My little boy is growing up! He went on his first date this weekend, with a girl. Supervised of course! Our neighbors have a female Husky names Mookie (not sure if I spelled it right!) Last week, I made plans to meet Lindsey at 8AM to take the love birds out. Ginny was really excited when we started, but he calmed down and did really good on our hour long walk. I enjoyed talking to Lindsey, and I love anything to wear Ginny out. WIN WIN!
We seen a turtle on our walk, too.
London enjoyed his time alone with daddy.
Tonight, for dinner, Huck wanted TACOS! Surprised right?! Well, I decided to change it up a little and make Taco Burgers.
Combined Turkey, Onions, Jalapeno, and Peppers together.
Form into 4 patties 1/2 inch thick.
Spray pan with cooking spray and add patties to pan.
Cook burgers 5 minutes and flip cooking 4-5 additional minutes or until cooked through.
Add cheese and cover pan with foil to melt cheese.
Serve on toasted bun with guacamole, lettuce, and tomato.
I served my burger with a little salsa. They were so good!! Huck really enjoyed it was well!
So, for Christmas, Huck gave me a Canon Rebel T3i. Well yesterday, it decided it doesn’t want to work anymore. I plan on calling Canon tomorrow. I have a one year warranty, so hopefully it will be fixed soon. It would break the week we are going home!!
Yesterday, we went to the Brew Bar, so Huck could brew beer with the guys. Greg said we were having a Brew-B-Q. I watched girly TV all day with Suzanne. (The Vow has to be the worst movie every!)
I brought over some of my Homemade Guacamole and Suzanne made Shrimp and Sausage Kabobs.
The kabobs were served with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Brown Sugar, and Butter.
The boys were making an IPA.
Stirring the mash with the new paddle.
I wanted to add some Almonds and Brown Sugar and eat this right out of the pot.
My car also hit a milestone this week!
I have never owned a car that had 100,000 miles on it! (I didn’t take this picture, by the way!!)
After we came home, me and the dogs, feel asleep on the couch.
I use to fall asleep on the couch a lot when we lived in Georgia, and I would work a few 12 hour shifts in a row. Huck loved to take pictures of me sleeping.
An example of many pictures of me sleeping Huck has collected.
Now we are off to enjoy the sunny summer day! I hope everyone enjoys there long weekend! 3 more days until we are back in Georgia!!! CAN’T WAIT!!!!!!
I know this picture is bad, but I think it is so cool that you are sitting in the Brewery drinking beer!
We continued with more beers at Guanabanas.
I ordered Fish Crusted with Sweet Potatoes with a Jalapeno Cream (That did not taste like Jalapeno at all!!) . I was very disappointed with my dinner. For the price, I excepted a LOT more! Huck ordered a Shrimp Burrito. It was half the price of mine. Twice the size, and it was a whole lot better!!
Wednesday night, we went to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. We went there a few weeks ago, while Huck’s family was in town. The location is great. Right on the water across from the lighthouse.
I ordered the Shrimp and grits again, and Huck ordered a Shrimp Pasta Bowl. They were both really good! The Shrimp and Grits are amazing!
We even seen Forest Gump sitting outside as we were leaving!
After dinner, we walked next door to the Square Grouper. We arrived just in time to see the lighthouse come on and watch the sunset.
And awesome end to a great day!
Today, we drove 3 hours for a claim in Ocala. We were there, maybe, 15 minutes, and we turned around and came right back home. I keep asking Huck if we could keep going to Georgia. No luck!
When we arrived back to Jupiter, we went for dinner at Leftovers. They have some of the weirdest flavor combinations on their menu, like, Banana, Peach, and Ginger Dressing for a salad. Who comes up with that?? I asked to try it. The flavors were not that strong, but you could still taste everything and it all worked together well. Crazy!
I ordered the Butternut Squash Wahoo. Of course it was great!
Huck ordered the Leftover’s Rigatoni that was really good!
And Huck’s coworker, Brian, ordered Fish and Chips with a Mango Cocktail Sauce. It, again, was great too!
Here is part of their menu and some of their crazy flavor combinations. I wish I would have go the Boniato Coconut or Plantain Onion. Maybe next time.
I think we have hit all the good places in Jupiter in the last 3 days. I’m sure we will be making a trip back to Tequesta for their Georgia Peach Wheat Beer that came out this week. It is called “I got 99 problems, but a Peach aint one!” Pretty creative.
