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Thursday, May 26, 2016

Skillet Nachos with Salsa Verde Chicken

After I got over my fear of using my cast iron skillet and seasoned it (see more here), after seeing this recipe I knew first up was skillet chicken nachos!


Skillet Nachos with Salsa Verde Chicken
 Adapted From Picky Palate

Ingredients

•    6 cups tortilla chips, or enough to fill your skillet
•    1 large chicken breast, diced.
•    1/2 cup salsa verde
•    2-3 tbs Green Pepper Cholula
•    1 cup black beans, rinsed from a can and drained. 
•    2 cups shredded cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place tortilla chips into a 9 or 12 inch cast iron skillet. (I used a 12 inch)

3. Dice chicken breast into small half inch cubes.
 
4. Place chicken, salsa verde and Cholula into a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir until hot. Spoon evenly with a slotted spoon over tortilla chips and then layer with black beans and cheese.

5. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and hot. Serve warm.






These were a huge hit with the husband, not a chip left! I made more into a salad topped with lettuce, tomato, sour cream and salsa. Kyle just had the normal salsa and sour cream with his. I think cooking them in the cast iron skillet gave them more of a crunch. Loved that this meal took a total of 35 minutes and was delicious! The green pepper Cholula gives them a light spicy flavor that is just the perfect addition. I made sure and used a slotted spoon leaving some of the salsa behind to enusure our chips didn't get soggy. 

 
Let me know if you try these, enjoy!
 



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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Weekend at Sun Valley Resort

If you read my post last Friday you saw that I spent the weekend in Sun Valley, Idaho. This is my third year to visit the Sun Valley Resort for a board retreat and I am not complaining. Sun Valley is a beautiful resort tucked away in the Rocky Mountains in Sun Valley which is located just about two and half hours southeast of Boise. The weather was chilly and mostly rainy and snowy but we did get a few sunny breaks. I was lucky enough to be upgraded to a 'celebrity suite' and I stayed in Averell Harriman suite which Mr. Harriman founded the resort in 1935! My suite had two living rooms, three balconies, a fireplace, bedroom, huge bathroom and a kitchenette. All three balconies had beautiful views of the mountains and the resort ice rink.  It was really amazing and I was definitely wishing I had Kyle there with me. The nightly fires were perfect as the temperatures were in the low thirties but it was a shame I was experiencing it alone! 
 
I didn't take hardly any pictures, blogger fail, but I'll share the few I did take. If you ever get a chance to visit Sun Valley, Idaho you must go!
 
 The Sun Valley Lodge {Which is where my suite was located}





View from my bed

View from balcony one

View from balcony two

View from balcony three


On Sunday we drove back to Boise to stay before catching our flight early Monday morning. I asked Karli from September Farm for restaurant recommendations because she has not failed me in the past! Once again she suggest 13th Street Grill and it was delicious! If you are in Boise and looking for a great restaurant, 13th Street is not a let down. 
 
 



 
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Friday, May 20, 2016

Five Friday Favorites

The Hello from Sun Valley, Idaho! I am here for a work board retreat until Monday and man it sure is a lot colder here than back home in Oklahoma! Believe it or not there is a chance of snow Sunday. That will not stop me from visiting the cutest little ice cream parlor here at the resort and getting their signature and most delicious huckleberry ice cream! Happy Friday y'all, here are five favorites I am loving this week!

1:  Great Makeup Tutorial


I know ladies, every time we open YouTube we see about fifty makeup tutorials that are recommended, or at least for me. Today I am sharing one from Sara Hopkins a social media genuis that I am completely loving! This is a full coverage tutorial but she recommends some great products. Two which I have now purchased and love! PS, she is really fun to follow on Snapchat (SAYHOP).

2:  Two Makeup Products I'm Lovin'


First the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser and Treatment Concealer. I apply it just as she has and I am loving it! It gives me coverage while not being thick and cakey and at drugstore price of $9.00! I got mine at Ulta and paired it with a new blending sponge so I was able to use the $3.50 off coupon.

