Weekend Update

Dylan and I had a great weekend!  I could have used one more day though!  We checked off items on our household to do list, met a fun new couple and hung out with them at Salt and Pastis on Saturday night, and then last night, we had our monthly girl's Supper Club at Park Tavern.  Great evening with music, food, girl talk and lots of laughter, and a fantastic view of the park. 

Saturday morning, prior to Dylan slaving away in the yard, I wanted to make something substantial for breakfast so he was fueled up enough to push the lawn mower around our large yard in the sweltering heat. {Hmmm, have I mentioned I'm ready for Fall yet?!? Geez!} See below for the details.  This recipe is from Paula Dean.  I usually don't make her dishes because prior to her Type 2 admission, they were all so super heavy and fatty.  This one is pretty typical for a breakast quiche so I went for it.  Very very yummy!  I actually did not make any substitions or tweak it in any real way!

Hash Brown Quiche
{recipe also found here}

Ingredients:

3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted

3 large eggs, beaten

1 cup half-and-half

3/4 cup diced cooked ham

1/2 cup diced green onions

1 cup shredded Cheddar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tip: Make sure to drain the thawed out hash browns as much as humanly possible!  Makes a difference in the cook time and the texture of the crust.  I used one of my flour sack towels with an additional paper towel on top to squeeze all the moisture out.

Next, add the melted butter to the hash browns and toss in a pie dish or just any type of round baking pyrex.  Then press the hashbrowns evenly on the bottom of the dish and then up around the sides to form a bed which will house the rest of the ingredients.  This is the crust of your dish.  Bake at 450 degrees {it took ours 30 mins}.

While the crust bakes, add the rest of the ingredients into a bowl.  Wisk the eggs together first, then add the rest.

Pop into the dish when your crust is ready then back into the oven for 30-45 mins.  We went closer to 45.

Once your quiche is ready to plate, slice a triangle piece out and dollop some sour cream or greek yogurt and extra diced green onion for an extra pop of color and flavor!  This quiche is great to refrigerate and reheat the next morning as well.  Bon Appetit!!

With our leftover eggs, we scrambled them up and put them on top of some rye bread with low fat cream cheese and chives{a Saturday morning staple for us}.  Even though we had the quiche, since Dylan specifically requested this I made it too! : ) He's so spoiled!

And yaaay FINALLY!!!!  Here's a pic of our Supper Club from last night.  I am usually so bad about remembering to take pics!  Have a great week : )

Friday Favorites

Yaaay!! Happy happy Friday! The weekend is upon us! The Bowden's are chillin out and spending the weekend at home finally.  Whew!  We need to catch up on some house work, yard work, and work in a little time for some R & R.  I am super excited, however, about Sunday evening Supper Club with the gals at Park Tavern.  That will be my social "outing" for the weekend and Dylan will be more than happy to spend some quality time with his guitar and/or tv while I'm gone for a few short hours.  : )

Other than that, tonight we'll be sticking to our tradition of Friday grilling!  Have a great wkend!

Here are my Friday Faves:

1. Cupcakes and Cashmere {the book}!  Much to my excitement, one of my favorite blogs has now leapt from the computer screen onto hardback!  Yes, http://cupcakesandcashmere.com/ is now in tangible book form.  Emily Schuman, the author and blogger, is so talented and has a great eye for style, design and entertaining.  You can pick up the book {here} or {here}
I thoroughly enjoy her blog but this little book is so fun and filled with fabulous tips and ideas.

Go get it gals!!!

Check out {this link} for a sneak peak!!!

2. Turkey Wrap with lettuce, shaved parm, greek yogurt, raisins and lite caesar dressing.  I needed a departure from my normal everyday lean cuisine lunch {dear Lord that gets old!} so I decided to make a little whole wheat turkey wrap for a couple days instead.  Since its so hot out, I was craving watermelon so I had that alongside. What a difference in my afternoon mental state!  All that sodium in the lean cuisines is really not good for you and I can tell I'm more awake and aware in the afternoon when I have fresh, minimally processed lunches. So this just a simple wrap with ingredients that sounded good to me.  Next week, I'll move onto a veggie only wrap of some kind{maybe even warmed up}.

