No Heat Curls

I love curling my hair.  Since becoming pregnant my natural curl has become all sorts of funky, so I started using an iron or straightener more to curl my hair.  However, if any of you know my son you know that he does not nap, so I have very little time to accomplish the simple task of curling my hair.  So I thought I would look up ways to no heat curl it.  This way that I am going to show you now is the first one that I have tried and I love it!!  I find it weird to take pictures of myself doing this so don't mind how awkward they are!
1) Start with DRY hair!  I mean completely dry (if you find this doesn't work after your first time then slightly dampen your hair)  The first time I tried this I read that your hair had to be wet...  I work up looking straight out of the 70's with serious fro!
2) Run some of your favorite styling product through your hair I personally love sea spray or dirty styling cream from lush cosmetics.
3) Put a headband on your head like so! I pull out my bangs so the curl starts lower in my bang.

4) Grab a section of hair in the front and wrap it around the band.  The tighter and smaller the section that you wrap the tighter the curl will be.

 

5) Then add to the pulled through section a little more of you hair and continue to wrap until half of your hair is wrapped, there will be a tail left over.

 

 



6) Do the same thing on the other side

 

 

7) grab the tails from both side and continue to wrap them around the hair band.  I don't wrap the very ends of my hair because then they tend to get all knotted around the band.  I just tuck the ends into the rest of my hair or bobby pin them!

8) Hairspray and sleep with this super cute grandma hair... I know its sexy!

 

9) when you wake up simply remove the head band and run your fingers through the curls.  I leave it in while I do my makeup.





10) Touch up if needed with an iron and curling your hair without damaging it (which is always a bonus)



Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas and Mexican Rice

I love enchiladas! You pretty much can't go wrong in making them.  This particular recipe is from an old roommate of mine, I have tweaked it a little for my particular taste buds! The first time I ever cooked for the Beckstead family I made this dinner and my cute Mother-in-law said she was happy to know that Sean would not starve.  So I guess that was a compliment on the food!  The Mexican Rice recipe is my favorite, when I have other types of Mexican Rice I have this void in my taste buds because the flavor is so great with this!  I hope you enjoy this scrumptious dinner!

Lets start with the Rice:

Ingredients:
4 (approx.) Tomatoes Cored
1 White onion
3 Jalapenos
2 Cups long grain white rice (we love Basmati at our house)
1/3 Cup canola oil
4 Minced garlic cloves
2 Cups chicken broth
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 1/2 Teaspoons salt
1/2 Cup fresh cilantro minced
1 Lime

Instructions:
1.) Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350.
2.) Process tomato and onion in processor or blender until pureed and thoroughly smooth. Transfer mixture to measuring cup and reserve exactly 2 cups. Discard excess or if you need more add more tomato.
3.) Mince jalapenos.
4.) Place rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until water runs clear- about 1 1/2 minutes. Shake rice vigorously to remove any excess water. This step removes the starch from the rice so it will not stick. IF YOU OMIT THIS STEP YOUR RICE WILL NOT BE DRY AND FLUFFY.  Seriously it is super important to do this step!
5.) Heat oil in heavy bottomed oven safe sauté pan or Dutch oven with tight fitting lid over low-medium heat about 2 minutes. Drop a few rice grains in and if they sizzle then it is ready. Add rice and fry stirring until rice is light golden and translucent, which is about 6-8 minutes. Be careful that the oil doesn't get too hot too fast or the oil will splatter.(OUCH!)
6.) Reduce heat to medium, add garlic and  minced jalapenos and cook , stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes.
7.) Stir in broth, pureed mixture, tomato paste and salt. Increase heat to medium high, and bring to a boil.
8.) Cover pan and transfer pan to oven to bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, 30-35 minutes. Stir well after 15 minutes.
9.) Stir in cilantro and lime.

Now for the main course!

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 White Onion chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper chopped
2 Tablespoon Butter
2 Cups Chicken chopped
7 Ounces diced green chiles
1 Pound Monterey jack cheese
3 Tablespoon Butter
1/4 Cup Flour
1  Teaspoon Coriander
2 1/2 Cups Chicken broth
1 Cup Sour cream
1  Package Flour tortillas

 

Instructions:

For meat mixture: 1.) Sauté onion and bell peppers in butter in a large skillet.

