Do you know what Armed Forces Day is? We didn’t, until now.

According to defense.gov, this is how, why and when it originated:

President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and
thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country.

On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day
to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. 

The single day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under the Department of Defense.

If BigSis and I are being completely honest, we never knew nor could possibly understand the sacrifices that military families make on a daily basis until we had a family member in the U.S. Military. Unfortunately, we now know how hard it is to say goodbye to family, even if it’s only temporary.

(To my lovely, brave daughter-in-law, who also serves in our U.S. Navy; if you’re reading this, I know that being away from your hubby and your sweet baby is the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do. I want you to know how proud we are of you and how much we appreciate all you do for all of us. We miss you!)

We both want to take this opportunity to thank every Veteran, every family member of a Veteran who has lost their life while serving our country, and every single man and woman who serves in our U.S. Military today.

We appreciate and respect the daily sacrifices that each individual and their family makes to protect every one of us individually and our country as a whole.

Last year on Memorial Day, I mentioned Operation Appreciation that was held here at the Oceanside Pier in honor of Military Appreciation Day. My son who is in the U.S. Navy participated in a demonstration that day and I was so excited to finally be able to see just a little bit of what he does when he’s on the job. Here’s a photo of him in action during that demonstration.

This was a proud moment for me.

And the day I saw him graduate from the U.S. Navy was one of the proudest days of my life.

Our family couldn’t be more proud of what he and his wife have accomplished during the past two years.

Again, thank you all from both of us.

Thank you for your service and for your sacrifice!

~LilSis

Whatever your heart desires, we wish it for you today.

Happy Mother’s Day!

~BigSis

If you still haven’t decided what you’ll be making for your Cinco de Mayo dinner tonight, here’s a super simple Chicken Enchilada Casserole recipe that I make quite often for my hungry guys. And, if you happen to be hosting a party, I promise you that this one is always a crowd-pleaser.

Super Simple Chicken Enchilada Casserole

4 chicken breasts (boiled and shredded)
1 lb. grated cheese (I use a 3 cheese blend)
8 oz. sour cream
1 bottle enchilada sauce
1 pkg. corn tortillas, cut in half

Put a few spoonfuls of the sauce on the bottom of a casserole pan. Line the pan with tortillas. Mix together the sour cream, chicken, and almost all of the sauce. (Save a little sauce for later.)

Layer half of the chicken sauce mixture, then cheese, then tortillas. Finish with the last half of chicken sauce mixture, cheese, and tortillas. Drizzle the remaining enchilada sauce on the tortillas and top with more cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until cheese melts.

This is one of those recipes that you can very easily adapt to your liking. I’ve added green chilies to the chicken mixture a few times and I usually put sliced black olives on the top with the cheese. You could also add chopped bell pepper, onion, or any favorite veggie to this casserole.

I got the original recipe for this casserole from Trader Joe’s years ago and it called for their canned chunk white chicken instead of the boiled chicken. So, if you don’t have the time to boil the chicken, you can use a good quality canned white chicken and it still turns out very good. I made it that way originally but my guys wanted more chicken so if I have the time, I prefer to boil and shred chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins.

Even if you don’t make it for Cinco de Mayo, this is a great everyday “go-to” chicken casserole that you can put together and have on the table in no time at all!  Serve with some chips and salsa or guacamole and a salad and you’ve got dinner!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! 

~LilSis

Do you remember Mexican Wedding Cookies? When we were kids we also used to call them Snowballs or Almond Crescents. They were essentially the same recipe: flour, butter, powdered sugar and chopped pecans. We rolled them into small balls or crescent shapes, baked them, and then rolled them around in more powdered sugar.

I’ve always loved these cookies. They’re tender, crumbly, gently nutty, and powdery sugary, but just barely sweet and perfectly bite-size!

When I was thinking about baking something sweet for Cinco de Mayo, I thought of Mexican Wedding Cookies. With a twist. How about a touch of chocolate? And cinnamon. And almonds. And vegan, of course. Done.

Chocolate Mexican Wedding Cookies (Vegan)

adapted from Williams-Sonoma

2 sticks Earth Balance, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar (divided usage)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups less 1 tblsp all-purpose flour
2 tblsp cocoa (divided usage)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup ground blanched almonds

~BigSis

We talk all the time about our love of Mexican food, and we don’t need ANY excuse to indulge. This weekend is Cinco de Mayo though, and I’m inspired to get in the cocina and rattle some pots and pans instead of just heading to the nearest tacqueria and trying to find something without meat, lard or cheese.

