Check It Out

Guess what!? I'm in a magazine! Does that make me famous? Okay maybe not.

Our wonderful photographer and wedding planner submitted our wedding to be featured in West Virginia Weddings Magazine 2011. I couldn't wait to see what it would look like and last week the magazine finally came out.

The cover of the magazine. I was hoping Chad and I would make the cover but no such luck.

Ta-Da! Our beautiful two page spread.

How neat is that?

Magic Seven Layer Bars

Okay, I have another confession to make...just call me Usher. Anyways, when I was little I loved loved loved graham crackers. My wonderful mother use to let me mix graham cracker crumbs and butter together in a bowl and I would just dig in. Healthy...no, delicious...yes. This recipe is an oldie but a goodie. For some reason I started thinking about it last week and decided I needed to make it ASAP!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
1 stick of butter
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of butterscotch chips
1/2 - 1 cups of chopped nuts (I used pecans but walnuts would be great too)
1 1/4 cup of coconut
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 baking dish generously with cooking spray
Melt butter and mix into graham cracker crumbs. Press evenly into baking dish. Pour condensed milk evenly over the graham crackers. Distribute remaining ingredients evenly over graham crackers. Press down ingredients firmly with a fork. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Allow dish to cool completely before cutting into bar. Enjoy with a nice cold glass of milk.

Happy Birthday!

Happy belated Birthday to my wonderful hubby. It was last week but I'm just now getting around to posting this. He turned 27. Not sure how he managed to get his old bones out of bed.

We had a low key celebration that included lots of tv, pizza, and carrot cake.
Marley thought it was his birthday and really wanted some carrot cake.

My First Pot Roast

I have a confession to make...I'm in love with my dutch oven. Don't tell my husband. He might get jealous and take it away from me. Lately I've been thinking about all the delicious dishes I can make using the dutch oven. Today the hubby and I had no plans and I thought it was the prefect day to make a pot roast. Per usual, I turn to my lady PW...Pioneer Woman for the recipe. The dish turned out great and was perfect on this cold lazy Sunday.

Ingredients
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
kosher salt
A 3-5 pound chuck roast
2-3 onions
8-10 carrots
2-3 cups of beef stock
3 fresh rosemary sprigs
2-3 fresh thyme sprigs

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 275
2. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and allow the pot to get really hot.
3. Generously salt the chuck roast on both sides.
4. Cut onions in half from root to tip then cut off the tops and bottoms and peel off the first layer.
5. When the pot is hot add the onions , brown them on both sides, then remove from pot.
6. Next, wash the carrots and rough chop into 2 inch pieces. Add them to the pot and brown slightly. Remove from pot.
7. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pot. Place the meat in the pot and brown on both sides (about a minutes). Remove to a plate.
8. Deglaze the pot by whisking in 1 cup of beef stock.
9. Return the meat, carrots, and onions to the pot. Pour in enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway. Next, put in the rosemary and thyme and cover.
10. Place pot in the oven and roast for 3-5 hours depending on the size of your roast. For a three pound roast, cook for 3 - 3 1/2 hours. For a 5 pound roast, cook for 4-5 hours. Check the roast. It should be fork tender. Place on serving dish or cutting board and slice against the grain.

I served my pot roast with some delicious mashed potatoes. Make sure you spoon some of the juices in the pot over your meat and veggies.

Attention Dog Owners

Now that the wedding is over, thank you cards are completed, and the holidays are behind us, I actually have time to READ A BOOK! Woo-Hoo. I couldn't decide what I wanted to read so I picked up a couple of books at Target the other day. One of the books that caught my eye was "Inside Of A Dog" by Alexandra Horowitz. Let me first say this book is by no means a thriller or love story or any combination of the two. It is however very informative and enlightening to a dog owner. It tries to explain how dogs see the world and why they behave the way they do. After reading this I feel like I better understand Marley and how and what he tries to communicate. For example I now understand why he freaks out after a bath and runs all over the house like a maniac....its because I have washed all the scent/smells off of him and he is desperately trying the dirty himself up again by running around. Pretty cool huh? So anyways, all you dog lovers/owners give this book a try.

