Happy Wedding Day William & Kate!!!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Recipes of the Week
Since I love cooking and like to think of myself as Paula Deen Jr., I would like to share with you the two new receipes I made this week! Both were very good and took no time to make! I didn't take pictures of the two dishes but I will make sure I do for furture post! Enjoy!
Bow Tie Fiesta
Ingredients:
8 ounces bow tie pasta (I used 16oz)
1 pound ground beef
½ onion, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
Salt to taste
1 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa
½ cup sliced black olives
¼ cup sliced jalapenos (optional)
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions:
Cook the pasta using package directions and cooking for 7 minutes; drain. Brown the beef in a skillet, stirring until crumbly; drain. Add the onion and green pepper and mix well. Cook until the onion is tender, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomato sauce, chili powder, and salt. Combine the pasta, ground beef mixture, sour cream, salsa, black olives, jalapenos, and tomato in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into a 9×11-inch or 9×9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly. Yield: 8 servings
***I used ground turkey meat instead of hamburger meat and I used Medium Salsa. It made it spicey for those who like hot stuff. I think next time I may add half of a package of cream cheese, just because it makes every recipe that much better!***
Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients:
1 (1-lb.) pork tenderloin
1 teaspoon steak seasoning
4 slices of bacon
directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425. Remove siler skin from port tenderloin, leaving a thin layer of fat covering the pork. Sprinkle seasoning over pork. Wrap portk with bacon slices and secure with wooden picks. Place pork on a lightly greased wire rack in an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan.
2. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 155. Increase oven temperatore to broil. Broil 5 inches from heat 3 to 5 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Remove from oven; cover pork with foil, and let stand 10 minutes or until thermometer registers 160. Makes 4 servings.
***I do not have a wire rack so I just put the tenderloin in a baking dish. Also I do not have a meat thermometer so I just cooked it according to the minutes in the recipe.****
I got both of these recipes from Blue Eyed Brides blog. Zachary really liked both of them, however I will make sure the next time I make Bow Tie Fiesta its not so hot.
Have you tried any new recipes lately?
Bow Tie Fiesta
Ingredients:
8 ounces bow tie pasta (I used 16oz)
1 pound ground beef
½ onion, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
Salt to taste
1 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa
½ cup sliced black olives
¼ cup sliced jalapenos (optional)
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions:
Cook the pasta using package directions and cooking for 7 minutes; drain. Brown the beef in a skillet, stirring until crumbly; drain. Add the onion and green pepper and mix well. Cook until the onion is tender, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomato sauce, chili powder, and salt. Combine the pasta, ground beef mixture, sour cream, salsa, black olives, jalapenos, and tomato in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into a 9×11-inch or 9×9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly. Yield: 8 servings
***I used ground turkey meat instead of hamburger meat and I used Medium Salsa. It made it spicey for those who like hot stuff. I think next time I may add half of a package of cream cheese, just because it makes every recipe that much better!***
Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients:
1 (1-lb.) pork tenderloin
1 teaspoon steak seasoning
4 slices of bacon
directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425. Remove siler skin from port tenderloin, leaving a thin layer of fat covering the pork. Sprinkle seasoning over pork. Wrap portk with bacon slices and secure with wooden picks. Place pork on a lightly greased wire rack in an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan.
2. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 155. Increase oven temperatore to broil. Broil 5 inches from heat 3 to 5 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Remove from oven; cover pork with foil, and let stand 10 minutes or until thermometer registers 160. Makes 4 servings.
***I do not have a wire rack so I just put the tenderloin in a baking dish. Also I do not have a meat thermometer so I just cooked it according to the minutes in the recipe.****
I got both of these recipes from Blue Eyed Brides blog. Zachary really liked both of them, however I will make sure the next time I make Bow Tie Fiesta its not so hot.
Have you tried any new recipes lately?
