4/23/12

I'm moving

Remember that time I had a blog and I used it all the time. Yea, I remember those times too. Here's the deal, I'm actually moving further South (as if I wasn't already in the Deep South.) But this time I'm going to be in sunny Florida. Figuring the moving out, logistics, packing, everything, has just been really difficult alone, so that's why I haven't been posting anything new. But once I am settled in my new coastal habitat, I'll be back up and running. Promise.

<3

PS. Wish me luck. I'll need it, if only for the 8 hour drive. I am a sleepy person by nature.

4/4/12

Chicken Tamale Pie and Corn Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing

Dinner tonight, seriously the most delicious things I've... on Twitpic

Tamale Pie


The Tamale Pie I made was absolutely delicious. I'm not joking, it is one of the best recipes I've ever tried. It isn't authentic in any fashion, but it has a similar taste from real tamales. real tamales are super difficult to make. My family is Mexican and they'd always buy them because they are just so hard to do. I found this to be a nice substitute still. The real tamales my fam would buy actually use pork though, so you could always substitute pork for the chicken.

The only thing that's annoying is that shredding the chicken takes longer than I would like. It gets irritating, but is well worth the finished product. The only thing I changed with the recipe was that I used the Mexican Queso Quesadilla shredded cheese with a pinch of Philadelphia Cream cheese. Honestly, this is the most delicious cheese ever, but I think this tamale pie needs a little heavier flavor of cheese, because the kind I used got a little lost. So next time I think I'll use the Queso Quesadilla with the Mexican Four-cheese or just straight up cheddar.

Watch out, my pie dish wasn't deep enough or possibly was just a little too small all around and when I poured the enchilada sauce over the top a lot of it ran off the sides, so be careful. You might have to use a little less of the cornbread batter, or just not pour all the enchilada sauce, or just put the pie plate over something in case spillage happens.

The original recipe comes from the blog Pinch of Yum:
  • 1/3 cup fat free milk
  • 1/4 cup egg substitute
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon taco seasoning, divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 1 (14 3/4 ounce) can cream-style corn
  • 1 (8.5 ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy)
  • 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
  • 1 (10 ounce) can red enchilada sauce – I recommend going with an authentic Mexican brand
  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
  • 1/2 cup shredded white cheese
  • 1 cup Mexican cheese blend shredded cheese
  • cilantro and crumbled Cotija cheese for topping
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Combine the first 7 ingredients (milk through green chiles), using just 1/2 tablespoon of the taco seasoning, in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a round pie plate (mine was glass) coated with cooking spray.
  3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. While corn is baking, toss the chicken in the remaining 1 tablespoon taco seasoning. When corn is done – it will be just barely set and golden brown – pierce entire surface liberally with a fork. Pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with cilantro and Cotija cheese.

Dinner tonight, seriously the most delicious things I've... on Twitpic

Corn Salad with Queso Fresco

This would be such a good and healthy cold side dish to bring to a pot luck or to make to go along with any Mexican or Tex-Mex style dish. Super easy and super delish. Also, if you make the whole recipe for the Cilantro-Lime dressing, you have extra to put over salad.

I originally got this recipe from Our Best Bites.

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
8 ounces queso fresco or cotija cheese
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (and seeded if desired)
1/2 recipe (about 6 ounces) Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette
1 large avocado, pitted, peeled, and cubed
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Optional: For an easy one-dish meal, add leftover rotisserie chicken

Instructions:
Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a large stock pot. When the water boils, add the corn and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain and rinse and then add to a large bowl. Toss together the corn, red bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno pepper, and crumbled cheese. Toss with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette. Chill until ready to serve. Right before serving, gently toss in the avocado and season with salt and pepper. Serves 10-12.

Dinner tonight, seriously the most delicious things I've... on Twitpic

Flan


I also made flan to go along with this meal. Unfortunately, I am only one person so I couldn't finish it, but it turned out well. It was just flan from a box like you would get Jello, and I found it in the Hispanic section of Walmart - that's where I shop for groceries. I picked it up because I had a ton of milk I needed to use before it went bad.

4/3/12

Start Wearing Purple

My pretty purple pansy inspired eye makeup for spring - on Twitpic

For Spring I decided to make this pretty dramatic, but still really wearable look inspired by purple pansies.

