Taco Casserole

{Taco Casserole} 

 Here is a meal that we enjoy very much, it is really simple to make and goes a long way.

{Ingredients} 

• 1 Pound of ground beef
• 1 Cup of water
• ¾-1  Cup of salsa, depending on how spicy you like it (I use Mrs. Renfros jalapeno salsa)
• ½ Cup of diced green chiles
• 1 Package of taco seasoning
• 18 taco shells
• 2 Cups of Mexican cheese mix

{Directions}

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

2.  Cook the taco shells for 3 minutes, remove and allow them to cool while you prepare the rest of the meal

3.  Cook the beef until it is browned and cooked through

4.  Stir in the taco seasoning, water, salsa and green chiles and mix thoroughly

5.  Crunch up the taco shells

6.  In a greased 13x9 inch pan layer the ingredients- ½ of the broken taco shells on bottom, ½ of the beef mixture, ½ of the cheese and then repeat with remaining ingredients in the same order

7.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is melted

30 Day Picture Challenge- Day 1

{The Beginning- 30 Day Picture Challenge}

I saw this on another blog, several really and I thought it looked like fun, so here we go! There is a different requirement every day for 30 on what picture you need to post.

Today is day 1 and I am supposed to post a picture of myself and 10 facts about me. It is always so hard for me to think of things to say about myself, I swear that I usually call my best friend and ask her what she knows about me! Let’s see what I can come up with.

• I am super-duper optimistic, sometimes to a fault
• When I was 8 I was bit on the butt by my neighbor’s dog
• I once broke my ribs roller skating, yes I am that klutzy
• My favorite color is brown
• I delivered my best friends baby in her car (more on that later I am sure)
• I hate the taste of alcohol, I can’t stand beer
• I love spicy food, the spicier the better
• I drink a fruit smoothie every morning
• Fettuccine Alfredo is my favorite meal, every time we go out to eat and they have it I get it, I am on a quest to find the best Alfredo sauce!
• I have insomnia, big time! 

Saturday Blog Hops!

Tidy Friday- Clean Out Your Freezer in a Hurry

{Tidy Friday}

This week we must do it, we must clean out our freezers! I know this is rough and I hate doing it but it has to be done. If you have a side by side it is especially important because I bet you have a bunch of food that you don’t even know you have, some expired stuff and a mess on the shelves under all of it!

(before)

I mix my own spray cleaner for my freezer so that I can minimize the amount of cleaner that freezes before I can wipe it out. I mix ½ cup of white vinegar with 1 cup of HOT water and a little bit of lemon juice.

• Start by taking all of the food out, you can move from the top shelf down if you have a side by side. Place the food in a cooler.

• As you pull your food out spray some cleaner onto your rag and wipe down your freezer racks.

• When you get to the bottom of the freezer I just spray the cleanser into the freezer and wipe it out with the rag before it can turn to ice!

• Place all of the food back in, making sure to throw away anything that has been in there for way too long or things that are frost bitten.

(After)

That’s it, you did it! Sparkling clean freezer and now you even know what is in there! Maybe you will find something to make for dinner tonight as an added little bonus. 

Friday Blog Hops

{Blog Hops}

This week I am joining some Friday blog hops, here they are!

The Best Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe

{Stuffed Bell Peppers the New Style} 

I love stuffed peppers, they are a huge hit in our household. This version of stuffed peppers is great because everything is already chopped up and you get just the right amount of everything in each bite! This is a variation of a great recipe that I got from my friend Tina.

{Ingredients} 

1lb of ground beef, browned

1-2 red bell peppers diced up

29oz canned undrained diced tomatoes (I use fire roasted)

15oz tomato sauce (I use a can of fire roasted tomatoes blended to sauce)

¼ teaspoon of thyme

3 cups of beef broth (or water and bouillon mixed according to directions)

1 cup of white rice (I use Jasmine)

{Directions} 

1.  Brown the beef

2.  Using a stock pot mix the bell peppers in with the beef and allow them to soften a bit

3.  Mix in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, thyme and broth bring to a boil

4.  Put the rice in, cover and reduce the heat to low

5.  Simmer for 30-45 minutes until peppers are tender and rice is cooked.

{Optional}

Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated (Parmesan really does make this meal complete!)

5 Famous People That I Need To Be Friends With

{5 Famous People That I Need To Be Friends With}

John Travolta- Besides being super handsome, he has a plane and he knows how to fly it! Since we would obviously be best friends I would get him to fly me anywhere I desire!

Oprah! - She seems pretty cool, down to earth and funny. I wouldn’t have to pay for anything ever again because I bet people just hand her stuff everywhere that she goes. She could plug my blog on her new network.

LL Cool J- So that I could touch his abs and poke his dimples; did I mention that I am obsessed with dimples? Oh, and I would just stare at him all day… aaahhhhh. 

(If he is too busy to be my friend I will take Mario Lopez for the same reasons listed above)

Quentin Tarantino- I am pretty sure that he would be the coolest, most demented friend a girl could have and I am into that.

Kim Kardashian- Since we cancelled our E! I can’t watch her life drama unfold on TV and I miss it terribly, this way I could just call her and ask her what I am missing out on. 

So if you were picking 5 famous people to have as friends who would you choose? 

Blog Hop!

