Tuesday Recipe Swap: Pimento Cheese

This flavorful recipe is perfect to serve as a dip or use a spread for sandwiches and it only takes a few minutes to make. I found the recipe here and changed it up just a bit.

Ingredients:

2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup light mayonaise
1 4 oz. jar diced pimentos
1 8 oz. pack cream cheese, softened
1/3 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion flakes
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Ground black pepper to taste

What To Do:
1. Softened cream cheese in microwave for about 30 seconds

2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer on the lowest speed.

3. Ready to serve or refrigerate for later use.

Enjoy!

 

 1. Follow Kate and myself via GFC and Bloglovin. 

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food-related posts.

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to our blogs.

4th of July Weekend Celebrations

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend (long weekend for those in the US).

I went on my first blate last week with Rebekah and Kate at The Wine Room. It was really nice meeting Rebekah and talking about bloggy stuff while sharing a cheese plate & some drinks. 

On Friday/4th of July, I went shopping for some festive outfits to wear to our friend's pool/BBQ party.

I made a berry trifle and then headed over to the party that afternoon. We had a great time with friends, fireworks and delicious food and drinks. We played some flip cup and the girls won, of course!

On Saturday, K and I went shopping for a new fridge and also ended up getting a new smart TV. We've been saving up for a while now and, with the 4th of July sales, we found some great deals at Best Buy that were too hard to pass up. We had a quick Thai lunch date & went home to play with our new toy.

On Sunday, K and I had brunch at home, cleaned and relaxed. It was just what the doctor ordered after many back-to-back hectic weekends.We grilled some BBQ ribs for dinner and watch some more Orange is the New Black.

How was your weekend?

Joining Molly for Funday Monday and Biana for Weekending.

Celebrating 4th of July in Style

I'm excited USA's Independence day falls on a Friday this year so we have a short work week.

I plan to celebrate the holiday at a pool party with friends, festive cocktails and good old fashioned BBQ-ing. Just as we did last year as seen here although somehow I showed up to the party wearing pink instead of red, white or blue. Party foul!

 

Everyone loves being patriotic and supporting their country in style whether it's for 4th of July or a World Cup game so here's some festive "stars and stripes" outfits and accessories.

Enjoy your 4th of July festivities tomorrow and be safe!

My Anti-Bucket List

Happy Wednesday!

Thankfully we have a short work week with the holiday on Friday.

You can catch me guest posting over at The Kay Times this week sharing my anti-bucket list aka things I never want to do in my lifetime!

I also posted my bucket list last year if you're interested in reading more.

Crock-Pot Chicken Cacciatore

I found this recipe for Chicken Cacciatore on SkinnyTaste.com and decided to change it up a bit. I cooked it up for Sunday dinner and it was super easy to whip together.

Ingredients:

3 to 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1/2 large yellow onion

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp capers

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup white cooking wine

1/3 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp olive oil

2 bay leaves

Salt & black pepper to taste

What To Do:

1. Spread olive oil on the bottom of the crock-pot and then add the peppers and onions, layering with chicken breasts.  Season chicken breasts with black pepper and other seasonings of your choice. I used Tony Chachere's creole seasoning. Finally sprinkle minced garlic over chicken and veggie mixture.

2. Pour the crushed tomatoes, white cooking wine and chicken stock into crock-pot and mix well. Finally add the bay leaves and capers.

3. Cover and cook on high for 3.5 hours (or low for 7 to 8 hours). Remove bay leaves and serve with pasta of your choice. I used whole wheat fettuccine.

Enjoy!

 

 1. Follow Kate and myself via GFC and Bloglovin. 

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food-related posts.

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to our blogs.

Company Vacay on St Pete Beach

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I spent Thursday to Sunday out on FL's west coast for a company paid vacation. It was so much fun and I definitely have a hangover to prove it! There were about 500 employees/guests from around the world on the resort. We hung out at the beach and pool all day, had some yummy seafood dinners and, of course, late night drinks.

 

 

 

Selfies at the bar with the CEO is always good idea....

How was your weekend?

Joining Molly for Funday Monday and Biana for Weekending.

Summer Beach Daze

Happy Friday everyone! 

I'm off to the beach again this weekend. This time it's for a company vacation. One of the perks of my job is that they take us on different vacations so this year we're staying at a resort on St Pete Beach, FL for 3 nights. They have a bunch of activities and lunches/dinners planned. Although it might be somewhat hectic, I'm hoping to be able to relax a bit and just enjoy vacation mode.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'll catch you next week with a full update.

Breathless Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is one of the most beautiful countries ~ if not THE most beautiful country ~ I've visited yet. Our trip to Punta Cana was amazing - the beaches, the resort, the food, the weather and the people. It was magnificent, or as they say magnifico!

We stayed at Breathless Resorts & Spa, which is an adults-only, all-inclusive resort. It just opened in November 2013 so it's a brand new resort that's perfect for a destination wedding, honeymoon or just a vacation in paradise.

The Resort

The Food

The Wedding 

The reason we went to the DR was to celebrate the marriage of two friends and I have to say the ceremony and reception was absolutely gorgeous! I've been to destination weddings in Jamaica, Florida and several different tropical spots but this was by far the most beautiful wedding I've attended yet.

 

Entertainment & Fun

Our Excursion

We went on the Marinarium catamaran cruise which took us around the coast of Punta Cana and stopped at an area where we snorkeled around the reef and swam with stingrays and nurse sharks. They fed us lunch and tropical cocktails on the cruise and the crew entertained everyone with dancing and singing to local music. We had a blast! 

 

What I would give to be back there right now!