Taco Soup Remix

This morning the boyfriend and I decided we wanted to make something yummy for dinner tonight! Recently I stumbled across High Heels & Grills' 8 Can Taco Soup recipe, and decided I would put my own spin on it. The original recipe looks superb, I just made a few changes to make it more Arianne-friendly (no cream, lower in calories, and a bit more homemade)...so here we go!

-1 Can black beans (drained)
-1 Can pinto beans (drained)
-1 Can died tomatoes (we used "fire roasted" and didn't drain!)
-1 Can green enchilada sauce (I could could only find one of those HUGE cans, so I used about 1/2 of it)
-1 Small can diced green chilies
-1 Taco seasoning packet
-4 Cups chicken broth (we used water + bouillon cube recipe)
-3 Chicken large breasts, fresh

1. Bring corn and chicken broth to a boil

2. Add black and pinto beans, diced tomatoes, enchilada sauce, and green chilies, and reduce soup to a simmer on medium heat

3. In a separate pan, add oil (to coat pan) and chicken breasts. Cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes on each side, breaking up pieces with a spatula as you go. Add 1/2 packet of taco seasoning and 1/2 C. water to the pan. Continue cooking until done.

4. Add the remaining contents of the taco packet to the soup pot

5. Add all the contents from chicken pan (including juice) to the soup pot.

6. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until chicken is tender. Put on low heat until ready to serve.

Serves approximately 12

Photo Cred: High Heels and Grills....We were too hungry to take a picture ;)

This recipe was a HUGE hit with the family. Took about 30 minutes from start to finish, and at about 200 calories per serving, this is a healthy one too! Serve with sour cream, cheese, or chips for an extra something something :)

For anyone curious, the main changes to the original recipe are: home-cooked chicken instead of from a can (icky....); and twice the amount of chicken broth instead of including cream of chicken soup which is higher in calories, and contains dairy. I also added green chilies for color. Bon appetit!

Playing Catch-Up

It's been a while! Summer and the beginning of the school year have been really busy, really great, and also really hard. Here is what I have been doing for the last few months!

May
Finished School

• Finished my sophomore year at WSU! Overall, I did really well last semester and I even made President's List again! It is really awesome to think that I am succeeding in school, especially when I did so poorly in high school. Moving back to North Bend for the Summer was very bittersweet though...glad to be free from school, sad to be away from Pullman :(

Marathon

• So this is pretty big news! I completed my first marathon! 26.2 Miles! I never knew that I could do it, and it was really hard, but super awesome. The whole thing now is almost like a dream...It's difficult to remember anything that was bad, I just remember finishing (and feeling so sick to my stomach I could hurl...). I was super lucky to have my family and my boyfriend there to support me! Yay accomplishments!

Pullman Trip

• One of the hardest parts of being away from Pullman all summer was that I was living so far from Derek! It was really sad. And I am definitely never ever ever ever EVER doing that again. BUT part of the fun was taking a little surprise trip to Pullman. He is so awesome. Little did I know at the time, this would be the first of many exhausting, and amazingly fun trips to Pullman to see my most favorite person on earth.

June
More Pullman trips

• Like I said, Derek and I made tons of trips back and forth to Pullman all summer. Every weekend, or every other weekend. Economically, this probably wasn't the wisest choice, but I would do it again and again! :)

I Made the Grade

• In Mid-June, Derek did his "I Made the Grade" bike race in Lewiston, Idaho. He did so awesome, 99th place, and did something like 20-40 minutes faster than he did the last time (I can't quite remember). So much fun!

July
Seattle to Portland

• This was way awesome. Derek came up for the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic in mid-July. The day before, we did tons of shopping for sports gels and shot bloks, carbo-loaded (as his support team, naturally I had to carbo-load too ;D ) and dropped him off at a friend's house (Thanks Hilsmanns!) so he could get a good nights sleep. I, on the other hand, stayed up to about 12:30 to make some M&M cookies as a little surprise for him. This may have been a bad idea, because had to wake up at 1:45am to get the rest of the stuff together for his race, get ready myself, and then pick Derek up at 2:30ish. We were on the road to Seattle by 3am, and he was all ready to go by 4am. This kid is amazing, I don't know how he possibly biked 204 miles with 5 hours of sleep, but he is a champ

2:30am in Snoqualmie

Setting up the bike in Seattle

Ready to go!!!

