Celebration Monday

Well, since I failed epically at my "post-more-often daily-topic" blogging last week, I'll just pick up right where I left off. Monday means menus (or recipe, for that matter) and because I'm celebrating 26 years of me today, I thought I'd post one of my favorite dessert recipes. But let's face it, I am a self-diagnosed sugar addict, so I can't pick a true favorite. I might have the sweetest tooth known to man; if something that contains sugar is within 20 yards of me, I can't help but eat it. I've tried the whole "don't buy sweets" thing in an attempt to curb my habit, but it doesn't work. The only way that would ever happen is if Brad began doing the grocery shopping, and hello! Not happening, because that would mean relinquishing that small piece of control I have. Ahem, back to the reason we're here. Favorite (two) recipes for desserts:

BLUE-NANA PIE (yields two pies)
[Background]: I was introduced to this pie the very first time I went to Brad's parents house in north Texas. Apparently, it was a favorite of Brad's and as soon as I sunk my teeth into it, it became a favorite of mine as well. I [try to] make it every year for his birthday.

3-4 bananas, thinly sliced
1 can blueberry pie filling
2 premade pie crusts
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1 c sugar
2 packets Dream Whip
1 c milk
1 tsp vanilla

1. Bake pie crusts according to package directions for un-filled pie and allow to cool.
2. Beat cream cheese until fluffy, adding sugar slowly while beating
3. Prepare Dream Whip according to package directions using milk and vanilla
4. Line pie crusts with banana slices
5. Dollop pie filling over bananas (1/2 can per pie)
6. Fold together cream cheese and whipped topping
7. Spread 1/2 of creamy mixture over each pie.
8. Chill before serving.


LEMON PUDDING CAKE
[Background: my Grandmother Grace didn't do much cooking, but this recipe was passed from her to my dad and I jotted it down during a visit home while in college. I'm not really sure if she ever cooked it herself, but I like to think she did.]

3 eggs, separated
2 T margarine (or butter -- whatever fancies you)
1 1/4 c milk
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest (optional, but worth it)

1. Mix egg yolks, melted margarine, milk, sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice in large bowl
2. Beat egg whites until thick and frothy.
3. Fold egg whites into lemon mixture
4. Pour combined mixture into 1 quart casserole dish
5. Place dish in deep baking dish/pan
6. Fill baking pan with 1 inch of water
7. Bake 45 minutes @ 375 or until dark brown on top

I haven't made this in a very long time, so I think this might be my birthday dessert!

Enjoy!

Menu Mondays

In an attempt to blog more often, I'm going to try something new:

MONDAYS: "Not Me, Monday!" with MckMama or Menu Monday

WEDNESDAYS: Wordless Wednesday where I will show a favorite picture of the past

THURSDAYS: Thankful Thursdays

FRIDAYS: "Show Us Your Life" with Kelly (unless I have nothing to contribute)

Since today is Monday, I'll try my hand at sharing one of our favorite recipes with you! I'll be honest...Brad does most of the cooking around here. When I'm working a 12-hour shift, there just isn't a lot of time for me to get home, cook dinner, eat and have some quality time together since I don't arrive until after 7:30. Brad actually enjoys cooking, and I [usually] clean up. So, more power to him.

We haven't really gotten good enough to spout off food from random ingredients yet, so we get our recipes from a variety of sources. Case in point:

FIRECRACKER ENCHILADAS

from Rachael Ray

3 T Olive Oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 T all-purpose flour

29-oz can tomato sauce

1 T chili powder

2.5 tsp ground cumin

1.5 tsp salt

1 lb muenster cheese, grated

2 lb chicken, shredded (this can be a pre-cooked rotisserie, or you grill 3-4 breasts)

3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - seeded and chopped

12-18 6-inch corn tortillas

1. Heat oil over medium high heat. Add 2/3 onion and cook ~5 minutes.

2. Stir in flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in 1.5 cups water, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside

3. Meanwhile, preheat broiler.

4. In large bowl, mix shredded chicken, 2/3 cheese and chiles.

5. In large casserole dish, spread 1 cup of enchilada sauce evenly across bottom. (I use two smaller dishes, thus splitting the 1 cup of sauce between the two.) Dip 1 tortilla in remaining sauce, coating both sides. Transfer to plate and fill w/ chicken mixture. Roll up, transfer to dish seam side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas and mixture.