I also talked to Jennifer for almost 2 hours tonight. I can’t remember the last time we actually did that. We usually just text each other. It was weird when I seen her number on the call ID. I thought something was wrong.
Huck told me for an early birthday present, he would pay for her plane ticket to come down here for a few days!! After talking about it, we decided it would be easier for her to ride down with us when we leave from our trip home, for my sisters wedding, and fly back a few days later. I am so excited! I see lots of giggling and Strawberry Daiquiris in my future! I told Huck that is one of the best Birthday presents he could get me!
Well now I’m off to bed. Eating and Drink makes you tired… And Fat!! Good Night!
We recently helped at the Abacoa Community Garden and received BAGS of fresh tomatoes. I decided to use them for a pizza sauce for our homemade pizza tonight.
I used a trick I learned in Culinary School to remove the skins off the Tomatoes. Here is a YouTube video to show you how. Peeling Tomatoes. It is really easy.
This sauce would be great on Pizza, with Pasta or spread on a nice crusty bread.
What makes this sauce so great, is the fresh tomatoes and fresh herbs. Oh, and all the garlic.
Fresh Tomato Pizza Sauce
1 lb Tomatoes- Peeled, Stem Removed Crushed, with Juice
2 Cloves Garlic- Chopped
1/2 Red Onion- Chopped
2 Tbsp Fresh Oregano- Chopped
1 Bay Leaf
Crushed Red Pepper to Taste
Salt and Pepper to Taste
2 Tbsp Fresh Basil- Chopped
Heat pan over medium heat.
Add oil to pan and saute onions and garlic until tender.
Add tomatoes, oregano, bay, salt and pepper and crushed red pepper.
Reduce tomatoes until most of the extra water is removed. It will be thicker than Spaghetti sauce but thinner than tomato paste.
Add basil and spread on pizza crust or add to pasta. Or eat by the spoonful out of a bowl (It was that good!!)
I added Zucchini, Carrots, and Yellow Squash to my pizza, and we used Low Fat Cheese. It does not melt the same as full fat cheese but still has all the same flavor.
Enjoy!!
Huck went the spicy route with his pizza with Hot Sauce and extra crushed red pepper!
I had a 2 hour nap today, so I’m sure I will be up late!
This is the view from our house for the past few afternoons. Makes me not feel as bad sleeping all afternoon when it is raining outside! I already miss Winter! The weather is prefect then!!
Well I’m off to watch Huck spoil the dogs!! Good Night!
Last night, Huck and I enjoyed a quite evening of making beer and cooking food. It was awesome for both of us to be in the kitchen together, listening to music and doing what we both love to do. I cooked dinner… Huck made beer.
We also had our invisible friends take a few pictures of us too.
Sharing our passion with food and beer with each other.
After our photo shoot, we enjoyed our yummy dinner. (Beer will not be ready for a few weeks.)
Tortellini Veggie Soup
1/2 Onion- Chopped
2 Large Cloves Garlic- Chopped
1 Small Zucchini- Chopped
1 Small Yellow Squash- Chopped
1 28oz Can Italian Tomatoes (I used whole tomatoes and crushed them with my hands)
2 Cups Frozen Spinach
3 Cups Chicken Stock
2 Chicken Breast- Diced into 1/2 inch pieces
Parmesan Cheese Rim (I save the rim for soups)
1 Package Tortellini of choice
2 Bay Leaves
1 Handful of Basil- Chopped
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Oil
Heat oil in a pot.
Add chicken to pot. Season with salt and pepper and cook through.
Remove chicken and add onions, garlic, zucchini, and squash to pot. Cook until tender, 3-4 minutes.
Add chicken to pan with stock, tomatoes, bay leave, and more salt and pepper if needed.
Add spinach and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add tortellini to pot and cook until pasta is tender.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and basil and serve.
I thought I took a picture of the finished product, but I can’t find it. I guess the invisible friend erased it!
Huck and I are so very different, but what makes us different also make us work together so well. I’m excited to see what our future holds!
*****(And, Yes, we did take pictures of ourselves last night. This is what happens when you have very few friends in a new city! We have been here 6 months. We are not going to be able to use the excuse, we are new to the area for much longer!!)
