My latest Life in the Big Country Newsletter is out! Packed with Trends, Forecasts for 2015, Statistics of the local market and the big reveal of who Forbes Magazine named as the #1 place in the US to retire…. I bet you can guess!!! Exciting things happening in real estate in Abilene! These photos are just a few of the pages – let me send you the whole report for November statistics.
We celebrated Jeff’s birthday surrounded by his close friends at our home and I had a blast planning it and trying to keep it a secret from him. I told him it was a cocktail for my friends to meet Lisa. I wanted to share a few of the recipes and things I did.
In preparation I decided to have wine and beer. I have galvanized tubs that I put the wine bottles in with ice. I bought stemless wine glasses that are plastic, reusable and good for outside. I also decided my theme would be the Fleur de Lis since Jeff and I shared our first weekend together when we met in New Orleans. Our home is decorated with many Fleur de Lis items so this was an easy theme. I purchased cocktail napkins with the symbol on them and Happy Birthday Jeff. An inexpensive way to add a touch to any event. I also ordered koozies that have the Fleur de Lis Sportsman Paradise on it with Happy Birthday Jeff. This was a take home item for everyone and nice to have to hold their canned drink in at the party.
Tortilla Roll-ups
2 – 8 oz packages of softened cream cheese, 1 – 4 oz can chopped green chilies, 1 – 4 oz can Chilie Chipotle. I only used a few of the jalapeños in the can and cut them is to small pieces like the green chilies, 8 chopped green onions, 2 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp picante sauce, 1 package of flour tortillas, any size Mix well. Spread thickly on flour tortillas. Roll up and chill for 2 hours. Slice into 1/2 inch slices.
Bacon Crostini
Bag of Small toast you can usually find in the bakery, Jalapeño real bacon bits equivalent to about 3 slices, 1 cup of shredded cheese, your choice, 1/2 cup of mayo, 1/4 cup of toasted almonds, 1 tbsp of chopped green onions Mix and put a droplet on each piece of toast. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes
Cajun Mex Dip
1st layer: Mx: 1 – 8 oz package of softened cream, 2 tbsp mayo, 1 clove of crushed garlic, 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce, sprinkle in Tony’s Seasoning. Spread of the serving dish, chill until firm 2nd layer: 1 package of guacamole 3rd layer: picante sauce 4th layer: chopped shrimp. I like to take fresh shrimp and sauté it in butter, olive oil and Tony’s seasoning. You can use the cans of tiny shrimp too. 5th layer: chopped green onions Serve with chips
Kahlua Brie
1 whole wheel of Brie
1 cup Kahlua
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
Serve with crackers or green apples.
Slice the rind off the top of the Brie wheel, but do not remove completely. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the top once baked.
Heat the Kahlua and brown sugar for about 15 minutes. The last 2 minutes put the pecans in. Drizzle over the brie.
And the biggest surprise was Jeff and I sharing a piece of his birthday cake. He had Larry hide a gorgeous diamond cocktail ring in it for me. It reminds me so much of the ring my grandmother gave me before she died that was lost years ago. I put it right back on that finger. I love this new cocktail ring and how much it compliments the bracelet he gave me for Christmas, but more than that I love him. He then said don’t ever try to pull one over on me, the surprise is on you. I was speechless.
Jeff and I tried a version of this at Copper Creek restaurant and loved it! We created our own and enjoy it immensely!!
This photo was with our lemon vodka but we really prefer cucumber vodka.
To make one martini:
2 slices of cucumber and 1 strawberry – muddled in the bottom of the shaker
2 oz of Effen Cucumber Vodka – we have used regular vodka, and citron vodka but prefer cucumber. Effen is the brand from Holland
¾ ounce of fresh lime juice
1 ounce of simple syrup
ice
shake and serve
ENJOY!!!
Delicious and Refreshing!
Jeff’s Stuffed Baby Bellas
Let’s just start with – I did not like mushrooms whole and stuffed. Jeff does not like it when I say I don’t like something I haven’t tried. So he’s right and I’m wrong because I now love stuffed mushrooms! The first time he prepared them my initial thought was ‘you can do it, you can eat it!’ After the first bite, I was forever in love with Jeff’s Stuffed Baby Bellas! So here’s our latest recipe I wanted to share with you.
I was grocery shopping and saw this salad dressing. It looked fabulous and right below it is where the baby bellas were! I got home without the intention of preparing together. I wanted Jeff to prepare the baby bellas and I was going to chop avocados and green onions and top with my new cilantro dressing. Well Jeff and I love to cook together and look at the delicious combination we created. So don’t be a skeptic like me. Try it! I think you’ll love it!!
