Monday, December 31, 2012

Guest Blogger: Lisa from Letting It All Hangout


 Hey everyone! My friend Lisa from Letting It All Hangout has graciously agreed to share one of her yummy recipes with us. She is a fellow wife and momma to not only two puppydawgs but also two of the cutest lil munchkins you could ever meet!

Psole Recipe:
I have to say my husband (who is Mexican) is pretty picky when it comes to Mexican food because he grew up on his grandma's cooking and she's an excellent cook! So when I was given this amazing recipe for the yummy soup, Psole, I jumped at the opportunity to see how good it was. Turns out this is such an easy recipe and tastes amazing!!! The best part is that it makes enough for leftovers!

What you'll need:

Serving 4-6 people

Prep Time: 30-45 mins             Cook Time: 1-2 hours

1 family pack of porkchops (bone in or boneless both work)/ if you don't like pork chicken also works with this recipe
1 15oz or 8oz can of tomato sauce
2 chicken bullion cubes
2 garlic cloves minced or garlic powder works great too
6-8 anahiem peppers
1 dried red pepper
1 medium can of Hominy
1 Bay leaf


1. Brown your meat, then cube your meat and put into crock pot or a big pan. Add a little bit of water enough to cook the meat until tender. Add 1 chicken bullion cube, the bay leaf and 1 clove of garlic into the pan to help flavor the meat.

2. While the meat is cooking, roast your peppers. I don't have a grill or a special pan I just turn on my oven to a low broil and put the peppers on the top rack until they the skin starts to look brown, then I rotate to get that affect over the entire pepper. It doesn't have to be 100% brown but roasted. Once I get the look I want I take the peppers out and put them in cold water and remove the top lay of the pepper. I just use my fingers and runthem over the peppers you'll notice the skin will start to peel off a little bit.

3. Once the peppers are skinned then cut the top off and de-seed it if you don't want it too spicy. Keep the seeds for a little more kick. Put all the peppers into a blender. Next add in the tomato sauce, other garlic, and chicken bullion cube. Add the dried red pepper and blend all together. (The dried red pepper also adds a kick to the soup if you need it a little less spicy I wouldn't add it in.)

4. Once the meat is cooked add the sauce you made in the blender to the pan. Then add the can of hominy. Mix and cook on low-medium heat for about an hour-2 hours depending on how long you want to wait.

That's it!  This is really one of the easiest meals I have ever made.

To really make it good you'll also want to add the toppings.

It's traditionally served with chopped up cabbage or lettuce and a combination of diced onions and cilantro. Add both of those on top of the soup and it tastes even better!

The best part about Mexican cooking is that the spiciness is really in your hands. This recipe above gives it just enough of a kick that you're not sweating as you eat it.  So I encourage you to really play with it and fine tune it to your liking.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Do you like your bacon crispy?

I love Love LOVE bacon. Who doesn't?

Growing up bacon was a bit of a bone of contention in our house. 
 Crispy vs Soft.
 I am Team Crispy all the way none of that limp fatty stuff for me!

An unfortunate side effect of being Team Crispy is shrinkage. I have never been able to get a crispy strip of bacon without it coming out half the size of the piece I started with. 
Until, I met my father-in-law who introduced me to this lil beauty.

As you can see Titan knows that the Power Crisp means bacon.

 He is so sweet to selflessly give up his free time to come supervise my bacon making skills.

I really did have every intention of taking a shot of the crispy bacon on a plate so you could clearly see the lack of shrinkage but between the Power Crisp and the plate the pieces disappeared. 
Hubby or Puppy?

Friday, December 14, 2012

Green Smoothie

To make this bad boy I revved up my Breville and juiced:
  • 2 green apples
  • 1 C spinach
  • 1C pineapple
Then I  poured the juice into my blender and added...
 It is my favorite breakfast!


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

I'm still alive

Sorry I have been MIA. It is Finals Week...need I really say more?

We also had a late night trip to the puppy ER. Thankfully Titan is okay!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Veni, vidi, vici! Kicked Juice Fast Bootay!!

Annalyn and I did it! 
We went four days on juiced fruits and vegetables.