Second the IT Bye Bye Under Eye Corrector. Since I have really bad dark circles and bags under my eyes I use both of these product as she did as well. This one is a lot thicker and does go on more like a paste. I use my blending sponge and it blends right in. It only takes a tiny bit so the tube will last awhile and I think at $25 it was a great product to buy. Love it!

3:  Fresh Homemade Whipped Cream





Fresh homemade whipped cream makes strawberry shortcake that much better! Quick, easy and delicious! 2 cups heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla. Mix until peaks form, careful to not over mix. I whipped these cuties up for dessert this week since Kyle and I both wanted something light and sweet and I had fresh strawberries to be used.

4:  Bedroom Makeover 



Listen y'all Kyle and I sleep on a FULL sized bed. Yes, I said full. We've been married a little over three and a half years and I've had enough! I've ordered a new queen sized bed and I am so excited I could cry! I would love to have a king sized but it will swallow our room so queen will feel big enough for now. Here is my inspiration for the new look.

5:  Tassel Sandals 


Have you guys seen these at Target yet? Super cute and only $28! I think I've had my eye on every pair of either tassel or pom pom sandals girls post lately but these are a fraction of the price that I see most for. I think they will go perfect with my tassel bag I got last week from Target as well. Come on beach vacation! 

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend! XOXO


 

 
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Thursday, May 19, 2016

How to Season a Cast Iron Skillet

Forever I have wanted a cast iron skillet but it was one of those things I just never wanted to actually spend money on. Then Christmas rolled around and Santa, thanks mom and dad, brought me a wonderful cast iron skillet under the tree! Fast forward five months {insert monkey covering his eyes emoji here} and I had yet to use my skillet until this week. I think I was a little intimidated. I read multiple articles on how to season, care and refurbish the skillet. Hold up, I can't wash my skillet?! Eeek, que anxiety. AND what does 'season my skillet' mean?! Do I just salt and pepper...ok no, breathe Kristen. It really isn't that scary and I proudly will say I have now seasoned and used mine! Thanks to the Pioneer Women for the inspiration as well, that woman uses her skillet for everything!


How to Season a Cast Iron Skillet
 {which should be done before using it for the first time.}

1)  Wash the skillet with hot soapy water and a stiff brush. (This will be the only time you use soap on your skillet until you 'season' it again in the future.)

2)  Rinse and dry completely.

3)  Apply a very thin, even coating of MELTED solid vegetable shortening to the cookware inside and out. Too much oil will leave your skillet feeling sticky.

4)  Place aluminum foil on the bottom rack of the oven (not directly on bottom but on the rack) to catch any drips. 

5)  Set oven temperature to 400 degrees F.

6)  Place cookware upside down on the top rack of the oven to prevent pooling.

7)  Bake the cookware for one hour. After the hour, turn the oven off and let the skillet cool in the oven. 

8)  Store the cookware uncovered, in a dry place when cooled.


If you season your skillet and clean it properly then it should stay in good condition. At some point you may have to season your skillet again. If food starts to stick, or you notice a dull gray color, repeat this process to season it again. 

After using do NOT use soap to clean your skillet. Just use warm water and scrub clean. I then put mine back in the oven after preheating it to 400 degrees and then turning it off. I let it warm and cool in the oven. This also kills all germs since you aren't using soap. Soap by the way will result in a non-stick rusted skillet.

I will say I used mine to make skillet chicken and black bean nachos and they turned out awesome! I will post that recipe soon. So, if you have a skillet and you are intimidated then don't be and go give that baby some use!


