Okie Tacos

Sorry if that title is not politically correct but that is the only name I know these tacos go by!
It is a family recipe handed down from some okies from Muskogee...
Alene Edminson I believe was her name...

My mom had a boyfriend and that boyfriend had a mom that liked to cook big meals for everyone on Sundays, if we all went fishing at little rock dam, she would cook up trout and catfish, with Pappy's famous hush puppies, but if we did not catch anything we ate Okie Tacos, and I was sure glad when we did not catch anything cause them there Okie Tacos are to simply to die for!

Taco fit for an Oklahoma king!

Here is how you get yourself one of them there Okie Tacos:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion chopped
1 medium can kidney beans, drain and smash them a bit
1 medium can Las Palmas enchilada sauce
1 small can sliced black olives drained
1 jar cheez whiz-do not leave this out, it makes the damn taco!
lettuce chopped
tomatoes chopped
sour cream

some 8 inch flour tortillas and some Crisco oil to fry them up in

Brown your beef and onions, add sauce, olives, beans. Bring to boil then turn down fire to simmer for about 30 minutes. Then heat up the Crisco, about 1/2 cup full in a large cast iron skillet, just enough to coat the bottom and fry up your tortillas until crispy and brown, lay on some paper towels to drain, once you have your meat mix cooked and your tortillas fried up, just grab a tortilla, ladle a big ol spoonful of meat mix in, top with a line of cheez whiz, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, fold up and enjoy, sometimes if it gets too messy you have to eat with a fork! This will make about 8 tacos, but they are big and filling, so you don't need much!

And there you go, Okie Tacos! D-DamnDelicious!! YeeHaw!!!

Fall??? Whaaaaat?

OMG!
Is it fall....already???
NO, NOPE, Nah-Uh, No way Jose!

My summer is over, no more lounging in the pool, no more chips and salsa and margaritas, no more cut-offs and tank tops, oh poor, poor, pityful me....

 

Going to go hibernate, wake me in the spring!

 

The set is now complete!

Wow, I have been busy with work for my husband, work in the house, work for my etsy store!
But I have such great things to show for it!

I completed my camera set, The purse/carry all was made by the ever so talented Tanya, She has a wonderful beaded sparrow necklace on her blog right now that you can own, go check out her blog by clicking here: BeadandNeedle

I have my camera strap in retro fabric, my camera bag with matching buttons, my camera bag strap in retro fabric. And now a purse in retro fabric to carry my stuff in! Tanya owed me a purse as we had bet on the world series and Boston Red Sox with My Napoli, beat her Cardinals last year! Wheee!

I also made some very cool straps for Army, Navy, and Marines. I even have one for the Fire Department....

All available in the etsy store: www.peaceloveandartshop.com

Shrimp scampi with pasta

Gotta recipe for you...
needed a little comfort food tonight...
I made something my husband loves...

Cheesecake factory shrimp scampi.
Do not attempt if you are on a diet, I cannot even tell you how many calories are involved, but then when you want comfort food..calories don't count!

This is so good you cannot stop eating eat!

Make sure you make a box of the red lobster biscuits, I forgot, ugh!
Also a nice chardonnay (Clos Du Bois) goes great with this seafood dish! Yep, I had to open a bottle because you need a cup to go in the sauce! Meaning I get the leftovers!

Here you go, enjoy: this is a meal for two cook but cook all the pasta to serve 4.

1 bag of small frozen shrimp,  defrost in fridge in the morning, then let them sit in the milk for 1/2 hour before you start cooking. For some reason this step really makes good coated shrimp, I even think Buttermilk will do great, think fried chicken recipes??

1/2 pound angel hair pasta
1/2 can tomato paste
6 cloves garlic
1 cup cream
1 cup white wine
1 cup milk
1/4 cup olive oil use at different times
5 fresh basil leaves, chiffinode them
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated

Bowl of milk to soak shrimp approx 2 cups.
Bowl with 1 cup flour, s & p, 2 teaspoons Cayenne pepper and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, enough to coat the shrimp.

Pour some olive oil in a large pan, heat it up. Drain the shrimp and coat them in the bowl of flour mix.
Shake the shrimp off and drop in the hot pan of oil, shake around and cook for a few minutes until light brown, dump onto a plate covered in two paper towels. Set aside. Put your red lobster biscuits in oven!

