Exploring your World: Mexican Cook-Off

Before the Hubs was The Hubs, I considered myself quite the adventurer. I liked exploring new places, and trying out new things. I've seen and done quite a bit.

Funny thing is... I didn't know what adventure was until we started our life together. The military lifestyle adds whole new meaning to the word.

You learn to be flexible, otherwise you'll break. You learn to make friends quickly, and you learn too often how to say goodbye. I know how to manage our finances, change a tire, and fix a leaky toilet. I carry in all the groceries, even the heavy ones (of course, the bottled water might only make it to the stairs for a few days!). We explore our surroundings together while we can, because tomorrow we might be somewhere new. 

What I've learned is that I wasn't really an adventurer before this. Sure, I did fun things with my friends. The same fun things weekend after weekend. Once a year, I travelled to NYC or the beach. I ate at the same restaurants, shopped in the same stores. I didn't realize it at at the time, but I was quickly slipping into a rut. 

Moving so often forces me to try things I'd never even thought of before. When you live in a place where all the roads, stores, and restaurants are unfamiliar, you learn to Google... A LOT. Entertainment which was popular back home might not even exist in your new space. I find myself searching the net with phrases like, "Fun things to do in... (fill in the blank)". Or "Where to eat in... (fill in the blank)". 

On a whim, I once typed in the name of my hometown. A few familiar things popped up on my computer screen, places I'd been or events I'd attended. What surprised me, though, were how many things I never knew existed! After living in the same town for 20 years, I should have known all about the area... but I didn't. There were parks and museums I'd never explored, local events I'd never attended. Hundreds of restaurants and shops I'd never crossed the thresholds of. 

All of that adventure and excitement in one town... I expanded my search to the surrounding counties and cities, and guess what? More stuff than I ever imagined! Turns out, my hometown isn't so boring after all. And I've missed out on a lot of adventure simply by not taking advantage of it while I could. 

The Hubs and I don't ever want to lose those opportunities again. As a military spouse, it's always in the back of your mind that today could be the last day before any number of things take you away from each other. You've got to explore, laugh, and live while you can. Even when the Hubs is away, exploring with friends is an important part of keeping yourself sane. You must get out of the house occasionally, or else risk the slow descent into Crazyville. 

This weekend, a friend and I explored a little section of our world. A local event, a Mexican Cook-Off, was occurring downtown. The advertisements promised excellent food, along with traditional dancers and mariachi bands.

They didn't disappoint. 

The mariachis and dancers performed intermittently throughout the day. Front-row seats for their exhibitions were hard to come by, but we managed for several events. The food was as promised: amazing! After checking out the menu at each tent, I finally decided on loaded chicken nachos. 

Mmmmmmmm..... nom, nom, nom, nom..... mmmmmmmmmm........ 

Yep, it was that good.

We enjoyed our street food while watching the various shows. The performances are so different from anything I've seen before. And I love it! The mariachis performed traditional music, but they also transformed modern rock songs, blending the old with the new. Totally fun, and completely surprising. The dancers encouraged audience participation, often pulling spectators in with them. We are all grateful I wasn't one of them!

Mariachi

       

Dancers

For a few hours, we experienced something unique to this area. If our next duty station is in Kansas or some such place, I highly doubt we'll find performing mariachis. And those nachos? Pa-lease. Not going to find those in Kansas either (no offense to my Kansas friends!).

My advice to you? Get out and explore!! Find the things unique to where you are, and enjoy them while you can. Whether you're on a budget or not, there are things to see and do. Last night's Mexican Cook-Off? The entrance fee was a mere $3. That fee bought a lot of fun, and an evening to remember.

If you don't know where to look, or how to find your local attractions, try these websites:

1. Trip Advisor
2. Uptake
3. Virtual Tourist
4. Yahoo! Travel
5. UrbanSpoon (for local cuisine)
6. U.S. National Park Service

Also, look for state and local parks. Google is your friend!! Search through your local paper, check websites for local news stations. Often the city will publish a monthly events calendar or magazine. Local churches hold fundraisers, chili cook-offs, and lots of other fun events. Be creative, get out and explore your world a bit. I promise, you won't regret it.

