Ladies and gentlemen… The 2014 Spring Training season at Salt River Fields is now in session!
Managed to catch this fly over as they finished the National Anthem this afternoon! I swear, I never get tired of working here! I love it.
Hope everybody ends up out in the Valley of the Sun at least once to catch one of these games. Our weather is too good to miss, this time of year!
Went and saw the best artist alive yesterday to get some color splashed into my sleeve and I’m so, so, so thrilled with how it turned out!
If you haven’t already, please check out my artist, he’s local to Glendale, Arizona and has endless talent and true creativity. He’s also amazing with cover ups and re-works. He can take a piece you hate and turn it into something you’ll love (which I plan on having him do to this ruined left arm of mine!) find him on Facebook at Art by Manny 2.0 and on Instagram @tattoomanny
The detail is incredible and that white ink makes it pop, so hard. It looks like a sticker on my arm, this photo doesn’t even do it justice…
I snapped a few photos at home after I cleaned it up…
I really can’t wait to finish now. It’s just so gorgeous to me. And meaningful.
Manny’s vision really brought mine to life and I couldn’t be happier to have found somebody who cares as much about the art on my body as I do.
Until next time…
Ever want to make a romantic meal for your man, but his “favorite” gets overdone and you want something new? Well, this might be the trick.
I had NO idea what to make this valentines, it literally snuck up on me and I wasn’t going to serve another booger and fries like I had planned…
So, with booger defrosted, I went at something new.
It’s a burger, covered in cheese and topped with a spicy gravy like sauce that has a huge black pepper kick. It’s made with chicken broth, from scratch and is pretty quick to whip up from your standard roux. The bed of fries is my tried and true baked fry recipe found here.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1 c bread crumbs, any kind
1 egg
1 tsp garlic powder/ onion powder
2 c chicken stock
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
cheese of choice
Ingredients for potato wedges are in the link, don’t forget about those!
Directions:
In a large bowl, mix the meat with the bread crumbs and egg and seasoning. If it’s too wet, add more crumbs, if it’s too dry add another egg, but the chances of that are sliiiiim Jim.
Now, shape those burgers like hearts. Over exaggerate the shape, because they’ll “meh” as they cook and loose shape.
I like to fry my turkey burgers in bacon grease. Because turkey doesn’t give off the essential oil that burgers get fried in, it’s a great alternative and you don’t have to use a flavorless option like vegetable oil or whatever else you were planning to use… Don’t have bacon grease? You will soon enough. Whenever you make breakfast, save your sausage or bacon grease in a glass bowl with a lid, in the fridge. It’s great for lots of things and stays good for longer than it’ll take you to use it.
Fry the burgers in a skillet over medium high heat, covered until they’re cooked, flipping a few times. There’s no “too done” with turkey, thus, no rare. They’ve got to be cooked THROUGH. If they crack, well, shit. That’s just the way the universe unfolds and it can’t be fixed. Don’t press the burgers, ever. Turkey tends to crack very easily because of less fat strands holding the ground meat together.
Prep those fries and get them in the oven asap. As soon as you throw down the burgers, preferably.
Then, start the sauce.
In a medium or small sauce pan, over medium high, melt the butter and add the flour, whisking until a hint of golden appears, making a proper roux.
Add the chicken stock, which I make from scratch, the recipe can be found here. (aaaah, future link!) Also add about a tablespoon, seriously, of black pepper. Salt to taste, if at all.
Whisk constantly until a gravy like consistency is formed, keeping in mind it’ll thicken as it cools.
When your fries are almost done, throw some cheese on those hearts. Literally and figuratively, because this meal’s a brick.
To assemble, pile fries on a plate, place a burger on top and smother with the sauce.
No garnish, to fancy pants, nada. Just some sexy deliciousness.
Enjoy!
Every year, I’m lucky enough to work the Street Eats Food Festival at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Arizona.
My DREAM is to own a food truck, so this festival is not only an incredible source of income (that I have to miss next year, because of my wedding. Yes, I’m sad, the food is THAT good. 
) so it’s a big deal for me.
For example, take a look at this grilled cheese from The Grilled Cheese Truck.
This is the “Grilled Mac n’ Rib” it’s been featured on the Food Channel and it’s amazing. It’s worth the wait, because, believe me, there is one. It can be an hour long if you don’t get there in time.
