IT'S BEEN AWHILE.....

Yes, I know it's been awhile since our last post. Well, a lot has been going on. Our new Adventure has  been adjusting to Sondee's new job and Pat working some overtime at the track. Sondee has started playing with a new Band and it's very exciting. The first Gig is, May 17th, 1:30pm at Biggs Harley in San Marcos, CA. This will be for the KGB Rock 101.5 MayRide. If anyone is around San Marcos, please come out and Rock out with us!

So with rehearsals, working and Pat working, we've stayed pretty busy. We are still cooking, BBQing,  and Friday Date Nights! We've added a new member to the family. Our NEW MacPro 15" screen Computer. Our old one the Hard Drive is failing so it was time to upgrade. It's a lot of fun to have a laptop for the first time.

With all that being said, as the summer approaches, we will not be as "adventurous", due to Pat's work schedule in the summer. Sondee's schedule in the summer will be, Beach, rehearsal, gigs, sleep, Beach...HA HA!

So, until next time.

Enjoy the Ride!
Pat & Sondee

COAST ADVENTURE PRESIDENTS WEEKEND

Our Little Quick Weekend trip. We love our little VACAY trips because, they're 1.  inexpensive and 2. we get to have a day or two at home to recoup... This trip was something that both of us have wanted to do for a long time. So, we said, LET'S GO!

Thursday Night we drove from our house to San Jose. We got to the Hotel about 12:30am. So really not too bad. We, of course, stopped for dinner on the way out of town...

CHICK-FIL-A baby!!!!

The next day we woke up and had our Traditional Breakfast in Bed for Valentines Day...

And we were on our way to WINCHESTER HOUSE in San Jose. If anyone gets a chance to go through the house, do so!!! So cool and interesting. AND, if you are adventurous and are going on Friday the 13th, you can tour the house with only Flashlights!!! OOOOHHHH creepy and FUN!!!

The beginning of our tour. You can't take pictures inside the house. But, you walk a mile on the tour. All inside the house. After the tour they have a Winchester Museum. Guns. So, yes, we went!

And, the museum was really interesting!!! I wasn't sure about it, but I had fun!! HA HA!
Then they have a replica of the Headstone that's in Connecticut....
After the Winchester House experience, we were off to the next part...

Our drive down the coast!!! Are we having fun?!?!?!? I think so!!!
Next Stop
Monterey

Yes, only Two pictures of Monterey. Our Lunch view and some weird something, outside a store.

Such a perfect day for the drive. At one point, we saw WHALES!!!! So awesome!!!
We stopped at a really cool place on the way down..
Nepenthe

We also found a Cigar box 3 string guitar that Pat played. You can see the little video on FB or Instagram.
Then we arrived in San Simeon...by Sunset...So Clear and So gorgeous...

Stayed the night and were on our way early the next morning.

On the Bus to the Castle..So excited..We've always wanted to do this...the bus ride up the mountain, you see the left overs from the Private Zoo. Some kind of Goat, Zebra, and a lot of cows...The cows aren't from the zoo, but they all hang out together. You can see some "ruins" of a horse trail and the Polar Bear enclosure. When you arrive at the castle, it's Shock and AWE!!!

The front door alone...amazing. Almost everything was imported from Europe. Some things were made in the US. It was all about the Visual for Hearst. Take for instance the door. The bottom is from a Convent in Europe, but the Top was made here in the US.

We took the Grand Rooms tour. So we went INSIDE!!! Through the Back door.

The Meeting room had a Huge Fireplace, Choir Seats, and Tapestries!! Basically, he built a museum.

The dining room was huge!! The Table was narrow so you could have a conversation. The ceiling is spectacular, and more Choir seats around the room. The Flags around the top of the room are from Sienna Italy, There's a race that runs there and the flags represents the racers. So, instead of having Stained Glass windows, he had clear windows for light and the view and the the flags for the color that the stained glass would bring.

Painted ceiling in the Billiard room. It took one man, 4 years to clean this ceiling. The paint is Egg based so he couldn't use hard cleaners. The most residue on the ceiling was, nicotine.

