Ribs, Marley & Wine!

Happy Monday!

How was your weekend?! Ours was great!

First and foremost and above all MOST importantly…we officially adopted Marley over the weekend! We’ve been having such a great time with him and Miss Lily really started to warm up to him. This is a picture I snapped yesterday leaving the dog park, I think they enjoyed themselves, don’t you?!

They even shared their first snuggle last week…I was one proud fur mom!

We were lucky enough to have great weather this weekend so we got a lot of things done! Most importantly we finished all of the touch up work that needed to be done which felt so nice! Friday we hung out with Netflix and our favorite cabernet, it was so relaxing and much needed!

Saturday we ran a ton of errands and then had a really fun date night at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse! We have eaten there before and thought the steaks were good, but we decided to order a smorgasbord of appetizers instead! We got the seasoned chips which are amazing, the bbq shrimp, the steak skewers, fried calamari and potatoes au gratin…everything was delicious and we left quite full!

Sunday Mr Tan Lines went on another 12-mile bike ride with some of our neighbors so I did some things around the house and went for a great run around our neighborhood. We then spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the 72 degree weather.

Sunday night I made some super tasty ribs that Mr Tan Lines grilled. I marinaded them with Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, 2 tbsp of cowboy rub (store bought) and 1/4 cup of a steak chop marinade.

I let them sit for 5 hours in the fridge and OMG were they delicious! We ate them with some grilled corn on the cob and baked beans!

After dinner I (finally) watched the movie Pitch Perfect, it happened to be on tv and I thought I’d give it a go! I ended up really liking it! Although it was really predictable as far as the love story and overall outcome, it still had its funny moments.  Marley certainly enjoyed it, can’t you tell?

Well, tonight is the night! We are finally going to find out who the new Princess Farming is going to be! I read a few spoilers (I mean really, who hasn’t this season?!) and I would be shocked if they weren’t right. Whitney seems like the perfect fit for Chris and more importantly I think she’s mentally ready to actually live in Iowa aka be banished to an area where the population is: you. I also get the vibe that Becca is about 8 years behind in her relationship maturity level and really, who has time for that?

I’m excited to watch this season come to a close! Hopefully (fingers crossed) we’ll also learn that Britt is the new bachelorette! Although I’ve heard it might be Kaitlyn, which wouldn’t be the worst thing but as you know I’ve been #teambritt from day 1!

Marley & Homemade Laundry Detergent!

Happy Monday!

How was your weekend?! Ours was pretty great! We’ve been quite busy and here’s the reason why…we’ve been fostering a new furbaby, Marley! We decided to take him on last week when we saw him at the local adoption fair. Being that he’s 5 it’s generally really hard for older dogs to get adopted and therefore they’re usually high up on the euthanization list. We just couldn’t let that happen! We decided to bring the sweet boy home and he’s been working out so well! He is so well mannered and sweet.

 

From what we know, and what Homeward Bound was told, he was given up after his owner passed away and neither of his kids could/wanted to take him, so they had to give him up. He’s spent around 8 months in the shelters and been fostered a few weeks in-between. He is so calm and has been a good influence on Miss Lily! At first they were really shy with one another, but now they play great.

Taking on another furbaby would be a big responsibility, but I just can’t see us giving little man up! Look at how adorable he is, how could anyone resist!

Friday night Mr Tan Lines and I were pretty tired from the work week and adjusting to having a new 4-legged kid around so we decided to grab some sushi to go and have a date night in. It was much needed and so relaxing; we caught up on some of our favorite shows, (finally) finished watching The Wolf of Wall Street and snuggled on the couch. Saturday we took the doggies to the dog park and let them get some energy out; it rained almost every day last week so it was much needed for them!

Saturday night we headed to our neighbors house where we sampled some delicious Italian and Argentinian wines and enjoyed a delicious meat/cheese tray! Hanging out with our neighbors is always so much fun; we are so lucky to have moved into such a great spot!

Sunday we did a lot, and I mean a lot of maintenance around the house. Mr Tan Lines did a full house clean while I busied myself with laundry and kitchen duty. We also updated all of the light bulbs around the house and made some decisions about where we want to start painting! I cannot wait to start really putting our house together with paint and new furniture!

On Sunday night we decided to get creative and make our own laundry detergent! We’ve been wanting to do this for a while and once we discovered how easy it was we went for it! Here’s what we used:

3 Fels-Naptha Bars, shaved using a cheese grater

4 lbs 20 Mule Team Borax

3 lb Oxi-Clean Versatile

28 oz Purex Crystals, your choice of scent, we used Lavender

4 lb Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda

55 oz Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

Then you just combine everything into a large tub and bam, you’re done!

All of these ingredients ended up costing around $20…which is almost what we pay for 1, yes ONE large container of liquid washing detergent! With this homemade batch you use just 1 tbsp per load, so it should last us around 550 loads…so crazy! I cannot believe we didn’t do this sooner, I had to share this with you because you cannot argue the cost savings, not to mention it made our clothes smell much more fresh! 

