Pulled Pork

The last Girl's Night that Tara hosted she made this delicious pulled pork. It was so tender, so sweet...it was perfect. I asked her to share the recipe. Now she said she received the recipe from Deirdre's husband Dan. I am not sure if he received it from someone else or if he came up with this wonderful recipe himself...either way I wanted to share with all of you to enjoy. Place the pork in a soft taco shell or on a Kaiser roll. No matter how you eat it you will enjoy every last bite! 

My Week of Dinners

Another busy week behind me. I enjoyed a few dinners out, some home cooked meals, and some delicious treats as well.

Sunday

I believe I have mentioned before how my mom and I like to see various shows and enjoy a nice dinner out together. Typically I have bought tickets to some show for a gift. This time though my mom bought them just for fun. We saw Sister Act the musical. It was very good! Entertaining, funny, and all of the actors had great voices. After the show we decided to try an Irish pub near the theatre to get ourselves into the St. Patrick's Day spirit! I enjoyed a pastrami-corned beef sandwich. It was very similar to a Reuben, though it had pastrami and Cole slaw. Tasty!

Blueberry Banana Bread

This week's cook book recipe is again, from Giada at Home. Banana bread is something that can be enjoyed any time of the day. This recipe intrigued me mostly because of the addition of the blueberries. The buttery banana bread really pops with the juicy, sweet blueberries. 

Turkey Chili

The slow cooker is really an amazing appliance that I feel everyone should own. It is the perfect way to get a heads start on your dinner plans. You can prep everything the night before, turn the cooker on in the morning, and just let it take care of business while you're off on your busy day. By the time you get home your kitchen will be filled with the aromas of your upcoming meal. 

One of my favorite one pot dishes to prep in the slow cooker is Turkey Chili. Chili is one of my favorite comfort foods. The best part about it is you can really throw anything you want into it. Switch up the meat with beef or chicken or even go vegetarian! There are loads of different beans and veggies that can be added as well. Below is my favorite version. Pair it with a big chunk of corn bread and you have yourself a delicious meal. 

Let's Get Fit

Image found on Pinterest. Original source unknown.

As I have previously mentioned in my "Year of Me" post, I have been focusing on becoming more lean and toned. This all started back in September prior to my friends wedding and our Florida vacation. I had a goal of losing 8 pounds in 4 weeks. This turned out to be a lot easier than I thought! Mostly because the first week I lost about 7 pounds of water weight; though it gave me motivation to continue. I cut back on my excessive snacking, cut out the 3-4 Lindt truffles I was eating a day (insert face of shame here), and was just more conscious about what I was eating. I took advantage of the myfitnesspal app on my phone to keep track of what I was eating each day. You are also able to add in your exercise to calculate your allotted net calorie intake. I'll admit this was tough, especially during the holiday season. I did allow myself a cookie here and there, but overall I feel I created a normal routine for myself.  To date I have lost 17 pounds and dropped a full pant size! I never thought I would see this early high school weight again. I was able to conquer each milestone by making an overall "lifestyle change." People laugh at me when I say this, but I swear it works! Changing your overall lifestyle and way of eating has better long term results than crash dieting. There are loads of articles, books, and websites out there that can help each and every person get started. You just have to do it, jump right in!

Richie & Cassie's Wedding

Last weekend we celebrated the union between two of our good friends, Richie and Cassie. These two have been together for a number of years. Richie proposed last year over the holidays. Since then, I have helped Cassie with a lot of the little details being sure she had everything taken care of for their big day. The couple had also asked Nick to photograph the wedding. So between the two of us, we were able to get some really beautiful shots. The snowy white back drop was perfect!