Tigers Blood Mango Snowie

I had a serious craving for a snowie tonight. Like I wanted one pronto. So sweet Adam and I hopped on the motorbike and went to the busiest snowie shack in all of Utah county. People if you haven't tried Hokulia yet and you live in a 50 mile radius you must go now. You will be sorry if you don't. I'm trying to save you from a summer of regret!
Anyway when you decide to give it a try let us know, we'll meet you there!
We could use an excuse to go back. How about tomorrow? Kidding, Kidding.
But really? Tomorrow?

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I've been looking for a good banana chocolate chip muffin recipe to use up brown bananas. After many attempts with marginal results I finally found the recipe I've been searching for. The recipe produces muffins that are moist on the inside and have a nice crunch on the outside. Studded with semisweet chocolate chips and laced with cinnamon these muffins are just so good. A yummy treat to grab for a quick breakfast or for an afternoon snack. Try them out!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

 

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter

2/3 c. sugar

1 c. mashed banana, about 2 medium or 1 1/2 large bananas

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla 

1/3 c. milk

1 tsp. cinnamon 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 c. flour

3/4 c. chocolate chips

1 c. chopped walnuts, pre-toasted in a 350°F oven for 8 minutes, if desired

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12 to 14 standard muffin cups. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar till smooth. Beat in the mashed banana, then the egg, flavorings, and milk. Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flours, stirring till smooth; if the mixture has a lot of lumps, beat at a higher speed until they've nearly disappeared. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Heap the thick batter into the prepared muffin cups, mounding them quite full. Bake the muffins for 20 to 23 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of one of the middle muffins in the pan comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven, and tilt them in the pan to cool a bit; this will prevent their bottoms from becoming soggy. As soon as you can safely handle them, transfer the muffins to a rack to cool completely.

Cilantro Lime Rice

This rice comes together quickly and is a delicious accompaniment to any south of the boarder inspired dish. Neither the cilantro or the lime are over powering, its a subtle flavor combination that works so beautifully together in this tasty side dish.

Cilantro Lime Rice 

Ingredents:

1 tbsp. butter
1 1/4 c. rice (long grain white rice works best)
2 1/4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
juice and zest of 1 large lime
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp cumin

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and add the rice. Stir, letting the rice and butter cook for 1-2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 15-16 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff and serve.

Southwestern Steak Kebabs

I'm not a big beef eater. It's just not my thing I'd rather get my protein just about any other way. So for me to say that I ate beef today and thoroughly enjoyed it is a pretty big deal. I tried a marinade that I hate to limit only to this recipe for steak kebabs. You could use this marinade on a flank steak then grill it and slice it thin for fajitas or you could marinate chunks of top sirloin and skewer them between vegetables and grill. This happens to be the method I chose to use today. And wow. Just wow. The lime and cilantro are two flavors that I happen to love together. Even my cilantro hating husband loved this. We had chicken kebabs too that were also very yummy. They paired well with cilantro lime rice, southwestern black beans and grilled corn. A delicious way to prepare beef, try it you'll be happy you did.

Southwestern Steak Kebabs:

Ingredients: 

2 Limes Juiced

2 Tbsp of olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled, minced

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

1 (1 pound) top sirloin steak, cubed 

1 green bell pepper, cubed

1 red bell pepper, cubed

1 yellow onion, cubed

Whisk lime juice and olive oil together. Add garlic cumin and cilantro whisk to combine pour over steak in a zip lock bag seal and place in refrigerator. Allow to marinate 1- 4 hours.

 Remove from refrigerator and skewer on soaked bamboo sticks between cut pieces of red and green bell peppers and onions. Grill on preheated grill about 10 minutes until preferred doneness. 

Enjoy!

Lately

Saturday date night, an afternoon at B&N in my favorite section, slowly but surely completing our summer bucket list, my new FAVORITE cookie recipe (coconut, pecans, chocolate chunks, oatmeal...to die for...),  motorbike rides with my love, me and my twin momma, my favorite pattern, sunset on center street. 

Summer Theater at Sundance

 It's no secret that I'm a HUGE fan of musicals (my favorite movie is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, for crying out loud). On the screen or live I'm never one to turn down a good musical. One of my favorite places to experience my favorite art form is at Sundance in the summer time. Every summer they partner up with UVU's theater department and put on an extraordinary show. This year they put on one of my favorites (Adam's too) 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. And holy cow it was a good show. 

 We grabbed dinner and met up with my family for a good night of country fun. The play was wonderful and the cast was extremely talented. We had a ball,  singing, laughing, crying (mom...apparently "glad that you were born" is a tough song to get through without bawling, if your a mom). Afterwards we went on the moonlight lift ride and husband and I whispered sweet nothings to each other in between kisses. We had a great night.

 This is such a fun tradition. We love #Summertheatre at Sundance! 

Saturday is a special day

 It's been at least 6 months since either of our cars have been washed. Today it finally happened.
 It truly was a special day.
Isn't having a clean car the best?