No Bread Pizza

So this is another Pinterest find, but I did change up the original recipe, just a smidge.  Here's where I got the recipe/idea from:  Portobello Pizza Bites

Ingredients:
**NOTE:  I only made this for myself & had a side of avocado, tomato, mozzarella, evoo, & basil salad.  By myself with nothing else, I could probably eat closer to two of these ;)**
**NOTE2:  The list of ingredients is totally up to you & how much stuff you want on your pizza, so apologies for no exact measurements**

1 Large Portobello Mushroom Cap
Marinara Sauce (from the can & proud!)
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (cubed)
Red Peppers
Turkey Pepperoni
Parmesan Cheese

What To Do:
- Set your oven to 400 degrees, while your oven preheats, start on your mushrooms.
- Take your mushroom & with a damp paper towel clean the top side of the mushroom.  Be really gentle with it, don't run the mushroom under water as they tend to soak up liquid easily & will have a more rubbery texture if you do that.
- With a spoon scoop out the underside of the mushroom, be careful with this as well, the mushroom is "sensitive".  Also scoop out/off the stem.  Toss all that fun stuff & now you have the "bread" for your pizza.
- On a baking sheet lined with foil place your mushroom top side down.  Bake for 7 minutes.
- Remove your mushroom from the oven.  **Mine was a little sweaty so I drained the excess liquid & cleaned it up just a bit**
- While your creating your pizza, turn on your broiler
- Spread your marinara sauce, add your mozzarella & the remaining toppings.
- Once your broiler is ready, put your topped pizza back in the oven for 3-5 minutes, mine were in there for about 4 minutes, just wanted to get it melty.
- Enjoy!!  This is definitely a "knife & fork" kind of pizza, the mushroom wasn't really crispy, so I think it may be hard to eat like a regular slice of pizza

Finished product on the right, good stuff.

Stuff I'd Do Differently Next Time:

I think I'd like to place the mushroom under the broiler for maybe a minute before adding the toppings, just to see if any "crisping" would happen & also maybe season the actual mushroom itself, not 100% sure with what, but this recipe was so easy that I think you can make it your own without really messing anything up.  Also, I want to try these as tiny little appetizers by using the mini portobello mushroom caps, they'd be so fun & easy to make!  

Oh the possibilities.....try 'em out, let me know what you think!  Hope you enjoy!

The Food on Pinterest is Good TOO.....Sometimes...

So just like my clothing pins, I also pin a ton of recipes on Pinterest, it's my "comida" board, that's "food" for you none bilingual folks ;)  Anyway, along with getting fashion inspiration from my pins, I've also decided to actually start making the food that I pin!  I've made a few things before from a recipe pin, some are good, some are NOT!  It's always hit or miss, but I've also become a slightly better cook (slightly), so seeing ingredient combos in recipes I have a little bit better of an idea of what does or doesn't taste good together at least for what myself & the hubs likes!

So here's the recipe, which was originally posted on March 7th 2010 on the blog "i nom things"

Lemon Garlic Chicken Spaghetti – serves 2 (I added the chicken to the recipe)

2/3 lb. chicken breast (cubed, I added this to the recipe)

4 oz dry spaghetti  (no clue how much that actually is, just grabbed & broke in half, twice)

1/4 cup grated parmesan (used a mix of parmesan, fontina, & asiago)
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic (used 2 medium cloves)
lemon
2 tbsp pine nuts (rough chopped these guys)
5-6 basil leaves, chiffonaded (I call this making basil confetti, thanks Rachael Ray!)

Here are the ingredients (minus the chicken)...and yes, I do lots of my shopping at
Whole Foods...don't hate!

- Cube the chicken.  In a bowl drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) over the chicken.  I also squeezed the other half of the lemon on the chicken just to tie together all of the flavors.  Season with salt & pepper.  Sauté chicken until cooked through, remove from heat & off to the side.

- Pour in EVOO and chopped up garlic into a small frying pan and let it cook over low heat, until the garlic starts to brown on edges.  Immediately remove from heat and reserve.  The fragrance from this is so so so good!  While that’s starting up, boil up some spaghetti.

- While the pasta is boiling, chop up your basil like some fun confetti & rough chop your pine nuts.  Let me add, I've never actually had anything with pine nuts, I was actually really liked them, gave the recipe a great crunch!

