Stuffed Strawberries

I cannot take credit for this recipe. It was given to me by Deidra Froebel at one of my wedding showers. Thanks, Deidra!

I have now made these yummy strawberries for two different wedding showers, and each time I received numerous compliments and requests for the recipe. Enjoy!

Stuffed Strawberries

Ingredients:

20 whole, large strawberries

8 oz. cream cheese

1/4 cup powdered sugar (add more for sweeter filling)

1/4 tsp. vanilla

2/3 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Cut a thin slice from the bottom {skinny end} of each berry. This helps them to stand upright.

2. Cut a thin slice from top of each berry to remove the leafy part.

3. Use strawberry corer to remove the middle of each berry. {Mine is from Bed Bath & Beyond.}

4. Mix all ingredients {except strawberries, obviously} and place mixture in either a Ziploc or other plastic pastry/icing bag.

5. Cut the tip off the bag, and squeeze mixture into strawberries.

6. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve!

**If you want to make these for your family/friends but don't want to go to the trouble of taking the middles of the berries out, feel free to make the filling and simply dip the strawberries as you eat them. It tastes just as good... Trust me ;)

Weekend Update

    Brandon and I spent this last weekend in Yoakum. Our days included family, friends, Mi Tierra, two-steppin', good music, and home cooked meals from our moms' kitchens. Here's a few pictures from Saturday night. We don't get to see our friends nearly enough, so this night was much needed :) 



     Michelle and I also made this strawberry-coconut cake, which just happens to be her favorite (strawberry) and my favorite (coconut) put together. Shell found the recipe on Pinterest, of course! 

  

The cake is super moist, and the icing is amazing!

I hope everyone had a great weekend :)

Tonight's Dinner

This morning I came across a recipe on Pinterest and had to try it. Here's what we had for dinner:

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos- Click HERE for recipe.

It was SUPER easy to make, and tasted delicious! If you don't have energy to cook at the end of your day (not the case for me, but I'm just saying), this is perfect. I've made a few Crock Pot recipes that require a lot of "prep work" like cutting veggies, peeling potatoes, and even cooking the meat on the stove BEFORE you put it in the Crock Pot. This recipe requires none of that. Put the ingredients in the Crock Pot in the morning, and eat dinner in the evening when it's done. Enjoy!

--The recipe makes a lot! The original blogger suggests several other dishes to make with the leftovers, or you can use fewer chicken breasts. We will be freezing part of our leftovers to enjoy later.

Happy Cooking!

Cookie Attempt

Since I've been sharing all of my cooking successes with you, I figured it's only fair that I also share the failures. Today I was feeling a little bored, so I decided to bake B some chocolate chip cookies (his favorite). I mixed the dough, let it chill in the fridge for 2 hours (the recipe said to do that), and then put them in the oven after we ate dinner.

This is how the first pan turned out:

Super crumbly. Fell apart in my hand.

When I took the pan out of the oven, it looked like a cookie cake. No big deal, they just weren't pretty. Then when I tried to cut them and take them off the pan, they completely fell apart. I ended up with chocolate chip cookie crumbs.

I put another pan in the oven, this time with smaller cookies so they wouldn't touch. Pan #2 turned out like this:

Paper-thin, and gross looking.

Even worse than the first pan! I can't figure out what the heck I did wrong. I have never seen cookies turn out like this before. And each pan was so different! My dad is wondering if the ingredients weren't mixed well enough, since each pan was so different. And Mom thinks one of my ingredients may have been bad. And I'm sure B will be laughing at these cookies for a while :)


On a side note-- The dough tasted amazing, so instead of attempting a 3rd pan of cookies we've been enjoying the dough. If when we both end up in the hospital with food poisoning, I'll let you know where to send the Get Well flowers.

My First Roast!

Tonight we had a roast for dinner, and as I told Michelle 'It was pretty darn good!' Ive never made a roast before, so it was definitely a learning experience.

Before I went to the grocery store on Monday, I flipped through a few cook books trying to find something new and yummy to make this week. I found this roast recipe in a Crock Pot cook book that Brandon's Aunt Lavonne gave us at one of our wedding showers. She gave us the Crock Pot, too. Thanks, Lavonne!!