3. Pier One's Citrus Cilantro Room Spray.  This room spray smells amazing!  Upon spraying it, you literally feel as if you've walked into the store.  Not overpowering, very light {trust me, I cannot stand heavy overpowering scents that knock you down the second you come in the door}.  I spray this on the carpet {not directly on it, holding back the bottle about 2 feet away} prior to vacuuming. The warmth of the vacuum on the carpet helps the scent to linger a bit longer.  Highly recommend!  Find it {here}

And if your feeling frisky, you can really go all out and purchase the same scent in candles, reed diffusers, paper sachets, and potpourri!

4. New York Color Long Wearing Nail Enamel in Plaza Plumberry.  I busted out the dark nailpolish the other day for a break from the vibrant, neon colors I've been wearing lately.  While I adore those bright colors {and am sure I'll paint my nails hot pink or orange in a few short days} it has been nice to see the dark polish again.  I think my desire for Fall to come as soon as possible has played a part in the need to go dark again! Either way, I love this color and its super glossy compared to most dark colors which can almost look matte after a day or two.
You can find it {here} or at any Target store near you!  I think its $0.99 at Target.

5. Birthdays!!  I love birthday celebrations in general but I specifically wanted to share baby Sushi {our little kitten's} very 1st birthday!  I sound silly I suppose but this little furry, rambunctious fellah has captured our hearts and we wanted to celebrate him! {...and yesssss, we sang happy birthday...and put a candle in his canned tuna! ha!}.

Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Preserves

Happy Tuesday!  I wanted to share another great recipe with you.  This one, by way of Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond.  I must say that she really does have practical, yet delish, easy weeknight meals.  Big ole thanks to my sis, Leah, for giving me her cookbook! Dylan thanks you as well : )

Let's get started.  You won't believe how easy this is!  The full recipe is also found {here}

Ingredients: 2 pork tenderloins {original, with no added flavoring}, Red wine vinegar {or white
if you have that on hand instead}, Herb de Provence, Peach preserves {or plum or fig}, and salt and pepper.

Salt and Pepper the pork, scatter the herb de provence over the plate and roll the pork
to coat with the spices.   See picture below.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place pork in baking dish or in a large skillet.

While the pork cooks in the oven, get started on your sauce!  One cup of peach preserves, one cup water, and 1 tbs
of vinegar all into a boiler and onto the stove.  Bring to a simmer {stir quite often} and then turn stove to low heat.

I also cooked a sweet potato in the microwave for my side dish
and hubs had a baked potato as his.  After my sweet potato cooked through, I scooped out the flesh into a bowl
and mixed in a bit of butter.  My side dish served as a bed for the pork once I plated it! The sweetness of the potato along with the savory depth of the spices on the pork were truly great compliments and tasted wonderfully together. I highly recommend this as your side dish! Sweet cream corn would also be lovely, or a carrot and beet puree.

Once pork is cooked through {it took ours about 25 mins}, place on a cutting board to let the pork rest.
Let it rest for about 10 mins before slicing to keep all the yummy juices in!

Time to plate! My favorite part! : ) Put down your sweet potato {or whatever side dish you choose} and place two
slices of the pork on top next to each other.  Then, spoon your sauce over the top and make sure to get some of those delish peach bits on your plate!!!  See photo below...

ENJOY!!!!

Summer Hair~High Top Knot Bun

With what's left of our scortching hot Summer,  I've been looking for different ways to style my hair besides simply down {and my hair is stick straight so that gets quite redundant}or back in a ponytail.  While I'll always adore ponytails, especially high ones {wup, looks like I've just identified a theme here}, I do like to mix it up a bit.  And what better way to do so than with a cute high top knot bun?

