What a life...

Oh Yeah, my life has been fun lately and I haven't shared any of it with you. So here is a little taste. Actually, it turned out to be a big taste.

Our neighbor brought his horses back to our house for the summer. We've had a ton of fun with them again.

Two of our cats had a total of 10 kittens this spring. Normally, I could care less (they have kittens all the time and they all look the same), but these 3 cuties /\ /\ are actually a lot of fun. In fact we got rid of 2 of our cats so we could keep the one on the far left. He is so sweet!!

I made a new graduation card this year. It turned out to be pretty cute don't you think? If you'd like to buy one just email me and I'll put a listing on Etsy for you.

We had some rain and a double rainbow this last weekend. Charis took this pretty neat photo of the rain. Isn't it cool how the water drops are splashing?  I love rain!

 Yay! for the cool cameras on my ipod touch. Actually takes decent photos.

One of my brothers took me to Chiles for my birthday. Their free birthday dessert of ice cream and hot gooey brownies was awesome!! It was really funny because the staff came parading out with the brownie, singing and clapping.

My mom and I went shopping recently. I found the cutest maxi skirt ever at Kohls! It was the last one on the rack (besides the orange one.)

 
On Monday night I went bowling with some friends.I don't bowling often enough...

 
By the time it was over I had had a blast and a big headache. When we go bowling we sure make a time of it by yelling and clapping whenever someone made a strike or two gutter balls in a row. (Wasn't my idea for the gutter balls, but it sure was funny.)

Scores!!! (wasn't my ball either)

Cool shoes, right?

...the end

So, what have you all been up to lately?


~Susanna

Awesome-Tasting Food!! // lime rice

Are you all having a good week so far?  Mine has been awesome! Last night I went bowling with some friends. (I shall tell you about that later.) Right now I'm in the process of packing. (I'm going to go see my brother that lives in N.C.)

Last week I posted about the Chipotle Chicken I made. I also found a "mock" recipe for their cilantro-lime rice. This tastes almost exactly the same as theirs. It is a terribly easy recipe, just be careful that you don't burn it like I did!! (again) Thankfully, just the bottom was charcoal and the top was still good enough to eat. My problem was I used the wrong burner.  Oh well...

One of the things that makes Chipotle's rice different in because they use Basmati rice. It is more expensive, but tastes really good. 

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Cilantro-Lime Rice 

1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter
2 tsp. fresh cilantro
2/3 cup white basmati rice
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Lime

In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork. Add cilantro and serve with Chipotle's Chicken.

[bahs-MAH-tee]
Basmati is a long-grained rice, with a fine texture. It can be found in Middle Eastern and India markets, as well as some supermarkets.

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  Of course I love this recipe since is has something to do with my favorite fruit!! Limes are just so colorful and pretty!!


~Susanna

a true love story...

While checking my blog roll the other day, someone had posted a video about this terribly sweet couple! It looked interesting and once I started watching, I couldn't quit. (If I ever watch anything it is like 10 seconds here, go do something, 10 more seconds, do something else, etc.)  I had never heard of Ian & Larissa before, but this clip tells you about what sweet people they are. Both of them are very inspiring to me. You can really tell how much each of them love the Lord.





Isn't that just way too sweet?  After I watched the clip I found some of their cute wedding photos. Larissa sure knew how to decorate!

You can read more about Ian & Larissa on their blog.They even have a video clip of their wedding.


Hope this really just made your day bright! I know it did to mine.

~Susanna

Awesome-Tasting Food!! // chipotle chicken

I haven't done one of these in awhile so I decided to make up for it by posting a super awesome recipe!

Have you ever been to Chipotles? Of course you have and you love it right? Or do I even need to  ask... :)  I love Chipotles not just because it tastes really good, but also because it's healthy for you. They raise chickens the way you should.

The other day I made "mock" Chipotle grilled chicken. I don't think it tastes a lot like the real thing, but it was really, really good. It is also a ton of fun to make.


"Mock" Chipotle Chicken Marinade

1 (2 ounce) package dried ancho chiles  -I just used ancho chile powder because it was faster!
1 (7 ounce) can chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (discard chipotle pepper, skim out seeds)
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
6 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 red onion, quartered
1/4 cup oil (canola/vegetable/olive)
1 whole boneless, skinless naturally raised chicken (about 3 lbs, thighs work well too)

Soak dry chilies overnight in water, until soft. Remove seeds. Add chilies and rest of the ingredients in blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Stab chicken with fork to let the marinade soak in. If you're marinating overnight, you won't need to stab it too much. If you're marinating for an hour, stab it all over!

Spread marinade over chicken, refrigerate for one hour or up to overnight. After marinating, grill on medium high on an indoor grill where the chicken can be pressed flat.

If using a skillet, heat oil to medium high. Place a foil-wrapped brick on top of chicken to press it flat. If using an outdoor grill, use charcoal to make it ultra delicious. Place foil wrapped bricks to press chicken flat. You can also make this on a Panini grill on medium high heat. Place something heavy on top to weigh it down.

*If you want, you can throw all the ingredients into a crockpot (bones included), cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 4-6. You will have meat that falls off the bone because it's so tender and the consistency is similar to a stew! You can add 2 cups water or a low sodium stock to keep it from drying out.

Once chicken is cooked let it cool for a little bit and then slice into bite size pieces. Serve with tortillas, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, salsa, and Chipotle Lime Rice. (That recipe is coming next week!!!)

I was telling somebody about this recipe and they were wondering what the chipotle peppers in a can looks like. So in case you're wondering the same thing this /\ /\ is what it looks like.

... and if you're too lazy to cook you can just go to Chipotles and let them serve you. :) 

If you try this recipe tell me what you think. WARNING: this recipe makes you drink water!

~Susanna

"New" Music

If there is one thing I love that would be music. Recently I discovered some "new" music that I can't believe I've never heard before.

So, have you ever heard of The Piano Guys? If you have that's cool and if you haven't then you're in for a treat...

The Piano Guys are these 2 fellows right here /\ /\. You kinda wonder why they call themselves the piano guys when one of them plays the cello. hmm.... Anyway, he does play piano too.

They make a lot of YouTube movies that I think are neat. The two below are some of my favorites.




It was hard to decide which two would make it on here as "my favorites". This arrangement is very well done and I like the songs they choose. Oh, and the scenery is just gorgeous!




My siblings have been going on and on about this song. They all want to play it now.  I can't really blame them.

Now that you've seen these two there are a ton more that you should watch. 

What did you think?  Aren't they pretty good?

~Susanna

8. pinning again...

Good morning everyone! I was up early today taking my Dad to the airport. (He's going to Mexico.)  Being at the airport makes me want to fly again!! Do you like flying? Or do you get sick?

I haven't been "pinning" for over a month, so I thought it was about time to do it again. Some of these pins are really exciting! Well, to me anyway.


1. Hair styles are always the best!

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2. Makes me want to host a party...

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3. This picture is super cute, but I'd change the hat for a "real" cowgirl hat. The old truck rocks!

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4. Now this dress really makes me happy. To bad I don't have one.

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5. Yesterday, I got a free birthday drink at Starbucks. I tried their new Mocha Cookie Crumble Frap. It was awesome!!

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6. I know I already posted this picture here, but I love it so much that I had to do it again!

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7. Breakfast here we come!! Aren't these things darling?

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8. A good packaging idea.

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9. Read, read, read...

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10. The only place you can see a really good sunset...KANSAS!

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What are some of your favorites?

And I'm linking up with TheVintageApple for this post.


~Susanna