Voluntold.

As we have just completed the first necessary marriage milestone (aka, the first year), my mother decided I was ready to be responsible for cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year.

Haha.  Hahaha.


So far, the only thing I've managed to come up with is a basic shortbread recipe and some very cute leaf-shaped cookie cutters.

I will be sure to update on the success of this venture...

Mexicana Night

As a good American, you have to have a healthy appreciation for mexican food!  Tonight, we're doing tacos and "easy" chili dip.  I think I have my taco meat recipe down pat.  I started with the recipe found HERE

and then made my own modifications!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 yellow onion (diced)

2 cloves minced garlic

Taco Seasoning (recipe follows)

Taco Seasoning:

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Combine seasoning prior to cooking, or make in bulk for easy use!

In a frying pan (preferably cast iron), drizzle oil.

Caramelize onion (about 3-5 minutes) on medium heat.

Add minced garlic and seasoning.

After another minute, add the ground beef.  Stir frequently until meat is evenly brown (about ten minutes)

Serve with taco toppings of your choice!

Easy Chili Dip:

This recipe is perfect for tailgates or parties if you need a last minute idea!

Best in a large (microwave safe) quiche dish.

Ingredients:

2 lbs cream cheese

2 cans of beef chili

1 bag of shredded mexican cheese

In your dish, layer first the cream cheese, then the chili.  Microwave until warm, then top with cheese and microwave for an additional minute to melt the cheese.  OR bake on 265 F for approximately 15+ minutes.

Easy and delicious!  Serve with restaurant style tortilla chips!

More recipes coming soon!

People often seem to wonder about life after marriage.  Certainly there's the expectations of living with another person, learning their terrifying personal habits, reduced sexual activity (arguable) and eventually the biggest game-changer of them all: offspring.

But before the little ones start popping up, there's a period of time containing on awkward blend of newly-wedded bliss and not so pleasant debt and financial troubles.

If you played your cards right, you might have come out of college scott-free.  You found the perfect job, you have your whole life perfectly planned, and with your perfect signifigant other, you're going to sail perfectly off into the perfect sunset.

Now for the rest of us.  Those of us who are still figuring it all out.  Those of us who haven't yet achieved our dreams and are working to make ends meet while they pursue them.  Those of us who scrimp and save in whatever possible way we can without sacrificing a relatively comfortable lifestyle.

Artists, entrepreneurs, chefs, dreamers - those who didn't get the right job out of college.... we don't all get it right the first time.  We don't all have our future mapped.  We just know what we want and we're struggling to get there.

That's about where I am.

College drop-out with the good fortune to have married to a wonderful man (at least in my humble opinion).  He takes good care of me and lets me mostly stay home so I can work on my writing (see http://quothandquill.blogspot.com/ for more info), and chase my dreams of becoming a published author.

In the meantime, I've also been brushing up on a unique set of skills to become properly "domesticated."  Cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc.  There's more involved than many girls (or guys) realize!  Significant others can be high maintenance, and sometimes require as much care as a child (well, at least they don't fall and hurt themselves every five minutes).

I also nanny part-time, so I get lots of fun exposure to actual children as well...

In short, the focus of this blog will be to share tricks, bargains, reviews, recipes and stories related to the domestic life-style.  There will be excitement (black friday anyone?), terror (who knew you couldn't use plastic utensils when cooking with a wok?), and thrilling new experiences (OMG, is that an actual Dyson vacuum cleaner?!?!).  I hope you all will join me for the ride!

Thanks for reading my first post!

-The so very domesticated (and slightly quirky) housewife Clare