2.)Combine with cooked meat, green chiles and 1/2 c grated cheese. set aside.

For Sauce mixture: 1.) Melt 3 tablespoons of butter stir in flour and coriander.

2.) Stir in broth until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat.

3.) Mix in sour cream and 1/2 c cheese. pour out 1/3 of sauce into a bowl.

4.) Add meat mixture to remaining sauce in the pan and stir.

5.) Spoon meat mixture on to tortillas and roll up*. place enchiladas in a greased 13x9x2 baking pan. pour sauce over top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. 

6.) Bake at 350° until bubbly about 25 min.

 

*I normally make mine  lasagna style.  Its easier to serve and less time to prepare!  To do this simply layer the bottom of the pan with tortillas  then spoon the meat mixture on.  Place another layer of tortilla on top then spoon more meat mixture. Do this until the pan is full and top with cheese.... Just like lasagna!

 

 

Yummy Chicken That Will Make You Wanna Make Make Out In The Freezer

I know that is probably the most ridiculous title you have ever seen, but that is how this recipe is titled in my cookbook!  Why is that you may say?  Well my sister Kelli served her mission in Taiwan, when she came home she wanted to cook some authentic food for us so she got this recipe from a cookbook that she had.  The title and everything else in the book was written in Mandarin, but this recipe was delicious.  When we both went to Provo that summer to try a semester at BYU we continued to make this dish.  At that time she had a very talented friend who was a musician, she worked at J-dawgs (mmm I love J-dawgs!)  This friend was getting ready to leave on her mission and made a CD of her songs, we bought the CD because seriously she is an AMAZING musician.  One of her songs was a tribute to J-dawgs and in there is a line that says "do you wanna make out in the freezer?"  Well the next time that we made the yummy chicken dish from Kelli's cook book we named it "Yummy Chicken That Will Make You Wanna Make Out in the Freezer"

Ingredients:
3 or 4 Chicken Breast cut into bite size pieces
1 1/4 C. Soy Sauce
3 Eggs
3 Tablespoon Flour (or Tai Bai Fen if you find it)
3 Tablespoon Sugar
3 Tablespoon Vinegar
Chili Sauce to taste
Garlic to taste

*This is the chili sauce I use.  If you use the Sriracha sauce you will use like the entire bottle on one dish... the flavor is not as good.  With this one I will use maybe a couple of tablespoons.

1.  In a bowl combine 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 3 eggs and 1 tablespoon of flour (tai bai fen)
2. Cut chicken into bite size pieces and place in the sauce.  Let it sit for 15-20 min. or longer
3. Cover the bottom of a pan in oil and fry the chicken until its golden brown
4. In a small bowl combine 3/4 cup soy sauce, 3 tablespoon sugar and 3 tablespoon vinegar.  Mix and add more sugar or vinegar to taste.  Then add remaining flour.
5. Place garlic and chili sauce on frying pan and heat it up.  Add chicken and more chili sauce if desired (light red for a little spice and darker red for more spice.)  Then add the sauce on top of it.  Serve over rice
6. Make out in the freezer (no really that is the 6th step from my recipe)

Toms Sandal

I love this time of year!  The weather has been so amazing lately that I thought I would share this "craft" with you.  My favorite shoe easily is TOMS, first of all they provide an amazing service with donating  shoes to children who are in need of them for every pair that is purchased, plus they are super cute and amazingly comfortable!  Sean even caught the TOMS fever and we wore them at our wedding including our bridesmaids, groomsmen, even my dad rocked the TOMS!!

(Photo Courtesy of Canico Studios)

 



 

One day my cute husband went skateboarding with my brothers but he was concerned that he did not have skate shoes.  I told him just to grab a pair of toms to wear seeing as how he had a pair covered in paint from when he painted a house.  When I saw him later that night I was in shock.  I looked at his feet and I beheld a horrifying sight, a pair of bright red toms covered with HUGE wholes in them.  MY red toms covered in HUGE wholes! They were my favorite TOMS that I owned I was devastated! I know I am being seriously dramatic but I was kind of sad.  Then I saw a cute idea on Pinterest to make TOMS into sandals. Done!  I had the perfect pair of recently destroyed shoes with which to create those sandals!  Ok so here is what you do:

 First grab your TOMS that you will be transforming, take a white pencil and draw lines for where you plan on cutting.  I followed the seams of the shoes but be careful not to draw too close to the seams and I also cut squares out of the sides.  Next take your scissors and begin cutting your pattern you just traced, you can take them to rough up the edges if you would like I found that they fray naturally! 

