Dinner of the Month - Salsa Pork Chops

Lately we've been on a pretty steady rotation of meals. Maybe lack of creativity, or just being lazy, we're stuck on the same 7 or 8 recipes. Our current favorite that is made at least every two weeks is Salsa Pork Chops.

I don't have a link to the recipe, it came from my mom! It was included in a book of recipes put together at my bridal shower of everyone's favorites. She included all of her go to dishes when we were growing up and menus for the holiday dinners that she always followed. (This also gets me points towards my 101 in 1001 goals!!!)

In an effort to move away from eating only chicken and beef, I tried this one with pork chops. It's super easy folks. SUPER easy. It cooks all day in the crockpot, so it's just about 5-10 mins in the morning to throw everything together.

I don't have any pictures because really, it doesn't look super appetizing. It's just a big hot mess, but MAN is it delicious. 

Salsa Pork Chops (4-6 servings)
4 boneless pork chops
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
1 small can of chopped green chilis
1 jar of red medium heat, vegetable salsa
1 chopped onion

Throw it all together in the crockpot and cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 6 hours. The pork will shred up really easily and will be perfect.

We either eat it with brown rice or pull out some whole wheat tortillas and cheese and make pork tacos.

There are enough leftovers for at least another dinner, often two. It is even better two days later as leftovers.

Just FYI, I entered everything into Weight Watchers and got a PointsPlus value of 10 per serving.

101 in 1001: Goals Completed So Far

I am 616 days into my 1001 days to get some goals completed. I thought I’d check in with what I’ve accomplished so far. I have completed 26 of the tasks thus far. I think I’ve knocked out most of the easy ones. With just over a year left, it looks like it will be a busy one! It should give me plenty to blog about along the way. I can’t wait to see how this all ends up.

There are 4 more that will be completed by the end of this month. I’ll share those once I’ve finished them. 

Here is what I've accomplished so far:

1. Start a blog  lifeafterthevows.blogspot.com

5. Get an iPhone Received on 7/20/09

18. Take a multi vitamin everyday for a month (30/30)

19. Go one week without soda  November 5-11, 2010

27. Read 10 books of my choosing (10/10)  January 2, 2010

29. Attend a comedy show October 2, 2010

34. Donate hair September 21, 2009

37. Visit THON February 2011

53. Go to a fancy Sunday brunch July 11, 2010

54. Create wedding books for parents December 2009

55. Get a new passport February 11, 2010

59. Read 5 Love Languages September 2, 2009

60. Approve Wedding Album  August 4, 2009

62. Write review for Chris Wells, wedding coordinator Wrote and mailed review on 12/29/09

64. Finish painting condo (entry, kitchen, living room) (3/3) Painted 12/12/09 - 12/13/09

66. Research and if feasible, new blinds for condo December 13, 2009, put up curtains to replace horrible blinds

67. Prepare fancy five course meal for Tony and I one weekend June 4, 2010

71. Bake cake or cupcakes for 5 birthdays (5/5) 12/15/2009

73. Hang up framed invite and wedding pictures in bedroom (1/18/2010)

77. Buy a new couch Bought a Pottery Barn couch after too many bloody marys!!! Ooops! 7/11/10

80. Drink red wine from fancy carafe Rad Red Wine, James River Cellars 7/27/09

82. See a Pens game outside of Washington November 14, 2009 Pens won!!!! 

86. Take Tony to a Nascar race September 12, 2009 (MET BRIAN!!!!)

87. Send Christmas cards to friends and family December 2010

91. Pick fruit from an orchard October 10, 2010, Apples at Marker-Miller Orchards

93.  Buy one thing from RueLaLa December 16, 2009, Kate Spade Glassware

Unfortunately I think there are about 6 items that I won’t be able to complete. I should go ahead and put the $10 for each of those into Savings sooner than later. 

Do you have a 101 in 1001 list? How far from being done are you?

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry...

Saturday we had a wedding to go to, we've been looking forward to it for a long time to get to see some friends we haven't seen since our own wedding. Saturday morning we were being lazy around the house, the wedding was all we had scheduled. I decided to take my time getting ready, so I gave myself three hours to get pulled together and out the door. It was supposed to be a relaxing day where we just got to relax and enjoy the big day for our friends.

After a marathon karaoke sing along in the shower I was wandering around starting to pull stuff out of the closet to get ready. I go to get hubs' suit and it's not there. We had cleaned out our closet when we thought our house would be going on the market, so his dress clothes are all being stored at my mom's house. I called her and she had already left for the day, so I'd have to run over myself. No worries, since I started getting ready so early, I'd dash over and only lose about 35 minutes. I jump in my car, hit every single red light on the way over there, and am starting to get anxious. I have her house key on a separate key chain, so I was just going to leave my car on, run in grab the suit and head out.

As soon as I jumped out of the car and slammed the door I realized I had locked it. Keys locked in, engine running, clock ticking. I currently had my spare car keys since we had dropped my regular keys off with friends that morning who would be watching the pups for the night. I called hubs and didn't know whether I would laugh or cry. He talked me off the ledge, gave me our AAA membership information and I got on the phone with them. They told me 45 mins until someone could get out there, so I had nothing to do but wait. Hubs grabbed our stuff for the wedding and came out to my mom's house to get ready there. He showed up the same time the locksmith did.

