Pages

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Deer Fajitas and a Michelada

Deer Fajitas

DeerFajitas

1 lb deer steak meat, cut into fajita chunks
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
2 jalapenos- seeded
Half of a red onion

1. Mix up your marinade (recipe below) and get your meat coated and set aside.

2. Chop up all your vegetables, heat up some oil in a cast iron skillet on medium heat.

3. Once your pan is hot put all of your vegetables in and start to sauté.

4. Once your veggies are starting to look ‘cooked’ put your meat in the pan and cook until done.

5 Serve on flour tortillas with your favorite sides.

DeerFajitas1
DeerFajitas5
DeerFajitas6

Fajita Marinade

DeerFajitas4

Fajita seasoning
Worcestershire sauce
Liquid smoke
Salt
Pepper

1. I did not put measurements because to be honest I do not measure my ingredients. I put in however much looks right for the amount of meat. Use your best judgment :)

My Salsa

Salsa

2 roma tomatoes
2 large hot house tomatoes
3 to 4 jalapenos- depending on hotness
2 to 3 cloves of garlic
Cilantro (optional)
Salt to taste

1. Cut up all your ingredients so that they will fit in the blender.

2. Once all ingredients are in the blender kind of push down to make some juice for easier blending.

3. Blend until desired consistency. I put mine on chop so it is still a little chunky.

Guacamole

Guacamole2

2 large Hass avocadoes
juice of half a lime
salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce (recipe above)

1. Mix together in a bowl your avocadoes, lime juice, salt and pepper until blended well.

2. Add hot sauce starting with a spoonful at a time. Continue to add until desired hotness.

Michelada

Michelada
Serves 1

4 oz tomato juice
1.5 oz lime juice
3/4 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
A dash of Tabasco sauce
1 beer
Ice cubes

1. In a beer mug or glass put about 4 or 5 ice cubes, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce lime juice, salt and pepper.

2. Stir everything together with a long spoon, taste to make sure it is just right.

3. Add beer until glass is full.

Michelada1

Michelada2
Michelada3

Enjoy!

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of the colors I have picked out for the living room!

Over the next couple of weeks….

…I will be making a some changes to my blog here and there!




Stay tuned…




Saturday, September 25, 2010

Scallops with Asparagus Risotto

Tonight I wanted to try to cook something that I have never cooked before. I racked my brain silly about what to cook all morning long… finally I decided I wanted to make Scallops! Then I needed a side… Asparagus Risotto?! I was happy with my menu choices I just needed to research some recipes so I knew how to cook it properly yet put my own twist on things. Hope you enjoy :)

Asparagus Risotto

Risotto

1 cup Arborio rice
3 1/5 cups chicken stock
1/2 of a dry white wine
1 shallot chopped
1/2 lb. asparagus- cut into .5” to 1” pieces
3 tsp. butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Ice water

1. Bring 3 to 4 quarts water to a rolling boil. Place the asparagus pieces in the water for about 2 min. Remove the asparagus with a slotted spoon and place in ice water to retain it’s crisp green color.

Risotto1
2. Place 2 tsp. of butter in a non stick pan on medium heat. In a separate pan heat the 2.5 c of chicken stock until boiling. When the butter is melted place shallots in and cook until translucent.

3. Once the shallots are cooked place the Arborio rice in the pan and stir until completely coated, about 2 minutes. Then add the 1/2 cup of wine to the rice and let cook down until the rice has absorbed the wine.

4. Once the rice has absorbed the wine, move 1/2 cup of chicken stock to the rice and stir frequently to avoid sticking. Once the stock is absorbed, continue to add at 1/2 cup increments until the rice is tender, but not so tender it’s mushy.

5. Once the rice is done, add the remaining 1 tsp. butter and pepper to taste. Then add the asparagus.

Pan Seared Sea Scallops

RisottoScallops

1 lb Sea Scallops
Butter
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

1. Start by making sure that your scallops are dry. That is very important! Salt and pepper.

2. Heat the butter and oil in a pan. Once the pan is lightly smoking place in the scallops, be sure not to let them touch. Let cook for 2 min. before turning.

3. Turn once and cook for another 1 min 30 sec.

Scallops1 RisottoScallops1
I paired mine with a Cabernet Blanc I got at Wal-Mart called:
Lucky Duck

Not too shabby for a $4 bottle of wine!

Friday, September 24, 2010

I can see the light!

Lamp1
My cute table lamp I picked up yesterday for less than $10 :)

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Happy Fall!

I am so excited that my favorite time of year is here once again.

I am going to take Dina’s advice from There’s No Place Like Home and make my house smell yummy!

Fall  
I just threw some water on the stove and sprinkled in some cinnamon, cloves and threw in a few orange slices.
Smell and Enjoy :)

HAPPY FALL!!!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Date Night Recap

Sorry it took so long to get this up. It has been crazy busy around here the past few days. It started off hectic because some crazy white suprimist out west of town decided to have a standoff with police and shot two of our deputies. It was all made worse when I found out that my friend was out there, but he was okay. So I sat his wife, who is my friend as well for a while till her mom got there. *The standoff ended 22 hours later after the guy blew his house up and had a gun battle with police*. Besides that we had a wonderful date night!

