Easter Video

This video captures lots of Jase's cuteness Easter morning. He was so excited about all of his treats! The funniest is how "slo-mo" he tries to taste the whopper egg. He does this with any new foods we give him. I love it!

Smoky Pork Enchilada Pizza

Leftover shredded smoky pork—about a pound (see recipe below)
½ can of corn, drained
can of black beans, drained
½ can of diced tomatoes, drained
½ can of green chilis, drained
taco seasoning to taste
pizza crust of choice, uncooked

½ can of red enchilada sauce, medium heat (10 oz size can)
½ block of light cream cheese (the 1/3rd less fat kind)
about a pound of shredded monterey jack cheese

Directions:
Heat pork, corn, beans, tomatoes and green chilis together in a pan. Let simmer for about 10 min+ until the flavors meld together. Add taco seasoning to taste. Meanwhile, simmer the enchilada sauce with the cream cheese in a small pot. Use whisk to smooth.

Press pizza dough into 13x18” cookie sheet. Spread the enchilada cream cheese sauce over your crust. Then top entire pizza with pork mixture. Top that with monterey jack cheese. Cook about 400-425 for 10-15 min until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown. After you take it out of the oven, you can top with fresh parsley (pretty) or maybe even cilantro if you have it on hand. I think that would be yummy. Enjoy!

Smoky Pulled Pork

Sorry I don't have a picture. This is a simple & yummy recipe I came up with the other day. It's awesome.

2.5 lb boneless pork shoulder ribs (or any meat you wish. a more fatty cut will produce greater flavor)
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 1/4c water
2 tsp beef boullion (I use the creamy kind from Costco), just put enough for the water amount
2 Tbsp liquid smoke
medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

Put onions on the bottom of the crockpot. Place ribs on top of them. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and cook on low 8 or more hours. Drain. Shred. Serve. Use leftovers to make Smoky Pork Enchilada Pizza.

Mack Daddy Chicken Alfredo Pizza

I concocted a homemade pizza tonight that was SO GOOD, i MUST share!!!

Ingredients:
Jar of Classico Four Cheese Alfredo (you'll only use about half to 3/4 of the jar.) You could make your own sauce from scratch but I was in a hurry tonight.

Since I was pressed for time (plus i got these on sale), I used 2 cans of pillsbury classic pizza dough. This FILLED an entire cookie sheet's worth of a medium-thick crust (I have one of those stainless steel bigger cookie sheets).

I also used pre-cooked bacon (about 6 slices) and cut it into pieces. I actually threw it in with the chicken when I was cooking it.

Slice (or cube) a yellow bell pepper (mild flavor & pretty color). I used about 3/4 of the bell pepper.

Slice into thin strips (or cube) a purple onion (sweeter than yellow ones). I used about half the onion.

Handful of fresh spinach.

About a pound of mozzarella cheese. Some parmesan for sprinkling.

Cornmeal (optional, but i recommend it)

Saute about a pound of raw chicken cut into slices or chunks (however you like it) in olive oil till browned. I seasoned it with tony's (if you don't have this you could use Lawry's), garlic powder, and some italian seasoning. Set aside.

Directions:
Ok after you get the chicken/bacon mixture cooked, grease the bottom of your cookie sheet. Sprinkle the cookie sheet with cornmeal. I like to use a lot. It makes the bottom of your crust nice & crunchy. Then open the 2 cans of pizza dough. The dough is perforated, so I had to kind of piece it together and pinch the seams closed to make a nice, solid crust to cover my pan. Anyways, then put on the alfredo sauce straight from the jar. This is the part that I sort of "messed up" on. I was scared to overdo it, so I didn't put on enough sauce (I ended up microwaving some and dipping the pizza in it later!). I used about half the jar, but next time I'd use more. Just make sure it is nice & thick when you spread it on--not thin!! Ok after that, sprinkle on your chicken & bacon mixture, onions, and bell peppers. Then put a few spinach leaves all over the pizza. Top with the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle parmesan on top of that. Bake at 425 for about 17 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

It is soooo pretty, colorful, and yummy! I love all the colors from the brown bacon, yellow bells, purple onion, green spinach, etc. Gorgeous. Looks better than a restaurant's pizza! Tastes better, too. I can't wait to make this with my homemade dough.

