First Country Music Experience

It may be hard to believe that me, yes the horse back riding cowboy hat/boot/flannel wearing girl, doesn't listen to country.  Even the girl on my blog wears cowboy boots... all this seems to be slightly ironic.  So I decided to take Sam and Tori up on their offer and go to the Brad Paisly concert last night.  One word... WOW!!! The atmosphere was absolutely amazing!!  Although I had no idea who was on stage or what they were saying... and I was the ONLY person in the entire stadium that didn't know every song, I still had a really good time.  It seems as though country concerts are just one big party and everyone will have a good time whether you like the music or not.  But be warned there are two cardinal rules you cannot break at a country concert (I only broke one).  Number 1: Absolutely DO NOT step on anyone's blanket... this could result in a root-n-tootin- fight (I didn't break this one, but saw it get broken many times with some really mean words said afterwards). Number 2: Do NOT blast rap music in the parking lot with bare feet... this may result in people calling you a hippie with hairy feet. We found this one out after the concert... after six hours of country music I needed a change. I can always rely on my man Fifty Cent to help me get back to a normal frame of mind...lol. Overall, it was a great experience and to be honest I am probably going to go to another one in my future...considering every friend of mine listens to country.  Next time I will try and learn the words, so I don't stand out too much!! 

Tori bought us all a shirt because she is the sweetest girl in the world!! So Tori got a pink one (weird...lol) while Sam and I got the same one, but we are showing the front and back of it in this picture.

I had to put this picture up because after the other weekend seeing how girly Tori was, then last night she is in the car with make-up...I just thought it was priceless!!

We actually made it to the end of the night... even though we were almost derailed by 4 locos...lol

A Dinner Full of Stuffed Stuff...

For dinner last night it was just us girls (Mike was at back to school night)... so we decided to get creative with what we wanted to make for dinner.  We decided on having a stuffed stuff for dinner... Stuffed Bell Peppers, Tortellini (not homemade but still stuffed), and for dessert Chocolate Stuffed Pears.  Mmmm Mmmm delicious!!!
So here are the recipes for both....
STUFFED BELL PEPPERS...

These are bell peppers from our garden, Papa's garden, and the store. (Yes the bigger ones are store bought).

1. Chop one whole yellow onion and three cloves of garlic (we used five cause we really like garlic).  Saute on stove with olive oil.
2. Cook 1 Cup of rice or quinoa (we like this alternative, less carbs more protein and gluten free!!)
3. Cut the tops off the bell peppers (so the tops can be used as lids) and  clean out the seeds and white membrane. Set aside.
4. After garlic and onions are sauteed, add ground turkey or ground beef. Cook until no longer pink.
5. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of Cumin,  1 teaspoon of Cinnamon, and the rice/quinoa to the meat mixture. Take off burner. (You can add fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes at this point if you would like).
6. Stuff the bell peppers (we added cheese in the middle and on top) put the bell pepper lids back on.  Drizzle with olive oil and cover with foil. Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes.

We really enjoyed this recipe...so hopefully you will like it too!!

**If the explanation on cutting was not clear above, this is how you do it ------>

The picture of the final product before it goes into the oven (and without their hats on).

RICOTTA CHOCOLATE STUFFED PEARS

This is a nice alternative to a heavy dessert... it does have a different texture, but it is actually pretty good. Definitely worth trying...

1.  Beat together 1 Cup Ricotta cheese, 1/3 Cup powder sugar, 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla in a medium mixing bowl.

2. After mixed stir in 2 tablespoons of miniature semisweet chocolate pieces (you can use more...lol) and 1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel.                 3. Set aside and start dealing with the pears. Cut the pears hot dog style (that's long ways for those of you who did not grow up in the Pleasanton school district). Remove any seeds or unattractive looking things inside the pear and make a small divot in the pear to put the chocolate mixture.                                4. Brush the pears with orange juice and spoon in the ricotta mixture.

This is an interesting dessert, we will probably make it again, but it is a perfect way to get you chocolate in for the day, in a healthier fashion. ;0)

Under Water Fun!!

