I've decided to venture into the world of food blogging - officially!
I'm not going to lie. It's not very good. But! Please help me! Read it, critique it, use it... whatever! I can go back to using this for personal reasons, which will be handy, especially when the little dude makes his appearance.
I even took photos. They're not good. :) But! I plan to improve. So, check it out, offer your feedback, post meal plans, etc.
Thanks all!
http://myclutteredkitchen.blogspot.com
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
leftovers
What's a girl to do when there's a baby shower's worth of leftovers in the fridge, PLUS all the other leftovers that come from a weekend of mostly eating out with the family??? Eat it, of course. My meal plan became null and void yesterday as Adam, my mom, and I threw all the leftover fruit, veggies, cookies, and cake into the fridge. I think a lot of random snacking is definitely in order. I made sure to freeze the berries and pineapple last night for future smoothies. I think I have about a month's worth of frozen berries at this point.
I suppose everything will just have to be shifted around! I am going to try a different produce solution this week. I'm thinking of ordering a bunch of lemons - I have many plans for lemons. I still have tons of apples left over from my basket over a week ago, which I'm thinking of making into apple sauce. I might even try canning for the first time! We'll see. I also have these adorable little limes and avocado that I need to use! I meant to try them over the weekend - but again, company in town + baby shower = more food than is good for us.
Back to eating for me.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
meal plan 3/18
This week's meal plan was done on Tuesday and I ended up shopping for everything yesterday. A few things to note: I'm attempting to adjust our food budget. Adam's happy with this because I'm not trying to increase it. :) So, this week was my first attempt at trying to stay under $50 for the week. It worked! I don't count the purchases for yesterday's meal, because my meal plan for this week starts today. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
My meal plans are Thursday - Tuesday because I have time to shop on Wednesdays/Thursdays for the following week. Another thing - Wednesday is not included in our grocery budget yet for a few different reasons... so I'll give a more detailed break-down when we have a chance to work it out... not that everyone really cares about our budget or eating habits. But, you my friends are definitely a great source of accountability. :)
So, the meal plan:
Tonight - leftovers
Friday - BBQ Chicken Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Saturday Lunch - Chicken Fajitas w/ Guacamole
Saturday Dinner - out! (We have company in town this weekend)
Sunday - Chicken w/ Curry Dill Sauce & Rice (gotta use up all that dill!!!)
Monday - Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza
Tuesday - out!
Wednesday - Lasagna w/ Homemade Vegetable Flatbread
It's going to be a huge challenge for me to attempt to maintain this budget, but I think that lots of prayer (discipline, please!!!) and lots of creative ideas on how to stretch meat or eating one or two meatless meals a week are going to help tremendously.
Again, feel free to post your meal plans or recipes! I could always use the inspiration, and it helps to know that someone's reading. :)
My meal plans are Thursday - Tuesday because I have time to shop on Wednesdays/Thursdays for the following week. Another thing - Wednesday is not included in our grocery budget yet for a few different reasons... so I'll give a more detailed break-down when we have a chance to work it out... not that everyone really cares about our budget or eating habits. But, you my friends are definitely a great source of accountability. :)
So, the meal plan:
Tonight - leftovers
Friday - BBQ Chicken Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Saturday Lunch - Chicken Fajitas w/ Guacamole
Saturday Dinner - out! (We have company in town this weekend)
Sunday - Chicken w/ Curry Dill Sauce & Rice (gotta use up all that dill!!!)
Monday - Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza
Tuesday - out!
Wednesday - Lasagna w/ Homemade Vegetable Flatbread
It's going to be a huge challenge for me to attempt to maintain this budget, but I think that lots of prayer (discipline, please!!!) and lots of creative ideas on how to stretch meat or eating one or two meatless meals a week are going to help tremendously.
Again, feel free to post your meal plans or recipes! I could always use the inspiration, and it helps to know that someone's reading. :)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
st. patrick's day
Today I made a somewhat genuine Irish feast. Too fun! My first step towards "faking" this meal was to buy a regular brisket instead of a corned beef - mistake numero uno. I also made a potato leek soup, which was outstanding, I must say, and Irish soda bread, which was also great!
Mistake #2 - I put the beef in the crock pot with the beer & seasoning. Yum! It started cooking, and the house started smelling really good. But, I forgot carrots at the store, which I intended to use instead of cabbage (again... "fake" Irish meal). So, Danielle graciously brought me a couple of bags.
