spicy pasta salad

On hot summer days, when me and the hubs have worked a long day, and gotten our workout in, its easy to give in to the convenience of fast food, take-out, or throwing a frozen pizza in the oven. I came across this recipe the other day from one of my favs, The Pioneer Woman. I've read her blog for a couple of years, and just recently got her cookbook for my birthday. This recipe is for an easy, quick, & tasty pasta salad.

Spicy Pasta Salad with Smoked Gouda, Tomatoes & Basil

Super tasty and a little bit spicy. I can always judge my recipes by my husbands reaction. He said several times how much he enjoyed this one. He's even taking left overs (the man doesn't eat leftovers) to work tomorrow! I told him to go to the deli next door to his office to get some grilled chicken to add to it for some protein.

Happy Monday!

summer vacay

I decided I was going to catch you up on what we've been up to this summer, so far...

We have already been on our annual beach trip to Destin, FL with Bill's mom, dad, and sister. This is our 3rd year to make the trip. Every year we've been, we've gone at a different point in the summer. This year was by far my favorite! We went early May, and it was cooler, less crowded, and the water was perfect. This year we also decided to fly to Destin. I was a little hesitant at first about this, because part of going to the beach is the road trip. But, lets just say, I hope I get to fly from now on. Easy peasy. We rented a car once we got there, and it was an hour drive from the Panama City airport to the condo.

The first night we were by ourselves in the condo, Bill's family didn't get there until the next afternoon. We decided to drive to Grayton Beach and go to the Red Bar. I love that place! Of course, I got the famous crab cakes. You just can't go there and not get them. Best you'll ever eat! Then the next day we enjoyed a perfect day on the beach together. Bill's family got there late afternoon on Sunday and we decided to grill burgers that night.

My idea of a beach vacation is, sleep in, eat some breakfast (usually the Donut Hole), mosey out to the sand, situate myself in a comfy beach chair with a book or magazine, and just enjoy the sound of the water until its time for lunch. Eat lunch, repeat the above until late afternoon. Well, my husbands family has a completely different idea of beach activities. They are the family that can't sit still. If its not playing in the water, its throwing the Frisbee or football, boogie boarding, etc. And, as usual, its always competitive. I'll just watch from the sidelines...

This was the 1st sibling activity, paddleboarding. Requires upperbody strength and balance, all the more reason I declined. :) They were both pretty good at it, and Isabelle made friends with the beach chair guy, so he let them do it for free. Oh to be young and cute.

Bill paddleboarding (you stand on it, but he was coming in when I took this)

The second night we ate at another favorite restaurant, Louisiana Lagniappe. Cajun, southern, seafood, delicious! I had shrimp and grits and it was AMAZING!

We did take one day to hit the outlet mall. I found some cute things on sale & I was mostly happy that I found some things for work. That night we went on a dolphin cruise. This was something I've never done before. It was interesting, to say the least. We did see several dolphins, getting pictures of them was rare to impossible. After the cruise, we ate dinner at a Destin staple, The Back Porch. Wonderful, as always.

The girls waiting to get on the boat for the dolphin cruise.

Bill and I on the boat during the cruise.

One of our last nights there, we drove into Seaside for dinner. I absolutely love Seaside. I grew up going there every summer with my mom, aunt, and cousin. Back then (as if it was so long ago) it was "undiscovered", pre-The Truman Show. I still love going back, but it's not the same. Anyways, we ate at Bud & Alley's Taco Bar then walked around the shops and got some gelato at Heavenly.

Every year, we've take a family picture to use as the Christmas card pic. In the past, we've known someone there at the same time as us to help take the picture in the evening. We decided to change it up this year and took the picture in the morning. Not the best idea. The sun was super bright, so we all have our sunglasses on. Oh well, still turned out ok.

Bill and I on the beach. Christmas card pic? I'm not sure...

Beach Pic 2011

Overall, we had a great trip. I'm already ready to go back. Maybe a short trip in early fall?

back by popular demand

I'm back! Looks like I had more "loyal" followers than I thought. After attending a wedding in LR this weekend, and several people telling me they missed my blog updates, I decided maybe I'll give it another go. I'm not promising I'll be diligent in keeping you up to date, but I'll certainly try. So, here goes another pass at letting friends and family in on what exactly is going on in the Davis household...

I'm not even going to try to catch you up on what's happened in the past months of our lives, so I'll just start off with what is going on right now. Let's talk about the Mavs. THE Dallas Mavericks! Last night was Game 6 of the NBA Finals, and the Mavs were up 3-2. We only had to win one more game to be NBA Champs, and sure enough they did it! This team deserved this. Dirk, Chandler, Jet, Kidd... they have put in their time, and all they needed was that ring. Well, they are going to get it, and Dallas Mavs fans couldn't be more proud.

Bill and I are definitely hometown sports fans. When we moved here, coming from AR, we didn't follow any professional teams. Now we are the biggest Mavs, Rangers, and of course, Cowboys fans there are! This has been one crazy year when it comes to hometown sports. We had the World Series in our backyard with the American League Champs Texas Rangers. Then, Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium. Unfortunately, our Cowboys weren't in that one. Now, the NBA finals. Texans are proud people, and they are for darn sure proud of their sports teams.

