Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial day weekend

What a great fun filled weekend!! My sister, bro in law and Sweet Savanny came for the weekend!

They got in late Friday night. We ate homemade breakfasts, out for snacks for lunch! Especially Sonic for Con! We Went to Bud and Stanleys on Saturday night! Bluewater grill for happy hour!

Savanny even went swimming in a bucket! And we put the sprinkler on for Abby! They were entertaining each other for hours!

Savanny roasted marshmallow from about 10 feet away! We also Had fun in our new firepit, made s'mores...

We Kept busy... Went wine tasting and shopping with sissy! Did some mulching with Con and Mark... And had friends over for some yummy food, beer and wine! And of course hubby broke in our new video camera!!

Abby and Herky miss their little pal... Who kissed them and hugged them all weekend! Such a sweetie! Love family time... What great memories!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Mulch much?

When we bought our house we didn't realize the amount of Yardwork. We have over 20 trees... Yes over 20, probably closer to 30 something, but I'm not going to count.

In May, for the past three years I have a special project for me. The first year it was baby begonias. Last year it was snap dragons... This year... I decided on perennials instead of annuals.

Let's just say first that 12 annuals from last years snap dragons somehow survived... So I put them in a separate planter!

This year I got 6 daisy plants and 6 hosts plants! So excited... And after 18 bags of mulch... Our area is transformed (and still needs about 3/4 bags!).

Happy Spring!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Taco pizza

I was craving taco pizza from Happy Joe's in Iowa City. Yeah, I don't live there anymore, but it is quite amazing. So I did what any resourceful cook would do- I made it myself...but a bit healthier and faster than waiting for dough to rise.

First I made a no yeast wheat crust.

1 1/2 cups regular whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and knead by hand in bowl for about 2 minutes.

Place onto baking sheet and press out into desired shape (thinner crust works better for this recipe).

Bake for 5-10 minutes (depending on how thick it is).

While this was baking I made the taco meat- 1 lb of really lean ground beef with taco seasoning.

Take it out, add sauce and toppings, then bake for another 8-10 minutes, or until toppings are cooked and edges of crust are lightly browned.

For the sauce I used 3/4 of a jar of pizza sauce, then 3/4 of the cooked meat an then 3/4 of a bag of Mexican cheese.

After baking, I put crunched tortilla chips, shredded lettuce, Jacks med hot salsa, diced Roma tomato, and a splash of cheese for the final touch.

Mmmmmm.

The crust is not crispy, but softer. Still delicious!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Chicken pasta a La Line

You know when you have a lot of items in your refrigerator and you don't want them to go bad? Why not combine them all together to make a fabulous dinner! Here's what I did! And boy was it good! So good, the hubby won't share :). I also put the ingredients on caloriecounter.com to get an approximate caloric value. 1 C= 367 calories and it was given a grade of a B+.

Ingredients:

1/2 box whole wheat thin spaghetti
3 large chicken breast
2 zucchini (chopped in 1/4s)
1 bunch of asparagus
1 container of cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
2 T minced garlic
1 C chicken stock
1 T crushed red pepper flakes
dash of kosher salt
1 T olive oil
8 oz diced prosciutto

Sauce:
4T butter
1 C milk
6 oz cream cheese
1/2 C parmesan cheese (grated)
dash of salt
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 T garlic powder
dash of nutmeg

Steps:1. Boil chicken in water in a pot for about 20-30 minutes, let cool and dice.2. Heat wok with olive oil.3. Add the minced garlic.4. Add the zucchini and asparagus, fry until zucchini is slightly browned and asparagus is tender, about 7-10 minutes.5. Stir in tomatoes, cook until tender, about 5 minutes. 6. Add crushed red pepper, dash of kosher salt.7. Turn down heat and add chicken stock.8. Start the noodles, in a stock pot large enough to combine all ingredients and cook to your liking.9. In a separate pan, place the prosciutto and lightly brown.10. Add to the veggie mixture.11. Next add the diced chicken to the mixture.12. In the pan you browned the prosciutto, melt 4 T butter.13. Whisk in 1 C milk, 6 oz cream cheese. Mix until cream cheese has melted.14. Add in garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg.15. Whisk in parmesan cheese. Stir until it starts to bubble.16. The noodles should be done. Draw, reserving 1/4 c of the water.17. Put noodles back in the the large stock pot, add the veggie mixture and the sauce.18. Enjoy!19. I served it with grated Romano ;)

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Bloodshot records postcard

John gets a post card in the mail every once in awhile for concerts coming to Grand Rapids. We have always tried to get to one of them, but never made it!

This time it was for Lydia Loveless at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill on the SW side. We made it! (with plenty of time to spare).

The opening act was Hannah and Justin, a local GR group. Very good singer and Justin could rock the guitar!

Around 10- Lydia came on... And... She was amazing. There was a drummer, guitar player and the biggest bass I've ever seen! She played til about 11:30, I met her afterwards and got a cute shirt for $10!

Tip Top is a dive bar... And it was amazing!!! Can't wait to go back! And, I signed up to get my own postcard. :)

Hanging in Iowa City

Aside from being in Iowa City for the Olympic Trials. I got to hang out with my 2 1/2 year old niece Savannah.

She calls me Auntine... It melts my heart. I even taught her the I-O-WA chant :) She's my little buddy!




Hawaii Day 10- 1/30

Getting ready to head out of Hawaii and hubs helping with my hair :)  This is sooo beautiful! Cheese :) Laid back! Br...