Memorial day weekend!

No grilling this memorial day :( I have some new recipes I'm dying to try. That dang Bobby Flay comes on TV at 11:30 at night with 17 new BBQ sauces! What's a grill deprived girl to do! Torture!!!! But alas, the weekend was delightful.



Starting off: another graduation. Jon's brother Dave graduated from Bethel University, also Jon's Alma mater. It was really a lovely ceremony, and the speaker was very entertaining. He also gave very good advice to the graduates as the enter a the workforce during "slightly" harsh times! He pointed out that the graduates need to have the right mindset, and really attempt to heal the world.


A little guac made table side at Bar Abilene, which by the way has an incredible deal from 4-6. 1/2 price on anything... like really. You want to buy $200 tequila, fine 1/2 price. They add worschestire sauce to their guac, (Lea Perrins is GF). I thought it was intriguing, Jon gave it a big thumbs down. He's a purist you know.


Finally, the much needed spring clean. I was serious about it, let me tell you. Just look at this fridge, squeaky clean! The floors and walls were scrubbed, ceiling fans dusted, shoes wrangled. Whew. It was intense, but felt SO good. I also discovered George's secret stash of hair ties under my entry way rug. That rascal, about 25 of them!!!


May flowers, best purchase of my life! $5 at cub for these babies. I am not kidding, this picture is WEEK 2!!!! I just keep trimming the ends, and they keep going and going and going! If you notice I had asparagus and radishes in the spic and span fridge shot. I'm going to make this recipe this weekend. Wish me luck!

The Graduate

Can you believe this clown graduated?!? Gotta love him, the biggest goofball around, but he's probably the most passionate and intelligent man I know. Well Dad, you tie :)



Nick was accepted to the airforce academy, and spent his freshman year in Colorado springs attending the most grueling college experience I could imagine. He decided, after a year that his heart and mind wanted to serve our country as a civilian. Hallelujah! I was getting bored in MN without a rock concert buddy anways:)



Nick's graduation deserved a flaming red velvet cupcake, courtesy of the lovely waitress at Figlios! He is now graduating from St. Thomas University. He has done outstanding things in college, working for HECUA and MN pollution control agency, traveling to and ATTENDING the inauguration, and finally writing a chapter for a text book! Are you kidding! I know, pretty impressive.





I love you Nick. Congratulations!

Vacation

John Rutter - All things bright and beautiful 1.mp3 - All things bright and beautiful

The end of an era, for now...

Well folks... Last day of psych tomorrow :( Child psych is a lot like this.

I won't miss the "borderlines and histrionics", both of which we have right now! But, all in all, I sincerely enjoyed this rotation, which totally knocked my socks off. I NEVER expected to do psych, but now I am seriously considering it.

It's just extremely entertaining every day. But next week is VACATION. Which will be good.

Stay tuned, big decisions regarding residency are soon to come.

I wish may was a little more like this...


Anyways, mango black bean salsa salad was wowza for lunch! yummmmmm.
Too much fudge in my belly though, yikes.

Mommy to be day!

Mother's Day! We threw a shower for my cousin Elizabeth today. She and Mike will be having a baby girl in July! We had a low key shower, no frilly games since boys were invited :) We did however, all decorate a onesie for the baby with fabric markers. If you know my family, you understand how ridiculous that could become. But anyways, on to the munchies!

Baby rattles? That was the plan anyhow. These need a bit of tweeking before the next baby! We made our usual peanut butter ball recipe, but dipped them in white chocolate. Then we stuck a plastic stick in the bottom and decorated, (to the best of our humble abilities) with pink tinted white chocolate. Each table setting got a rattle! They are delicious though!


The centerpiece, made by my momma. She bought flowers from Michael's and made little flowers out of onesies, hats and socks as well. See them interspersed! Very cute, very martha.


Next up, baby bird nests! My new adaption from this post. But here is a play by play. Corn tortilla on the bottom, topped with refried beans, salsa and oaxaca.