- In a large bowl pour your garlic oil, garlic chunks and all, squeeze in juice of 1/2 lemon.  Add in your basil confetti & your pine nuts.  Drain your spaghetti & throw it in the bowl with cheese and toss until well combined, don't forget to add in that chicken you set aside a while ago.  Add in some cracked black pepper & plate. I added in another little bit of the shredded cheese to each plate.

Finished product, good times.

The texture on this was crunchy, which sounds odd, but it was good.  The taste is light & tangy, I was a big fan.  The only thing I could think is that I could have had a little more of the garlic oil....maybe I made too much spaghetti, but all in all, a great, pretty easy recipe that I'll definitely be making again!

Two thumbs up & I'd recommend on a summer evening, very light & refreshing ;)

My Closet DOES Have Useable Items

Or at least I think it does have useable items & I have to continue to remind myself of this fact....that YES, I do have clothes to wear & that NO I don't need to shop.....too much.

I pin all these things on my "My Style" board on Pinterest, like a ton & how many do I actually try to "wear"?...not many.  So I've decided to use this awesome resource a lot more & start from the beginning, I have these old pins, some may not be "in style" anymore, so I figure I can spruce them up, or use what I already have to make them work.  So here goes....

Outfit Try #1

I don't own a whole lot of green, but I do love the color.  This is a pretty basic sweater/blouse/jean/boot combination, nothing too fancy & good for everyday wear.  While I don't have a lot of these pieces, really just the blouse & sweater & in that color, I figured a way to make it work....or at least how I thought it could work.

My Take on Outfit #1

 

Since I don't have a green/mint blouse or a green sweater I thought I would put the green on the bottom.  I just bought these pants, which I'm still not sure if I'm cool enough to own but I like them, they're comfy & a darker color so I figure they work & I don't feel like I'm too old to wear them.  Here's the outfit lowdown:

Embellished Blouse - Anthopologie - July 2013
Sweater - Nordstrom - Fall 2011?  (Maybe) - I actually got this in the *gasp* Juniors' section, hey, don't judge, you can still find some gems, no matter the age ;)
Dark Green Skinny Pants - Forever 21 - January 2014 - Again, no judging.
Riding Boots - Tory Burch - December 2013 - These were a Christmas present, Lake did a great job!
Necklace - Maripoza (awesome little boutique in my hometown of McAllen, TX) - cannot remember when I actually got this one.
Earrings - Francesca's - yup, drawing a blank on when I got them but Francesca's always has jewelry like this.

2014 - It'll Be a BIG Year!

That's a bold title, right?!  Well, if the rest of the year is anything like the first couple of weeks, than I completely stand by my statement.

Today is January 13th, not even two weeks have gone by during 2014 & A LOT has happened, A LOT!  Here goes:

On Monday, December 30th we finally found "our" house, we put in an offer on January 1st & it was accepted later that day.  So, if everything goes as planned, we'll be closing on the house on January 30th & then moving in, slowly at the end of February/March.  There's not much that we need or want to do to change the place up, but there's a couple of things here & there.  Ideally, we'd like to have any updates done before we move in.  We have the apartment lease until March 27th, so it's kinda nice we aren't super rushed to get out of here (even though we REALLY want to get out of here!).  The house is everything we said we didn't want, it's fairly new construction, it's in a new neighborhood, it's two-story, & bigger than we need for right now, but we just loved it, so maybe what you think you want, really isn't what you want.  Here are some pics:

 

With all that happening, that would probably make the first couple of weeks of a year seem crazy, right?  Nope, not crazy enough for us.  On Tuesday, January 7th I had a small outpatient surgical procedure to remove a cyst from my ovary, it was an hour long procedure, all is well, cysts were benign, things are looking good.  The recovery has been pretty OK, just trying to take it easy, which is proving to be harder than I expected.  And of course, the weather over the past couple of days has been absolutely gorgeous, which just makes me want to go RUN!  Yeah, that won't be happening until February, I did however go for a nice leisurely walk this morning (1 mile) & I'm just excited that I was able to do that.  It was the first time I'd gotten out to "exercise" since my great trip & fall during my first & only run of 2014, haha, that was quite epic.  But yeah, I'm feeling good & I'm so grateful to Lake & my mom for doing such an amazing job taking care of me & also all of my friends & family who called & texted last week to wish me well & check in on me, I'm very blessed.

