Our New Cooking Obsession- and a free sample for you!

In my spare time (what little I have) I am cooking with these products:

... and I AM ADDICTED!

Why? Because it makes me feel great when I am able make all sorts of homemade meals (and I feel even better when I manage to do it in a short amount of time!)

I first heard about the ShirleyJ food products from a college friend in Utah who works for the company.  She was doing all sorts of communications/social media work and the products caught my eye, so I thought I would give them a try.
I was initially interested because John and I were trying to get better with our food storage.  ShirleyJ products have a long shelf-life and I was willing to try them out if it would allow me to make delicious food NOW, as well as help create a stockpile of usable foods for when we would need it most.

I decided to try ShirleyJ's Master 30 Meals (M30M) program, so I could get an idea of what each of the products could do. The kit came in a cute little box with a recipe book and contained instructions and tips to help me become a chef and master 30 unique meals for my family. (That's a month's worth of dinner ideas!) I've already completed 20 meals- and best of all, I won $500 when I entered pictures of my completed meals in a drawing. AWESOME.

I am working with the corporate office to bring ShirleyJ products to home chefs outside of good ole' Utah- because the products are that great.  If you contact me, I can get you a discount on your order and ship it to you at no cost no matter where you live.  You can also visit the site HERE to look at the food products and make an online order yourself.

John and I are hosting a

Cooking Demonstration
(a ShirleyJ chef is flying to Sacramento!)

Friday, April 8

7 p.m.

More details to come on that- you won't want to miss it!

In the meanwhile, want a FREE SAMPLE of their Universal Sauce? 

Leave a comment here and I will contact you each individually and mail it to you.

Here is a photo of my most recent creations in the Kitchen using

ShirleyJ Sourdough Bread Mix, BBQ Sauce Mix, and the White Cheddar Soup Base for....

Valentine's Day Pizzas

White Cheddar Chicken Artichoke and BBQ Chicken

YUMMY

Happy Valentine's Day

Thanks to Answers.com, I learned the reason we celebrate Valentine's day... Do you know why?

Here is the answer I found: (left un-edited for the sake of laughs)
"the romans used to have a celibration on 15th feb where as the roman soldiers got to choose a woman then they would spend the next twelve months with them and then go to the celibration again. but a lot of the soldiers fell in love and got married and did not want to go to battle. so the emperor said no soldiers could get married but the church dissagreed with this and said they would marry them if they wanted. so the emperor had the preists arrested. one of the preists was called valentine, and he was in love with the jailers daughter and he wrote her a letter and the jailer found out about this and had him clubbed to death. and at the end of his letter he wrote, from your valentine. he died on 14th feb and that is why we have valentines day."

Why didn't I ever learn this in school?  I checked some other sites just to make sure this random dude was right- and he's pretty close.  Pretty bizarre that people give boxes of chocolates, flowers, and celebrate love all in remembrance of a poor man that was clubbed to death and died on the 14th.  Pretty romantic, huh!?!

So, with that said...

Happy Valentine's Day!

I LOVE YOU JOHN

XOXO

Will you

? ? ?

Looking Forward & Looking Back






At the beginning of a new year, I reflect on how quickly the last year flew by and I relish in memories while I can still remember! (My brain is sadly dwindling in the memory department.)  How blessed we were in 2010!

We started off the year newly married- what an exciting feeling that was (and still is). 



I don't think there really was an "adjustment" period- we jumped right into melding our lives together. Not even stealing covers or snoring could ruin the excitement of sharing a bed together... and we each knew we could laugh, cry, and even "shoot a bunny" without the judgement of another. 

What JOY!  ;-)

2010 was a year of hard work for the both of us.  Working two jobs was no easy task for me, and John would probably utter the same sentiment because he was busy renovating our home and taking care of his tired wife after working a full day himself.  We knew the hard work would pay off- setting our sights on saving enough money to purchase our first home "together"- a great opportunity to work together toward a common goal.

Hard work should always be followed by great fun.  We enjoyed trips to Colorado, Cancun, and Disneyland with family and friends, amongst other mini excursions. As John has chronicled so beautifully on the blog, you can see we had our share of fun in life this last year.

As this new year commences, (I cannot believe it is already February!)

we are once again setting our sights on great things ... 

We recently purchased a new home and will be very busy in the coming months making this home "ours".  John is GREAT (did I say GREAT?) at remodeling and doing work around the house and we are anxious to complete the work so we can enjoy the fruits of our labor with all of you!

Baby? When are we going to have a baby? (That seems to be the million dollar question lately..) When I am asked that, I think of the age-old phrase "a watched pot never boils" and that some things work out in their own time.  We both want to have a family. We understand our divine roles as parents and we we promise we will let everyone know when our pot is boiling  :)

2011 is a hopeful year for us.... may it be the same for you.  In the meanwhile, John will post updates on our home renovation and we will be busy once again .....

xoxo

Turkey...Burritos? A Cancun Thanksgiving, Part 2

While in Cancun, we participated in three tours: Tulum, Jungle speed boats, and Isla Mujeres.  

