Super Nachos for a Not-So-Super MNF

I had every intention of blogging yesterday, but it took me the full 24 hours to emotionally recover from MNF.  Is Tony Romo overrated?  Yes, just a little bit.  But for the love...why did he have to get hurt?  We were already doing so poorly this season.  This just seals the deal.  This gives me even more of a reason to strongly dislike Eli Manning and the Giants.  But I still love Miles Austin.  And my close friends know me all too well...as evidenced by this picture that I was tagged in on Facebook.

I fall in love all over again every time I see this side of him.

My brother, Jordan, and his fiance, Emily, live right across the street from me.  Convenient, right?  It's so nice to be this close to him and I LOVE getting to hang out with my favorite sister.  And it's also a plus that my cute little nephew, Jackson, is only right across the street so I can play with him anytime I want!  So Jordan invited me over for MNF this week.  Emily was working, so I agreed to cook dinner and have it ready when she got home so we could all hang out and watch the game.  Jordan, Emily, and Jackson are also avid Miles Austin fans.  We were all wearing our Miles Austin jerseys :)  So what was on the menu, you ask?  SUPER NACHOS!  It was super easy and super delicious.  It involved making homemade pico de gallo.  Mark my words...I will never purchase pico de gallo again...it's so easy and yummy when you make it on your own (probably healthier too)!  Here are the ingredients and directions for Super Nachos (serves 4):

Ingredients:
-2 bags tortilla chips (I used organic blue and yellow corn chips)

Pico del gallo:
-4 vine ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
-1 small white onion, chopped
-1/4 cup, 2 handful, cilantro leaves, finely chopped (can substitute parsley if you don't like cilantro)
-salt
-if you want a little kick, buy a jalapeno pepper, seed and finely chop it, and add just a little bit

Turkey and beans topping:
-1 Tbsp EVOO
-1 lb ground turkey
-2 garlic cloves, chopped
-1 small onion, chopped
-you can add some of that jalapeno pepper here also
-1 tsp salt
-1 1/2 tsp chili powder
-1/2 palmful ground cumin
-1 can (15-oz) black beans, drained

Cheese sauce:
-2 Tbsp butter
-2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
-2 cups milk
-3/4 lb pepper jack cheese, shredded, about 2 1/2 cups (if you don't like spicy, you can substitute with another kind of cheese here)

Directions:
-Chop all of your ingredients first (tomatoes, onions, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic)
-Shred cheese
-Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add oil, garlic, onion, and peppers for about 2 minutes.  Add turkey.  Add salt, chili powder, cumin.  Cook for about 5 minutes and then add beans, reduce heat to low.
-In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add flour.  Cook these 2 over medium heat for about 2 minutes, then whisk in milk.  When milk begins to bubble, add in cheese.
-Add additional toppings of your choice (sour cream, guacamole, etc.)

That's it!  Super Nachos are super easy!

Classy, Sassy, and Jobless

So I've been reading my friend Sarah's blog for months now and often considered starting one...so here I am.  I've also considered posting my resume on here since NO ONE WILL HIRE ME!!!  That's right people...I have two Bachelor's degrees, experience in a pediatric ER, a ton of volunteer hours, and no job.  I moved to Denver on October 1st with the help of my wonderful parents, settled into my apartment, and started the job search.  To date, I have applied for over 50 jobs and have pretty much been told "You are no longer being considered for this position due to lack of experience".  I'm sorry...what was I doing the last 15 months of my life?  That's right...gaining experience while in nursing school.  No hospital seems to agree with that though.  I've applied online, made phone calls, and visited Human Resources at a few hospitals.  Still...nothing.  I'm so thankful for my parents, who see my efforts and who are able to help me until I can find a job.

For the past 25 days (other than the job searching), I have had the opportunity to do a few fun things and meet some pretty amazing people.  Yesterday, you could find me at Invesco Field stalking...I mean, supporting...Tim Tebow and the Broncos.

I went to the game with Jordan's fiance/my favorite sister, Emily, and her awesome parents.  We had a great time even though the Broncos didn't show up.  AND it was my mama's birthday, so Emily's mom, Debbie, had the great idea of making signs to tell her Happy Birthday!

So what else have I been doing since obviously not working?  Watching Aggie football of course. 

 This is my sweet nephew, Jackson.  He loves Aggie football! 

I have also been doing a lot of running since I moved.  How could I not, when the weather is absolutely perfect?  This was taken at Red Rocks when I ran Run the Rocks 5K to help raise money for the American Lung Association.  I ran it with Emily and her co-workers from National Jewish.  It was so much fun (excluding the last mile which was straight uphill).  My lungs were burning to say the least...but I guess I was in the right place and with the right people if I had collapsed.  I've also been doing a lot of running at Washington Park ("Wash Park" as I was told by Jordan and Emily..."No one calls it Washington Park") and along the Cherry Creek Trail that runs through downtown.  It's absolutely beautiful here!  More stories to come!