Bucket List: Kemah Boardwalk and a Summer Night Meal

Oh sweet summer...it means so much to our little family. Mommy is free, daddy is more flexible and our baby girl gets her mommy and daddy all to herself. Oh and Garcia gets company at home...can't forget our pup. Jason and I made a bucket list on the very first day of summer and we actually crossed everything off that list! We wanted to be intentional and do the things that the slow days of summer called for. The Kemah boardwalk was on our list so at the end of July we headed there one Saturday morning with our friends caravanning behind. It was a hot day but worth the trip.

None of us had been and it was fun to do it all behind the eyes of our little ones. Oh how times have changed...there wasn't any shopping, lingering at lunch or a coffee break at Starbucks..all of the things I would have wanted to do when visiting a cute little place. Instead, we had to finish up lunch the minute that our sweet little bosses, I mean babies, gave us their cue and then we spent crazy money and time in line to ride the train and carousel.

But it was worth it. It was a sweet way to spend our day with our close friends and make memories with our babies. Mary Rachel and I are always coming up with things that we have to do, making our own little bucket list. We have big plans...pumpkin patches, vacations, renting a cabin on the Frio...and Kemah was another thing that was just crossed off. The babies were out like a light the minute we started the drive home. A great summer Saturday.

The only thing with a big day that exhausted us all was that we were home at 4pm and didn't have a thing to do for dinner. Jason and I wanted time outside grilling something...anything. We are always grilling kabobs or chicken so that was a no go. We came across a recipe for a grilled pizza and that was just the kind of new recipe we were looking for. This was something that we have wanted to do but were not sure how to go about and it turned out to be way too easy to have waited this long. And for a side it was a fabulous Colorful Summer Salsa. Both fresh summer dishes for a great ending to our summer day. And both so incredibly easy.

Healthy Colorful Salsa

15oz can black beans (wash and drain)

1/2 cup shoepeg corn (wash and drain)

2 medium tomatoes (dice)

1 red bell pepper (dice)

1 green bell pepper (dice)

1/2 cup onion (dice)

2 jalapeno peppers chopped and seeded

1/3 cup lime juice

1/3 cup olive oil

1 cup minced cilantro

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp red pepper

Mix and marinate in refrigerator. Amazing....

Grilled Chicken Margherita Pizza

1 cup marinara sauce

1 packaged prebaked pizza crust (found near pizza ingredients)

4 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

EVOO

Chopped fresh basil leaves

Grilled chicken breasts sliced thinly

Spread sauce on pizza crust, top with chicken and then lay the sliced cheese on top. Grill covered over medium heat, rotating pizza occasionally. Grill for 10 minutes or until sauce is hot and cheese is melted. Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with basil.  Such a delicious and fresh way to do pizza. The crispiness that the grill adds is my favorite part. Enjoy!

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Celebrating the Upcoming Superman and a Dear Friend

The day I went back to work last year from my maternity leave, my sweet friend Courtney came to check on me before school started and found me all teary. She gave me a big, sweet hug and then shared a little secret to cheer me up. She had just found out that she was pregnant. Well that dried my tears quickly because who can cry when you find out that another precious little angel will arrive and that I also would't be alone in my teacher/momma world anymore! I would have a partner in crime to ride this ride with me.

See, Courtney is a triple blessing in my life. I work with her not only at the same school but we teach  Kindergarten together too. We attend not only the same church but we are also in the same Sunday School class. So we see each other 6/7 days and sometimes every single day of the week if we happen to to be together on Saturday . And now she is expecting her baby boy and he will go to the same babysitter that Collins goes to come January. Needless to say, I enjoy Courtney's  friendship and I love having her around so much. We are pretty much stuck together whether she likes it or not;) And I may or may not have recently prayed that I hope she goes into labor at school. Don't worry, she already knows about this prayer. I just feel that it would make for lots of excitement down in Kindergarten land. Although it would probably create havoc with all our Kinder babies. I can just see those sweethearts going berserk with excitement. Okay, so maybe not the best idea...

So of course I had to join in when Courtney's baby shower was being planned! Not to mention she helped plan two showers for me, one at our school and for our Sunday School class. Again, bless her little heart. So time to shower some baby love on her!

Our very creative friends and fellow co-hosts were more than creative. Courtney's husband loves Superman so this theme just took off. Everything was covered in Red, Yellow and Blue, ceiling to floor. Courtney was glowing and and baby Ross received so many goodies.

We ate ourselves silly. The food was amazing and we couldn't stop eating. Well, okay, I couldn't. Enjoy! And can't wait to see Collins and Baby Ross grow up together. We already know they will be the best of friends and although he isn't here yet, he is already on Collins's first birthday party list:)

I made my favorite breakfast dish, Sweet Bacon Breakfast Casserole.It feeds so many and it is a nice change from the egg and sausage casserole that is the usual breakfast casserole (although that one rocks my world too!) But it is the sweet Hawaiin bread that makes this dish to die for. Not the healthiest thing but I swear that I took out all of the calories before I served it like any good hostess would do. And the best part is that you make this the day before so it will be easy to pop right in the oven the next morning.

