December Goals

Tomorrow marks December 1st! Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday. I am going to start posting monthly goals of things I want to accomplish each month. You can visit my life list goals by clicking on the 'Life List' tab at the top of the page or by clicking on this Life List link. As I accomplish the goals, I will make notes of when these were accomplished. I will post a review of my goals at the end of each month. :) I encourage you to make some goals and try to accomplish them this month! 

xoxo,
Jade

Udi's Pepperoni Pizza

In my family, we love a good pizza! I usually make four pizza crusts at once and then freeze them for later use. We love making homemade pizzas for dinner every once in a while. Since we are on vacation, I opted to try a frozen pizza and I am glad I made this decision! After spending the morning at Universal Studios, I was starving! This pizza is perfect size and will last me at least two meals, most likely three. It was so delicious! The crust was thin and got pretty crunchy. The texture was great. There were just enough pepperoni's. The only thing I wasn't happy about was that my pizza didn't have much cheese on it. If I would've had mozzarella in the fridge, I would've added some extra. Maybe other Udi's pizzas have more cheese? I'm not exactly sure, but I do know that I will purchase this brand again. 

We purchased it from Walmart for $5.93 and it was definitely worth it!

Have you tried it? What did you think? I'd love to hear from other people! If you haven't tried it, you should purchase it on your next shopping trip. :)

xoxo,

Jade

Weekly Wrap-Up: 11/28/14

This is the week I have been waiting for since the first day of November! :) Thanksgiving Break & Orlando, Florida... How awesome is that? I have been anticipating this break for so many weeks now and it has finally came!

Monday, November 24: I shipped some goodies off to my best friends' apartments! Each gift contained: one movie, eos lip balm, winter gloves, a scarf, two shaped post-it notes, one post-it pad, nail polish, gum, and hand sanitizer. The box included some Oreos and popcorn for them to enjoy when watching their new movies! :) Final's are coming up, so I hope this boosted their spirits!

 

Tuesday, November 25: It's looking like fall on campus! :) So many trees are changing colors and I absolutely love it! Woohoo for the last day of classes until after Thanksgiving Break!

Wednesday, November 26: I spent the day cooking and baking for Thanksgiving. I cooked everything and was extremely proud of myself! :) Our menu consisted of deviled eggs, crackers & cheese, ham, loaded sweet potato casserole, sweet potato casserole, Italian green beans, gluten free Brazilian rolls, cranberry sauce, two gluten-filled pumpkin pies, and one small gluten free pumpkin pie. :)  My sweet friend joined our family for Thanksgiving dinner. This was her first time to eat many of the traditional Thanksgiving dishes, and we enjoyed having her over!

My personal gluten free pumpkin pie with pecan crust. :) 

Thursday, November 27: Happy Thanksgiving! We left for Orlando on JetBlue and had a great experience flying with them! :)

Friday, November 28: The day was spent at Universal Studios! We loved it so much! I am excited to spend the rest of the weekend exploring the parks and riding some rollercoasters! :)

Hope you have a great weekend! 

xoxo, 

Jade Ruiz

Stuffing (Dressing)

We don't stuff our turkey, so I've been told that it should be called 'dressing', but I can't seem to call it anything but stuffing. I love my mom's stuffing. I don't like sage... I feel like it can be too overpowering, so this recipe doesn't call for any! :)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups celery (diced)
• 1 1/2 cups onion (chopped) 
• 1/4 cups parsley
• 2 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 18 cups gluten free bread (cubed and toasted) 
• 3 eggs (beaten) 
• 3 cups mushrooms (sliced) 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 
2. In large pan on medium heat, melt butter. Pour in diced celery and chopped onion. Cook about 10 minutes or until tender. 
3. Add parsley, salt, and pepper to pan. Stir until mixed. 
4. In a 9x13 dish, pour the toasted bread cubes in.
5. Pour the butter-spice mixture over the bread cubes and mix well.
6. Pour the beaten eggs and sliced mushrooms into the dish and stir until mixed completely.
7. Bake for 30-45 minutes. 

Mom's Pumpkin Pie

I love a good pumpkin pie. I must admit, I don't like anyone's pumpkin pie, except my mom's. I think it's because she doesn't use pumpkin pie spice... I'm not sure. It just tastes so perfect!

For the pie crust, I created a pecan crust, but you can most definitely create your own pie crust or use a pre-made gluten free pie crust. :)  This recipe makes 2 pumpkin pies. 