The recipe called for a 2 lb. boneless chuck roast. When I got to the store, I realized I had NO idea what that was (Mom, don't laugh!). I walked through the meat section twice, and then realized that I didn't know if I should be looking in the beef section or the pork section (Seriously, no laughing!). I called my mom to ask her what the heck I was supposed to buy, but she didn't answer. I'm not at all afraid to ask questions, so when I spotted a meat-section-worker (not sure what his real title was), I waved him down. "Sir, I'm making a roast for the first time. My recipe calls for a...(digging out my list to remember what it's called)...2 lb. boneless chuck roast. Do you know where I could find that?" He smiled, chuckled, and politely found exactly what I was looking for. (It's with the beef, for those of you who were also wondering.)

So after getting home with all the ingredients, the plan was to eat the roast on Thursday night. I had skimmed the recipe to see how long it was supposed to cook, but I didn't read it too closely. I woke up Thursday morning, and was excited to get the roast cooking! As I gathered the ingredients I read the first step: "Marinate roast and first two ingredients in refrigerator for at least 8 hours, turning occasionally." 8 hours! If I marinated the roast for 8 hours and cooked it for 10 hours, we could eat dinner at about 3:00a.m. on Friday morning. Well, that wasn't going to work. So I put the roast and seasonings in a large Zip-Lock on Thursday evening and ordered us a pizza. (So much for Goal #2.)

Finally, after following all the directions and putting everything in the Crock Pot, my first roast was cooking early this morning! I checked on it throughout the day and could not wait to taste it! I also loved how yummy our house smelled all day :) Brandon got home from work, and I added the last few ingredients. We sat down to eat, and it was delicous!

As I looked at our meal, I thought "This is something my mom would make." And if I can make something that my mom would make, then maybe I'm turning out to be an okay cook ;)


**Please, no judgements on the pizza. I've been fighting a cold since Monday and had no energy to make anything else. And it's okay to indulge every now and then, right??

Thanksgiving Summary

This Thanksgiving was abslutely amazing! Brandon and I spent time with both of our families, got to see several of our close friends, and witnessed the Texas Longhorns beat the Aggies. It just couldn't get any better! Oh, and Michelle and I cooked our first Thanksgiving meal! All by ourselves!

When we woke up on Wednesday morning, Michelle and I started cooking. We had planned the menu (ham, dressing, green bean bundles, mashed potatos, sweet potato casserole, and pie) earlier in the week, and Mom and Dad made sure we had all the groceries ahead of time. Michelle and I were determined to prepare the meal with NO help, which meant Mom was banned from the kitchen all day. I think this may have been one of the hardest things Mom has even done. But I think we all learned something from the experience. After hours of cooking, our family (Mom, Dad, Michelle, James, Brandon, PaPaw, Me) sat down and enjoyed the yummy food that Michelle and I worked so hard on. I felt so proud of us! I just kept looking at all the food on the table and thinking, "We did that!"

Green Bean Bundles

Dressing--made in MaMaw's dressing pan :)

Coconut, Buttermilk, and Pumpkin Pies

We cooked our Thanksgiving meal on Wednesday, because on Thursday Brandon, Michelle, and I all went to the Texas vs. Texas A&M football game. Michelle went with some of her Aggie friends, and Brandon and I sat with our friend, Craig. And I'm so glad we went! I had never been to a game at Kyle Field, and I'm glad I got to experience it. Aggie fans can get pretty loud, but there's just something about being at DKR and hearing over 100,000 people yell "TEXAS FIGHT" that gives me chills every time! Did I mention that TEXAS WON??!!!!

Michelle and I before the game



The Texas band made me proud :)



Brandon and I after the game (a little wind-blown).

 We had fun being at the game, but it was a little awkward at the end. Texas won with a field goal, and Brandon and I went crazy (yelling, clapping, throwing our horns up crazy) until we noticed that everyone around us was standing in silence (we were at Kyle Field, remember?). At that moment I wished I was watching the game with the same group that watched the 2009 Big XII Championship together (you know who you are). We quietly walked back to the tailgate, feeling proud to be Texas Longhorns :)

We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing with family and visiting several of our friends. We had fun, but we're glad to be back in Corpus. Our favorite time together is hanging out at home, with Princess of course!