To the pan add a couple tablespoons of oil if the pan is dry. Add the 6 cloves of garlic minced. Add the wine and heat to reduce about 10 minutes. Cook your pasta in a pan of boiling water during this time.
While the pasta cooks add the cream and milk to the wine and garlic, mix and bring to a boil, then add the paste, mix, add the basil and 3 tablespoons of Parmesan, mix. remove from stove and in the shrimp and stir softly. Drain pasta and add to the sauce and shrimp, mix and plate or put in a serving dish and table it with the biscuits!

Pour the wine!
Eat and know that everything is good and life will work itself out and for god's sake...All you need is love, a little wine, a little money and a little shrimp scampi and pasta!

Peace out my friends,
Jackie

Happy half away until birthday!

Hey,
Just had a thought....today marks the day of 6 more months until my 50th birthday!! HOLY MOLY!!!
I can't be 50??? I feel 30ish...this is so unfair....

But what do we do????

WE SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP!!!

Put our big girl panties on and deal with it.

I am not changing a thing about me, I love me, I am comfortable in my own skin, I am proud of the fact that I have been married over 25 years, to the same man, hahahaha! Is has not been a walk in the park but I love that big guy very much!

Ok, hope I am here to see you all in 6 months, we will have a toast with wine and hope for another fabulous 50 years!

Enjoy the day!

A little get away!

We had to travel to Needles for a big rig and trailer claim, so the hubby said lets go back and hang out at the river for Saturday.
I jumped at the chance, so hard to get him away for anything but racing!
We got a rental boat to use while there, that was fun!
Packed some drinks and sandwich stuff and off we went, it was so beautiful and warm. He had his friend, David and his girlfriend, Sonia, show up Saturday, they hung out with us at the channel.

Saturday at 5:00 we said goodbye to them, took the boat back, went to the hotel room for a quick shower and off we went to the naked turtle bar for some appetizers and drinks. We sat there until dark, the full moon beaming off the water, listening to some classic rock music and just relaxing.

We talked about if we wanted to own a boat or just rent one every time we wanted a little river r&r. Renting is the best fit for us, we never know when we get to get away. Nice to have an option like that for when we do go play on the water.

The boat we got was a 24 foot deck boat, it was used up and wore out, but served it's purpose for the day. We cruised all over the lake and channel...

The boat we had was like the one on the left

The London Bridge

Captain: Chuck

First Mate: Chunky Monkey
( I need to learn to photoshop like the celebrities!)

Hope everyone had a fun and relaxing weekend!

BBQ chicken pizza!

Super simple, super delicious and a couple ingredients.
I usually order bbq chicken pizza if I go to claim jumper or bj's restaurant, it is so good!
So I decided to give it a try at home!
You need:

Not going to take measurements, just add as much as you want!

1 can Pillsbury pizza dough, I got the thin crust. It really has a nice flavor, or make your own!
Some chopped cooked chicken, I always make my own, grill or roast chicken breast and chop, then I have it on hand when I need a fast lunch or dinner.
Some cilantro chopped
Some bbq sauce, I use sweet baby ray's, sweet and spicy, but it is really spicy so if you are not into that choose wisely.
Mozzarella cheese grated.
Some red onion chopped.

Pre cook the pizza dough for about 10 minutes, add your toppings and cook until golden brown and bubbley!

See that easy! And Dang, it was yummy!!!

Before

After

Camera Straps!

I have been busy working on a new project, unique one of a kind camera straps!
I hated the camera strap that came with my canon powershot, it rubbed my neck raw, I knew there had to be a solution.
I searched online and saw many beautiful straps on Etsy but none that really spoke to me and what I like.

So I bought a book and was going to make my own camera strap and matching camera bag, well, I got a strap made,  but the bag and strap pattern from the book was too daunting. Had to come up with my own simple strap version.

My Retro Strap, unique to me!

My Monkey strap to match my monkey purse!

Wolves and Minnie

Western and Nautical

Maps and Honey Bees

Starburst pattern and Sailing the Seas

I thought there has to be others like me who want a camera strap unique to them, so I made some that are different than what you would find on Etsy, and I added some cool buttons to dress them up, I also offer the chance to email me and tell me what you want for your camera strap, so if you have a certain fabric/theme in mind, let me know, I will do my best to find a fabric that speaks to you and your uniqueness! I will not make the same strap twice, so that you will always have your own unique to you strap!

They are padded and comfortable so you can have your camera on all day! The ends are 3/8 inch wide straps and fit most DSLR cameras. I used fake leather, so no animals were harmed in the making of my strap!

If you would like your very own unique to you strap just head over to my shop at www.peaceloveandartshop.com

Remember to always "Make Love, Not War"
Hugs, jackie