around the neighborhood.

And before I knew it, she was asleep again!

On Friday night, we went to watch Hannah at the football game. Here is the band entering the field. Watching the band perform and play in the stands brought back some great memories of our time in marching band...oh to be young again :)

I love this picture of Hannah and Paisley. Too bad Paisley is distracted by something. This was taken at Maggiano's where we went to celebrate my dad and Brian's brithdays. 

George and I took Marie to get her hair cut on Sunday afternoon. She was loving the look...we caught her looking in the mirror a few times :)

On Sunday night, my parents had Jeremiah's family (Jeremiah is Hannah's boyfriend) over for dinner. They are a very nice family! I had to include a picture of these cookies that Hannah made. They were delicious and the presentation was beautiful!

I will end with this picture of Paisley from our dinner at the Lucases' on Monday evening. Look at those big eyes...so pretty!

I have to run...I am going on a walk with Andi and Keziah (her son). The weather is amazing tonight.