The weekend and everything else

Oh boy! What a dilemna. We have a wedding on Saturday night and the Tech/TX game is at 7PM. What in the world are we going to do? There is no TV at the reception (we checked). We’re thinking of skipping it altogether and watching the game instead. Is that wrong? M’s best friend is in town for the wedding since he’s a groomsman. He’s in a pickle as well since he’s got $$$ on the game. Who am I kidding? He’s got money on all of the games. It’s not like we know the bride and groom all that well. We were surprised to get an invite in the first place. Hmm… what are we going to do? To be continued…  Just in case, I had two dresses dry cleaned in the event that we do attend which I think we will.

Enough wedding talk. I’m going to make chicken enchilada casserole for Sunday dinner with M and his guest. The Cowboy’s play at 3PM so we’ll have tasty queso in the crock pot to get our appetites going. I’ve also got the itch to make banana nut bread again. It was so good last time. That reminds me, I will need to make a trip to the grocery store this evening. I need those bananas nice and ripe.

I’m so excited. I’m getting my hair done today. I’ve been a brunette for the past couple of years and I’m ready to be a blond again. I’ll let you know how it turns out. I’m crazy when it comes to my hair. I go back and forth between being a blond and a brunette. My stylist thinks I’m nuts!

Brussell Sprouts

What is it with brussell sprouts? Do you love them or hate them? I’ve yet to give them a tatse. There are some pretty good looking recipes out there that look worth a shot. They have been given a bad rep for so long. Do they deserve a chance?

I think I’m back to normal!

I’m feeling better! Yeah! I’m up early with my coffee cruising through food blogs. Fun stuff, huh? While home at sick for the past several days, I started the Harry Potter series. I’m now almost done with book 2. Why did I wait so long to read these wonderful books? I’m so hooked on Harry Potter! I have 6 more to read. I love knowing that I have good reading ahead of me for the future. I get so bummed when I read a good book and then I have nothing to read afterwards. I have this feeling of, ‘now what?’ Then I kick myself for speeding through the book so quickly. Harry Potter to the rescue. I’m off to read a bit more before heading back to the office.

The flu and a stomach bug….what gives?

It happened, I got sick. Yep! Saturday afternoon I was hit with a stomach bug. I knew that on Friday I didn’t feel 100 percent, but I wouldn’t let that get in the way of my weekend. Nope, I was going to deny my illness and pretend that nothing was wrong. I had a great Friday night…probably too great! It’s Tuesday morning and I’m still ill with a fever and chills. There is no chicken enchilada casserole to post. I managed the chocolate brownies,  but was afraid to feed them to anyone since I was sick when I made them. It’s back to bed for me. What a bummer!

Saturday morning

I slept in today and it felt wonderful. I’m sipping on a cup of coffee watching some cooking show on PBS. It’s really just background noise, but sounds much more soothing than Rachel Ray. I whipped up some brownies and the smell from the kitchen is mouth watering. I can’t wait to have one. Come to think of it. I haven’t made brownies in years. I don’t know why, but I haven’t. M and I have two hours until the Tech game. I promised M that I would pick up tortas from Tio’s for lunch. What was I thinking? Obviously, it was the alcohol talking last night. I don’t even remember saying that. Why do vodka tonics do that to me? Apparently, I promised a country  breakfast. I vaguely remember something about sausage gravy. Geez, that was a bunch of horse shit. Coming up next, the recipe for my famous brownies and chicken enchilada casserole. Oh yeah, did I mention that I busted into a can of Rico cheese last night? Damn that vodka!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Yeah! We made it to Friday! Geez, was this week a long one or what? M has been begging me to make chicken enchilada casserole. I don’t know why I keep putting it off? It is such a great comfort dish. This weekend I’m going to make it for our Sunday dinner. Even though the weekend hasn’t quite started, I know how I’m going to finish it off.

Now, where is my coffee? It’s still dark outside and I’m sleepy as hell.

Tio’s Tortas

I’ve got to give another shout out to this place. Seriously guys, if you haven’t been then you are missing out big time. Not only did M and I enjoy some of the best sandwiches in town, but so did a co-worker and it made me so happy to hear all about his experience. In his exact words, “Tio’s tortas is bomb-digity-good and the fajita meat is marinated in God juice!” Is that saying something about these sandwiches or what? Go in and try these bad boys. They are that good. Make sure you get a side of their corn which is warm and cheesy with every bite. I even drank the sauce after I ate the corn. I hope no one saw me do that. Oh well, they probably took it as a queue to do the same thing. Ha!

Banana Bread recipe

Remember the banana bread that I made just awhile back? I’ve had request at work for the recipe and i thought I would post it here. It’s so yummy! I love it in the morning with butter smeared all over. Mmm…. This recipe is super easy and super tasty too.

Part I
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 ½ cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 2/3 cup white sugar
1 ¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 TBS ground cinnamon (I always add an additional TBS)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup buttermilk

Part 2
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and lightly dust with flour a 9×12 baking pan. Mix part 1 ingredients in a large bowl. Then, add part two ingredients and mix well. Pour into prepared pan and bake 35 to 40 minute or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Pumpkin cake II

This cake is the bomb! I was really surprised at how luscious this gem turned out. I’m keeping this one in the rotation for sure! M hasn’t tried it yet, but that’s only because we have loads of Halloween candy that his Mom gave us. How cruel. I’m tempted to throw it out. Shhh…don’t tell. This might have to be done in secret. Okay, so here is the recipe. It calls for a box of cake mix. I usually shy away from semi-homemade recipes, but I couldn’t resist.

1 (29oz) pumpkin puree
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
4 eggs
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
2 tsp. allspice
½ tsp. salt
1 (18.25 oz) package spice cake mix
1 cup butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl combine all ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth.
3. Bake 45 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

I served this with heavy whipped cream seasoned with Grand Marnier and a touch of sugar. I don’t like my whipping cream too sweet. Not only was this dessert heavenly last night, but it was even better this morning with my coffee. Holy moly! I can’t keep this stuff around for too long. I snag a piece every time I go into the kitchen.

Pumpkin bread part one

I just baked pumpkin bread and the house smells amazing!! I sent M out to the store for some heavy whipping cream. This is a new recipe for me. When I pulled it out of the oven it was big and puffy. I love moist breads/cakes so I immediately covered it with foil. Once I removed the foil, I knew that I needed whipped cream. It shrunk and looks something like a rectangular pie/cake. I’ll report back after I have a piece.