Breakfast Scrambler

We eat a lot of potatoes in this house. Usually after dinner we have a good amount of leftovers. I always make extra for my husband to take to work the next day. Today, however, he worked from home so I thought I'd whip up a Breakfast Scrambler using the leftover potatoes from last night.

It really is rather simple. You need leftover potatoes, eggs, cheese, and bacon. I even used bacon bits to make it easier. It's pretty much like a deconstructed omelet with a heap of yummy potatoes.

The potatoes I used were made on the grill the other night. I have posted this recipe before, but you just make a foil pouch, cut your potatoes, rub them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and let them sit on the grill for 30 or more minutes. Easy. You really could use any kind of potato in this scramble though as long as they are small and cooked. I like the skin on too.

So to begin, throw your potatoes in a non-stick skillet with some butter (about a tablespoon).

Let those potatoes get a little crispy. Just a few minutes. Then add your eggs. I did four eggs... do as many or as little as you'd like. 

Now, you could either scramble the eggs with milk, salt, and pepper outside the skillet in a bowl and then dump it into the pan or you could do what I did and just crack it and scramble right in the skillet. I added milk, salt, and pepper too. You may also want to add cayenne pepper or hot sauce here if you're into that spicy thing. 

Lookin' good! Let the eggs cook as you scramble them with the potatoes. 

The only things I added to my skillet then were bacon bits, more salt and pepper, and cheese. You could add all sorts of things though! Peppers would be delicious or you could do mushrooms, sausage, ham, spinach, etc. We didn't have any of that on hand this morning, unfortunately. 

It should start looking like a big pile of yum at this point. Once the eggs are cooked, pull it off and add it to a dish. 

I sprinkled a little more cheese and bacon on the top... just for good measure! 

Breakfast Scrambler

• 1 cup or so of Day old, already baked potatoes
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon milk 
• 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons of bacon bits or chopped real bacon
• salt and pepper
• other "omelet" toppings, such as, peppers, mushrooms, spinach, sausage, etc. 

1. Put the potatoes into a non-stick skillet and let them brown slightly. 
2. Crack and drop in the eggs. Scramble as you add the eggs. Add salt, pepper, and milk. 
3. Once the eggs are almost cooked, add the cheese and bacon. Stir to incorporate the ingredients. 
4. When the eggs are fully cooked and all the toppings are added, remove and serve hot. 

Too Hot for the Oven!

Well, we officially moved into our house! We are beyond excited. Not only for the fun projects, privacy, pride, and parties... but also for the food. The past three weeks or so we have been living on the left overs of our apartment pantry, boxed dinners, and canned yuckiness. We were trying our best to move with very little food so we could start clean with brand new groceries in our new home. Well, I finally went grocery shopping last night and tonight was our first cooked meal here!

Since it's summer and grillin' season... we chose burgers. YUM. I wanted to do everything on the grill since our beautiful oven gets really hot and heats the whole place. It was the first time I did veggies on the grill and we both really liked the results.

So I started with some red potatoes, halved then quartered (next time I would go even smaller).

I always do extra potatoes, even when it's just the two of us. Michael loves his potatoes, plus you can always use the extras for a leftover breakfast hash in the morning. MMM. 

Combine the cut potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and any herbs you like. Fold them into a pocketed aluminum foil wrap so nothing escapes. 

Once you have the potatoes going on the grill (set at medium, high heat), start prepping the meat. I always leave my ground beef out at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before cooking. Add whatever you like to make your burgers yummy. I always put breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and worchestire sauce in with my meat. 

Then you want to form into patties, scooping out a hole in the middle. Fill the hole with bacon and cheese. Note: I already cooked the bacon earlier and let cool (and nibbled on some pieces). You could add a variety of things here... peppers, mushrooms, different cheeses, egg, etc. 

Then cover the holes with a smaller piece of meat (the little balls of meat on the side were used for flattening over the patty). 

Just about this time, my potatoes have been going for a good 10-15 minutes. Start on the corn prepping now. 

