Torchy's Thursday

Yep, that is right. If you have ever been to Austin & have not eaten Torchy's - you are missing out!

 

Torchy's Tacos has a few select locations in central/south Austin but my favorite is the trailer off South 1st St! My breakfast taco had eggs, potatos, and brisket with cheese! I can only do Torchy's sometimes when I'm craving a "damn good taco". I highly recommend everyone has at least 1 taco from here! They do everything, not just breakfast but all the way from ahi tuna tacos to monster burrito tacos & NOTHING is over 7 bucks! Love it.

Anyway, enough rambling about my love for Torchy's... this morning I was so tired! We got word about 9:30pm last night that Scott's BFF and his honey were in town due to their cousin's softball tourney and needed a place to stay. If you know me - I LOVE having company, and what great timing that I just happened to had cleaned the house the day before (wahooo!). I love Scott's buddy Phillup! He and Lacey are so much fun to be around... the last time we saw them was from New Years... oh boy and did we have fun.

Yeah... I'm not sure what the F we are doing either... haha

Aren't they just the cutest couple? Love them!

So they are in town until tomorrow morning and we plan on hitting up the Oasis tonight for the sunset!

Tomorrrrrrowwwwww is my 5th Anniversary with Scottie! :) We have reservations at a super nice Steak house and Winery in Austin at 8pm tomorrow night! So excited! I'm even more excited about our future & getting to spend many more years with this amazing man....

Speed Date Linkup

I don't know about y'all, but the gloominess in the weather has made it so hard to wake up! I usually jam to Spirit radio (Contemporary Christian Music) on the way to work, but today I was wanting to mix things up and turned on the hip hop station... have y'all heard this "Cake" song by Rihanna & Chris Brown? (Listen & tell me you don't start dancing) It's so repetitive and the lyrics are raunchy... but I LOVE IT! I probably looked like a weirdo at 730am club dancing in my car while also applying makeup in traffic... hehe I have to say though, Rihanna Station on Pandora is my favorite for running, working out, and jamming out! Her new song, "Where have you been" is amazeballs. Listen!

Anyway, today I'm linking up with This Little Momma who did a linkup yesterday called "Speed Dating" where we write a post with random 'get-to-know-yous' and check out other bloggers who do the same!

About Amanda from Maggiano Takes Austin...

I was born in Austin, TX in 1988- but only lived here about 2 months before moving. Never moved back until I was in 11th grade and went to McNeil HS.

I am one of 5 kids, and each one of us were born in the capital of a state (weird right!?) Baton Rouge, LA, OKC, Austin, TX! 3 were in Baton Rouge (Which is where I'm from.... GEAUX TIGERS!)

I went to a Catholic Private School until 7th grade, and I loved it! I was actually a Soloist for our Choir & performed a Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey song as a lead in a play, and was actually good! (Do I sing now? Umm only when I drink :-) or in the shower...)

I have the cutest Boston Terrier you've ever seen named Huxley. So full of adventure, so smart, so sweet, he means more to me than the world - and I spoil him like you wouldn't even imagine. Click here for more videos, pictures, and Huxley's story.

I have been dating this sexy stud for 5 years (on June 1!!) and it keeps getting better and better. We met when I was his trainer @ Dave and Busters (we were servers at the time), and we have been through some bumpy times, but I have never been happier and more complete in my life. Love you, babe!

Scott lost his mother to a heart attack a few months before he met me, so I never got to meet her - but I hear all the time from him and his dad how much I am like her and it just warms my heart. I am trying to get her old cookbook to start making her recipes because she was an amazing baker, and that part of cooking I lack a bit. Her name was Ruthie Owens, and I can forsee me naming my first daughter after her. Such a beautiful and graceful woman.

I also lost a parent recenly, about a year and a half ago, my Dad passed away after a short 6 week diagnosis of Esophageal Cancer. You can read more about that here. He was my best friend, and sometimes it still hurts that I can't talk to him 5 times a day like I used to whether I went and bugged him at his house or he called me all the time to see how my day was going. He was my biggest fan and supporter, and he still is and I feel him every day with me. 

My Dad also taught me how to cook growing up. I'm more of a savory than sweets kind of girl, so I don't bake as much as I throw some amazing recipes together in the kitchen. Scott is very thankful for this :-). To check out some of my recipes just click here.

When I'm in my car, I'm almost always listening to Christian Music. I would say that along with Hip Hop, Texas Country, and any Indy/Rock/Classic Rock is my taste in music. I can't pick a favorite, it really depends on my mood. Scottie and I are dancers. You will always find us on the dance floor whether we're two steppin' or straight up pop, lockin, and droppin it!

