Tidbit of Fruit Juice

Tuesday's Tidbit

Remember this stuff?

It's a childhood memory for me, maybe just cause its a star.

It doesn't really taste great like I remember, but Ill still eat it...

its all in the experience

Im Not Even Embarrassed

I'm bored... and what do I do when I'm bored?

I would like to say that I bust out my sewing machine and whip up an impromptu craft, or bake some amazing meal complete with beautiful table settings...

The fact of the matter is, when Im bored I watch TV.

I'm not even embarrassed by it cause Im not a chronic TV watcher. I hate just sitting, flipping thru channels and settling on something to watch. Watching TV just to watch it...

I like to watch TV when there is something specific on that I love.
Like the NBA finals (GO MAVS!), or Friends or King of Queens or anything on TLC... I have a reality show obsession.

Its my happiest day on a Saturday and there is a great "Say yes to the dress," or "cupcake wars" marathon on TV... I could lay in bed in my pjs all day and watch it and not feel guilty one bit.

Since I have no kids, or callings, or responsibilities outside of work, I have that luxury... and Im gonna take advantage while I can!

Since American Idol, Gray's Anatomy and Biggest Loser just ended... I have to choose my summer shows that Im going to follow.

These are the shows my DVR is set to record as of now:

Monday's- Bachelorette (I always swear Im not going to watch it, but I get sucked in)

Tuesday's- 16 and Pregnant (or the new Teen Mom thats about to start)

Wednesday- nothing yet... any suggestions?

Thursday's- So You Think You Can Dance

Friday's- What Not to Wear

Sunday's- Khloe and Lamar and Keeping up with the Kardashians (another guilty pleasure)

I have made a goal to not watch TV other than these unless there is a special or something on...

What are your favorite shows?

Tidbit of Lucy

Tuesday's Tidbit

There is no way that any human in the world could be cuter than my niece Lucy

Plus she has the most adorable personality

Im OBSESSED with her... you would be too 
P.S.- G-Dad is pretty cute too!

Recipe Heaven

If you remember from last year when I tried... a couple of times... to make banana bread... epic fail!

I keep wanting to try again, but every time I do... its disgusting! You can ask anyone, Im not being dramatic!

Anyhew, my friend Aimee posted this recipe on her blog

I decided to try one last time because the recipe looked so simple, how could I mess it up?

Brother in Law walks into the kitchen... and this is how the conversation goes:

Him- "what are you making?"

Me- "Banana Bread"

Him- "not again! are you sure?"

Me- "Well I got this recipe from my friend Aimee..."

Him- "oh, ok its gonna be good then, not like last time?"

Rude... Suprisingly it did go well! So well infact that I am going to share the recipe with you...

Delicious, and moist and amazing! It didn't even last a day cause we gobbled it right up!!

Aimee's Banana Bread:

my changes in blue

1 1/4 C roughly chopped walnuts (not walnuts, chopped. big difference)

2 C flour

3/4 C sugar

3/4 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

3 ripe bananas, mashed well

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 C plain yogurt (I used stawberry banana and it was AMAZING!)
6 T melted butter, cooled

1 t vanilla



*heat oven to 350.

*spread chopped walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in oven for 5-10 minutes. once they start to brown and you can smell em, they're done. let cool.-
I didnt use nuts cause I didnt have any and Im too lazy to go to the store

*while the walnuts are roasting, melt the butter. put in the fridge to cool.

*wisk flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and walnuts in a large bowl.

*with a wooden spoon or spatula, mix bananas, eggs, yogurt, cooled butter and vanilla.

*gently add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined.

*butter and flour your pan(s). the recipe calls for a 9 in loaf pan, but i've also used 3 minis just fine. i used a pastry brush to get all the left over goodness from the butter bowl to grease my pans.

*bake at 350 for 55-60 mins. i find this bread to be very moist so i turn the temperature down just a bit (330 ish?) about 40 mins through so the tops don't brown too much.

*let rest in the pan for five minutes then turn onto cooling racks. (i was greedy once and didn't let it rest. suddenly i had 2 loves. top half in my hands, bottom half in the pan. not cool.)

MAKE IT NOW! The best banana bread I've ever had! Thanks Aimee!