We got ready in record time, jumped in his car, leaving mine at the house, and were on our way. We were actually one of the first to get to the church, we were relaxed and settled in to see our friends tie the knot. Shortly after the ceremony started I realized I never had him zip my dress all the way up!!! It was a side zipper, so my arm mostly covered it, but the whole time I was super paranoid that I was giving the whole church a show. We got to a point in the ceremony where everyone was standing and got it taken care of.

After that it was back to the house to get our stuff to stay over at the hotel. Once we were checked in and I had a glass of wine in my hand, the drama of the day wore off and we celebrated those nuptials like it was our job!!!

I need another weekend after this weekend. Only have to make it through 5 more days!

How was your weekend? Any surprises throw you for a loop?

For The Kids - Penn State THON 2011

Last weekend Tony and I made a trek up to Penn State for annual Dance MaraTHON. I wrote about it last year, but for those who are new friends, I'll give you a quick recap.

Dance Marathon, aka THON, is the largest student run philanthropy in the world. They raise money throughout the year for the Four Diamonds Fund for Pediatric Cancer. The money goes towards research as well as supplementing heath care costs for the families being treated at the Hershey Medical Center. The fund raising culminates in a 46 hour Dance Marathon.

This was Tony's first time seeing what THON is all about. (I had included it in my 101 in 1001 list as well to make sure he saw what all the hype was about) We got there Saturday afternoon when the dancers had already been going for 20 hours. Right as we showed up Velveeta was taking the stage. They were one of my favorite local bands in college. They play 80's cover songs and rock it out. It was amazing see all the dancers and spectators rocking out to Journey's Don't Stop Believing.

We stuck around for a couple hours cheering on the dancers and just taking in the scene. At one point a man got on stage and told his story of when and how THON helped him. In 1988 he was diagnosed with cancer and was given 24 hours to live. Thanks to THON, he was able to get the transplants he needed, the treatments he needed, and has been cancer free for almost 20 years. There was not a dry eye in the house. 

I wanted to make sure we got to see the line dance being done at least once. They have a new line dance each year that brings in some Penn State history, current events, and motivation for the dancers. Here is this year's line dance:

 

We went back Sunday morning for another couple hours. We got there at 8am when the dancers still had 8 more hours to go. By the time we left at 10, the place was at capacity. They were counting heads leaving to let folks in at another entrance.

All in all Tony was very impressed. Not only are there over 700 dancers, but there are thousands cheering them on the whole time. The Fraternities and Sororities, organizations and clubs with Dancers are out through the whole time keeping the place rocking. One of the best moments was when the Gary Glitter cheer started and instead of yelling P!!! S!!!!! U!!!! Let's Go P-S-U!!! it was F!!!! T!!!!!! K!!!!! THON ON! FOR THE KIDS!

By the time we got home, I logged online and watched the final hours live. Their total this year was over $9.5 MILLION, over $1.5 Million than last year!!!!

It really makes me proud to be a Penn State Alumni to see such love poured out each and every single year for these kids.

“When they say, ‘We Are Penn State,’ this is what they are talking about.” - Joe Paterno

Giveaway Winner!!!!

Thank you to everyone that participated. We blew right through the 1,000 visits mark!!!!! 

Using Random.org to select a winner at random.....

Our winner is Dana!!!!! 

Congrats! I'll contact you to get the gift card sent to you ASAP!

Keep stopping by for visits! We'll get the next 1,000 visit even faster!

Happy Valentine's Day!

So we're doing Valentine's Day super low key this year. That's just the nice way of saying we're not doing anything. It being a Monday puts the biggest damper on plans and me not wanting to spend any cash doesn't help either.

We did have dinner at my mom's house last night, so I decided to make some yummy Red/Pink/White treats.

I whipped out my KitchenAid, that has been sitting sad and neglected in the corner, to bake Red Velvet Cupcakes.

I saved some of the frosting to dye pink and decorate. I had a lot of fun playing with the decorations and will have to definitely do this in the future to add some pizazz for future events. I made one batch of mini's with our nephew's names on them, they loved them!

What are your plans for Valentine's Day? Are you doing a weekday date night?

P.S. Don't forget that today is your last day to enter my giveaway for a $50 American Express Gift card!!!!!

My New Favorite Things....

I received a mysterious catalog in the mail yesterday, maybe I'm late to the party, but I had never heard of Boden. I oohed and ahhed over every single page and every item in the catalog.

Then I made the mistake of going to their website, www.bodenusa.com. I want it all. Every single piece of clothing. I took advantage of their free shipping and free returns to buy two dresses in a couple of sizes from the clearance section to see how their sizing runs and to get a look at the quality. Oh and they icing on the cake? It's on eBates. 3% cash back.

 

and 

 We have a wedding coming up in a few weeks that I purchased these for. Let's hope they get here in time!!!!


If I love their stuff, I may pick a few pieces to use for motivation in my weight loss goals. The more I lose, the more I can buy!!!!

 This long cardigan? I swoon.

Have you ever ordered from Boden? I can't wait to let you know my findings from my order.

Also! Don't forget about my $50 American Express Giftcard Giveaway!!!! Go here to enter for your chance to win!

*All pictures from the BodenUSA website. 


**To join eBates and start getting cash back on your online purchases, click here.