What to Eat Wednesday: Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I've decided to begin a new Wednesday series. What to Eat Wednesdays. Why? Because it's hump day, essentially. Wednesday is typically a day that Duck Dude and I are home.. so it's always a night that I end up cooking! And that's the basic reason! 

Today, we are talking about peppers! For a long time, I thought bell peppers "weren't my favorite".. aka I didn't like them. However, I realized I just was not using them correctly. They are still not my favorite raw, but cooked! I love them! Now, there are a million recipes out there for stuffed peppers.. you can do Mexican, Italian... you can stuff them with whatever you want. Mexican peppers are typically our go to since we usually do a Mexican style meal at least once a week. But, I wanted to switch things up last time and I made these that ended up being so, so, so good!!




First up, choose whichever bell peppers you want, or whichever are cheapest! My personal favorite is probably orange.. but I cannot tell you why. Sometimes I like to do green and yellow because Baylor. You can also choose your quinoa. The pre-seasoned box makes for a quick start.. That's what I used for this recipe. This is the brand that's in our store and they have several flavors. They have a lemon flavor and a roasted red pepper and basil flavor that you could definitely use as well. Typically when we've made these we have used ground turkey, however this time, I used sausage. It added a great flavor to the peppers!




I always use red onion, but I added celery and a lot of spinach! Throw everything into one pan... stuff peppers and bake! It's so simple. I also think they make amazing leftovers. Duck Dude was out of town this week, and I ate them three days in a row for lunch, and was not even tired of them. Since the quinoa was already seasoned, I didn't add too much additional. A little pepper, a little garlic powder, and that was it! 

What's your favorite kind of stuffed pepper? I've wanted to try a type of lasagna stuffed pepper. That might be my next attempt! Have fun with this one!

Napa: Day 2

Day 2! We woke up feeling great and with Duck Dude craving breakfast tacos. However, we were in California and those are not quite as popular there... so we ended up at Starbucks. After Duck Dude got two cold in the middle breakfast wraps... he asked for a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast. When in Napa... right? 
First up, our favorite winery, tour, and tasting of the trip! Hendry Winery. This tour was with 8 people and George Hendry, himself, was our tour guide. I was obsessed with him and his flannel shirt and his rotted out teeth. You could tell he was a knowledgeable man. Duck Dude enjoyed the tour because he spoke more of the business side of wine making. This is where we found out 1 acre of land in Napa would cost you $300,000. We also found out if you start a winery, it will take you around 7 years to produce your first bottle. He told us why he planted grapes where, why 30% of his land is zinfandel grapes, because you can usually count on zinfandel to pick up the slack if other grapes have a bad year. He talked about the price it cost them per bottle and why they sell it at the price point they do. And when he talked he liked to point his finger that was crooked at the end just a little bit. We loved it! 
Then we got to the tasting! This was the only place we went where we had two glasses placed in front of us. Mr. Hendry, or George... requested zero cameras during the time because he wanted us to listen and learn. He poured a white wine fermented in a stainless steel tank and a white wine fermented in an oak barrel side by side. He told us to lift our left glass and take a sip... then he told us to life our right glass and take a sip. He explained why a stainless steel white can be sealed with a screw top and an oak barrel white needs to be sealed with a cork. 
He poured a Primitivo in one glass and a Zinfandel in another and asked us to taste different things. We dipped crackers in olive oil to cleanse our pallet and get rid of the tannins before we took a sip from the right glass. We learned what to pair each wine with and why. We learned why not everyone likes cabs as much as we do, and they probably do not drink their coffee black. Mr. Hendry was one cool dude. He lives in the farmhouse on the winery... and I am thinking of asking if he needs a roommate. 

We went back to the hotel and ate Duck Dude's leftover short ribs... that were still reallllllllly good. Then we got an Uber and headed to our next tour.  We arrived at Darioush and I think I gasped. It was so different than all the other winerys we had been to. It obviously has a Persian flair and I was so excited to see the inside. 

We had a lovely tour guide, Jameson, who loved this winery and it showed through. Looking at that picture above, the winery is in the middle and to the left, and Mr. Darioush's living quarters is to the right. We got to go into his personal wine cellar....... and I neeeed one like his!! It was incredible! He loves "magnum" bottles... aka the really big bottles. We would be friends... I know it! Then we did the tasting in this beautiful room with this beautiful cheese plate. You paired the cheese in counter clockwise order and we made friends with some cool people across the table! 

