I am sad for another season to come to an end. We always have such a great time playing ball with this group! Hopefully we'll get to play another tournament this summer before it's all said and done.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
We are the Champions.....again!
Our end of the year softball tournament was short and sweet this year. We had a bye and did not have to play on Monday, so we started and finished our tournament last night. I am not going to lie, I was a little concerned because it's been a couple of weeks since we played last, but it ended up being no biggie. We run-ruled the first team and won 10-0 after 4.5 innings. We waiting around for an hour for the other semifinal game to be played and then run ruled the other team--who was by far the stiffest competition we played all year the first time we played them--and ended up run ruling them 14-0 after 4.5 innings again. Done and Done.
I am sad for another season to come to an end. We always have such a great time playing ball with this group! Hopefully we'll get to play another tournament this summer before it's all said and done.
I am sad for another season to come to an end. We always have such a great time playing ball with this group! Hopefully we'll get to play another tournament this summer before it's all said and done.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Two New Go-To's
With the exception of 3 months in the spring we are always busy with some kind of practice, which does not leave a lot of time for sit-down family-style dinners. I attempt to cook at least 3 times per week, but as the week goes on we just get busier and busier so there's no guarantee we'll be home for dinner. I make no secret that I rely heavily on Pinterest for quick, easy, healthy (for the most part) dinner options. I think I would spiral in to a deep dark depression if my pinterest account suddenly disappeared, seriously. I made a couple of recipes recently that were delicious and I will certainly make them again, One is a Philly Chicken Wrap and the second is a Bruschetta-Style Pita Pizza, both adapted from some of my favorite pinterest recipes.
This recipe is actually a slow cooker recipe, but I have yet to really get the hang of using my crockpot (terrible I know--I have a fear of leaving it on all day while I am gone, which I understand is the whole point of it, but I am still paranoid), so I marinated my chicken and cooked it on the stove.
2. Melt butter in a pan and saute onions on med-low heat until caramelized. Once onions start to cook, add brown sugar and stir frequently.
3. While onions are cooking, slice chicken into strips and saute in another pan on med-high heat. As chicken cooks, chop into small bite-sized pieces with a spatula.
4. Warm tortilla shells in microwave for 10 seconds. Place chicken, onions, and cheese in the center of the shell and roll like a burrito. Microwave for 30 seconds or until cheese is melted.
This is probably one of the first wraps I have ever eaten that didn't need any sauce with it. They are soooo good!
The second recipe I have to share is Brushetta-Style Pita Pizza. I have tried a lot of different "healthy" pizza crust options, and I think this by far is my favorite. It's thick enough to hold the toppings, but still good for you.
2. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place pita shells directly on oven rack for 2-3 minutes to crisp.
3. Remove from oven and cover with mozzarella cheese. Return shells to the oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.
4. Remove shells from oven again and top with tomato mixture (try to get mostly tomato chunks and as little liquid as possible), pepperoni, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, basil, and any other ingredients you want to add.
5. Return pizzas to the oven for another 2-3 minutes, until tomatoes are warmed. Remove from oven and serve.
These were sooo good! I have already thought up some more combinations to try out....Buffalo or BBQ Chicken Pita Pizzas anyone?!
 |
| original recipe |
What you need:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 TBSP steak seasoning (Dale's, Moore's, whatever you like)
2 TBSP butter
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp brown sugar
shredded cheese (I used Gouda and mozzarella)
tortilla shells
How to make it:
1. Marinate chicken breasts in seasoning sauce for a few hours (the longer they marinate, the more flavor they have!).2. Melt butter in a pan and saute onions on med-low heat until caramelized. Once onions start to cook, add brown sugar and stir frequently.
3. While onions are cooking, slice chicken into strips and saute in another pan on med-high heat. As chicken cooks, chop into small bite-sized pieces with a spatula.
4. Warm tortilla shells in microwave for 10 seconds. Place chicken, onions, and cheese in the center of the shell and roll like a burrito. Microwave for 30 seconds or until cheese is melted.
This is probably one of the first wraps I have ever eaten that didn't need any sauce with it. They are soooo good!
