Shopping = The Worst

Happy Saturday!

I went shopping briefly after work this week and I need to tell you something: I do not like it. Seriously. I know this is probably not something a female person usually says, but I mean it. I do not love shopping. I especially do not love doing it alone. I can sometimes handle it when I am with a good friend and we're chatting while we browse racks, but man. It's depressing. I also cannot justify spending an exorbitant amount of money on articles of clothing. This is probably why I wear the same clothes for years. I know I have some stuff in my drawers and closet that are probably from high school. Okay... that may be an exaggeration, but definitely from college. Definitely.

And another thing! Shoes. I can't shop for shoes. I have big feet, you see. For a while, I was pretty steady at a size ten. It seems that I have moved up to a 10.5 or 11. That can be even more depressing than normal clothes shopping. I can walk into the shoe department and see things that I think are cute but then they look like flippers on my feet. Or they just don't have my size. Grrrrreat.

Anyway... I am going to stop with that now and say that I hope you have a good weekend. I plan to (already am, actually). Yay!

White Chicken Chili

Happy Tuesday (it is Tuesday, right?)!!

Last night, I got home from work and basically spent the rest of the night in the kitchen. This is because:

     1. I take a really long time to cook things, and

     2. I made several different things, and

     3. I did the dishes more than once.

Anyway, I made White Chicken Chili for dinner. I used a recipe that is my friend Tracy's mom's. Let me tell you... it is ahhhhh-mazing. The first time I made it, Boyfriend went out for dinner with work people and didn't get to have any until the next day and he's lucky he got that much. I'm just sayin'. You should make it, you should eat it. You will probably want to not share it. You will also probably want to have it with corn bread or corn muffins or something of that nature. Here you go:

You'll need: 

1 jar (48 oz. ) jar great northern beans

1 (16 oz. ) jar salsa

2 to 3 boneless chicken breasts, diced and browned

6 oz. Pepperjack cheese 

1 ½ tsp. Garlic, minced

1 small can diced green chilies

1 can chicken broth

Combine above ingredients in a large pot. 

Heat to boiling and then simmer for 1 to 2 hours. 

Serves 8

When I make this, I use two 15.5 oz. cans of navy beans and one can (same size) of great northern beans. This is only because I love navy beans in chili and who says I can't do that? Right. Salsa-wise, I think I usually use mild. Yesterday, Boyfriend took a bite and went to go get hot sauce (he likes to eat super spicy foods, you see) and while he was walking away, he said, "Oh, there's the spice," and came back to sit down. Also, the first time I made this, I topped it with some cheddar cheese and sour cream and it was awesome. I forgot to buy sour cream yesterday, so I skipped that and it was fine. 

Yay chili!

#1

Hello there! I'm Erika. It's nice to meet you.


This is my new blog. I decided I needed to branch off from my previous blog because, dang it, I need to be more focused. I'm still not sure in which direction this blog will head (so much for focused...), but I'm excited to find out. 


Right now, you should know:


-I live with my boyfriend and three cats.
-I am a(n) historian (among other things), but right now I work for a non-profit.
-I'm from Michigan!
-I like to garden. (I'm working on a square foot garden!)
-I love photography.
-I make valiant efforts to cook and bake delicious things.


Okay. The list is getting a bit crazy. You'll get the idea (though, I'm sure that the four people who will actually read this will either be related to me or someone else close to me...).