You’ll need:
Package of baby bellas. They need to be about a 1.5 to 2 inch internal diameter (where the stuffing goes). Any smaller and it takes away from the taste.
Wash and de-stem the mushrooms
Trim the soft ring out of the inside of the mushroom with a paring knife
Melt butter and paint it on the mushrooms
Put the baby bellas on a cookie sheet open-side down and bake for 2 minutes at 425 degrees
Take out of oven
The stuffing can be anything you desire. We change it each time. For the pictured Baby Bellas here we used:
Jeff fried bacon sausage and crumbled
1 avocado chopped in small chunks
Green onions chopped fine
Turn the mushrooms open-side up.
We mixed the sausage, avocado and green onions and put in the mushrooms.
We covered the stuffing with a Cilantro dressing and shredded 6 italian cheese.
We baked the mushrooms at 425 degrees until the cheese melted and they look less firm on the sides.
Have fun stuffing your baby bellas with your favorite ingredients! From our kitchen to yours! ENJOY!!
You are going to love this meal!
Jeff and I love to cook and we love to cook together!
I have eaten and cooked venison for so many years but I can assure you I’ve never had it the way Jeff prepared it this week. He is the BEST venison cooker ever!! He prepared the venison and I prepared the rest. Here’s our latest recipe and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
6 small ears of corn, grilled then removed from the cob. We used corn already de-husked but prefer to roast corn in the husk.
Ready to husk hot off the grill
5-7 sweet mini peppers and a large bell pepper
1 jalapeño or poblano pepper
grape tomatoes to amount desired
1 sweet onion
Our favorite olive oils are fresh from Olive Oil stores like Cordell’s in Abilene
We sliced the above next 4 vegetables, coated them with olive oil and grilled them together. We added the tomatoes towards the end.
Fresh tortillas. I buttered a flat tortilla pan and let the tortillas cook to be slightly crispy/hard. Don’t let them burn. We used unsalted butter.
We used venison steaks or you can use beef tenderloin. Season with Montreal Steak coated on both sides. Then use a mechanical meat tenderizer which pokes holes to tenderize and season if you have it. Heated the grill to 650 degrees and put venison steaks on for 1 minute to 1 minute 15 seconds on each side. Take off and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. The temperature of the grill is VERY important. If your grill won’t get this hot you will need to cook it a little bit longer but DO NOT overcook it. Medium rare is the appropriate way to cook venison.
Sliced to put on tortillas. Covered or to side is where your grilled vegetables will go on the open-faced tortillas.
Sliced Venison seared on the grill
Mix ahead of time to then pour over the vegetables and venison:
garlic cloves to taste
3 tablespoons of lime juice
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 cup of a flavored olive oil – I used cilantro roasted onion
and cilantro chopped
Topped with our homemade dressing and ready to eat!!
We coupled this meal with a salad – spinach, sliced roasted almonds, blue cheese crumbles, tomatoes, avocados and Dark Chocolate infused Balsamic Vinegar from Cordell’s.
If you have never had venison this way, I can promise you will think you are eating filet mignon. It’s that good and that tender. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!!
The Table is Set and we are ready to enjoy dinner together!!
We set the table every night! Dinner is such a special time together – preparing and enjoying life’s sweet moments. AND the soup on the side is my homemade venison vegetable that Jeff loves!! Next recipe blog!!
December 6 is always a tough day for me. 11 years ago my grandfather died on this day. I know they say time heals but I still miss him and cry when I think about him.
My life was blessed with 2 men who up until now I would consider to be the most influential and important. My grandfather who I called ‘Dad’ was the first. I lived with him and my grandmother until I was about 11. They worked at the Mexia State School where he was the Chaplain as well as a Chaplain for the State of Texas. He touched many lives, and brought many to Christ. They worked tirelessly with the mentally handicapped and were so loved by these students. I was fortunate enough to be with him when he was honored with Citizen of the Year by the Governor of Texas. My grandfather taught me what passion in a job truly was, and how to treat people with dignity and kindness. He was a constant guide when times would get dark for me and his unfaltering love for the Lord gave me strength when needed the most. He would always tell me, “Robbie Lynn everything can be fixed. Just have faith in Jesus Christ.” My grandfather gave me wings and he made me fly!
My mother met who would become the next important man in my life in Dallas in 1980. I was 14 years old. Bill and a friend of his were out and he asked my mom to dance. That dance changed their life and they soon married. I didn’t get to know him until I was 17. However, the friend who he was out with was married and soon my mom became close to he and his wife and a lifetime friendship began as well for the two couples.
