National Margarita Day!

This is SO my day and I'm SO excited to celebrate!  We are having friends over this evening to sip some margaritas with and hopefully the rains holds out until tomorrow so we can even have one outside, watching the sunset, the way a margarita should be enjoyed!
So here's my no fail, pitcher always emptied margarita:
1 can frozen lime-aid
3 cans filled with water
1 can filled with tequila
2 oranges cut in wedges
Empty first 3 ingredients into a pitcher, squeeze the orange wedges on top and drop orange rind in, stir, fill a glass with ice, pour marg on top and ENJOY!

Side note: Ryan hates tequila, so I make a vodka version for him with just the lime and orange.

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day!

  Spilled milk happens to the best of us but don't let that get you down, 

keep your thoughts on all that is good!

Homemade Soup Day

Mmm, I don't know about where you are, but where I am a nice bowl of soup sounds great to warm up the home and body!
I recently acquired a crock pot (thank you Jamie!) that has truly changed our lives!  It's a remarkable appliance and in the last 3 weeks I've made, chicken wings, and 2 amazing soups and will be making another for tonight.

On the menu tonight:
Southwest Corn, Crab and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Choo Choo!

Happy 97th Birthday to Grand Central Station in New York!
Two very obvious things come to mind when I thing about this day - Trains and NYC.  Well, actually 3, now I want to go on vacation!



So, with that in mind here are some quick travel tips.

When looking for plane tickets always check out Kayak.  I could fly from LAX to JFK this Friday and return Monday on Delta, Virgin or United for $207 (hmmm, would they really miss me in the Desert this weekend for Super Bowl?).  I know what you're thinking...you probably have 5 stops, leave at 5:45am and get in at 2:10am.  No, not true, these are non-stop flights leaving at all times of the day!  So, check it out next time you fly.  It does not check Southwest or JetBlue though so don't forget to check them out too.

Speaking of travel deals, I love BudgetTravel.  It is a very user friendly website that is updated constantly so I haven't found any prices not current.  I really like the "Leaving From" tab, so I can chose Los Angeles and see that I can get Kauai, 5nights/air/car for $621 if I book by March 10th!  I can hear the waves crashing now...

National Grapefruit Month

February gets a kick start with National Grapefruit Month!  

I LOVE grapefruits and now they are in peak season.

When in season we typically eat a half grapefruit every morning but my favorite way to enjoy the fruit is in it dessert form.  It's a Grapefruit Alaska; I highly recommend you try this recipe this month, maybe Valentines Day...
To serve 4 take 2 grapefruits, cut in half and section the fruit placing the pieces in a colander, then scrape the grapefruit shell clean and place in the freezer for about 8 hours, leaving the grapefruit pieces in the colander on top of a bowl for the juices to drain.  Then about 25 minutes before dessert heat the oven to 450 and place 1 scoop of orange sherbet in the frozen grapefruit cup and top with the reserved grapefruit wedges, the grapefruits should be just at the top of the shell, not over flowing.  Place back in the freezer while you make the meringue. For the meringue beat 4 egg whites in a glass bowl, mix in 1/4 teas. of cream of tartar and slowly add in 1 cup of fine granulated sugar until the mixture makes stiff peaks.  Place the grapefruits on a cookie sheet and add a big scoop of meringue on top of the grapefruit/orange sherbet mixture.  Place in the oven until the meringue peaks are browned, about 10 minutes.  Then ENJOY!
This dessert is sooo good and is always a crowd pleaser.  I can't wait to make it next weekend!