Happy 5 May!!

Today is Cinco de Mayo. Woohoo!! I'm not even REMOTELY hispanic, by any means, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the grub, eh?



I had asked McStudly is Baked Ziti would be alright for dinner tonight and got the half-asleep grunt equivalent of an "I don't care." but... then I realized it's CINCO DE MAYO!!! And you can't have Italian on 5 May. It's just not right.

So here's my revised idea:


Baked Steak Burritos and Turkey & Bean Tostadas. :-)


The recipes for those of you in need of inspiration for tonight's meal:


Baked Steak Burritos

Prep time: 30 min.
Cook time: 30 min.
Makes: 12 burritos; 6 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup - butter or margarine
1 pkg (1 oz) - taco seasoning mix
1/2 lb - beef, boneless sirloin tip steak, cut into thin bite-size strips
1 can (16 oz) - refried Beans
12 - flour tortillas (6 inch)
2 cups (8 oz) - shredded Cheddar cheese
3 (3 tbsp) - medium green onions, thinly sliced
1 can (10 oz) - enchilada sauce
1 cup (4 oz) - shredded Mexican cheese blend

To cook:
1. Heat over to 400 degrees. In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in taco seasoning mix. Add beef strips; cook 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until desired doneness; drain.
2. Meanwhile, place refried beans in microwaveable dish. Microwave uncovered on high 2 minutes, stirring once or twice.
3. Spread each tortilla with refried beans to within 1/4 inch of edge. Top each with beef, cheddar cheese and onions. Roll up, folding in sides. In ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish, place burritos with seam sides down. Pour enchilada sauce over burritos. Sprinkle with Mexican cheese blend.
4. Bake, uncovered, 7-12 minutes or until burritos are thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.



Turkey and Bean Tostadas

Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Makes: 5 servings (2 tostadas each)

Ingredients:
1 box (14.5 oz) - soft taco dinner kit
1 lb - lean (at least 93%) ground turkey or beef
2/3 cup - water
1 can (15 oz) - spicy chili beans in sauce, undrained
3 cups - shredded romaine lettuce
1 cup (4 oz) - shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup - fresh cilantro, chopped (if desired)
1/2 cup - sour cream (if desired)

To cook:
1. Heat over to 350 degrees. On ungreased cookie sheet, place tortillas (from dinner kit). Bake about 7 minutes, or until crisp. Place on individual plates.
2. In 10-inch nonstick skillet, cook turkey/beef, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink; drain. Stir in seasoning mix (from dinner kit), water and beans; heat until hot.
3. Divide turkey/beef mixture evenly among tortillas. Top with taco sauce (from dinner kit) and remaining ingredients.



Yum yum YUM!! I can't wait for dinner. Hopefully it'll even be "Might Good" worthy. A girl can dream, right?!


What are YOUR "Cinco" plans?

Here she is:


My first blog award, from Lindsay at Laugh Along The Way. Is that awesome, or what?! Thanks Lindsay!!


"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award!"


Now I have to pass it on (in Alpha order):
~ Aiyana at Word
~ Brittany at Evolution of Brittany
~ Carrie at Momma Bowyer
~ Malia at Lia Marie Fotographie
~ Melody at Simplicity
~ Lindsey at Learning to Be a Wife
~ Terri at The Peters and the Point
~ The Mrs. at Trying Our Best


So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! I'll be commenting on all of their pages to make sure they see that they've received the award. Thanks for your awesome blogs, ladies!!

MHR Friday

This week, I'd like to talk about how my husband rocks - because he makes my birthday TOTALLY fabulous.

Even though McStudly thinks it's absolutely ridiculous that I have this Princess-like necessity to have an "All About Me" day once a year, he still does what he can to make it happen.

Thank you, Baby! I had one of the best birthdays EVER this year! I LOVE YOU!

Name That Recipe!

So last night I got brave. I've been toying around with this idea I've had for a new recipe, and figured that last night would be the perfect night to try it out. When McStudly works days, he doesn't each much when he gets home. And since I was in the mood to cook, I figured I'd give it a shot!

So this is what you need (feel free to make it your own... I was trying to be SLIGHTLY on the healthy side):

1 lb. low fat Ground beef (or ground turkey, or whatever you like, really...)
1/4 green pepper, chopped (or more, to taste)
1/4 onion, chopped (or more, to taste)
1 cup brown rice (or white, if you prefer)
1/4 cup cheddar and mozzarella cheese, plus more on side for adding in...
Egg Roll Shells (I don't know what they're technically called)
Vegetable Oil


Cook the ground beef, seasoning as desired (for me that means salt, pepper, and some Garlic & Heb seasoning, with a dash of cumen for smokey flavor). While the ground beef is cooking, go ahead and make the rice to have it ready.

