Friday, July 30, 2010

Recipes



Hey ya'll. I am a bad blogger. I am tired and hate that I don't get on here more. Here are the recipes that I promised everyone at the beginning of July...Well, at least is isn't August yet!

Lemon Lime Cake

1 box lemon flavor cake mix
1 sm. box lime gelatin
3/4 c. water
1/3 c. key lime juice
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs

Combine ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake 20-25 min at 350 degrees. Set aside to cool.

Lime Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2-4 Tbsp. instant lime gelatin

Combine whipping cream and jello, beat as usual (until you get whipped cream). Serve immediately or store in fridge up to a day.

Tequila Syrup

1 c. sugar
1 c. water
1/2 c. tequila

Combine sugar and water in saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil and cool. When the syrup has reached room temp, add tequila. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
********This makes SOOO much. You do not need this much...so I would half the recipe!******

Margarita Trifle

In any type of glass, compote or margarita glass, place a layer of cake cubes then drizzle they cubes with the simple syrup. You DO NOT have to use the simple syrup. The cake is delish with just the whipped cream! But if you want a kick use the syrup...it isn't too heavy so don't think you are gonna get lit with it! I rimmed the glasses with a lime and then dipped them in green course sugar for the full effect!

For easy application of simple syrup, put it into a squeeze bottle.

Tex Mex Salad

Ingredients

  • Butter, for preparing 8 by 8-inch glass pan
  • 1 (8.5-ounce) box cornbread mix (recommended: Jiffy)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 packet sazon seasoning
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  • 1 head romaine lettuce, cut into strips
  • Creamy Lime Dressing, recipe follows
  • 1 1/2 cups grated Monterey jack cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar
  • Special equipment: glass trifle dish

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8 by 8-inch glass pan with butter. Stir together the cornbread mix with the egg and milk. Evenly spread into prepared pan and bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cool completely. Mix together the beans with the sazon and season with salt and pepper. Toss the salsa with the tomatoes. When ready to serve, cut the cornbread into 1/2-inch croutons. Toss the lettuce with 3/4 cups of the dressing. In a clear trifle dish, layer the Tex-Mex Salad beginning with the black beans followed by the Monterey jack cheese, the tomato salsa mixture, the Cheddar, the dressed romaine and top with the cornbread croutons. Serve the remaining dressing on the side.

Creamy Lime Dressing:

  • 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon lime zest
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Special equipment: blender

Blend all the ingredients except the olive oil until smooth. While machine is running, slowly drizzle in the oil until incorporated. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Photo at the top is mine...here is theirs....


Side Notes--I added a layer of steak to my salad...I needed a protein! Also the dressing is kick ASS so if you just want to buy salad and add all the stuff to it fine but I highly recommend making the dressing!!

BON CHANCE!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Big deal

Sammy attended his first movie yesterday with Greg. He went to see Toy Story 3 in 3D. He was so cute. If I can get Greg to email me the picture from his phone I will post it. He had such a great time and ate lots of popcorn! He loved seeing Buzz and Woody on the big screen. It was a must that he wore his woody pj's to bed! SO cute!

And Charlie has turned 11 months. ACK! In less than a month he will be one. SFD. Where had the time gone? He has started to wave. He started waving at himself in the mirror at the mall on our anniversary! It was so cute. And now he does a whole arm wave! It is adorable.

We are off to the beach and hopefully I'll have some time to post while I am down at the beach relaxing!

Monday, July 12, 2010

SFD

I hate insurance. I hate having to spend so much SFD time on figuring it all out and choosing the best options from what we have. It's like would you rather have gizzards or liver for dinner. BOTH of them SUCK but this is what we have to choose from.

SFD! SFD!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

So Many Things, So Little Time

Pool time with the boys is always fun. Sam has turned into quite a little fish. He is learning lots from Cole and Avery. We keep telling him, for various things like going to the potty, swimming, and pedaling his bike, that Cole does it. One day Cole is going to do something that he shouldn't be doing, not saying that Cole is a bad influence :), but he is going to turn to us and say, "But Cole was doing it!" Classic parenting.

Anywho, the boys love the water and don't mind the heat at all. Charlie wants to run and play and swim with his brother SOOOO bad. You can see it in his little devil, I mean angelic face.


Greg is such a good daddy. I am truly blessed that Greg chose me to marry. And he did. It is the one thing I give him credit for! And our beautiful kids. But he is such a playmate for the boys. It is exhausting just to watch him. They have such a wonderful time with Greg and he is all the energy in the world for them.


This is my version of adult swim. When the whistle blows for adult swim, Samuel doesn't quite understand that he isn't an adult, so we compromise and let him sit on the side of the pool. He seems content for the 10 whole minutes he has to be out of the pool and it is the only time I don't have a child clawing at my bathing suit and potentially exposing the girls.


Charlie is a funny little baby. He used to be content to sit and watch the world go by and now he is finding his voice. He is not really a crier but he will certainly make noises at you to get what he wants. We have been working on baby sign to help diminish the "worst noises in the world" from his vocabulary.

Another brag on Greg. He recently got a hair up his ass and decided to run a triathlon. WHAT? you say....yes, a triathlon folks. In this case it was a 250 yard swim (in a pool, about 5 laps), a 12 mile bike and a 3.1 mile run. He finished in 184th place. You can check out the results and at the top of the page type in his name. I am so proud of him. We saw him riding his bike and then drove onto park and see the rest of the race. By the time we got there, went to the bathroom and sat through about 45 min of bikers, I looked over and saw Greg cross the finish line running! I couldn't believe that I missed him. :( I was disappointed but relieved that I actually saw him cross the finish line! Way to go babe!


Sam also had a great time a the triathlon...he played in the moon bounce! Check out the air!


My three men couldn't be cuter. They were checking out a truck or rain or a bug...pick one!


And here are some cutie pics just for fun!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Miss You

Dear Blog,

I have neglected you. I am sorry. I still love you and I miss you lots. Can we still be friends?

Love,
Chris
AKA--mad woman