It’s a standard grilled cheese, but the outside is coated with a butter-mayo mixture that has a higher smoke point that just butter, so the sandwich cooks through before it burns on the outside. #fatkidlife Then, on the inside, is American cheese, a slice, yes, slice of mac n’ cheese and a portion of their slow cooked, pork ribs. It’s $7.25 on the street and various prices at a festival, but I don’t care what you have to pay, TASTE this bad boy. It’s amazing.
There is a ton of other good food at the festival, but the Grilled Cheese Truck is by far my favorite.
This was my view tonight from the VIP tent. I can’t believe I had a minute to breathe and take the photo on the right. It was SO busy it was insane!
If you are in the area, in the January-February time of year, look for the festival and make a point to stop by! I’m always tending bar, somewhere!
Yum!
Tonight, after work, walking to the car, the view was insane. There must have been a wedding on Camelback because there were paper lanterns being let off into the sky and actually landing all over the fields. It was gorgeous, but it’s so dry that I’m surprised they weren’t aware of where the lanterns would land! Anyway, it made for a gorgeous photo to end the night!
No, this is not good for you. Nor is it low in calories, vegan, vegetarian or gluten free. This, is just plain ole comfort food. Because life is meant to be lived. Sure, you may fit into your skinniest jeans, but do you want to look back on a life of sad salads and fruit-ish smoothies, peppered with the stalks of nutrient rich weeds? I think not. But, that’s the Southern woman that raised me talking. 
Honey.
This dish is totally freezable, making it pretty easy. Sure, the sauce is roux based, but when made in bulk, it’s not that bad.
Ingredients & Directions: No exact measurements here, it depends how much you want to make and most of this is eyeballing anyway. I’ll amend with measurements…. Maybe? About a pound of shells and two cups of ham works for this recipe, using a large casserole dish.
Cooked and diced ham, I buy the big ass hams when they’re on sale, I use everything including the bone. For more on this click here.
Shells, cooked al dente and drained
Grated extra sharp cheddar cheese about 2 cups
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of garlic powder or minced garlic
For the sauce: It’s a roux, so you’re going to start with some butter and flour over medium to medium-high heat. Equal parts butter and flour, so if you’re starting with 2 tbsp of butter, use about 2 tbsp of flour. Melt the butter, whisk in the flour and keep it moving until it’s just started to have a hint of goldenness to it. If you’ve got fresh garlic, add it now, incorporating it fully. Garlic powder can be added with the flour initially.
Add milk 2% and about 1-2 cups, whisking until it’s fully incorporated into the flour mixture and there are no lumps.
Whisk almost continuously, until milk starts to simmer and roll a low boil. Adding the cheddar cheese and whisking to mix it fully. In addition, about another cup of milk, whisking and boiling to reduce. Keep in mind that the sauce reduces slowly and not much volume is lost, so however much milk you add, is about how much sauce you’re going to get. Reduction is only about 1/5 total.
Mix pasta, sauce and ham in a large casserole dish. Cover with crushed ritz crackers or bread crumbs, whatever kind of crumbles you’ve got, but a nice crunch on top is key! I like to add a little cayenne kick on top too.
Bake, uncovered at 350 until bubbly and brown, serve with a crusty bread or a fresh salad!
Enjoy!
The schedule for this coming season is up!
Make sure you get your tickets and come on out to see me at a game, grab a cold one and enjoy our beautiful Arizona spring weather.
Follow me on Instagram @Peachy_ChiChi to find out where I’m bartending at that day!
Photo is from Salt River Fields website.
So, I discovered the restaurant supply store the other day and copped myself a new wok. I literally only cook in them for stir fry, but, I just… Needed one.
Then last night, I had a girlfriend over for dinner and I decided I’d make us a quick and easy stir fry. Well, while it was delicious, I got a little side tracked with the wine and just cooked dinner. There’s suppose to be a bit of a definitive crunch to your veggies and I went ahead and cooked that right out.
So, pardon my photo if it’s a bit… Limp. It was delicious anyway.
INGREDIENTS:
1lb of skirt steak/flap meat (I use this cut, because it’s thin, lessening cooking time and it’s always cheap.)
