italian meatballs

Last night we had a banquet for our Mary Kay unit to celebrate our successes and it was a yummy Italian feast!  I love potluck occasions because they help me branch out in my cooking.  So of course I decided to volunteer to bring something I had never made before, and then waited until the last minute to find a recipe and cook up a storm.
Classic Cassie.

Great Texas Food Truck Rally

I say it a lot... I like to eat!  So when my friend Kristina mentioned a LivingSocial deal for the Great Texas Food Truck Rally, we immediately bought tickets.  So Chris and I headed to Dallas on Saturday to meet up with Kristina and her husband and do some food truck grubbin'!

The social house fort worth

If you're looking to get social this weekend, you may want to try The Social House in West 7th!  (If you're in Dallas, there are also locations in Uptown and Addison).  Chris and I went here for the first time a few days ago and we were really impressed with the happy hour.  Of course, any place that has 100 different beers on tap is right up our alley! ...even though I did drink wine :-P 

the perfect summer dessert

Today I'm sharing a super easy dessert recipe that is perfect for summer.  In my family, we simply call this "the green stuff".  But I guess the official name is Pistachio Nut Dessert.  It is only 6 ingredients and it's so yummy and light, so it won't make you feel ridiculously full.

Main Street Eats

Today is a busy day!!  I'll be headed to Dallas in a little while for a great My Forward Life branding event.  Anytime I have to go to Dallas from Fort Worth, it can really cut into my timeline so unfortunately today's post is short and sweet.  Not to mention, I think I'm still moving a little slow this week due to my post-Main Street food como plus this super icky weather!

While I'm still finalizing my latest outfit post as well as my more detailed review of Sunday night's dinner, here's a quick (I mean quick, y'all... forgive me) look at some of the amazing foods I enjoyed the past few days! 

The Capital Grille

(downtown Fort Worth + multiple locations, multiple states)

Vidalias Southern Cuisine

(downtown Fort Worth)

Dang it, now I'm hungry again!!! 

If you happen to be attending My Forward Life tonight, let me know!  This Fort Worth girl doesn't know everyone in Dallas yet, but I'd love to meet you! ;-)  Can't wait to share some great posts with you this week!  See you tomorrow for my black and white outfit!

mad for plaid + a comfy crock pot recipe

I am MAD FOR PLAID this fall season!!  I've been wearing a ton of plaid flannel shirts lately... big comfy shirts to lounge around as well as more fitted items and dressing them up!  Plaid is everywhere!

I love mixing and matching multiple plaids.  But my favorite trend right now has to be mixing plaid with animal prints!  I love any plaid with a great leopard print clutch or shoes... pumps or flats.

Whether you're a classic flannel shirt kind of girl, or you'd like to incorporate plaid in an accessory or interesting way, there's something for every girl here!

{Shop these items by clicking thumbnails}

What's your favorite?? I really really love the cape and the backpacks!

So now that you've got some comfy outfits planned out, I also wanted to share a quick and easy, super yummy recipe!  This is great because it can be cooked relatively fast on the stove, or you can let it simmer all day in the crock pot!  I'm all about the crock pot in autumn!!  There's something so great about chopping fresh ingredients early in the day and smelling everything simmer slowly throughout the day!  Similarly, if you work outside the home during the day, especially in a cold climate, there's nothing like coming home to a meal that's already cooking and ready, that greets your nose at the door.

I really like making soups.  I've never been a big soup person, but then I got a crock pot and realized how much I loved just throwing a bunch of veggies in the pot and making an easy soup with whatever I have laying around!  It's the perfect item to pair with a salad or a grilled cheese or a baked potato, depending on how hungry you are.  And there's nothing easier to have leftover than soup because it's super easy to store, transport, and reheat.

One of my favorite soups to eat, but something I've never made, is Chicken Tortilla Soup.  My usual routine, when it comes to cooking, is looking up multiple recipes for the same thing, checking my home to see what ingredients I have, and then mixing and matching elements of the recipes into my own creation!

I am not a very experienced cook, but I do have to say that I've done a good job of catching on to seasoning by taste instead of measuring.  Usually people like baking OR cooking, but not always both.  This is mostly because they are two drastically different approaches... measuring everything precisely, or throwing things together sporadically.  I actually like both.  I love baking, always have... and now I'm loving cooking.  And cooking is a different kind of fun; it's an experimenting fun.

