Weekend Food Favorites

This weekend I made a couple recipes that I {LOVE}! I just thought I would share them with you, if you would like to try something new!

STUFFED PEPPERS

• ¾ cup brown rice (we used white, it was faster and tasted fine)
• 3 large peppers, halved and cleaned
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• Chili powder, to taste
• Paprika, to taste
• Oregano, to taste
• Cumin, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• ⅓ cup corn (frozen or fresh)
• Cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 cup cheddar (or preferred) cheese, shredded

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook rice according to package directions

2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium/high heat. Cook onion until tender, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeño pepper and cook about 2 minutes. stir in beans and reduce heat to low. Stir in cooked rice, corn, and all seasonings except cilantro. 

3. Line baking dish with foil. Stuff each pepper half with rice and bean mixture. Top with cheese and cilantro and bake about 12-15 minutes. Garnish with additional cilantro, if desired. Serve and Enjoy!

By: Simply Life Blog

Thank you Pinterest! It is always nice to find a recipe that is actually really great, sometimes it is hit or miss. I am glad that this was not a Pinterest fail! Well, for me at least. Brandon definitely wished there was meat in it. Maybe next time I will add some. But I found this to be pretty light and yummy! And it felt like I was eating pretty dang healthy, so that's a plus! I will be making this one again for sure. 

Avocado Salsa

• 1 ripe Avocado
• 1 Jalapeño pepper, stemmed and quartered (we seeded for less heat, we have tried both and prefer seeded)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbs white vinegar
• ¾ tsp salt
• 2 tbs minced fresh cilantro
• 2 tbs diced onion

Instructions

1. Combine the avocado, jalapeño, water, vinegar, and salt in a food processor(We used our Blendtec, so I am sure you can use a regular blender too). Puree the mixture for several seconds on high speed, or until the jalapeño is finely minced.

2. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl. Stir in the cilantro and onion. Cover and chill the salsa until you are ready to serve it. 

(Makes 1 ½ Cups)

Brandon and I absolutely Love this recipe. I had a coworker tell me about this one. This is El Pollo Loco's Avocado Salsa recipe. We have never been there, but I looked this up and it did not disappoint. It is a new fave of ours. Not only because it is delicious, but it is super fast and easy! We highly recommend this one. 

We hope you enjoy these recipes like we did!

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Oh, and I made some cupcakes for my little primary kids. Funfetti Cake Mix is THE BEST. They aren't very pretty, but it was last minute, and they are 4, they don't really care what they look like anyways! Apparently Brandon did not like the cream cheese frosting I made. He said it wasn't sweet enough. I thought they were perfect! But then again, it is hard to disappoint me when it comes to a cupcake. I love me a cupcake!

Don't forget to Choose the Right!

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XOXO the Cissna's

Manti or Bust

This weekend was the Cissna family vaca. We ventured to the Mormon Miracle Pageant, in Manti Utah. It was awesome to hang out with the in-laws. There is never a dull moment with these people. There were plenty of sarcastic jokes, grumpy twins, good food, silly arguments, and lots of laughter. Debbie is always so thoughtful, and loves having the family get together and spend some quality time. We are glad we got to go and have a fun experience with the Cissna’s!

On another note, being in Manti brought back so many great College memories. I really miss that place. If I could, I would take my husband back with me to finish all of our school. The best college years of my life, were at Snow College. I encourage every one who is deciding to go to school, to go to Snow for your first two years. It is a blast!! And I miss it oh so much. We even got to stop by SHAVE N CREAM. That was an absolute {MUST}. If you are ever near Mount Pleasant, you need to go there. Best Shaved Ice EVER. Get the Red Raspberry Whip. You won't regret it. I promise. 

XOXO the Cissna's

P.S. - Someday, I will have a really nice camera, so my pictures don't look so crappy. The End.

A Random, Fun Filled Week

What a week we have had. We have been so busy with work and school, so it is nice to have a little something to write about, even if it isn't much. This week we have a couple fun adventures. Brandon's softball game was one of the funnest I've been to. I am so glad that Brandon has this fun hobby. I enjoy supporting him each week. His team played amazing and they had an awesome comeback towards the end. Brandon suffered a small concussion when a grounder popped up and hit him in the face. It was pretty scary but he is actually happy he has something to show for it. We are glad that he is okay. I just had to make sure to wake him up every couple hours that night so I knew he was alive. Brandon also scored the winning run of the game! He was happy about that too. 

Are you ready to see his crazy goose egg? 

Oh, he also got hit in the arm, as you can see right there. ^^

>>Yeah, he still didn't get a headache after that.. How does one person never actually know what a headache feels like? I will never be able to comprehend that. I am just jealous of him. I get headaches daily... I am cursed with them forever.<<

This week I also took Brandon on a surprise date. I picked him up from school and we went to Wallaby's in Orem for some BBQ. It was pretty yummy, not enough that I am dying to go back though. Then we went to a late night movie to see Maleficent. He was not as excited as I was about this one, but he ended up loving it too. I am a sucker for Disney movies. You should see it!

My amazing friend Erin, made my hair look awesome with this fun milkmaid braid. And I look stupid with my hand in my face, but oh well, it was about the braid anyways. 

This weekend we were able to head up north to hang out with our families. We went to my parents for a fun BBQ and celebrated Father's Day as well as Mike's (my brother in law) Birthday. There was good food, and even better company. Never a dull moment with my family. We then ventured off to see Brandon's family at Jordon's baseball game. It was fun to be with them too. We watched the boy's and MaKayLa play some ball under the lights after the crowds were gone. It was a great week overall and I am glad we got to have some more fun than the usual. 

