i have seen the linky love feature on a few blogs and have enjoyed going through and finding new things. i thought i would show you guys some of the great things i've noticed in the past little while.

random linky love...

this portable bucket grill looks so great. it would have come in mighty handy on our trip to bear lake.

so many delicious looking recipes and healthy too! i'm making these for my boys today

this post by nienie

this new to me blog. i saw her on freshly picked. she is totally inspiring! simple, hip, handmade clothes.

awesome, creative, talented etsy stores 

 my friend sent me the link to this blog with  tons of free educational ideas and printouts.

the most perfect looking granny chic bed ever. i adore everything that tif does. she has the most perfect house ever.

this pretty modern family tree

the best boy halloween tees

whew looks like i have alot on my mind!

recipe exchange

kelly over at according to kelly had a great idea to do a dinner recipe exchange.  the point being to post a whole weeks worth of recipes on your blog, then she will compile them all into one place. i thought that it was a super great idea and decided to join. here are some of my favorite go to recipes.
Spicy Chicken Peanut Noodles
Ingredients -
* 4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 1 lb. raw/peeled/cleaned shrimp
* 8 oz. dry spaghetti or linguine
* 1/4 cups dry roasted peanuts
* 1/2 cup chopped cilantro


For Marinade



* 1 T Soy sauce
* 1 T Brown sugar
* 1 T Peanut oil ( i used sesame)
* 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt


For Peanut Sauce ( i took the advice of rose and 2x it)
* 1/2 c. Chicken broth
* 1/4 c. Creamy peanut butter
* 2 T Brown sugar
* 2 T Rice Vinegar
* 2 T Fresh Lime Juice
* 1 T Soy Sauce
* 1 T Fresh Ginger, minced
* 1 T Chili Garlic sauce
* 1/2 c. Fresh cilantro
For Cucumber Sambal (again, I doubled it. So good!)
* 1 c. cucumber (seed and dice if you don't use english cucs)
* 1/2 c. Scallions
* 1/4 c. Red bell pepper, diced
* 3 T Rice Vinegar
* 1 T Sugar
* 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
* 1/2 T Kosher salt

Preparation Instructions Don't be scared by the long list of ingredients. This meal is really easy to throw together. First, preheat grill to medium-high. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti.

Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Toss with chicken and grill for 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Remove chicken from grill pan, and tent with foil while preparing the other ingredients.

Prepare the cucumber sambal by tossing together the sambal ingredients. Set aside till serving.

Cook the pasta according to pkg.

directions; drain and return to the pot. Meanwhile, prepare the peanut sauce. Heat broth, peanut butter, brown sugar, vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, ginger, and chili garlic sauce in a saucepan over medium heat to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Off heat, stir cilantro and salt, then pour sauce over pasta and toss to coat.

Top each chicken breast with pasta and cucumber sambal.

Garnish with more fresh cilantro and peanuts.

+marv and joes- a Utah State University favorite... i seriously ate them almost every day for lunch. i think mine are better too.


ingredients-
+wheat bread ( you could use white or sourdough too.
+homemade garlic butter
+fresh sliced tomatoes
+olive oil and red wine vinegar ( i leave off the oil)
+grated parmesan cheese
+provolone cheese
+freshly ground pepper


toast bread in toaster or oven. spread on garlic butter. top with tomato, add vinegar and pepper. top with a slice of provolone cheese, then sprinkle with parmesan. broil until browned and bubbly. delicious!




one of my favorite dinners of all time...

+southwestern chili mac
get the recipe at just cook already. a great cooking blog that i have contributed to in the past.


+ breakfast for dinner-zephyr pancakes, homemade buttermilk syrup
+ cornflake chicken


ingredients-
-boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders ( if using breast i cut them in to long strips or pound them out thinner.
-3 cups of crushed cornflakes
-1 packet of dry Italian dressing
- freshly grated parmesan cheese
-melted butter


directions-
preheat oven to 350.
melt butter and but in a bowl deep enough to fit chicken. mix crushed cornflakes, dressing packet and cheese in a large ziploc baggie. dip chicken into butter, then throw in bag and shake. bake for 20-30 minutes until chicken is done. my boys looooove this one.

