Must Grill Everything! {Grilled Nachos!}

We have been enjoying a major grill-fest for the last week. Ever since we moved in we can't use our grill enough! This means I have a serious need for garlic, olive oil, and all of my favorite items that are basically useless when you're not grilling out. Go to the produce section, and near the herbs you should fine these delightful tubes of tasty things. It's all of your favorite things basically made into a paste that is PERFECT for marinades. My favorite thing is that you can just keep it in the fridge until you need it. No wilted cilantro leaves, etc.

Tonight I made Mexican-inspired grilled chicken breasts with grilled onions and red bell peppers. I used an 8-oz prep bowl and poured a generous amount of olive oil into it. Next I added about 2 tablespoons of minced garlic and 2 tablespoons of cilantro paste. I added an undetermined amount of red chili paste, probably just under a tablespoon. Next was a few dashes of smoked chipotle peppers, kosher salt, and a bit of Mrs. Dash's southwest seasoning. I allowed the chicken to marinate for about 10 minutes while I heated up the grill. (If you need instructions on just how to grill chicken, then you need more help than I am prepared to provide.)

I put the chicken on the grill and then went inside to skewer a large, thick slice of onion and 1 red bell pepper, which I quarted. I brushed both with a little olive oil, then sprinkled on garlic salt & chipotle powder. By the time I went back out, the chicken had about an 8-minute headstart. I started the veggies over the hottest part of the grill until they began to blacken, and then moved them over. You will love the smoky flavor that the veggies take on as they grill.  

Once everything was done cooking, I diced up the chicken & veggies and made some amazing nachos. Yes, I used store bought queso. If you don't like it, you're totally not invited to my birthday party. It's the one terribly fake food I must have on occasion. ;-) 

Assembled nachos

The perfect chip! 

New House, a Terrible Yard, and the Awesome Bell

Soooo..... Last Thursday was the big moving day. Six days ago. Rich & I, being over the top independent and optimistic, figured we could handle moving 75% of the stuff on our own. And we DID. Dressers, beds, mattresses, and an armchair that borders on loveseat status---all of it got moved. We were both so sore the next day we were laughing at ourselves and each other. We have really enjoyed living in this larger house with 21 windows instead of 3. ;-) The pets, not so much.

First off, our dog HATES the backyard. After almost a week, he has resigned himself to the fact that he must enter the yard of doom in order to do his business, and then the humans will let him back into the house. The first time I put him in the yard and closed the gate he almost had a heart attack. He started trying to scratch through & under the fence & was kicking up a big fuss. He acted that way for almost 3 full days. When we lived in a condo, he would only walk on the grass to potty & then hop back on the sidewalk to go back inside. I'm pretty sure he thinks we are locking him in a giant-sized doggie toilet & he's rather offended. ;-)

The cat was overwhelmed by too many rooms. You wouldn't thinking going from 1100 sq ft to 1500 would be a big deal...maybe it was all the windows? He would slink through the house in "ninja mode" and basically looked like he wanted us to die for the first few days. Finally he has settled in & now he hangs out on his cat nook in the living room. He also enjoys looking out & playing with the dining room draperies.

All tired out from being an obnoxious pain for 3 days. 

Peeking out the drapes

Waiting for someone to walk by...he likes to "bop" people. 

On top of getting things just the way we want them, we are bringing our new puppy home in 1 month. We are going to be using a "potty bell" system to potty train, so I figured why not just teach both dogs and simplify things. I have done two 5-minute sessions so far, and my dog has gotten the hang of touching the bell. Next it will be going by the back door and he will be ringing it when we go out. Eventually the goal is for the dog to ring the bell by himself when he needs to go out. My little man loves to ring the bell. He gets so excited and crazy, jumping all around and whining like a lunatic. I have to calm him down before he can ring it properly. It cracks me up.

It occurred to me briefly that I may have too much time on my hands if I have time to train my dog how to ring a bell. Haha! I'm pretty sure that for now, my dog thinks that the purpose of ringing the bell is to get a treat. He loves to do tricks but mostly because this is the only time he gets treats. Everybody around here has to earn their keep. ;-)

"The humans" are enjoying the new place. So far Rich has enthusiastically mowed the lawn and has been making dinner on the grill. He is seriously the grill master of all grill masters. Yummy!!! I love having a nice big kitchen window & a more counter space. I have also really enjoyed breaking in all of our brand new appliances. It's the little things, I know. ;-) I am also TOTALLY thrilled that we don't have any carpet. All hardwood! It's so much easier to keep things clean that way!

One side of the kitchen