Pecan Pie Crust Ingredients: 

• 5 cups ground pecans
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 8 Tbls. melted butter

Pumpkin Filling Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 1 large can of 100% pumpkin puree
• 2 cans (24 oz total) evaporated milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Blend together nuts, sugar, and melted butter. 
3. Press mixture into the pie pan, covering the bottom and sides.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. 
5. Set crust aside. Let the crust cool completely before adding pie filling. 
6. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
7. Beat eggs in a large mixer bowl. 
8. In a small bowl, mix sugar, salt, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon.
9. Pour pumpkin into the large mixer bowl. 
10. Once mixed, add eggs. Keep mixing and slowly pour in evaporated milk. 
11. When crust is completely cooled, pour the pie filling into the pie shells. 
12. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. 
13. After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees, baking for an additional 40-50 minutes. The pie is done when a knife inserted in the middle of the pie comes out clean.
14. Cool before eating.
15. Enjoy!

xoxo,

Jade

Sweet Potato Casserole

This is my brother-in-law's favorite. Super easy, sweet potato casserole topped with mini marshmallows.

Ingredients: 

• 60 oz of canned sweet potatoes, drained
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 bag of small marshmallows

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 9 x 9 pan with nonstick spray. 
2. In a mixer, combine sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. (**if consistency is too thick, add a little bit of milk**) 
3. Pour mixture into the pan. Top with mini marshmallows. 
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes until casserole is hot.
5. Enjoy!

xoxo, 

Jade Ruiz

Loaded Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet potatoes are definitely one of my favorites! It doesn't matter how they are cooked, they always taste yummy! I have always been a huge fan of sweet potato casseroles and have been experimenting with recipes over the past couple years to create the best one yet! This casserole not only tastes super good, it looks super appetizing! It is easy to make and can be made ahead.

Ingredients: 

• 45 oz of canned sweet potatoes, drained
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pecans (chopped)
• 1/4 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup of raisins

Serves: 4

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 9 x 13 pan with nonstick spray. 
2. In a mixer, combine sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Pour mixture into the pan. (**if consistency is too thick for your liking, add a little bit of milk**) 
3. In a small bowl, combine the pecans, coconut, and raisins. Once combined, top the casserole with this mixture.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes until casserole is hot.
5. Enjoy!

xoxo,

Jade

Thanksgiving Week!

I love Thanksgiving, but I love Christmas more! This week, I am posting a Thanksgiving recipe each day! Last year was the first year that I have played an active role in cooking/baking the Thanksgiving feast! I know that many people already have their menus created for Thanksgiving, but these recipes will work for Christmas gatherings or any party! Everything is delicious! These are just a few of my favorite recipes. Because we are leaving for Florida on Thursday, my family is having Thanksgiving on Wednesday. :) From Thursday, November 27 - Tuesday, December 2, I will be spending my days in Orlando. I am so excited to try some restaurants and spend my days at Universal Studios! I was at Walt Disney World back in April, so I am excited to visit Universal Studios. Anyways, our menu for this week is smaller than normal, but i'm definitely looking forward to it!

Thanksgiving Menu:

• Honey-Glazed Brown Sugar Ham & Pineapples
• Cranberry Sauce
• Cheeseball and Crackers
• Loaded Sweet Potato Casserole
• Steamed Corn (can't forget the veggies)
• Pumpkin Pie
• Forno De Minas Brazilian Cheese Rolls

The menu is pretty short, but we don't want leftovers when we will be leaving for Florida. We normally decorate for Christmas on Black Friday; however, I decorated early this year since we won't be home on Black Friday. 

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I'll post some recipes this week! :) I hope your Thanksgiving week is filled with food, fun, and family. I'm so ready for a short break from school! 

xoxo,

Jade

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Y'all, I love a good cookie. I don't know about you, but I hate hard cookies. I wanted to create a chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I am so glad that it turned out tasty on the first try. I found a recipe online and tweaked it a bit. The cookies are loaded with chocolate chip and are perfect for a party! The recipe makes about 38-40 cookies.

Ingredients: 

• 2 1/4 cups gluten free all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. gluten free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup softened butter
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 Tbsp. milk
• 2 cups chocolate chip cookies 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder,  and salt together.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and milk. 
4. Slowly pour the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl of wet ingredients on low speed. 
5. Once mixed, drop cookie dough onto cookie sheet, leaving about two inches between each cookie. Cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown. 
6. Enjoy!

xoxo,

Jade

Weekly Wrap-Up: 11/21/14

It's time for the Weekly Wrap-Up! This week I haven't done very well with taking pictures. I have been feeling a bit sick and definitely overwhelmed with school right now. I'm super excited for my little break from school next week. :)


Monday, November 17: Car problems... I ran my car to the shop and spent the day on campus. No pictures.