One of my favorite everyday go-to quick meals is Super Speedy Mexican Stew. It’s essentially just canned tomatoes, corn, kidney beans and green beans with any spices that strike me. It’s not fancy and I can’t really even call it cooking; it’s just decent food on the table and in my tummy in literally 15 minutes on a weeknight.

My new go-to Mexican veggie stew when I have a touch more time is Terry Hope Romero’s Quick Red Chile Posole from Viva Vegan!: 200 Authentic and Fabulous Recipes for Latin Food Lovers.  This is the first recipe I’ve tried from Terry’s book, but it won’t be the last.

It takes my simple little dish and turbo-charges it with flavor. It has a tomato base and includes a can of pinto beans and a can of white hominy. I just learned that the hominy is what makes it “posole”.

There’s magic though in the combination of onion, garlic, poblano pepper, chile powder, mexican oregano, cumin and lime. I followed the recipe precisely, and was really amazed at how tasty this little stew was after just 25 minutes of simmering.  It’s warm, spicy, creamy, chunky and bright…all at the same time.

Traditionally, you would top the posole with a variety of garnishes: onion, cabbage, tomato, radishes, cilantro, or tortilla chips. I initially thought I would add a pinch of Daiya pepperjack shreds, a dollop of vegan sour cream and some avocado.

After just one bite of the posole I decided that it needed nothing…except to be devoured. Quickly. So I could refill my bowl, and repeat.

I’ll definitely add this dish to my rotation and hope you’ll give it a try for Cinco de Mayo or any old time!

~BigSis

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a million times, we sisters LOVE our Mexican food! Whether I’m visiting in Dallas or BigSis is here in San Diego, we always treat ourselves to Mexican food at least once every day! (It’s impossible for us to ever get enough chips, salsa, guacamole and nachos.)

As most of us know, this Saturday is Cinco de Mayo, the official Mexican food eating holiday.  We thought this would be a great time to share with you some of our favorite recipes that are perfect for a Cinco de Mayo party or if you’re just cooking for family or friends.

Shrimp with Garlic and Chili Pepper

Roasted Garlic Dressing with Green Chili

Ceviche Salad with Avocado, Cilantro, and Green Chili

Hatch Green Chili and Garlic Goat Cheese

Classic Tortilla Soup

Super Speedy Mexican Vegetable Stew

Spinach Mushroom Enchilada

And we can’t forget about a little something for dessert!

Mexican Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

We’re both busy in our cocinas trying to whip up a couple of new dishes; so if all goes according to plan, we’ll be back in a day or two with a few more ideas for your Cinco de Mayo menu.

~LilSis

I had so much fun with my Natural Dye Colored Easter Egg project  last Easter so I decided to try something different again this year.

Before I started these, I watched an instructional video on Martha Stewart and I also browsed online a little bit just checking out some other tutorials on how to make these Silk Dyed Easter Eggs.

I loved the gorgeous eggs from Our Best Bites so I suggest checking out their site for step by step instructions.  Each and every one of their eggs are beautiful! I didn’t have as colorful silk as they used but I’m still pretty happy with my results.

I didn’t take the time to photograph each step but these are really easy to make. Here’s a photos of a few of the eggs after they were wrapped in the silk squares. I tied the twist tie at the top of some and on the side of some depending on the pattern of the silk.

Next, wrap the eggs in some kind of white fabric; an old pillowcase or napkin works perfect. This step can be done at the same time when you wrap the silk around the egg, but I wanted to make sure the silk was really tightly wrapped around the egg, so I wrapped in the silk first, then the white fabric.

Here are the wrapped eggs in a big stock pot ready to be covered in water. Just cover with water, add 1/4 c. vinegar, then boil at a slow boil for about 20 minutes.

Let them cool a few minutes and then you’re ready to unwrap. This was the best part; like Christmas morning.

A few of these have more subtle patterns because I think the scarf I used wasn’t 100% silk. That’s the most important part about this process. For the pattern to transfer in detail to the egg, the fabric has to be 100% silk.

