Cafe Rio

Want some of this?

Then you might appreciate the recipe for this:

Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa

5-6 lbs. pork roast

1 Tbls. cumin

1 cup brown sugar

12 oz. La Victoria taco sauce

20 oz. Coke

Place roast in crock pot and add water halfway up roast.  Cook on low for 12 hours.  Drain off water and add the remaining ingredients, then cook 4 more hours.  Shred the pork and cook for 2 more hours.

and this:

Cafe Rio Rice

4 tsp. chicken bouillon

4 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 bunch cilantro

1 cup diced green chilies

3/4 tsp. salt

1 Tbls. butter

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cups rice (not instant)

Put chicken bouillon, garlic, cilantro, diced green chilies, salt, butter, and onion in a blender and puree until smooth.  Pour into saucepan and add 3 cups water and bring to a boil.  Add rice and simmer for 30 minutes.  

and you can't forget this!

 Cafe Rio House Dressing

1 pkg Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup chopped cilantro

2 cloves garlic

3 tomatillos (canned - found on ethnic foods aisle)

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

I call them little "drops of heaven"...

Trust me... these babies are divine!  ...even if I don't have any pictures to prove it;)

Polka Dot Shortbread Bars

Combine:
1 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Press 1/2 of dough into 9x13 pan (will be crumbly), coming slightly up the sides of the pan. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Melt in a glass bowl in the microwave on low power:
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Stir until chocolate is melted. Then add:
1 tsp. vanilla

Pour melted chocolate onto cooked crust. Then sprinkle with:
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Top with remaining crumbled dough. Press into filling slightly. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove and run a knife around the edge to loosen while still warm. Cool slightly before cutting into 2" squares.

bow ties and pom poms

how cute would this be to make for wee lil Jarrrr! handmade bow ties! Instructions here!

And I'm loving these pom poms!

If/when we have a party this summer let's make these awesome babies!

chocolate butter

i have a feeling we're going to be super homemakey this summer!

we should add to our list this: chocolate butter!!!

4 Spring Planting Ideas!

Someday Crafts: 4 Spring Planting Ideas!:

that little link leads to some cute spring/planting ideas!

bc i know how badly crazy cammy wants her own little garden!

clock table

i love this clock table!

how fun would it be for an outside table? I know as a kid it'd be so fun to play/eat on this!

directions here

april's fools jokes

we know both our Captain Sammy and Larry don't read this blog.
i found a few unharmful april fool's ideas:)
enjoy!

here,
here,
and
here

fun fun:)

a lot of years my mom would drive one of our cars down the street where we couldn't see it so when we came out we'd think our car was stolen.

worked every year on us :)

baby room

fact:

i'm going to have kids in the future.

cammy's going to have more kids in the future probably.

i look at baby stuff...sometimes :)

this is by far my favorite nursery i've seen on the blogosphere.

sorry, i don't know how to get the pic off the website so GO looky at it!!!

i love:

the gray walls.

chalkboard wall.

bright colors.

fabric patterns.

the details on the shelf.

it's all beautiful.

eh?

lemonade love

when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

so, although arizona can't really grown apple, peach, and apricot trees,

it sure knows how to grow citrus!

my mummy has a lemon and orange tree in her backyard now and they produce SO much fruit! it's great!

but the orange tree is a yucky one, they're super SOUR and only make lemonade.

but we could never figure the ratios out,

it was either too sweet or too sour!

so here's the perfect lemonade recipe:

1 cup fresh lemon juice from squozen lemons

1 cup sugar

2 quarts water

another tip:

if you ever have a citrus tree in your backyard, save yourself the pain and get an electric juicer,

they're amazing!

makes juicing easy and quick!

independent time

Crazy cammy,

last time we talked I heard you did the whole "indepent play time thing"

which I really do think is prety awesome!

Here's a blog post of maybe some more ideas about that subject!

