Sunday, January 22, 2012

Tomatillo & Avocado Salsa

Usually the boyfriend spoils me and he is the one who does all the cooking. However, this weekend I felt it necessary to return the favor. I made chicken/beef fajitas with pico and tomatillo/avocado salsa [recipe below]; seared pork w/ onion gravy and roasted squash mash and caprese salad; and homemade migas w/ pinto beans. HELLS YES.

Tomatillo & Avocado Salsa [My own recipe!]
(amount of ingredients may vary depending on taste, I like to make a huge batch and eat on my eggs/ or with chips)
>>Ingredients<<
2 avocados - scooped out
3-5 tomatillos (depending on size) - quartered
1-2 roma tomatoes - quartered
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 lime
1/2 white onion
2 tbs. of homemade fajita seasoning (mixture below)
>>Steps<<
Just put all of that goodness into a blender or food processor and shazam! you have delicious salsa. As stated earlier, highly recommended on eggs.

Homemade Fajita Seasoning [My boyfriend's special mixture]
paprika
garlic
thyme
rosemary
oregano
cumin
bay laurel
cayenne
onion powder
celery powder
chili powder
salt & pepper
[equal parts of each ingredient with the exception of the cayenne: however spicy you want it!]
This fajita mixture is awesome. I use it on fajitas (obviously), salsa, pico de gallo, eggs, beans, basically any kind of Mexican food you're making.
Enjoy:)
B

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

5 Trends I'm Loving

I've always been the girl who looks at new fashions, admires them, and is too scared to try them out. My biggest step out lately was the NYE beehive and none of my friends saw it! So, I'm going to try and be bolder this year with my fashion choices. I mean, why the hell not? Some of the ttrends I'm loving this year are below....
Yellow Tights

>>they look good on everyone<<

Fishtail Braid or Any Braided Updo

Colorblocking
Anything in a chevron pattern
Turbans or Headwraps


I can already cross the yellow tights & attempted fishtail/braided updo. I'm regretting not buying the UO Sparkle & Fade Colorblock Dress when I had the chance. (Drunken shopping is never a good idea...)
B
Fishtail Braid: Dianna Agron
Low Braided Chignon: Nicole Richie
Sparkle and Fade Colorblock Dress: Urban Outfitters
Striped Turban: Free People

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Another Band Post

Gotye, another musical discovery this week (Thanks IHeartRadio App!) Very mellow jams. Also, doesn't hurt that he is pretty nice to look at.Watching his videos, it's also clear that he is a very creative man, maybe a little out there.

>>When grad school starts in (1/2 weeks! Yikes!), I can forsee myself in a coffee shop, probably at ungodly hours, studying and probably listening to this man. This is a premonition, I can just see it. Hope you enjoy!

Gotye: Somebody that I Used to Know

-B

Sunday Omelette

Every Sunday morning when I'm home, I seem to follow the same routine. Sleep late, do laundry, play with the pups and oh yeah, make a delicious omelette. Usually the boyfriend has already gone to work and there's something kind of awesome about making a big Sunday breakfast. For myself....

I've told the boyfriend that when he does open his brewery and restaurant that he should definitely offer brunch on Sundays. And when he does, there should be this omelette on the menu or some variation....

Pesto Omelette

3 eggs (1 yolk & 2 whites-because when we are stuffing an omelette full of cheesy goodness, those 2 yolks we leave out are really important)
1 handful of spinach (you could substitute any green, swiss chard might be tasty!)
1/2-1 whole tomato (depending on how much you like tomatoes, usually I won't eat them, but in this omelette they really do add to it)
1/4 cup of chopped purple onion (any onion will do)
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 TBS pesto
goat cheese (i'm not going to set a certain amount as it changes depending on if it's been a long weekend or i have a hangover)
canola oil or butter
bacon (optional, but do it)

1. Saute the chopped garlic, onion, tomatoes and spinach in a skillet. The spinach should be wilted and the tomatoes should be soft (or mushy). Set aside.

2. If using bacon (and you should), cook accordingly. If using bacon, it's less cleanup and mess to place the bacon on a sheet pan in the oven, 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.
*Tip: If using the oven method for the bacon, line the sheet pan with parchment paper.

3. After cooking the veggies and/or meat, scramble the 3 egg whites and 1 egg yolk. Season with salt and pepper (that's important).

4. In a non-stick skillet, melt a pat of butter and add eggs. When the eggs appear to be fully cooked on the bottom side and you are able to slide the flat eggs without them sticking then you are ready to compile your omelette.

