The Perfect Dinner

Back when we were dating, Barron took me to Macaroni Grill - the first visit for both of us. He ordered the salmon, which was served with orzo (not even sure I knew what orzo was). We loved it and I, of course, thought "I can make that." And thanks to How Stuff Works, I can!

Orzo with Spinach and Red Pepper

Ingredients:

4 ounces (~ 3/4 cup) uncooked orzo pasta (or whatever you have - it's pasta)

Nonstick olive oil cooking spray

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 medium red bell pepper, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano or basil (optional)

1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper

Preparation:

1. Prepare orzo according to package directions; drain and set aside. You can even make it the night before and have it ready for tomorrow night's dinner.

2. Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add oil and garlic to the pot and turn skillet medium until hot. Add bell pepper; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until bell pepper is crisp-tender. Add orzo and spinach; stir until well mixed and heated through. Remove from heat; stir in Parmesan cheese, oregano or basil, if desired, and lemon pepper. Garnish as desired.

*In case you're not familiar with orzo, it is a pasta that looks like tiny, slightly flattened footballs about the size of plump rice grains. Alphabet or tiny bead-shaped pasta are good substitutes if no orzo is available.

 The salmon marinade is from our friends The Carters (yes, the awesome photographer) and it's super-easy:

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup water

lemon pepper

garlic powder

Sprinkle salmon with lemon pepper and garlic and place in shallow dish before mixing up the marinade. Mix other ingredients in a bowl and pour over fish. Marinade at least 15 minutes. We typically grill ours, but you could do it on the stove or in the oven - whatever you prefer.

YUM! And no, we have not ever been back to Macaroni Grill. :)

Catching Up With Oatmeal

Wow, and I thought I had a long gap between posts last time. Nope, this one wins.

So hello, here I am.

I find myself spending so much time on other blogs and finding new things to try (most often recipes) that I don't have time to blog about all the other stuff. Sorry about that.


We're working on eating healthier and whole-grain-ier around here. so I've been trying all kinds of new things. A quick rundown:

Vermont Whole Wheat Honey Oat Bread from King Arthur Flour - I love oats. Let's get that established. So this sounded amazing! And it is...well, if I hadn't screwed it up. Let's back up. I made this bread last weekend and was filled with pride just looking at it. It was my first true sandwich loaf (read: huge). I couldn't wait to bust into it. Unfortunately we discovered it was quite crumbly and dry. Blast it breads! Why must you be so picky? Often I find myself not trying recipes twice because I find something that sounds even better; this one, however, will be one I come back to. I will not be defeated!

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes - These sounded good and healthy, so we gave them a whirl one morning. I asked Barron to handle the flipping of the 'cakes, so he pours out a few on the griddle and then says, "hmmm...seems a little runny." Boy he wasn't kidding. It was a mound of oatmeal surrounded by a milky mixture...hmm. Thankfully they cooked up beautifully (albeit a bit slower than your usual pancake). And they were so filling. Just two medium-size pancakes with some eggs was plenty. Give it a try!

Cold Oatmeal Breakfast - While we're on an oatmeal kick, let's not stop. An old friend of mine and I were discussing - what else - oatmeal (seriously) and I told her how much I loved oats but didn't eat them much in the summer because they're hot. She agreed but said she had a great recipe for make-ahead, no-cooking required, cold oats. (Yes, I see your skeptical glances.) She was kind enough to share her recipe with me and I'm sure won't mind me sharing it with you.

1/2 c Old fashioned oats
cinnamon - whatever looks good to you - shake shake

salt - just a pinch
**If you are into raisins, add them here. If not, move on.**
1/4 c yogurt (any flavor - I've been using vanilla)
1/4 c milk
1 T honey or maple syrup (the real stuff) or agave (give or take according to your taste)
vanilla - just a splash (it's not a must, but I also heart vanilla)

Add ingredients to a bowl/mug/small container in the order listed, stopping to stir after adding the salt (to get the cinnamon and salt well incorporated). Once all ingredients are added, mix well, cover, and put in the fridge overnight. That's where the magic happens. Come back in the morning and you'll have oatmeal about the consistency of your regular hot oatmeal, only it will be cold (and oh so yummy!). You can then add berries, banana, whatever else sounds good, but I honestly like it best plain. The first day I made it with agave and didn't love it. The second day I tried honey and didn't think I'd love it, but oh did I. And a few days later I went the maple syrup route and that is quite yummy as well. Give it a try a couple days! It's so easy and great for you.

Ok, so that's enough oatmeal for one post, no? If you have any other favorite oatmeal recipes, DO SHARE!