Monday, April 25, 2011
Weekend Update
I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter weekend and got a lot of family time! We definitely had a busy weekend! I pre-baked my cupcakes and pie pops on Saturday prior to leaving for my friend Hiedi's birthday party. The cupcakes were a little nerve wracking, however easy breezy, I will definitely make them again! The pie pops on the other hand were a lot more work than they were worth. Even my "taste tester" said so! Below are my picks from my baking expedition.
(From Left to Right: Chelle, Hiedi (birthday girl), and me! Our hair is not looking too hott due to the weather)
I am not sure if Zachary was more excited about the baseball game or finding the 3 pound pretzel.
On Sunday we had an awesome Easter service at church, just what we needed to remind everyone what the day truly is about. I am so lucky to have grown up in a church that feels like home when I return to Springtown for a Sunday!
I have not received the pictures yet, but Zachary and I are #1 in the egg toss challenge this year!!! Can't wait until next year to defend our title! How was everyone else's weekend?
****PS unless you have been living under a rock, only 4 more days until the Royal Wedding!!!! My DVR is already set!!!******
On Saturday night we went to see the Texas Rangers play for one of my very best friend's birthday! It was so much fun to see everyone and chit chat. (If you ask me what went on during the game, I will not have a clue!)
On Sunday we had an awesome Easter service at church, just what we needed to remind everyone what the day truly is about. I am so lucky to have grown up in a church that feels like home when I return to Springtown for a Sunday!
I have not received the pictures yet, but Zachary and I are #1 in the egg toss challenge this year!!! Can't wait until next year to defend our title! How was everyone else's weekend?
****PS unless you have been living under a rock, only 4 more days until the Royal Wedding!!!! My DVR is already set!!!******
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
So The Truth Comes Out.....
Since I am a self proclaimed "Paula Deen Jr.", I try to make sure I am domesticated in every aspect of my "cooking" life. My fiance will tell you I can cook a mean chicken fried steak and if he had it his way we would eat it everyday for the rest of our lives. I am working on building up my culinary repertoire, so I try cooking something new at least four nights out of the week.
Luckily my future mother-in-law ordered me a subscribtion of Cooking Light Magazine. I get all types of yummy recipes from that magazine, my Pampered Chef cook books, and from random websites I stumble upon during the day. I have a huge stack of recipes I have printed and pulled out of magazines from the past six months or so. Usualy everything I cook Zachary and I both love it so I will keep the recipe. There have been a few instances that we will get all the way through dinner, somtimes a week or two later, and Zachary will tell me that he didn't like it. Our conversations normally play out like this:
Z: What are we having for dinner tonight?
E: I was thinking about making that pizza that I made a couple of weeks ago.
Z: Yeah I didn't really like that...
E: What?? I am pretty sure you told me you liked it AND you took it for lunch the next day?!?!?!
Z: Well I didn't want to hurt your feelings.
As you can see this is a definite conversation that can damage a self proclaimed "Paula Deen Jr's" ego. Not to worry I have enough self esteem for me and the next cook that forgets to turn on the timer. (Yes I have done that just a couple of times). Since I have mastered being a "steak and potato" cook, as my future mother-in-law describes it, I have decided to take on the world of baking!!! I got two great and "easy" recipes from a fellow blogger, Bakerella, and I can not wait to make them for my office Easter potluck and for my family on Easter Sunday.
These are the two items I will be baking. One is a pie pop (which I am going to use a bunny cookie cutter) and an Easter Bunny Basket cupcake. I am more nervous about the cupcake than the pie pops.
This is what I have so far from my shopping trip today to get the supplies. Not off to a great start since I realized I forgot the cake mix(yes I am using a box cake). Wish me luck and I hope everyone has a great Easter!!!
Luckily my future mother-in-law ordered me a subscribtion of Cooking Light Magazine. I get all types of yummy recipes from that magazine, my Pampered Chef cook books, and from random websites I stumble upon during the day. I have a huge stack of recipes I have printed and pulled out of magazines from the past six months or so. Usualy everything I cook Zachary and I both love it so I will keep the recipe. There have been a few instances that we will get all the way through dinner, somtimes a week or two later, and Zachary will tell me that he didn't like it. Our conversations normally play out like this:
Z: What are we having for dinner tonight?
