In honor of our 7 month anniversary...

I decided to get back on the blogging saddle. Last week we didn't get much quality time with the kitchen, so this week Mark and I vowed to make at least three dinners at my apartment. Last night we made a grilled tilapia with wild rice and broccoli. It was one of the best fish dishes we've made and so delicious.

While in the produce section at Central Market on Sunday (my new favorite place) Mark and I spotted some delicious looking green peppers and inspiration struck as I was instantly reminded of my mom's famous stuffed peppers. The giant bright green guys pretty much sold themselves.

We began the pepper party by cutting the tops off the peps and dicing them so that they could be added to the meat and rice mix later on. I also diced about 1/8 of a yellow onion to add to the mix.

While I was working on the veggies, Mark manned the meat station. In the meat mix, we added brown rice, the remainder of the green peppers and the chopped onions, tomato sauce, taco seasoning and worcestershire sauce.

After the meat had been cooked, we stuffed the peppers and put them in the oven to bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Because Mark and I decided to run before dinner today, I was starving while we waited for the peppers, so I downed quite a few giant Central Market grapes and Mark watched sports...

Finally after 20 minutes of grape-eating, the stuffed peppers were finished!!

Since I had no idea what sides you make with stuffed peppers, I decided to throw the rest of the grapes on Mark's plate as a side (they were so good, they only lasted two days, whoops). With the melted cheese on top, these stuffed peppers were everything we'd been craving and more. It was a perfect meal to ring in seven perfect months of dating.

More to come (maybe) :)

M&m

Rule #71: No Excuses

Okay, I admit it. I've been slacking on the blog front. So I'm (wo)manning up and saying it, I have no excuses.

Except... it is Shark Week. Mark and I have been pretty glued to the Discovery Channel, not going to lie. It's just so educational. So far, Jaws Comes Home has been my favorite find this year, but the week is young.

I mean come on, what's not to love about that?

Anyway, I will also admit that Mark and I didn't do much cooking last week, so any blog posting I would have done wouldn't have involved food. And, let's be honest, the food posts are always the best.

Last night, we got back in the kitchen finally. Since this past weekend was a food fest of sorts, we decided a light dinner was probably our best bet. So we went with salad. Since I am a fruit freak, Mark was nice enough to agree to a chicken salad absolutely covered in fruit. We did throw in some feta cheese also. The result was nothing short of perfect.

I basically just put every kind of fruit in my fridge onto this salad while Mark worked his magic on the George Foreman grill. While Mark manned the grill, I cut up (and ate as a pre-meal snack) lots of strawberries, blueberries and black grapes. (side note: Market Street has the best produce) 

We used the chicken seasoning I have to add flavor to the chicken and, let me tell you, it was some of the best chicken we've had.

Mark snapped a shot of me adding the chicken to our salad.

Of course I had to add in Mark's artistic shot. My boyfriend is such a good photographer.

I promise to take better care of this blog. Nobody likes a slacker. Live every week like it's Shark Week.

M&m

It's Not Delivery, It's Mark and Megan's

I know every post I say that meal is the best, but this may have really been the best. Mark and I have been talking about making homemade pizza for awhile, so we finally busted out the big guns tonight. We bought a whole grain pizza crust at Whole Foods yesterday and just to spice things up a bit, decided to divide the pie in half and make our own creations on each side. Being obsessed with vegetables, I naturally decided to go with a veggie pizza. I may have gone a bit overboard on my veg purchase (as seen below). However, I was able to be more than generous with my toppings.

I cut up green peppers, cherry tomatoes, jalapenos, onions and mushrooms for my veggie pizza. I also used part-skim mozzarella cheese and the leftover mushroom spaghetti sauce from our turkey spaghetti. Mark went with the classic margherita style pizza. He cut fresh mozzarella, basil and tomatoes and put it on top of the spaghetti sauce we used as our base.

All in all, we were more than happy with the results. The crust was much better than either of us expected, and we only ate half of this giant pizza... which means leftovers (aww yeah)!

More posts to come :)

M&m

Lets Put Another Shrimp On the Barbie

Tonight Mark and I got back in the kitchen and created what I believe to be our best dinner yet, shrimp kabobs. As I type this, I have a belly full of kabob.

