My #1 Post Ever

I am honestly not surprised that this post has remained my most popular!  Who doesn't love PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps?!  I found the original recipe from Damn Delicious (if you haven't looked at the rest of her recipes you are missing out) and I tweaked it just a bit!

You can check out my original post here!

Italian(ish) Meatballs

Ever since Whole30 my eating habits have not been what they needed to be.  While I haven't indulged in a bowl of queso yet, I have eaten my fair share of chocolate, french fries and consumed several glasses of champs.  I can already tell that my body hates me and my stomach has been in knots.  This weekend I decided to find a few new Whole30 recipes that I could add to my list.

I make zucchini noodles and homemade marinara sauce every couple of weeks so I have been wanting to find a healthy recipe for meatballs.  I was so excited when I found Primally Inspired's Grain Free Italian Meatballs so I decided to try my own take on them.  They turned out so delicious that I had them for dinner last night and lunch today!  These meatballs are stuffed full of veggies and since they're not fried like other meatball recipes they are a winner in my book!

Italian(ish) Meatballs 
adapted from Primally Inspired

What you'll need

• 1 pound of ground pork
• 1 pound of ground turkey
• 1/2 medium onion; diced finely
• 1 cup mushrooms; diced finely
• 1 cup zucchine; diced finely
• 2 tablespoons chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 egg (if you're egg free you can omit this)
• red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste

What you do

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl (I used my hands to mix because I think it works better than a spoon)
• Shape mixture into 2 inch balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
• Bake for approx 30 minutes or until thoroughly cooked
• Enjoy!

Weekending: C'mon Sunshine

Holy moly it's finally the weekend!  It's been rainy and cloudy the past couple of days in Dallas and I ma ready for some sunshine!  Linking up with Amanda today to chat about my favorite things this week!

Favorite Weekend Plans
A couple of weekends ago I went to a fabulous wedding and ended up meeting one of the bride's friends.  Turns out we have a lot in common and decided to grab dinner tonight at one of my favorite places for a little girl talk.  Just look how good this place is!  Also, can I just say how hard it is to meet girlfriends the older we get?

{images via}

Favorite New Song

I heard this during my Beyond500 class this week and have had it on repeat!  Perfect little summer jam!

Favorite New Recipe

{via}

Katey shared 3 yummy "mermaid salads" this week on her blog and I swear I will be making them all summer!

Favorite Quote

I know this isn't a "new" quote but it is a great reminder!  I have been struggling with comparison a lot lately especially with moving to a new territory for work.  She's skinnier than me, prettier than me, funnier than me are all things that go through my head and I need to just STOP!  I can only be the best me I can be (as cheesy as that sounds)!

I hope yall have an awesome weekend filled with lots of sunshine and pool time!

Weekending: Cheers

Well Monday here we are once again!  I can't believe we are already halfway through June, time needs to slow down just a bit!  Linking up with Biana today to talk about my weekend.

My weekend started on Thursday night.  Absolut released their new bottle so I was happy to take advantage of the free drinks and fun!

Friday night I switched from vodka to tequila for our work happy hour.  One of the girls on my team set up a happy hour featuring Maestro Dobel tequila and yall, the drinks were SO GOOD!

After a quick dinner with friends I was definitely in bed by 10:30!  Saturday I got my butt kicked at a workout and maybe thought my lungs were going to explode.  Holy cardio!  I definitely wanted to take a page from Fat Amy's book

I had been wanting to try out a recipe for Dr. Pepper cupcakes so I thought Saturday was the perfect time.  After looking all over Pinterest I found this recipe and headed to the store.  Mine my not be as cute as hers but they did taste yummy!

I think I didn't add enough powdered sugar to the icing so mine was a little thin.  I'm still learning a lot about baking so if yall have any tips feel free to throw them my way!

Sunday I went to one last work event and headed to Hotel Zaza for their Sunday School party.  Sunday School is once every 3 months and it is a huge party in one of the hotel ballrooms.  I had never been before but always heard it was a blast so when I got offered a ticket for work I knew I couldn't miss it.