***We also bought our first Christmas Tree! I'm not posting pictures, because you have to come visit if you want to see ;)

Cooking with 'The Chew'

One of my new favorite cooking shows is The Chew on ABC. Viewers can find ideas on family dinners, fun table settings, entertaining and parties, yummy holiday recipes, and more. The show is hosted by five individuals, all from different backgrounds, who bring something unique to each episode. One day when I visit New York I want to sit in the front row of the audience, so I can be one of their tasters. Everything always looks so yummy!

Each host on the show has his or her own cooking style. My two favorites, so far, are Daphne Oz and Carla Hall. Daphne, Dr. Oz's daughter, is very health conscious, and her nutrient-rich recipes are loaded with health benefits. Carla's southern upbringing plays a role in her cooking, and I would describe her food as 'warm and cozy'. It's just good, southern comfort food. Yum!

I am hooked on Daphne's 'Superfood Breakfast Smoothie'! It has psyllium husks, which keep you feeling full and help with digestion, and Ester-C to boost your immune system. You can make it your own by substituting your favorite fruit and fruit juice. It's a great way to start each day!

Click HERE for recipe.

Tonight for dinner I made Carla's 'Mac & Cheese', and I loved how it turned out! It has a much different taste than the Kraft 'blue box' mac and cheese that we all loved as kids. I like to think of it as a more mature version :) Brandon said it was a little dry for him, so next time I'll probably put less macaroni in the cheese sauce and leave out the breadcrumbs. Making this dish was so fun, and I felt like a real chef when I was cooking it!

Click HERE for recipe.
(This can also be made gluten free by using gluten free pasta,
gluten free flour, and leaving out the breadcrumbs.)

Happy cooking!!

Realizations

Since our move I have learned a lot about myself, my husband, and life in general. Here are a few examples:

1. I can cook!

  When we lived in Austin and I was working at Dell Children's, I left home at 7:45a.m. and got home around 6:00p.m. When I got home I was mentally and physically exhausted from work and traffic, and I had no energy to cook. After being a housewife for a few weeks, I realized that when I had the time I actually enjoyed cooking. And the food has actually been good! Brandon's favorites so far have been fried pork-chops with mashed potatoes and gravy, and hamburgers with homemade french fries. Yum!!

2. I love being a wife :)

  Similar to #1, I had no energy left for my sweet hubby at the end of my days in Austin. He did most of the cooking, grocery shopping, and probably made the bed just as many mornings as I did. If my work clothes needed washing, he was the one who stayed up late to transfer them from the washer to the dryer. (Glenn and Darlene, you definitely raised a keeper!) Now that I have more time and energy, I absolutely love my wifely duties! My goal has been to have all the laundry and cleaning done, and have a (sometimes) delicious meal prepared when Brandon is home. And now I'm the one washing his work clothes :)

3. My life is not defined by my work. 

As you know, with our move came my status of being unemployed (hopefully not for long). I have definitely missed my job at Dell Children's and all the amazing people there, but I have also realized that my life is not defined by my work. Although I am not currently working as a Child Life Specialist, I am still the same person. I have the same family, the same friends, and I am still living the life that God planned for me.

4. Weekends are my favorite!

The past three weekends have been so much fun! The first weekend, Brandon was off and we finally got to spend an entire weekend together in Corpus. Our weekend included a Calallen High School football game, an afternoon at the beach, and yardwork. It was a very relaxing three days.

(Princess after her first day at the beach)

The second weekend I went to Galveston for my friend Brittany's bachelorette party. We had SO much fun, and I loved meeting all of Brittany's friends. They are such sweet girls!



(All the girls after dinner in Galveston)



This past weekend Brandon and I went to Austin and stayed with our friends Eric and Jenny, and their sweet baby Reese. We love spending time with them, and hadn't seen them since we moved. It was fun to catch up and spend time watching football and loving on Reese!

 

(Reese laughing while Brandon is feeding her.
Notice her adorable Texas game-day onesie that my mom got her.
It says 'This is how I roll'..Too cute!)

It's only been a few months, so I'm sure I will continue to learn more. In the meantime we found a great spot on the beach, so come visit!! We love company, and Princess does too ;)