My Taco Soup Recipe

Heather's Taco Soup

So I've made this soup for over a decade now. I actually got it from my mom. It's something I've had memorized & it's seriously so yummy. I'd love to share the recipe with you: 

Taco Soup:

3 cans pinto beans

1 can Texas Ranch Style beans

3 cans stewed tomatoes 

1 can rotel

2 cans of corn 

1 lb ground beef ( or turkey)

1 large yellow onion

1 packet taco seasoning

1 packet Ranch seasoning 

shredded mild cheddar cheese

corn chips

Brown ground beef in a large pot over med-high heat ( this is the same pot you'll use to cook the soup)

chop onion & cook with meat 

drain meat

return back to pot.

add beans, tomatoes, rotel, corn, taco seasoning, ranch packet, salt & pepper to taste

add 1 can of water ( using one of the empty cans)

Stir well. 

Let sit in pot over med-high heat ( stirrring occasionally) for 30 minutes.

( I then usually like to let it simmer for another 15-30 minutes to let the flavors settle in)

but it is ready to eat after 30 minutes! 

Serve with shredded cheese and chips! 

YUMMY! 

( feeds 5-6 people) 

I think "skewer" so lovely

I wanted to give the girls I visit teach a little valentine, so I decided to make skewers for each of them. I also made this little tag on photoshop and printed it out, tied it to the skewer with a ribbon, and gave it to them. I got the delicious gummies from one of those candy shops in the mall. 

" I think "skewer" so lovely" ... clever, eh? :) 

sorry this is a bit blurry! 

Baby Shower: Welcome to the World

So, some of you have been asking to see pictures of the baby shower I recently threw. 

This post is for you! :) 

I am all about being resourceful. My hubby, Nick, might say it's a "hoarding issue" but I call it, " saving-it-for-later- because-you-never-know-when-you're-going-to-need-it." Okay.. so I know I have a problem keeping and holding onto things for crafting. BUT... guess what, Nick? I didn't have to purchase ONE decoration item because I am a craft/decoration hold-on-to-er. :) 

You are welcome. 

I have made wonderful friends here in Philadelphia. The girls in our ward are super good about getting together often and socializing. 

I threw this shower for a sweet girl named Amber. She and her husband moved here the same time as me and Nick to attend medical school. I was MORE than happy to throw her a shower. She really is so sweet. I also wanted it to be special for her. It's her first baby and I know how important and special a lovely shower would be for a first-time mom... especially with no family close by.

 I hope she felt at home! I was so grateful ALL the girls in the ward came. See? We really have a great support group here in Philly. We had a good time. 

The theme was "Welcome to the World." It's also valentines season, so I decorated accordingly. Amber is naming her little girl, "Molly", so naturally I had to put a big M somewhere. The food table was a great place for it. { My little girl's name is Madeline... so we have a few M's lying around}.  

The picture in the middle of the window is actually the front of the invitation I sent out. My sister, Ashley, water colored it. Seriously, so talented. I am going to give it to Amber for her to keep. 

Those round balls above the window actually hangs in Madeline's room over her changing table. The window is also in her room ( you can find these at old antique shops) and I just cut out hearts out of an old Atlas Nick was going to throw away. I definitely used that entire atlas for this shower. 

I decided to sew little flags out of atlas paper. I just drew a flag template and then traced it. I had this cute pink garland and decided to hang it over the flag banner. It added a nice pop of color. 

( Seriously, I highly recommend sewing banners and garland... it's super easy, fast, and I think it looks so cute.)

I asked a few girls in the ward to help with food. I am SO grateful for everyone's help! 

Amber is gluten-free... so I had a lot of fun learning about gluten-free foods preparing for the shower. 

Seriously, you guys, the food was so yummy! I'll post links at the bottom of this post of a few of the recipes I found for the shower. Everything you see on this table is gluten-free. SOO yummy. 

Here's one of the big things I've been saving. 

I was making a wreath about a year ago using coffee filters and paint... I didn't end up using all of them. I ALMOST threw them away, but decided to keep them just in case. 

Boy, am I glad I did! This added so much to the food table!

( I just used coffee filters, dipped them in different colors of pink paint I mixed together.) 

Easy peezy. AND inexpensive. 

Here's a closer look at the darling invitation Ashley watercolored. 

I love watercolor.

Of course I had to have globes. 

I added some ribbon to make it more girly & festive. 

The books underneath added a nice touch too!

These were DE-LISH. MMM. 

( left to right: energy bite no-bakes, peanut butter & sugar cookies, & almond joy bites) 

all gluten-free!

Ok, so I just made this cake topper out of atlas paper, made some little letters, and used skewers. I also tied some ribbon on the sides of course. The cake was actually made by another girl in the ward who is also gluten-free. She completely MADE UP the cake recipe... and let me tell you... it tasted like heaven. It was a delicious, dense, chocolate cake. Gluten free of course. Her secret: 2 whole clementines... peel and all. SOO yummy. I told her she needed to go on Master Chef, for real. 

I got these cute straws from a party store on-line and made little flags out of atlas paper and glitter paper. Super easy and added a nice little touch.

I also filled my jars with candy for some extra treats.

The mantle. 

M is for Molly. 

