Jalapeno Ranch Burgers

I decided to make some burgers the other night and I thought creating some spicy ranch burgers would be great and they were.

Zucchini Banana Bread

I had some leftover zucchini and some applesauce so I used AllRecipes.com to search for a bread that would use those two ingredients and I found this recipe. This recipe was great because not only did it utilize the ingredients I wanted but it also included bananas, which is great. This bread was quite tasty and although I opted for no coconut or walnuts, it was quite delicious and easy to make. 

Pork Chops w/ Shallot Apple Cider Sauce

 

My grandpa bought me some pork chops because they were on sale, so I decided I would make some apple pork chops for girls night. I found this awesome recipe online and it turned out just as delicious as expected. Of course I edited the recipe to my liking, I wanted there to be some apple chunks and so I cooked the pork chops with chopped up apple, I really enjoyed having some roasted apple to accompany the pork. 

S'mores Brownies

 I found this recipe and I immediately knew I would have to make them. Nothing is better than a bonfire and some s'mores by the fireside. This recipe allows you to enjoy the same flavors but in the comfort of your own home. My girlfriends made them for girls' night and they were just as good as expected.

Adult Gummies

The best 21 or over party snack ever! Soak some gummies in your most favorite hard liqueur for 48 hours. Then enjoy! We used some Malibu Coconut Rum, sooooo delicious! What is great is that the soaked gummies are not overly strong and so you may enjoy plenty without overdoing it. Also, the leftover liquid can be used as a nice fruity shot.

Recipe adapted from Mixthatdrink.com

Basil Pesto

 

Nick and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary over the weekend and to celebrate we decided to make one of our fave meals. Making this meal is a little nostalgic for us since we made this for the first time together over 7 years ago and we have made it numerous times together since, it is both of our faves and nothing really beats homemade pesto.  

Cappuccino Cookies

 

I made these cookies awhile ago, the recipe was from a magazine I had but I lost the magazine before I was able to post it here and so I have no recipe to follow these cookies. I can however mention that the ingredients consisted of instant coffee granules, cinnamon, and yogurt. These were pretty delicious and I would probably make them again if I could, lol. 

 

Hot Chocolate 15K

Today I ran in the first ever Hot Chocolate 15K in San Diego, which is basically the best idea for a run ever! The run was 15K, which is about 9.5 miles, which is great since it didn't require as much training as needed for a half marathon plus the run was proceeded with a chocolate feast. We were given a tray that included a cup of hot chocolate, some fondue chocolate and many dipping items. We were also able to gather many Ghirardelli chocolate squares. It as basically the most awesome run ever! My friends and I had a great time and although the path was quite hilly, we did a great job at finishing with a great pace.

Double Chocolate Potato Chip Cookies

Have you ever thought to yourself, I would like something chocolatey but I would also like some potato chips and you can't decide which to eat, well with this cookie recipe you get both tastes in one. These were extremely tasty and not awkward at all. The chips are like salt, therefore making the combination taste like chocolate covered pretzels. My cookies didn't flatten out like the original recipe and I think it is because I failed to follow the recipe precisely and I used a whole egg rather than just the egg white, so please follow the ingredients and directions precisely if you would like some flatter cookies. No worries though, they still tasted great.

Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

 I had some zucchini and bell peppers that I wanted to use and so I searched allrecipes and found this delicious looking soup recipe with tortellini in it. I have never had a soup with tortellini in it and it sounded like a great idea. Since this recipe was rated high, I decided to give it a try. This was a delicious soup and it was nice that I could prepare most of it in my slow cooker. 

Meatball Sandwiches

After our return from our trip, we had our families over to show them our pictures and to go over our trip with them. Since it was a large group, I decided to make something simple yet bountiful. I also like this recipe because besides the marinara sauce if you make it from scratch, it is relatively easily made in a crock pot.

Roasted Garlic

Garlic is probably my most favorite ingredient. I love it in everything and I use it as a seasoning for most meals. I have never tried roasting my own garlic because I never knew how easy it is, once I found out, I quickly gave it a try. Roasted garlic is delicious and it is great as a different taste for using garlic in a meal or for something as simple as spreading on some toast to eat. Yum.

Tahiti, French Polynesia

Our last stop on our big trip was to Tahiti in French Polynesia. This was the end of our trip and we were really excited to end it in a relaxing way, where we could really just sit and relax and not worry about having to see everything possible. Although full relaxation was our intention, we did end up doing some minor traveling to the city center Papeete and we also took a ferry trip to the neighboring island of Moorea. Although we didn't have the best experience with the locals in French Polynesia, our surroundings were absolutely gorgeous and we got to enjoy some snorkeling, body surfing, and sun bathing. We had a great time and loved the scenery.

