A Romance On The Brink Of Reality, Planning A Wedding, and Growing up

I have a new home!

2009-11-18T21:34:00.001-06:00

Visit me over at www.ashleyandcharlie.net !

Lemongrass Asparagus Chicken

2009-11-12T09:22:00.001-06:00

A couple of months ago, Charlie and I purchased a Williams and Sonoma “Weeknight” cook book with some of our gift card money from our wedding. I’m really starting to love that thing, everything we have tried has actually turned out to be pretty tasty.

Lemongrass Asparagus Chicken:

2 chicken breasts, cut into very thin pieces

2 T minced ginger

2 T minced garlic

~1/2 lb asparagus spears, cut into 1-2 inch pieces

3/4 C chicken broth

2 T fish sauce

1 stalk lemongrass, only the bulb

2 T sesame oil

S+P

Start by stir frying the chicken with salt and pepper (Of course I used Mortons Light Salt, but use what you want) over high heat with the oil, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add ginger, lemongrass, and garlic to the oil, stir fry for about 30 seconds. Add the asparagus and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add the chicken broth (I used no sodium, fat free) and fish sauce to the pan and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan, reduce to medium-low, and simmer for 1 minute to heat. Serve over brown rice.

I loved this stir fry! It was super fragrant from all the garlic, ginger and lemongrass, and the brown rice was creamy and a little starchy..perfecto! The fish sauce totally made it even more enjoyable ;) I think Chelsea would have liked it..

We also tried a chicken cous cous with cinnamon and cumin that was actually a result of combining a couple of recipes. This one needs work, but we used plan ol 2 cups cous cous, juice of 1 lemon, drizzle of olive oil, 1 T garlic, 1/2 t cumin, 1/2 t cinnamon, 3 cups chicken broth, diced mango, and some roasted chicken breasts.

We started by zesting the lemon and squeezing the juice into a sauce pan over high heat. Then we added a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, then the garlic—stir fried for 1-2 minutes. Then we added the cumin and cinnamon, then broth and brought to a boil. Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 5 minutes to blend the flavors.

Then add the cous cous, re-cover the pan, and remove from heat. Let stand until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Fluff with fork, serve with diced mango and chicken..

It was good, but very cumin-y. I would add lots of dried fruit to it, as well as some cilantro and almonds. oh well :)

In Ozzy news, he loves going to the park!

Can't wait for Julies wedding this weekend! More to come later…

Butternut Squash Zoup

2009-11-01T14:19:00.001-06:00

Since Fall is here I thought I would try some squash recipes. The only “squash” I even like is Zucchini, so I went out on the limb here..

Our neighbors belong to a food co-op and get a plethora of goodies on a weekly basis that they can’t always get through, so we get the left overs :)

I was surprised at how much we got! All organic: Leeks, baby bok choy, garlic, shallots, apples, oranges, the best grapes I have ever had, butternut squash, delicata (peanut) squash, carrots..a whole bag of goodies!

I tried out a butternut squash recipe because the pictures of the soup always look soo good and vibrant. I started by halving the squash and scooping out the seeds..this was just a lil guy:

I chopped it into quarters and roasted them in the oven at 350* for about 35 minutes in a couple tablespoons of water to get them soft for soup makin’!

While that was cooking, I chopped 1/2 of a small white onion, a couple of carrots, including this two-fer-one:

and also two medium taters..

I lightly sauteed the onions in a bit of olive oil, then added the carrots and potatoes to warm. Then I added a cup or two of water, and a cup or two of chicken broth and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. I also cooked 1/2 cup lentils to add to the soup at this point.

When the squash was done, I scooped out the soft flesh and put it in our brand spankin new food processor! I also added the potatoes, carrots, onions, a splash of chicken broth, and lentils. I had to do this in two batches because there was a lot.

I also added about 1/2 T fresh grated ginger, 2 t minced garlic, salt, and pepper.

Whizzed for a minute or two, the ingredients were combined and made a nice thick “split pea soup” like texture. I reincorporated it back into the simmering broth on the stove to bring it more of a soup temperature ;)

The result:

I really liked it! I realized that after it was all said and done, I liked it a lot more watery, so from the 2nd bowl on, I added more hot water or chicken broth to thin it out. I also really liked it with a pinch of curry powder on top—yum! Charlie even had a bowl, and he hates squash ;)

Also, on Friday, Charlie had a man date with one of this friends, who was kind enough to bring along his dog, Bella. Ozzy developed a little crush on her in her little pink sweater, I think, and begged me to put his sweater on him so he could impress ;)

What a stud :)

We also played at the park a couple of days ago. Funniest pictures ever!

And this is what a tired Ozzy looks like…

Happy Halloween to everyone, as well!

Charlie went as Matthew Lesko, the “get free money from the government” guy..Check out those shoes!

I went as Little Red Riding Hood, and Ozzy was the littlest witch..

Happy Halloween!

Happy 3 months!

2009-10-26T12:37:00.001-05:00

Not that I will be doing a really obnoxious countdown as every month of marriage passes..but Charlie and I actually did a little celebrating over the weekend, so there!

We had wanted to stay at a bed and breakfast a couple of weekends ago, but nearly every room in Stillwater, MN was booked..so on a whim I actually had this past Saturday off from my job (which never, ever happens) and the fact that my day off landed on our anniversary weekend, we thought we had better take advantage of it!

We dropped Ozzy off at grammie and grampies for the night (first he needed a bath..)

and drove about 45 minutes to Stillwater. We got there a couple of hours before check-in, so we parked and walked down to the main drag to find some lunch. I knew right away where I wanted to go! Leo’s!

I love everything about diners. The food, the atmosphere, the hustle and bustle.

I was really, really happy with the menu, too! Lots of variety. I knew I was going to be having some naughty foods over the weekend, so I stuck to a small bowl of delish chili and a grilled chicken salad..which had field greens instead of bagged iceberg! The chicken was yum, and dressing on the side.

Oh! Here comes my chili!

Yum!

Charlie tried a pumpkin malt..

It passed my test, considering I dislike pumpkin ;)

Charlie got his usual BLT and it passed his test, too.

After walking around a bit, we headed up to our Bed and Breakfast, The Ann Bean Mansion. We loved the pictures we saw online, and booked the tower room, which was the only room with two levels. While waiting for our inn keepers, we snapped a few pics in the parlor..

Loved the house. It was so cool inside, lots of old woodwork and lots of detail. I could do without the Victorian furnishings, but would love to live in a house like this.

I didn’t manage to get a picture from the outside, but this is a picture from the Ann Bean website:

Our two rooms were the two levels above the roofline of the tower and the section on the right. So fun!

We finally checked in and climbed up to our room—lots and lots of stairs! It had a nice little nook for the bed, and an awesome gas fireplace..

We also had more of a “suite” so we got an attached bathroom that had wonderful lighting for make up application. I know my mom would appreciate that ;)

And off to the left, we had a separate room with a jacuzzi tub. I love this room; it was so bright and airy..

And finally..the whole reason why we picked this room..the secret little stair case!

How cool is this! A little nook at the top of the tower!

Clearly my favorite part of the place :)

After we got settled in, it was back down to main street for some shoppin and scenery…

I think I even spotted Amelia! Amelia Earhart!

A giant pumpkin just waiting for pictures!

Oh my! An Olde Thyme Candy Shoppe!

Inside a paper store, was its very own man room. I made Charlie go in for the picture :)

We even spotted some Stillwater cowboys and their horsies!

Inside some shop..

A nice little rock cliff we saw..

Charlie’s Pub..which we didn't even eat at!

We had planned on going to a nice restaurant, and there were really only two to choose from. We got all dolled up to hit the town.

Only to find out that the only two really nice restaurants had 2 hour waits! I suppose that's what you get when there is only two :( So we decided to go to Whitey’s Saloon, which had really good food! I don’t need no hoity toity white napkin service in the end anyways :)

After dinner we went and had some gelato and went on a haunted cave tour which I was convinced wasn’t a real cave. I guess Charlie did some research and it was indeed a real cave..but the tour was really lame. Shh, don’t tell Charlie..

Then it was back the the Bean!

In the morning we had the choice to either go down to the dining room and have breakfast with the other guests, or have it brought up to our room. Can you guess which one we chose? Breakfast in bed, of course! The spread was wonderful and really surpassed my expectations. It came nicely on a tray, which Charlie wonderfully and cautiously brought up to our nook at the top of the tower. That tiny staircase really required some maneuvering, too..

Charlie tuned the radio to some soothing Beethoven as we dined..

We had an egg crepe like bowl with chives that encased two poached eggs, bacon, and tomato sitting atop a balsamic drizzle which was divine. I only had a few bites because it was very rich, but so interesting.

We also each got a mini crème brule which I don’t like, but had a little nibble then gave the rest to Charles. We also had fresh berry muffins which were very good, and a “drunken” fig which was a fig in a red wine sauce on top of some yogurt and a sprinkle of granola. If I liked wine, I would have enjoyed it more..but it was tasty nonetheless!

Complete with some cute s+p shakers! You know I love anything miniature :]

And some hot coffee in a gen-you-wine Ann Bean mug!

So we got all packed up and ready to go, with some final shots with Ann..

It was a nice stay :)

And our finds from Stillwater, MN:

1 Sock Monkey ornament

1 traditional pickle ornament from the Katie Wolfhart (lololol) shop

1 antique cuckoo clock spoon

1 antique spoon with donkey :)

I have been looking and looking for a couple of unique small spoons for stirring my coffee and such, and I found not one but two very unique ones! I am so excited :)

Now I’m off to bring Ozzy for a nice long walk, then its cleanin time!

A Hodgepodge of Happenings

2009-10-19T15:57:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, Ozzy had is last day of puppy class, where he graduated with flying colors! In fact, he graduated at the top of his class..his class of one ;)

Ozzy had to do a series of tricks for the instructor, as well as demonstrate that he has learned how to walk on a loose leash, come when called, and “leave it” when asked. Overall I give him an A+!

He got a nice diploma and even got to wear a graduation cap!

Isn’t he just the cutest graduate?!

Now we just have the small task of making sure he maintains all those skillz ;)

In other news, I was eating an egg on saturday..and omg! Twins!

Weeeiiirrrdd! How did that lil chick know the yolk was my favorite part?! So good.

So being in the special diet that I am on, I can’t have any sort of pasta. Bummer. Too many starch calories..but I can have tofu shirataki noodles!

Behold the greatest pasta substitution evar: They come packed in water, so you have to drain and rise them well. Par boiled in a water for 3 or 4 minutes so they get warm..cover with ground turkey and sgetty sauce, and walah! Better than nood’s!

Now, they are a bit “slimy” compared to regular noodles, and have a different texture. They don't "smoosh in your mouth like a noodle would, and have a little chew to them. I thought they were divine, but Charlie much preferred his carb overload:

Where does he put all that?!

At 20 calories per serving, and nearly nothing else in them, they are a great substitute for pasta lovers who don’t want all that guilt. I would love them with my fettuccini alfredo sauce. Num!

And in light of the all the new cute fall things I want..I added a little autumn decor to our kitchen table.

Aren’t those love birds the cutest? And useful, too, as s+p shakers :)

I’m off to pick up some pictures, and go bridal shower gift shopping ;)

Just a little shopping..

2009-10-14T17:35:00.001-05:00

Why are all my days off from work spent catching up on all the apartment cleaning?! At least I have been getting a lot done..but it got me thinking. Oh I love fall. The colors, the smells, the crisp breeze in the air..perfect for a nice pair of worn in jeans and a sweater and a scarf. But, this time of year also makes me wish I had money to spruce up the place and decorate a little. So I made a little wish list for all things fall! Ah! Kind of wedding-inspiration-board-ish, only this time its home stuff.

Since our place is pretty small I wish for only a few things. For one, I wish I had cute place mats. Is that weird? I just think our table looks so..bare.

At least a nice neutral placemat that I could use more than just in the fall would do!

Imagine how cute Ozzy would look in an edgy old man sweater?! I definitely need to find a good pattern for one..they are $65+ for knit sweaters for doggies around here.

Heck, lets not limit this wish list to just autumn inspired things..here are some more goodies that I just plain want!

A neat old headboard. Beds just look out of place and very dorm room sans headboard.

A wall of floor to ceiling shelves for lots and lots of interesting reads. While I’m at it, can I also have that cool table?

A cool house to have floor to ceiling shelving in. One with lots of charm and unique details will do :)

A wall of frames with old pictures, both lost and found..

Exposed brick..

A breakfast nook with a cute color palette..

And a front porch to watch Ozzy play!

That’s not too much to ask, is it? Now go find me a house :)

Ozzy’s First Snowfall!

2009-10-10T09:05:00.001-05:00

My googlie eyed boy!

2009-10-01T15:31:00.001-05:00

While I do complain profusely about my current job, I have to say my occasional half day is a wonderful perk!

I got home at 2 today to do some mass cleaning and lots of dishwashing. I got to glance down and see this perdy little face looking up at me..

Our little man is doing quite well; sitting, laying down, waiting on command. We’re teaching him to shake, too and he is a quick little learner :)

So my decision to live a vegetarian lifestyle screeched to a halt last Friday when Charlie and I went out to Chino Latino to celebrate our 2 month wedding anniversary. We indulged and got lettuce wraps (no where near as good as ours) swordfish tacos, and some cuban pork with rice, beans, and plantains. It was delicious but we had to wait an hour and a half for a table. I suppose that's what we get for going on a Friday night, but we didn't start eating until 9:30. Lame.

Happy Anniversary, Charlie!

We also went and got some new reads. I just started The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan. I. Love. It.

After reading Skinny Bitch and being somewhat informed but more so turned off because of all the vegetarian propaganda (as Charlie would put it) I wanted to read something more intellectually based. The Omnivores Dilemma, so far, has exceeded my expectations.

So far its been about America’s love affair with corn. I mean, no wonder we have such a high rate of obesity when corn is in almost every part of our diet, either in the form of sugars or flours or flavorings or coloring, to the wax on produce, to additives in processed foods to increase shelf life. Corn is starch, which turns into sugar, which turns into fat. Its fed to cattle because its the cheapest feed, who weren’t meant to digest anything other than roughage like grasses, thus don’t have the right enzymes in their stomachs to break down the starches in corn, who are then fed antibiotics to aid in the digestion of corn, which seeps into our food supply, etc etc etc.

I mean, this book is sociology and connections at its finest. It’s such a good read so far, can’t wait to get into it more!

Last night I made some delicious turkey burgers. Charlie was really apprehensive about them, but I was really excited to try them out. I got 1 pound of lean ground Jennie-O turkey, mixed in 1 tsp of Morton's Light Salt (if you don't have this, stop using table salt and get MLS!!) 1 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried parsley, and 1 tsp Dijon mustard.

Separated into 1/4 pound patties, I tossed them on ol George Foreman and let them cook up to 165*

I used a great product called Arnold Sandwich Thins in whole grain, which remind me of a thin pita bread. So good, and just enough “bread” for my burger. They are also only 80 calories, so good for you too :)

I also enjoyed a nice Greek salad on the side..and decided while eating my burger that it would be even more tasty with some Greek dressing on it instead of mustard. Mmmm. Oh and, maybe less pepper, too. I would cut back to 1/2 tsp instead of a full tsp.

I topped mine with mustard, lettuce, and tomato. Charlie had a leaning tower of turkey burger with a more traditional bun..haha

In Ozzy news…I caught him wearing my shorts!

What a goober!

How cute are Ozzy’s goog-ly eyes?! Hahaha…

Two seconds after I took this picture, Ozzy hopped up to go potty. And I heard a gulp.

He swallowed like 2 inches of his chewy bone!

Hopefully it moves through smoothly ;)

Happy turkey burger eating!

He was born a poor, black boy..

