Light Mudslide Recipe

Light mcMudslide Recipe for 2

1 cup Almond Milk (Vanilla or Plain Unsweetened works)

1 small container Café Latte Greek Yogurt, frozen overnight

2 tbsp Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup

3 shots Kahlua 

1 shot Spiced Rum

2 cups Ice (add more or less for desired thickness)

Whipped Cream (for topping)

Combine all ingredients in the blender and blend on high until there are no more ice chunks. Once the desired consistency is reached, pour into a tall glass. Top with Whipped Cream and drizzle with a little bit of Hershey’s Syrup and enjoy! This is the tastiest and least guilty way I can possibly come up with to enjoy one of these tastinesses!

El Famous Burrito Dip Recipe

In a large casserole dish, add these ingredients in the following order (layers listed from bottom to top):

Bottom Layer:

1 can black bean refried beans
1 can vegetarian refried beans

Layer 2:

2 cups cooked brown rice (minute rice works too)
1 can chili beans, drained
1 can green chilis
1 can salsa verde
1 bottle corn and bean salsa
1 can tomato sauce
3 tbsp taco sauce
1 tsp tabasco sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp lime juice

Layer 3: “Sour Cream”

1 32 oz container of plain greek yogurt
1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chili powder
3 tbsp minced onions
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3 tbsp spicy salsa
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp better than bullion chicken stock
Salt/pepper to taste

Mix all of these within the greek yogurt container before spreading into the dish

Guacamole

3 avocados, taken out of the skin, un-pitted, and mashed
1 diced tomato
3 large squirts of lime juice
1 squirt lemon juice
3 tbsp fresh cilantro ripped into tiny pieces and taken off the stem
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 shakes garlic powder
3 shakes onion powder
1/4 cup red onion
3 diced jalapeno slices
Mash the avocado and stir in a bowl!

Layer 4: Veggies and Seasonings

1/2 cup of mixed green, red, and white onions
1/3 cup of mixed green pepper
1/4 cup red pepper
1 diced jalepeno pepper
1 diced serrano pepper
1 chopped roma tomato
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
Salt/Pepper to Taste

Layer 5: Meat

3 tbsp taco sauce
1 lb lean ground beef (ground turkey works too)
1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning
5 tbsp salsa
1/3 cup (reduced fat sharp cheddar) cheese
1/4 chopped red onion
3 shakes garlic powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
Brown the meat in the skillet pan, follow directions on the back of the seasoning packet for adding the taco sauce - once the meat is browned and the sauce is starting to soak into the meat, add the rest of the ingredients until the cheese is melted and the onions are sauteed (look like they have added flavor in them)

Layer 6: Cheese

1 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

Put all ingredients into a large casserole dish and be sure to spray the dish with cooking spray prior to placing ingredients in it. Once ingredients are combined in the layers, set the oven to 350 degrees and cook for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Running Around

My poetic version of what it feels like for life to be a complete adventure and having numerous errands to do. Enjoy!

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Running around, running around
Where the hell do I begin this stream?
My brain feels tight
There’s thoughts wanting to fight
As I’m holding back with all my might
It’s definitely time to take flight
Without any fears in sight…

Adventures everywhere
Sometimes make me want to pull my hair
While in transit all the livelong day until my body refuses to stay awake…
Because a break seems nowhere to be found
When all you're doing is running around…

Running around, running around
I'm finally free from sitting in this box of loneliness all day
After feeling like the kid who gets in trouble at school and has to sit at the desk in the corner facing the wall...
The sounds of “What do I do? Where do I go?” vibrate within my mind
Only seeing the time fly faster than a bullet train reaching its next destination
While the hours, the minutes, the seconds, vanish in the blink of an eye...

