Happy Friday!

I am at home today with the little puglet and loving all of the cuddle time! He is pretty much attached to my feet and while this is adorable, every day activities have become more difficult.

Oh and have I mentioned that I am teaching again? After taking the last year off to explore some other opportunities, I am back at Cal State Long Beach teaching Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication.

As much as I don’t like admitting it, I am one of those “grass is greener” type of people and I really felt like I needed to explore other careers before settling down with my first option after college. I graduated college in 3 years and then went straight to my competitive Master’s program where I started teaching immediately. I was overwhelmed and burnt out. I really think that a year off helped me to realize how lucky I am to have the opportunity to teach and that teaching really is one of the best jobs in the world. But I don’t think I would have ever realized that unless I took that time off.

And this semester, my students are INCREDIBLE! Every day I am amazed by how thoughtful, smart, and mature they are. And we are only 2 weeks into the semester! Needless to say, the transition of teaching again and having a new puppy all in the same two weeks has been a bit stressful. What do I do when I am stressed?

Just kidding! But this really is an incredible beer. I nearly jumped up and down when I saw that it was back. Probably the best pumpkin beer ever!

What I really do when I am stressed, of course, is cook! And wow, do I have a great meal to share with you. Jessica from How Sweet It Is is one of my favorite bloggers. She has great recipes and shares my affinity for bacon. I have already made her Red Velvet Pancakes, which are the stuff dreams are made of. Her recipe for Buffalo Chicken Burgers is equally amazing!

Naturally, I made a couple changes to the original recipe based upon ingredients that I had on hand. First, I decided to fry up a little bit of Niman Ranch bacon. If I am going to buy or eat meat, I really make an effort to make sure the animals are raised in a humane, sustainable environment free of harmful antibiotics or hormones. Thankfully, that is Niman Ranch’s mission as well.

I added a bit less hot sauce than recommended due to the fact that the one I had on hand was a bit…strong, to say the least. This is a great hot sauce that will have you breathing fire so pace yourself with this one my friends.

I also reserved some of the bacon grease to pan fry the burgers. Oh yea, I went there. 😉

Putting the burgers together was a breeze and after about 8-10 minutes, you have perfectly cooked Buffalo Chicken Burgers. I topped mine with a slice of cheddar cheese, a strip of bacon and Annie’s Organic Cowgirl Ranch Dressing. This was my first time trying this particular dressing and I was not disappointed. I am always turned off by really thick, bland ranch dressing and this one gave that great creamy, herby taste without all of the weight.

On the side I served freshly steamed corn on the cob. Some people might like all those fancy corn on the cob toppings but I am an old-fashioned type of girl. Give me some creamy butter and salt and I am a happy girl.

This was the perfect comfort meal after a week of lots of life changes. What is your favorite comfort meal?