Stuffed Bell Peppers

So I had some bell peppers and had wanted to make stuffed bell peppers for some time.

Then I found this recipe on Dr. Oz and decided to put my own spin on it... and it came out amazing!!

(And also super healthy but don't tell the guys that)  ;-)


All you need for Stuffed Bell Peppers is:

- 2 bell peppers (I like red, yellow, or orange)
- salsa
- lime juice (maybe a teaspoon? I don't cook with measurements)
- salsa
- 1 ripe avocado, mashed
- 2 cans tuna, drained
- garlic powder
- salt (use sparingly)
- black pepper


First I mixed the salsa, tuna, avocado, spices, and lime juice all together in a bowl. You can add or lessen the amount of each ingredient, it just depends on how lime-y or spice-y you want it.

Then slice the bell peppers in half, empty out the seeds, and fill with the tuna mixture!

It only serves 2 people so you can adjust for however many people you want to make this for. I was kinda suspicious about the tuna but mixed with the avocado and salsa, the tuna has a very mild taste!


It was so yummy, definitely a do-over!




Did you like my made-up words? Yeah I do that a lot...

Making a Gel Candle

Gel Candles are not easy... haha but they're a neat project! And I was feeling crafty...

So I saw the stuff to make one at Hobby Lobby and thought I'd tackle this thing.

I started with a bucket of candle gel, a wick, candle fragrance, and a cool jar I got as a gift.

The first thing I did was glue the wick into the jar so it would stay when I poured the gel in. I also measured how much gel I needed by measuring how much water could fit in the jar, leaving about 1/2 - 1 inch of space from the top. I actually ended up using the whole tub!

Then I made my own double boiler so I could melt the gel slowly without it burning.

Supposedly the hotter the gel, less bubbles will appear in the candle so they say not to exceed 225 degrees but being in Colorado, it's not going to get much past 200 anyways due to the altitude.

I broke up the gel into little pieces so it would melt faster and evenly.

I kinda chopped at it the warmer it got so I could break it up into smaller pieces.





So then you wait...

And keep waiting...

It was not too long after this when it got smoother and I added about a 1/2 teaspoon of the fragrance to the gel and kinda stirred it.

Then you pour it (carefully! man it goes everywhere BUT!) into the jar. I had to hold the wick off to the side while Nathan poured it in. After we poured it, I tied the wick to a pencil to keep it straight while it cooled.

So that was it! It was scary at first but once it got going, it was pretty easygoing! I think next time I might add some candle dye and maybe some beads or something?



But for now, I'm just going to enjoy my cute little candle.

:-)

Homemade Salad Dressing

So I found this recipe for amazing homemade italian dressing the other day...

It started when I had some leftover pepperoncini juice.

It's great to use this since it has little chunks of pepperoncini in the bottom. Yum!!

So to make this dressing, mix together:

- 1/3 cup pepperoncini juice
- 1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil
- 2 teaspoons italian dressing


I just put it in my old bottle so I didn't have to buy a bottle to store it in.

It's super easy plus it tastes like that really good italian dressing you get at the pizza place! I think I'm going to make this forever instead of buying italian dressing.


It also makes a good marinade for pork chops, just sayin.

;-)

All Tilted

We recently got a new camera that has a panoramic setting on it.

And this is what happens when Nathan gets hold of my camera:

He caught me while I was playing piano haha

A Chick Flick

Have you seen Eat Pray Love? I didn't see it until now since I thought it was just another stupid, sex-filled drama but my sister told me it was good so I finally broke down and watched it. And you know what?



I liked it.


I was surprised by this movie! For those of you who haven't seen the movie, it's about a girl who isn't happy in her marriage and her life and goes on a journey around the world to find peace within herself and God. There were a few different theological concepts I didn't agree with but if you overlook all the divorcing, it actually had a pretty good message: if you're unhappy, turn to God for peace.

I was just happy that I found a good chick flick (that may have made me tear up a little) that didn't make me feel dirty afterwards for watching it.

So this is my message to all you ladies out there:

If you're unhappy, what's the source? Can you fix it by changing yourself?
And God is always there to help you through anything! Talk to Him and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:6

And also don't forget to watch a chick flick now and then.

You deserve a good cry every once in a while

:-)

To Begin...

I have finally made it into the blogging world! For some time, I've been pondering whether to start a cooking/decorating/photo blog thing so we'll see how this works out. Ever since I saw Julie and Julia, I thought the idea of a cooking blog was neat so that's where that comes from. Also, I have weird and random thoughts that I could share?

I guess I'll share a little bit about me. I currently am pursuing a degree in music education and my main instrument is viola. For those of you who are not familiar with the music world, the viola is very similar to the violin only it's slightly bigger and sounds a perfect 5th lower (and it's cooler but don't tell the violins that). I also love to sing and play piano. By the time I graduate, I'll be teacher certified K-12; which grade I want to teach is a mystery at this point. I taught a few lessons to a high school choir this fall which was fun though!

Also, my life took a wonderful turn 8 months ago when I married my best friend Nathan. We met in high school and started dating the summer after graduation. Two years later he proposed and then 10 months after that we were wed. God has truly blessed me with a great guy and we have a wonderful life together.

So that's a little bit about me. I hope to use this blog to share recipes, decorating tips, funny thoughts and pictures. Hopefully this continues into something fun from here!