My parents in a bar!!

Friday night I went to happy hour with some girlfriends then immediately proceeded to Grapevine to meet my parents at a bar where we watched their neighbor rock out while covering some oldies.

Me and Sarah pose with Pat Snuffer

who knew the Easter Bunny would be hangin in Addison in July

For some reason we thought this guy's shirt was hilarious, something about playing ketchup!

Mom and Dad in a bar! Mr Romack on bass.

Summer Softball

Last Wednesday was our last day of summer softball. We have been playing for the last two months with my coworkers. I wasn't able to make it because I had a dinner station date but my coworker john got some great pics of tc. I love how you can see the progression of the great catch that he made.

you deserve to be proud tc! that was an awesome catch!

Pioneer Woman's Yogurt Cream and Berries: A Review

Sunday I made ice cream to take to work and the recipe I use always leaves us with left over cream that ends up getting thrown out. Well since I had the stuff on hand I made this yogurt cream on Sunday to go with the refrigerator full of fruit that I had just picked up at my local Sprouts.

I substituted non fat yogurt, because we always have some around and I only used 1/2 c of brown sugar because that is all we had left.

At first, it wasn't quite as magical as she describes in her blog at first, I think I would have liked it with more brown sugar. Somehow it just got to where I just can't get enough of it. I have finished off a carton of blueberries and most of a carton of strawberries in just a couple of days. To make matters even better I calculated the ww points a 1 pt per 1 tablespoon, so as long as a don't slather it all over (which I am tempted to do, but can resist) it is a good way to eat more fruit.

I would also recommend cutting the recipe in half if you are just making it for yourself or even if you plan on sharing with your sweetie. This makes a lot of sauce and we are trying to think of what else we can do with it. Any ideas??

My Brother in India

Over the last month and a half my baby brother has been in India. It seems the longer time goes on, the more worried I get about him, to the point I was in tears one night thinking about all the things that could happen. Now when I think of him, instead of worrying I just pray for him and all of the people he is there to help.

Anyway, while I am here worrying and praying like crazy, he is doing this

read about this crazy picture here:

http://08in0602rl2.myadventures.org/?filename=we-the-people

Grilled Pineapple with Honey Lime Glaze

This is so good and so easy!

(I borrowed this picture but this is how your pineapple should look!)

First to pick out your pineapple, here are a couple of tricks I have heard and always seem to work well for me

tip #1 pick a pineapple that is yellow in color

tip #2 pick a pineapple who's "dots" are consistently the same size from the top to the bottom

tip #3 light pull on the pineapple's "leaves" (the green part, I don't know what those are called). If it pulls out easily the pineapple is ready to eat.

Now for the recipe.

1 Ripe Pineapple

1/4 c honey

1 Lime, zested

Turn your grill on to mid-high. Cut the rind off of the pineapple. Slice into 1/2 inch circle slices. If desired, remove the core in the middle. This part is okay to eat, it is just a little chewy so it will be okay if you don't remove it. Mix together the honey, the juice from half of the lime and the lime zest. Grill the pineapple on one side for 3 minutes, flip. Brush half of the honey lime glaze on the pineapple and grill for another 3 minutes, flip. Brush the remaining glaze on the other side of the pineapple and grill 1 minute, flip. Grill 1 minute.

We served this as a side item, but I think it would make a stellar dessert with some vanilla ice cream and maybe some pound cake. I also think it would make an excellent margarita.

Lone Star Park

This weekend was eventful, to say the least.

Friday night after work I made some pecan crusted tilapia for dinner then we went to see Hancock, then went to the North Park Mall for some Orange Cup treats, but we ended up not making it in time. It was a fun date night! We both liked Hancock but it was very true to the reviews, it started off really funny and the second half is just kind of okay.

Saturday we went to ww, then went to Dollar Days at Lone Star Park. For those of you who have not been to LSP, you need to go! I was hesitant to go the first time I went, horse racing just did not sound fun to me but it is! This time I actually only saw one horse race. My friends had saved a table out in the shade by where the horses are shown off and I was enjoying the social time too much to actually be bothered to wait in line to bet or to stand behind the crowds to watch the race.



Sunday we bought tc some shirt and ties, he looks so handsome in them!!



That evening we grilled out for my dad's birthday. We made Giadia's Balsamic Marinade for sirloin steaks, "baked" potatoes on the grill, grilled aparagus, and grilled pineapple with honey lime glaze. The pineapple was amazing! I only had a few bites because I was much more interested in the steak and potatoes, but that is something I cannot wait to make again. It is so good I am going to share the recipe with all of you!

Juniper Hills Farm Cooking Class

I do not think I could come up with the words to describe what an amazing experience we had at the Onion Creek Kitchens at Juniper Hills Farm but I am going to give it a shot. We booked this trip six months in advance after reading Charity's rave review, who had gone on a recommendation by the DMN, and now we know why both so highly recommended the trip. Sibby is in fact fabulous!