Here is my final product:

 

 

 

 

These shoes have quickly become my go to shoe.  So in the end I must give my husband a big thank you for giving me an excuse to make these!

 

*To see more of Canico Studios pictures please visit: 



Canico Studios

           or

Canico Studios Facebook

Sourdough Starter

 If I had to pick a bread to eat for the rest of my life it would be Sourdough.  So while Sean and I were living in Utah my amazing sister Xochitl told me that she had some Sourdough starter to give me my mind was blown.  I had no idea it was humanly possible to make Sourdough at home!!  Ok I guess I knew it was possible otherwise this delicious bread would not exist but I was still very excited.  You can get your hands on starter two ways; it can be given to you or you can make it.  If you know someone (like me) who has some getting from there would be the best option because the flavor will be better as the starter gets a more "sour" taste as it ages.  If you cannot get a little bit from somewhere then you can make your own its simple to get going.  A little warning it can get messy.  I would not start this if you will be gone for the entire day. 

Ingredients:
2 Cups Flour
2 Cups  Lukewarm Water
1 Tablespoon Yeast
1 Tablespoon Sugar

First place the water, sugar, and yeast in a mason jar (place the mason jar  in a bowl, in case your starter spills over) Let the yeast rest for 10 minutes.  Then add the flour and stir, it should be the consistency of pancake batter if it isn't then add more flour or water.  Place plastic wrap over the top of the jar and place the jar a bowl as it will rise a lot.  I use a rubber spatula to stir the starter when it starts to creep to the top of the jar.  Let sit for 48 hours or until it has a "sour" smell. 

 

Now as far as storing the starter you can do two things.  You can store it in the fridge by putting a lid on your jar or you can keep it on your counter.  If you choose to keep it on your counter it will become more flavorful but you will need to "feed" it (flour and water) more frequently.  When storing the starter in the fridge you should "feed" it once a week so it will increase in flavor. 

When you are going to use the starter you will want to take it our a couple of hours before needed.  Use the amount the recipe calls for but make sure to leave about a cup in the jar so you do not have to redo your starter.  You will need to "feed" your starter again after you remove the needed amount add in equal amounts of flour and water to your starter and let it sit again for 48 hours. The longer you have a starter the tastier it becomes, so like I said if you know someone with starter ask them if they would be willing to share with you.  If you know me ask me, I would love to share mine!  I will be posting a sourdough pizza recipe soon.  It is seriously mind blowing!

Lomo Saltado

The other night my cute husband and I were on a date.  Every once and a while we will ask each other some "get to know you" questions just to learn about our evolving interests.  My husband and I have been fairly predictable with our answers.  If I ask Sean his favorite color I know his response will be purple or if I ask who is his favorite band it will be either Regina Spektor, Mumford and Sons, The Shins or Fun.  So when I asked what his favorite food was in my mind I could hear him saying "my moms lasagna" but to my surprise he didn't say that he said Lomo Saltado... Mind blown!  Lomo Saltado is a Peruvian stir fry and it is delicious. 

Here is what you need:
1 lb. New York Strip Steak, cut into bite size pieces
1 Red onion, cut into strips
1 Large tomato, cut into strips
1 Bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
3 Cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Lime
1/2 Cup chopped cilantro
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1 Cup of rice
French Fries (yes I said French fries)

OK now here are some notes on the ingredients.  First off the meat, I prefer New York Strip Steak, you can use any type of beef, but when I am feeling lazy I will instead use Pre-cut beef.  For the Bell Pepper I like to use half of a red and half of a orange for some color variety.  Lastly to get the most juice out of your lime place it on your counter, press firmly down and roll it around. 