Drain the beef and put, cooled, into a mixing bowl. Add the rice, green pepper, onions, and finally the cheese, mixing through.

On a plate, lay an egg roll shell flat, like a diamond. just below the middle, add about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and throw in a bit more cheese. Roll it up and place in 350 degree vegetable oil for about 2 - 3 minutes, flipping occasionally. You want the outside to be a golden brown color.

Remove from oil and let drain and cool on paper towels.


**If you'd rather go a bit healthier (as in leave out the oil!!) you can place the filling in tortillas and melt some more cheese on top, and eat as a burrito. OR you can place inside lettuce leaf and roll it up as a lettuce wrap.



It was SO yummy, I brought the filling with tortillas to work for lunch, today. Even McStudly approved. He reluctantly agreed to taste it, and then wouldn't give me the rest of the roll... he finished it instead!




I was VERY glad that this turned out so well. But now I can't think of what to call it! A few ideas given by others were along the lines of "Chubby Fingers" or "Fiesta Roll-ups", but I don't know. I need your help, guys.


So - What do you think??

The Fat Lady Sang

It doesn't matter, now.

... who you voted for, who you wanted to win, what your race, what your moral standings... it doesn't matter now.


Why? Because the election is over. The country has spoken (minus about 10,000 absentee ballots due to VA's huge-mongous screw-up), and they've elected a President. So it doesn't matter what you think.

It's time to start praying for President-elect Barack Obama, his family, and our country.

It's time to start respecting him. It doesn't matter if you voted for him, or even if you like him. He is going to be our leader. And, like it or not, he deserves our respect for that very reason. So let it go if you're upset, and take a chill pill if you're overly excited - Because none of that matters now.


You may be curious who I voted for. Does it matter? I'll tell you, but it doesn't matter. Even though I live in a very liberal state, I still voted conservative - I voted for Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin. But like I said, it doesn't matter. They didn't win the elction, and I'm not crying. It's time to be proud of my country, not add to it's division.


America has spoken. And they said they wanted President-elect Obama. So now we've got him. And it's time that we all started to give him our respect. So here's to you, sir. May God lead and guide you in the way that you run this country. May you earn respect with foreign leaders and diplomats, and may you do all that you can to bring pride back to the hearts of all Americans.



*raises glass* "Cheers." *Takes a sip*



So, since like ALLL of the headlines seem to be about having an African American President-elect for the first time in the history of the United States of America, I figured I'd add to it, just for fun.

I won't lie and call this "Wordless Wednesday", (I mean look at all of the words!), but just for jollies, this is pretty much what our New History books will look like. I'm sure they'll be hitting the presses ANY day, now.

Whether or not color should matter, sometimes, to some people, it does.

Happy Hump Day!

Grub

So... I get to make dinner for Brittany and Jason, and their parents, tonight. They just had their beautiful baby, Tessie Leigh, and we're all helping them out by bringing them dinner so they can just relax and enjoy her. :-)

I'm excited. I wanted to mix it up and make them something different - so, I put my meatballs in the crockpot last night, and mixed my secret sauce together with it. And it smelled SO good when I got up this morning (and tasted yummy, too!). So they are having Meatball Subs for dinner.

I hope they like them (if you're reading them, and you don't... let me know, now, and I've got a back up for you!! I don't mind eating my meatballs all by myself - they're yummy!). But hopefully it'll be 'Mighty Good'. ;-)

But all this thinking about grub has not only made me hungry, but it also reminds me of the Lion King's Timon and Pumba. Remember how they used to show down on those little grubs?

Good times... good times....

We Got the...

How stinking AWESOME is that?!?!


We have the home inspection today, so say a prayer for us that all goes smoothly. As of now, settlement is set for 28 August. :-D




I can't wait!!

Grandpa and the MaryJ

Monday night, McStudly and I went to Mama and Papa Bear's house to go swimming, let the pup get worn out by Luke (their Yellow Lab), and have dinner with the family one more time while Aunt Sylvia is in town.

Before reading further, please refer back to Mighty Good - a blog about my shortcomings as a cook, through the opinion of my Grandfather... good times.

Now that you've done your homework (you read it, right?), I can continue on with my Story.

So we're sitting around the dinner table - eating, talking, laughing - when I reached a point where I no longer needed to receive a "Mighty Good" from my grandfather. I have accomplished something far greater and nothing will ever beat that (yes, April - it's EVEN better than him thinking everyone gets married in Cleveland, and the silly grin on his pool-side-climbing face).