Growing up I was one girl with three brothers, and finally at 10 years old, I got a little sister I had always wanted! Maddie will be staying with in Austin (my whole family lives in Louisiana) for the next 3 weeks. I cannot wait to see what trouble we get into!! We have sooo much FUN, I really let my wild-side completely immature and dorkyness come out. Why not!? She will tell you how many times growing up when we shared a room I'd lock the door and turn on Lil Jon's "To the windowwwwws" and throw dance parties when she was like um... 3? :) Now I embarrass myself in front of her to embarrass her and I get such a kick out of it! Like overly dramatically singing Adele songs with the windows rolled down in traffic. Oh the fun....

 

 

I am 85% Italian and 15% Irish - My family comes from Sicily, Italy and and some of my dad's family is also from Ireland. I am told I have small bits of Welsh and Scottish too, but not much.

I have dreamed of being a nurse my whole life. I am pursuing an RN degree, but it is obviously taking a while and I haven't taken very many classes. Not so easy to school when you have to pay for it all. I've thought about taking out loans, but I would rather take my time and not be in debt. Not to mention still havin to keep a full-time job and pay those bills! But I am determined that I will be an RN in the future.

Most people see the usual birthmark on my face because it's a mole/dark next to my eye. I love it! What people don't notice, is the second one next to my OTHER eye! It's a lot lighter, and on the other side of my eye than the other.

My uncle is a famous music producer and I've always been so jealous - he created a lot of the songs for Sex and the City movies and also travels everywhere! He has a place in LA, Paris, France, New Orleans, New York, etc. So cool!

It is MUCH easier for me and prettier to write in cursive.

I am a sagittarius born on December 8... I fit the profile perfectly. It is the bow and arrow of the archer... It is a mutable sign, meaning being able to adapt to changes very well, also very positive and extroverted - very much into travel, meeting new people, and philosophy. I love being a December baby - it's far enough from Christmas that I always still got to demand 2 presents ;-).

I am an expert at guitar hero. Yeah you heard that right, betches!!

I have never been WEST of Lubbock, TX... and just finally recently went more North than Oklahoma when I took a drama-tour trip to NYC with my Mom and Sister. I need to TRAVEL. My main places I want to go is to tour Europe, and to go to California, Alaska, Chicago, Boston, and Las Vegasssss baby.

I am the biggest joke for italian and here is why: I cannot stand - Eggplant, Mushrooms, Olives, OR Italian Sausage... which are italian staples... guess I'll replace those with my Irish Beer-Drinking abilities :)

So there you have it! Some randoms about me.... do this linkup so I can read more about you!!

Memorial Day Weekend

Our Memorial Weekend went by too fast! Did yours? Most of the weekend, Scott and I spent apart as he attended a wild bachlor party... umm 6 hours at a strip club on saturday evening starting at 6pm!?... what do you even do at that point!? I asked him to spare the details....lol. We started the weekend off on Thursday attending the Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen Concert at Nutty Browns Cafe... it was so much fun! And I saw one of my best friends Joyce that I hadn't seen in over 6 months so I was a happy girl!

So while Scott was away on Friday and Saturday night, I got time to get my apartment ready for Maddie coming in town next weekend (my little sister is coming to stay with me for 3 weeks!!), I invited my brother Chris over to hang out, got some tanning accomplished (I'm finally getting so dark yay!) and took advantage of watching all my trashy/girly TV shows that Scott haaaates! :-)

When we were finally reunited (at 8am Sunday morning), we took it pretty lazy, streamed Church to our TV around 11am, then got up and made a late brunch after Church.

Starting the Memorial Celebration right, I cooked up some great eats and made the best margaritas I think I've made in a good while! Meanwhile, Scottie played me some new songs he taught himself on the guitar, which I LOVED considering he's now learned all these Randy Rogers Band songs.

I went to town in the kitchen, made bacon wrapped asperagus, cheesy grilled spicy ranch chicken, mixed whole grain rice with hot pico de gallo, and some black beans & avocado. Served with tortillas on the side and a fresh margarita!

Monday was spent more like a Sunday, just relaxing and getting things back in order for the week. I am so excited for my sister to be here, June is going to be insane! We have Maddie from June 2-23rd, on June 9th we have a wedding in Kerville, TX, June 15, 16, 17, and 22 are BIRTHDAYS being celebrated, Huxley turns 1!! We will be busy :-).

I definitely wanted to say thank you for all of those who have family or loved ones serving our country or have in the past. Lots of love for my cousin Tony who is in the Marines, and for my late Grandpa who served in the Navy. Happy Memorial day to you all!

How did you spend your long weekend!?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Buffalo Wing Turkey Burgers

Today marks day 4 of my 24 day challenge! I am actually surprised to say how easy it has been for me to avoid carbs, sodas, dairy, and have been doing really good at taking the ginormous horse pills they give me (which are nothing but vitamins and herbal supplements for detoxing the body).

