Bacon wrapped Asparagus

I love making food, but I struggle with side dishes. I make the same side dishes for every meal, bread, salad, etc. I am not good at matching up veggies or sides with main dishes. Tonight we are grilling steaks, so I thought and thought about what a good side dish would be. There is the easy baked potato or mashed potatoes, but I wanted something different. Then I came up with asparagus. Every time I make asparagus I wonder why I don't make it more often. But again, I didn't want the normal grilled asparagus with olive oil and salt (although that is fantastic), I wanted something different. Then I remembered what my (soon to be) sister in law brought to dinner a while back, bacon wrapped asparagus.

This asparagus is so simple you really don't need a recipe! Wash and cut an inch or two off the stalk, wrap in bacon, and bake on 450 for 20-25 minutes. I thought about grilling the asparagus with the steaks, but I wanted the bacon to be crispy, so I thought the oven would be my best bet!

Wash and cut the asparagus.

I grouped about 5 together.

Then wrap in bacon.

Looked good even before I cooked it!

Dinner is served!

Cilantro Lime Chicken with Veggies

Do you ever look in your pantry and wonder why you have so much yet nothing looks like an actual meal? I had one of those days earlier this week. Instead of going to the store to buy more, I decided to use what I had and ended up with a fantastic dinner.

I had:
lots of chicken thighs
tons of potatoes
random assortment of veggies
half a lime
cilantro (always and forever!)

So I made a cilantro lime chicken with veggies. Nolan went on and on about how good it was, which was much more exciting than normal since I hadn't used a recipe.

I put several chicken thighs in a bag and squeezed the 1/2 lime, about a cup of chopped cilantro, salt, pepper, and cumin (because I LOVE CUMIN), 

and mixed it all around. 

Then I cut up all my veggies (potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, sweet peppers) and added lots of garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper (I never get to add as much as I would like because it would be too hot for the kids, but the more the merrier).

Plop the chicken and juices right on top. Drizzle olive oil over everything. Bake for an hour to an hour and a half, flipping the chicken once or twice. Make sure the potatoes are done, those take the longest to cook. It's a real bummer when you have a great meal and hard unetible potatoes. Not that that has ever happened to me!!

Then, since it's spring, eat outside!!!

I am thoroughly enjoying the blooming trees this year!

Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork & Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

Today is the day. I am making my all time favorite meal. It really takes a lot to choose one very favorite meal, but once you eat this you will understand. About 3 years ago we were planning our beach trip meals. My dad's birthday was during our trip so we wanted to make something he would love. One thing he loves in Dr. Pepper, another thing he loves is meat. I stumbled upon this recipe and couldn't decide if it was going to be great or totally strange. The thought of cooking meat with Dr. Pepper was something I had never heard of and quite frankly sounded weird. I am so so so so so so so thankful we decided to give it a shot, so so so so so! My father is also a lover of bacon. So we made these little guys to go along with the pork. Oh MY WORD! If you take all the seeds out, the jalapeño poppers are not hot! My nephew even eats them! Or you can leave in the seeds and get the smaller jalapeños and they are wonderfully hot. YUM! We have made this meal every beach trip since, it is now a tradition!

I am not at the beach nor am I going anytime soon, but as the weather has gotten a little warmer I have been reminded of the amazingness that is Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork! I went to the store this morning and had planned to  grill steaks tonight, but as I was putting the meat away I decided I couldn't wait a day more. It's that good!!

Start by cutting up an onion and spreading out across the bottom of a dutch oven.

Place the pork butt (not sure why they call a shoulder a butt, but whatever) on top of the onions and season with lots of salt and pepper on both sides.

Dump a can or 2 (she says a 10oz can, I can only find 7oz. We like hot, so I use 2 cans) of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce on top.

Pour in your Dr. Pepper. Instead of 2 cans, I just use 1 bottle. That way I don't have to buy a whole pack.

Add 2 tablespoons brown sugar and mix in with juices.

Then pop er' in the oven for a few hours.

This is the first flip after an hour and a half.

Next flip, oh it's getting good!!

After 6 hours pull the pork out and shred it.

Stick it back in the juices to keep warm and add as much flavor as possible!

Meanwhile, cut some jalapeños in half and put some cream cheese inside.

Then wrap the jalapeños in half a slice of bacon and stick in the oven for 20-25 minutes on 375.

While the jalapeños are cooking get all the toppings ready. Whatever sounds good to you, sour cream, cheese, pico. I prefer corn tortillas with this specific meal!

Hallelujah!!!!

The end result of my day long wait!

Then eat outside because you can and it's beautiful!

I literally picked up my tortilla to take my first bite and my son yelled for me to help him in the bathroom. Real life happens even when wonderful food is awaiting!! I grumpily went to help him and as I was walking out he grabbed me and said "I love you Mama!" That my friends is better than any food I could ever make! It also made me feel bad for being grumpy!

This has been my lunch and dinner view the last several days! Notice you can't see the ground covered with toys! This is my view if I look up a little bit!

*Disclaimer* 1. These suckers are messy! The juice may even roll up your arm if you aren't careful! You will need several napkins! 2. Always make more jalapeño poppers than you think you should!

With the massive amounts of leftovers you will have make shredded pork sandwiches or tortilla bowls & freeze the rest for another day!

The longer the peppers are in with the pork the hotter it gets. So if you don't like hot, still cook the pork with the peppers, but take them out when you shred the meat. If you like hot, but not super hot, take the peppers out when you are storing the leftovers. If you like super hot, leave all the peppers in and bring tissues to the table!! You are my kinda person!! I don't know how it's possible, but the meat is even better the next day!! I'm already excited about tomorrow!! I believe they call that gluttony!