E: I was thinking about making that pizza that I made a couple of weeks ago.
Z: Yeah I didn't really like that...
E: What?? I am pretty sure you told me you liked it AND you took it for lunch the next day?!?!?!
Z: Well I didn't want to hurt your feelings.
As you can see this is a definite conversation that can damage a self proclaimed "Paula Deen Jr's" ego. Not to worry I have enough self esteem for me and the next cook that forgets to turn on the timer. (Yes I have done that just a couple of times). Since I have mastered being a "steak and potato" cook, as my future mother-in-law describes it, I have decided to take on the world of baking!!! I got two great and "easy" recipes from a fellow blogger, Bakerella, and I can not wait to make them for my office Easter potluck and for my family on Easter Sunday.
These are the two items I will be baking. One is a pie pop (which I am going to use a bunny cookie cutter) and an Easter Bunny Basket cupcake. I am more nervous about the cupcake than the pie pops.
This is what I have so far from my shopping trip today to get the supplies. Not off to a great start since I realized I forgot the cake mix(yes I am using a box cake). Wish me luck and I hope everyone has a great Easter!!!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
~The Proposal~
Since this past Tuesday marked only 7 more months until our wedding day (Holy Moly), I decided to share with all of you "the proposal". First I would like to say I have the most amazing, loving, kind hearted future husband any girl could ask for! I am so excited that in less than a few days short of 7 months I will be walking towards the man I will start the rest of my life with! Our proposal played out a little like this:
A couple of months before Zachary popped the "BIG" question, he told me he had to go into work on a Saturday. Little did I know he was meeting with the jeweler to pick out the most beautiful ring just for me!! After leaving the jeweler he really needed to know my ring size and since he was going to speak with my parents anyways he called my mom (Lori Mayo). I think between Zachary calling and leaving her a message and her finally calling him back, they both were a nervous wreck!
My mom and Zachary met at Love Shack one night to have dinner and for him to ask my parents permission to marry me. Of course my parents love Zachary and were more than pleased that we would be getting engaged soon. However what Zachary did not know was that my mom's entire side of the family would be going to Rockport for Thanksgiving, so what not a better time than then to propose!
The day after Thanksgiving my family and I had planned on going to the beach in Rockport to take our family Christmas card pictures. I was very adamant that my beautiful puppy Ace had to be in the picture as well so we would need to go to Port Aransas to take pictures. (Dogs are not allowed on Rockport beach and my dog was going to be in my picture!) So we all loaded up and drove to Port Aransas to take our pictures. The whole day Zachary's phone was going off like crazy, I swear he was getting text messages every five minutes or so. His mom and dad we're even texting me asking me to please go walk on the beach for them. The whole time I was thinking, "Why wouldn't I walk on the beach? We are in a beach town??".
My mom and aunts made Zachary and I be the last one's to take our pictures. I was not happy about this because the wind was blowing my hair so bad! Finally it was our turn to take pictures me, Zachary and Ace. My aunt takes our picture a couple of times and then tells Zachary and I to walk hand in hand towards the water.
****This is where Zachary is telling me how much he loves me, wants to spend the rest of his life with me and all I keep asking him is what is wrong because I am still not understanding what is going on****
*****And this is where he said "Will you marry me?!"*****
7 months honestly seems like an eternity to wait to marry my best friend, but we are having such a good time planning out this whole adventure.
A couple of months before Zachary popped the "BIG" question, he told me he had to go into work on a Saturday. Little did I know he was meeting with the jeweler to pick out the most beautiful ring just for me!! After leaving the jeweler he really needed to know my ring size and since he was going to speak with my parents anyways he called my mom (Lori Mayo). I think between Zachary calling and leaving her a message and her finally calling him back, they both were a nervous wreck!