6. Top enchiladas with remaining onion, sauce and cheese.

7. Broil until bubbly, 5-7 minutes. Turn off broiler and leave in oven an additional 5 minutes or until heated through.

This dish takes some time (shredding chicken, grating cheese) and is a little messy, so we normally just have some chips and salsa and guacamole as a side. YUM-O! as Rachael would say!

SIDE NOTE: We enjoy spicy food, so I typically leave the seeds of one pepper in!

SUYL: Favorite Vacation Spot

This week at Kelly's Show Us Your Life, we're talking about our favorite vacation spots.

Growing up, my family didn't really go on many vacations. My parents were both in public education and my Dad was in school quite a bit, so aside from trips with the church and weekend getaways to Dallas for some roller-coaster riding and CrackJack-eating fun, we didn't travel much. However, I have had several opportunities to go skiing in Colorado and that is my idea of a great vacation. It's a break from the hot humidity of Houston and it comes with periods of a good work-out and relaxation. Plus, the snow-covered mountains are just amazing:

[I'm actually going to my parents' this weekend, so if I find older pictures from Winter Park ski trips, I'll try to upload them. If I do find pictures, I'll fill you in on one of my most embarassing moments while growing up...]

Here I am in Breckenridge in 2008 with my then-future-in-laws:

And last year in Keystone with my new hubby (and friends that aren't pictured):

Big Christmas tree during a snow shower:

Now if only I could fit into those jeans again...

VOTE!!!

VOTE HERE!

My brother-in-law is in a brand new band called Air Review and they have a pretty awesome opportunity on the horizon. If you're from Texas (or elsewhere) and love music, you're probably very familiar with Austin City Limits. Air Review just played their first show two months ago (when the ACL Festival line-up was already established) and have a pretty good following all over. They're having a little contest over at Dell Lounge to win a spot at the Festival and the boys of the band need your vote! So take a listen, and vote once a day from now until August 28 to help them play a gig of their dreams!

Save the Date!

Yes, I realize we've already gotten married, but this Save the Date is for what might prove to be [one of] the hardest things I'll ever do. Brad and I just registered for the White Rock Half Marathon in Dallas on December 13.

So grab your scarves and hot chocolate (or heck, even your running shoes) and come cheer us on!

FURNITURE!

Since before we even got married, Brad and I have been looking for bedroom furniture. We've always kind of looked for a wooden sleigh bed with matching bedside tables and an extra-wide dresser (kind of like this). However, when walking through High Fashion Home here in Houston a few months back, I spotted THE bed. I've always wanted a nice, cozy traditional/contemporary house with a few antique accents and I think the bedroom may get the start. So here's the bed:







I love the distressed look to the gray wood and the headboard is upholstered behind the black iron. I honestly didn't think Brad would go for it, but he likes it almost as much as I do! I have so many more ideas for our bedroom since we're basically starting from nothing, but that's for another day and time. Just know that I plan on doing a lot of shopping in the [not-so-near]future!

Show Us Your LIFE: Honeymoon

I'm not a huge fan of summertime, which is one of the reasons I wanted a winter wedding. And with a winter wedding should come a winter honeymoon. So Brad and I skipped out on the beachy trip to Mexico or Jamaica or the Bahamas and he surprised me with a trip to NYC! I've always wanted to see the Big Apple at Christmas time, so here's a photo journal of what we did:

We saw the incredible Rockettes. It took me back to my high school drill team days. I acted like a fat kid in a candy store.

We spent lots of minutes looking at all the intricate detailed work that went into the window displays at Macy's, Lord and Taylor's, Neiman Marcus, etc.

I gawked at diamonds in Tiffany's:

We played in the outdoor markets:

And walked across the Brooklyn Bridge:

We stood outside the 86th floor of the Empire State Building:

And walked through Central Park:

We looked up at Lady Liberty:

And the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree:

And ate THIS at Serendipity: (Well, not all of it, but enough to make us sick)

We had so much fun even though it was really, really cold. We also went to see Wicked and Phantom of the Opera, visited Ground Zero and the Met, saw a hockey game at Madison Square Gardens, walked through Times Square and Grand Central Station and ate a LOT. However, we also walked about 50 miles that week, so I like to think it all evened out! We had such a blast and I can't wait to go back sometime.

