PW in KC

Earlier this week I went and met Ree Drummond. She was sweet, and it was a lot of fun to meet her and have her sign her new cookbook for me. I do love me some Pioneer Woman blog! Want to see something cool? Go here.... you will find me on the PW blog... I'm blurry, but who cares?! Hilarious.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2009/11/everythings_up_to_date_kansas_city/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+pioneerwoman-full-rss-feed+%28Pioneer+Woman+FULL+RSS+FEED%29

In addition, somehow I made the local news here too.... what are the chances? They came to cover the book signing on Monday afternoon. Monday night she did a Q & A at the plaza and signed some more books. Marlboro Man was present, and so were her two boy punks. What a fun time with girlfriends!

Beef Enchiladas

Beef Enchiladas Hartley style!! Here's the deal... this is my family recipe but when my Dad cooks, there isn't a whole lot of recipe-like measuring going on. SO, I did the best I could with his instructions over the phone of, "put in _ to taste," a "smidgen of _", etc..... They are yummy though and re-heat well in my opinion. If you are health freak, and like your food tasteless, sorry, these aren't for you... please enjoy the extra ten years of life you'll live past me bc you don't eat things like this! :)

Here we go.... start with some Crisco grease melted in the pan (I can hear my healthy friends saying, "seriously?" already). You want about 1/4'' melted in there.

While the Crisco is melting, mix shredded cheddar (I used about 3 c) and a little velveeta with one chopped and minced onion. It will look like this. I can feel the cellulite growing.

Then you put in one tortilla at a time to soften them and keep them from cracking when you roll them. Only leave them in the grease for about 5-10 seconds each side. You definitely don't want them to harden which is what they'll do if left for more than 10 seconds.

Roll the cheese in the tortillas and place in a 9x13 pyrex.

Now you'll need to make the chili that goes over it. If you are lazy and not grossed out by it, you can buy the canned chili. I prefer to make my own. You can use any kind of beef you want. This time I used 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef. Cook the beef half way, drain it well. Then put it back in the skillet and cook remainder of time with 1 1/2 packages of taco/burrito/enchilada seasoning (did you know one package of seasoning is for 1 lb. of beef? How have I missed that until

now?), 2c water, 3 T corn starch (mix water and corn starch together first, then pour in), and 2 T ketchup. Mix it all together well in the skillet. Cover, and cook on HI until thick and not soupy. Then, just pour it all over the enchiladas and pop it into the oven for 25 minutes on 400 degrees.

If you're really ambitious you can serve it with some guac! To make our guacamole, I smash up the avocados, add some vinegar, orange juice, lemon or lime juice, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and lemon pepper (love that lemon pepper). YUMMO!

Halloweeeeen

Happy Halloween.........

this is our family......

yes we are dressed up......

please observe the cow's tail....

Halloween was a fun time for us. This year was the first year we have ever dressed up as adults. We didn't want to spend money on costumes so we found stuff around the house. There are three kids I babysit for a ton, and all of them wanted to drive over to our house to trick or treat. When they arrived they LOVED that Tim and I were dressed up as an ice hockey player and a soccer player (specifically, I was Leah, for those of you who know her). Here are some pics of the kids... one Asian woman, one scary guy (without his mask so I don't have nightmares), one shark who is eating the cute little girl under the costume and let's not forget the cow... Storm. Hilarious. Why is this underlined?!

Then we went to a Halloween party at a friends house dressed like this.... only problem was it wasn't a costume party... awesome. Tim was designated candy passer outer at the party since he LOVES seeing all the kids. For as much as I dislike Halloween, it sure was a fun night!

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME!!

This Saturday night we get to FALL BACK!!! YAHOOOOOOOO. Don't forget to set your clocks back an hour before you go to bed Saturday... and enjoy that extra hour of sleep! This post is for you, lindsaylady.blogspot.com!

