LONE STAR QUESO

Hey y'all! Sorry I've been MIA. I randomly decided to repaint our kitchen cabinets because I was getting tired of having a dark kitchen. I'll update with before and after photos once I'm done, it is taking three coats since they were so dark before. I'm ready to have it finished! I also fixed up an old piece of furniture that we had in the garage for a coffee bar for the kitchen too, it turned out so cute. I'm excited to share.

I'm going to share my queso recipe today, yay! just in time for Cinco De Mayo!!

I do it the easy way with the crock pot, I once tried using a liner thinking it would help with clean up afterwards, well it did but in the process of making the queso, it made it pretty hard to stir it. So I don't recommend using a liner with this one. We call this Lone Star Queso. 

Lone Star Queso

Ingredients :

• One can of Rotel Original (drained)
• One can of cream of celery soup
• One can of diced green chilies (drained)
• Two pork chorizo tubes, we find them at Walmart near the cheeses
• One block of Velveeta Queso Blanco
• and of course the best chips ever, Julios Tortilla Chips. These might be a Texas thing so if you can't find these, choose whichever chips you'd like. 

Start by cutting the Velveeta in slices, then dice it and toss them in the crock pot. I turn the heat up to high while i'm cooking the chorizo so the queso will get a head start on melting. Once the queso has melted down a little, I drain both the Rotel and diced green chilies and then add them to the crock pot. Next, add the cream of celery soup and stir to mix it all up, and cover with the lid. 

While that's melting down, I start the chorizo. Squeeze both tubes into a non stick pan, and cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes. It will start out as a paste, once it's finished it'll be more broken up and look more like meat, that's how you know it's finished.

This is what it looks like once it's cooked. Once you drain the grease from the pan, go ahead and add the chorizo to the crock pot and stir till it's mixed in well. Put the lid back on and let it melt for about 10-15 minutes more.

Once it's finished melting down completely, leave the crock pot on warm while it's being served to keep it warm. Grab some of your favorite tortilla chips and Enjoy! 

This queso is always a big hit when we have guest over, sometimes I add salsa and/or guacamole on the side for a trio dipping set up. Hope y'all enjoy this queso as much as we do!

This was my first shared recipe, so bare with me on the instructions. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

DESKTOP WALLPAPERS | DESIGN LOVE FEST

Every few months I like to update my laptop wallpaper with a new look, with every season, a new look. My all time favorite spot to find good ones are at DESIGNLOVEFEST, she makes the best! This is the one I've chosen for this season and it's so warm, colorful, and cheerful. Head on over to her blog and check them out, they have a million of them I swear lol.

I'm just enjoying a little quite time currently while the boys watch a movie with their dad on the sofa. I have a million things to do before tomorrow for Easter but I have zero energy. I'm hoping this cup of coffee does the trick!

Happy Easter everyone and I'll see y'all Monday :)

GETTING READY FOR EASTER

This Easter I'm hosting, which is great because my mom and sister live down the street so all they have to do is walk over. I'm taking the easy route this year on the boys baskets. They both needed new rainboots anyways since we're going to the Renaissance Festival next weekend, it's always muddy and this will be their first year going. It's always a blast and I think they're old enough now to enjoy it too. They're getting rainboots and goodies, not so much candy. The eggs will have enough for my liking anyways. Also, confession time, some of it's left over Halloween candy. They won't notice right?

Target is having a toy sale right now, and they have a deal for shoes right now, buy one get one 50% off, so I mostly did my Easter shopping there. I did go to The Dollar Store for the stuffing and eggs. It's been a struggle keeping these hidden from them, my three year old is like Inspector Gadget when it comes to gifts, he always finds them. 

I've linked all the items listed above, I'm sure these can be found elsewhere and some cheaper but I bought from Target for my convince. CAR BOOTS, DINOSAUR BOOTS, BABY LAPTOP, DINOSAUR PLAY DOH SET, TICKLE ME ELMO, KIDS GARDEN SET

Since I'm hosting, I'm going to "make" tortilla soup from Costco. Ya'll this stuff is amazing and it's already ready to go, you just have to throw it in a pot and warm it up. I do add black beans, cheese, tortilla strips, and a little sour cream and lime juice to it though. I love telling people about it because it's the easiest thing to make and it taste homemade! I'm also going to make my chorizo queso, i'll do a post about how I do all this next week. So we'll have a very Texas Easter meal! I'm thinking of also making my blueberry pie too with BlueBell Vanilla Bean ice cream of course. I'm making myself hungry right now writing this lol. Now I'm definitely going  to have to make a post on this meal. About to make my Costco trip with the boys and thankfully my sister is tagging along to help with my traveling circus. Happy Easter everyone!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

LITTLE LUXURIES

This year, I've kind of made the change to focus more on me. I know that may sound selfish, but I stay at home with two small children everyday all day. When my husband is home, it's a blessing but as a mother you're on the clock 24/7. I really think giving yourself time to unwind alone is VERY important for your mental health as a mother. So this year, I've told myself that I'm going to give myself more time to read, more time to enjoy the little things like soaking in the tub, having a hot cup of coffee in one sitting, and also catching up on A Million Little Things...I'm so far behind, it's bad.