After work we went to Whole Foods to pick up our ingredients for dinner. I may or may not have fallen prey to every single samp they offered while we were there (it's my weakness, sue me).

We decided to go with shrimp, cherry tomatoes, pineapples, onions, mushrooms, zucchini and squash on our kabobs. 

We also ventured down a path we'd never been before: quinoa. Being the avid food blog reader that I am, I've heard a lot about quinoa and we'd been wanting to try it for awhile, so we decided tonight was the night. It turns out, quinoa is basically just a healthier version of rice.

On a completely unrelated note, I got to play in a softball game last night. My friend Alycia asked me to play for a team she's been on all season. They needed girls to play and I love softball so I said yes. It was fun to be out on the field again. I took the liberty of throwing in this video that Mark so lovingly filmed while I was at bat.

We won our game.

More posts to come :)

M&m

Four Months and Counting

This weekend Mark and I celebrated four months of dating. To celebrate, he took me out to dinner and then we went to visit my friend Tara at Rockfish. It's always so good to catch up with old friends. :)

Stole a candid of Mark at dinner ;)

Saturday night we cooked dinner at home. Chicken on the grill with broccoli and rice, mmm.

Today my sister played in a Chili's softball tournament, so Mark, my mom and I went to watch her final game of the day. In true Duron fashion, she got a base hit.

It's crazy to me that we have been dating for four months. Given the circumstances at the beginning of our relationship, there has never been one day where I've questioned whether or not Mark was meant to be in my life. It's still amazing to me the way God timed everything out in our relationship. Everyday I thank God for placing this relationship in my life when I needed it the most. It's amazing what patience will give you.

More posts to come :)

M&m

Dad

As most of you know, my dad passed away three months ago. It was not only sudden, but a complete shock to anyone who knew my dad. My dad was both healthy and young… two things that don’t typically foreshadow a heart attack. While my dad was never a fan of sharing information online, writing is one of my biggest releases and the best way I can express myself. Sorry, Dad.

You always hear “you never know what you have until it’s gone.” I never fully understood that statement until the last few months. The little things that I always took for granted are now the things I want the most. I want to hear my dad coming home from work and my mom cooking dinner, I want to walk upstairs and see my dad passed out on our couch watching whatever sports game was on TV that day, I want to roll my eyes again as my dad feeds our dogs table scraps, I want to see that look on my dad's face when you could tell a joke was coming and more than anything I want to ask my dad advice and have him kiss the top of my head like he’s done millions of times before.

I had a lot more typed out after this, but I decided to erase it and let the pictures speak for themselves. These pictures show exactly what a devoted dad and loving husband my dad was. He was a spiritual leader to our family and a giver to anyone in need. His generosity and humility is a constant goal for me, although I know I will never achieve what he did. His sense of humor still makes me laugh. He was my "twin" and my best friend and I am so thankful for every trait of his I was given.

As my mom, sister and I said last night... he really was the best dad and husband. I could not be more proud or thankful for the 24 years I had with him, but I am so glad to know where he is now. I love you and miss you every single day, Dad.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Philippians 1:3

M&m

Spaghetti, spaghetti and more spaghetti

Last night was a lot of fun in a relaxing, stay-at-home kind of way. Mark and I successfully attempted our first spaghetti dinner. We had two turkey burger patties left over from our turkey burger dinner, so we racked our brains to find a meal that would incorporate the turkey meat when... voila!.. spaghetti with turkey meat in the sauce.

In an attempt to make this mound of carbs somewhat more nutritious, we used whole wheat spaghetti to cash in on the extra fiber. Plus, we both really like whole wheat pasta anyway. While I kept watch over the whole wheat pasta, Mark cooked the turkey meat in a pan pre-sprayed with Pam. After the noodles were soft enough to cut easily with a fork, we added the most amazing Prego mushroom tomato sauce to our pasta then let it cook a little bit longer in the pot so the sauce could heat up. Since I didn't want very much meat in my sauce, I scooped my noodles and sauce into my bowl and grabbed a little turkey meat to throw on top while Mark dumped the rest of the meat into his sauce. In retrospect, his way was probably better because the meat was able to mix in with the sauce instead of lay on top like mine. You live and learn.