Last but not least, I'm making baguettes this weekend. White ones. No healthiness here, just a little baking challenge. We'll see how it goes. I'm nervous.

30 Days

Wow, just realized it's been 30 days since I last blogged. Oops! We've been keeping busy I guess. Spring has sprung and we've been busy doing yard work -- prepping the garden, planting new trees (yea!), mowing (blah!) -- plus other fun house maintenance stuff. So yeah, no huge desire to blog. One of those projects is removing the hinges and doorknobs from pretty much every door in our house to clean the paint off (yes, previous owners didn't bother avoiding the hardware when painting the doors white). The cleaning is actually quite easy. Just place them in a crock pot full of water with a small amount of laundry detergent added. Allow to soak on low for a couple hours or until paint loosens. You'll know when it does - you can just peel it off with your fingers for the most part at that point. So yeah, fun! Here's a before and after pic from the bathroom hinges. (Click on them to get up close and personal.)

 Our church's Global Impact conference was this past weekend and our dear friends Preston and Courtney (and their sweet new addition, Callie) were in town for that and a little vacation. It was SO good to see them. You just can't beat those forever friends God puts in your life, ya know? It was also fun to get to know Callie. She is a gorgeous baby. Sadly the only picture I have on my camera worth posting is of Tammi and I. She's holding Callie and I'm holding her boy Cooper. Aren't they cute?

We have also celebrated Barron's birthday. Hooray! He hates to make a big deal out of the day, so for his birthday we did nothing. Well, not totally nothing, but no chores. I made him biscuits and gravy for brunch and we went out for dinner and a movie that night. Saw the animated flick How To Train Your Dragon. Cute. It was a fun day.


(Speaking of biscuits and gravy, I tried it with spicy turkeys sausage made at our local Harter House. Yum! Healthier and cheaper than regular sausage. Give it a try!)

And for his actual birthday evening, I made some homemade mac and cheese with kale. Yes, you read right. Kale. I heard about it on Yeebird and wanted to give it a try. Check out the recipe here. It was pretty good, although I subbed some cream cheese and Laughing Cow wedges for the goat cheese, so it lost a little of the zing it may have had. The kale wasn't much different than spinach. Even Barron was shocked. (Isn't he a sweetheart for giving it a whirl?) Here's a pic of it in my new "wavy baker" (as I call it). Fun!

In other news, if you're on Facebook, be sure to pay attention to all the new privacy stuff. Mashable had a nice article on it here. Also, they've rolled out there "connections" junk on your info tab. If you go to edit your profile, it will ask if you want to connect to pages associated with your likes and interests (ie: if you say "the Bible," it will link you to that page). What they don't tell you is that any page you are linked to can display info about you AND if you choose not to connect to the pages, your only option is to delete the interest, so yeah, I'm not not interested in much of anything. Frustrating. Don't kid yourself - Facebook is looking out for #1!

Anyway, hope you are all doing well and enjoying Spring! 

Dress It Up

Tonight we needed to use up some odds and ends for dinner - breaded chicken strips (frozen, not the yummy oven-baked ones) and romaine lettuce. I remembered seeing some homemade dressing recipes on FoodieRachel's blog recently, so I clicked over and decided to try her Honey Mustard recipe.

Anyone who has tried Honey Mustard knows that not all are created equal. But Rachel assured readers that it "has a more mild mustard flavor- its not bitter at all," and, no surprise, she was right. It was not only a wonderful salad dressing, but was a great sauce for the chicken and will be a great sandwich spread. Yum!

Be sure to check out her blog for great, creative recipes.

Honey Mustard Dressing from FoodieRachel
1 c. mayonnaise
3 T. yellow mustard
3 T. Honey
2 T. vegetable oil
2 tsp. dried basil (or 2 T. fresh)
2 tsp. cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. smoked paprika

I just whisk it all together and store in a jar for up to 2 weeks.

Putting My Appetite and Opinions to Good Use

I've recently started doing some writing for the Springfield Foodie, a local blog devoted to all things food here in Springfield, Missouri. Sounds right up my ally, eh? I thought so, too. See my first review about Springfield's own taco stand here. Yum!

Dinner Ideas

Sorry for the long delay between posts. I have great intentions and somehow it just doesn't get finished. But enough excuses; to the food.

