I do not live in Africa

So why is it so hot here? Like literally Wicked Witch of West throw a bucket of water on me and I might melt...Kind of hot. We had a nice patch of weather that lasted oh about three days, and now we are back to Africa hot. Not that I can really complain much because in Texas it's about ten degrees hotter, but I don't live in Texas anymore (so I think I will complain). Can we hurry up and get to Fall? Fall brings the most fabulous things: My birthday, football (fingers crossed), leaves changing colors, my birthday, cooler weather, Breaking Dawn pt. 1 premiere, Halloween, my birthday, pumpkin spice lattes, and boots. I just wanna fast forward to September please.

My baby brother gets into town today yall, and you know what that means? I get to see Harry Potter again, woo hoo. Plus an insane amount of pizza will be eaten. Also, I get to throw his birthday party. My little Looloo is turning 18, when the hell did this happen? I remember him being 3 and smashing all of my snow globes, which I know he totally did on purpose just to torture me. I love him anyways, and I just cannot believe that he is so grown up. Ahh.

I also realize that I forgot Tasty Tuesday, I suck blahblahblah. So in honor of Looloo's upcoming birthday I give you:

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons whipping cream
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup strawberry preserves

beat the powdered sugar and butter for three minutes on medium high speed. Add in remaining ingredients and continue whipping until combined.

Enjoy!

The End of an Era

The Harry Potter era has (very sadly) come to an end. Thursday at midnight Stephen and I joined the craziness, and went to watch Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows pt. 2. It was epic! Going into the movie I was fairly depressed. What? I've grown up with these movies, and followed the series for over a decade. I have to say though, the last movie definitely gave justice to the series. I think most true HP fans will be really satisfied. The 3D glasses were even replicas of Harry's.
                                              
So thats my HP ramble of the day. Now I just have to wait until November for the first installment of Breaking Dawn. Something great had better come out soon for the new generation of kids. Childhood just wouldnt be the same without a little magic.

That's Amore

Tonight's dinner was pure heaven, mmmmmm mmmm good! What did we have you ask? Cheesy meatballs & wild mushroom anglioli. While the anglioli was grocery store bought, the meatballs were 100% home-made. Tonight my snazzy husband made them, but I must give him mad props because they were delicious! Here is my recipe:

1 lb. Of beef (1/2 beef & 1/2 pork)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup beef broth
2 chopped garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 basil leaves finely chopped
Mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes

-Mix the eggs, garlic, chicken broth, basil, & salt n pepper.
-Add the egg mixture to the beef & roll into balls
-Stick a small cube into the middle of each meatball
-Bake on a cookie pan at 350 for about 25 minutes

Serve with your choice of marinara or Alfredo sauce. Enjoy!

Hot dogs, get your hot dogs

No this post really isn't about how to cook hot dogs, because in all honesty the only way I know how to cook them is in the microwave or on the grill. In honor of the very festive weekend full of cookouts (thus the hot dog reference), I figured I would include an appropriate dish for tasty Tuesday. I bring you

Summer Potato Salad

8 red potatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of dill
1/4 cup of mayo
2 tbl spoons of Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

-Cut potatoes into bite size chunks and throw in a bot of boiling water until tender, but be careful not to overcook
-Strain potatoes and place in a bowl in the freezer to cool
-While potatoes are cooling chop dill & garlic
-When potatoes are done cooling combine all ingredients and toss

Keep refridgerated until ready to serve

It's very fresh & super light. I love it!

I am my own worst enemy

I have recently lost ALL motivation to work out, I literally havent been to the gym in like two weeks. The scale is most definitely reflecting that, right in the middle of summer. I mean who wants to see Godzilla in a swimsuit? (Yes I'm referring to myself as godzilla) Thank goodness things havent reached Code RED and that is only because of the amazing fresh fruits and vegetables that I have been keeping stocked in our house. If this was the winter, I would highly resemble an umpa lumpa by now. 

I've even stooped so low as to involve Stephen. This morning I was too lazy busy to workout (but I had a salad for lunch, go me!), so I begged Stephen not to go the gym after work. I dont know if its just to make myself feel better, or if I'm hoping he'll try and convince us to go tonight, either way I guess I win. I'm not a horrible person I promise, because I obviously feel guilt over my obesity :0)

Introducing Tasty Tuesday

In order to motivate myself to post more regularly I am going to institute Tasty Tuesday. Every tuesday I will come to you with a new recipe I'm going to try out that night. I love cooking, it truly is a huge passion of mine. I would love to end up a famous chef in a beautiful restaurant (preferably NYC, a girl can dream right?), with my handsome hubby by my side. In case yall didnt know, Stephen grew up working in restaurants and is an AMAZING cook. Like truly fabulous, thus my love weight that I've gained. He also knows how to make dishes look as amazing as they taste, I havent quite perfected that skill yet. Anyways, I digress. So in case you need some culinary inspiration, you know where to turn every Tuesday.

Today, I'm taking Stephen to PF Changs to celebrate starting STE school. I'm going to leave you one of their fabulous recipes, and my personal favorite.


Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons oil
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup water chestnuts
• 2/3 cup mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons chopped onions
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 4 -5 leaves iceberg lettuce

Special Sauce

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon hot mustard
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1 -2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions

1. Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl.
2. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.
3. Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve.
4. Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well.
5. Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.
6. Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.
7. Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done.
8. Remove chicken from the pan and cool.
9. Keep oil in the pan, keep hot.
10. As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas.
11. Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.
12. When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are.
13. With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil.
14. Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.
15. Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"cups". 
16. Top with"Special Sauce"

 Enjoy!

 

Dancing in the Moonlight

Chick flicks are an unavoidable part of life, and with chick flicks comes the really mushy romantic scene. They can range from meeting on top of the Empire State Building to kissing in the rain. This past weekend Stephen & I had our very own chick flick moment. We went to the Rascal Flatts concert on Sunday, it was beyond amazing, and we slow danced under the stars. I've always wanted to dance outside with my hubby, and we've been to many concerts before where we danced, but this one was different. I don't know if it was the music, or the fact that we're married now, but it was truly magical. The whole night was perfect, not a single thing went wrong.

We had amazing company

We took cute pictures

We laughed

And of course we danced....