I hope you'll give it a try!

I am so excited for The Women Tell All tonight, I am still very much #teambritt and I can't wait for some of these phonies to finally be exposed! Yay for Bachelor Monday!

Ceviche & Wine!

Happy Wednesday!

Boy, what a busy week it has been! Mr Tan Lines and I have been up to quite a bit the last few days; hopefully I can share our news with you soon!

On a non-related note, we gave Miss Lily a bath on Saturday, this is how she proceeded to celebrate…I swear! We also got her some new tennis balls which she so obviously loved!

We are most certainly counting down the days until warmer weather down here in South Carolina, thankfully though I am happy to report that the so-called snow storm we were supposed to get yesterday turned out to be just rain.

This past weekend I made my first attempt at homemade ceviche, we had the BEST fresh ceviche while we were in Cabo and Mr Tan Lines had a craving for it. It turned out so delicious.

The ingredients I used were probably enough to feed 4 people a small portion, I would recommend for an appetizer course!

Here’s what you’ll need:

1/2 lb fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped into small 1/4 inch pieces

1 small green bell pepper, chopped finely

1/2 red onion, chopped finely (or 1 small whole one)

1 small jalapeño, chopped finely

1 medium tomato, chopped finely

1 avocado, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

Juice of 5 limes

Juice of 2 lemons

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Chips, for eating with prepared ceviche

Combine all of your ingredients into a medium bowl and you’re done! I let ours sit for 30 minutes before serving (in the fridge), look how delicious it looks! Some recipes recommend you let the ingredients marinate for up to 3 hours, however it tasted perfect after just 30 minutes.

Some things to note:

Be sure to wear gloves when de-seeding and chopping the jalapeño! I only made that mistake once! Also, if you don’t like too much heat, just skip the jalapeño all together.

You can also add a fresh fish or scallops to your dish; I would recommend a white fish such as sea bass, grouper, sole or flounder. If you use fish make sure it is extra fresh and ensure to remove the blood line, all pinbones and any skin.

We ate ours with Tostitos chips but you can use any type of plain light cracker.

We paired our meal with this yummy cab Mr Tan Lines picked up for us.

Cheers!

#FBF to Miami!

BRR! That’s pretty much all I can say to sum up this week, it has been so cold here! Totally not expected and very unwelcome! We moved south to get away from the cold weather! We are very happy that it isn’t snowing though, I feel for our family and friends up north being covered in snow!

Mr Tan Lines has been out of town all week for work so Lily and I had to hold down the fort! Clearly, we did a fabulous job!

I know I am not alone when I say that I have been day dreaming about taking a vacation somewhere warm, NOW! For #flashbackfriday I wanted to share a few pictures from a vacation we took a few years ago! Luti, her husband and I took Mr Tan Lines to Miami for his 26th birthday! It was his first time and I was so excited to show him around. The best part was getting away from the cold January temperatures and enjoying the 75 degree weather. The water was a bit too cold for my liking, but we did lay out on the beach and soak in the sun!

We stayed at the Park Central Hotel on Ocean Drive which was in a perfect location. We also ate lunch at an awesome Cuban place, but now I can’t think of the name!

I also got one of my absolute favorite drinks, a champagne mojito! They are so, so good ya’ll, whenever I go to Miami I make sure to order one…or two!

We went for a long weekend which was perfect; sometimes those mini-vacations are the best; you get away from home/work for just enough time to recharge and relax—without breaking the bank! Miami is so affordable and only a 2 hour flight away, hmm looks like I might have to plan another trip huh?! 

Valentines Day 2015!

Happy Monday ya’ll! I hope everyone had a great Valentines Day! As I mentioned Mr Tan Lines and I aren’t huge on the day but it was fun to cook a really fancy dinner and hang out together!

Mr Tan Lines got some flowers for me that were so beautiful! We usually reserve flowers for “just because” moments instead of holidays so I was really surprised…and thrilled of course! :)

Saturday morning we started off our day with delicious red velvet waffles and fresh fruit. I simply added some cocoa powder and baking powder to my waffle mix for the occasion. They were so good!

For dinner of course I had a few tricks up my sleeve! We started our meal with bacon wrapped scallops over a creamy creole sauce, YUM!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Scallops

Bacon (1/2 a strip for each scallop)

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 white onion, chopped

2 tbsp creole seasoning (I used Old Bay)

1/2 cup chicken broth (I used the low sodium kind)

1/4 cup cream cheese (I used the light kind)

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper

Wrap the scallops with the bacon and bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees. Flip, then bake for an additional 20.

For the sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a sauce pan. Simmer for 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to create a creamy, smooth sauce. Voila!

Guys, the sauce combined with the scallops was so good, this is a must try!

For dinner I made filet mignon, mashed potatoes, asparagus and lobster tails! I tried to keep it pretty simple, here’s what I did!

For the filet mignon – season with salt & pepper, 1 tbsp of steak chop marinade over each piece. Marinade for 3-4 hours. Grill! Yes, we grilled in the middle of February!