We also made a salad to go with our pasta. We less "made" the salad than poured a pre-made salad into a bowl and chopped up tomatoes to add to it. The nonfat balsamic vinaigrette we used was one of the best dressings I've ever had though!

All in all I'd say our first attempt at a spaghetti dinner was a complete success. The whole wheat pasta is so filling we couldn't even finish our bowls and the salad was amazing.

After our carboload, we ran for an hour in an attempt to run off all of the pasta we had just eaten. It's always difficult to run after you've taken a few days off, but once you're back in the game, it makes the next run so much easier! This morning Mark proved his title as "Best Boyfriend Ever" by bringing me chicken minis and fruit from Chick Fil A, my favorite breakfast ever. So now, I'm blogging in a chicken coma and thinking I may need another one of those runs tonight.

More posts to come :)

M&m

Spaghetti Dinner Recipe:

-4 Oz. Whole Wheat Pasta
-1 Cup of Prego Mushroom Sauce
-1 Package of Prewashed Salad Mix
-Nonfat Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
-2 Tomatoes
-Pam or Other Cooking Spray
-Salt

1. Fill pot with 2 quarts of water and 2 tsp. of salt until water comes to a boil.
2. Add 4 oz. of whole wheat pasta.
3. Spray pan with Pam and add turkey meat. Keep meat moving so it doesn't stick to the pan.
4. Pour salad mix into a bowl and add sliced tomatoes.
5. Once noodles are limp, drain water and add 1 cup of mushroom sauce.
6. Stir noodles and sauce. Add turkey meat.
7. Enjoy!

A Twofer

So I’m going to combine what would have been two separate blog posts because I got too lazy to blog yesterday. And by too lazy I mean too distracted by the Home Run Derby.

This past weekend was one of my favorite weekends so far. It was so relaxing and yet filled with so many activities. On Friday, two movies came out that Mark and I have been dying to see: Horrible Bosses and Zookeeper (okay, this one is more me… but that gorilla gets me every time). So we decided to do a classic dinner and a movie date night. After work we went to my apartment workout room and ran for an hour before we began the night’s festivities. It always feels so good to get a run in! After our run Mark and I went to Fireside Pies at Legacy. We love this place. Typically we will go with the Burrata pizza which consists of oven-dried tomatoes and basil pesto; however, we had wanted to try their famous Balsamic Roasted Chicken pie which is covered in spinach, blue cheese, and tomatoes. It was good, but it turns out blue cheese isn’t that great on pizza. I guess sometimes it’s best to stick with what you know.

Once we’d finished dinner we had some time to kill before the movie so we went to the patio at Gingerman Pub right by my apartment to grab a beer. With the sun down, it was such a nice summer night to enjoy some time together on a patio… one of our favorite activities. Spoiled by our Alamo Draft House experience in Austin, Mark and I had decided we wanted a drink to enjoy during our movie, so we saw Horrible Bosses at Movie Studio Grill in Plano. Unfortunately, by that time, we were hungry for second dinner (yikes) so we also tried some chicken nachos and sweet potato fries with the movie. They were both delicious, although second dinner probably isn’t the healthiest habit.

On Saturday morning Mark and I surprised my mom by bringing her (and ourselves... we are only human) a Chick Fil A breakfast and then doing the yard for her. My mom is such an amazing woman that she mows and “weed eats” the front and back yard by herself nearly every week, so we really wanted to help her out. It was so much fun being able to spend time with my mom and help her at the same time. I was even able to snap this great shot of Mark mowing my mom’s front yard.

After the yard work was done, we were all pretty exhausted, so Mark and I went back to Plano to rest for awhile. Always the creative date-planner that he is, Mark suggested we go to dinner and then go bowling Saturday night. It was an absolute blast, one of my favorite dates so far. We enjoyed Rock Fish for dinner and then drove to 300 in Addison where we played three games of bowling (I don’t win and tell, but I’ll let you guess who won).

The bowling alley had giant televisions above the lanes too, so we were able to watch the Ranger game while we bowled. By the time we finished bowling, the game was in the seventh inning, so we decided to stop by Stan’s Grill, a sports bar in Plano, on the way home to watch the end of the game. It turns out, we couldn’t have picked a better game to watch. In the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, down 6-5, Josh Hamilton hit a walk-off home run to win the game. What a deserving home run for him and a great win for the Rangers.

