Monday, July 18th, our neighborhood got together for a movie & treat night!
We had lots of fun and lots of treats.

 

I absolutely love our neighborhood!

We have the best neighbors and so many fun little neighbor kids always around.

Since the invitation said to Bring a Treat to Share....you know I was on top of that!

I decided to make Magic Cookie Bars; I hadn't made them in years.

1/2 Cup Butter

1 1/2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs

1-14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips

1 1/3 Cups Coconut Flakes

1 Cup Chopped Nuts

Start by pre-heating the oven to 325 degrees.

(I LOVE my Ninja! I would highly recommend it to everyone - It does EVERYTHING)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smushy smush...or chop - but that's not as fun

Smushy smush - not as much this time though

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. YUM

I love love love these bars, they are delicious and super easy!

After these were done baking, we headed across the street for the movie.

Okay, so the movie didn't start right away...

We had to wait for the sun to go down and the husbands (Nate & Nate) to get the projector set up.

(Meanwhile, they had some music playing)

And........

...some entertainment, for sure! They were so funny!

It was almost as if they hadn't heard music before...that or they are ROCKSTARS and nobody told me.

 

Definite highlight of the night :)

 But the sun eventually went down, and the Nate's eventually got everything ready...

(my husband is so hott)

  ....and then came the movie....

(can anyone tell what is is??)

It was a nice night, I got to cuddle up next to my hubby on a blanket and (almost) stay awake through an entire movie!

But, we weren't the only love birds enjoying the movie together that night...

(these two are inseparable - its SO cute)

 

"Oh no, she caught us eating all the treats"

"It's okay, just smile and pretend she can't see them"

What a fun night!

I absolutely love where Nate and I live, the neighbors, the friends.

It's great, I don't ever want to move.

I feel very blessed to live where we do!

I just want to express how blessed I am to have Nate as my husband.
He is the most supportive and loving person.

Yesterday I found out some tragic news.
A guy that I dated last year for a bit passed away.
I do not know for sure how this happened, but I have heard a couple of reasoning's that may or may not be the case.

Regardless of how it happened, it did, and there are so many people that are grieving.
My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

This guy was very nice, and I had a good time when I was with him.
Unfortunately we were not both on the same path in life at that time.
Because of where I had just come from in life I felt it was not right for me to date this person.
I didn't feel it was healthy for either of us.
However, I still felt like he was a great person and continued to see him.

I didn't let it last long, I eventually called it quits.
He wasn't too happy at the time that I was like all of the other girls that "didn't give him a chance."
At the time I felt I needed to focus on me and what was in my best interest.

Well, like I said, I received that tragic news yesterday that he had passed away.
At first I was in shock, I didn't know if it was real.
But I texted my old friend, his brother, and he confirmed he had passed.

I tried keeping my composure to not cause weird feelings with Nate since it was someone I had dated.
I immediately called Jenny who was by my side throughout my time with this person.
When she returned my call, I told her the news, and then broke down (not knowing Nate was right behind me).

I told her I felt guilty that I didn't do more for him, and only focused on myself.
I told her I felt guilty that I just ended things without trying to be his friend any longer and help.
I just cried and cried then hung up the phone.

I then saw my husband standing behind me; I fell into his arms in tears.
He told me that it was in no way my fault.
He told me everything I needed to hear from my supportive and loving husband.
He calmed me down and helped me feel better.

I was worried that he would feel weird with the fact that it was someone I dated and it was affecting me this much.
But that didn't happen at all.
He held me and loved me and told me what I needed to hear.
He didn't try to get me to stop crying or grieving, he told me it was okay that I was.

He told me that even though it was a short time I dated him, he knows me and what a caring and sensitive person I am, so the way I was feeling was not a shock to him.

Like I mentioned before, it was only a short time that we were dating, but we dated.
I know there are so many others that were closer to him that are probably grieving 100 times more.
But its still so sad to ever get news like this, from anyone that was a part of your life for any period of time.

I love my husband so much and am so grateful for how wonderful he is to me.
He knows me so well and treats me better than I could ever ask for.

I bought three pints of buttermilk to bake something yummy and could not decide what.
I was thinking about cupcakes all week and when i got up this morning i thought, Muffins!

Apple Almond Muffins!
Adapted by Martha Stewart

Here is what you will need:

Cooking spray
1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and quartered
1 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped slivered almonds
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

First, peel the apple (and eat the skin if you are like me)

Quarter and core the peeled apple. Dice 3 of the 4 pieces.

 

With the 4th quarter,  slice it into 12 slices.

I used the wrong knife to cut the apples, that is why they are so uneven. 

I like more of a rustic look so I didn't cut them perfectly even.

Combine Flour, Sugar, Baking Soda, Salt, and Cinnamon.

Add diced apples and almonds, toss to coat.

 

In a seperate bowl, combine Eggs, Buttermilk and Melted Butter.

Whisk to combine.

Once combined, pour liquid into dry ingredients.

Fold with a spatula, do not over mix.

Mix just enough that there is no more loose flour.

Pour batter into muffin tin without liners.

(I used a spoon to help guide it into each cup because the batter is pretty thick)

Now, remember those apple slices from earlier?

Press onto tops of each cup of batter!

Bake for 16 minutes in preheated oven.

 

Yum....

Restaurant Style Salsa
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman.

First I made some homemade corn tortilla chips because I realized we were out of chips :(

 

 

I preheated the oven to about 350.

Then took out about 6 tortillas and cute them like pizzas.

 

Lay them out  on a sprayed sheet pan, then spray the tops of them too.

Pop them in the oven until they are golden. (The bottoms may brown before the tops)

Once you take them out, sprinkle them with salt.

What you'll need for salsa:

Tomatoes (1 large or two small)

Half of an Anaheim Pepper (seeds can stay in - they aren't hot)

 

1/4 to 1/2 of a lime, squeezed

About 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt

 

1 can of Mild Rotel Tomatoes & Green Chilies

 

About 1/2 teaspoon of Sriracha Sauce (start with a less - you can always add more)

 

1/4 of a red onion

About 4 small cloves of garlic (again - start with less and add more)

 

About 1/2 teaspoon of Cumin

 

About 1 handful of parsley

 Now, if you have a Ninja - this is all going to be really simple. If not, I would suggest first chopping up some of the things like the onion, garlic, parsley, etc.

Then, throw it all in your blender:

If you like chunky salsa like I do USUALLY, you can just pulse it a few times:

 

However, I realized that what I love about restaurant salsa is that its a pureed consistency:

This is the point where you will want to taste is and add more seasoning you feel it needs.

Once you get it to where you want it with seasoning, grab some chips and enjoy!