Life Lately

I cannot believe it is almost August...it seems like summer flew by..

But then again...it always does am I right?? 

The heat here in South Texas is excruciating.. I can barely go walk to get my mail without huffing and puffing and breaking a huge sweat. The pool is lukewarm and the days are WAY. TO.LONG. 

I know I am complaining but now I am ready for Fall... I need a cool breeze and some pumpkins in my life..anyone with me?! 

Anyways life lately has been great. We have a lot going on right now but I would not change any of it for a second!!! Here is some life through pictures...

Somedays there is just nothing that beats a cold Latte' and a walk around Target

I just love how green my grass is!!!!! 

Got my SWEAT on... I mean seriously who takes their dog walking in 100 degree dry heat? I guess I do...

And because I braved the heat.. my cup spoke to me.

:) but really this was an amazing find...home goods!

Dressed and ready for a lunch date with my squeeze! Dress is from a local boutique here in SA called Woven. Love Love Love!

This slithered over my foot the other night.. I may have woken the entire neighborhood. 

Just me working at my little office space!!!!

Our salsa biz is doing AMAZING thus far!!! We still need to meet with distributers and get it on the shelves but the feedback has been so wonderful!!!

Some of the feedback from our salsa tasters..blown away!

Cooking with my dad...a favorite pastime that I will always love!

Okay THIS SPECIFIC HIGHLIGHTER is a must have beauty item. 

I bought it on a whim just looking for something to brighten my face and I had no idea how great it would turn out. It lasts for EVER. you hardly need to put any on your face and it will give your face just a little shine!!!! I use it almost daily... 

Do you like salsa?!!!!!!!

Everyone answer together..

ahem

YES!!!!!!!!

I can hear you screaming loudly Texas :)

FELIX SALSA or LAGUNA VISTA RANCH SALSA

We are still depicting the name..

however we have started a family salsa business!!! I am SO SO SO excited to be sharing this special news and hopefully get some orders in via this blog. We started out sharing and doing tasting parties with family and friends...then moved on to the farmers markets...started meeting with distributers..and will hopefully have it on the shelves very soon!!!! 

OHHH there is so much excitement happening in 2015/2016 I can't wait! 

Our salsa is an old family recipe brought to life by a very special unnamed person on our ranch :) All of our vegetables and ingredients are grown locally and organic on our ranch. We pan to have a summer salsa and winter salsa...eventually incorporating different flavors to meet the seasons but for right now we have the original recipe, and a summer recipe. When we first started this little adventure we decided to take home 10 cases of salsa and post it on our neighborhood website. The website was basically a Facebook for the residents who live in our neighborhood..so we posted a sales pitch and literally I mean LITERALLY the doorbell was ringing and we were selling salsa. We sold TEN cases in two days flat. Then after the neighbors devoured it...they called and wanted more!!!!!!! I mean it really is good and I am not just blowing smoke...it really is good!!!! 

This is a picture of the sample bottle which we can send you if you are interested...right now the samples are 5 dollars per jar and worth every penny!

This is a link to our ranch website..click HERE

I plan to work on the website a little bit and add a salsa button with shipping instructions and everything but for now I am promoting it a little bit on here!!!!

If you are interested in testing a jar please email me at cfrankhouser@sts1604.org 

Happy Tasting!!!!!!

Life is a Beach.

This is what I will be doing in approximately 24 hours! Yipee!!!!

Every Summer and usually Spring Break, My family and I travel to our beach house in High Island Boliver. ( AKA right across from Galveston). Many of you ahem ( non Texans) will be sticking your nose up at Galveston however this is Texas and we take what we can get!!!! 

My family has had a beach house since I was five ears old..I spent many summers and spring breaks romping around the sand, body surfing, racing after the ice cream truck,  and catching hermit crabs only to later kill them by ripping them out of their shell. I ate Bomb pops by the dozen, never wore shoes, and was about as brown as the sun could brown me :) 

Hurricane Ike happened and tore down our favorite little beach house. The one that housed memories from my childhood...the one where I took my first sip of alcohol with my best friend, the one where I took all of my friends after prom for our first " SENIOR TRIP" , and the same house that we watched the mardis gras parade go by each and every year.  We had so many fun memories in that beach house with friends and family and honestly the dirty beach was just a part of all the fun. We weren't bothered by the fact that our feet never touched white sand..or that we couldn't see our feet when we looked down into the water.  We were just happy to have a place to go and relax with good people who didn't want all the fuss.