Sunday was relaxing, as most Sundays are. Mark and I went to church with my mom and then out to lunch, something that has become the highlight of every week. This week Erin was in Oklahoma, so we jumped at the opportunity to eat Mexican food at Mi Cocina. Of course, those fajitas never disappoint. Some Sunday shopping filled up our afternoon until we came back to my apartment where we got to enjoy our favorite time of the week: Cold Stone Sunday. Every single Sunday Mark and I go to the Cold Stone Creamery right outside of my apartment. We are both huge ice cream lovers and it’s fun to try a new combination of mix-ins each week. We finished our weekend up with some grocery shopping (still one of my favorite things to do together) and dinner at Café Express.

Last night Mark and I returned to the kitchen to try our hand at another homemade meal. This time, however, the “kitchen” was at Mark’s apartment. We had decided to make grilled barbecue chicken and since Mark has a great grill on his apartment patio, we wanted to take advantage of this to make legitimate grilled chicken (sorry, George Foreman).

We used the leftover chicken from our California Grilled Chicken Sandwich since we got twice as much as we needed in the first place. Naturally Mark was in charge of manning the grill while I stuck to what I know best: the veggies. We had chosen green beans and then also decided to try out corn on the cob for the first time.

Mark covered my chicken with seasoning since I didn’t want to fully commit to the sauce and then covered his piece of chicken in the barbecue sauce he’d bought (I can’t remember what it was called). While Mark was grilling the chicken, I washed and cut the stems off of the green beans then put them into a pot of boiling water to cook. I was a little scared to make the corn on the cob because we’ve never made it before, but I placed it in boiling water to soften it then Mark covered it in cooking spray and marinade then grilled it. The result was nothing short of amazing.

More posts to come :)

M&m

Grilled Chicken Dinner Recipe:

-2 4-oz. Chicken Breasts
-1/2 Pound of Green Beans
-2 Ears of Corn
-Cayenne Pepper
-BBQ Sauce
-Cooking Spray (Pam works)

1. Cover chicken in BBQ sauce and place on grill
2. Wash green beans and cut off the ends. Place in a pot of boiling water.
3. Green beans will cook until the rest of the meal is finished.
4. Peel husks off the corn and place in a pot of boiling water.
5. Boil corn for 3-5 minutes. Spray with Pam then cover with seasoning of your choice.
6. Place corn on grill and cook until chicken is done.

The Undefeated Season Continues

Mark and I are undefeated when it comes to Rangers games. We have been to five games this season and the Rangers have won all five of those games. You might say we're something of a good luck charm. I wouldn't mind being painted with that brush.

A couple of months ago I bought Mark and I tickets to a day game against the Oakland A's. It was a sporadic purchase, but I figured we can always use an excuse to take a vacation day from work and attend a Rangers game. Unfortunately, as with most of the dates I plan, there was a bump in the road. The game was rain delayed for almost two hours and eventually canceled. After hovering under the roofing at the ballpark for hours, we eventually had to make a run for it in the pouring rain. Needless to say, by the time we made it to the car we were both soaked. Also, Mark had left his car window open so his car was soaked as well. But that's neither here nor there.

Last night's weather was much better than the previous attempt. It seemed a little less hot than the past few days and since we were right by home plate, our seats were already shaded by the time we got to the game. Because we've had bad ballpark food experiences in the past (never order the BBQ chicken sandwich at the ballpark... trust me, I'm doing you a favor), we ate at On the Border before the game last night. There is something about chips and guacamole that make any meal 100 times better. The food was delicious and we were right on time for the game.

Since it was a make-up game, there was a less-than-usual crowd at this game.

Derek Holland pitched his third career complete game shutout which was fun to see.

The weather was great and the night was all around perfect. Sports games have been a huge part of our relationship, so it's always fun when we get to go to any sporting event.

As I mentioned earlier, our ballpark attendance has proven the Rangers undefeated. Personally, I wouldn't mind them paying us to attend games... just so they can keep the streak alive.

