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Taco Tuesdays

Tacos always seem to be a favorite comfort food, at least for me.

I can eat them every day but I do try to limit myself to making  them at least once a week. Tacos are popular in my household and go extremely fast. I prefer making chicken tacos but every once in a while I will make tacos using ground beef.

There was a time when I would buy a whole chicken and boil it until the meat starting falling off the bones. Needless to say those days are long gone. Nowadays I just buy a rotisserie chicken that is already seasoned and cooked and pull the meat off the bones and shred it to little pieces. This makes things easier when you have little time for cooking.

After that is complete, I set the chicken to a side and start making the taco shells. I use corn tortillas and place them in a skillet that is half way full of vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot and sizzling, I place the corn tortilla into the skillet until it is crisp.

Once the shells are made, I place them on a napkin to help drain the oil and to let them cool. At this point I prepare the toppings and any sides I feel like eating with the tacos such as rice and beans or a pasta salad. Anything that is quick and simple to make. Especially as a mother starting over, I am too tired to do anything which includes cooking. Savanah is always so full of energy and it leaves me completely exhausted. I am constantly searching the internet for easy to make meals with minimal time required for prepping.

Toppings used for my chicken tacos are lettuce, tomatoes, Mexican cheese known as Queso Fresco, avocado and sour cream. It makes for a tasty taco. Yum!

Is anyone celebrating Taco Tuesday today?

Thanks for stopping by.

Velma

 

 

 

/ Motherhood

Be Our Guest Dining Experience

Be Our Guest Restaurant

On our recent trip to Disney world, I was lucky enough to get a breakfast reservation to the Be Our Guest Restaurant for Savanah’s 3rd birthday. I was excited for the opportunity to eat at this place; I heard so many different things that I just wanted to experience it for myself.   

The place is absolutely gorgeous and both my hubby and I were completely breathless from the moment we walked through the entrance. Savanah on the other hand was not too happy to be there. She was anxious to be out in the park and pretty much cried until the food was brought to our table. The staff was so nice and accommodating, they did all they could to help cheer up our little one. I thank them for their kindness and patience. It was greatly appreciated.

Breakfast

As for the food, my husband and I both ordered the Feast a la Gaston and Savanah had the scrambled eggs with apple wood bacon and fresh fruit. I found the food to be enjoyable but I have read complaints regarding the price which is $25.00 per adult and $14.00 per child. Some people felt like it wasn’t worth the price.

I however loved it, keeping in mind that I am at Disney World and I am paying more for the experience than for the food. To me the ambiance of the restaurant seemed magical and I enjoyed the whole experience of being there.

The food portion sizes are decent and we did have some food leftover such as the fruit and pastries. Since Savanah loves to eat fruit we put the leftovers into the drink cups provided at the soda fountain. It gave her something to snack on throughout the day. And I took some of the pastries with me so I could eat them when I was craving something sweet.

For Savanah’s 3rd birthday I ordered her the Grey Stuff. It came highly recommended by a lot of people from the reviews I read. I did try a piece of her cupcake and it was amazing. Savanah thought it was amazing too saying “yummy” each time she took a bite. Definitely worth a try!

While my hubby and Savanah were finishing up with their food, I walked around the restaurant taking pictures. I was amazed by all the beautiful details found throughout the restaurant. I would definitely like to go again but next time around I will try to schedule a reservation for a lunch or a dinner. It would give Savanah time to enjoy the park before having to sit down to eat. (Trying to avoid another meltdown)

Thanks for stopping by!

Velma

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Curious George Party

Curious George Party:

It is hard to believe that my little princess is less than a month away from turning three. I am still in the process of deciding what to do for her birthday but I thought it would be fun to share ideas from her second birthday.  We chose a Curious George party since it is one of Savanah’s favorite characters.  She was at that curious stage of getting into everything (just like George) and it fit her perfectly.

However, to my dismay, many party places I visited did not carry Curious George party décor and if they did, it was very little. As in invitations, plates, and napkins only. Nothing else. This led to my online search of Curious George party décor and party ideas. A lot of information was available through Pinterest, Amazon and Etsy.