It has been almost 2 week since I have even been on my blog. On morning I woke up, and I decided I didn’t want to blog, didn’t want to read blogs, or even think about blogging! Normally, I make dinner and even though the pictures do not turn out that great, it still taste good, but not this past week. Nothing has been that great. *Have I even cooked anything??? I can’t even remember*
I really haven’t had much to blog about. We went to Tequesta again, but really how many more times do I need to post that? Date night at the beach… yep it is on there too. We have gone out to eat a few times, but my meals have beeen underwhelming to say the least. Not even worth complaining about in a post (we did order food from Hog Snappers that was really good, but I didn’t take any pictures.)
Every now and then, I get bored with food. If you know me, you know I love to eat. And I eat a lot!! How I stay skinny is beyond me. But sometimes, nothing excites me. I get into food funks! I become one of those people that Eats to Live instead of my normal Lives to Eat self. I have to remind myself to eat. I think of it as my bodies own diet plan. My pants that were getting a little snug feel a little better, so I’m fine with the funk for now. I did make a meatloaf last night that was pretty good. Huck told me he wasn’t a fan of meatloaf until he had mine. That made me feel good. Our old roommate, Gump, liked my meatloaf too. He asked me to make it for him a few times.
Turkey Meatloaf
1 lb Ground Lean Turkey
1/2 Cup Onion- Chopped
1 Large Garlic- Chopped
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Ketchup
Salt and Pepper
1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs (I used the croutons from my Food PenPal because I was out of bread crumbs. I just crumbled them up first)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Mix together all the ingredients but the turkey. I do this so I make sure everything is combined, and I do not have to worry as much about over mixing the meat.
Add turkey and combined.
Form mixture into one large loaf or small loaves. Me and Huck both like the end pieces, so I did individual ones.
Place meatloaf on foil lined pan and top with more ketchup.
Depending on the size of your loaf or loaves, cook until the meat is all the way cook through and the sides are browned. My little loaves took 20 minutes.
Serve with Garlic Smashed Red Potatoes and Veggie for a complete meal.
Garlic Smashed Red Potatoes
1lb Red Potatoes
1/2-3/4 Cup Chicken Stock- Warm
2 Cloves Garlic- Minced
2 Tbsp Butter
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Dice potatoes and add to a pot and cover with water. Cook on medium low to medium heat until fork tender.
Add Stock, butter, and garlic to a small sauce pan and heat on low to melt butter and warm stock.
Drain potatoes and add stock mixture and salt and pepper.
Mash using a fork or potato masher and check seasoning. Add more stock as needed to get creamy texture.
Serve warm.
The leftover Meatloaf Patties will make a great sandwich for lunch today. It is that time of year where South Florida getting the daily 3PM rain showers. Ginny isn’t a fan. Over the last year and a half, he has developed a storm phobia. I know when it is going to storm before I hear the thunder now. Me and Huck came home the other day and couldn’t find him after a storm. Some how he squeeze under our bed, but wasn’t able to squeeze back out. It was interesting trying to get him out to say the least. A tornado could be right outside the house, and as long as Huck is close by, London could care less!! In other news, my article made 2nd page in the paper!! Moving up from the usually 2nd page of the 2nd section. Oh and I also bought a coffee maker this week. I am almost 27 years old (SHIT THAT SOUNDS OLD) worked 7AM-7PM in the ER for 2 years on 4-5 hours of sleep and managed to never need coffee until now. If only I would have know soon! Some of those 12 hour shifts would have been a lot easier!! So that is my update. I currently waiting for Huck to get back to remove the Grasshopper from the kitchen. He jumped on my arm, and I thought it was a spider. I’m sure the dogs got a good laugh out of it!! Once he is taken care of, we are off to brew beer. 12 more days until we are back in Georgia!!!
We went to the local Brewing Supply Store to get everything I needed for my beer. The lady there proved me with a basic/simple Wheat Beer recipe.
I needed Hops (Adds bitter flavor to the beer), yeast (makes the alcohol), and Liquid Malt (Makes the sugars that the yeast eats to make the alcohol.) I went with an all liquid malt because it was easier then using grains.
Measuring my Hops
We arrived home, and I changed into my beer clothes and started boiling 2.5 gallons of water on the stove. Once that came to a rolling boil (2 hours later), I added the extract to the water stirring to make sure it did not settle on the bottom.
Once the beer started to boil, I added the first set of hops. 45 minutes later I added the second batch of hops and boiled for an additional 15 minutes. It boiled for a total of 1 hour.
