Compromise

We had homemade pizza last night (yes I cheated and bought the crust), this is what it looked like:

Meat on the left. Veggies on the right.

Compromise is what happens when a former-vegetarian New England girl marries a meat-loving midwestern man. :)

Magic in the Meat

I'm learning..

For those of you who are newer readers, I was a vegetarian for 8 years, and up until I first visited Z's parents' house 1 1/2 yrs. ago, I'd never tasted red meat.. Let alone cook it.

So being married to a meat & potatoes midwestern man has been an adventure. His parents raise a cow for meat every year so they always have fresh beef. I've tried my hand at making several meat- related dishes since being married, but I'd never made hamgburgers before..

When my cousin was recently visiting I decided to try. She suggested I throw some spices in the hamburger mix, and it turned out to be a very husband-pleasing meal!

Note: Yes those are forks in the meat. You really think I'd stick my hands in that stuff? ha.. I'm NOT that good yet. ;) So anyway, maybe this is old to all of you, but I thought I'd share what Z calls "the key ingredients", since it is, after all, BBQ season. Chances are you have way better tricks up your sleaves, but cut a veggie some slack! :)

It's as simple as: a couple pinches of basil, a good shake or three of pepper, and a healthy heap of McCormick's Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning. Then melt a delicious fresh sliced provolone cheese over the top & you'll have a man doing your dishes and mopping your floor in appreciation (k, maybe not.. but a girl can dream right?).

But, don't take it from the novice- what are your BBQ secrets? What makes your man do that growning "yum" sound? Any other veggies or former veggies who are still tryin to get a grip on this stuff?? Chime in!

Cake-Poppy Goodness

Today D reminded me of these goodies by Bakerella. Is that woman not amazing? In case you haven't been introduced to her work yet, feast your eyes on these, her amazing cake pops:

Okay, you get the idea. But seriously, wow.. :) I was just thinking I needed an occasion to make them for.. but then I realized- she's got ideas for EVERY occasion. Long story short- I'm making some of these. For sure.

Pretty Food

Today I'm home from work, sick with this "thing" that won't go away. So looking at pictures of past pretty meals is going to be as close as I get to cooking one today.

*BUT* before I show you the yummy chicken skewers from a few nights ago, I do have to give you a quick update: We didn't get the house. :( All we know is that there was a cash buyer. That's a whole heck of a lot of cash to have hanging around! So we're pretty bummed- but I think it's toughened us up. We're going to keep looking but we've learned not to get too attached until we have an accepted offer. We also know that God's in control, and He has the perfect home picked out for us. We just have to trust that when the doors close on one place, He'll open them on another.

So anyway, on to the point of the post:

Satay Chicken Skewers, found here

Ingredients
One 10-ounce jar satay sauce or spicy peanut sauce
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 11⁄2-inch cubes
Salt and pepper
Cayenne pepper
1⁄2 cup peanuts, finely chopped
1⁄2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
4 scallions, trimmed and finely chopped (about 1⁄2 cup)

Preparation

Pour 2⁄3 of the satay or spicy peanut sauce into the medium bowl and add the chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes; 2 hours is preferable for optimum flavor. While the chicken is marinating, preheat the oven to 375°F.

Twenty-five minutes before serving time, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and divide it into 6 portions. Slide pieces onto skewers (depending on size of skewer, this may mean 1 or 2 skewers per person) and place on baking sheet. Discard remaining marinade (raw chicken juices in it make it unsafe). Dust the skewered chicken with salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Bake for 20 minutes. For the final 2 minutes, turn on the broiler and broil the skewers close to the heat, until the edges look crisp but not burned.

To serve, place the skewers on a serving platter and sprinkle with the peanuts, cilantro, and scallions. Pour the remaining satay sauce (not marinade) into a bowl on the side for dipping.

I served these with roasted potatoes. Just put the potatoes on 1/3 of the baking sheet and pop them in the oven about 15-20 min. before you add the chicken.

Pretty, right??

Wonderful Weekend

This weekend was just great. Relaxing, and I loved it! Friday night, after attending visiting hours for a former classmate of Z's who recently passed away (more on that later), we came home and were so tired we ended up falling asleep at like 8:30pm. Yeah. Pathetic, I know. We're just a bunch of boring old married people already! ha!