Suicide Watch

I can't remember where I heard this, but the other day someone referred to the toddler years as "Suicide Watch." I cracked up laughing because that is TOTALLY what it is!!! And I guess it is even worse in my case b/c he is a boy! Just today he was standing on the bench part of a picnic table we bought him (a kid's version, pictured above) and he started closing his eyes (he does this a lot lately for "fun"). I was sitting on the carpet close by watching him. Well as soon as he closed his eyes I was thinking that he was going to lose his balance. Sure enough, before I could get to him, he stepped backwards off the bench and his tooth and gums hit the edge of the bench! ARGH! Poor baby. Screaming and blood followed, and I was in a panic to see what damage he'd done. After a minute the bleeding stopped (thank goodness) and he calmed down. Looks like he split the connective tissue from the gums (in the middle of the front teeth) to the upper lip. Eew! I called the pediatric nurse, pediatrician and the dentist. Sounds like he is going to be ok and it should heal just fine. I don't know how I am going to survive this boy! He keeps giving me heart attacks! :)

New Orleans Trip

I had the chance to take Jase & myself to Louisiana at the end of March. The plane ride both to and from N.O. was RIDICULOUS. But that is another story in itself! Let's just say a 3.5 hour flight turned into about a 5 hour flight each time! And Jase is not a kid who will fall asleep in your arms (thank you, sleep training). Ok side note about sleep training--since 99% of the time I am home, I love that he goes right down for naps/bedtime. But when you are traveling? OMG kill me. He was fairly good for the first 3.5 hours or so, but then after that he was just done. Ok didn't I say this was a story for another day? Ok moving on...

Here's a cute pic of the 2 cousins hanging out at Aunt June's house. Jazzmyn is my sister's darling little girl. She's about 1.5 months older than Jasey.
Did I mention my camera really stinks at taking indoor pics with bad lighting? Can't you tell below?? Anyways, that's my cute sis on the left, and me on the right. We had just returned from dinner with the whole fam at Medina's in New Orleans. It was good, but we had a crazy bellowing man for a server. Hmm.
This is Grandma Jenith getting a sweet kiss from Jase. We were hanging out at Aunt June's again with Grammy, Uncle George, my dad, and Ashley, Dustin, and Jazz.
So this is the reason I made the trip down. My friend from high school, Maria, got married! Yay! I drove up to a gorgeous plantation home on a beautiful day and hung out with my ol' blast-from-the-past crew. Needless to say I cried about 20x while I was there. I really really miss my friends. High school was serioulsy the TIME of my LIFE. I miss it!!! Oh L to R is Lindi (Laci's lil' sis), Christy, Maria (the blushing bride), Laci, Me, and Babette.
My dad with his 2 grandkids! I don't think Jazzmyn was into this at the time :)
More pics to come!!!

AI super mini Recap

Ok I don't have lots of time, but all I gotta say is that my 2 overall favs of the night were MATT & ALLISON. I thought they were incredible, and really seemed like seasoned performers on that stage. Who's leaving tonight??? I'd pick either Anoop or Michael. They just don't do it for me.

