Ham and Potatoes Casserole

1 pkg (1 lbs 10 oz) frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1/8 tsp pepper
2 T onion, chopped
1 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 lb ham, diced
1 1/2  c. cornflakes + 1 1/2 Tb butter for topping

Mix thoroughly thawed potatoes and all the ingredients except cornflakes. Place in 9" X 13" pan sprayed with cooking spray. Top with cornflakes. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Top 12 of 2018

1.) Homecoming 
     Going back to visit high school is always and entertaining and enlightening experience, but this year was made especially sweet by the time I could spend with two of my friends and how we were able to renew our relationships together.

2.) Visit to JBU 
     This visit to a potential college for my brother meant and family road trip and an opportunity to visit one of my good friends attending the university.

3.) Winter Jam and Summit
     Winter Jam was my first ever concert and I am grateful to my friends who invited me to come and made the evening a success. Also of note in the month of March, was a retreat to the Mountains with my local chapter of Christian Challenge. Although reluctant to go at first it was a refreshing getaway for me. I also began my journey in learning to swing dance!

4.) Easter Sunday
     This year I have been in the church choir, an experience I greatly enjoyed and appreciated. The Easter service at my church is a favorite and this year I got to take part in being in the choir for the event. It was also a time for meeting family and friends, as well as getting asked out for the first time!

5.) Graduations and Weddings
     May is a popular month for graduations and weddings. This year my brother graduated high school and I got to see one of my cousins get married.

6.) Summer Team
     This summer I helped out with the youth group, as a precursor to my officially joining the team in the fall. I am blessed to be with a great group of freshman girls! God used this experience to teach me about trusting Him (see my post Trust: The Word of the Year).

7.) Family Vacation to Colorado
     I have already done several posts about this, so feel free to refer to them for more details!
     Family Vacation 2018 Part 1: Colorado Springs area
     Family Vacation 2018 Part 2: South Fork

8.) Trip to Lawrence and my 21st Birthday Party
     A trip to Lawrence to see a friend's event turned into an opportunity to reconnect with one of my cousins and a friend from school/work. Also, it was my first road-trip by myself. For my 21st birthday I wanted it to be special and for it to be shared with all the important people in my life. A little ambitious, but the event went over well. We decided to tackle an Escape Room experience, something I had never done before, but was eager to try.

9.) Local Craft Fair
     This was another opportunity to see friends and look at all the amazing handmade items. I also scored a great pair of earrings!

10.) Mercy Me Concert
     This was another hi-light of my year, as well as one I actually did a blog post about.

11.) Barn Dance
     One of several Christian Challenge events I went to this year, I was able to rekindle my budding swing dance talents!

12.) Challenge Formal
     The last Challenge event for the year was a blast as always. It was made bittersweet since it will be the last one I will experience with the entirety of my small group, as my leaders will be graduating in May.

The Hidden Story Behind the Redecoration of the Living Room

     The new color of the living room walls was a bit of a controversial issue. Originally, the walls were to be repainted white. I was somewhat against this because I thought, "If we are going to all the trouble to repaint it, why paint it the same color? Why not get something new?" And so began my petition for a new paint color. I settled on a shade of green (any shade would do - just not white) as a probably candidate for succeeding my mission. At first, I mentioned the idea in jest, not believing it would actually go through. Therefore, I was surprised to come home one day to green swatches of paint on the walls. It looked like it actually might happen!

     The green color that was finally elected is similar to that of the master bathroom and a color that was used to paint some of the rooms in my paternal grandparent's house. So you could say the color is steeped in history. I think it has taken well to the space.

     Other improvements include a new fan (pictured above with the newly painted walls) that cost my father a sprained toe and new carpet for the whole house! The carpet was an even larger endeavor than painting the living room, but after living in the house for almost two decades it was a needed improvement. The whole family pitched in to sort through and pack up belongings. Although new and fresh, the color isn't much of a change this time around for we have stuck with a grey. The apple can't fall too far from the tree.

Mercy Me Concert

     This spring I went to my first concert - Winter Jam. Shortly after going I learned that one of my favorite bands, Mercy Me, was going to be coming to my home town as part of their Imagine tour. I have liked their music for a while, but since concerts were never my thing I didn't ever think about seeing them perform in person. Winter Jam broke the ice for that and I realized that I would enjoy seeing them live.

     Unfortunately I put off getting the tickets a little too long. By the time I got around to it all of the seats in the section that I wanted had been sold, except for a few spots here and there. So it was either pay extra to get seats together in the next bracket or find someone who was willing to go to the concert with me, but not sit together. Who better than family to fill that role? I convinced my father to come with me. We ended up getting seats close to each other, one directly in front of the other with just a few rows separating.

     Even with the awkward seating situation I think the concert was an experience both of us enjoyed. I wasn't completely prepared with what to expect, but the concert was similar to the one I had been to previously, if on the smaller scale. The band performed well and we got to hear some of the stories behind their songs.

Stir Fry

     This is my final meal that I made while living by myself for a week - stir fry!

     Stir Fry is one of my go-to things to make. I especially like to make it with leftovers since it is quick, fun, easy, and gets old food out of the fridge. This time I did not have any leftover meat to work with. However, it just so happens that there was some already trimmed, cubed, and marinated chicken in the freezer that I could use.

     The first thing I did was to cook my rice (I just used the rice setting on the microwave. It works!) and chop my vegetables. You can use whatever kind of vegetables you want. I used carrots, onions, and celery, as well as some leftover broccoli.

     Next I cooked my raw vegetables. After they were cooked I removed them from the pan and cooked my chicken. When that was all done I added in my vegetables, including the precooked broccoli and warmed everything up. Served with the rice my stir fry was ready to go!

A Variation on Green Bean Casserole

     One of my favorite side dishes is green bean casserole. For this variation I was inspired from another green bean casserole recipe from one of our recipe books. I took out some of the things I didn't like (like green peppers) and added somethings I did.

Ingredients:

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

Milk

Soy Sauce

1-2 cans of green beans (drained)

Ground hamburger (browned)

Frozen tater tots 

This recipe is really easy, if a little vague. Some of the things you just have to eyeball. 

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl mix the cream of mushroom soup with a little milk and soy sauce. Add in the green beans and hamburger. Mix. (Note: I would advise draining the green beans. I forgot to do this and my end result was still palatable, if on the soupy side). Top with tater tots and bake for an hour at 350.

This recipe works great for leftovers as well. I only used one can of green beans, and all together it was enough for two full meals for me!

Taco Soup

     For a week this month I was all by myself. I had to act responsibly, cooking and cleaning up for myself. One of the main challenges was cooking meals. I think I overcame the challenge and considering I survived the week alone, I was pretty successful. So, I would like to share some of my successes here.

     One of the things I made was Taco Soup! This is a great dish because it is easy to make and tastes good the second time around. Yay leftovers!

Taco Soup

(makes 11 cups)

1 lb ground beef (browned)

1 onion, chopped

1 can chili beans, pour it all in

1 can kidney beans, mostly drain off

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

2 cans peeled/diced tomato

1 c. water

1 4 oz can green chiles

1 package taco seasoning

     Basically, you have some stuff and a bunch of cans, dump everything into a pot, warm it up, and create something delicious like this:

     This recipe is really good when topped with corn chips! Enjoy!