Ten On Tuesday

It's Chelsea's Ten on Tuesday!

1.  What two cities should be moved closer together?
San Antonio & Rome. I've always wanted to go to Italy! If the cities were close, I wouldn't have to worry about time changes, jet lag and taking extra time off of work.

2. What was the first plane ride you took?
I took a plane from Corpus to Dallas when I was 13. I was terrified to go by myself, but I really wanted to see my best friend and we hadn't seen each other in years!
3. What continent would you most like to visit?
Africa - we have jungles, beaches and pyramids.
4. What’s your favorite place to window-shop?
Pottery Barn. I just LOVE their stuff!
5. What’s the least fun you’ve ever had at a place specifically tailored for fun?
When I was in middle school, my parents took our family to Schlitterbahn. I got really sick while I was there and had to sit out most of the rides/slides.

6.  You’re stuck on an island with plenty of food, a companion, and a relatively stress-free lifestyle. What do you say when the rescue ship comes? 
I say, "Hooray! Showers!"
7. Which day of the week do you look forward to most?
Since my schedules rotate, it's whatever day I have off that week.
8. What’s your favorite place to enjoy the great outdoors? 
Anywhere that Jason is with me. I like exploring new places with him.

9. What’s on your “to do” list this summer? 
I don't really have a "to do" list this summer until Jason finds a job. Everything is on hold until that point.

10. Which natural disaster freaks you out the most?
Tornadoes. Thank goodness we don't really get them here. It scares me because there's never enough warning and you could lose everything in an instant.

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Birthday and Putt Putt

I'm late on posting this, but on Good Friday, a group of friends and I celebrated Shana's birthday. It was her 29th (*gasp!* I'm posting the truth on the Interwebz for all to see!!!)  birthday! We met at La Hacienda de los Barrios to scarf down some Mexican food and margaritas. Here's me and the birthday girl:

 Shana's favorite dessert is brownies and ice cream. Let me interject here to tell a (relatively) short story. A few months ago, Jason, my brother-in-law Brandon and me visited Shana for a weekend. I thought I'd be a good friend and bring homemade brownies. Now, let's just say that these brownies were kinda sorta awesome. I melted chocolate for these brownies. I melted Guiridelli chocolate for these brownies. And you know what? Those brownies were gobbled up by the four of us. So fast forward to now. I ask Shana what kind of cake she wanted me to make for her birthday. She said she really just wanted brownies and ice cream. "Okay", I think, "I can do that". Then she says, "just make the box brownies. They taste the same anyway".

What? WHAT? Did my friend just insult my baking? "They're just easier", she explains.

 I enjoy baking and I like the process, so I don't mind making things from scratch. But I complied with my friend's birthday request. I bought a box of brownies that specifically called for a 13in x 9in pan. Now here's where the story gets interesting:

I got home after a long shopping trip and got the mix out. It called for vegetable oil. Oh crap. I didn't have any vegetable oil. I only had olive oil. Wait......olives are a vegetable, right? Olive oil should work. It will taste fine. I think.

So I made the brownies with olive oil. The batter tasted a little off, but I wasn't sure if it was just me. I baked those suckers and set them out to cool. Then I notice that they look flat. At this point, I have to be at La Hacienda in a few hours. I don't want to leave. I don't want to do anything. So I don't. I took those sprinkle-laden, olive oil filled brownies to the birthday girl along with some Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream. My mistake was informing Shana of my mishap before she actually ate any. Oh well! That's what she gets for making me make BOX BROWNIES! So here we are lighting the flat brownie:

Do you see how much glass there is over the brownie? Seriously, I was embarrassed to even admit I made it. I made up for it by making her blow out all 29 friggin' candles. Ha!

Dinner was great and no one even complained or turned away the olive oil brownies smothered in vanilla ice cream. Jason and I stopped to take an obligatory photo:

We got a shot of the entire group before embarking to putt putt. We lost a few people on the way. Something about being tired and crabby and working was said, but I chose not to listen to such conversation.

After losing a few people, we were down to eight, making two teams. Here's team RASH (or Robbie, Adam, Shana and Jason. Nope, I have no idea how that spells rash.):

If it helps, the dude being sensual with the putter made it up. Here's team JSBD: Jason, Stephanie, Brandon and Devona. So we may not make up a word, but at least we know what we stand for!

