Crockpot Turkey Vegetable Soup

Happy Monday! I have a hard time remembering what day it actually is because Monday is actually my Wednesday since Saturday is my Monday. Talk about confusing🙆 anyway I hope you had a good weekend and got to enjoy some downtime. 

I've talked about meal prep before, but it really does save me during my work week. I prep both lunch and dinner so I can just heat stuff up throughout the week. Working long hours everyday in the news room and flip flopping between day shifts and night shifts doesn't leaves me a lot of free time. I've been using my crockpot a ton to prep and one of my recent favorites has been this soup. Browning the turkey with chili powder has packed in a lot of flavor and in the soup it pairs perfectly with the other spices and vegetables. Tag me on instagram or Facebook if you try it!

Crockpot Turkey Vegetable Soup

• 1lb lean ground turkey
• 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 32 oz. sodium free organic chicken broth
• 1 cup tomato juice
• 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup green beans
• 1/2 cup carrots, sliced
• 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• red pepper flakes to taste
• pepper, to taste
• OPTIONAL: chili powder season, to taste

In a pan over medium heat pour a drizzle of olive oil and brown ground turkey. I added chili powder to the turkey as it was browning to give it more flavor. Once browned, remove from heat and set aside.

Place all ingredients, including browned turkey, in crockpot. 

Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. 

Store in airtight container in the fridge or freeze for later use.

Self-Care and Sunrises: Thinking Out Loud #60

Happy Thursday! It's FINALLY my weekend after what seemed like a ridiculously long week. This week I started flip flopping between nightside and dayside and it's the absolute worst because I'm running on literally no sleep. Aside from work craziness the leaves are finally showing color around the city and it's gorgeous! Fall is the best- next to summer of course🙌 Let's jump into this weeks thinking out loud!

1. As a reporter I get to interview a lot of really awesome people, but this past week I got to interview one of my favorite people in Nebraska. I was doing a story about teen driving safety when I interviewed a state trooper, I soon found out he was the genius behind their twitter. NPS literally has the BEST tweets and the trooper is just as hilarious in person. It just goes to show that not all cops are bad, he happens to be one of the nicest people I've interviewed with so far. Not to mention his tweet about a runaway pig still cracks me up😂

2. Fall is FINALLY here! I'm so excited that the leaves are finally changing color here. My parents have been sending me pictures of the leaves changing at home for weeks now so finally seeing color here made me really happy. How can you not smile when trees are this gorgeous?!

3. I've been finding ways to indulge in self-care on my weekends since my weeks are so chaotic. One of my favorite ways to relax is to take a bubble bath or do a face mask. I love this face mask because its 100% organic, it's a small business, and they are so nice. I'm not paid to say that and I didn't get free product from them. I purchased it on Amazon and I haven't looked back- it makes my skin feel amazing and it's the perfect way to relax after a long work week👌 

4. Another part about my job that I love is I get to see some really pretty small towns. I had to drive about half an hour outside Lincoln to shoot a story and as soon as I pulled into town I loved it. It was like driving back in time with the downtown looking like something out of an old americana movie. I really don't know how people sit behind a desk all day, I'd much rather be out exploring and interacting with people in the community.  

5. I shared this picture on my instagram, but it is one of my favorite from the week. I love watching the sunrise and seeing while finishing up working out made my day. Creation never ceases to amaze me.

6. I had a total geek out moment yesterday. One of the stories I reported on was a city book sale to benefit the city libraries. It was a giant warehouse with rows and rows of books. They were selling books for one to two dollars! I wish I could have spent hours there searching through all the books but sadly I had to get back to station to edit the story together.

7. This past week a movement has swept across social media to shed light on sexual harassment and sexual assault. Working on camera tends to let people think they can say whatever they want about you, especially on social media. Luckily I have very thick skin, however I have gotten some truly graphic tweets sent to me and it was more than disturbing. I have been sexually harassed at the gym and in numerous places throughout my lifetime. My story goes deeper than just harassment, but it's something I'm not ready to talk about and I'm not sure I'll ever be ready to talk about. However, I love that light is being shed on this issue because it's so pervasive in our culture. Women have feelings too and we deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. I choose to speak out with all the women and say #metoo because I don't want to stay silent anymore and I can only hope something good will come of this movement. 

8. I LOVE this quote🙌 I've never been one to care about what people think about me, but I think it's an important lesson for everyone to learn. People will always judge and be mean and talk about you, but you have to be you. Own who you are because the people who really matter love you for who you are, flaws and all.

Happy Thursday and have a terrific weekend everyone🎉🎉🎉

What is your favorite thing to meal prep? (I need some inspiration!)
What is your favorite way to show yourself some self-care?