This was one of the subtle patterns created by the animal print scarf that I believe was not 100% silk. (the tag was missing, so I took a chance.)

This was a random design that I thought was pretty; just made by the way the silk was tied.

This pretty pattern was created from an old tie that I dug out of my hubby’s closet.

These are my favorites. They turned out the best and were actually made from an old pair of my hubby’s silk boxers! (That explains why there was no ‘before’ photo.)

So; be creative, have fun,

and most importantly,

have a Blessed Easter Sunday!

~LilSis

Easter sure snuck up on us this year, didn’t it? Are you ready? Need a few ideas for some Easter goodies?

Both of us have had a lot going on this past month so we haven’t been able to get any new Easter treats posted.

But, the good news is that we have fun recipes for cupcakes, candies, cookies, and decorated eggs that we’ve shared in the past that we’re going to round up for you here today.

First, let’s start with these adorable Homemade Easter Chocolate Candies from BigSis.

Here’s a photo of the little duckies, bunnies, sheep and eggs before they were wrapped in the foil.

The Easter Bird’s Nest Candy is an easy recipe that you can change up a bit depending on your preference. These nests were made with butterscotch chips.

Here are a few made with white chocolate instead of butterscotch.

If you’re looking for a different way to dye your eggs, try these Natural Dye Colored Easter Eggs that I made last year.

Here are some of the eggs before going into the dye.

It would be fun to get the kids in the kitchen to help with these Swirled Cookie Suckers.

These are great for wrapping in little treat bags for gifts or to add to your Easter baskets!

These Chocolate Snickerdoodles are perfect for making Decorated Easter Cookies.

Super cute and super easy with these stencils!

And even though my Easter Bunny Cake didn’t turn out too cute, I’ve got step by step instructions on how to Make an Easter Bunny Cake.

Here’s Floppy with a different face and ears.

If you were looking for some new ideas, I hope we’ve helped you find something that you want to try for Easter this year.

If all goes well, I’ll be back in a few days to share my latest Easter Egg decorating project. (Fingers crossed.)

~LilSis

St. Patty’s Day parties are always fun and very easy to put together; all you really need is green beer and/or a festive green cocktail, corned beef and cabbage, and some potatoes.

Have everyone wear something green. pass out some silly party hats as your guests arrive and you’re ready to get the party started!

Here are a couple of our favorites that you might want to try for your St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

First, the cocktail.

This Glowing Green Gecko is perfect for St. Patty’s Day!

Then, here are some easy and yummy Ham and Potato Pancakes.

Or, if you’re vegetarian, try this awesome Dilled Potato Pie that can be served with pesto or just a dab of butter on top.

And, this open-faced Reuben Sandwich is delicious and can easily be cut into smaller pieces and served as an appetizer.

And, a fun green dessert is just icing on the cake.

These St. Patrick’s Day Clover Cookies are fun and tasty.

Hope everyone has a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

(And, don’t forget an Irish toast. This is a fun one.)

“May your neighbors respect you,

trouble neglect you,

the angels protect you,

and Heaven accept you.”

~LilSis

Here’s hoping that everyone has a happy, healthy, prosperous 2012!

I like the ring of 2012, so I’m thinking, praying that it’s gonna be a good year.

What did you do last night? Did you make it to midnight?

I almost did. We watched New York City welcome the New Year and then fell asleep about 15 minutes before midnight.

Have you heard the old wives tale that says if a home is in disarray on New Year’s Day, then you’ll struggle with clutter and a dirty house for the rest of the year?

I stayed up long enough to clean up our mess from last night just in case there’s any truth to this tale.

What will you do today to welcome in the new year?

I’m making the Traditional Southern New Years Dinner  of ham, black eyed peas (for good luck) and greens (for prosperity) for family and friends. Here’s my plate from last year.

I actually ate several more bowls of peas throughout the day. You know that you can never eat too many black eyed peas on New Year’s Day!

I also concocted a new black eyed pea dip this year that I didn’t have time to post but I’ll share that recipe with you soon. It was so good that you can make it any time; not just for New Year’s Eve!

Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions?

I always do. They motivate me and help keep me focused. I like putting them in black and white because I feel more committed and I can look back at them throughout the year to see how I’m doing. I’ll be posting my goal list for 2012 later this week.

Have a fantastic, Happy New Year!

~LilSis