TODAY

I go to that same beach with my husband...my family has  a brand new house that we bought after the hurricane ripped through. Since the hurricane everyone has rebuilt, renovated, and started a new little town. This is the place that I will take my baby and start memories with my own little family. I absolutely look forward to our beach trips..I have two fresh new library books, my beloved four dollar tanning oil that I KNOW is bad for me but I love :), and most of all my entire family. We love to cook and boil shrimp, listen to music on the deck, fish and lay out, ride the boat and go crabbing. Just fun! So for the next week this is what I will be doing :) pictures later to come!!!

and just for grins

some beach pics from last year's trips

Friday Favorites!

Yay It is Friday!!!! I am linking up with Erika and sharing my Friday favorites :) This has been a long week..maybe it is because it is the week before we head to the beach! Yay!!!

1.  Have you guys heard of Accessory Concierge?? A blogging friend introduced this website and now I am hooked! Beautiful jewelry for decent prices...im in!  I just ordered a few pieces that will transition well into fall! I recently Purchased 

This Antilles Necklace ( Orange with Blue horn) I mean this screams summer..and it will jazz up any old basic tee! I cannot wait to wear it :) Shop this necklace here

I also bought this Mykonos Collar because a) it was on sale and b) um its beautiful!!

These were just a few of the accessories that I bought ..I decided to not post the rest in case Brandon is reading ( Hi Brandon :)) check out their website! You will not be disappointed!

2.  I found THESE precious bible verse printables from a blogging website from Pinterest. I printed them out ( FOR FREE<<---- love that!) and put them in shadow boxes found for 5 $ from Hobby Lobby!! I love a good easy craft project! This is about as DIY as I get for now so I was pretty tickled over these!!! I also cleaned my desk space and added a few touches!

I mean how great did these turn out!!!! I love chalkboard art!

Small little mail center in my office, perfect niche for some nifty quotable art :)

May not look so clean but IT  IS!!! It is organized and filed and everything is put in it's proper place which feels so GOOD.

Cute little Polka dot frame from Hobby Lobby

Decided to amp up my bulletin board. I found THIS ONE from Target for 10 bucks and it fits perfectly inside of my little desk. 

To view similar options click

Here

Here

Both of these above options are cute and affordable!

3.  Summer Mornings

I love summertime..I slept in today and decided I would drink my coffee and read some of my blog buds outside with my favorite companion :) Although the rain has been non stop, it has done wonders for our yard! It is the greenest it has ever been and for that I am thankful!

 He always sits by mommy :)

5.This is the lunch I'm into right now...one tomato cut up, avocado chunked, salt and pepper with a drizzle of EVOO. It is so simple..I love picking the tomatoes right from my tomato garden and then adding  a healthy fat like an avocado makes this lunch healthy and super quick! Make it this week for yourself!

Thats it for this Friday!!! Happy Weekend Friends!!! 

Next week I will be posting some southern staples and some specialty sides to jazz up any plain main course!!!!

Steelhead Trout with a Lemon Butter and Dill topping

So normally I don't post two food posts in one day but ...friends...oh.my. 

This was something I had to blog about as soon as it hit my mouth!

During the Summer Brandon and I typically eat a lot more fish than we do in the Winter just because its lighter, healthier..that sort of thing. However, we tend to stick with the SAME OLE BORING FISH. 

Salmon. 

Yes I love salmon! It is healthy, easy, can be cooked with only a few simple ingredients..but after a while it got a little bit boring. So after talking with my fish monger at my local grocer..he recommended steel head trout ( which looks and tastes similar to salmon) I have only had rainbow trout and love it however I wanted something easier to prepare. Steel head has a light, flavor but at the same time a dense richness to it that makes it versatile to cook with! This is the recipe I came up with and it was so good!

Shopping List

2 8 oz filets of steelhead trout

fresh Dill

One Lemon

Zest of 1/2 a lemon

1/4 stick of butter ( could sub olive oil)

salt and pepper

one shallot chopped and minced

two garlic cloves  chopped and minced

Procedure

Preheat your oven to a nice and hot 450 degrees

meanwhile in your pan over med. high heat, place your butter and let it melt a little. Then add your chopped shallot and garlic..once they start to soften add your lemon zest and lemon juice let the flavors cook for about three minutes.

on a baking sheet, salt and pepper your fish then once the shallot and garlic is finished cooking ..pour the buttery sauce on top of the fish and finally place the chopped fresh dill on top. 

