Bobby Flay is Cooking Me Dinner. Jealous Much?

***I was off on Friday.  I had this post scheduled for 9am.  I understand Blogger had some "issues".  Blogger and I really are not friends these days.  Anyway, here is what was SUPPOSED to be up on Friday.***


I was driving to work the other day when I realized I had a HUGE smile on my face.  It caught me off guard, and I had focus on what I had been thinking about.  And then I knew what it was.  I had been thinking of how exciting and fun and stress free the next two months are going to be :)

I had been thinking about how blessed I am.  Sometimes I forget that, as I'm rushing from one place to another to meet all of my obligations.  But I've made some changes in my life lately, and the most noticeable one is that I'm actually moving slowly enough to realize how happy I am. 

Here are a few of the things that had me smiling ....


1.  I'm off today.  YAY!

2.  Tonight is a birthday celebration for someone I really like, and I'm excited to celebrate HER and to meet some new people.

3.  Although Saturday's hike will most likely have to be postponed due to weather, TEN and I have a back up plan with some friends that includes wine & celtic music.  This should be interesting :)


4.  The Fighter & The Tourist are sitting on my coffee table to be watched this weekend with "the boys". 

5.  I'm off every Friday in the months of May & June.  My pool opens Memorial Day weekend, but Barbie's pool opens earlier :-o   I see myself spending some lazy Fridays by the pool very soon.

6.  I'm getting together with friends I haven't seen in months for lunch on one of my Fridays off in May.

7.  A dear friend is having a very special birthday celebration at the end of May.  TEN and I have been invited to participate in the Birthday Boy's super secret special celebration, and I'm so excited and honored to have been included!

8.  Memorial Day 3-day weekend, and a party at The Voice of Reason & Mr. Swiss' lake house.  Always a good time.

9.  Long weekend at the lake with some of my favorite girls the first weekend in June.  BFF, MK (mrs.mfc) and I all have birthdays the second week of June.  This little lake get away will give us all a chance to celebrate together! :)

10.  Long weekend at the lake with TEN's family the second weekend in June.  TEN's brother, TEN's sister's boyfriend and I all have birthdays in the same week.  So, another birthday celebration of sorts will be taking place this weekend too!

(yes, you counted right.  that's THREE long weekend in a row at the lake.  see why i'm smiling so much?!?!)

11.  Barbie won a prize at an event last year.  The prize is to have a chef come into her home to cook dinner for 4 couples (8 people).  It's going to be very fancy, and TEN and I were invited to be one of the 4 couples!  I must admit, I've never had an in-house chef cook my supper before.  I mean someone who wasn't there all of the time...like a housekeeper and such.  This is like a REAL chef.  Like Bobby Flay.  Okay, maybe not quite like Bobby Flay, but you know what I mean.  I'm excited.

12.  TEN and I have been trying to plan a fancy pants vacation.  To somewhere sunny and warm.  He got some good news last week, and it looks like we may be going sooner rather than later.  How exciting!

So many happy things to look forward to in the next 2 months.  I just can't stop smiling!  And, I had to share it with someone :)

xoxo,

T

"The Border"...No Need To Make a Run For It!

I'm really big on finding a recipe that I think looks tasty, and then going to Kroger to find what I need to make the recipe.  The Voice of Reason, on the other hand, looks at what she has on hand...then decides what to cook.  She looks for recipes that call for what she already has.

There is no "right way" to go about cooking supper, but I like TVoR's idea.  And I've been trying it lately.  One night I found myself with 1 chicken breast, Chunky Beef Soup and a head of lettuce.  Clearly it doesn't work every time.

Last night TEN and I decided to use what we had on hand, and after doing some internet searching we decided to make a Taco Bell Mexican Pizza.  Honestly, I've never had a Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell...but TEN likes them.  A lot.  This is what they are supposed to look like when purchased from Taco Bell:

(from Taco Bell's website)

Here is a picture of what they REALLY look like:

(found by google-ing.  quite different than the picture above!)

So, although the Taco Bell advertised pizza looks pretty impressive...surely we can make something that looks better than the "real" picture, right?

The directions tell us to pour a bit of oil into a small frying pan to "fry" the tortillas.  This will help them crisp up a bit.

***SIDE NOTE - I used low carb/high fiber tortillas, reduced fat refried beans, lean ground beef & fat free sour cream.  Although this wasn't a "skinny recipe", I'm learning to make things "skinnier" on my own :)

Then, we covered the first tortilla (liberally) with refried beans.

Next, we layered the ground beef/onion/spices mixture.

Then, placed another crispy tortilla on top.

Next, cover the top tortilla with salsa.

We used two types of cheese...sharp cheddar & pepper jack.