That evening we went to a restaurant in downtown Napa. Downtown Napa is a really cool place, that we didn't explore until that evening. I think it would be fun to go back there when we go back again! We got to sit on Celadon's enclosed patio and they brought us champagne for our one year anniversary! We had some of the best calamari I've ever had in my life!! Then I had scallops for my meal and Duck Dude had...... duck! 

Behind our honeymoon, this was the best trip ever with my husband.

Reveling in Prayer and Praise

I mentioned in my blog at the first of the year that our prayer list is long right now. We've got a niece to pray for, we've got other friends going through pregnancies (one with twins!), and we have little newborns that we love to keep in our prayers. We have multiple friends of the families battling cancer, and we are praying for miracles to be done in their bodies. We are praying for cancer cells to die. We have ailing grandparents that are constantly in our prayers. We have friends struggling with their faith and friends making amazing strides in their faith.. We're praying for both. I tease Duck Dude for having long prayers, but we have a lot to pray for.

In college, I truly learned what it meant to be a situational prayer. Someone who only comes to God when they "need" something. In college, I learned to have my own conversations with God. While I'm driving, while I'm watching a baseball game, while I'm in the shower, while I'm cooking, while I'm walking to athletics, anywhere. There's always time for a reminder to be in constant communication with God.

I mentioned in my "best of: Easter" post that music gets me. I love to worship through music and there are certain lyrics that I sing louder than the rest.

How Deep the Father's Love For Us The title of the song is obvious.. but it's the second verse that makes me choke up every time. "Ashamed I hear my mocking voice, call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held him there, until it was accomplished." There's something about picturing my own voice calling out in the crowd, Crucify him!.... and yet this is a song about how much He loves me. Then there's the final verse: "Why should I gain from his reward? I cannot give an answer. But this I know with all my heart, His wounds have paid my ransom." Even though it's my own voice that put him where he was, he still died for me. 

You Know My Name A song I found from Pandora's station "Hymns 4 Worship." This just happened to be one of those songs that came on at the right time. The words were just what I needed to hear. It's the chorus of this song and so you hear it more or less 5 times during the song. "You know my name, you know my story, still you've taken on the world just for me." A simple reminder that God doesn't just know my story.. he is a part of my story. 

Oh, How He Loves Us This song has always been a favorite of mine. This one doesn't make me emotional as much as it makes me happy. But there is one lyric that I love to think about the perspective of. "If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking." Have you ever flown over the ocean and all you can see is water? Have you ever been on a cruise and all you can see is water around you? Have you ever been on a sailing excursion and there's no one around you for miles? (ok, I've only seen that one in movies) But the ocean is vast. The ocean is deep. And if you truly think about little, old you in the middle of the ocean with God's grace surrounding you... it's pretty spectacular. 

Today, I am reveling in praise. I am thankful for a support system who prays for me, and I believe in a mighty God. And today, on this Monday.. I'm reminded of song we sang at church camp... And it was the best song ever because you got to yell the lyrics. But today, the lyrics are resounding in my soul.

I believe in the power of prayer, cause I've seen it first hand and I know it's there.  I believe in a God that cares and I know I believe in the power of prayer.  Amen, (amen) amen, (amen)  Go to the father again and again!  Amen, (amen) amen, (amen)  He's my God and he's my friend, Amen!!!!
Prayer is a powerful thing y'all. And I love to celebrate all the praises in my life!

Napa: Day 1

We woke up rested at 7 am, Texas time was 9 am, ate breakfast at our hotel cafe, and used my new email address to get 50% off our Uber ride. Speaking of rides, we chose to Uber everywhere this first day. There are plenty of Ubers around and you get to meet all sorts of interesting people!
We set off to our first stop of the day: Schramsberg Schramsberg is located north of Napa in the town of Calistoga. Our plan was to start there and work our way back down the Silverado Trail. Schramsberg was recommended to us by our friends, the Smiths. It is sparkling wine and you get to take a tour through the caves where they store all of the wine. However, they have one delicious red wine that the newer owner, J Davies, makes that was nothing like we have ever tasted. It was so smooth and I could have stopped right there and been perfectly happy with our trip. 