2009-09-22T15:16:00.001-05:00

What’s with my once a week posts?! I guess there either isn’t anything super exciting going on in my life or I have just been too busy :)

Work has been rough. There is nothing like feeling you are stuck in a job that’s going no where. Sure, I am thankful I have a job, yadda yadda yadda, but for the sake of sanity I need to find another one, and fast.

I hate the 12 hour days. I hate the mentally exhausting demands of it all. Love the people, don’t mind what I do..but there isn’t anything keeping me there. Le, sigh! On my days off I have been madly applying for every reasonable job I can find and still no takers :(

I brought Ozzy to get his very first haircut today! It was exciting to be able to see my little man’s eyes, but I am afraid they took off far too much..He now looks like a diverse inner-city doggie complete with a frizzy ‘fro :(

Did you guys know that Ozzy’s original name that the breeders gave him was Denzel? Well, the name fits now!

Look at that flat head! Needs some mousse…

Cute little puppy pads, though :)

No brows!! :( :(

At least now I know for next time: no blow drying his hair straight! Ish! He is soft, but I think his curls are much more endearing :) And also to leave the hair on top of his head shaggy, and keep his brows!!

:( Poor baybeh. He isn't the lease bit phased, though.

Charlie doesn’t know this yet, but I am slowly turning my diet into a no red meat diet. Every time I eat red meat I get nothing but digestive problems, so starting today is my experiment on how my body changes with limited intake of animal based protein in general.

Putting clients on vegetarian or limited animal protein diets on a regular basis, I have gotten to see first hand the difference it makes, so my diet will consist of lots of whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, and some part-skim dairy. Except I am having chili with some ground beef tonight at my parents, so I will be only 90% today :)

Hopefully Charlie takes the news well, being that he is a meat and taters kinda guy ;)

Last Saturday we threw a surprise 50th birthday party for my pops! We all figured he had an idea, but enjoyed himself nonetheless!

Dad and mom..

He loved his unicorn balloon :)

Gonna need those diapers soon!

Doesn’t he look the same as he did at 10 months? Well, okay..not a day past 25!

Hope you had a good birthday, dadu!

Our little man in his Sunday best

2009-09-15T08:34:00.001-05:00

Our secret food was none other than tator tot hotdish!

Delicious ground beef, veggies, cream of mushroom soup topped with tators and popped in the oven! Thanks parents for a nice dinnuh :)

Last week was Labor Day, which meant food at the parents. My dad was making his famous ribs, so naturally I brought corn bread. I got the recipe online, although I tweaked it a bit.

With tweaking, my recipe was as follows:

2 cups cornmeal + 2.5 cups milk, let soak for 10 minutes.

whisk 1.5 cups flour, 1 T baking powder, 1 t salt, 1/3 cup sugar. Mix in cornmeal mixture, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup veggie oil, and 2 T honey—on medium, with mixer, for 5 minutes.

Pour batter into greased 9x13 pan (I used glass), bake at 375* for 25 minutes.

What I got was a wonderful yellow, moist, sweet corn bread that I thought was delicious and went over well. Even my mother complimented it, and she hates cornbread :)

We also got to enjoy roasted veggies ala madre..

wonderful fruit..

Double baked taters..and of course dads ribs..

Ozzy got to enjoy all the sights and smells of the backyard, too! We made sure he looked his very best before going over to grammie and grampies..

Look at that little bubble butt :)

This week we’ve got big plans for dinners after tonight..steak, potatoes, lots of salads...I hate having a job that mentally wipes me out. Leaves no room for thinking up dinners every night!

We will see, and hopefully get something up on this blog, dinner related, soon!

Happy cute dog clothes trying on!

What a dirty dog!

2009-09-02T17:11:00.001-05:00

So our time to go to the state fair has come and gone, but at least I got to have my very favorite deep fried pickles! We didn’t get a chance to really see all that we wanted to see, or even do everything we wanted to because we were crunched on time and it was just a weird day at the fair. We did, however, get to try the pot roast sundae ;) which is delicious if I do say so myself!

A nice bowl filled with mashed taters, corn, tender roast, and topped off with a cherry tomato. Holy yum! I will definitely be getting one again next year!

We, of course, ended our day with a bucket of Sweet Martha!

Sunday we had to bring Ozzy to his first puppy training class at Petsmart. One of the major reasons why I wanted to take him to puppy class was to socialize him more with dogs his own age, as well as expose to him to a lot of different ages and people in one setting. Well, pfft. There is only one other puppy in the class so we’ll see. We have been working hard on training! Time will tell…

I had a day off last week where *gasp* I actually had time to make Charlie dinner!

We picked up some bacon wrapped filet mignon at where else but Aldi a couple of months ago that were sitting in the freezer so I grabbed those and threw them on the foreman, oven broiled some rosemary taters, and had a nice side salad with a monster tomato to boot!

Check this sucker out from my parents garden…

Wowzah!

All my cooking pooped Ozzy out so he was napping on his rug under the table. He loves it there, and I love that he cant jump and beg for food cause its too high ^-^

We also put Ozzy’s parent’s pictures on our fridge at his height and I caught him peeking at them…

Awwwweeee

Tonight we have a really really good dinner coming up, made by my momma..here is a little teaser pic…

Any guesses? ;)

We’re All Animals!

2009-08-26T10:39:00.001-05:00

On Sunday we dropped our little baby off at grammie and grampies for the day while Charlie and I went to the Minnesota Zoo; but not before a nice bath!

It’s amazing how small he still is under all that fluff! Of course, he had to wear his new shirt…

Complete with skull and cross bones, how fitting for Ozzy :)

And a testament to his favorite way of laying, just for fun:

What a goober!

Potty training is coming along. Now that Ozzy is on a regular eating/pooping schedule we can prevent accidents in our apartment, but he still hasn’t learned to tell us when he has to go potty. And the chewing…the chewing is terrible! He is getting lots and lots of teeth so Charlie and I have had to invest in some “Bitter Apple” no chew spray. Working so far, although I am starting to think he enjoys the taste now…

So at the Zoo we went to the bird show and of course saw lots of goats at the Wells Fargo Family Farm ;) I bet dad is proud :)

This was a nice one that kept to himself and didn’t jump all over me :)

We saw the new African exhibit that was way overrated. A couple of Zebras, an Ostrich, A couple Giraffe's…kind of lame and in a very small area. Definitely nothing special.

We did, however, see my most favorite exhibit!!

Prairie Dogs! How cute are they?! Reminds me of Abner :(

I hear he is doing well on the O’Connell farm, eating lots of veggies in the garden :)

There was also the new Grizzly Coast exhibit that had bears and Otters and such. I was so so so excited to see Otters! I had very high expectations. First we saw the bears, who said hello:

Thumbs up to that!

Otters were a disappointment. They had a viewing window under the water so you could see them swimming..only the water was so murky you could see nothing. Major bummer.

Instead, snapped a quick pic with a roaming bear:

Next we went to the Tropical Trails, where Charlie met Mr and Mrs Slowsky from the Comcast commercials!

And, just for dad..a majestic baldy…

Overall it was a fun time, not too hot and not too cold. Saw lots of neat critters :)

Also, yesterday, Charlie and I have been married for 1 month! How exciting! So exciting, we had frozen pizza for dinner ;)

We seriously have not gone actual grocery shopping in weeks..and haven’t really had a real meal either. So tonight, that will change! Since I have the day off I have lots to do…

-clean

-grocery shop

-pick up wedding dress from the cleaner

-mail a book

-play with my little toot

Happy Potty Training!

We no speak engle

2009-08-19T16:41:00.001-05:00

Saturday Charlie and I had our Asian cooking class at the Kitchen Window in uptown. We got ready to go real early, because it started at 10 AM and went until 3.

We got to the Kitchen Window around 10, where we met our tour guide and chef for the day. He strongly resembled Jim Carrey in “The Mask” and was quite humorous…had a very strong and unique cackle, and honestly his teeth were so huge and straight across. He was very entertaining, and also very gay..not that there is anything wrong with that, but he was very animated. I got a feeling that my mom would get along well with him, not sure why..haha.

We got on our 12 seater special bus and headed to United Noodle, a very large and very famous Asian market in Minneapolis. It was huge and full of things with no english!

We met with the manager of the place who does all the purchasing, and he gave us a tour of the market, as well as tips for cooking products and staples we should have in our pantry. It was all very interesting, but so so much to take in, it was exhausting! We learned about different sauces, different rices, brands of popular sauces, which rice wines are best for cooking, etc. I loved it! After walking around for about an hour doin’ our learnin’ we had time to shop. We got…POCKY! I LOVE POCKY! And they had so many flavors, too! We got chocolate covered Pocky with coconut!

We also got some “Golden Bears” which are, essentially, “Koala Yummies,” if any of you remember those delicious snacks. Kind of like a little biscuit with chocolate inside. YUM.

Charlie got some banana chips, too. He loves those things, and I have no idea why. They are. nasty.

I decided to give them a try after Charlie raved about them..

But I was not a fan. Ish.

Once we got back to the kitchen, the chef started preparing a meal using ingredients he purchased at the market. We started out with a really good egg drop soup, although I would have preferred more egg. It also had really small diced tomatoes, which I thought was weird, but it went together nicely. It was also good because it wasn’t very “jelly” like. Very brothy, and very good. He also added mushrooms and actual Lily buds…which I thought tasted way way too earthy. Overall, it was a B+.

The he prepared a spicy beef with red peppers over rice and some quick sautéed baby bok choy. Delish! Really spicy and good. I had no idea that bok choy came in such small varieties!

After our cooking class we skipped home to prepare for our surprise going away party for Charlie’s friend, Nick. I was busy the night before preparing like crazy!

We had assorted veggies and dip in our new crystal bowl:

We had yummy fruit skewers:

Delicious prosciutto wrapped asparagus, which was just about 3inx2in pieces of prosciutto with some cream cheese spread on it, rolled around a quick blanched asparagus spear:

We also had chips and Charlie’s guac, with our chips in our new awesome wood bowl! (Thanks Julie!) Our spread:

I also made a new lasagna recipe from my How To Cook Everything cookbook.

Here is the recipe:

First you need to prepare a white sauce. I use these often:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 to 1 1/2 cups milk

Salt and pepper

-Melt butter down over stove, add the flour and stir continuously. Turn heat to low, and cook for 3 minutes.

-Stir in milk, a splash at a time, stirring continuously. Once 1 cup has been added, the sauce will be fairly thick. Add more milk a little at a time until it is a little thinner than you like. Continue cooking and stirring over low heat until it thickens again. Season with salt and pepper.

My white sauce was the most beautiful I have ever made, so I snapped a quick pic:

It was too thick for the lasagna, though. Make sure you add the 1.5 cups!

Now for the Bolognese meat sauce for the lasagna:

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-1 onion, chopped

-2 carrots, chopped fine

-2 celery stalks, chopped fine

-1/4 cup pancetta, chopped fine.

Sauté above ingredients for 10 minutes or until tender over medium high heat.

-16 oz (or more, I had my meat sauce run out) lean ground beef

-3/4 cup dry white wine

-28 oz whole plum tomatoes, drained

-1 cup beef or chicken stock

-1 cup cream, half and half, or milk. I used skim

-freshly grated parmesan cheese

Add meat to sautéed veggies, cook about 5 minutes. Add the wine, raise the heat a bit, and cook, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid is gone.

Crush the tomatoes with a fork, add them to mixture, along with the stock. Turn heat to low and simmer for an hour. Add salt and pepper. Cook for another hour . Add cream, half and half, or milk and cook for 15 minutes.

To assemble the lasagna:

Grease the bottom of a lasagna pan, lay 1 layer of noodles that have been cooked for about 3 minutes. Spoon 1/4 meat mixture, 1/4 white sauce, and sprinkle with fresh parmesan. Repeat until you end with a sprinkle of parmesan.

I ran out of meat sauce for the last layer, so I just cut up some garden tomatoes along with a can of diced tomatoes and a sprinkle of parm. I would have thinned the white sauce more so it would go farther and would be more”pourable” over the meat layer.

Bake 35 minutes at 400*

It looked gorg in my new polka dot casserole dish from Laura’s parents :)

This is a very non traditional lasagna, not heavy at all and not cheesy either, which is perfect considering Charlie’s nemesis is cheese :)

For dessert, I made my banana lemon raspberry cake I got from Cooking Light that I made for Easter..

Looks beautiful on our new cake stand from Auntie Vickie!!

Looks like it was a hit :)

Overall, it was a successful surprise party with, I thought, good food. Hopefully everyone enjoyed being guinea pigs for my lasagna ;)

In other news, we still have not gotten our wedding pictures, but we should sometime this week. To tide you all over for pictures, here is your daily dose of Ozzy taking his first bath and relaxing after!

A Day of Firsts!

2009-08-15T22:01:00.001-05:00

Charlie and I took our little Ozzy to Centennial Lakes park yesterday, which proved to only be an hour of fun because our little goober got too hot :(

I suppose that's okay because it WAS 90 some degrees…

Being that Ozzy was apprehensive about being on grass, we figured it would take him a while to get used to being around water. He loved ducks, and got way excited when one jumped in the water :) I think he just might be dads hunting buddy!

Here he is, taking a big step up into the fountain! Doesn’t he look like hes dancin with me?!

Running towards mom…

Ozzy’s first stairs! Look at that cute lil tush!

Ozzy’s first drinking fountain experience!

Ozzy walking with dad!

Hmm…what's this stagnant water? He did like it, though…

Our little cowboy has gotten so good at potty training, I am so thrilled at how good of a little boy he is. We let him off his leash and he just romps around, but always checks back to see where we are. He goes potty when we tell him to be “good boy” just like Chelsea learned to do that when she heard “good girl.” Aw. Ozzy is loving the world he's in, and loves to explore.

Charlie and I had a surprise going away/housewarming party tonight and made lots of good foods—I will post a recap tomorrow :) I am stuffed!

Happy puppy training!

We are pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-08T22:12:00.001-05:00

OMGSH We are Pregnant!!!

And we just had a baby! A fur baby!

Welcome, Ozzy, to the blogging world!

What a cutie! Ozzy is a cockapoo that we got today, at the same place Grammie got her yorkipoo! I think he is so funny, and such a cuddler. He was such a good boy on the 2 hour drive home, and just flops around when hes tired! And he even scoots around on the floor on his tummy :) How funny!

Love you ozzy!

Vroom Vroom!

2009-08-06T10:11:00.001-05:00

On Sunday, as a nice not so little wedding gift, Charlie took me to a Kitchen Basics cooking demonstration at Kitchen Window in Uptown. I was excited for many reasons..

1)watching a professional cook

2)the free and delicious tastings we would have, and

3)the free coffee and tea when we arrived :)

Maybe I’m weird like that, but I think its a treat when there is complimentary coffee and all that jazz. I suppose it makes me feel welcome, comfortable, and maybe even a little VIP?

We got there just before it started so we ended up getting a seat in the second row, which was fine for me because they even had fancy schmancy tv screens over the stoves so we could actually see what they were doing!

We tasted braised short ribs, which were super tender, but really oily tasting. I am not a fan of greasy meat that leaves a coating in your mouth, but it was still good :)

Then we tried a spring risotto, with mushrooms, artichokes, rosemary, vermouth, parmesan cheese…that was by far my favorite. It was so creamy..and she made it in a pressure cooker, in 6 minutes! A normal risotto takes about 15, with consistent stirring and adding in your broth in 1/2 cup increments, and only when the previous 1/2 cup is absorbed. I was ah-mazed at how delicious it was coming out of a pressure cooker. Now that's something I need next…only, the whole pressure thing freaks me out a little :)

Then she made a peppercorn crusted steak with a heavy butter and cream sauce along with an egg with a runny yolk. I love steak, and it was nice and rare and the crust was excellent, but I am just not a lover of heavy cream sauces on stuff..so with a little scraping off, it tasted just fine. The egg thing, though…hm. I love my hard boiled eggs, and an occasional scramble..but now I know why I always make sure my yolk is cooked through. Not a fan of that..bleh.

