te amo

this year for valentine's i was in charge.

i decided to cook dinner myself instead of going out to eat, like we normally would.

it worked out great cause while i cooked brett got to study, which then turned into a little cat nap for him. poor little studying man.

i kept the menu a surprise, since we all know i love a good surprise; mexican/southwestern food since that's what brett loves.

we had black bean soup, southwest stuffed bell peppers, and whole wheat tortilla chips. 

(recipes from my love ourbestbites. i really want their new cookbook.)

we also drank horchata instead of the typical sparkling grape juice.

then for dessert i had a stroke of genius on my way home from work. i was planning on either making him some kind of banana dessert or going to tcby, but on my way home i passed tijuana flats and it hit me like a ton of bricks... cookie dough flautas! yes! if you've never been or had them before, you should go, they are muy delicioso!
(just do yourself a favor and never look up the nutrition facts on them. ouch, but so worth it.)

cookin' up a storm with multiple pots going at once. 

note to self: next time i'm going to start the peppers first and then get the soup going.

white and blue, not exactly valentinesy, but at least we felt fancy.

i love candle light. this was actually a first for us though, we've only eaten by candle light at restaurants before. crazy eh?

 i attacked some tortillas with cookie cutters and toasted them in the oven. it was a nice touch and much tastier than our store bought chips. thanks for the idea emily!

the black bean soup! my first time cooking with a bay leaf. it felt so strange to throw that thing in my soup, i felt like i was tainting it. i also felt like i was a little kid: remember 

 back on the playground when you made soup by mixing dirt and leaves with a stick? yum.

i made four peppers and still had left over filling. i made way too much rice so i mixed the two together and it was amazing today as leftovers! (and that's coming from someone who typically doesn't get excited for leftovers.) 

it was a perfect valentine's date with my boo. 

we even cleaned up all the dishes together afterwards. i love that.




psst -- don't forget to look below for the pics of the day for last week. between family and vday i didn't have time to post them until now. i also apologize for the poor quality photos, i don't know what got into my phone this week. sheesh.

double psst -- today my parents celebrated their 37th anniversary! my mom called my dad at 2:55 (about the time they were saying their i do's) to tell him i do. sooo sweet. it's only been two years for me and brett and i already can't remember what time we got hitched.