MyFEDBenefits helping you have fun

So I am in Washington DC at a Conference for the next several days. While I was downstairs in the conference center I met Brandon Nicol and a couple of his co-workers from MyFEDBenefits. They were reeling in people with their dice game for some lucky person to win a $25 visa card and while they were making it a lot of fun… I was sadly losing. I convinced them to let me to have one last throw of the die for the hopes to get a roll higher than 28. But of course the odds were stacked against me, and I lost once more.

But I want to send out a shout to say how wonderful and funny these gentlemen were. And if you need help with benefits these are your guys.

So what is it that they really do? Here is a blurb off their website:

At My Fed Benefits it is our primary goal to help Federal Employees throughout their careers to take advantage of the great aspects of their unique benefits package, help them to identify and avoid wasting money on benefits they don’t need, and assist them in getting to retirement with the standard and lifestyle they have earned and deserve.

With the ever-changing environment in the government employee sector today, it is confusing, complicated, and frustrating job for an employee to squeeze the most from the benefits they are offered.  With the maze of websites, forms, forums, hotlines, etc, and the trend to reduce or eliminate human resources as a viable place to get assistance, obtaining reliable information in a user-friendly format is a thing of the past.  That is where we come in.

Brandon Nicol is a Chartered Federal Employee Benefit Consultant — if you need information please give him a call or email.

PO BOX 1509
Jacksonville OR 97530
Cell: (541) 610-7843

BNicol@MFBHelp.com
MyFedBenefitsHelp.com

1 year anniversary… that went by fast!

I can’t believe June 17th was my one year anniversary of Small Town Living in Nevada!! They say the first year is the hardest. Hopefully, it will be smooth sailing from her on out!

Thank you to all my followers via WordPress, Facebook and Pinterest. Without you I would just be writing out loud to myself.

OneYear

Beef Nachos made from leftovers

Nachos | Small Town Living in Nevada

I made tacos the other night and had seasoned ground beef and smashed avocados leftover that needed to be used up. Tonight felt like a fun night for Nachos because who doesn’t like to transform leftovers into something different and just as tasty?

For my chips, I grabbed a stack of corn tortillas, quartered them and then fried them up so I could make the nachos. My daughter helped and was having a great time ‘cooking’ with me.

Here’s what will be needed:

  • Taco meat (I used leftover seasoned ground beef)
  • Tortilla chips (which I made homemade from my Tortilla Chip Recipe)
  • Shredded cheese
  • Beans, tomatoes, green onions, diced avocado…whatever you like
  • Toppings- Sour cream, salsa, guacamole, Sriracha sauce, etc

I greased a cookie sheet and then started to layer my ingredients: beginning by spreading out a layer of chips, next layered with some shredded cheese. Next I placed a layer of black beans, and another sprinkle of cheese and then a layer of seasoned beef topped with more shredded cheese.

Pop the cookie sheet into a 500º F oven for about 4 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted.

Remove from oven and serve with your choice toppings.

Fast, simple and definitely a crowd pleaser — and a great way to use up leftovers in the fridge!

I am in a Photo Contest and need your VOTE, please!

Hi everyone —

I really need your help…. My photo is tied for 2nd place at 18 votes, yet trailing by 3 votes from being in 1st place.

Please vote for my Carson Valley Days photo that I submitted to the Record Courier’s Newspaper contest at: http://recordcourier.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?p=V&c=177176&s=78035164&i=1&m=X&sort=SORTORDER

It is photo #7 of my kids and of my friend Autumn’s children on the Wipeout ride during the Special Kid’s night.

You can vote everyday until voting closes on Tuesday June 30th.

Thanks in advance,

Michele

Special Kid's Night during Carson Valley Day's | Small Town Living in Nevada

SOYJOY® Bars – Product Review

soyjoy_logoSOYJOY® asked me to try their bars and to share what my family and I thought with my readers. We graciously received all seven flavors (Dark Chocolate Cherry, Cranberry, Banana, Berry, Blueberry, Mango Coconut and Strawberry) to try.

What I loved about these bars: they are all-natural and certified gluten free. They are baked with high-quality, non-genetically modified ground whole soy and made with 100% real fruit and natural ingredients.

AND they are free of trans fats and hydrogenated oils, and don’t contain any artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners.  Plus, they don’t have any chemical additives, and the ground soy is GMO free. What isn’t to like? So these bars are definitely a suitable snack to reach for.

