sausage, peppers, and onions

You'll need:
Any kind of sausage you want, I used turkey sausage
2 bell peppers (red or green)
an onion, thinly sliced
for more spice a jalepeno, seeded and minced
some of your favorite pasta sauce (i had tomato soup for lunch and just used the leftover soup)

step 1: cut the sausage at an angle and throw them in a heated non stick pan with some oil

cook until the sausage is browned

IN THE MEAN TIME!

cut all peppers and onions

set aside in a bowl while the sausage is done

STEP 3: when sausage is done, take out of pan and put in a bowl with paper towels to soak up the grease

STEP 4: NO PICTURE, but add the veggies in the pan sauté them!  

they are ready when the onion starts to become translucent

STEP 5: add the pasta sauce (in my case tomato soup) and heat for another minute or two

then add the sausage!

Let simmer for about 2-4 minutes

serve with bowtie pasta or on rolls!

We ate this on rolls and it was so yummy!

Halloween!!

Hey friends!

   Halloween is around the corner and that means it's time to get a costume!!  Ever wonder why costumes cost so dang much?!?!!  I mean you only wear it once, at the most a couple times during the season, so why are some costumes $70?!?!  I for one can't see myself spending that much money on something I'm only going to wear once, for FUN! lol

I've come up with some ideas for people (like me!!) don't wanna splurge on Halloween! =]



A Princess!!
I am going to be a princess to hand out candy to kids on the 31st!  All you need is an old formal gown and a tiara (from the dollar store) and done!

**side note: I am a Princess everyday already**

For a 'Sexier' version of this costume, all you'll need is a cute short dress and a tiara.  I would use an old homecoming dress or forever 21 has many cute short dresses!

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Pretty easy!  Some cute sexy short black shorts, and a black tank top!  A black chunky belt and some plastic guns from the dollar store!  I have all these things in my apartment already! But I guess I have the advantage of using actual tactical stuff my husband has laying around lol

Fanta Girls

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to do this one year!  It might be more difficult to find all the dresses, but theres always Goodwill!  lol  You need 4 girls and each one will be a different 'flavor'  (red, purple, orange, yellow)

A breathalyzer

This is one that I want to bring to life! haha  Keep in mind, this is all in my head!  I'm thinking two white poster boards, markers, ribbon, and a toilet paper/ paper towel roll

One one poster board draw all the components and make it as easy as possible!  And then just add the roll at the bottom of the board.  Take ribbon/rope and connect the two boards so they'll hang over the shoulders and done! haha (I wanna make this for John!)

Cruella Deville

For this one You'll either have to buy the wig, or just get the spray that changes your hair color white!  FInd an animal print dress, I found one on forever21.com for  $17.80!!  Bright red lips and for your smoke stick, Just roll up a piece of black construction paper!  

this costume is $69.99 online!

you can always pick a different kind of dress, like the one in the picture!  the gloves are up to you!

Betty Boop

All you'll need are those pearls you have laying around somewhere, (i have a necklace and 2 bracelets lol) A cute red mini dress! again, forever 21 or charlotte russe!  and a cute little stuffed dog/animal to carry around! Of course Betty has short hair, but why not curl your hair? that way, you don't have to buy the wig!

this costume, and many like it, runs anywhere from $30-60

I'll add more on here as I think of them!  Or feel free to leave a comment or message me on Facebook to give me more ideas and I'll let people know what you thought would be cool! =]

goodbye to summer

It's that time of year again!  The weather is starting to get a bit cooler and the leaves will start changing to beautiful colors.  Its fall!  With the weather changing, our wardrobes are changing too.  Instead of tanks, shorts, and flip flops, it's hoodies, skinny jeans, and boots.
 
   As I was cleaning out my closets today, I took out all my summer clothes and put it in a neat pile.  Ok, so where do I put them?  If you live in a small apartment, like we do, you really have no space.  Our closet is filled with ball dresses, uniforms that are never worn, and sweaters and coats.  My hall closet is filled with blankets and towels.  The other closet I have is filled with 5 totes of Marine corps gear (as well as half my laundry room! ughhhhh!)
 
   I'm sure many of us have seen the space bags infomercial!  I went out to walmart a while back and bought 2 XL bags to try out.  They worked great!  I was able to fit our huge winter blankets!  So I went out and bought 2 more bags!  These are so great!  I was able to fit all my tanks, summer dresses, and skirts into just ONE bag!  The best part is, I am able to hide them in our closet underneath the uniforms!

  I highly recommend buying these if you are short on space!  Now my only problem is, where do I put all my shoes?!? o.O

you put WHAT?!? in my meatloaf?!?

Some days I have NO IDEA what to make for dinner!!  This usually happens when it's time to go grocery shopping again.  I open the fridge and I see one tomato, one egg, one green pepper, half of a half of onion, a ketchup bottle, one tortilla and other odds and ends!  What am I supposed to make with just ONE tortilla, a tomato and green pepper?  a Veggie burrito? hmmm perhaps, but ew.  I do look in my freezer and see ground turkey, but don't want to make the usual spaghetti.. so then it hits me!  What can I make with meat, pepper, tomato, and onion??

Meatloaf!