We stayed in Casita Verde, not our first choice, but we were pleasantly surprised by house nice the room was. It even had an indoor/outdoor shower that I didn’t plan on making use of but just had to try, more on that later.

When we arrived our room was filled with treats from local farmers markets, chocolate covered pecans, homemade granola, local honey, milk and juice in little glass jars with a paper lid and candles and soaps too! All locally made. I thought this was a very nice touch. The room was very quaint and had a nice view of the surrounding ranch.

When we arrived at the main house for the "Random Acts of Cooking" class we were greeted by Sibby and her two beautiful weimaraners. Sibby offered us wine (local, of course) and led us to her kitchen which is set up perfect for it’s purpose. There were portable islands with fresh produce, peppers, cheeses, chickens, and a loaf of seven grain bread made that day that Sibby had picked out for the adventure we were about to partake in. The kitchen smelled so good, and we hadn't even started cooking yet.

After everyone had arrived Sibby tells us how the evening will go. All of the cooking class attendees call out ideas and she makes suggestions for what we can make with the ingredients in front of us. She assures us that almost miraculously everything will come together. Sibby read off the menu which was comprised of almost everything that we called out, then we get to working on our designated projects.

Our menu for the evening: broccoli cheese soup, grilled bruschetta topped with a tapenade made with tomatoes, eggplant, squash and fresh mozzarella, roasted chicken with peach salsa (me!!), stuffed bell and poblano peppers with chevre and stilton cheese, roasted corn soufflé, succotash, and for desert watermelon sorbet. The kitchen smelled amazing and I was so excited the whole time we were cooking.

After everything was done in the miraculous timing we were promised, the group sat down and enjoyed our meal. It was all delectable! I couldn’t believe that we had made all of the incredible food. When I was eating the sorbet I said “I DON’T WANT THIS TO BE OVER” then invited all of our new friends over to cook at our house any time!

We spent the rest of the evening visiting with our other chefs while relaxing by the infinity pool.

When we got back to our room I decided to take advantage of the unique shower situation. It was so cool showering in the cool open air with the hot water pouring down, such a play on sensations.
When we woke up we were surprised with a warm blueberry and walnut coffee cake of sorts at our doorstep.

As hard as it was to say good bye, I know we will return again. Hopefully very soon!

Floatin Down the River

Every year my business fraternity alumni group plans a camping trip where we go to New Braunsfel and float down the Guadalupe River. Little factoid for all ya'll, this is where tc and I started getting to know each other and basically when we celebrate our dating anniversary!

We were so excited to go back again this year. We bought a tent, an air mattress, and all of the other camping gear we were going to need for the weekend. When we got down there on Friday afternoon our campsite was wide open, awaiting our tent. We set it up pretty easily, so we got to enjoy the rest of the evening sitting out with our friends and catching up.

a crappy picture of our tent

Saturday morning tc and I took a hike to get our tubes. When we got back we made pancakes on the grill (yum!) then got ready to get on the water. It is so nice just relaxing in the sun all day!

you have to look at this picture sideways because I am too lazy to turn it!The float trip always starts out really fun inevitably ends in disaster for me. Okay disaster is probably a huge overstatement, but I can't hang out in the water for too long. For some reason I just get so cold I get uncontrollably shaky.

Usually this ends up not being such a terrible thing because I get to enjoy the showers and campsite to myself, and I enjoy reading out in the sun and quiet. This year it was also a good thing I got out of the water early, with tc's paddling us faster to get out sooner. As soon as we got back to the campsite it started to POUR down rain and some of our fellow campers did not put their rain guards on their tents. We were able to go around and protect at least some of their possessions!

Because all of our chairs were soaking wet, with not much of a chance of being dry, we decided to pack up and head home a day early. Because of our change in plans we got to eat at the much talked about Gristmill and we got to spend the night with tc's parents, meaning we got to eat at my favorite mexican breakfast place, Jaliscos!!

It was another fantastic weekend!

4th of July Weekend

I am so behind with all of the stuff we have been up to this summer. So I am going to start from this weekend and work my way backward. Hopefully readers can make sense of it all.

Thursday morning we left for our trip to Michigan. We were visiting my friend Betsy at her family's house. I have been for two fourth of July's in the past and it always proves to be an amazing trip, this year was no different.

TC and I flew into Milwaukee then got on a plane that seats 26 people and had a 20 minute flight over Lake Michigan to Muskegon which has an airport about the size of a Sonic restaurant. When we arrived we sat down with the family and ate some darn good lasagna. After enjoying each other's accents for awhile we went to the beach to see the sunset and The Badger, a boat that carries about 200 cars plus people across the lake to Wisconsin.

