Blake sing impromptu at Ball Brothers Concert

This was funny.  This group is a friend of ours so it was a hoot.  They pulled random people onstage (including Blake) to sing Blue Christmas....

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

Wow! This recipe was really really good.  Blake actually made it :)

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin
5 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
2 (1 pound) pork tenderloins

We made it in the crockpot, set to high for 5 hours.  It still tastes wonderful, but that was too long.  I would say 4 hours on high plus 1 hour on low would work.  Or a total of 6 hours on low.

The original recipe tells you how to make it in the oven.  But we all know I don't use the oven. :)  This was really good, the flavor was strong and spicy and the flavors kept morphing as you tasted it.  This might go on my Christmas menu.

Spinach Velveeta Dip

 I took this over to my friend's house the other night and both our husbands went crazy over it :)

So, this amount made enough for 2 men and two ladies - you might want to double it if you expect more men around...


Spinach Velveeta Dip (serves 3-4)
-1/2 pkg. frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
-8 oz Velveeta Cheese, cut into cubes
-1/2 can  Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained
-1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, i liked it)


-I used a 2qt crockpot, set to low - cook for 1-2 hours.
-Cut velveeta up into cubes
-thaw and drain spinach
-drain and stir in diced tomatoes, add pepper flakes if you like it spicy
-Toss into crockpot (or stovetop would be fine, on medium)

New Website Design

Blake's website got a facelift!!

www.blakebolerjack.com

Chicken Enchilada Chili

I made some awesome chili last night!  Hit the spot.  I was craving chili, but wanted to try something different.  I was gonna do this Bush Beans recipe, and then I saw this one and I could use the enchilada sauce that had been in my pantry for months.

I got it from my favorite crockpot cooking site:  A Year of Slow Cooking


Chicken Enchilada Chili

• 1 1/2 pounds chicken (or 3 frozen chicken breasts)
• 1 1/2 cups prepared enchilada sauce (all I had was a small 10oz can and it was fine)
• 2 chopped celery stalks (I didn't have any celery)
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans tomatoes with seasoning 
• 2 (15 oz) cans pinto or white northern beans, undrained
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
  1 tsp cumin

Dump everything in crockpot and stir.  Plop chicken on top. Cook on low 8 hours.  Shred chicken with a fork before serving, stir again.  Top with shredded cheese.

We ate a lot of it, then I froze some of it.  We'll see if it freezes well.  It should since it doesn't have rice or potatoes in it.

I do have Thanksgiving pictures to post, and some new decorating accomplishments to post, but the pics are on my iPhone.  And the computer room is under construction at the moment so I don't have a place to conveniently plug my iPhone in to retrieve the many pictures I have to post.  So hold your horses and I'll get to it!

Mark and Meagan Wedding

This past Saturday my little brother got married.  It was beautiful and he married a gorgeous and sweet girl, Meagan.  I even got to sing in the wedding, a solo!  I was freaked out, but really glad I got to participate that way.  People told me it was good, so I'll take it.  Hopefully, someone somewhere got photos of me singing, but I don't have any right now.  I got a lot of pictures with my iPhone, but some are grainy.  We had a great time.

If you can't see the slideshow, click here for the album:  ALBUM

Guest Room Progress

I was in Target the other day picking up some prescriptions and they told me to give them 15 minutes.  So I wandered around looking at things.  And added things to my cart.  They're smart, aren't they?  Well, I ended up in the clearance furniture/decor section.  A dangerous place to be.  Blake and I have been keeping our eye out for night stands for our Guest room.  It didn't have any, so we needed some.  We'd been looking at antique stores and on Craigslist and hadn't found anything I really liked.  But I found some in the clearance aisle in Target!!  One was 50% off, and the other one was damaged (but I could hide the damaged part) so I got it for 80% off.  Crazy, right?

Here's our new night stands.  Now I need to work on a piece of art for the headboard area.