Ke$ha @ the House of Blues!!

Some of you reading this blog might not know who Ke$ha is. No, that is not a typo in her name, she really does use a dollar bill sign for the "s" in her name! Well, this is Ke$ha.

On Monday night, I went to see her in concert at the House of Blues with my friends Kate and Lauren. We have super excited for this concert for months. She put on an awesome show! The HOB is a small venue and we were sitting in the center balcony and could see great. The whole show was a dance party, with everyone in the audience dancing and singing along to the songs. (Well, except for the 60 year old man who sat next to me. Poor guy - I warned him I knew the words to every song when he sat down!) We had an absolute blast and I am so glad we went! Here are some pictures from the fun night.

The opening act of the concert was an interesting man by the name of Beardo. I definitely could have done without Beardo. His name should be Beardo the Weirdo. He had a guitar and a lap top and he basically put on recorded music and he played the guitar and screamed obscene lyrics the whole time. I will let you figure out how weird he is by the pictures.

Kate and Lauren

Trying to get a picture of all three of us...

So we asked the girl behind us, much better!

Some interesting concert goers...

Opening song

Yeah, she is wearing turquoise lipstick

Ke$ha!!!!!!!!

The Horned Frog is Hooking 'em!

Notice Kate crimped her hair for the occasion

Having fun!

Dance party!! Such a fun night!!

Ollie the Cow Dog

Eric, Ollie, and I headed up to the ranch in Oklahoma after work on Friday for some time away from the city.  For those of you that don't know, Eric's family has a working cattle ranch in Oklahoma. Ollie was so excited he did not sit down the entire car ride there. He loves going to the ranch. We got their pretty late Friday night, but we were still able to enjoy sitting on the porch for a little while before we had to go to bed. We had a 6:00 am wake up call the next morning! Eric failed to tell me (on purpose) that this was the annual calf round up weekend and in the morning we would be gathering all the calves and cows and running them through the shoot. Once a year, they all need shots, growth hormone implants, dehorning, and not to gross anyone out, the little boys go from being a bull to being a steer, if you know what that means. Don't worry, my job in this whole ordeal is just to write down the sex of the calf. Easy and clean enough usually. 6:00 am came early, but it was a beautiful,cool morning. We had a quick breakfast of waffles and pancakes and gulped some coffee and headed out for the day.

Here come the cows.

This year we had two real "cowboys" on hand to help us out. These guys were pros, in fact one of them is a professional roper. They had the cows in the holding pens in record time.

The Donkeys - Mo and Pepe

Ranch Dogs - Ollie and Lucky

One of the three bulls

Cute baby calf

Eric's Mom and one of the Cowboys in the background

Ollie being a good cow dog

Kisses for Dad 

You don't even want to now what he was licking off of him!

There were about 90 mamma cows and 60 baby cows. You can imagine how lovely it smelled out there! We actually got done with the working part of the day by lunchtime and spent the rest of the afternoon driving around and checking out the property. It is really a beautiful ranch. Eric's mom made her special corned beef for dinner and then Eric and I headed home. On the way back to Dallas, we got caught in a huge storm. Ollie was a nervous wreck so I had to sit in the back with him the whole way home. Luckily we made it home safely!



We went to Easter service at Lovers Lane United Methodist Church and then went to my parents to have Easter lunch with them, my grandmother, my uncle, my aunt, and my cousins. We had a yummy ham and enjoyed sitting around and catching up. We were able to get home pretty early and have a relaxing Sunday evening. I hope everyone had a very Happy Easter!

Slow Cooker Recipe - Chicken with Creamy Chive Sauce

Just wanted to share this super easy recipe that I made on Monday. It is a leftover recipe I didn't make last week when I was on my Better Homes and Gardens themed week. I don't have a picture of it, but I promise it was really flavorful and the chicken was so tender from being cooked in the slow cooker. It doesn't cook all day, so I put this on when I was home for lunch. Side note - I really need to learn to read recipes all the way through before I start them. I thought I could throw this all in the crock pot the last 5 minutes before I needed to leave to get back to work. But oh no, you do have to melt the butter then add all the other liquid ingredients on the stove top to combine them before throwing it over the chicken in the crock pot. I was frantically trying to do everything as quickly as I could! We served it with farfelle paste (bowties) and it was so good! Eric approved!

