What’s “NEW” with you?!

Wow! These last couple of months have gotten away from me! They ended up being far more busy than I had originally anticipated. That’s how it always seems to work doesn’t it? I promised you a blog each month sharing with you the “new” things I was experiencing in hopes to encourage and inspire you as well! I have not forgotten my end of the bargain, so I’m recapping January and February for you now!

These last two months have been off to a great start! I have said yes to things that I wouldn’t normally try and I’ve also said no to some things to allow time for other yes’. 🙂 So far 2014 is feeling good with lots of promising things ahead!

In January I started out with something new that may seem pretty simple or trivial to most, but for me it’s quite the task: coooking. For those of you that know me well, you know that I hate cooking. I have never enjoyed it much and although I’ve tried to like it from time to time, it’s been a lost cause. I dislike the whole process of it. I hate figuring out what to cook. I hate grocery shopping. I hate the process of actually putting the meal together and I hate the amount of time it takes to clean up afterward. So that pretty much sums it up for you! And because I’ve never really done very much cooking, when I do cook it usually doesn’t turn out awesome. So my goal to start off the year was to try to cook at least one meal a week. It seemed like a doable goal. I want to be healthier in what I eat and I know that I will feel better if I do so. I know that in the long run this will pay off if I can get into a routine of buying groceries, trying a few new recipes, and cooking a meal from time to time.
I have successfully made several meals in the last few weeks! I tried a new crock pot recipe and a new bread recipe. Both are listed below in case you are interested in trying them too. Both turned out really well! Now the trick is just sticking with this weekly! 🙂
In February, I bought a book! Okay, I know what you are thinking…what’s so great about that? Well, I’ve never been much of a reader. In fact, in college I would skim through books just to get by because I hated reading so much. I’ve grown to like it a little more as I’ve gotten older. The book I chose to buy this month was “The Single Woman- Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass. This book was about the content but so much more about the author, Mandy Hale. I’ve grown to love and adore her. Over the last year she has been such an inspiration and encouragement to me. In fact, there are so many great things about this author and her writings that I’m going to be writing a whole separate blog on just that. So stay tuned to be inspired as well!

More to come in March! Shine on this month!

Lots of Love,
A. Flavio

Recipes:
Amish Cinnamon Bread
(makes 2 loaves)
Batter:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk or 2 cups milk plus 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
Cinnamon/sugar mixture:
2/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon 

Cream together butter, 2 cups of sugar, and eggs.  Add milk, flour, and baking soda.  Put 1/2 of batter (or a little less) into greased loaf pans (1/4 in each pan).  Mix in separate bowl the 2/3 c sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle 3/4 of cinnamon mixture on top of the 1/2 batter in each pan.  Add remaining batter to pans; sprinkle with last of cinnamon topping.  Swirl with a knife.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 min.  or until toothpick tester come clean.   Cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing from pan.

Chicken Taco Chili– only about 200 calories a serving and makes 8 servings

1 can black beans, 1 can kidney beans, 1 can corn kernels, 16 oz tomato sauce, 28 oz diced tomatoes, packet taco seasoning, 1 tbsp chili powder, 3 boneless chicken breasts. Combine all ingredients in a crock pot and cook for 6 hours on high or 10 hours on low.