We have some friends that gave us some freshly picked, beautiful corn. Now here's my thing with corn... I don't understand it. Is it good? Yeah... it's okay. Is it so wonderful a city should devote an entire festival to it? No. I learned very quickly when I moved to Illinois that people here LOVE THEIR CORN. I guess because Illinois grows a lot of it they are super proud of it or something... I don't know. But they love it. Last summer when I attended a "Sweet Corn Festival" I learned just how much my husband adores corn. Yes, the entire festival was about CORN. So confusing.

But, if someone gives me free corn... I'll cook it. I really liked it on the grill and while I won't readily admit it, I might make it again even if I have to purchase the corn. 

Anyway, the corn was cooked about the same way as the potatoes. I rubbed them with olive oil, threw some salt and pepper on there, and wrapped them in a foil pouch. 

You can start the corn a little before the burgers. Once the corn has been on the grill for 5 or so minutes, add the burgers to the grill. 

All your food should end about the same time (giving your burgers a good 5 minute resting time too!). Once you add the corn and burgers to the grill give it about 20 minutes, flipping the burgers halfway through. Because the burgers are so thick, you will have a yummy charbroiled outside and a moist, little pink inside. yum! 

And the finishing result is to die for. It's the perfect summer meal. And of course, my husband was pleased to not eat a box of mac and cheese tonight :) 

Grilled and Stuffed Burgers

• 1 pound of ground beef (makes 3 big burgers or 4 small burgers)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp worchestire sauce
• little less than 1/4 cup breadcrumbs 
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• shredded cheddar cheese
• cooked and crumbled bacon
• hamburger buns
• all the toppings you desire

1. Combine the thawed beef with breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, worchestire sauce, and garlic powder until well combined. Use as little or as many ingredients until you reach the desired "burger" consistency. 
2. Form the meat into 3 or 4 patties (leaving 3-4 small balls of ground beef to the side). Carve out a small bowl in the center of each patty. 
3. Fill the bowl with cheese and pre-cooked bacon crumbles. Cover the patty with the balls of meat by flattening them over the patty until the cheese and bacon is covered completely. 
4. Put the patties on the grill, about 10 minutes on each side (more or less depending on desired doneness). Let the patties rest about 5 minutes before serving. 

Grilled Potatoes

• 4-6 Red Potatoes
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• olive oil

1. Wash and cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces (halved then quartered). 
2. Combine the potatoes with salt, pepper, garlic powder and olive oil. 
3. Pour the potatoes into a foiled envelope or package. Set the package on the grill for 30-40 minutes on medium-high heat. 
4. If desired, sprinkle with fresh herbs and more salt once cooked. 

Grilled Corn

• 4 ears of corn 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• olive oil

1. Shuck and clean the corn.
2. Rub olive oil over all the corn until drenched in oil. 
3. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and any other herbs or powders preferred. 
4. Wrap the corn in a foil package so that nothing can leak out. 
5. Put the package on the grill for 20 or so minutes. 
6. When done grilling, rub butter over the hot corn or serve on it's own. 

Diner Burger

We love burgers in this house. I usually do a typical burger with eggs, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. It's easy, but I always end up with a fat juicy burger. Tonight we wanted more of a diner styled burger (Steak and Shake-like!). So the solution was to cut the egg, add less breadcrumbs, season the same, and squish those burgers down. We ended up with a flat, greasy, delicious burger.

Yum!

For two people, you only need about 1/2 a pound of ground beef. Increase meat by a 1/2 pound every two people you have.

Let the meat come to room temperature, as always. Season the daylights out of it with salt and pepper... nothing fancy.

I just added some breadcrumbs and that was about it. Next, roll up four balls of meat (if you have 1/2 pound of beef). 

Heat some olive oil in a skillet and let it get hot. Once hot, put the balls of meat in the skillet and flatten them with a spatula (metal works best since you have to put some muscle into it). 

Flatten the meat as flat as you can go without it falling apart. Let it cook in the oil for about 2-3 minutes on each side. It does not have to be a perfect circle, since you will probably be stacking these anyway. 