Show Us Your LIFE: Wedding Reception

Kelly's at it again this week with wedding receptions and honeymoon pictures.

I'm from a fairly small town in North East Texas and there aren't that many places where wedding receptions can be held. The places that are big enough just aren't that pretty, and the places that are pretty don't hold that many people. The definition of a "big" wedding is different for everybody and I kind of feel like ours was "average" for the size towns we're both from. I was honestly worried that we wouldn't have enough room for people, but it worked out perfectly. I did about 90% of the planning on my own (with my mom's and mother-in-law's help, of course), but decided about two months before the wedding to hire a "day-of" coordinator for the decorating (church and reception) and to kind of run the reception. I showed him my ideas that I'd drawn up, as well as the supplies for decorations we'd already purchased and let him take it from there. I stopped by the reception on my way to the church for about 3 minutes to check in and never saw the finished product until we arrived. IT. WAS. BEAUTIFUL.

Looking in from the outside: (The building used to be a dry cleaners and the stains on the window will not come off. I embraced them because I think it adds character!)

This is the entry table:

We danced ("Everything" by Michael Buble):

Both the cakes were honestly the best wedding cake I've ever tasted. Bride's was bridal white cake with buttercream filling and white buttercream icing

Brad's was chocolate fudge cake with Kahlua filling and chocolate buttercream icing:

We had 3 centerpieces throughout the tables. Brown and gold ornaments in hurricanes (in keeping with the Christmas season):

Large candles with beads in bowls. (And yes, you do see chips and salsa on the table. We had fajitas for dinner!)

And flowers to resemble the bouquets in vases. The tent cards you see are the favors to our guests. Instead of giving out match books or cookies or anything monogrammed, we decided to donate to a foundation we support that was started by the parents of one of my former patients.

Of course, we had to get all the Aggies together to do the Aggie War Hymn:

Such the perfect night!

Honeymoon to come...

Thank God for Girlfriends

I love my husband. I mean, surely that's obvious. Otherwise, why would he be my husband? However, every once in a while, girls need each other to let their hair down, do some girl-talking and just have a night out on the town. I was extra-privileged this week with not one, but two girls nights!


Thursday evening, I joined my friends Ashley and Claire from work at Buca di Beppo for dinner. Since Claire has a new job, we hadn't seen each other since her wedding in March. We had a lot to catch up on, including her new marriage, my semi-new marriage, her new job and both of their new houses. We had a blast and are planning a triple-date so the boys can join in!


Then Friday, the Fab Four reunited in our home away from home -- College Station! Some of you may not know who the Fab Four consists of, so let me explain! When going through a second-degree fast-track nursing school program, things tend to get a little, um, stressful. There are books to read, breath sounds and heart tones to hear, IVs to practice and everything to remember come graduation. So, naturally, we sought out others to study with...and we found each other. We soon began celebrating everyone's birthdays, having study groups and 'rita nights out, and sharing laughter and tears. We have so many fun memories that I will cherish forever!


So, for our reunion, we decided a Murder Mystery Dinner at a Bryan winery (Messina Hof) would be a blast. We made reservations and then later learned that it was a Pirate-themed dinner. So, we donned our best (cheap) costumes and ventured to solve the Mystery Among the Mateys!


Here's Leah, aka Relentless Robbie:




And Lauren, aka Buccaneer Bradshaw:




Shae, aka Amy Bones (Serving Wench):




And myself, aka Calico Shakira something-or-other (lady pirate trying hard to look mean):



The dinner was set up really well. Everyone was assigned a character and given information about him/her prior to the evening. Once we arrived, we were given goals of information to obtain prior to the murder as well as objectives for after the murder. We mingled with the other guests, tried to persuade them towards accusing someone, looked at evidence, etc.

Unfortunately, not many of us had major parts in the actual murder, but we had fun sleuthing around. Actually, Leah and Lauren did the sleuthing. Shae and I decided that because our roles were practically unnoticed, we would participate in thievery to gain as much money as possible (there was a reward, people!).


We had a blast getting to know this couple from Houston (Cap'n Redbeard and the Governer's Daughter in awesome costume!):



None of us solved the murder, but we walked away with two free bottles of wine (one for having the most money)! We are looking forward to our next adventure, wherever that may be! Love you girls!