CROCKPOT Chicken Quesadilla's

If you follow along on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you probably saw this photo.  

You might have also read that this was Charlie's plate.  It totally got cold while I was photographing it….  

Sorry, Charlie!  

#bloggerproblems

What I didn't mention, Is that while photographing it, I forgot that mine was on the stove top and it definitely burned.  

They're still good crispy in case you're wondering…

I'm queen of opening the fridge, grabbing whatever I see first, throwing it in the crockpot and hoping and praying it's edible at the end of the day.  

I'd say I'm successful about 80% of the time.  

I'll take that.

It's almost time for me to go back to work, so the more recipes I have that can be thrown (literally) together the night before or morning of, the better for my sanity! 

So here's how the CROCKPOT Chicken Quesadilla's went down y'all…

Ingredients

2-3 Large Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 Cup Salsa

1/3 Cup Queso Cheese Dip

1/2 Packet of Ranch Dip Mix 

Tortilla Shells

Shredded Cheese

Yep, that's all. 

Here comes the hard part…

Throw the first four ingredients in your crockpot and turn it on….

I stirred it up, turned it on high and put the lid on.

I started this in the morning and we were having it for lunch so I cooked it on high.  You can definitely slow cook it all day on low for a dinner meal instead. 

Once the chicken was cooked, I shredded it and let it simmer in the salsa/cheese/ranch mix for another 30 minutes or so.

Then, I put my tortilla shell in a pan and filled it with my crockpot quesadilla chicken and shredded cheese.  I cooked it until the cheese was melted and it was slightly (or burnt in my case) browned on each side. 

It turned out really, really good!  

It had a little kick (I used Medium salsa and cheese), and really great flavor! 

I plan to double or triple this recipe once I go back to work so I have some lunches for the work week, too! 

A great big spoon full of sour cream on top and these babies were ready to go!  (after they were photographed….and cold)

So glad you stopped by today.  Have a great weekend y'all!!!

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Skinny Bang Bang Shrimp and Fried Zucchini

If you're following along on Instagram or Facebook, you might have seen this yummy photo show up on your newsfeed last week.  It was even better in person, y'all!  

Since I work full time, I'm all about a quick and simple, but tasty and healthy dinner.  My evenings seem to get shorter and shorter by the day! By the time I get home from work, cook and eat dinner, it's time for baths and bedtime.  I'd rather spend less time cooking and more time with my family any day.  Thankfully, I have a superstar hubby who not only helps take care of the kids and the house but will also help with dinner!  So while I've been at home on maternity leave with Baby G, Charlie and I have been trying out some new recipes.  And, these two, will be on my list for sure once I return to work!

Skinny Bang Bang Shrimp and Fried Zucchini!   

I'm no chef and most of my meals come from Pinterest!  (You can see our meal planning with Pinterest post HERE.)  These awesome recipes are no different!  

Go HERE to check out the recipe for Skinny Bang Bang Shrimp.

(I omitted the green onions on this recipe, just because we're picky and don't like them!)

Go HERE for the Fried Zucchini recipe we used.  

(I admittedly made this recipe a little less nutritious by adding in some seasoning salt, garlic powder and pepper.  They just needed a little more flavor for me to convince Charlie to try something that was green in color!  He loved them…just as I knew he would!)

Do you have recipes that are quick and easy and make your nights run a little smoother?  I'd LOVE for you to share!!! 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!

We're back! And baby makes FOUR!

Hey y'all!  We're back and very excited to introduce the newest member of Bonfires & Wine!

Miss Guthrie FINALLY decided to grace us with her presence at 5:11 AM on April 13th (her due date).  We went in on Friday night for a scheduled induction and of course nothing went as planned.  It's a good thing I'm not one of those "typed out, not straying from the birth plan" type of people.  Not that there's anything wrong with those type of people.  It's just become very clear to me after having two babies, that nothing will go according to the plans I've worked up in my head!  Both of my beautiful girls decided to make me labor for about two days straight before deciding to give me a break!

Guthrie ended up coming via an unplanned and unwanted, but necessary cesarean.  After two days and nights of failed attempts to progress, my doctor told me we were about out of options.  Even though I was finally moving things along, Guthrie was not.  He said she hadn't dropped at all and she was also facing the wrong way.  We decided, with the help of my awesome doctor and nursing staff, that for the safety of me and the baby, it was best to head into the operating room.  