Recreation...Neptune Pool was huge, Roman pool wasn't as big but it's inside and below the Tennis Courts. Even the bottom of the Roman Pool is decorated.
We went back down the hill, saw the Hearst movie and noticed he had his own Fire Dept.

You can order Hearst Beef and Wine online.

We left Hearst about noon, grabbed something to eat, made it to LA at 4:30, in time to have dinner with my Mom and Step Dad, and got home about, midnight. We had 2 days off together to get some stuff done around the house...ya right..! All we are doing is laundry, cooking and cleaning the kitchen. And that's enough.
We absolutely loved our little trip and starting to think about our next one and when. Stay tuned. We would recommend to visit both of these Historical Sites. They both belong to the State of California and are Historical Landmarks and sites.

Remember, Life is not a destination but a Journey.

Enjoy the Ride!
P & S

NEW FOOD TUESDAY!! Feb. 4, 2014

New Food Tuesday!!!

Bacon Cheeseburger Tater Tot Thingy

Doesn't really have a name, but, it's so Yummy and Cozy...

This is what was leftover...I was in a rush, so this is the only PICTURE!! Sorry!!

Ingredients:
Big Bag of Tater Tots
1 lb. of  Bacon
1 lb. of Hamburger
1 Can of Corn
Chopped Onion
Ketchup
Mustard
Lots of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 can of Croissant Rolls

Instructions:
Pre Heat Oven to 350 degrees
Cook your Bacon when it's done, Crumble it into a bowl
Cook the Hamburger like you're making Tacos
Add Salt and Pepper to taste
Add the Chopped Onions and cook
After it's cooked
Add your Corn
Add  your bacon
Add some Ketchup and Mustard (use your own preference on the amount)
Mix it all up

In your Casserole or Cake pan
Spray your pan with Pam or Oil
Lay your Croissants FLAT in the bottom (unroll the dough but DO NOT roll the Croissants)
Put a Layer of Tater Tots then topped with a thin coating of Cheese
Add your Hamburger Mixture
Add a Layer of Cheese
Add the rest of your Tater Tots on top
Top that with a LOT of Cheese

Put it in the oven for 30 minutes and you will have Yummy Comfort food!!! Pat likes it with a little Tabasco or Cholula..The kids added more Ketchup...As did I, because Ketchup is a Food Group!


Enjoy the Ride!
P & S

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!!! (Not so Super except for...?)

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY--- FAMILY, FOOD and  HALFTIME SHOW!!!

The Best Thing about Super Bowl Sunday was...
Family, Food and the Halftime Show!!!

We went to family's house for the day!!! #1..!!
We brought Homemade RIBS!!! No, not Home Grown...#2
Then the Halftime Show..one of the best...#3

Super bowl Snacks

The ribs were brined overnight!!! (Cold Water, Vinegar, Sugar, Salt)

Then, we put them in the oven for 2 hours at 350 degrees, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, a little Water and Vinegar, covered with Foil....(we had 3 racks, the temp can be lowered if you have less ribs)

After the 2 hours, lather on the BBQ sauce of your choice and bake uncovered for another 30 minutes!!!

YUMMO!!!!

GREAT FOOD...The Fam had Homemade Mac Salad, (Pat's Fav), and other munchies..truly and group effort for Family Fun!!!!

Enjoy the Ride!

P & S

NEW FOOD TUESDAY!! JAN. 28TH

Oh Man!!! This one was SOOOO much fun!!! And is now, a new FAVORITE!!!

Chicken 'n' Waffles!!!

It's really not as difficult as I thought!! But, I had help. Pat made the Waffles from Scratch!!! But you can use a simple Waffle/Pancake Mix too!!!