Yesterday for lunch, I forgot to bring my chicken leftovers, so I walked over to Freebirds and did a salad with every vegetable they had but with no rice, only white meat diced chicken, and lime juice. Umm... who knew that could be soooooooooo good!? It took every bit of me to portion it out and not wolf down the whole thing!

Last night, I made Buffalo Wing Turkey Burgers.

This recipe is inspired by the cleansing program I'm doing with Advocare, and to be honest I was a little skeptical on how it tastes, but if you know how big of a buffalo sauce fan I am, I had to at least try it!

This is a very EASY & simple recipe!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. Lean Ground Turkey
1/2 cup Buffalo Sauce
1/2 cup Shredded Zuccini
1/2 cup mixture of diced tomatoes, onions, and cilantro (this is optional, but I loved it!)
Seasoning to taste: I used Garlic Powder and a Salt Free Burger Seasoning

Directions:
1. In a medium sized bowl, mix the turkey, zuccini, and seasonings (to taste)
2. Put some Olive Oil in a frying pan and get it hot to about a Medium-High heat
3. Make two burgers out of the 1/2lb and add to the pan
4. If you are using Pico de gallo or diced tomatoes, onions... add them next
5. Add the 1/2 cup Buffalo Sauce to the burgers
6. Cook about 4-5 minutes on one side then flip your patties (cook until well-done, 165 degrees with thermometer)

If you are carb-concious, I did one patty on top of a generous serving of romaine lettuce and sided with a cup of italian style cooked green beans. It was absolutely AMAZING. I cannot believe how delicious it was, and the Zuccini tastes great with the combination!!

Scott came home later in the evening and put his on a toasted wheat bun with cheese, light mayo, and more pico, and was I'm pretty sure his eyes were rollin in the back of his head he was so impressed and so I'm confident to say ANY way you make these will be perfectly delicious! :-) You can guarantee I'll be making these again and again during this challenge.

source: Yeah we totally ate both burgers before I snapped a pic. Can you tell they were amazeballs? :-P

*****************************************

Well friends, today is Thursday and is a busy day for Scottie & me! In Austin today they have the X Factor Live Auditions going on very close to my work, so we will be checking that out... but then rushing to Dripping Springs, TX for 7:30p for a concert of one of my favorite bands, Randy Rogers Band!! I brought my boots to work I'm so excited! :-) Pictures to come! 

Pinteresting Summer Go-To Recipes

I've been collecting some pretty delicious looking summer recipes on Pinterest and I thought that I would share with y'all some great go-to's that are super easy to make and can be eaten as appetizers for pool parties or just a summer meal for you and your boo! :-) If you aren't following me on Pinterest just yet, you should be so just click riiight HERE.

Baked Chicken & Spinach Flautas

.

Recipe HERE.

I actually made these last Friday night when we did our game night with the girls & guys! I was in a huge rush and got these together in only 45 minutes including prep time! What's even better is that they were a HUGE success!! Gone very quickly, I will definitely make them again and again!

Southwestern Egg Rolls with Avocado Ranch

Recipe HERE.

We all know everyone looooves Southwestern Egg Rolls and I am dying to see how Avocado Ranch tastes! This is a great appetizer idea for any get together not only during the summer, but all year round.

Summer Beer

Recipe HERE.

Last summer I made summer beer SEVERAL times and it is always a big success! Why have to choose between liquor & beer when you can have both!? :-)

Roasted Garlic Edamame Spread

Recipe HERE.

For a healthy afternoon snack, you can't go wrong with Edamame! I actually made this edamame dip for my small group bible study about a month or two ago, and it was a big hit - everyone wanted the recipe! What a great and light way to get your munchies on and you can pair with any veggies OR pita chips and it tastes great!

Black Bean Burger Patties

Recipe HERE.

An incredibly delicious way to enjoy your summer grilling favorites without all the fat and grease! It's insane how amazing a black bean burger taste, especially with the right seasonings and the obvious toppings that are endless! I absolutely recommend this recipe as it states from the girl who made it.. "It's a home-run for a summer meal. Easy, healthy, delicious." If you read into the recipe, that is an Avocado Cream Sauce that completes the meal perfectly with a corresponding recipe for that sauce.

Grilled Veggies

Recipe & Tutorials HERE.

Grilled vegetables are just the BEST. Perfect seasonings, perfect crispiness, just great for any summer dinner! If you click the link it will take you to grea tutorials on how to perfectly cook different types of veggies, and I personally found it very useful - hope you do too!

Watermelon Sorbet

Recipe HERE.

This is such a fun and delicious treat for the summer, ones your kids will be begging to eat after a long day of playing in the sun! This blogger really puts the recipe together easily and gives great tips on how to mix it up (ie. chocolate chips or lime juice mixture - anything!). Keep yourself cool by having this healthy but yummy cold snack.

Coconut Margaritas

Recipe HERE.