However, as I'm sure everyone has read by now, there was a horrific tragedy that happened during the second inning of the game last night. After a foul ball hit by an Oakland A ricocheted back onto the field, Josh Hamilton tossed the ball up toward the left field stands were a fan reached out to grab the ball and was unable to keep from falling over the stands and behind the scoreboard. The gasp throughout the stadium was chilling. It wasn't until after the game that the Rangers released a statement saying the man, father to a six-year-old boy who was with him at the game, had passed away.

Just typing that makes my stomach turn. That poor boy was at his first baseball game ever, sporting Rangers attire from head to toe. Things like that just shouldn't happen. A time that is supposed to be so precious and so memorable has turned into a life-changing moment for that young boy and his family. It makes me sick to know that boy, only six years old, will spend the rest of his life without his dad. He won't have his dad cheering him on at his own baseball games or be able to ask his dad life advice. I feel robbed having my dad taken away after 24 years and this reminds me how lucky I am to have all 24 of those years with him. It's hard when something like this happens because it was no one's fault, yet it makes it no less hard. I hope that family gets showered with love and prayer because that's what gets us through times like that.

More posts to come :)

M&m

Dover Sole Dinner

Since Mark and I both love fish, we decided to make something fishy last night. I had never tried dover sole before two Sundays ago where I tried it during a Sunday lunch and was hooked. It's a lot like orange roughy or tilapia, very white and flaky. So Mark and I decided to venture out of our comfort zone and try to cook something we never have before. The result was a complete success.

This was hands down one of the easiest meals we've made. We covered the fish with some seasoning and lemon and put it in the oven to bake while we prepared the other sides, which were equally as easy. We went with steamed broccoli and Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Medley Brown & Wild Rice.

Because the fish is so flaky, it's difficult to keep from breaking apart. Once we had the fish baking, we washed and cut the broccoli before steaming it. We may or may not have cheated a little on the rice and used the "ready in 90 seconds" kind, but it's so good and so easy! We love this rice. Mark even had time left over to snap a photo of me preparing our food.

The end result was amazing. Plus, dover sole is great for you! More posts to come :)

Dover Sole Recipe:

-2 4-oz. Filet of Dover Sole
-2 Stalks or 2 Cups of Fresh Broccoli
-Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Medley Brown & Wild Rice
-2 Lemons
-Garlic Salt/Pepper
-Any Fish Seasoning You Want

1. Rinse dover sole in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray the foil-covered sheet with pam.
3. Season fish with garlic salt, pepper, seasoning and lemon. Place on cookie sheet.
4. Bake fish at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
5. Wash and cut broccoli. Pour broccoli into a pot of water filled 1-2 inches with water. Steam broccoli, making sure to cover the pot with a lid. Steam until fish is finished, about 15 minutes.
6. Heat rice in microwave for 90 seconds :)
7. Place on plate and you're good to go!

M&m

California Grilled Chicken Sandwich and a Trip to Costco

Since our Austin trip, Mark has been feeling under the weather, so I forced him to let me cook dinner for him last night. It was like pulling teeth, but he finally gave in. Because we'd been out of town, the kitchen was a little sparse so we pregamed dinner with a trip to the grocery store. For some reason, going to the grocery store together is one of my favorite things to do.

For awhile now, Mark has been raving about the samps (samples to the common folk) at Coscto. Since Mark's mom has five kids, she did a lot of Costco shopping while Mark was growing up, so he still has fond memories of the place. For anyone who doesn't know, Costco is basically like Walmart on steroids. Everything is bought in bulk, so you get about three times the amount what you normally would. So Mark and I decided to do our weekly shopping at Costco this week to save a little money and try some samps. After walking through the store for about 30 minutes, we came to the sad realization that Costco may not be our grocery store of choice yet. It's tough for two people to eat 4 pounds of grapes without them going bad... So we stocked up on some free samps and headed to Tom Thumb where we bought the week's groceries.

I was a little nervous about cooking alone since Mark and I always work as a team in the kitchen, but I was determined to make dinner for him since he was sick. I mean, what kind of a girlfriend would I be if I couldn't at least do that? I made Mark choose the dinner too, so he decided on a California grilled chicken sandwich. Thankfully, not too difficult.

I have had a request to list our recipes as we make them, so here it is!