Once cooked you can add cheese if you like (we only had shredded cheese, which worked fine). Pile two patties on your bun and add the toppings. 

And of course I made fries for the side. Michael eats most of them. Recipe for that can be found in the future. 

Enjoy! 

Diner Burgers

• 1/2 pound of ground beef
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup or less of breadcrumbs
• hamburger buns
• toppings, such as: pickles, mustard, ketchup, onions, peppers, cheese, etc. 

1. Let the ground beef come to room temperature and mix in the salt, pepper, and breadcrumbs. Combine well and form into four equal sized balls. 
2. Pour some olive oil or butter into a skillet and let it get hot. At medium-high heat, put the meat balls into the hot skillet and flatten with a spatula or cup. 
3. Cook the meat 2-3 minutes on each side until done. 

Grandma June's Easy Deviled Eggs

Holidays at my Grandma June's house are the best! The house is always decorated beautifully. Her spectacular Christmas village fills shelf after shelf. I can remember staring for what seemed like hours at those tiny figurines, wishing I could jump right into those homey Christmas scenes. 

The tree was always hidden somewhere under the pile of presents. It was like the treasure at the end of the endless unwrapping. She always has the t.v. going the whole day. On Thanksgiving it is the Martha Stewart Thanksgiving cooking special or Macy's Day Parade. On Christmas it is always "It's a Wonderful Life" or "A Christmas Story". 

But the best part of any Holiday, by far, is the feast. My Grandma June will admit she is not a cook, but she has these old, passed down recipes that she pulls out every year and continues to make delicious. The classics are all there (both for Thanksgiving and Christmas): sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, rolls, broccoli salad, green bean casserole, turkey, stuffing, gravy, beans, ham, KFC chicken (don't ask), cranberry bread, pumpkin pie... mmm. All of it is always so delicious! I can taste it as I write.

But there were two dishes that my brother and I claimed as ours growing up. Ethan loved my grandma's macaroni and cheese (which we found out later in life is just Stoffers Mac and Cheese... still delicious). And my dish that I begged my grandma to make every year was deviled eggs. Oh yes, good old deviled eggs. 

I've had many deviled eggs in my short life... pickled deviled eggs, colored deviled eggs, deviled eggs with vinegar, deviled eggs with peppers, deviled eggs with bacon, and so many more. But there is nothing like my grandma's deviled eggs. They are plain and simple. The only thing I asked of her was that she made them without that "nasty red stuff" (I meant paprika). 

Recently I went to a family gathering and wanted to make her deviled eggs to take. I called her to get the recipe and she told me just how easy they are. I'm not kidding... two ingredients. 

My whole life I thought my grandma went to these elaborate ends to make these oh-so-good eggs... when really, they are so simple! Well, that had me excited because now I make them all the time. And my husband just hates eggs... his loss. 

The recipe is almost not worth writing down... it's that easy. The part you should pay attention to, however, is the boiling process. My grandma has it to a science and it's fool proof. 

To start, fill a big pot with water until the eggs are just covered. Put these over high heat and let them come to a rolling boil. Once they have reached that, immediately cover the pot and turn the heat off (but leave it ON the burner). Set your time for 9-10 minutes... no more, no less. 

Once your timer goes off, plunge those suckers into an ice bath for at least a half hour. They need to cool completely. Make sure to remove them with a slotted spoon from the pot so that you don't get hot water in your ice bath. I always put a little crack in the eggs as well. 

I only made four this time... which means 8 deviled eggs. If you were making them for a crowd, make 8-10 eggs (which would be 16-20 eggs). And as my grandma says "always make extra in case some get lost along the way" (interpret that as you'd like :)). 

Once the eggs have cooled completely, start peeling them. The shells should come off fairly easy. I have read all sorts of "tips" for helping eggs peel better. I've never really tried one that works beautifully. The vinegar trick made my eggs taste funny, the baking soda in the water trick didn't work... I don't know, maybe I'm doing it wrong. If you have a tip for easy peel, let me know. 

Following this way of boiling eggs will give you a sunshiney, beautiful yolk. See? 