TX vs MU

We went to Columbia this weekend to root the Horns on to victory over Missouri. I was glad to see our offense was back!! Tim's youngest brother Andrew drove down with a friend from Chicago to go with us to the game. We stayed at Molly's, my college roommate from Wheaton, who lives in Columbia. We also got to see one of my closest childhood friends Adam, who flew up from Austin for the game. I'm loving how texas football is connecting us with friends and family this Fall! Hook 'em Horns.... we're getting closer. Saturday in Stillwater will definitely be a tough one!

OU weekend

I know, I know, it was an UGLY game and Texas's offense looked AWFUL but I'll take a W any way it comes in a rivalry game like that! The weekend was so great. Tim and I went down to Dallas Friday night and stayed with one of my best friends from growing up and her husband. We got to spend time with my Mom, Dad, and brother at the game, which was so fun and then all hang out at the infamous Texas state fair afterwards. I made a video from the weekend and posted it below. If you aren't from Texas, you will think I've lost my mind (and you are probably right), or worse, if you are an Oklahoma fan you will HATE this video.... just giving you a fair warning. Hook 'em Horns! :)

Good Idea Gone Bad!

For some reason I thought it would be fun to make some cake balls (but make them into cake pops by adding a lollipop stick) for all the kids I baby-sit in honor of Fall/Halloween (even though I'm not really a big fan of Halloween to begin with)! Everything was going well until it came time for me to decorate the cake balls ..... I am AWFUL at any kind of art, even with decorating icing. SO, as you can see from the pictures they didn't turn out so hot. Fortunately the baskets I put together (everything either homemade or found in the $1 stop at Target) drowned the ugliness of the faces on the pops and the kids won't care what they look like anyway!

Although I was bumbed they didn't turn out cute, I was more annoyed that when shown the picture of the purple pop Tim had NO idea what it was.... I said, "think Halloween" he said, "i still have no idea what that is." At this point I said, "are you kidding me? you look at them ALL DAY LONG, IT'S AN EYE BALL!!!" Can't you all tell what that is?! Come on, maybe if you looked at them all day you would know?!

Oh well, you live and learn right?! Please someone redeem this cute idea.... go to thepioneerwoman.com or www.bakerella.com/trick-or-treats/ to see how they are supposed to look! :)

Black Bean Soup!

This week I made some black bean soup from scratch for the first time. Chances are good you're going to start seeing a lot of soup recipes on here since it is 35 degrees here... what in the world?! I took a picture of it, but it got deleted and it's probably better anyway because I took it after I had a few bites and it didn't look as appetizing :). I served the soup with cheese quesadillas (topped with fresh pico), and a VERY random side of green beans... (hey you gotta get the green in there somehow!:) Hope you enjoy as much as we did. It makes a lot but re-heats well!

Black Bean Soup

By: Paula Deen

Sep/Oct magazine

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

-5 slices bacon, finely chopped (I think you could probably leave this out)

-1/2 c chopped onion

-3 cloves minced garlic

-4 (15.25 oz) cans black beans, drained

-2 (14oz) cans chicken broth

-1 t ground cumin

-1t chili powder

Garnish: sour cream and minced chives

*In medium Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium high heat for three minutes or until just beginning to brown (remember, it should be chopped up before you put it in there). Ad onion and garlic, cook for 3-4 minutes or until onion is tender. Add beans, broth, cumin and chili powder. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

*In the container of a blender, spoon half of soup; process until almost smooth. Return processed mixture to Dutch over, stirring to combine. Garnish with sour cream and chives if desired (I highly recommend it) and serve immediately.

Louisburg cider mill

Saturday morning we went out to the cider mill for some yummy cider donuts, a 1o acre pumpkin patch, HUGE corn maze, and a lot of fun! Tim and I took Andrew, a 10 year old who I frequently baby sit, with us and I think he had a good time too. In the middle of the corn maze Tim stopped and carved a pipe with Andrew out of an old corn cob and part of the corn stock. We're not promoting smoking here, but they sure were cool! :) If only I had an OUNCE of that creativity! Enjoy the pics, and if you live in the area, go visit this cider mill!