Bill is the only grandfather on my side that my children know. He taught me that family is not always blood. Love is family. He has treated me and my children as if we were his own and quite frankly he would argue that we are his own! Bill has guided my children with stern, yet loving, discipline. He never demanded respect, he earned it. He has shown my boys how a woman should be treated. The reason I never gave up on the hope that I would meet a wonderful man is because of the way he treats my mother. All I ever wanted in life was for a man to be kind to my mother, and she found it.
Robbie and Jeff
I knew I could find that too and I was not going to settle for anything less. I mentioned my stepdad asking my mom to dance and that he was with someone the night they met. The man my stepdad was with was his best friend, Jeff’s father. 33 years later that dance was the divine order that brought me to the love of my life, Jeff Johnson. And now another man who has become one of the most important in my life and who I love so deeply. Isn’t it interesting how events so long ago still create our destiny today? There’s a saying by Deepak Chopra which I love and it fits so appropriately in my new life journey with Jeff. “Even when you think you have your life all mapped out, things happen that shape your destiny in ways you might never have imagined.”
I have never been so blessed in a relationship filled with love and kindness as I am now. Jeff and I have talked about the events of first ‘not’ meeting many years ago to now what brought us together. There were even other things that came in to play in the last 6 months that we feel were in divine order. Our paths finally crossed 27 years from when we were supposed to first meet and I thank God everyday for blessing me with Jeff’s committed love.
As I remember my grandfather on December 6 my sadness is finally lifted by the love I have with Jeff. Jeff has shown and proven that there are good men in this world, just like my grandfather and my stepfather.
Welcome to an incredible experience!
Have you been to an Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar tasting bar? We certainly had not and were amazed at how enjoyable the experience was!
Robbie Lynn & Jeff visit Con’ Olio
While in Austin for the weekend, Jeff and I discovered a great Olive Oil store, Con’ Olio Oils and Vinegars. The store is set up with all of the extra virgin olive oils and aged vinegars in labeled large stainless storage containers. As you browse looking at the oils and vinegars from all over the world, you can taste as many as you would like.
We tasted a variety of vinegars and olive oils and since we both love healthy eating, we purchased 4 to start with. They are poured into the desired bottle size of choice and packaged as we shop.
This store is limited to Austin with plans to expand to Houston and Dallas. Each of the oils and vinegars have an expiration date and come from a plethora of countries. I purchased Tangerine Balsamic Vinegar, Espresso Bean Balsamic Vinegar, Maple Balsamic Vinegar and Chipotle Olive Oil.
Go to the web where you can order on line. The reviews from others have been outstanding as well – check out the Yelp reviews.
Have a taste!
You also might want to download your Belly App to get rewards for visiting. In case you don’t know what Belly is, this app has basically replaced punch cards for visiting businesses where all of your cards are now on line!
Jeff’s Fabulous Dinner!
We have enjoyed cooking with the different oils and vinegars – from just salads to this entire dinner Jeff prepared using all of the choices we purchased.
Jeff and I highly recommend the Con’ Olio tasting experience. Let us know what you think!
The staff was fabulous!
Steve’s Deli Entrance
Jeff has talked about Steve’s Deli since we met! And now I understand what he was raving about!
On my last visit to Brownwood, we made it a point to visit Steve’s Deli. Well it was worth it! It was probably one of the neatest places I’ve ever been too.
Steve and Steve, the owners, have poured their lives together into the old downtown building which they also live in a section of. Before I even entered the restaurant I was fascinated with all the antiques and plants that line the front of the building and down the alley.
The line forms here!
Jeff shared how daily at lunch there is a wait down the sidewalk and the two Steves have even set up a ‘holding overflow’ room in between the restaurant and their home. I so enjoyed viewing the history of items in there as well.
This tiny restaurant seats 18 and has been featured in many publications. The food is incredible and enabled me to understand why so many dine daily. I ordered the Fredericksburg Club which is turkey, swiss, bacon, with raspberry chipotle sauce. I loved that Steve knew Jeff and exactly what Jeff would order – the special of the day.
All regionally grown ingredients are used in their meal preparations and they even sell organic and local products. There is a different tea each day, which they also sell in tea bags, and I got to enjoy a coconut tea which I loved. Jeff already knows that I will be buying tea for us at Steve’s Deli.
The Topless Nun!!
The atmosphere is very eclectic, with a mix of antiques and the old world of a deli with modern day art. My favorite piece is the topless Nun…… you can imagine the PR that this has brought them! The walls are lined with memorabilia including many famous people who have graced the doors to enjoy one of the best sandwiches in Texas.
And don’t miss visiting the restroom. About the size of an airplane restroom complete with chandelier and a toilet with a sink on top – just like you would see in Japan!
I can certainly understand why Texas Monthly has rated it as one of the Top 20 Small Town Texas Restaurants. It’s worth the drive to Brownwood! Enjoy!
Our Travels and Life in Texas! 