Cut all the eggs lengthwise (or horizontal if you want to fill them and make them creative and cute). All I wanted to do was eat these, so I did not care about making them pretty. 

The ingredients, like I mentioned, are SO SIMPLE it hurts. For 6 eggs you need about 1/4 cup of Miracle Whip (yes, I know... gross). Don't use real mayonnaise. Miracle Whip includes all the things that prevent you from adding pickle juice, vinegar, and whatever else weird people put in their deviled eggs. 

Mix the miracle whip with the yolks that you've poked out of the whites, with 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of mustard. Any yellow mustard is fine, although my grandma only uses French's mustard. Tastes the same to me. And of course, a little salt and pepper to taste.

Then you mix it altogether and woot! woot! you're done. If you are going to a party with these yummy things, pour the yolk mixture into a piping bag and swirl them into the whites. If you are eating all of them in one sitting... like some people do (ahem)... then just spoon that goodness into the whites. yum. 

I've come along way from when I was little and made my grandma swear she wouldn't add that "nasty red stuff". Paprika only makes them pretty. So I added some of that "nasty red stuff". Still good. 

Do you have a good Deviled Egg recipe? Share below! 

Good Old Home Cooking

My husband loves chicken. And I mean... he could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday! It's gross to me. Every once in awhile I try to please him ;). So last night I made him a Cracker Barrel-esque dinner, including, roasted chicken breasts, green beans, and cornbread. He was very satisfied.

To start the dinner, I wanted to brine my chicken. This helps to get a moist, tender chicken. Stick the breasts in a bowl of warm water with some salt for 30 minutes to 5 hours. You will then want to start the cornbread.

Here's my secret... use the recipe on the back of the cornmeal container. It's not my recipe, I admit, but it is SO good. I buy off brand cornmeal because I haven't noticed a difference. Follow the recipe exactly and you will have delicious cornbread.

There are variations you could add to the cornbread, such as, cheese, bacon, onions, cranberries, pepper, jalapeno, etc. This is such a simple recipe that you really could make it your own. And then you stick it in the oven and start to smell the goodness!

Once that is going, you can tend to the chicken. I have used bone-in, skin-on breasts, thighs, wings, and everything for roasting. This time I used skinless and boneless chicken breasts. It's a fairly cheap way to eat chicken. 

Once they are thawed and you have brined them (brined? Is that a word?), you will season them. The easiest season is salt and pepper... always delicious! But I had a secret weapon last night that made our dinner so good. 

I recently went to a Pampered Chef party where I purchased a lemon, rosemary rub. That sounded good for my chicken, so I tried it. And oh boy! It was good. 

If you don't have a yummy rub like I did you could easily do it yourself and I have before. To copy this rub, add equal parts of garlic powder, lemon rind, and rosemary. You may also want to add some thyme, sage, salt and pepper. 

I melted some butter and rubbed it on my chicken before adding the rub. This gives you a nice crisp top and helps the rub stick. 

Add the chicken to a greased pan. You can also lay down a sheet of tinfoil and spray that for easy clean up (which is what I did). At the last minute, I added a little more butter on top. Who doesn't love that good buttery taste? 

Then you add it to the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes. If you want to cook it slower so it is not as roasted, you could do 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Make sure to pull that cornbread out... mmm smells so good! 

And that's it! A delicious dinner that tastes like good old home cooking! 

I also did some canned greenbeans. I just add breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese and microwave. easy!

YUMMY! 