So overall, I'm very HOPE-FULL for 2014, lots of things going on, still adjusting to our new home & city.  The move hasn't been the easiest thing but we are definitely getting adjusted & enjoying ourselves & through it all, the best part of it, aside from the new home, have been getting to know a whole new, awesome set of friends.....well, some old & some brand new, but all definitely awesome!  :)
HOPE is "my word" for 2014, rather than make a resolution, which I guess we did, just made a resolution to eat out LESS, Lake & I eat out way too much, so just trying to eat in & with a big new kitchen in our house that won't be too hard....but I also decided on an overall "word" for the year, and that word is hope.  Hope for so many things, some that I've thought of, some that probably haven't even crossed my mind yet.  So, cheers to 2014!  May the beginning of this year be just a glimpse at what amazing-ness is to come for Team Ellis & for all of our friends & family out there!!

   

San Antonio - Top 10 Things I'll Miss

So, as you know, or maybe you don't, Lake & I are moving to the Dallas area in ONE WEEK!  While we're so excited to take on this new chapter of our lives, leaving San Antonio is going to be so hard!  Lake has lived here for the past 10 years & I've been here for the past 8 years.  That's a long time!  San Antonio is our home, so leaving it won't be easy.  So before we say "good-bye" to the Alamo City, I wanted to compile my Top 10 of things that I'll miss about San Antonio.  So here we go:

10.  The Traffic...or lack thereof....

San Antonio is a pretty big city, kinda spread out, but it's nice to just be able to stay in your area without having to travel too far.  Other than when there's construction or when there's a drop of rain, traffic in this city is non-existent most of the time.  I know that I'm going to miss that, A LOT!  I've heard the horror stories of traffic in the DFW area, but I'm mentally preparing myself for it already.  I guess the I-10 construction in the DeZavala/Huebner area is just getting me ready....

9.  Fiesta Texas Fireworks on I-10

On any given evening during the summer, you can catch the Fiesta Texas fireworks display on I-10 heading west around UTSA to La Cantera around 9:15pm.  It's one of my favorite things about SA & about living in Leon Springs.  It's always a nice little treat to see as I'm heading home & BAM, they're the fireworks....I'm going to miss that.

enjoying the fireworks at the La Cantera parking lot
one warm summer night

**Side note:  If you park in the back lot at The Shoppes at La Cantera (around Perry's Steakhouse), you can catch an even better view of the fireworks show.  Show up by about 9:05pm & you can catch the entire show, it starts going really "crazy" around 9:15pm.

8.  The River Walk

I've been visiting San Antonio since I was a little kid.  We used to come up to SA as our "vacation" which I see it now & I'm like, "what did we used to do when we would come?", but the second that I get on the River Walk I remember how cool this city really is!  It's just so pretty & busy & just fun!  We don't necessarily get ourselves down to the River Walk "proper" all the time, but it's definitely the spot we bring out of town guests to.  It's nice to have something like that at our disposal, now I just wish we had taken advantage of it more.  

7.  Distance From The Valley
I can't even begin to imagine how hard it's going to be living over 9 hours away from my parents, grandfather, aunts, uncles, countless cousins & my best friends in the entire world (might as well be my sisters).  Right now, the drive down to the valley is about 4 hours (give or take with traffic & how fast I can get away with).  Now, that drive isn't happening, there's no way I'm spending 9 hours in the car, half of it driving on 35 Southbound.  Luckily, there's a direct flight to McAllen on American or direct to Harlingen on Southwest.  I already miss The Valley so much, losing the ease to get there is going to be rough.  Guess that's what FaceTime is for.....

6.  My Students!

I've been lucky enough to teach in 3 different districts in the area.  I started my career in Boerne ISD at a smaller school.  I look back fondly at those years & those students & it makes me smile.  I "grew up" a lot during those three years & I'm grateful for the time I spent there.  I ended my San Antonio teaching career at Northside ISD teaching students that I never thought I would teach.  I'm going to miss the pressure & fun of working on a daily "newscast" with my advanced students, I've learned so much over the past 4 years not only dealing with video/photo editing, but also just a lot from my students.  Being a teacher, in my opinion, is one of the hardest jobs in the world!  Career wise, I'm not sure what my future holds, will I be back in the classroom?, will I try my hand at something totally different?, at this point, I really don't know.  What I do know, is that I'm the person I am today partly because of my amazing students, the good & the bad....and I'm going to miss getting a whole new batch of them every school year.