So, I basically found a recipe online with great reviews and pretty much followed it, but did just a couple of things differently.  I want to be clear that this is not my recipe, so please refer to the ORIGINAL RECIPE HERE from food.com and see below for my adaptation!

please note: The recipe I followed says 8 servings... I copied many of the measurements for ingredients, and used less chicken broth than the recipe called for.  I chopped and added all ingredients into my crock pot and then topped it off with broth, so I honestly didn't measure.  I have a very small crock pot (2 person) and this ended up making about 3-4 servings total

Like I said above, this adaptation was for me and my husband, in a small crock pot.  You may want to experiment with measurements and continually taste as you are going.  We ended up with a very flavorful, thicker soup and it was delicious!  Also, the original recipe calls for cooking this soup quickly in a pot on the stove.  I prefer cooking in the crock pot so that the vegetables really have a chance to soften and all the flavors are incorporated thoroughly.  My steps below are for my crock pot version, please follow the original recipe above for the quicker stovetop version.  

1. Sautee onions, garlic and celery in olive oil, season with salt & pepper.  Cook until everything is tender and add all ingredients into the crock pot.  I left out the carrots from the original recipe because I honestly don't remember ever having a chicken tortilla soup with carrots in it... am I wrong?  I don't know... but it just goes to show that you can use whatever you have and feel free to leave out anything you don't like.  I also used olive oil instead of corn oil because, well, I don't have corn oil and I really like to cook all of my vegetables in olive oil. You could really use whatever you have.

2. Add 1 can diced tomatoes and 1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles to the crock pot

3. Cook chicken thoroughly however you like.  I recommend cooking the chicken in the same pan you just cooked your veggies in.  This way you are picking up all of those flavors left on the bottom of the pan.  (I opted to use my leftover chicken breast from a restaurant because I wanted to use it up.  Another great option is using a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from your favorite deli), chop into strips or cubes, and add to the crock pot

4. Note: I had planned to chop and add some jalapeno but I forgot to buy one at the store.  This was divine intervention because after tasting this recipe, it definitely didn't need it.  The green chiles really add enough kick.  If you are making a larger batch of soup, you could consider adding some diced jalapeno if you like your soup extra spicy

5. Add taco seasoning and top off with chicken broth.  I honestly couldn't tell you the exact measurement of broth; I filled the crock pot to about 1/2 inch from the top)

6. Stir all ingredients together and put lid on crock pot.  Cook in low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

7. Immediately before serving, cut tortilla into small strips and add into the soup.  I had flour tortillas on hand so that's what I used.  I would, however, recommend using corn tortillas since they are a little thicker and harder.  The flour tortillas immediately soak up the liquid, so use them sparingly.  They do get mushy which usually I don't like, but actually I really liked some soggy tortilla in this soup!  If you want crunchier pieces, definitely use corn tortillas, or simply use tortilla chips.

8. Top each serving with shredded cheese (and a slice of avocado if you like) and serve!

*Another note: I intended to add the sour cream from the original recipe and I forgot it when I was cooking!  So I expect that the soup would have tasted even better with it and probably would have been a little on the creamier side!  I am going to make sure to not forget it next time!

I was surprised at how good this soup turned out!  Chris and I both really enjoyed it.  We ate some leftover tortilla chips on the side (also takeout from a restaurant... seriously y'all, take everything you can in your to-go boxes!! It's food you PAY for so don't leave it behind!) and some store-bought salsa.  It was such an easy meal and I enjoyed the leftovers for lunch the next day.  

This is a perfect meal for fall, so I hope you'll try to out and let me know what you think!!  Hooray for comfy clothes and comfort food!!! Do you love Fall as much as me?

date night recap

I wanted to take a moment to recap part of my weekend and relive some of the amazing fun I had while enjoying my funky city!  It's funny that even though I've been in Fort Worth for 12 years now, there are still SO many things I haven't done.  That's what's amazing about this city... so much to explore, so many events to attend, so many museums and cultural activities!  It never ends and I love that.  

This weekend was full of firsts for me!  Friday morning I had the privilege of taking in the views of Fort Worth from the rooftop of the Omni Hotel.  It's the second highest building in downtown so I felt like I was on top of the world!

I also felt like I was in a wind tunnel!  (Had to share this pic... it's too funny looking not to)  Hair outtake number twenty:

I'm in love with these Bandana Leggings from The Style Club!  I really feel like my outfit for the day was a fun reflection of Fort Worth... a tad modern and bright with a nod to the traditional cowboy feel!  

(I like how it always seems overcast and you think you don't need sunglasses, then you look at pictures later and realize you were squinting the whole time...)

On Friday evening, I convinced Chris to go to an event with me that I've always been curious about- First Fridays at the Modern.  Art, cocktails, jazz... all great things in my sassy world!  But all of these years and I'd still never been!  Why?  To be honest, modern art... not my thing.  It really annoys me that someone can paint a rectangle on a canvas and call it a masterpiece.  So usually modern art museums just aren't on the top of my to-do list.  I have a mother who is an artist... like really, that's what she studied and she has an amazing talent for drawing and painting true-to-life works.  So I have always had an appreciation for art and an opinion on what I believe is art.  I know what takes time and talent and I know what takes a "crazy idea" stretched as art... sorry but I'm not sorry!