Happy exploring, my friends. I'd love to hear about your adventures, feel free to post in the comments below!

"Cooking" for One

"Cooking" for one.... wondering why the 'cooking' is in quotes? Well, I'll tell ya. Technically, I don't think this recipe counts as official cooking. Sure, it's completely delicious. But something this simple, this easy... it couldn't possibly fall into the 'cooking' category.

Could it?

Well, I'll let you decide for yourself.

When the Hubs is away, mealtime warps into something sad. Cooking for yourself isn't that much fun; I much prefer having company. Most recipes are a 4-serving size... not so bad when there are two of you.  That means a great dinner on Monday, plus a Tuesday of no-cooking while you enjoy the leftovers.

BUT, if you're only cooking for yourself? I get pretty tired of lasagna (or whatever) after the first two days. On Wednesday, that still leaves several days of uneaten lasagna in my fridge. Not cool.

Unfortunately, the military life basically guarantees that, as a spouse, you will spend many nights alone. Those are the breaks, and we all knew what we were getting into. I used to fall back on old standbys for dinner... like Wendy's. Or take-out Chinese. Lean Cuisine. If you're a spouse, you know what I'm talking about! The quick and easy, anything that won't create too many unsightly leftovers in the fridge.

Lucky for you, I've seen the light! There is another way, I promise you. And because I love all y'all invisible internet people, I'm going to let you in on the secret (Woo, my southern is really coming out today!).

The secret is this: Simple, flavorful meals. Ones with small serving sizes, or ones that freeze easily. Today I'm going to share another quickie recipe with you. It's great for lunch or dinner. Plus, you can customize the portion. Just you tonight? No problem, this easily makes one. Having a friend over? No worries! Just as easy to make another.

Drum roll please......

Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad Sandwich!

Man, that title is way long. What about Chicken Salad Sandwich? What about Strawberry Chicken Sandwich? How about just Sandwich? Or 'Wich?

I'm obviously having an identity crisis.

Whatever its name, this sandwich is super simple to make. You can be eating in less than 10 minutes if you so choose.

I so choose.

Here are your basic ingredients:

As you can tell, I was quite lazy with the 'chicken salad' part. If you want to make your own chicken salad, go for it! I do that sometimes too. But it's so easy to keep a container on hand, especially if the Hubs is gone. Simple is better for me in those times.

If you like the simple too, you can find this great chicken salad at a Target Superstore. I heart Target Superstores, seriously.

Mmmmmmmm..... it's magically delicious.

Ahem. Ok. Now that I've wiped away a little bit of drool, we can get serious. Start with your rolls, or ciabatta, or whatever bread-type substance you desire. I use club rolls (also from Target, bakery section).

I toast my bread first. You can pop it in your toaster, throw it under the broiler, or toast it in a skillet. I go for the broiler method so my bread only toasts on one side. Super simple... just spray your bread with a little non-stick cooking spray and toss it under the broiler for a few minutes. Keep an eye on it to prevent burning (been there, done that!), and pull it out at your desired level of brownness.

I can't believe I just spent a paragraph explaining how to toast bread. It's been a long day.

From there, build your sandwich! I have a little secret to tell you... before adding your preferred greens (I go for the spring mix or arugula usually), use a teeny, tiny shmear of the chicken salad on one half of the bread. This acts a little like glue, so when your greens are placed on top they don't squish around and out of the bread. Drives me crazy when that happens!

So, shmear of chicken salad. Then your greens. Next, a healthy pile of sliced strawberries...

Say what?! 


You heard me! I don't care how crazy it sounds, I don't care if it's the last thing you would ever put on chicken salad. Trust me. You won't regret it. And if you do happen to regret it (which won't happen!), it's a sandwich, people. Pull off the strawberries, moosh your bread back together, and keep on eating.

Now that we're past the difficult part... add a nice dollop of chicken salad on top of the strawberries. Prepare yourself, because we're about to add another mystery ingredient. The strawberries need a little somethin' somethin' to compliment their deliciousness...

