3 Quick and Simple Dinner Ideas

If you're anything like me, you are probably still having trouble adjusting to the new school year's schedule.  I find that by the time I get home from work I am ready to poop out on the couch and watch the episode of Ellen I recorded earlier in the afternoon.  I don't have a huge hankering to spend hours preparing a meal, and I definitely don't feel like doing a bunch of dishes after all is said and eaten.

Because of this, I've been on the hunt recently for easy dinners that come together quickly and don't require a whole bunch of clean up.  I've had a few hits and a couple of misses, so I thought I'd share the hits today!

1) Mexican Pizzas


 

This recipe comes from my go to dinner site, eatliverun.com.  Jenna has such great recipes for all occasions, but this one is perfect when you're in a time crunch.  She has you use beans, taco meat, and cheese for your pizza, but you can obviously go crazy with whatever toppings you please.  We added avacado, sour cream, and salsa to ours!

2) Pita Pizzas

Photo via MarthaStewart.com

I got the above recipe from this blog post that features 100 healthy dinner ideas.  The recipe tells you to make your own sauce, but I always just use a jar of marinara and then put whatever toppings I feel like (usually turkey pepperoni with mushrooms and onions). 

3) Turkey Taco Casserole



Photo by Jenna Beaugh

This is another hit from eatliverun. I could eat this almost every week. It's very simple to throw together, and it makes enough to feed two people for two days. Leftovers are a very good thing for busy people!

Try one of these out the next time you don't feel like cooking and cleaning all night long.  They are all delicious!!

oktoberfest in dallas

I know I sound like a total "white girl" for saying this, but I am very excited for fall!  I'm ready to wear my boots that I got for 80-90% off at the end of summer, eat all things pumpkin flavored, and step on lots of acorns and crunchy-looking leaves.

To kick off the nice, semi-fall weather we've been having around here lately, we headed to Oktoberfest in Addison on Saturday.  My sister, whose hair is the perfect shade for fall, came over after I was done with my baby ballerinas, and the three of us (Austin, Fox, and me) met up with our friend Alan and his girly friend and her sister at the fest.  

We obviously partook in your average Oktoberfest activities (beer drinking...wine for me!), but there is so much more to do at Addison Oktoberfest!  We watched the cutest little German kids do traditional German dances...

And we cheered on as some manly men conquered the "barrel race".

However, my favorite part of the afternoon was the funnel cake.  How could this bowl of deliciousness not be the best part of the day??

We went to this little festival last year and had fun, and I'm willing to bet we'll be back next year.  It's an all around good time!

We spent the rest of the weekend watching the Ags BTHO SMU and getting ready for this week (groceries, laundry, yada, yada).  I hope everyone had a nice weekend! :)

Aggies vs. Elephants

This past weekend was nuts!  My favorite team in the world played in the biggest college football game of the season, and I got to be in College Station to be a part of it!

Austin and I didn't have tickets to the game since neither of us have an extra $800 laying around, but that didn't mean we couldn't get in on some quality College Station time.  We headed down to CS on Friday night and the madness began!  We took the "safe ride" party bus (for $5!) to Northgate to visit some of our old hangouts and see how our little college city had changed since we'd been there last.  It was a really fun night.

Party bus!!

We woke up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to get our tailgate on.  It was game day, baby!!!

Gig 'em Ags!

Tailgating was, as always, a blast.  I got to see the new MSC, meet up with my mama, and experience the craziness of Aggies upon Aggies milling around campus.  We watched the game at a tailgate right outside of Kyle Field, so we could hear the cheers of celebration every time Johnny Football got the job done.

Even though the game didn't end up quite the way we wanted it to, we still had an awesome time.  It was a great game played by two extremely talented football teams.  Here's to hoping the Ags can win out and get into a really good bowl game!

catching up & a recipe!

Howdy ho neighbors!  I think I'm finally back in my normal groove, and that means the blog should be pretty much back to normal as well!  I've been very busy wrapping up my summer, starting a new school year, and getting back into my usual routine.  Here are some scenes from my life lately in case you are interested... 

(Going clockwise from the top left) Austin and me in Houston for my beautiful friend Alexa's wedding, my wedding dress shopping judging panel, one of the cuties I teach on Saturday mornings, baseball cupcakes!, dark hair don't care ;)

Thanks for sticking with me while I adjust back to my school year lifestyle...getting back into the swing of things is tough!

And because it wouldn't be a true post without some food...here's a delicious recipe that I got from my Aunt Lana.  Enjoy!!

Crock-Pot BBQ Chicken Sliders

 

Sweet Baby Ray’s Crock-Pot Chicken

4 – 6 Chicken breasts (can be frozen)

1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce

¼ C. Vinegar

1 t. Red Pepper Flakes

¼ C. Brown Sugar

1 t. Garlic Powder

Place chicken in your crock-pot while you mix the other ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Once the sauce is mixed, pour it over the chicken.  Cook everything on low for 4-6 hours.  When the chicken is ready, remove it to a bowl and shred usisng two forks.  Serve it up on a toasted bun!