Work, Work, Work: Thinking Out Loud #59

I feel like that Rihanna song work, work, work because that's all I've done this week so far. My schedule got changed so now I have Thursday and Friday off instead of the weekend, but having worked just three days this week I've already got almost 40 hours in. I'm beyond dead😴 Don't get me wrong I love my job, but the whole work life balance is something I've yet to figure out and I'm not sure I'll ever figure out with my field. Anyway let's jump into this weeks (shortened version of) thinking out loud.

1. I've gotten a few questions about what I do- I'm a TV news reporter. My technical title is a multimedia journalist, which means I shoot, write, edit, and front my work. Essentially a jack of all trades and working as a one man band is a lot harder than it looks. While it's a lot of work, for very little pay (any future journalists out there be warned the pay stinks!), and a lot of long hours I love my job. I'm not a desk job person and this lets me get out into the community and share stories that genuinely matter to people.

2. However, make no mistake reporting is nowhere near as glamorous as people think. This week I spent time with the city engineer discussing new signage, roadside memorials, and things of that nature. We met outside city limits at an intersection which happened to be next to a farm. I came home smelling like a barnyard thanks to some cows. First thing I did was change clothes and take a shower. My newsroom colleagues had to put up with the barnyard smell for a bit after I got back🙊

3. Since my life has been nothing but work recently I have been living off of meal prep and crockpot meals. Most people go out to eat a lot, but since I pack my meals I save a lot of money. Sure meal prep takes some time, but honestly I don't mind. Eating out every day for lunch at roughly $10 a pop by the end of the week that's $50 (or more), which is a week of groceries for me- that includes all meals not just lunch. I'll share the recipe for this delicious turkey vegetable soup soon.

4. My favorite stories to cover involve animals or kids. Animals are obvious because who doesn't want to snuggle a cute puppy or kitten, but kids get so excited about being on camera and give the best, most candid answers. I did a story about it being fire safety week and a group of kindergartners went to a firehouse to learn about preventing fire. The kids were hilarious and I had a blast hanging out with them. 

5. This quote has hit home for me this week. I was sent out to cover a massive apartment complex fire where an entire building was lost and countless people lost everything. I was blown away by the attitudes of residents, most of them- having just lost everything- were incredibly upbeat. A lot of them said stuff happens in life and you can't dwell on the negative. It took me back because I don't know if I could be so positive if I was in their position. 

Have a terrific Thursday and a great weekend!

How do you maintain a positive mindset when hard times come along?
What kind of news stories do you like seeing the most and why?

Leaky Apartments and Puppy Withdrawals: Thinking Out Loud #58

Happy Thursday! This week has been flying by and I'm totally ok with that because I am more than ready for the weekend. I got switched to reporting nightside this week and while I still love my job, I am not a night person. I've also been dealing with a mini apartment crisis, so it's made for a long week. The end is in sight though and it's supposed to be a beautiful weekend so I look forward to spending some time outside soaking up some vitamin D😎 Anyway, let's jump into this weeks thinking out loud.

1. Being a reporter is a ton of fun, but it's also a ton of work. Most people don't realize how much work goes into producing a newscast, finding stories, putting stories together, keeping the website update, etc. I mainly focus on finding stories, interviewing, and putting stories together. I lover that everyday is something different with my job and I'm never stuck in the office all day. I have never been a sit still person and reporting allows me to get out of the office, into the community, and share stories that matter. It's a lot of work, but it's a lot of fun too. My dad always told me to choose a career that I loved so I would never work a day in my life.

2. Another bonus of being a reporter is getting to dress up everyday. I love getting to pick out something cute to wear everyday and while some days I do feel like just bumming it once I get ready and get dressed I feel much better. A good outfit can change an entire attitude👌 It's also a good excuse to have a lot of clothes since I can't wear the same thing to work everyday. My boyfriend says I have too many clothes, but really it's mostly work clothes and gym clothes and I don't think you can ever have too many of either. 

3. Getting out into the community to share stories is a lot of fun because I get to see a lot of really cool buildings. Earlier this week I was at a meeting in downtown Lincoln and got to go into this building with these amazing light fixtures. I was fascinated by them and I'd kind of like to steal one for my apartment😬

4. Speaking of my apartment some tears were shed this past weekend. I came home late from work Friday night utterly exhausted from a not so great day (thank you technical difficulties) to find it raining IN my apartment. It's supposed to rain outside not inside. It was almost 9PM so I called emergency maintenance and then had to wait around for them to show up over an hour later. The guy said there wasn't anything he could do and he would have to wait for the main maintenance people to take a look during the week. So it rained in my apartment all weekend and then my clothes got locked in the washing machine Saturday morning as the washing machine broke down. I flat out ugly cried at that point. I was exhausted and nothing was going right. Thankfully the washing machine was fixed, my clothes were ok, but I still have a leaking ceiling because the drywall has to dry out before the maintenance people will fix anything and it's been raining all week😑 thankfully, friends drove across town on Saturday to take me to get froyo. They've known me less than a month, but dropped their Saturday plans to surprise me and cheer me up. I was blown away and so incredibly thankful.