On Memorial (just kidding) On Labor Day this year we went to Tori's parents house and enjoyed their salt water pool and hot tub!! Yes, a salt water pool and hot tub is as cool as it sounds!  Since Tori, Kim, and I had such a restful weekend (sarcasm), we decided to continue with that theme and relax by the pool all day. My cousin and his girlfriend came down for the weekend because they were flying to Boston the next day...so it was nice spending time with them too.  Tori has this sweet new camera that can go under water...so that kept us entertained for quite a while.  Not to mention Dibble Down... which those of you who don't know the coolest game on the planet.  It consists of two teams on the edge of a pool trying to find a toothpick in the water.  It sounds lame, but I promise it is a lot of fun!! Mayhem too, but mostly fun.  It was nice to spend the day with family and friends just BBQing and swimming.

Okay these next few photos become a little crazy... we were trying to fit all of us in a frame...well about fifty shots later we actually succeeded... but it was complete mayhem for a while.

I had a hard time sinking myself...and lets face it this is probably the creepiest photo of Mike ever!!

Sam posing trying to look all cute under water (If Sam went this weekend she may have taken the crown for the girliest girl there!!) LOL love you Sam!!

So close...Tori's head got chopped off...but notice her hand around my throat?!?! Whats up with that?!?!

This one probably would have turned out the best, but Mike took so long to press the button I started to float away.

We finally all made it into the frame... although Mike is still wearing his creepy face we ended on this one.

Kimmy's First Hike

This picture is of the base of Vernal Falls...with my new fangle camera that does a panoramic picture!!!

After our Saturday full of horseback riding, we decided that another day filled with riding a 800lb animal probably would kill us.  Therefore, we decided to go on a hike in Yosemite!! Yeah okay it still isn't the most relaxing decision, but we were so close and Kimmy had never seen Yosemite, so we had to go.  We decided to hike Vernal Falls...which I didn't quite remember involving so much climbing, but it did!! Its about a three mile hike round trip, with almost all uphill on the way there (oh and 700 stairs you have to climb too).  Tori and I had failed to mention these details to Kimmy... but Kimmy failed to mention the tiny detail that this was going to be her first hike in her life. (What they do in Florida, I have no idea ;0)) Kimmy decided to tell us this fact about half way up.  I thought Kimmy was going to stop a few times and say screw it.  But we all made it to the top!! At the end of the hike Kimmy said " I thought I was going to stop and turn around about 40 percent of the time." Priceless. But it was well worth the soreness we had for the next few days... the view was beautiful!! Also Tori and I climbed down to where the water from the falls lands... it was so beautiful!! I wanted to jump in, but I got nervous and figured Mikey would probably not be too happy (neither would Tori).  It was a lot of fun and Kimmy had a good time on her very first hike (although she did have a peg leg for work the next couple of days).  After we got done with the hike we treated ourselves to a crab and steak dinner... SO SO GOOD!!!! That night we drove home to spend Memorial Day with the boys at Tori's house... let me tell you there are not that many Starbucks open late on the way home from Yosemite ;0)

Start of the hike... those of you who think Kimmy is more girly than Tori may be surprised here.  Tori brought hairspray and was looking in the mirror for about 15 minutes to make sure her buns were equal before a hike!!! lol I still love you Tor!!

This is after the first leg of the trail...yup we were all out of breath at this point.

We made it to the top!!! We decided to take our shoes off and enjoy the freezing water for a while.

Finally, only four hours later and very hungry, we made it back to our car!

