Full But Relaxing Weekend

This weekend was full of activity, but still relaxing and recharging in many ways. Friday night I got to celebrate with my sweet friend Kelly at her lingerie shower! If you will remember, Kelly was in my Bible study group and I lived with her before the wedding. Mike and I got to celebrate with her and Clint at their engagement this past December. They are getting married in March (planning a fairytale wedding in Italy), and we are so excited for them!

It felt a little surreal to be at the shower, now on this side of marriage, since it felt like I was celebrating my own lingerie shower such a short time ago. But I was so happy to be there celebrating now with Kelly! It was fun to have a girls night and celebrate with her as she plans for married life.

Here is the blushing bride...her sister-in-law had a stack of boxes that contained sleepwear for varying stages in life - which is such a fun idea! - (hence the flannel moo moo hehe)

Saturday I headed over to Laura's to walk through our study of James and enjoy some lunch together. Then I headed back home to get ready for the evening. We were able to spend the evening with my brother, which was so great. I hadn't seen him in awhile, and so it was nice to spend time catching up with him. We also got to have dinner with our new friends the Kuykendalls and their sweet little boys.

Sunday we slept in, made waffles for breakfast, and just enjoyed a relaxing morning. My brother had spent the night, so we got to enjoy the lazy morning with him. While Mike and Michael played a little basketball on the Xbox (boys will be boys?), I got to sit and crochet while listening to their banter. Over the weekend I finally finished a hat I had been working on for Mike!

I actually struggled to find a good pattern. Not sure why (it could be my novice skills), but I liked this pattern and it actually started and finished looking like a hat haha :) I didn't include the stripe because this was a multi-colored yarn and nothing seemed to match very well. But Mike liked it and it fits!

Materials: 1 skein of Lion Brand Homespun Yarn in Edwardian
Tools: Crochet Hook Sizes K and J, scissors
Total Project Cost: $5.00

The rest of the afternoon was filled with catching up on laundry, cleaning, and grocery shopping, but we each got to have a coffee date with a friend before we came home to make dinner. I actually really enjoy when Mike and I make dinner together. It's something we did a lot while we were dating, and I just really enjoy the time we spend preparing a meal together. Our Sunday night dinner was one of our new favorite recipes- grilling up some chipotle fish tacos. As always, the time seemed to go by way too quickly, but it was a great weekend, and I am so grateful for the time with sweet family and friends.

New Recipe Success!

Last summer, I instituted Sunday Night Dinners, in which I decided to try new recipes in an effort to practice my severe lack of cooking skills and feed my poor college student brother. With the busyness of both our schedules, it really only lasted for the summer. Now that summer is here again, I am hoping that we'll be able to re-institute Sunday Night Dinners again!

The other night, my sweet friend Lindsey came over, and she was my guinea pig for a new recipe I wanted to try. I was really proud of how it turned out, and she said she loved it! So I thought I would share the recipe-don't be nervous by the extensive ingredients list. It was fairly simple to make and most of the preparation could be done the night before. I served it over a bed of herb and butter rice and loved it. I will definitely make this recipe again. Bon appetit!

Grilled Tilapia with Mango Salsa

Tilapia Marinade Ingredients:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
2 (6 oz) tilapia filets

Mango Salsa Ingredients:
1 large ripe mago, peeled, pitted, and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp. minced red onion
1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, parsley, garlic, basil, 1 tsp. pepper, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a bowl and pour into a reasealable plastic bag. Add the tilapia filets, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

2.Prepare the mango salsa by combining the mango, red bell pepper, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper in a bowl. Add the lime juice and 1 tsp. of lemon juice, and toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. Prehear an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil grate. (I don't have an outdoor grill, so I used by George Forman and it worked just fine).

4. Remove the tilapia from the marinade and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade. Grill the filets until the fish is no longer translucent in the center and flakes easily with a fork, 3 to 4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the filets. Serve the tilapia topped with mango salsa.

Kebabs and Pirates

Tonight I made chicken kebabs, grilled corn, and a vegetable salad. My brother is doing so well in trying to be more healthy, so I figured a healthy meal was in order. We hung out and watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It was definitely a quiet, relaxing evening!