Tuesday, November 18: Student Council for Exceptional Children Meeting & I was elected to be the Vice President. :) Super excited about this opportunity!

Wednesday, November 19: SPRING SEMESTER REGISTRATION! Wahoo! I managed to get into all the classes necessary. Only one class was filled up, but I had other options. :) My schedule next semester is so great! I am definitely looking forward to it.

Thursday, November 20: eeeeek! Mockingjay Premiere with some sweet friends! So much fun! The movie was amazing! :) I enjoyed the time with my friends.

 

 

Friday, November 21: Christmas decorating! Since we are leaving for vacation on Thursday, we (as in I) decided to decorate the house early! LOVE the way the tree turned out. :) Christmas is definitely my favorite time of the year. I love how the tree looks different each year! I still have some more decorating to do & my little tree needs to be put together.

Are you doing anything grand this weekend? Please tell me I'm not the only one that starts thinking about Christmas as soon as Halloween is over. Have a great weekend!

xoxo,
Jade

Weekly Wrap-Up

Starting this Friday, I am going to try to do a weekly wrap-up each week to show my readers some of the things that went on. This will show you parts of my life through pictures.

Monday, November 10th: Shot Day! After my four injections, I only have seven more shot appointments and a total of twenty-eight shots left! I cannot wait until I am done with allergy desensitization in June. After each appointment, I am happier and one step closer to being finished!

Looking like Rudolph after getting my shots.

These days are filled with comfy clothes, lots of sleep, 

benadryl, essential oils, and swollen/bruised arms.

Tuesday, November 11th: Laid back day :) I spent the day on campus, worked out at the gym, went to an orientation, and had dinner with my big! About the gym, I did one hour of cardio and started on an abs workout. After about 15 minutes, I went to sanitize my area and spilled about a gallon of sanitizing cleaner all over the floor. It splashed when it hit the floor, and I was soaked from the forehead down. Totally embarrassing! I cleaned the mess, ran to the bathroom, changed, and left. These are things that only happen to me. Later that night, I went to dinner with my Big at the new Torchy's Tacos. I ordered The Democrat... it was good, but not as good as I expected! I am ready to try some other tacos from there. The only picture I took was of my drink. :)

Wednesday, November 12: Filled with school! No pictures :)


Thursday, November 13: Gluten Free Aggie's Meeting! Thursday was such a great day! After class, I went to dinner with a friend and then headed back to campus for a meeting. We met at Sbisa Dining Hall, took a tour, and headed underground to bake! So fun! We made Apple Cheesecakes & they were delicious! Such an easy recipe. I'll have to post it soon. :)

super exhausting day, but so fun! I also won the bucket full of gluten free goodies!

Friday, November 14: Sorority Formal! It was such a fun night, filled with yummy food, laughter, and time with some of my sorority sisters. I am no longer a pledge, I am officially an active. :) 

my perfect, little family

my big, Elise :)

Such a fun week! I am excited for what next week has to offer! Enjoy the weekend. :)

xoxo,

Jade

What a week...

Wow. Let me just say I am so glad this week is over. It has been laid back and crazy and exciting and spontaneous and heartbreaking. My Friday classes were cancelled, so I'm sitting in my pajamas and spending the day with my family at home. This week, I've tried some gluten free products that were so delicious! This post is full of food, so prepare yourself! I have included some photo highlights of my week. 

Sunday: I took a trip to Walmart in search of their new gluten
free products. I never go to Walmart. I exclusively shop
at HEB; however, I may have to start taking these trips more
often. OH My GOSH. These are delicious. I'd be lying if I
said these lasted a week in our house. Between my brothers
and I, these were gone in a few days. So so tasty. They remind
me of the days when I could eat oreos and I will definitely
be buying more in the future. Great texture, great taste,
and the perfect amount of creme in the middle. 

Monday: With a long day spent on campus, I packed
both lunch and a late snack to hold me over before dinner.
It consisted of grapefruit, activia, Cherubs, Gluten free
oreos, a variety of cheese slices, apple sauce, a turkey
sandwich, and an apple. My lunch normally consists of a
variety of these items & I also like to use my Thermos to keep
my food hot. 

Tuesday: Lunch from Jason's Deli during a meeting. Wow.
I hadn't had Jason's Deli until this day and it was so good! I
will definitely start grabbing lunch from there. My professors
have been trying so hard to have gluten free food for me at
each meeting, but there are usually mistakes in the order
which have caused me to not be able to eat them. I was so
happy that it worked out and that my gluten free meal
was so delicious. It came with the sandwich, chips, and
some fresh fruit with fruit dip. YUM! :)

Wednesday: It's the season of being thankful &
giving to others. My Child Development
professor assigned us a "Random Act of Kindness"
assignment and I was so happy that she did. How
awesome is it to have a professor that is
encouraging their students to spread kindness?!
I left a gift card on a table in the Library and
studied as I waited for someone to find the
gift card. When I wasn't paying attention,
someone came across the gift card and left before
I noticed. I hope they ran down to the Starbucks and
enjoyed coffee on me. I think this is something I will
start doing more often. Not just Starbucks, but just
spreading more kindness on campus and in public.

