7 years together!

7 years ago today Matt and I were saying "I Do" on the beautiful beach at the Riu Palace Mexico in Playa del Carmen.  We were joined by 30 members of our family and friends and it was a party we will never forget! Each year after we have always done something extra special.  It wasn't necessarily on the actual day but celebrating our anniversary was always the intention.

1st- spent the night in a hotel after a nice dinner in Kemah, Texas.  We had spent the day playing on Blew Bayou with Cap'n, Yaya, my Mom and Dad, Allie, Jen and Daniel
2nd- Cap'n and Yaya were so sweet to let us have a night to ourselves at Rio Bonito.  Going to the lake and swimming in their pool is almost like a resort anyway.
3rd- Trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
4th- Trip to Playa del Carmen with Josh, Hailey, Wesley, Allie and Bruno
5th- Dinner out at Jack Binion's and a house to ourselves thanks to Yaya and Cap'n.  Lilli was 7 months.
6th- Playa del Carmen for Cara and Luke's wedding
7th- Trip to San Pedro, Belize

I may not always be able to remember these so now I have it in print. :)

I can't tell you what we did on the actual day each year but tonight, I'm making homemade tortillas for shrimp fajitas! If you know Matt well, you know he has a little obsession with tortillas and has been asking me to try this for years.  I figured there's no better day to try.

First step, make and knead dough

After that rests an hour, roll in to balls.
Let the balls rest an hour too covered in clean wet towel.

3rd- flatten in to tortilla and cook on medium heat
About 45 seconds per side.

They're definitely not as good as what we had in Belize but I've only made 2 in my life so far (we haven't had dinner yet, made these to go with Lilli's dinner-She loved them!).  I'm going to play around with this recipe but I think I'll be making these at the deer camp where they have that big griddle this hunting season.

Here's the recipe I used if anyone is interested.  I found it on a forum after I googled Belizean tortilla recipe.  Not hard at all.  Only time consuming part is letting them rest.  Other than that, quick and easy:

2 cups flour
1/4 cup lard (I couldn't find so I used crisco.  Bet lard is the secret ingredient)
1 tsp salt
About 8-10 oz of warm water (I filled a coffee cup and microwaved, didn't use it all)

Place flour & salt in a large bowl. Work the lard into the flour until its incorporated & crumbly. Add some of the water to make a dough, about 1/2 of it. Add a little more water as necessary to make the dough. You don't want to overwork it.  It should feel slightly wet but not sticky.

Make balls of dough. (You can make about 6 tortillas). I covered with a wet wrung out paper towel and then covered with a towel. set for about 30 min. to 2 hours, in a warm place.

Preheat your comal or skillet. I read the best thing to use that we normally have here is a cast iron skillet but the griddle worked. You don't want it too hot. Low-Med I would say.  Cook 30-45 seconds per side. 

Place between 2 wet towels or paper towels while you cook the rest.

I'll be curious to hear how they turn out if anyone else tries them

Dad, Matt, Me and Mom on our wedding day

Although I have handled it much better than last year, our anniversary will never again pass without remembering my Mom.  She passed away 2 years ago today.  Last year was hard but today is just about what it's supposed to be, celebrating the love Matt and I have and the years we've had together and the many more to come.  Just the way she wants it.  Love you Mom!