California Grilled Chicken Sandwich Recipe:

-1/2 Pound Chicken
-2 Whole Wheat Burger Buns (or Sourdough bread, but these were leftover from the Turkey Burgers)
-1 Whole Tomato
-1 Avocado
-Salt/Pepper
-Chicken Seasoning
-Mayo (optional)
-I served these with 1/2 pound of green beans and a few fresh strawberries

1. Boil one cup of water. Once the water has started to boil, put in the green beans. These will cook until everything else is done.
2. Cover chicken in salt, pepper and chicken seasoning. Place on grill.
3. Slice tomatoes and avocado. Toast the whole wheat buns if you want.
4. Once the chicken is finished cooking, slice into small slices.
5. Put chicken, avocado, tomato and mayo on the whole wheat bun.
6. I seasoned my green beans with cayenne pepper to add some spice.
7. Serve with strawberries and you're good to go!

More posts to come :)

M&m

Fourth of July Weekend

This past weekend Mark and I went to Austin to enjoy the fourth of July weekend. Always the sporadic couple, we embarked on our road trip on the no-plan plan. With a road trip playlist and lots of snacks, we were on our way.

Since we were in no rush, we decided to stop in Waco so I could show Mark around my college town. While we were in Waco, Mark and I stopped at Olive Branch for lunch. Man, I'd missed that place. After lunch, we drove around campus and I showed him all the Baylor landmarks. (And by Baylor landmarks, I mean places we'd played pranks in college.)

Being the Red Raider that he is, Mark got a little fussy being on Baylor campus.

Saturday night we went to an amazing Mexican restaurant on Lake Austin called Hula Hut where we ate a ridiculous amount of chicken fajitas. It was so nice out on the patio that we stayed for awhile and tried some of their drinks. It turns out, their margaritas are pretty tasty.

Mark and I had designated Sunday to kayaking, so we headed to Kerbey Lane Cafe for some brunch before the kayaking began. Neither of us had ever been there before, but it was amazing and came highly recommended. After brunch we drove to Zilker Park to rent our kayak. Kayaking is one of my favorite things to do, and with the sun shining, it was a perfect day to go.

After kayaking, we were pretty exhausted, so we spent the rest of Sunday just relaxing. Sunday night we wanted to find a patio on the lake again, so we went to Abel's on the Lake where we both enjoyed some of the best tilapia fish tacos we've ever had. (Maybe even better than the ones we made... maybe.) We'd both heard a lot about Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, so we decided to catch a flick after dinner.

Sadly, our weekend getaway had to come to an end on Monday. We wanted to grab one last brunch before we left, so we tried the restaurant at the Four Seasons hotel where I got my dream breakfast: a gigantic bowl of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries. Needless to say, I was in heaven.

Monday night for the fourth of July Mark, my mom and I grabbed some dinner at Jason's Deli then watched fireworks at Bakersfield Park in Flower Mound. It was so nice to be with both of them this fourth of July and the fireworks never disappoint.

Hands down, this was one of the best weekends we've spent together so far. It was so relaxing and we got to experience so many new things together. More posts to come :)

M&m

Dinner With The Threetards

We decided to take advantage of our drive to Austin and get in some much needed blogging. Currently, we are jamming out to some Two Princes by Spin Doctors. Yes, this is on our road trip playlist. We are undeniably kids of the 90's.

Last night I finally got to meet the triplets and Kennedy, as mentioned in our previous blog post. It was everything I'd hoped it be and more. Those may be the four coolest kids I've ever met. I'm already ready to hang out with them again. And yes, we were able to get in some quality trampoline time and even managed to get a game of pig in as well.

Dinner was delicious. We got some Campisi's pizza, which I haven't had in forever and always love. Plus a great caesar salad with shrimp, some pasta and birthday fruit sorbet for Mark's birthday.

After we left Mark's family we went to one our staples, Mi Cocina, for some patio sitting and drinks (and maybe some chips and queso... Whoops). The weather couldn't have been better. It was a great finish to the night.

This morning the guilt of the queso proved too much so we decided to go for a run before we headed out on our excursion. We both had a great run. I stayed at my usual six miles, but Mark dominated me with seven. He's a beast.

So now we're on our way to Austin, jamming out to some classic tunes, nomming some tasty snacks and just enjoying the time together. I don't want to spoil any of the trip. An Austin post will follow :)

Austin or Bust

Since our turkey burger experience, things have been pretty low key in the kitchen. Last night, Mark and I both went out to dinner with friends, so the cooking was put on hold. Don’t worry, it will start back up next week.

