Fiesta Chicken Casserole

We made this new recipe the other night and it was a hit, so (as per request) I'm sharing it!

Fiesta Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

1 package (15 oz) refrigerated pie crust (2 crusts)

1 jar (16 oz) Pace Chunky Salsa

1 can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup

1 cup sour cream

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (about 8 oz)

1 pkg (24 oz) frozen whole kernel corn

2 cans (9.5 oz each) Swanson Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained

1 can (About 15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Let the pie crusts stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or until they're easy to handle.

2.Stir all ingredients except for the pie crusts in a large bowl. Spoon the mixture into a 13x9 in baking dish.

3. Unfold the pie crusts on a lightly floured surface. Lay the crusts side by side so that they overlap by about 3 inches in the center. Press the seam to seal. Roll the pie crust into a 14x10 inch rectangle. Place the pie crust over the chicken mixture. Trim the excess crust from the edge. Cut several slits in crust.

4. Bake for 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

(My notes: I would let the dish set for 10 minutes or so after it comes out of the oven so it can thicken. We served it almost immediately, and it was rather runny, but thickened with time. This can be served as a main dish as is, or as a dip with tortilla chips, or even as a burrito filling.)

I loved this dish because it was so easy to assemble and used, for the most part, those things that I usually have in my cupboard anyway. Plus, the flavor was super tasty! Hope you all enjoy this recipe too! (And just for fun, leave me a comment letting me know if you tried it!)

Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame

On September 26, we went to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and Museum for the Smithsonian's Free Museum Day. It was a place we knew we had to go while we lived here, and what better way to go than for free? Let me just say that the Museum was chocked full of musical memorabilia: there were cars owned by famous musicians like Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin; TONS of star outfits--like one of Elvis' white jumpsuits, Mick Jagger's flag cape, John Lennon's Sgt. Pepper costume, Michael Jackson's glittery white glove, and some of Jimi Hendrix's 70's-style shirts and head bands; there were old fashioned music recording machines and records and papers on which artists had scribbled down lyrics; there were even some of U2's rejection letters from various music companies (ironic huh?) and random Beatle's stuff like pins and mini figurines. And on top of all the memorabilia, there were tons of other neat features, like a section dedicated to the early musicians who influenced Rock and Roll, listening stations where you could listen to the featured artists' music, various movies about Rock and Roll (including one on music videos), and even a radio station (yeah, and live, straight from the museum)! It was really cool. And I think the coolest thing about it was that by seeing all of these things, like the outfits and cars--things that were worn or touched by these musicians whose music we've listened to and who we've heard so much about--made us feel a kind of connection with them, and that was really neat. So all of you who haven't been, if you're ever in the area, you should definitely go!

Unfortunately you aren't allowed to take pictures inside the Museum, so we took several of us on the outside. It's a pretty cool looking building huh?

We ran into a couple from our ward as we were leaving, and they were kind enough to take a few pictures for us. Thanks guys!

Bruce Springstein was the featured artist this season, and so the top two stories of the Museum were dedicated to all things Springsteen.

It was so fun to get out as a family for the day, especially somewhere unique and in the city, and we hope to hit up another fun spot soon!

Brandywine Falls

Last Saturday, we went with Rachel and Brandon and their kids to Brandywine Falls. It was Grace's first hike ever, and our first hike of the summer, and it felt SO nice to be out enjoying nature on such a gorgeous, sunny day!

There was a really nice wooden path to take down to the Falls...

...and some beautiful foliage along the way too!

Brandywine Falls:

Jenna wanted to take a picture with me and Grace and we were happy to oblige! (Notice Grace eating the pack strap=) .)

Grace and me at the Falls (you may have noticed that we started out with the stroller but had to later transfer to the front pack when we reached some stairs on the trail, as strollers and stairs don't mix):

A family portrait:

After the hike, we had a nice picnic near the woods and tossed around a football and frisbee for a while. It was a wonderful Labor Day weekend activity. Thanks again Brandon and Rachel for inviting us! We had a great time!

Funny Video

Here's a video chocked full of advice for all of you husbands out there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK2OakMoW_c

Pretty funny (and true) stuff! Enjoy!

Grace "Talking"

Grace is becoming increasingly more interactive. For example, if she sticks out her tongue and we do it back, she'll laugh; or, if she "talks" and we make the same noises back, she'll carry on a conversation with us. Here's an example of one of our "converstations" (taken last week). Enjoy!

Are you in the Tribe?

Last night, Travis and I, with our friends Kory and Elizabeth Miskin, headed into Cleveland for our first Indian's baseball game. (I had been to a MLB game before, but the other three in our party hadn't, so we were all excited about our night out together.) After some time spent in traffic, and a little more time spent looking for parking, we finally arrived at the game. =)

Here's a picture of Progressive Field (Indian's Stadium), courtesy of the freeway traffic:


Another pic of the Field:


This is a view of the city from on top of the Stadium. It was a beautiful night--the sky was clear and the temperature warm--perfect for watching a game!


Go Indians!! (This was a tough game to watch for us because the Indians were playing the Mariner's--our former home team, but we just HAD to root for the Indians cuz we're part of the Tribe now, you know?! =) ).

We were sitting in the upper section of the stands, but the view was still great, and we had no problem following the game.

We had such a great night. It was SO fun to be out together--to sit together and hold hands and talk. It felt like we were first dating again, and I loved every minute of it! Thanks Brandon and Rachel for watching Grace so we could have a wonderful date night!

Grace Laughing

I had been reading in a couple of places that giving your two-to-three month old a rattle was good for their stimulation. So today, I pulled out her rattle again (she being only interested enough to eat it before) and showed it to her, and SHE THOUGHT it was the FUNNIEST THING! I mean, we've heard her laugh before--with a short giggle here and there, but she laughed at this rattle for two minutes straight! And thankfully, she let me capture her sweet giggles on video. So, I introduce our laughing Grace: