Winter Archives – Jamieson Diaries

Snowpocalypse 2021

February 21, 2021 Comments : 2

To say the year 2021 has started off with a bang would be an understatement. If you’ve been keeping up with the winter storm that hit the south last weekend then you’ve seen the destruction it left behind. Living in the Shreveport, LA area ourselves means we were directly impacted by Snowpocalypse 2021 too. We lost water and power Wednesday evening. The power was out for about 16 hours which is MUCH better than what others have endured. We lost water from Wednesday evening to Saturday afternoon. And it’s only a few hours of water here and there.

All Posts, Dear Diary

January Goals Accomplished!

January 31, 2016 Leave a Comment

At the beginning of the year I shared a post outlining 12 goals I am striving to accomplish every month of 2016. Click here to read the post if you haven’t already. As of earlier today, I have accomplished all 12 of my goals for the month of January with one day to spare! Yeah, go me! I will share a picture of each goal for the month of January below.

Date Night:

While my Mother in law was in town the husband and I went on a few date nights this month so that was a lot of fun. Here is a picture of us at a stop light on our way to see the Hateful Eight for a day time date. 🙂

New Recipe:

I follow the Tasty page on Facebook and decided to make the shepherds pie stuffed baked potatoes for my new recipe to try for dinner. It was an instant hit and I’ve made it twice this month for dinner!

DIY Project:

I actually almost forgot to do my DIY for this month, but thankfully earlier today I was bored and decided to do one anyway. How about that timing? I re-purposed an old t-shirt I never wear into a workout shirt.

Twitter Chat:

Thanks to a good friend who is a social media strategist I learned about the “My Creative Connection” monthly twitter chat. Not only did I love the Q&A but I learned so much from the first chat to help better my blog and brand. They do this #BlkCreatives chat on the second Monday of every month. It’s safe to say they have a loyal monthly chat customer now. 🙂

Natural Hair Style:

This month I did a nice and easy, wash n’ go, natural hair style but it looked great! It has been my favorite wash n’ go result thus far. Talk about a selfie worthy hair style. 😉

Periscope Cooking Broadcast:

I did my first ever Periscope broadcast (@BrienneJamieson) for cooking. The first meal I shared on Periscope was my yummy Potato Corn & Bacon Chowder. I know it’s yummy because my family loves it and I have gotten some excellent reviews from fellow followers and readers who have tried it out. Thanks again to those of you who watched and tried the recipe!

Nail Color:

I have a drawer filled with nail polishes I haven’t worn in over a yea,r or ever, for that matter. I decided to try one of the colors I have never worn before. It’s called Russian Navy by OPI and I loooove it! I had to show it off with my lovely workout gloves while at the gym haha.

New Book:

The book I read this month was The Pact by Jodi Picoult. I love Jodi as an author so it shouldn’t come as a surprise how much I enjoyed this book, but I was still impressed and emotionally drawn in. If you are looking for a tragic yet relatable book to read I highly recommend this one.

Jordyn Activity:

Although Jordyn and I play and have fun all day everyday, I made it a point to do something each month that we’ve never done before. This month we built our first “fort” and we both had a great time eating snacks and watching TV/movies. It was the perfect cold and snowy day to do so too. 🙂

Workout Reward:

I made a commitment of having to workout at least 20 days of each month in order to reach my post baby body goals AND buy myself a reward of $25 or less to keep me motivated. As of Friday night I hit my goal which gives me two off days before starting again on Monday for the month of February. I was happy to achieve this goal!

The last two goals of the month were performing a random act of kindness and doing something nice for my husband. I didn’t take pictures of either of these “acts” because 1) I didn’t even remember to do so at the time and 2) some things don’t have to be shared through pictures. However, I will share what I did for each. While out running errands, and buying dinner for the family, I randomly decided to stop and buy some pizzas for the cops who guard the gate on base. It put smiles on their faces which made me super happy. For my husband, while out running those same errands, he had accidentally broken one of his PS4 controllers earlier that day. I bought him a card that very sweetly said “I love you” in mushy card ways and I put a Game Stop gift card in it. It made him smile and tell me how much he appreciates me so I think he loved it. Making people smile always makes me smile and that’s what it’s all about.

