I know, I know...

So, I have been an awful blogger.
BUT: my life has been a whole sack of crazy.
I started a new job, we're trying to figure out where we shall be next year, and oh yeah, I made a last minute trip to Houston because I had three family members in the hospital.
Awesome.

BUT: I have like 34 new posts on the way. For serious.

In the meantime, check this out. Or this.

Super Bowl Sunday

Yes, I know, I am behind a bit. Deal.

So: For the Super Bowl, we went over to April and Jonathan's to hang out and watch the game. Well, I didn't watch the game. I watched the halftime show and the commercials. I care enough about football to like one team and hate one team (Saints and Cowboys, respectively), and the rest I don't care about. I did like the Darth Vader commercial though. We had lots of fun hanging out :)

We had a variety of tasty treats to eat, including pigs-in-a-blanket and pizza dip (very tasty).
I made this:

Creamy Jalapeno Dip

What you need:
2-3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 tbsp garlic powder
16 oz sour cream
1 package ranch dressing powder/mix

What you do:
Combine all ingredients using a submersion blender (definitely one of my favorite kitchen appliances, but a regular blender would probably still work). Blend until smooth. Chill before serving (usually takes about an hour to thicken up nicely). Serve with corn chips. Also makes a very tasty topping for burritos and fajitas!

I've been told it tastes like some dip/sauce stuff at Chuy's, but seeing as how I don't think I've ever eaten there (maybe once), I don't know. It is tasty though.

Pasta Night, Anyone?

Italian food is my favorite of all the foods. Thus, we have pasta night a lot. I'm also not domestic enough to make my own marinara sauce (well, most of the time). Solution?

How to turn bottled spaghetti sauce into Homemade Marinara Sauce:

What you need:
Bottled spaghetti sauce (whatever kind you like)
Parmesan Cheese
Red Wine (dry)
Fresh Garlic
Italian Seasoning
Olive Oil
Pasta

What to do:
Cook pasta per instructions.
While that's cooking: In a small sauce pan, pour a little olive oil over medium-ish heat. Use a garlic press or small grater to add 1 clove of garlic. When your whole kitchen starts to smell awesome, add the wine (about a cup). Add 1 tbsp of Italian seasoning. Simmer and reduce for up to 5 minutes. Add 1/2 the bottle of tomato sauce and cheese (however much you like). Important: If you do not use real cheese (AKA the Kraft stuff), it will not melt. If you don't care, use whatever kind you have. Pour over pasta when cooked. Top with cheese.
Viola!
It doesn't sound like it makes a huge difference; IT DOES.

It turns this:

Into this:

You'll never go back to plain old bottled sauce again. And you can totally say you made it yourself.

When you have to fake it

So, I don't plan ahead. It's not my thing. I try, and get distracted, and wind up running around at the last minute.
So, when I meant to plan a fancy-ish dinner ahead of time, and didn't, I fake it. I do this:

Marinated Tilapia

You need:
1/2 bottle marinade of choice
4 medium tilapia fillets
Salt and pepper to taste

Prep:
Line fish fillets in a large casserole dish. Pour marinade over fish. Marinade for 10 minutes, flip the fish and spoon over marinade. Marinade another 10 minutes. OR: Place fish in a large Ziploc baggie. Pour in marinade and lay flat. Marinade for 15-20 minutes, shaking the bag half way through. In a medium skillet, cook fish for 3 minutes on each side with any excess marinade (helps the cooking process AND makes a tasty sauce). Flip with a SPATULA (tongs will not work, trust me).

Hints:
HEB makes fabulous bottled marinades that sell for about $1. I'm in love with them, seriously. My favorite is the garlic and herb. If you don't have and HEB handy, you can always substitute Italian style dressing.
Lemon-pepper seasoning salt (which I just happen to have for some reason) is great instead of salt and pepper if you go the Italian route. Soy sauce, dijon mustard, and garlic is a super simple marinade if you don't have any of the aforementioned options.
Sam's Club sells AWESOME tilapia fillets in the frozen section. They're individually packaged and frozen, and have no fillers or preservatives. I ALWAYS have them in the freezer. Mostly so I can get away with never planning anything.


Add your favorite veggies and you have a fantastic meal that tastes fabulous and a lot more complicated than it was.
If you have leftovers, tilapia is fantastic for fish tacos.

Easy Recipies: Semi-Stroganoff

So, on those days that I really need to go the grocery store, but can't (or just don't want to), I discover all kinds of interesting meals made from whatever I have in the pantry. This is one of my new favorites, and it's made from stuff I always have on hand. Its definitely one of Phillip's all-time favorite things to eat ever.