First off, if you have not made the recipe I recommended for Pretzel Bread, you are missing out. I hadn't made it since that post, but Barron has been requesting it, so yesterday I churned it out. Don't be intimidated by homemade bread. It's really not as complicated as you're thinking. I did make a few modifications this time; we didn't have as much time as the recipe calls for this time around, so I decided to take my chances and lessen the rising time and it came out great. Just two half-hour rises and voila. I also made six small bun-sized pieces insead of the four last time - perfect for a sandwich. And wow, I had forgotten how good it is. I'm hoping to make them monthly - maybe more often. And maybe a whole wheat version. Hmm...

Another new venture last week was Oven "Fried" Chicken. My grandmother makes the most wonderful fried chicken -- boneless breasts cut into strips and fried -- but we save that for trips to her house. At home we at least attempt to eat a little bit more healthy. And so, that said, we needed an alternative. Yes, there's Shake 'n Bake and yes, I've heard of the cornflake crust before, but I was skeptical. Here's the recipe I concocted after reading a handful on the web:

1 c Buttermilk (egg would probably be fine if buttermilk was not available)
1 c Flour
lemon pepper (I like it on my fried chicken; sprinkle what you think is adequate in the flour)
salt
2-3 cups cornflakes, crushed
1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into strips (I did about 7 or 8 strips)
plastic zip-top bag or bowl with lid (for tossing chicken in cornflakes)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle a little salt on both sides of the chicken strips. Dip each strip in buttermilk, in flour (just roll it around and shake off excess), back in buttermilk (lightly), and then in the cornflake mixture, tossing to coat. As with anything I do (it seems), it isn't an exact science; just go with it. Place on foil lined pan (you'll thank me when it's time to do the dishes) and bake for about 20 minutes. 15 may do, but we went for 20 and they were definitely hot enough but still juicy inside. Either way, I was pleased with how quickly they were finished.

The moment of truth came when we bit in, though. Would it be a satisfying substitute?

YES!

No, it's not Mamaw's fried chicken, but it will definitely do for now.

Side note: while preparing my ingredients I received a phone call from my dad. I told him what I was doing and he said "Oh yeah, that will be good. I do it all the time." I asked him if he had any advice and he said "It's even good in powdered sugar."

Huh?

Apparently he got the flour and powdered sugar mixed up once - oops! I'll have to give that recipe a try another time.

Enjoy!

Back in the Kitchen!

If you saw my last post, you may have noticed the comment about my back hurting. Wow did that turn out to be an understatement! After a few days of battling a strained back muscle (and thanks to many friends and, most of all, my sweet husband), I made it back to work today and actually felt like cooking dinner afterwards! So now that I'm back, I thought I'd share the new recipe we tried this evening, and a few others that are on my list.

Because we weren't sure what I'd feel like after work, it was already determined that the crock pot would be doing the heavy lifting. I had been planning to try Black Bean Soup with Chipotle Chiles from Bon Appétit for a while, so I decided it was time. It takes a little prep work (the veggies need to be chopped and sautéed first to bring out their yumminess), but it is cheap and yummy! I made a few modifications to the recipe:

•  soaked the beans overnight (the recipe doesn't say to, but I did. Let me know if you try it without doing so)
• less bell pepper (I didn't have that much on hand)
• less onion (Have I mentioned my husband hates onion? I think I have found a solution, though. Cut the pieces huge [quarter the onion, toss the small inside pieces]; then you get all the flavor but can easily spot them and dispose of them before he finds out!)
• replaced some of the water with beef broth  (1 carton of beef broth = 4 cups + 3 cups water = 7 cups. Makes for a more robust taste)
• replaced yogurt with light sour cream and didn't bother with the tomatoes or cilantro (hubs isn't a fan of those, either...shame)

Anyway, give it a whirl.  I think you'll be pleased. And don't forget to wash your hands very well if you touch the chipotle peppers. I failed to do so this morning before putting my contacts in - ouch!

Here's a few more recipes on my must try list:

King Arthur Flour's Guaranteed Fudge Brownies

KAF's Honey Oat Bread

Simple Clam Chowder from Southern Living

More to come later, but that's all for now! Let me know if you try any of them, or if there are any recipes on your must try list.

UPDATE: My words last night on feeling better may have been a bit overstated based on how the night actually went. Apparently I'm still not "well," but I pray I continue to improve. Thanks for your prayers!

And We're Back!

Wow, been a while since my last post. No worries, everyone. We did not drown in the new tub! But we have been enjoying the new bathroom. It is truly like a little retreat in our own home.