Place to Bloom

color activity

this activity looked so cute!

fun, easy, non messy way to teach the kiddos about mixing colors!

go check it out!

the trash

i grew up with a very frugal mom,

in a good way,

she was always trying to save our family money in the daily house to house ways

so we could splurge a little more on family vacations and adventures!

this is probably something you may already do, but if not i wanted to tell you about it:)

sorry it is on the lame-o side a little...

trash bags.

don't buy them.

store the plastic bags you get from grocery stores,

twist them up so they're storable and don't take up a lot of room.

i keep a big bag of them under my sink i constanly add to,

and then put about 5-6 at the bottom of all our different size trash cans around the house,

so then, after i pull that trash out, there's more bags there just waiting to be put on immediately!

you may think the down side is that the bag is small and not as "durable/strong" and that you have to take it out more often,

but we think the great thing about a small bag is that you do take it out often,

so then there's never something smelly in there waiting for days to be taken out til the trash is full!

plus with diapers...let's face it,

after you clean up one of those nasty ones of Jarrr,

put it in a grocery bag and it helps the smell stay in!

hope this tip works for you!

maybe you can just use it for the small trash cans around your house if you really want to stick with the big/durable/expensive ones for your kitchen.

whatever works!

side note: captain sammy wasn't too keen on this when i first did this when we were married but now, i don't know if he'd choose any way different!

oreo beats nutella any day though

you can bet your bottom dollar i'll be making some of these puppies real soon.

oreo-chocolate-chip cookies!

 via picky-palate

i think chocolate chip cookies and oreos are my 2 most absolute favorite treats in the whole wide world.

ilovethembothsomuch!!!!!!!

pretty much all it is is making your most favorite choc. chip cookie dough ever, and surrounding and double stuffed oreo with it, and bake :) sounds delicious to me so don't mind if i do!

btw- the woman from picky-palate thinks up the most outrageously yummy concoctions, i don't know how she does it!

here's the original recipe:

2 sticks softened butter
3/4 Cup packed light brown sugar
1 Cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla
3 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
10 oz bag chocolate chips
1 bag Oreo Cookies, I used the double stuff
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.   In a stand or electric mixer cream butter and sugars until well combined.  Add in eggs and vanilla until well combined.
2.  In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda.  Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined.  Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie.  Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo Cookie.  Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo Cookie is enclosed with dough.  Place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake cookies 9-13 minutes or until cookies are baked to your liking.  Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.  Serve with a tall glass of milk, enjoy!
Makes about 2 dozen VERY LARGE Cookies

nutella!!!

saw these 2 cute recipes with nutella! cammy, have you eaten nutella? we always have a jar in our pantry :)

nutella brownie bites: (via hoboken)
"Nutella Brownie Bites
makes 1 dozen bites
(can be shared with kids 12+ mos)

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 c Nutella
2 Tbsp chocolate syrup
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla
5 Tbsp all purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter, Nutella and chocolate syrup until smooth.
2. Whisk in egg and vanilla. Add flour, whisking smooth between each tablespoon.
3. Divide batter evenly between the wells of a mini muffin tin, filling each well to just below the top edge. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a brownie bite comes out clean. Enjoy!

*Note: There is nothing in these that cannot safely be shared with younger eaters, but I recommend this for kids 12+ months due to the high sugar content. However old your eaters, be sure to serve them age appropriate servings. One brownie bite goes a long way for the little ones!"

and nutella hot chocolate (via hoboken again)

Nutella Hot Chocolate
makes 1 cup
1 c milk
2 Tbsp Nutella
1. Combine milk and Nutella in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Whisk until Nutella melts and milk gets hot.
Extra Rich Variation
Add 2 additional teaspoons Nutella and 1 tsp sweetened cocoa powder.
Cinnamony Variation
Add a cinnamon stick to the pot when making either the original or extra rich version. Once milk is hot, lower the heat and allow to simmer an extra 5 minutes.

ode to sewing

Oh to dream.  I used to sew.  My mom put my sister and I in sewing lessons for a few years and we made bunches of things... and actually wore them!  I have dreams of sewing again one day and who knows... maybe it will be out of a closet.  Check this baby out here. 

