Cream Cheese and Chicken Yumminess

This one was a hint from a friend of ours and quickly became a favorite at our house. Super easy and super yummy! Enjoy!

I don't really know the name, but we call them "Chicken Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls"

1 can of chicken (regular chicken grilled and shredded works, but then you don't have the juices for the sauce)
1 block of cream cheese
1 can of refrigerated crescent rolls
small frozen vegetables -optional
chicken broth
corn starch
rice

1. Preheat the oven according to the crescent rolls directions
2. Drain the can of chicken but reserve the juice
3. Mix together the chicken, cream cheese, veggies, and salt & pepper to taste
4. Unroll the crescent rolls and generously spread the cream cheese mixture on each one
5. Roll them up just as you would crescent rolls except they willl be much fatter now
6. Bake according to the directions on the crescent rolls
7. While they are baking use the chicken juice, chicken broth, and some cornstarch dissolved in water to make a gravy
8. Serve over rice with gravy on top...yummy!

Hint: If you have extra filling, save it and put it in a grilled cheese sandwich another day with some cheddar cheese.

Happy Mother's Day!

I have the best mom and the best mother-in-law ever! I feel so blessed. I just wanted to wish them a Happy Mother's Day. I also wanted to thank them for being so loving and patient towards me. Mom, you're the greatest. I can always count on you for a listening ear, a great recipe, and a helpful word of advice. You are truly my almost best friend (after Nate of course). Nancy, thanks for raising such a great man who treats me so well and for making me feel like part of the family. I love you both! Happy Mother's Day!

Carbonara

So it has been awhile, but due to popular demand, I have decided to post another recipe. This is a family favorite. I have never met anyone who did not like this dish. This is one my dad picked up on his mission in Rome, Italy. It is easy and delicious. The timing is important, so I've included some helpful hints. It's not so good on the arteries, but serve it with a nice salad and you'll forget all about the grease. Enjoy!

Carbonara or bacon pasta

1/2 to 1 lb. bacon (I've been told that turkey bacon does not work as well)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (fresh grated is always best, but the other stuff works as well)
1 egg
freshly ground pepper
Enough of your favorite long, skinny, pasta (nothing fatter than spaghetti) to serve 4 people

-Put a big pot of water onto boil. Once it is boiling add pasta and cook uncovered to al dente.
-While water is boiling, chop the bacon into small pieces and fry. When it is crispy drain off most of the grease. Reserve about 1 Tablespoon.
-Once pasta is cooked, drain and return to pot immediately.
-Whisk the egg in a small bowl and add to the hot pasta. Stir until the egg is cooked. It will make the pasta sticky, but it should not be too shiny.
-Then add the cheese and stir until melted.
-Next add the bacon and reserved grease.
-Finally, top with lots of freshly ground pepper.
-Serve immediately. Enjoy!

The Best Year Ever!

So, today is our one year anniversary. It has literally been the best 366 days of my life waking up every morning next to the one that I love. Happy anniversary, Nate!

To celebrate we decided trips and memories were way better than gifts, so we took a little trip. We took the day off Friday and went up to Salt Lake and ate at the Mayan. We also stopped by temple square for the temple and the church history museum. Then we headed up to Midway to a cute little inn. The next morning we got up and hiked around Wasatch state park. It was a great weekend!

The Mayan! (sadly it was too dark for the camera to pick up the divers)

The gorgeous flowers at temple square

The exterior of Inn on the Creek

The interior (yes, that's a jetted bath tub)

the view

Spring hadn't yet blossomed in Midway, but it was still a pretty hike.

On to "real" life, because so far life has all been fake

Well, it's official, as our license plate frame proudly states, we are both BYU Alumni! Nate graduated Magna Cum Laude (he told me to write the graduation post so I can brag about how smart he is, so that's what I'm doing!) from the Marriott School of Management with a business management degree with an emphasis in finance. Basically he has worked really hard for the last four years, and now has a piece of paper to prove it (actually that will come in the mail in 4-6 weeks.) Graduation weekend was jam-packed full of fun. Nate's parents, brother, and grandma all came. We ate, we played, we went to a few events that required far too much sitting. If you have ever sat on the benches at the Marriott Center for 2 + hours with people packed in on all sides of you, then you know what I'm talking about. But it was all worth it to see my incredibly good looking husband walk across the stage to get his fake diploma, and we have pictures to prove it! He has graduated from college life to "real life" and is now ready to join the work force where he will never get another "semester break," that is until grad school. As a result, Nate now has an uncomfortably large amount of discretionary time. This is bad news for him, but good news for me. I get him to help me catch up on grading stuff for my class, and I can depend on him to clean the house and do the dishes because, hey what else is he going to do! Of course the tides will quickly turn when we move to Denver, he is the one with the full-time job, and I get to stay at home with an uncomfortable amount of discretionary time.