When we sat down we were offered carafes and carafes of mimosas and after an hour or so of drinking I knew I needed breakfast.  Thankfully they came out with trays of food.

It doesn't look like much but I promise it was all delicious!  After a few more carafes of mimosas, the staff comes in and takes almost everything off of the tables and then the lights go out!  All of a sudden a DJ starts playing and the staff reappears with bottles of champagne and sparklers that they pass out!  The music is blaring and soon everyone was up on their chairs dancing and waving around sparklers and glow in the dark wands.  It was a blast but at some point I hit my wall and knew I needed to go before the champagne hit me too hard!

Even though I am beyond tired today, the weekend was amazing!

Cheers *Clink* Wednesdays: Kaffir Lime Bloody Mary

Is it just me, or is a big drink needed today?  Thank goodness there are only 2 days left of this work week!

Yall may not know this about me but one of my favorite cocktails to drink is a Bloody Mary.  I have perfected (if I do say so myself) my Bloody Mary skills over the years and thought I had it down pretty great.  Yall also may not know that I LOVE anything citrus!  I am seriously happy to divide a lime or lemon into quarters and suck out all of the juice - I know, my dentist already yelled at me for it.  So imagine my excitement when someone told me about adding a lime vodka to a bloody mary?  Both things I love in 1 drink?  Sign me up!

Introducing Hangar 1 Kaffir Lime Vodka

This vodka mixes with almost anything and is perfect for summertime!  See the recipe below for the ultimate summertime Bloody Mary.

Kaffir Lime Bloody Mary

What you'll need:

• Hangar 1 Kaffir Lime Vodka
• Zing Zang Bloody mix
• olive juice
• olives
• worcestershire sauce
• Frank's Red Hot sauce
• garlic salt
• pepper
• 1 lemon
• 1 lime
• tall glass
• ice

What you do:

Put ice into a tall glass.  Add a dash each of garlic salt, pepper, Frank's Red Hot sauce, worcestershire sauce and olive juice.  Pour in 2 shots of Kaffir Lime Vodka and fill the rest of the glass with Zing Zang.  Squeeze 1/2 of a lemon and 1/2 of a lime into the glass.  Shake and pour into a glass with fresh ice.  Garnish your cocktail with a few olives, a celery stalk, a lemon wedge and a lime wedge.  Enjoy!

I ran out of lemons and limes but it was still yummy!

Cheers *Clink* Wednesdays: Raspberry Lemon Martini

In the summertime there is nothing better than lemonade.  Except spiked lemonade.  This raspberry lemon martini is perfect for the pool or the patio!

{via}

What you'll need:

• 1.5 oz raspberry vodka
• 4 oz raspberry lemonade
• raspberries for garnish
• lime slice for garnish

What to do:

Pour vodka and lemonade into a shaker with ice.  Shake and strain into a glass and garnish with raspberries and a lime.  

Cheers *Clink*

Cheers *Clink*: The Acai Caipirinha

Caipirinha - The official drink of Brazil made with cachaca (basically a Brazilian rum), sugar and lime juice.

If you're like me you had never heard of a Caipirinha until now.  I learned about this drink last week at work and it looks AMAZING!  Sadly I can't try one yet (you know, Whole30 and all) but everyone that makes them raves about how great they are for summer.  Instead of giving yall a typical Caipirinha recipe, I wanted to switch it up for you.

I give you, Cedilla Acai Liqueur.

There are 500 acai berries in 1 bottle of Cedilla so it's going to be really acai-y.  Not only is this drink delicious (i'm taking my co-worker's word for this since I can't try it) but acai berries have tons of antioxidants!  A cocktail that's healthy?  BONUS!

Try one this week and let me know what you think!

Acai Caipirinha
What you'll need:

• 2 oz Leblon Cachaca
• 1 oz Cedilla liqueur
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 6 lime wedges

What you do:

Muddle limes and simple syrup together.  Add Leblon Cachaca and Cedilla, fill with ice and shake.  Pour into a tall glass with fresh ice and garnish with a lime wedge.  Enjoy!