What else did we try…oh yeah. Seared scallops with stir fried veggies. I had never had a scallop before and was super excited to try one after seeing them on every food network show. The seared part on the outside was really good—very crispy and had good flavor. Once I got to the inside I was thrown off by the texture. Kind of gelatinous, kind of stringy…either way, not to my liking. It had a very “buttery” flavor and texture. I was happy to see that Charlie tried it, though :)

Overall it was a really good present, I loved that Charlie got me something as excellent as that! We even have another one coming up, but I will keep that one a surprise! :D I am even more excited for the next one than I was for this one, so it should be good :)

After our cooking adventures we went over to my parents house for a day on Lake Minnetonka, filled with eating and drinking..and...binocular creepy towards other boats ;) ah, haha. Fun time.

Last night Charlie and I made our first big purchase as a married couple, a shiny almost-new car! I can guarantee some nice pictures coming soon :)

Happy food tasting, binocular creeping, and c ar shopping!

Just my imagination running away from me

2009-08-03T17:46:00.001-05:00

Whew, there never seems to be enough time in the day!

I got off work at 2 today and rushed home to get a start on the massive pile of wedding gifts that has been looming in our living room for over a week now…thankfully I have had hours to sit and clean, but I’m not even done yet :( figured it was time for a blogging break :)

Ugh we got sooo many nice things from our wedding! Everyone was so thoughtful and we really did get more than we could have ever dreamt of. So many nice kitchen things! I can’t wait to do some entertaining to show you all my lovely pieces!

It looks like we will get our professional pictures in the next few weeks, but here are a few from some good friends!

Dad and I at the rehearsal:

My brudder and I at the rehearsal:

Here’s where my bustle string got caught around my heal. Way to make an entrance, Ash!

Despite how we look, we’re elated! I was just teary :)

Stacey, my maid of honor and I:

I was probably singing, per usual…

Cutting our very yellow, but very tasty buttercream cake!

That’s all the pictures for now…I know I said this many a time, but I had so much fun. So. much fun. Wish I could do it all over again :)

This week I’m going to be pretty busy with work, but on Wednesday we’re going to test drive some cars. Hopefully it proves to be a successful trip! I really wish my car would qualify for Cash4Clunkers :(

As far as cooking for this week: probably chicken, hard boiled eggs, and salad. I am going to get back on my pre wedding diet since I had such a terrible week eating wise..lots of pizza and relaxing! Keep your eyes peeled, though, I will be back..sooner this time, I promise :)

Happy wedding season!

We’re Married!

2009-07-27T21:52:00.001-05:00

my DEEPest regrets for not being able to blog for quite some time!

I had been so busy with 10 hour work days, lots of last minute wedding things, and running around here there and everywhere that I could hardly find a minute to think. But I’m back!

For the past couple of months, in preparation for looking halfway decent in my wedding dress, I had been on a very strict diet that didn’t really allow me to be that creative with dinners..which, in turn, means less creativity, less pictures, and less interesting blog posts :)

I had lots of quick meals that consisted of delish salads, like this one

Romaine, strawberries, mango, green peppers, and a nice Greek vinaigrette..I definitely had my fill of salads :)

I also had lots of grilled chicken, eggs, diet bread, fruits, veggies, and lots and lots and lots of water..around 96 oz. everyday. My diet was largely watching portions and eating very clean: no added sodium or sugars, no heavy dressings or sauces; but a good balance of everything my body needed. I felt the best I had ever felt while eating this way, and will continue to do so. I lost weight, though only a small amount, I thought it was noticeable..I never knew loosing close to 10 pounds was as easy as eating clean :)

In the months leading up our wedding, we got an apartment and furnished it quite nicely..couch shopping was by far the hardest part. Can you tell I like to lounge?

So my tastes were a little spendy, that wasn’t the couch we ended up getting, but a gal can dream can’t she?!

I don’t even know where to begin with wedding stuff: so much went into it! From our invites that I made and designed, to the bouquets and centerpieces, to the hair comb I was wearing..I feel very proud that I really think Charlie and I’s wedding was one of the cutest and classiest I’ve seen.

I can’t wait for more pictures, but here are a few that some friends have posted so far:

My parents and I:

Charlie and I’s first dance:

Father/daughter, Mother/son dance:

Our First Kiss, nicely half blocked by a big blue camera:

I can’t wait to see the photographers pictures..:) More to come on that.

I only took a few days off from work since Charlie and I are going to be saving up to go someplace nice in a couple of months, so today we decided to use one of our really great wedding gifts, a picnic basket! and go for a little picnic.

Vino, and some Milio’s sammies! I haven’t had one in such a long, long time…sweet deliciousness…We also had some Barnacle Mix my brother brought me from North Carolina…spicy and delish!

We also got to ride around in this little decorated gem:

Courtesy, of course, of Charlie’s very artistic friends :)

We had fun reminiscing about our wedding day festivities, and how much fun we had. I guess its true that they say its a night you’ll never forget. I know Charlie had the time of his life, as did I, and it was so great to celebrate with such good friends and family. Thanks guys!

Tomorrow is the second day of our honeymoon, and we’re heading to the zoo! Hopefully it doesn’t rain :)

I promise I will be back soon!! Keep checking back!

Just a quick little ditty…

2009-07-06T21:14:00.001-05:00

Greetings from my Blog Command Center!

Can you tell which computer is mine and which is Charlie’s? ;)

So it’s already past the 4th of July, which means its only 19 days until marriage bliss!

Flashback a couple of days ago, Charlie and I invited his family over for a nice dinner before the Matisyahu concert…I made so much food and only managed to get a few pictures if only one dish! I made individual lettuce cups, ginger wontons, chicken curry with veggies over rice, and fried bananas with ice cream! Everything was so pretty, I am so bummed I didn’t get pictures :(

Lettuce wraps were my usual recipe, just in individual pieces.

For the ginger wontons, I mixed neufatchetal cheese, grated ginger, a pinch of sugar, grated carrot, and some green onion—put a dollop in a wonton wrapper, and fried them up in a little oil. SO good.

For the curry, I just used some canned curry sauce from the supermarket, cooked up some chicken, green peppers, onions, carrots and let it simmer for a while, served of sauce. Mmm. :)

Dessert, as I said was fried nanners. I rolled half a naner in a spring roll rice paper, fried it in a little oil, then rolled in cinnamon and sugar. As I said, I am so sad there are no pictures! Everything looked so pretty. We had those served over ‘nilla bean ice cream, too.

It was a lot of fun, and I have to say it was nice to unwind with a nice glass of wine that Charlie’s mom so generously brought over!

In other news, I went last Friday to order our boutonnieres and corsages! I have to say I was very pleased with the price! I had priced them out at other places for close to 20 bucks, but Pazzobello in Uptown was the place to get them!

In dress news: currently being hemmed and will be ready soon! My beautification process is coming along swimmingly..getting some nice color and working on my poses and finding the right angle for pictures ;)

I also got my wedding shoes, finally got those taken care of. Really simple cork wedge with white fabric…excellent for stability!

Left to do:

-order alkey

-finalize numbers for reception

-print out programs

-make place cards

-finish bridal party gifts

Ah!

Off to watch Big Love…Charlie and I are considering polygamy…

It’s been a whole week!

2009-06-28T22:11:00.001-05:00

My has this week flown by! I had lots of full days working so I suppose that’s why it feels like I have no time on my hands anymore. That and, I guess I’m getting married in like, 26 days!

We have most everything done thus far except printing programs and making place card; oh and that little something called paying the rest of our vendors >:

Charlie had fun opening our first wedding gift the other night!

Our very own, very futuristic looking toaster! We weren’t sure the protocol about opening wedding gifts before the actual wedding, but the gift giver was adamant about enjoying it right away, and were so happy we did!

How cute is that :D

I do have to apologize about the lack of delicious cooking pictures as of late. With the full time job and wedding things, as well as late nights and being on a fairly strict wedding diet, I have not been able to get very creative with meals. Case in point: Last nights dinner..which was repeated tonight, sans potato..

Green leafy, delicious salad and green pepper with a greek vinaigrette dressing, chipotle chicken, small baked potato and a slice of a french boule bread Charlie brought home and surprised me with!

Down the street there is a cute little cafe called Patrick's. I had never been in there, but Charlie ventured over and picked up a few things to surprise me with. So, after dinner, he said he had dessert!

Ooo! Suprise!

It was a rich, decadent “classic opera cake” which was, in essence, a wonderful coffee/kahlua/tiramisu taste. Mmm! Definitely not on my “weight loss plan” but I had a few bites..

Charlie also surprised me with a nice brekkie this morning..an apple turnover that we so lovingly split. Then I had my first greek yogurt experience!

Greek Gods 0% fat greek yogurt, plain. Next time I am going to try Oikos Greek yogurt, as it looks like it has a creamier consistency?

Some frozen berries and Kashi Heart to Heart cereal..

Whew. I am pooped. 3rd bridal shower, a total of 4 hours in the car, lots of noshing on non-weight loss plan approved foods..I need some sleep!

Happy Noshing..on healthy things! :)

Lettuce Celebrate!

2009-06-21T23:20:00.001-05:00

Charlie and I made one of our favorite dishes last night..Lettuce Wraps! I was debating even making a post out of them, since we do them so often..but they make such tasty, easy, meals..and the pictures were fabulous!

I used the usual lean ground turkey, browning in a pan with some rice vinegar (1.5 T? give or take…) and a drizzle of good ol fish sauce. Once that was all nice and brown, I added 1 can of water chestnuts that I diced up, along with some canned mushrooms (did you know that canned mushrooms can have a certain percentage of its weight be slugs?!) to add some bulk. I also added about 1/2 T of Hoisin sauce right to the pan.

For eating, we had our regular cheapo ice berg cups, bean sprouts, a strawberry mango salsa, and our Leeann Chin Thai Peanut sauce along with some hoisin. The salsa was really just strawberries and mangos with some lime ;)

Our Toucan can opener was put to work last night opening the mushrooms and water chestnuts! I love this thing!

We had some delicious mango that we had on the side as well. I actually really liked the fruit “salsa” in the lettuce wraps, although it was a little over powering. Interesting, though. I would definitely eat it like that again :)

Today was Fathers Day! Happy Fathers Day, Dadu! My parents and I went to the W hotel for some drinks and dinner…what a swanky, swanky place that was! A good time was had..hopefully tomorrow, dad can nurse his hangover on his new hammock ;)

Hope you had a nice one! :)

There’s a foreign object growing in my butter…

2009-06-18T21:31:00.001-05:00

This evening was Charlie and I’s first actual dinner! We picked up some nice cheap flank steak from the grocery store last week that had been sitting in the freezer awaiting the perfect night.

It was a really thin piece, best used as fajita beef, but those aren’t a personal favorite so we just had it cooked in a pan on the stove. I have to say..these gas stoves really heat up quick! After hearing from Laura that her brother had left the gas stove on many a time while growing up, and they didn’t combust, I felt a little more comfortable with it. :)

I got the butter bell and set it next to the stove so I could put a dab in the frying pan for our steak. I lifted the bell out, and uh..the butter had fallen into the water and had this really strange consistency..it was really really melty. So I slopped it back in the bell..and…I saw this:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What IS THAT?! I thought it was black, but after looking at the picture it looks really green! :O ew! It was very hair-like…but it wasn’t in the butter when I put it in the bell! What could it be?!

Needless to say, in the trash it went. I used my trusty Smart Balance instead :)

We also had a nice salad with cucumbers, and some baked taters that I seem to be craving all the time now. Charlie made them special so the skin was crispy, and I actually ate the skin! Dad would be proud :) Or mad because then he couldn’t eat them off my plate? ;)

I accompanied my steak with some Pink Truck wine that Laura so graciously left for us to consume..

The steak was so thin it was probably in the pan for 30 seconds a side! Dad knows I like my steak nice and red, so at least this still had a little pink left..

The flowers are still lookin good, too!

I am still really sad going home for lunch and not having Chelsea to startle when I walk in :( It’s going to be hard to get used to. I still can’t believe I won’t get to pet my little goober anymore :(

Le, Sigh!

A Pleasant Little House Warming..

2009-06-16T09:38:00.001-05:00

Friday was my day off from work so Charlie and I got planning on our little house warming party that evening. Nick was in town from North Carolina, so needless to say it was good timing.

I made an arugula walnut pesto that was delish—although it had a mild bland taste to it..what could I have done to punch it up? I guess I think most pesto's are pretty bland anyway..but I thought the peppery arugula would kick it up a bit.

Anywho, the recipe is 4 oz fresh arugula (about 3 heaping, loose handfuls or more), 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, 1/2 cup EVOO, juice of 1 fresh lemon, and a tsp of salt, 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

I worked everything into a paste in a food processor and made the mistake of putting in the fridge until dinner—I think this made it “harden” too much. Next time, I would just leave it out until I was ready to use it.

I boiled about 1.5 pounds bowtie pasta in salted water, added the pesto, and tada! Presto Pesto!

We also had a nice loaf of baguette on the side.

Some lovely flowers from Nick and Laura..

Some Arugula pesto, with rotisserie chicken added for some protein..

Dad and Chelsea enjoying the tastes and smells..

For dessert, I made a fresh strawberry and rhubarb compote as n ice cream topping. It consisted of 1 pound strawberries, washed and quartered, and 2 cups cut up rhubarb in a pan on the stove with 1/4 cp sugar and 1/4 cup water. Simmer on high heat until the rhubarb breaks down, about 8-12 minutes. Let cool, then place in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

Here I am with our new ice cream scoop! Its actually a whale if you couldn't tell..and the fin is used as an ice cream spade! Thanks mom!

I also made a crunch to go on top at the last minute. I have no idea the amounts of the ingredients, just do whatever looks right? :)

Some oats, butter, cinnamon and sugar mixed together, then onto a baking sheet in the oven at 450* for about, oh, 8 minutes? Just watch so it doesn’t burn.

Finished product:

In sad news, we had to put the family dog, Chelsea, to sleep last night. That was probably the saddest thing I have ever seen. Some pictures of the little lady from Friday night:

I feel really sad inside :( I miss you chelsea!

pooped

2009-06-13T19:14:00.001-05:00

I am just beat! I just woke up from a quick cat nap since it has been such a busy week..hopefully I will be well rested for Bridal Shower #2 tomorrow! Mom is preparing a special spread of munchies that I only know for sure will contain lemon bars and brownies..we shall see!

So I really went out on the limb this past week. Since I have been on my pre-wedding diet, I wanted to be creative about my protein sources and try something different. Lately I have been stuck on chicken and boiled eggs, so I figured the obvious: cottage cheese.

Now, I had never had cottage cheese. I find it very off putting and avoided it for a long time unless it was in lasagna.

I have a weird relationship with cottage cheese. For one, I am really big on chewy things to snack on, and I always thought cottage cheese looked nice and chewy. I also really like creamy things, so it would seem a good fit. But, until recently, I really hated sour cream: the smell, the look, the taste..and cottage cheese always reminded me of that. Also, I am not a huge fan of cheese itself, so you see my dilemma?

We were at Target getting necessary first-week-at-the-apartment type stuff, and I saw cottage cheese. Hmm I thought…Why not? Could it really be as bad as I’m imagining?

I picked up a cottage cheese/fruit combo thinking it was the safest bet because everyone seems to rave about cottage cheese and fruit..I also made sure to check the expiration date, and that was just fine.

