Big (Mac) Surprise

I had a coupon for a free McCafe beverage from McDonalds. I could choose between a McCafe Frappe or a Fruit Smoothie. I checked on-line to see what all a Frappe entailed. When browsing the nutritional info I was surprised to see that a Mocha Frappe has a whopping 560 calories! That's more than a Big Mac (540 calories)!!! I was shocked!! The Caramel Frappe will save you 10 calories, coming in at 550 calories.








VS.







I opted for a Strawberry Banana Smoothie.

Layered Mexican Bake

My parents came over for dinner tonight and this dish was a hit. Here's what you'll need:




- a square baking dish

- large skillet

- 3/4 lb. ground beef

- 1 onion (chopped)

- 1 green pepper (chopped)

- 1 1/4 cups salsa (you'll probably want something kinda chunky)

- 3 tortillas (I used whole wheat)

- 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

- 3/4 cup shredded cheese (sharp cheddar or Mexican)

- 1 taco seasoning packet

- aluminum foil


Start by peeling/chopping the onion and green pepper. Let the meat start to brown in the skillet (we drained off some extra grease before doing anything else). Add the onions and peppers. Stir in the taco seasoning. Add the salsa carefully and let simmer.

Give your baking dish a quick spritz with some type of cooking spray. Scoop out a thin layer of meat to go on the bottom of the dish. Layer with 1 tortilla. Next add more meat, sour cream (we don't use the whole 1/2 cup), and sprinkle with cheese. Put on another tortilla. Add more meat and cheese. Put on the 3rd tortilla and top with the remaining meat and cheese.

Cover and let bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

We uncovered and let the broiler make the cheese nice and crunchy on the top for just a few minutes (just 2-3 minutes ... be careful as it will melt quickly!).

[Disclaimer: This photo doesn't do it's tastiness justice.]

It paired nicely with some Spanish rice.

Anniversary Sale!!

I can't take credit for this...

I saw on another blog that Vista Print is have a 10th Anniversary sale. They have all sorts of goodies for FREE!!! (Fine print: you pay the shipping and processing, which is very reasonable.) We're talking sticky notes, address labels, photo books, tote bags, business cards... the list goes on and on. They have LOTS of personalization options and you can upload your own photos pretty easily.I had fun with the caricatures!

You can order FREE sticky notes + address labels + rubber stamps, but you can only order 1 of each to get them for free. My advice is to be careful when reviewing your order because they encourage you to add more to your cart (i.e. more labels or a pen to compliment your purchase). The sale is running through Friday, July 30th, so you're going to have to act quickly. If you click below it should get you started:

http://www.vistaprint.com/10for10-anniversary-blue.aspx?AFFID=137&SUBAFFID=CD11014&GP=7%2f28%2f2010+5%3a19%3a38+PM

Hands-Free Soap

I had seen this new hands-free soap dispenser advertised from Lysol. The set comes with a dispenser, 4 AA batteries, and a soap insert. When you wave your hand in front of the sensor, it sends out a little dollop of soap without your dirty little hands every touching the pump. The scent of the soap is growing on me. Supposedly they make 3 soap variations, but I've only seen this one. The sensor hasn't proven to be temperamental, like when you go into some public bathrooms and stand there waving your hands around like an idiot trying to trick the dispenser into sending out some soap. Fun fact: Wal-Mart has it on sale this week for $6.

Move Over Martha

I was feeling inspired after watching D.C. Cupcakes (which BTW are delicious!!), so yesterday I made some chocolate peanut butter cupcakes to share with new mommy Emalee after having Baby Sydney. I made milk chocolate cupcakes (using polka dot liners) and carefully squeezed peanut butter into the middle. This is a lot harder than it sounds. I opted to not use my pastry bag, because I didn't see it ending well with the peanut butter being so thick. I attempted to still use the metal tip, but busted through two baggies. I eventually got them all "stuffed", cutting a small piece of cake out of the middle of each. I topped them with whipped milk chocolate frosting and nestled half of a Reece cup on top. They traveled nicely in their polka dot boxes.

Watch Out For Those Commas...

I convinced my hubby to go with me today to officially change my name. We started out at the Social Security Administration. After we wove in and out of several office complexes, we found the building and went inside. It was pretty painless and we were in and out in under 30 minutes. We decided to brave the DMV and get a new license while we were at it. BIG mistake!! The fact that it was mostly standing room only should have been a clue that this was not going to end well. We found two seats and filled out the paperwork.... then waited.... and waited.... 30 minutes came and went.

Even though the DMV had the potential to use 13 help desks, they intermittently used about 6 at a time. They have this bizarre number system with a letter and a number (we waited intently for B 76). There were all sorts of numbers and letters called T, R, W, even P... no B. No B's for 45 minutes. When they finally called B 74, I almost jumped out of my seat (excited to hear something remotely close to our number). At last after almost an hour and 40 minutes B 76 was called! Everything was going so smoothly! I have to get one of the new licences with the hologram picture, so they needed to take my picture. I asked the lady if I could smile, because several people had told me that you can't smile on the new licenses. She said I could as long as I didn't show any teeth. I asked why and her response was: You'll see when you get your license. What does that mean??

