Confidence is a Must

My entire life, I've had trouble with being confident outside of my group of close friends. Once I get to know people, I'm a very confident gal who can hold her own...but in new situations, I am the one waiting to be talked to, all awkward. I find this really funny since I've worked in retail for a good while.

Example of my awkwardness. My mother and sister LOVE to call me out on this too. When ordering food at a restaurant, I usually go last out of whoever I'm with, because I like to let the other people go first (and because sometimes I change my mind on what I want to eat after everyone else orders). When the waiter turns to me and looks at me and asks, "and for you?"I look at them and say "I'll have,"...then almost immediately stare down at the menu and read what I want. It's not because I have forgotten the name of what I want, it's because I am a very awkward person. I've been working on it for a while, haha.

I realized just how unconfident I am in myself on Tuesday when I was in my bible study fellowship group discussion. Each week, there is homework to be done for the lesson provided. During the discussion group, you go over the thoughts on the answers and such. I am an awesome homework answerer as in I write a lot, probably too much. But, when the leader asks if anyone found anything interesting, I keep quiet until she calls on me because no one else has answered. Then, I frantically look at the page and try to answer, like I don't know what I put.

I am always afraid of what others will think of my answers, but as I was doing the homework tonight, I realized, I shouldn't care what other people think. We're going over creation theories this week and I know what I believe and am allowed to have an opinion. I can also appreciate the opinions of others, without diminishing my own.

I admire confidence and others. I think it's a must have in interviews, on dates and especially when performing. I judge others for not being confident in themselves, so I should be confident, right?

Goal for October=be confident.

What makes you feel confident and not arrogant? There is a fine line, right? Thoughts? Go.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

So earlier in the month, I set out to make four new recipes. One of them, which I was extremely excited about, was Garlic Parmesan oven baked chicken. Well, yesterday, when I had time to make it, I went to the kitchen, got everything out, read the directions and discovered that I could prepare it, but it has to marinate ALL day. Big lesson when cooking/baking...read the recipe beforehand. I was kind of upset because I had to make something else. I went to the recipes board on my Pinterest and found the recipe for Crispy Cheddar Chicken. I read the recipe twice to make sure I had everything and it didn't have to sit all day. Done!

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

This is the picture from my Pinterest board that made me want to make it. Looks so delicious! I'm glad I have leftovers. Well, I took some pictures along the way and, it's a super easy recipe--shall we?

Crispy Cheddar Chicken
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Baking Time: 45 minutes
Makes about 7 servings

What you'll need:

Chicken
4 large chicken breasts
2 sleeves of Ritz crackers
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 cup of milk
3 cups of cheddar cheese, grated (I used a mix of cheddar and Colby jack...I really like cheese)
1 teaspoon of dried parsley

Sauce
1 10 ounce can of Cream of Chicken soup
2 Tablespoons of sour cream
2 Tablespoons of butter

***I used frozen chicken breasts, so I had to defrost them before starting. And, when you use frozen chicken breasts, there is added water, so it will need to be coated in more of the Ritz cracker mix to be super crispy.

Chicken:

1. Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks
2. In a small food processor, grind up the Ritz crackers (If you don't have a food processor or don't like your cracker mix so fine, put the Ritz crackers in a gallon sized Ziploc bag, seal it really tight, lay it on the counter top and roll it with a rolling pin)
3. Pour the milk, cheese and Ritz crackers into 3 separate small pans.
4. Add the salt and pepper to the cracker mix and and mix it up
5. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray
6. Dip each piece of chicken in the milk, then the cheese and finally the cracker mix (some cheese will come off in the cracker mix, that's to be expected)
7. Lay chicken in the pan
8. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken
9. Cover pan with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes
10. Remove foil and bake uncovered for 10 minutes, or until it's golden brown and crispy

Sauce:

In a medium size sauce pan, whisk together the soup, sour cream and butter until hot. 

***I also made HEB's jasmine rice to go along with this. That only takes 15 minutes to cook and it is delicious! I added green onions to the rice to give it more flavor. 

Overall this recipe was DELICIOUS! But, there is a lot of cheese and cracker mix left over at the end. So, if you plan on making this for a big family event, only double the milk, chicken and sauce mixture. The cheese and cracker mix have plenty to do double. I would make extra gravy anyway because I love gravy and put it on my rice and my chicken. Yum-o. 

I'm really glad my first Pinterest recipe was successful. It was super easy and super delicious. Try it!
Also, I'm really excited to put my very first recipe in my brand new recipe binder! Wahoo!

September Menu and Facial Stuff

Okay, so I was looking through some recipes to add to my September list of to-dos. My goal is to make four new recipes a month, so I chose a good four and may add to that list later. Don't want to overwhelm myself at the start. This month, I have decided to make the following:

1. Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole 
2. Avocado Basil Pasta 
3. Garlic Parmesan Baked Chicken Breasts
4. Egg Drop Soup

 I know, Egg Drop Soup is kind of out there, but I really love it. I will go eat Chinese just because I will get the Egg Drop Soup (and add rice and green onions to it). With that being said, I'm really excited to try out these four recipes. I plan on making one a week--so wish me luck. 

While watching Friends tonight, I was looking for some good facial recipes and I have come across three that I would like to try because they seem simple and effective. All of these recommend that you use the mask once a week--they're super easy, so take 30 minutes for yourself once a week!

Easy Facial Mask

1. One Egg Yolk
2. 1 Tablespoon of Honey
3. 1 Tablespoon of Plain Yogurt 
4. 1/2 teaspoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Mix ingredients together
• Apply to face
• Let sit for 10 minutes
• Rinse with warm water

Cinnamon and Nutmeg Facial Mask

1. 2 Tablespoons of Honey
2. 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon 
3. 1 teaspoon of Nutmeg

• Mix ingredients 
• Apply to face
• Let sit for 30 minutes
• Wash with warm water while lightly scrubbing in circular motions

Gelatin and Milk Facial Mask

I have this on my face right at this very moment. It stanks. I am sure the mask is doing its job...it just smells nasty. This is what your face may look like after applying:

1. 1 Tablespoon of Unflavored Gelatin 
2. 2 Tablespoons of Milk (any kind)

• Mix ingredients together 
• Microwave for 10 seconds
• Stir
• Apply Immediately (clumps quickly)
• Let dry for 15 (or longer) minutes--You'll know when it's ready because you can't move anything on your face!
• Start peeling it off--very gross

Okay...so, I just ripped all of my skin off taking this mask off. Yes, my face feels as smooth as a baby's bottom, blah blah. But, if you have any type of hair caught in the mix...goodbye hair (especially if you get it on your eyebrow. Thank God warm water helps get it all off.  It's like getting a face wax--I should have just ripped it off quickly, but I did not. I put moisturizer on my face and it is all tingly. Yes, my face feels nice, but, I don't know if I'll be doing this again. This is the after photo:

This is a very sad and pathetic ouch face after I ripped off my entire top layer of skin. So the benefit is that you will have smooth skin. The con is that your face will hurt like hell afterwards.