Into the oven for 8 minutes.  TADA!

(this is TEN's Mexican Pizza.  looks pretty good.)

(this is MY Mexican Pizza.  apparently there is such a thing as too much cheese?)

Here is my finished product.  Minus the sour cream.  Which I also applied liberally.  Like the cheese.  I'm pretty sure using fat free sour cream & reduced fat refried beans didn't help at all after I piled on 3lbs of cheese.  Oh well.  Next time I'll know better :)

I had planned to use this for my Let's Eat Y'all link up over at Flip Flop & Pearls tomorrow, but then I remembered that I am off tomorrow.  And I have a full day that won't allow me to get on my computer.  At all.  Which is glorious, but I hate to miss Let's Eat Y'all. 

So, I guess I'll go ahead and give you the recipe now.  If you want it :)

Straight from WikiHow..............

How to Make a Taco Bell Mexican Pizza!

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon diced minced onions

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder(Spanish is best)

2 tablespoons water

8 flour tortillas(6 "inch")

1 cup cooking oil

1(16ounce)can refried beans

1/3 cup diced tomatoes

2/3 cup mild picante sauce

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Pepper jack cheese

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup sliced black olives

We left out a few of these items, simply because I didn't have them at the house. No green onions or black olives. I didn't have picante sauce, so we used salsa. I didn't have a white onion so we used a red one. You understand...

Directions

Get a skillet pan and place it over medium heat. Heat the ground beef and cook it until completely brown. Drain all excess oil.

Keep the beef in the pan. Add the chili powder, onions, salt, paprika, and water.

Stir and simmer for about 10 minutes.

While it's simmering, get a small frying pan and pour a little of cooking oil into the pan. Put it on medium heat. Place a tortilla into the pan, frying it for 30 to 45 seconds. Flip it over and fry that side for 30 to 45 seconds. Pop any bubbles that forms on the tortillas. You'll want to make sure that it always stays flat. Remove from the pan when it's golden brown and drain on paper towels. Repeat this step for each tortilla.

Cook and heat the refried beans in a separate pot. At this point also, you can go and preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Grab one tortilla shell and spread a generous amount of beans on it. Scoop up some meat and then place another tortilla shell on top of the meat.

Pour about 2 tablespoons of salsa on top of the second tortilla. Spread cheese, onions, and tomato on the salsa.

Place the completed Mexican pizza in the oven for about 8 to 12 minutes.

I would recommend going a little lighter on the cheese than you may initially want to.  Also, this is a big meal for one person.  TEN made two of these Mexican Pizzas, as he usually eats two from Taco Bell.  However, our "home made" versions were so heavy on the belly that he only ate one.  I tried to clean my plate, but  wasn't able to do it :( 

Remember, sometimes less IS more.

 T

"Everything in the world may be endured except continual prosperity." ~Goethe

(picture "borrowed" from THESE PEOPLE)

It all started with a giveaway that Kassie from Raindrops on Roses was having.  A Coach bag.  I adore Coach bags.  I've got a few, and they really are my go to/every day/dependable bags.  And this one has PINK on it :)  Enter to win?  Don't mind if I do.

Next it was a Smathers & Branson belt giveaway from Trish at Pink Preppy Lilly Lover.  Seriously?  How could I not enter THAT giveaway?  And so I did. 

Then a few days later I came home and found this:

(disclaimer - this is NOT Louis)

Louis had been doing a bit of blog reading himself, and he wanted to enter a giveaway too!  He found a giveaway that Kelly, Gibson's mom from Corgi Butts, was hosting with Pet Botanics. 

Three 5lb bags of organic dog food in salmon, lamb and chicken flavor.  Louis is very finicky about his food.  He likes it to be only human grade, no fillers, no wheat, no soy, etc.  He did a bit of research and decided he wanted to give this a try.  So, I entered for him.


Next it was a giveaway for a LillyPie necklace hosted by E from E, myself & I.  These necklaces are absolutely fabulous, and can be worn so many ways!!  E has one, and I had admired it in her pictures.  So...well, you know....I entered.

Not long after that, I happened across Deviled Megs' giveaway for a Kate Spade make-up bag, $25 Sephora gift card and some other goodies. 

Ummmm...HELLO.  Another no brainer.  How could you not enter this?  And so, I entered.



And then I won.




All of them.




EGADS!  I feel kindove horrible about it.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm super excited about everything I've won.  I'm totally not going to give anything away or anything (so don't ask), but there IS a bit of guilt involved. 

