Happy New Year!

February 2016...my New Year has begun! This new year has been the best to date and I got to spend it with all the important people in my life that I care for deeply! 

It started with a surprise get together with my Des Moines tribe of Amanda, Stacey, Jason, Justin and Kevin. I was truly surprised and that does not happen very often! They so thoughtfully baked me this delicious cake, made my smile and laugh so hard my cheeks hurt and it was the perfect start to the 2 weeks that followed. 

My travels took me west to spend Valentine's Day with my Mom and family. 

Red, pinks and hearts galore, Chef Christine (also one of my soul sisters) prepared a fun spread of delicious treats of my favorite things: roses, goat cheese and roasted tomatoes crostini:

Garlic, red pepper and artichoke toast:

Jalapeño breads with a creamy red pepper dip:

All paired with libations, fancy espresso in beautiful cups and ending with chocolate, candles and wishes....

After a beautiful evening and a night full of slumber, Chef Christine whipped up more delicious eats and we indulged in a couple more libations before my western departure to the next leg of my travels. 

After a tummy full of pizza, I left to spend some time with my Omaha tribe. I was greeted with hearty homemade soup and  my absolute favorite dessert, key lime pie. The night was finished with champagne and a movie. And you think that would have ended possibly the best New Year a girl could have...but then it was time to head to somewhere tropical...

More to come! 

AE

New Year's Day

Cheers to you and all the wonder coming to you in 2016. Page 1 begins, write down all the greatness each day brings, even if it brings you tears. This is another chance to get it right. Happy New Year! 

Week in Review

I am a little behind on my weeks in review since the new year, so I am going to share a little peak into how my friends and I rang in the new year:  Prom and Piñatas. This is our second annual "prom" with last year being Prom and Pizza. 

We all put on our "prom" bests and spent the night laughing and celebrating the coming of 2015.

We even had a human piñata!!!

So in the theme of ringing in the new year with a mexican fiesta, I want to share one of my favorite recipes.

Taco Casserole

1 pound of 93% lean ground beef, cooked and drained

1-12 ounce can healthier cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 cups of skim milk

1 packet reduced sodium taco seasoning 

12 corn tortillas

2 cups reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

2 cups shredded lettuce

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cups diced green onions

Plain Greek yogurt and salsa for topping

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook ground beef and in the same pan mix the beef with soup, milk and taco seasoning packet to warm. 

3. Coat an 8x8 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and place 1/4 cup of the beef mixture in the bottom of the pan.

4. Place 4 corn tortillas on top and continue to layer with beef mixture and topping that with 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. Once done layering, make sure your last layer is shredded cheese.

5. Bake casserole for 30-45 minutes.

6. Let cool for 5-10 minutes and serve with lettuce, Greek yogurt, onions, salsa and tomatoes as toppings. 

Ole!