Chicken with Creamy Chive Sauce

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/2 lbs) - I don't know about their chicken, but mine must be pumped with hormones!  I used three plump chicken breasts that equaled a little over the suggested amount.
1/4 cup butter
1 0.7 oz package Italian salad dressing mix
1 10-3/4 oz can condensed golden mushroom soup (I don't know what golden mushroom soup is, I used the regular stuff.)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 of an 8 oz tub of cream cheese with chives and onions
Hot cooked pasta
Snipped fresh chives

Directions:
1. Place chicken in a 3 1/2 or 4 qt slow cooker. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the dry Italian salad dressing mix. Stir in mushroom soup, wine, and cream cheese until combined. Pour over the chicken.
2. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. Serve with chicken sauce. If desired, serve with hot cooked pasta and sprinkle with chives. Makes 6 servings.

This is a great recipe to do when you know you will not have time to prepare dinner that night. It is definately going in our rotation. Here is the link to the BHG printable website: Chicken with Creamy Chive Sauce

On a side note, my parents and my grandmother went to visit my brother and his family in Greenville, South Carolina this past weekend. I had to share this picture my dad took of Mason. He is getting so big! I cannot believe he is 4 and half!

We kept Chipper while they were out of town. Poor Chip is diabetic and blind, but he does pretty well considering. He really is a sweet dog.

It's almost the weekend!!!!! We are heading to Houston on Saturday with my parents for the wedding of an old friend that I grew up with in Corpus Christi. Looking forward to seeing old friends and spending some time with the parentals!

Running...

Since I ran the White Rock Half Marathon on December 5th, I am very disappointed to say that I have not stuck to any sort of regular running plan. The race was such an awesome experience, I would have bet money I would have run another half this spring. I trained so well for that race and on race day I knew I did my best. Before I started my training, I was no runner. I ran occasionally three or four miles and mostly on the treadmill. I followed a 12 week training program and might have skipped 3 days the whole time, running 5 days a week, gradually increasing my mileage and my long runs to my maximum of 11 before I did the official 13.1 miles. On race day I was ready and I did much better than I had planned.

Crossing the finish line!

After those rigorous 12 weeks, I decided my body needed and deserved a break, so I took some time off immediately after the race, then it was Christmas and I was so busy, then it was just so cold. We signed up for the Cowtown Half in February and I recommitted myself to running again. On January 23rd, I ran 7 miles and it looked like I was on my way to being ready for Cowtown. Then in February, the big ice and snow storm came and halted my training. I stopped running for that week and a half or so and used this as an excuse not to do the race. I was really sad about it, but I did not want to do the race unprepared. I didn't want to do run slower than White Rock. I admit it has been really hard for me to get back into running. I have run maybe once or twice a week (and not consistently) for the past couple of months and my pace is so slow compared to right before White Rock. I ran twice last week with horrible times and then something on Monday of this week was different. I felt like my body was not fighting running like it has been. Today was even better. I ran the fastest I have in months and even though it was only three miles, I felt like I was back on track.  If you don't keep it up, every time you start again, it is difficult to pick up where you left off. I am writing this to make myself somewhat accountable to start consistently running again.  I am writing it to put it out there that I am disappointed in myself for not continuing to train after White Rock. I don't think I will do another half until the fall because honestly it is just so hot here in Dallas, but I do hope to run 4 or 5 times a week and run at least 20 miles a week. Maybe no one reading cares, but I feel like if I put it out there it will help me keep to my goal! I know Ollie will appreciate the more frequent runs. I forgot to mention, he is my running buddy. He trained with me for the half and has run up to 7 miles with me. He is great motivation and he absolutely loves to run. As soon as he can tell I am changing into my running clothes, he goes nuts. I took some pictures today so you can see what I go through every day just to get out the door and run with him. It is quite a production.

Super excited, waiting for me get my gear ready

Then he can't take his excitment any more and he collapses.

Waiting for his leash

Running for the door

Ready to go!

And we are off!

I am running the Katy Trail 5K (3.2 miles) on May 12th and my goal is to run under 9 minute miles. We will see if that is a legitimate goal over the next couple of weeks as I get back into my training. Wish me luck!

Beef Stroganoff

Tonight we made Beef Stroganoff! I had just had this at The Porch on Friday night and felt like trying to make it myself. By the way, go to The Porch, sit on the porch, order a yummy cocktail and any entree and the Smoked Macaroni and Cheese and you will be in heaven. So good! Anyways, moving on... Eric and I took Ollie on a walk after work and to deliver the Yard of the Month sign (yup, I am in charge of the yard of the month!). Want to see a picture of the winner? We LOVE their landscaping they just had done!

