"All I Do Is Win." - Game Day Food

I have become OBSESSED with this song. Why? Because it reminds me of one of my favorite places in the fall - Auburn. I think they come up with a new, "pump up" song each year. Since the only game we will be attending this year will be on Nov. 13th - the GA game - AGH, Saturdays have become a semi relaxing tailgate at our house in preparation of watching Auburn on TV. Therefore, I wanted to give a few recipes that are a MUST with football games and a game day drink in hand!

Somewhat Healthy Layer Dip:
I like this because I don't see it as being too fatty like some cheese dips and it is VERY easy to make.
Shredded Cheese - 4 Cheese Mexican (low fat)
Salsa
1 Cup of Light Sour Cream
1 Taco Seasoning Packet (I used it with HOT taco seasoning)
1 Can of Refried Beans

In a small serving bowl mash (if needed) and place the refried beans as the first layer. Next, mix the taco seasoning packet and the sour cream - yes this will turn the sour cream a dull orangey color. That will be your next layer. Then top with as much salsa as you would like and sprinkle with cheese on top. You can serve with tostitos, tortillas or anything else of your choosing.

Other layers to throw in:
Guacamole
Lettuce
Olives - yuck


I Almost Died Spinach Dip:
This recipe is AMAZING. It is from my mother's sweet friend, Mrs. N. I had it last week and could not stop snacking on it.
10 ounce frozen chopped spinach
16 oz sour cream
1 cup mayo
1 package KNORR vegetable mix (in green and yellow package on soup aisle in Publix)
8 oz sliced water chestnuts (drained and chopped)

Thaw and totally drain the spinach - squeeze ALL the water out of it. It has to be dry. You can use your hands or cheese cloth to get it all drained. Mix all together, cover, chill several hours. It's very good if you mix the day ahead. When it's ready to be consumed, stir well and serve in a bowl. This dip goes well with crackers (wheat thins or the wheat thin sticks), vegetables, bagel crisps, whatever!

Annie's Eats Jalepeno Popper Dip:
I will be trying it this weekend! I saw it on one of my FAVORITE food blogs. Since I love jalepeno poppers I hope this dip will be just as satisfying.
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 (4 oz.) can diced jalapeño peppers, drained
½ cup shredded Mexican style cheese
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cooking spray


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, green chiles, jalapeños, and shredded cheeses. Mix thoroughly with a spoon or spatula until smooth and evenly combined. Spread the mixture into a baking dish (approximately 9 x 9-inches).


In a second bowl, combine the Panko and Parmesan and stir with a fork until combined. Sprinkle over the cream cheese mixture in the baking dish. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and the topping is golden. Serve warm with baguette slices, vegetables, etc. as desired.

*I made this dip and followed the recipe exactly. I added bacon pieces and served with Bagel chips/crisps. It was AMAZING.

"Speak Now."

It's been a while. I have a lot to update -> new recipes, adventures, pictures, gift ideas. However, today will be a quick rant.

Speak Now. Taylor Swift's new cd.

I liked her last album and so far I think this album is great. But there are a few things about the "OMG. I won an award. I cannot believe that. I wasn't expecting that even though it's my 5, 478th award." artist that make me want to scream, vomit, slap someone irritated.

By now many people should be aware that almost all of her songs are inspired by someone or something - mainly the guys who have broken her heart or vice versa. According to speculations, her album has songs that are "inspired" by like 5 guys. She isn't even 21 yet and she has songs about a Jonas bro, Jonas bro's ex gf, a werewolf named Taylor, an Owl City man, a guy from Glee, and John Mayer (who knew about that?!?!).......It's madness.

I like her wit, catchy lyrics and this weirdness about her. I really do. And I think people will purchase her album just to "decode" it. With the cd it has the little booklet with the lyrics to each song. Each song has a few letters capitalized that spell out a word which basically is like a clue as to why she wrote the song. It my singing career had taken off HAHAHA I think I would have done the same thing. Such sketchiness. I love it. So if you know anything about her or even care to read the assumptions with the code words in her album, you can find it here. I think it's interesting.....And she's probably getting so much PR buzz about her new album because of this. Great marketing?!?!

Peace Out Texas........

Nope we are NOT pregnant. We are moving back home! 

