DeAnna Lee's Return to Bourbon Jacks

"Blame it all on my roots.  I showed up in boots!"  - Garth Brooks  

Y'all not only showed up last night, but you showed up with your boots on!  Thank you to everyone who came out to support my return to Bourbon Jacks.  The energy in the room felt like a big country family love fest!   

If you weren't able to be there, maybe you can come next week or the week after.  I will be at Bourbon Jacks every Friday just like I have been for the past two years!  Do you know the owner Eric? He's a great guy, and I want to thank him for the opportunity to continue doing something I love!  

Eric also gave us a chance to rock the Bourbon Jacks Party Bus! We got the pleasure of scooping up Mary and her friend Suzanne. 

Mary is a true inspiration to me!  While battling cancer for a second time, she is here to support ME.  Seems a bit backwards right?  But this lady has a spirit about her that is contagious, and she makes you want to live life to the fullest.  Mary, you are one amazing women, and I adore you!  

We also got to hang out with Alora and her boyfriend Corey.  We tried to take a picture on the Party Bus, but we found out it was easier to "party" on the bus than take pics!  I did get one with Alora and Courtney once we got on "solid" ground.  

The first thing I saw when I walked in the door was an amazing sign my favorite girls at Bourbon Jacks made for me!  

How sweet is that??!!!  Thank you Leslie and Alicia!  Y'all have always been there to cheer me on and show me the real meaning of true girlfriends.  As we speak my FBP is noshing on the Mint Chocolate Chip cupcake you made for me...actually I had to fight him for it!  HA! 

Here are the two line dancing beauties... love you ladies! 

It seemed everywhere I turned there were smiling faces ready to say hello.   These two ladies drove from Olympia.  The one on the right teaches line dancing at another country bar in their city, and we had such a nice chat about the South Beach diet.  Thank you for making the drive ladies!  

My heart literally almost burst out of my chest when I saw my friends Craig and Mary.  They don't really go to bars, but they came to see me and show support.  Words can't express what seeing both of you at Bourbon Jacks did for me.  It's like feeding that chicken soup to the soul.  

Then all of the sudden the floors started shaking, and it would only mean one thing...

The Kitsap Redneck Crew is in the hizzzz-ouse!  They loaded up EVERYone in Kitsap County and brought them over to Bourbon Jacks!  Y'all are a flippin' hoot!  

Bonnie and Shari ...I call them the Kitsap Beauties!  

I didn't realize that Kitsap had so many people that love country music until I spent a weekend with them.  I've been knowing the leader of the Kitsap Rednecks for a while, but recently we've had a chance to really get to "hang".  This guy is adorbs y'all, AND he has teeth as puuuurty as Luke Bryan!  It's my buddy Josh!  

This is Brittany y'all.  I used to work with her and before I started chatting her up like every single day, Brittany was shy.  Not now! This girl is one of the sweetest, most dependable people I've ever had the pleasure to work with, and she made my heart melt when she showed up last night!  You're a Country Sister now Brittany! And I hope you know...once you're in the family...you're a Country Sister 4 Life!  

Look at this cutie!  Jeremy is like the "Big Brother" to everyone at Bourbon Jacks.  He's always been right there if I ever needed anything... hold the pole for the Limbo Contest... drag over zealous patrons off the dance floor during the dance contest... plus, I had the pleasure of coaching him on the Boot Scoot Troop.  He's a lot of fun and a big goofball, so of course there is a giant BEAR photo bombing us!  

Speaking of my BST peeps... when I see you, I will always see "my dancers".   I enjoyed every moment I spent training and coaching this team!  Y'all are some talented line dancers, and soon a lot of people will get to see that!  

Oh and this is my girl Kari!  First time we met was my Bachelor Chat Finale Watching Party in Burien!  This gal is a ton of fun, and I appreciate you being there for me last night! 

Can I get a woot woot for our soldiers?  Kyle McBride was deployed for a year to Afghanistan, and he just got home in August.  You know I love ya Kyle! 

Huge shout out to my girl Betsy!  This woman keeps Bourbon Jacks hummin'!  Betsy has that "It" factor, and she shares that energy with everyone with whom she comes into contact!  She's one of a kind, and if you get the pleasure of having her bring you a drink ... TIP that woman BIG!!!!! Because she deserves it!  

I also wanted to give a shout out to Susie The Boot Girl!  She's the owner of Boot Girl Warehouse in Fremont.  If you need cowboy boots, you can get them from her ON THE CHEAP!  

This woman is like a gift from the Boot Gods!  She is also an extremely dear friend of mine who supports me by believing in my dreams and gently pushing me to go after them.  When you stop by Boot Girl, you may just see me because I love hanging out with this lady.  I converted her to country music y'all!  She's a guudin'...as we say in the south!  