Pop in the oven for 15 minutes ...

you will have a perfect, flaky, moist and delightful fish dinner!!!

We served ours with a side of halved brussels and chopped butternut squash. 

Cast Iron Stuffed Mozzarella Turkey Meatballs

Okay so seriously one of the best dishes I have come up with!!! These were carb friendly and I used a very lean 93 % Turkey. I think you could also go with a very lean beef or even 1/2 beef and 1/2 pork if you aren't watching calories and they would be amazing!!! I served these over a bed of Zoodles ( my zucchini noodles ) and topped with a little parm. It was so yummy!!!!

Shopping List

2 1b rolls of Turkey Meat ( I used 93 percent lean)

Buffallo Mozzarella cut into small cubes

1 egg

1 cup Italian bread crumbs ( could go without if reallllyyyy trying to watch carbs )

one ( quarter )sautéed onion with two cloves of sautéed garlic

S&P

Oregano

Italian Seasoning

Garlic salt

Red pepper flakes

one jar of marinara sauce

Parm cheese

Procedure

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees

in a cast iron skillet start sautteeing your onion and garlic together with a little olive oil

while those are cooking, get out a large bowl and add your meat and spices. Then add your one egg and breadcrumbs and mix thoroughly. Once the onions are finished throw them in with the meat and fold gently. Take small balls of the meat mixure and press a mozzarella cube into each. Be sure and fold the edges so that the meat encompasses the cheese and its "stuffed" inside. 

over Med/High heat start placing the meatballs into the cast iron skillet and brown them on all sides. This is to help lock in the flavor when we are baking them. 

Once they are browned, pour your marinara sauce over them and top with the parm. Stick in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Done!!! Serve over zoodles or spaghetti :)

I mean how yummy do these look?? 

quiet time

I decided to do a post on "quiet time" because it is a part of my day that is so important to me. It feeds me, renews me, and gives me a positive perspective on life and how God wants me to live it. My quiet time is usually only 15-30 minutes depending on my day but I really try and do it each and every day. I start with my cup of coffee..then sit down and read some scripture. My favorite way to start is by reading the book " Jesus Calling"- if you have not yet heard of this book....friends, it is AMAZING! I read the corresponding day and the scripture placed beneath the passage. 

Got my coffee and ready to start my morning :)

This is an example of my Jesus Calling... with the corresponding scripture beneath.

Where I do my quiet time!

I love This Bible that my best friend Joanne told me about years ago! It is perfect for me and has lots of little study guides in the back for if you are not working on a separate bible study.

The very back of it with different studies

THIS book is the bible study that I am currently reading right now. It asks you to write down the truths in your life and really examine what God is asking you to do...it is amazing and allows you to focus on the positive and reminds you of our ever faithful God. The scripture is easy to read and understand and is easily intertwined with your life. I apply this book every day to the way I live and it is awesome!

This book is written by one of my favorite christian authors Priscilla Shirer. She is a real woman with real struggles and writes to you with the promise that God is ABLE. He is amazing, promising, ever faithful, and ABLE. I was so refreshed after reading this..I have lent it to two of my friends who are struggling right now and it has helped them tremendously! Even if you are not "struggling" with something in particular in your life right now this book was just a good read and acknowledgement of what God can do in your life...

I hope this was somewhat interesting and helpful to those looking for a way to spend quiet time! I certainly have felt a difference in my life after starting these little quiet times and feel tremendously blessed by everything God has done in my life..through the struggles and the triumph he has brought me such happiness and he can do that for you to if you let him in!

Busy people: Try and wake up an extra 10 minutes earlier than normal. During my work week I was waking up at 4:45 so that I could read and have a little alone time..now that it is summer I can be more flexible..

When I have babies my time will be limited again.. so even if your quiet time is "limited" try and find some sort of 10 minutes to read some scripture and just enjoy the quiet. 

a lot of time my prayer time happens in the car while driving.. I am a busy girl and am not home most of the time so sometimes my "quiet time" happens when I am traveling somewhere.. or when I was teaching it was almost always in the car. :) 

My favorite quote!! It is so true and I believe it with all of my heart!