Chicken Kebabs with Grilled Corn:
1.5 lbs. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 2-inch pieces
2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp. Fresh thyme
2 tbsp. Olive oil
~ Salt and black pepper
4 Ears corn, husks removed
8- 6 inch Skewers, soaked in water


Heat grill to medium-high. In a bowl, toss the chicken, garlic, thyme, 1 tbsp. of the oil, and 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper. Thread the chicken on the skewers. Grill the chicken and corn, turning occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and the corn is charred, 7 to 10 minutes for both. This is ideal for a gas or charcoal grill, but I was able to make my George Foreman suffice. The corn was a little difficult in my little GFG, but it wasn't too bad.


Vegetable Salad:
~ Cherry or grape tomatoes
~ Cucumber
~ Onion
~ Italian or Balsamic dressing (your choice)


Slice tomatoes in half, cut cucumbers in chunks, chop onions. Mix together with dressing and refrigerate.

Fettuccine, Anyone?

This week for Sunday Night Dinner, the boys asked for Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo (Of course, they can't ask for normal, easy meals- haha). I found a couple of recipes that looked good and then decided to combine them to create my own. It turned out pretty good! I still need to work on my timing, as I always tend to have it ready too soon, and then my meals end up dried out or too sticky (in the case of pasta). But the boys were happy, so it was ok.

1/2 cup Butter
1-2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 pint Heavy Cream
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 lb. Chicken, cooked, chunked
~Black Pepper
~Fettuccine pasta
~Olive oil
~Butter
~Parsley
~Garlic Salt

In a large pan/skillet, heat olive oil and butter; cook chicken on medium heat, adding garlic salt, black pepper, and parsley to taste. In another large pan/skillet, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium-low heat. Add garlic, cream, and pepper and bring mixture to a simmer. Turn heat down if it reaches a rapid boil. Add cheese and continue to simmer for 8 minutes or until thick and cheese melts, stirring constantly. While sauce cooks, prepare fettucine. Pour alfredo sauce onto noodles to absorb sauce. Add chicken and fresh grated parmesan cheese.

I cut the chicken into chunks and mixed them with the pasta and sauce; you can also cook chicken breast pieces to serve on top of noodles and sauce. This recipe was really easy...of course, it's not the most healthy meal, but it sure tasted good! I wonder what the boys will request next time...

Pizza Night!

Tonight's Sunday Night Dinner was pizza night. It's what the guys wanted, so I was more than happy to opt out of cooking after such a long week. We ordered in and have just been hanging out, watching movies. I really do enjoy having these guys over...even if it ends up feeling like a guys' night ;)

To keep with the pizza theme, I made Fruit Pizza- a classic. It's so easy, and so good!



1- 8 oz. package refrigerated cookie dough
1- 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
~ fresh blueberries, strawberries, bananas, grapes, pineapple, mandarin oranges, kiwi, etc.
1/2 cup orange, peach, or apricot preserve
1 tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line an ungreased 14-inch pizza pan with cookie dough. Bake 12 minutes or until light brown. Remove from oven and cool. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla; spread over cookie crust. Arrange fruit over cream cheese layer in any design you want (get creative!) In a small saucepan over very low heat, make a glaze by heating preserves and water. Brush glaze over fruit, making suer to cover the fruit that will turn dark. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Spaghetti-Oh!

Last night, we resumed our Sunday Night Dinners. The boys were so kind to give me last weekend off, you know- since I was going to be out of town and all. Haha. Anyway, my brother was solo last night, as his roommate was staying with family after recovering from shoulder surgery. I made one of our family's favorite recipes: Crock Pot Spaghetti! It is pretty much heaven on a plate. And the beauty of it is that you throw everything in the Crock Pot in the morning, and then come home to an amazing dinner waiting for you. I have to say...the Crock Pot has to be the most ingenious kitchen invention I have ever encountered. I am a HUGE fan. If you have any good recipes to share, please let me know!

Here is the Spaghetti recipe:

lb. lean ground meat
1 lg. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 (1 lb.) cans tomatoes, chopped
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (12 oz.) tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons parsley flakes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Break up pieces of meat with fork. Combine meat in a slow cooker with remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours. Serve over hot cooked spaghetti.

~
My brother and I had a great night of just hanging out and eating good food. We rented the first Transformers movie; I had forgotten how good a movie it really is. My parents are coming into town this weekend, and we plan to go see the second Transformers movie with them. In the meantime, I am preparing for another CISR exam, but I am grateful it's only a 4-day work week!

Sunday Night Dinner Round 2

The guys came over again tonight for Round 2 of Sunday Night Dinner and the game. I have really enjoyed cooking for them. It's nice to have them around, and it feels good to feed them. A friend had asked me about this new "cooking phase." I told him that perhaps I was getting more in touch with my girly instincts. Lol. Whatever may be the case, I feel accomplished after each meal, and it's a way for me to spend time with my brother and feed some hungry college guys.