Anyway, Saturday we heard a great sermon at church and got to know a couple of guys that go there a little better (we think we've finally found a church!!). We really like it there! And, as has been the tradition for the past few weeks, we stopped at Culvers. Salad for me, Butter burger for Z. And as always, the constant struggle to say no to their frozen custard. Toture.
We then took our usual Saturday afternoon nap (kept it to an hour this time!). Then we decided to get some exercise in and go biking. We loaded our bikes on the truck and drove to the bike path. It a really pretty one- it was actually a tow path for the Miami-Erie Canal! Which is probably only interesting to you if you're a history buff, but oh well. Anyway. Z headed out to go to a friend of ours' to help with a young men's bible study. That left me alone for the night. I HATE being alone in the house, so I got out and ran a bunch of errands. Who knew Target had great prices on packaged deli cheese?!? I also got sick of the battery running out of life on my Sway, and stopped at the Verizon store to swap it for this baby:
The LG Chocolate 3 in blue. Normally, they charge you a $35 restocking fee, but I made friends with my customer service rep, and she got her manager to waive the fee! Yay for being nice! And, so far the battery is a million times better- I love it!

So then Saturday night I got into a 'good wifey' mood & made Z his fave fruit- Chocolate covered strawberries!... And my mom's famous Berry Good French Toast Bake for the morning. All I have is a crappy picture after it had already been half eaten and put back in the fridge, but it will have to do! I swear those raspberries looked way better in the beginning. :) Then on Sunday I also whipped up a Caramel Apple Crisp. I even got brave and went recipe-less. Didn't turn out bad at all!

Anyway, I just love laid back weekends! And it reminds me how much I totally look forward to being a stay at home mom. Z and I were talking about it- it's funny how God has taken my drive to climb the corporate business ladder and instead made me want to take on a challenge so much more eternally important- raising Godly children! Although, I don't want to be the mom that never works or brings in any $$. After all- the Godly woman described in Proverbs 31 worked & created income for her family! That's why I'm thinking about going into Interior Decorating. Such fun! I'm so looking forward to this journey Z & I are on together!

Hope you had a great weekend!

Happy Tuesday!

Guess today's just the day for giveaways! Holly over at Homebody is giving away these super cute ceramic number balls and April at dot... dot... dot... is giving away some Juicy Goodies!

Be sure to check these out!

Also, I'll be having a giveaway in a few more weeks in honor of my 100th post! I'll give you a hint now- it's spicy & relaxing! :)

In other news, Z spent last night helping a guy who flips houses. He's helped him out a few times now, in exchange for this guy teaching him how to do whatever it is he's doing. It gets him some great experience for when we decide to flip our first one (did I mention we're going to do this?)!

I almost died from coffee inhalation this morning. Thank God my coffee cup was mostly empty and I could spit the coffee back in. I almost had coffee spewed all over my desk. I know, you didn't need to know that, but really, it was a scary thing! Thank goodness no one saw!

My wedding photographer asked me to write up a rave about our wedding photos for her new website! I'm so excited for it to launch- I'll definitely share when it does! If you're in the greater Boston area, she's the girl you want (no, we're not in Boston- she graciously traveled for our wedding)!!

Z and I watched Australia last night (Free Redbox rental!). It didn't help that he got home late, but the movie lasted forever! We were up til 12:30 watching that darn thing! Which is not wise when you wake up at 6:15! It was a pretty good movie- nothing amazing, but worth the watch. I just would rather have done it on a night we didn't have to have incredible discipline to get out of bed the next morning. Don't tell, but I may or may not have dozed off for 1/2 hr. this morning while no one was in the office! :)

As promised, here's the Tiramisu recipe! I love it because it's soo simple, you make it the night before you need it, and it gives a certain impressive air when people ask what it is and you say, "Tiramisu", and have to explain to them that it's a light Italian dessert. Oh, and it's yummy! :)

What You Need

2 Tbsp. MAXWELL HOUSE Instant Coffee

1/4 cup boiling water

32 Reduced Fat NILLA Wafers

1 tub (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP FREE Whipped Topping, thawed

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Make It

STIR coffee granules into boiling water until dissolved. Cover bottom of 8-inch square dish with 16 wafers. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp. coffee.

ADD 2 Tbsp. of the remaining coffee gradually to cream cheese in medium bowl, beating with whisk until blended. Add powdered sugar; mix well. Stir in COOL WHIP; spoon 1/2 over wafers in dish. Cover with remaining wafers. Drizzle with remaining coffee; top with remaining cream cheese mixture.

REFRIGERATE overnight. Top with raspberries just before serving; sprinkle with cocoa powder.

