Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend flew by - but it was great !

 

I brought little Tessa outside to enjoy the warm weather - we sent daddy a picture. She was a little scared so I held her super tight, but she REALLY wanted to see the outside!

 

 

I took a drive down by the yacht club to see the progress... lookin' good!

 

I had a moment where I REALLY wanted to be in Texas with my BFF Amanda...

I tried to talk Ted into a trip....no luck

 

Oh yea, I had this amazing salad for lunch during work

It was spinach, caramelized onions, candied walnuts, tomatoes and a gorgonzola puff

omg - yum

Friday night Ted had a softball game, so I took Jakey with me and we watched his game. It was a bit chilly and I was happy to get back in the car when it was over! Haha -

~

Saturday morning, we got up and did some yard work and by we I mean Ted.

I took little mama outside again...this time she liked it more :)

#crazycatlady

#yessheiswrappedinasweatshirt

 

 

My mom had a charity event Friday night and won flowers delivered every month for a year

This is a shot of the beautiful arrangement she won for this month... SO pretty!

 

I was dreaming about Aruba....no one is surprised there...

 

I left Ted mid morning to go visit with my friend Amanda (I refer to her as Jersey Manda)

I got lots of kisses from her sweet pup she rescued last month....

Meet Zeus!

(He was pooped from playing with her other pup all morning!)

 

When I came home, these two little stinks were quite close to each other which is HUGE.

They typically hate to be that close, so I took a picture to document it actually happened!!

 

 

Saturday early evening we went to my Aunt's house to celebrate her 65th birthday!

My hubby was hanging in the yard with the little kiddos and I snapped this pic of him...

I'm pretty stoked he's MY husband...

 

Saturday night we laid low at home...

We may or may not had made a late night run to Taco Bell...

You'll never know :)

~

Sunday morning I met my mama and nephew at church...

When I pulled into the parking spot I went to sip my iced coffee and it spilled all over the place. All over my legs, feet, ignition and keys. I even had little puddles in my shoes.

It wasn't a fun way to start the morning.

~
After Church I went home to prep the house for a house showing and to grab Jake.

Then went to my moms (She was pup sitting for me)

We took a little bike ride to check out an open house for the house I want

(remember the kitchen I love?!)

Yep - the house is amazing!

And this sweetie was so proud of himself for riding his bike there

(the house is literally behind my moms)

I swear, if this kid could move in with my mom, he would.

He loves being with Gramma....so so cute!!!

 

Here's the house... Not sure if the porta potty comes with it or not hahaha (jk)

It's very nice....super pretty and I want it.

 

After all that I headed to a baby shower for Ted's cousin

He spent the day with his dad...

This guy was WIPED out from hanging at Gramma's and playing with little man all day.

 

Ted and I pretty much hung out Sunday night and relaxed.

We may or may not have watched the first Fast & Furious movie.

#theobsessionisrealpeople

 

All in all, another great weekend in the books!

Looking forward to this weekend and celebrating our Mamas

 

Stop back tomorrow for a fun link up

and again on Wednesday for "What's Cookin' Wednesday" where I share an awesome Bruschetta chicken recipe complete with sides!

 

~Tiffany~

 

Friday Favorites ~ Grilling

Friday Favorites

Linking up with Andrea & Erika for Friday Faves...

 

Today I'm sharing my favorite "grilling" meals!

I love when I can use the grill to cook all or most of my dinner.
So for my favorites this Friday, it's all about what we love to eat when the weather

finally warms up...

~

Before we get started, lets take a moment to drool over this entire situation right here...

I don't care who you are - EVERYONE wants something like this in their back yard.

I'd never leave!!

I mean....gaah it's gorgeous!

*

Moving on...

 

STEAK

Who doesn't love a good grilled steak??

 

I know we love it.

I usually do some type of rub on steaks before I grill them

 

See the coffee rubbed steak recipe here

 

Steak is also great with mushrooms

to make the mushrooms to accompany a grilled steak I do this:

Baby Bella Mushrooms

Fresh Garlic

Butter

Salt & Pepper

Worcestershire Sauce

~

In a small sauté pan, put in a pad or two of butter.

Next throw in about 2 cloves of chopped up garlic and sauté for a minute or two

Next, dump in your container of mushrooms

Sauté everything together adding more butter if necessary

Sprinkle on salt and pepper

At the end, throw on a couple dashes (I usually do 5) of Worcestershire sauce

Spoon on top of your grilled steak & enjoy!

