Pioneer Woman Is My Hero

The Cinnamon Bread recipe from her website (thepioneerwoman.com) turned out SO tasty and made for some fabulous French Toast this morning... Whaddya think?

Home - Pt. 1

It's where we live. Where we're making memories. Where we fight. Where we make up. Where we laugh. Where we cry. Where we learn. Where we build our life.

It's home.

And I've been saying for SUCH a long time, now, that I would take you on a tour of our home, but I've been slacking. Well, I FINALLY remembered to get the "before" pictures from my Big Sister and I can FINALLY show you! I know you're just tingling with excitement, so here we go.

Reminder: this is what the house looked like the day we moved in, so there's nothing... no furniture, not nothing and that HIDEOUS wallpaper got pulled down OH so fast!! So - feel free to comment on how tacky everything looks, okay? I will not be offended in the least. And then later on at some point, I'll show you some of the little progress we've made. :-)

So today we'll start with the hideous main full bathroom. Oh. Em. Gee. It's horrendous. Are you sure you're ready for this?

This is the view from our bedroom entrance. *shivers*

From the hallway entrance.

You see that lovely splash of color sitting on the back of the toilet? Yep - that's the wallpaper's MATCHING shower curtain. *gag*

SO that's that. Home not-so-sweet home. It's MUCH sweeter now, of course, but... we'll get to that later. I'll be showing more of our home over the next few days, so stay tuned!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And guess what - I WON!!! Mrs. Stethoscope's giveaway, that is. Free food! I like never win giveaways. I am SO stoked, you have NO idea. Go check it out so you can be jealous of me and my awesome cookies. Yumm-O!!

Uh-Oh, but Yumm-O!

SO yesterday I played housewife.

Okay, you're right, I kind've play housewife every day, BUT I was a little better at it than usual yesterday!! You see, I kind've planned a few options for dinner this week and everything ready for me to just decide which meal I (we) want that night and WHAM-o. Get to cooking! So I went shopping Monday and wah-lah. Awesomeness for the whole week. Rock on!!


I even bought some things for us to try out a few new recipes from the AWESOME "Cooking Light Cookbook" that I picked up (at Lowes, oddly enough) and absolutely love!! There's SO many good ideas. And the food isn't like gross healthy, it's like "I'll probably even LIKE that" healthy type food. Know what I mean? Sure you do. ;-)


Anywho, yesterday I got home from work. Spent a little cuddle time with McStudly (shh! Don't tell, he's sure it'll ruin his street cred.) and then started on dinner before realizing I needed another ingredient (dang it... SO close!). So he ran to the store while I hung out with the pup.

While I waited to got dishes done (the sink was EMPTY folks!) and wiped down all the counters and the stove... blah blah blah. When he got home, I made dinner (Chicken Spaghetti - if you ask real nice and you're lucky, maybe I'll give you the recipe - and no, it's nothing at all like Chicken Permagiana, just FYI), washing and putting away dishes as I went (that's right - hand out the bonus points!). After we had dinner, I finished dishes, put leftovers in the fridge (one of a very short list of meals that tastes just as good, sometimes better, as leftovers).

Then I sat for a few before rushing to meet Mom and lil' Sister at goodwill for a shopping date. I scored a few shirts, nothing good in the home-front section (not even anything to work with, I mean) and then headed to their house for a quick stop. I picked up my Aunt's old dress (as in she wore it when she was my age, and now it fits me perfectly... just gotta get some shoes - post w/ pics probably to follow) and headed home to my McStudly.


We were anxious to try out a new Strawberry Banana shake recipe (we're not the healthiest eaters, but we'll try it if there's a good picture!) so I set out to get started. I cut up the Nanas, and pulled out the Strawberries to find... MOLD! Ugh! I JUST bought them Monday (call me uneducated, I thought they'd be fine to sit out one night before putting them in the fridge - okay I forgot - but ONE night and they already molded? No fair! I call a do-over). I was SO upset!

But then, McStudly came to my rescue. He reminded me that we had some blueberries in the freezer (old as they may be... still blueberries nonetheless). So I replaced the strawberries with blueberries and wah-lah. It was actually pretty tasty!!


Happy ending: McStudly saved the day, I left the kitchen clean and [somewhat] organized, and all went to bed happy. And for those of you wondering:


Blueberry Banana Shakes!

2 cups sliced bananas
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup orange juice
3 cups low fat/fat free vanilla ice cream


Mix first 3 ingredient in a blender until smooth. Add ice cream one scoop at a time, blending until smooth. Then dish-out and serve immediately. Makes about 4 servings, 1 cup/serving.




So there you have it - sometimes even oopsies in the kitchen can turn into quite a yummy (and somewhat healthy) surprise. Score for all!!

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?

My Husband Rocks

I know... I KNOW!! I've been SUCH a slacker with the MHR posts, lately, but it's not because I don't think My Husband does in fact Rock... it's more like because I get busy, and forgetful... blah blah blah.

Enough excuses.

My Husband TOTALLY Rocks!! This week, Katy Lin created an Acronym for "My Husband Rocks", so I'm going do to something kind've similar. Check it:

M - military... for now :-)

c - crazy fun

S - sexy (Oww owwww!!)

T - thoughtful

U - uncanny knack for reading me

D - dreamy as all get out

L - lovable

Y - younger than me *blushing*

So there you have it - a little bit about my McStudly. Don't tell him I told you, though... he'd HATE it if word got out that he was lovable and understanding. His "street cred" as a man would be shot. And we wouldn't want that, now would we? :-P

Leave a comment and paste a link - if your Husband Rocks, too, we'd LOVE to hear about him!

Toodles!

Wordless Wednesday

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??