Lots of things to report. Last weekend was our first anniversary!! We can hardly believe it had already been a year. We spent our anniversary relaxing. We said "no!" to the usual chores and granted ourselves permission to take it easy. Our day included sleeping in, lunch at Ocean Zen, an afternoon nap (ridiculous, I know), and at late night run through the McDonald's drive-thru for cheeseburgers, in memory of our visit there after the wedding. So fun! On top of that, Barron surprised me with planning a trip to St. Louis this summer to see Wicked! How thoughtful is he? I've been wanting to see it for a while and have heard great things about it, so we will go see it sometime when it is at the Fabulous Fox Theater.

The next big news is one of my best friends Courtney Goings finally had her baby! Callie Lelia Goings. How cute!! Can't wait to meet you sweet girl.

I think there's more, but it appears that I have pulled my right latissimus dorsus (lat muscle in back) so I'm not thinking very straight as it hurts to even breath. I'll be ok, but please pray if you think about it! Thank you. I'm thankful for Barron who really steps up to take care of me however he can.

Until next time!

The Big Reveal

Today our bathroom was declared "finished!" Hooray! We can't actually use it until tomorrow night (caulk and grout are still drying), but we were able to take pictures! We are very pleased. The mirrors really finished it off, the shower looks great and the closet - wow. Ok, so it's not that pretty necessarily, but it sure is practical! Enjoy!

The Saga Continues

 I got home after Barron tonight. When I arrived he excitedly began telling me about the bathroom progress today. As we walked back to look he says "there is just one thing..." as I flip on the light. Here is what I saw:

I was a little surprised, but no big deal. There's a little spot out of the picture to the right that is open that allows access to the bed, so we're good. And frankly, I'm thankful they put that up - the bed is dirty enough with it! (Click the picture to really appreciate the fan blades and bed posts poking through the sheet.)

Moving on, here is the vanity again, this time with sinks and faucets.

Here's a crazy one - doors!! In case you didn't realize, we did not have a door to the bathroom or closet before, so we see this as quite the luxury.

And window trim! It looks much more finished already!

Last but certainly not least, the new toilet! We had (well, still have one) really old toilets. I flushed this one for the first time and thought it must be clogged because it sounded like it didn't flush. Nope, it just flushed that fast.

Speaking of toilets, the old toilet in the other bathroom had a small problem: it rocked. My dad fondly referred to it as the "rocking lifesaver" - "lifesaver" coming from the fact that it's an old, small, round toilet. We had put shims in before, but nothing seemed to quite work. Good news: the plumber fixed it while it was here! No more rock in the lifesaver!

Ok, that's all for now! Tomorrow is more trim work and...not sure what else. We like to be surprised.

Progress

The marble is up and it's looking more and more like a bathroom again. Hooray! While the walls and sides are in, they did forget to pour the vanity top and the end of the half wall wasn't done right, so they'll be back with that next week. But overall, we are pleased. We were watching TV and during commercials we would run back and look at it again because we can hardly believe that's our bathroom!

If you're wondering why the wall is mismatched, it's because the former shower wall went further over, so that wood was torn out and new pieces were stolen from other areas in the room - behind the vanity and the support beam. Thankfully there was enough!

Walls!

Don't worry, this is not in the bathroom, but I wanted to show off one of Barron's projects from the week - "Command Central" as he calls it. And he got to use his new drill!

Vanity...it's all vanity.

Today the vanity arrived! Sorry the pictures aren't great - it gets dark early and there's no lights in the bathroom right now. But isn't it awesome!?! I love the cute little feet. You can also sort of see the towel and mat color, although it's probably not true due to the lighting.

We decided to get a "John cabinet" as well for a little extra storage and to carry the black to the other side of the room. This will be over the toilet. Yes, it looks a little off-center, but remember the trim isn't on the window yet.

That's all for now!

More Firsts

We've had quite the year of firsts and Christmas was no different. It was not only our first Christmas being married, but also my first Christmas waking up at home. My family has always spent Christmas at my Mamaw and Papaw's in Mississippi, but this year Barron and I were slated to be with Barron's family on Christmas Day, so it was a new thing to wake up in my own bed. We slept in, read Luke 2, made breakfast, and then opened presents! Santa even came while I was sleeping! Here's a few pics from the day (nothing fancy).

Our first tree, complete with gifts.

Barron with his new drill.

We hope you had a Merry Christmas!

More updates

Today the bathroom began to look like a bathroom again. *Happy sigh* As you can see, we have a bathtub and at least the outline of a shower. Woohoo!!

Today was also filled with picking out bathroom mats, paint color, closet configurations, and shower doors! It was a busy day, but we were successful. Sorry I didn't take a pic of the bath mats. You'll just have to wait for the big reveal. Stay tuned!

Farewell Pink Tub

Farewell pink tub; hello new windows! Here's just some of what happened while we were away for Christmas.