5. On a brighter note, my parents have been keeping me updated on Cora. I Facetimed with her over the weekend, yes I'm THAT dog mom. While she was a royal pain in the butt I miss having her around. She never failed to make me laugh, I got endless puppy kisses and she was genuinely the happiest and nuttiest dog. My next door neighbor has a german shepard so I've been playing with and petting him and he even came over for a visit on Saturday to give me some much needed puppy kisses.

6. This quote has been in my mind for the past few weeks, especially in light of the massacre in Las Vegas. One of my favorite parts about reporting is I get to interact with so many amazing people from all walks of life. I will never understand how someone can have so much hate inside them that they'd want to harm another person, or a whole group of people. Step outside your comfort zone, travel, interact with people normally you wouldn't and I promise you your life will be richer because of it. Some of the best friends I have are people who come from very different backgrounds than myself and guess what? It doesn't matter. Where we come from doesn't bind us together, the friendship we have does. Open your mind to the people and places around you and watch how much will be added to your life. Love is so much stronger than hate. 

Have a terrific Thursday and a great weekend🎉🎉🎉

What are your plans for the weekend?
What is your dream job and why?

New Job and Dog Stalking: Thinking Out Loud #57

Happy Thursday and happy October! It does not feel like fall in Nebraska seeing as it's still in the upper 70's and low 80's. I'm ok with summer holding on a little longer though because I know winter is right around the corner. This week has been hectic with officially starting my new job and I'm looking forward to getting in the swing of things to establish a new routine. I'm a creature of habit and routines just help me function better, have I mentioned that I'm really an old lady at heart👵 Anyway, let's jump into this weeks thinking out loud.

1. There's a dog in the house that backs up my buildings parking lot and he's simply the sweetest dog. He knows how to get attention because he just sits at the fence and wags his tail. Being the crazy dog lady that I am I couldn't resist petting him and he just eats up the attention. He wags his tail so hard his entire body moves, but it kills me because when I walk away this is the face he always gives me. I wish I could steal him and take him home with me, but I don't think the homeowners would be too happy with that. My boyfriend also reminded me that I can't just take peoples dogs no matter how cute they are😬

2. My apartment is FINALLY coming together. I unpacked the last moving box and it felt amazing! I still have some things I need to organize, but it feels like a home without boxes everywhere. I got some requests to show what my apartment looks like and where I purchased different items from. I took a quick picture of part of my living room and tagged the companies I purchased everything from. Everything was reasonably priced and I shopped a lot of sales because I love getting a good deal.

3. One of my newest indulgences is taking bubble baths. Maybe it's because I have my own bathtub now, but regardless it's so relaxing! One of my best friends sent me the sweetest package with some self care items and one of them was bubble bath. I've done it almost every night for a few minutes. For me it's a good way to relax and unwind from the day.

4. On another positive note my thumb is healing🙌 It finally closed up over the weekend and I have a scab, but I'm just thrilled it's closed. I'm so thankful for the doctors at urgent care who took good care of me. Needless to say I've been avoiding sharp kitchen knives since slicing myself. 

5. I'm officially a resident of Nebraska🎉 I just have to wait for my new license to arrive and then it will be really official, but I now have Nebraska license plates. I was sad to switch out my Michigan plates, but I'll always be a Michigan girl at heart.

6. I decided to splurge on myself and treat myself to Mexican from a place I tried when I came and visited back in August. It's called Chevy's and if you're ever in Nebraska I highly recommend it. I hear they have fantastic margaritas, but I haven't tried one yet so I can't confirm that yet.Their fajitas are AMAZING and they make the best homemade salsa😋

7. This quote has been my mantra this week as I started my new job. It's scary to start something totally new, in a new state far away from all my family and friends, but I love knowing I have a heavenly family cheering me on. Never give up because you have a father who never gives up on you and is always cheering you on.

Have a terrific Thursday and a fantastic weekend everyone🎉🎉🎉

Do you have a quote that brings you comfort when you start a new phase of life or need to tackle a new challenge?

What is one way you like to indulge in self care?