Hey, there is an app for that!

Today, I want to share with you a couple of fun apps for my phone that I have found to help me prepare for my upcoming Compassion trip!

Mexico countdown Big Day Lite: I have the free version of this app which is a fun way to countdown the days until our trip. This screen shot is from a few days ago, because we are now at 191 days until our trip! Once I know which new child we will be sponsoring from Mexico, I may do a collage photo for our countdown photo. But until then, I really like this photo of me and my traveling companion!

duolingo

Duolingo: Now, I did take a year of Spanish when I was in high school, but then I took 2 years of French. This app kind of reminds me a little bit of Rosetta Stone (which we only have level 1). Every day I try to do a little practice on here because friends have told me that the kids may respond to me a little better if I even know a little Spanish. Not sure if I will use sentences like the one above very often, but hey, maybe we will see turtles while we are down there!

instagram

Instagram: Are you on Instagram? I have been tagging a lot of my trip prep photos with the hashtag #compassionmexicoprep. So if you head over to Instagram, you can see all of my trip prep photos that I have posted there. Like this one! I have lost count of the number of dish cloths I have made and sold.

Question for you: What are some of your favorite phone apps?

My take on Fiesta Chicken Tortilla Soup

Last week while I was looking through my Pinterest feed, I found a recipe for Fiesta Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup. Everything sounded great until I saw the words ‘slow-cooker’. Now I know a lot of people just love their crock pots. But I am not one of them. The thought of vegetables slow cooking for hour after hour and turning into mush just does not appeal to me. I would prefer to cook a recipe over the stove top and eat vegetables that still taste fresh. This does require a little more planning and discipline on my part, but it is something I am willing to do to have a good tasting dinner for my family. If you love your crock pot, you will love the simplicity of dumping all of the ingredients into the crock pot for this recipe. If you want the stove top method, follow along with me here:

Fiesta Chicken Tortilla Soup

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  • Olive oil
  • 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can (15 oz) petite diced tomatoes
  • 1 can (10 oz) red enchilada sauce
  • 1 can (4 oz) diced green chilies
  • 1 can (14.5 oz) black beans, drained
  • 10 oz frozen corn kernels
  • 1/2 cup uncooked rice
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • Extras: tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, avocado for serving

Over medium-high heat on the stove, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the chicken pieces and saute until no longer pink. Add the chopped onions and cook until translucent; add the chopped garlic and cook for about 30 seconds more. Then add the rest of the ingredients, except the cilantro, lime juice, and extras. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for at least 30 minutes. Before serving, stir in the chopped cilantro and lime juice.

Note: I am thinking this would be good with browned ground beef instead of the chicken also. In fact, I am going to give it a try this week with some homemade cornbread.

Recipe adapted from Fiesta Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup