Impulsive

I am an impulse buyer. I'll admit it.  I go into Target, get what I need a whole kart full of crap and then proceed to check out.  That's where it begins, my friends.  You know...the fruit snacks, mascara, tissue pouches, chap stick, at that convenient little spot right where you wait in line to pay. I start to wonder do I need another 50 pack of hair ties or that three pack of tissues that I'll never use (that's a story for another time), and the answer is always YES! I am our of my tide pen....I would love a bottle of water right now! I'm sucha sucker!

This past week I was at CVS waiting to fill a prescription and wondered over into the 'As seen on TV' section...Dangerous! That is where I bought the best invention ever.  The Perfect Tortilla. I also am a sucker for infomercials...oh what's that? Yes I do need a shamwow and actually six of them for the price of one. 

I saw the infomercial on these tortilla pans and immediately told Ken I HAD to have them.  He said no, like he does to all of my crazy must get items.  But while in CVS I decided what the heck.  I bought them and I now love them!


I made dinner last night using my new tortilla pans and it was delish! I actually used the same recipe for the stuffed peppers I made awhile back (well technically I made too much while making the stuffed peppers and froze half of it so I just reheated last night). 

You just put in a normal tortilla and bake at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes.  I added a little fresh jalapenos, cilantro, queso fresca  and Chipotle Tabasco to complete the dish.  I highly recommend buying these...even if Ken still ate it like a regular taco!

Stuffed Peppers

I've decided to start cooking again.

I love to cook...that's not the reason why I don't have homemade meals, ready for Ken, when he gets home everyday. My problem is more the planning and grocery shopping. I used to make a weekly menu and shop accordingly several times a week...but...I've just been too lazy. Plus, Ken has been working late a lot, we try to go to the gym after work, and we have had quite a few plans with friends that keep us away during dinner time. I know I just rattled off excuse after excuse...and it's time I put my big girl pants on and got busy in the kitchen.

To encourage myself to cook a few nights a week I am going to start sharing what we are eating on here!  Plus, a few people have asked for this recipe after seeing a picture I posted.

Tuesday for dinner I made stuffed peppers. I had a recipe printed and thought this would be a healthy dinner and something we had never had before. The problem is am not good at sticking to a recipe. I'm a picky eater and I usually only have half the ingredients the recipe calls for. So with that being said, I improvised on Tuesday.  Here is the original recipe is case you were wondering. And here is what I made.

 

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 cup long grain brown rice (I used Uncle Ben’s but any would work)

1 can black beans (drained & rinsed)

1 can corn (drained)

2 Jalapenos diced (this is optional-we just love spicy foods)

1 packet of Taco seasoning

¼ cup of shredded cheese (I used a 3 cheese Mexican blend)

8 large bell peppers

 

Preparation

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Dice jalapenos

Drain and rinse black beans and corn

Slice the top off of the bell peppers and clean out seeds (neat tip: slice a tiny piece off of the bottom of  the peppers will have a flat surface and can stand upright)

 
Cooking

Place ground turkey in skillet and cook on medium until brown.  Add taco seasoning to turkey meat.  In another pot cook rice according to package.  Once rice is completely cooked, add corn, black beans, jalapenos, seasoned ground turkey and mix together.  Fill each pepper with rice mixture (pack it down with a spoon) and place in a baking dish.  Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes. Add shredded cheese the last 5 minutes of baking.


This recipe makes a lot of the rice mixture.  I only made 3 stuffed peppers and put the rest of the mixture in a zip lock bag, in the freezer.  Now I can have this meal another time by thawing out the rice mixture. You could also take this recipe and add an Italian twist by using sausage, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese!

Enjoy!

It's begun...Football Season

It's that time of the year and I hate to admit it....but I'm not excited.  The hubby looks forward to football season all year, and me, well not so much. 

Growing up, my family didn't worship football like most American families. I never had a team to root for or a favorite player to wear their jersey.  That all changed once Ken came into my life.  Football season to him is the best time of the year.  Shortly after we were married, he woke me up in the middle of the night to let me know I needed to pick a team for the upcoming season and that we were going to buy jerseys.  Imagine my joy when that happened!

This year, I am a little more excited about football season for 3 reasons:

1.) We now have a new team and player to root for....Jon Weeks from the Houston Texans!  A dear friend of mine is engaged to him (I even get to be a bridesmaid at their wedding in February) and Ken and I have really enjoyed getting to know him.  When you know someone playing it becomes so much more fun watch! Plus, Ken and I will be going to Houston this season to see him play and catch up with Amanda & Jon!

2.)  We just bought a new couch and I can't wait to lay on it all day long - even if I am forced to watch football more than 2 days a week!

3.) I love any excuse to have people over and make some good food...including these treats below! 

Football Truffles - recipe found on Pretty Providence. I will definitely be making these this season!

Found this one on pinterest from Plain Chicken and I can't wait to try it out! It's called Mississippi Sin...mmm!

Buffalo Chicken Dip - I've made this so many times and it is amazing. I've changed up the recipe and don't use the blue cheese/ranch dressing. Plus I make it in the crock pot which makes this so easy!
 

I hope you enjoy these game time treats and come over any time to catch a game on our new couch!Go Texans!

Meet Piper

I am so excited to introduce to you the newest addition to our family.  Meet Piper!

 

On Friday, I picked this girl up from a foster family and was beyond happy to bring her home.  She is a 3 year old Black Lab/Golden Retriever and weighs around 55 lbs.  She knows some basic training but hasn't mastered riding in a car yet!  Here she is trying to make her way into my lap! Already loves her new momma!

 

 

 

She is such a sweet dog and we are so happy to have her in our family. She looks so much like our other dog Holly but half the size.  I tried to get a picture of the two of them together but I can't get them to sit still.

 

Here she is getting some lovin...that's what makes this little girl happy...a good head scratch!

 

 

 

Date Night Vegas Style

Ken and I decided to try a new restaurant and go exploring in our new city. Now, I know it's not new to me...but it's new to us as a married couple. Plus, so many things have changed since the last time I lived here.

We decided to start off our Friday night at the Sugar Factory for drinks, dinner and dessert!  What a fun place.  We first ordered the White Gummy Goblet. This drink was better looking than tasting and costs $33 (yikes!).  However, we had fun fishing for gummy worms amid the dry ice!

For dinner we ordered a BBQ Chicken Pizza and a Burger. Food was delish and I even had left overs for two days...score!

Then came time for dessert. There were so many options it was hard to choose.  We could see from looking around that the desserts were monstrous and we would need to share to even make a dent in them. Ken's mouth watering just looking at the shakes on other people's tables but he decided to be a team player and we split an old fashioned sundae - the Cookie Jar Sundae to be exact.  Let me tell you what was in it! It had three massive scoops of cookie dough and cookies and cream ice cream, warm fudge, caramel sauce, crushed chocolate chip cookies, Oreo cookies and whipped cream.  It was tasty and worth every penny (or dollars...$13 actually).  We made sure to save some room for this but we didn't even come close to finishing it.  It was just the right amount of sweet for the night.

After dinner we walked the Miracle Mile shops since Ken had never been there.  Not much to see but at least he can say hes been.  Then we headed over to the Bellagio to watch the fountains.  We both have seen them before but it is always an entertaining time.  We stood next to a bum man with a mullet, camo tank top and leather weight lifting belt who told us he had a busy day today saving the world. Then he threw his yard margarita cup into the water.  Needless to say when some other couple tried to squeeze in to watch the show, we had no problem letting them in between us!

When the fountain show was over, we headed to the Cosmo.  Ken had been there once for drinks with a friend but it was my first time. I LOVED it.  What a cool and sparkly hotel.  We watched a 50s lounge singer swoon the audience with her red lips, suicide roll and amazing voice. It really did feel as if we were in another time period with all the glamour and glitz.

We had such a fun night and can't wait for our next adventure in Las Vegas!

Summer

Summer is here...this means pool season, bbq's and massive shedding by our dog Holly. 

While I love Holly more than anything...I HATE how much she sheds.  When the weather starts getting warm her hair starts coming off in clumps.  I usually have to sweep our floors daily. Don't believe me...see for yourself!

 This is how much hair we get after brushing her for about 5 minutes! We try to do this weekly but still manage to get clumps of hair piled up around the baseboards.

 This weekend I swept the tile and Ken vacuumed the carpets...then Holly.  It started off he was being silly but she loved it.  She even turned around so he could get the other side.  He had fun and she ended up with perfect vacuum lines!

Delicious...

Growing up my family ate out ALL the time.  My mom enjoyed not having to cook and clean and we all loved having the variety that a restaurant offers. Even on Christmas morning we would go to Denny's in our pajamas.  I know...my family is high class going to Denny's...it's actually my favorite restaurant next to Sizzlers!

With that being said, Ken and I try to be good about eating at home. Eating at home is good for our wallets and waist line! It's become a little easier now that I have found that I have a love for cooking (...didn't get that from momma).  Being married has given me someone fun to test out my new recipes on.  Some are great....and some are not so edible. But the fun is in trying something new and experimenting in the kitchen. 

Last night one of my best friends, Jonny, came over for dinner. Jonny is the pickiest eater I have ever know so planning a menu was tough.  I like to make food that looks pretty, is so very tasty and is easy to prepare.  So that's what I did. I found some awesome recipes on pinterest and I will share them with you!

I made...

Bacon-wrapped Jalapeno Chicken Bites from an awesome blog Salad in a Jar. I did make a few adjustment because Ken and I like it spicy! I know what you're thinking but I was talking about food! I left the jalapeno seeds in and used a good amount of cream cheese (the first time I skimped but this time it was perfect).  For the record Jonny wouldn't eat my chicken so we grilled chicken in bbq sauce jsut for him!



Crash Hot Potatoes that I found on another cool blog For the Love of Cooking.  These were really easy to make and tasted great.  I actually used a little garlic salt rather than sea salt and cracked pepper!


So there you have it...two new recipes to try.  Bon appetite!