After Guthrie decided to stop being stubborn, it was my turn.  My blood pressure bottomed out after getting my epidural and it never stabilized throughout my c-section.  I had to stay in the recovery room for quite some time after the surgery.  Thank goodness they let Charlie stay by my side the whole time and immediately let me bond with Guthrie.  I can't say enough good things about the staff that helped during our stay.  All of our nurses and doctors were so amazing and they truly made our long, drawn out experience enjoyable.  I was sooooo glad I had taken the time to make the nurse gifts.  You can tell they were excited and surprised to receive a gift!  I'll never forget the care and comfort that they provided for me and my family and I was so happy to be able to show my appreciation.  (If you didn't see the DIY Nurse Gift Post, check it out here.)

Once we finally made it to our regular room, I couldn't wait to introduce Paisley to her new little sister.  It had been a long couple of days for her, too. She wasn't quite comprehending why her mama was in weird clothes, swollen and in a giant bed that wasn't her own.  Being able to introduce her to Guthrie made the long hours and pain all worth it. 

  

We ended up staying for a total of four nights in the hospital and since the first two nights I spent in labor and the next two nights we were up with a newborn, we were beyond exhausted.  We were very anxious to get out of that hospital and into our own beds!  Guthrie wasted no time making her self at home…

We spent the first outing together as a family at our local Farmer's Market and then got to celebrate Easter together as a new little family of four!  

I've been enjoying my time off of work with my girls and hubby.  And I'm sooooooo not looking forward to going back to work in a few weeks (sorry, boss Dad)!

We have BIG plans in the works though, y'all and we have been busy!  We're getting ready to put together Paisley's new big girl room and we're still putting the finishing touches on our master bedroom renovation.  We'll also be back to tell you exactly what we packed in our hospital bag…. and it may or may not include some FREE PRINTABLES! :)   We have lots on the menu for B&W so make sure you stay tuned!  

Thanks for stopping by today! Have an awesome weekend! :)

DIY Labor & Delivery Nurse Gifts

If you checked in last week, you got a major sneak peek of the remodel plus an update on baby Guthrie's big arrival!  Well, now it's really time!  By the end of the week, she should be making her grand entrance!  

After an unexpected 5 day hospital stay during Paisley's delivery, we learned a lot.  We learned that making friends with the nurses was a must!  It just makes every one's time there more enjoyable!  At one point, Charlie actual had bets going on regarding the outcome of a Cubs/Cardinals game!  Luckily, they didn't hold the "Cubs Fan" thing against ME!  So for this delivery (which we're hoping will result in a much shorter hospital stay!), I whipped up these cute little nurse gifts!  I really got to know a few of the nurses that helped me during Paisley's delivery and I hope to have the same experience this time…as far as awesome nurse's goes, not delivery or length of stay!  I think this simple gift will help show my appreciation for all that they do!  Plus, they only took about 10 minutes to put together and only cost me around $10 total!

Thanks TARGET ONE SPOT!!!

The cute little bags, pink jute and ink pens all came from the Target One Spot!  Then I just picked up the gum and chap stick at Wal-Mart! 

Quite possibly the best part is these cute little tags!  They totally make the gift, don't you agree???

And, even better…..the amazing Taryn at Design, Dining and Diapers provides them as a FREE download on her blog!  Woop Woop! 

Download your copy HERE.

I think they turned out really cute and I hope that they show our appreciation on our big day!  

Thanks for stopping by today, y'all!  Next time we check in, we should be introducing Miss Guthrie!  

It's Almost Time!!!!

Hey y'all…….It's Charlie again. Long time no see, huh?  Well, as Em has told you we have been super crazy busy around here with Operation Remodel.  I'm pretty sure she probably complained to you about being on a budget as well.  I do have to say that I hate that word too.  Especially when it involves construction, lumber and power tools <Insert Tim Tool Man Taylor Grunt here>.  Well, we made it through the budget, drywall dust, and paint and are almost completely done with the remodel.  I'll share a small sneak peek with you and will leave the total reveal to Emily (when she gets all the decorations done and fluffy pillows on the bed that you can't even lay on.)

Now, for more exciting news.  Baby #2 is going to be here any day!!! I am beyond excited.  If you didn't see what we decided to name her check it out here.  We have been going through tubs upon tubs of clothes we kept from when Paisley was a baby.  I can say that I am glad we decided to keep most of her clothes in case we had another girl.  Especially since they're going to share the same birthday month!  Major savings!!!!!