About an hour from the Palace is Tulum, what used to be an ancient Mayan civilization, built in the early 1500s on a bluff facing east near the Caribbean Sea.  The Mayans moved to Tulum from Chichen Itza for the sun.  It's amazing to think that this city could actually be 500 years old!  

Some interesting facts were shared by our tour operator regarding the Mayans and their history.  I found them quite fascinating.  Did you know...

• Mayans came from Siberia and Mongolia when the continents were still connected
• The blue spot on the lower back (found on Mayans) is referred to the "Mongolian spot"
• They believed in human sacrifice of women, boys and girls (under13)
• The masks with eyes and mouth open (think Nacho Libre) were used to bury the dead.  They believed in reincarnation.
• November 12 is the biggest celebration, Day of the Dead.

Our second tour was a jungle speed boat tour which was AWESOME!  In a speedboat for two, we drove ourselves through mangroves on the Nizuk River and out to the Caribbean Sea.  Of course, the day we decided to do this, it was overcast and rainy for a few minutes.  Try driving a speed boat while the rain is coming down hard, feeling like hail, dripping into your eyes WITH contacts and attempting to keep up with the rest of the group.  Super fun and unnerving but we managed to stay close.  Don’t worry, the rain finally stopped and we kept speeding away.  Half way into the mangroves, Cam’s boat had a minor malfunction.  Luckily the rain had stopped by then while we kicked it in the middle of the river jungle.  Mr. Hombre Speed Boat Tour Guy came back and got their boat up and running.  Off we went to the middle of the sea!  Once there, all but Lindsay put on their snorkel gear and went off looking for sea life.  She thought she’d look after our things and the boat while we were out.  We came across schools of tropical fish.  They come so close it feels like their touching but they’re not.  I came across an eel swimming on the ocean floor.  Crazy talk.  We said goodbye to Nemo and headed back in our speed boats.  That was a really fun experience.  I want a boat!  If there is any way to own a boat without “owning” a boat, that would be great!

Our last excursion was to Isla Mujeres (Island of Women).  We took a 20 minute ride on what I considered to be a party boat to this island.  It was a cute little island, probably where rich American man own big house.  Upon arrival we walked past an arena of dolphins.  The option to swim with these creatures was available ($$$) but why do that when we were perfectly content waving to Flipper from the pier.  Apparently Flipper had some cousins because there were quite a few of them up in there.  

We continued on to the Palace Resort on the island.  It was there we found a small but secluded beach.  It was very peaceful and the weather was perf.  Don’t worry, we managed to stuff our faces just as well there as we did at Cancun Palace.  Emmalee got her hairs did and braided.  There was a cute little set of piers off of this beach which made for awesome pictures.  

There was this cute little village, not far from the port, filled will dining “establishments” and your typical Mexican souvenirs.  Fortunately for us, having been to Mexico a handful of times, there was no need for blankets, hats, and cucarachas.  We were able to concentrate on the more authentic and unique items…and the necessary magnet.  We came across this shop that sold these fun and unique lamps made from gourds.

It took awhile to find a magnet worthy of my travel mag collection.  It’s so hard to find a magnet that has not been mass produced with a spot where the name changes depending on the locale.  I always look for one that is very unique and says something about the vacation spot.  This one time (not at band camp) we found this really neat magnet hand painted by an artist in Cabo San Lucas.  Since that find, the bar has been raised and the hunt for a worthy addition has become harder.  Just before getting back to the port, I found a magnet that spoke Cancun to me.  Whew, the task had been completed.  Whilst in the middle of our search we came across these odd items:

If you look closely, you'll see that this tree has grown through this little shop.

Huh.  French Bistro Francais...in Mexico.  Really?

The trip back to the mainland was entertaining – the three caballeros hosting the ride were super fun.  Throw in some sing-a-longs, a bottle of Tequila and a few poles, the party was entertaining to say the least.

STAY TUNED FOR THE FINAL CHAPTER...

Turkey...Burritos? A Cancun Thanksgiving, Part 1

We did something a little different this year for Thanksgiving.  We had a great opportunity to stay at the Palace Resorts in Cancun with Lindsay's family.  What a great time we had!  Much like being on a cruise ship the resort was all-inclusive from food to spa packages to tours to entertainment.  Okay, perhaps more inclusive than a cruise ship because of the spa and drinks!  The only difference was that the room didn’t move and we had the same gorgeous view of the beach and ocean everyday! 

The weather was very interesting there.  Like clockwork, the sun would be out bright and early, the temperature warm until about 3:00 pm.  At that point the clouds would start rolling in and it would become very dark and often rainy but still very warm.  Here is what it looked like once the afternoon gloom rolled in:

My three favorite food items at the resort were definitely 1) the hot dogs by the pool because the buns were homemade.  DELICIOUS!  2)  filet mignon at Leonardo’s, the Italian restaurant.  SO GOOD! and 3) the strawberry ice cream.  It tasted like homemade from home!  Lindsay really enjoyed Arrecife and its Brazillian cuisine.  Meat galore.  That was pretty tasty.   She also enjoyed the unlimited strawberry daiquiris.  We’ve decided that maybe we don’t like authentic Mexican food.  The food was a little bland.  Give me a plate of Urbanos or Adalbertos and call me a happy boy!  The desserts were interesting.  I found most of the ice cream flavors to be pretty nasty.  I’m not sure what vanilla they use…  The chocolate everything was just plain weird!  It tasted very different.  The strawberry ice cream was delicious and tasted like something we'd make at home with the ice cream maker!  