Thank you, Kraft Foods! Happy Tuesday!

Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper & Feta Sauce

Last night I tried out this recipe on my ever willing taste-tester, Z. :) He says thumbs up, just add some salt & pepper! :)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1 (16-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese or a 6-ounce block
• 1 pound whole-wheat fettuccine
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft, about 10 minutes. Add roasted peppers and saute until heated through. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Place mixture in the bowl of a food processor with stock and all but 2 tablespoons of the feta. Process until combined and smooth, about 30 seconds. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Toss pasta with sauce, adding pasta water by the tablespoon, if needed. Sauce should cling nicely to pasta. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Divide among pasta bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and remaining feta cheese.

**If you don't have a food processor, a blender works just fine!**

Mary or Martha?

It's a bit humbling to write this, but I've made a mistake.

And I want to share it because I know some of you share the same qualities that I have that caused me to make said mistake.

Perfectionism and Optimism.

Two wonderful characteristics in a person. However, it's finding a good balance of the two that's a bit more difficult.

My optimism said the following to me: "Go ahead C! You can sand, prime, paint and poly an entire dining set in 4 days! It won't be bad at all! Oh, and get those amazing recipes that require a million ingredients and take forever to cook! You can make them easily! And one more thing- your house? Deep cleaning won't be a problem at all! You dust and vacuum like nobody's business! You're a wonder wife!"

My perfectionism said: "Well, you need to sand that table down perfectly, because even the tiniest bump will show through the paint. And the two coats of paint you have on top of the primer aren't enough- if the sun hits it just the right way [perfectionism doesn't tell you that your table will be INSIDE] you can see a tiny hint of the primer peeking through. Better do 5 coats! Yes, that's much better! And those recipes? You should probably make another spreadsheet detailing your menu for the week! And you better search every grocery store around for those darn Tarragon leaves- your homemade pesto sauce just won't be the same without them! Now, think about your menu. Does each meal have enough color? A nice balance of protein, veggies, and carbohydrates? Do you have a Centerpiece for your freshly painted table? NO?? Better run to the store and get some flowers!! Oh, and each of your towels in the linen closet need to be refolded so that everything's uniform. You don't want to show any domestic weakness do you? And it doesn't matter that you washed all the bathroom rugs a week ago. Don't you see the random fuzz collecting on them? Better wash those too. And lastly, I know you have to leave for work in 5 minutes, but do you really want to have a bowl sitting in your sink when family arrives because you didn't empty your dishwasher of the clean ones? Better do that, and just speed to work."

Whew! Exhausting isn't it?? That's how my brain works. Do you see how the two characteristics conflict? One tells you "yes, you can do all this stuff and everything's going to turn out great" but the other one causes you to spend much more time than you anticipated doing everything, therefore neglecting all other areas of your life.

Last night Z went to bed while I was putting the finishing touches on some Tiramisu for tonight's dessert. We hate going to bed without each other. I crawled in beside him around midnight. As I laid on his chest he sighed and said, "I miss you honey". Wow.. realization hit me. I'd been running around all week without so much as a minute to spare, getting frustrated with him for not offering to lessen my load, without stopping to simply enjoy my husband. He's God's greatest gift to me and I'd been to busy for him all week. Bad move.

It reminded me of the story of Mary & Martha in the Bible. The one where Jesus comes to their house to eat and Martha is running around preparing dinner and such and Mary wisely sits at her savior's feet, seeing the most important part of their evening. Mary was a smart woman. She knew how to keep balance. She knew what was important.

We live in a Martha world. All the way. Especially all us "domestic diva" women. How often do we find ourselves striving to be Martha?

Don't get me wrong- I'll never lose those two qualities. My house will still look clean, orderly, and well decorated, and I'll still whip up some impressive meals. But I hope to never again lose sight of what's important in life. Even if your house is aesthetically pleasing and your meals are the talk of the town, is your husband happy? Is your relationship with God strong? Do you take time for your family, or just some time alone?

It's been a long week, and I'm ready for the weekend. But most of all, I'm ready to spend some time with my husband, and my amazing family who will be here in a matter of hours! Enjoy your weekend, and slow down a bit, K? I promise I will. :)

Thursday Randoms

• Yes, I know it's usually Wednesday Randoms, but yesterday was sick day #2.