Tuesday morning after I finished getting ready for work, I pulled out the cottage cheese and told Charlie that I was going to give it a fair shot, because I really wanted to like it! First I examined the packaging:

Check.

I opened it up, and stirred…

Ok. Now I’m not sure about the color. It had a yellow tinge. And don’t get me started on the smell. Pretty much reeked of Parmesan cheese that was barfed up by pond scum.

But I forged on. Took a little bit of the cheese with the strawberry “gel” and omg. Reaction:

Does that face not tell it all!?!

It was disaster in my mouth. I could barely even it get down the hatch! The chunks were weird, the liquid was…strange. I am sorry cottage cheese, I really wanted to like you!

Maybe it was bad choice that it was from the Target grocery section. Maybe the strawberry gel should have been replaced with fresh strawberries. Maybe I should have gotten skim or 1%? I got the 2%. Maybe I should have had it plain?

:( It was bad.

Now I’m off to find something interesting to make for dinner..but I will be avoiding the stove since Charlie isn’t here :)

Happy (hopefully) Cottage Cheese Eating!

I’m Back!---Tuesday

2009-06-12T11:35:00.001-05:00

After what turned out to be quite the hiatus, Ashley is back to blogging!

Moving back home, starting a full time job, apartment hunting, and wedding planning (46 days?!) kind of took hold for a while ;)

Two nights ago Charlie and I moved into our first apartment, which happens to have a peeping tom on the loose. great? I better make sure to shut these blinds..

We got here late because we have a busy busy day on Sunday, rather, a very busy weekend. Grammie, Auntie, Julie, Megan, my mom and I went out to dinner and coffee on Saturday which was a nice time indeed, and if you remember my “Congrats Julie!” post, you remember she recently got engaged, so it was nice to chit chat about that and see a picture of the dress she ordered! Exciting news :)

Moving in this past weekend was dreadful because of the rain..I suppose it doesn’t help that my trunk also leaks! Good thing Charlie's precious pictures didn’t get soaked in there, or he would have abused me. :) Just kidding.

We got most of our things in their proper place, but it seems like for every box I unload and put away, another two appear. I suppose that’s just moving though. Le sigh! Should be all done unpacking by tonight..hopefully.

In other news…I am really scared. Really. Really. Scared.

We have a gas stove!! You have no idea how much Ashley+fire do not mix. I know; I just know that I am going to burn down this apartment building. Better go get us some renters insurance! Get on that, Charlie..

Case in point, last night I was making our first meal in our apartment. I got my chicken out, instant mashed taters, and gravy. Put some oil in the pan, set it on the burner. Asked Charlie how to turn on gas stove (never cooked on one before..) Charlie came over, noticed I had turned the burner to “6” but there was no flame. Decided that I should have pushed in the knob to get flame. *POOF* A very large (as I remember it ;) burst of flames goes up around the pan.

Check out that intimidating flame!!

OOOhhkay, that’s enough of a scare to make me not want to ever use that again..but alas, Charlie made me do it again to make sure I was comfortable, and for the entire duration of cooking dinner I was standing about 3 feet away from the stove. This is gonna be interesting..

*make sure we get fire extinguisher

Charlie had a nice home cooked meal:

And I had a nice left over salad from the Cheesecake Factory :)

We also had some nice dinners at my parents before we moved into the apartment, so here a few lovely pictures..

Stay tuned..there are lots, lots more to come…! :)

And They're Out!

2009-05-05T11:09:00.002-05:00

wow what a boring blog this is turning out to be ;)
My apologies for such a lack of posts lately..I have been in the process of moving back in with my parents, preparing for my new job that starts next week, and moving lots and lots of my stuff to a storage place..le sigh!
y
Charlie and I have found a really nice, but small and spendy apartment that we are seriously looking forward to moving into. The grounds are really nice, and its a completely updated apartment..and also dog friendly if we do so choose to get a little somethin ;)

And! Our invites went out! There was quite the assembly line of addressing, stamping, checking off, and checking again before they got dropped off at the post office. I am so proud of them, they're like my little baby..so cute, they are! I am really excited for people to get them!

Now we just have to wait to *hopefully* pick up our reception vases this Sunday, which so happens to be the same day as my college graduation :) Thank god, no more school!

Once that's taken care of..its all smooottthh ssaaaiiillinnngg until we have to pay remaining deposits ;D

So...what I'm trying to say, is there will probably be a cooking hiatus here (cooking by me, at least) but that doesn't mean I won't document what my lovely mother makes for dinner in the upcoming weeks until I move into my new apartment! Stay tuned.......................:)

GREEN MONSTER!

2009-04-27T19:38:00.001-05:00

Inspired by thousands of food bloggies alike, I have mustered up enough cajones to try one of these bad boys.

In a blender went:

1 ripe nanner

1.5 cup spinach

1 cup almond breeze original almond milk

1 tablespoon flax seed meal

some ice..

Whoosh… ta da! A Green Monster!

Isn’t the color just lovely? and GREEN?

Could. not. taste. the spinach! It was really nice and refreshing..but as usual, the banana kind of “dulled” the flavor. I would have loved to add fresh berries to the mix to pump it up a bit!

I’m sorry to say, I did not finish it all..only about half. Even CHARLIE had some! Amazing! I am confident I would have liked it better with berries. Next time…

This amazing little concoction bears an amazing girth of healthy things:

Nutrition Facts:

Calories 189.8

Total Fat 5.4 g

Saturated Fat 0.2 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g

Cholesterol 0.0 mg

Sodium 174.7 mg

Potassium 747.4 mg

Total Carbohydrate 34.8 g

Dietary Fiber 6.1 g

Sugars 7.1 g

Protein 4.4 g

Vitamin A 67.9 %

Vitamin B-12 0.0 %

Vitamin B-6 32.1 %

Vitamin C 29.4 %

Vitamin D 25.0 %

Vitamin E 54.2 %

Calcium 23.6 %

Copper 7.2 %

Folate 19.3 %

Iron 8.3 %

Magnesium 17.2 %

Manganese 21.2 %

Niacin 3.8 %

Pantothenic Acid 2.8 %

Phosphorus 13.5 %

Riboflavin 9.3 %

Selenium 2.0 %

Thiamin 4.6 %

Zinc 2.1 %

Happy Green Monster Eating!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-04-26T16:55:00.001-05:00

So Friday was Charlie and I’s 4 year and 9 month anniversary! Since we haven’t gone out to eat in a long time I thought it would be a good night to treat ourselves to a nice dinner to celebrate that, and 3 months until our wedding!

We ate a late lunch and seriously couldn’t decide where to eat in St Cloud. The city is not very eatery-friendly..it has like 4 chain restaurants and a million Subway shops but nothing out of the ordinary that we felt like..it was quite the decision and seeing as though I was getting more and more frustrated with the lack of options, we decided to pick up…

Little Caesar Crazy Bread and some Papa…probably the most delicious and well spent anniversary money to date :) Especially because I haven’t had it in ages..!

For dessert we also splurged on some Cold Stone ice cream..I had a small with chocolate and oatmeal cookie ice cream, chocolate sprinkles, and some cookie dough. Way sweet, but way. delicious.

Charlie had chocolate and oatmeal cookie ice cream with peanut butter and chocolate shavings..mm..

And also washed it down with a new Summit summer blend..

It was a delicious relaxing day!

Now tonight I need to pack up some stuff to bring to Good Will, clean my bathroom..work on paintings and drawings for Tuesday, and watch the premier of Daisy of Love! Can’t wait…;)

Oh! and make cookies for my last day of work :D

Happy Anniversary, eating, and relaxing!

More Fettuccini!

2009-04-25T13:27:00.001-05:00

Last Wednesday I had another hankering for my healthy fettuccini alfredo and decided I would give it another go since it was so delish last time!

My only downers were that a) I didn’t have any protein for the noodles, and b) I didn’t have any neufatchel cheese..but I had everything else so I gave it a shot.

I started with boiling some water and adding 2 oz ( 1 serving) of whole grain Barilla pasta. I learned that 2 oz of spaghetti, or 1 serving, is about the size of a quarter in diameter, so that’s how I portioned it out.

As the noodles were boiling, I steamed 2 broccoli spears in the microwave with 1 tablespoon of water in a bowl, along with some frozen peas and carrots (about 1/4 cup of that).

Once the noodles were done and drained, I added

1 wedge Laughing Cow Light Swiss cheese (35 calories)

1.5 tablespoons fat free sour cream

sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese

steamed veggies

I also enjoyed a slice of pumpernickel bread with some smart balance with flax seed oil.

The veggies really pumped up the volume in my noodles, and this is only half of what the recipe made! I also had a nice mixed salad with Annie's Sesame dressing on the side.

In wedding news:

Our invites are printed! Now Charlie and I get to have a fun filled day of assembling them :)

Now we’re off for some lunch, order my graduation cap and gown..and to enjoy my first green monster!

More to come on that later..;)

Happy eating!

Somethin’s a lil fishy…

2009-04-23T12:08:00.001-05:00

After I typed out how much stuff I got at the grocery store earlier this week I realized that it wasn’t much at all, and was basically just produce..which is fine, but whys it gotta cost such a perdy penny?!

I had mentioned that I bought some “ground flax.” To explain further, flaxseed was cultivated in Ancient Egypt, and its ground into a meal that has a delicious nutty flavor. Flax contains omega-3 fatty acids, and the ground meal can be added to yogurt, cereal, oatmeal..to take advantage of the anti-cancerous properties as well as maintaining blood sugar levels. It is also a great source of fiber..and did you know, that flaxseed produced LINSEED OIL!? I should know this, being an oil painter..but I never did :)

I made some regular ol oats yesterday, only I mashed the banana and put it in the microwave WITH the water and oats, instead of mixing it after. The result? Tasted just like the little “bananas and cream” Quaker packets. Yum! I also sprinkled 1 tbs of flax..

And I even took advantage of the sunny weather…

I also added a splash of Almond Breeze which added to the nuttiness of the flax.

For dinner, I decided that since I got such a good deal on single portion frozen salmon fillets at Cub this week I would treat myself to one!

I started with a pan on the stove on medium heat. Once it was hot, I sprayed 4 sprays of Pam Olive Oil Cooking Spray on each side and added the fillet to the pan. I let it cook for about 6 minutes on each side, and voila!

I drizzled lots and lots and LOTS of lemon juice over it, as well as garlic powder and pepper. It. Was. Devine.

I had a large portion of green beans and 1/2 of a zucchini as well—rinsed and washed and cut, then put into a hot frying pan on the stove with about 4 sprays of the Pam Olive Oil spray as well. The beans ended up crunchy and not over done, seasoned with garlic salt and pepper..the zucchini (an obvious favorite) got nice and tender and delicious as well..

What a great dinner.

I’ve got lots to do today!

-go to Michaels to get more paper for art class

-run to target

-various other errand-type stores for some wedding day accessories. Woo!

I have to say..I am enjoying this 80 degree weather. It was very relaxing to crawl out of bed, make some oats, grab my Modern Bride magazine and lay out on the balcony for an hour. :D I can’t wait for summer!

Happy eating, shopping, and laying out in the sun…

A lot has changed..

2009-04-20T18:47:00.001-05:00

Much has happened since last Thursday. For one, I had an interview for a claims rep position at an insurance company early early Friday morning that went swimmingly. But! I don’t need to fret about that too much because I accepted a job offer as a healthy living and weight loss counselor at a weight loss agency. I am super, super excited about it because for training we learn all about calories, how your body uses them, foods and nutritional information, herbal supplements, etc. AND we get to wear scrubs….;)

If I had gotten a job offer at the insurance place, I’m still pretty positive I wouldn’t have accepted it, partly because, could I realistically see myself sitting at a desk from 9-5 waiting for a claim to pop up on the computer screen? Probably for a couple weeks, but certainly not for years. While I understand that any job is a good job, do I really want to be depressed about going in to that place each and every morning? I need to be at a job where I can interact with people, and be moving around. Which is why I am excited about said job position I have accepted. It should be fun, and I am excited!

In other big news, things have fallen by the wayside with house hunting. After much thought, Charlie and I figure we would be able to save more with both our incomes now that I have a full time job, thus being able to have more expendable monetary funds for closing costs, etc, thus also having a larger down payment, thus also we will be able to qualify for more, getting a better maintained house in the end. Whew. Now onto apartment hunting!

I suppose its for the best, too, considering we have hefty wedding payments coming up, too.

Here is a picture of my breakfast this morning: 3 tablespoons chocolate malt-o-meal with 3/4 cup water in the microwave for 3 minutes. 1/2 sliced nanner, 1 tablespoon Grape Nuts cereal for crunch, and a drizzle-o-honey.

I don’t why I had such little energy this morning. I could barely even sit at my computer to check emails, even though I went to sleep plenty early last night. Strange…

I did muster enough energy to run to the grocery store. I got lots: 1 red pepper, 1 cucumber, 2 zucchini, 2 3lb bags of organic Pink Lady apples, 1 bag Clementine's, some organic Almond Breeze, ground flax seeds, spinach, romaine, hummus, nanners, green beans, asparagus, salmon fillets, not much else I don’t think?

I couldn’t pass up the Almond Breeze this week, since it was on sale. I have seen it on so many food blogs..60 calories per 8 fl oz, dairy free beverage. I was a bit bummed because they were out of the vanilla flavor, so I got original.

When I got home, into the fridge it went. When it was cool enough, I poured a bowl of Grape Nuts and drizzled the Breeze on it. It smelled fine, not funky or anything considering its made from almonds. It was also comforting that it was white :)

Delicious! I would not have guessed that it wasn’t milk. It has lots of calcium, too…couldn’t tell the difference. Yum!

Here it is, making its debut:

Ok so the picture isn’t all that great because I was simply ravenous when I poured it..and you can see a little hint of it on the right in the bowl. Next time, not Grape Nuts. They soaked up the Breeze toooo quick! As a result, I put too much in. Guh!

Like my tablespoon spoon? That’s what I get with a roommate who doesn’t run the dishwasher!

Anyway, dinner involved a new product as well. The picture is blurry, but Annies Organic Ginger Vinaigrette was on sale, too so I got some of that.

It was good, but I added some of this in a little bowl and whisked it together to make a more substantial dressing:

MMmm Thai Peanut..

I also added a splash of the canned mandarin orange juice to it to thin it out a bit. The Thai Peanut sauce added a little kick of spicy red pepper. Yum!

I had 1 cup spinach, 2 cups chopped romaine, 1/3 cup red peppers, 1/3 cup cucumber, and about 1/4 cup mandarin oranges. It was super tasty!

Now, hopefully Gossip Girl isn’t a re-run!

Happy Eating!

Just a wee update..

2009-04-15T20:42:00.001-05:00

Such a busy week, and its only Wednesday! Once again, I had no oats for brekkie today. I don’t know, it must be the texture of the instant oats that have really turned me off of it lately. Maybe I’ll try a new recipe tomorrow and see if I get my craving back?

This morning before work I had some Dannon light and fit nonfat peach yogurt with a sprinkle of my favorite Trail Mix Crunch cereal that I had been adding to oats…sooo goood. It was just enough to hold me over until my break at work at which time I satisfied my hunger with a nummy Braeburn apple. Crisp, and delicious it was.

I got home early today and was just ravenous when I walked through the door. I had some frozen entree thing, it was alright. Then I went for my run and have noticed that my knees are starting to really hurt when I land on my feet. You runners out there, what gives? What should I do?

I decided to take it easy and just do some hard walking for the last part of the run because I didn’t want to push ‘em harder. Anywho, I was still hungry when I came back, so I made a huge salad with romaine, 1 carrot, 1 green pepper, 12 almonds, and 1 tbsp Newman's Own Sesame Ginger vinaigrette. It was good..but something must be off on my taste buds lately. The salad seemed kind of spicy and had a weird taste. Still good, don’t get me wrong ;) Maybe I have been eating too much pineapple and its giving me those little things on my tongue. Hmm..I guess it didn’t stop me from having more for dinner!