This recipe is for those pre- grocery shopping days, when you have some things that you need to get rid of, or have 'nothing' to eat!  Most of the time, you have all these things in the fridge anyway!

You'll need:

bowl

pan

1 LB ground turkey or ground beef

 green pepper chopped

tomato chopped

onion chopped

bread crumbs, pckt of meatloaf seasoning, salt and pepper

1 egg beaten

you can add anything else you may want to add!

FOIL THE PAN!

or else you'll have a really nasty mess!

you can use any type of bakeware really!  just shape the meat like a loaf

put 1 lb meat in bowl

I'm using ground turkey (we're "TRYING" to be healthy haha)

add egg, half the season packet, salt and pepper

add bread crumbs (no exact measurement! w/e you like)

then add w/e veggies you want! 

(i chose not to add tomato lol)

and mix everything up using your hands! lol

**this is where you hands get really nasty! lol  make sure to remove your rings, wedding bands, etc.   And WASH YOUR HANDS!**

OPTIONAL STEP

i like using brown sugar and ketchup to top the meatloaf

put meat in the loaf pan and top with brown sugar and ketchup (optional)!!

another thing you could add is a can of cream of mushroom soup instead of ketchup and brown sugar. :)

 put it in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour

let stand for ten minutes before cutting

serve with french bread and a side of veggies and/or mac and cheese 

I like to add 2 or 3 potatoes wrapped in foil to the oven for baked potatoes and a great side! =]

when you don't have time to sleep...

for people with dark circles under their eyes- like ME!  I have found a great product to hide them!

bareMinerals'  well rested 

miracle concealer and eye shadow base

Apply under on any dark circles or even blemishes and hides them really well!  And you don't get that caked on feeling all day! =]

Saving tips! =]

watch this video to learn some of my saving money tips!  =]

HIGHLIGHTS:

• get on mailing/ email lists at your favorite stores!  You'll be surprised how many coupons they send out
• look on the bottoms of receipt for surveys.. ex: b dubbs has a survey if you fill out you get 6 FREE WINGS! wooooooohoooooo!!
• shop at kohls when they have KOHLS CASH! every $50 you spend, you get $10
• DON'T BUY THINGS YOU DONT NEED!  its good to spoil yourself every now and then, but buying every single new color of nail polish (GUILTY!) isn't really necessary!  (unless they're on sale!  but since i do my own manicures, it's ok, right? :] )
• stop eating out every day.  I am very bad at this since i crave a million things!  I just make it at home now instead!

ABOVE ALL, it's nice to be able to spoil yourself every now and then!  When you pinch pennies, you get to save money and in the end you'll be able to go to the Bahamas like we're hoping to for X-Mas! =]  (wishful thinking haha)

lentil and sausage soup

A really great and easy recipe is lentil and sausage soup!  On a day like today when I have chores around the house, It's easy to just toss in the crock pot and go about my day!  You can also leave it on while you work or run to the store! 

This is for two people, but feel free to double ingredients! :]

you'll need:

8 oz (half a bag) of lentils

1 or 2 tomatoes, w/e you want :]

1 potato

2 medium carrots or 7 baby carrots chopped

also, not pictured, small onion chopped

2 cups of warm water and one cube of beef consume

dissolve cube in water

OR

1 (14oz) can of beef broth

2 sausage links

I used turkey sausage, but you can use any sausage you like! 

also need 3 cups of water

and your crock pot!

Ready for the instructions?!?

just put everything in the crock pot and turn it on!  3 hours on HIGH and 5-6 hours on LOW! 

this goes great for lunch!

I'm serving it tonight with meat loaf =]

the beginning of a new project

Hello everyone!  I'm going to try to make this blog as fun and interesting as possible!  It will include recipes, tips, and anything else I come up with!

A little bit about myself....
I got married at 19 to my sunday school best friend, John. :)  I never had to cook a day in my life since mommy and daddy made our meals everyday growing up!  I could make the basics- eggs, beans, quesadillas, spaghetti, etc. but nothing even close to a "GREAT" meal.

So when I first moved in with John, 2 months after we eloped, I was so completely LOST!

two days after we eloped =]

What was I supposed to buy at the grocery store? and make it with the ONE pan I had! haha   (I flew to cali and was only able to have to luggages along with my purse and carry-on)  For the first 2 weeks, chef boyardee big meat ravioli was the best meal EVER! haha  it's funny now, but MY POOR HUSBAND! lol  coming home after a looooooonnnnngggg day to CHEF BOYARDEE?!?  haha yeaaaaa horrible!  I finally started to think, hmmmmmmm, maybe all this time I have at home, I could play with ingredients and see what I can come up with!

My very first home cooked meal was flautas and sopa!

OMG... WHAT A DISASTER! haha  the sopa(mexican soup)  was crunchy yet soggy haha. 

the flautas, were actually pretty good!  the only downside was that I used ground beef, and with them being in the oil, the beef kept popping up at me and burning me! haha  the pico de gallo was so yummy! nom nom!

from then on, I kept teaching myself how to make some great meals!  Also with the help of my parents on how to make certain foods!  

So everyone out there that thinks they're hopeless when it comes to making good meals... if I could learn, you can learn! =]