5.  Fiesta!

I can't even deal.  Those days in April every year where the entire city comes together for a giant party are some of my favorite days of each year!  The food, the festivals, the friends, San Antonio knows how to throw a party, that's for sure.  I'm especially going to miss my Shrimp Po-boy from the French Quarter section at NIOSA.  I've said it before & I'll say it again, there's a few foods in my life that I miss, like my very favorite Nutella-Banana crepe from the best creperie right across the street from the Eiffel Tower along the River Siene in Paris....my shrimp po-boy definitely falls into that category!

shrimp po-boy...mmmmm....

 

4.  THE FOOD

Speaking of food....that's one of major things that I know I'm going to miss about San Antonio!  And it's not just the Mexican food!  We've discovered plenty of other amazing restaurants that don't have anything to do with Mexican food.  I can tie lots of memories with food & restaurants & good times, so maybe that's why this ranks so high on my list...

3.  The Junior League of San Antonio

I joined the Junior League of San Antonio (JLSA) during the Spring of 2008.  I joined to make friends, quite honestly.  During my first 3 years of living in San Antonio I was a busy cheerleading coach who barely had time to do anything outside of my job.  So when I left that, I decided I needed to find something to do with my new found extra time.  I joined the league with my friend Kathleen & knew only one other person in the JLSA aside from Kathleen.  Sitting at my first prospective member meeting I felt slightly inadequate.  I was sitting at a table with ladies who all knew each other, I looked at Kathleen & I think both of us were like....ummmmmm, I'm not sure about this anymore.  Fast forward 5 years & it's one of the best decisions I've ever made!  Not only have I made the friendships & relationships that I wanted to create when I joined, I've become a better person!
The JLSA has not only taught me how to be a better leader, but just a leader in general.  I've been out of my comfort zone on numerous occasions, sometimes I was shoved, but in the end, it's always been the best thing for me.  I've learned how to work with a whole array of women & I've formed relationships with ladies that I would never have the privilege of knowing outside of the JLSA.  And throughout all of this self-growth, I've given back to the city that has given me so much, it's really a perfect combination!  I can't thank the JLSA & the ladies of the JLSA enough, I've been changed for the better because of everyone that I've worked/volunteered with, laughed with, or on some occasions cried with (most of the time out of sheer laughter).  SO THANK YOU JLSA LADIES!  Even though I'll be transferring out soon, the JLSA will always hold a very special place in my heart.

2 & 1.  Our Friends & Family

Friends
Short & simple, we're leaving so many amazing people that we've been lucky enough to call friends.  Thinking back to 2005, the only people I knew were Mark & Kathleen.....they thought I should meet this guy named Lake, so we did, the rest is history.  My friend circle grew by one more with the addition of Lake in my life, & I also got his super awesome roommate Andrew in the deal!  Score!  I could go through our "friendship history" in the city but that would take a really really long time.  Over the course of 8 years I've become friends with some of the most amazing people & then those amazing people started having little people, the circle keeps growing!  Aside from my family, my friendships are the most important thing to me & I've been blessed to have such great friends!  There's not much more to say other than, I'm going to miss everyone so much!  VISIT US!

Family
And yes, this includes our friends that I consider our family.  My in-laws live in SA & I'm sad we won't be as close to them.  They throw the best bday dinners & it's always nice to go over to their house & spend time with them & hear about all of their adventures around the city.  I'm also sad to leave my brother, sister-in-law, niece & nephew.  Sure, they'll only be in SA for another year, so this was inevitable, but seeing them on a regular basis for the past 2 years has been priceless.  I've seen Maryn go from an adorable toddler to the sweetest little girl, over the course of two years.  And we met Hayden when he was only 2 weeks old, now he's a full blown 2 year old kid, who seriously says the most hilarious things!  It's been a true pleasure to have them so close, I count my blessings to be given the privilege of being their "Yaya."  FaceTime dates are definitely in order!  Also, M's bestie, Blythe lives in Dallas, so she's pumped I'm going to be living so close to Miss B!

While good-byes are never easy, I know we'll be visiting the area a lot.  I'm very excited to see where this new adventure takes us & who it brings in our lives.  We're very blessed to have called San Antonio our home & I'm really looking forward to creating a new home with Lake.

And of course...as in most situations in life, there's an SATC quote for that:

"After all, things change, so do cities, people come into your life and they go. But it's comforting to know that the ones you love are always in your heart... and if you're very lucky, a plane ride away" 

So...How Are You Spending Your Time Now?

As most of you know, Lake & I will be moving to the Dallas area in the next month.  This past weekend we secured an apartment in Addison, it's within walking distance of where Lake will be working out of for the next few months, then they'll be shifting the office to North Plano, which is where we'd like to end up when it comes to our new home!