I also browned some ground pork while my Arborio (risotto) rice was cooking in some water with chicken bullion. I wanted something hearty but not heavy so any “cream of” soups were out. I browned the pork with garlic salt, pepper, and Montreal Steak Seasoning…my favorite :) Then I added it to the rice after it was done (per package instructions). Delish!

A view of my giant salad! Good and hearty..but different. Hm.

News on the house: the seller accepted our offer but we still need to do an inspection..its a lengthy process..and as a result I’m not really attached to the house just yet. We will see!

Happy Eating!

New Giveaway!

2009-04-14T12:39:00.001-05:00

http://runtothefinish.blogspot.com/2009/04/honest-foods-giveaway.html

check it out!

WOWZAH!

2009-04-13T20:14:00.001-05:00

This weekend fly by we were so busy!

I’ll start with last week…

Before coming back to my parents for the weekend, I had a nice little brekkie and sammie..I really wasn’t feelin oats on Thursday, so I had my sample of Barney Butter I got in the mail! Its like peanut butter, only made with almonds :)

I had it on some banana boats, and some fresh almonds on the side. It was good, but I wasn’t crazy about it. I guess I prefer the peanut variety :)

Sometime last week I also used up the remaining rotisserie chicken I had from our Cinnamon Tomato pasta sauce. I topped off a slice of toasted rye bread with some Laughing Cow Light Swiss, some Dijon mustard, and the chicken. It was oh-so-delish.

Mmm..

I got home Thursday night and worked out with parents at Lifetime, it was too busy at the time for my liking, and way too many beefy men lurking around machines..But I went earlier in the day today and it was significantly less busy and more preferable :) Have to make a mental note of that for the future…

Friday Charlie and I went house hunting! Boy did we see some “charmers..” if that’s what you want to call them..

It was pretty discouraging seeing what we could get for the amount of money we were looking at spending. Basically, every house we looked at would need to be completely gutted, and we would have to put up a pretty decent fence and security system to keep the roaming perverts out that we saw biking in one of the backyards…awkward..

Saturday we did the same thing..only we found a house! Its an intense process and we hope we really get it. Its taken care of, doesn’t need to be gutted, and is in a nice neighborhood where mothers feel safe walking with their children! There is a lord!

But with other offers on the table, we will find out tomorrow if we get it or not, depending on the inspection of course. Le sigh! It would be wonderful..

Sunday was Easter, no bunny this year for me :( I did eat my fair share of Easter candy though ;) I also made a delicious cake from Cooking Light: A Lemon-Banana-Raspberry cake..it was very dense, almost like a pound cake. But oh so delicious! Omg..

I did feel a little strange snapping a picture of it at Charlie’s parents with all of his uncles around..but hey, I gotta think about the blog, too, you know!

You can find the recipe here.

In wedding news, we picked out the tuxes which will look very nice, and I had a job interview today! *cross your fingies for me…* It would be a really fun, relaxed environment, and I would even get to wear scrubs ;) Mom knows how jealous of her I am because she gets to wear them!

I will keep you posted on the house hunting..hopefully there will be good news in the next few days!

Happy Eating...and job/house hunting!

Many New Updates!

2009-04-08T18:54:00.001-05:00

Hey guys, did you notice over there, on the side <----------------- ?

I added a whole new section of past recipes! Click on the food, and it will automatically take you to that post. Some of them were in the same post, so if you click on a food and you don’t see it right away, scroll down on the page..it will be there :)

I have lots and lots of good news..for one, no drawing class tomorrow! That’s very good news because now tonight I can pack up some stuff from the apartment to lug home..also for tomorrow:

-workout

-bring lots of stuff home from apartment

-clean dishes

-pack

-coffee with Stacey?

Speaking of Stacey, my lovely maid of honor, put in a good word for me at her work. This is nice, very nice..as job hunting has proven to be difficult! But..as hard as it has been..for some reason, in the past two days, I have gotten 3, count them THREE call backs for a mini phone interview. This is the most action my resume has gotten, yess!

The past couple days have been leftovers galore. With cinnamon tomato pasta, chicken..salads and more salads..pictures have been a little boring, so I’ll spare you. I do, however, have a perdy brekkie pic:

I have finally found the right ratio for quick cooking oats to water.

1/2 cup oats, 1 1/5 cups water (verrryy important!) My oats have been way to thick and goopy as of late, so adding an additional 1/2 cup has done the trick. Now they are thin and delicious but still maintain that yummy oat texture.

added: 1/2 banana, sprinkle of Vanilla Cranberry Crunch cereal (the best thing ever..seriously..) and a drizzle of honey. This is by far my favorite combo, and I don’t miss the brown shugah!

Some night this past week (ok..every night this week..) I have enjoyed a salad, but only snapped one picture of the best one..

2 cups of chopped romaine, 1 cup fresh spinach, 1 carrot, 1/2 green pepper, cilantro, 1 tbsp Newman’s Own Light Sesame Ginger dressing, and about 10 chopped almonds.

*drool*

Lots to do tomorrow..so I will leave you with a surprise picture!

My wonderful, 1930’s engagement ring from France! Isn’t it loverly?

and dainty?

*swoon*

VOTE FOR ME!

2009-04-07T14:12:00.001-05:00

Hello guys!

I am up again this week on www.bridalcanvas.com!

please vote for me! You need a username and password, don't worry, they dont send you anything ;)

click here:

http://www.bridalcanvas.com/canvas/vote

vote for:

“Vintage Charm” By Ashley_Marie

woohoo! Turn up your volume, too..it has a nice little song :)

Poor, Poor Bambi…

2009-04-06T14:55:00.001-05:00

Saturday night’s dinner was really delish. We still had a chunk of venison in the freezer to use up, so I suggested some fajitas!

I made some healthy switches for my fajita and used good, healthy Extra Virgin Olive Oil to sauté lots of green peppers :) I also used fat free sour cream, low fat shredded cheese, a good bunch of fresh spinach instead of Iceberg lettuce, red onions, and a fat free tortilla. I did, however, enjoy 1 serving of tortilla chips with some guacamole that Charlie made, which turned out to be one of the best we’ve had! I was proud of my little chef ^-^

Of course there was also venison in there too, which makes good fajita meat. It is also very lean, which works in my favor!

We used about 1 tbsp EVOO in a hot pan and added strips of venison. We also used a little Lawry's packet of fajita seasoning, which called for 1.4 cup water with the mix. The spices ended up getting a little “carmel-y” in the pan, so I added lots more water and then just cooked it off.

For the peppers, I sauteed 1 sliced green pepper in 1/2 tbsp EVOO, and that was done. I forgot to add in red onion to the pan, so I added them raw. Overall, a nice quick meal :)

I also had some good oats Saturday morning as well. Nothing out of the ordinary, but delicious as always..

1/2 cup oats, 1 1/4 cup water in the micro for 2 minutes. No milk this time to save calories..but 1/2 sliced banana, drizzle of honey, and about 1 tbsp Post Cranberry Vanilla Crunch cereal..I would definitely recommend this to oats! Or with milk..either way :)

In wedding news, we are going to pick out tuxes this Saturday! It will be nice for someone else to try on stuff and play dress up as I watch..bridesmaid dress shopping was also a great time because of this :)

Once that’s done, we’re printing our invites and sending them in the mail! I can’t wait to post the invites on here to show you guys how cute they are. I am very proud of myself for those ;)

I also found some wedding favors that I think would really fit Julie..who knows, maybe I will make a wedding canvas..haha.

Ok. Much to do. Off to gobble down a left over fajita! Mm..

Happy Eating!

Giveaway!

2009-04-06T12:37:00.001-05:00

Danica is giving away more goodies over at danicasdaily.blogspot.com!

Check it out to win delish Annies products!

vote for me!

2009-04-05T11:48:00.001-05:00

http://www.bridalcanvas.com/canvas/vote

only 1 day left! “Birds of a Feather” by ashlie_marie. puhpuhpuhlease?!

you have to create a username and password, though. :)

Sauce with a Twist

2009-04-04T20:53:00.001-05:00

Last night Charlie and I tried a new recipe for a Greek inspired tomato sauce he saw in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. It was very different and unique, and very tasty! I would make sure you have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go before even starting, I know I get a little flustered when I have a million things to do before the meat gets done browning, etc.

Here is the recipe:

-some good tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 Tbsp or so

-1 medium white onion, diced

-1/3 cup packed flat leaf Parsley

-salt and pepper

-1 heaping Tbsp tomato paste

-6 cloves fresh minced garlic

-1 1/4 tsp dried oregano (I would have preferred fresh, the dried stuff made it kinda “sandy”)

-2 tsp ground cinnamon (I would suggest a teeny bit less)

-1 tsp sugar

-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

-1.2 cup red or white wine

-28oz whole canned tomatoes

-1 – 1 1/2 cup cubed chicken (we used a nice rotisserie from Cub, SO GOOD.)

Start by cutting everything up and putting them in designated spots around the cutting board, like I do :)

Sautee EVOO, diced onion, parsley, salt and pepper on medium high heat, until onions are golden brown.

stir in tomato paste, garlic, oregano, cinnamon, sugar, red pepper flakes—turn down to medium, heat 1 minute.

Add wine, turn it to high, cook 1 minute.

Added canned tomatoes and break them up with your cooking utensil, cook 8 minutes on medium high heat.

(Look at those beautiful colors!! It smelled wonderful)

Serve with 1 pound of penne, shells, rotelle, or spaghetti noodles. We used half shells, half rotelle because we needed to finish off both boxes :)

Here is our finished meal, with the chicken added. I also quick stir fried some of my favorite zucchini since I love that in tomato sauces. Charlie opted for no zucchini in his ;)

I also had two delicious pumpernickel rye bread slices with Smart Balance with Flax Oil spread. Remember I said no bread? Just the white stuff, sillies :)

I also had a few sips of some Ravenswood Vintners Blend Zinfandel from my pops. It was the same wine that we added to the sauce, too.

My oh my, it was such a nice change from the usual Hunts or Francisco Renaldi tomato sauce we use. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone, just a bit less cinnamon. Charlie thought the amount was perfect, and I suppose it was the star of the show…so I would say go for it, and maybe put less in the next time if its too strong.

I even have lots and lots left over, and lots and lots of the rotisserie chicken we used left over too…I smell a nice Asian inspired salad in the near future!

Speaking of near future..time to play a little rock band ;)

Happy Eating!

Lots of new goodies!

2009-04-03T21:17:00.001-05:00

Here is a little teaser of my delicious Annies Bunny Snacks!

Mmm they are so good! Real chewy and gummy and yummy :)

I also have lots and lots of delicious oat pictures to share! Of everything that I photograph, I enjoy capturing the beauty of breakfast oats the most. Just look at all the textures and colors..

This cute little batch consisted of:

1/2 cup oats

1 cup water, plus an extra 1/4 after they’re done to keep it from gettin goopy

(in the microwave for 2 minutes)

1 tsp cinnamon

splash Over the Moon milk (skim)

1/2 mashed banana

2 strawberries

sprinkle of shredded, unsweetened coconut

~4 almonds, chopped up for flavah

drizzle of honey

Ahh, wonderful. I now look forward to getting up early and making oats!

Here's another one, this batch was from Thursday morning:

Same thing as before..

oats and water in the microwave for 2 minutes, splash of milk, 1/2 banana, no coconut this time…instead I had a little left over homemade granola that had oats, cinnamon, raisins and Craisins! So I added the last sprinkle that I found in the cupboard to my oats. Plus, a drizzle of honey.

I decided that I really like that extra crunch of granola in my oats, so now I’ve got some Grape Nuts and some other “post” brand granola that was on sale this week to add to my upcoming brekkie :D

On Thursday I pulled out some boneless pork chops to make Charlie and I dinner, but I didn’t want the same old schtuff. I looked up a recipe for easy bbq oven pork chops and decided to go with that. The recipe is from about.com. I started by preheating the oven at 350*.

The BBQ sauce is pretty simple..the recipe I found was for 6-8 pork chops, so I just 1/4thed the recipe since I only made 2 chops.

I will just give you guys the full recipe:

6 pork chops, 3/4 to 1-inch thick
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup vinegar
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
dash cayenne, optional

Since I didn’t have Worcestershire sauce, I subbed low sodium soy sauce, and I also added about 3 cloves of fresh, minced garlic. I also had no cayenne pepper, so I used crushed red pepper flakes instead. The sauce was really watery, I wish it was a thicker bbq sauce, but it was super tasty regardless.

I let the pork marinade in the sauce for about half hour, then cooked them for 20 minutes, on 350*. They were tender and awesome! Very good.

I had a nice big salad with lots of veggies and Newman's Own Light Sesame Ginger dressing, even Charlie tried it! He, though, isn’t a fan of any dressings besides Dorothy Lynch ;) He was a trooper, though!

I also made some garlic mashed taters for Charlie, too. Seeing as I have eliminated white things from my diet, I gladly watched him enjoy them. I did, however, have one teenie little sip of my favorite Red Stripe :)

Tonight was a delicious dinner as well, but you will have to wait until tomorrow to see what it was!

Happy Eating!

Much To Do!

2009-03-31T16:11:00.001-05:00

Whew! What a busy day I have had so far!

I woke up nice and early and had planned to workout before class, but its just soo hard to do when I look outside and see newly dropped snow :(

So, instead, I crawled to my computer to check emails and such, and I see that my bridal canvas that I linked to on here is in first place this week! If I win, I get a gift card to Starbucks or iTunes, so vote for me! I think its the second link I posted..either way, its the “Birds of a Feather” one. Julie also mentioned starting a business, and while I think that she was mostly just kidding, I for one am all for it! I think it would be just awesome to put all my newly found knowledge of weddings to use!

Anywho, I got my Annie's Organic package in the mail the other day from Danica at www.danicasdaily.blogspot.com!

Heres what I got..

Annies Organic Fruit Snacks..which are AWESOME! They were so soft and chewy, I had never had ones like this before! Two packages are already gone :( But, I promised half the box to Charlie so I must resist their deliciousness :)

And also..

And also some various travel sized Bunny Grahams and some Cheddar Bunnies:

Yum! I am so very excited to try everything else! Thanks for the chance to win, Danica!

I also had some interesting oats the other day. I have lots and lots of carrots..so I tried to make carrot cake oats. Didn’t quite work..but the pictures are perdy!

I had my usual 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup water, 1 shredded carrot, lots of cinnamon, drizzle of honey, and that's it. It needed raisins (which I didn’t have) and the carrots didn’t have enough flavor for me to even notice they were in there. I would have also added nutmeg, if I had any.

As far as dinner pictures go, I have lots of Goulash leftovers to go through, so nothing has been interesting enough to photograph :)

To Do:

Clean Abner’s Cage

~~Clean kitchen~~

Do dishes

~~Do laundry~~

~~Hang up pile of clothes that has created a mountain on my floor~~

Work on paintings for class

~~Workout~~

Not much left to do today but finish cleaning and relax!

I also realized why I dread hanging things up in my closet. One would think that it would make things cleaner and uncluttered..but I have found the opposite to be true in my closet. I like all my clothes to be hung straight, not all hackneyed and crumpled together because there is no room. The major culprit of this: different hangers! Ugh! I must have collected 5 different styles and colors of hangers, and it gives me such a headache that things are nice and neat even though they're hung up.

*added to list: get one streamlined style of hanger!

Because I’m Bored..