The entire face can be any concealer or anything you feel comfortable with. I use bronzer basically all the time, but especially in the Spring and Summer because that healthy, outdoorsy glow is kind of what you aspire to when the weather gets hot. So I used my bronzer by sweeping it with an angled brush toward my temples.

Now for the eyes. I used my Urban Decay primer (as always) all over my lid and up to my brow bone. Then I used an eyeshadow brush to put Branzen's Karma (a violety type of purple) all over my lids. I then put Brazen's Paradox (this is hard to explain, it's a blue-ish purple) in the crease. I tried to blend it so it didn't look so severe. I put Brazen's Millennium ( an off-white that shimmers pink) on my brow bone and in the inner corner of my eye. I didn't use eyeliner, I didn't want this to be a club look or anything. Finish off the eyes with mascara on the top lashes, and you're good.

I just used clear lip gloss for my lips. Ta da!

My pretty purple pansy inspired eye makeup for spring - on Twitpic

Song Inspiration
Start Wearing Purple - Gogol Bordello

4/2/12

I'm a Jayhawk

My friend Maggie, and a ton of the people I knew in high school, went to kU. I've blogged about the rivalry between my alma mater Mizzou and kU a few times, and I can't articulate how much it pains me that kU is in the championship game of the NCAA tournament tonight. Yes, for the most part, I grew up in Kansas. I lived very close to the border of Kansas and Missouri, but about half of my high school attended the University of Kansas anyway and only around 13 attended the University of Missouri. But, because I still love and respect my friends despite their poor college affiliations, I created this make up look for tonight's game on Maggie's request.

Funny story too. When we were in elementary school, our choir teacher thought that it was a great idea to teach my grade the kU fight song called "I'm a Jayhawk." To this day I still remember every word of it. Especially the line, "Got a bill that's big enough to twist the tiger's tail." Rude. Also, jaykawks aren't real, but if they were they would probably only be about the size of a turkey and would probably be good for punting. Enough said about their stupid mascot.

I want to make it clear I am NOT cheering for kU, but I made ... on Twitpic

First off, I used my handy-dandy Urban Decay primer all over my eye lid, up to my brow bone, inner corner and even some under my eye. I then put Brazen's Cat Call all over my lids. to the crease - easy peasy. It's a red shadow, so if you have a favorite red, go with that. I like the orangey reds because they don't make you look like you're going out for Halloween as the devil and are surprisingly wearable for everyday outings. Then I took my gold shadow (Brazen's Pharaoh) and put that on the inner corner of my eye and then on my brow bone as a highlighter. I used my navy blue eye liner cream pencil which is Revlon's ColorStay Eyeliner in Navy, for the top lid (see picture for thickness.) I also put it on the inside of my lower eye. I then used Maybelline's EyeStudio Color Explosion Luminizing Eyeshadow in Blue Blowout. I used the brighter light blue shade and wet an angled eyeshadow brush and then applied it under my eye as shown in the picture. I did this until I was satisfied with the brightness of the color and the thickness of the line. Put some mascara on your upper and lower lashes and then you're done!

For the rest of your face you can essentially do whatever you want. I do recommend using Maybelline's Baby Lips in Cherry Me over your lips though. It's a lip balm with SPF 20, it makes your lips super duper soft, and this color is red, which goes with your eyes and kU's colors. I mean, it's a sporting event here, no need to go with intense lip gloss. This gives you color and protects your lips as you scream your heart out.

I want to make it clear I am NOT cheering for kU, but I made ... on Twitpic

Song Inspiration

I'm a Jayhawk - kU Fight Song

4/1/12

I had to take a little blog break

After my extensive blogging about the Hunger Games I had to take a little mental rest this week, so I haven't been blogging like I should. I promise I'll start up again. But, while I gather my thoughts again, here's a little pic of something I did today -

Guess what I did today... Fed giraffes - on Twitpic

I fed a giraffe! With my hand! It took the hay with its tongue! So, excited and if you're ever in Montgomery, Alabama, I recommend hitting the zoo. It might be a little small, but it's really a good time and they have some cool animals. But, hello, I fed a giraffe today.