For The Love Of Nature

I think I've mentioned before, that I have a love for two things; nature and taking pictures of nature. 

Especially itty bitty things, which is why the macro setting on my camera is by far the most used. 

This morning I saw this little man outside my front door, and  I thought he was worth a picture because he has some amazing colors and lets face it...he has a fro.
I have no idea what he is, but based on how he looks he is probably poisonous which means that I probably shouldn't be putting my face so close to him! 

He made me think about some of the pictures I had taken recently when visiting Butterfly World for mothers day and I thought I would share.

I hope you enjoy looking at these pictures as much as I loved taking them, and maybe they will brighten your day.

Weeknight Enchiladas

There are about a million and one ways to make enchiladas (green sauce, red sauce, chicken, beef, etc. etc.) but the steps involved sometimes seem a little daunting. 

This is a simple recipe that is easy enough to make even after a long day. This week was a crazy one for me, and I even had the time to make these tasty little suckers. 

One of my favorite things about this recipe in particular is that it has lots of chili powder, which happens to be one of my personal favorites in the spice cabinet!!!!
I'm all about that smokey flavor. 

Ingredients:

1 lbs. of ground beef

1/2 cup of chopped onion

1 can (14-1/2 oz) drained diced tomatoes 

1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

1/2 cup of water

3 teaspoons of chili powder

1-1/4 teaspoons of salt 

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Flour tortillas 

Shredded cheddar cheese

First, chop the onion and add to a pan with ground beef. 

Cook on medium heat until beef is browned on the outside.

Strain the fat out of the pan, and then add the meat and onion back in. 

Removed from the heat, add in the tomatoes, tomato paste, water, chili powder, salt and pepper. 

Next, it's time to set up your assembly line for filling your tortillas.

Set out your filling, tortillas, cheese, and lightly greased casserole dish.

I use the small tortillas for this dish, well because they are just too darn cute that way!

When filling your tortillas, keep in mind that your going to need to save some of the filling to pour over the top, so don't use it all for the tortillas.

Fill your tortillas (not too much, where you can't close it) and sprinkle with cheese.

Roll, and place seam side down in your casserole dish. 

Pour the remainder of your filling over the top. Notice that the filling isn't thin and soupy....another reason I love this recipe!!!

Top with cheese, cover with foil and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover, and bake for another 3-5 minutes. 

A lot of times when I make this, I will double the recipe and keep the second casserole dish in the freezer for an even easier meal another night. 

Everyone is jealous when I bring these leftovers to work because they smell amazing! 

Plus like I said, everyone thinks they were a lot of work...shhhh don't tell them how easy it was!!!

Mother's Day Lemon Cake

My mom loves lemon, so for this Mother's Day Sunday I decided to make a lemon cake.

Perfect for spring and summer, this is a dessert with the freshness of a tart lemon.

 Plus it's one of the easiest treats you can make!

Your ingredients include: 

For the cake:

1 package of yellow cake mix

1 dry 3 oz. package of lemon Jello-O gelatin

4 eggs

3/4 cup of water 

3/4 cup of vegetable oil

For the glaze:

2 cups of powdered sugar

6 tablespoons of lemon juice or 2 juiced lemons

First, combine cake mix, gelatin powder, water, eggs, and vegetable oil in a mixing bowl, and mix well until blended. 

Pour batter into a greased 9x13 glass baking pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

After the cake is removed from the oven, use a the handle of a wooden spoon or a wooden skewer to poke holes in the cake so that when you pour the glaze over it, the cake will soak some of it inside. 

For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. 

When the cake has slightly cooled, pour the glaze over the cake and spread it evenly. 

Refrigerate the cake to allow the glaze to harden. When completely cooled, cut the cake into cute little squares and eat!!!

Refrigerate left over cake to keep fresh. 

Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

I apologize in advance for the lack of preparation pictures for this blog post.
This was the first time making this recipe and I was unsure about how it would turn out but it ended up being so good that I had to post this weekend despite the absence of pictures.

I am not usually a fan of chicken noodle soup. Truth is, I am not of fan of most soups that are broth based because they never quite seem to fill me up. 

This soup is perfect because it's creamy, it's filling, and it's super easy.

This is what your going to need:

1 (10.75 oz.) can of cream of chicken soup

1 (10.75 oz.) can of cream of mushroom soup

5 cups of milk (I know it's a lot, but you could cut the recipe in half if you like)

9 oz. of mixed frozen vegetables

2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded 

2 cups of uncooked egg noodles

Salt and pepper to taste (I added a little garlic salt, because it's my favorite)

Cook the chicken ahead of time, or buy pre-cooked chicken and make your job even easier. 

To your crock pot add both cans of soup and the milk. 

Whisk together until blended. 

Add and stir frozen vegetables and chicken. 

Set crock pot to low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

During the last 30 minutes to an hour (depends on your heat setting) add the uncooked egg noodles, and that's it.
 Told you it was easy. 