My mom and Zachary met at Love Shack one night to have dinner and for him to ask my parents permission to marry me. Of course my parents love Zachary and were more than pleased that we would be getting engaged soon. However what Zachary did not know was that my mom's entire side of the family would be going to Rockport for Thanksgiving, so what not a better time than then to propose!
The day after Thanksgiving my family and I had planned on going to the beach in Rockport to take our family Christmas card pictures. I was very adamant that my beautiful puppy Ace had to be in the picture as well so we would need to go to Port Aransas to take pictures. (Dogs are not allowed on Rockport beach and my dog was going to be in my picture!) So we all loaded up and drove to Port Aransas to take our pictures. The whole day Zachary's phone was going off like crazy, I swear he was getting text messages every five minutes or so. His mom and dad we're even texting me asking me to please go walk on the beach for them. The whole time I was thinking, "Why wouldn't I walk on the beach? We are in a beach town??".
My mom and aunts made Zachary and I be the last one's to take our pictures. I was not happy about this because the wind was blowing my hair so bad! Finally it was our turn to take pictures me, Zachary and Ace. My aunt takes our picture a couple of times and then tells Zachary and I to walk hand in hand towards the water.
*****Obviously kissing me (sorry never said I would not be corny)******
7 months honestly seems like an eternity to wait to marry my best friend, but we are having such a good time planning out this whole adventure.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Happy Birthday Hannie Pannie
Today is my sweet little sister's birthday!! She turns a whole 19 years old!! Instead of sending her a card (which I will still have one for you with your birthday present) I decided I would write about all the things I love about her and why I love that she is my sister!!
When I was 10 my parents sat me down to let me know our two families would be joining. I was estastic to have a sister, much less a sibling! Growing up an only child does get lonely when you only have one sided conversations with your barbies. And for everyone that knows me I am the poster child for what happens when you decide to only have one child. I think my mother phrased it best when she said, and I quote "I created a monster!". Now I am sure she was only half serious!
I think secretly I was more excited about having a real life version of a barbie doll when my parents told me I would be getting a little sister! My sweet little 5 year old sister at the time would let me put makeup on her, fix her hair in awful awful hair styles (including and not limited to the "taco bangs"), take glamour shot photos, and the list goes on. She was the best little barbie doll a girl could ask for!
Hannie and I have a bond that I would like to think no other sisters have. Even though we are not "blood siblings" our household does not use the word step. I think of Hannah as my sister and as if we were both born to the same mom and dad. We truely were born sisters but with different parents. I love that we can not talk for weeks on end and pick back up where we left off the last time we saw each other. Our conversations are mostly in terrible try-to-be british accents that our grandmother completely hates and has yelled at us to stop because she had finally had enough!
In August of this past year Hannah became a Delta Zeta at Texas A&M. I am a Delta Zeta as well, when Hannah text me the night she received her bid and said that she was now a Delta Zeta I think I felt more like a proud mom! I love that we have one more thing to share that brings us closer together, we are not only sisters but now sisters in Delta Zeta. The picture above is at the Texas A&M Delta Zeta house the day after Hannah received her bid. My pledge/initiation year was 2005 and her's was 2010.
Hannah will be my maid of honor in my November wedding and I couldn't think of any other woman I would want standing next to me on the most special day of my life. To end this post on a funny note I would like to recall one of our conversations regarding my wedding and her being my maid of honor.
H: So do you think you and Zach will be getting married?
E: Most definitely
H: Oh!! Do I get to be your maid of honor?
E: Yes, are you going to do everything the maid of honor is suppose to do?
H: I will do anything you tell me to do! lol
I love you Hannie Pannie with all my heart and wish you the greatest 19th birthday ever!!!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
It's all about the first
I was a little nervous about starting a blog, I mean what would I write about? Would anyone care to read it? Then after reading a few of my favorite blogs over the past month I decided to dive right in! I have decided to blog about planning my November wedding (which I am estatic about), the wonders of living with the opposite sex, remodeling my home, decorating it with good steals, learning to cook new recipes and keep up the "how familys used to be" in the society that we live in today.
Happy Reading!!!
Happy Reading!!!
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