Sweet Bacon Breakfast Casserole

1 (16oz) Hawaiian bread loaf, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

2 cups finally shredded Mexican four cheese blend

1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

8 large eggs

2 1/2 cups milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. dried mustard

1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Arrange bread cubes in a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and crumbled bacon. 

Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, mustard and worcestershire sauce. Pour over prepared dish; press low bread to soak up liquid. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Let stand 30 minutes before baking.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minute or until set and golden. Serve with salsa if preferred.
EASIEST THING EVER!

Chocolate Drizzled Pecan Tarts 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup dark corn syrup

1 large egg

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. powdered sugar

1 tbsp. melted chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese and flour and mix well. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

3. Shape cream cheese mixture into 24 1 inch balls and press into ungreased mini muffin plans. Set aside. (I added foil liners into the muffin pans for the tarts to bake in)

4. In a large bowl, combine pecans, brown sugar, dark corn syrup, egg, butter and vanilla. Spoon 1 tsp. of pecan mixture into each cup.

5. Bake for 25 minutes; cool.

6. Dust with powdered sugar and drizzle with melted chocolate. 

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Girls Coupon Brunch & Spicy Breakfast Pizzas

So while I am used to teaching little 5 year olds, I am not used to teaching my friends. I should say "teaching" lightly because technically, I sat on an ottoman in front of a close group of friends and shared with them about my couponing tips while stuffing my face with yummy breakfast food. But seriously, I kind of taught a coupon class:) It was alot much fun and I had to apologize in advance for my excitement over the issue.

One of my friends from my sunday school class immediately jumped on the couponing topic after I blogged about it last. Before I knew it, we had a date set for our very own sunday school brunch where I would give coupon advice. My friend who eagerly wanted to learn and offered her home to host was my start student! She tried out couponing that week prior to our brunch and texted me late one night about her savings. Ummm...I could not have have been prouder! Since our brunch together, I have learned that there have been other friends who are hitting the stores with coupons in hand and I LOVE that they share their successes with me. 

Not only did I make breakfast pizzas (and even the low-er fat version:) but I also offered a few more tips about couponing that I did not have enough room to share in my previous blog. I promised I would type up the extra notes so I figured I would do so here in my blog and with the recipe for breakfast pizzas. Enjoy!

If you are behind and need a coupon 101, see my earlier blog posts to catch up. Here are the extra notes...

*Where can you get coupons? EVERYWHERE! Newspapers, magazines, product website, coupon websites, on a product at the grocery store and in the grocery store. Another place for great coupons is your doctors/dentist office. Collins's pediatrician's office always has awesome coupons waiting for us mommas to grab them.Also, if there is an item that you like such as Wholly Guac, check their website! Most will offer coupons and you can stock up so print as many as you can!

*This may sound a bit too much and yes, it technically is butttttt I would suggest organizing coupons by aisle. It will make your trip so much faster. And with a baby now, I do not have the leisure time to just play around in the grocery store! I would much rather spend my leisure time in a mall somewhere but that doesn't seem to happen much either. 

*Once you start stocking up on more and more coupons, the greater chance you will have that you a coupon for your favorite items on sale.

*Once you stock up on foods (because you are buying them on sale, NOT when you need them), you can make a menu based off of what you have and feeding your family doesn't seem to break your bank anymore. And I to make fun and fancy foods, so rest assured that I can even make fun menus that will include the things I stock up on. 

*Coupons are not just for dry food and cereals. You can still watch your store to see when their produce and meats go on sale and buy, but then you can freeze it! We had a huge discussion about being able to freeze fruits and veggies. So yes, you can!

*You can even buy toys and baby products on a great deal. This momma has brought Collins a few pretty neat and rather costly toys at practically nothing because there will be a manufacturers coupon paired with a store coupon definitely makes it budget friendly. Jason laughs because I will come home randomly with toys for Collins that I bought for a steal.  

I bought the above precious Fisher Price toy that Collins loves to play with for $15 when it was regularly $40! I had a $15 off coupon for Target and a $10 off coupon for Fisher Price. Proud momma here! Notice my child bouncing to the beat in the video. She just might have her momma's moves;) (Video may not show if you do not have the right updates. It does't show up on my IPAD. I am lazy and hate installing new updates)

And this adorable, famous little dog? $5 from Target when it should have been $25! Similar scenario: $10 off manufacturer's coupon and $10 off Target coupon. Why didn't I buy more???? They could have been tossed in as part of a baby shower or birthday gift? I hope this doesn't sound at all cheap. I am frugal. Big difference. I love nice things and will spare no cost over those things that mean the most. 