Enjoy!!

Looking Back From The Other Side: The Horrors Of College Exam Week Post Graduation

Twice a year a time used to come along where I was allowed to be a complete basket case and no one could judge me for it, because all I had to say was one little word;
FINALS!

For me, this time in my life has passed but for millions of college students around the country now is their time to be crazy.

Back in the day (you know, like last year) I was a poster child for exam week stress, just like I was at the end of every semester of school.
I had all the typical warning signs of girl at the edge of insanity:

-The blood shot eyes from not sleeping.

-The energy drink and coffee jitters caused by the caffeine running through my veins.

-The crazy hair thrown up in the birds nest I liked to call a bun.

- The sweatshirt I had been wearing for a week straight because it's the only thing that kept me somewhat calm and comfortable.

-Eating popcorn or spaghettios every night because they were the only things I could think of that required no effort.

Yup, this was me.

I thought I was starting to forget what this feeling of panic was like, until recently that is. Because when your living with someone who is still having to go through this horror, you are forced to experience it as well, just through a different perspective.

I first realized this time of the semester was upon us when going to pick Kevin up from campus.

While driving through the streets, students would randomly just decide they no longer wanted to walk on the sidewalk and would start drifting off into traffic. 

Having to be on my game and watch out for rogue jaywalking students, I thought to myself that one of three things must be happening:

1. The students contracted a zombie virus and are starting to mindlessly wander around without any regard for their own safety on the hunt for brains...of course.

2. Kids these days have no regard for anyone else around them, therefore they say "I'm going to step in front of this car, because they have to stop for me" (probably the most likely reason).

3. Or, exam week is coming and no one can be bothered by thinking about anything other than how the hell they are going to pass physics.

 There is one thing about finals week that I can honestly say I miss.
That feeling after I finished my last exam and I became free for three months!!!!
This is a feeling that no one should take for granted because sadly, once you have a full time job this will never happen again.

Since this time of my life has passed main responsibility has become being as supportive of a partner as possible while my other half bears through it. This responsibility includes but is not limited too:

-Being content with living the life of a single person for a while because you will be; eating alone, sleeping alone, watching movies alone etc. etc.

-Not letting your OCD get the best of you and cleaning when there are papers spread out over every flat surface of your household. If you even tough anything they won't be able to find that one paper that you moved and now the world is over!!

-Hiding the remote control for the xbox. It will be rough, but they will thank you in the long run....I think.

-Smacking some sense into them, when they think they are just to tired to go to their group meeting and the project is due the next day.

For those of you who are still struggling through this hell week, good luck and keep studying. For those in the supporting role to your unlucky counterpart, stay strong, it's almost over. 

Banana Bread

Ok, so after making Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana Peanut Butter Sandwiches a few weeks ago I kind of kept on a banana craze.

Well after a while I just couldn't keep up with how fast the little suckers were ripening, so I found myself with four ripe bananas and nothing to do with them.

When in excess of the fruit, it's time to make banana bread.

This is not a banana NUT bread because I hate nuts in my food but add nuts into yours if your a fan. 

This recipe is so incredibly easy, and everyone will be impressed on how it looks and how amazing it tastes!

This is what your going to need:

1/2 cup of butter

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs 

4 ripe bananas 

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
and a loaf pan

My bananas were frozen, thats why they look so weird. I do not
recommend freezing while they are still in the peel.
They become impossible to peel and it's not a pleasant process. 

First, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

In a separate mixing bowl, add the sugar and softened butter. 

Mix until fluffy. 

Next, your going to mash the bananas and yes it's going to look gross. 

Add those mashed bananas and eggs to your mixing bowl, and mix until blended. 

Next your going to sift your four. I used to never do this, but the more I bake the more I realize how much better it makes things taste texture wise.

If you don't have a sifter, don't panic.

I have made plenty of recipes without following the directions and sifting, and they have turned out just fine. 

Sift your flour mixture into your mixing bowl, and add the vanilla. 

Mix until completely blended. 

Next, your going to prep your loaf pan. 

Spray the pan with cooking spray and then sprinkle with flour to further prevent sticking. 

Knock out any excess. 

(Adding the flour is yet another thing that most people avoid when baking but it really does help)

Add your mixture, and at this point it will already smell amazing!

Pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.

At the end, this is what it will look like!!

While baking, don't get freaked out about how dark the outside is getting.

 Everything will be ok!! 

With all of the natural sugars in the bananas this crust forms on the outside but don't worry, it's not as tough as it looks. In fact even the crust stays moist in this recipe and it's actually my favorite part!

After the pan is completely cooled, run a dull knife around the edge to loosen it up and it should come out easy peasy. 

To keep fresh, I would recommend wrapping it in plastic wrap. 

It is not necessary to refrigerate but you can if you like.

If you do refrigerate, the bread will become harder when you cut it. Just pop your slice in the microwave for a couple of seconds and it will be delicious, soft, and warm!!!