Friday night fun!

Friday night I came home to a happy house guest. We were doggy sitting for our friends and Harley greeted me at the door with his wagging tail. It was just the two of us that night since Danny was working. On the menu was one of Danny's favorites, Taco Pie, and Harley decided to join me in the kitchen and help keep the floor clean.

I decided I would give you the recipe to one of our favorite meals. It is so simple to make that I kept myself entertained by taking pictures of each step for my blog. Hope you enjoy.

Taco Pie

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg of crescent rolls
Half bag of Tortilla chips
8 oz of sour cream
1 cup of mexican cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground beef according to taco seasoning packet directions.


Spray 13x9 pan with Pam.

Roll out crescent rolls and line the dish with them.


Spread the seasoned beef over rolls.


Spead the sour cream on top of the beef.


Cover the sour cream with the cheese.


Take the tortilla chips and crumble them into small pieces on top of the cheese.


Put in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes.

And here is your finished product. I paired the Taco Pie with some left over Rehearsal Dinner wine. We've got plenty so I'm trying to put a dent in

My new do!

I can't remember the last time I got my haircut. My usual pattern is to cut my hair off and then let it grow out really long and then chop it off again. So I had been growing my hair out for a long time and didn't want to cut it because of needing longer hair for a wedding updo. Well now that the wedding is over I got the idea to chop my hair off.

So earlier this week I made the appointment and tonight I took the plunge. I also got the thought that I could donate my hair to Locks of Love and I found out you need 10 inches to donate. I had a friend at work measure my hair and I could only donate about 7/8 inches. That was a bummer but I was still excited to cut my hair.

I wasn't exactly sure how much I'd cut off until I got into the chair at the salon and we looked at pictures. I told her to go shorter because I didn't want to get home and it not be short enough. Caitlin, the stylist, was super excited and said that it would be a great cut whether I wore it curly or straight. When she turned me around and I saw it dried straight and super short, I loved it. So here is the before and after for your viewing pleasure.

The way to a man's heart...

Is through his stomach. But that isn't why I have cooked dinner every night this week. It's because we need to save money so last week a trip to the grocery store was a must. We hadn't been to the store in months and so we had a lot to buy. I had picked out 6 dinner recipes and 4 soup recipes for us to eat for lunch and dinner for however long this food lasts.

I think I've done a great job this week. I ate in every day at work for lunch because I had leftovers to bring. Danny ate in too with sandwiches and some of my yummy soup. I also made myself cook dinner 3 nights this week once I got home from work at 6:30. I also have tonight's dinner in the crock pot right now.

I thought I'd share my recipes because we all need to try something different from time to time for dinner. If not it can become so boring. I hope you try some of these. They turned out good for us.

Refried Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1 can fat free refried beans
1 can rotel
1 can chicken broth
bit of garlic, cooked onion

Throw it all into a pot. Simmer 30 minutes.

Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
12 oz can corn
12 oz can creamed corn
12 oz can black beans, rinsed, drained
12 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
4 oz canned green beans
12 oz can fat free chicken broth
1/2 cup diced onion
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder

Saute onions, garlic, and spices in a stock pot with cooking spray.
Add remaining ingredients.
Heat through.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:
8 oz ziti noodles
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1 egg white
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 (26 oz) can Hunt's sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Cook ziti according to package directions
Preheat over to 350 degrees
Stir half of Hunt's sauce into half of cooked noodles into 8x8 baking dish
Combine egg white, cottage cheese, basil, parsley, and 1 tbsp of parmesan.
Spoon over noodles.
Top with remaining noodles and then the rest of the sauce.
Sprinkle the rest of the parmesan on top.
Bake 30-35 minutes.
Add mozzarella to top and bake 5 more minutes.
Let rest 5 minutes.

Beef Burrito Skillet

Ingredients:
1 lb beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can kidney beans, drain, rinse
1 cup salsa
1 cup water
4 flour tortillas, cut into 1 1/2 inch squares
1 cup mexican cheese
1/3 cup sour cream

Brown meat and drain.
Add seasoning mix, beans, salsa, and water.
Stir. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium/low.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in tortillas.
Top with cheese.
Cover. Let stand 5 minutes.
Top with sour cream.


Southwestern Skillet Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:
1 cup Elbow Macaroni Noodles
1 1b. Ground turkey breast
1/2 cup Onion chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper chopped – I leave this out b/c don’t like peppers
2 tablespoons Chili powder
1 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 can diced Tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (4 oz. can) mild green chiles – I only use half can b/c don’t like.
1/2 cup Water
1 cup Cheddar reduced fat

Cook the macaroni according to package directions, drain.
Meanwhile spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Add the turkey and cook breaking it up with a wooden spoon until no longer pink.
Stir in the onions, chilli powder, cumin and salt. Cook until onions are tender, about 3 minutes.
Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, mild green chiles, and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and cook until the flavors are blended. About 10 mins.
Add the macaroni and the cheese. Stir to combine and serve.

Let's take a look back at the wedding.

My wedding day was amazing and I have great photos to look back at to remember it all. So if you haven't seen them take a look. There are a ton but I could sit here all day and look through them.

I can't wait to get the cd of all of them. Then I can do fun things with them. If you see any pictures you like just let me know and I'll email you the files once I get the cd.

Guest photos: http://dannyandstacy.shutterfly.com/

Professional photos: http://www.printroom.com/ghome.asp?domain_name=labranchephotography&group_id=5

You should be able to figure out the password from the name of my blog. Here is one of my favorites.