You can bet as soon as I even glimpsed on this picture I had to repin! I loove Coconut, but I reeeeeally love Margaritas! What a fresh, summery drink to enjoy & super easy to make. I will definitely be making these at upcoming pool parties and get togethers.

Homemade Salsa

Recipe HERE.

This weekend I am making this salsa! A perfect combination of spicy-ness while just a chunky and delicious flavor of the tomatoes you use! I also am going to attempt my Chuy's jalapeno ranch, and I'll be sure to post and tell you how it goes this time! Last time it was really good, but almost too cilantro-y and a little too liquidy (as the chuys creamy jalapeno is much more creamy).

*************************************

So there you have it. Some summer staples & recipes to go along with. Thank you Pinterest for always having great Go-To appetizer and drink recipes for when I need them most! :-)

&& Thank you Michelle for the linkup party! Happy Hump Day!

Green Monster Smoothie/10 Day Cleanse

For a few weeks now, I've been trying to start this 10 day cleansing process from Advocare. With all the traveling and fun events going on I've put it off a bit...okay a lot... a lot of what has to do about it is that the pills I am supposed to take are sooo big! :( So I started the working out, eating right, and drinking water for sure! Just no pills... so yesterday - I decided to overcome this "wigging" out phase I have on taking stupid horsepills and just doing it! Of course Scott was staring at me laughing and waiting... so I grabbed those suckers and stepped outside on the patio (just in case I were to make a fool of myself and spit the pills out or something haha - yes I know how ridiculous I sound).

This is the cleanse I'm doing, and now that I actually took the pills I'm supposed to be taking, I tackled the first day!! Yay! It's part of a 24 day challenge that I am doing. It's a total body detox and I have heard from many close friends that are doing it and have done it to be successful, your total body fat % goes down, and you typically lose an average between 12-20lbs in the 24 days. Your food diet is different as it's almost ZERO carb diet & no alcohol, smoking, any drink besides water or protein shake, etc. We'll see how it goes! I am hoping it works well to get me back into motion here.

What amazes me about the little energy drinks and fiber drinks the cleanse came with, they ACTUALLY taste really good!! That makes me happy, cause if something doesn't taste good, I don't care what nutritional value you are, I won't drink you!

So for breakfast yesterday, I had a greek yogurt with this new banana flaxseed with honey and dried blueberries, it was soo good!

My second meal was at 10:30am which I ate up a handful of almonds unsalted. Mehh I like mixed nuts better that are lightly salted.. I know these are healthier though AND kept me full til lunch!

I won't even go into detail about luch cause it was gross! Lemon Pepper Tiliapia with veggies... a healthy chocie low sodium meal... NEVER again. I will make my own meals from now on thank you!

I went and tanned & then drank my Spark Energy drink (tasted exactly like fruit punch, yum!) & for dinner I broiled some Salmon and sided with black beans and asperagus. One of my favorite no-carb meals with tons of proteins and veggies :-).

Today I made a green monster smoothie! Basically a regular protein shake with an extra kick of veggies (that you can't even taste!)

Added in some of theeeeeeese:

source

Green Monster Smoothie:

1 Scoop Chocolate Whey Protein Powder

1-2 tablespoons Peanut Butter

1 large handful of spinach

1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (You can also use regular milk, coconut milk, etc)

1 Cup Ice

Blend until smooth and drink away!

Confession: Okay, so the 4 Omega pills I have to take are even BIGGER than the health cleanse ones... so I chopped em up into powder form and put them in my smoothie.

Done and Done!

Yesterday I did an interval workout on the elliptical, and it kicked my bootay! Does anyone have other great workouts that are awesome for fat burning and muscle tone? Cause I am definitely looking for other great workouts too. Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!!

Weekend Things

Happy Monday! First I just want to say how thankful I am for your sweet & supportive comments on my last post that talked about my upcoming 5th dating anniversary with Scottie! Y'all mean the world to me, and I love sharing my heart with you!

This weekend was a blast! Friday night we met up with our bloggerFRIENDS for a co-ed game night... So fun!! I love these girls so much! These instagrams below were taken by Ruthie & Shalyn!

From left to right: Ruthie, Nikol, Shalyn, Stephanie, Brittany, Mallorie, Moi, & Jenni

Saturday night we attended one of my dear friends from my old work, Rena, & went to Lucy's off of West Ave and 5th St. in downtown Austin.... I LOVED this bar! Not only did they have LSU & Saints stuff everywhere (wahooo!), but ummm just found out they have 50c Margaritas on Fridays!!! What!? Sign me up!

The rest of the weekend was spent watching OKC whoop some a$$$ and a Chuy's date with my big brother Chris after Church yesterday!

Gahh, I could live off that Creamy Jalapeno... & those Martinis.... :-)

What did you do this weekend!?