This week I made one of my personal favorites: Chili Lime Chicken and Strawberry Spinach Salad. Here are the recipes in case you are interested.

Chili Lime Chicken

4 tsp. Canola Oil

1 tbsp. Chili Powder

2 tbsp. Honey

1/4 cup Chopped Fresh Cilantro

2 Garlic Cloves

2 Limes

6 Boneless Chicken Breasts

Combine oil, chili powder, honey, cilantro, garlic cloves, and lime juice in a blender or food processor bowl; process to a chunky texture. Make 3 to 4 deep slashes in each chicken breast. Combine the chicken breasts and the prepared chili lime sauce in a zipper bag; seal and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours. Prepare charcoal or gas grill for cooking. Place fillets, skin side up on the hot grill and grill for 8 minutes on each side. The internal temperature should reach 170 degrees or until juices run clear. (Or you can bake the marinated chicken on 35o degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

1 pkg. (5 oz.) Baby Spinach

1 quart Fresh Strawberries, stemmed and sliced

1/2 cup Sliced Almonds

1/4 cup Crumbled Feta Cheese

1/3 cup Balsamic Dressing

Layer the baby spinach, sliced strawberries, and crumbled feta cheese in a large salad bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes more. Before serving, sprinkle sliced almonds, toss and serve with balsamic dressing. Makes 8 servings

Turns out, I'm apparently not too bad at this whole cooking thing. Haha. I won't ever be a chef extraordinaire, but I can feel confident I won't be a horrible cook forever ;)

Sunday Night Dinners

Many of you know that I am not much of a cook. It's not something I particularly enjoy, mainly because I don't care that much about food. Haha. It's true; it just seems like too much work to cook for myself. Plus, then I have to eat whatever I make for 10 days straight so I don't waste anything. It's just hard to cook for one.

But recently, I have been wanting to cook a little more and try new recipes. And my brother has complained about being a poor college student who can't cook. So I decided to institute Sunday Night Dinners. This is going to give me an opportunity to practice my culinary skills, while also feeding my brother! I asked him what he wanted, and he picked Chinese food. Of course, I would agree to start with something hard, something I have never made before. But that was the deal: he picks the cuisine, I pick the menu and go from there. And I was determined. So I headed over to Central Market to gather my ingredients...can I just say that I am a HUGE fan of Central Market? It's the kind of place where you can't help but be inspired to cook.

I have to say that I am very proud of myself on successfully cooking my first Chinese meal! I made (from scratch) sesame chicken, orange chicken, and spicy lo mein noodles. I cheated with the rice and egg rolls...those came from a box. Haha. Oh well. But I had rave reviews from my first 2 guinea pigs (my brother brought his roommate). Woohoo! Check out this presentation:

Of course, my cooking experience would not be complete without a little excitement...I did manage to start a small grease fire, fill the apartment with smoke, and set off the fire alarm. Other than the fact that there was a scary fire in my kitchen, it was kind of funny. I was running back and forth between the fire and the smoke alarm, trying to extinguish the fire, and trying to fan a towel to stop the alarm from screeching. I had all the windows and doors open before the event was over. Needless to say, my next kitchen purchase will be a deep fryer. I would not recommend trying to deep fry anything without one. Sasha decided she would stay as far away from the kitchen as she could...she wasn't too confident in my cooking skills.

So here are some tidbits of wisdom from my first Sunday Night Dinner:

How to extinguish a grease fire: DO NOT USE WATER ON A GREASE FIRE. Smother/choke the fire. Use a pot lid or baking soda. If the fire grows larger than the one I experienced, get everyone out and call 911. And if the recipe says to use a deep fryer, use a deep fryer, not your frying pan.

Make sure to test your smoke alarm often: It's important to feel confident it will work for you when you need it. The batteries do go dead from time to time, so make sure to test the alarm at least once a month to make sure it will work when you need it the most.

Don't be afraid to make a mess: Has anyone ever heard that the best cooks are the ones who are messy? I agree with that thought. I tend to make a lot of messes...and what's the point in cleaning as you go if you are only going to make a mess all over again. It's better to concentrate on the cooking (and making sure your kitchen is not catching on fire) and worry about the cleaning later. Just be prepared for the potential disaster you might find when you are done...