 
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Wednesday, May 18, 2016

The Best Restaurant Style Steak

A few months ago I came across Christina's post on Carolina Charm for 'The Best Restaurant Steak EVER' and knew it was a must try! Kyle could literally eat steak for every meal of his life and I could take it or leave it and probably would be OK without having it ever again. Since Kyle loves it so much he is typically always the one that fixes us steak. I wanted to surprise him by making this one evening last week and I succeeded! 
When he got home from work and realized I was making steak for dinner he was very pleasantly surprised. I was nervous that I would overcook it since he prefers his steak still mooing and I was anxious about making it in a skillet on the stove top/oven.  
Christina recommended using all fresh ingredients and staying out of your spice cabinet. No problem, I chopped off some of my thyme from my herb garden on the back patio and chopped up some fresh parsley. 
Let me just say this recipe does NOT disappoint...ladies, you will win wife of the year with this one!


 Restaurant Style Steak
From Carolina Charm

Ingredients

•    2 8-ounce Filet Mignon
•    4 teaspoons kosher salt
•    4 teaspoons freshly cracked pepper
•    1 stick butter, softened
•    1 tablespoon olive oil
•    2 cloves garlic, finely diced
•    1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
•    1 tablespoon thyme, finely chopped
•    1 teaspoon lemon zest

Instructions

1. Mix together half the butter, herbs and lemon zest.  Form into a log and refrigerate.

2. Generously season the filets with salt and pepper, approximately 1 teaspoon of seasoning per side.

3. Heat the remainder of the butter (1/2 stick) and the olive oil in a skillet to a screaming hot temperature. 

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  

5. In the very hot skillet, sear the filets for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until a nice brown crust has formed. While the steak is searing, continuously spoon the residual butter in the pan on top of the meat.

6. Once both sides are seared, place skillet in oven for about 6-8 minutes for medium rare temperature. Increase time for well done steak.

7. In the last minute of cooking, take the log of compound butter and slice a nice thick piece to place on top. Your steak will be ready when it is approximately 135 degrees in the center, or when you push lightly on the top center of the steak and it gently and slowly bounces back.

Print recipe for Restaurant Style Steak.




To form your butter log just drop it onto a piece of wax paper and form into a log and then twist!




We had leftover butter and you better believe I saved it! Oh my goodness this is mouth watering! Let me know if you try it out, and I also recommend as she did do NOT skip out on fresh ingredients. Everything being fresh made the whole dish and might have made me a steak eater! Ok more than a couple of times a year at least. Enjoy!
 
 
 
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Tuesday, May 17, 2016

10 on Tuesday | 10 Ways to Declutter Your Home

As we are in the middle of spring I've been spring cleaning the past few weeks. I am completely opposite of a hoarder and tend to throw almost too much out! My general rule, except sentimental items, if we haven't used it in a year in a half or even a year than it is out the door! I can not stand a cluttered house and it makes for one happy wife getting rid of bags of clothes and boxes of items we aren't using! I just can't function in clutter, bye bye!


Ten Ways to Declutter Your Home

O N E: Start Small
I like to pick one area of our house at a time to start riding of clutter. When I try to conquer the whole house in one day I just get overwhelmed and tend to get far less done. Just pick one room at a time or even part of a room and start making piles. Start clearing one drawer, shelf, closet, etc.

T W O: Make Piles
Once I have started to go through one section I make piles. One pile to for sure keep, one to donate, one to sell and one to trash. And sometimes it is needed to make a 'think about pile'. This pile is made up of items I just can't make my mind up on but is always gone through by the end. 

T H R E E: Get Rid of Distractions
We don't have kids but even the smallest things like my phone can be a distraction. If a text comes through across the room I tend to wonder who it was or if it was important and then before I know it I am sitting in the middle of a pile of clothes in the middle of our closet checking Snapchat. I crank the music and set my phone out of sight. 

F O U R: Don't Let Your Husband Know
Ok ok kidding...kind of. If your husband is like mine then he tends to want to keep things that you KNOW he will not use or EVER use but he still wants to hold on to them. I'm not talking about sentimental things again, I'm talking about for example...two brass ducks that weigh about ten pounds each that have been in the closet for close to four years now. Kyle refuses to let me get rid of these ducks and this man has a whole office to himself to store things in like this...but these ducks aren't even it! I have a feeling they will be in the garage sale pile in a few weeks. Shh!

