Yum Yum Yum!

So I found this Green Chile Tabasco Sauce and it's amazing (thanks Ginni)! Not too hot (not nearly as hot as regular Tabasco) and so I wanted to make Mexican food so I'd have an excuse to use it! I made some tasty "fresh" tacos. I didn't use an exact recipe - I'm more of a "dump and taste" kind of girl.

Taco base: 1 lb. ground turkey, 1 onion, chopped, 1 cup of brown rice, and one can of chili beans. I cooked the turkey and onion together and then added the rest. I added chili powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, a little oregano, and cumin. I like adding rice and beans to my meat so that it goes further and it sticks to your ribs a little more.

Toppings: queso fresco (white Mexican crumbly cheese - you can buy it at walmart), cilantro, tomatoes, avocados, lowfat sour cream, spinach (instead of lettuce - it was all I had), salsa, and my favorite - green pepper tabasco.

I put all of this in some pan fried (without any oil) corn tortillas. Oh my gosh was it tasty!!! Very fresh tasting and I love the queso fresco because it gives it a different flavor than normal. Try it! It' awesome!

I forgot...

I kind of forgot I had a blog...right....so I need to be better about blogging. Sometimes Facebook is just easier. But I'll try to make an effort. So here's a few thoughts from the last few weeks - perhaps a little randomesque, but who cares?

Fall is here and it's wonderful. I love seeing the vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows of the trees. It makes me sad to see the piles of leaves on the grass and streets. It's like saying goodbye to old friends...and grumpily greeting winter's bare trees.

I got the swine flu. It wasn't fun (but when is the flu ever fun?)... I had a fever for 2 days, but 0% energy for 2 weeks. I'm barely starting to come out of it. Blech. Darn kids, breathing on me all the time!

I'm going to see Imogen Heap tomorrow in concert. Should be pretty good...I hope. I spent the last concert being pushed around and standing behind some really tall people. Why can't they all stand in the back? I need some Spice Girl platform shoes.

Summer

Summer makes me so happy! I've been super busy so far with the winding down of school and trying to prepare for the next new year. I love teaching year-round, except during the months of June and July -- all the other teachers are off and living it up, but I still have school. I've got a week and a half of school left, and it's a whirlwind of testing, report cards, checkouts and moving classrooms. I'll be in a portable next year (blech) but there are a few advantages -- more privacy than my middle room, ability to come in when I want/stay as late as I need to ...and that is about all. Anyway, so last day of school is July 2. I have two blissful weeks and then meetings start and school begins the 27th of July.

Here are some things that I'm excited for about summer:

-freedom! (at least for two weeks)
-swimming (I bought a pool pass to all of the SL county pools, so if you wanna go, let me know!)
-Lagoon (season pass!!!)
-gardening
-getting tan
-two rafting trips in Moab
-Harry Potter 6 movie!
-sleeping in...at least until 8
-riding my bike

Makin' Cupcakes

Tonight for Enrichment we made cupcakes a la Bakerella (see her whole site here and look here for directions for this project). There were a ton of people who came and it was really fun. I saw lots of cute cupcakes.
So first, you bake a red velvet cake and then crumble it up. Mix frosting with the cake and make a ton of balls. Dip the balls in chocolate candy cups (melted chocolate poured in a mold) and freeze to harden. Dip into colored melted candy and then decorate!
After I finished that, I had to make some samples for school tomorrow. We are making Valentine's bags so I wanted them to see what they could do. I like how they turned out!

I love Valentine's day! It's one of my favorite holidays - not for the romantic aspects (I've never actually had a boyfriend during the holiday) but for the ability to express my love to my friends. So if you're reading this, you're probably my friend. Therefore, I LOVE YOU!!!

I love pink and red too! I always do something for my roommates - in the past I've made cinnamon rolls with pink frosting, but this year it's waffles with pink coconut syrup. Yummo!!!