Friday Favorites

Oh thank the good Lord that it is Friday!  On one hand this seemed like such a short week and on the other hand it seemed like an extremely long one.  I sure am ready for this "Whole30 energy" that everyone talks about to kick in.  Linking up with Amanda today!

Favorite Boys
I made my adolescent self VERY happy last night and saw these guys in concert!

Yall I used to be OBSESSED with NKOTB.  Like maybe I had the bedding set, curtains, sleeping bag, lunch box, dolls, tshirts, buttons and all of their cassette tapes.  Oh and who remembers their Saturday morning cartoon?

Favorite Whole30 Dinner

I cooked and cooked and cooked this week but I think my favorite thing I made was the Seared Steak Salad from the Whole30 Cookbook.

Favorite New Purchase

This weekend my mom and I are going to the Make a Wish Gala.  I bought a gorgeous dress that I will share on Monday and I knew I needed the perfect shoes but they had to be comfy for a long night on my feet.  I set out this week to find them and after 4 stores I hit the jackpot!

This picture doesn't do them justice. They are SO sparkly!  Now to find the perfect earrings.

Favorite Quote

I saw this on Pinterest this week and couldn't help but giggle.  Such a good reminder not to get bogged down by little things that go wrong!

I hope yall have a fabulous weekend!  Eat some chocolate and drink a margarita for me!

Cheers *Clink* Wednesdays

Since I spend most of my days surrounded by spirits (I sound like quite the lush) I thought I would start sharing some of my favorite cocktail recipes every Wednesday.  Some weeks I will share drinks I've actually made and sometimes I'll share recipes I found on Pinterest.  Since I'm 9 days into the Whole30 program, today's drink is something I pinned a few weeks ago.

C-Rita

What you'll need:

2 oz silver tequila

1 oz Cointreau

1 oz fresh lime juice

0.5 oz fresh lemon juice

0.5 oz fresh grapefruit juice

0.5 oz fresh orange juice

1 oz simple syrup

Lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit slices

What you'll do:

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously.  Strain into a tall glass with fresh ice and garnish with citrus slices.

Yall do me a favor and drink one for me too!

Crawfish Stuffed Sausage Jambalya

If you're from a southern state you know that crawfish season is upon us.  I for one, love crawfish but they do gross out quite a few people I know.  When a friend of mine was given crawfish stuffed sausage I knew I had to find just the right recipe.  Luckily my Gamma Phi Grandlittle is engaged to a chef (Shannon's actually a fabulous cook herself) so she knew just what I should make.

Crawfish Stuffed Sausage Jambalya
adapted from Gimme Some Oven's jambalaya recipe

• 
  
• What You'll Need:
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 small red bell pepper, cored and diced
• 1 small yellow bell pepper, cored and diced
• 1 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb crawfish stuffed sausage (or spicy sausage of your liking)
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 (14 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
• 2 Tbsp Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. thyme, crushed
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 cup thinly-sliced okra
• salt and pepper
• Frank's Hot Sauce to taste

Instructions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add celery, onion, bell peppers, jalapeño and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes.  When the vegetables are soft add the last tablespoon of olive oil and then add sausage.  Stir and mix everything together.  Saute for another 5 minutes until sausage is cooked.

Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, brown rice, creole seasoning, bay leaf, thyme, and cayenne, combine well.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cover.  Simmer for 30 minutes until rice is cooked, stirring occasionally so the rice won't burn.

Add in the shrimp and okra and stir to combine. Simmer for another 15 minutes adding additional seasoning  and hot sauce to taste. Remove bay leaf and serve!

Friday Favorites

Woohoo we made it to Friday!  This week went by pretty quick for some reason but I'm not complaining one bit.  Here are my 4 favorite things from this week:

Favorite New Song

Elephante ft Lyon Hart - Shake the Earth

Yall I am obsessed with this song!  Perfect for running.  Or having a dance party!

Favorite Recipe

I pulled out an oldie but a goodie this week and it was delicious!

Favorite Wishlist Item

{via}

I need this in my closet....NOW!  How perfect is this for barre class or spin?