5. Crumble the bacon and add to the veggies that were set aside. Stir in the pesto with the veggie/bacon mix.

6. When your eggs are ready, add the veggie/bacon/pesto goodness in a vertical line down the middle of the omelette. Top this mixture with crumbled goat cheese (as i said earlier, amount of goat cheese added is at your discretion.)

7. Using a spatula, flip the sides of the omelette over the center one at a time. Cook for 1 minute. Flip the whole omelette over so that the folded sides are on the bottom and cook for 1 minute.

PRESTO! You have an amazing omelette. I could have posted a picture of this amazing goodness, but I didn't think about that before I ate my omelette this morning. I'll shoot for next time, but trust me this is good.

*Also, an excellent side dish to your omelette if you want to go FULL THROTTLE are "Grandma O'Neal Potatoes." Super easy. Dice any type of potatoes (I used red potatoes this morning) and saute them with onions & garlic (duh) and some oil. Cook until crispy (I eat mine with ketchup.) Super easy and goes with any breakfast food. Yay for omelette Sunday!!!

B

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Band Post

I often find that I discover music and think to myself "why have I not heard this before?" Another moment this morning when I found GROUPLOVE. I think I shall spend all day listening to their album while cleaning. They have a lot of energy so hopefully that will rub off. Have a great Saturday:)

Thursday, January 5, 2012

poopers

Seven months ago, when Effy & Theo came into our lives, we decided to nickname them "poopers." Wonder why. This nickname has stuck and whenever they're in trouble, you hear the word "poopers" a lot [among other names...] Today must have been their rebellious day because it started with them tearing apart a roll of TP in the bathroom. [Thanks guys!]

After a LONG day at work, I arrive home to find that a certain someone (nudge nudge) didn't lock the crate all the way and the pups had been out all day. Imagine my surprise to also find out that our bedroom door was wide open. Needless to say, it was the cherry on top of today to find special treats up and down the hall. They're lucky they're so damn cute.




I mean, what's sweeter than a sleeping puppy? Also, on another note...SO EXCITED FOR PROJECT RUNWAY ALLSTARS TONIGHT!!!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

This is the New Year

I've decided to pick this "blog thing" back up and make it one of my new year's resolutions. Like any blogger has done in the past couple of days, this post is in honour of my new years resolutions.

Seems like every year I make the resolution to lose weight. I mean, what girl doesn't? It always ends up the same too....I decide to work out every other day and that usually last for 3 weeks. I decide to eat only salads and only drink water. That lasts about 1 1/2 weeks. So I am really going to try this year to keep my resolutions and not make ones that are not out of reach.

1. I'm going to blog and read more.
>>I've found that when I take the time to sit down either "journal" on here or read a book, I'm so much more relaxed. There really is nothing better than getting completely engrossed in a good book. A book so good that you absolutely cannot put it down. I recently finished The Hunger Games and I have now becomed obsessed. I'm now reading Catching Fire, the second book of the trilogy. I'm trying to pace myself because I don't want the story to be over! Blogging has also had the same thrill for me when I actually take the time to do it. It's so nice to read an honest blog where you can tell you're reading something from a real person.

2. I'm going to fill this year with many firsts!!!
>>I've already started and it's only the first day of the year! Firstly first I decided to do something out of the ordinary with my hair for New Year's Eve. BEEHIVE. I followed an online tutorial from keikolynn for a beehive with a braided crown. It turned out so awesome! I felt like I was in the 60s! My mother said she loved it and my sister said "ewwww." So mission accomplished.
>>Another first for me this year is the cooking of the traditional roasted chicken. My mother has been trying to teach me this special chicken so that I can make it for my family and it finally happened. She was a beautiful bird.

3. Invest more time in hobbies that make me happy. I have found in the past few months that crafting is something that I really enjoy! It's so nice to see such a large online community for it and it's so much fun! A couple of weekends ago, a friend and I watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, ate peppermint bark and made handemade Christmas presents. The perfect evening. My next adventure will be sewing. I have a beautiful sewing machine given to me two Christmases ago that has not seen the light of day. I intend on taking a sewing class this year to change that!

4. Make A's in all of my upcoming graduate school courses. I am incredibly nervous about being back in school and my top goal is to put as much into this degree as I possibly can.

5. Be happy. It's so funny how random moments in your life can make you realize how short your life is. I don't want to spend minutes of my life fighting with someone or being unhappy. It's just not worth it. So I am going to try not to nit pick my boyfriend or be too bossy (two things I need to work on). Because in the end, it's just not worth it.

Hopefully these are all realistic resolutions that I can stick with! Any helpful tips or tricks to keep these are greatly appreciated!