It's a Great Day to be Laaaaaazy

(go here and join in!)

and...

Just another lazy Saturday...well, kinda.

There are things to do
(like cleaning
and teaching piano lessons
and that babysitting job later)

but I refuse to let it stress me out :)

So here's to a lazy...ish...day! Happy weekend all!

Thursday's Ten: Kitchen Staples

So, apparently I'm hungry as I'm writing this :)



Today's Ten is all about what you ALWAYS have in your kitchen. Just ten things...that you can whip a last-minute meal out of if need be!

Kitchen Must-Haves

1. Fire Roasted tomatoes (at least 3 cans)
2. chicken broth
3. pasta of some sort (if not several)
4. potatoes
5. milk
6. frozen veggies for when I'm out of fresh
7. eggs
8. cilantro (fresh, usually)
9. whipping cream
10. sauce, and plenty of it. my refrigerator door is impressive.

What about you? What do you *always* have on hand? Sign MckLinky and grab the button!

Recipe of the Week: Chicken Fajita Burgers

Somewhat based on this recipe from Food Network. I made quite a few changes though!



Chicken Fajita Burgers

1 1/3 pounds ground chicken
1 tablespoons ground chipotle chili powder, a palm full
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Several drops hot sauce
1 tablespoon grill seasoning (I used McCormick's SpicyMontreal Steak Seasoning)
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 small or medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped (I added this to Anthony's burger, but not mine)
salsa verde or tomatillo salsa...to taste/sight
tortillas/wraps (I used TJ's habanero lime wraps)

Combine chicken, chipotle powder, cilantro, hot sauce, onion, peppers, green salsa, and grill seasoning. Score and divide meat into 4 sections and form big patties, 1-inch thick. Drizzle patties with extra-virgin olive oil and cook 6 minutes on each side or until meat is firm and cooked through.

To serve, fold wrap creatively around burger and secure with a toothpick...or a small kabob skewer if that's what you have handy...

These were pretty amazing. Definitely keep some extra green salsa on hand to put on the burgers though--it makes them better! I think next time I might try a fresh tomato slice on top...perhaps some homemade guacamole...

(sorry I wasn't able to get a decent shot of them...but they were yummy!)

Monday's Memory: The One With Disney and a University President

(thats me, far left, holding the iced coffee and Disney bag. not much has changed in my love of coffee and shopping!)

In 2002, one of the choirs I was involved in took a bus to Orlando for a long weekend. We performed at several area churches, but we DID spend a day at Disney. We could pick one park, and my friends and I chose MGM Studios. My reasoning was that since I'd never been to Disney I'd rather come back and do it one day with my kids.
(or not. now I kinda just want to go!)

Anyway, my good friend Bethany (far right in the picture) and I caught up with some friends. We were lucky enough to get asked to be in the cast of a show because we got there early (although it made us really wet!) and I survived the Tower of Terror (never.again). I loved the Rock-n-Rollercoaster or whatever it's called because not only did it blast Aerosmith, it also was all in the dark so I couldn't tell when I was upside down!

We were surprised to bump into our university President when we were headed to the meeting spot. Apparently he had also chosen our park, and we asked to get a picture with him. Dr. Millard Reed is such an awesome and incredible man--I'm glad to have this little photo treasure :)

It's a Great Day to play Laser Tag

(go here to join in)



I made a header! AND button!

I know that's really not too impressive and they're not all that, but I'm still excited that I figured it out :)

Today a big group of us are playing laser tag, and then I'm babysitting. At SOME point this weekend I AM going to the Pub. My friend's new pub just opened! You can check out his website here.

Takin' Care of (some more) Business

Long, long ago
(like maybe Septemberish)
Shanda gave me these awards.

"those who receive this award are of the sweetest nature. they are kind, friendly, funny, loving, eager to share their love for Jesus with others, and brave in their efforts to reflect Him to this darkened world. they are the kind of folks you're blessed to know, even if it's only in the bloggy-sphere."


I'm passing these awards on to some of my most loyal commenters/followers!

Brooke
Bethany (happyascanB)
Caitlin
Bethany (striving to be bold)
Katy and Ross
Amanda
Megan
Heather
Mattie
Tabitha
Jenny
Steph
Heather
Sassy Chica
Aleta
Yonca

I love them all--they're SO supportive and wonderful. Go visit them please and leave them some love :)

Thursday's Ten: Places You Want to Visit

I love SO many of the places that I've been, and always want to return (Boston, Chicago, Malibu, Vienna, etc) but I continually remind myself that there's a whole world out there! So today's ten is all about NEW places you want to visit. Places you've never been.



Here's my list...no particular order

Lora's Next 10 Vacations

1. Ireland. The whole stinkin' island.
2. Sydney, Australia (and some other spots in Australia too...but I want to see that Opera House)
3. New York City, NY
4. San Diego, CA
5. Seattle, WA
6. Berlin, Germany
7. Napa Valley, CA
8. up and down the New England area
9. Charleston, SC (and while I'm there, Savannah Georgia)
10. Miami, FL

I'm sure when Anthony reads this he'll be surprised that not more of them are on a beach somewhere!

What about you? Where are 10 places you'd love to go?

Sign MckLinky if you will, and grab le button!

Lent: Ash Wednesday

Well, I'm observing my liquid fast from sunup to sundown today.

And I tried for forever to figure out what.in.the.world to give up.

My boyfriend is giving up games. That's HUGE.
His sister is giving up chocolate. That's HUGE.

I finally settled on these:

no soft drinks (that's fairly big lately)
no cookies (that's almost huge. a huge in lowercase, perhaps.)
nothing on my phone but actual phone calls when driving...even at stoplights or in rush hour. (um, that's something I needed to do ANYWAY)

I think I'll also be observing the no meat on Fridays bit. I haven't made that decision for SURE yet, but most likely I will.

I wrestled a bit with the fact that my sacrifice isn't nearly as impressive as others that I know of.

And then I realized that everything on my list is a healthy choice. Something that is GOOD for me. And realizing that made me realize that I'm still in that "body as a temple" mode. So I'm going to be even more diligent during Lent about what I'm putting in my body...how my sleep habits affect me...if convenience foods are really worth it...

I really think that's what God wants me to focus on right now.

What about you? Are you observing Lent at all? How?

Recipe of the Week: Buffalo Chicken Dip

Well...the outcome of the Superbowl wasn't what I was hoping for, but the food we had at our party was amazing!

My contribution this year was this easy, ooey-gooey, awesome buffalo chicken dip. Original recipe is here, but I changed a couple of things, namely the type of dressing. It turned out a bit healthier (although not much) this way too!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
2 cups shredded chicken (I just bought a rotisserie chicken and used the rest to make a chicken salad)
1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (I used Frank's hot)
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup(ish) ranch dressing (I used skim milk and olive oil mayo to make my own with a hidden valley ranch packet)
1/4-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (not too much or it'll get that crunchy cheese syndrome)

Preheat oven to 300°.
Cover bottom of an 8x8 dish or pie plate with the cream cheese.
In mixing bowl, combine chicken, buffalo wing sauce and butter. Spread over the cream cheese.
Top with just enough ranch and mozzarella cheese to cover.
Heat in oven for 20 minutes and serve with tortilla chips.


See? Easy. And soooooo yum.

This is how much was left at the end...and there was a TON of food