Where have I been?

Where have I been you may ask?

The answer is HEAVEN! I got to travel to Chandler Arizona for a blissful weekend with my family.

My sister Christie and her little family from Texas moved over to Chandler where my sister Melissa ALSO lives... so I wanted to be able to help them get set up. It just so happened that they moved just in time for my birthday AND my niece Lucy's bday!

Well, my mom and HER husband are also moving there this summer, so they came down for the weekend to look for houses... not to be out done, my dad and HIS wife made the drive down from VEGAS to join the party!

I could not have asked for more... the most perfectest birthday EVER!

Since I share my sacred birthday date with Lucy juicy, we wanted to keep thing separate so that we each got all the attention that we wanted! And we really just like to have more excuses to PARTY!

We started the festivities Friday night with a Girls night! Whop Whop!

Melissa, Christie, mom and I went out to Panda Express for dinner {my choice of course}

We then went to downtown Tempe to a dueling Piano bar which was SO FUN! We sang and danced and drank pretty {non alcoholic} drinks!

The girls requested an NSYNC song dedicated to me... Bye Bye Bye, always a classic
{please ignore the disgusting cell phone pics}

On Saturday, Melissa and I threw an AMAZING Minnie Mouse pool party for Lucy's 2nd birthday!

{we just love a theme... makes everything WAY better and fun}

A bunch of family and friends were able to come and we had a blast swimming, eating, coloring, and visiting.

On Sunday I got the day {and the attention} all to my self to celebrate{mourn?} my 28th birthday

We had a great family dinner and opened presents! I got my much anticipated Sonic lemon berry slush and played games into the night.

Monday we were able to help Christie and Daniel get their new place set up a bit. Mom and I ditched everyone to go pamper ourselves with birthday PEDICURES!

AND Melissa's dog Hoosher loved me the most and slept with me every night... helped ease the pain of leaving my own poochie for 5 days!

Such a great weekend. I love that my family knows me so well and made everything special. So much fun... now that I will have 2 sisters and my mom {aka my three best friends} in Phoenix does that mean that there is an impending move on my horizon?

Tidbit of Randomness

Tuesday's Tidbit

Why did I laugh out loud for about 10 minutes when I discovered that my piping hot Ramen noodles melted my plastic fork?

And then I laughed every time I tried to pick some noodles up with the melted fork...

 I could seriously use some excitement in my job...

Where Does the Name Come From?

No idea why they call it Shepard's Pie... but I made it.

I never really thought much of the dish in my life... no good or bad thoughts.

I saw a recipe one day and thought, why not?

Im so bored with my cooking lately... Im too lazy.

This recipe is SO simple {as we all know is a requirement of all my cooking} and a huge hit! NO left overs at all!

Recipe of the week:

Shepard's Pie

Serves 4 {or 2 if you happen to have a ginormous 18 year old eating}

Ingredients:

+ 1 lb. Hamburger

+ 2 cups instant mashed potatoes {or real if you are a serious cook}

+ 1 can tomato sauce

+ Veggies of some sort- use 1/2 bag frozen mixed veggies like corn peas and carrots- I use whatever I have like canned corn, green beans... whatever you like

+ 2 tbs. Italian salad dressing- or whatever seasoning you like really

+ Cheese

How to make it:

• Brown your hamburger and season- add Italian dressing if you want a nice taste, or just season with onion, garlic, italian seasoning etc.
• Make your instant potatoes while the meat is cooking {follow instructions on box}
• Drain that grease obviously
• Mix in tomato sauce and veggies
• Dump that mix into a casserole dish
• Spread the mashed potes on top
• Top with Cheese

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until top is golden brown and cheese is melted!

Serve with rolls and salad and you're golden!

Now Im off to Phoenix to celebrate birthday's with my FAM! be jealous!

Tidbit of Strangeness

Tuesday's Tidbit

Do you have a weird quirk? Strange habit?

I have to spit into the sink when I wash my hands... every time no matter what...

Makes things awkward in public bathrooms

What's yours?

Owl about it... hehe

Have I told you my obsession with owls?

I love those guys! Not the real ones.. .theyre freaky... but the not real ones are too cute!