One thing I want to share about French Polynesia is that it is super expensive, Megan actually came up with the analogy that French Polynesia is like the name brand version of a Hawaiian vacation, because a lot of the scenery was comparable to that of Maui and Kauai but for three times the price. If anybody I knew was thinking of going to French Polynesia I would tell them to decide carefully and to look into going to Hawaii instead. I would tell them that if they were to plan a trip to any of the gorgeous islands of French Polynesia then they should stay at an all-inclusive resort so as to save money and not starve since most meals at our resort were a minimum of $30 each for small portions.

 

The view from our balcony

New Zealand

Before I get into New Zealand, I must let you know that I took over 2,500 pictures overall and so it has taken a lot of time and effort on my part to pick out which photos are worthy of being shared and so I hope you appreciate them and that you get a feel for what it was like in Australia, New Zealand, and Tahiti. I also forgot to mention before that Australia was great! It was beautiful and everyone there was so friendly. The downside was that it was HOT and HUMID, very very humid but, we handled it. Not only that, but it was expensive. We heard people say that Australia is 50% more expensive than New York and I sure do believe it. An average cup of Joe would set you back about $6 AUD, around $7 American! Ridiculous, we did well though by packing our lunches and eating in China Town, Thai Town, and Little India. Overall, Australia was wonderful and we are all satisfied with our trip to Australia and don't feel the need to return in the future.

Now onto New Zealand, New Zealand was gorgeous! It had every scenery possible: tropical rainforests, beaches, farmlands, and mountainous lands. It was a lot cooler than Australia, still humid, but in the 70's rather than the 80's and 90's, we actually had to wear sweaters at night. We only toured the North island and it was amazing but everyone we met said that the South island is better, which we can't even imagine since the North island was so great as it was. We all loved New Zealand and we agreed that we must return to New Zealand to see the South island in the future. So here is New Zealand:

Australia

Hello everyone, I know it has been awhile. This time I have a great excuse. Nick and I went on vacation with our friend Megan to Australia, New Zealand, and French Polynesia (Tahiti and Moorea). Check out the pictures below for a quick recap of our awesome 16 day trip, starting with Australia.

 Sydney, Australia

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

 I love chocolate and peanut butter together, but Nick does not. Nick was out of town the other night so I decided to make some peanut butter chocolate cookies since I never have before. They turned out absolutely delicious.

Cilantro Breaded Tilapia Fish Tacos

The other night I wanted to make fish tacos, but not just any normal fish tacos, I wanted to mix it up, make them fancy. I created this recipe on a whim and the end result was amazing. The Panko and cilantro were a perfect combination, the cooked fish was so good on its own that I almost forgot to turn it into a taco. 

Another One Bites The Dust...

I can now say that I have finished my second half marathon. This past Sunday, my friend and I completed the Surf City Half Marathon in Huntington Beach. We did better this year even though I have a small case of bronchitis at the moment, lucky me. But, we ran the whole way and even managed to shave 5 minutes off of our previous time. It was crazy too because we had to walk 2 miles to and from the car to the race, so all in all we actually went 17 miles that morning, fun! I am so happy it is done but I am looking forward to the Hot Chocolate 15K I am doing in March. I gotta keep burning them calories so that I can eat all this food I post for you all. Speaking of, I'm so sorry that I have been slacking lately. I have been extremely busy with extension classes, training, work, and life. I haven't forgotten about this blog of mine, I just have less and less time to devote to it. No worries, here I am and I promise I will post a couple of great recipes this week that I hope you'll enjoy. 

Orange Marmalade Pork Chops

So I have some orange marmalade in my fridge that I love to use on toast, but for some reason I thought to myself that the orange marmalade could make a great sauce for pork. I have eaten cranberry, pineapple, and the ever so famous apple pork, but never orange. I did some research online to help me come up with a recipe. The recipe below is what I came up with and I have to say that I really impressed myself, who knew orange and red onion could taste so good together. Plus, the resulting onion and orange marmalade sauce tasted great mixed in with the cous cous I served as a side. 

Pretzel Crusted Brownies

I love the combination of salty and sweet, especially in the form of chocolate covered pretzels. I wanted to get that combination into a brownie format, so it was perfect when I found this recipe online. I decided to make these for some friends and they were a hit. 

They are a perfect combination of sweet and savory.