• Luckily I pulled into a church parking lot at the halfway point and was able to sleep for about 3 hours. I have never been so tired in my life as I was then. So grateful I could find a safe place to catch some Zzzs for a bit. In the mean time, Derek kicked bootaye, making it all the way to Portland before 7pm. Saw him at the 1/2 way point, 3/4 point, and then at the finish line. He is a rockstar!

Preparing for school

• Not long after the STP, I started getting a lot of my textbooks for school. 18 credits this year, all upper-division (except psychology). I was so nervous!

August
Moving in

• Finally back in Pullman! My apartment is stuck in the 70s, but I love it so much. I love being close to WSU, I love being near my friends, and I love love love Pullman. My heart is so happy here! I have been so busy, I don't even have pictures of my apartment yet, but I promise I live there :)

Trips to Seattle for Derek's Mom

• Unfortunately, throughout the summer Derek's Mom experienced a lot of medical problems related to her dual transplant. Her medical team in Seattle is very capable, and they have tried very hard to relieve any symptoms she is having. We love her very much, and hope that she continues to be strong and get better throughout these next few months
• While we had an impromptu trip to Seattle, Derek and I went to my cousin's wedding. It was so darn cute, and we had lots of fun

School Starts

• My upper-division classes are so much fun! I am taking:
• History of World Economics
• Introduction to Psychology
• History of the Pacific Northwest
• French History: French Revolution to Napoleon 
• American Constitution
• Early American History
• Life has been so so busy with the beginning of school, I don't have much other info to share!

September
Getting into the swing of things

• Getting some really good grades back in school. So far, every grade has been an A. Going into week 7, that is pretty darn good. I got a 100% on this huge presentation for World Economics, got an 98% on my Pacific Northwest History paper on perceptions of the NW during early exploration, a 95% on my first Psychology essay, and a 96% on my first psych exam (the average was a 72%...yikes!)
• I also have my ward missionary calling again now that I am back in the singles ward. BEST CALLING EVER <3 li="li">

Six Months

• On September 26th, it will officially be 6 months since Derek and I officially started dating! Since we met almost a year ago (October 29, 2011), he has become everything under the sun to me. He is definitely the best thing I have going for me, don't know how I got so lucky! This past year has just zoomed by... I can hardly believe it! I am just happy to spend these fleeting moments with the most stand-up, kind, and determined person I have ever met in my life.

Sometimes life is hard

• Life has a crazy way of changing. I feel like things as of the past couple months, have really gotten increasingly difficult in very many different ways. When things initially started getting hard at in mid-August, I ended up getting a blessing here in Pullman, which was extremely helpful and encouraging, but also let me know that this next while would be full of extremely hard trials. While I was blessed to know that Derek and I would go through these this year together, I was also counselled to turn to Heavenly Father to receive his help in everything. My oh my, I don't think I could have exactly been prepared for the difficulty of each of these things so far. Sometimes, I feel like I have no idea what to do, because there is just so much to take care of. So far, all of these challenges have been so close to my heart. I have no cause to complain when compared to those closer to the matter, but I guess I am just a weak little thing!
• More than ever, I have been turning to Heavenly Father for his help and comfort, and I have been so so blessed. I really can feel the prayers of so many helping me and my loved ones. I certainly appreciate that, and I am really trying to do all I can to be the person that God wants me to be. Thank you everyone for all the help and support offered in these most recent trying times. I appreciate it, and I know Derek certainly appreciates all the willingness and love you have shown in bringing food by, or offering to help around his house, or just offering a kind word. There is nothing that him or I, or anyone in the Askham family could say to somehow repay the love you have shown. So thank you everyone! Christ is closer in our hearts than ever before, so we have little reason to fear. :)

Alright. So that is pretty much everything in the past few months. I am sure I will post more tid-bits here or there. Thanks for reading!

-Arianne