 We have been praying, stressing, and wondering about what to do when Justin's enlistment is up in August of 2011. For the past few months we have come up with many different ideas for us and how they were going to play out. Then God gave us a nice PUSH forward and things started to move VERY quickly. 

Justin decided he wanted to go into the reserves and move us back to Georgia. I imagined him completing the paperwork and us selling our house after the first of the year. Instead, his paperwork was approved and a spot for him opened up at Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, GA. We did not need the 6 month window they gave us. BAM! It happened.

Well what about our house? How stupid were yall to buy a house when you were leaving only a few years later?  Aghhh. Our biggest stress case. Who knew we would purchase a home and the real estate market would fall a few months later? After praying and receiving many prayers from our family and friends, we listed the house. Fast forward to 39 days later and we had an offer (only the 2nd person to look at the house). An AMAZING offer. This offer also included us RENTING our house until the end of December. We didn't have to move into an apartment. We could stay in our home for the remainder of our time in Abilene. God answers prayers. 

The hardest part out of all of this is leaving my job - mainly my coworkers. We have a small office and the three of us are very close and make up a fabulous team. This week I turned in my resignation. Although I am super excited to be moving back home, I am terribly sad to be leaving work. Hopefully, they will get a great coworker, but someone who is not as awesome as I am! :)

The Bentley family will be back in the wonderful state of Georgia around December 16th - that's only 2 months away! And 4 days before my birthday cough cough. Even though Justin has his reserve spot at Dobbins he will still need a full time job. He has a job lined up until he gets a job for his career. Please pray that the perfect job will come along for him. Applications have been filled out for jobs at different USAF bases, but those can take a while to hear back from. Until we know where we will permanently end up, we will be staying with my parents. I am SO excited. No, I am surprisingly not being sarcastic. I cannot wait. We may not wind up in Georgia, but we will most likely be in the South East. 

Please keep us in your prayers as all this goes on. For those that know me, you are well aware of the fact that I am extremely anxious and will freak out in stressful times. I have been almost completely calm about these new plans - maybe because it's what we are supposed to be doing at this point in time. 

See y'all in December!!!!!!!!

PEACE UP. A TOWN DOWN. Yeah I couldn't resist.

"If You See Us In The Club, We'll Be Acting Real Nice."

Anyone who knows me is well aware of the fact that I am horrible with anything artsy/crafty. This is the reasoning for my madness to buy whatever the item is instead of making it, regardless of how much money it can save. But, I will slightly brag about myself for just a few sentences.....That is my fall wreath! Woo hoo! I wanted to decorate with some fall things and went for it. Since I'm such a professional, who wants one? I'm going to start my own business on the side haha.

In this picture you have the pleasure of seeing what my coworkers and I saw on Thursday morning last week. This is an unmarked, sketchy white van with no door. Yup, the door is not open - it simply has no door. And your eyes are not deceiving you. That IS a manmade gate to prevent anyone from falling out of the van without the door. Further into the van is a sleeping bag with a guy sleeping in it. It held such a high creep factor that customers inside were complaining about it. No worries, this van was not parked in front of my place of employment - it was parked in front of Kmart. That part almost makes the story better. :) I feel like these things are only seen in Abilene, TX. 

Disclaimer: I do not think it is funny in any way that people may have to sleep in their cars. However, there was a long sedan parked directly behind this van. An older man was just sitting in his car - watching and reading. It appeared that the two somehow were connected or maybe that's just my Criminal Mind obsession kicking in. Regardless, their operation seemed extremely out of the norm - even for this town.

Empress Stationery - GET EXCITED!

My little sister (yes blood related, not sorority) is getting married in November. Even though I am 1,000 miles away, I wanted to throw her bachelorette party. Thanks to facebook, I saw that one of my sorority sisters started her own stationary business. Please check out her blog, Empress Stationery. I have fallen in love with pretty much everything she has designed and I wanted to share it will yall. She can do an invitation for almost any event!  I just sent out the invitations for the bachelorette party and have received such great feedback on how cute they are! I think I have become one of those people who believes that the actual tone of the event begins with that first invite. Even though it's only a piece of paper, it speaks volumes on what type of event it will be. Maybe that's just my imagination though. :) I am back in talks with Ms. Empress Staionery about a second project - baby shower invitations! I highly recommend using her if you need invitiations for anything. Enjoy!