2009-03-30T22:58:00.001-05:00

Julie showed me this amazing site that I have just spent my entire night on. And I made these! Make sure your sound is on, as they have songs :)

http://www.bridalcanvas.com/canvas/issue/2653

http://www.bridalcanvas.com/canvas/issue/2652/b145c80b690bb54742547d9b84cc3886

Its wonderful fun for an aspiring wedding planner!

On a Dried Fruit Kick!

2009-03-30T19:05:00.000-05:00

Tonight is my first blog posting Windows Live Writer! After many complaints to Charlie about how the blogging system on blogger was grinding my gears, he convinced me to get Live Writer..and am I glad I did! Not only does it make uploading large pictures much faster, but I don’t feel so constrained when I’m typing, like I did in that tiny little blogger box!

Saturday night Charlie and I decided to make Goulash…I was kind of hesitant because I didn’t really want two tomato based dishes two nights in a row, but I’ve got soooo much pasta and meat in the kitchen to get rid of, so we went with it.

We usually make this is ground turkey, but we used that for chili the night before, so ground beef it was. I actually decided that I love ground turkey in Goulash..and beef in Chili. I think that with all the soft textures in Chili, the “smooth” ground turkey texture wasn’t all that appealing. I would consider using it again in there, but as preference goes, its beef for me!

Our Goulash started as boiled elbie noodles, then 1 pound of 93% lean ground beef, browned with 1/2 of a diced white onion, mixed with 2 cans of diced tomatoes and 1 can of tomato soup. I, also added frozen corn to my portion, because Charlie hates it in his. Goulash just isn’t Goulash without it!

I know I mentioned in my previous post that I cut out breads and white things, like pasta, rice, etc. Unfortunately, if I wanted whole wheat pasta I would have had to go out and buy it, but since I’m moving soon I didn’t want to lug more food product with me. I decided it was ok, since I had been working so hard…plus I had the correct portion size. I also..added bread, but I used low cal whole grain bread with just a teenie bit of Smart Balance instead of good ol’ fashioned buttah.

On the side, I had a huge salad with ice berg, carrots, tomatoes, and green pepper with 1 tbsp (only 17 calories!) of Newman's Own Light Sesame Vinaigrette! As an Asian dressing connoisseur, this dressing definitely cut the mustard! My only gripe is that its a bit watery so it doesn’t stick well to the salad stuffs, but its delicious nonetheless!

Charlie made this delicious smoothie drink, too: some ice, Malibu coconut rum, frozen strawberries and frozen raspberries. I only had a few sips since Alkey is a no-no on my diet, too :)

Sunday morning I got up refreshed and ready for a hearty breakfast. Since my snacking options have depleted drastically, we ran to wal mart to stock up on some dried fruits that I looovvveeee. Apricots, Cranberries, and Cherry Essence Prunes! Who knew that Prunes were just dried plums…? Not me…I was surprised, and delighted they were so delicious.

My oats…

Since all my bowls were dirty, you get to see pretty oats in ugly tupperware ;)

You may have noticed that my oats look a little different. That’s because I got quick cooking oats instead of regular! Gah! How disappointing. The oats are so tiny I miss the chewiness of my usual yummies! They get SUPER glue-y, and I have not be able to finish a whole serving because of this. As a result, I have cut down my 1/2 cup oats to a little more than 1/4 cup, and have added almost TWO cups of water! But, they are more enjoyable that way.

In my bowl was 1/2 cup nanner, 2 diced strawberries, and a drizzle of all natural honey for my sweetness since I have cut out added sugars.

Look what I found at Wal Mart!!

It saves the other 1/2 of my banana! Amazing!

On the side, I also had some dried Apricots..how cute:

That’s all for now..tomorrow I will show you guys what I recently got in the mail!

Happy Eating!

Chili Willy

2009-03-28T21:10:00.005-05:00

Mm, I had been craving chili for the longest time! It was fairly obvious what I wanted for dinner last night, and it took some convincing for Charlie to agree :)

I started with a big dutch oven, and started browning my lean ground turkey, 98% to be exact.
Normally I would be more than willing to use ground beef...but since I have 1 month and 2 weeks until wedding dress alterations, I am happy to make the switch to a leaner protein' plus I use ground turkey in place of ground beef in most recipes anyway. I also felt that after an hour of intense cardio and weight lifting, I didn't want to sabotage my efforts!

While the ground Turkey was browning, I diced:
1/2 of a large white onion
5 large celery stalks
1.5 green peppers

and added them to the pot. I also added pepper, Montreal Steak Seasoning (my favorite for all things meat related), a little salt, plenty of garlic powder, and plenty of chili powder.

Once the meat and veggies were a little softer, I added 2 cans of tomato soup, 1 can diced tomatoes, one mini can of tomato sauce, 1 can of spicy chili beans, 1 can dark red kidney beans, and....one more can of beans...but this time, I added Great Northern beans! Once they were all in the pot, I simmered it all for an hour..but I would recommend two hours, with occasional stirring so it doesn't burn on the bottom :)

The recipe doesn't usually call for those, but I wanted the extra protein to add to my "get healthy" regime.

Can you believe..that I actually ate...EVERY kidney bean that was in my bowl?! It was just last year that I had chili last and I despised them with a passion. I still remember having to sit at the kitchen table with my chili bowl completely empty except for the kidney beans, and having to choke them down. Must be a texture thing..but I was so proud of myself! The Northern beans have a buttery, smoother texture..and a better flavor, in my opinion...they were my favorite!

In an effort to re haul my menu for a healthier lifestyle, the changes to the original chili recipe were pretty simple...a lot more veggies, lean ground turkey, and lots of protein filled beans. I don't think that I was consuming enough calories to compete with my cardio in the weeks prior...which refuted my efforts to get into shape! By taking out white things: sugar, white bread, white rice, potatoes...and eating lots of healthy dairy, fruits, veggies, and protein, hopefully I will continue to see results :)

Yes..that even means no sugar in my morning oats! For my breakfast for the past couple of days I have only added my usual fresh fruit, no sprinkle of brown (or white) sugar, and just my splash of Over the Moon. Its tough, that extra sugar made it so delish, but the time is near!

Although, with the changes, its not like its that drastic. I eat lots of veggies and fruit anyway, its going to be cutting crackers and bread thats gonna get me. Wish me luck!

Anywho, here is my chili, from pot to bowl! I serve it with a dallop of fat free sour cream, and a sprinkle of fat free shredded cheese, and some carrots on the side:

Happy Eating!

I am Officially A Blog Winner!

2009-03-25T09:18:00.002-05:00

How exciting! After posting many comments and reading many blogs, I finally won a little blog give away! Can you believe it?

Danica at http://danicasdaily.blogspot.com/ was giving away a variety of Annies Organic products yesterday, and thanks to a random generator, my comment was chosen! I chose the care package that included Organic Bunny fruit snacks, Organic Bunny Graham Chocolate Bunnies, 3 other packages of Bunny Grahams..and Cheddar Bunnies! My favorite! Needless to say...I am excited!!

I've been back home at my parents since Tuesday, which has been a nice change of pace from the monotony of being up at school. Not that I don't like it, but with roommates never home, and not working all that much, and not having school everyday..the days up there get pretty long.

I've got much to do today, too! I got "the call" a couple of weeks ago..my dress is in! I am excited to see it since I haven't since November, I hope it fits nicely :) After my appointment for that, I will relax with a nice Caribou coffee and possibly pop into DSW to see what kind of shoes they have right now, considering I've got a $20 coupon in the mail :o
I will, however, refrain from purchasing anything for myself...and will probably forego the urge and give my coupon to a bridesmaid in the event they have something there I like. Who knows, we'll see...

Tomorrow we also have the meal tasting with our wedding coordinator at Embassy Suites. Overall, I have been pleastly surprised with how smoothly everything has gone, wedding planning wise, with Embassy. They have been flexible with our budget and willing to work with us on certain things, and I just hope that everything turns out the way I am imaginging. Only time will tell on that, though. Just 4 months!

I am also sorry to report that I have no delicious food pictures today, either. I have been eating such good mom-made foods lately, on the account that I have been home visiting more than usual. Haven't had breakfast yet: maybe some chewy granola with yogurt? I did bring my camera, so maybe somehting will pop up later :)

Happy Eating, Winning, Wedding Planning!

Guest Blogger!

2009-03-23T13:56:00.004-05:00

We have a guest blogger today!

Since Ashley is busy cleaning and packing up her apartment for the big move coming up, I thought I'd let you in on some good foodies that I've been smellin' from my cage. Since Ash was so kind as to put my cage pretty much right in the kitchen, I get to smell all those delicious smells from her cooking adventures :)

Hi! I'm Abner!

Ash forgot to put up this picture of when her and Charlie had lettuce wraps for dinner. Charlie was so kind, he rolled up a nice little leaf of lettuce just for me. Actually, I think it was cabbage...my cage got a little stinky after my dinner that night....

I get so excited whenever I hear Ash getting out of bed in the morning, because I know its Oats Time! I love the smell of cinnamon mixed with nanners...Ash can always tell because I go pretty much bizerk in my cage, jumping on top of my igloo and such to get a better view of whatever shes making! I also love Oats Time because that means I get a little slice of banana ;)

Recently, Ashley had
+ 1/2 cup Swany White Oats cooked in 1 cup water
+ splash of Over the Moon Milk (skim)
+ a good sprinkle of cinnamon
+ a good sprinkle of plain ol' white sugar
+ 10 or so butterscotch chips (!!!!)
+ 1/2 nanner

I could tell Ashley loved this one..she ate it almost as fast as I eat my hay :D

Since I sleep a lot throughout the day, I dont really have a chronological series of pictures of Ashley and Charlies meal...so I'm going to just put up some new pics I found on her computer. Its really hard to type on this thing...my fingies are so small I pretty much have to stomp on the little letters!

This was some oats that Ashley made Charlie. It was

+ a little over 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1 cup water
+ splash of Over the Moon
+ an ample amount of brown sugar
+ about 2 tbsp pureed pumpkin from a can
+ 1/2 fat free graham cracker sprinkled on top

I agree with Ashley on this one. The pumpkin smelled terrible in the can, I saw her gag when she opened it up. But, I know Charlie lleerrvvveess pumpkin pie, so she made this one specially for him. Ashley also forgot the cinnamon when she first gave it to him, and she tried a little bite after it was added...it was okay she said loud enough for me to hear, but nothing she would ever make again. Oh well!

He was still happy he got to try some pumpkin oats I see!

Ash also tried some new oats that morning...

+ 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1 cup water
+ splash of Over the Moon
+ sprinkle of white sugar
+ 1 canned pineapple round, diced
+ sprinkle of shredded coconut
+ a little cinnamon

I overheard Ash saying somethin about Oprahs Oats, but she didn't have the apple juice to make it with..or blueberries I think, so she made this little Hawaiian mix. I heard lots of "oooo's" and "ahhhhh's" and "omg num!'s" from across the room, so I think it was a big hit. I personally think toasted coconut would have been better... ;)

Dinner one night was even good, too! I think they were lazy so they just popped in a turkey pot pie, and Ashley had my favorite thing on the side....A SALAD! omgomgnumnumnum I love salads!

Hers had
+ 5 romain leaves
+ a bunch of fresh broccoli
+ 1 carrot
+ 1/4 cucumber
+ a couple of cherry tomaters

1/2 tbsp fat free Kraft ranch
1/2 tbsp fat free French

I heard it was delish, but I didn't get a sample of that :(

Off to eat/sleep/poop in my cage now! Ta Ta!

While Snacking on Cadbury Chocolate Eggs...

2009-03-21T12:08:00.006-05:00

Mmm, some interesting dinner choices this weekend, yet nothing too out of the ordinary.
Charlie was coming up Thursday night so I figured I would have a nice dinner ready for him when he got here. I had a whole bunch of veggies in the fridge from the past week or so, so I wanted to use those up as soon as I could. I decided to make a quick chicken stir fry using:

+ two chicken breasts (I first marinaded my two chicken pieces in about 1 tsp low sodium soy sauce, 1 tbsp Leeann Chin Thai Peanut sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp teriyaki marinade and stuck it in the fridge for a couple of hours before hand)

+and some fresh broccoli (about 1/2 of a fresh bunch),
+1/4 small head of green cabbage,
+1/4 purple onion,
+1 1/2 whole fresh carrots...

After the veggies were cut up, and the chicken was getting tasty, I minced 2 whole cloves of fresh garlic and about 2 tsp fresh Ginger. You can see the root, here, ready to be butchered :)
I keep it in the freezer and shave off what I need with a knife, then back in the freezer it goes!

Once the chicken was ready, I used 2 tsp of Sesame Oil plus a hefty sprinkle of Montreal Steak Seasoning in a hot skillet and cooked the chicken until it was almost done, shut off the burner, and let it finish off cooking without the extra heat, as I didn't want it too dry :)

While the chicken was sitting in the pan, I had started stir frying the veggies. I added first,
+a drizzle of sesame oil
+minced garlic
+minced ginger
+my veggie mix: broccoli, cabbage, carrots, onion

As the veggies were cooking on high heat, I also added about 1 tbsp Hoisin sauce, 2 tsp Fish sauce, 1 tbsp Rice Vinegar, and let them get a little tender. They cooked for about 7 minutes, then it was time to devour...

Along side some Jasmine rice, found in the Asian isle of your local grocery, Charlie and I topped our chicken stir fry with some canned mandarin oranges. It was really, really good. I thought about adding many of my frozen veggies that I had stock piled in the freezer, but I'm really glad I decided not to. The fresh veggies were just about done, so they still had their crunch but weren't as hard.

And Charlie paired his with a cool Sam Adams...

Delish!

I also was working on an Apple Cinnamon Bread earlier on Thursday, because I have so many apples that are getting too soft and brown to really enjoy. I found a recipe for one online, but ended up just throwing things together and ended up getting a final result that was super dense (probably because of the "bread flour" I added). It was good, though.

I started with 2.5 cups chopped apples

In a seperate bowl:
+ 2 cups all purpose flour
+ 1 cup bread flour
+ 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
+ 1 tsp baking soda
+ 1 tsp baking powder
+ 1 tsp salt

In another bowl:
+ 1 egg
+ 3/4 cup brown sugar
+ 3/4 cup sugar

Mix both bowls of ingredients together. Add in chopped apples, 1/2 cup applesauce, and about 2 cups water. I also added dried cranberries:

In the oven they went, at 350* for 30-40 minutes:

The end product:

Things I would change...
Mash the apples up: the chunks got soggy and didnt really combine well. Either mash, or just use applesauce..
More dried fruits/cranberries
Not cook as long? I had it in for 30 minutes, probably needed only 25 or so.
It was good right outta the oven, and probably would still be good heated in the micro. Way dense, though. But I like bread-y like things, so I was ok with that :)

Happy Eating!

a new little site :)

2009-03-19T14:09:00.003-05:00

click on these words :D

Hot Hot Hot!

2009-03-15T18:52:00.007-05:00

This weekend went by too fast :( But we got oh so much done! The invites are all done, thanks to my great designing skills, and they are ready for the presses! We decided to print them from Office Depot as they were the cheapest, and the ink is real nice and glossy. We meant to have them print off a sample invite for us on Friday, then take it to the post office to get them weighed, then buy stamps..but that event got pushed back until Saturday and the post office was closed. Bummer, but we took them to Coborns to get them weighed instead and they are well within the weight of regular postage :)

Actually being able to hold the invites in my hand made it seem even more real! I've been starring at them on the computer for so long that it was nice to actually physically hold them. Its nice that everything planning-related has worked out so well for us--we haven't really had any problems with anything thus far, which is a relief. And, if I may say so myself, the invites are SO CUTE! I can't wait to send them out!!