In hindsight it wasn't all that hard.  I had myself prepped for these terrible cravings but to be honest the juices filled me up. However I craved chewing. I know it sounds weird but stick with me here. My thought process is chewing is a habit and I think mentally ingesting food goes hand in hand with chewing but when juicing there is no need but you feel like you should...am I making any sense?

My husband was positively hilarious throughout this challenge.

When we were drinking this
and this

He was Sending my sister and I pictures of this

 and this
 and this
He even left me this
Thats right this lil beauty was sitting right next to my juicer!

I know the big question will be did we cheat.

The answer...

Chelsea: Yes. Day 2 my professor passed around a bag of Werther's Originals and I popped one in my mouth without even thinking about it.
Annalyn: Yes. Day 3 I did Insanity and felt light headed so I had some cheese.

The important thing: we did NOT quit!

Some of our favorite juices are:
Wiwi Juice
Healthy Smoothie for Juicers
Pink Bliss Juice 

Wiwi Juice


This cute video is of my nephew, Aiden, introducing the ingredients of my sissy Annalyn's favorite juice.

Juice
            • 2 "wiwis" a.k.a kiwis 
            •  2 green apples
            • 1/2 C blackberries 
            • 1/2 C pineapple
            • 1/2 cucumber

Healthy Smoothie for Juicers


Juice
              • 2 green apples
              • 1 pear
              • 1 kiwi
              • 1 1/2 C pineapple
              • 1 C spinach/kale
Blend

Put your juice in the blender with one or two bananas (I freeze my bananas beforehand) and blend. Add ice two cubes at a time and once you reach desired consistency drink up.

Pink Bliss Juice


Juice
            • ~8 strawberries
            • 2 green apples
            • 1/2 pomegranate
            • 1 pear 
            • 1 kiwi
            • 1/2 C pineapple
            • 1 C spinach/kale


Monday, November 26, 2012

Juicing Challenge

My sissy, Annalyn, and I have decided to do a four day juice fast starting 11/27/12. We have been discussing how we are going to keep each other on track and I decided to make a blog post to keep me honest. 

We both have Breville Juicers and blenders
which will really make this challenge a lot easier while at home but it is a little hard to juice at work and school and lugging around a blender is not an option.

Annalyn will be drinking V8s when all else fails. 
I am lucky enough to work within walking distance of a Roxberry that sells great smoothies and juices.

We both are looking for good recipes. 
So far I have found...





We will post updates as we go and let y'all know how it turns out!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Overnight Caramel French Toast

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, I know that we did. As semi newlyweds (We have been married over a year but I can still call us newlyweds right?!) we still get to double up on the holidays trying to spend time with each family which translates to TWO family thanksgiving dinners. 

My mom hosted an early Thanksgiving and is really big into family games so after dinner she brought out a game called HedBanz. I wish I had taken a picture of everyone playing but I was too into the game! It is a fun guessing game that I would highly recommend to anyone. 

On the actual Turkey day my Hubby had to work at the hospital for a good chunk of it so my MIL ended up cooking the entire meal herself. This turned up to be a stressful task as she had done a self clean on her ovens the night before and now one of them wont unlock so she was down to one oven with multiple dishes to bake and only two hands to do it with. Everything turned out amazing but as you can imagine cooking breakfast the next morning was the last thing she wanted to do after a day of slaving in the kitchen. So when she ran across a recipe for overnight french toast she decided to give it a shot. 

And this heavenly treat is what we got.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Ooey Gooey Bars

I got this recipe from one of my besterest friends in high school.

Ain't TayTay purrty!?! 
 Along with being a total knockout she is one of the sweetest people you could ever meet.

She was writing a "How-to" paper for class and brought the most amazing chocolate marbled cake/brownie bars to school. I begged for a copy of her paper so I could know how to make them as well.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Ooooh Honey

My Hubby is OBSESSED with cinnamon. 
Favorite Cookie: Snickerdoodle
Favorite Hot Beverage: Hot Apple Cinnamon Cider
Favorite Ice Cream: Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Buns
Favorite Cake: Corner Bakery's Cinnamon Creme Cake
Favorite Dessert/Pastry: Cinnamon Rolls

Needless to say when I was shopping with my mother-in-law and we saw this "Cinnamon" honey we grabbed a couple jars for Matt. They did not last long. We put it on toast in the morning, spread it on apple slices,  drizzled it on french toast, heated it up and poured it on ice cream.

