Ground Beef Enchiladas

I know the above picture looks weird with only a third covered in cheese, but I live with a crazy cheese hater!

This recipe was fantastic!! It's probably one of my favorite Mexican recipes I made so far. 

I used to make a recipe with chicken in it, 

but it is much too complicated and I've only made it once since Seth and I got married.

This recipe, however, is much more simple.

And it's just as delicious!!

Ingredients:

-1 medium onion, finely chopped

-2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped

-3 garlic cloves, minced

-3 tbsp chili powder

-2 tsp cumin

-3 tsp sugar

-1 15 oz can of tomato sauce

-1 C water

-1 large tomato, chopped

-1 lb ground beef

-2 C shredded cheese (we used the Mexican blend)

-6 tortillas (burrito size)

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 dish.

Cook ground beef until no longer pink.

Throw the onion and jalapeno in a skillet until softened, 8 min or so.

Mmmm! I love the smell of sauteing onions! :)

Add garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar to the pan. Toss around until fragrant, only about 30 seconds.

Add water, tomato sauce and tomato to the pan.

 Simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Once the sauce is done, mix half of it in with the ground beef. 

Prepare a work surface to fill the tortillas. Lay a tortilla on the counter, add a sprinkle of cheese, then a few spoonfuls of the beef/sauce mixture.

Roll the tortilla up tight. Place it in the greased dish, seam down, and repeat 5 more times. 

Spray the top of the tortillas with cooking spray, and put them in the oven for 7 minutes.

Reduce oven temp to 400 and take the pan out. Cover the tops with the remaining sauce and cheese. 

Cover with aluminum foil and put back in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Take out and cool 10 minutes before gobbling :)

Homemade Chips and Salsa

When I got home from work on Thursday, I was really craving some tortilla chips and salsa...

But we didn't have any!!

So, I decided making some fresh would be the next best option.

And it's soooo easy!

Tortilla Chips

Ingredients:

-tortillas (burrito-size)

-olive oil

-sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Brush the top of your tortilla with olive oil.

Taking a pizza cutter, cut the tortilla circle into 

eight equal pieces. 

Put the pieces on a cooking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt.

You might also want to poke it with a fork because they puff up a lot while baking.

Put the chips in the oven for about ten minutes. Make sure to check them intermittently to make sure they're not burning too bad. 

Salsa

Ingredients:

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

1 10oz can diced tomatoes with green chilis

1/2 small onion, roughly chopped

1 peeled and smashed clove of garlic

a jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tbsp cilantro (this seemed like the perfect amount. I'm not a huge fan of cilantro and this amount didn't bother me)

juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp red pepper flakes (or more depending on how spicy you want it)

Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until ingredients are at the desired consistency

Bridal Shower!!

I've been rather MIA as of late, but I have a good reason :)

My little sister's first bridal shower was this past Saturday, and I had so much fun planning! 

I think I had more fun planning her shower than attending my own :)

We had the shower at my cousin's Leslie house because she has such a pretty backyard. 

The weather was beautiful, 

and it make our shower set up look even better.

There was a lot of fun playing games, laughing and opening presents, and I was so excited to see my sister excited about her new life! 

Here's a bunch of shots of the day:

The centerpieces

The game table :) The basket was for the Clothespin Game.

Jones Soda is McKenzie's favorite, so we knew we needed some.

Especially Cream Soda!

Grandma playing "He Said, She Said" :)

I'm so glad all of the bridesmaids were able to make it!

With our mama!

The future bride and future flower girl

She was very confused over McKenzie's excitement about gifts

 she thought were rather boring :)

The future newlyweds! 

Burlap & Twine Letter

Personally, I love using monograms for home decor!

It's a great personal touch that makes your home unique to your family.

I've been looking for something to make to add the "R" to our house, and I thought this would fit in perfectly in our 

living room.

Plus, I could make it myself using materials I already have, so it's cheaper than buying it at the store!

Keep reading if you like it and want to make it for your home!

Materials:

-cardboard letter

-burlap

-twine

-hot glue

marker

Start by tracing the letter onto the burlap. Trace an outline for both sides of the letter.

Carefully cut out the outlines.

Using your hot glue, paste the burlap outlines onto the sides of the letter. Trim any overhanging fabric.

The twine takes up the majority of the project. Just pick a corner and start pasting the twine to the side. Put on a little hot glue in a small line and attach the twine little by little. You only want to go little by little because if the glue dries before you attach the twine, you'll end up with a really bumpy edge.

Repeat this step over and over until the lines of twine cover the whole side.

Here's a close-up of what the twine looks like when it's finished.

Find a place to perch the letter, and enjoy!

After this project, I enjoyed the twine so much that I also added it to a vase and a candle :)

I think it adds a nice touch, don't you?

Chicken Fried Rice

Ever since I was little, whenever my family would order out Chinese, I would always order chicken fried rice.

The other members of my family would order all the interesting things full of shrimp and goodness, but I was happy sticking with my chicken and rice. 

Why? Because I thought it was yummy! It might seem plain for a Chinese dish, but I've always loved it.

Wanna see if you love it too?

Ingredients: 

(This is based on what Seth and I make for two with plenty leftover for lunches)

-3 boneless chicken breasts

-5 tbsp soy sauce

-3 tbsp peanut butter

-1 1/2 tsp honey

-2 tsp sesame oil

-2 tsp red pepper flakes

-1/4 tsp garlic powder

-dash of pepper

-sesame oil for wok/pan

-1 C frozen peas and carrots (I only had peas for the pictures)

-1 small onion, chopped

-2 tsp minced garlic

-2 eggs, slightly beaten

-1/4 C soy sauce

-rice (Seth and I actually made four bags of boil-in-the-bag rice. I'm not sure the exact measurements)

Mix the first 7 ingredients after the chicken. This will be the seasoning for the chicken before you cook it up. 

Cut the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces and toss them in the sauce.

Heat sesame oil in the wok or pan. Make sure it is HOT!

Toss in the chicken and cook.

Take out the chicken and add a little more oil. Throw in the onion and veggies. Saute. Try to brown and caramelize the veggies just to get the extra flavor!

Here comes the hardest part of this recipe (though not too hard). Move the onions and veggies out of the way. Beat the two eggs and immediately add them to the pan.

Don't let the eggs sit too long before you start scrambling them. You want little pieces of egg, not big chunks.

At this point, throw in the rice and soy sauce. Toss until the rice begins to brown from the heat.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, McKenzie!

Today is my beautiful sister's 22nd birthday! She has been my best friend my entire life, and we have so many memories. My life would have been so boring without her, but our relationship would be much easier to show you in pictures :) So, in honor of her birthday:

Right after I got engaged!

Attempting to convince Seth to continue our tradition of 

sleeping together on Christmas Eve

Those darn Christmas tree lights!

Niagara Falls

The three of us have a thousand pictures that look

exactly like this one

Sharing the world's smallest bed

Family love and togetherness

I was the maid of honor for her first wedding ;)

We should have been flappers for real!

On our way to another birthday celebration

My college graduation, January 2010

Emerald Isle, August 2009

New York City!!

Oh how I love her, even if she is a big goof!!