A void from being stuck in the norm needs to be flooded with fulfillment,
But there's a storm cloud
Encasing my creativity in a chainmail shroud
Which must be torn…

What do I do? Where do I go?
There are too many cells flowing on overdrive in the hive
Of the next steps to take in the life of a young twenty-something millennial…

When you were a child, you had a vague idea of what you want to do when you grow up…
Firefighter, doctor, nurse, lawyer, businessman…
Which for me, over the years, evolved into poet, web developer, martial artist, sword fighter, chef, nerd, healthspirer, blogger, youtuber, warrior, musician, producer, singer, lyricist, volunteer, comedian, game show winner, novelist, teacher…
What the fuck do I want to do?
As a computer programmer by day and artist by night,
The list is endless,
But in order to find opportunity, you need to be running around in networking land…

Running around, running around
Where on earth is destination to be found?
You won’t find it if you don’t go exploring…
But preparation and opportunity must meet in the middle…

Running around, running around
It's time to figure out where the dreams lie
With optimism, pride, and forward strides in mind
It's definitely time to go for a joyride!

Why Being a Nerd is Empowering

Why being a nerd is empowering… because being "me" gives lots and lots of stories! Why? Because I enjoy adventures!

I mainly tell my stories about how it feels to be different and how it’s empowering to be yourself, how I overcame previous challenges of being picked on frequently for being different, and I exclaim why people should never give up through (spoken word) poetry, which I’ve been writing poetry for about 7-8 years now. I post all of my poetry and writing endeavors, healthy recipes I’ve created, and much more on my blog that I have been actively working on for the past 2 years.

I have always been a nerd for as long as I can remember, but didn’t start embracing it until towards the end of my college career. I can also definitely say that on the outside, you won’t be able to tell how nerdy I am until you start talking to me because I generally dress pretty girly with my own flair of course. I started watching anime with my friend who lived on the same block and my twin sister when I was 10. We would pretend to act as the protagonist female characters Dragonball Z and go running around the playground pretending to shoot lasers from our hands. I was designated to be “Maron”, which that name is still carried with me to this day, along with my love for anime. I also just went to my first major anime convention this past May and I had a blast!

When I was 12, my best friend at the time and his older brother introduced me to web development and shortly after, my first website, “Anime Luvers”, was successfully launched with much assistance from my friend and his brother. From that point, I knew I wanted to be a web developer for the rest of my life, not even being aware that you can make good money and it’s very male-dominated. I went on to study web development at Illinois State University, graduated in May, 2013, and have now been at my job as a web developer for about a year now. I can’t see myself not doing web development or IT in some way for the rest of my life because I love it so much. Up until my college graduation, I was always a band geek and did band from 5th grade until the end of college, was a member of the anime club in high school, was a founder of the video game/DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) club in high school, played DDR actively, and was even the president of the club for IT majors during my senior year of college. I am currently very professionally involved in my field and have done my fair share of peer mentoring. I have also advocated to and inspired women on why they should pursue an IT or STEM career despite being a vast minority, been a professional mentor to 2 Illinois State University students in the IT department, presented an awards ceremony to high school girls who were being honored for their achievements in IT, and went to my high school to speak about why being in the IT field and a web developer are tons of fun!

After my college graduation, I was having a rough time transitioning into “adult life” and didn’t really have too many friends at home. My relationship with my family was also extremely rocky at the time, which was making the transition worse. On May 25, 2013, my best childhood friend who inspired me to be a web developer, passed away at the age of 22, 3 weeks before I started my career. His strong work ethic and passion for web development and nature will be in my heart until eternity! Without him, I don’t even want to know where else I’d be today because I am beyond happy with my decision to be a web developer!

Unfortunately in college, I became overweight because I gained a bit more than the freshman 15 in college… more like the college 60! A good friend of mine, who I met trying to recruit him into the IT club I ran in college, ended up taking me to a “belegarth” practice this past July. Belegarth is a boffer combat sport where you basically hit nerds with sticks and is very closely related to LARPing. He kept telling me how the people that he fought closely with in his “fighting unit” are basically his family and he always spoke so highly of them. After the very first practice, I was instantly hooked and have never looked back since. I had never been exposed to such a welcoming and nurturing community and was excited to continue attending practices and eventually go camping with everyone! In October, 2013, I met the person who ultimately ended up changing my life... not prince charming yet unfortunately, but the man who is now a dear friend of mine that’s been leading me towards living a happier and healthier lifestyle. I knew I had wanted to lose the weight for awhile and had several failed attempts at losing the weight. I ended up pursuing karate again as of January, 2014, which I had quit previously for about 5.5 years. Now, thanks to getting introduced to LARPing and it being an activity where you run around a lot, I am less than 2 belts away from black because I went back to the same karate school I was at before and was able to pick up from where I left off, I’m happier than ever and healthier than ever, and around 60 pounds since January, 2014 (basically all the weight I gained in college) and still going strong to attain the most optimal lifestyle possible. All of these positive changes and weightloss journey successes are thanks to being a nerd and being surrounded by other nerds where we can all embrace being totally weird together.