Favorite Weekend Plans

I will be heading down to the infamous Greenville Ave for the St Patrick's Day block party.  Fingers crossed I don't get lost!

Everyone have a fabulous weekend and drink LOTS of green beer!

Linking up with the newly-married Amanda today!

Friday Favorites

{pic via}

I think I'm finally starting to feel normal today.  After being hit by the strep/sinus infection bug this week I was so happy that I had a few blog posts ready to go!  Now that it's Friday I'm ready to play!

Favorite Video
This Jimmy Fallon-Kelly Clarkson duet is everything!


Favorite Article
I don't think I've ever dated someone who could dress me but kudos to this girl for letting her boyfriend have some fun!

Favorite Recipe
I am a huge Chinese food lover, especially Chow Mein and Lo Mein.  This recipe will be made this weekend!

{pic via}

Favorite Plans

I've been forgetting to tell yall but my dad, his girlfriend, and I are headed to Vegas Easter weekend to see Elton John!  This is a HUGE checkmark on my concert bucket list and I am so excited!

{pic via}

I hope all of you lovebugs have a fabulous weekend.  Don't forget that we lose one hour this weekend BUT we are gaining more sunlight!  Woohoo summer is just around the corner!

Linking up with Amanda today!

Strawberry Fields Smoothie

If you follow me on Pinterest you may have noticed that I've been pinning a lot of smoothie recipes lately.  One of the Christmas presents I got this year was a Ninja blender and I've been trying to use it as much as possible.  Since I'm in the car a lot these days I really want to try to incorporate more smoothies into my routine so I can make sure I'm getting my fruits and veggies.

One of my favorite juice bars in Dallas has awesome smoothies so I checked out their website for a few recipes.  They have an awesome page called Drinks For Ailments that lists out which of their products would be good for certain ailments.  The Strawberry Fields smoothie kept popping up so I decided to check that one out.  They claim it's great for the following:

• Acne (how is it fair that I have wrinkles and pimples?)
• Allergies (we all know I have those year round)
• Bloat
• Hangover
• High cholesterol and high blood pressure
• Stress
• Fatigue

After buying a few of their smoothies I decided to see if I could duplicate it at home.

What you'll need:

• 2 green apples - juiced
• 1 handful of strawberries
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 1 banana

What you do:

Throw 2 green apples in your juicer (that's all the juice that I could get out of 2, anyone else have that problem?) then throw all ingredients in your blender and mix together.

Looks kinda gross but tastes amazing.  Also this isn't even half of the recipe.  It definitely makes 1 good size smoothie and one smaller smoothie.  The one you buy in store is a little more pink but they taste pretty dang close to the same.  

If yall have any favorite smoothie recipes please send them my way!

Weekending: Stars Game, Girls Night Out, and a Recipe!

Is it just me or was this Monday harder than others to wake up?  I think with last week being so off because of the ice storms in Dallas, my brain and body are confused!

This weekend was a fun one to say the least!  Back in December I gave my Dad tickets to the Stars game for Christmas.  He has seen every other major league sport and really wanted to go to a hockey game.  He flew in Friday night and we had a blast even though the Stars lost in the shootout.

However it would have been more fun if my favorite hockey player had been on the ice!

Saturday after Dad headed back home I got ready and met a few of the girls our for dinner and drinks.  We had a great time despite being served a $14 drink that I didn't order and running into a few incredibly rude Dallas douchebags.  I seriously have to just shake my head at some people!  We may have stayed out a little too late and ordered a little too much at Whataburger.

Someone please explain to me why I have TONS of eyemakeup on in that last pic and you can't even tell!  I need a makeover fairy godmother for sure (how fun would that be?)

Sunday was spent grocery shopping and making this amazing recipe that Biana post about last week.  So delicious and easy to throw together!

This week is going to be insane between working a ton at Pure Barre and trying to take full advantage of my ClassPass.  It's time to get serious about Operation Bikini Body!

I hope yall have a fabulous week and stay warm.  These darn freezing temperatures can go back to the North where they came from!

Linking up with Biana!