Dirk, Kidd, Terry, & Chandler celebrating after the win!

Other than the Mavs winning... we're gearing up for a long, hot Texas summer! It's a scorcher already. I can't walk to my car without sweating. Ugh! We stay cool by enjoying a nice cold Shiner Bock, just like any natural Texan would do. :)

DCM

Before the 1st pre-season Cowboys game, they did a special about our celebration of 50 seasons of football, and Dallas Cowboys Merchandising (DCM) was a big part of it. I thought I would share with everyone the video, so you can see just what a big deal DCM actually is. People are constantly amazed at what a big production we are, and how much work goes into getting those die hard fans all around the world their Dallas Cowboys merchandise.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/blogs/blue-star/Dallas_Cowboys__World_Famous_Brand_Dallas-Fort_Worth.html

Sorry this isn't a more entertaining post, but I don't know how to put the actual video on the blog. Maybe one day I'll get that figured out. Until then, enjoy!

cowboys training camp

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent a week in California. I was there to help work our merchandise trucks during the second half of Cowboys training camp. I never thought there would be such big Cowboys fans, and so many of them in California. On the first day of camp, we had two practices, one at 9am and one at 3pm. People started showing up to get in at 6am! We were solid busy ALL DAY! It never stopped. We worked at 6am and didn't leave until 10pm! Needless to say it was exhausting, but fun. Sunday there were two practices as well, then the next two days only one practice. Those days went by fast. The weather was amazing! 70 degrees everyday. I did get to take advantage of being staff and got to go down on the field during practice a few times. These are a few pics I got...

Jason Witten

Miles Austin

Some of the injured players (including Dez Bryant) warming up

On the third night, we drove to Ventura to have dinner. We ate at a really good italian place called Cafe Fiori. Lori and I really liked the way the streets looked in Ventura so we made Matt risk his life by taking a picture in the middle of the street.

Lori and I in Ventura

After dinner we decided to head back to Oxnard and check out their local bar. We were basically the only ones there. Not much going on on a Monday night in Oxnard, CA!

Me with the cardboard cutout of the Dos Equis man

Felix Jones! I wanted to do a Hog Call, but I refrained.

Tony Romo

One night we went to Channel Islands Harbor and had dinner at a really great seafood place. Afterwards we were determined to find a place to go on the beach. It was freezing! We were just excited to see the ocean!

Carly, Me, and Lori on the beach

Before we had to go back to the airport, we decided to hit up In-N-Out burger one more time, then we drove over to Universal Studios. We walked around in the shopping area called Citywalk. Lots of celebrities are spotted there, unfortunately it wasn't our lucky day. Its a really cool place though.

In the Raiders store at Citywalk. Had to represent my boy Darren McFadden.

Lori and I in front of the Universal Studios fountain.

All in all, Cali was fun. I wish we could of done more sightseeing, but we were there to work. The weather was amazing, the food was great, and I got to sell all our amazing Cowboys gear all week. Thanks to all our supporters in CA! We had a great week, and broke a record for the most dollar amount sold in a training camp, and we still have one more week to go.

Now its time to catch up on all my DVR'ed shows, and get back to a normal routine in our time zone!

california or bust

Thats right, I'm headed to California! I leave Friday to head to Oxnard, CA for the second half of Cowboys training camp. I've posted a picture of a map of where Oxnard is located. Because if your like me, you probably had no clue where it was. Its about an hour North of LA, right on the coast!

Oxnard, CA

I'll be there until next Thursday, helping out with our merchandise trailers. Training camp is a big deal, because this is what gives us a for cast of what to expect for the rest of the season. There is a lot of hype around our team right now. We have great players, and we're coming off of a good season last year. The Super Bowl is in our town this year, so everyone would love to see the Cowboys there! Outside of Texas, California has the most season ticket holders. So, we are sure to be very busy while we're down there. I'm excited because I've never been to CA and I've never been to training camp.

Bill will be here to hold down the fort. I don't think he's too upset about bachin' it for a week.

I hope to have lots of pictures and stories to share when I return! GO COWBOYS!

Chicken Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese

I wanted to share with you what I made for dinner tonight...

Chicken Orzo Salad w/Goat Cheese...

What a lovely alternative to a heavy pasta dish. This is almost like a salad. In fact, you could add it to a salad, or leave the chicken off and serve it as a side dish with your backyard BBQ. It was super delish!

Chicken Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese

(picture from myrecipes.com)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
3 cups chopped grilled chicken breast strips (such as Tyson)
1 1/2 cups trimmed arugula
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup prechopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

Preparation
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain well.
2. Combine pasta, chicken, and the next 6 ingredients (through oregano) in a large bowl; toss well.
3. Combine vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle vinegar mixture over pasta mixture; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.

This was a really simple meal to make. We didn't have anything else with it, but you could certainly serve it with pita chips, crackers, or some sort of bread. Plus, its pretty healthy! I'm becoming a big fan of goat cheese. I've used it in 2 dishes lately and I'm lovin' it!

Hope yall try and enjoy it!