If you've kept up with your reading, you'll know I've used this before. Quite recently, in fact. I also found this at Target, but if there isn't one near you, Amazon also carries this particular balsamic glaze. Or, you can make your own by reducing a bit of balsamic vinegar. For another quickie meal (easily customizable for one), think back to my Watermelon and Arugula Salad. This glaze is so useful!

ANYWHO... onward. Drizzle your sandwich with a bit of glaze (ok, I like a lot!). Top with the other bread half. And... viola!

A fun and creative dinner/lunch for one. Serve with a side of raw vegetables, fruit, or mac-n-cheese if that's your style! I went for some baby black corinth grapes, just because they were so cute and tiny.

What kind of meals do you make when your Hubs is away? More coming soon from my kitchen to yours...

Guest Blog: "The Kid's" World View

For the past several weeks I've been lucky enough to have my mom and youngest sister visiting with me. Being married to the military means the Hubs and I move often, with no idea how close we might be to family at any given moment. When opportunities arise for an actual face-to-face visit, we definitely take advantage!  

Currently, we're about 1900 miles apart from my youngest sis and a large chunk of the Fam. This week, that distance shortened to about 50 feet (the distance from my master bedroom to my guest bedroom!) 

Whenever my littlest sis visits (let's call her The Kid, kay?), we like to test out new things, whether that be food or experiences, or... well.... whatever. Annnnnnddddddd, despite the fact she is glaring at me right this very instant, one new experience I thought she should try is blogging! 

So, here goes! Insight via The Kid is now at your disposal. I'm sure she'll be enlightening. Or possibly annoying. Maybe even perspicacious (look it up, people!). Whatever she is, I know it will be great entertainment. Enjoy! 

Okay well, despite popular belief, I'm not THAT annoying. Actually the only person I attempt to annoy as much as possible is The Freak, a.k.a. the chick who usually writes these things. But now I'm taking over, mwhahaha. Prepare yourselves.

So uh...I'm guess I'm just gonna tell you about random food I have obtained from World Market.

First off...PINK HOT CHOCOLATEE! Okay, well...it was supposed to be pink.

By the way, when I was warming up the milk, I did in fact manage to get it on the cabinets... BUT DON'T TELL MY SISTER! And don't ask how it happened, just...don't. Anyways, once all the milk was removed from the cabinets and placed appropriately into the mug, we kinda discovered that it was more white than pink. Stupidly deceiving labels on random foreign food...ANY WHO! In an attempt to make it more beautiful, I delicately placed whipped cream and sprinkles on it. Quite gorgeous I must say.

Unfortunately, this gloriousness didn't last very long. In an attempt to get a better picture of the finished product my darling older sister took this cup of magic out onto the balcony and guess what happened?

She murdered it.

BAM! All my hard work spilled onto the concrete.

I know this gruesome scene may be hard to look at... I apologize.  I almost cried myself, and you know what? I think The Freak planned this. Have me make a stunning *coughcough*ugly*coughcough* hot chocolate and then terminate it in front of me. Heartbreaking, isn't it? Oh well, c'est la vie. 

Even though it was ruined, The Freak and I tried to take one last picture to show off the drink. Very Vouge, isn't it?

Buuuut, I still drank it... I just couldn't resist. I must say it tasted very odd. Definitely not like normal hot chocolate. It tasted more like milk with some sort of mysterious substance in it. I'm not sure if it's suppose to taste like this, OR if during our balcony adventure some deadly toxin creeped its way in. If so... well, my sister drank it to so you're going to have to find some entertainment other than her ramblings.

Some of the other random, foreign foods we tested? Here you go:

 

Possibly more coming soon... if you're lucky. Anyways, I guess it's time for me to go. Bye bye strangers of the unknown! I return you to The Freak...


Ahem... the Freak? Well, KID... I'm going to remember that at Christmas. And I'm going to inspect those cabinets!!

I hope you've all enjoyed the entertainment stylings of my littlest sis... she's something else, isn't she? Hopefully, we'll be hearing from her on occasion in the near future.  I love that snarky attitude and random insightful musings. Until then, I'll keep you posted!