Nate walking across the stage to get his diploma.

The fam with President and Sister Samuelsen.

The proud wife with the relieved graduate.

Nate's Secrets to Financial Success #2

Sorry, I've been a little awol lately dealing with finals and our recent trip to Denver to find a place to live. We ended up finding a really nice apartment that is right next to Northrop Grumman. It will literally be a 3 minute walk to work. We're happy about not having to buy another car or deal with the daily commute.

I also finished my last final yesterday, so I'm home free to graduate! Graduation is on Thursday and Friday of this week, so I'm pretty pumped. I have to go pick up my cap and gown today. I might just wear it all day tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday. We'll see.

So I'm glad that people seemed to agree with my first secret to financial success, and that I was able to give out a couple more budgets. You know, living within your means includes saving what you didn't spend that month. I recommend saving a bare minimum of 10% of your income every month. Now, what do you do with this extra cash? You could stash it under the mattress, and when you go and grab it in 20 years, it will still be there, faithful as ever. Or, if you're smart, you can make it magically multiply.

#2 - Invest Wisely

It's been said that compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world. Einstein said "The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest." And that guy knew a little about powerful forces. Let's do a little illustration to show why compound interest is so powerful. From 1926 to 1999, the average annual return in the U.S. stock market was roughly 11%. Let's say you make $2000 every month, and save $200 for long term needs. After 30 years of doing this, without investing in anything, you would have $72,000. If you invested this money every month into the stock market, getting a less than average return of 9% per year, you would have $366,148.70 at the end of the 30 years. Yeah, that's pretty powerful.

Most people want to invest, but don't know how or what to invest in. Here's a secret for you...


#2b - Invest in what you know

Peter Lynch, the famous former manager of one of the most successful mutual funds ever, Fidelity's "Magellan" Fund, agrees with this statement. In fact, he was the one who said it.

For example, do you like skateboarding? Is there a type of skateboarding equipment that you really love and consider to be the best? Chances are there are reasons you think that way, and chances are that other people will begin to think the same way. Invest in that company!

Are you a foodie? Ever considered investing in your favorite brand of cookware or pots and pans? It's great; You find a company you really like, give them a little money to help them make more stuff you really like, and then they give you your money back, with a little extra on top!

Note that there is risk in any investment, and you will see higher returns from riskier investments. If the money you are wanting to invest is something you will need in the short term, I would recommend investing in something stable like CD's, money market funds, or even bonds and treasuries. It's good to have atleast 3 months worth of income set aside where you can get to it easily. This money you should definitely invest very conservatively.

If you're a really timid investor like me, start out with the really safe investments, and then do a lot of research. Go out and get a mutual fund that someone else manages, or an index fund, that will rise and fall with the stock market as a whole. You just put it there and basically forget about it. 20 years from now, barring some kind of government collapse, you'll have more there than just what you put in.....probably a lot more.

The point is, if you love something, invest in it! Chances are other people love it too.

So get out there and invest your extra cash, but do it wisely. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Oh, and by the way, if anyone is interested, I've found a way to double your money in less than a year by investing in offshore mining. So just give me a call or send me a check and we'll both be rich in no time.....or atleast one of us will.


It's all about the Washington's baby....

Julie's favorite recipes

So, I thought since Nate is giving out unsolicited financial advice I would give out unsolicited recipes. I'm not a goumet chef, I don't have pictures of my creations, but I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite recipes with the cyber world. This one is a staple at our house that I made one time when I wanted a Caesar salad that could be a meal. I call it Tortellini Caesar Salad.

1 bag frozen cheese tortellini
2 chicken breasts
1 head romaine lettuce
Croutons (preferably Caesar flavored)
Grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Creamy Caesar salad dressing

Cook the tortellini, drain, and rinse with cold water. While tortellini is cooking grill the chicken breasts either on a Foreman grill or in a little olive oil. Wash the lettuce and break into bite sized pieces, set aside. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Add cooled tortellini, chicken, croutons, and parmesan cheese to lettuce. Toss with dressing. Enjoy!