• Sick day #2 actually produced some nice results:

1. A cleaned out fridge (no more moldy leftovers!!)
2. A completed mystery shop (I don't like rescheduling these, and besides, when doesn't shopping make a girl feel better??)
3. A new pair of pants for Z!! Sexy soft dark khaki chinos from said mystery shop locale for $13!!
4. A de-cluttered house
5. A mothers day present bought way ahead ( I couldn't resist! ... No, mom, I'm not telling you )
6. Supper on the stove when Z got home
7. A nicely scrubbed shower
8. Suupperr cute new earrings
   

• In case you're wondering, yes I WAS sick yesterday. But around 1pm, I wasn't doing too bad and I was sick of laying on the couch. I HAD to get out
• My 30 Day Shred DVD came in today! I'm kickin' it with Jillian tonight!!
• The repair shop called today and it turns out the $700 fix on Z's truck is done... and is going to cost us $1300. Great.
• I thought the furniture I painted was done. Then I brought it inside. No, I'm a perfectionist, and the Dark Dark Grey color will not suffice!! I want BLACK. So Z and I ran to Menards. $20 later, I'm ready to slap some darker paint on those babies!
• I'm loving getting rid of my wedding stuff! The pile is getting smaller & my paypal account plumper. Only a few more items to go!
• This cold has left me with a strange problem. My left ear hurts.. like inside. My nurse mom says it's just from the congestion. I'm just sniffly now, not all stuffed up like before, so I'm hoping and praying it goes away on it's own. Please don't be a sinus infection!
• Confession: I actually pray for my blog friends! Like, if you blog about something tough and I comment saying I'll pray for you- I do! I've never met the vast majority of you guys, but you do find a way into my "real life". Sometimes I feel funny if I'm praying and I can only remember your blog name, and not your real name. Oh well, God knows what it is, right? ;)

[Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post! I'll make up for it I promise!]

Baby Shower Food!

This weekend I helped with my SIL's baby shower. I wanted to make some food that would be light & refreshing & so I turned to some of my favorites that my mom [who is a fab. entertainer] makes. Thought I'd share the yummy pictures with you since I can't virtually offer you some! ;)

French Bread Cucumber Sandwiches

Slice french bread ~1/2 in. thick
Spread Philly Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese in a generous layer on top
Slice cucumber, place on top of that
Top with Pimento for color

California Veggie Rolls

Assemble in layers:
Tortilla (I used regular & sun-dried tomato for color)
Spread Philly Chive and Onion Cream Cheese on top
Sprinkle a layer of shredded carrots
Sprinkle a layer of shredded cheddar cheese
Add a layer of fresh spinach

Roll up tightly and carefully. Secure each section with a toothpick and cut into ~1 in. sections.

Voila!

Super Easy Chicken

Last night I finally got the time to cook us a good dinner. However, that doesn't mean it took forever. Thanks to someone (wish I could remember who) on the Nest D&R board for sharing this recipe!

Crispy Ranch Chicken

You need:

• Chicken breast (~4)
• 1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 packet of Ranch Dressing Mix
• 2 egg whites
• 2 cups crispy rice cereal (I wasn't feeling the cereal, so I did italian bread crumbs, and crushed Ritz crackers)

What you need to do:

• Mix Parm, Ranch mix, and cereal (or whatever you choose to use) in a bowl
• Dip chicken in egg whites, then in Ranch mix, then place on greased cooking sheet.
  
• Bake for ~30-35 min. on 350 degrees.

Voila! Easy as that! And the flavor was AMAZING! I (being always a little leery of meat), even loved it!

Wednesday Randoms

EASY Dinner Idea: (as executed last night)

You need:

• Whole grain thin spaghetti (or whatever pasta) (~$1.50)
  
• A bag of stir-fry veggies (~$1.50)
• Italian Dressing (I used Kraft red pepper & parmesan Italian)
  
• Various spices (I used garlic salt, italian seasoning, and parsley)
  
• Veggie oil
• Meat- optional
  

Cook pasta. Add dressing and spices.
Cook veggies in a little veggie oil until they're starting to get browned, add spices.
If you want meat, mix it in with the veggies.
Top pasta with veggies/meat.

*I think the Parmesan in the dressing gives it a really good texture
*Add salt to taste
*Z ate it with some of the pulled pork I made him on Friday. I ate it sans meat. Both loved it.

Identity theft?Hackers?

Sunday I got a call from my credit card company saying that there was a $1 charge on my account that was suspicious, and sure enough, I hadn't authorized it! So, they're cancelling that card & sending me a new one. Freaky!!

Need for Organization

I recently have decided that I need to tackle a couple projects: a cleaning schedule and a menu plan. So hold me to it! I plan on doing both of them this weekend.