Since we were having a Curious George party, my husband and I thought it would be a cute idea to have her party at the Houston Zoo.  When planning her party, we chose the option of having an indoor party in one of the pavilions available instead of an outdoor pavilion. Savanah’s birthday falls in the middle of February and we didn’t know what the weather would be like. (Warm, Cold, Rainy) Unfortunately the weather for her birthday month is highly unpredictable especially when living in Texas.

 

Invitations:

I ordered her invitations through ETSY via Blooming Design Prints.  I was extremely happy with the way the invitations looked and with the fast  and prompt service provided.

 

Red Pavilion:

The day of her party turned out to be a little hot with temperatures in the mid 80’s and everyone was a bit relieved to be indoors in cooler temperatures. I was happy that Pete and I chose the indoor pavilion.  The photo below shows the pavilion used for Savanah’s party. It has five round tables with eight chairs at each table. Additional table and chairs are available. Not shown in the picture are two long rectangular tables for food set-up.

Photo via Houston Zoo: Red Pavilion

 

Decor:

I found many decorations for Savanah’s party through Etsy via Blooming Design Prints and Hearts and Crafty.  Some of the items were do it yourself by printing, cutting and putting everything together.

Practice set-up at home

Guest Sign-In Book:

This was the setting I used at the entrance to the pavilion. I used one of the round tables by the front entrance as a sign-in table for the guests and as a gift table for her presents. The Curious George book was a sign-in book for guests to sign. I love the idea of Savanah being able to go back and read the wonderful messages people left for her on her birthday. It can be ordered here: Curious George and the Birthday Surprise

The Curious George birthday doll was a decorative piece for the table and can be ordered here: Gund Curious George Birthday Stuffed Animal. I also thought it was a wonderful touch to add the banana pen. It can be ordered here: Banana Pens (1 dz) This cute little pen was also given out as a party favor. Guests used them to complete the Scavenger Hunt around the Children’s Zoo area. The children and adults both loved them. 

Actual set up at the zoo

Table Centerpieces:

 These cute little Curious George poms were the centerpieces for each table. They were  ordered from Hearts and Crafty with a fast response time. She sent me the file and I printed, cut and glued everything together.  I also made the yellow hat using a yellow paper plate and cup, black decorating tape to make the black line and then glued the cup upside down on the yellow plate.  I used these yellow hats as a “chip bowl” and placed two of them at each table . The birthday crown was for her cake smash photos.

Cutlery:

I thought it was a cute idea to mix and match the napkins with the cutlery. They yellow tub was on sale at Hobby Lobby and I just added a printed picture of George along with some colored ribbon.

 

Food:

To keep with the Curious George theme, food was catered from Antonio’s Italian Grill. They have great quality food. Not shown in the picture was chicken alfredo and lasagna. I tried to get pictures but life happens, so when I was finally able to,  this is what was left.  Shown in the photo are signs I made to go with the theme.

  • Jumpy Squirrel Salad
  • Chef Pisghetti’s Pasta
  • Gnocchi’s Garlic Bread

 

Cake:

The cake ordered is from Three Brothers Bakery. They did a wonderful job of creating the cake the way I wanted.  However, I  had a hard time locating a Curious George candle but was able to find one here: Curious George Cake Topper & Birthday Candle Set

 

Favors:

Favors for the party included these cute little bags filled with goodies. The tag on the bag reads, “Thanks a bunch for swinging by to celebrate with me! Curious Savanah” Another party favor given to guests were tickets to ride the Zoo Carousel. Another favorite for guests.

 

           

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed.

Velma

 

/ Food

Easy Bake Christmas Cookies

No time for baking?

Do you ever have days when you feel like baking but don’t have the time or energy? That was me this past weekend— Savanah wanted to bake cookies and I on the other hand was tired and exhausted with a hundred things to get done. However, at the grocery store Savanah spotted a box of cookies in the Refrigerated section and wanted me to get the cookies. To my surprise it was a box of Pillsbury ready to bake cookie dough.  Another easy bake time saver!  All you had to do was take the dough out of the package and place in the oven at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Simple!