Around the perimeter add sauted red peppers and onions, and some shredded chicken. Our chicken was marinated with this Tyler Florence recipe. HOLY yum! Bake them at about 400 for 20 min, to get things started.


After 20 min or so, pull them out and crack an egg in the middle. Sprinkle with cumin and corriander and pop them back into the oven.


Vilola! Final product. Cook to your desired yolk runniness!



An assortment of toppings. Salsa, home-made quac (with garlic :) yum), cheese and mango black bean salsa.




The mango black bean salsa up close! We made this the night before, and let the flavors mingle. Recipe is here. Try it! I plan on using this as dressing for my salad tomorrow.


Jicama berry salad. Recipe! berry-tastic.



Incredibly green rice! This is not just my sub par photography! Cilantro, garlic and lime juice blended and added to the cooked rice. Very delicious. Recipe here.



And of course. Sweets for the sweet! Coconut macaroons. mmmm. Made Saturday, and nibbled during onesie craft time.


Fudge too. Recipe here. And a beautiful bouquet of lilacs from my aunt Jayne (grandma to be) Thanks Jayne, I'm smelling them as a post!

Cinco-ish de Mayo

Ahh. District del Sol is so delicious! We decided to head to the Cinco de Mayo celebration this afternoon. We missed the low rider show, but all else was in full swing this Saturday! We lolligagged around, and soaked in the sights. This was a gigantic decorated fence of some sort, on top of a white bull. Men were taking turns jumping into the bulls belly to hold it up and dance. Each guy could bounce around for about 2 minutes before he exited the bull huffing and puffing! A mariachi band and a gaggle of pre-teen girls were dancing round this fantastically festival fence...


The main stage, viva la Mexico, had a huge mariachi band. They were delightful. We stayed for a few songs. People watching was in full swing as well :)


Salsa! This little tent was a happening spot. It featured an Ecuadorian group playing guitars and various pan flutes, with electronic drums on the boom box. We listened for a bit and moseyed on. But, on our second pass, an impromptu dance party had begun.




Of course, we found tacos! A little pricey I must say. It was one of those, buy tickets or else festivals. But nonetheless, we sampled pork and chicken.




Happy camper! chomp! Taco Time!





Wouldn't you know, all roads lead to Boca Chica! I'm not kidding, the end of the festival mysteriously brought us here. It called to me! We stopped and had a la senora:)



And, I even scored a tissue paper flower! Good gravy, what a great day!

I'm a 4th year!!!!

Today I am officially a 4th year. I'll be busy relaxing:)

Guilty Pleasures

Yikes! Not a lot of cookin' goin' on here this week! I think this cartoon pretty much sums it up!!

Speaking of ketchup... Lisa tagged me for a fun post. 5 guilty pleasures! Here it goes.

1. McDonald's two cheeseburger meal, omg! Now, what is the gluten free version you may ask? Caramelized onions and chopped up dill pickles with LOADS, and I mean loads, of ketchup and yellow #5 mustard. mmmm. I suppose it's healthier. But, if you saw the ridiculous amount of ketchup I use, you'd have to file this one under "abby-normal" .

2. Reality TV. The hills, the real housewives, pretty much all of BRAVO. TV is supposed to turn your brain off as fast as possible right? that's what I thought!

3. Honey and butter! wow. pretty much as sweet as it gets:)

4. Clean sheets and scented candles? Good lord, my grandmother must be channeling me. But seriously, having clean sheets on Sunday nights makes a world of difference. Light a glorious candle, and your apt is trasnformed!!!




5. Calling my Mom! I'm an adult, sort of. I still need her to tell me it will be ok! Before tests, before purchases, before picking out my outfit...no not that bad :)

Tests and papers are over! I hope to get my butt-oski in the kitchen soon. Cinco de mayo and Elizabeth's baby shower are coming up! I have some recipes itching to be scratched! Stay tuned.