Steve-O the Horse

Where to begin with the start of this past weekend's adventure?? Well we left for Mammoth at five in the morning on Saturday, got lost a few times, but managed to arrive by eleven.  When we arrived we knew that our luxurious cowboy weekend was out the window. We were shown to our trailer... now it doesn't look so bad from this picture.  However, it was slanting to the right and when we walked in there was a steak knife on the floor.  That's when we started getting butterflies!! after be shown to our humble abode... we were told to get ready to ride (4 hours)!!! I decided to embrace our conditions and dress like a cowboy... boots and all!! But before we rode we had to have our cowboy lunch (half way cooked Top Ramen noodles) mmmm mmmm good...lol. Then we met our horses, Kim got the coolest and most steadiest horse, Tori got a horse named Mike, that started growling towards then end of the trip, and I got Steve-O, which by his name you could figure out that he was a little different.  Steve-O was a big eater and not a very good listener.  To make him do anything I wanted I had to make sure he had a mouth full of whatever greenery was around.  On our way up Steve-O and I were both stung by wasps, and let me tell you a horse freaks out more than a human does!! Let's just say I was a little nervous!! After we got to the top of the mountain and walked around a bit, it was time to get back on the horse. Well I was the second one to get on, so I had to wait for everyone else to get (which takes some time)... therefore by the time everyone was on Steve-O had a fine patch of vegetation way off the path we were supposed to be on, and he refused to leave!! The guide had to actually come over and drag him away!! Coming down the mountain was so painful and uncomfortable.  I almost fell off once, but I just bit the back of Steve-O's neck... so that saved me...lol!!  When we got to the bottom and off our horses, we were so sore!! That's when we decided that we could only ride for one day and that we aren't very good cowboys.  We stayed the night in about 60 mile an hour winds (thinking the whole time our roof was going to fly off or that we were going to tip over).  Needless to say we woke up inspired by Dorthy and wore our hair in pigtails for our hike in Yosemite....

Here is a picture of Kimmy riding her horse... it was a really beautiful ride through dessert, trees, and water.

I had to chase down this horse before riding.  His name is Trigger and he was really nice.  However I learned that tying a horse knot so they stay is nothing like tying a shoe (even though that's what they will tell you)

Here is Tori on her horse!! This is Mike and he gets crabby when walks/hikes are too long, just like the real Mike ;0)

50 After School Snacks...

Seeing as I live with two teachers now (Sam is now officially student teaching at Granada), the after school snack has become a staple in our household.  Sam got a book called "50 After School Snacks" which should keep us busy for a while. The first one we made was called Artichoke-Pesto Bites... they were super yummy!!! Here is the recipe...

1. Mix 1/2 cup each of ricotta, chopped artichoke hearts and pesto.

2. Mix in 1/4 cup grated Parmesan.

3. Add some salt and pepper.

4. Spread mixture on top of focaccia bread (we used the one with jalapenos in it)

5. Add some mozzarella on top of the mixture

6. Bake for 10 minutes at 400*

Its really easy to make and its really, really yummy!!!

For dinner that night we made miniature hamburger inside of pita bread with a Greek yogurt sauce.  It was really good and pretty easy to make (we used turkey meat instead of beef).

I will call this recipe "Mini Burgers in a Pita" (Its really from Bobby Flay, but he didn't name it on the video)

This recipe is not an exact science, so keep adding spices until you achieve the flavor you desire.

1. Mix together 1 small can tomato paste, 1 grated (like on a cheese grater) red onion, chopped garlic, cinnamon, ground cumin, all spice, and Cayenne pepper.  (When you taste this it should be a really strong flavor).

2. Mix this mixture with your ground meat (turkey or beef) and let sit in refrigerator for one hour.    

3. After one hour of sitting BBQ the meat, but make sure the patties are a little on the small side, so you can fit 2 patties per pita.

Second part of recipe... Greek yogurt sauce. Its going to sound a little unusual, but I promise its good!!

1. Chop one green apple into bite size pieces  

2. Mix together apple pieces, Greek yogurt, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and honey.

3. After mixing let this stand for one hour in the refrigerator.

This is Mike making the patties, they are small enough that 15 patties fit on one baking sheet.  Hopefully that helps with the size factor.

And here is a picture of the final product!!

      

It looks a little weird, but it is super flavorful and good!! Hope you guys like it as much as we did!!

P90X..

is as hard as it sounds!! We only stuck to the routine for a few weeks because then I had knee surgery (again).  Anyways, it is a serious exercise routine that totally kicks your butt!! Sam and I don't use any weights, but Mike was feeling strong one day and decided to be creative with the weights, since we don't own any!  Baloo became an active participant in the P90X workouts...

Its funny because he doesn't seem to mind the workout...he never even tries to get away!!