After trying different products I fell in love with the Honey Caramel dessert sauce. I could literally eat this by the spoonful. There is an "Amaretto" Whipped Honey I have my eye on trying next so check back for that.

I love that I can pronounce and recognize all of the ingredients without Google. I can't comment on shelf life as we have not been able to keep one in the house long enough to know. I consider it to be reasonably priced so get it here and try your own.


Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Pepperoncini Manwich

I have always aspired to be like my older sister, Annalyn. She is funny, a good dancer, the best listener, an incredible mother, loving wife, inspiring coach (ya, thats right my sister is the head softball coach at UTPB noooo big deal) the list goes on. Anyways what I am getting at here is my sister is a truly beautiful person inside and out. Which is why it should come as a shock to no one that she landed a total stud that came with a family as sweet as him.

What did come as a shock was that his family would not only adopt Annalyn into their family but also welcome the rest of us with open arms. Over the years I have fallen in love with the Burch family. As a wedding gift Jill (Sissy's Mother-in-law) made me a cookbook containing a selection of her favorite family recipes. I use it often and would like to share one of the recipes with all of you.

Pepperoncini Manwhich


Monday, November 5, 2012

Long Braid Tutorial

I am completely obsessed with Amber Fillerup's blog Barefoot Blonde and when I saw this tutorial for a long braid inspired by Blake Lively I knew I just had to try it... on my gorgeous little sister, Nikki, and her luscious locks. Seriously her hair is to die for.





Amber does a 3 strand braid here. I just love fishtail braids so I threw it in instead.
I guess if you want to get technical I braided it in...


DIY Necklace Organization

My mother has an obscene amount of jewelry. The worst part is she had it all jumbled together in a dresser drawer so she never wears half of it because she either can't find it or can't untangle it.
Lucky for her she has a very crafty husband who mad her this lovely board to showcase all her necklaces knot free.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Military Chic

We went to my mother's house over the weekend. The hubby bonded with my brother over NFL games, Titan played with my momma's puppydawgs, and what started as playing with my sister's hair turned into a full makeover.
I thought I would share the end result of our little makeover session with y'all. I am most definitely an amateur photographer but I happen to think my sister has the makings of a model. Ain't she purrty ?! ;)

Jacket: old from Bohme Boutique
Shirt: plain white spaghetti strap
Pants: Kohl's similar here
Shoes: old from JCPenny
Earrings: old from Payless Shoesource
Necklace: Covet Boutique
Pin: from my father's squadron from when he flew F-16s in the AF.
Fun way to rep the military!


Friday, October 26, 2012

Taco Bean Soup

We have officially had our first snow of the season here in Salt Lake. As I trudged around campus all I could think about was getting home and making some nice hot soup.

This taco bean soup makes it to our table quite frequently especially around finals when my free time is spent buried in books dashing into the kitchen when my growling stomach becomes too loud to ignore. It is easy, delicious, and I always have the ingredients stocked.

Monday, October 22, 2012

OPI- Every Month is Oktoberfest

I have been experimenting with darker nail colors and I rather like this "Every Month is Oktoberfest" by OPI.
 two coats without a top coat
With all of his toys Titan always wants to play with what I am touching!
"Try to get it back Mom...I dare you"

Puppydawg Biscuits

I discovered this great site called the dog treat kitchen and immediately wanted to try out a recipe for Titan.
I modified this recipe for my peanut butter loving puppy.  I didn't have a dog bone cookie cutter so I made them traditional PB cookie style and my poor husband bit into one before I could explain it is for dogs. Oops!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Healthy Ice Cream?!

I have been seeing recipes for "healthy" ice cream all over Pinterest and kept on trucking because there is no way you can make something as sinfully lusciously caloric as ice cream healthy...right? Over the week I found my mind drifting away from my professor's lecture on the art of factoring cubic polynomials and landing in a world where ice cream and I could have more than random one night stands. I even dared to picture myself once again stocking it in our freezer without fear of wrecking a weeks worth of cardio in one bowl. I decided to attempt the impossible and oh baby is it goooooooood!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Fish and Chips

The Hubby and I recently returned home from a cruise to Alaska and I have been craving good fish ever since. Lucky for us our amazing landlord gave us some of the Halibut he had brought home from his fishing expedition to Alaska. I decided to make fish and chips from a recipe out of a cookbook Recipes From The Roof and it was a HUGE hit!  