Roasted Chicken

• 2-3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter
• 2 tablespoons of Pampered Chef Lemon and Rosemary Rub or
• equal parts (about 1/2 tablespoon) of rosemary, lemon rind, garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• you could also add sage, thyme, or italian seasoning

1. Brine the chicken in a bowl of warm water with salt for 30 minutes to 5 hours before cooking
2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Line a cooking sheet with tinfoil and grease lightly 
4. Once brined, pat the chicken dry and rub with the melted butter on both sides of the chicken
5. Add the salt, pepper, and rub to the chicken on both sides
6. Place the chicken on the tray and cook for 15-20 minutes
7. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before cutting and eating 

Homemade Cornbread

*Recipe found on the back of the Cornmeal container

• 3/4 cup of cornmeal
• 1 1/4 cup of flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• salt to taste
• 2 tsp of baking soda
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Grease an 8 or 9 inch round or square pan 
3. Combine all the dry ingredients, stirring to combine
4. Beat the egg and milk together, then pour over the dry ingredients
5. Moisten the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until well combined 
6. Pour batter into greased pan and cook for 20 minutes

The Easiest Way to Clean

So we are going to be closing on our house a week from today and moving in another two weeks. I am getting really anxious! Half of our apartment is packed up and the other half is hard to pack while still staying sane.

As I begin this brand new adventure of owning a home, I'm starting to grasp the huge responsibility being a homeowner can be. Our weekends will now be filled with mowing the yard, decorating, painting, small and large house projects, etc. One of those big responsibilities that comes with owning a house is cleaning. 

My husband is an OCD, clean-freak that truly relaxes in a clean environment. I get that. And I want to make him happy... so I want to make sure I stay on top of cleaning My mother-in-law is the pro of a clean house. I think its because she is married to the father of my husband (a man on OCD crack!). Her house is always spotless. And I mean it. The bathroom always smells bleached, the carpet always has vacuum lines in it, the kitchen doesn't have a single crumb anywhere, and I always feel a little dirty disturbing the household.

Maybe I'm the only person that doesn't care if the house is spotless... surely I'm not, right? But I don't want my in-laws, my husband, our guests... upset by the clutter. So, I'm vowing to clean!

When we first moved to our apartment, I had a daily clean schedule. Certain days were for vacuuming, others were for laundry, etc. I really do like that system and idea, but over time I got lazy. When we move to our new house I would really like to keep up that schedule. I came up with a fun way to remember what to do on each day... and I truly think it will be the easiest, fastest, best way to keep my house CLEAN!

Mondays are for Mopping and Vacuuming 

• Our new house has mostly tile and laminate wood floors, so it will be a lot more mopping and sweeping than vacuuming... bummer. I like vacuuming. 

Tuesdays are for Toilets (or bathrooms)

• We have THREE bathroom in our new house (for two people?). Tuesdays will not be that fun, but I do want to make a trip around the house and do all bathrooms. They can't be that dirty if I do this weekly, right?

Wednesdays are for Windows and Dusting

• Easy-peasy! 

Thursdays are for Thorough Check

• I kind of want Thursdays to be a cover-all day, especially since we usually have people over on the weekend. Any uncleaned areas or just the need for picking up can be done on this day. If I do this Thursday it gives me the whole weekend to relax and not clean. 

Saturdays: One Saturday a month I want to DEEP CLEAN the house. This could be anything from sweeping the deck to pulling all the blinds down and washing them. 

The regular chores like laundry, dishes, etc. will be done daily or when needed. Those are things I can't really put off for a whole week. 

I really do think the daily cleaning schedule works. I've done it before and it's always easier than doing all the cleaning for a few hours on one day. This way, you give 15-30 minutes a night to doing one chore, rather than letting them pile up for one day when you are rushing around like a mad woman to clean. 

Let me know what cleaning schedules you have come up with! Do you like to clean or is more of a chore for you? 

Here's to hoping I always have a clean house :) No likely... 

Summer Reads Part 3

Here is the third summer I will be conducting my "summer read's list". No one reads these, I'm sure; but, I like keeping my books straight. It's fun for me to look back on what I read that summer. At the beginning of 2015 I set a goal of reading 20 books this year. I've surpassed that goal, proudly! I love to read, I just don't often have time until summer. I have my rating scale from previous summer read posts that I will post below. I will update this post as I continue my reading this summer.

• 1: terrible book, don't even bother picking it up
• 2: not the greatest book, could have been much better
• 3: it was good, but details, characters, and settings could have been improved
• 4: good book! kept me entertained
• 5: I loved it and would suggest it to anyone!! 