This is week #2 of the I ♥ Blogging Hop that I co-host with Sarah of Moose Tracks and Taters Stacks and Mickey of A Helicopter Mom

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I ♥ Blogging was created to gain new followers, subscribers, tweeters and fb fans. Every Wednesday a new linky will be posted. Join in on the fun!
Here's how it works:
1. Become a GFC Follower, Twitter and FB of myself (Jen) and my 2 co-hosts Sarah and Mickey in spots 5 and 8!
2. Adding the Hop Button to your site is appreciated however isn't mandatory
3. Be sure that you leave us a comment stating you are now a follower of one or all three so we can do the same for you!

Wordless Wednesday

The Bachelor (February 21st 2011)

{The Bachelor (February 21st 2011) Spoiler}

{Dates}

This week was the hometown date week! There were only 4 girls left and all of them will get to be alone with Brad and will also get to introduce him to their families.

__________

The first hometown visit was to Seattle Washington to see Chantal O. and her family. She took him to her house to look around and to see her pets. They drank some beers and sat around her living room talking about the future, their pets, if his house is big enough for all of them, etc.

They went to Chantal’s parents’ house; let me tell you, their house was GIANT! It was very fancy. Her dad asked her to come outside to talk and she told him all about how she feels about Brad and that she is in love with him. Her dad then took Brad out to talk to him; they seemed to have a lot in common. Her dad told Brad that he thinks Chantal is ready to settle down. Brad, in true Bachelor style, asked her dad for his blessing on proposing to her and of course her dad said yes.

 __________

The next date was with Ashley in her hometown of Madawaska Maine. She admitted in a personal interview before he showed up that she was feeling a bit disconnected from him and that she was hoping that the “sparks” would come back when they were back together, she even joked with him about it right away too. She took him to a place where she used to work when she was young. She fed him fries (and pointed out that she could see his crown…). He brought up the “disconnected” thing while they were eating and they agreed not to bother with all of the reassuring each other anymore. She took him shopping in her little town and there was no cashier at the market, just a box that you drop the money in! Honor system, does that still exist? Apparently, yes.

They had a really nice, fun family chat around the table. Her dad took Brad aside and they had their little chat about the future. The dad was very forward, he told Brad that Ashley needs to finish school even if he proposes to her and then asked if Brad wants children. After the talk Brad was a little nervous that he would hold her back in life, oh good job dad, way to put the doubt in his mind! Luckily her sister came to the rescue and told Brad that this is a great time for Ashley to settle down, which made Brad feel better.

 __________

The third hometown date was with Shawntel N. in Chico California. She decided that the best thing to do was to meet him at her job… in the funeral parlor. I question this decision but maybe I am just crazy. The other ladies met up with him in a nice park or something, not a crypt. She asked him if he wants to be cremated when he dies and then showed him where his ashes can go. She showed him the crematorium and explained everything about it; he said in his private interview that he is not sure that he can handle all of his future conversations with her being about death. She had him lay down on the embalming table so she could show him what she does with the bodies. She told him how she drains the blood from the bodies and then how she injects the bodies with the embalming fluid. She led him through her whole process of arranging funerals and everything. What a creepy little date this is turning into!

She took him to meet her parents and her two sisters. Her dad pointed out at dinner that Shawntel will be taking over the family business; she then stepped in and pointed out that she is falling in love and suggested that she might not be there to take over the business. Her dad pulled her to the side and talked to her about how much he needs her to take over the business and to give her a little guilt trip about how the community would be missing her. Then he told her that her plans are destroying his plans for succession of the funeral home. Her dad gave them his blessing on their relationship. I think he can probably see what I see, he doesn’t have to worry, Shawntel will not be the girl that is chosen in the end and she will be there to inherit the business. It’s my guess that she is going home tonight.

 _________

The final hometown date was with my girl Emily in Charlotte North Carolina. When Brad came to meet up with Emily she had Ricki (her daughter) there with her to meet him. Her daughter was so shy and was hiding behind her but Brad brought her a gift, which can get any girl to be your friend. The gift was a kite! Ricki (Sorry if I am spelling that wrong) was not interested in talking to Brad at all and it made for a very awkward situation with Emily trying to get her to talk to Brad and Brad trying to talk to her. Brad asked her if she wanted to fly the kite and it made everything great! Ricki opened up to him and started laughing and having fun.

Emily took him back to her house to show her what a real night in her life is like, they went up to Ricki’s room and played, played board games and had a great family style night together. She asked him to come up to say goodnight to Ricki (at Ricki’s request!) and they did a little bedtime routine. It was so nice!

After her daughter went to bed they sat on her couch and talked about how they are feeling. Emily said in her private interview that she was hoping that Brad would kiss her, and then he told her that he can’t kiss her with her daughter in the house and that he wants to respect her by just hugging her and not kissing her. She wasn’t a fan of that idea! He was totally uncomfortable kissing her with her daughter upstairs and you could tell and that made her uncomfortable! It was insanely awkward and then all of the sudden he starts fanning himself like he is hot and announces that he has to go… he couldn’t find the door and was fumbling around like crazy. When they got to the front door she told him that it was ok to kiss her, he said no and she kissed him anyway and it was great. They kissed a few times and it was really nice, I think they were both relieved.

{And the Rose Goes To}

 Ashley, Emily and the final rose of the night goes to Chantal

{The girl who went home was}

Shawntel

From the trailer from next week it looks like it is going to be good, of course they always make it look like everything is falling apart. I wonder if it really is!? It looked like Emily might be turning down the fantasy suite because she needs to set a good example for her daughter. It also looked like Ashley is busy questioning things again!