Chipotle-style Guacamole

We made Chipotle-style burrito bowls again the other night and decided to add some of their famous guacamole this time!

What you'll need:
2 avocados
1/2 jalapeno pepper
1/4 red onion
2 tbs. chopped cilantro
1/4 lime
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Cut and peel avocados. Remove seeds from jalapeno pepper (unless you like it extra spicy!). Finely chop pepper and red onions. Add all ingredients to bowl and squeeze lime over it.

2. Mash everything together till smooth!

Pleated Paper Bag Waist Skirt

I love these types of skirts- they just look so classy. I found some floral fabric on sale yesterday so I decided to try and make a skirt out of it! Here is a quick tutorial.

What you'll need:
1-2 yards of fabric (see below)
Matching thread
1 zipper

The width of your fabric should be the width of your waist plus 10 inches (just to be safe). Let's use 28" as an example. You'll want a piece of fabric that's 38" wide. This extra 10 inches will be used for the pleats as well as the zipper.

The length really depends on how short/long you want it- I used 21". This includes a 3" allowance from the top and a 0.5" allowance from the bottom.

1. Lay your fabric across so that the "good" side is on bottom. Fold the top down 3 inches, and pin down.

2. Sew 1 inch from the fold.

3. Now fold the bottom part of the skirt up 0.5 inches, pin,  and sew along the edge. It may also help to iron this first.

4. Fold your pleats in. I did three pleats on each side with each being about 1" thick and 2" from each other, but you can do as many as you want! Pin the pleats and iron them down.

5. Sew your pleats in place along the 1" seam.

6. Now take the fabric and wrap it around yourself. Mark where you want the two sides to connect. Sew the two pieces together starting from the bottom of the skirt and stopping where you want the zipper to start. Leave about 3/4" of fabric and cut off the excess.

7. Sew down the two flaps for where the zipper will be.

8. Pin down the zipper with the outside facing down and sew along the edge.

9. You're done with the body of your skirt! Now for the belt loops. I chose to do four (two in the front, two in the back), but it's up to you. If you have a belt in mind that you want to wear with your skirt, measure its thickness. Add an inch to this measurement and that will be the length of your fabric. For the width of each loop, take however thick you want them to be and multiply it by 2. Fold the fabric lengthwise into a tube and sew all four sides down.

10. Mark where you want each belt loop to go on your skirt. Fold the top of the belt loop down about 1/4" and sew it an inch below the top seam line.

11. Fold the bottom of the belt loop down the same amount and sew it down. You'll want to give each loop a bit of slack so that the belt can fit easily through it.

12. Repeat steps 10 and 11 for the rest of your belt loops and you're done! :)

Let me know if you have any questions! :)

DIY Chipotle Steak Burrito Bowl

Tracey and I were craving Chipotle the other night and decided to make it on our own!

What you'll need:

For steak marinade-
4 small steaks
1 package dried ancho chiles
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. cumin powder.
2 tbs. fresh oregano, chopped
6 cloves garlic
1/2 red onion
1/4 cup vegetable oil

For rice-
2/3 cup rice
1 cup water
2 tsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime
1 tsp. vegetable oil

For toppings (optional)-

Shredded Mexican cheese

1 can sweet whole kernel corn

1 can black or pinto beans

1 tomato

Chopped lettuce

Sour cream

Salsa

1. Immerse ancho chiles overnight in water so that they're soft. Remove seeds the next day.

2. Cut up red onion. Add chiles, black pepper, cumin powder, oregano, garlic, red onion, and vegetable oil to food processor. Blend until it becomes smooth.

3. Cover the steaks with this mixture and refrigerate for at least an hour.

4. During this time, you can prepare the rice! Okay...so since we're super asian we just cooked white rice in the rice cooker and added cilantro and lime. But it still turned out delicious! What you're actually supposed to do though is...
- Heat the oil over low heat, add white basmati rice and lime juice, and stir for a minute.
- Add the water and salt and turn to high heat.
- After boiling, cover the saucepan and turn heat down to a simmer until water is absorbed. This should take about 25 minutes.

5. After your steak is done marinating, heat some vegetable oil over high heat in a skillet. Cook each side for approximately 6 minutes.

6. Cut steak up into little cubes.

7. Heat up corn and beans separately over stove. Add little bit of chopped cilantro to corn. Dice tomato and set out all the toppings.

8. Mix toppings as you wish and bon appetit!

Simple Strawberry Banana Smoothie

My bananas were getting gross and mushy so I decided to make a smoothie!

What you'll need:
6 large strawberries
1 banana
1 tbs. honey
1 cup yogurt of your choice (I used Yoplait Original Style Strawberry Banana)
1 cup crushed ice

Peel and slice banana. Wash and cut off the tops of the strawberries. Put both in blender with honey, yogurt, and crushed ice and whirl away!

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

So the other day I was really craving chicken nuggets and was about to go to McDonald's until I remembered an article I saw awhile ago about what exactly goes into those McNuggets. Here is a leaner and healthier alternative- homemade chicken nuggets!

What you'll need:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs
1 cup All-Purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 cups oil

1. Heat oil in skillet on medium heat. I used vegetable oil.

2. Cut up chicken breasts into little cubes.

3. Add chicken, oregano, onion powder, pepper, parsley flakes, and salt to food processor. Blend until chicken becomes a paste.

4. Roll paste into ping-pong sized balls.

5. Beat eggs in small bowl. Spread flour onto plate.

6. Roll each ball once in flour, once in egg, and again in flour.

7. Squish ball to form a nugget shape. Squishy squishy!

8. Sprinkle a little bit of flour into the skillet. If it bubbles really quickly, it means your oil is ready! Put as many chicken nuggets as you can into the skillet. Careful though cause the oil can jump out at you and it hurts a lot! Fry each side for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.

9. Remove nuggets and put on a towel-lined plate to soak up the excess oil. Pull out your favorite dipping sauces and enjoy!

Cong You Bing (Chinese Green Onion Pancakes)

Cong you bing is a classic Chinese dish that is delicious and super easy to make!

What you'll need:
All-purpose flour
Water
Green onions
1/2 tsp. salt
Vegetable oil
Rolling pin

1. To prepare the dough, pour some flour into a bowl.

2. It can be difficult to get a dough with the right consistency (not too watery, not too dry), but what I usually do is add water little by little to the flour and stir the mixture. If you end up adding a little too much water, you can always add more flour!

3. Put a thin layer of flour across a cutting board so that the dough will not stick to the board. Rip out a chunk of dough that can comfortably fit in your hand.

4. Roll out the dough into a thin circle (unless you're like me and can't roll proper circles...). The thinner your dough, the more layers your pancake will have.

5. Cut up some green onions! This really depends on personal preference. I don't like too many onions in my pancakes, but my parents like to smother theirs.

6. Using a spoon, spread a thin layer of vegetable oil across the dough. Sprinkle salt and green onions evenly across the dough.

7. Roll up the dough into a tight tube.

8. Cut the tube in the middle. This will make two pancakes.

9. Take one of the pieces and hold it upright. Squish it down with your palm until it is a flat circle.

10. Roll out into a flat circle again. Some of the onions and oil may squeeze out, but that's okay!

11. Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat. Fry each side of the pancake until they are light brown and crispy. This should only take a few minutes.

12. Lay on a towel-lined plate to remove any excess oil. Cut up into wedges or just eat whole!