What goals did you set for yourself in the month of January? Did you accomplish them? If so, congratulations and I hope you have a great February as well. If not, what can you do to make sure you adjust and execute for the month of February? Feel free to share below.

Have a great Saturday evening and rest of your weekend everyone!

Brie <3

[01.30.16]

All Posts, Dear Diary, Dinner, Recipes

Bacon Potato Corn Chowder

January 5, 2016 Comment : 1

This winter I experimented with comfy food recipes and my favorite by far is my bacon potato corn chowder. Want to hear the best part (besides it being delicious of course)? It’s SO easy to make and takes less than an hour to prepare and cook. How much better can it get? Exactly, that’s what I said.

When the weather gets cold and snow is on thee ground the best meals to cook are comfort food meals. Especially on the days when you have to venture out into the cold to go to work, drop kids at school, run errands, etc. If any of you are wondering what qualifies as a “comfort food” it’s food that makes you feel cozy and comfy in your home. Soups, baked pastas, casseroles, etc. are the perfect go to dishes during these fall/winter nights.

Corn chowder has always been one of my favorite soups. It’s hearty and has ingredients most people find delicious. We all know how hard it can be to make dishes that are popular among a large group of people. Which makes it a winning dish to make for family or friends who come over for dinner. So get to cooking!

*Crockpot meals are always easier for those of us on the go and this recipe can also be cooked in one. Follow all of the ingredients, combine them together in the crockpot, and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. *

Bacon Potato Corn Chowder

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword chowder, comfort food, soup

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 6 people

Author jamiesondiaries

Ingredients

6-8 red potatoes
1 large yellow onion diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 15oz. can sweet corn drained
3 Tbsp butter
32 oz. chicken broth bold for extra flavor
1 cup whole milk
3 Tbsp flour
2 cups mild cheddar cheese
8 pieces bacon thick cut
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Wash then cut your red potatoes into approximately 1 inch cubes. Place your diced potatoes into a large bowl and put to the side.
In a large pot, over medium high heat melt your butter then sautee your diced onions until soft. Add your teaspoon of salt to the onions as they cook to help soften them.
Add your minced garlic, flour and pepper to the sauteed onions. Stir to combine. Now add your drained corn to the pot and mix for a minute of two with the other ingredients.
Pour your chicken broth into the pot and whisk the mixture to avoid clumps. Then add your milk to the pot and whisk again. Let the mixture get to a boil.
Once the pot has started to boil pour your diced potatoes in and bring to a boil. Let boil for 5 minutes then reduce heat to medium low. Cover the pot and let the chowder cook for 30 minutes.
Once the potatoes are soft add your 2 cups of mild cheddar cheese to the chowder and stir until combined.
Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
Serve your potato corn chowder with two strips of bacon crumbled on top. If you like a little spice in your life feel free to add cayenne pepper on top as well.
Enjoy your meal!

Happy eating! 🙂

Brie <3

[01.05.16]

All Posts, Dear Diary, Drinks, Recipes

Polar Express Hot Chocolate Recipe

October 13, 2014 Leave a Comment

It’s that time of year where we are all drinking and eating more soups and hot chocolate to attempt to stay warm in the bitter cold. About a year and a half ago I discovered (a.k.a I craved hot chocolate so I searched for a recipe) the greatest hot chocolate recipe on #Pinterest. It is called the “Polar Express Creamy Crock-pot Hot Chocolate”. However, it could be made on the stove, on low heat, if watched carefully. I have added a few extra ingredients, and modified a few measurements to get it to the perfect taste for my family. I will post the original recipe, with the original measurements, in addition to any adjustments I have made to my version of the recipe.

You will need:

1.5 cups heavy cream

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)

2 cups milk chocolate chips

6 cups of milk [I add 8-9 cups of milk]

1 tsp vanilla extract [I use 2 tsp of vanilla]

[I also add a few sprinkles of cinnamon and nutmeg for extra yummy taste]

Add all of the ingredients to the crock-pot (or large pot) and let it cook on low for about 45 minutes to an hour. Stir the ingredients after the 45 minutes to an hour are up, and see if the milk chocolate pieces have all melted. If not, let it cook for about 20-30 more minutes (or until all melted), stirring occasionally. Once all ingredients have combined properly you can heat it to your temperature of choice and ENJOY! 🙂

Happy Fall!

-Brie <3

[10.13.14]