A sweet neighbor of mine who has two small children herself, told me about the Coffee + Crumbs podcast. I am hooked! I'm playing catch up on it still but in the meantime, I purchased their book, The Magic of Motherhood. I just finished it this week and I recommend this book for every mom and every soon to be moms. It made me laugh, made me cry, made me rethink the way I do little things with the kids, and be more in the moment with them, and that these hard seasons do pass and one day I'll be sad there over.  On the podcast in the first season, they were talking about little luxuries that they do for themselves, which seemed like perfect timing for me. I forgot which mama it was on there ( maybe Ashley Gadd), but she said she buys herself flowers every Sunday and I just thought that was such a good idea, it's cheap and keeps your house more cheerful, even on those crazy stormy days with the kids. Since then, I've been buying myself flowers weekly and I don't think I've ever go back!

Anyways, y'all should check out the book, their blog, and of course their podcast! I mostly listen in the car or when doing house work, and its honestly like hanging out with your mama friends. 

For those of you who have read it or listen to the podcast, whats been you're favorite essay or favorite little luxury they talk about?

These are this weeks flowers, I picked them up along with iced coffee after a not so great Target trip with the kids this week, mama deserved this!

SPRING TIME PLAYLIST

Since it's Friday and spring time, I thought I would go ahead and share my Spotify spring playlist! 

When winter thaws, it’s a great time to clean the home and prepare for spring. Time to open the windows, cleanse the house and yourself. Spring is the season for new beginnings!

Enjoy :)

OH, HELLO AGAIN...

So I kind of forgot I had this blog going, and then I had another baby and everything I had planned went out the window. I was slowly learning how to adjust to life with two under the age of two. Lets just say, it was INTENSE for a bit, but after Harrison turned 10-11 months it finally started getting easier. I was able to leave my house, looking a hot mess and a traveling circus, but still able to get out and about with two small children. I once drove all the way to target on a particularly stressful day with the kids, hoping we could just aimlessly walk the isles while I sipped my iced coffee and bought things I didn't need. I got out of the car, and noticed I was wearing two different sandals, I think I started crying and hysterically laughing at the same time. Hormones are a b*tch ya'll and I was on the roller coaster of emotions that day. I got the kids out and wore my completely mismatched sandals through the store and sipped my ice coffee with pride. I should also state that I'm pretty sure I had attempted to give myself a manicure the night before and forgot to clean up the nail polish around my nails. Next level mess. 

Anyways, so it's been a while. Things have changed. We moved to a smaller town and it's been an adjustment. There's no Target, (que gasp) I know I know, but I make a 30 minute drive almost weekly to get my fix in the closest town to me that has one. I've written Target more times than I'd like to admit to build a target in my town. I've even gone as far as telling them where to put it. They've quit responding now. So I guess we'll see, el oh el.

Oliver is now 3 and Harrison is going to turn 2 in July, I can't believe how quickly the second baby grows. We also adopted another animal, so I guess you could say I'm an animal hoarder at this point and I'm thinking about opening a zoo. My husband won't allow anymore pets, so I got a fish. You win some, you lose some. We adopted our chihuahua, Tilly and she's been a blessing and a nightmare. She really is the sweetest chihuahua I've ever met though. She does get jealous but she only shows her pretty white teeth and then kisses you. She's great with kids, which again, I've been told is odd for a chihuahua. 

I'm going to try and post twice a week on here, but honestly I'm so forgetful now that I'll probably touch base again in another year and a half. kidding, kind of. 

The boys actually getting along (bad quality)

 Oliver has developed a new obsession with medical gloves. It makes going to the pediatrician easier and it's a little creepy too.

 Sweet Harrison always wakes up smiling, in fact he's almost always smiling. I love it.

 Oliver is following his mamas footsteps and has to have his "Chick o Way" weekly.

 Oliver got to go to his first Home Depot build workshop, it was adorable.

 Trying to get this one trained to like cooking, so I don't have to.

 Tilly (aka ET), the chihuahua my husband never wanted.

until next time!

PRINTABLES | BATHROOM PRINTS

Since I've been on bed rest, I've been kind of going stir crazy not nesting or doing anything around the house. I finally gave in this morning when I woke up with way too much energy but still having to take it easy. I wanted to work on our half bathroom today, I still need to finish painting it but I mean that's for another day...so i found these awesome free printables and had to print and hang them today.

here are two of them I chose for our half bathroom, I LOVE them lol. My husband even thought they were cute and funny. Please excuse the mess and unfinished walls...I have a toddler and trying to paint is always a gamble with him being awake. 

If you'd like to download, please head on over to The Mountain View Cottage Blog. She also has some other free printables that I've saved for the holidays.