Friday night Charlie and I just had some chicken nuggets, watched 20/20, some Six Feet Under, and crashed. Saturday morning, however, I got up and went to workout. I was really famished during my workout, it must have been because I hadn't eaten anything so I was exhausted when I finished. I came back up to the apartment and instead of Oats, I had plain ol' Malt-O-Meal :)
Really, really good.

I had some fresh strawberries to add since they were on sale at Cub, and I even added a new product....

First, I was immediately drawn to the cute name of the product, as well as the pleasing colors..
Second, I was excited because its ultra-pasteurized, and it doesn't expire until April! This is big for me, because I can never finish the half-gallons because I really only use it for cooking, hot/cold cereal, and the occasional glass of chocolate milk. Wonderful! I added it to my maltomeal, but not enough to notice if it was extra creamy or not. Same amount of calories, still skim...I will have to try it in a glass and get back to you with my review!

While my cereal was cooling off, I started the marinade for our dinner for that night: Garlic Lime Pork. The recipe was from some cook book momma had, I can't remember the name of it, but the recipe sounded good.

It called for
1/3 cup fat free Italian dressing (I used Kraft)
1/3 cup salsa (I used Chi-Chis brand)
4 1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice (I just used the whole lime)
1 1/4 teaspoon fresh lime zest (I just went around the whole lime for zest, didn't measure..)

Here is my little pulverized lime :)

Then it called for:
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
4 1/2 teaspoon fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (we used cheap Cub brand)
2 pork chops

I added all the ingredients to a bowl, except the pork chops.
Then I took a ziplock bag, added 2 pork chops, and 1/2 cup of the marinade--set it in the fridge overnight, or at least 8 hours.

After 8 hours, I took them out and placed them in a pan, and into the oven they went. Cook them on broil, 4 inches from the heat, 7 minutes on each side (14 mins total). Also, don't use a glass pan, as they seem to explode when exposed to high heat.......................... whoops :X
After turning the chops for the last 7 minutes, we basted them with the remaining marinade liquid.

While the meat was cooking, it smelled INCREDIBILE! Garlic-y, lime-y....delicious!

I started to work on the side dish, a berry slaw. I got this recipe in the same book as the lime pork chops, but I made a few additions, like adding a bit of Jimaca! Heres the little guy, ready to be chopped!

I used about 1/2 of this guy and cut him into little matchsticks, seen here. Good thing Charlie was here to get the skin off, it was way to hard for me!

The skin was very hard to peel off. I recommended a very, very sharp veggie peeler, or a very, very sharp paring knife. Jimaca has the texture of a hard, grainy apple...it has a light, fresh taste that I think goes well with slaw and stir frys. Yum!

The recipe also called for:
shredded cabbage
strawberries
dried cranberries
1/4 c apple cider vingar
1/4 c unsweetened apple/cranberry juice
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

I just added however much cabbage, strawberries, and cranberries I wanted, you could do the same. It turned out really pretty, but Charlie and I both agreed that it would have tasted better with something creamy added...greek yogurt? plain, regular yogurt? Not sure, but something just didn't fit well together...

Our chops were about done by this time. We also made some steamed corn and some whipped mashed taters in the side too. Sure, the sides didn't really "fit" the mexican flavored chops, but thats ok. I also think that marinading strips of pork in the garlic marinade and then having them on homemade nachos or tacos would be SO good, too!

mmmm! The pork was so, so tender...and everyone knows my nemesis is overcooked meat. This, was perfect.

Dessert was JUST as delish. We got some 'nilla bean ice cream from the grocery store--I dont think it was new brand, just a new package...I didn't recognize it, but it was really creamy and tasted like whipped cream, so I didn't have to add any to my nanner split:

We even splurged on organic bananas for this, because their flavor compared to regular bananas is indescribable. They have a much more intense banana flavor, perfect for a sundae. Also had fresh strawberries, a canned pineapple ring, some fudge, and some butterscotch. :D

Mmm some good foodies this weekend thats for sure!

Happy Eating!!

Pasty...not pasties!

2009-03-11T19:03:00.004-05:00

Hm, and interesting breakfast today. I was super tired and not wanting to brave the cold Minnesota snow outside my winder..especially since its my spring break! Boooo!
I had my breakfast all ready to go sitting in the microwave (in an effort to save time in my rushed mornings to work..), hit start, and poured a cup of coffee.

For my oats this morning I had a smidge less than 1/2 cup Swany White Oats, and sprinkled in some Malt-O-Meal original flavor to make up for it. I added 1 cup water to it and in the micro it went...

It was way to thick--I ended up going back to the kitchen a second and third time to add more milk! I also added the usual nanner, cinnamon, and a sprinkle of brown sugar. It was so filling, I ended up being full after just half of the bowl, but I did love the little clumps of Malt-O-Meal in the oats..I got excited digging through the mush to find them :) Its worth trying again, but will need much more liquid, same amount of MaltOMeal, and less oats? We will see...Makes a perdy picture, though :)

I got out of work a little early today on the account that there was abolutely nothing to do. It was an hour early, which meant I could get home and get with my Pilates way earlier than I had hoped..which was a good thing, I've got lots to do tonight!

The fridge has been pretty bare as of late, besides some produce and mustard. Not much I can make with that for a whole week. I was really stumped as to what to have for dinner...until I remembered I had a Pasty in the freezer!!

No, not pastie as in those cute little nip cover uppers that real classy gals wear...a pasty (pass-tee), made with ground hamburger, potatoes, onions, and carrots all packaged up nicely in a little pastry pocket!

Mom had made some last time I was home for the weekend, but I left too early and didn't get to take one home with me. But now I had two! They were so big that I cut mine in half. I didn't really believe her when she said that they were so big she couldn't finish one...I figured for sure I would be able to! But I was so wrong. I cut it in half expecting to go back for seconds, but I found myself struggling to finish the piece that I took. Definitely a hefty, delicious meal!

I accompanied my pasty with some fresh veggies left over from my lunch, and some corn (not pictured) because I have a whole freezer bag of it to finish.

Mmm, so delicious! *adds to list of "learn-how-to-make's*

Happy Eating!

An Oat Filled post..Plus Some Fish

2009-03-09T17:51:00.005-05:00

Whew, long day at work...went surprisingly fast, though :)

I haven't had a chance to fill you all in on my latest oatmeal adventures, so this post is dedicated to some new (and old) recipes as of late.

When Charlie was here over the weekend I made him some yummy oats..he suggested adding some fresh apple to it to make an apple cinnamon oatmeal. I was skeptical of the taste factor, but it really was good! I think it helped that the apples were close to their last days so the flavor was top notch, and the apples were soft so it meshed well with the oats. Either way, this is Charlie's bowl, all nice and smiley and ready to be devoured!

I had my usual 1/2 cup oats with half a nanner, splash of milk, cinnamon, and brown sugar. The same as always..only this time I had a side of Gramma's Potica! ("pa-teet-sah", you can read about it here) Delicious, soft, nutty, sweet...Gramma, teach me! I put a little fresh buttery spread on it, as you can tell its teetering on the edge of my bowl..that didn't last long :)

Sunday was an interesting breakfast, too. Charlie loves pretzels and peanut butter..so he wanted to add them to his oats. I was going to warn him that the peanut flavor just wipes out all the other flavors in the oatmeal leaving you with a bland, ishy taste..but I figured he would insist anyway. I made the usual mix of 1/2 cup oats (maybe a little more for the growing boy :) milk, cinnamon, brown sugar, and he added some pretzels and Simply JIF peanut buttuh. He agreed, the taste was less than desireable....so I added some more milk, cinnamon, and brown sugar to it.

I, on the other hand, had a wonderful new oat combo. The usual, but instead of skim milk, I added a splash of Coffee Mate Coconut Creme creamer, and instead of banana I had some fresh pineapple. This is my favorite! It had a little tropical flavor going on with the coconut and pineapple--I think it would be better with skim and shaved coconut instead of the creamer, but for what I had it was delish! Yumyum!

And a quick update on last nights dinner, because it was so healthy. I was pooped after my run on the treadmill so I was ravenous when dinner time came around. I found some individual portioned Halibut in the freezer from Cub that I had gotten a while ago. I chose the lemon herb flavor for last night. Real quick, just 5 minutes in the microwave straight outta the freezer. I could have also pan fryed, boiled, or poached it--but this was quickest :)

I added some fresh squeezed lemon, pepper, and garlic powder to add more flavor. I had this before, but this one was particularily good. I accompanied it with 1 small apple, 1 cup corn, and 1 cup of Uncle Ben's chicken and veggie rice. This whole plate was about 360 calories. Good, I'd say!
Time for some Pilates!

Happy Eating :)

Nummy in my Tummy

2009-03-08T17:11:00.003-05:00

So this past Thursday was a super busy day--I had a huge art history test with I think I did ok on, then I had to hop in the car and drive down to the cities to listen to a prospective ceremony guitarist play at the U of M. The recital was good, despite having the giggles a few times, and having my blood boil because I had to eat Arbys ( :D ) it was interesting. I personally liked his more "pop" sound from the clips he has sent me over the very classical performance he gave, but it should all work out for the best. Now we just need to fuss over the payment and we will be all set!

After driving back to St Cloud that night, Charlie and I watched more "Six Feet Under." Such a good show. We're already on season 3 and I'm getting sad that there are only 6 seasons to watch! Booooo...

Friday we decided on having some delicious Lettuce Wraps. Now I know I had already had a post about lettuce wraps, but this time they were even better if you can believe that. This recipe was even healthier than the last I made, thanks to adding more veggies and not using as much oil! Either way, here are the details...

I started by chopping up some red onion, about 1/2 of a small one...

I also chopped up one can of Geisha brand whole waterchestnuts. I love the extra crunch they give to dishes. I also grated 1 carrot and 1/2 of a super small red cabbage since I had some left over from earlier in the week.

Start by browning some lean (93/7) ground turkey with the red onion--I used NO oil here, but you could certainly add Seasome Oil for wonderful flavah. I added some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Montreal Steak Seasoning--even though its not "asian" in flavor, it still adds a lot to the turkey. Make sure to brown this over medium heat, then when its all cooked through, I moved it down to low and simmered it to keep it warm and to prevent it from drying out.

After the turkey was done, I added the grated carrots right to the pan.

And here it is, with the chopped waterchestnuts:

While the turkey was cooking, I chopped up my last 1/2 of the Zuccini I got a week or so ago--just in a pan with salt, pepper, and garlic powder--again, no oil or butter--which was healthier, and also allowed the Zucchini to get nice and seared without being greasy.

After everything was ready, I added some last minute sauces to the turkey mixture. This is important because it brings all the wonderful flavors together. I added about 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, and just a teeny splash of Seasome Oil for a little hint of flavor, and a splash of low sodium soy sauce. Mixed it around, then transfered it into a bowl and garnished with a bit of green onion...

At our table we also had various "stations" for our lettuce wraps. This was a bowl with red cabbage and some cilantro leaves..I love this color combination..

Of course our lettuce cups...with some Hoison sauce in the background..

And the masterpiece...my little lettuce wrap! I took a leaf of iceburg and split it into 1/4's. Take one of the pieces, layer some red cabbage, cilantro, turkey mixture, zucchini, a drizzle of Hoison sauce, and a drizzle of Leann Chin Thai Peanut Sauce...

Doesn't it look good?! Since we made a whole pound of turkey, we had loads leftover for dinner on Saturday night. The longer the sauces sit in the meat (the rice vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, etc..) the better it tastes, which makes it nice for leftovers.

Why is this healthy?
-lettuce cups for wraps instead of a heavy tortilla/bread/bun etc
-lean ground turkey instead of beef
-full serving of veggies
-low sodium sauces
-no oil! If you need extra liquid in the turkey when you're browning it, use veggie or chicken broth

One of my favorite meals thats for sure :) Too bad we can't have these for the wedding reception!

Happy Eating!

Cream Tuna Oh My!

2009-03-06T20:54:00.003-06:00

This past Wednesday I had such a long day at work and was craving something especially home-y. After thinking and thinking, I thought I would really like some noodles and cream sauce. But then..I decided on Cream Tuna Over Toast :D

I started by toasting some of this bread I had stuffed in the freezer when it was on sale--I cant remember the name, but it has only 75 calories per slice, so I stuck two in the toaster as I was working on my white sauce. Now, my mom told me when I was younger, sitting in the kitchen watching her make cream sauce over egg noodles, that once you know how to make a good white sauce you can make anything. Oh, I love making white sauce, its sooo good, and reminds me of home.

My white sauce started as 2 tablespoons of butter, melted over low heat.

I then added 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, stirring constantly so it didn't burn. I also kept stirring for 4 to 5 minutes to make sure the "flour" taste was cooked out of it--I've noticed that I get terrible tummy aches when I eat to much flour, but this recipe is too good to not make :)

After cooking the flour and butter for 5 minutes, I sslloowwwlly mixed in 1 cup of skim milk, stirring constantly. I kicked up the heat to close to high at this point so it would thicken. Voila! White Sauce! I also added salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then one can drained tuna. mmm...

Spooned it over toast, its deeelish. I had lots and lots left over too so the recipe will make more than enough!

Of course, I had some Zuccini on the side, too :) In a frying pan on high, no butter or anything, but some garlic powder, salt, and pepper. I really like heating it with some buttah but I felt like being calorie concious :)

Overall this recipe is fairly healthy, besides the flour and butter, I used skim milk, whole wheat low cal toast, and a serving of veggies--pretty good if I do say so myself!

Happy Eating!

Hey there Goober!

2009-03-04T18:08:00.003-06:00

Ah, so not much to say tonight...other than I think I found a wedding hair/makeup stylist! There is this one super cool girl that I work with that is a hair stylist and a Mary Kay makeup consultant...anywho, I had been filling her in on all of the wedding plans and details these past few weeks, and she mentioned that she would love to do our hair and make up the morning of the wedding. I was kind of taken aback by her sudden generosity, but shewas so excited about it I guess I couldn't help but be excited too! So Monday shes bringing in her portfolio for me to take a peek at for some ideas, and soon after she suggested myself and the bridesmaids come over to play with hair, makeup, etc. So now theres an option! wooo!

Heres a peek at my breakfast this morning before work:

And and even BETTER picture here...

I was feeling a big groggy from getting up so early this morning so I thought I'd have a little chuckle and make a little goober face in my oats :)

-1/2 cup Swany White Oats
-1 cup water
-1/2 banana
-6 peanuts
-sprinkle brown sugar
-a lot of cinnamon
-splash of skim milk

Cute, eh?! Mmmm and it was tasty, too!
Whats for dinner tonight? Not sure..I have a lot of canned goods and boxed bad-for-you foods that I need to work through in the pantry. Maybe some quick stir fryed zuccini again, I've still got one whole one left, I'm very proud that I have milked all my produce from last week well into this week...
Maybe some sort of noodle, oo Fettuccini Alfredo?! I dont know...I will keep you posted, per usual.

Happy Eating!

Moms Apple Crisp *with recipe edit: new crisp**

2009-03-02T12:57:00.008-06:00

So last night I was fairly hungry and decided to use up some of the fresh produce that was slowly wilting in the veggie drawer. Good thing I had all the yummy ingredients for an asian salad! Except almonds of course since they're too spendy. Regardless, I chopped up 1/4 of a small head of red cabbage, 1/4 head of ice berg, "ribboned" one carrot, sliced 1/4 red pepper, chopped 1/2 bunch of green onion, and did a little cilantro "chiffonade" (my new Top Chef term ;)

Tossed in 1 tbsp of the calorie-rich Byerlys Asian Sesame dressing because it is SO good..
Pretty, eh?

