Best Chili Ever and My Maven Fav of the Week

I have to say that today was cold and made me think of winter more than summer :(  So to warm myself up when I got back from errands I thought it would be perfect to make this chili I found on the Pearls, Handcuffs & Happy Hour blog.  Normally, chili is a winter/comfort food.  But seeing as how today there were a few flurries here this morning (I know eeek!), I definitely think this called for a chili dinner.  This chili is spicy just the way I like it and it is perfect with cheese on top with crackers or bread for dipping in this scrumptious dish.  Yum!

Chili
Source: Pearls, Handcuffs & Happy Hour
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 lb of ground beef
1 medium yellow onion
2 jalapeno peppers
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 (15 oz.) can of black beans
1 (15 oz.) can of pinto beans
1 can of Rotel

Extra Ingredients when serving:
Shredded cheddar and monterrey jack cheese
Crackers
Bread

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat.  Put in the ground beef and cook 7-10 minutes until no longer pink.  Add in the chopped onion, chopped jalapenos, garlic, chili powder and cumin, cook over medium low heat for 5 minutes.  Add the black beans, pinto beans, and the Rotel with their juices.  Bring to a simmer and cook on medium low for 25-30 minutes, covered.  Be sure to periodically stir the chili.  Remove from the heat.  Serve with shredded cheese, crackers or bread.  Enjoy, I know I did!

Maven Fav

My Maven Fav of the week is picks from Old Navy!!  On my day out, I happened to stop by Old Navy because I knew I would be needing new flip flops soon and I wanted it to feel like summer outside. Usually, I do just go into Old Navy and buy 2-4 pairs of flips flops and nothing else.  But not today!  They had so many cute things for summer not just flips flops but dresses, tops, shorts and suits.  I had so much fun looking in the racks and trying things on.  I swear I am like a kid in a candy store when it comes to clothes!  And most things were all at a good price for what you were getting so how can you beat that!  These are my top picks for spring/summer from Old Navy:

Pastel Blue Gingham Camp Shirt (I bought this one and it's light weight enough for spring and summer!)

Neon Pink Flip Flops (I bought these too, I would recommend going a size up than you normally do though)

Neon Lime Striped Sundress (This is so cute for a day at the beach, pair it with flips flops, sunglasses and a cute tote and you are good to go.)

Floral Print Top (Love this!  Did not buy however but I think I will have to make an emergency trip back. This would look great with skinny jeans, a skirt or shorts.)

Blue Canvas Shorts (This a nice bright blue color for spring/summer!)

Floral Chiffon Maxi Dress (Maxi dresses are essential for summer.  You can just throw them on with a cute pair of wedges.)

Which Old Navy pick is your fav?  Happy Weekend!

Colors of the Rainbow

Chic Find of the Day

Colors!  It is all about colors for spring and summer and for nail polish it is no different.  The range from neon pink to pastel green to bright yellow is fabulous.  Not only are they super fun to wear but with the color blocking trend, theses colors can go with a variety of outfits.  These are my top picks of chic colors for your tips! 

Essie in Turquoise & Caicos, found  here at target

Revlon in Coastal Surf, can be found  here

Chanel in Mimosa, can be found here

love & beauty in Neon Pink, can be found  here at forever 21

Which color will you be sporting for the spring and summer?

Welcome!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!  I am a twenty-something girl with lots of ideas and aspirations and I created this blog to document my journey through all of it.  Let's start with this yummy recipe of pulled pork and coleslaw sandwiches!

 Recipe of the Day

The recipe I made today is these yummy BBQ pulled pork and coleslaw sandwiches!  When I found this recipe on Pinterest I nearly keeled over.  One, it's getting closer to summer and nothing says that better than BBQ.  Two, this looked just like the BBQ pulled pork and coleslaw from Dinosaur BBQ.  And if you know Dinosaur BBQ, you know they have AMAZING BBQ!  

So I decided to make this and WOW it came out so delicious!  It definitely tastes like something they would serve at Dinosaur BBQ which is even better since it's just like eating at the restaurant.  How are you planning on getting ready for summer??  Enjoy the deliciousness!

BBQ Pulled Pork and Coleslaw sandwiches

Source: The Healthy Bites

Serves: 6

Ingredients for the Pork:

• 2 lbs of pork roast
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1/4 tsp of pepper
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of ketchup
• 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp of paprika
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 2 cups of water
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• additional, sandwich or hamburger buns

Ingredients for Sauce:

• 1/4 cup of cooking liquid
• 1 tsp of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of ketchup

Ingredients for Coleslaw:

• 3 tablespoons of light mayo
• 1 small container (6 oz) of plain yogurt
• 3 splashes of hot sauce
• 2 tsp of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp of pepper
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1 bag of coleslaw mix

Directions:

• Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over high heat.  Put salt and pepper on both sides of the pork and place the pork in the skillet.  Sear all sides until golden, about 2 minutes per side.  Then place the pork in the crock pot.
• Add the apple cider vinegar, ketchup, dijon mustard, paprika, salt, pepper, brown sugar, water, and onion to the crock pot with the pork.  Cook on low for 5 hours.  
• Remove the pork and onion from the crock pot to a serving platter.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the liquid from the crock pot.  Take two forks and shred the pork, the pork should shred easily.  
• In a small bowl, pour in the reserved liquid, brown sugar, and ketchup and mix well.  Pour the mixture over the pork and mix it together to coat evenly over the pork.  
• In making the coleslaw, mix the mayo, yogurt, hot sauce, sugar, vinegar, pepper, and salt in a large bowl.  Add in the coleslaw mix and toss to coat evenly.
• To serve, put 1/4 cup of pulled pork on bottom half of the bun, put 1/4 cup of coleslaw on the pork and top with half of bun.  Put additional BBQ sauce on sandwich if you want.  I did because I love BBQ sauce!  Enjoy!