Monday, February 27, 2012

Ali's Nachos

We were so excited to get to visit our Ohio family this past Thanksgiving and while we were there Ali made the most AMAZING nachos I. Have. Ever. Had. Gosh y'all they're so stinkin' good. You've just got to try them.

Fresh. Delicious. Savory. Warm. Crunchy. Gooey. Flavorful. Did I mention Delicious?

Here's the end result of our attempt at making them:



I pinned this recipe from the Pampered Chef right when we got back from Ohio and was dying to make it ASAP. As you can see sometimes ASAP isn't very ASAP.

So here it is, give it a try. And definitely don't skimp on the sour cream/rub mixture.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups tortilla chips

  • 3 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken

  • 2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend

  • 2 tbsp Jamaican Jerk Rub, divided

  • 1 small yellow or red bell pepper or combination

  • 1 lime

  • 2 tbsp snipped fresh cilantro

  • 1/4 cup sour cream and 1 tsp additional Jamaican Jerk Rub


Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Arrange tortilla chips in a slightly overlapping layer

  2. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, cheese and 1 tbsp of the rub; mix gently. Sprinkle chicken mixture evenly over tortilla chips. Bake 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted; remove from oven to cooling rack.

  3. Meanwhile, dice bell pepper. Cut lime in half crosswise. Juice half of the lime into a small bowl; add bell pepper and remaining rub and mix well.

  4. Snip cilantro. Slice remaining lime in half; cut slices in half using.

  5. Spoon bell pepper mixture over nachos; sprinkle evenly with cilantro. If desired, combine sour cream and additional rub in resealable plastic bag; trim corner to allow sour cream to flow through. Pipe sour cream mixture over nachos. Garnish with lime slices.


Yield: 12 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 200, Total Fat 10 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 50 mg, Carbohydrate 10 g, Protein 16 g, Sodium 300 mg, Fiber 1 g

(above nutrients from Pampered Chef site)

Friday, February 24, 2012

And this is what happens...

...when I leave my beautiful dining room to my husband's demise.

Happy Birthday Mom!

It's my Mom's Birthday!!!!

She's pretty awesome if you don't know her. And she's also a pretty kick-butt architect too, check out her blog here. I was excited to get to celebrate with her on the evening of her birthday.

Life has been pretty crazy busy lately, so I didn't have time to make her a cake unfortunately. But, we were able to get our hands on her favorite store-bought cake from Strossner's bakery in town. This is their "Our Best Chocolate" cake.



And one day, I will master their amazing chocolate ganache frosting! So stayed tuned.



I couldn't help but post this one, this is so my Mom's face.



Happy Birthday Mom, love ya, mean it!

 

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Most Lovely Dinner

I know, I know, I already posted about how awesome my Valentine's Day was, but it just didn't seem complete without adding a note about dinner. Ryan kept the surprises rolling and fixed this heck of a meal:



"Claire, have you ever heard of a... wedge salad?"

Ryan and I LOVE Modern Family and one of our favorite episodes revolves around a wedge salad. In a nutshell, Claire is upset that she introduced her husband, Phil, to the wedge salad with no affect. But, when his friend introduces it to him he acts like it's the best thing since sliced bread. Ryan tends to do the same thing.

So, for Valentines Day, he started off the meal with none other than a wedge salad. Thanks Ry.



He also made NY Strip with sauteed veggies too. I swear, he makes a better steak than any I've ever tasted in a restaurant. I mean he pan seared the NY Strip steak (from the NY Butcher Shop here in little 'ol SC) in bacon fat before popping it in the oven to finish perfectly.



Ok and he didn't just stop at two courses my friends, he even made dessert. Yep, Mr. Meat Man himself made dessert. And it was pretty darn good. We even ate on it a few days after he made it.

Now I'm done talking about how great our first Valentine's Day was as a married couple, promise. Hope yours was just as sweet!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Best. Valentine's. Day. Ever!

And it's not even the end of the day yet! Ryan sent THE best gift to my office for Valentine's Day.. a singing quartet! See me posing with the lovely gentlemen below:



A coworker also posted the songs on Facebook here.

Hope everyone else is having a lovely day and as a closing, I "mustache" you to be my Valentine :)


(these were created by a designer at my office!)


HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!


 
09 10 11 12
Blogging tips