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog.  I know there are so many of you that I didn't get a chance to say hello to last night, and all I'm doing today is thinking about how I could have been able to get to everyone.  Maybe next time?  The country music community in the Pacific Northwest is powerful, and I'm so blessed and proud to be a part of it!  

I hope I see you in that community soon!  Until I do, 

Keep Those Boots Up Y'all 

~DeAnna Lee  

Skinny Burgers

Skinny and burger are not two words you would normally put together.   In this recipe however skinny and burger go together like peanut butter and jelly, like cowboy boots and dance floors, like country girls and Luke Bryan!  You didn't think I was going to write an entire blog and NOT mention Luuuuke did you?  

But let's get back to eating burgers and feeling skinny!  

I love to cook with ground turkey.  It's my go to skinny protein, and I've already jazzed it up a couple of different ways this week! Turkey doesn't have much flavor, but it soaks up whatever profile you want to add to it.  Think of ground turkey as a blank canvas, and you are the food painter!  What portrait do YOU want to paint tonight? 

I also love to throw everything into a bowl.  Form the patties in the bowl, and then slap em' in the oven.  It's an quick preparation and easy clean up!   Like this...

Here's tonight's food portrait...

Skinny Chipotle Lime Taco Burgers

1 lb. ground turkey

1/2 package taco seasoning

1 tsp. cayenne pepper 

1/2 fresh lime juice

2 garlic cloves

1/2 white onion

1/2 cup fresh cilantro 

1 chipotle pepper

1 egg

1/2 cup bread crumbs

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

In large bowl add ground turkey.  Add a little salt and pepper. Chop garlic, onion, and cilantro.  Throw it into a bowl with the ground turkey.  Then add taco seasoning, cayenne pepper, lime juice, chipotle pepper, egg, and bread crumbs.  

Mix gently with your hand.  Do not over mix.  It will make the meat tough.  Then form into 4 patties.  

Put in a baking pan lined with tin foil and add a little olive oil to the top of each burger.  

Bake 20 - 22 minutes.  

I serve them with roasted veggies that I bake at the same time with the burgers.  

Nosh on these for a day or two.  Or feed them to the whole family and know that they are getting a lot of nutrition on the cheap, AND it's healthy!  

Vietnamese Chicken Salad - Goi Ga

I dare you to make this, THEN step on the scale!  This is an incredible shrinking person meal!  

A couple weeks ago I ate at the Triple Door downtown.  I ordered a Vietnamese salad called Chicken Shui.  This salad had all the things I love like cabbage, shredded chicken, cilantro, peanuts, and a tangy lime dressing.  After doing a little research, I discovered the Vietnamese name for this salad is "Goi Ga" pronounced "Go-E Gah".  Easy enough to say right?  So I decided to create my own version. 

Look at all these fabulous ingredients!  There is nothing in this salad that you will feel guilty about eating, and it fills you up! 

Plus a salad like this will keep perfectly in the fridge for a few days.  That's why I love making salads with cabbage, because it doesn't wilt or go bad quickly.   This salad will be even better the next day too once the lime dressing has a chance to marry with the cabbage and veggies!  

You can change up this recipe to suit your needs.  If you have a peanut allergy, then leave them out.  Here's what I did: 

Vietnamese Chicken Salad - Goi Ga

For the salad: 

1 lb. chicken breasts

1 carrot cut into sticks 

1 red bell pepper julianne 

1 yellow bell pepper julianne

1 bunch of green onions chopped

1 cup fresh basil or Thai basil 

1 cup fresh cilantro 

1 cup fresh mint 

1 cup chopped peanuts

1 head small savoy cabbage or green cabbage 

Dressing:

3 limes squeezed

2 garlic cloves minced

1 inch fresh ginger minced

2-3 tbsp. fish sauce (don't skip this- it adds salt and a rich yummy flavor.  start with 1 tbsp. and try it as you go) 

3 tbsp. Asian rice wine vinegar 

1 tsp. sesame oil 

2 tbsp. sugar 

1 fresh thai chili minced 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Salt, pepper, and put a little olive oil on each chicken breast.  Bake 25-30 minutes depending on the size of the breast.  Let chicken cool 5 minutes once you remove it from the oven.  Then with two forks shred the chicken.  I actually had a personal shredder for this!  My FBP did a great job with the chicken.  After shredding with a fork, he then pulled the chicken apart with his hands.  You want the chicken to be around the same size and shape as your julianne veggies.  