I needed Huck to help me with the next part. I removed the mixture from the stove and added 2.5 gallons of ice to cool the liquid.
Once the beer cooled to 68 degrees, Huck transferred the 5 gallons of liquid into a fermentation bucket, and we “pinched the yeast” or added yeast to the beer. I placed the top on and placed the bucket in the guest bath tub for 1 week.
A week later, it was time to transfer to the secondary fermentation bucket and add the fruit. I used 5 Mangos and 7 Key Limes (Juice and Zest). I diced and mashed the mango with the juice from the Key Limes. I boiled the mixture on the stove to kill anything that could contaminate my beer.
I added the fruit to a mesh bag so it would not clog the tube when I was transferring to the bottles.
The beer sat in the secondary for another week, and then I bottled the it.
Bottling was umm Fun!
I had to clean all the bottles first.
I had a lot of bottles to clean!
This cleans the inside of the bottle. It makes it a little easier!
After cleaning ALL OF THE BOTTLES, it was time to transfer the beer into a bottling bucket. And yes I did this in the bathroom. Yes it was clean, and trust me I’m not the only one.
I heated a pan on the stove with a few cups of water. I added priming sugar to the water and boiled until the sugar dissolved. I added this to the bottling bucket. I transferred the beer on top of the sugar/water mixture.
After transferring to the bottling bucket, it was time to start bottling. I sanitized the caps and filled the clean bottles with the beer.
I think the hardest part was capping the bottles.
I guess I was stronger than I thought.
After all my bottles were capped, the hard part came! Waiting! I boxed all my bottles up all 48 of my bottles and walked away. It was 2 weeks before we were able to drink the beer. This is called bottle conditioning. By added the sugar to the bottling bucket, it gives the yeast something to eat and causes the beer to carbonate.
I HAVE TO WAIT 2 MORE WEEKS!! WHAT?!?!
A few weeks later, we popped one open and tried it. I decided at that moment it was going to be just a Key Lime Beer. The Mango did not come through at all. I was very disappointed in that part, but for a Key Lime Beer it taste great. It is nice and refreshing. Prefect for a Summer day.
The whole process was long but fun. And really easy. I spent maybe 3 full hours working on the beer. The rest of the time was just waiting for the beer to do its thing. Oh and cleaning was about 70% of the whole process.
I can’t wait to do another one. It is so much fun coming up with crazy flavors to add to beer and then come up with awesome recipes to go with it!
Here is the recipe I followed for this recipe.
For all the supplies on the list, I only spent about $40 including the mango, key lime, and bottle caps. $40 for 5 gallons of beer.
I can’t wait to share this with family and friends when we go home in a couple weeks.
Every now and then, I cook something and want to pat myself on the back. This was one of those recipes that made me want to do that.
I plan to post my recipe and step by step direction for my Key Lime Wheat Beer. I found a recipe on Cottage Magpie’s website for No Bake Cheese Cake. I lightened the recipe up by using less sugar and fat free and low fat items.
Key Lime Wheat Beer No Bake Cheesecake
8 oz Fat Free Cool Whip (I know but I didn’t want to use full fat Whipping Cream)
8 oz Reduced Fat Cream Cheese- Softened
3 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Reduced Beer (Recipe to follow)
1 Tbsp Key Lime Juice
Zest from 4 Key Limes
Graham Cracker Crust of Choice (I used individual ones)
Toast crust according to package directions.
Combined Cream Cheese, Sugar, and Beer in mixture. Mix until fully combined.
Add Cool Whip and continue mixing until smooth.
Add 1/2 of zest and juice and combined.
Add mixture to crust and place in the refrigerator to allow to set for an hour or two.
Sprinkle with extra zest before serving.
Reduced Beer
1/2-3/4 Cup Beer
Heat beer over medium low heat until beer reduces and starts to become thickened.
The beer can easily burn so do not leave the pan unattended.
It will also have a bitter taste to it, but I found the sugar balances the bitterness and highlights the flavors in the beer.
If you do not want to use the beer, just increase the amount of Key Lime Juice.
This recipe would also be great served in a bowl with a little graham cracker crumbled on top.
Now I have to find a place on the couch to curl up with Huck… Not sure if the boys are going to make room.
How can Oopie be comfortable like that??
This recipe is great and a nice lighter treat! I really hope you try it!! If you like Cheese Cake, like I do, you will love this!