The second recipe I have to share is Brushetta-Style Pita Pizza. I have tried a lot of different "healthy" pizza crust options, and I think this by far is my favorite. It's thick enough to hold the toppings, but still good for you.
 |
| original recipe |
What you need:
For the sauce:
1 can diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic, drained
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
garlic powder, to taste
For the pizzas:
4 whole wheat or multigrain pita shells
1 small container of fresh mozzarella
pepperoni (I used minis)
sauteed mushrooms
parmesan cheese
fresh chopped basil
any other pizza topping you want to use
How to make it:
1. Combine tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, sugar, and spices in a bowl and set aside. This can be done ahead of time.2. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place pita shells directly on oven rack for 2-3 minutes to crisp.
3. Remove from oven and cover with mozzarella cheese. Return shells to the oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.
4. Remove shells from oven again and top with tomato mixture (try to get mostly tomato chunks and as little liquid as possible), pepperoni, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, basil, and any other ingredients you want to add.
5. Return pizzas to the oven for another 2-3 minutes, until tomatoes are warmed. Remove from oven and serve.
These were sooo good! I have already thought up some more combinations to try out....Buffalo or BBQ Chicken Pita Pizzas anyone?!
Monday, July 8, 2013
4th of July Extended Weekend Recap
We made it back from our extended 4th of July vacation. We headed down to Orange Beach to spend the holiday with Eric's brother and his wife. It was an awesome weekend and just what the doctor ordered.....Food, Fun, and Family. Amazingly our trip wasn't a total washout. Anyone in the southeast knows what I am talking about.....it rained and rained and rained down here! We had 2 days of nice weather that included the 4th, followed by 2 days of monsoons. Can't have it all, can you?
We set off on Tuesday afternoon looking like the Beveraly Hillbillies. We had to bring a refridgerator and all of their living room tables down with us which led to our vehicle looking like this.
At least we didn't have to bring the trailer, right? I am sure we gave several people something to talk about on their trips down. Besides all that stuff we fit our bags and a Hawkey dog in the back seat (we left the little dogs @ home this trip).
Wednesday my SIL and I ran some errands and did a little shopping. We found a great deal on some small drink tables and each got 2 for our pools. That left one on the display. We didn't think anything of it until we realized we were being followed around the store by several people who found the lone table. One guy actually said something about needing one more table and pointed to our cart. We said sorry, we're each getting 2 and high-tailed it out of there! It's crazy what people will do for a great deal. We spent the rest of our day enjoying the pool and getting things ready for the 4th. We did some serious cooking on Weds night, which totally paid off because we got to play all day the next day.
The 4th was perfect! Weather.com kept saying the storms were a couple of hours away, but just kept pushing it back and we never got rained on. We spent the day at the pool with the boys' aunt and uncle, my SIL's dad, and our friends who got married a couple of weeks ago. That night we got to watch the fireworks show at the Wharf. Since last 4th of July we were in the middle of a recent forest fire in NM (they had enacted a $1,000 fine for any fireworks out there) it was nice to get to see them this year!
Saturday the rain continued and the boys started getting cabin fever (after ONE day inside). They decided to head to Biloxi for the afternoon. My SIL and I were not feeling it so we stayed behind. I am so glad we did too because it ended up taking them over 3 hours to get there....no thank you. We spent the day watching more movies. We left the house twice, once to walk the dogs, and again to get dinner and rent more movies.....I think it's safe to say that we were a complete waste of space that day. I am still in shock that I watched 5 movies in a 24 hour period....I RARELY watch movies, so that many all at once is huge. We watched The Numbers Station--weird but suspenseful; Safe Haven--sweet story, I liked it; Identity Thief--HILARIOUS; Silver Linings Playbook--GREAT movie, I've wanted to see if for a while and it was totally worth it; and Magic Mike--yep good stuff. =)
We headed back home Sunday morning and got back mid-afternoon. It was soooo good to see the little dogs. I missed them so much! It was still raining when we got home (of course) so we could go out and do much, but I did get everything unpacked and even cleaned out my dresser so at least I was a little productive! I even made dinner and started a new book called Divergent (kinda like Hunger Games) I started it yesterday and am almost halfway done already.
Reacquainting myself with 5:30am was painful this morning, but I made it.....time to get back to the grind...busy week ahead!
We set off on Tuesday afternoon looking like the Beveraly Hillbillies. We had to bring a refridgerator and all of their living room tables down with us which led to our vehicle looking like this.
At least we didn't have to bring the trailer, right? I am sure we gave several people something to talk about on their trips down. Besides all that stuff we fit our bags and a Hawkey dog in the back seat (we left the little dogs @ home this trip).