Here Piggy Piggy

This recipe is another goody from Pioneer Woman. I've looked at it several times in her cookbook but it wasn't until my friend Caroline posted it on her blog that I decided I had to try it. Caroline cooks hers in a crock pot all day while she is busy working her magic in the world of Speech Therapy. I on the other hand bought all the ingredients and surprised my hubby that he would be cooking it in the oven while I was at work. :)

I know what your thinking. This picture isn't very appetizing...but the smell was amazing. This is what the pork shoulder looked like after cooking for 6 hours.
We couldn't stop eating the pork long enough to shred it up.

Spicy Pulled Pork
- 4-7 pound pork shoulder/butt (We used around a 5 pounder)

-1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder

-1 tablespoon of salt and pepper to taste

-3 cloves of garlic

-1 tablespoon of olive oil

-2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar

-1/4 cup brown sugar

-1 whole onion

Rinse and pat dry the pork

Rough chop the onion and throw it in a food processor along with all the other ingredients. Pulse the ingredients until combined. Once combined, take a whif of that, it's awesome. Then rub that deliciousness all over the butt. Throw that booty in a dutch oven with two cups of water and bake at 300 covered for 6-7 hours until tender. Be sure to turn it every hour. Raise the temperature to 425 and continue roasting uncovered until nicely browned about 15-20 minutes. Shred with fingers and forks. Enjoy!

This dish makes ALOT of pulled pork. We made pork nachos one night and pork sandwiches another. Promise you will try this dish. It was so so so good!

Marley's Got Talent

We discovered Marley's hidden talent yesterday....balancing on two legs. This dog will do just about anything for food and yesterday it was standing on two legs to lick our bowl.

Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Muffins

Yesterday was a cold lazy Sunday and the perfect day to make chili. My hubby just happens to be the master at making chili and that's just what he did yesterday. I added to the meal by making Jalapeno Cheddar corn muffins. I just threw this recipe together and the results were pretty darn good.

Ingredients
- 1 box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
- 2 Jalapeno peppers (seeded and diced)
- 1/3 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar but you could use just about anything)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup of milk

Directions
Cut jalapenos in half, lengthwise. Remove seeds. Finely dice.
Follow directions on the back of the corn muffin mix box and stir in jalapenos and cheese.
Bake as directed on box.

They were the perfect companion to a nice bowl of chili. They are slightly sweet and helps balance the smokiness of the chili. Click here for one of Chad's chili recipes to make with your corn muffins.

The Best Enchiladas Ever!

Its no secret that I love Mexican food and these enchiladas are seriously delicious. I was browsing my favorite blogs the other day and came across this recipe on Annie's Eats. Its a little more complicated than most but promise me you will give it a try....its really really good.
Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, chopped fine
- 2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine
- 1 tsp. canola oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp. chili powder
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 1 tbsp. of sugar
- 1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup of water
- 1 tomato, seeded and chopped
- salt and pepper
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
- 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
- 10-12 (6 inch) soft corn tortillas

Directions
-Combine the onion, jalapeno, and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar. Mix in the tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower the heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
-Place the chicken in the sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside to cool.
-Strain the sauce through a mesh strainer into a medium bowl. In one bowl should be the liquid and in another bowl the onion/jalapeno/tomato.
-Shred the chicken into bite size pieces and add to the bowl with the onion mixture. Add in 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup of each shredded cheeses, and cilantro (I used less cilantro than called for cause the hubby doesn't like it). Stir to combine.
-Preheat oven to 425. Oil a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Heat the tortillas for 30 sec. in the microwave to make them soft and pliable. Spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of the tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in baking dish. Repeat.
-Lightly spray the tops of the tortillas with cooking spray. Bake uncovered for 6-8 minutes until slightly browned.
-Reduce over temperature to 400. Remove enchiladas and pour remaining sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
-Remove foil and bake for 5 more minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Happy New Year!

What a great year 2010 was for me and I know 2011 will be just as great.


We said goodbye to 2010 by having a very nice dinner at Mortons Steakhouse. I had never been to Mortons before and was very excited for the experience. We had shrimp alexander, bacon wrapped scallops, iceberg salad, filet with Bearnaise sauce, asparagus with balsamic glaze, sauteed mushrooms and spinach, and their famous hot chocolate cake.

We celebrated with our good friends and neighbors.

Look at my handsome husband. I'm one lucky girl.