Amiee's AI Recap 3/17/09 Show

1. Michael (Aint Goin Down) - props to him for singing such a fast song. he just doesn't really do it for me, ya know? however, I think he fits MUCH better in the country genre.
2. Allison (Blame it On Your Lyin' cheatin'...) - i thought she kind of oversang it a bit. she's much better with alternative rock songs. but she's a good singer. i just wish her personality OFF stage will improve.
3. Kris (To Make U Feel My Love) - ok i love this song. i also loved his version of it. very heartfelt and nice job on vocals. first time he really got my thumbs up. BUT did anyone else notice how tight his pants were in the crotch area? LOL I was DYING!
4. Lil' Rounds (Independence Day) - ok funny thing about this song. i wanted to sing a "big" song last summer at the town festival and i chose this. NOW I know what it's like to sing a song that's too big for your voice. i thought i sounded weak on it (but i sure sound good singing in the car!) anyways ok, back to Lil. i love her as a person. i think she is cute and spunky. i thought it was WAY funny hearing her sing a country song, though. i agreed with the judges--she wasn't herself, even though she sang it well. funny that simon kept calling her "little." ah, the british!
5. Adam (ring of fire) - ok yeah, it was a "strange" version of the song but even though I don't love adam, i thought the song fit him really well. he has some awesome high notes. seems effortless when he sings. technically amazing. but i just don't like him that much. i did think the song was kind of a cool arrangement. reminded me of Morrissey.
6. Scott (wild angels) - scott, scott, scott. something is just off for me with this kid. however, i did like how he slowed it down at first. my problem is that it sounded like a song you'd hear on Delilah's radio show (soft songs) or in an elevator--ya know? BUT he is amazing at arrangements on the piano.
7. Alexis (jolene) - first of all i have never liked this song. i did NOT like her performance at all--though the 2nd half of it was MUCH better than the first. i think she kind of blew it on this one.
8. Danny (Jesus take the Wheel) - random song choice but it was cool. i did think the first verse was dragging, but once he hit the chorus it was really good. and i have to say that I was laughing soooo hard when Simon made the comment about the jacket b/c when he first went on stage i had said out loud from my sofa-- "what the crap is that jacket about?" I am too good! Danny was funny about the parachuting comment, too.
9. Anoop (Always on my Mind) - surprisingly good. MUCH better than last week. and his hair was fixed and I swear they waxed in between his eyebrows, too! ha! i really liked it, especially the last 20 seconds of the song. but i just don't see this guy being successful and selling records.
10. Megan (I go out Walking after midnight) - was she really in the hospital?? hmmm. here's the thing with megan. she is NO WHERE near the vocalist that the others are. however, she is sooo different and quirky that it's kind of nice having her in the competition. for that reason, i hope she sticks around. i thought the song was OK. I wasn't jumping outta my seat or anything.
11. Matt (so small) - nice version. loved the piano. i can totally see this guy being very successful and on tv, etc. he comes across as "current." it was good. loved it.

Ok so who do I think should get kicked off??? Tough one. As far as performances go, I think Alexis was the LEAST memorable. BUT I think maybe Scott or Michael should go. But Scott works so hard on that piano, so maybe Michael. He's just OK in my book.. So yeah, I vote for Michael to get kicked off this week. Oh wait I don't like Adam. But he's too good of a singer, so I think he will be here for a few more weeks.

Who was the best? I think I'd have to give it to Matt tonight.

How funny was that when Randy Travis was freaking out over his nail polish and his version of Johnny Cash's song? Bwahahahhaha! That was classic.

Gardening for Idiots

Do they make a book for people who are completely clueless about growing their own food? I am determined to have at least TWO vegetables growing in my yard this year. I've heard these raised boxed gardens cut down on the weeding (woo hoo-right up my alley! except who will build these for me?). I just want to have a few things planted--nothing too big or overwhelming since I barely have time to brush my teeth these days...but I want something. Anyways, I have no idea where to begin! And what grows well in my area? When do I start (hopefully it's not too late already, but I do still have snow cover on the ground). The only thing I do know is that tomatoes don't do well here (heard it from my neighbor). Anyways, if you know of a good website or blog for beginners, I'd love a comment about it. Thanks!

Amiee's AI Recap - Michael Jackson Theme

Well well well. The first "REAL" show with the Top 13. I couldn't wait to watch it! I have to say that I am REALLY liking the new judge, Kara. I have a soft spot in my heart for Paula but dang--sometimes it is so frustrating listening to her speak bc it's like "get it out already!" I hear it's her last season on the show anyways, which is why they brought on Kara. Ok let's get to the meat & potatoes of the show!