No surprise the picture on the box is what caught Savanah’s attention. And I have to admit it caught my attention too. (it was hard to put back the cute little snowmen)

The box contains three packages of cookie dough

Time Saver!

The dough is already pre-cut and contains 24 cookies in each package. This I did not know. I thought I would have to cut them myself.

I was so happy to see that I didn’t need to do anything but place them on a pan and put them in the oven. Saved me a lot of time. I am beginning to love these easy bake ideas.

12 minutes later, the cookies are ready. I let them cool for about 10 minutes before we started to decorate them.

Savanah wanted to make the snowman shown on the picture of the box. I think our cookies came out close enough to the picture. What do you think?

This box of cookie dough really helped to save time since it was a quick and easy process. I was tired and exhausted but I still managed to make cookies with Savanah thanks to the ready to bake cookie dough. Definitely a time saver and I was able to make Savanah happy since she loves to bake.

Thanks for stopping by!

                        -V

 

/ Food

Christmas Rice Krispy Treats

Tis the Season for baking treats.

One of the questions my three adult children ask me is “Why didn’t I ever do this when they were little?” My response is “We didn’t have internet or Pinterest when you were little.”

But on a more serious note, I never realized how easy or fun baking could be. I usually thought it was a time consuming process but there are so many easy bake recipes that can be found online.

Or in this case; the box of Rice Krispies —Holiday Edition. Savanah had so much fun making these that we will be making them again this weekend.

Ingredients to Use:

  • 6 cups of Rice Krispies
  • Half a bag of small marshmallows
  • Half a stick of butter
  • Non- stick Pam

Directions:

Melt butter in a sauce pan on low heat. Once melted; add marshmallows and stir slowly until melted. Add the cereal into the sauce pan and mix until evenly coated.

Place wax paper on a flat surface and lightly spray with nonstick Pam; evenly place the mixture with a spatula. Once cooled, cut into Christmas shapes using cookie cutters. Enjoy!

Final Result:

Yummy treats that your family will love. It was also a nice way to spend some mother-daughter bonding time with Savanah. We continued the bonding with story time.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

                       -V

 

/ Uncategorized

Christmas Lights at Santa’s Wonderland

Santa’s Wonderland-

is a magical winter wonderland located in College Station, Texas. It is one of my favorite places to visit during the holiday season. This is our second year visiting Santa’s Wonderland but felt like our first. Their wonderful display of lights is always an amazing sight to view, especially for our little princess. There is lots to see and do and it is always a great way to spend quality time with family.  Driving from Houston to College Station is not too long of a drive; a little over an hour and a half —-but once you see the display of lights from the street——it makes the drive worth while. 

Tickets:

I highly recommend purchasing tickets online. Tickets are a little cheaper and there is no wait time of standing in line to purchase them. We  go straight to the entrance and our tickets are scanned at the gate and just like that—-instant winter wonderland. (It is also best to go on a night that is not so busy)

Savanah’s favorite thing to do is riding the West Pole Express Train. This trackless train is the cutest thing on wheels and spacious enough for large families to ride in a cart. The Christmas lights add the perfect touch of holiday spirit.  Savanah likes the color purple so she always chose to ride in the purple cart.

Food:

She also likes chocolate chip cookies and was excited to see that her cookie was almost Texas sized. There is a variety of food located within the Frostbite’s Food Village. Anything from pizza, burgers, burritos and bar-b-que to name a few.

We tried the bar-b-que and we were not disappointed. The food portions are large and the prices are reasonable. I was trying to get a picture of my plate of brisket with sides but Savanah had my phone, so no picture was taken. However, she did give me the phone so I could take a picture of her with the cookie.

Hayride:

I did get pictures of some of the light displays that can be viewed along the trail by hayride or horse carriage. It definitely is a beautiful sight to see and share with family. I highly recommend bringing a blanket since it can get a bit chilly at night when riding along the trail of lights.

 

 

If you would like more information I am attaching the link to their website: https://www.santas-wonderland.com or if you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

It is a fun place to go and  I always feel as if I stepped into a Hallmark Christmas movie when I am there. I look forward to going again and again.

 

Thanks for stopping by! 

                   -Velma