• Hanging Hill by Mo Hayder
• This was a mystery/crime novel about two sisters that learn to forgive in order to work together in solving a crime. One sister is a cop, while the other is directly involved in the murder that could change their lives forever. A lot of violence, gore, and scary turn of events took place in this book. 
• Overall, this book was unrealistic and uneventful. I can usually get through a really good book in a week during the summer. This book had me counting pages until the next chapter. It was not a book I'd recommend, but it certainly was not the worse book I've ever read. I would give this book a 2 only because nothing was gripping about it. 

• Deception by Denise Mina
• This book reminded me a lot of that movie The Next Three Days. It had a similar feel, but a different ending. It is the story of a husband who spends sleepless hours trying to prove the innocence of his wife who has been convicted of murder. He is convinced his wife is innocent, but finds a lot of secrets as he delves into her past to help her case. 
• Again, a crime/murder mystery that had me just a little bored. I don't know if it's that I've read really gruesome stories or what. Overall, I would give this book a 3 because of the author's lack to draw me in. Right away I knew something was a little off and I solved everything about halfway through the book. I kept reading, hoping there would be a greater twist but there simply wasn't. 

• Misery by Stephen King
• If you've seen the movie, you know the story. It is the gruesome, Stephen King-esqe tale of an author who is miraculously saved and pulled from his car during a blizzard by a seemingly sweet and caring ex-nurse named Annie Wilkes. She claims to be the No. 1 fan of this author and vows to nurse him back to health. When the author, Paul Sheldon, starts to gain his health back, the nurse is not-so happy to lose her idol and hero. It is a twisted story of survival and escape. 
• I had seen this movie years ago and the book is pretty similar to the movie. I never usually read books after I've already seen the movie, but this book kept me on the edge of my seat. It is VERY dark... even darker than the movie. It was captivating and had me turning pages quicker than I could. It's not my favorite book, but it definitely has a higher score of 4.

• The Tutor by Peter Abrahams
• This is the story of a disorganized family that hires a tutor to help their struggling teenager son achieve higher academics. The spunky little preteen in the family loves Sherlock Holmes and solving mysteries. She quickly finds something just a little "off" with the tutor that was hired. 
• Overall I give this book a 3 because of the unrealistic pockets throughout the book. It was entertaining enough, but I kept having to re-read certain parts of the book that were so easily dismissed as realistic or coincidental. It was a bit unbelievable, but enjoyable enough. 

• Eye Contact by Cammie McGovern
• "Eye Contact" is the story of a boy with aspergers that witnesses a murder of a little girl. Due to his inabilities, he has a hard time explaining, processing, and helping what happened in the woods. The book continues with his mom trying exceedingly hard to help solve this case even though her son is unwilling to help. 
• This book kept me interested, while remaining a distance from the truth until the end. I found parts of it to be so coincidental it neared the edge of unrealistic. I felt there were some flaws with some characters, as well, nothing major though. Overall, I rate this book at a 3 or 3.5 

• Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
• This is another one where I have seen the movie before I read the book. I actually didn't even know this was a book to begin with until it came across my Goodreads account. The movie pretty much followed the book to a T. It is the story of a detective that is called to investigate the disappearance of a resident of a psych ward located on Shutter Island. Searchers are unable to find her and have called in Teddy Daniels to solve the mystery. Teddy finds evidence of a 67th patient, but the staff claims there is no such patient. As the story continues, Teddy Daniels uncovers more and more faults in his "mission" to solve this mystery.
• This was a fantastic book! I had already seen the movie, but the book was just as thrilling even though I already knew the ending. The twisted, surprising turns throughout the book kept me turning pages. I would give this book a 4.5 because the character development, shocking plot, and attention to details gave me deep respect for the author and book. 

