Pioneer Woman

You know how you can ask for one thing for Christmas and everyone gets it for you?  Well that happened to me this year and..well..last year too....but I am not complaining....

Along with a new collection of amazing new cookbooks, my sister-in-law got me the one I secretly really wanted... the Pioneer Woman...

I.Love.Her.

Actually....I don't think LOVE is a strong enough word...I need her in my life....

Let me explain...

I am a terrible cook.  In fact I would rather eat out every day instead of cooking.  I think this is where my OCD for cleanness and order comes in?  Cooking and Baking involves cleaning and lots of it.
I also have little to no technique or patience when it comes to cooking.

AND when it really comes down to it, I'll tell you how I really feel: Ever since I saw Aladdin as a child, not only have I dreamed of being Jasmine..*sigh*...but also since then...I have always thought of what three wishes I would want to be granted (if ever asked).  One of them...I can't hide... I would wish for a magic wand that would secretly make me every meal possible without stepping foot in a kitchen...yes I hate cooking this much that I have to think of such ridiculous things....

I am getting better <---- so don't start feeling bad for William....

The Pioneer Woman's cookbook's is a Godsend.. it literally...I mean LITERALLY shows you (in pictures) step by step on how to cook her delicious meals.  I finally cracked open my book and made this meal last night:

MM Sandwiches – PW Style!

{the Pioneer Woman}

• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 pounds Cube Steak (round Steak That's Been Extra Tenderized)
• Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Pepper
• 1 whole Large Yellow Onion, Halved And Sliced Thick
• 2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Sliced Into Rings
• 2 whole Red Bell Peppers, Sliced Into Rings
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 16 ounces, weight White Mushrooms, Sliced
• 2 Tablespoons (additional) Butter
• 1-½ cup Sherry (regular Or Cooking Sherry Is Fine)
• 4 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 4 dashes Tabasco (more To Taste)
• 8 whole Deli Rolls (the Crustier The Better)
• 2 Tablespoons (additional) Butter
• 8 slices Cheese (Provolone, Swiss, Pepper Jack)

Preparation Instructions

Cut cube steak into strips against the grain. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over high heat. As soon as it’s melted (but before it burns) brown strips of cube steak in two or three batches, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Remove meat to a clean plate when brown. Set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-high. Add onions, garlic, green peppers, and red peppers and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until relatively soft (but not flimsy.) Remove to a clean plate. Set aside.

Melt 2 add’l tablespoons butter to the skillet. Add sliced mushrooms and stir. Pour in sherry, then add Worcestershire and Tabasco. Cook over medium-high heat for five minutes, or until liquid has reduced by about a third.

Add in meat and vegetables, stirring to combine. Cook for just a few minutes to heat everything up, adding more sherry and Worcestershire (and Tabasco) as needed. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter at the end. Keep hot.

Toast halved deli rolls in plenty of butter until golden brown and crisp. Spoon meat/veggie mixture on the lower half of the bun, then spoon one or two tablespoons of pan sauce over the meat (it will soak into the bun.) Drizzle a little sauce on the underside of the top bun, too, for extra flavor and moisture. Top with cheese and broil for a minute or two, until the cheese is melted.

Serve immediately.

***check out her blog***

The recipe calls for a lot of butter...so if you have calories to waste (because so many people do?), follow the recipe.  I cut down the butter quite a bit...I am not a huge butter person...just because I don't want to work out extra hard the next day.


I am hoping to start working my way through her cookbook and hopefully start to enjoy cooking....

Happy Wednesday!

474 more days until William graduates....

.....Congratulations you read this post through its entirety, so I'll treat you to this ridiculous picture of William on our honeymoon...I may hate to cook but WE LOVE FOOD

**Sorry Babe :)

And Another:

Seriously LOVE him!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

The sunset this past saturday....

oklahoma may not have snow covered mountains

or even sandy shores that you can lay on & look onto endless ocean

but we have an endless sky and when we have sunsets like these...

 I am glad we don't have tall buildings to block the view...instead endless plains to view this beautiful sight!

happy wednesday.

481 more days until William graduates...

Redecorating = A.D.D. for the Mind

This past couple of weeks...I have what feels like redecorating my life.  I have slowly eliminated clothes, furniture, more furniture, and well junk that is completely useless and still hanging around the house. I should use the word junk lightly, and well... really call it..."William's stuff that he wants to hold on to like it's the end of the world".  It has become an all out war....Pack Rat vs. Minimalist...

My garage has now turned into a storage unit, waiting for one warm, sunny Saturday for a stampede of people to come rushing in and buy it...ALL... (yeah right).  I am aware that donating some items to charity is an option...a very good one...but I have to admit some of William's items...well...let's just say, I am saving people the trouble.

