Favorites From This Week

Please enjoy some of my favorite things from the last week! 

Hunger Game Cupcakes 

White Sangria Sparkler 

Another Dream Kitchen 

Love These Shoes!!

Maybe I can get a phone at work like this

On another note, Jordan's graduation party planning is in full swing. I approved the final copy of the invitations today and can't wait to see them! Hopefully in another week or so I will have my hands on them and can give a sneak peek of them

Buffalo Chicken Panini

Lately, I have been on a panini kick. I got a panini make as a wedding present almost two years ago and haven't really used it a whole lot until recently. You may remember a while back I made Grilled Cobb Paninis and that was about the last time I used it, up until a few weeks ago. I have been experimenting with different kinds and this Buffalo Chicken one was an instant hit. 

Buffalo Chicken Panini

Ingredients 

2 cups shredded cook chicken (I used rotisserie chicken) 

1/2 cup mild or medium Buffalo wing sauce

1 can refrigerated french or Italian loaf 

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese 

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix the chicken and wing sauce. Cover, microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes or until hot. 

2. On a cutting board, carefully unroll dough. Cut into 8 rectangles. Place 2 rectangles on preheated panini grill and close. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from grill. Repeat with remaining rectangles. 

3. Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture onto each of 4 rectangles,. sprinkle with about 11/2 tablespoons blue cheese. Top with remaining rectangles. 

4. Place 2 sandwiches on the grill and close lid. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Repeat with remaining sandwiches. 

Kung Pao Thursday

Kung Poa Chicken is my favorite dish at most Chinese places. So when I came across this recipe to make it at home I was pretty excited. I have wanted to make it for a while now, but finally got around to giving it a try. I was afraid that it would not taste as good, but was pleasantly surprised how good it tasted. Not quite as good as PF Chang's, but pretty close! 

Ingredients: 
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" pieces
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
3 minced garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoons powdered ginger
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar

1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts 

Directions:

1. Combine chicken and cornstarch in a small bowl and toss to coat. Heat the sesame oil over medium heat, add chicken and stir fry 5-7 minutes, or until no longer pink. Remove chicken from pan. 

2. Add green onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, and powdered ginger to the pan and stir for about 15 seconds.

3. Combine vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar in a bowl. Mix well and add the sauce to the pan.

4. Return the chicken to the pan and coat in sauce. Stir in peanuts and heat thoroughly. Top with green onion and serve over white rice.

Enjoy!

Weekend Highlights

This past weekend was really a lot of fun! It was full with the Angels Game and Easter. Here are some picture highlights from the weekend: 

Happy Hour at Lazy Dog before the Angel Game 

Opening Ceremony at Angel Stadium before the Home Opener

Easter morning family photo 

My mom put together 2 games for us to play on Easter, that were both a lot of fun. She hid mini bottles of alcohol in the backyard for us to hunt around and find. 

 We then did an Easter Egg hunt with a twist, we were not aloud to use our hands and had to use the nets instead. Both games were a lot of fun, and were full of laughs. 

Gooey Butter Cookies were sure a hit! 

Happy Three Day Weekend!

I am so excited and relieved that I have a 3 day weekend, they are the best. Thanks goodness for the Good Friday holiday tomorrow and the stock market being closed

Jordan and I started off my long weekend right, with some margaritas and dinner at El Torito. I can always go for margaritas, chips, and guacamole, tt is one of my weaknesses.

It is going to be a busy, but fun weekend! Friday and Saturday morning I plan on starting the day off with a nice 6-7 mile run. Since the beginning of the year, in addition to eating better, I have been going back to my high school cross country days and enjoying running again. I really enjoy putting everything else aside and just running. It feels great to challenge myself and be able to accomplish a long run.

Tomorrow night it is off to Angel Stadium for Angels' opening day; Hopefully, it is the kick off to a winning season! The past couple years haven't been so great for the Angels, but I have a feeling this year is going to be much better!

Saturday I will be making Gooey Butter Cookies in preparation for Easter and for Jordan to take to work next week. I made them before Christmas for the first time and they were melt in your moth good! He has been asking me to make them every since. 

On Easter Sunday, we will be heading over to may parents' house and I will be bringing Buffalo Chicken Cheese Dip. I found the recipe on Pinterest a while back and have been wanting to try it. 

I am excited for a fun filled weekend! 

Oh How Pinteresting!

I am continuing to love Pnterest and have put together some of my favorite pins from the past week!

Aren't these Carrot Cupcakes perfect for Easter? 

Sparkling Margaritas are perfect for any occasion. 

I can't think of a much better cheese platter

I would love to have a kitchen like this!

Who doesn't need this Shoe Lazy Susan?