Monday, October 15, 2012

Girls' Night In

Every so often we get together for food, drinks and laughs in the comforts of one of our own homes. Girls' Night In has become a time-honored tradition of sorts. You can usually count on C, M, T and me (K) to be in attendance but we occasionally welcome the sight of a newcomer; this time it was L. Last time it was someone of the male persuasion but we'll get to that story in a bit.

A typical girls' night in consists of a smorgasbord of tasty, sometimes homemade apps, entrees and desserts (I say sometimes homemade b/c M is kinda famous for her veggie trays that she makes from a veggie tray she purchases from SuperTarget). Anyway, this time 'round everything was in fact wholly homemade. My garlic lemon chicken with artichokes was the main dish. I got the recipe from The Joy of Cooking. M brought Oreo balls. She got the recipe from Pinterest. T brought pizza rolls. She got the recipe from Pinterest. L brought roasted brussels sprouts. She just made the recipe herself. Recipe is also probs a bit if a stretch seeing as how she simply tossed the sprouts in evoo and salt and then roasted til they were kinda soft and charry. Nevertheless, they were tasty! C brought turkey lettuce wraps. I'm not sure but I think she got the recipe from Pinterest. T also bright some super cute trivets she'd made for C. She got the idea from Pinterest. If I didn't know better, I'd think GNI was sponsored by Pinterest, for Pinterest and in the interest of Pinterest. I, myself, have never visited the website. I feel as though I've made it this far without ever having pinned something and my life is great so why start now?

Anyway, add in a few bottles of wine, a couple of episodes of Sex and the City and you've got GNI! I love GNIs. They are good for the soul. Laughter, witty banter, educated discussions...we've got it all. Plus, the occasional male stripper. I also love male strippers. I also think they are good for the soul. Happy face. But we typically reserve the stripper for our girls' Christmas. We feel the holidays, and more specifically Jesus' birthday, are the most appropriate time to enjoy a male stripper, don't you?!

Anyway, I recommend you have a GNI of your own sometime. They rock!



Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Uno, Dos, Tecate!

At least, I'm pretty sure that's how it goes. Especially when you've had like 4 of them! Let me take you back to where this story first began. A and I decided we shouldn't just eat we should also exercise...a novel idea, I know. Anyway, she and her hubs, K (yes, his name is simply "K"...no not really it's Kyle a.k.a Upgrayed - if you've seen Idiocracy you'll catch the reference :)), are very adventurous so she just so happens to have this Oklahoma Hiking Trails book that tells of the glorious trails and places you'll go if you just take a quick drive to any one of the many outdoor sanctuaries that exist in our great state. Turns out, the book is right! I had no idea all of these trails existed! I've always been a Hefner kind of girl but Hefner is flat and concrete. This book takes you to wooded areas with dirt paths and "rugged" terrain. A wanted to check out the Bluff Creek Trail, or as she called it the Bluff Crail Treek, which is right by Lake Hefner. And so we did. Side note: A drove this time to try and learn her way around the city a bit. Side note #2: A struggles to stay in the lines when parking Mango Tango. Side Note #3: I'm not sure why.

It was beautiful in both scenery and weather! We could not have picked a more perfect day! It was just right for sweatshirts but when we started moving around and walking we didn't perspire like you would on most other Oklahoma days with any kind of sun, especially in the Summer. Anyway, save for a few bike riders on their mountain bikes, we were the only two out there and had the trail to ourselves. You do have to watch out for the bikers, though, because they sneak up on you quickly and it would probably smart a little if one were to run over you. Plus, you'd get mud all over you and who knows what creatures would be lurking beneath the surface of the leaves and rocks, etc. Heck, who knows what creatures are flying around you at any given moment! We were strolling along one of the paths when all of a sudden something brushed the side of my head near my right ear! Gasp! Luckily, I was wearing a hat so I had a protective layer between the unknown creature and my precious head. Upon retrospect, it was likely the leaf that was attached to the lowly hanging branch I had just walked by but still! One must always remember to look up when one is walking. Btw, A, this is where those helmets would have come in handy. Ha! You thought I was just being silly (or blonde) when I said, "Helmets required? Oh no, we don't have helmets!" as we entered the trail near the entrance sign that read that same warning. For those of you who are confused, the sign said helmets were required and I thought it was for everyone but really they are only required for the bikers. Go figure?!

Once we completed our hike we then were ready to eat. Alas, to the food! I feel like we're always eating but, then again, this is a foodie blog so what did I expect?! We mixed it up this time, though, and headed to Mustang to enjoy some Mexican food at Los Vaqueros. I always think of Mustang when I think of someplace to get authentic Mexican food. J/k it was actually really good. And inexpensive! And quick! I got the beef fajitas for one with a GIANT Tecate. I mean it really was big. It was the size of my head, or at least the size of A's head (her head is smaller than mine). I'm not a big beer drinker but A recommended I order a Tecate. Funny trend I'm noticing as I write this...I seem to wind up consuming 3-5 times more alcohol when I'm with A than when I'm with other MFLers. Example A: the pitcher at PonP. Example B: the 32oz Tecate from Los Vaqueros. Hmmmm. Interesting. It would seem that in addition to liking owls, sparkly/glittery items and sock monkeys, A also has an affinity for large drinking vesicles. I told you she's unique.

A ordered some enchilada plate known as El Jalisco (I think). I don't know what was on it but it looked delish. Both dishes came with your standard beans and rice, of course. Both of which were pretty good. The tortillas are thin and yummy and the chips, queso and salsa are also pretty tasty. Oh, and then we got the sopapillas. Totes yum! They aren't hollow inside like most others, which I really appreciated. They were doughy and sugary and lip-smacking good. Add a dollop of honey and you can't go wrong! Happy faces.