Shaping Up

As I've told you before, my family is coming to visit in the end of March. My mom and I were on the phone the other night and talking about wanting to be in better shape. She lost 15 lbs. for my wedding in November, and I probably lost a few(didn't keep track), but with the holidays and my honeymoon, we've been slacking ever since. So.. we decided to commit to lose 10 lbs. before they come to visit. 10 is a stretch for me because my body seems to want to stay at this ho-hum weight no matter what I do, but I figure if I blog about it, it'll keep me accountable! So.. I weighed in 2 days ago(Sunday) and I'll let you know this coming Sunday if I made any progress. I've been going to the Y & trying to cut all the carbs in my diet. I swear.. I'm a carb junkie- bread, cereal, pasta- it's what I crave & am used to since I didn't eat meat for so long.. so here it goes! I know Lindsay @ Learning to be a Wife is doing the same thing, so we're going to cheer eachother on!

That's all for now! Happy middle of the week!! :)

Superbowl and Breakfast

So I know the two words in the title have nothing to do with eachother, but I didn't want to split it up into two posts. So.. you get a 2-for-1.

Did you watch the Superbowl? I can say I tried. I fell asleep at the inlaws house a little before halftime. It was Z&I, his sister and boyfriend, his parents, and another couple we're friends with. But.. towards the beginning was my favorite part- the Doritos Crystal Ball commercial. Halarious! Oh, and almost as funny was when I woke up at the end and the Steelers' owner thanked President Obama. What was your favorite commercial??

Now, on to breakfast.

So today Denny's is giving away free grand slam breakfasts til 2pm. Z & were planning on a before-work date, but we totally forgot. However, I was a good wife and cooked him some sausage last night & made up an egg, cheese, and sausage breakfast sandwich this morning (mine was sans sausage). Neither of us got our usual 10am stomach growlings!! Yay for protein!Any one else get those cravings? Maybe the answer is eggs in your breakfast! :)

Dinner Plans

Tonight Z's grandparents are coming over for dinner, so I wanted to cook up something nice- here's the menu:

-Toasted almond Salad
-Whole Grain Baguette
-Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast (Yes, I know.. I like chicken.. and stuffing it is fun)
-Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans
-Tiramisu for desert (What I'm really pumped about)


(Recipes and pix posted after it's all done!)

Am I missing anything? I really don't know what is wrong with me.. I get REALLY excited about cooking dinner. For me.. that's just.. strange. The things marriage does to you..

Now, as far as how I'm going to get everything ready in the hour and a half I have after work, before they arrive:

-Tiramisu is already made and in fridge
1) Pound Chicken & stuff, put in oven
2) Chop Potatoes & put them, along with Green Beans, on the skillet
3) While that's cooking, wash veggies & make salad
4) Throw baguette in the oven
5) Set table
6) Take all food out of the oven (Which I'm sure won't all be done at the same time)
7) Serve salads, Dish out other food, and:
8) Voila!

Let's just hope it goes off that smoothly!
(Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post- they will reappear in the following posts ;) )

NYT: Simple Meals

Someone on the nest posted this link today, so I thought I'd share. It's from the summer, but hey, who doesn't love and easy meal anytime??

New York Trash (Oops, I mean Times) Article: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less

Note: whoever wrote this must like prosciutto! This former veggie will be leaving those recipes out! :)

Bruchetta and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

I made this for Z & his friend whom we had over for dinner while he was home on leave from the army. They loved it.. (& I got raves for being a good cook.. **beams**) I'm on my way people!!

Recipe from Kraftfoods.com w/ my pictures & comments

What you need:

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1-1/4 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
8 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2 lb.) (I used 10 & had the perfect amount)
1/3 cup KRAFT Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing

What to do:

HEAT oven to 350°F. Mix tomatoes, 1/2 cup cheese and basil in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix; stir just until moistened.

PLACE 2 chicken breasts in large freezer-weight resealable plastic bag. Pound with meat mallet or side of heavy can until chicken is 1/4 inch thick.

Remove from bag; place, top-sides down, on cutting board. Repeat with remaining chicken. Spread chicken with stuffing mixture.

Starting at 1 narrow end, tightly roll up each breast. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish. Drizzle with dressing.

BAKE 40 min. or until chicken is done (165°F). Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted

For a South of the Border variation, and nutritional info., see Kraft's website!

If you make it, I want to know how it turns out!! :)