Semi-Stroganoff

Ingredients:
1/2 box of pasta
1 pound ground beef
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can water
1/2 cup white wine
1 tbsp. margarine or butter
2 tbsp. Onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Prep:
Cook pasta as directed. Don't forget to salt the water. While pasta is cooking, brown ground beef in large skillet. Season to taste (I use salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder just about always) and drain. Set aside.
In the skillet, combine soup, butter, and wine. Fill the empty soup can 1/2 full with water, and whisk into the sauce. Add onion powder and pepper (I use a lot of pepper). Taste and see if it needs anything (I always add more wine, but hey, its me). Add beef to the sauce. Fold in pasta when its done.

Its seriously pretty good. It looks a little like gravy before you add the pasta, but it tastes not like gravy, so don't freak out. Its a little reminiscent of Hamburger Helper, but better, both in taste and because you make it yourself. You can also add fresh or canned mushrooms to it if you're a fan.

My hair is GONE,

I might be freaking out. Just a little.

Makeover.

So, ze blog has had a facelift.
I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it yet or not, but it will hang around for a little while.
For sure, the header will change, but I'm waiting on that until I have more time.

In other news, I am seriously considering a fairly drastic hair cut.
Mostly just because I am bored with my hair, and I feel like it.
This is drastic because: it will involve more that 3 inches being cut off and the addition of bangs, which I have not had since third grade, which is more than slightly scary. I also have tricky hair. Whatever cut I choose has to look good both curly and straight and work with thick hair. Not being a stylist or one with intense hair knowledge, I'm a little out of my element. This is the cut I am considering at the moment, because it looks easy and cute both straight and curly. Ignore the subject of the picture.
Thoughts?

Two Thousand and Ten

2010, in summation:

• GOT MARRIED!
  
• Turned 21
• Got my first passport
• Changed my name
• Took more pictures than I have ever taken in my life
  
• Took my first trip out of the country and spent a wonderful week in Costa Rica
• Became a proud dog parent
• Made new friends
• Graduated with high honors from Texas A&M
• Survived a whole semester of kindergartners
  
• Survived another whole semester of third graders
• Applied for my first teaching position
• Fell in love with Big Bang Theory and Antiques Roadshow
  
• Obsessively read the Hunger Games trilogy about 8 times
• Made Phillip, my uncle, AND everyone else I know read the Hunger Games
  
• Rented our first apartment and decorated it on a budget
  
• Broke out my sewing machine
• Honed my cooking skills
• Forayed into baking, semi-successfully
• Obtained our first handgun
• Got our first Blu-Ray disk
• Hit 200,00 miles on my car (though I had to get new tires to do it).
• Successfully fit into my wedding dress, my mother's wedding dress, my grandmother's wedding dress, and my aunt's going away dress.

In 2011, hopefully, we will:

• Take another trip (Europe, anyone?)
  
• Watch Phillip graduate and get into grad school, maybe even somewhere really cool
• Get my first teaching job
• Rent our first house
• Get a new computer
• Be better about blogging, calling friends, making home-cooked meals, and doing laundry.
  

Graduation!

At 9:00 in the morning, December 18, I became a former student of Texas A&M University!
I graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science in Interdisciplinary Studies (aka Education).


My parents, brothers, Uncle Johnny, cousin Tracey, and of course, Phil, all came to celebrate :)
This absolutely does not mean that I have accepted being a grown up.

Now we just need to pray that I get a job!

Halloween

Yeah, yeah, I know its way past Halloween.
I literally have no spare time in my life, ok?
Geez.

So: Halloween was exciting.
Phillip and I were joined by our friend Hannah, and we went to the traveling carnival that happens to be across the street from my apartment. And, of course, we all dressed up. I love Halloween way to much not to go all-out festive. (I also wore my Halloween shirt and jewelry to school the previous Friday).

I went as a Roman, Hannah went as a 50's housewife,
and Phillip went as a ceiling fan. (we got creative).

We also took silly pictures.

And then, I found Nemo.

And more silly pictures in the car.



And then we went back to the house and watched scary movies. Well, we watched Jennifer's Body, and then scary movies. But only because it was already on TV and we were morbidly curious.

