Madeleine Lovato

My sister had her baby yesterday! She is so ADORABLE and I am so happy to have here here! She was a little girl weighing in at 6lbs 4oz she was 19 inches long. Congrats to Alex and Greg and big sister Bella!!

Nothing new.....yet

I haven't blogged for a while cause there is not much going on. Still working on the baby bedding and working. Thats about it. My sister is due with my new little niece in 2 days!! I am so excited to meet her and get to have a baby to play with all over again. I just LOVE my niece Isabella and can't imagine having another one like her so I cant wait to see it actually happen! She is due on Sunday but if she does not have her will be induced on Wednesday! So Hopefully sooner than later we will be meeting my new little niece who has yet to be named.

Alysha's Baby Shower

Alysha is my good friend from the good old college days down in Cedar City. She is due with her first little girl in the end of March. I wanted to make her something really cute and lately I have been living at a little Fabric shop in South Jordan called Material Girls. (Namely the reason for not blogging) I have developed a new hobby and may I say I am LOVING it! Rob certainly is not since he got our AMEX bill but I am having fun and thats what counts isnt it?!! Anyway back to Alysha-- We were invited to her baby shower a couple of weeks ago and I ended up making her the cutest little sleep sac, some burp cloths,and a travel diaper and wipe case. I am not trying to brag or anything and I am sure there are a million people who can do this with their eyes closed but I am so proud of what I made!


I am also in the middle of making the baby bedding for my sisters baby that is due at the end of March as well so I am turning into a little seamstress-- well that might be being too generous but I am having fun! I will post more of my finished projects when I am done with them!

Girls Night and Cafe Rio

My Friends and I got together this month and decided to make home made cafe rio salads! They weren't an exact match but pretty darn close and delicious none the less- Everyone was anti picture that night so I got some of the yummy salads instead! Also here is the recipe's we used if you want to try......


SWEET PORK

2 pounds pork
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness)
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!


CILANTRO-LIME RICE

1 c. uncooked rice
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.


BLACK BEANS

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c. tomato juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro. (**NOTE** we added a can of corn, drained, to the beans with a dash of cumin and chili powder, it was AWESOME! We recommend doing this even though it's not "traditional Cafe Rio")


CILANTRO RANCH

1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. buttermilk
2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno (we like it SPICY so we kept the seeds in it, if you like it mild, just remove the seeds)

Mix all ingredients together in the blender. That's it!

Happy Valentines Day

For Valentines Day this year we chose to stay in and Save $$. We always spend so much money on our anniversay that when Valentines comes around the guilt has setteled in and we go cheap! This year we wanted to go really cheap and not do gifts but Rob still sent me roses at work! SO my gift to him was dinner! I made one of his favorites, Chicken and Ravioli. The first time I made this for Rob was right after we were first married and I disticntly remember him telling me he never knew ravioli's came in another way besides the can! I laughed so hard and ever since then this has been one of his favorite meals. Although we didnt so much on Valentines we had a great day!