super bowl weekend

living with 4 guys, obviously super bowl weekend is a big deal, especially this year in new england.  to make the weekend more interesting, we have jeff's parents' 2 goldens here for the weekend... they are so fun! roxy isn't really afraid of them, i just think they are a bit overwhelming - jack and jill don't really seem to care about her either!

for the super bowl, i plan on making a few different things, and i will post the recipes next week.  so far on the list are:

- cheddar biscuits (hopefully like the ones from red lobster, with a recipe adapted from all recipes)

- macaroni and cheese (my mom's homemade recipe)

- chili cheese dip

- maybe something for dessert!

another week in the books

another successful week teaching little elementary students golf. this week was a lot of fun, and like my past couple weeks, has opened my eyes to the lives of inner city kids.  it makes me so happy to see them having fun and enjoying golf after what i have heard and seen about their lives elsewhere in school and at home.  

now, and for the rest of the weekend, i am on the couch after having very minor surgery on my back. i had an unknown something removed, and even though the stitches aren't very comfortable, they are making me have excellent posture! so here i am, sitting on the couch, with my laptop, watching season 6 of 7th heaven with headphones in (super guilty pleasure... got seasons 6-8 for christmas), laughing while mike and dave play super mario on the wii and banter about who is the worse partner. 


here are a few pictures from my week...

out to dinner early in the week with our friends

family dinner later in the week with the roomies

see! perfect posture! 

and now sharing a dinner of tortellini and brownie batter (not together) with rox

mexican night

last weekend we had mexican night, complete with: chicken fajitas, corona, tequila, nachos, sombreros, and a special dessert! i found a recipe for margarita cupcakes online, so i took a recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker and made it my own (a little more semi-homemade). everyone loved them (and even though there wasn't any chocolate - my weakness) i thought they were pretty good too. 

for the cupcakes:

1 box of betty crocker french vanilla cake mix

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

3 eggs

1 lime zested and juiced

2 tablespoons of tequila

cupcake liners

(combine and beat ingredients together with a stand mixer. fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. bake in a 325F oven for approximately 20 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test. cool completely.)

for the tequila lime buttercream frosting:

2 sticks of butter at room temperature

5 cups of confectionary sugar

1 lime zested and juiced

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 (or 2) tablespoon(s) tequila

2-3 limes for garnishes

(place butter in the stand mixer and beat until fluffy. add 4 cups of the confectionary sugar, lime zest, juice, salt, and tequila. mix until thick. if too thin, add up to another cup of confectionary sugar.)

i added one drop of green food coloring to add a little excitement :)

and here they are after i piped and added lime slices for a garnish.  i had a lot of fun documenting this, so i think i will try to do more of this in the future!