2oz Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce
1oz Kikkoman Soy Sauce
1/2 head of garlic, minced
1/2 c dry white wine
2 large carrots
1 pkg of bean sprouts
2 stalks of celery
1/2 lb fresh green beans
1/2 white onion
1/2 head of broccoli
1/2 red bell pepper
There’s no science to this. You can marinate the meat or not, just make sure than when you’re ready to cook, you’ve got a well oiled wok. That’ll help the food to skid around and get evenly cooked THROUGH, quickly.
Basically, chop the meat and then chop your veggies, cook the meat first, leaving the majority of the marinade in the bag or bowl.
Once the meat is cooked, add the veggies and a little additional teriyaki and a splash of wine to the hot wok and toss around until they’re crisp, but cooked through. I usually add carrots and broc first, then the less dense veggies, that way I don’t have raw carrots and caramelized onions.
The rice, I just cook on the side, using either white or brown and chicken broth. I make my own broth, so I know my rice is packed with vitamins, not sodium. Take the time and do the same for your family, the benefits of bone broth are endless.
This is a quick meal for the week days, while being really fresh. If you have older kiddies or a helping husband, let the veggie chopping to someone else and make a team effort out of dinner!
And, above all, ENJOY!
I love pasta. Who doesn’t? And at any quality restaurant here in Scottsdale, a pasta addiction will break the bank. Fortunately, I figured out how to hack many of my favorite dishes as well as create my own. And what’s easier than a meatball?
Mainstream meatballs are often all beef, fatty beasts, riddled with Lord knows what if you’re buying the pre-cooked, freezer babies that are every college kids bff. (“I’ll boil the water, you microwave the balls, we’re getting fancy tonight!” –Said no one, ever.) But a good meatball? Well, that’s just a fine art.
Let’s get to the balls, shall we? 
I use to make all turkey meatballs… But they’re a little plain for my taste, so whenever I find a good quality, spicy Italian sausage on sale, I grab a pound or two and make some meatballs. Turkey can usually be found for pretty cheap, although this new brand from Smart and Final has me a little creeped, because I can’t find shit about it online. “Where’s the turkey from?” “Idk, I just found it on the shelf!” Yum….?
Anyhoo, creep turkey aside…
I like my two kinds of meats, turkey’s for the bulk, the spicy sausage for the flavor. I use granulated onion and garlic, because once frozen, those two ingredients, diced and mixed into the balls, would be gross, I feel. Loss of moisture, transfers of moisture upon cooking, random moisture where there shouldn’t be moisture… What a gross word. So, granulated is the way to go.
Use whatever kind of Italian seasoning you want, a mix of oregano, basil and thyme kind of work universally for me. Basil can get overpowering as HELL, so go lightly.
I use eggs and breadcrumbs, just like in my turkey burgers, to keep things together. Turkey can tend to fall apart when cooked, so breadcrumbs and egg act like a glue when they’re cooked, to hold everything together. Meatloaf magic, your mom knows all about it…
There’s really no exact science to the ingredients. Usually one egg does the trick per two pounds of meat or so. A large handful of bread crumbs is usually sufficient as well, if your meatballs won’t form well and are sticking to your hands, which turkey tends to do, add more breadcrumbs until it’s easier to work with. Seasonings are really just to taste, but I use about a table spoon of each herb, a teaspoon or two of black pepper, granulated garlic and onion and just a pinch of salt.
Since I freeze mine, I use a cookie sheet with foil or wax paper so that I can freeze these bad boys then throw them into a bag.
Mix all your ingredients with your hands, but wash them first, please.
Form yo balls, plop them down, freeze them.
To reheat, just thaw them and either boil them in a tasty marinara or bake them in the oven, which is what I did in the photo above. Either way, they’re perfect, every time.
Class dismissed.
I have been neglecting my blog lately more than ever and it’s going to stop. I’ve been side tracked with my busy toddler and working and it’s going to stop, today.
I need more facets to my life and this is something I’ve been missing. I ran out of creativity and have just let this blog go to the birds…
I appreciate that I still have views, but it’s time to step it up and get back into the blogging life.
So my resolution is to be back here, blogging.
No matter what you celebrate, I hope your holidays are wonderful, happy and bright.
One love.
While the rest of the nation is stuck in a cold snap, I’m over here complaining that it’s just under 60 outside today…
But, winter is winter and here I am with my spicy take on a toasty and tasty tortilla soup!
This is pretty easy if you want to go with canned ingredients. Or if you’re a freezer lady, like me, it’s all out of the freezer or fresh, so it’s still pretty easy… It is soup, after all.
