Monday, October 28, 2013

Horse Country

Fall is my favorite season. Each year I look forward to wearing leggings, oversized sweaters, and boots. I love the holidays and seeing family and friends. Unfortunately it is one of the most difficult seasons to dress when it comes to weddings or fancier daytime events. There is an art to looking fashionable but not too summery. Darker colors and sleeves are key to a good fall dress.  As a worker in a boutique, I am daily helping women find the perfect dress to wear to any and every occasion. 

This past weekend I needed to find a dress for fall Steeplechase. In the springtime, a standard Steeplechase outfit for women consists of a Lilly sundress and matching floppy hat. Fall horse races are different. Not many women wear large sun hats. I still wanted to wear a dress but I needed something that was warm and not too summery. What a dilemma! But, I found the perfect dress! It was orange with light blue, navy, and black flowers. I paired it with my Marley Lilly riding boots and leggings. 

I received several compliments on both my dress and the dip I made for the tailgate. The only downer of the day was forgetting to bring the mango orange juice for the mimosas! 

My roommate and dear friend Holley! 

My sorority sister Caro! 

My date Matt sporting his Dogwood Stables hat! 
(Street Fight from Dogwood Stables won the first race!) 

Mirror picture before leaving and putting leggings on to keep me warm. 

Tailgating on the rail makes for an excellent view of the track. 

The girls at our tailgate! 

Now for the dip recipe which will rock your pasture! 

It was very easy to make. I found the base recipe on Pinterest but edited the amount of ingredients I put in to make it my own. 

-16 oz of reduced fat sour cream
- 8oz of cream cheese
- 3/4 cub of chopped ham (I bought premade chopped ham at Kroger) 
- 4 green onion chopped  
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (save a little to sprinkle on top) 
- 1 tsp of hot sauce 
- 2 tsp of Worshestershire sauce 
- salt
- pepper 
- Italian Bread Loaf (baked) 

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl except the loaf. Add the hot sauce and Worshestershire to taste. I added a little at a time to make sure they weren't overpowering. 

Cut the football shaped center top out of the bread and use a knife and spoon to carve out the center of the bread. 

Fill the bread bowl with dip. Sprinkle extra cheddar cheese on the dip. Wrap completely in tin foil. 

Bake the dip for 350 degrees for 1 hour (wrapped in tin foil)

It serves well immediately or after it is cool.
I used pita bread but any sort of chip would work well with it. 

The picture is from Pinterest because mine was gone by the time I thought to snap a shot! 

Ciao for now! 
Jaclyn 

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Let's Talk About Guac

One of my favorite snacks and my ultimate comfort food is guacamole. Growing up I would spend my summers at my grandparents' house in Miami. Their neighborhood was on an old mango orchard. My grandfather had many mango trees, a banana tree, and my favorite, an avocado tree. Florida avocados are very different than the avocados that are sold on Georgia supermarkets. Florida avocados are the size of my head and a haas avocado is the size of my palm. 

Here is my guacamole recipe which is based on the recipe from my Cuban grandfather. 

Ingredients: 
1 Roma tomatoes 
1/4 of a white onion 
A sliver of jalapeño pepper
A pinch of cilantro 
2 haas avocados (one Florida or California one) 
A bag of Tostitos Scoops chips! 

Finely chop (put in magic bullet) tomato, onion, a little bit of cilantro, and a sliver of jalapeño.
Cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, and scoop out the meat. Chop avocados. 
Mix the blended ingredients with the chopped avocados until you get a creamy but chunky consistancy. Scoop in and enjoy! 

Ciao for now! 

Jaclyn