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Flip Flops On The Rocks

Spinach Slurpee

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Yesterday morning I whipped up our first {green} smoothie.

Used this recipe, but omitted the chia seeds {my mind immediately goes to the Chia Pet commercial….}

I did add a splash of orange juice to help get the blender going.

First, I started with some crushed ice, o.j., half a mango and several fresh pineapple chunks. Blend that to make room for several handfuls of baby spinach {I use organic since this is one of the dirty dozen} and then blend again.

I love the wheatgrass shots at Jamba, so I’m not afraid to drink green slime!

This was very good. The sweetness from the mango and the pineapple take away much of the spinach taste.

Next time, we’ll try this one.

A great way to get your spinach….through a straw!

*****

The perfect thing to kick off your week ~ hope you had a fabulous weekend.

Siete ‘Til Cinco

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As a young girl, whenever we visited Old Town’s Bazaar Del Mundo, I remember stepping foot into a little bakery and walking out with a warm churro, bathed in cinnamon sugar and wrapped in white paper.

I remember that and the toy store, Gepetto’s.

As I got older, my memories switched to margaritas and pozole with fresh flour tortillas from Old Town Mexican Café.

Cinco de Mayo is just a week away.

This year I’m going to make these….

{Baked Churros}

A little healthier than the deep fried ones ~ and who doesn’t love a crescent roll?

And I wanted to go into the archives and bring out all the tried and true Mexican food posts…

South Of The Border Chopped Taco Salad

Enchiladas Numero Uno

Enchiladas Numero Dos

Carnitas & Cilantro Rice

Shrimp Tacos

Mexican Lasagna

Guacamole

Baked Rolled Tacos

Southwestern Crock Pot Chicken

Taco Soup

Margaritas Numero Uno

Margaritas Numero Dos

*****

The countdown is on until mariachis & margaritas!

 

Coffee Talk

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Every weekday morning I fall out of bed at 6am and head downstairs to start the COFFEE and get lunches together.

It’s like Groundhog Day.

Do not pass GO, do not collect $200….go straight to the coffee pot!

We brew a strong pot of coffee around here. Say I’m making 10 cups, I use 9 heaping scoops of French roast.

While Mr. Coffee is doin’ his thing, I assemble the lunches and then sit {quietly} and have my first cup before the dogs are fed, and the kids wake up, and Jay comes down.

The first couple sips are heaven…aren’t they? Nice and hot. Sweetened with just the right amount of Splenda and creamer.

I am a cream & sugar type a gal. Wish I could take it as it is straight outta the pot, but I use 1 Splenda and about 2 tbsp creamer.

This morning I tried my new find….Bailey’s Irish Creme ~ Creme Brulee

It’s like 40 calories per tablespoon so I went easy, but it’s delish! All the flavor of Bailey’s, but without the alcohol, of course. It was a nice departure from our usual Cofeemate fat free Hazelnut or French Vanilla.

Speaking of French Vanilla, I also picked up this and will try it tomorrow:

Seriously, if there is a new coffee creamer out and I spy it, I’m all over it.

Other creamers that have passed the test: Lucerne {from Vons/Safeway} and the new{ish} Trader Joe’s version.

I do not care for any of the International Delights, however. There is an aftertaste or something with every. single. flavor. Bummer too, because they just came out with Almond Joy……

Also, I like to brew extra in the morning, refrigerate the leftover and have it {on the rocks} as an afternoon pick-me-up.

If I’m out and about I’ll swing through the Starbucks drive-thru and get a venti extra, extra ice americano with 2 Splendas and a splash of half-n-half {same thing from Peet’s if I’m willing to actually get out of the car!} or a sugar free hazelnut iced coffee from The Golden Arches.

I guess that’s about it for my daily coffee ritual.

Hope your Wednesday starts with your hands cradling a nice, HOT cuppa Joe!

5-Minute Silhouettes & Citrus Ginger Sangria Blanca

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Silhouettes are all the rage these days. I came across this easy tutorial and decided to give it a whirl.

It literally took me 5 minutes…

I’m sure I could’ve taken more time tracing, but I think they turned out pretty decent considering the time it took.

These are the pictures I used:

I literally just used some frames from the garage and cheap-o construction paper. I’d like to eventually spray paint the frames, maybe use some patterned scrapbook pages for the background and re-do their profiles, but these will do for now!