After The Badger was out of sight we went to House of Flavor to get some freaking awesome ice cream. They had all sorts of flavors like burnt marshmallow, raspberry chocolate cheesecake, blue moon (with nutmeg flavor), they even had a flavor of ice cream with chocolate covered potato chips!! Of course they had all of your regular run of the mill flavors as well. I got a cranberry, mandarin orange, and white grape sherbet that was DELICIOUS!

(good ice cream is worth the wait!)

Friday morning as soon as everyone got moving we went kayaking. I had never been before but have always wanted to go. I am so glad we decided to go for it. It was a blast! I was a little slow at first because I had such a hard time steering but eventually I got it. It was super fun but definitely made me sore!

After kayaking we came home to Mama S making some fajitas. Come to find out she had bought some avocados at the store because she thought it would be fun to have some guacamole, even though she had know idea how to make it. She just figured I was Texan, so I probably knew how. I was so glad I didn't disappoint! During lunch her whole family went on about how much they enjoyed the real Texan guacamole. It was good we were able to earn our keep a little bit!


After the awesome meal, we went to ride on a big truck with no top on the sand dunes. They take you for a ride with lots of hills and splash you through the water. Definitely a good time.

(excuse the dorky backwards hat. I needed the hat to hold my hair down from the wind, but had to have it backwards so it didn't fly off)

We ate dinner on the way home at Bubba Qs and got to meet the hilarious Bubba himself, who would only tell you his ingredients or who he was if you were willing to buy the business!

When we got back to the house we headed off to the beach to watch the sunset and the fireworks. I still have trouble deciding which one wins the award for most beautiful display, but I'll go ahead and chalk that one up to God and his sunset over the lake.

Saturday was dedicated to Betsy's party. We made decorations to hang from the shaded areas. We made a display for some of her pictures and gear from graduation, and we set everything up. The weather ended up being beautiful, everything went smoothly and everyone had a great time.

Saturday night we had a campfire. I had my annual shot gunned beer with Betsy's awesome brother in law, who taught me how to shot gun a beer three years ago on my second visit to MI. We had plenty of smores, plenty of laughs, and some fireworks. Aahhhh good times!

Sunday we got up to go to church and hear Pappa S preach. At church Betsy's awesome 2 year old niece told me YOU STINK, peeeeee uuuuuuuuuu. Uh, thanks Mimi! I had to check with tc to make sure I didn't have terrible breath, but apparently she just likes telling everyone that.

After church we headed straight over to the art festival, got some good photographs and some kettle corn.

Then it was time to go home :( The plane ride home was spent planning our next visit :)

Emily Cooks - Adobo

My sister in law Emily was so nice to teach me how to make some Filipino cuisine before she went home. We made Adobo, a pork dish and Pancit Bihon, a rice noodle dish. Both are excellent and full of flavor.

First, the Adobo.
4 pounds pork (you can use however much you need, this served 6 with left overs for about 4 more)
vegetable oil
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
Banana sauce
soy sauce
sugar cane vinegar (Sukang Maasing)
black pepper

Coat skillet on high with oil.
Add garlic, brown then add onion until soft. Add pork and sprinkle with black pepper.
Add soy sauce and make sure you hit all the meat. Add 2c water. Bring to boil, cover and simmer on med high for 40 minutes, stirring as necessary. Add about 1/4 cup of banana sauce, continue to simmer until the sauce is reduced to be thick. Just before serving add 1 cap full of vinegar.

Pancit Bihon

This is entree #2. It is the reason why I wanted to learn to cook from Emily. It is really healthy and SO delicious. Turns out it is also easy to make.




Pancit Bihon
1 whole chicken
2 bullion cubes
12 oz fresh green beans- sliced into thin diagonal slices
2 large carrots - peel and slice julienne
1 onion - chopped fine
4 oz celery (3 stalks) - sliced thin
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 small head of cabbage - cut into bite size pieces
Soy Sauce
12oz Rice vermicelli (Hsin Chu)

To make this dish

Cut a whole chicken into pieces, put into a large pot of water with a bullion cube and a few pinches of salt. Boil the chicken until done. When cool debone the chicken and tear into very small pieces. Reserve the broth

Coat a large skillet with oil. Add garlic until brown. Add in onion until clear.
Add chicken and two tablespoons of oil, stir until coated and hot. Add two cups of reserved chicken broth, stir. Add carrots and green beans. Cook for a few minutes. Add three tablespoons of soy sauce, stir. Add celery. Stir and cook a few minutes. Add 1/2 bullion cube. Cook and stir until veggies are al dente.

Put cabbage into big bowl. Add chicken mixture, and set to the side.

With skillet still on high heat add 1/2 of remaining broth until boiling. Add noodles until wet, be sure to keep noodles separated. Add soy sauce to taste. Lower heat to medium low until broth is completely absorbed and noodles are soft. Add chicken and cabbage mixture and fold in until cabbage is cooked.

Save some and eat it for breakfast ya'll