I haven't blogged in awhile. Have been keeping myself extra busy. My son out of school but still enrolled in his Summer enrichment which is coming to an end this week. I had to say goodbye to one of my good friends who left the island. I put together my very first slideshow as their farewell gift using Windows Live Movie Maker. It was about 14 minutes long! I cried so much while making the slideshow I barely shed a tear by the time I said my last goodbye at the air port. That's a good thing. I wanted to be strong and show her that I truly was happy for her new life in California. That's one reason I've been so busy. Another is that my Scentsy business is doing great! Some people say it's not work if you love doing it. I really love my Scentsy. For those of you who don't know, Scentsy is a wickless candle company. They are safe for kids and pets and the best thing is you don't have to be rich to enjoy them! One of my friends agreed to Host a party at her house. She invited a few friends over and we all enjoyed each other's company.  One of my favorite things to do is tell someone they have earned nearly $100 of free product, then see their expression or hear their excitement! I love giving things away, and what most don't know is earning free stuff is much easier than they ever thought it could be. Check out  My Scentsy website & feel free to browse around and ask me about free stuff.

Weekend cookout!

Well, the last typhoon just missed us. So after the rains were gone we had a really nice sunshiney weekend! I really needed this sun... I mean really.. Growing up in Texas, we BBQ at every opportunity we get. When I got married and moved to Japan, that came to an end.. my husband was not much of a griller...until now... a little Texan rubbed off on him (even though he probably won't admit it). I whinned for a couple years about how I missed the food especially the BBQ from back home... I learned it takes a bit of skill and experience with the 'pit' but after about 2 1/2 years of whinning about BBQ...
  he actually suggested to grill himself! wow that's a huge deal over here. If you notice I use BBQ and 'grill' interchangeably. That's because where I come from, everything cooking on an outdoor pit is "BBQ" but for other San Diego-ans it is called grilled. So I adapted. Anyway here's the recipe for Shrimp Kabobs:

Ingredients:

• 2 limes, juiced and zested
• ¹/₂ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact
• Spicy Hass Avocado Puree (see make-ahead recipe below)
• Fresh sprigs cilantro, for garnish

Spicy Hass Avocado Puree

• 3 ripe, Fresh Hass Avocados, peeled, seeded and scooped out
• 3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• ³/₄ cup sour cream
• 1 green jalapeño, seeded and chopped
• Salt, to taste

Instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the lime juice and zest, cilantro, cumin and oil and whisk well.
2. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Do not marinate shrimp longer than 5 minutes or the lime juice will begin cooking the shrimp.
3. Preheat a barbecue or grill pan to medium-high heat.
4. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper to taste and grill for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until lightly charred and cooked through, making sure not to overcook the shrimp.
5. Remove the cooked shrimp from the grill and place on a serving platter, with a small serving bowl of the Spicy Hass Avocado Puree. Garnish the shrimp with fresh sprigs of cilantro and serve.

Spicy Hass Avocado Puree

1. Add the avocado, lime juice, sour cream and jalapeño to a blender and puree until smooth, scraping the sides of the blender as needed. (I didn't have fresh jalapeno so I used 1 pickled jalapeno and some of the canned juices)
2. Season puree with salt to taste.
3. Place in a covered airtight container and refrigerate until serving.

There was also some awesome potatoes that we threw on the electric grill meantime but we were so hungry I forgot to take a pic of those!  ... I am definitely making those again... here's the recipe for those:

Ingredients:

• 2-4 medium sized potatoes
• 1 onion
• salt & pepper
• chives (I didn't have fresh so I used dried)
• butter
• foil (heavy duty is better)

Instructions:

1. Slice potatoes into potatoe chip shaped, the thinner you slice, the faster they will cook
2. salt and pepper the potatoes
3. chop onion into med-large pieces and place on top of sliced potatoes
4. sprinkle with chives and add a few dollops of butter 
5. shape foil into boxes and leave the seam on the top completely enclosing the potatoes
6. poke a few small holes in the top to vent steam
7. place 4-6 in from heat using med heat and cook for 45 min or until soft and tender

We cant have a cookout with smores! I talk a bit about Jaden's Summertime Bucket list on this blog, and eating smores is one his to do things. 

yum! I love a toasted black marshmallow. 

 Have you ever tried smores with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups? Jaden loved them!

lunch time!

Lunch time! Have you tried these? Well I started making my own bread for the boys but these, I'll splurge on at the grocery store. They are only 100 calories and whole wheat..thanks to my Mom who raised on wheat bread, I actually prefer this over traditional bread. You simply pop them in the toaster and they're delicious! 

Colby jack cheese, turkey breast, spinach, and tomato.. yum! I searched all over for avocado (its a must!) but I guess I used the last one last night for dinner.

Speaking of dinner, I am thinking of making chicken tostadas tonight. We ran out of my salsa so I decided to go ahead and make that to be ahead of the game. Salsa is something I try to keep stocked in my fridge. My husband uses it on almost anything he possibly can.. and since I grew up in South Texas- I crave it too! Here's how I make it:

Pretty much what I happen to have on hand at the time. 

1/2 an onion

1 can Rotel (this one actually has lime and cilantro flavors)

1/2-1 lime

cilantro (I added the amount shown)

about 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)

salt

jalapeno (depending on how hot you like it!) if you don't have fresh, pickled jalapenos can be substituted

I save my glass jars for my salsa and other things. This stores in the fridge for about 3 weeks.. by that time we are usually out and it's time to make more! 

The Forecast calls for...

I bake on a weekly basis... my favorite thing to bake is banana bread. I've tried several different recipes... from Raisin Bran cereal to Greek yogurt. But this recipe called for sour cream... hmm never tried that one before... As usual, I made a few modifications. Instead of walnuts, I used chopped pecans and also made a few loafs with chocolate chips. my favorite baking pan is a mini loaf pan.. I love it because it allows me share my favorite sweets with others instead of a 1 whole loaf.

Rainy days mean indoor forts

Jaden's Fort has a visitor

It's Summer Time... the summers here in Okinawa are quite different from what we're used to in Texas! It's rainy season here, and typhoon season. So pretty much the forecast is unpredictable which makes beach trips very random! Jaden decided that he was going to make a list of things he wanted to do this summer... I'll post a pic of his "to-do" list. But we managed to make it our favorite beach this past weekend! We got to take the pugs and they loved it too!..
One of the things on Jaden's "to-do" list is Fort making...

Country Club Chicken

Last night's dinner was AH-mazing... if I do say so myself.. I got the the recipe from another blog but I made a few modifications. I used what I had on hand so instead of sharp cheddar I used Velveeta and Mozzarella cheese and instead of fresh mushrooms I used the kind from the jar. Even my (almost) 8 year old loved it!

Pugs love the beach!

Jaden and "the crystal rock"


One more check off Jaden's bucket list! The beach! Since we live on the tiny island of Okinawa we are pretty much at the beach every opportunity the weather permits! We visited our favorite spot this past weekend. The drive is over 2 hours but a day well spent. The road trip is pretty much slow moving since the speed limit at max is 80 kph (thats kilometers people) which.. when converted is not very fast at all.. and its not a highway or expressway either. The majority of this road trip consists of 2 lanes each opposite direction, winding roads around and sometimes through mountains. I love driving through tunnels! (We don't have those back home). But most of the trip is right along side the ocean.. and anytime I'm near Okinawa's oceans.. I'm happy. I will never get tired of it. You'll see what I mean..

Shadow loves the water!