Cooking Class

My mom & I took a cooking class today!
Ana Moreno, a wonderful cook, who my mom used to work with, has started her own catering company & is offering cooking classes! You can find her on Facebook to sign up for a class, Ana La Marrana. We will be signing up for more in the future :)
After enjoying a yummy dinner of carne guisada (her lesson for  July!) We started making rice.

Mom chopped onion to sautee

 I added the garlic.

After making the rice, she walked us through the steps of making pinto beans, Charro beans, & black beans.

 Then we made the black beans into refried beans!

They were super garlicy & yummy!

We had a lot of fun! We can't wait til the next class!

7 Years & Counting!

June 29th, 2001 Over the phone, Hubby & I became "Official" boyfriend & girlfriend :) We were about to start our Junior year in high school.
June 29th, 2006 On the Observation Deck of Reunion Tower, Hubby asked me to be his wife!!!
June 29th, 2007 We said "I Do!"
June 29th 2014 I love him more than I thought possible 7 years ago... 8 years ago... 13 years ago!!!

Sweet and Spicy Turkey Meatloaf

I put together this meatloaf last week and it was a hit! So I knew I had to share the recipe, both so you could make it, and so I wouldn't forget it :)

Sweet and Spicy Turkey Meatloaf
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 med white onion, chopped ( I actually used 5 very small onions out of my Papa's garden)
1 lg jalapeno, chopped
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup bbq sauce + enough to cover the top ( I used Kraft with brown sugar, because it was on sale)
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs ( If your breadcrumbs are fine you may only want to use 1 cup and see if you need more. I was using homemade breadcrumbs which I did not chop up very fine)
2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp celery salt
1 Tbsp garlic powder
(The seasoning measurements are approximate, I always just sprinkle til it looks like enough. One of the things I love about cooking is that it doesn't have to be an exact science, so feel free to have fun & experiment!)

Melt the butter in a skillet, and saute the bell pepper, onion, and jalapeno until nicely caramelized.
Preheat oven to 350.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the turkey, 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, eggs, breadcrumbs, and seasonings. Once the onions and peppers are caramelized, mix them into the meat as well. Once fully combined, pat the meat into a loaf pan. I highly recommend the one I have, it is 2 pans, the pan the meat goes in has holes in the bottom so the extra grease runs out of the meatloaf and into the second pan. If you do not have a special pan like this, then you can add extra breadcrumbs to soak up the grease.
Spread more BBQ sauce over the top of the meatloaf. Cook at 350 for 1 hour. Enjoy!

And if you want to make this South Beach Diet friendly, use sugar free BBQ sauce & make sure your breadcrumbs are made from whole grain &/or sourdough breads.

Book 18!

The 18th book on my Empty Shelf is "Sycamore Row" by John Grisham. This book takes place just a few years after his very first book, "A Time To Kill", left off. It is a different case, and you wouldn't be lost reading it as a stand alone book. However, having the back story from the first book made it that much more interesting.
When Hubby finally convinced me to give fiction books a chance, (yes I was one of those weirdos who only read nonfiction), "A Time To Kill" was the first book he gave me to try out. I loved it! That book will always hold a special place in my heart. I was, therefore, very excited when I heard that John Grisham was writing a new book using the same setting & several of the same characters! "Sycamore Row" did not disappoint!
Do you have a book that changed the way you read like "A Time To Kill" did for me? I love hearing about people's book choices!

Book 17!

The 17th book on my Empty Shelf is "How to Raise the Perfect Dog" by Cesar Millan aka The Dog Whisperer.

This book is specifically about raising puppies, which Ghost is not. However, it had several tidbits of info that I found very helpful! The most important being that until this book, I had not found a single piece of advice that helped with walking my pulling machine. The Dog Whisperer suggested I walk with a walking stick as a barrier to keep him from getting ahead of me. First walk with the walking stick was a completely different walking experience! He stayed next to me, and while there can still be some improvement, he never pulled me! That piece of advice alone was worth reading this book!

What's the best piece of advice you ever received for your precious pup?