Mistake #3 - I was trying to get my coffee grinder to work, and thought that perhaps I needed to reset my breaker. I did, and without realizing it, turned off my crock pot half-way through cooking the brisket. I didn't realize what I had done until 40 minutes before I was expected to serve dinner. I panicked! Rather than remember my handy-dandy pressure cooker, I freaked out and threw it in the oven.
Adam managed to save it by slicing it super thin - it didn't seem so tough that way. Luckily for me, the carrots, soup, and bread were all to die for (in my humble opinion), and made up for it. Also, someone brought a heavenly dessert - Death by Chocolate Cake. Seriously. So. Good.
So next time? Corned beef... not brisket. No turning off crockpots... I have a pressure cooker just in case! And... Adam will rescue me in the end if all else fails. :)
The recipe for the soup can be found here:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Real-Potato-Leek-Soup/Detail.aspx
The recipe for the soda bread can be found here:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amazingly-Easy-Irish-Soda-Bread/Detail.aspx
Both are excellent!
Mistake #2 - I put the beef in the crock pot with the beer & seasoning. Yum! It started cooking, and the house started smelling really good. But, I forgot carrots at the store, which I intended to use instead of cabbage (again... "fake" Irish meal). So, Danielle graciously brought me a couple of bags.
Mistake #3 - I was trying to get my coffee grinder to work, and thought that perhaps I needed to reset my breaker. I did, and without realizing it, turned off my crock pot half-way through cooking the brisket. I didn't realize what I had done until 40 minutes before I was expected to serve dinner. I panicked! Rather than remember my handy-dandy pressure cooker, I freaked out and threw it in the oven.
Adam managed to save it by slicing it super thin - it didn't seem so tough that way. Luckily for me, the carrots, soup, and bread were all to die for (in my humble opinion), and made up for it. Also, someone brought a heavenly dessert - Death by Chocolate Cake. Seriously. So. Good.
So next time? Corned beef... not brisket. No turning off crockpots... I have a pressure cooker just in case! And... Adam will rescue me in the end if all else fails. :)
The recipe for the soup can be found here:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Real-Potato-Leek-Soup/Detail.aspx
The recipe for the soda bread can be found here:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amazingly-Easy-Irish-Soda-Bread/Detail.aspx
Both are excellent!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
a few different things...
I'm thinking of renaming my blog to "The Messy Kitchen". My kitchen has been perpetually messy for days now... weeks, really! I have my once-a-week big clean-up before our lifegroup on Wednesdays, but I'm lucky if I keep a load going in the dishwasher everyday. Cooking everything all the time in the kitchen is messy!!
Speaking of cooking...
I came up with a rough meal plan for next week last night, and also made some very fake "gyros" for dinner. They were ok. I'm not sure when I'll be making them again. I think I just need to rethink how I cook the beef. I made a brisket in the crock pot, and it was good, but way salty. I think I'll try some kind of round steak and sautee it in strips next time.
The meal I'm really looking forward to is tomorrow night's. :) I plan to make an "Irish" dinner in honor of St. Patty's Day. I am going to cook Guinness corned beef in the crock pot (yum!!!), potato leek soup, and soda bread! I'm super excited about this meal. I love potato soup, for starters, and I love bread! The beef's ok... I think the guys will be a little more excited about that than me.
I'm pretty happy with my upcoming meal plan. I wanted to try Kristie's approach by attempting to use the same thing all week long. I plan on making a bunch of chicken on Thursday or Friday and then just going to town for the rest of the week with different recipes. As soon as it's finalized, I'll post it. Make sure you post your's too! Again, I like to steal ideas and be inspired. :)
Speaking of cooking...
I came up with a rough meal plan for next week last night, and also made some very fake "gyros" for dinner. They were ok. I'm not sure when I'll be making them again. I think I just need to rethink how I cook the beef. I made a brisket in the crock pot, and it was good, but way salty. I think I'll try some kind of round steak and sautee it in strips next time.
The meal I'm really looking forward to is tomorrow night's. :) I plan to make an "Irish" dinner in honor of St. Patty's Day. I am going to cook Guinness corned beef in the crock pot (yum!!!), potato leek soup, and soda bread! I'm super excited about this meal. I love potato soup, for starters, and I love bread! The beef's ok... I think the guys will be a little more excited about that than me.
I'm pretty happy with my upcoming meal plan. I wanted to try Kristie's approach by attempting to use the same thing all week long. I plan on making a bunch of chicken on Thursday or Friday and then just going to town for the rest of the week with different recipes. As soon as it's finalized, I'll post it. Make sure you post your's too! Again, I like to steal ideas and be inspired. :)
Monday, March 15, 2010
more grilled cheese
I made another sandwich last night with the brie - except I used strawberry preserves. Still soooo delish!