1. Lil' Rounds - Sang "The Way U Make me Feel." I like this chick. Super cute personality. Seems like a nice person. Thought she did well on the song--but I didn't love the song choice. Kind of hard when you have to pick a Michael Jackson song!
2. Scott - Never ever heard of this song! "Keep the Faith?" I did like him MUCH better on the piano. His hair is driving me INSANE! They even had stylists this week--so what gives?
3. Danny - "PYT." Good vocals. He was dancin' like a crazy man. Really got into it! Ha! Actually reminded me of Taylor Hicks.
4. Michael - "You R Not Alone." Better vocals than I expected but his voice does NOT match his look to me at all! Bugs! I'd rather he go country. But whatever. He loves R&B so that ain't happenin'. Good part was that the song did NOT remind me of MJ's version.
5. Jasmine - Why does this girl bug the livin' daylights outta me??? WHY? Oh I thought her version of "I'll Be There" was soooo boring and blah blah blah.
6. Kris - Well his wife sure is cute! He is cute, too. Liked him with the guitar. Lots of sharp notes on the bridge. He sang "Do U Remember."
7. Allison - Wow this chick can SANNNG. I love her songs! I think she is like a little Kelly Clarkson all the way. She's confident, has great tone, and seems already like a signed artist. She sang "Give Into Me." I really liked it.
8. Anoop - Yay they kind of "fixed" his hair a bit! And the outfit was a HUGE improvement from the previous shows (thanks stylists). Hated his version of "Beat It." Agree with Paula. Should NOT have touched that song. Bad idea.
9. Jorge - aka eyebrow man. Sang "Never Can Say Goodbye" which I've never heard, either. Eegh. I just didn't like it at all. I can see him being popular in the LatinAmerican culture. Reminds me of Marc Anthony a lot.
10. Megan - Can this girl get any prettier? Seriously! I thought her vocals sounded good but the song choice of "Rockin' Robin" was just "coo-coo" if ya ask me. Like WHAT was she thinking picking that song?
11. Adam - *sigh* I just don't get the hype over this guy. Yeah, he can sing. But I thought the "Black or White" song was sooo "hairband" for me. Like he would rock it out if he were in a band like "whitesnake," AND if those bands were still popular today, ya know? Ha ha ha.
12. Matt - I was feelin' the JT/Robin Thicke vibe from him, too. I thought he overdid the riffs a bit, but overall I liked it. He made "human nature" seem like his own song and kind of current.
13. Alexis - I thought she did pretty well on "dirty diana." It was good. I do think she oversang it a tad...but overall it was pretty good. I hope she sticks around.

Ok so my top pick of the night is ALLISON. My 2 choices to get kicked off are JORGE & JASMINE. What do y'all think???

King Cake

So since I'm from the New Orleans area and all--we had to celebrate Mardi Gras with a little party at my mom's. My cool Uncle manages a restaurant in the French Quarter called Acme Oyster House and shipped us up some authentic frozen entrees (woo hoo). Mom invited a few friends, and I was in charge of making a king cake. It's a tradition that is a really long story that I don't know how to tell very well...but the "cake" is basically a cross between pastry & a donut, with sugary frosting and some sort of cinnamony filling. They get more fancy that that, but that is the basic idea. I searched online for a few ideas and whipped one up. Well I shouldn't say "whipped," because it took MUCH more time than that. I made mine with a roasted pecan, brown sugar & butter filling and cream cheese icing. I have to say it came out BEAUTIFULLY. And it tasted EVEN better. It was a hit! Here's a couple pics:
Mom even had a little plastic baby doll for me to insert into the cake. Tradition goes that whoever finds the baby in their piece of cake has to host the next party. The baby is representative of the baby Jesus, believe it or not. The entire Mardi Gras celebration really is based off of the Christ child and such..."funny" because the holiday is the OPPOSITE of churchy! it is an all out PARTY! I think the idea is to party it up before the Catholic lent. Ok I should really go online and read up on it, but I'm not in the mood.