As the days get closer for Baby #2 to make her grand entrance; I feel more and more anxiety then I did when Paisley was going to be here.  I'm not quite sure why I feel this way.  I mean, we have been through this before and know what to expect.  I guess it's because me and my buddy Paisley spend everyday together and now I'm going to have to balance time with her and time with another.  Paisley helps me with everything around the house and I think she has a pretty good grasp as to what is about to happen.  Today we put together some of the babies things together and she said that she wanted to help.  So what did I do? I did what any good Dad would do, gave her a screwdriver and put her to work!

We decided that once the baby makes it here and we get settled in, we will be back to blogging like normal.  I'm pretty excited about that and we have a lot of projects to share with you. I will keep y'all posted as to when Baby G graces us with her presence and share some photos.  Until then, I will keep Emily's list of needed items to bring and the countless bags lining the hallway within arm's reach!

-Charlie-

The Name Game - {Naming Baby Girl #2}

Why is it so difficult to pick a name for unborn children? 

Well for my little family it's because of several things.  One:  I don't want the name to remind me of someone else.  Two:  Charlie's a cop.  So he says the name can't be the name of someone he's arrested.  And Three: Naming the second kid of the same gender is just flat out harder.  

With Paisley, it didn't seem this difficult.  I had always loved that name.  However, when I loved it, it wasn't quite as popular as it is now!  I still love, love, love Paisley's name and I think it suits her perfectly.  But now, my assumption that she would be the only one in her class or school with her name, is becoming more and more unrealistic!  Which is OK.  But now, with baby girl # 2 on the way, it seemed like more of a struggle.  I felt like I needed to have "that feeling" again, like I did with Paisley.  That "this is her name, no question" feeling.  It took awhile for me to realize that I wouldn't.  As little girls we grow up naming our baby dolls and even through junior high and high school we have "that name" for our future babies.  But it's normally a boy name and a girl name.  Not two girl names or two boy names.  So once we found out the gender of baby number two, the struggle began.

My mom didn't have a problem with it being baby girl # 2.  Nor did she have a problem coming up with and suggesting a name, or seventy two.  :)  There was one name she suggested at the very beginning and Charlie was on board right away.  I, however, was still waiting for "that feeling".  I would throw out some name ideas, and Charlie would shoot them down and vice-versa.  But he always came back to that one name my mom suggested.  I wasn't convinced.  Then, one night we were sitting on the couch shooting each other's names down and talking to Paisley about her baby sister.  Charlie, once again, said he was set on my mom's name suggestion.  So, I looked at Paisley and asked her if she liked the name "______".  Without hesitation, she pointed to my belly and said....

"Gutheee!"  

It was like God said "ok, you really need to have 'that feeling'?  I'll show you feeling!"

And, that was it.  Her name was, without a doubt, going to be Guthrie....or Gutheeeee! :)  Guthrie Caroline to be exact! 

No, we didn't just throw random letters together to make up a name.  It's a place on the map.  A real place.

It's a place of about 1,500 people.  More importantly, it's a place that holds a special place in the hearts of my family members.  And, we're all about special heart places in this family.  Paisley's middle name is Joyce, after my great grandma who turned 87 last week! We're beyond blessed to have 5 generations and cherish the fact that Paisley knows who her Great-Great Grandma is!  

My Great Grandma and Great Grandpa used to claim a portion of that little population.  "Guthrie" was a word I heard a lot of growing up.  My Great-Grandpa's job led them to Kentucky and they lived there for several years.  My Mom, Aunt and Grandparents spent a lot of time there visiting them.  A lot of memories were made and a lot of photo's are cherished from that little ol' town.  

Being able to give both of my girls a name that means something, was important to me.  Knowing they're both named after their Great-Great Grandma is something very special.  And as they grow up, when someone asks about their name, they'll have a great story to tell and a wonderful lady to reference.   

Not only am I extremely grateful for my Great-Grandma, I'm also extremely grateful for my Grandma who just so happens to be an awesome crafter, sewer, seamstress, embroiderer, etc.  From the moment I found out baby #2 was on the way, she started making bibs and burp cloths and blankets!  My children will always have a monogrammed holiday shirt to wear and a personalized burp cloth to spit up on and I totally love it!!!! 

And, just possibly my favorite of them all...

Do you remember our "Family Number System"?  You can refresh your memory here.

So, there it is.  Our big name reveal for our sweet Guthrie Caroline.  Only about 5 more weeks (or less) until she makes her big appearance!  We're getting more excited by the minute.  And, more nervous too, considering our remodel is still a work-in-progress!  

Hope y'all have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by today!