Tonight Mark and I are going to his mom’s house for a yummy pizza dinner with the family. I’m more than excited because I get to finally meet his 7-year old triplet brothers and his little sister, Kennedy. It’s been a long time coming. Plus, they have a trampoline, so… what’s there to not be excited about?

After dinner, we are going to the Inwood theatre in Dallas to see a midnight showing of Fight Club. I can’t wait. Instead of regular theatre seating, there are couches set up everywhere and you can bring in drinks. It’s a lot of fun.

In two and a half hours, the three-day 4th of July weekend will begin and I couldn’t be more ready. Mark and I will be going to Austin Saturday, Sunday and Monday for no reason other than to get away and relax. Mark and I both love to be outside, so we are going to kayak at Lake Travis while we are there.

Other than that, I foresee a lot of pool time, patio sitting, Mexican food and music… our kind of weekend. Plus, it will be something exciting to blog about! Now these next couple of hours need to fly by. More posts to come :)

M&m

Turkey Burgers Courtesy of George Foreman

With the success of our first George Foreman grill experience behind us, Mark and I decided to test out the grill again with burgers tonight. Since I don't really eat red meat and Mark is quite possibly the most accommodating boyfriend in the world, we decided to make turkey burgers. So after a trip to Market Street for the essentials, we were ready to make some burgs.

Being the sweet potato fry fanatics that we are (and because we had some left over from last week), fries were an obvious side choice. And since I can't make it through one meal without some sort of fruit (literally), we sliced up some fresh strawberries, or as they are more commonly known in our conversations, strawbs.

Naturally, Mark was in charge of the grilling. He knows his way around a grill, I'll say that much. The patties came out perfectly seasoned and delicious. We threw some lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese and mustard on a yummy wheat bun and had one of the best burgers I've eaten in awhile. Please note Mark's design of ketchup and mustard on his burger:

I'll be honest, there was not one bite left on my plate when I finished this juicy burger.

Turkey Burger Recipe:

2 Shadybrook Farms Ground Turkey Burgers
2 Whole Wheat Burger Buns
1 Tomato
1 Red Onion
1 Avocado
Lettuce
Mustard
Ketchup
Garlic Salt
Hamburger Seasoning

With bellies full of burger, Mark and I are enjoying a night of Rangers and relaxation before we attempt to burn off the burgers with a run. Another attempt in the kitchen, another success. More posts to come :)

M&m

The First Post: Fajitas

In an effort to document at least some of the happenings in our life, Mark and I have decided to start a blog. Mark was in charge of the creative stuff and designing the blog and I am in charge of the blogging... although I'm hoping this will be a team contribution.

Lately, Mark and I have been trying our hand at cooking. Before we started experimenting in the kitchen, my idea of cooking was sticking a poptart in the toaster, so this has been really fun and a good learning experience. Plus, it's something we can do together, which is always fun.

Mark and I have both said that we could eat fajitas every day of the week (a statement that has actually been tested and proven). Being a staple of our relationship, we though fajitas deserved a spot in the rotation and attempted to make them for the first time last night.

Last week we made tilapia fish tacos. Since we had left over tortillas, we decided to make a meal that would use some of the leftovers. Naturally, that was fajitas. Since we are no stranger to the fajita, we knew exactly what we wanted on them: homemade pico de gallo, sauteed onions, a lot of avocado and an unlimited supply of lime. Here is the result:

Not to toot our own horn, but the homemade pico de gallo was something of a gift in itself. We spent a long time dicing tomatoes, onions, jalapeno and cilantro, but it paid off to say the least:

Chicken Fajitas Recipe:

1 Pound of Chicken Breast or 2 4-oz. Chicken Breasts
4 Flour Tortillas (we like Mission brand)
1 Tomato
1 Red Onion
1 Jalapeno
1 Bunch of Cilantro
1 Avocado
2 Limes
Salt/Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Seasoning

A special thanks goes out to the George Foreman grill that made these fajitas possible. The chicken was so good. Mark definitely knows his way around a grill.

Well, that concludes the first post. There will be more posts to come :)


M&m