If my 2-year-old understood Halloween or at least the concept of dressing up for candy, I have no doubt she'd dress up as a princess or as Jesse from "Toy Story." But, she doesn't. So I selfishly decided that I wanted to make her a costume of my choosing!

It's been an emotion and stressful few weeks on the job front and I needed to get into the "crafty mom" mode as an escape. It just popped in my head one day, "cotton candy." The idea stuck, so that's what I made a cotton candy costume!

We'll s...
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I slow cooked one 7lb pork loin and I've made Barbecue Pork sandwiches and Tamales. I have just enough pork left over to make the green chili for the tamales. Since my father-in-law is a vegetarian, I also make a vegetarian green chili.

Ingredients:
12 chopped roasted green chilies - the amount of seeds will create your level of heat OR 1lb can of whole green chilies
2 cups chopped tomatoes or roasted tomatoes
Half a finely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbs flour
2 cups of water - separated
Sea...
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I love tamales and I enjoy making them even though it’s time consuming. I definitely haven’t mastered a technique, but it’s fun trying. I’ve only done this a handful of times and learn something new each time. Eventually, I’ll get it just right.

My father-in-law is a vegetarian so I’m making both pork tamales and green chili with cheese tamales. It’s my first try at the vegetarian tamales. 

What you need for tamales: corn husks, masa tamale dough, and meat or vegetarian filling.

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The meat:

Slow cook pulled pork 

The sauce:
20oz can all natural tomato puree or 1lb of your own stewed & pureed tomatoes
1/2 cup apple cider or red wine vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
1 medium finely chopped onion
1 small finely chopped green pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp dry mustard
Cayenne pepper
Sea salt
Paprika
Chili powder
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 Ingredients:

1. Drizzle EVOO In a large sauce pan and heat on low 
2. Mash garlic cloves into bottom of pan and add chopped onions and green peppers
3. Saute until oni...

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Mojitos are one of my favorite drinks, especially on a hot summer day or on a holiday like today.

However, I don't like the sugar that is a part of the drink. Some mojitos are way too sweet for me. So I started making my own without sugar, but are just as tasty or even as sweet. For the first time I tried a flavored rum, mango to make mojitos. The mango flavoring made the drink even sweeter, almost dangerous to the point you can forget you're drinking rum!

Ingredients:
Rum - favorite white Rum, ...
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My best memories from my childhood are all my family get togethers over all the holidays. The 4th of July was always the best… bare feet… summer… Grandma's homemade ice cream… Grandpa's grilling… cousins… slip-n-slide… running through the sprinklers… and the grand finale of our own fireworks show!
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Summers for my boys, stepsons now going into 6th and 7th grade, always include books and lessons. School is not easy for either of them. Making them do lessons  during their summer break doesn’t always go over well. The procrastination and excuses get more creative, and frustrating, year after year.

Sometimes I wonder if we’re doing more harm than good. I don’t want to give them any more reasons to not like school. This year we were hit with screaming, angry, frustrating comments of...
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Well, I messed up with my website... as in I no longer own it. We got a new checking account and I apparently inputted my info wrong. So when auto renewal for the domain came around, it failed and I didn't realize it. The alert email ended up in spam folder. I was able to use the website for months without knowing anything was wrong. On Friday someone else bought/registered mistymontano.com. :-\ 

I just hope it's another Misty Montano who is going to use it and not someone who is going to do v...
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I love to cook but haven’t had the time. When I am off I often end up in the kitchen, and this time is no different. This Memorial Day weekend when most are thinking BBQ and sun I’m thinking soup, tamales and pulled pork.

First up, chicken tortilla cabbage soup. You read right - I’m making up my own soup combination to get both chicken tortilla and cabbage soups in the pot.

Ingredients:

2 large, bone-in, chicken breasts
1 10oz can all natural, low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp sea salt
1 sma...
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This contract lasted less than 10 days. I think this is much better than being less than a week from closing, which is where we were with house number two. At least we didn’t pay for another appraisal and the inspector gave us a discount.

I know how lucky and blessed we are to have been taken in by my in-laws while we go through this. I believe what everyone is telling us, “all this means is that there’s another better home waiting.”

Onto house number four we go...

We’re learning so...

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Finally tonight, over two months later, I’ve been able to bake! It’s a recipe I’ve been wanting to do since Thanksgiving. My colleague Anastasiya posted in November about an apple cheese pie, a Russian recipe passed to her from her grandmother. Not only did she share the recipe with me, but she also bought me the Farmers Cheese, a Russian cheese only found in Russian or Arabic stores here in Denver.


I tried to make the time to try this simple recipe, but after a couple of weeks I realiz...
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Crying has always been a release from me. More accurately it's been an automatic release that's often left me wondering, "why am I crying?" It's something I've never completely understood. I know my emotions and hormones play a part.

I don't break out in sobs and fits all the time in front of those around me. No, it's mostly private tears that just come and go. My tears are saved for those closest to me… usually. There have been a few extremely uncomfortable moments when I cried in front of...
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Pregnancy changed my body. Birthing my baby girl changed my body. Breastfeeding changed my body. Stopping breastfeeding changed my body. Going back on birth control changed my body.

It's been almost two years since I found out I was going to have a baby. I don't think my body is done changing! Pregnancy, age and life in general have provided me with a reality check about my body, and in turn, my health.

I've been active on Twitter lately participating in #HeartHealth chats. Two chats have been...
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I had a blast cooking up this batch of chili for the Women's Bean Project Chili Cook Off.  I'm not one to really follow recipes.  I look at them.  I compare them to other recipes for the same dish.  I then close the book or turn off the computer and go to work making my own variation of the dish.

When it comes to chili I always think of Christmas Eve at my grandparent’s house.  Every Christmas Eve Grandma made a batch of chili and a pot of oyster soup.  For years I made my chili as clos...

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27 weeks and 4 days pregnant... with an entire hot summer to go until due date of September 1st.

1. Maternity pants that didn't fit, now fit.  Last time I wore my maternity jean capris I continually had to pull them up because the safety pin I had been using to keep them in place broke.  This time they stayed in place just fine.  There's still plenty of room for me and Plurk to grow!  (This should make my doctor happy.  At 24 weeks I had only gained 8lbs the entire pregnancy.  I was encouraged to...

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I hope to move from our house soon and, if not soon, then in the next year.  If there is one thing I could keep as mine, it would be my flower garden.  It’s been a labor of love and frustration.  I decided to plant it years ago when I couldn’t keep grass alive due to the intense southern sun exposure.  The first year water restrictions went into place was the last year I saw grass in that area.  That was also my first summer at the house, so I had no idea what kind of watering that sectio...
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