Avocado Vanilla Smoothie

There's two ways you can make this.  If you're using it to supplement a meal, use instant carnation or slimfast vanilla shake mix to replace the vanilla and sans the sugar.  Yummy!

1 avocado
1 cup milk
4-5 ice cubes
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp sugar (I use brown sugar).

Sarah's Guacamole!

Had this at the lake last weekend! Absolutely love, love, love : ) You will too if you like your guacamole chunky and with lots of cilantro.

2 avocados,
2 roma tomatoes
1/4 of a white onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1 lime
lots of cilantro... if you think it's too much, keep going
pepper to taste

Also, if you don't like it chunky, just throw it in the food processor or magic bullet (or baby food processor in my case : )

FYI, took some pics of my zuccini, pineapple cake I made the other day. It's Pioneer Woman's but I printed it a long time ago and just hadn't made it yet. Can't find the original so I'll eventually retype it to get it up here if I need to.. sooner or later! It is definitely summer : )

Lots and Lots

I have lots and lots of things to talk about. We had a very big weekend and I've tried a few new recipes, things just get away from me...

I need to start with my anniversary dinner with My Man. It was absolutely fantastic. We left after baby had eaten for the evening and the kids spent the night with my mom. Except Little Man, he stayed at the house with my sister. And let me just say, that a late night dinner was the way to go. Everytime I thought of my kids throughout the evening I knew they were asleep in their beds not even missing me. It was so relaxing.

We have always wanted to go to Piropos, been saving it for a special occasion. Such an occasion finally arrived. My parents told us a year ago they wanted to send us out to dinner for our 10th. They're so wonderful - and a complete blessing. Piropos serves Argentenian food and originated in Parkville (there's one in Briarcliff now, too). I could tell you step by step exactly how each course tasted but you might get sick of reading the word 'amazing'. Everything was so wonderful. We had empanadas, mahi mahi corn tortilla tacos, avocado soup (that's right), lamb chops, and ravioli deliciouso (lobster, crab, scallops, cream sauce... mmmmm). The server then brought out the dessert menu and told us to select something on the house for our anniversary. So, needless to say, I wholeheartedly recommend Piropos. Amazing food. Fantastic service. Oh, and the dessert we chose? Dark chocolate cake with chocolate ganache. There was something crunchy and mildly oreo-esque in there (obviously much more gourmet) with gorgeous fresh raspberries on the side. 'So good' just doesn't seem to give it justice.

And that was just the food! The company was even better : ) There's something to be said for having 6 hours alone with your husband of 10 years. He knows me so well. We have so many inside jokes and memories. And we actually have very little time to just sit and talk - I'm sure you can imagine. My very thoughtful husband asked me to choose just one moment that was my favorite in the last 10 years, which brought on a conversation about all of our best memories. And I'm sure there were some we failed to mention. We camped out for 2 or more hours. We sat at a table for two (not six : ) by the window and watched the sun go down on Parkville. What a great town - they have little fairy lights up year round! So romantic.

I would be remiss if I left out one very specific topic. We talked about God's grace. Specifically that we wouldn't have made it without Him. How much He has blessed and upheld us. The turning point in our marriage that really caused us to lean on Him. I've recently noticed how rarely I speak of my faith on my blog and it shames me. God is very much a part of my life and in every detail of everything I do. I hope all that I do as a wife and a mother glorifies Him above all else and I wish that showed up here more. Looks like I have work to do ;/

Regardless, all that we have and are is by God's grace. And we're so thankful.

I'll share my pictures next time, but for now I'll close out our date. We finally left the restaurant and took a little stroll around the 'ville (all that food!) Hopped in the car and took a round about way home. I've been thinking about it off and on all day everyday since. What a wonderful night.

New Recipe!

Finally managed to try something new. Seems I just haven't had time lately. So many recipes, so little time. Anyway, made this at the lake this weekend and it seemed to be a hit. My Man was all about it, anyway. I just love slow cooker recipes.

Chicken Tacos

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 15 oz can tomatoes with chiles (Rotel), and their juices
1 cup frozen corn
1/3 cup water
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
corn taco shells
favorite toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, ripe black olives

Use a 4 qt slow cooker. Put the chicken into the stoneware, and top with the entire can of tomatoes, corn, water, and beans. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours. Shred the chicken with two large forks, and fill the taco shells. Add your favorite toppings, and enjoy.

FYI this recipe was from the book Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (one of my new faves). Also, we used flour tortillas and I cooked it in my dutch oven in the oven at 325 for about 2 hours. Make sure you don't run out of water.

So, I'm Behind...

Goodness, it's been busy! We're closing off the school year right now. Field trips, field days, tball games... Maryanna is about to turn 7, Powell is about to turn 5 and Lola and Christopher are 3 and 6 months. This year has gone so fast and been SO eventful! We've continued to enjoy crafts and baking. We also celebrated my baby brother's graduation. Below are a few pictures to try and catch up the status of my blog!

I love the smile on her face in this picture.

Down and ready!

Easter morning. Aren't they precious? Christopher was napping in the middle of the living room floor at this time!

That's my girl. She certainly enjoys a little silliness.

That would be avocados : )

I couldn't resist. Sometimes I look up and have to take a head count and pinch myself.

My sweet girl...

This was the day before Easter. We had big plans. I love how Lo and Powell are holding hands. They really are the best of buds while Nana's at school.

An Easter treat we tried (got the idea from a friend).

Powell helping decorate his Easter treats for his class. I don't know how the hat thing happened.

Maryanna's field day. She so enjoyed herself and so did I!

It's warming up! He such a lover!

I know. That hair.

I don't know what this was about...

And again with the hair.

This cracks me up. I've totally seen this face before. This is exactly what Nana and I look like when we cry.

He asked if he could hold him. : )

Baby brother's graduation cake.

Powell's birthday treats for his preschool class. Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. He's totally his mother's son.

I had some pictures stuck on the internal memory of my camera forever. So, here's a pic of our valentine's cookies.

Cowboy Caviar

Hubby absolutely adores this stuff. Well, so do I, actually. It's obviously great as an appetizer around football season, but we could eat it anytime, anywhere. So goooooooood. Seriously, now I want some.

1 15 oz can shoepeg corn, drained
1 15 oz. can black-eyed peas, drained
1 avocado, peeled and diced
2/3 cup cilantro, chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped
3-4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground pepper
1 Tbsp ground cumin

In a medium bowl, combine corn, black-eyed peas, avocado, cilantro, green onions, and tomatoes.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin. Add to the vegetable mixture and toss to coat.

Serve with tortilla chips or toasted pita chips. Makes 4-6 servings.