Anyway....as most of you know as well....because of this move, I've left my teaching position.  I'm slowly looking for something else, but until we are up there & moved in, my search is very light.  So then...you may ask, what do I do with my time?

Well, on most days, I wake up & go for a quick jog, nothing major, 2 - 3 miles.  I've also become an expert cleaner, house picker upper & laundry doer.  My goodness, keeping the house "show ready" is a full time job...I know those of you with kids are rolling your eyes at me, but in total seriousness....I feel the pressure.  "HOUSE MUST BE SPOTLESS AT ALL TIMES!"  Even though we haven't received on offer on our home...yet, all of the feedback from the showings have stated:  "Home shows like a model, but we didn't like....." So oh well, I know that the right family will buy our home, we just have to keep praying & be patient!  If you know of anyone looking for a 3 bed/2 bath in the Northwest side of SA, LET ME KNOW, Please :)

I've also been able to explore the joys of cooking once again!  And that's always fun.  Trying out lots of new recipes, lots have been from Pinterest.  My fave one that I've found so far has been for a pizza that I made last week, here's the link from Pinterest.  Now, I didn't "shuck" the corn, I opened a can, but for the most part, I followed the recipe & it was GOOD!  I'm trying out a recipe for loaded nachos tonight, seriously...I cannot wait to see how they turn out!

My version of the cherry tomato, goat cheese & corn pizza

Speaking of Pinterest, I've also been doing lots of "utilizing small spaces" searches, as well other home type of searches.  One of my favorite things has been finding different "brews" to making your house smell yummy!!!  Last week I tried one called "Witches Brew" & it made the house, well at least the kitchen & TV Room area smell so good!  The recipe linked above calls for lemon, apple, orange, cinnamon sticks, all spice & cloves....I'm simmering one right now with keys limes, an apple, orange, all spice, cloves & just a sprinkle of cinnamon & it smells just as good!  I've also pinned a couple for a more "Christmas" smell & one for the Spring.  Super easy!

Today's brewing concoction, smells like Fall!

So that's pretty much what I've been up to.  Well that & tying up our loose ends here in SA & just prepping us for the move & watching as much HGTV & Property Brothers as I can possibly watch!  If you get a chance, try the "brew"...it's awesome & if you try a different version, send it my way!  :)

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad - Say Whaaaaaat?!

I found this "recipe" posted on Pinterest, but couldn't find the actual recipe link....ya gotta love when that happens.  Anyway, I was able to figure out what was in the recipe just based on the picture, so I went for it.  Here's my version....Oh & can I just say, I'm super excited at how it turned out, using 0% fat greek yogurt as the binding agent kinda freaked me out, but it was good!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sliced almonds (I bought the pre-sliced almonds) - I still gave them a rough chop
1/2 cup golden raisins - chopped (the original recipe called for craisins, but I already had the golden raisins so I figured I should just use those)
3/4 cup green grapes - quartered
3/4 cup green apple - cubed (chop them up as small as you like, they add a nice crunch!)
1/2 cup red onion - finely chopped (you want these pretty small, no one likes biting into a huge chunk of raw onion)
6 oz of Greek Yogurt (0%) - (depending on how creamy you like your salad, you can add more or less)
1 cup grilled chicken breast tenderloins - cubed or shredded depending on how you like the chicken in your chicken salad
Salt & Pepper to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil


Directions

In a medium bowl toss your chicken with EVOO (small drizzle - enough to sauté in a grill pan), salt & pepper to taste.  In a medium skillet, sauté your chicken tenderloins until cooked all the way through.  NO PINK in your chicken!

While your chicken is cooking, in a large bowl, mix together the first five ingredients (almonds, golden raisins, green grapes, green apples, red onions).  Lightly toss those together.

Add in half of your greek yogurt & mix gently.  See how you feel about the consistency on whether you want to add more.  Lightly salt & pepper your mixture.  Add in more of your greek yogurt if you'd like.

Once the chicken is done, toss it into your salad mix.  Gently toss together.  Place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to let everything cool together.

TAAAAAA-DAAAAAAA

It's definitely a sweeter salad, but very yummy.  To lighten on the
sweetness I'd say don't use as many grapes

I used the extra part of the apple as a cracker, it all turned out great & perfect for lunch with left over for a few days.  This could probably even be a nice light appetizer for a brunch  :)

Half of my serving was on thinly sliced apples