Now chop carrot, bell peppers, green onions, peanuts, and herbs. Shred the cabbage.  I do this by quartering the cabbage, removing the core, then slicing lengthwise.  Add all of these yummy things to a large bowl.  Then add the shredded chicken to the bowl.  

To make the dressing add all ingredients to a mason jar and shake shake like you do for Luke Bryan!  ;)  Add the dressing on top of the salad.  Mix together well.  

Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

If you want to feel festive, serve with chop sticks!  

This salad is even better the next day once the flavors get to marry, so portion out some for lunch the next day and make all your co-workers jealous!  

My FBP loved this meal too!  It's got all the flavors we love without any of the guilt.  I went back for seconds too!  Yum! 

My Weekend in Bremerton - West Side Love

In July I was asked to judge the Miss West Sound pageant, and I was so excited because I had been hoping they would ask me to judge.  As a pre-teen, I competed in pageants in Arkansas.  Then as an adult became involved in the Miss Arkansas program as a Big Sister and as a dance coach for contestants.  So I jumped at the chance to be a part of this organization which is a preliminary to Miss Washington and ultimately Miss America.  

So I hopped a ferry on Friday afternoon and headed out to the west side.  Interviews were first, and it was such a treat to see this lady as soon as I got there!  It's Megan Leibold- Miss West Sound 2013. 

We were also judging Miss West Sound Outstanding Teen, and I've had the pleasure of knowing the queen of 2013 for quite some time.  It was great to see Emy Houston again as well.  Shout out to her mom Lori who is a doll!  

On Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Anthony's on the water in Bremerton.  Then it was off to Admiral Theater for the pageant!  

It was such a thrill to be able to judge the ladies who put in so much hard work over the past 12 weeks.   The contestants wrote essays, mentored and worked closely with their Pearl Princess little sisters, and developed closer ties within their own communities through work with their platforms.  It's really impressive what these ladies accomplish throughout their pageant experience.  

Most importantly the contestants earn scholarship money.  In the last four years, the Miss West Sound organization has awarded over $100,000 in scholarships to almost 70 young women!  

And the winners are...

Introducing Miss West Sound 2014 Megan McCormick and Miss West Sound Outstanding Teen 2014 Deidra Morris.  

  

Watch for both of these talented and driven ladies at the Miss Washington pageant in July!  

Only the judges and contestants are allowed on stage directly following the crowning.  So I had to take the opportunity to congratulate them on their new titles!  This is Mandy McCormick, Miss West Sound 2014.  She sings opera y'all, and she is amazing!  

And this is Miss West Sound Outstanding Teen Deidra Morris. They say big things come in small packages and trust me Miss Deidra embodies that saying!  She knows what she wants, and she went out and got it!  She was stunning from top to bottom for me in this pageant!  

There were some tears shed last night too.  Megan Leibold passed on her crown, and she did it with grace.  This is Megan and her roommate from Miss Washington pageant Shannon Tuohy, Miss Columbia Basin 2013.  Just the sweetest ladies ever!  

But it was fellow judge Brenna Adams that takes the award for nicest all weekend!  She was Miss Congeniatlity in Miss Washington in 2006, and I can see why.  Brenna is so sweet, you wanna sprinkle her on top of ice cream and scoop her up! Adorable!  Oh and she's preggers with her first baby! 

Thank you to the directors of the pageant Amanda Cheatham and Jill Nicks for letting me be part of such a wonderful organization. I can't wait to do it all again!  

But this is not where my West Side adventure ends!  Oh no....I'm a country girl after all right?!  I was invited to come check out McClouds Country Bar and Grill in Bremerton after the pageant. Now I've been hearing about this place for over three years, so I had to go slip into my cowboy boots and get a looksie! 

I felt like they rolled out the red carpet for me too!  McClouds was so much fun!  They have a great dance floor, and DJ Hot Pants (that's what I nicknamed him) aka. Ken was super fun!  

They asked me to "Guest Teach" line dancing!  I jumped at the chance!  Heck yeah, let's do this!  So I showed everyone on the West Side how we do down south and what I've shared with all my fun peeps at Bourbon Jacks over the past two years!  It was such a blast too!  

McClouds is also the home of the Kitsap Redneck Crew!  

They are all so much fun!  Oh here's a pic of the best line dancer on the west side...

Shout out to Bonnie and Josh!  I love y'all, and I appreciate all of your love and support!  You guys truly make being a country radio gal so much fun!   All of these crazy country peeps are making the treck next Friday to Bourbon Jacks to show support, and it makes this lil' Arkansas girl's heart sing!   

Thanks again for making me feel so welcome on the west side!  Y'all know how to do it up in Bremerton!  Til' I see ya again, keep it country!  And...

Keep Those Boots Up Y'all!