Aunt Sylvia began expressing her opinion that my Grandpa was now addicted to Soda, as she poured him another glass.

My father begins explaining, as we all laugh, that she is the one pouring his drink, and thus feeding his addiction.

She comes back with something along the lines of "But Zelma says he loves it. He prefers it, even. He drinks it all the time out there and now he doesn't want anything but that." (Sorry, Sylvie - I dont' remember your exact words)

We're all laughing at this point... and Dad points out, AGAIN, that SHE is the one pouring his drink at the moment.

So I chime in, complete with my dripping sarcasm and half-attempt at a poor southern accent - "He's the one that smokes the marijuana, I just give it to him."

Queue family laughter...

wait for it...

wait for it...

aannnnddd

Queue grandpa laughter!

HIIIILLLARIOUS!! You should've been there. Oh my word. If I could explain it to you, you'd be wetting yourself, right about now. It was tooo funny!

I love my Grandpa... even if he does have to ask McStudly what service branch he's in everytime we go over there, and then proceeds to "promote" him each time, as well.

(If Grandpa was in charge, Kyle'd be a Captain... sometimes it's just easier to say "yes" to his questions then to explain to him the truth by yelling it as loud as you can so he can hear you.)

So - here's to Slater and promotions.

God Bless America.

Mighty Good

My grandfather is a very sweet man. He can't hear very well, and if anyone gets married, he thinks the wedding was in Cleveland, BUT he means well, and he's a big sweetheart (just don't get offended if he called you some random name that sounds like it's from the 60s... his eyes aren't that great, anymore, either). Needless to say, he's gotten pretty "wise" over the years (a nice, friendly way of saying he's gotten old).

You see - Grandpa is currently in town. My Aunt Zelma, whom he now lives with, flew out here with him so that he can stay with our family while she's in Malaysia doing some missions work (or going to a conference... something cool either way). Also, my Aunt Sylvia flew in to help watch Grandpa and see the family again. It's almost become an annual thing (this is only the second year, but I've got a feeling!!).

With that said, I made a few realizations while sitting on my couch with my mother on Sunday. Whatever my Grandpa does, one of my aunts always checks with him. They kind've have to watch him closely because he can't really take care of himself alone, anymore. So if he stands up it's "Where you going, Daddy?" or... "Daddy - it's time to take a nap" or a personal favorite "Daddy, did you go number 1 or number 2?" (BONUS information!!!).


So what were these realizations that I made? I'll tell you:

- You come into this world wearing diapers, you leave this world wearing diapers.
- You come into this world being told what to do, you leave this world being told what to do.
- You come into this world having your food cut up into tiny bits so as not to make you choke - you leave the same way.

My list of these grew quite large, actually... but if you think about it - it's like a full circle!


Well, I tell you all of this to bring you to the title of my blog. Now that you understand a little bit about my Grandfather... let me tell you that he may have trouble hearing or seeing, but the man still enjoys a good meal. He's from the south - keep that in mind for the next part of our story.



Grandpa is what some ammateurs may call a "food critic". He's never mean... but it's like getting that 5th star... you've REALLY got to earn it with him. So whenever anyone cooks, he usually grades them as (and these are in order) "Good", "Pretty Good", or the infamous "Mighty Good". And there's never any confusion... becuase he always says it twice. "Pretty good... pretty good." (I think repeating it is his way of saying "just let me EAT my FOOD, people! You've got your answer, what more do you want from me?!" But that's just my opinion)

Well, I've tried MANY times to get a "Might Good", and even at the desperation of 'word planting', I fail EVERY time! (and YES I can cook... so be nice, people!!) This is usually how the conversation at dinner goes, with Grandpa and a meal that I've cooked:

ME: How is it, Grandpa?

GRANDPA: Pretty Good... Pretty Good.

ME: Is it Mighty Good, Grandpa?

GRANDPA: It's Pretty Good... Pretty Good.

ME: (sad, pouty, failure face)

FAMILY: (uncontrollable bursts of intense laughter)


So last night I get a message on my cell phone from my family. "Hey, Sarah, it's Dad. I just wanted to let you know that I grilled out some Chicken and Steak, tonight..." (this is where I think he's being sweet and inviting me over for dinner, since Kyle usually goes to bed super early when working days... I was wrong) The message continued: "...and I got an unsolicited 'Mighty Good', so... eat your heart out. (insert background of family bursting into laughter, here)"


Now I must admit that I HIGHLY doubt that this 'Mighty Good' was "unsolicited", as he said, but whatever. Even when I solicite them... I get nothing.




Life's not fair.