Yums!

This post is all about food ;)

Today has been a comfort food/junk food day.  For lunch I had a grilled peanut butter & jelly sandwich, which totally brings back my childhood.  And then while buying the kiddo a new water bottle tonight I found Ho Hos.  I hadn't had a Ho Ho since I was pregnant with her, 16 years ago!  So the box wound up in my little basket and came home with me.

I went out to water my tomato plant today and noticed something bright red in my jalapeno plant.  Yesterday everything was green, today I had a bright red pepper.  I now have a full sandwich baggie in the freezer and there are still nearly 20 peppers on the plant.  Yay!  And we've still been using them fresh off the plant as well.  We had amazing burgers the other day.  G mixes bacon pieces, diced jalapeno and onion in with the meat so every bite has flavor.  Soo good.

But my new favorite recipe is sooo easy.  Two boneless chicken breasts, a can of green enchilada sauce, a chicken bouillon cube and I throw in a tablespoon of taco seasoning.  Cook in a crock pot on low until the chicken pretty much falls apart.  I pull the meat out and shred it, then add some of the sauce to the meat to coat.  Then I take a can of refried black beans and divide it into 4 portions.  Grab 4 burrito sized tortillas and spread the beans along the center.  Put some of the chicken on top and roll up your burrito, place in greased baking dish.  Brush with vegetable oil.

I cook them at 350°F for about 30 minutes, uncovered.  I finish them under the broiler until they're golden brown and crispy.

I serve them with topped with the sauce and cheddar cheese.  So yummy!

We've been eating a lot of chicken.  I make chicken tacos in the crock pot, too.  In fact, this is where I got my recipe for taco seasoning.   Get the recipes here:  Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos & Taco Seasoning.

The crock pot is probably one of my favorite things.  During the summer it keeps me from having to run the oven for too long, and in the winter it's so good for soups.

Back to School

Tomorrow is back to school night for the kiddo.  Though she's not really a kiddo anymore, since she's 15 and about to get her driver's permit!  Normally I would skip back to school night, since she has a good idea of where all her classes are, but she's taking an AP class this year, and we need to get the info for that.  Blech.  Of course, G gets to skip it, because he has to work late tomorrow to get ready for inventory.  He's working his fanny off, trying to train someone to take his place so he can finally move on up!  *Crossing my fingers that it actually happens this time*

It feels like fall at the moment.  Last week we hit 97°F, ick.  But the last two days we've been in the mid 70s during the day, and down in the 40s at night, with some pretty wild and wooly rain storms, causing me to bring in my vegetable garden, as G. calls it.  No rain tonight, but the plants are going to start coming in at night, I think.

Really, there have only been a few nights this summer that we haven't been able to turn off the AC and open up the house to the cool air, but I am really happy when I can just leave the house open all day so I love this cool weather.   Yeah, I know, we're sure to go back up in temp in the next day or two, but I am enjoying it while I can ;)

I finished Isabel's socks, and a blanket square with the leftovers, today.  Tomorrow I will ball up the other yarn I got at the Interweave Yarn Fest (that I talked about here.).  Going to go with the Vanilla Latte pattern, since it's a little different without too much pattern getting in the way of the color (and sparkle!  We can't forget the sparkle!).

If you hear someone cursing loudly, it will be me, as my yarn invariably tangles, haha.

Pssst...  Halloween is right around the cornet!  Along with all things pumpkin!  I love this time of year! 

Summer is nearly over

The last month has flown by.  My gardening efforts this summer have paid off much more than previous years. I have a ton of jalapenos on my plant and still more flowers on their way to being peppers. My cherry tomato is doing well, we've gotten probably 10 or so, so far, with a ton of babies on the vine and a ton more flowers. Sadly, I shocked my regular tomato plant to death trying to put it outside after living inside for months. Next year I will know better. They go out for a short period each day, getting a little longer each day, until about two weeks pass and then they're set. And I think I will go for two regular tomato plants, since really we eat them more and we've not gotten enough cherries at one time to put in anything. But I still consider it a successful crop :)

Also learned, next year the jalapeno will go in the pot I have the cherry tomato in, so the cage will support it a bit.  The tomatoes flat out must go in 5 gallon buckets again, because having to water twice a day means the cherry tomato isn't holding hardly any water, since by afternoon it's wilted :(  Also, the buckets are heavier.  Right now, my tomato falls over at the slightest gust of wind.

Strawberries aren't doing much, but that's to be expected of first year plants. Hopefully we get a nice return next year.  Just have to mulch and stick in the garage and, this is key, remember to water at least once a month!

If hubby's job has been a pain in the ass.  They've been promising to transfer him to sales, but it keeps getting put off.  If it does finally come through, we should be able to save some money and once the kiddo is out of high school, think of buying our own place (and maybe actually be able to help her pay for college!). Then I will have a small garden (though I will likely still have containers, raspberries choke a garden out fast, so I'd love a big barrel planter for them) Of course, if I have a garden I will need a drip feeder for it, since we're so hot and dry in July and August.

Kiddo goes back to school in 10 days! I'm thinking I should probably start looking for a job, lol. It's been nice just hanging out, but don't tell anyone, I'm getting bored! I've gotten Isabel's second sock in Rainbow Bright nearly done. And I have read a ton of books this summer. And watched probably way too many home construction shows on Netflix, haha.  And law enforcement tv, there's a lot of them out there now too!