Friday, May 15, 2020

Foodie Friday- Poor Man's Stroganoff

Have you ever had a recipe that you make... that if you were "eating it with your eyes first" as they say, you would never have eaten it?  That is this recipe for me!!  When my mom first married my dad way back when, my dad had this boxed meal that he loved to eat, and it had been discontinued.  He and my mom worked and worked until they found what they believed was as close as they were going to get!

I have been pretty diligently working on adding recipes to my Happy Planner Recipe Planner.  I like using the recipe planner because you can pull recipes for the week and put them in the front of the book so you aren't shuffling and digging for your recipes at meal time!


We've eaten this for as long as I can remember.  It's a quick lunch when you need something filling, or a quick dinner when you are running behind.  It's one of those trust old recipes that lives in our family and hopefully will for a few more generations.

As usual, here is a printable recipe card that you can access by clicking here or the image below!

This is a super customizable alternative to hamburger helper as well! Making it a great option for switching out for home made ingredients (fresh for canned soups, etc) making it gluten free.... the possibilities are endless!! 



Monday, May 11, 2020

Next 90 Days, RisexLive, My Oh My!

Hey friends!

Recently I have felt motivated to share a little more than just small tidbits here and there- a month here.. a month there.

I have been on a journey of self discovery the last 3 years.  Unpacking who you really are, verses who you force yourself to be because of other peoples expectations is not something that happens over night.  It's not something you even realize you are doing until you are in the middle of it!  

I am so thankful for the journey to where I am now.  I have hid this journey, not because I am ashamed of it, but because I have feared other peoples opinions about what I was doing.  I had to get past that.  I answer to God first and foremost, and my husband, and in reality those are the only two opinions I should really care about.

No one really understands this place in which I live- the dynamic that I am in and creating in our family environment, but yet for so many years of my life I allowed all those things to be dictated to me by expectations of others that I couldn't sustain.

In reality, I was living a life that wasn't really mine.  It wasn't authentic.  It wasn't anything but a sham of desire of acceptance.  Having had a turn in our personal lives in the last three years has given space to take a breath.  To look deeply into myself and ask the hard questions.  It forced me to answer those questions.  Who am I?  Who is God in my life?  Does my life look the way it is supposed to look?  Does my circle of people reflect a circle that is accepting of our journey and free of judgement and criticism?  Am I reacting in a healthy way to that criticism?  Is that criticism coming from a healthy place?

Y'all.

I am glad I am on the other side of that.

I read a book about a year or so ago (I can't remember when I read it) by Rachel Hollis.  Because I had a spirit of discernment, and I was pretty well read in the word, I will be honest and say, there were some things I did not agree with.  However, I will tell you I was fairly surprised (but shouldn't have been in all honesty, I know) by the backlash from the Christian community.  They hated it.  They hated her.  And I couldn't for the life of me figure it out.  Most everything in that book screamed at me about places where I needed improvement in my life- to be a better Christian, Wife, Mother and Friend.  Were there some things in there I didn't agree with? Sure!! But in reality- I got some life changing information.

And so began my journey.

Rachel Hollis unapologetically shows that she is an imperfect human.  But she also shows that she is a person reaching for more, and understands that her creator designed her to be a better version of herself every day.

I watched her be torn apart by the the Christian community for believing that her community shouldn't be an island surrounded by people who look, think, behave and act just like you.  She dared to say that your community has to be diverse.  GASP!  I believe in order to be a city on hill, there has to be a valley around you that needs to see you.


Our Christian walk cannot be envisioned as perfect- people don't want perfect.  They want real.  And that is my pursuit. Every day.  To be real. To be honest.  To love people.  To help them find hope in a very hopeless world these days.  

So, if you made it all the way here.... I have been participating in the Hollis Co (Rachel and Dave Hollis' company) Next 90 Days Challenge.  And now that we are halfway-ish through that 12 weeks, I wanted to give you an update via video on what that journey has looked like for me.  If you are interested, here you go.  If not, that's okay too!! 






Friday, May 8, 2020

Foodie Friday- The Best Brussel Sprouts!

Well Hello There, Internet World!

I have been on hiatus on posting recipes and videos, but I haven't stopped gathering videos and content to share with you!  

This week, I am sharing one of my favorite vegetable side dishes.  Brussel Sprouts.  Yes, I said what I said. Hahaha!   Seriously, these amazingly yummy tiny green heads of goodness are a family favorite in our house!



Here is this amazing recipe in my Happy Planner Recipe Planner.  If you are interested in more planner content, you can head to my planner instagram! I share lots of photos of how I use my planners in my life! Our family uses the Happy Planner Teacher Planner for our homeschool, and  I use many of the inserts and planner styles throughout the year for keeping up with our crazy world!  Here's a snapshot of my Recipe Planner! Click Here or on the image to see more planner inspiration!



This recipe is super easy! As usual, I have shared a printable recipe card in 5x7 format for you as well as a video!! Let me know in the comments if you attempted this recipe and if you liked it! You can click on the image to go directly to the download or click here as well!