+fried rice. i already loved this recipe then i saw that kami for no biggie used rotissere chicken instead of cooking her own. sooo tasty! i also use brown rice and less butter.

blue lily is giving away another session. check out all the details on the  rie's dialogues blog. trust me, if you get the chance to get a blue lily photo shoot you should, cause wendy is rad. and who doesn't love rad photos?

note to self::

i want this bad. that is all.

from cb2

oh how i am loving this look. i only wish my hair was long enough to attempt this beauty of a hairstyle seen on love in the mommyhood. it's the perfect blend of messy and classy.

my review:: keebler fake samoas aka coconut dreams

my friend kem introduced me to these lovely little things on the 4th of july. they are very, very similar to samoas. which is good... and bad. 

i have a major weakness for samoas. these are almost but not quite as good. but alot easier to get and  they happen to be cheap enough too.plus they give me coconut dreams.

 i need to stop eating so much sugar. sugar detox take one begins on Monday.

 i am limiting myself to one free day a week. 

ready go...

tonight i am having a yummy mexican dinner. here are the recipes i am using...

photo
 {mock chili colorado}

ingredients-
2 lbs lean stew meat cubed
1 onion chopped finely
garlic
sazon goya ( i get in in the mexican section of walmart) this is my secret ingredient in a ton of recipes. it adds an amazing flavor to things. i especially love it in homemade spaghetti sauce! i plan on posting another recipe that uses it later this week.
2 tbl flour
1/4 cup New Mexico or California chili powder
dash of mexican hot sauce

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
salt to taste
fresh cilantro

brown meat in oil. season with garlic powder, salt and pepper, chili powder and flour, throw into crock pot. mix onions+ rest of ingredients and pour on top of everything. cook 5-8 hours in a crock pot. serve in tortillas with sour cream, cheese, onions and cilantro.

+homemade tortillas

+ watermelon

+  my very favorite homemade salsa

{roasted salsa}

Ingredients

12 roma (plum) tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 small onion, quartered
1 jalapeno chile pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
juice from 1-2 limes
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Preheat the broiler to high. cut tomatoes in half lengthwise. chop onions in big chunks. cut stem off jalapeno.

place  on cookie sheet. broil on high until vegetables are charred (5-15 minutes). throw everything into a food processor. throw in bowl and add cumin, salt, lime juice and cilantro.

+ quick and dirty brazilian lemonade

{brazilian lemonade}

2 bottles Simply Limeaid

1 can sweetened condensed milk

4 sliced limes for serving

1 bag crushed ice

In a large bowl (or pitcher if you have one big enough) pour about a cup of the Limeaid in then pour in the sweetened condensed milk. Pour in the rest of the Limeaid, mix well.

Fill desired glasses to the brim with ice, pour Brazilian lemonade over top with lime and serve immediately

recipe from nosh

can't wait! what are you having?

i've never been a big fan of push ups. so why am i doing the one hundred push up challenge?

beats me! but i am.... want to join me?

 have you heard of ombre hair?

 i hadn't until yesterday when i was blog hopping and was lead to the blog hairdresser on fire. which is  a great hair blog... ombre is  basically having multi shade hair color. apparently it was inspired by children's hair color after playing out in the sun all summer. all i can say is i looooove it. i especially love the second hair color and dare i say it... sarah jessica parkers (ughh never been a fan of hers) i spent a bit of time looking at different hair blogs. it seems to be a divided trend. some people love the look, others think it looks to grungy.

what do you think? do you like it? any hairdressers out there with some tips?

my review ::: spin pins

i have thick wavy hair. which is nice. what isn't nice is trying to style my hair and  having to use 230 bobby pins. i usually bend half of them and the other half fall out of my hair leaving  a trail of bobby pins that lead to me. i heard about the goody spin pin a while back somewhere ( commercial, blog, friend... not sure) i found some at target and got stylin. these weird looking little curly q's take the place of 20 pins each. they are awesome and easy to use. i love the messy bun look and when i used this is took all of 2 minutes to do.