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SERIOUSLY. Do squirrels actually serve a purpose in the circle of life? Other than to eat my strawberries, destroy my tomatoes, and steal my bluberries? Those little bastards are roaches with fur and one day I’ll invent a motion-activated flame thrower to teach them a lesson. One day. How are your gardens growing? We’ll start [...]
Looks like summer. Feels like summer. Tastes like summer. That pretty much sums up this burger. And our weekend. After weeks of cursing at begging and pleading with the basil plants to do something, they did. And that something was EXPLODE. Not in the literal sense, obviously. Although a backyard full of sweet, purple, and [...]
NOW is it warm enough to grill where you live? I have my fingers crossed for you, but surely The Endless Winter of 2012-13 has got to be over for everyone now. Hopefully. Because celebrating National Burger Month with snow on the ground? It just ain’t right. We love our fancy burgers around here and [...]
Today should be “Garden Friday” where I show you how I somehow managed to make it another 7 days without killing the green things growing in my backyard. But it’s raining outside. Like, “you shoulda’ built that ark” raining. So instead of showing you our first zucchini, or telling you about my peach tree dropping [...]
All My Children | One Life to Live YOU should have stayed DEAD! [KAPOW] I have been a life-long watcher of All My Children and One Life to Live. And then ABC went and replaced them with, what – that show that was already cancelled and The Chew? The Chew. Really, ABC? But last week, [...]
It’s probably no surprise to any of you, but when I see a new fruit come in season – or priced low enough that I can’t resist hoarding – the first thing that comes to my mind is: I have tequila at home, right? Because, really now – what fruit doesn’t make a good margarita? [...]
Dinner tonight was supposed to look a little different. But when it was go-time, I found myself faced with a real sketchy looking mango that I couldn’t remember buying and 3 wrinkly kiwi that I could remember buying because it was the source of The Little’s real public tantrum during the busiest grocery shopping hour [...]
5 ingredients to heaven. 5 simple ingredients. I don’t know that any single of ice cream has ever been so rich and decadent. And after being pretty much sugar-free for 30 days, I was good after a single bite. After officially wrapping up the Whole30, I wanted sushi rolls – complete with white rice. Jason [...]
How are your gardens doing? That’s most of the “overage” from the spring garden: I’m still heavy 3 tomatillos, 3 cantaloupe, 3 yellow bell peppers, and 6 mystery tomatoes that could be a: Beefsteak Yellow Pear Sweet cherry red Red grape San Marzano The mystery tomatoes sprouted in the beds. And based on their locations, [...]
It’s beginning to look a lot like… Cinco de Mayo! We are gearing up for our 2nd Annual Taquitos & Tequila pool party and I’m playing around with party menu ideas. And looking for every other excuse to whip up a new pool-side drink. But I can’t decide which I dislike more to describe a [...]
We’re in the Whole30 home stretch! When we started this thing 4 weeks ago, I imagined Day to be a monstrous carb fest: a deep-fried french fry sandwich in a tortilla. (Possibly battered and deep fried again.) But here we are, 29 days later and I’m all like “Eh.” Don’t get me wrong, it’s [...]
Those are the fondant cupcake toppers from Landry’s Dinosaur Train birthday party. And the photo on the left was the inspiration for those cupcakes: Seriously, I was this close to making the “Tiny” cupcake, too (the topper on the bottom left). And the fact that I am still alive today tells you that someone in [...]
I mean, it’s Friday. And I took pictures of my garden, like I do every week… But damn. What a week. Kinda makes pictures of half-grown vegetables pretty silly, huh? But that’s what we do on Fridays – I pull never-ending weeds from the strawberry bed while Landry eats the strawberries. And then I take [...]
Unless you’ve showed up at my house at 9pm with a cheer-you-up cupcake or are super close family, you probably don’t know that I have this minor heart thing. But I do. And now everyone knows. And in the spirit of the Whole30 – and what I’ve learned because of it – I’m going to [...]
We’ve eaten some pretty good stuff over the last almost three Whole30 weeks (hello, fire-sale King Crab legs!) but our favorite meal (besides the crab) has been this a baked sweet potato half topped with barbecue “pulled” chicken, served along side something green. And not just because it’s an incredibly budget-friendly meal… but that helped, [...]
What do you do when you’re trying to rid the house of non-compliant foods just days before beginning the Whole30? You make something like this. Jason called it “The Bread of Shame,” as he felt “Desperation Bread” was a little misleading at the time (but probably pretty accurate, looking back) and “PMS Bread” was a [...]
We started Week 3 this week – we’ve officially made it halfway through! We were a little more organized this past week, since the sugar withdrawals are gone and we’ve returned to the era of rational thinking. (Well, as rational as things get around here.) Here are a few things I’ve learned in 14 processed-food-free [...]