When we got picked up from Schramsberg we went to a little lunch place recommended by our tour guide at Schramsberg. The place was called Goose and Gander.. and she recommended "duck fat fries"...... so of course we went!!! Duck Dude got chicken wings that were phenomenal and I got an arugula and asian pear salad that was also fantastic. Duck Dude had an old fashioned that had a massive ice cube, and I had a winter something, that was so refreshing. We had to eat entirely too fast and I wish we could have spent more time here.. it was exactly what I was picturing in my mind.

The next stop was: Quintessa It was on top of a hillside with a beautiful look out over a lake. Here you got a personal tour guide which was different than our group of 10 at Schramsberg. We got to know her very well and ask all the questions we wanted to, which pleased my husbands' heart. We learned a little more about the process and got to try three of the $165 a bottle wines they have. 

The best thing happened when we were getting ready to leave Quintessa. We had some time to kill and was asking our tour guide if there was any good spot to go right around where we were. She mentioned a spot a mile up the hill across the street, and a local guy that was there picking up his wine said, "I'll drive you up there." We happily accepted and hopped in his BMW to drive up the hill! 
Cue: Auberge du Soleil  The most beautiful spot in the entire world!!!! We got a table right on the edge of the patio and had an unobstructed view of the valley in front of us. We talked a little March Madness with the table beside us and sadly watched Baylor lose on my phone... however, how can you be that upset when you have a view like this? 

After this incredible view, we went to Robert Sinskey. This was a great one to end the day. We did not do a tour and just did the tasting, with snacks! :) We stuck our fingers in the Coy fishies mouths and went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner!
Dinner reservations were also made by our friends, the Smiths. :) At dinner at their house one night they were flabbergasted we had not made reservations. So, Ashley called them right there and made our reservation! We did indeed go to Farmstead and they were not lying. I drank a fantastic margarita that tasted so good after a day full of wine! We were a little early and got to mingle at the bar with the locals that were there! The locals told us about these cheddar biscuits that reminded me of Red Lobster, but were still outstanding. Travis ate the short ribs and I got a pork chop over jalapeno grits. The food was phenomenal. It was an outstanding recommendation. 

And that concludes day 1! What a marvelous day it was! 

Napa: Travel Day

Most of you know that Duck Dude and I jetted off to Napa for our one year anniversary trip! How it's been one year of marriage, I will never know... but I hear it does not slow down from here. Here's the recap of day 1. 
We flew into San Francisco and got into our rental car rather quickly. Duck Dude, of course, asked for the 1 year anniversary upgrade and got us into a Toyota Camry with leather seats. I do not know how he manages to do that. And we set off on the hour and a half drive to Napa. 
My favorite thing right off the bat was all the geo-filters of snapchat.... I know, such a millennial generation statement... but it's true!!!! Look how awesome they are... did you know that South San Francisco is known as the Industrial City? Things I learned from Snapchat... that could be a whole 'nother blog post on it's own! 

Then, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge.... and I am not gonna lie, it was really cool! We crossed it right at sunset and the view was beautiful. We saw Alcatraz on the right and a thousand walkers/bikers enjoying the view too. It was beautiful. We have already talked about if/when we go back, we would like to have a little more time to explore San Francisco. 

One of our favorite things to do while exploring a new city is look at the cost of houses. We're HGTV nerds and had a blast looking up homes for sale while in Los Angeles for my cousins wedding. We didn't see a whole lot of for sale signs, so we just started picking out addresses and looking them up. Here's one: 

All of the houses are directly on the main street. This one does have a garage.. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1515 square feet. Want to know how much it sold for in June of 2015?..................... the suspense has got to be killing you! Did you take a guess in your head? If you guessed less that half a million...... guess again....... It sold for $720,000. That is a sale price of $475 per square foot!!! Whaaat? Crazy, right? 
Our favorite of the entire week? This lovely house right by our hotel that is FOR SALE!!! A historical landmark that has been used as an office building... and it's only 3 million dollars!! Cool, huh 

Anyway, back to our trip. We arrived at our hotel and loved the quaint-ness of it. There were about 146 rooms and it was right on the river. We would stay there again and recommend it to anyone. The staff was friendly, accommodating, and we had a blast. The first night they were roasting smores on the back patio. We ate in the cafe in the hotel and headed out to roast smores. 

Make it a great week!