Here's what a 6'8" husband looks like holding the longest putter possible:

Surprisingly, it fit him better than expected. My camera's wide angle lens, however, did not fit him as well as expected.

After 18 holes, I lost by some ridiculous amount. I kinda suck at putt putt, but at least I didn't lose my ball in the water. That would have been worse. Here's Shana with her boyfriend, Adam. Aren't they cute?

And here is my evidence of spousal abuse. I do believe that a putter counts as a weapon!

After smacking him into his place, Jason and I took a lovely picture together:

Happy birthday Shana!

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Healthy Chili Rellenos

I really like chili rellenos, but they are so unhealthy. Chili rellenos consist of Anaheim or Poblano peppers that have been broiled so that the skins can be removed and stuffed with either cheese, meat or a combination of both. But it doesn't stop there. After the chilis have been stuffed, they are battered and fried! Holy calorie overload! I decided to try my hand at a more healthy version. I scoured the Interwebz, but couldn't come up with anything. So, I put my mind to work. These are a combination of my Stuffed Bell Peppers and tacos (sort of). Oh and beware, these babies are nice and spicy! If you don't like heat, leave out the cayenne. And if you want to cut down on the fat even more, leave out the cheese or use reduced fat. Here's what I came up with:

Steph's Healthy Chili Rellenos

6 Poblano or Anaheim peppers
1 yellow onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic (or up to 4 small ones), minced
1 lb 97% or more fat free ground turkey
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 can black beans, rinsed (I use Sun Vista salt-free)
Jalapeno-Jack cheese (I didn't measure, but I grated a 1in x 2in x 1.5in piece of Organic Valley, roughly 1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp per chili)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Fill a large pot with water and put on the stove to heat up. Cut a "T" into each pepper carefully. Try to remove the ribs and seeds from each pepper. I had to shake mine into the sink to remove more seeds. Put the peppers into the pot of water. When the peppers are softened, take out of the water using a tongs and lay on a towel to dry.

Meanwhile, heat a pan with 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add garlic and onions and cook for a few minutes. Add in the turkey and cook until browned. Put in all spices and the jalapenos and cook for a few more minutes. Finally, add in the tomatoes and beans and cook until thoroughly mixed and heated through.

Mist a glass cooking dish (or two in my case) with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully lay the peppers in the pan(s) and fill them with the meat mixture. Sprinkle a little cheese inside each pepper and bake for 15-20 minutes.

By the time I had added the spices to the pan, Jason had already come into the kitchen to tell me that it smelled really good. Then, I let him sneak a piece of turkey and he LOVED it. Here's the chilis right before I put them in the oven:

 And here's one on my plate served with brown rice and sliced avocado:

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First rose of spring!

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Eclipse

So after reading and watching New Moon, you'd think I wouldn't have wanted to move on to the next book in the Twilight series, Eclipse.

image credit

 But I did. I was curious to see how things turned out. While I was in the lunch room at work a few weeks ago, I overheard two girls talking about New Moon. I had just finished reading and watching it, so I told them that I was so disappointed in it after liking Twilight so much. They assured me that Eclipse was so much better and that the fourth book was their favorite. And you know what?

They were right! The Edward/Bella connection was back on with Jacob thrown into the mix. The drama was there. The action was there. I finished the book in about 3 days. This time, Edward feels horrible for leaving Bella and promises to never do it again. Jacob, though he knows that Bella's true love is for Edward, still cares for her and finally professes his love for her, knowing that she will never feel as strongly. While in the midst of an impending vampire attack, Jacob guilt-trips Bella into kissing him and she does. She then realizes that she's "in love" with him, too, but still not as much as she is in love with Edward. Bella finally agrees to marry Edward, but there's no wedding in this book. I guess that's in Breaking Dawn. The good thing about this book is that the storyline about Victoria (a vampire who's mate is killed by Edward in Twilight) wanting to destroy Bella is finally addressed. Overall, this book was just so much more well-written than New Moon.The romance is back and I seriously can't wait until I read Breaking Dawn!

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