Jase's All Terrain Wagon

We bought him a pair of sunglasses the other day (SUPER cheap at Children's Place)--anyways we wanted to see if he'd really wear them. Do you know he did not take them off AT ALL? He had them on for like 40 minutes. It was too cute! We are both so proud! We also got him this cool Radio Flyer All-Terrain wagon. It has wooden things you can put on all 4 sides of it--but for now we just put on the back one so he could climb in and out on his own. We finally had a "somewhat" warm day and had to try it out. Here's a quick clip of his cool ride.

New Favorite Commercial

I'm Too Old

Thanks for your comments. I can't audition for A.I. because I am way older than they allow. I would be terrified out of my MIND to hear what Simon would say to me anyways. Yikeski!

You Were Meant for Me

Roob was kind enough to play the guitar for me on this song. Smart idea on my part :)

American Amiee?

Ok, I know many of you are just dying to see this clip. I do not say that this is my best performance--nor is it my worst. It's an "okay" one in my book. Don't laugh at the guy holding the mic, either! This was a very casual event and I thought it would be a good time to see what it was like to sing while playing the guitar (normally I just sing). It definitely motivated me to practice the guitar a lot more. Those musically inclined will hear a few mess-ups on the chords. I was so nervous I kept forgetting to play "Em." Gah. Anyways, I want to play more so that I can just play without thinking about it so I can focus more on the vocals.

P.S. American Idol has inspired me to dig out my ol' singing videos. More may be surfacing!!!

Amiee's American Idol Recap

A friend inspired me to blog about A.I. every week because I am so obsessed with it. Seriously. All I can think about while watching it is "what would they say to me?," "how could I improve?," etc etc. Like I said, I'm obsessed. That being said, as much as people love to hate Simon, I usually agree with him 98% of the time. Here's my take of Wednesday night's show:

1. JASMINE - Something about her just rubs me the wrong way. Didn't like "love song" for her, either. She sounds like she'd be much better on a nice soulful song.
2. MATT - Piano dueling guy. He could possibly be good, but this Cold Play song was whack. Very pitchy. He tried to jazz it up way too much w/ runs, etc.
3. JEANINE - Oh my goodness I hated it. Seems like she is probably an awesome singer so why the heck did she sing that Maroon 5 song? It was all wrong for her. I was happy when it was over. And could those shorts have been any shorter?
4. NICK or should I say NORMAN? - Ok he is funny & entertaining, but I don't think it's fair that they even put him through this far in a serious singing competition. I would be so mad if I were in his group and had to compete for votes against him just bc he was funny!
5. ALLISON - Ok love "Alone" by Heart, and I thought she did really well. Reminds me of Kelly Clarkson. However, when she was chatting with Ryan she was being SOOO WEIRD. What was that about? I'm hoping she was just super nervous bc that was just strange. Once she sang, though, she was pretty good. And she's young--so that's always a plus in the industry.
6. KRIS - Man in the Mirror is such a random choice to sing but whatever. I thought it was good but I wasn't blown away by any means.
7. MEGAN - This girl is so pretty (except I don't like the huge tatoo) and definitely different. Thought her body movements were a bit quirky--but I guess that could work in her favor. Cool tone to her voice.
8. MATT B. - Seems like a nice guy. Good vocals but boring performance for me. He sang "If you Could Only See."
9. JESSE - Very comfortable on stage. Cool tone to her voice, also. I liked her personality. She seems real and cool.
10. KAI - Nice guy but way cheesy song and performance! Song was just too old--blah.
11. MISHA - Ok I thought this chick has tonnnns of potential. She has a really good voice! Even though that song was a bit boring, I'd like her to get through bc I think she will improve a lot.
12. ADAM - I'm on the fence with this guy. Is he an amazing singer? YES. But since he is already successful with theater in California, I'm kind of pulling for some of the other singers to get through instead of him that could use a chance at some success. I thought some of his song was WAY cheesy (dramatic/theater style) but other parts were freakin' awesome.