We ended up chatting with this nice couple for a while and by the time we got home, it was 7:00 and we needed to start dinner. This beef stroganoff recipe was once again from the Better Homes and Gardens cook book and was extremely fast. We had it done in less than 30 minutes. Not quite the same as the beef short rib stroganoff from The Porch, but on a Monday night, it is a winner!

Beef Stroganoff
Start to Finish: 30 minutes     Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:
12 oz boneless beef sirloin steak
1 8 oz sour cream
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoons butter or margarine
2 cups hot cooked noodles

1. If desired, partially freeze beef for easier slicing. Trim fat from meat. Thinly slice meat across the grain into bite-size strips. In a small bowl stir together sour cream and flour. Sitr in water, bouillon granules and pepper; set aside.

2. In a large skillet cook and stir the meat, mushrooms, onion, and garlic in hot butter over medium high heat about 5 minutes or until desired doneness. Drain off fat.

3. Stir sour cream mixture into meat mixture in skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Serve mixture over noodles.

And just for fun, here are some pictures of Ollie being Ollie this afternoon while I was trying to take the sheets of the bed.

Pork and Green Chiles Casserole

Sometimes (who am I kidding? all the time) I feel overwhelmed by the massive quanity of recipe sources out there. I am constantly printing them from the internet from blogs or recipe sites, tearing them out from magazines, or the least frequent, actually reading a cook book! We have a lot of great cook books and this week I decided to do my whole menu based on recipes in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. So Sunday afternoon, I scoured the book for the recipes I wanted to try, made, my list and headed to the grocery store. Here is the first recipe that I made, Pork and Green Chiles Casserole. It is made with ground pork, which I never have bought, but will again in the future. It was actually really cheap! This recipe was super easy and quick and really tasty!

I know the picture does not look that great, but I promise it was tasty! Here is the recipe.

Pork and Green Chiles Casserole
Prep: 15 minutes    Bake: 375*F
Stand: 5 minutes    Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 lb gound pork
1 15 oz can pinto beans or black beans, rinsed and drained (we used black)
1 10.75 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups bottle salsa (we used Joe T's hot salsa - gave it some kick!)
1 4 oz can diced green chile peppers, drained
1 cup quick-cooking brown rice
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese with jalepeno peppers (2 oz)

1. In a large skillet cook pork until no pink remains; drain.  Stir in bean, soup, salsa, chile peppers, rice, water, and cumin. Heat and stir just until bubbly.  Pour in a 2-quart casserole.

2. Bake, uncovered, in a 375*F oven for 30-35 minutes or until the edges are bubbly. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with cheese; let stand for 5 minutes until cheese melts.

Oh look here I found the actual recipe on the BHG website: Pork and Green Chiles Casserole

Hope you enjoy it if you try it!

Homemade Hamburger Helper and Homemade Chinese Take Out

Last week, Eric and I made two new recipes that came from two of my favorite websites. They were both really good and will be made again!

The first one is what I call fancy homemade hamburger helper. I will admit the real Hamburger Helper does make a rotation in our kitchen every once in a while when we want something quick and easy. I had never had it, but Eric mentioned off hand that he liked it while ago, so I bought some and was pleasantly surprised! The beef stroganoff is actually good! This one is called Cheeseburger Macaroni and it was delicious. It is cheesey and spicy and just yummy! Obviously much better than the boxed stuff! I ate this for lunch for a couple days after!

image from Kevin & Amanda

No, I did not take that picture. Hers is just so much prettier. Check out the website, she has lots of fun stuff on it! Again, this is a super easy week night meal. Everyone should try it! Here is the link to the recipe: Cheeseburger Macaroni

The next new recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman. I seriously look forward to her emails every day. Everything she makes looks so goood. Last week this recipe for Beef with Peppers popped up and I immediately emailed Eric and said let's make this!  This was not as easy as the first dish, but definately worth it. I will admit Eric did most of this one. I was the sous chef/dish washer.

Image from The Pioneer Woman

This dish was so flavorful. Much better than the Chinese take out we get from Wok In & Out (creative isn't it??)! I mean no contest on the flavors and the quality of the beef obviously! Definately worth trying if you have a little time. Eric said I probably couldn't have done it alone because I would have burnt something, so watch your temperatures! Here is the link the recipe: Beef with Peppers