And as far as these little breakfast pizzas go, they were so stinking easy and good! 

Spicy Breakfast Pizzas

1 (16oz) package spicy pork sausage ( I used reduced fat. You could even use turkey sausage and season it yourself)

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese (I used fat free)

1 bag of seasoning blend (found in the freezer section by veggies)

*Seasoning blend is made up of what we call the "trinity" in Louisiana: chopped Onions, bell peppers and celery. It truly is a gift to cooks instead of having to buy these things and chop them ourselves!

6 English muffins (I used whole wheat), split

Garnish: chopped red and green peppers 

In a large skillet, combine sausage and seasoning blend. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 4 to 6 minutes, or until sausage is browned and crumbly. Drain sausage mixture. Reduce heat to medium low. Return sausage mixture to skillet. Add cream cheese to skillet. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until cream cheese is melted and combined with sausage. Spread on split muffin halves. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Hello! Best part of this recipe for this mom!!). Take out pizza 30 minutes prior to cooking and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Enjoy!

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Sisters Weekend in Houma: S'mores Brownies and Jalapeno Corn Casserole

    Sisters...nothing sweeter than that word. Seriously, they are your best friends, honest feedback givers (wanted and unwanted) and trusted confidants. And well, you can fight like no one else but who cares because you forget about it a week later. I have been blessed with 3 sisters. And they are a huge blessing in my life. If you have a sister, you know what I am talking about. And if you don't, I pray you have a best friend who is like a sister and that can work too:) And I have all of the above. I don't deserve it.  Real sisters and best friends like a sister. I have been blessed with close relationships with some amazing girls from Louisiana to Tennessee and now to Texas. Thank you, Jesus.

   When my sisters and I can't be together, we send tons of text messages and we talk on the phone as much as possible. Thank God for technology that we can be together without having to be in each other's physical presence. But when we DO get together, we act nothing short of crazy. We laugh, we cry, we confess and we give advice. We can solve the world's problems in 10 minutes flat. Our husbands think we are nuts, our kids think we are funny and the babies just watch us in wonder. That is what makes a sisterhood, whether blood related or not...you can just be yourself and then they take their masks off too. I LOVE it when sisters(or BFFs) get real.

   Jen, Claire, myself and all the hubbies, kids and babies recently gathered in Houma, where the baby sis, Claire lives. Her and her hubby, JP, just built a beautiful new home and well, we love to bring our families and we somehow manage to dirty up their "perfect, no kids home" within 20 minutes of arriving:)

    Claire is the hostess with the mostess and had a fabulous weekend planned. It consisted of a delicious dinner on Friday night, men fishing on Saturday while the ladies shopped and then we all had a little lunch all together. I know our waitress must have thought we were the circus coming to town. We are loud, babies crying, girls laughing, men drinking and kids playing. Bless her heart.

   On Saturday night, Claire's hubby, JP, cooked the most amazing fried fish you have ever tasted. I wish that is the recipe I had to share but he is all secret about it. But I did have a few things to offer to the menu and I had the cutest help ever, named Cate. 

    She is my niece and she has the biggest heart and loves to help me cook, help me with Collins or whatever. I pray CC has a heart like this precious girl. And can I tell you how much Cate LOVESSSS Collins. I can already tell they will be BFF. Jen and I are in trouble.Double Cuteness Trouble!

    I originally wanted to post one of the many videos we took of ourselves dancing, laughing and just being us. But I am pretty sure my sisters would have made me take it off within a few minutes. But to imagine, there may have been a little "Baby Got Back" played as well as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and we may or may not have used wine bottles and baby bottles as microphones:) As always, we had the best time together all weekend long. I hope you enjoy these Houma weekend recipes. 

Jalapeno Corn Casserole

4 (15oz) cans whole kernal corn, drained

1/2 cup butter

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1 cup can evaporated milk

4 tbls all purpose flour

4 jalapenos, seeded and chopped

Preheat oven to 400. 

Place corn evenly in bottom of a 9x13 inch dish.

In a medium saucepan, combine butter and cream cheese; cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in evaporated milk and flour, and continue cooking until mixture is smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in jalapenos. Pour butter mixture over corn; mix well. Bake for 30 minutes. 

S'MORE Brownies

1 box of brownie mix

10 whole graham cracker squares, broken into pieces (broken, no smashed!!)

1 bag miniature marshmallows

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. 

Grease 13x9 inch pan. Mix brownie mix according to directions on package. Pour into pan and bake 18 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with graham cracker pieces, pressing down lightly. Sprinkle evenly with marshmallows and chocolate chips util graham cracker layer cannot be see. Return to oven and continue baking 12 minutes. Let cool before cutting.