• The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly
• This is the story of woman named Karen who meets some unique and interesting characters that end up changing her life. Her new friend Biba, teaches her a new way of life different than the civilized, upper class that she came from. She falls in love with Biba's brother and starts a whole new life in the big house full of parties and obscure people. In time, though, Karen finds this type of life is not as stable and cushy as she might have hoped. She ends up falling into situations that, quite frankly, scare her. 
• Overall, I would give this book a 2.5. I found the story to be entertaining, but really missed any real umph throughout the story. I would not categorize it into a "murder" novel as was claimed on the back. The book is more about this new, enlightening group of people than anything. The low rating, however, is mostly due to the abrupt and strange ending that I disliked very much! 

Amateur Cook

Since leaving college (almost 3 years ago!), I've developed a LOVE for cooking. I should say passion. I am, by no means, a great cook; but, I just like it. The fact that you can take simple ingredients and create something delicious and wonderful is so exciting. Once I learned the in's and out's of cooking (mother sauces, acids and bases, cutting techniques, definitions), cooking took on a whole new form. Now that I don't need recipes and I can create my own scrumptious food, it's even more pleasing.

My husband always gets annoyed, though, with how much I post food on facebook and I'm sure other people do as well. My blog is a perfect vessel for sharing my ideas and yummy recipes.

Here are some highlights from the past few months of #makehusbandfat. That's the hashtag I've been using with my recipes. My skinny man needs a little more meat (I just need to make sure I don't eat as much).

If you desire a recipe for anything, email me or comment below.

Here are some of my favorites lately:

Fried Beer Pickles

This is a favorite, occasional snack of ours. We LOVE us some fried pickles. While we know fried pickles aren't good for us, we sometimes just have to indulge. It's a very simple recipe that is usually gone in a few seconds. Actually the first time I made it, Michael ate almost the entire jar of pickles. I couldn't fry them up fast enough for him! 

 Italian Dressing Shish Kabob

This recipe comes from my dad. He really taught me the little I knew about cooking when I first started. We love to eat this after a long, hot summer day. It really is so good on the grill and SO easy. We always change it up, but our shish kabob includes veggies (peppers, mushrooms, onions) and meats (steak, chicken, shrimp, sausages). I always do them on the sticks, but present them like this over a bed of rice. YUM! 

 Roasted Chicken and Sides

We eat a lot of chicken in this house, mostly because my husband is obsessed. One of the easiest and most delicious ways to prepare chicken is to just roast it. I usually buy the breasts or thighs with bone-in and skin-on. You literally just throw whatever spices you want with some olive oil over the chicken and roast it for 30-40 minutes. It's easy and good. Of course, this dish is paired with roasted potatoes because like the chicken, my husband is obsessed with my roasted red potatoes. He eats an unnecessary amount when I make them. I also did mushrooms in some butter and easy broccoli in water. The bread is a delicious recipe of lemon, garlic, herbs, and butter... oh it's so stinkin' good!

 Shrimp Alfredo

 Now, whenever I make alfredo pasta I have to make shrimp or scallops for me and chicken for Michael. He loves chicken and I love seafood. The easiest way to do this is to make the sauce first, mix in the pasta, and then add the proteins once the pasta is in the bowl already. Alfredo is one of those super simple sauces that really gives a deep, rich impact to pasta. 

Dijon Crusted Salmon

This recipe is actually a revised recipe I grabbed from pinterest. I did a simple dijon, bread crumble on my salmon and made the sauce separately. The salmon was good with or without the sauce. My husband doesn't like salmon, though, so this was a night he ate PBandJ. 

 Steak Dinner

 We eat steak more often than we should probably. Aldi's Grocery Store sells these delicious little bacon-wrapped fillets (as seen above) for like $2.50 a steak. That's a steal! I always make sure to add lots of sides when we have these Aldi's steaks because they are little. I usually do a simple broccoli, my famous roasted red potatoes, and mushrooms or bread. The steaks are so easy. This last time, I made a rolled herb butter (pictured on the steak) and Michael said they were the best steaks yet. It really made that much of a difference! 

Crockpot Ribs and Cheesy Potatoes

This meal was made possible with TWO crockpots. I was babysitting all day and Michael was going to be getting home later, so I threw our whole meal into crockpots. The only thing I had to do when I got home was microwave some broccoli. The ribs were done in water with some BBQ sauce added 3/4 of the way through. The potatoes were covered in onions, cheese, and bacon... uh, YUM! It was a good dinner. 