What a smart little cookie she is!

mommy wisdom

Talk about some GREAT, realistic, organized, awesome ideas to stay on top of life with kids and such!


mommy wisdom...

I absolutely love reading and she has some great ideas that she uses with her kids! Go check it out!

Black bean soup with shredded pork (and bacon!)

SO...I found this recipe on an email from AllYou.com. 

It seems like a mix between happy taco soup and sweet pork salad/burritos! I it looks like a great winter soup!

 "Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Yield: 8 Servings
Cost per Serving: $1.38

Ingredients

• 1  pound  dried black beans, rinsed and picked over
• 2  bone-in center-cut pork chops (about 1 1/4 lb.)
• 2  slices bacon, chopped
• 1  onion, finely chopped
• 2  cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1  tablespoon  chopped canned chipotle chilies in adobo plus 1 Tbsp. adobo sauce
• 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  salt

Preparation

Combine 6 cups water, beans, pork chops, bacon, onion, garlic, chilies, adobo, cumin and salt in slow cooker. Cook on low until beans are tender and pork chops are falling apart, 4 to 6 hours.
Remove and discard bacon. Cut pork away from bones. Discard bones and shred meat. Add meat back to slow cooker with beans. Season with additional salt and serve."



Personally, I think I'd add a can of either stewed tomatoes or rotel tomatoes along with a can of corn. Definitely topping it with sour cream and cheese :)

XOX

When we were in AZ, my mom saw a cute little craft and wanted to do it, which she in turn helped me and my SIL do as well!

 here's what we came up with!

 We bought the letters (about 8 inch tall paper mached ones) from Joann's with %40 off coupons (did you know you can use an internet coupon and newspaper coupon in the same transaction there? AND the newspaper one can be from a different craft store?! Yeah, talk about awesome. So with Captain Sammy as my shopping buddy, we only had to make one trip to Joanns instead of multiple. Yay :)

We then modge podged the front with some cute Valentinesy scrapbook paper, added some random embellishments that we found in my moms craft supply, added felt to the back and painted the sides a color we wanted! Bam! DONE! Actually it took a lot longer than it sounds with making the paper and felt the exact size and trying to make it perfectly cute with the embellishments, but it was still super fun to do :)

(the back with felt)

 (the sides with paint, they're about an inch thick and you can see some of my embellishments were thick so don't be scared:)

 the final product!

shiver me kimber's on the left.

shiver me kimber's mum's in middle.

shiver me kimbers SIL on right (she did a different version).

 some of the process with my niece helping

breadsticks!!!!!

i saw this recipe on mommaskindacrafty.blogspot.com . haven't tried it yet, but if it's a yummy breadstick recipe it sure is easy! hope one of us can try it out soon bc we sure love our breadsticks BREADSTICKS!!!!!

 

2 cups hot water

2 Tbsp yeast

2 Tbsp sugar

pinch of salt

~5 cups flour

Mix all together except flour.  Then add flour till dough is soft but not too sticky.

Shape into bread sticks and bake at 425 for 12-15 min on greased cookie sheet.

Spread with melted butter and a little garlic salt after baking.

My recipe states that 1/2 the recipe makes 8-10 good size bread sticks.  So that's what I did.  I made 10.  No leftovers!  Next time I am making the whole batch!

new shoes

how freaking adorable are THESE!

 i found them on this post at a beautiful mess from elsie.

she loved these shoes of hers but they were getting old and kinda yucky...

SOO she painted them first with like 2 coats of indoor/outdoor paint and then 3+ coats of glitter paint.

And I absolutely LOVE them! I think I'm going to go out and try to find a pair of shoes to try this on I love it so much!