How is being a nerd empowering to you? Feel free to share or post your story somewhere :)

Beautification of the Clouds

Just another short flash fiction story about wanting to make the world a better place. Enjoy!


She ran into the great big city… buildings everywhere, skies unpolluted, people populated all around, arms and eyes wide open... The excitement cheered as she stood brightly upon the stage in a room filled wall to wall to announce her keynote speech. Wisdom was shared on how to promote change and betterment to the world. “Let’s fight for justice by seeing all people as human and not a color on a paint palette... because we are all beautiful!” The crowd exploded in jubilation and took action. The clouds can relax peacefully now…

What is Kendo UI?

What is Kendo UI?

Site: http://www.telerik.com/kendo-ui1

Kendo UI is a HTML5 and Javascript/JQuery framework that provides a Javascript library to create fast, rich, responsive, and interactive webpages. The DOM is utilized as well. This framework also provides several UI widgets that are in HTML5 and based on JQuery (which isn’t fully compatible with Internet Explorer yet). You can also integrate Angular JS and Bootstrap, which are supported as well. This framework is very mobile compatible. HTML5 tools such as data sources, templates, drag and drop components, and model view view model are utilized in this framework.

Prideful Eagles

Since I am performing a set about anything related to Black History Month today, I decided to come up with a new work on what Black History Month means to me, and this is the awesomeness I have conjured. Enjoy!


It was the day that plenty of us have hungered for…
The sweet taste of freedom
Where dreams soar like bald eagles taking pride on its tree!

Miles and miles of hard work, poured towards the ideal future we've invested years working towards…
Starting with one voice and blossoming towards unity!

To begin, our ancestors branded the beginnings of the books by fighting adversity… of being rejected for personal qualities only seen on the outside…
They were forced onto plantations… working from dusk til dawn doing back breaking chores for pennies… or even nothing!
As the years floated along, society continued its path towards wanting to purge and/or cage what it considered “wrong”
Meaning that people who don’t possess a perfect peach skin tone shall be forced into enslavement and treated as animals… or even annihilated…
But they will never go down without a fight…
Because there is no such concept as defeat!

During these long episodes of being confined behind fences, singing triumphant harmonies possessing rhythmic virtuoso to tell the story of strength and how the underdogs will continue marching onward until they hear the sound of emancipation echoing upon the unlatch of the gate…
Where the animals can evolve into humans and begin experiencing the meaning of a dream…
Freeing themselves from the bottom like kittens evolving into lions they shall fight for what’s right and work their way into the food chain…
Now, they have risen to the top…
Mr. Current U.S. President, whose skin radiates of beautiful dark tones is now the head of our nation!

Ultimately, the main goal is to be able to receive these unalienable rights we were all promised upon entering this world, and if they are ever taken away or tampered upon, we shall be that bald eagle perched upon the tree, fly free, and emerge victorious!

Healthy Clam Chowder Recipe

This is what happens when your boyfriend tells you he wants some clam chowder from a can on the day of the Super Bowl... so I ended up inventing this and here it is below. Enjoy!

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Servings: about 12; cooking/prep time combined: about 2 hours

Soup Base

4 cans Progresso Light New England Clam Chowder Soup
1 can Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
3 tbsp Corn Starch (add more or less for desired thickness)

Spices

2 Bay Leaves
¼ tsp Celery Salt
¼ tsp Celery Seed
½ tsp Onion Powder
½ tsp Paprika
1 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Garlic Powder
3 tbsp Minced Onions
1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp Chives
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
2 tsp Parsley
2 tbsp Thyme
Salt/Pepper to Taste

Sauces

1 tsp Tabasco Sauce
1 tsp Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 8oz bottle Clam Juice
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1.5 cups Red Sherry Cooking Wine