Here's some "pin~spiration" from my "fashion" pinterest board as well as a few pics of myself.

What's your favorite summer hair style? : )

Quick and Easy Mexican Dinner

Since we've been busier than usual {as mentioned here}, dinners have been quick and easy! Of course, there have been quite a few takeout nights much to my dismay so I tried to throw in fresh ingredients for dinner as much as possible...which unfortunately wasn't all that much.  One night, I was craving a Mexican dish, so I bopped into Publix and picked up a few items.  I'm 100% a taco girl {beef taco, fish taco, shrimp taco, calamari taco}and the spicier the better!! Since Publix had a sale on swordfish, I decided to go for it, though I'd never had that type of fish in a taco before.  The man behind the counter assured me it would go well because its mild enough and meaty and dense like tuna.  So I went for it along with some shrimp which is always fab.  Of course, every good Mexican meal must have either chips and salsa to accompany it or chips and guacamole.  I was craving the guac so I scooped up avocado, onion, cilantro, and lime juice. 
And away we gooooo!!!!

Dylan grilled the swordfish for me after I seasoned her up. 

A little sea salt and fresh ground pepper first.  Then a drizzle of olive oil.

Then, I added some cumin and cayenne for a little kick

How easy was that? Next, onto the shrimp! 

My marinade included: olive oil, juice of 1 lime, worstershire, cayenne, salt and pepper
and a teaspoon of dark brown sugar.  I like the caramalizing that happens from the sugar being mixed in and it truly
makes the grill smell great!  Even though I think charcoal alone smells good : ) I swear, us Bowden's LOVE to grill!

Stir it all gently with a spoon and pop into the fridge about 30 mins prior to grilling.
I didn't skewer them.  Instead, wrapped them in a tinfoil bed to lay down on the grill.

With the fish and shrimp being so easy breazy, I decided to spend a little more time with the homemade quac. There are many many versions of this recipe but I went with the most well known, simple version. Simple...me?!? I know! Surprising! Ha. Let's say "classic" version instead of "simple" shall we?



3 Hass avocados, juice of 1 lime, 1/2 diced onion {or more if you prefer}, and
a big ole yummy bundle of cilantro. Fresh and smells delish!



For the avocados, cut all the way around from top to bottom, twist to open and then gently press a sharp knife on the pit and twist it to get it out.  Then, my method the method I stole from Giada, to get the flesh out is to score the avocado long ways and then the opposite way {as seen in the blurry pic below...my bad}.

Once you get your avocado into a bowl, squeeze the lime juice over it immediately so the avocado won't brown.  Nothing is less appetizing than brown quacamole.

 

Tip: Easy way to peel an onion...cut down the side of the onion {from the top to the bottom}
to get through the peel and one layer of the onion.
Then, you can easily peel back those layers and get your dice on!
Kind of hard to see in the pic but that's what I do.

Add the rest of our ingredients into the bowl!

Add salt and pepper to taste and mash gently with a fork to incorporate all of the

ingredients. I prefer it a bit chunky so I don't mash too much.

  

Next comes the super fun part! Presentation!! I do little things like this for Dylan and I just because I figure if you put the time and effort into making a dish, it should be served in something that echos that time and effort and makes it special and pretty.  This is a great way to serve quac at a dinner/cocktail party as well!! And nowadays you can buy mini versions of margarita glasses which would be cute too! I've seen those at Pier One and Home Goods. 

I garnished the top with diced onion and cilantro and a few tostido chips. 

I gotta tell ya, no meal is complete without some Sriracha.  Dylan and I can't get enough of the stuff. 

{Admission: I actually put sriracha on pizza the other day! yikes! it was fab}.  So I added that as well to the quacamole.

More proof of my love of sriracha! The only other thing I added to the tacos was a bit of sour cream {if I had greek yogurt on hand I would've used that}, a squeeze of lime and for the fish taco, a smear of the guac. Voila! A quick and easy Mexican dinner for two.