I have chicken broth, black beans, onions, corn, bell peppers and chicken ready to go in the freezer. I went out and grabbed a couple Roma tomatoes and used a leftover can of green chiles I had bought for a dip and never used. (Seriously, canned food is lonely in my pantry. It hangs out with the lingering cans of tuna but even that canned fish I grew up knowing and loving is making it’s way out of my diet.)
So, let’s get some ingredients, which are approximate, because I freeze crap in bulk and don’t measure much as I take it out.
About 16oz of shredded chicken
32oz of chicken broth
2cups of black beans, rinsed and drained
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1cup green bell peppers, diced
1cup onions, diced
2cups of corn, diced
A few cloves of garlic
Directions:
Dump it all in the crock pot. Just throw that shit in there all willy nilly like. You’re in a hurry, aren’t you? That’s what a crock pot meal is for… So dump that shit, turn it on low if you’re not that hungry or turn it on high if it’s time to eat.
While you’re waiting, either open a bag of tortilla chips or bust out a stack of corn tortillas, preheat your oven to something hotter than the pavement in the summer and grab a pizza cutter. Slice up the tortillas, however you want and throw them on a baking sheet. Salt, season, oil, spit shine those bad boys, however you prefer and pop them into the oven until they’re crispy!
Serve it all together, maybe a little cheese on top, maybe not, that’s okay too, but tortilla that soup up and you’re done!
Enjoy, guero.
What is an aebleskiver?
They’re like pancakes, but smaller… And round, and fluffy… And you can’t get enough.
I grew up eating these during the holidays. I was lucky enough to have a grandmother who wasn’t far from her tall, pale, European roots. She wasn’t blessed with the culinary gift, but once a year, she got down and we feasted.
It’s actually Æbleskiver, pronounced able-skee-ver. In Dutch, it means, ‘apple slices’, which, I don’t quite understand, but it works for me. They’re marketed in America as ‘pancake puffs’… 
The more you know.
Ingredients:
1 c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c milk
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
Your pan is very important.
I’ve seen quite a few kitschy little pans that won’t do you any good.
You need a solid material like cast iron to heat evenly to give you quality skeevers.
Don’t cut corners on a good pan, it will last a life time.
Now, let’s make a big ole pile of awesome.
Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, stir together the milk and the egg yolks until well combined. Add to the flour mixture, stir until smooth.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer, on high, until stiff peaks form. Now, this can seem like a daunting task if you’ve never done it before, and you’re like me, you might think you’re doing it wrong. Keep mixing, keep that shit on high and things’ll, you know, get stiff.
Gently fold beaten egg whites into batter with a spatula, GENTLY, leaving some puffs of whites. Now is not the time to just mix like a mad housewife, be gentle with the air bubbles you’ve taken so long to beat up, because that’s where the fluff of this glorious puff comes from. You’ll notice that towards the end of this process, your last skeevers of the batch will be flatter than the first. It’s your batter. It’s, deflating… Frowny face.
Place the pan over medium heat, lightly brush or spoon a little oil of your choice into each cup. We used Crisco while I was growing up, butter, margarine, whatever your preference is fine, just as long as the flavor isn’t strong, obviously.
When the oil sizzles, spoon about 2 tbsp of batter into each cup, so that they’re about 2/3 of the way full.
They’ll start to form bubbles, get crispy on the edges and look like they want to be flipped over, in about 1 or 2 minutes, depending on the heat.
Use a fork, or like me, two forks, and flip that little fucker in its shell. It’s a tricky little process, but if you mess up, use a toothpick to tuck the excess batter back into ball form and you’ll get the hang of it.
Flip each skeever and cook until shell is formed and they’re golden brown all over.
Pick out and transfer to an oven safe dish, in a warm (300) oven until they’re all finished.
Garnish with powdered sugar and syrup and ENJOY!
For those of you following along, I started a new sleeve last month, check out my first session here.
Today, I went and got a little more done, not much, unfortunately, but some. Honestly, I’ve been having to take my little one with me and it’s SO hard to be in Mommy mode and get inked, for me at least. I’m a pansy and I have to go to “my happy place” or be extremely intoxicated to deal with this kind of pain, so having to be alert, aware and interacting with my son, was a task. He was having a hard day anyway, so I tapped out early this time.
I still got a little bit done and I can’t wait to see what Manny is going to do with this piece!
