Goulash

My Hunka Hunka Burning Love and I had dinner at our mentors' house last week and were told a great story. They have 5 grown children, but often growing up they would not only have brinner (breakfast for dinner) they would also have "clean out the fridge" nights where everything came out and everyone could eat from the buffet of leftovers.

One night the dad decides to not only have "clean out the fridge" night, but he decides to make "Goulash" and literally stuck it all in one pot. When all the kids sat down for dinner eyeing this bowl of mush in front of them, his selling point was... "it has melted cheese on top!" What kid doesn't love a bowl of mystery as long as there's cheese on top?!

As I listened to this story and laughed, to my delight I also thought, "oh no, goulash cannot have a bad name it is soo delicious" (or at least the recipe I stole from a dear friend). It's not so much a clean out the fridge thing though as a, I have to go to the grocery and get everything.

So here it is: Goulash 

1 red onion
1 butternut squash
2-4 zucchinis (yellow and green)
2-4 red and green peppers (or other colors if you like)
4 cans chicken and/or beef broth (I like 2 of each and reduced sodium)
1ish LB Spicy Italian sausage (ground beef, not kielbasa style)
2-4 chopped tomatoes
goat cheese
cilantro
and all of these spices

First: It helps if you chop all the veggies first, but sometimes I just make sure the squashes are all cut and then continue cutting as I cook. So, chop all the veggies. In a big pot over medium heat with olive oil saute the onion then add the butternut squash. The squash takes the longest to cook, so the smaller the pieces the better. 

Once the squash has cooked a good bit, maybe 10 min (or enough time to cut the zucchinis) add the zucchinis. Maybe 5 min add 1 can of broth, allow to cook maybe another 5 min, add the peppers, cook 5 min, add more broth. This is not a very specific science, so add veggies and broth as you see fit. 

Second: While the veggies are cooking, in a separate pan brown the Italian sausage, drain and add to the veggies. When you add the sausage all the broth and veggies should be in the pot. Add all the spices and allow to simmer 5-10 min. The spices have no measurements and the amount you use depends on how spicy you like your food. In order from least dashes to a lot I use: salt, curry, pepper, chili, cayenne, cumin. (I use a lot of cumin) I usually save the salt until the end so I can figure out if I need it at all, just a dash or a large dash.

You have to make sure you re-hydrate after chopping all those veggies, it's seriously a workout.
Tony made me hold so he could get his drink in the photo. He said his whiskey felt left out.

Lastly: Scoop into a bowl, top with goat cheese and cilantro, eat and ENJOY! You don't need to worry about making a side of veggies because the thing is chock full of 'em. Delicious as leftovers. YUMM YUMM YUMM!

Thank You, Ashley!

A dear friend of mine, we'll call her CB, is having a baby in March. Another dear friend, we'll call her Super, got married on Jan 24th. It just so happened that both of these dear friends run in the same circle as all my other best friends... (you following?) Since all our friends would be in town to celebrate the bride, Super, I thought, well let's have a baby shower for CB, and see just how much celebrating we can do in one weekend.

CB already has most everything she needs for the little baby girl that will join their family, so there was really no big ticket item we could all go in on. Instead, we all chipped in some mullah and got her a large gift card to Babies R Us for her to spend as she finds the need (probably on diapers and wipes once the baby is here). So we got her some diapers and wipes to start the show and I decided I'm make her a baby quilt to wrap it all up in. 

What I haven't mentioned is that I decided this 2 weeks before the shower... good idea? Definitely! BUT only if you have a friend like Ashley!! THANK YOU, ASHLEY!

Exhibit A                                                                                                     Exhibit B

First, Ashley gave me the majority of the little fabric squares, she helped me pick out the others at the fabric store, as well as let me know how much I'd need of each and picked out the batting. When I got home I hypothetically placed all the squares where I thought they looked best (Exhibit A). I figured out how big the squares would have to be, given how the lady at the store cut the material, I didn't have much choice. I'd probably still be sitting there in Exhibit B if it weren't for Ashley.

Did I mention this was my first quilt? Ok, I kinda did another one, but that was 10 years ago, my mom held my hand the whole time and I wasn't patient enough so it turned into a pillow (It was also all by hand, where for this one I used the sewing machine... sooo much faster).

Exhibit C

Ashley helped me figured out how big the middle white sections needed to be, then based on how large the entire front was she helped me figure out how big I needed the back and border. Exhibit C is where I should have pinned the squares starting in the middle and working out rather than lining them up on one end. Don't look too closely at the final product... the squares totally don't line up... but this is homemade with love. Did I mention this was my first quilt?

Ashley showed me how to pin the front, batting and back together to do the actual quilting. Luckily, I do already know how to use a sewing machine, so she was off the hook on that element.

Waahaaa Laaahaaa!! The final product, done in 2 days... who needs 2 weeks? All in all, I think it turned out pretty cute. Did I mention this is my first quilt?

I've totally got the quilting bug now, so if anyone needs/wants one, just let me know. I promise, I learned some vital lessons and yours hopefully won't have as many errors love marks.

Cannot wait to meet baby girl Catalino!!!

Christmas in Review

My Hunka Hunka Burning Love and I just celebrated our second Christmas as a married couple. Any adult can understand that the holidays can be a very trying, exhausting and stressful time. We, like everyone else, have also found this to be true, but I think we're making large strides in just a short time and learning how to take advantage of time with our families and eliminate as much negativity as possible.

This year we got to celebrate the birth of Jesus and the visit from Santa Clause three times. We started at my parents' house with everyone home... Mom, Dad, Chris, Erica, Hunter, Skyler, Emmie Lu, Kase, ME, Adele, My HHBL, me (that's 12 in case you were counting). We had Christmas early so my oldest brother could be back home so his kiddos could wake up in their own beds Christmas morning.


We visited Christmas Town at Busch Gardens.

...So we embraced it!

We got photo bombed...

Most parents don't really get a vacation either at the beach in the summer, or during the holidays. The kids are fighting, jumping into large puddles in the swamp or babies are crying. However, I'm not too worried for the loss of vacations, as long as my niece Skyler is around. She is the sweetest and kindest little 6 yr old I've ever met. She can handle two 2 yr olds (with very strong personalities) like it's nothing. I'm so excited to see how her caring heart will continue to grow with her.

We also got to celebrate WILZAR Christmas with all of us. 10 Wilsons (one not photoed) and 12 Luzars makes for 22 Wilzars. Now that all "the kids" are parents with their own kids and we scatter the map from Virginia to Florida it's a little more difficult for us all to be together, but this year was a true Christmas Miracle! We tried to figure out when Wilzar Christmas started and while we couldn't completely decide, it's been at least 20 years... and counting.

After Christmas in the Burg we headed to My HHBL's parents' home for our 2nd Christmas, followed by our 3rd and final Christmas in our own town and our own home. (Don't get the wrong idea, we weren't alone - we got to celebrate actual Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my mom, dad, Kase, ME, Adele and my Aunt Beth).

So now 2 days into 2015, I'm hoping and praying for a great...ok I'll settle for even just a good year. We have one year of marriage under our belts, there's only 1.5 years left of law school, my HHBL is currently in SE Asia and will be for the next two weeks, one of my best buds is getting married in late January, another best bud is having a baby, another one is having twins (yikes!) and who knows what other fun and exciting things await us in 2015... CHEERS!