Peanut & Peppered Steak Stir Fry.

We did actually have dinner last night.

Well, I had a couple of bites before I realized my tummy wasn't ready for steak, but I did make dinner, so I am not a total failure.

I failed, however, to take a picture.  It just didn't cross my mind considering I had a lot on my mind yesterday; the detes of which I will not bore you.  I made Peanut & Peppered Steak Stir Fry!  It smelled good and the 2 bites I had were pretty good, so I consider it a win and will share the recipe:

You Will Need:

1 lb sliced or cubed Steak
2 Tbsp Worchester Sauce
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Peanut Butter
EVOO
S&P
Rice - I took a short cut and used Uncle Ben's Asian Rice
Veggies - Aslo took a short cut here and used Birds Eye Asian Medley

Heat some EVOO on Medium heat until bubbly.

Add Steak to pan and S & P the bananas out of it.  Or lightly if you wish, but I prefer the former.  Steak should cook about 5-6 minutes then flipped or sauted (if you wanna be fancy) and cooked an additional 5-6 minutes.  I also S & P the other side.  When cooked fully, you can drain or keep the juices for more juiciness in the pan.  Add Peanut Butter, Worchester Sauce, and Soy Sauce to cooked Steak and allow to simmer and fall in love for about 10-15 minutes.

I added the Rice right to the pan and cooked it all together then served it with the Veggies.

Pretty easy, right?

Suzie Is Back...For a Brief Fill-In.

Hey friends!

Well, I came down with a crucial stomach flu mixed with a little esophogitis and reflux on Mother's Day and am finally starting to feel better today.  Thank goodness!  My house has taken a beating, my menu has taken a beating, and I've missed some great QT with my son and honey.  I am so ready to feel better.

After eating this morning, my stomach is turning, so the thought of this weeks menu is making me quite sick; therefore, I believe this week will be a fly by the seat of my pants menu or it will be up to Big Steven to take care of the food this week.

Big Steven deserves a major big hug when I'm feeling better (right now, he won't come near me) for being so sweet and supportive of me during this last couple of days.  He's been wonderfully okay with me laying down, moaning for hours at a time.

I also got the sweetest homemade card from Little Steven that Big Steven swears he had nothing to do with.  On top of that, I got a new Singer sewing machine from my Love!

{happy Mama's day to me!}



{despite feeling horrible, I was able to pull out a half smile thanks to my wonderful gift.}

I hope you all enjoyed your time with your Mamas this weekend and I certainly hope no one else got horribly ill. 

I will be back in action when I feel up a bit better!  Don't give up on me!

Cinco De Mayo: Quesadilla Casserole

I was going to serve Spanish Chicken Skillet for Cinco De Mayo, but decided last minute that Quesadilla Casserole was more festive.

{quesadilla casserole}

{mmmmm...margaritas!}

You Will Need:

1 lb Ground Beef
2 cans Tomato Sauce
1 can Black Beans
1 bag Frozen Corn
6 Flour Tortillas
2 cups (or so) Shredded Cheese
2 tsp Chilli Powder
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Minced Garlic
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper (optional)

This was also a McCormick Inspiration, just slightly adapted to my pickiness.

Brown Beef on medium high heat; drain.  Add tomato sauce, beans, corn and mix well.  Stir spices in and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or so. 

Spread 1/3 of the beef mixture on bottom of a pan sprayed with Pam or whatevs you use.  Top with 3 Tortillas.  Spread 1/3 of the beef again and top with 1/2 cheese and top with 3 more Tortillas.  Finally, spread the remaining beef and top with remaining cheese!

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until cheese is totally melted.

'Twas yummy.  The best part of the night, however, was this:

{steven doing dishes!}

{enjoying bevvies with my love}

{watching baby steven put legos on his big toes}

{then laying down after they were 'just right'}

{sweet angel}

I Heart Weekends That Rule.

This weekend is going to be super fun.  I have lots of plans this weekend!

The not-so-fun plans include cleaning bathrooms (thank you, Big Steven, for allowing me to clean up your 'beard' hairs kindly left behind :D), lots 'o laundry, kitchen floor scrubbin', dusting, etc.

BUT, the FUN plans include:

1.  Attending a Bridal Shower for one of the Fab Five - Amanda - and GURRRRRRRRL she is fabulous.

circa a long time ago.

2. Making these yummy treats for Amanda and lots of Mommys I know:

{photo cred. goes to Little Miss Momma}

3.  A little bit of this for pre Bridal Shower QT (quality time):

another Fab Five member The Smokin' Hot Twisted Chef

4.  Mama's Day Breakfast w/ my Un-laws (I'm not married yet, but they're still fam):

Brittany & Kelly

5.  Spending time with my wonderful Mama:

I <3 HER!

6.  AND A WHOLE LOT OF THESE GUYS:

the loves of my life.

Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful Moms out there!

Apple & Sage Pork Chops



Inspired by Mccormick Inspirations; adapted to Suzie



You Will Need:
Some Pork Chops :) (let's say around 1-1.5 lbs)
1 tbsp Allspice
1 tbsp Paprika
1tbsp Garlic
1 tbsp Thyme
2 tbsp Sage
1 tbsp EVOO
1 cup Apple Juice
Obviously, having Apples in it would be good...but we didn't have any, which confused me because I thought I'd gotten a bag of them.
 - the recipe also suggests onions, but we've been over my disdain for onions...

Heat EVOO in a large skillet on Medium heat. 

Mix all Spices together and rub it allll over the Pork Chops.  Add Pork Chops to skillet and brown on both sides until fully cooked (about 4 min/side depending on thickness).  Add Apple Juice to skillet w/ Pork Chops and allow these two to go ahead and get married for about 15-20 minutes on LOW heat.  The longer you let them marinate, the more flavor you'll have.

I served these delicious pieces of meat with Butter Garlic Rice mixed with Brocolli and some DELICIOUS biscuits (I heart Pillsbury refrigerated stuff).

The Thursday Push.

Hmm...allergies still suck this week.  Whatcha gonna do about it?  Wear glasses.  Get over it.

As you can see from my Confessions this A.M., I've become a bit lackadaisical  about caring for my home largely due to feeling like a giant pile of crap by the end of the day; And that little green stuff - pollen - gets the credit for that.  I can't even enjoy my sunroof yet!  On top of not getting to wear mascara (which is very sad for me, that's why I've mentioned it more than once), I have to wear glasses.  Glasses + adult braces = largest nerd of all times.

My fix?  The stuff that doesn't suck.  This does NOT suck:

I was mussing my tail off this morning when I couldn't get my contacts to feel comfortable, then I walked out of the bathroom and saw this lovely photo opp.  GAHHHH!  I was just so in love.  Little Steven sure loves Bella.  As you can see, she's a bit indifferent to him, but he thinks she is just neat.

Not even these ill-fitting glasses will ruin that moment.  So.In.Love.

Confessions of a Real Life Mom.

Sometimes I neglect my house.  Don't believe me?  Have a looksie:



Little Steven's Room.  It's a giant toy box.

 

Master Bathroom



Master Bedroom.



Guest Bedroom



The Kitch.



Laundry Room.



The Kitch Again.  No, we don't have a dishwasher, but don't tell Steven that; he'll just argue that I'm a fine dishwasher.

 So there.  My house is a mess.  I did muster up some energy to put the dishes away late last night, but that's about as far as I got.