SOYJOY® bars were different than most of the bars I’ve tried in the past and maybe it was because of it being made with ground whole soy. While we had seven flavors to try — I opted out of trying the Banana flavor since I have a severe intolerance to Bananas and my older son wouldn’t get near the strawberry bars cause he is allergic to strawberries. Nevertheless, from what we did try we all really enjoyed the bars even though they were on the dryer side. While the Dark Chocolate Cherry bar was not a favorite by all of us due to it being way too dry, the other fruit bars were really tasty since the real fruit chunks made the bars moister, or at least it was how I perceived it.

So overall, my kids loved the Berry Bars as well as the Cranberry Bars the best while I like the Mango Coconut bar.

If you would like to try your own SOYJOY® bars you can go to their Store Locator and find the nearest location to your neighborhood.

mango_bar_front blueberry_bar_front berry_bar_front banana_bar_front cranberry_bar_front choc_cherry_bar_front

strawberry_bar_front

*** Disclaimer: I received this product for free from SOYJOY®. I am not required to write a positive review. And all opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Washington D.C. here we come….

My husband has a conference in D.C. and since our anniversary is just days after the conference ends we decided to stay 11 days for an anniversary getaway.

This will be the longest I will be away from the kiddos. Hope I and they survive the separation.

Since we will be in Washington D.C. for the July 4th I am totally looking forward to seeing the fireworks display; should be spectacular!

My parents will be house, animal and kid sitting for us the whole time for us. I hope my parents don’t hate us by the time we get back since 11 days is an awful long time for grandparents to be watching an 8, 6 and 4 years old. We shall see when we get back!

No real point to this post other than to ramble. Now off to wash clothes and start packing Saturday will be here before I know it!

Avocado Stuffed with Turkey Salad

This is by far the easiest meal and the most tastiest!

Turkey Salad stuffed in an avocado | Small Town Living in Nevada

I love avocados, and have never stuffed them before. I really consider avocados to be one of my favorite foods – they’re delicious and not to mention good for you. I am trying hard to cut back on my carbs, probably not winning at the attempts however, definitely trying.

I wanted to make something refreshing, healthy and low-carb. So after making the Turkey Salad, I stuffed the turkey mixture into a very ripe avocado half. Lets just say lunch was gone within minutes because it was just too good to savor!

Continue reading

Turkey Salad for sandwiches…

Earlier this week I took a turkey caucus placed it into a stock pot with a bunch of veggies and made turkey broth. After I canned all the broth, I removed all the bones and veggies and was left with 2.5 lbs of shredded turkey. From there I made a delicious Turkey Salad for making sandwiches.

The consistency of the turkey was / is like eating Tuna Salad once it is set and ready. No biggie, it is DELICIOUS and way tastier than tuna could ever be!

Now you can make regular Turkey Salad sandwiches, a Turkey Salad Melt or you can stuff an avocado half! Either / Or will make your mouth and tummy very pleased!

Turkey Salad for sandwiches | Small Town Living in Nevada

Continue reading

Gluten Free Peanut Butter and Jelly Grilled Sandwich

Have you ever been to Disneyland and eaten dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen? One of the items they have on their buffet menu line is PB&J Pizza. While my kids and I couldn’t eat it I made it at home on Udi’s Pizza Crust. It was really good! Warm, melty goodness! And this is coming from someone who really isn’t a big fan of PB&J sandwiches.

Now fast forward a year and a half… I was making everyone roast beef sandwiches except for one of the kids they wanted a PB&J sandwich instead. I took out the panini grill so I could make the Roast beef sandwiches and then said, “Can I put your PB&J on the panini grill, also?” and my kid was like, “Sure.”

Well the other two kids seemed to be jealous and all I could hear was, “Can I have a bite to try your sandwich?” “This is sooooooo good!”

Anyhow, a new sandwich was born in our home, LOL.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Panini Sandwich

Continue reading

Turkey 5 ways

Last night I cut up a raw 22 lb turkey so I could get 5 meals out of it plus made broth to stock up on from this turkey this week. Even though the turkey cost $24, it is very economical to cut it up and basically use every bit you can.

Last night I diced up one of the breasts and made Chinese Orange Turkey with Fried Rice.

Chinese Orange TurkeyThen I took the caucus and placed it into a stock pot with a bunch of veggies and made turkey broth. Had it on the stove all night and then my husband turned the pot off this morning before he headed off to work. I canned all the broth, removed all the bones and veggies and had 2.5 lbs of shredded turkey left over to make Turkey Salad for sandwiches. However, for lunch I stuffed an avocado instead and it was YUMMO! Recipes will be coming out later this week!

Turkey Salad stuffed in an avocado