Much like Benihana...

  

Watch how the chef cracks the egg below!

Thank goodness for WalMart!  Yes, we created our own adventure by riding the city bus to WalMart.  I highly recommend a ride on a city bus in a foreign country.  The people you meet and the things you see make lots of memories!  Our trips to Wally’s yielded Oreos, Hershey Special Darks and Cheezits.  Ahhh, we were never so happy to have “real” chocolate!  We met the nicest couple on one of our bus rides.  They were grandparents, owned a home in Oregon and travelled all over the world and their next stop was Egypt or Africa or someplace odd like that!  They told us stories of the many places they had been.  We eventually asked how they could afford to do all that they do – They have an empire of rentals! You better believe we’re looking forward to the trips we’ll be taking after we get a few more rentals under our belts!!!

Here are Lindsay and Cam at WalMart figuring out pesos:

STAY TUNED FOR MORE!

Catch Up Time!

Time has gotten away from us as you have probably noticed.  Our last real post was back in September!  The time just flies!  We can’t believe we’ve already been married for a year.  It’s been wonderful!  We celebrated our anniversary two weeks before the actual date as our ward Halloween party had already been scheduled for October 23^rd.   As the Activities Committee co-chairs, we thought it’d be lame if we had skipped out on the party. 

First, let me share with you about our lovely visit to Sutter Creek.  Living just 45 minutes away and having family reside there at various times, I’ve experienced this cute little town many a time.  It’s quaint with a candy and ice cream shop, antique stores, gift shops and fun little restaurants scattered throughout.  They have their own little post office and fire station.  There are also several Bed and Breakfasts available.  While I had noticed the cute B&Bs in the times I’d been there, I had never thought about actually staying there.  Since I proposed to Lindsay at Susan’s Place, a restaurant located on one of the side streets in Sutter Creek, we thought it would be fun to spend our first anniversary at one of the B&Bs there and have dinner at Susan’s Place.

We chose the Sutter Creek Inn.  They had many different rooms to choose from and the grounds were beautiful.  It was like being at Disneyland, everything was neatly trimmed and set just so.  We chose the Hideaway Room, one of the four rooms with a swinging bed (hanging from the ceiling with chains).  The breakfast was delicious!  They offered omelets, muffins, fruit, homemade berry juice, hot chocolate and other tasty items.  We spent some time in the sitting room where we read about the history of this place.  Amazing!  It had been built before the civil war and has been a B&B for over forty years. 

The next morning we drove another thirty minutes up to the small little town of Murphy’s.  With the exception of one store that had some nifty items for the home and garden, the rest of them were wine shops and salons.  It was extremely underwhelming but that’s okay.  Now we know that we don’t need to go back.

All in all a very fun and memorable weekend!

Side note - for those of you who get Sunset magazine, it just so happens that Sutter Creek and it’s neighboring town of Volcano were featured in December’s issue!  Take a peek!

Got Mexican? Try Urbanos Mexican Restaurant!

We went ahead and purchased an Entertainment book this year.  It's really not hard to get one's money back after eating out just a handful of times with this thing.  It also forces us to try new places.  Even though I've been in Sac since birth practically, there are so many dining establishments in the area we've yet to try!  Last night we were in the mood for Mexican cuisine.  We LOVE Garcia's buuuuuut they aren't in the E-book.  Remember when they were though?  Such a long time ago...  Anywho, we found this place in Carmichael by the name of Urbanos.  Looks like a complete dive from the outside.  In fact we hesitated in turning from the center divide in fear we had made a bad decision.  This place looked very dark from the outside, almost like a scuzzy bar.  Upon entering the facility, we noticed the place was packed. 

Let me first start by saying that I typically don't order tacos at restaurants.  I usually find them inedible and a waste of effort.  Quite honestly, I thoroughly enjoy the white boy tacos with ketchup the family makes at home.  I ordered a chicken enchilada and beef taco.  In her quest for flautas, similar to those offered at a local Mexi shop in her hometown, Lindsay ordered two chimichangas, one each of pork and beef.  My beef taco was the best taco I've experienced at a restaurant.  The beef was delicious and flavorful.  My enchilada was delicious but I enjoyed my taco more.  Definitely unexpected.  The beans and rice were fantastic as well.  Lindsay preferred her pork chimichanga over the shredded beef.  I found her shredded beef to be a bit spicy.  Her chimichanga was the closest match to her beloved flautas!  They bring you homemade chips and salsa.  YUMMMMYYY!!! 

The food was delicious!  I would highly recommend Urbanos Mexican Restaurant in Carmichael.  Don't let the outside scare you.  The food was delicious!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It's been awhile since our last post but don't you worry, we'll be back shortly! We have so much to share. It's been a busy few months! 

 Until then, Have a very Merry Christmas!