The Blackjack Birthday: Hailey's Vegas Adventure

I wish I could say I took credit for coming up with going to Vegas for Hailey's 21st birthday, but I can't. It was all her parents' doing. Which was totally cool, because they made the trip what it was.

This is the first sign you know you're leaving Bakersfield

Welcome to nowhere!

Stare down. 

So...Planet Hollywood is pretty rad. 

All green for the birthday girl! 

The Linq's block area is one of my favorite areas. Really feels like the Grove in LA. 

Family! 

St. Patty's day in Vegas is probably one of the funnest things I've done in my short adult life. Also, it was never intended that my father in law and I matched.

Me and my lady <3

We had to sit around and wait for 12:00am to hit so she could order her first drink! Waitress wanted a photo taken to celebrate. 

Mama and daughter. 

First gamble! 

The next set of photos was really fun to try and capture. Hailey had no idea, but I had gotten ahold of our friend Alison, who lives in NorCal, and she was going to be in Vegas at the same time we were, so I surprised Hailey with meeting up with her! Tears were had.

After this....

Shots! This entire trip, Hailey didn't pay for a single drink. 

Next morning..

Birthday girl all dressed up in green! 

Fremont Street! 

This was the first time I've ever been down here, and I must say, it rocked. Didn't have time to go back at night, so I guess we gotta go back. 

Military drill for St. Patricks Day.

Hard to see, but there was a celtic band, too.

Big screen is big.

Only in Vegas will you see a senior citizen in a Borat thong.

And duct tape pasties.

Had lunch here, and..

OHMYGOSH. Easily one of the BEST burgers I've ever had. It was the most tender hamburger, and loaded with a over easy egg, and DUCK bacon. 

DUCK.

BACON.

Bacon is great, but DUCK BACON. COME ON! 

I could get used to a view like this. 

Did I mention St. Patricks Day in Vegas is great?

Birthday Dinner! 

This was shot shortly after dinner at Margaritaville. Hailey landed a balloon had, and Steve and Kristy (family who live in the area) came down to meet up with us! 

Hey look! It's a grown up Yogurtland! ;) 

Old Vegas is still beautiful. 

Couldn't not see this. 

Not World of Color, but man is it beautiful and elegant. 

They were near inseparable. 

There were two ladies who lived in a shoe...

And then the weird dude who sat in one too...

Junebug! 

Bartenders getting in on the St. Patty's Day action with us too. 

Next day before we left, we went out to this place for Kelly to check out some furniture for her company. Never been inside until now, but it's AWESOME. Really cool (but uber expensive) stuff here.

We don't wanna leave! 

Vegas as a grown up is a lot of fun. Next time we want to check out a show or two, and spend more time, but as a first time trip to drink and gamble, it was a total blast. Definitely the best way to kick of Hailey's 21st year of birth. I gotta give major props to my in-laws for planning this, and going all out for Hailey. It was such a great time. Now onto the next time....

Easiest Loaded Potato Soup Ever

Comfort food like soups... yum. We all love them!
And now with it being officially Fall, it's time to start cooking and eating these delicious foods!

Most places when it's mid October its nice and chilly with temperatures in the low 80s or 70s. Well, not in Bakersfield. October, 13th and it was a high of 95.....

But hey! Who says I can't pretend right!? So I pretended by making one of my favorite comfort foods.... Crockpot Loaded Potato Soup. Yum!

Many of you have asked for this recipe, so I thought I would go ahead and share one of my easiest, yet delicious recipes!

You have a crock pot right!? No? GO GET ONE IMMEDIATELY!

I cannot begin to tell you how much I LOVE my crock pot. 

It has saved me countless hours over a hot stovetop. 

It has saved me many hours after work with not having to cook and already having dinner ready.

Crock pots are amazing and in case you haven't noticed, I highly recommend one.

So now that I got over that rant, here is the recipe!

Loaded Potato Soup

30oz bag of frozen hash browns ( I used shredded)

28oz chicken broth

10.75oz can cream of chicken soup

8oz cream cheese, softened

Minced Onion

Ground Black Pepper

Garlic Salt

Parsley

4-6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

The best part about this recipe is the fact that you use frozen hash browns instead of washing, peeling, and cutting potatoes. This skips the most time consuming step and tastes just as good!

Instructions

Get your Crock Pot on the low setting. 

Mix frozen hash browns (do not thaw), chicken broth (I had no chicken broth when I made this... can you believe that!? So instead, I did three cups of water and 3 tablespoons of butter and it worked out great!), Cream of Chicken Soup, Cream Cheese, Onion, Pepper, Garlic Salt, and Parsley all in the crock pot.

Now for the great part, just close the lid and let it sit for around 5 hours. Or you could put it on high and go for less hours, but I prefer a slow cook.

You can go ahead and give it a stir occasionally making sure all ingredients are combined.

When you are close to being finished get a hand held blender/mixer and give it a really good blend. This is what gives you that creamy consistency without any lumps.

And now it should be all ready! So dish some up in a bowl with shredded cheese on top with some crumbled bacon on top of that or any other toppings you would like. Serve with dinner rolls for a hearty, starchy, comfort filled yummy meal!

Try it! You won't regret it...

Enjoy!

-HW

No Bake Energy Bites

Hi everyone!
With all the stress of wedding planning, moving, school, and much more I found myself letting myself go. (No excuses though, purely my fault). However, I REALLY have no excuses now. It's time to get back into it! Jacob and I have been swimming and bike riding a lot plus playing softball twice a week. I have been doing a lot of meal prep and eating whole foods instead of processed. And we both have committed to drinking a gallon of water a day. And even within the last two weeks I've personally felt a difference in how I feel throughout the day. My face has cleared up, I'm not as bloated, my metabolism is getting faster, and I have much more energy.

But even with clean eating... my sweet tooth is still something fierce, even more so with eating right. So what do you do about it? Ice cream? A candy bar? Cake and cookies? Sometimes... sure. (No judgement here) But every day? NO. So this is one of my absolute favorite recipes to crave a sweet tooth in a healthier way.

No Bake Energy Bites

In a medium bowl mix oats, coconut flakes, peanut butter, flaxseed, honey, vanilla and chocolate chips.

When you choose your ingredients, remember CLEAN EATING! So with coconut, either buy your own coconut and roast it and shred it yourself or get unsweetened organic at the store. The other important ingredient to get clean is the peanut butter. Don't go with Jif or Skippy with all of the extra unnecessarily ingredients, go with a much natural peanut butter. Take a look at the difference in ingredients from Skippy on the left, to what I used on the right...

Once you're done mixing all of the ingredients together, use your hands to make ball shapes. I make mine about an inch by an inch.

Then pop them in a big ziplock bag and refrigerate them until you are ready to eat them. I usually like mine in between breakfast and lunch as a little pick me up. They're SO good and very filling.

Ingredients:
1 cup of whole wheat oats
2/3 cups of unsweetened coconut flakes
3/4 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/3 cup of honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup of chocolate chips (you can add more or less depending on what you like)

You can add more or less of whatever ingredients you'd like. I usually add craisins, chia seeds, or any type of nut as well. Since they are no bake, there doesn't have to be an exact ratio of anything. I like to substitute honey for agave nectar sometimes too. The possibilities are endless!


Happy Healthy Eating!

-HW