I think Holden’s turned out a little better ~ I had to capture those LONG lashes of his!

*****

Also, I finally figured out a quick white sangria recipe.

Citrus Ginger Sangria Blanca

One giant bottle {or two regular size bottles} of white wine…I used Chardonnay.

Half of a 2-liter {1-liter} bottle Ginger Ale…I used diet.

1/2 cup triple sec

1 orange, 1 lemon & 1 lime {sliced}

Throw all into a pitcher or beverage dispenser and stir well. It’s best to let the flavors marinate for at least an hour or so. Refrigerate until ready to serve. I like to serve on the rocks.

{I noticed Albertson’s has their own brand of Raspberry Ginger Ale…next time I will try this and add some fresh raspberries}

Grilling up a pork tenderloin with homemade wasabi teriyaki sauce ~ recipe to come.

Happy Saturday!

I Succombed

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It’s not that obnoxious, is it?

This is the new {trenta} size from ‘Bucks.

Only the iced teas, iced tea lemonades and iced coffees come in this 31 ounce size.

I always get extra, extra ice so for me this equates to a grande, really.

So, no you cannot order a trenta caramel macchiato with a bazillion and five calories.

Now that would be obnoxious.

{Simply Citrus} Sangria

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We had one of those ginormous 1.5L bottles of cabernet sauvignon leftover literally from Christmas. I was going to cook with it, but then yesterday afternoon as we were sitting out in the front watching the kiddos play while our power was out, I got the idea to turn it into sangria. It was a gorgeous mid-70s Saturday in JANUARY on a 3-day weekend…so why not?

{via}

I just threw the following into a pitcher:

1 navel orange, thinly sliced

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1 lime, thinly sliced

3/4 of a 1.5L bottle of cab {or any red wine…but you could use the whole bottle obviously}

1/2 cup triple sec

Half a 2-liter bottle of lemon-lime soda {I used diet}

Stir and let marinate for at least an hour.

It was gone in a jiffy so I didn’t have time to snap a pic. But I think this is the recipe I’ll be using from now on.

Light and refreshing.

And so easy!

Enjoy.

Quarenta y Uno Años

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One of our favorite San Diego restaurants is Café Sevilla down in The Gaslamp. We loved going there for tapas and sangria.

This year for Jay’s birthday I wanted to put together a small Spanish inspired celebration.

On the menu:

Sangria

Manchego with Brown Butter & Honey

Paella

Café con Leche Flan

When it comes to sangria, I think less is more {not drinking less, but less ingredients!}. There are some complex recipes out there, but in my opinion the simpler ones are just as delish.

{Thanks, Hollie for supplying last night’s beverage!}

I wanted a quick and easy tapas style appetizer and came across the manchego recipe from Ty Flo {Tyler Florence}.

Soooo good!

I made paella on Valentine’s Day almost 5 years ago and Jay’s been asking me to make it ever since.

So glad I found this recipe because I will make it more often now. You can also add mussels or clams…I just used chicken breasts, pork chorizo and shrimp.

Last year when we were celebrating Jay’s 40th in Vegas, we went to Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill and had the café con leche flan for dessert. It was out of this world! Mine was obviously not as good, but not a total failure….I cooked the caramel a little too long in the beginning, but the custard part was fine. I also used a square pan rather than the standard round cake pan {because seriously, how does the flan know if it’s round or square?}

It was a little ghetto-tastic, but I look forward to perfecting my skills down the road…

And it’s not a party until someone dresses up as “Santa Tiana”…

*****

I hope you enjoyed your Spanish feast, Babe!

May all your hopes and dreams come true on your way to 42.

XOXO

Hydrating

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I’m bad at drinking water on a daily basis.

When I run or workout, I drink LOTS.

But the “8 glasses a day”…..not so good at it.

I need to hydrate and carb load the next couple days….that’s what the seasoned runners do. 😉

I tried this little pre-race concoction and it’s delish:

Cranberry Pomegranate Emergen-C

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Vitamin Water ZERO Squeezed {lemonade}

=

Cold fighting, energy boosting, nutrient rich beverage!

Now to get the regular H2O stuff in my body, too!

On another note, I have a pain in the neck. Must’ve tweaked it last night in my sleep. I have to do the whole “turn your entire body” thing when I drive because my neck is so stiff! Ugh….heating pad where are you?

Could be worse.

T-minus 2 days and counting!

DEEP breaths.

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