My mom picked up on my love for owls and has been adding to my growing collection.

She is the creative mastermind of life! and makes me amazing ALLIORIGINAL creations...

New! House warming painting for my kitchen, Oliver Owl... LOVE!

These guys are from her Night Owl collection on Etsy... there are three in all

Herman, Ethel, and tiny{not pictured}

She didnt make this... but I love it! Toothbrush holder from Target

Nellie, Tweeter, and Mo

 She sent me these awesome dish towels that match my kitchen colors to perfection... ignore the stain {who does not understand the difference between 'show towels' and everyday towels...}

And finally my most favoritest... she hand sewed this amazulous applique free hand without a pattern or anything... So precious, I framed it!

Mr. Owl

I love my mom's creativity... all her little precious touches all over my house...

If you are dying to have some AlliOriginal's of your own, check out her Etsy, or her blog here.

http://www.allioriginal.blogspot.com/

Fast Five... I loved it!

I've been having complaints from the peanut gallery about posting recent pictures... "what are you up to Kimmie? You never give updates on your blog, just complaints..." Chill people!

{Im tryin to make it seem like there are actually more than 2 people {at the same conversation mind you} that have asked that...}

Well- here's whats up...

I moved... again... that would be the THIRD time in 4 months...

NO, I DO NOT LIKE TO MOVE!

I hate it worst than I hate stepping in dog poo on the bathroom floor in the morning {which I did this morning, disgust... but poor sick Kobe pup :(}

If you remember, when we moved to San Diego in January we had a big annoying last minute decision on where to live. I frankly got sick of searching and just moved into a place cause the deposit was cheap...

Bad idea cause the 2 bed 2 bath was $1250 a month and I HATED it there!

So, I decided to downsize to a 1 bed 1 bath, save $400 a month and live a tid bit closer to work and the ward that I LOVE!

This is what my life looks like now...

Going from having 2 bed rooms to 1 bed room is more of an adjustment then I thought... I have no where to put all this stuff! Im gonna have to get a storage unit or something... plus now I have a brother in law sleeping on the couch and keeping his stuff in the tiny coat closet... BUT thats what happens when youre living in San Diego, you cannot afford any pleasures in life... but I live close to the beach!

 

Speakin of that, I got my first sun burn of the season!!

I got to the beach and pulled out my sunscreen... apparantly I use it too often cause it was completely gone and I was NOT about to spend $12 on sunscreen at a souvenier shop when I could buy the nice spray on kind at Target for $4.95 thank you! Hence the burn...

Oh and I got the stuff the make THIS

... which Im obsessed with!

So look for a tutorial on that coming soon! And also pictures of my tiny apartment once I get rid of all the excess...

Tidbit of Tunage

Tuesday's Tidbit

Pandora made me a list of music that included Sara Barellis

Didn't really care for her before...

Love her now... went and got her first CD

Perfect for those 'wanna chill' days!

YUMMY YUMS!

Those of you that know me, know that I am OBSESSED with Chili's chips and salsa!

Delishious-ness of life! I would eat it all day every day if these dang kankers would get out of my way...

Anyway, Ive been looking for a recipe even close to the amazingness for YEARS! I even ask every Chili's that I go into for their recipe...

They wont give it to me... RUDE!

I found this recipe on my favorite blog - I heart Naptime- its not quite Chili's but its still delicious!

To paint you a picture... Ive made 3 batches in the last week... I know I have a problem! Its just so easy and way cheaper than buying actually premade salsa these days..

Here you go...

 

Ingredients

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice

2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies) Original or Mild

¼ cups Chopped Onion

1 clove Garlic, Minced

¼ teaspoons Sugar

¼ teaspoons Salt

½ cups Cilantro (more To Taste!)

½ whole Lime Juice

 

Preparation Instructions

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Then stick it in the fridge {or freezer for 30 mins if you are inpatient like me}for at least an hour...

Enjoy!

 

I left out the jalapenos and cumin that the original recipe called for.

My Mexicans thought it was too spicy, but I think its perfect! If you want less spice {mind you, once its refridgerated for an hour or 2 the spices blend and it gets more kick} add 1 can diced tomatoes instead of 2 cans of rotel