Sunday, October 14, 2012

Groovy's Pizza-Miami Beach, Fl

I recently went on a cruise of the Bahamas with my mother and two sisters. We arrived in Miami a day early and just had to go to Miami Beach. By time we got to the beach it was pouring rain so we hoofed it up and down the shops on Washington Avenue where we discovered Groovy's Pizza.



I don't know about y'all but nothing makes me crankier than being hungry. So after the first two hours of non stop shopping on an empty stomach I put my foot down and told my family I would not set foot in one more store until they fed me. We ducked into the very next food joint where we got gigantic slices of pizza that were shockingly good. For $4 you get a slice that is comparable to three slices of your average pizza, any flavor combination you could want, and one of the most delectable thin style crusts I have ever had the pleasure of devouring. There is not a ton of seating in this little whole in the wall but it is well worth popping in.

Groovy's Pizza
921 Washington Ave
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 538-1801

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Vietnamese Sandwich Kitchen-Oh Mai in SLC, UT

If you are looking for great vietnamese food for an AMAZING price in Salt Lake City, UT look no further Than Oh Mai on S State Street. I cannot even count the number of times I have eaten at this adorable little place.  The pho is incredible but the banh mi sandwich is the rock star on the menu.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Tanner Park SLC, UT

The off leash area is actually behind Tanner Park so please keep your pooches leashed until you reach that area as no one wants to be the person to cost everyone the benefits of this wonderful park.

Chunky Artichoke & JalapeƱo Dip


During a visit to my father in Arizona I found this delicious dip in his refrigerator. I highly recommend that you go to Costco and snap this delectable treat up! Scoop it up with your favorite chips or spread it on some bread and pop it in the oven to bubble up under the broiler.
La Terra Fina brand

Chicken Tikka Masala


My dad was a pilot in the Air Force and remains a commercial pilot to this day. With his career he has had the opportunity to travel the world and he has always been all about the local eats. I remember growing up how  he would get home from a trip or deployment/assignment and would start recreating the cuisine at home. Some culinary phases lasted longer than others. I bemoan the day he quit searching for the perfect steak and to this day feel a full gag reflex kicking in when I smell miso-glazed salmon (I swear that and miso soup is all we ate for months). As an adult I am very grateful for his experimentation as it taught me to be open minded to food and try everything twice. This open mindedness has led me to many great finds such as lengua and several not so great (in my own personal opinion) discoveries like poi. I have developed quite a fondness for Indian food *cough cough chicken tikka masala cough* over the years but it is one of those cuisines I just didn't think I was capable of recreating at home until now...

Burger Bar


If you haven't been to the Top Chef Hubert Keller's Burger Bar in Vegas I highly recommend that you go. The gourmet burgers are an experience in themselves. The sweet potato fries are delectable. The shrimp salad is divine.
 However those things are not even the best part... it is ALL about the Nutella shake.


This delectable milkshake is just a glass full chocolatey hazelnut goodness topped with delectable chocolate whipped cream. If your in Sin City just go and drink one for me.

Tomatillo Salsa

tomatillo salsa+avocado=Yum

Spinach Berry Smoothie


I know what your thinking, "you don't drink spinach", just try this recipe once and I promise you will not regret it!

Lengua Tacos


I have been encouraging Hubby to branch out from his usual tex mex and try some authentic mexican dishes. Don't get me wrong I hail from the land of tex mex and I love it but Texas also happens to be northern Mexico and I have had the opportunity to visit hole in the wall taquerias like Tortilleria de Zacateca off Camp Bowie and taste the heaven that is lengua tacos.

Rosemary Pizza Dough


I love Love LOVE rosemary! About a year ago I felt inclined to add it to a batch of pizza dough and I have never looked back.

Crockpot Queso

As a relocated Texan I have a deep love for queso. I do not discriminate I am an equal opportunity queso lover but Momma's Crock-Pot Queso will always  have a special place in my heart.