We were almost done and I was looking back over the paper so I could sign and we could be on our way when Jason noticed that there were too many commas they way they had my name listed. It would have read: last name, first, and 2 middle names. We tried to explain to the lady that I'm just tyring to make Mary Catherine my first name. I'm not taking any names away, or adding anything for that matter. She got a supervisor who said that she had never heard of anyone doing that before. She said she'd have to go look it up in "the book". She came back and said that I couldn't do that without a court order. So how is it that it worked for the federal government?? I guess I'm going to have to wait to see what it looks like on my actual license.

The DMV gave me a temporary paper to use as a license until my official one arrives. I went to put my old license away later this afternoon when I realized there were holes in it that weren't there earlier!! I asked Jason what did these letters mean?? It looked like CI I O V. He said: Void. I was looking at it backwards. Needless to say... it's been a long day!

Make-Up Eraser

Revlon makes this nifty Make-Up Eraser Pen. Don't be fooled by it's small size. Just roll the tip of this "pen" over make-up mistakes or smudges and the imperfections go away, but the rest of your make-up stays intact. It's small enough to stash in your purse for on-the-go touch ups.

Foot Saver

I love Band-Aid's Friction Block Stick! All you have to do is rub on a little of the product (which kinda looks like a small deodorant) on your feet where your shoes tend to rub. You don't have to cover your entire foot, just the places prone to blisters (heels... neglected pinkie toes). I think most of my bridal party slathered on a little. The whole point of the product is to use it before you get a blister. So use generously and give your feet a little TLC when breaking in new shoes, or those heels that are just too cute not to wear.

Sandals for a Steal

I was looking for a pair of blue sandals to wear with a new dress. I saw that K-Mart had a cute pair on sale for $5.99!!! I convinced by hubby to hit up K-Mart with me. We looked high and low and found the sandals on a display, but they only had one pair of blue ones (and they weren't quite the same color blue as they appeared in the advertisement). I opted for the gold ones instead. I'm glad I did. They have proven to be quite versatile. The metallic hue is subtle and the leather bottom makes it a "sandal" (as opposed to your run-of-the-mill "flip flop").





A steal for $5.99!!

Uninvited Guests

When we came back from the beach, we discovered several ants congregating in one area of our kitchen floor. It was by no means a whole colony, just a couple of annoying and uninvited guests. There wasn't anything on the floor, so we're not sure what was bringing them in. I had read somewhere at the beach that cucumber peels ward off ants, so I decided to give it a try. I placed a few peelings on the floor where the ants had been, and for whatever reason, they disappeared. The cucumber obviously had a more appealing (no pun intended) aroma than the usual pesticide. The problem was that the cucumber dried out in a few hours and then those pesky ants returned (but only a couple). I tried this another round or two, and even though only one or two little ants reappeared, that was one or two ants too many. I gave in and had Jason spray a little Black Flag. That definitely did them in.

The Quintessential BLT

Nothing says summer like a BLT. My Dad has been cultivating a little garden (or at least what's left of it after countless bunny visitors) and gave me some genuine Hanover tomatoes. They were sacrificed in a scrumptious BLT. Here's an easy way to make this summer classic.




I chose to use Nature's Own Healthy Multi-grain Sandwich Rounds, and while they were toasting a bit in the toaster, I cut a sliced up a Hanover tomato. We've discovered the ease and convenience of Oscar Mayer Fully Cooked Thick Cut Bacon. After 22 seconds in the microwave, you have perfectly cooked bacon without needing to get out a frying pan. Dab off the extra grease and the "B" is ready!

Assemble the tomato, bacon, lettuce, and add a little salt and pepper.

A homegrown cucumber compliments the BLT nicely!

Delicious Savings

Today is my Dad's Birthday (Happy Birthday, Daddy!) and we are taking him out to P.F. Chang's for dinner. I was browsing through the P.F. Chang's website this afternoon, when I discovered a new promotion: free lettuce wraps!! (with the purchase of an entree). Just enter your e-mail address in the link below and you'll find a printable coupon in your Inbox in minutes. Delicious savings await!

https://www.pfchangs.com/briny/BrinyGolf2010.aspx

School Supply Savings

As a teacher, the mere thought of summer coming to an end is terrifying, but for some reason retailers are pushing their colorful fliers with tempting deals already in the middle of July! Since I can't pass up a good deal, My husband and I decided to browse through Staples on Sunday just to see if the mirage of savings was all it was cracked up to be.

They had advertised pocket folders on sale for only a penny each (with a $5 minimum purchase). The fine print said you could only get 10 folders per household and spending the $5 minimum wasn't all that difficult, as they had cute Post-Its, tiny staplers ,and adorable white boards (with magnets) for only a dollar each. When we got to the register, we were told that teachers could get 25 folders. My hubby quickly went back to score a few more, meaning I got an entire class set of pocket folders for a quarter!!

They also had an 8 pack of #2 pencils on sale for a penny each. There was a limit of 2 per household, but again... not for teachers! I got 200 pencils for a quarter as well!! Did I need the 200 pencils? Maybe not... but it was too good of a deal to pass up.

Bravo, Staples! I can't wait to see what you have to offer next week!