Texas Steak Cookoff 2011

We had so much fun last year at the Texas Steak Cookoff in Hico, that we decided to do it again. Last year's competition was a gift to Big Terry (Shane's stepdad) from all of the kids. Everyone had so much fun, that we decided that this had to be a yearly event and we added in a couple of new family members this year. The cookoff is a backyard chef competition where teams are given two steaks and two hours to cook them however they like, and then turn one of the steaks in to the judges. After the first round, which included 98 teams this year, 30 teams are chosen for the second round and are once again given two steaks, but only an hour to turn one of them back in for judging. From there they choose the top ten and best in show. There was also an appetizer round that we participated in as well. Last year we had absolutely no idea what to expect and only brought supplies to cook our steaks for the judging and stuff to make lunch for ourselves. When we got there, we realized that it was much bigger than we had thought with teams providing samples of everything from chili to desserts to roasted pecans and nuts and other smoked and barbequed meats. We provided as much as we could, but weren't very prepared. This year was completely different! We were ready...
We hung our team sign above our booth and everyone had matching shirts. This was our front table and everything on this table got grilled...except for the boots.
Aunt Sue was in charge of decor and she decked us out! Her wheels are already spinning for next year...

This was one of the booths next to us. They went all out as well...
These guys were down on the end and had lots of Cajun food. They placed 7th overall.
This was one of my favorite booths. The girl in this group of camo clad men fixed up their tables very well!
One of my favorite things about the cookoff is seeing what everyone else does. These guys always cook breakfast complete with waffles, biscuits, breakfast burritos, fried potatoes...mmm! It smells SO good...
Pretty soon, it was time to get busy and boy, we were! The appetizers were the first thing to be turned in. This year we decided on a cream cheese stuffed jalapeno wrapped with duck breast and bacon.
My sister in law, Kelly, and I got busy seeding jalapenos, chopping duck and stuffing the peppers while Big Terry supervised.
This was the finished product and it was very well received.
After that, it was time to start on samples for the public and getting the first round of steaks ready to go. While Big Terry worked his magic on the steaks, the rest of us made guacamole seasoned with homemade salsa that Miss Kitty (Shane's mom) made. We served that in little bowls with chips along with samples of the salsa. Grilled sausage is always very popular and we had samples of that served all day. We also served grilled corn on the cob and kabob-ettes. The kabobettes were small kabobs of yellow squash, tomatoes, red onion and sausage. Jalapeno poppers were popular. I forgot the cream cheese in the fridge at home and the only thing that we had was strawberry cream cheese. We stuffed as many as we could while I cried over the mistake. Turns out, people were coming back for the strawberry stuffed jalapenos. Who knew?! Because we had mounds of jalapenos and no cream cheese, Shane and our brother in law, Eric, stuffed the rest of the peppers with sausage and wrapped them in bacon. Turns out, that was a hit too. I think that you could wrap anything in bacon and it would be a hit. We also grilled lots of pineapple and pears.
Big Terry was busy getting the steak ready to turn in and it looked fabulous!

After we served quite a few appetizers, it was time to head down to the stage to find out the results of the first round. We were on pins and needles waiting on results.
This was definitely worth the wait! We made the top 30 out of 98 teams! While Big Terry was picking out the steaks for the next round, a huge thunderstorm blew in and we ran back to the tents to pull everything out of the rain.
The storm was short, but fierce, and after it blew through it was even more hot and humid than before.
We had a great family team. Shane manned a grill all day. Big Terry and his brother, Uncle Bear, worked on the steaks and prepping other appetizers and stuff.
Shane's sister, Jaime and her man Chris, were working the front along with Aunt Sue and Miss Kitty.
Shane's brother, Terry, and his wife Kelly prepped food in the back.
These guys were a happy bunch! Eric and Betty worked the front all day as well.


Big Terry wore his chef's coat all day.

It was a great day and we will be back next year!

Our House

In all of my pictures that I took around our new house, I never took a picture of the outside. So...here it is! We are thrilled and excited and ready to go. Moving day is approaching fast! D-day is this next weekend. Lots of packing and stuff happening at my house...
For our recent anniversary, Shane took a picture of an office space that I liked and recreated it in our room. I'm loving the miles of craft space. The little knob-looking things are canisters with magnetic bottoms, and just look at all of the drawers! I have been day dreaming about where I will put everything... Isn't that half the fun?!

7 days...not that anyone's counting;)

Gib is 7!

This boy is 7! I cannot even believe it! It seems like it was not that long ago that Shane was taking a May-mester class and I went into labor during the first day of classes. I couldn't reach him, and had to call the secretary of the building that he was in to go get him so that he could take me to the hospital, since he had our one car. Gracie stayed with friends all day and they were so sweet to bring her to the hospital at the end of the day. It was a really wonderful day.

Gib was super excited about his birthday this year and has been running through party options since January. He decided to invite two friends and his brother and sister (melt my heart!) to his party. We brought his friends home from school for a sleepover and pizza and then we were off to Legoland the next day.
Of course, at the house we had to play with Buttercup (last year's birthday present). Everyone had a great time holding her and Gibson had fun showing her off. They were braver than me!
We got up Saturday morning for breakfast and then were off to Legoland. I didn't realize just how many kids we had with us until I snapped this picture. Of course, I forgot the tickets in the car and had to run back to get them! They were all walking in front of me and looked so cute. We were doing the buddy system to keep all of us together.
Legoland was lots of fun and lived up to the hype. Everything in there is, of course, made out of Legos. This truck was quite impressive. They had a miniature of Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington all out of Legos as well. We rode a couple of rides, took in a 4D Lego movie, built a bunch of race cars, and generally had a great time.Even the cones were made of Legos...
Inside a huge, pink princess castle full of blue, white and pink Legos was where Landry found her calling. There was a karaoke machine set up complete with a microphone, stage and screens. Landry sang for FOREVER!!!

"I love you...Yes I do...You know it's true...Ohh oh oh..."

Everyone had a great time and Gib enjoyed his day!

The Sparrow Fund

May is here and I am so excited to tell you about a project that I am a part of this month. You can be too! My dear friend Ashley and her family, have long had a heart for adoption. After years of preparing and saving, they were able to bring home their beautiful daughter, Kate, from China, to join their family this last summer. She is wonderful and their family has been blessed by her as much as she has been blessed by them. Kate has been their little miracle.

This family wants to help other families to spread the same love to needy children. Adoption can be expensive. In the case of children like Kate, sometimes there are medical needs and expenses involved that make this process even more costly. The Sparrow Fund is an organization that has been started to help families with this cost and to insure that these little children are loved and cherished by a wonderful family.

Now I'm getting to how YOU can help! :) For the month of May, there are 31 vendors that are donating 10% of their profits to The Sparrow Fund. Banana Hannah Designs is also a part of this venture. I would love for you to visit my website and purchase items that will be contributed to this very special venture. I, personally, love to shop and know that my purchases are helping others in need and truly making a difference. Check out my website and take a look around the others' as well! Here is a link to the other vendors that are involved. I think that I may be doing a little shopping myself! Don't tell Shane. ;)

This could be a Mother's day, shower, birthday, etc. card. Just add instructions for what you want it to say inside.
Who can resist such a sweet hello? The sentiment could also be changed to "thank you" and make really cute thank you cards for graduation gifts.

If you need gift ideas for the month of May:

Mother's day
Father's day
Graduation - monogrammed cards and thank yous
Baby shower invites
Bridal shower invites
End of the year teacher gifts
The list goes on...

Happy shopping!