With all this "winter cleaning"  comes new stuff...pretty stuff...but also A.D.D. for the mind.  There is a reason why I am not a decorator, between drooling through pages of Traditional Home and then actually going to the store to find myself with decorator's anxiety...there's no way I could ever finish one room.  So, piece by piece over the past month some rooms are forming to look less college chic and more adult living.

Some pieces I am looking to purchase in the near future....

I love these cute beside tables from Pottery Barn

 I have wanted a sleigh bed for an eternity...hoping I will find the perfect one sooner than later.

Leather vs. Upholstery

 After having an a micro-fiber couch that now contains embedded dog hair in it (yuck!)...we are thinking leather couches are more dog friendly.  BUT I can't get over some of the beautiful upholstery couches, so I am still deciding/thinking of way to get the dogs to stay off the couch.

Hope you all have one amazing WEEK!

Happy TUESDAY!

482 more days until William graduates...

Happy New Year

two·thousand·eleven

Well school and work and OU football and life has gotten the best of my blogging...

I am going to make it a new year's resolution to get back to blogging....

until then...Happy New Year two thousand eleven!

The hubs and I started the year off right by cheering on the Sooners at the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. We  finally broke the "Pace Family Curse" by finally and I mean FINALLY winning a BCS game...if you didn't know already, we have lost 5 in a row (but don't tell Bob that...he will intensely tell you it was "three national championships and two bowl games").
Nevertheless, we left the game with the biggest smiles swooped across our faces instead of wanting to become invisible... run away from the opposing crowd...scream..shout..throw a tantrum...cry...(its been a LONG losing bowl season and I will admit I have felt all of those emotions)

Thank you Bob & team for sending me on my way proud

Now back to reality...William is back at school & HALF WAY DONE! (can I get an Amen?) 

And I start back up next week...I am still puzzled as to why I am enduring this pain called school...but something in the back of my mind still screams "it will be worth it"...some day I will thank my conscious.

 There's only ONE Oklahoma...

 Tailgate

Food in Mouth + Beer = Happy

 Ryan + Will

Happy Hump DAY!

488 (give or take) More Days Until William is Done with School

Fall

(we heart it)
Dear Fall,

Stick around for awhile...

I have never appreciated the beauty of fall.  I think this all stems back to grade school when I held on to summer as my only source of freedom, and as the sun died down and the swimming pools became covered..that is when fall approached and my world seemed to come tumbling down from sun, pools, and sprinklers...into homework and school. <---I have never been a true lover ;)

Fast forward to adulthood and as the summer sizzling heat pours into my car and onto my leather seats that awaits for me after work, just so I can feel the joy of burned legs...well that's when I know I have had enough of the summer heat and I jump for joy when those leaves start turning and the crisp air greets me after a long day :)

I can certainly appreciate all aspects of fall...

I love wrapping myself up in a huge sweater at night and endulging in a calorie consuming giant cup of hot chocolate <---gotta get the real stuff...no sugar free at my house

I love coming home and admiring my mums coming into full bloom and my flowers not turning brown in that dreaded summer heat

And as fall always reminded me of that knot in my stomach that came with the first day of school and loss of freedom, well it still brings me the warm feeling that Christmas is just around the corner and I really love that feeling ;)

Happy Fall!

556 more days until William gradutes :)

Vote!

Take out the time today and go VOTE!  I don't care what you are, who you are, or who you are voting for...just let your voice be heard and go vote!

Happy Voting!

559 more days until William graduates....

Pink Pink Pink

Hello fellow blog readers!  Sorry for being so out of sync with my blog...school has been harder than expected...thus blogging has taken a toll.

Before October ended I had to post something about:
  Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Have you seen those cute NFL players sporting their PINK?

or how about PINK PINK PINK everywhere

i LOVE it!

My mother-in-law and I recently did the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure.  We joined the other 16,000 supporters on an early Saturday Morning.  The weather was nice to us, the sunshine kept us warm from the morning chill.

We tiptoed around people all morning and it took some time to get to the actual race path, but I couldn't complain about the crowd that day...I would rather be smooshed up against people sharing an experience of a great cause then sit next to someone smelly at a football game :)

I have done the race before, but just as a supporter of a cause.   This year I was a supporter of my mother-in-law, because she is a survivor of breast cancer, which made this race even more special.  We walked the "survivor walk" proudly and took in all the people celebrating the lives of women who have been effected by this disease.  I also had a great time celebrating the fact the she kicked cancer's BUTT!

At this point, there are far too many people who know of women that have survived or sadly lost their battle to breast cancer...which is FAR too many!  Help support a great cause and let's FIND THE CURE!

Trade in your fall orange and wear some PINK!

Fellow Walkers...

 Each survivor received a rose at the end of the walk

Can't wait until next year!

Thanks For Reading!

566 more days until William graduates...