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Nashville:Take 2! Church family, Lemon Cheesecake Bars and Camerone's Cocktail!

When our plane arrived in Nashville we immediately went downtown for lunch with a few loved ones from our Nashville church, including our wonderful pastor who was preparing to leave for a mission trip but made time to meet us! Rock Bottom (formerly known as Big River Brewery) was the place of choice and let me tell you how great our waiter was. Not only did he store our backpack full of frozen breastmilk in the restaurant freezer (not lying), he also thawed out a bag for us in warm water. Gotta love some southern hospitality! Lunch was spent catching up with a few amazing people in our life so the bar was set high for the rest of our time in Nashville.

On Friday, we packed our bags and went to stay with another part of our Nashville family, The Waggoners. This family is so special to us and just took Jason and I and loved on us! When I say this is one amazing Christian couple and daughter, that would be an understatement.

They continue to love on us through the miles. And let me tell you, Mrs. Kris is the hostess with the mostess! She cooks like a pro and hospitality is her gift. Everything is made by her or catered She made a Mexican Shrimp Cocktail for us also known as Coctel de Camerones. It was wonderful!A fabulous summer dish.

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

2 pounds medium shrimp, pre cooked

Salt

1 cup chopped red onion

1 cup peeled, diced cucumber

1 jalapeno, minced

1 small tomato choppe

1 1/2 cup tomato juice

1 cup ketchup (no sugar added)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Juice of a lime, about 2 Tbsp

Hot sauce, garlic salt and cumin to taste  to taste

1 avocado, cut into chunks

1 jalapeno diced 

Mix all together (except for shrimp) and spoon into individual dishes. Add shrimp over the side and add a tortilla chip to dip for garnish and dipping.

On Sunday, we all went to our church, St. Paul Community Church together.

It was wonderful to be at our church home and sit amongst the family we had there. And to see the kids that were a part of the Children's ministry while we were there was priceless. This church will have always hold a huge place in our hearts. The families there are beautiful and the outreach done Mrs. Ann is seen everywhere you go. Ms. Ann is like no one you have ever met. She is truly an angel on this earth and chases after God's heart in all she does. She can run CIRCLES around me and from the moment I met her, she felt like another mom to me. And did I mention that we have the same birthday? Seriously. A dynamic duo.

After church, we all went back to the Waggoners where they threw a little soiree and we ate more Mexican! Families and friends from St. Paul joined us and it meant so much! I added Lemon Cheesecake Bars to the dessert selection.

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

1 box lemon cake mix

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 eggs

1 8oz. package cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Heat oven to 350. (325 for dark or nonstick pan). In large bowl, beat cake mix, butter and 1 of the eggs with electric mixer on low speed until crumbly. Press in bottom of 13x9 inch pan.

2. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth On low speed, gradually beat in powdered sugar. Stir in lemon peel and lemon juice until smooth. Reserve 1/2 cup for toppingl rerigerate. Into remaining cream cheese mixture, beat remaining 2 eggs on medium speed until blended. Spread over cake mixture. 

3. Bake 25 to 28 minutes or util set. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Spread with reserved cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate about 3 hours or until firm. 

 My dear friend, Kaitlin Green even joined us and it was sooo good to talk to this sweet face and catch up. She is now director of children's ministry at St. Paul and it is amazing to see all that she is doing. Her heart is beautiful!

The Wallaces are a precious and were the very first family that I met after accepting the children's ministry position at St. Paul.

 I had the joy of not only teaching the Wallace kids on Sunday but I also had her daughter Campbell, in my Mothers Day Out class. Not only that, we receive little packages in the mail from Amy that have Campbell's ADORABLE monogrammed outfits in them. Both of our girls are CCW! Amy truly has a heart of gold.

The Sandersons are near and dear to my heart because I had the pleasure of babysitting their girls many times as well as teaching them on Sunday. I became very close with this family and still cry when I have to tell them good bye. Sarah has always been a beautiful presence in my life and she can light up any room.

After I had Collins, it was Sarah who would ask the tough questions about being a new mom and continually encourage me. And not to mention, she is my Stella and Dot stylist and it is always a happy day when a Stell and Dot  package arrives on my door from Sarah. Her daughters are both beautiful inside and out and I can only pray that Collins has a heart like the both of them. To see her daughters flock over CC and take care of her at our party made my heart so happy but made me feel a tad older too;) They Sanderson girls can now take care of my baby girl!

It was a perfect afternoon with the Waggoner family opening their home and hearts in true form. And Kaitlyn and I had way too much fun wearing her Steeplechase hats by the pool.

The best part of our time in Nashville is to know that every single person who holds a place in our heart was brought to us somehow through one common link...God providing a Christian community for us.

And while our hearts felt so sad to leave, I thanked God on our flight home for the home we have in Nashville and for a new place that is now feeling like home to us...Houston.

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