Speaking of Wide Open Spaces… It’s that time of year! The time of year when the parents of Texas drag their babies and pets out into the middle of a ditch, the side of a dangerously busy highway overpass, or trespass on private property to take family photos and trample a perfectly good patch of [...]
Are you guys still shoveling snow? I lit the fireplace yesterday evening. In April. In Texas. So weird. Our garden is completely confused by the weather, too. This is our third spring with that pomegranate tree. And the fact that it’s still alive means that it’s either one hardy plant or that a higher power [...]
“Mooooo-mmyyyyyy! Have you seen my glass slippers?” “No, have you seen mine?!” [sigh] The door hasn’t completely closed on the dinosaurs and bugs and lizards and legos phase… but it has definitely taken a backseat to Pink Princess Pandemonium. It started with Cinderella. And it now includes Merida (who, by the way, is the coolest [...]
I’m not gonna lie. That was ugly. We are just starting Week 2 of The Whole30. If you’re unfamiliar with it, the quick & dirty & vague & incomplete version: it’s an elimination diet where you strip dairy, grains, processed sugars, booze, and beans from your diet for 30 days to “reset.” After 30 days, [...]
Hi. It’s me again. And I’m back with math. Delicious math. Dinner = grilled protein + citrus/avocado salsa. The markets here are flooded with beautiful Texas citrus – 5 oranges for $1? An 8 lb bag for just under $5? Don’t mind if I do! We took a few of those Texas oranges, paired them [...]
The Dixie Chicks. She needed… wide open spaaaacessss. This month’s Texas Monthly ran with the cover “Who Killed The Dixie Chicks? And did they really have to die?” (It also has a pretty awesome looking onion ring recipe!) For the record, I know the answer to both of those questions. And I won’t get all [...]
Crawfish boils are kind of a big deal here in Houston. And by kind of a big deal, I mean how much more fun could a person want to have besides drinking beer (ahem, grapefruit margaritas), standing around a gigantic pot filled to the brim with corn, potatoes, crawfish, and scary amounts of cayenne pepper. [...]
What else would you have for breakfast after a crawfish boil but Eggs Benedict with a cajun twist? Honestly, after as much stuff as we indulged in, we probably should have just had a bowl of lawn clippings for breakfast. And lunch. But I thought that leftover crawfish, bacon, and a spicy hollandaise sauce sounded [...]
That was where the red plum tree stood until last weekend. I pollinated every single bloom by hand that I could reach (I think I counted ~20 baby plums already), and then we dug it up and gave it away. Because space is limited back there and we decided that we really wanted another citrus [...]
Have you entered the KitchenAid Stand Mixer giveaway yet? You should! Contest closes Thursday night! Crammed into the busting-at-the-seams bottom drawer of my freezer is a collection of leftover bowls filled with… leftovers. There’s chili and chicken stock. And something that’s either more chili or possibly a meaty marinara sauce (I’ll find out for sure [...]
Have you entered the KitchenAid Stand Mixer giveaway yet? You should! Contest closes Thursday night! It’s an unlikely combination, but one that works. Like, really works. It’s spring here in Texas, weather-wise if not quite calendar-wise yet. With all this beautiful weather comes a flood of fresh produce that no longer requires considering a second [...]
I am. Well, sort of. I’m on a temporary carb hiatus which means I’m frequently grouchy as all hell. But, I’M NOT IN JAIL – something that might not be so far off after a carb junkie like me dropped sugar and flour and bread and pizza crust and everything else that’s awesome and crunchy. [...]
Before The Little was born, I went impressively overboard on a stock-the-freezer mission. It was part hoarding, part planning-for-the-apocalypse but I just knew I’d never ever have the time or energy to prep dinner again for the next 5+ years. I wasn’t completely wrong. Most of it was your standard fare (enchiladas, pasta, soups, pizza [...]
Menu planning is one of my favorite and least-favorite times of the week. I have plenty of great ideas for main dishes but I tend to cycle through the same few vegetable sides over and over. Lately, it has been roasted broccoli and roasted asparagus. I could eat roasted asparagus and broccoli every other night [...]
And it will be 40 tomorrow night. Typical. But then we’ll be done with “winter” weather and it’s all dinner on the patio and backyard strawberries from here until August when the oppressive heat sets in and I wonder why the heck we stayed in Texas when we could have lived somewhere not as Seventh-Circle-of-Hell [...]
A couple of slices of leftover brisket? Leftover pico de gallo? Half an avocado? Eggs? Congratulations – you’ve got all the fixins necessary for a breakfast taco worthy of celebrating Texas Independence Day today! And perfectly enough, this weekend is totally Frito Pie weather here in southeast Texas. Although it’s almost never not the perfect [...]
