Easy Peasy Guatemalan Tostadas

Sunday’s are always a bit hard on my tummy. It’s not that I’m going through anything stressful or upsetting, it’s just that by around 2:30 pm I am STARVING… that’s right, not just hungry, I am famished!

We are part of an amazing church here in Mexico city and our service usually lasts from about 11:30 ish until 3:45 pm. So, I try to prepare for this by eating a nice breakfast (bagel with loads of cream cheese and some cherries today). But by 12:30 I am super hungry!!! What is wrong with me?!?

Anywho, so on our way home Lenny and I brainstormed about what to make for dindin and by the time we pulled into our parking space we had come up with a delicious and quick meal of Guatemalan tostadas with 3 different toppings: black beans, tomato sauce, and our quick style version of shrimp ceviche (not an authentic ceviche since we cooked it but hey, it works).

Since we didn’t have any tostadas on hand, we just popped some corn tortillas in the oven for a few minutes. Easy and a lot better than frying them!

What I used:

• Corn Tortillas or tostadas
• Refried black beans
• Tomato sauce
• Shrimp
• Lemon
• Tomato
• Onion
• Parmesan cheese (t0 sprinkle on the tostadas)

What I did:

First, I popped the tortillas in the oven to get them nice and crunchy.

While those were warming up, we chopped up some onions and tomatoes.

 

We divided up the onions into two saucepans with some oil, sautéed them a bit then added the tomato sauce and beans and heated them through.

Next up was the shrimp. After cleaning and chopping them up we threw them in a saucepan and seasoned with some salt and red pepper flakes. I loooove shrimp because it cooks up so fast!

Once the shrimp was done we added the tomatoes, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

                                             

Lenny plated it all up (isn’t it super nice?!) and we sat down to a deeeeee-licious dinner! =)

                                   

EARTHQUAKE!!!

Ok, so I know I’m a little late in posting this but it has been a semi-busy week!

As many of you know, there was a 6.5 earthquake here in Mexico City last Saturday, December 10th at approximately 7:47 p.m. Lenny and I were sitting on our bed eating dinner and watching an episode of one of our favorite t.v shows when suddenly Lenny says, “Do you feel that??” I could feel the bed moving but thought it was him just joking around….turns out it wasn’t!!! We stood up faster than you can imagine, left our half eaten pizza on the bed, frantically looked for the keys, and booked it out of there! And Lenny had no shoes on….=( 

As we were running down the stairs, the lights suddenly went out and we were  plunged into complete darkness. In all the craziness I lost Lenny for a couple of seconds in the stairwell but were able to find each other quickly and made it outside safely! All the lights on our whole block was out and everyone, and I mean everyone, from all the restaurants and apartments, were just milling around outside. We decided to walk around for a while and finally ended up at the little mall near our apartment and treated ourselves to some icecream…=) After about two hours we returned to our apartment. There was no electricity yet so we turned on some candles and settled in for the night!

I have to say here that I absolutely hate earthquakes!!! But I am thankful that the Lord kept us safe through it and that Lenny was home. Living in Mexico these past few months has been a challenge for us at times but we are thankful for all the support we receive from our friends and family and for God’s protection, patience, and presence.

My Mercado Finds in Pictures

I don’t remember how much I spent this day at the mercado, but know this: it was cheapy cheap!! The only thing I regret buying is the cantaloupe…I don’t really like it but somehow the vendor managed to convince me to buy it…they’re good I tell ya!

 

My dragonfruit!

I’m Back!!!

Due to popular demand, I have returned to my blog! Just kidding, I had never really left it, I’ve just been very busy this last month!

Lenny and I just got back from South Carolina on Monday night. We were there mainly for my sister Lissette’s wedding, but it was also a great time to unwind, see friends and family, and as an added bonus we got to celebrate Thanksgiving at home with family! Lenny and I decided to host it at our house and it turned out to be a great success. We had alot of fun cooking, playing games, and of course eating! Lenny’s birthday was on November 19th and he had to spend it all alone in Mexico (tear =( ) since I was already in South Carolina, but we made up for it last week! My brother in law, Joel, thought it would be a nice idea if we got him a cake and sang to him during Thanksgiving dinner, which we did! My favorite memory of that night is Lenny singing “Happy Birthday” along with everyone else, not realizing we were singing to him! Too cute!

The weather in SC was also amazing, not to mention the beautiful scenery!

The happy couple…

 

My parents and us…

Me and the hubby =)

All in all it was a great trip and I have to admit that I was more than a little sad having to return to Mexico. I have to remind myself though, that for now, this is where God wants us and I will live it to the fullest while I am here! On that note, I found an art teacher who lives nearby and whose classes are pretty cheap! I think that will be my next adventure….!

 

All By Myself

That’s right…i’m all by myself today!! Lenny had to go out of town for a day and left super early this morning =( He’ll be back tomorrow evening…yayyyy!!!!

First off, hi again!! I’ve been slacking a bit on the blog this past week due to just being busy doing stuff, an annoying computer that turns off randomly when i’m right in the middle of something, and laziness..hahaha!

Anyway, so since I was on my own today I bummed around the house for awhile and waited for the landlord and this other guy to come and fix some stuff in the apartment…well. about 45 minutes after they were supposed to show up, the landlord calls me, or should i say intercoms me (that’s right, we have an intercom phone!! And it has the most annoying ring…) and says the guy can’t come today. Second day in row! Yup, he was supposed to come yesterday. Anywho, they are coming tomorrow morning…third time’s the charm, right?