So yes, I was skeptical about this event, but still wanted to check it out.  So off to the Modern we went... another first... check!

The jazz music and the cocktails were right on point.  We also enjoyed free chips and salsa.  Since we had never been, we had a lot of questions about touring the museum.  The staff and everyone from the museum that we encountered was SO nice and helpful.

The one thing that we really didn't enjoy was the attitude of some of the other patrons.  I realize there are many museum members that are regulars, but it's also an open event to the public... so I was a little taken aback that Chris and I seemed to be eyed up and down throughout the entire event.  There really was a vibe of high school clicks among the older crowd and it weirded me out.  

Chris and I planned this as a date night, so true to myself, I got dressed up.  Not super dressed up, but yes, I opted for a cocktail dress and heels.  And in my opinion, it was a rather casual cocktail dress considering it's cotton jersey material and bold striped color.  But I did end up being one of the very few women in a dress and perhaps the only one in 4-inch heels.  But whatever, this was my first stop of the night!  And I like looking cute!  I don't know if it was the clothing I was wearing or the fact that I was a complete newbie to this event, but I feel like I got looks.

But truth be told, I was kind of happy about it and it just made me laugh.  Maybe this event needs to be shaken up a little bit... maybe some younger crowds and younger fashion need to be introduced.  Maybe ladies liked my dress but would never dare to admit it... I really don't know.  But I don't really care either.  And that's something that has taken me awhile to finally get.  Fashion and style is what makes you happy.  This dress made me happy and made my husband look at me with that look... you know ladies... like he's a predator in the jungle, locked on his target.  

My style is dressing up for art museums.  Cocktails and live music?  To me, that's an occasion to look super cute!  So while I may have been slightly overdressed, I don't really see anything wrong with that. 

On to the museum itself...

The architecture... yes... love it.  The Modern really is a masterpiece in design and with a background in  architecture and interior design, you better believe I enjoyed exploring the space.  

Another really cool thing about this museum is the fact that The Modern owns the majority of the art pieces on display, and they give you permission to photograph them.  So as we wandered, I did photograph my favorites (which were few and far between... sorry... being honest)

This landscape piece was truly amazing.  From a distance, it looks like a photograph.  But upon closer inspection, you realize it is painted.  Now this is art!  This takes amazing talent and time.  I couldn't believe how real it looked.

I was super surprised to see Marilyn!  I didn't know she was here in Fort Worth!  Learn something new every day! 

Oh heeeyyyyy girl ;-)  Pop art I can usually do, because I love the bright colors. 

Moving on to some weird stuff that I thought was photograph worthy... Not going to lie, I didn't have the patience to sit and watch this piece long enough to find out what it had to say.  But it was something about society being brainwashed sheep or something... I think... 

Can't say I don't agree... but let's be honest, I was more interested in the blue glow and the cool effect of the words falling into the water...

Come on, that's cool looking...

Ok, by now, yes my feet were hurting.  But seriously, these Guess heels are so pretty!

And these earrings were a nice contrast to the dress, I think.

After The Modern, we headed to dinner.  I'm super picky with food and Chris usually never picks the restaurant, so I really wanted to give him choice.  He was craving sushi.  Son of a... I don't eat seafood.  Yeah, so I'm the lame ass that had to tell her husband that he better pick a place with chicken teriyaki on the menu!

I love my downtown so we headed back there.  Piranha Killer Sushi was our final choice because guess what?  I had never been there!  Are you starting to see the theme for our night?  I was feeling saucy so I ordered a cosmo... I used to drink these a lot and then for some reason I went off cocktails for awhile and just drank beer and wine.  After the first sip I was reminded why I love them.  Classic  pink cocktail... I will always love you.

Leave it to my husband to always take an awkward picture of me in the middle of eating.  

So I did order the chicken teriyaki but turns out I liked some of the sushi better!  Oh my how my tastes have changed the last few years!  I ordered some veggie sushi but then once I tasted some of Chris', I wanted to eat his!  I honestly don't know what he ordered but it had salmon... which I've had before but isn't something I eat on a regular basis.  Lesson learned: listen to the man who spent a lot of time in Korea in the Marines and knows what the hell he's talking about.  Next time I'm just getting sushi!

Overall it was a really great night.  There's nothing I enjoy more than time with my husband.  I'm so madly in love with him, it's crazy!  And I love that he's always willing to do things that I want and take me places I've never been.  I tend to be a creature of habit... same restaurants, same order, same drinks... but he isn't, and I love that about him.

The last picture I'm sharing is from The Modern.  This was my favorite art piece of the whole museum. It's weird and I'm not really sure what's going on, but I love the color and the graphic quality it has.  A little neon paint can go a long way.  

What a fun weekend in my beloved city!  Fort Worth has something new for me to experience all the time.