Wednesday my SIL and I ran some errands and did a little shopping. We found a great deal on some small drink tables and each got 2 for our pools. That left one on the display. We didn't think anything of it until we realized we were being followed around the store by several people who found the lone table. One guy actually said something about needing one more table and pointed to our cart. We said sorry, we're each getting 2 and high-tailed it out of there! It's crazy what people will do for a great deal. We spent the rest of our day enjoying the pool and getting things ready for the 4th. We did some serious cooking on Weds night, which totally paid off because we got to play all day the next day.
The 4th was perfect! Weather.com kept saying the storms were a couple of hours away, but just kept pushing it back and we never got rained on. We spent the day at the pool with the boys' aunt and uncle, my SIL's dad, and our friends who got married a couple of weeks ago. That night we got to watch the fireworks show at the Wharf. Since last 4th of July we were in the middle of a recent forest fire in NM (they had enacted a $1,000 fine for any fireworks out there) it was nice to get to see them this year!
 |
| Happy Birthday America! |
Clockwise from top right:
1. The boys (and Hawk) in the pool.
2. Patriotic Puppy Dogs! Hawk and his cousin Junior had a blast playing outside all day!
3. It did not take Hawk long to find Junior's toy box and help himself to a bone.
4. Grillmasters
5. Hawk tried out their pool almost immediately after we got there....that boy LOVES some water!
1. 4th of July pool fun with family!
2. At the fireworks with the newlyweds.
There was no shortage of food over the weekend.....
1. Fourth of July Feast! Ribs, layered salad, Caprese Pasta Salad, baked beans, corn on the cob (that I cut off) with chili parmesan butter.....YUM!
2. Patriotic Sangria!
1. Smores Krispy Treats.....AMAZING!
2. Bravo Tacos = delicious
3. Dessert shmorgous-board...leftover strawberry pie, ice cream, and Oreo Truffle Brownies
Since we had such a big day on the 4th we slept in on Friday....like 9:30am slept in. I can't remember the last time I slept that late. It was a good thing, too because the rain finally found us that morning and settled in for a couple of days. The boys decided to head to Bass Pro so my SIL and decided we needed pedicures. We stopped at the grocery store on the way and figured since it was raining we should probably rent some movies for the evening. The Redbox DVD selection was pretty picked over, so we decided to rent some Blu-Rays instead (there were a lot more of those), and trekked to Wally World to get a Blu-Ray player (my SIL said they were planning on purchasing one very soon anyways). Our 10 minute trek to Wally World ended up taking nearly 40 minutes because of the crazy traffic. The combination of people arriving for the weekend, leaving after the 4th, and looking for something to do besides the beach because it was raining left the roads terrible congested. We got our movies and headed back to the nail place (back where we started), got home, took the dogs on a soggy walk in the rain and STILL beat the boys back from Bass Pro....it's amazing how much time they can spend in that store.
1. Rainy rainy rainy day
2. Eric's choice of activities when they got back from the store.
3. Identity Thief and pretty toes! Pretty much my view from Friday evening to Saturday evening.
Saturday the rain continued and the boys started getting cabin fever (after ONE day inside). They decided to head to Biloxi for the afternoon. My SIL and I were not feeling it so we stayed behind. I am so glad we did too because it ended up taking them over 3 hours to get there....no thank you. We spent the day watching more movies. We left the house twice, once to walk the dogs, and again to get dinner and rent more movies.....I think it's safe to say that we were a complete waste of space that day. I am still in shock that I watched 5 movies in a 24 hour period....I RARELY watch movies, so that many all at once is huge. We watched The Numbers Station--weird but suspenseful; Safe Haven--sweet story, I liked it; Identity Thief--HILARIOUS; Silver Linings Playbook--GREAT movie, I've wanted to see if for a while and it was totally worth it; and Magic Mike--yep good stuff. =)
We headed back home Sunday morning and got back mid-afternoon. It was soooo good to see the little dogs. I missed them so much! It was still raining when we got home (of course) so we could go out and do much, but I did get everything unpacked and even cleaned out my dresser so at least I was a little productive! I even made dinner and started a new book called Divergent (kinda like Hunger Games) I started it yesterday and am almost halfway done already.
Reacquainting myself with 5:30am was painful this morning, but I made it.....time to get back to the grind...busy week ahead!
Thursday, July 4, 2013
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