Veggies and Add-Ins

3 cans Clams, undrained
3 tbsp Bacon Bits
1 large Yukon Gold Potato, peeled and cubed
¼ cup diced Tomatoes
3 Celery Ribs, chopped
3 Green Onions, chopped
½ cup mixed Red and White Onions, chopped
1 Orange Pepper, chopped
¼ cup Mushrooms, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, chopped


After prepping the veggies, place all ingredients except for the corn starch into a large, uncovered pot. Turn the stove onto medium-high heat (about “7”) until the soup comes to a boil. Once the soup boils, turn onto low heat (about “3”). Begin gradually adding the corn starch while stirring until desired thickness is reached. Make sure the veggies have the desired tenderness and the clams aren’t too tough. Top with a handful of oyster crackers in each serving if desired and enjoy!

Rebecca Duxler's Healthful Recipes

All of my recipes...errrrr... creative inventive concoctions... now organized in 1 central place. Enjoy the healthy cooking and the tastiness! Much more coming soon!

Last Updated: 2-5-2021

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Dips

El Famous Burrito Dip Recipe

El Famous Layered Taco Dip Recipe

Peppery Onion Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe

Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe

Hummus Recipe

Game Day Greek Yogurt Taco Flavored Dip Recipe

Guacamole Recipe

Greek Yogurt French Onion Dip Recipe

Garlicky Greek Yogurt French Onion Dip Recipe



Salsas

Black Bean and Pepper Salsa Recipe

Black Bean Salsa Recipe

Corn and Black Bean Salsa Recipe

Fresca Fuego Salsa Recipe



Soups

Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe

Kale and Northern Bean Soup Recipe

Homemade Black Bean Soup Recipe

Clam Chowder Recipe

Miso Soup Recipe

French Onion Noodle Soup Recipe

Enhanced Progresso Italian Wedding Soup Recipe




Appetizers and Sides

Kicked Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes Recipe

Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates Recipe

Dressings and Sauces

Maple Mustard Sauce Recipe

Lemon Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette Recipe

Tuna Tomato Garlic Spinach Artichoke Sauce Recipe

Parmesan Garlic Tomato Sauce Recipe

Chili Garlic Salad Dressing Recipe




Quick, Easy, Healthy, and Salads

Pea and Mushroom Pasta a la Linguine Recipe

Protein-Filled Greek Yogurt Caesar Salad Recipe

Enhanced Knorr Rice Sides: White Cheddar Queso Recipe

Healthy Tuna Salad on Garlic Bread Recipe

Kale Caesar Salad with Bacon Recipe

Quick and Easy Chicken Salad Recipe

Grilled Pepper and Onion Tuna Salad Recipe

Egg Salad Recipe

Deviled Egg Salad Recipe

Cucumber Veggie Bean Salad Recipe

Salmon Salad Seaweed Wraps Recipe

Enhanced Ramen Recipe 1: Roast Chicken Asian Peanut Noodles Recipe

Enhanced Ramen Recipe 2: Asian Cole Slaw Recipe

Enhanced Ramen Recipe 3: Kicked Soy Fishy Noodles Recipe

Enhanced Rice Pilaf Recipe

Tuna Salad on Crackers Recipe



Entrees

Spicy Vodka Sauce Shrimp Scampi Recipe

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce with Spiralized Veggie Pasta Recipe

Zucchini Noodle Stir Fry With Spicy Peanut Sauce Recipe

Light Shrimp Dejohnge Recipe

Skaley Bacony Sausage Recipe

Healthy and Hearty Chili Recipe

Vegetarian Chili Recipe

Bacon Lasagna Recipe

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Squid and Mussels with Pasta and Garlic Tomato Curry Sauce Recipe

Clams with Black Bean Sauce Recipe

Parmesan Dijon Crusted Chicken Recipe

Veggie Lasagna Recipe

Hamburger Cous Cous Salad Recipe

Gluten Free Pasta with Spicy Cherry Tomato Sauce




(Alcoholic) Beverages

Pickle Mason Jar Epic Bloody Mary Recipe

Bacon Bloody Mary Recipe

Light Mudslide Recipe

Rebs a Rita (Frozen Margarita) Recipe

Fall Special Cider Drink Recipe