Ingredients for Chicken:
Chicken washed and patted dry.
I used strictly Drumsticks for this, but you can use whatever you'd like.
Oil
Buttermilk
Flour
Salt/Pepper

Waffles:
You can make them from scratch or use Bisquick, just as easy.
Syrup (I heated it up to thin it out..YUMMMO!!!)
Waffle Iron

Instructions:
Put Chicken in a casserole dish or bake pan, pour Buttermilk until there is enough to cover the chicken. Put in Refrigerator for 2 hours.
Pour some flour into a bowl and add Pepper and Salt, stir until it's all mixed up.
Put oil into a skillet, 3/4 inches of oil
Put on Medium Heat
Take the Chicken, smothered in Buttermilk and put it in your flour mixture, cover completely
and put it into your HOT oil. I turned it only once.
Make sure the temp of the Chicken on the inside of each peice of Chicken is 180 Degrees.

Make the waffles, warm up the syrup and you're good to go!!
When you eat this meal, make sure you get a bite of, Waffles, Chicken covered in Syrup. It's SOOO good and you really don't know why!!!!

Enjoy the Ride!
P & S

VEGAS TURNAROUND!!!

Our Vegas turnaround was a cool little adventure. Pat had to work on Saturday, this had to be a quick one. We left Saturday at 5:30pm, arrived in Las Vegas at Tommy Rockers at 9:30pm.

Thank Goodness the band didn't start til then. We sat down, then all of the friends started showing up!! It was great to see all of them and Kelly Carl Kenn and Dave sounded great!! ROCKIN'! Kelly finally saw us and it was great to see her! After a short break..Raven and Victor joined Carl Kenn and Dave on stage...Man!! these guys can P L A Y!!! So fun!! Christy  got up and blew the doors off the place, as usual, then Mike C joined them, then I was called up! We jammed on some AC/DC!!! Which, as all of you know, it's not a Party til you play some AC/DC!!! Took a Cake break!!!

Like Carl said, "This Doesn't Suck!!!"...Took some pictures...

Of Course, Kelly and I were messing around! Mike "Animal" showed up!!! What a treat that was!!! He's one of my favorite people in the world!!! He wanted to Jam with Kelly and I, and thus, WE DID!!!!
We jammed on some Priest and Def Leppard!!! It was SOOO awesome to Jam with him!!!

After all of those Shenanigans, we started our drive home! 1:20am arrived in Vista at, 5:15am. We only stopped twice, once so I could change clothes, (let the girls out), and once to Potty. At that time, a lot of Diet Pepsi and Chocolate needed! We didn't even unload the car until the afternoon!!! HA HA! Obviously, we slept in! What a great time, Pat and I chatted all way there and back. Once again, half the fun is getting there and back!!!

Happy Birthday Kelly, we WILL do this again!!!

Enjoy the ride!
P & S

NEW FOOD TUESDAY!!!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole
SOOO YUMMO!!!

This meal is really easy and we ate tortilla chips with it!!!
We put it together on Monday, put it in the fridge and warmed it up on Tuesday. So, I'm thinking you can also freeze this sucker for later!!!

Ok..here it goes...

Ingredients:
5 Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast
1 23 oz can of Mild Red Enchilada Sauce
1 package Corn Tortillas
1 can of Refried Beans
Lots of Cheese (I used Mild Cheddar and Mexican Mix)
Cilantro
Green Onions
1 can Green Chilies
1 Onion
Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

Boil and Shred the Chicken
Put the Shredded Chicken in a big bowl
Salt/Pepper
Add the Can of Green Chilies
Add some Chopped Onion (not the Green Onion)
Mix up using your hands is best

In a Cake pan or casserole dish
Oil first and put a layer of Sauce and then tortillas
Then you put a Layer of Beans
Then Cheese
Then Chicken
Then Sauce
Then Cheese
Then Tortillas
REPEAT until you fill the pan You'll want at least 2 layers
Add Tortilla and Cheese on the Very top that's when you put the Cilantro and Green Onions
Cover with Aluminum Foil
Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degree and let stand and cool for 15 minutes.

We ate it with Tortilla Chips, but you can add Sour Cream, Guac, whatever you'd like. The kids LOVE this thing!!!

As you can see!!!!

Enjoy the Ride!
P & S