Place the cut meat in a bowl and season it with salt, pepper, a little bit of olive oil, lime juice and chopped garlic.  Let the meat marinate for at least 20 minutes. 
While the meat is marinating slice your onions, tomatoes and pepper like the picture below.

Pre-heat your oven.  I like to season my French fries for a little bit of extra kick.  When they are on the pan sprinkle salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper.  Then place in the oven to cook.  Then prepare your rice, season as you like. 

Now back to the meat! Saute meat over medium heat until the meat has just browned (it will be cooking for a while longer so you don't want to completely cook the meat or it will get chewy.)  Now add the onion and cook stirring for  minute.

 Then stir in the tomatoes and peppers.  Cook until the onions are tender. Then add the cilantro and cook for one minute. 

Now this is how you serve the dish!
                                  
                                                                            Rice                                                                       

 

French Fries

 

Meat and Veggies

Happy Husband!

 

 

I hope you enjoy! The best thing about cooking is making food taste how you want, so always add or replace any ingredients based on what you like!

The Spice of Life

If you know me, you know that I can pretty much live on salsa.  Seriously it's one of my favorite foods and I judge places based on the type of salsa that they make, if you can't impress me there why would I trust you with the rest of my Mexican food!  There is nothing better then a eating home-made salsa. I will eat the jarred stuff but I mean really you compare Pace to any home-made kind and its just a boring substitute.  Once upon a time my dad used to make this amazing salsa recipe that he got from my grandma and I thought nothing can beat this... and then Sean Beckstead and Friends entered my life.  He said they had a great salsa recipe so we decided to have a little competition.  I made my grandma's recipe and they made theirs.  When my dad came home from work he tasted both and said theirs won!! He chose theirs over the recipe he perfected! I was shocked.  Needless to say Sean bragged about winning and I claimed theirs was a fake since it wasn't completely home-made.  They used a jar of premade green salsa to add to their recipe.  I would tell Sean he cheated and he would tell me that my salsa wasn't home-made either because I used cans of stewed tomatoes (totally not the same thing!)  Needless to say Sean's salsa was better because we always make it but recently I decided to make it 99.9% home-made (short of growing my own vegetables and making a bullion cube)  So here we go, I will give you the original and my version:

Original Salsa:
6 Roma Tomatoes
1/2 Bundle of Cilantro
1/2 Red Onion
1 Anaheim Pepper
3 Jalapenos
1 Habanero (optional)
1 Bullion Cube
1 Jar of Herdez Green Salsa
Salt, Pepper and Lime to taste

The Beckstead Salsa:
6 Roma Tomatoes
1 Bundle of Cilantro
1 Red Onion
1 Anaheim Peppers
6 Jalapenos
1 Habanero (not optional!)
1 Bullion Cube
8-10 Tomatillos
Salt Pepper and Lime to taste

Now decide which recipe you are going to use then follow these directions (If you are doing the original version ignore the first step.)
First (again just if you are making the Beckstead Recipe) set your oven to broil and peel your tomatillos, place them on a pan sprayed with oil and place them in the oven.  You will want to wait until their skin has browned a little bit.  Once they  have roasted to your desired amount take them out of the oven and toss them in your blender of food processor.  Add 3 jalapenos and a tablespoon of water, then blend until smooth and pour into a bowl.  Now place the Roma tomatoes in your food processor or blender and blend to your desired consistency (keep in mind if you like it chunky you will be adding the rest of the ingredients too.) Once your tomatoes are as chunky or smooth as you would like stop and roast your peppers.  We like to roast it in the flames of our stove top but you could also place them in the oven with your tomatillos if you would like.  When the peppers have finished roasting cut off the stems and seed if you can't handle the heat!  Then toss the remainder of your ingredients (peppers, bullion cube, green salsa (canned or homemade) salt, pepper and lime.) Then blend until the ingredients are mixed.  Keep tasting the salsa to decide if you need more salt, pepper or lime!  The last step is to enjoy this yummy salsa and try not to eat it in one sitting!!  I know that everyone is different when it comes to taste so add more or less of ingredients depending on what you like! Seriously when we go to store bought salsa after eating this life is not as good in our house.  So I make big batches of this and can it! I hope that this recipe spices up your life... pun intended!