The Little & I eat a lot of hummus. A lot. Which means I usually make my own because it’s much more affordable. But when I do buy it, it’s always HEB or Central Market (when it’s on sale) brands. My current favorite flavor: Spicy Texas Hummus. It’s spicy and topped with a sweet roasted [...]
Hi, my name is– Queso! QUESO!! KAY-SOOOO!!!! That’s kind of what happens when we go to Austin. We stop by the original Kerbey Lane Cafe at least once… a day. And before the server can even get his or her name out, my husband is already reaching for his tranquilizer gun. So maybe it’s not [...]
Spring is just around the corner! You can tell because we’re already gardening. And swimming. And every restaurant around here without the words “happy meal” or “value size” on their menu has a banner hanging off the front of the building with one single 8-letter word: CRAWFISH But even better than that? Pulling up to [...]
“Dough! Are you making dough? I can have some dough?” The clank of the mixer bowl snapping onto mixer sends The Little running to the kitchen from anywhere inside our fence line. She has always had super Spidey hearing. When she was a newborn, the sound of milk pouring over my cereal downstairs in the [...]
If there are any guarantees when going out to dinner with me, it’s that I’ll order chips & queso if it’s on the menu. And that I’ll be full before my second of three margarita makes it to the table. (But I’ll still find room for those fajitas and then spend the evening moaning about [...]
Yes. Yes I did. Tequila and melted cheese. Those are like two of the greatest things ever invented. Possibly THE two greatest things. But then we have to deal with where to rank Trader Joe’s Sweet & Salty & Nutty Trek Mix and goat cheese and then we’re just gonna get bogged down in the [...]
My husband is the one who braids our daughter’s hair. And that stuffed bread up there explains why. Things always look so easy on Pinterest. Like how those DIY shows make painting your entire house look so quick and easy. But sometimes, even a step-by-step pic-torial doesn’t help when braiding is your kryptonite. I’ll make [...]
Last weekend, I spent a little quality time in the backyard, de”winter”izing the garden. Because it was 80+ outside and minus one more late season cold snap that I know is coming, Texas is surely finished with “winter.” But in true Texas fashion, that last cold snap will be during Spring Break. (Sorry, kids.) Our [...]
We now have a 3 year old! A 3 year old who eats things like quinoa, kiwi, prosciutto, and even a bite of sushi now and then. The crazy thing is that I can distinctly remember the first time I tried each of those foods – because I was far, far older than 3. But [...]
I am super particular about food (everything) when I’m sick. I want a bowl of tomato soup. I want a small stack of crackers to crush and sprinkle over top. And I want to be left alone. That last one hasn’t happened in the last 2 years and 361 days but a girl can dream. [...]
“You always have make things so complicated. Open a jar, pour it out, and just leave it alone for once.” That’s only a small portion of the rant my sister emailed me – we get along fabulously She asked for my “favorite green enchilada sauce.” So I sent it to her. And it’s a good [...]
A few years ago, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to start making most of our own bread. With a little bit of scheduling and some room in the freezer, I could bake up sandwich bread, burger buns, english muffins, and bagels without having to buy very much. Aside from burger buns, my favorite [...]
This is the time of year when I’m usually trying to figure out if this is the coldest, longest winter that I can remember in Texas. I know it’s not… and it really was barely 2 months ago that I was whining about the lack of a real fall in Texas. But it’s cold. For [...]
I’m ready for 2013. Like ready ready. I stepped onto the bathroom scale this morning and it said “error.” It’s such a jerk sometimes. Like when it randomly tells me I weigh 10lbs less than I did the day before… and then 6lbs more 8 seconds later. But it does have a point. So all [...]
It’s always fun to look back at the end of the year and see what recipes hit people with “I gotta make that now. Like RIGHT now.” Or at least “I’m going to Pin it and then forget about it. Like that DIY shower door miracle cleaner I never tried.” The Top 12 Most Viewed [...]
It’s the day before Christmas Eve. And like just about everyone else, I have a ginormous to-do list. I’m supposed to be bagging up the biscotti and wrapping caramels. Instead, I’m watching a disappointing football game (spoil it and tell me it gets better – I’m an entire half behind), trying to relax after hitting [...]
That is a Tangerine-Soy Pulled Pork Sandwich with a Thai Plum-Barbecue Sauce. And this is a Houston Texans Crock-Pot. Correction, that is a 2012 AFC South Division Champs Houston Texans Crock-Pot. Because they now make Crock-Pots with your favorite NFL team logo on them! And because Bulls on Parade, baby! For those of you who’ve [...]
