La-Dee-Da

Hello friends, I've had a busy last few days!!! Sunday was Father's day so I decided to put together a basket for my padre and padre in law in which I attempted to make them homemade caramel corn. It turned out delicious but I think I overcooked the sugar just a tad an it kind of crystallized on the the popcorn. But oh well, it was still yummy.....

 For Father's Day my mom enlisted me on pie making duty (Coconut Cream Pie) in which I used my Cuisinart food processor for the first time to make my first attempt at a homemade pie crust! I over worked that a little too much too (see a trend here?) but it tasted delicious and was nice and flaky! The pie ended up being thicker than I thought it would so we decided to call it a Macaroon pie. It tasted good :) On Monday I made homemade chocolate chip banana bread and it was sooooooo good. I think I am going to make more and freeze it so that we can enjoy it all the time!

Last night was Taco Tuesday and a special appearance was made by the Keogh gals (well Kassie is a Reed now, but you get my drift..) and I was so glad they came! We ended the night beating each other up on a Wrestling video game Matt has and I don't think I've ever laughed that hard....so hilarious! Us four are also going to see the final installment of the last Harry Potter and I am so excited, yeah! If you don't know already, I am kind of a Harry Potter fanatic...and by kinda I mean alot....

Tonight I am meeting 2 of my bridesmaids for dinner whom I haven't seen since my Wedding and I am so excited! I always love hanging out with them because they always give me great advice on relationships etc. They are definitely 2 lovely ladies who love the Lord and who strive to know Him better and that just makes them fantastic!!!!

Tomorrow I think Matt and I are going out to a Bible camp in Sebastopol to visit some kiddos so until then enjoy your Wednesday folks!

It's a cupcake kind of Friday..

 I made these beauties for a Young Adult group at the Wallace's tonight. They are Boston cream pie cupcakes and they are so easy and delicious! Happy Friday everyone!

All Things Good

 So I got my hair done last night and it turned out exactly the way that I wanted it! My hair lady is seriously a creative genius and I wish I had her skills!!!

She did an A-line with red and orange AND re-did my feathers! Can anyone say awesome?! I am super stoked!
Last night was Taco Tuesday and we had about 15ppl over. Our house was packed but it was packed with ppl we loved so we didn't mind :) Tonight we are having our married friends Dan and Kassie over for dinner and we're having lasagna, french bread and salad! I am so excited to catch up with them and hear about their updates on life, new house potential and their baby! I haven't seen Kassie since my Wedding (which she was in!) and it is about darn time! I love having a place of my own where I can have peeps over and just hang out, it's truly a wonderful thing! Till next time, love you all :)

Haircut/ color = about flipping time!

So tomorrow I have a hair appt. scheduled with the best hairstylist evah, Corrine Matej @ The Powder Room (go check her out!) Normally I wouldn't submit a blog just about a silly ole haircut but this haircut is super special because I haven't done my typical "crazy" haircut/ color combo in forever! I've been growing my hair out for months (only trimming and touching up my blonde streak) in hopes that it would be beautiful and healthy for my Wedding day, but now that day has past and I am going crazy! I can't wait for Corrine to get her beautiful hands on my hair so I can feel like my normal old self again!!!!!

 Extreme A-line anyone??? Yes please!!!

This is why my husband is the best!

He got me flowers just because!!!! Aren't they beautiful?! And yes they are really this vibrant!

Taco Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone! Last night I made an awesome Weight Watcher buffalo chicken pizza and cucumber and avocado salad. It was so easy and full of flavor (and even better, low in fat!)

Matt and I are really trying to eat healthy and lose weight so I am only using WW and other low fat recipes in our daily dinners. I seriously love cooking and now that I have my own space it makes me want to quit my job and just cook all day (although, I don't know how Matt would feel about that...lol). Tonight is our weekly Taco Tuesday night which is a very special night in which we basically invite friends over and eat tacos together (surpised, I know...).
Married life is so awesome because everything I do now involves Matt and we can have cute themed nights and just be with each other. I love it!!!! God definitely knew what He was doing in putting us together. :)
Our house is coming together and day by day I am unpacking boxes one by one, trying to find somewhere to put all of my stuff. Last night Matt had to go to the Theater to go oversee while the Gilead staff filmed a video for Summer Camp. While he was gone I packed his lunch, did the dishes and hung some artwork up on our walls (it was driving me crazy having blank walls!!!) I hope to eventually find my acrylic paint and paint a piece for our living room but currently it's lost in the sea of boxes. It's so fun to have a house that I can nest in!!! I am so blessed to have a beautiful home, a wonderful husband and wonderful friends and family and those blessings only come from the Lord! Appreciate all that God has given you today because we don't deserve any of it! Happy Taco Tuesday :)

Thanks Aunt Judy!

So my aunt got Matt and I an awesome cookbook for our Wedding. It's called Eat What You Love by Marlene Koch. It's compiled of super easy, low fat and delicious recipes and is perfect for someone like me who works 40+ hrs! Last night I made 2 delicious recipes and Matt was literally licking his plate (you think I'm joking....I'm not!). I used some steak instead of beef because that's what we had in the fridge :) Enjoy!

Tex Mex Chili Bake

2 tsp EVOO

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 minced garlic clove

1/2 pound lean beef

1.5 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 (4oz.) can diced green chilies (I used fire roasted!)

1 (15oz.) can pinto beans (rinsed and drained)

1 (14oz) can tomatoes (I used stewed tomatoes with garlic)

1 Tbsp tomato paste

3 corn tortillas

2/3 cup reduced fat Mexican shredded cheese

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic, stir and cook for 30 seconds. Add beef, cumin, chili powder and cook until beef is no longer pink.

3. Stir in chilies, beans, tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Spray a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray. Lay 1 tortilla on the bottom. Spoon half the beef mixture on top. Put 2 tortilla  on top followed by the rest of the beef mixture. Place remaining tortilla on top and load on the cheese!! Sprinkle cilantro around edges if using.

5. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes or until hot (& cheese melted). Cut into wedges.

Serves ~4ppl

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese

  1.5 pounds of Asparagus spears (washed and trimmed)

2 tsp EVOO

Salt to taste

Fresh ground pepper

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

 

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Toss Asparagus spears with EVOO, salt and pepper.

3. Spread evenly into a single layer on a flat baking sheet. Roast for 10-11 minutes or until fork tender.

4. Sprinkle with Parmesan right before serving.

Serves ~4ppl

I'm a newb.

Okay all, I have joined the Blogging world. At first I thought ppl that had blogs were kind of lame (and had too much time on their hands) but more and more I have become more interested by it. With my recent Wedding (May 14th whoop whoop!) I thought this would be a good way to share with others my life as a newlywed. Plus I just got a smart phone and I can now update things more frequently. :) Hopefully this will be the first of many posts :)