I go through life entering giveaways ALL OF THE TIME!  This has never happened before.  I would never have guessed that I would win everything :( 

So, this is a public announcement to all of the blogs I follow.  I won't be entering any of your giveaways for bit.  I feel as if I'm on a roll, which is awesome, but not really fair.  I also think it's about time I have a giveaway of my own to pass along the good fortune.  Don't you?

Has this ever happened to you before?  Have you ever won EVERYTHING all at once? 

T

Westie Wednesday

What a rough week for little Louis Wellington :(  Last Friday, at doggie daycare, someone took a bite out of his tail!  (by someone I mean another pup, of course)  They told me that there hadn't been an altercation that they could see.  Everyone played well, and none of the pups were being "snippy".  However, when they took Louis' play group out to potty time they noticed blood on his tail.

Now that Louis has licked on his boo boo for a few days it's about the size of a quarter.  It's red and irritated. I'm taking him to the vet to see what they can give me that might help it to heal more quickly.  The "cone" is out.  When he has that on he just stands in the middle of the kitchen shaking.  For hours.  I'd rather have them amputate his tail than put him through that again :( I'm hoping there is a bandage of sorts that they can put on his boo boo that he won't remove.  Wish us luck!

I just want my little man feeling like this again:

(picture taken on the way to doggie daycare last week PRIOR to "the attack" as I am now calling it.  like this...."OMG...Louis was ATTACKED at daycare last week!"  you understand)

Keep LW's tail in your thoughts please.

Westie Licks,

T & Louis

 

**UPDATE -  While googling for an image of "westie with a bite or sore on tail" I came to the realization that Louis' injury is not that terrible.  What I saw after googling, however, was :(  So, don't worry about keeping LW's tail in your thoughts.  Use those thoughts for the poor pups whose tails I just saw.  Ouch!

Red Roses & Tomatoes...What a LOVELY Combination :)

Friday I decided to head back to Kroger for some additional purchases.  I ended up saving 55% of my total, thanks to coupons.  Perhaps I am getting the hang of this after all? 

I will promise, with you as my witnesses, that I will NEVER have a stockpile of 57 toothbrushes just because they were on sale.

Pinky swear.

I will only buy what I need.  Like 16 boxes of pasta.  Because it was FREE.  I'm just sayin...

(disclaimer...this is NOT my pasta.  this belongs to the Krazy Coupon Lady)

Saturday was the Kentucky Derby, of course, and we all headed out to one of Smalltown, VA's Kentucky Derby Parties.  This is the first year that I didn't wear a hat, but quite frankly I just didn't want to have to deal with keeping up with it. 

(Marilyn Monroe's Derby hat)

(i was freezing cold by this point, and wearing TEN's oxford over my dress)

(BFF & I.  check out my HUGE green glass ring from Venice.  so much fun to wear!)

(this is the Lilly dress I wore to the Derby Party.  for some reason there are no full length pictures from saturday)

No major drama or stories from the weekend, which is always lovely.  I do wonder if I'm getting a bit boring in my old age, but perhaps that isn't it at all.  Perhaps I'm just settling in to what life is really supposed to be like....

On Mother's Day Louis gave me this lovely "Louis sized" bouquet of red roses. 

He also loved on me ALL DAY LONG!  Can you imagine?  He wasn't concerned with TEN in the least!  Hehehe :) 

In other news.....I've planted this little garden of sorts. 



I've got some cilantro, roma tomatoes, cucumbers and some cayenne peppers growing . I've also got some regular tomatoes in a Topsy Turvy hanging from the hammock hook.  Pretty classy, huh?

I really hadn't expected to have any great success with this "garden", but I've got 3 tomatoes growing out of the Topsy Turvy already.  AND...I've got about 6 sprouts coming up from the cucumber seeds.  I had to cut the cilantro over the weekend because it was simply out of control. 

Since I've had such luck, I've decided that I needed to try growing some cherry tomatoes.  I've purchased this:

...from ABC Distributing for $4.95 for a Set of 2.  Can't beat that!

Perhaps next year I need to look into actually committing a part of the back yard to a real "legit" garden?

T

Who the Hell is Mary?

Yesterday I arrived at work, turned on the computer, got myself situated.  I looked at my planner to see what tasks lay before me for the day.   I saw the following:

**check w/Mary about course!!!

All day I wondered who Mary was.  And what course I was supposed to check with her about.  Last night, while drinking one of these:

I still couldn't get it out of my mind.

And then today......I came in to work and found the following note in my purse:

888-555-5555  M-F  5:30  ~~ Gloria ________

Now, the phone number has been changed to protect  the innocent, but quite frankly I haven't a clue who the innocent is?!?  Gloria's last name is written down on this note paper, and it IS in my handwriting.  I just don't know who she is, or why I'm supposed to call her at 5:30 on a M-F.....

T