So who would I choose at the 3 to get through??? Tough decision. (First of all can I say that I don't think it's fair how they do the highest voted boy, highest voted girl, then next highest vote? I think it should just be the top 3 people with the highest votes REGARDLESS of gender. Regardless! Why does gender matter???) It seems so unfair to have to judge these kids based on one performance (especially those who have had like zero camera time earlier in the season).

Well I guess I'd say Allison, Misha and Jesse or Megan. Dang I know that's four! AND there's not a boy in there. Ok well if I had to pick just one boy, I'd pick Matt the piano guy. I think he'd be much better if given the chance. He just picked a bad song tonight.

The Pioneer Woman

I have a link to this site on the side of my blog BUT since "P-dub" has changed my life--I thought I would do a lovely post about it. I love her site! It's a cooking blog (she also has a photography blog, home & garden blog, and I think something else, too) with tons of pictures and funny comments to boot. But the food blog is my FAV. Most of her food is pretty simple and of course, not necessarily low calorie--but they are easy enough to lighten up if ya need to. Anyways, I recently shared it with a good friend of mine, and she liked it just as much as I do! So now I know it's not just me. Ha! Hope you enjoy it! You can click on the title of this post to link to it, too.

VAleNtinEs Day & Jasey Stats

Hi. Just thought I'd do a quick update. So far it seems the splint for Jase's hand is helping! He has been using that finger more when the splint is off, and he also keeps it a bit straighter than he used to have it. So yay for that!

Jase had his 15 month checkup this past week, too. I think he's starting to remember the pediatrician's office now bc as soon as he saw the nurse, he started screaming (he's never done that before). He cried even more when the doc was looking in his eyes & ears than he did for the shots! Poor baby!) Here's his latest & greatest:
WEIGHT = 27.29 lbs, 82%
LENGTH = 33.07", 92%
HEAD SIZE = 19.5", 95%

We didn't really do anything cool on Saturday for Vday (well we drove around town all day & ate a lovely meal at McDonalds since the restaurant waits were ridiculous), but I cooked us up a romantic dinner this evening. I have to say everything was exceptional except the steak was a bit tough (I think it was due to where I purchased it). *note to self*--get online and research tips for tenderizing steak--Anyways, I also made shrimp scampi (minus the noodles), steamed asparagus with butter & parmesan cheese, mashed potatoes, rustic artisan french bread, and little mini chocolate lava cakes. I also made some chocolate dipped strawberries. Did I mention I need to open up a restaurant??? It was way yummy and my stomach is a little sick from eating all of that...oh well. It was worth it. We sort of ate by candlelight (with Jase, of course) and then put him to bed and hung out with each other for a while. It was really fun! I have to say I love the Roobenator so much! He is the BEST and takes such good care of me and my boy. I hope you all had a good day, too!

We're Number One!

Well what is this, you ask? It's Jase's super cool new splint. We took him to an orthopedic surgeon about his burn scarring since he can't really straighten out his pointer finger. In an effort to stretch it as much as they can (the scar tissue will still "form" for about 2 more months), he has to wear this every night and about half of the day.
I say it's super cool because it constantly reminds me of one of these: (hahaha)
As you can see it's rather long down his arm. They made it that way so it wouldn't be as easy for him to take it off.I had to post this picture because it cracks me up! He was getting SO MAD that I wouldn't let him have the digital camera. FUNNY!
Ok here is a cute pic of him so he can redeem himself from that last one! :) It already seems like the splint has made a difference, too. He uses that finger more AND keeps it a little straighter than he used to. I am HOPING he can avoid surgery all together. But just in case, they scheduled him for hand surgery in May. We'll keep ya posted.