Thursday: It rained ALL DAY LONG.
I made the best of it by taking a trip to
Fuego to enjoy my favorite taco. My
mom and I spontaneously purchased
tickets to see Sister Act the Musical. :)
I probably stood out like a sore thumb as
I walked into the theatre sporting my
rain boots, rain jacket, leggings, and
a t-shirt. You'd think I would care, and
most days I would; however, with being on
campus, all day, in the rain, I was so happy to
just sit down and watch a musical with
my mom. So fun! So good! I enjoy sharing
these memories with my best friend/mom.

Friday: The past few days have been rough for our
family, so my mom spent yesterday cooking her chili
and made some gluten free cornbread. This chili
is the only chili I will eat and the gluten free
corn bread has become a family favorite.  I'll be
spending my day in my pajamas, eating chili and
corn bread. :) I will definitely have to post
her recipe soon. 

xoxo,
Jade

Halloween, Macbook, and Aggie Football

 I must admit, Halloween is my least favorite holiday... I don't do scary. I once went to a haunted trail and freaked out so badly that the employees had to close the haunted trail down, take off their costumes, and walk me out of the emergency exit because I was having such a panic attack. :) I was probably around the age of ten and the employees were local firefighters. From that experience, I have never once gone to anything haunted. I don't even watch scary movies! It's bad. I hate all things scary! I went to a social a few nights ago with one of my organizations and we painted pumpkins! It was fun socializing with friends and eating some yummy food! I wasn't in the mood to dress up and go to a haunted house, wicked woods, or a halloween party on the actual halloween.

Instead, I talked my older brother into driving to Houston with me to buy a MacBook! ;) I have been wanting one for a very long time, but I my laptop had been giving me problems for months, so I decided to finally purchase an Apple computer. Before school started, my brother accidentally tripped over the laptop cord and partially broke my laptop, so I have been having problems with it since. This was a good enough excuse for me to spend the money. I purchased the 13 inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display with my nice little student discount! I love it so far, but it has been a bit confusing switching from a PC to an Apple. I also upgraded to the iPhone 6 a few weeks ago (which I absolutely love). All the pictures on this post were taken from the iPhone 6 camera. There are so many new features that I love.

Saturday I went to the early morning Aggie Football game with my friends. It felt good to finally have a win again! I'm hoping the rest of the season will be full of wins for the Aggies. The weather was perfect! It was chilly as we walked to the game, but once the sun came out, the temperature was perfect! I always enjoy watching the Nationally Famous Fightin' Texas Aggie Band at half-time! I love seeing them perform each game. 

I hope you all had a great weekend as well! 

xoxo,

Jade

Crockpot Coconut Chicken Curry

The past two families that I have nannied for have been from India. I have absolutely loved taking care of their children, enjoyed learning about their families, and always jumped at the offer to try different indian foods. I must say, indian food is delicious! I've taken a few of their recipes and made them a bit less spicy. I have also started making creating new recipes and testing out recipes I've come across online.

This crockpot coconut chicken curry is perfect: full of spice, loaded with chicken, perfect amount of coconut, a great texture, and doesn't take much time to put together. If you like your food really spicy, top it with some crushed red peppers.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 green bell pepper
1 small can of tomato paste
1 can of unseated coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp of salt
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1 Tbsp. garam masala
dry crushed red peppers
2 Tbsp. water
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Directions:

1. Cube chicken breast.
2. Put raw chick in crockpot on low heat. (It will cook throughout the day.)
3. Chop up the onion, garlic, and green bell pepper. 
4. In a food processor, add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, tomato paste, coconut milk, salt, curry powder, and garam masala. 
5. Process it until the mix is smoothish. (It may not look perfectly smooth.)
6. Pour the mix into the crockpot.
7. Cook on low for six hours.
8. After five hours of cooking or one hour before you eat, mix the water and cornstarch.
9. Pour that mixture into the crockpot and mix well.
10. Place lid back on for the remaining cooking time.
11. Once it is cooked, serve it on top of rice or with cooked carrots and potatoes. 
12. Enjoy!

We like to steam potatoes & carrots and add them into the crock pot. We serve the curry over rice. 

xoxo,

Jade