Engagements

What better place to document our pictures than on our blog? It is always fun to look back and reminisce. We were so happy and so in love. I mean we still are, but it was different back then. Not a bad different or a good different, just different. Love changes as you grow in marriage. It’s hard to explain, maybe you know what I mean if you are married. I know we have only been married for almost two years, but we change constantly as people, so naturally relationships change too. The good thing is, if you love deeply enough it is easy to mold to the NEW different, and love each other more and more. Anyways, I am rambling. Looking at these makes me smile. Brandon {HATES} all of these pictures! Mostly because his friends are bullies and made fun of him and told him he looks funny (DANG YOU ALL). I think he looks handsome. And yes it was my fault that his hair was so long… Maybe I would change that choice if I could go back. Either way, I love him the same, but different! We hope you enjoy reminiscing with us!

 I don't know why the picture quality on all of these are bad on blogger :( boo

XOXO the Cissna's

Camping Trip, Numero Dos!

A couple weekends ago, we went on a Camping trip with some of Brandon's family. It was so fun! I am definitely a lover of the outdoors. We went all the way to a campground in Kamas, Ut. Brandon has a mission buddy who's family lives there, and they told us about the perfect little secret, hidden camping spot. It is beautiful! And we plan to go back many times. We took some time to go to their family diner called Hi-Mountain, and if you haven't been there, put it on your to-do list! They have the best ever hamburgers and shakes(go with the almond poppyseed shake, its amazing)! They have won a few awards these past couple years for best hamburgers and shakes in the state. Trust me, it is worth it!
  
Once we were settled, and set up camp, we were able to enjoy a long, beautiful hike, with Jordon and Cailie before having dinner and s'mores. We shared many laughs and stories. I will tell a good story to you, about the trip... The first night we were there, Brandon and I were in our tent ready to sleep. We thought we put the fire out enough to not have it cause any problems...well we thought wrong. Zoey was acting strange and started to bark at the tent door. We started to see light from the fire illuminate outside our tent. Brandon stuck his head outside the tent to find that the wind had blown our tarp into the fire! It was melting all over and causing huge flames. Brandon jumped out of the tent and told me to stay put and hold the dog. I was freaking out and yelling "What is happening!" over and over again. I for sure thought we lit the campground on fire. But luckily the only damage was to our melted tarp and one of our camping chairs. Bummer. Good thing Brandon and Jordon were able to act quickly and get it taken care of. (The other funny part of the story was that Jordon had to leave Cailie as she was going to the bathroom in the dark! He took the light with him and ran to help Brandon with the flaming fire. We got a chuckle out of that one. At least I was left in the tent with my dog. (Sorry Cailie, I hope I was okay to share that little part haha) And if you were wondering, the fire was Brandon's fault. He might try to convince you that it was my fault, but he would be lying. It made for a good laugh that is for sure. 

 The next morning Brandon's mom, Debbie, and little sister, MaKayLa, joined in on the fun. We ate some delicious breakfast and settled in again. We went on a short hike to a place where we could set up some make shift targets and shoot our guns. The only one there that did not enjoy the gun part was Zoey. It scared the poop out of her. Literally. Poor girl hated every second. I felt like a terrible parent for making her sit through it all, but she ended up being okay, of course. After target practice we went back to camp to prepare lunch. We went on a LONG drive (that was mostly on accident) to search for a lake or a river for us to hang out by, eat lunch, and watch Jordon fish. Well guess what, it is Utah, and all the lakes were frozen and snow was EVERYWHERE. We were not expecting that. So it became a long scenic drive but it turned out to be pretty cool. We got to see some beautiful waterfalls and some very pretty scenery. Afterwards, we back tracked down the mountain, and found a small peaceful place to eat lunch by the river, to nap, relax, catch some rays, and chit chat. Later that day we played games and had great conversations. The trip was full of delicious dinners, desserts, s'mores, laughs, and fun. We were sad when the trip had to come to an end. We really enjoyed the weekend, and we can't wait to go again sometime soon! 

Here are some pictures from the trip. ENJOY!

Camping Trip >> Number 2 

     

    

Kamas Camping Trip ~ Summer 2014

Guys, I made a blog!

This is happening. I am finally starting a blog. Ever since the day we married, Brandon has wanted me to start a blog, and I finally caved. First off, starting a blog is HARD. I am awful at it. It took me hours DAYS to figure it out, and I still have so much to learn. Also, I will admit right now that I am not a great writer. I will make plenty of writing/grammar mistakes, so bear with me. We have decided to use this blog as a journal of sorts. I will do my best to keep up on my "Journal Entries".  We don't mind if you don't like reading, it's really for us anyways. But, if you do choose to read, you're awesome! And be ready to hear all about our sometimes not so exciting, work filled, school filled, fun, happy, crazy lives! Brandon and I have been married for almost two years now (CRAZY). We have been through so much already, and we still have eternity to go! We are both full time students and full time workers. Our lives are B.U.S.Y to say the least. We have the cutest little four legged fur baby named Zoey, and we adore her with our whole hearts! She is spoiled beyond belief, and I am pretty sure that Brandon loves her more than he loves me sometimes (he hates when I tease him about that). But we really do treat her like a child and we wouldn't have it any other way. She has definitely made our lives much more exciting. I am not going to go into detail about the past couple years because that would be tiring. We have been through a lot. And I wouldn't trade any of it. I am excited to try and find some extra time in my busy life to document our memories through our new blog. 

Cheers to a new hobby and HELLO BLOGGING WORLD. Bring it. 

How can you not love that face?