Resurrection Eggs

Last year my mom gave me some resurrection eggs to do with Santi. To be honest, I thought he was too young. Let me tell you, even at almost three years old, we had some amazing conversations and questions! This year I'm really excited to start the eggs again, and so is Santi, he remembers from last year!

There are many different items you can put in your eggs, but here is what our set has.

Egg #1 Palm branch, Matthew 21:8. Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Egg #2 Coin, Matthew 26:14-15. Judas betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

Egg #3 Bread, Matthew 26:26. The Lords supper.

Egg #4 Thorns, John 19:2. Crown of thorns.

Egg #5 Whip, Matthew 27:26. Jesus is whipped and beaten.

Egg #6 Cross, Luke 23:26. Carrying the cross to Golgotha.

Egg #7 Nail, John 19:16. Jesus was crucified.

Egg #8 Sponge, Luke 23:36. Jesus is offered sour wine.

Egg #9 Spear, John 19:34. Piercing Jesus side.

Egg #10 Bandages, John 19:40. The burial of Jesus.

Egg # 11 Rock, Matthew 27:62-66. Guarding the tomb.

Egg # 12 Empty, Matthew 28:2-6. He is risen! The tomb is empty!

This would be super easy to make!

Most of these items we all have laying around the house.

I lost the list of verses that went along with the eggs from last year, so I flipped through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and found the verses I thought worked best for each item.

Easter is only 12 days away! Even if you don't have all the items or don't want to do the eggs, you can still read through the Easter story! Start today!!

Rag Rug

Once I finished my dress a few weeks ago, I got really excited about crafting. I looked around to see what fun thing I could do next and found a pretty straight forward and simple rag rug. I already had some old sheets I could rip up, so I began the ripping and braiding process. I have to say, I love instant gratification, maybe thats why I like cooking so much. This project is anything but instant. You rip for what seems like forever, then you braid for actual ever, then you quit because it's taking too long and you need instant gratification, then you finally get back to it days later because you want to see the dang thing done and really need your sewing machine off the kitchen table. Once you finally start sewing the dang thread breaks 7 million times because you didn't follow/understand the directions on how to attach one braid strand to the next. Can you tell that I had a blast with this one? If I weren't stubborn and determined, I wouldn't have finished. But I wasn't about to have waisted all that time braiding to not see the finished product, even if it was subpar!

Ripping, lots and lots of ripping!

Then once you are finished ripping (or think you are...you never really are) you have to get all the extra strings off! Lots and lots of string!

Finally got to do some braiding.

I didn't use a handle, I have long legs so I used my toes! Also, I laid out the rug several times to see how much more braiding I would need.

I finally started breaking thread, I mean sewing!

There was no stopping at this point even if it looked a little weird!

The finished product!

I was soooo over the rug by the time that I finished it, that I actually was mad at it! Haha! Ive given it a little time now and its actually starting to grow on me! I will never make one again (I know, never say never) but I'm glad I did it, or at least, I'm glad it's done! This little rag rug is the perfect size and exactly what I needed right by my sink. I'm glad I stuck through the process. No more crafting for me for a while! I think I'll stick to cooking!

Eggless Cookie Dough Bites

Sometimes I think I'm still a kid! When I see a recipe like this I get really excited and have to try it right away. The homemade reese's peanut butter cups are still my favorite, but this is a super quick and easy alternative.

Mix all the ingredients together. I thought it looked a little weird at this point, but never judge until you taste!

Roll into balls and stick in the freezer.

Melt some chocolate chips and cover the dough balls.

Aren't they pretty? Stick back in the freezer to harden the chocolate.

Cookie dough bites! Mmmmm...

I had some taste testers, they approved! Finger lickin' good!

Don't judge me! I eat salad sometimes and hide spinach in lasagna for my kids too!

White Cheese and Chicken Lasagna

Ok, this is my favorite favorite lasagna! I love it with all my heart! This is the recipe I was so super bummed I couldn't find a few weeks ago when I was making the meat lasagna. BUT, it is back online and I found it! Happiness! The recipe makes a large amount, so I always cut it in half and put one in the freezer for a day I don't want to cook.

I normally cook the chicken on the stovetop in an iron skillet with a little salt, pepper, and oregano or basil.

If a recipe calls for 1 clove of garlic it must be a joke, do not listen, add at least 3 or more...lots more!!

Onions are great, I like them just fine, but when you cook them in butter...OH MY WORD, the smell!!

The cheesy sauce! Mmmmmmm!!

I add the chicken, ricotta, and spinach together, it just makes the whole process easier!

Since I split my batch into two smaller pans I have to cut the noodles to fit. I was using a knife until one of my intelligent friends suggested using a pizza cutter! Yeah....much easier and faster!

Then just start layering. Sauce, noodles, chicken mix, noodles, sauce...

I don't normally have fresh herbs on hand, so I don't add the parsley. One day I will have a house and a backyard and I will grow my own herbs. It will be amazing!

Top with cheese. Bake one, freeze one!

I bake the lasagna for 30 minutes with foil. This is what it looks like.

Then broil for 5 minutes or less (checking often) and it looks like this! Heavenly!

I don't know what it is about this lasagna that I love so much, the spinach, the cheese, the chicken! Ahhh! I try and refrain from making it every single week so that Nolan and the boys won't get sick of it, but its' hard!

Then sometimes after dinner you pull the birthday cake (from 3 months ago) out of the freezer and everyone loves you the very mostest!