It was a fantastic time. :)

Lazy Day Recipie

So, I tend to get lazy.
Might have something to do with working 40 something hours every week while not getting paid and getting evaluated/judged on everything I do (since, apparently, normal human teachers do not make mistakes).
When I get lazy, I am not domestic. It doesn't work out.
So, I make this for dinner:

Kinda-Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
1 rotisserie chicken, de-boned
1 can yellow hominy (corn if you are finicky)
1 can original rotel (drain half the juice if you are finicky)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cartons chicken broth
Tortilla chips
Cheddar or Jack cheese

Preparation:
Dump first 5 ingredients into a pot and heat until simmering.
DO NOT ADD SALT.
Put into a bowl, Top with crushed tortilla chips and liberal (and I mean "Would you like some soup with your cheese?" liberal) amounts of cheese.

Its warm, comforting, mildly spicy, and awesome. Its wonderful when its cold outside. Its wonderful when its not cold outside. It also makes a VAT of soup, so you have leftovers for tomorrow so you can perpetuate your laziness. Its also nice to entertain with, since everyone likes it and its pretty cheap per serving.

I have several other go-to lazy day recipes, but I shall save them for another day. :)

Best. Recipe. Ever.

Crockpots are my new favorite thing ever.
This recipe is simple, cheap to make, and tastes gourmet.
I adapted it from something I found online, and was amazed by how delicious it was! (Not to toot my own horn or anything)

Chicken in a Pear and Red wine Reduction

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thawed)
1/2 cup pear preserves or jam
1/3 cup sweet red wine (I like Pinot Noir)
1/2 envelope french onion soup powdered mix
1/2 cup water

Preparation:
Put chicken into a medium sized crock pot.
Combine other ingredients.
Pour over the chicken.
Cook on low for 5-6 hours.
If chicken is frozen, add another 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high.
Enjoy!

You can substitute the pear preserves for another variety. Blackberry or apricot would also be delicious. If your sauce is too watery (mine was), pour into a small sauce pan and boil unit it reduces by half. I paired it with rosemary roasted potatoes, which were also delicious in the sauce.

Seriously. Trust me. Its awesome.

Wedding: Part 3: Bridals!

Bridal pictures! Lots of fun :)
Hot, outside in August in Houston, but fun.











We took them in a neighborhood around the corner from my house and downtown around Mecom Fountain. This was kind of a last minute decision, because we couldn't take them in the hotel that we wanted to take them in. Which was very annoying, but whatever. I loved the way they turned out :)
We framed the last one and put it in a pretty frame to display at the reception.
More at:
Stacy Sherman Clark Photography
Click on Client Proofing.
Password is Arli

Wedding Pictures!

The wedding was perfect.

I LOVE THEM.
LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE.
Did I say Love?

You can see more here:
Stacy Sherman Clark Photography
Click on Client Proofing.
Password is "Shults".

Really good reasons I don't have more wedding pictures up yet:

1. My computer died. As in it's really, really dead. Won't turn on dead. Please note that this hurts my heart.

2. I have been sick at least 3 times now since apparently, children are disgusting and don't wash their hands. I do say this in the most loving way possible.

3. Note, one of these aforementioned sicknesses involved a bacterial infection in my cornea. Don't ask me how I got it, because I don't know and my doctor doesn't like to talk or tell me things, which is lame. But, it involved my eye swelling shut and having no vision for a while, which was terrifying.

4. Student teaching is life consuming.

5. I have had house guests about 4 times now. Which I LOVE, but it cuts down on some free time.

I'll try to get some more up tonight though!

Wedding Post: One.

Are you ready for the wedding posts? Are you ready?

Part One: The Rehearsal.

The rehearsal went pretty well. I might have had a minor freak out when some people (cough, the groom, cough) did not show up quite on time, but the crisis was averted.
I had a great time with the family and my girls :)





Afterwards, Phillip's family threw an awesome party at Italiano's. We had fabulous food and a great time relaxing a little before the big day!

Pictures!

I had a FULL day on Saturday. Schedule: celebrate Taylor's birthday (who turned 22 on Monday), celebrate Phillip's birthday (who turned 21 that day), go to Caitlin's bridal shower, take pictures, pack, and go to Caitlin's bachelorette party.
Needless to say, I slept pretty well that night.

I love the way the pictures came out though!
I wore my grandmother's wedding dress from 1957.
We stopped in Summerwood/Water's Edge for photos.
Photography courtesy of my awesomely talented cousin. :D

Bridal Shower

My shower was, in short, amazing.

The cake was awesome.
The food was awesome.
The flowers were awesome.
The company was awesome.

I had to go re-register at B3 because I got almost everything off my registry!
Everything was so beautiful, and I had the best time EVER.






I'm so blessed!