summer luvin' brushetta

summer=fresh tomatoes=love

6 or 7 roma tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
6-8 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

1 baguette
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

parboil the tomatoes for 2 1/2 minutes, drain and then rinse with cold water. use your fingers to remove skins. quarter and remove seeds/juices, then chop. mix with the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and basil leaves.

cut thin slices of the bread and brush one side with olive oil. toast on the top rack of your oven, oil side up, for 5 minutes at 450*.

i prefer to NOT top the bread with the brushetta before serving because the bread gets soggy. rather, i serve the bread on a plate and the brushetta in a small bowl. it's also nice to serve this with a little feta cheese to sprinkle on top. if you're feeling really fancy, you can drizzle some balsamic vinegar on the bread plate. enjoy!

makes about 8 side dish servings... or if you are lazy like me and don't feel like cooking anything else, 4 main dish servings.

tamale pie

Sorry my blog is boring.

Here's one of my favorite recipes.

TAMALE PIE

2 cans of beans (black bean, pinto bean, kidney bean) try to pick 2 different varieties
1 pepper, chopped (I prefer red but green works too if you're on a budget) You can also do 1/2 green pepper and 1/2 red pepper if you want, this adds some color
1/2 or 1 onion, chopped
1 4 oz can of diced grean chile peppers, undrained
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced (or some garlic powder)
6 oz vegetable juice (1 small can of V8 or Wal-Mart brand)
1 box of Jiffy corn muffin mix, 1 egg, 1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, or whatever you happen to have in your fridge)
dash cumin
dash chili powder
dash cilantro

Preheat oven to 400* and grease a glass pie pan (or other glass dish that's about the same size, about 2 quarts)

Sautee the pepper, onion, and garlic in 1 tbs oil until tender. Stir in beans, vegetalble juice, chile peppers, chili powder and cumin. Heat through. Spoon into prepared dish.

Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions, add cheese and cilantro. Stir until just combined. Spoon cornbread evenly over the top of the bean mixture. Bake uncovered at 400* for 20-25 minutes until golden.


I based this recipe from one I found in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. I love it because you can mix and match what items you have (like different varieties of beans, peppers, cheese, and clean dishes) and it comes out great. I'm always changing up what I use and probably have never made it the same way twice. Plus you get a whole pie/casserole dish worth of dinner for only a couple bucks worth of ingredients. The best part? It tastes AMAZING when you heat it up later in the week for leftovers!

BAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

I GOT A 96% ON MY FIRST EVER GRADUATE LEVEL TEST!!!!

I hope this motivates me to keep going.

I also hope this does not encourage me to continue to procrastinate... I took the test about an hour before the deadline. Oops.

But I GOT A 96!!!!

Oh, I guess I haven't mentioned what I'm even talking about. As I'm sure you've guessed, I have FINALLY started graduate school. I am working towards my MA in professional counseling. It's a hybrid program with mainly online instruction, but some brick and mortar classes. I should be done (and provisionally licensed!) in about 2 year.

I'm going to a evangelical school. This is a new experience for me, but good one. It's funny though. I was so worried that when I went to grad school I was going to always be the most conservative one and constantly taking heat for it. Ironically enough, I am easily the most liberal of my classmates this semester and now I'm taking mild heat for pushing some touchy issues. (not gonna lie, it's kind of fun). I am happy to be in a conservative setting. I applaud those who are brave enough to go and get their MSW's from public schools and who speak up for their beliefs all the time... but I'm glad I'm not one of them! That sounds stressful. ;)

on adoption

I lied. I'm not going to write about my opinions on politics. They have caused enough problems on facebook! It's been actually pretty funny to watch my liberal and conservative friends argue. It's weird having very liberal views on some things and very conservative views on others. It's also weird being more left wing than most of my church friends, and more right wing than my work friends.

Anyway.

Here's something I DO want to write about. Yesterday I had the opportunity to witness a brave, selfless mother place her child for adoption. I had been with her when she made the decision to place, and she had asked me to be with her when the time came for her to send the baby home with his new family. It definatley ranks up there in the top 2 emotional days at work. It was so sweet to watch the two mothers interact with each other- they both cared deeply for this baby and each other. This baby is so lucky. He has so many people who love him. Especially his birth mom, who knows she can't provide the life she wants for him. She also has such a love for the adoptive couple. Ever since she picked the couple, she has talked about them non stop and how happy she is to be able to bless them with a baby. I have so much love and respect for this young woman and all birth moms out there. They are amazing, amazing people.

Back to blogging?

For the past year, I've been missing my blog and wondering what I could write about. What I'm most passionate about is work, but obviously I can't write about that on here. Recently though, I've become more and more interested in politics. I think it's because I have a new smart phone and the only thing I know how to do on it is call people and check the news. Regardless, I've been posting all sorts of articles on my facebook and really enjoyed listening to what my friends and family members have to so. So, voila, I have something to write about again. This will probably get me in trouble, but at least I can't get fired for it like I almost did last time.

On a somewhat related note

http://lds.org/ensign/2011/02/similarities-and-differences?lang=eng&query=(ward+OR+unity+OR+sisterhood)+-family+-history

If this is how it really went down every Sunday, maybe us non mothers wouldn't feel need to boycott church on Mothers day

On Mother's Day

"You know, Mother's Day really is a horrible holiday. You've got all the people who wish they were mothers who are sad. Then you've got all the people who have lost their mothers who are sad. There's mothers who miss their kids who are scattered all over the country, so they are sad. And then there's all the people who have kids, but feel like they are a terrible mother and are not living up to anyones expectations so they are sad.... I really don't know anybody who actually LIKES this stupid holiday!"

-This person shall remain nameless, but this conversation made my day. This person is a mother, by the way.

Don't get me wrong. I think mothers are wonderful. I love my mom and am so, so thankful for everything she's done. Mothers DO deserve recognition for the sacrifices they make and everything they do to raise their kids.

But seriously. Mother's Day does kind of suck.