So, after that i took a little long nap and then decided to go out and get some dinner. I kind of felt like having something American so I walked to my local Subway and ordered myself my favorite…Italian BMT!! I tell you, those taste the same anywhere! I then walked to my local juice stand and ordered a mandarin juice….it was deeeeeeee-licious!!! And it’s only 14 pesos too, which is about a buck…a little less i think!

We live really close to a park so I decided to have my dinner there and enjoy the scenery. All in all a good day =) When I was at the park I realized I should’ve taken my camera but no worries, I’ll post pics of it soon!

In the meanwhile, here are some pics of our newly painted room…this was my first time painting a room so please forgive all the imperfections =)

Snapshots: A few of the restaurants in our neighborhood…

The first place we ate in our new neighborhood was a snazzy litte cafe right down the street from our apartment…Lenny had this sandwich and I had the quiche…delicious!

Last night we had dinner at an Argentinian/Uruguayan restaurant and it was amazing! We were surpised at how cheap it was here in comparison to a place like this back home =) Lenny had brocheta and I had churrasco with German potatoes.

Moving In…

Hi everyone! It’s been a couple days since my last blog and that’s due to the fact that we have been busy moving in! We signed the contract and got our keys on Friday and by Saturday we had checked out of the hotel and moved in.  Even though we don’t really have anything except our clothes, we have been having fun and enjoying the new experiences.  There is already electricity and water in the apartment so that is a blessing…we don’t have to worry about getting all of that connected!

We have had a very busy weekend. On Saturday we went on the hunt for a bed, found one, and are now waiting anxiously for its arrival: Wednesday! For now we have a makeshift bed in our bedroom….I have to admit that sleeping on a wooden floor is not the most comfortable thing, but hey, at least we have a roof over our heads! Still, I am ready for Wendesday to get here!

Two trips to Wal-Mart and a couple mercados helped to round out the weekend. We have been busy cleaning the apartment and I hope to start painting our room by today. We still don’t have a fridge and are trying to decide if we want to buy one here or wait for the one from home, which wouldn’t get here until mid-December or so, along with the rest of our furniture and things. Anyway, pray for us as we make some decisions this week!

And what you all have been waiting for….pictures of the apartment!

View from the front door…living room and dining room…

Guest bathroom

Office/Spare bedroom

Bedroom #2

Our room and our makeshift bed! haha

I Can’t Knit in Spanish!

So, today I decided to go to the local craft store for some free knitting and crocheting lessons. I have to admit that I was a bit hesistant. I mean, I speak Spanish but learning a new skill in a different language? I was nervous! Turns out, I had reason to be!!! Apparently the class has been going on for about two weeks with the same 17- 20 ladies in attendance. As i sat at the table awkwardly, all the women around me began to pull out  the beautiful jackets, sweaters, and blankets that they have been working on. Ummmm…yeah, im halfway through my first scarf…cough cough…throw in the fact that Ive been teaching myself all the different stitches and their names in English and I have no idea what they are in Spanish (confusing I tell you) and you’ve got yourself a problem!

Anyway, the teacher was very nice but was just too busy with the other students to really be of help. So after sifting through a pile of catalogs that was put in front of me for about an hour, I made like a tree and got out of there (Back to the Future, anyone?)!

I’m proud of myself though. I at least gave it a try you know? And anyway, who needs lessons?! Self-taught, thank you very much! That, and Lenny’s bringing me a book from the States =)

Quick side note: I realized soon after I posted my knitting pictures that I had made some pretty serious mistakes. So, I threw it all out and started over. This is what I have so far…

Knitting…My New Hobby

So, seeing as how Lenny is out of town this week and my options of things to do around here are pretty limited, I’ve decided to try and take up a new hobby. Knitting!!

Why knitting? It just sounded like a good choice! Seriously though, on Sunday Lenny and I were walking around the centro and wandered into this huge store where they sell anything you might need for sewing, knitting, and a whole bunch of other crafts. So, I decided I wanted give knitting a try. I bought some yarn and needles, looked up some YouTube videos, and have begun my first project: a scarf….i think…anywho, this is what I have so far.

After just two days of knitting, my hands are already sore…is this normal?? Does anybody know?? I hope I don’t get Carpal Tunnel! I was surprised at how simple knitting is. What it really is going to take is alot of practice!

As my first project advances I’ll be posting pictures. And if anyone has any suggestions please let me know!

Four Months Ago Today…I got Married!

On June 4th, 2011 at 4:30 pm, I married my best friend.

Yup, I know that sounds so cliche, but it’s true! After being best friends for 8 years, God decided the time was right and turned our friendship into something more. I am so very grateful for the wonderful husband God has given me. These four months have truly been a blessing, filled with so many new adventures and experiences.

A quick look back at the last four months…

I was sick for the entire first month following our wedding! I loved Lenny even more after that trying time. He took care of me, got me medicine, and comforted me when I thought I would never get better.

We learned we were moving to Mexico sooner than expected and began the preparations for the move. I never even unpacked most of my things at my new home which was a blessing in disguise because it made the packing for here (mexico) so much easier.

We had our first Yard Sale together! Lenny will confess that he was not at all on board, but when my sis and I decided we were still going to go through with it he jumped right in. And he was NOT sorry! We made a pretty penny =)

In the beginning of September we made our first trip to California as husband and wife. It was great being in my home state with my amazing hubby!

It has been a great four months…

Happy Anniversary, Lenny! I love you =)