I made the little banner using pictures of Amber and her husband when they were babies. 

I made envelopes out of atlas paper for the invitations.

We played a few games and had the girls fill out a nice little card for Amber to keep. 

I'm going to compile them in a little book for her. I love sentimental things like this and thought she would too!

I got online and found different languages of how to say "baby" and made a little quiz for the girls to attempt. I think they had fun with it! :) Allyson got 11 right out of 13! You go girl! Becky & Anika came in a close second. I had a few prizes for them, of course.

I got symphony bars and dolled them up as prizes. 

These chocolate bar prizes were for the winners of the quiz.

We also played a left-right game. I read a story about "mr. and mrs. Wright" and their labor & hospital story. I made 2 little bags out of extra fabric I had and put some nail polish, nail file, and nail polish remover inside. ( Total spent: $4.50 for each bag.) I said the words "left" and "right" lots during the story. The girls sat in a circle and passed the bags "left or right." Charise and Annie were the winners for this one. Super fun!

I also had video taped Amber's husband a few weeks prior and made a little movie. 

I asked him a few questions and he answered. 

Amber had to take wild guesses at what she thought her hubby would say. 

It was fun to watch and really sweet. 

Here are the questions I asked him: 

1. what is a baby sling used for

2. what are 3 good first foods for your baby to try?

3. How many diapers will your newborn go through each day?

4. which grandparent will spoil the baby the most?

5. Which memory from growing up do you wish to recreate with your child?

6. Are you or Amber going to be the parent who most likely says "no"

7. on a scale from 1-10 how prepared are you for baby's arrival?

8. What is Amber's favorite pregnancy food craving?

9. In the beginning, how many times a night will your baby be up?

10. Which baby item that you purchased will most likely be the most helpful?

11. Do you think the baby will be born with a head full of hair, no hair, or inbetween?

12. Babies recognize mom's voice at birth, how long do they recongnize dad's voice? ( 2 weeks)

13. According to the nursery rhyme, little girls are made of what?

14. What are the first words that came out of your mouth when you found out amber was pregnant?

15. What are you looking forward to most about being a dad?

We ended with Amber opening her gifts. 

I couldn't help myself but to wrap her present in Atlas paper. 

It only went perfectly with the theme. :) 

 Gluten Free Recipes:

Seriously, the food was SOO yummy. I can't get over it. ( a BIG shout out to Ali B for some of the food ideas! Thanks Ali!}

No-bake Energy Bites

Broccoli, Grape, and Pasta Salad  ( to make it gluten-free, use gluten-free noodles.)

Coconut Joy Bites

Peanut Butter & Sugar Cookies:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
mix together, bake at 200 for 12 minutes, then add a hershey's kiss on top.

His Burden Was Made Light

This man lost everything....

he is such a wonderful example of true forgiveness.

This story gets me choked up every time...

If you have an inspiring story, please e-mail it to me at heathercoslett@gmail.com to be submitted on the Gallery of Goodness blog. You never know who's life you might touch just by reading your story. 

Thank you!!

ps- If you FOLLOWED this blog, I'd love you forever! 

Come back often to read uplifting stories to nurture your soul! 

God loves Broken Things

This song { by Kenneth Cope } really tugs at my heart strings. 

It will tug at yours too. 

Come and listen!

You're Invited!

I am so excited that General Conference is here again! I always walk away from it feeling so refreshed and reminded of who I am and what I should be doing. How blessed we are to listen to a living prophet of God and his apostles and other leaders of the church. 

Twice a year, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from all over the world gather in their homes, their church buildings, the Conference Center, etc  to listen to the internet or radio or TV to hear our Heavenly Father's prophets and apostles give council and direction. Not only are members of the church invited... but the WHOLE world is invited to come and listen. I feel so blessed that we have the technology we do so that anyone can hear or watch LIVE. 

One of the cool things about our church is that we KNOW that God talks to His children and His servants today just like we see He did with his prophets and children in the Bible. He loved his children then and he loves his children now.

 Why would He stop communicating with us now?  

Good news! He definitely hasn't stopped. We have a living prophet on the earth today who talks with our Heavenly Father and receives direction and council from Him and then the prophet in turn tells us what we should be doing. Our prophet's name is President Thomas S. Monson. That's why it's so important to listen to President Monson's words and his apostles so that we can stay on the "right path" ( or the happy path ) in this life. :) What a blessing!! After all, Heavenly Father loves us... he would never leave us alone left to figure things out on our own. No way, Jose. 

General Conference Information: 

Messages will be given by the First Presidency, members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other General Authorities and general officers of the Church.

General sessions will be held on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., followed by the priesthood session at 6:00 p.m. mountain daylight time. ( Check out BYU TV or your local listings to see what channel it will be on.)  Two more general sessions will be held on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. mountain daylight time; the morning session includes the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word. 

You can also listen to it live on-line HERE. 

I LOVE General Conference! We'll be attending the Sunday Afternoon session and I can't wait! 

Girls, Do you realize WHO you are?

You are a daughter of God. You have so many divine qualities... so much more than you'll ever know... 

When the world throws "rocks" and "stones" your way... when it seems the world is against you.... remember this: You are HIS daughter. He KNOWS and LOVES you. 

and NO ONE can take that away from you.