Stay tuned!
The decorations did, at least.
I have to go out of town with my son for Thanksgiving and then we’re driving to California for Christmas to see family, so with all this traveling, I feel like I might not get the opportunity to enjoy my decorations this year.
SO, I put them up early.
And I’m not even mad.
I love my around the door wreath thing that I clip cards to. And my good ole Johnny Cash Christmas vinyl album that I scored at Good Will. Solid find. Got to have Santas Sack and a couple sock monkeys up in the tree… If you haven’t noticed, I like a shabby, vintage Christmas.
Next year, I’m going to stay home and make an obscene amount of decorations… Yep.
I hope everybody has a wonderful holiday season!
Being an ASU girl, I love Mill Avenue. It’s an ever-revolving door of food, bars, clubs, shops and people. After my brother moved out here when I was young, I’d come spend the summer with him and he’d take me out to walk around Mill, have ice cream and people watch.
As I got older, it became the party spot, easy bars to get into on a fake ID and again, lots of people. Now, I’m too old to go party down there, it’s FAR from my “scene” anymore, but I still love the ever changing face of Mill.
My favorite new addition would have to be the The Handlebar. They’re an adorable little spot with a GREAT patio that I absolutely love, but haven’t taken pictures of yet, so mosey on over to their website for that! They offer a little bit Hipster vibe with a industrial décor and vintage feel over-all. The patio is full of big shady trees and big wooden tables, perfect to get a bunch of friends together on a gorgeous day. The staff is always beyond friendly, it’s one of my favorite things about the place. Every time we’re in, they let us sample beers, answer questions and offer up little interesting tid-bits about your
Whenever we get the chance, we take a little putt on over there!
My favorite thing to get there is the grilled cheese. It’s cheddar on Ciabatta that’s been brushed with a sundried tomato pesto. It’s delish. Wash it down with a tall Yella Pils and you’re set!
BON APPETIT!
P.S.,
Aren’t we an adorable couple of biker babes? 
Back in 2009, I did a corset piercing for Dan Brailey at the Body Art Expo, in Pomona, California. I slapped an H2Ocean sticker on my shirt to keep it pulled down and away from my corset and a promotional partnership was born without even trying.
I walked by the booth and the guys they had working for H2Ocean, asked me to pass out fliers. I did. A few years later, I got a dermal anchor piercing by Sean Dowdell at Club Tattoo in Tempe, Arizona. He put 12 anchors in my chest and I had NO idea I was pregnant…
I bombed his shoot he set up for me, because I was sick, fat and didn’t know why and to make matters worse, by the end of my pregnancy, my dermals had completely rejected and some had even fallen out! I couldn’t get anybody to cut them out, because I was pregnant and only a handful of shops in that area had just STARTED to give dermals.
I kept them in, while I had my son, even having to sign a waver because the uneducated nurses at the hospital didn’t know what they were and caused a scene, trying to say they might not be able to admit me with out my signature. They were afraid that if I needed a c-section, that when they cauterized, the metal would burn my chest. I’m not sure how that all works, but I can’t think I’m the first girl to pop out a child, with an anchor in her somewhere.
So I signed my life away, had my son and quickly after headed to American Made Tattoo (Now closed) and had them cut out by Angela. She did an amazing job, there’s no way to tell I even HAD 12 dermals in the chest, ever, let alone, had them cut out!
And the entire time, I was draining cans of H2Ocean Salt Spray like it was going out of style. I tried everything before. Salt soaks, rubbing alcohol, like you aren’t suppose to, anti-bacterial soap, ew, everything. It was a disgusting mess. H2Ocean was the only thing that kept my chest from getting infected. Sexy, right?
NOW, I use Aquatat on my new ink to keep it right in this crazy desert weather. Especially when I’ve got to go sling dranks with new ink and can’t reapply or fuss with it often.
After I got back into modeling, I had issues with photographers letting me use their photos for H2Ocean, although I’m not sure why somebody would turn down exposure, it’s not up to me to decide, so I had to keep shooting and talking to photographers to find somebody willing to let me share their work! Finally, FINALLY, I was able to get a few photographers on board.
Find me here!
“Don’t be aftercareless!”
Find H2Ocean Models on:
Twitter: twitter.com/H2Ocean
Instagram: @H2OceanModels
Facebook: Facebook.com/H2OceanModels