I started off the date night by getting all prettied up for my hubby.
I did my hair and makeup so it would be perfect.

DateNight1

Our night started off by going to the next town over, just because that’s where all the good stuff is! We had decided we wanted to treat ourselves so we went one of the, if not the most expensive restaurants within 100 miles (that we know of). It is called the Garlic Press. It has a variety of eclectic dining (and yes, I did look up eclectic :). It was really funny… the brakes on my car were bad (we have since changed them) and sounded like grinding metal. We pulled into the parking lot that was right next to this really fancy cigar bar, so when we stopped and my car made that horrid noise everyone stopped what they were doing and stared. It was embarrassing, but funny at the same time. And the whole time we were waiting on our table Michael kept joking about stealing someone else's reservation :) (Have you seen Date Night yet?)

The meal was perfect! Michael had the Ribeye with Lobster and Truffle Butter, it was so good tender that it melted in your mouth, and I had the Hawaiian Opah with a Cilantro Citrus Glaze paired with the Babich Sauvignon Blanc. It was the only fish I have ever eaten that has not had a hint of fishy taste at all! It was delicious!

DateNight

After dinner we went to see The Other Guys with Will Ferrell and Mark Whalberg. I have to say that it was HILARIOUS! It is your typical Will Ferrell movie.. It centers around two NYC detectives that want to be big macho cops, but are just referred to as ‘the other guys’. You should really see it!

That was our wonderful date night! Can’t wait until for the next one :)

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Playing with Paint

Today I was playing around with the Sherwin-Williams color visualizer and a picture of my living room. My friend, Fern, that had came over to help me suggested some colors that would look good on my living room walls and I tried them out on a picture I took today. They won’t be these exact colors, but they will be pretty close.

Please forgive the sloppy lines on the painting. They make it really hard to “paint” on those things :) I have to say that I really like the way that the colors came out on the picture.I did paint the curtain the color that I want my curtains to be and I painted my front door. I have not decided whether I want a black door or a red door. And the fireplace mantle will be a different color as well, but I was only allowed to paint 5 things at a time *sigh*

Living Room

The colors that I used on the walls today were: Sherwin-Williams #6201 Thunderous and Sherwin-Williams # 7017 Dorian Gray and the trim in Sherwin-Williams # 7008 Alabaster.

I am hoping to have the walls painted and at least the floors in by Christmas. But…. I’m not going to hold my breath :)

Friday, September 17, 2010

Gettin Prettied Up

As you know, tonight is our date night. YAY! I went and bought a dress today, but I think that it is a little too fancy for anything around here *sigh*. So it is going in the closet for a special date night. But I did pull a dress out of my closet that I love and is a little better for out dinner and a late movie date. On top of that it is super comfy!








Picnik collage


I absolutely love the colors! I have decided to wear my favorite comfy sandals. I know they are not the fanciest, but they go wonderfully with the laid back style of the dress. And the best part is my new gray purse ties everything together perfectly :)

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Date Night

I have to start off by saying if you have not seen the movie Date Night yet… you must! I thought it was absolutely hilarious. But I am a big Tina Fey and Steve Carell fan! It is defiantly a movie any married couple can relate to who is wrapped up in work and parenting.



date_night_movie_poster







And speaking of Date Night… Michael and I are going on our very own date night tomorrow night! I have to say that I am super excited to have an evening with my overworked husband… with no kids! Do you know how long it has been since we had a night, just us enjoying ourselves and then not having to come home to baths or bedtime stories? Me neither! It’s been that long!



Everyday when he gets home the kids rush him and are by his side until bedtime and in-between me trying to talk over the kids, his phone rings NON STOP! I know it is all part of owning your own business, but it is so hard to have a conversation with the constant ringing. So tomorrow night there will be no phone calls incoming or outgoing (unless there is an emergency involving the kids of course), and no talk of work or kids, it’s going to be amazing!



Tomorrow after I drop Jacob at school I am going to look for a new dress to wear out. I know it may sound kind of lame, but I want to have a new dress so I can look my best for my husband. He doesn’t see me all dressed up very often so I want to look UH-MAZING for him. So on top of the new dress, I am going to go tan, do my hair and fix my makeup all pretty. I think I may go get one of those 98 color eye shadow kits from Ross for like $4.99 so I can have a broader color palette.



I am going to take my camera so Saturday I can post our date night recap! I have to say I am sitting here wondering where we are going to go eat?!? I do know that we are going to go see The Other Guys with Will Ferrell (Michael loves him).



Eeeeeeee! I’m so excited! I can’t wait!!!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Black Eyed Peas and Skillet Cornbread

For the past 3 days I have been battling a sinus infection, so tonight I wanted a dinner that was going to be fairly easy to make. I am trying to use the ingredients that I already have in my kitchen cupboards and freezer. We are really bad about not using what we have and I would like to change all that, so I decided to only grocery shop for what we absolutely needed (ex. diapers, milk, water, ect…). As I rummaged through the freezer looking for something to cook I came across some fresh frozen black eyed peas and some bacon. And boy did it sound good!