Those are some of my favorite dinners from the past few months. Like I shared, anything posted on here that interests you email or comment and I'd love to share the recipe. Hopefully in the future I will do more step-by-step recipes on the blog. 

Yum! 

This Season of Marriage

Once again, it has been a long time since I have blogged. I always say I want to, but in reality it's a task that is hard to keep up with. Since my last blog (on wedding decorations) so much has happened in my life....

I got married! December 13th was one of the greatest days of my life. I married my best friend and with it, gained a whole new life on that day. Marriage has been a continuous blessing... and I mean that in the good and the bad. Blessings come in all shapes and sizes and I received a skinny, dark bearded, clean-freak blessing!

We whisked off to our honeymoon, where we had the most romantic, intimate, permanent start to our marriage. I wouldn't trade our honeymoon for the world. To finally be with my man, in a way that only he and I share, was the epitome of perfection. The all-inclusive resort with 5 star restaurants, spas, pools, and service wasn't that bad either. It was pure bliss. It was this slice of heaven that I wish I could do over and over again.

 (see the joy?)

Then we came home.

Don't get me wrong, marriage has been fun; but, with that fun has come challenges. Life quickly stepped in on returning from our honeymoon and our eyes were a little more opened as to what this new journey entailed.

I am a pretty normal person when it comes to cleaning, picking up, etc. My husband... is the opposite. I've never seen OCD in one person as much as him (except my father-in-law). So learning to live together in this tiny apartment was a big challenge. Dirty dishes, chore responsibilities, laundry, cooking, taking the trash out... all things we had to sync up about, but found it frustrating. To say our first month of marriage was all bliss would be a lie.

Hear this, though, our young/one-month old marriage was fun. Some nights were frustrating and ended in quarrels, but mostly it was a new adventure of playing "house" with this man I love. As the months continued, we fought through many challenges and learned and grew.

It is July of 2015 and we have been married for 7 months. I love my husband with all that I am. He recently went on a climbing trip in California and I was left alone in Bloomington. I spent the whole week beforehand really excited to finally have a weekend of space and relaxation without having to worry about cleaning up, cooking, and giving effort in my living space. The moment I realized he was really gone for the whole weekend, though, was the moment it finally hit me that I was going to miss my husband. He was my permanent partner. It was like this strange realization washed over me that you would expect would happen on your wedding day. I have this man that I had chosen to live with for the rest of my life... through thick and thin, for better or worse, in sickness in health, with dirty dishes and OCD, with finance troubles and fun purchases... he was the man I chose to do all of this with. I have never loved my husband more than when he left for his trip.

I only expect my love for him will continue to grow through the years. People say the first year of marriage is the toughest. I'm glad to have 7 months under our belts because, in all honesty, it has been tough. I've moved to a new city, I don't have a permanent job yet, I miss my family, and I sometimes fight with this man I share a home with. Many tears have been shed in the last 7 months and I expect thousands more will be shed in the years to come. Marriage is tough... really tough. I've only been through a half year of marriage and I can claim it's tough.

However, I wouldn't give up being married to this man for anything. We are not perfect people and I have to remember that daily. We frustrate each other, we make each other angry, we hurt each other with our words and actions, we fight, but we also laugh hard, share moments, have fun, and live through this adventure called life together.

 No one ever said marriage is easy. I was under the impression it would be a lot of fun and it has been fun, but it is WORK. I am happy to be on the other side of working out the kinks of those first few months. We have a pattern for going to bed, doing dishes, taking the dog out, spending money, and much more now. Those little knots have been kneaded and I'm relaxing into a more blissful second half of the year, hopefully.

I love my husband and I will never stop choosing him. I will never stop loving him, working with him, partnering with him, teaming with him, and growing with him. In the years to come, I hope we have an abundantly blessed marriage. So, here's to love!

Our next fun thing will be this house we are closing on next week... we'll see how that adventure begins :)