 

*

 

Hawaiian Pork Chops

Please take a minute to admire the paper plate!

 

Full recipe here

~
This recipe has been in my family for a long time.

It's a great change up to an otherwise boring pork chop.

We had these last night as a matter of fact!

I tried this marinate on a pork tenderloin and it wasn't as good

Stick to the boneless chops - I promise you'll love it.

We usually pair it with red potatoes or brown rice and a green veggie

 

Chicken

~

Chicken is a grilling staple!

I make all kinds of chicken on the grill and here are a few:

Salsa Chicken with Cheese (breast)

(Marinated in Italian Dressing, grilled, topped with Pico type salsa and cheddar cheese)

 

Sweet BBQ Chicken (breast or leg/thigh)

(Marinated with any type of BBQ sauce your heart desires)

 

Ranch Chicken (breast)

(Marinated with Ranch dressing)

 

Slow Cooked Chicken Thighs (bone in)

Ted makes these amazing grilled chicken thighs

He rubs them with mustard

Then generously rubs them with a chicken rub he makes with all kinds of spices and brown sugar. You can get the McCormick chicken rub and mix in your own brown sugar.

Then grills them low and slow for over an hour

Once they have grill marks, he slops on Guy Fieri BBQ sauce, then flips

He repeats this process for several steps.

The end result is amazing!

 

~Chicken is so versatile, you can really do ANYTHING you want with it~

 

I'm sharing a delicious chicken recipe next Wednesday....

 

Veggies 

Gosh, these all look delicious! *Thanks google*

We love to grill our veggies

I literally grill just about every veggie I can in the summer months.

 

Squash: EVOO & garlic pepper

Cut in spears, place directly on grill

 

Zucchini: EVOO & garlic pepper

Cut in spears, place directly on grill

 

Portobello Mushrooms: As is (little EVOO so it doesn't stick)

Large caps, place directly on grill

 

Asparagus: EVOO & fresh garlic, squeeze of lemon

Cut off ends, place directly on grill

 

Brussell Sprouts: EVOO, fresh garlic, sea salt

Cut in half, place in large piece of foil, drizzle with EVOO, garlic, salt, close up like a tent and place on the grill

 

Kabobs

 

These are sooooo delicious and so easy!

One stop meal!

 

I put all kinds of things on my kabobs like:

Chicken

Steak

Shrimp

Tomatoes

Pineapple

Every veggie imaginable

potatoes (par boil first!!)

~I marinate them in some type of Italian dressing...then grill them up!~

 

 Now I'm hungry!

I can't wait to dive into my turkey chili left overs!!

 

What do you love to cook on the grill?

I'm always looking for new ideas!!

 

 

 

Come back next Wednesday for:

 

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken w/Mozzarella & Balsamic Glaze

 

 

Have a great weekend everyone!!

 

~Tiffany~

 

WCW ~ Sweet Corn Turkey Chili

Sweet Corn Turkey Chili

What's Cookin' Wednesday

~ Thursday Edition ~

 

This is a recipe I got from Shay's Blog - Her Post Here
I added a bit to it to create my own version...

 

The Mix & Match Mama's Picture

 

So I saw this on her blog recently from one of her meal planning posts...

My husband loves chili - I am not typically a fan because I don't love beans.

I also just recently became a fan of ground turkey... so this dish sparked my interest when Shay wrote that it could be made with beef OR turkey!

 

What you need:

 

1 pound of ground turkey
1 onion, chopped finely
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon of Massa Meal
 1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 oz) can of creamed corn
1 (14 oz) can of petite diced tomatoes
  1 cup frozen corn
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Sour Cream and shredded cheddar cheese to garnish (if you'd like)

What You Do:

 In a large pot over medium-high heat, brown the ground turkey in a drizzle of olive oil.  

Add in a good pinch of salt & pepper.  

Once browned & crumbly, stir in the chopped onion and jalapeno.  

Sauté a few minutes then add another little pinch of Salt & Pepper.  

Stir in your chili powder, garlic powder, cumin and massa.
Stir well to incorporate.
Next, add the tomato paste, beans, creamed corn and tomatoes.

Reduce heat to low and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Stir in the frozen corn and simmer another minute or two.
(I let this simmer on low for an hour)

Scoop out into a bowl and put a dollop of sour cream and some cheese on top!

 Here is how I threw mine together.....

Browning my turkey...

Dicing the onion and jalapeno

Adding the veg to the meat....

After I added everything but the frozen corn!

 

This was seriously delicious!!!

 

~Tiffany~