Black Eyed Peas

003

1.5 lbs of black eyed peas
1/2 lb bacon sliced
1 small to medium yellow onion roughly chopped
2 jalapenos, stems removed
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Start by pouring the peas into a dutch oven and fill with water to about 2 inches above the peas. I then add the onion, bacon, salt, pepper, garlic powder and jalapenos. Stir together and cover. Let sit on medium heat for about an hour for flavors to develop.

Skillet Cornbread

016

Two bags Texas Style cornbread mix (yes, I cheated)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/3 cup of milk
2 tbs. oil

Preheat oven to 450*. Mix wet and dry ingredients together until well blended. Pour the 2 tbs. oil into the skillet and place in the oven to heat up. Once the oil is just sizzling a little pour into cornbread mixture. Stir together and immediately pour into skillet. Place in oven for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

032

And an added bonus while I was cooking we had this storm roll in. It brought spectacular lightning, lots of rain and winds around 65 mph. It was beautiful! It was like a hurricane in the middle of the desert :)

008

009

Monday, September 13, 2010

Design By Color

I have to tell you guys about this wonderful blog called Design By Color. It is run by the sweet Erin from House of Turquoise. It is a wonderful blog that features products you want in colors you love (her words not mine :)

Her list of blogs include: Black and White Delight, Pink & Brown Love, Green Decor, The Chocolate Blues, Everything Turquoise, Just Blue and Green, Purple Punch, All Animal Prints, House of Turquoise, Pink and Green Scene, Pop of Red and Bedding Envy.

They are all so wonderful! My favorite is the Bedding Envy and of course Everything Turquoise and House of Turquoise :)  I hope you stop by and check them out.

 

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

A different kind of beauty

010b1

Here in West Texas while driving down roads of small towns you see a lot of these kinds of houses. Most of them are not in this good of condition though. There is something about an old run down abandoned house that makes me want to break out my camera. I have passed this house many many times as I drive the 62 mile trip to see Michael at work. Today was a special trip… the sole purpose of the trip was to take this picture…and I am so glad that I did. When I look at this house I wonder what kind of family lived in it? For how long? Why did they end up moving? Did they have any kids that played in the yard or a dog that chased birds? So many things run through my head. I know people that are not from around here wonder how we can see tumbleweeds, mesquite bushes and run down houses as beautiful… but to us they are beautiful time capsules that show us a glimpse of history.

Ps… Like my font I was trying something new with Windows Live Writer :)

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Such a beautiful day!

Today it was a wonderful...cloudy....breezy day with a high of 76*!

It was amazing!!! And that is a huge thing here in the west parts of Texas.

Here are a couple pictures I took while I was out today.






Monday, September 6, 2010

Hope you have...

...a wonderful relaxing Labor Day!


I am going to spend today at home with my kids because Michael had to work. I will more than likely work on my room since I would like to have the walls done by Wednesday. And I will probably run some errands and/or work on the backyard some before we go to our friends tonight for dinner.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Bedroom...Check! Paint...Check! Sponge...Check!

Today I started painting my bedroom. And I have to say boy! is it a lot of work! I am exhausted... and I only got 1 wall done! I am going to do at least a wall a day until the next three are done. It is a little harder to get done with two little ones running around acting like animals :)

I have had white walls since we moved in over 5 years ago and I wanted something different. Something versatile, so that if I wanted to change decor later on down the road I could. And these sponge painted walls seemed perfect!


*Disclaimer: Please excuse me for the messy bedroom*
This is my bedroom before I painted the walls. I had started with the base coat when I realized I forgot to take a picture. The color I used for the base coat was called Antique Beige (it's a Glidden color but I had them match it with Behr paint).


Another shot of the walls. Are they ugly or what?!?




It took me all day but one wall is complete! Yay!!! I like it. I know it's not the best job out there, but I did it and I am proud of my hard work :) The color I used for the sponge painting part is called Warm Caramel (it too was a Glidden color that I had them match with Behr paint). I used 1 part Warm Caramel paint with 4 parts Behr Faux Glaze. I then used a sea sponge that I had dampened (be sure to ring out all excess water) and used a paint brush to brush on the paint and faux glaze mix. Once it was on the sponge I just went to town sponging the wall! And here it is....



Friday, September 3, 2010

Breakfast Tray

WoW! Seems like forever since I have posted! It's just been busy busy this last week. Sooo happy to be back :)

Today as I was cleaning up my room to start painting tomorrow, I saw this breakfast tray sitting in the corner collecting dust. I got it at Target a couple of year ago to use while I was reading in bed. As I was looking at it I got a bright idea DING! the light bulb went off. I had bought paint samples the other day at Home Depot, you know those 8oz. Behr ones you can make any color and are only $2.47, well I got one in Caribbean Blue because I thought that is what color I wanted to paint my bathroom. Well, I had this paint and this breakfast tray... so I decided to paint my tray Caribbean Blue and use as a bed tray once I get my room complete. And I am so happy that I did because I LOVE IT!!!!



Here is what the tray looked like before...
(I forgot to take a pic so this is the one from the target.com website)


After I primed it...






Here is my new breakfast tray in Caribbean Blue!
Love it!!!