Since I had nothing to do today, I had a lot of time to sit and plan my dinner. Then I remembered I still had some slices of deli turkey in the fridge that was probably on its last leg, so I made myself, yet again, a really good open faced turkey bagel half. Only this time I paired with 1/4 cup halved grape tomatoes. Followed by some yogurt while my individual apple crisp was finishing up in the oven :)

Per request, moms apple crisp:
-3 cups apple, cut up
-1 tbsp flour
-1 cup sugar

crisp: (mom doesnt remember exactly...:)
-1 cup oatmeal
-1 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup cold butter
-1/2 cup flour
-cinnamon
-1/2 tsp salt

When I made mine tonight, I did 1/3 of the recipe for myself but there was still too much, so I made two little cups, one for me and I will have to save the other for Charlie when he comes up. Here are the little sugared apple cups waiting for the crisp..

And the delish topping:

Preheat oven to 350*
mix apples with white sugar and 3 tbsp flour, place in 6x10 pan
mix brown sugar, oatmeal, 1 1/2 cup flour, butter--sprinkle over top
bake for 35 minutes!

And the final product:

I didn't even have it with ice cream, either. So good! Now back to the 2 hour "24"...

Happy Eating!

speed of sound...

2009-03-01T17:19:00.005-06:00

Nothing super exciting to post about..but I thought I would share with everyone the delicious breakfast/lunch I had the past two days!
Charlie had heard of this flour/oat/baking company that's in Freeport, MN called Swany White: apparently it has the best pizza crust flour on earth, but its hard to find in stores. So while I was comparing oat prices at Cub on Friday, I saw a 3 lb bag of Swany White Oats! Exciting..and it was cheaper than both the Cub and Quaker brand, too. After having it twice now...it is absolutely amazing. Really chewy, retains moisture well, doesn't seem to get as "goopy" and thick as Cub and Quaker..its a keeper! I made my oatmeal with:
-1/2 cup oats
-1 cup water
-1/2 banana
-splash of skim milk
-sprinkle of cinnamon (the best part)
-and a couple of peanuts for salt and a little snib of protein. YUM!
The other half of my lunch was just as tasty. I have been having it for a couple days now, and I'm not even sick of it yet!
It consists of:
-1/2 Everything bagel from Brueggers
-1/2 of Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese spread
-a little dollop of Dijon mustard
-1 slice of deli turkey

It was really good, soft, and a little crunchy because I toasted it before hand. Reeeaallyy good, and really filling too. I paired it with one small Gala apple, sliced:

Definately a lunch worth posting about. The best part was, was that it completely satisfied me and held my hunger over for about 5 hours! Normally I would have a snack or two in between :)
Correct portions and a variety of foods does my body good!

I might even have to stock up on that oatmeal, too...I think they only sell it close to Freeport since St Cloud probably considers it "local."

In other news, Charlie and I have finally landed on a font combination for our invites, which are 90% completed. Way to be ahead of the game, Ashley! All thats really left is printing off the invites and stickin them on the finished parts. Woo! I really am proud of the money we saved by having me design and do them, and plus, I guess I think they are really cute too :)

Oh! And..I was browsing for cute, classy pedestal cake stands online..and I came across this beauty:

Because we all know what a little princess I am, of course I would want a pumpkin carriage cake stand! Who wouldn't?!

;)

Happy eating!

Just Like Hossea!

2009-02-28T14:28:00.003-06:00

So sorry its been so long, my little blog readers!
Everything I made for dinner/lunch throughout the week was completely boring, so I guess not having a camera to document it wasn't so bad after all! Charlie came up Thursday, per usual, only this time through the snow storm! I was surprised to see him so early, but I guess the snow was pretty bad in the cities so he trucked up to St Cloud instead. We decided not to cook on Thursday night, so we went to Old Country Buffet, just like me and Gramma like! We had a nice big salad from the salad bar complete with buttery soft spinach, and I even took a slice of Beet to try, considering I hadn't had it since I was a little tot and I remember having to sit at the kitchen table until I finished it. Needless to say, it wasn't as bad as I remember, but it was way to vinegar-y for me, and the texture was to jelly like. Oh well, at least it made a pretty pink stain on my napkin :)
After our salad we filled up on the usual: mac'n'cheese, taters and gravy, chicken, bread...it was delish! And a good way to celebrate only 150 days until were married!

Friday we ran and did some errands, looked at puppies at the pet store, stopped by Circut City because there is a major sale on cameras--we got a little sony cybershot one that we can carry around and take pictures with when we cant lug the big ol Nikon, so that was exciting. Stopped at Cub to get some necessities, and we were ready to cook!

Our meal consisted of a nice salad with a Lemon Dijon dressing I made, some mashed potatoes (instant, of course), venison, steamed broccoli, and some quick stir fryed zuccini for me.

I started on the salad:
-some left over rusty head of lettuce, sans rusty parts
-1 carrot, in ribbons
-1/4 red onion
-1/8 red cabbage

The dressing was really interesting. It was way lemon-y, I think less of that next time. Either way, it was:
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 tsp dijon mustard, seen here in action:

-1 tsp sugar
-juice from 1/2 lemon, plus some fresh lemon zest, straight from my new zester! Works wonders!

A little drizzle on the salad, and it was good. Needs some tweaking, though.
After that was prepped, we made some Tastefully Simple Mediterrainean Herb Focaccia Bread that I got for my birthday. It was definately simple to make...

Just add 12 oz of beer! (who says I cant enjoy one while baking with it?! :)

After it was all mixed together in a little pie pan, we sprinkled it with some fresh large crystal sea salt. Mmm!
When it was almost done, I sprinkled it with some of my 7 seed spice mix--good thing it wasnt on the bread the whole time because after just 2 minutes in the oven, the spices burned.

Charlie had defrosted the venison--very special because it was from the first deer he shot! That tells us how long this chunk was sitting in the freezer :) After watching Hossea on Top Chef make venison we thought we'd give it a try. Medium high heat, 1 tbsp butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder was all we used. Here it is, cooking away in all its glory!
Poor bambi....
Since Charlie isn't too fond of zuccini, I cut 1/2 of one up and quick stir fryed it in some buttuh, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Deeeee-lish! Here it is, gettin goin:

Our dinner was done fairly quickly, and was pretty tasty! (Besides the venison being a tad over cooked :) We enjoyed it. I especially loved the colorful salad we both enjoyed. How nice it is that Charlie has converted into a salad lover!

And a nice picture of our bread: FYI it was waayy to sweet! It must have had lots of sugar in the mix...
And here is little Bambi, with a nice crusty sear:

And the star of the show, in my opinion, was the Zuccini. Nice and tender and cut real thin, this was delicious:

Complete with some instant potatoes that we made nice and thin--with a little green onion garnish, of course.

What a nice meal. We ended the evening with some popcorn from the Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper--Charlie really enjoyed watching the kernels jump :)--and we even managed to squeeze in6 or so episodes of Six Feet Under. Very good--mom, you would like it. Reminds me of Running with Scissors, really entertaining.

So whats on the plate tonight? More Six Feet Under, maybe some lettuce wraps too? Those sound good, we'll see!

Happy eating!

Feeling So Accomplished!

2009-02-23T20:13:00.002-06:00

This weekend was so eventful, we got so much done, wedding wise!
It was exciting to make our registries--Macy's definitely makes you feel like a VIP that's for sure! Target was good too, but they were out of the little gift you get when you register. boo!
Can I saw how in love I am with anything from the Martha Stewart kitchen collection?! Ah-mazing. It was definitely an experience to remember, considering we spent about 5 hours there :)

After wearing heels that day and walking around for that long, it was nice to sit down and have a nice salad at Houlihan's in Maple Grove (courtesy of Charlie, thanks :) and then relax at the movie, "He's Just Not That Into You"--that was alright...predictable, but I enjoyed myself nonetheless.

Saturday we got up and went to our cake tasting--that was a lot of fun, the flavors were hard to choose from, and our final selection and design will have to be a surprise! But be prepared to be amazed :)

Saturday night, after a little mishap, (most) of the bridesmaids, myself, and my momma went bridesmaids dress shopping. So many cute dresses, so little time: but we did manage to get some adorable ones. Now we just have to make sure it fits one particular bridesmaid, and we will be good to go! It feels so nice to be getting things done and checked off my wedding to-do list!

Hopefully this week I don't decide to make something really delicious, because Charlie has our camera at home again. But I've got fresh Zucchini, and pears, and apples, and green and red peppers that I just know are going to make something really yummy :( Must get a back up camera...we will see...

Thanks again, mystery gift sender, for the lemon zester! How thoughtful and nice, now I dont have to scrape a dull knife across my citrus!

Happy Eating :)

A lovely Valentine, A Lovely Weekend

2009-02-15T17:02:00.000-06:00

It was a good weekend, despite Charlie having the sniffles when he came up on Thursday, but that was ok because he was much better by the time he left me tonight :)

Last Thursday morning before I went to class for a three hour long critique in my drawing class PLUS a very intense art history test, I made some yummy oatmeal to get me going. It was the usual 1/2 cup oats, splash of non dairy creamer, 1/2 cut up banana, maybe 3 cut up strawberries, and a sprinkle of brown sugar. It was super, super good--much better than those little Quaker Instant Oat packets I used to love (granted, I still do, but my box has expired :)
Don't mind the tablespoon measuring device I had to eat from...all the spoons were dirty and the dishwasher had failed to run. So a little improvisation never hurt :)

After my day of classes, I was excited because Charlie was on his way earlier than expected but a little frazzled because my room was a complete mess on the account that I been stuck in there sick for a past 3 days. I quick checked the mail..and came across this little gem in my mail box:

Obviously I couldn't open it until Valentines day, despite my growing curiosity because I didn't recognize the sender. Meh, it had to wait I guess.

So Charlie made his way up to my apartment as sick as ever, so we did close to nothing on Thursday night, and no pictures of dinner to prove it. We ran to cub and picked up some soup and I made him some hot blueberry tea. Mmm, close to gettin better he was!

Friday rolled around and Charlie decided that some Hot Tuna Noodle Hotdish sounded really good, and since I had everything on hand we decided to throw it in the pot for a quick meal.

1 large can cream of chicken, 2 cans tuna (drained), 1 can of peas (for me!) and some egg noodles boiled and drained:

We also had some toast and salad. Overall it was a really good, creamy dinner that felt nice and warm in our tummies after being sick for so long.

And then it was finally Valentines Day! I was excited to open my mystery package..

I ripped it open and found this little package inside. The red wax seal says "Worlds Smallest Letter." I was already excited!!

Inside that package, I pulled out a convenient little magnifying glass and a really tiny letter pressed behind a viewing window.

Here I used my tiny magnifier to read the tiny address on the tiny letter: It had my name, address and everything! (blurred out to protect my location :)

Once I opened that, I flipped over the letter to open it, only to find the worlds smallest wax seal on the worlds smallest letter. It was a "G" (for my future last lame, of course)
Carefully peeling back the seal and pulling open the flap, I see the words tiniest heart stamped letter:
Then I put my magnifier to even MORE use when I got to read the wonderful letter Charlie wrote to me. Here is just a little hint at how fun it was to read:

And finally, my Valentines Day Mystery gift all laid out:

I loved it! Not only was the letter super sweet, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE miniature things, and this one topped the cake. Cute! Thanks Charlie :)

You can find more little treasures, like the Worlds Smallest Letter, at this website: www.leafcutterdesigns.com

Since Charlie was feeling better I thought I would break out my new apron I got from a special someone (thanks gramma!) and cook a wonderful meal. I decided on roasted garlic lemon chicken with risotto and garlic green beans. Here is a little breakdown of our evening in the kitchen:

I started out posing in my new apron:

Then I minced 6 whole fresh garlic cloves for the chicken, along with 1/4 of a white onion for the risotto:

I transfered the white onion to a hot pan on the stove that had 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 table spoon butter, melted. Cook this on low until onions are translucent.

In a glass baking dish, I started the roasting marinade for the chicken. 3 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons rosemary, (the recipe called for fresh..but Cub didnt have any, whats up with that? So we used dry) 6 minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning. Add 2 chicken breasts cut into chunks, cover with marinade, and roast in a 450* oven for 20 minutes...

We also added 1 tablespoon lemon zest into the Chicken marinade. (I cant wait to register for a zester :)

After the onions were all ready to go, I added 1 cup of italian arborio rice (risotto) and stirred it around on low heat until the grains were glistening, seen here:

Then I added 1 cup water and 1 cup chicken stock..

I bumped it up to high heat and maintained a boil for a few minutes, returned it back down to low, and waited. Usually, one would put a cover on the risotto and let it steam, but we dont have lids for our pans :(

While I was doing the chicken and risotto, my little helper Charlie was washing and snapping the ends off the beans :)

Mmmm! The risotto is almost done! I was especially excited for this because I had never had risotto before...the creamy look was really enticing and I couldn't wait to eat it!

So after 20 minutes in the oven, I pulled out the chicken and added 1/2 cup stock with the juice of 1 lemon, and returned it to the oven (which was now off) for an additional 5 minutes.

I started plating things for dinner now, and the beans turned out delicious, per usual. Just a tab of butter, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Yum! And they look so good on my little red plate, too..

And our wonderful Valentines Dinner, complete with risotto and roasted chicken:

It was really good. I loved the risotto, tasted just like I had always imagined. The chicken was really good too. I am lucky that Charlie likes garlic so much :) The only thing that I would have changed was to use fresh rosemary all chopped up, the dryed stuff got really hard in the oven and I think the taste would have been much stronger had it been fresh.

And whats Valentines day without some sweets? I quick made up some rice crispie bars, my favorite, while Charlie took care of dishes :)

We are very impatient people, Charlie and I...couldnt wait until they cooled to dig in :) They were extra gooey and I only used 1/4 of the butter it called for and he didn't even notice :)
So good, and it was a cheap meal, too! We already had the chicken, but for everything else, including the crispie bars, we spent 10 bucks. We even got todays lunch out of it too, so we were happy :)

Wedding cake tasting next Satuday, bridesmaids dress shopping next Saturday...home at my parents next Saturday! Busy bee :)

Happy eating!

No Pictures This Time...

2009-02-11T16:44:00.000-06:00

Oh the aroma of proposals, engagements, and weddings has set in! Cousin Julie got engaged recently..congrats again :) and Nick and Laura are thinking about their wedding date sometime this fall rather than later, so that should be exciting :)

Unfortunately, I have no food pictures to post today...I have been miserable and sick since Saturday morning and besides the wonderful food I busted out for Saturday night, I haven't had a chance to really..eat anything at all. Although, Monday night I did simmer a pot of soup similar to my cabbage soup recipe here and had a little for dinner..but it did NOT hit the spot. It was weird, I could hardly choke it down. It sounded so good, but oh..it was so wrong in my tummy. Now I have many containers of soup sitting in the fridge that will be there for a long time. Lord!

I have been in contact with a new guitarist now for the ceremony..and I LOVE his playing! It suits our "vision" much more than the original guy we were thinking about..and this guy is having a recital at the U on March 5th...I will have to pencil that in and make it down to see it.

The cake tasting is coming up pretty quick, so I figured I should have some ideas for cake styles, etc. Lately I am loving these styles...

Of course the last cake has a shoe on top :)
Oh, I forgot about this one too..Who knows, maybe you'll see one of these come July!

I had also fallen in love with everything "bird." Yeah, sounds weird I know...I've always kind felt a kin to birds..sparrows..I don't know. Maybe that's why I'm adding elements of feathers into much of the decor. Either way, I absolutely love these little earrings from Etsy.com:

Aren't they sweet?! I really like them, maybe if I save up enough...But I love these as well:

Aw. Cute! They have such cute stuff on Etsy, don't they?

What else, what else...maybe I will make a salad tonight for dinner--will probably finish up the left over spinach strawberry salad from Saturday. I think that will go nicely with a side of studying for art history :)

Happy eating!

how exciting!

2009-02-10T11:13:00.000-06:00

Congrats Julie!