For the lobster tails (the details for this recipe are in another post!) – You’ll need the juice of 2 lemons, 1 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 4 garlic cloves crushed. Pour over the tails and marinade for 3-4 hours. Grill!

For the asparagus – Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

For the mashed potatoes – Boil 5 russet potatoes (chopped in large cubes) for 25 minutes. Pour into standing mixer and add 1/2 cup of light sour cream, 2 tbsp butter, 1/4 cup milk, 2 tbsp chopped chives, 1 tbsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Mix until smooth!

And then, drum roll please…you’ll have this delicious creation!

We paired our fancy dinner with a fancy wine; I splurged and purchased this $36 bottle from Publix. It was divine ya’ll. It was a surprisingly heavy cab, it actually tasted very similar to a cabernet franc. It had a great, bold flavor that went excellent with our entire meal.

I don’t know how many of you do this but I try to keep the corks from special occasions often, I mark them with the date then use them on my craft projects! It’s always fun to look back at the fun places we’ve been and think of the memories we created!

For dessert, I made one of our favorites, puff pastry stuffed with fresh fruit and served with vanilla ice cream!

The puff pastry is store bought; I just roll it out and cut it in half. For the fruit filling I used 1/2 cup of fresh raspberries, 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries, 1/2 cup of fresh strawberries and 1 tsp pure vanilla extract. 

Simmer in a sauce pan for about 30 minutes. Let the mixture cool before placing onto your puff pastry. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes (I used our mini oven so the cooking time is different for a real oven). Serve & enjoy!

I had so much fun with these two this weekend, they’re the best!!

Recipes, Boating & Wine!

Happy Monday!

Sorry it’s been so long, I feel like I've been so busy lately!! To kick it off I have to say what a fabulous weekend we had! Friday night I whipped up a delicious chicken recipe for us, Saturday we went to dinner with friends and then to see the movie American Sniper (wow!) and Sunday we (finally) got out on the lake for the first time this year! It was jam packed and so fun!

Like usual, let’s begin with the beautiful Miss Lily, this was right after Mr Tan Lines came home from the dog park with her, she was one happy pup!

So on Friday I made a delicious chicken stew thing that I was in the mood for. It turned out delicious so I would highly recommend it!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Chicken thighs (1-2 per person)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2  cups carrots, cut into 1/2 inch rounds

1 1/2  cups celery sticks, cut 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 1/2 cup white pearl onions, peeled and cut in half

3 cups small red skin potatoes

4 cups chicken broth (I use the low sodium kind)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

3 garlic cloves

1 tbsp cajun seasoning

1 tbsp kosher salt

1/2 tbsp ground black pepper

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 can tomato sauce

2 tbsp flour

Here’s what I did:

Note* I used my dutch oven but a good deep pot will work too.

In a small bowl combine and mix the oregano, garlic powder, cajun seasoning and salt & pepper. Generously season the chicken on both sides.

Pour the olive oil into the pan and warm on medium heat. Place the chicken thighs skin side down and cook until the skins are nice and crispy. Flip and cook until the other side is nice and crispy, remove chicken from the pot and place aside.

In the same pot add the carrots, celery, green peppers, onions, garlic, potatoes and flour. Mix well. Add the chicken broth and tomato sauce. Cook and stir for 10 minutes. Add in the parsley.

Place the chicken thighs on top of everything so that the liquid doesn't quite cover them. Cook on medium for 40 minutes. I served ours over tri-colored quinoa, but rice or lentils would work great here too.

I paired our meal with this delicious Merlot I purchased for $9, enjoy!

I want to note, the pearl onions were terrible to work with. As cute as they were, they were not fun. It was my first and definitely last time using them! Removing the skin was so time consuming and difficult, next time I will use a yellow onion instead.

I also wanted to share one of my recipes that I made for the superbowl! We ended up going to our neighbors house where I took a cheese platter and my famous 7-layer dip; but I just had to try making some jalapeno poppers first!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Note* I only made enough to make about 8 poppers

4 medium sized jalapenos

1 cup softened cream cheese (I use the light kind)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 cup egg beaters

Here’s what I did:

In a bowl combine the cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Set aside.

Using gloves halve the jalapenos and remove the spine and seeds.

Using a spoon fill the jalapeno halves with the cream cheese mixture.

In two separate bowls pour the egg beaters and panko crumbs.

Roll the jalapeno in the egg wash then into the panko crumbs.

Place your poppers in single layer and bake at 350 degrees for around 12 minutes.

Enjoy!

I was expecting them to be very spicy but the cream cheese really mellows out the jalapeno, even Mr Tan Lines who does not like spicy food enjoyed them! I will definitely be making these again!

Lastly for today, here are some pictures from our boat outing this weekend! The temperature got up to 71 on Sunday so we just had to take advantage!

Getting to Party Cove was a little chilly; we were going against the wind! But once we stopped it was so incredibly nice and we had the best time relaxing in the sunshine! 

We are so lucky to live somewhere so beautiful!