F I V E: Use Dividers 
Lets face it, every house has a junk drawer but does it have to look cluttered? Nope! I'm a huge fan of drawer dividers, baskets and storage tubs. You can store so much in one small space by keeping it all organized. I think Kyle thought I was a little crazy the day I brought home tiny clear plastic tubs with snap lids so I could divide up our 'pen and pencil drawer'. Everything is now stored away and the clear tubs makes it easy to grab the one you need!

S I X: Don't Forget the Bathroom
Ladies, we are the worst with hoarding bathroom products! At least I know that I am. Lets face it, if we reject a product once for another then we probably aren't coming back to it and it can be tossed! I know a lot of times I will try out a new product and I decide I don't love it but 'I'll keep it just in case' and that just in case time never comes. Guilty! Also most of our products have an expatriation date on them so this is a perfect time to check those bathroom shelves.

S E V E N: Have a Place for Everything
This tip drives Kyle INSANE. He is, in my eyes, super unorganized but to him it looks unorganized but he knows exactly where everything is. Lies, he asks me approximately 321 times a day where something is! I'm constantly saying "Well find a spot for it!" He is king of coming in the house and setting down a box on the kitchen counter full of important things like fishing lures and I'm queen of coming behind him asking him to find a spot for it. If it has a spot it's not clutter and it's not on my radar!

E I G H T: Broken Items
We tend to hold on to broken items and after each cleaning spree we are still left with that broken item taking up space with the idea we will fix it. If you have broken items then set a deadline for getting them fixed and if we don't get it done then do we even really need it? Probably not.

N I N E: Use Files
Another huge difference with Kyle and I. I keep all of our important items in folders, or try to, in one closet. Kyle is always asking me where some important document and it is nice to say in the office closet. However; sometimes a folder doesn't get made or a file doesn't get put back and then let chaos commence. We just recently got a large gun safe so this is a reminder for me to get all files organized and created to be moved to the safe.

T E N: Utilize Attic Space
We also try not to clutter the attic as well but I do store all holiday and sentimental items up there. I did recently just buy tubs to separate all decor by holiday so my mind is a little more at ease. I also like to try and go through all decor after each holiday before storing it in the attic again. If I don't do this and get rid of items we no longer use than I tend to just throw them back up there and we don't see them again for a year.

These are just a few tips I try to keep in mind when decluttering our home. I hope some of these helped you! Please let me what works for you and your family, I'm always looking for helpful tips!
 
 
 

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Monday, May 16, 2016

Weekending Extended

If you read my post on Friday, here, you saw that I was off work for a few days last week to recoup. {Side-note: I completely had a fan girl moment on Friday when Jessica Robertson from Duck Dynasty re-tweeted my post!} So, my weekend seemed extra long and wonderful! My days off were spent relaxing, having fun and being productive. I got a much needed ninety minute massage, a visit to my favorite Blow Dry Bar Blo, a trip to the zoo with my nephews and sister-in-law, visited a new(ish) shop in downtown Oklahoma City Urban Farmhouse Design, that I've been dying to visit, a dinner date and it was all so wonderful! 

This actual weekend my mother in law invited me and my mom to attend a  late mother's day lunch with her and my sister in law and besides that and church that was all my plans for the weekend. Kyle had a fishing tournament and I ran errands and cleaned up the house. A few snaps from my long extended weekend. I hope y'all have a great Monday!


{If a store could be me this store would be! Urban Farmhouse is a lot like 
Joanna's style from Fixer Upper.} 


{Oklahoma City Zoo}




{Date night to Main Street Tavern after my blow out at Blo}

{We took about ten pictures altogether and not one came out OK, bummer! Mother's Day Lunch}



{And lets face it, Haddock is now like our newborn baby!}


 
 
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