I received this recipe from a friend for another sandwich which I'm hoping to try soon! Thanks Durell! She said this comes from Rebar in Victoria (that's in Canada, silly Americans).
Cheddar Chutney Grilled Cheese with Green Apple and Watercress
8 slices of multigrain bread
2 tbsp butter
12 slices aged white cheddar cheese
4 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Granny Smith apple, quartered and thinly sliced
1 bunch of watercress, washed and stemmed
1/2 cup of onion chutney
Onion Chutney:
2 tbsp butter
2 yellow onions, sliced and diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chile flakes
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp brown sugar
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
Heat butter in a pan over medium heat and add onions. Saute until translucent. Add salt, chile flakes, and coriander and continue to cook for 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook until the onions are very soft and creamy. Allow to cool.
I received this recipe from a friend for another sandwich which I'm hoping to try soon! Thanks Durell! She said this comes from Rebar in Victoria (that's in Canada, silly Americans).
Cheddar Chutney Grilled Cheese with Green Apple and Watercress
8 slices of multigrain bread
2 tbsp butter
12 slices aged white cheddar cheese
4 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Granny Smith apple, quartered and thinly sliced
1 bunch of watercress, washed and stemmed
1/2 cup of onion chutney
Onion Chutney:
2 tbsp butter
2 yellow onions, sliced and diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chile flakes
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp brown sugar
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
Heat butter in a pan over medium heat and add onions. Saute until translucent. Add salt, chile flakes, and coriander and continue to cook for 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook until the onions are very soft and creamy. Allow to cool.
- Butter one side of each bread slice. On the unbuttered side of 4 slices, spread Dijon mustard, and then layer the chutney, apple slices, cheddar, and watercress. Top with remaining slices, buttered side up.
- Heat a griddle or pan and cook sandwiches on both sides until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted. Slice and enjoy!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
roasted chicken with asparagus, eggplant, and mystery squash
I moved the roasted chicken & veggies dinner to last night. The reason being that I was nervous about the whole chicken sitting in my fridge. I didn't want it to go bad. Plus, all that fresh dill made me nervous too.
I made a dill butter by throwing three sticks of softened butter in a food processor along with lots of fresh dill and went to town. It was amazing. I used it to dress the chicken and used more fresh dill plus two crushed garlic cloves in the cavity of the bird. I roasted it at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes. It was amazing. Simply amazing.
I also used the asparagus we got (did I mention we got asparagus??), one of my mystery squashes, and the eggplant as my veggies. They were completely delicious, but I over-cooked them. Next time, I won't cook everything together - I'll wait to put the veggies in until later.
Anyways, this was the result - I didn't take pictures of the veggies, because even though they still tasted good, they looked pretty mushy. Oh yeah, I took pictures of my beautiful chicken. :)
My beautiful chicken!!! Aren't you proud of my picture? I think it might be over-exposed.
Oh well.
Does anyone know what this squash is?? This is my mystery squash. I'd appreciate any help!
grilled cheese sandwich & my freezing adventures
I found a recipe on Tasty Kitchen for a Turkey, Brie, and Apple Grilled Cheese sandwich. I love, love, love grilled cheese sandwiches. The brie caught my attention cause I also love the idea of using different cheeses other than american. I bought some brie at Costco on Thursday just hoping that I might get some apples or something else similar in my basket today.
Lo, and behold!!!
I got the most tasty organic apples anyone could ask for! So, I used my very unhealthy white bread and cut a big slice out of the brie and sliced up my apple. I used a corer/slicer, but the slices weren't quite thin enough for me, so I sliced three of them in half and that worked nicely. I don't have any deli turkey, but that was ok. I also didn't follow the recipe exactly because... well, I don't like a lot of ingredients, and there were a lot. I also don't have a panini maker or George Foreman, so I just used my spatula to press the bread in the pan while it toasted and the cheese melted. I also spread a super thin layer of mayo on the inside, although I have a feeling it could've done without.
The result is heaven! I could easily see this being both a breakfast and lunch sandwich. the combination of the apples and brie is delish, and making it into a toasted sandwich is even better! I had planned on making regular grilled cheese and using just normal canned tomato soup, but I didn't get the soup, and Adam's not home! So I get to be fancy. :)
BOUNTIFUL BASKET
I got some amazing stuff today. All organic, fresh, delicious looking produce. Albeit, some of it's a little scary since I haven't used it to cook anything. But, it's all put away now with the exception of some squash and an eggplant that I'll use for my roasted chicken & vegetables meal.
4 oranges
4 mangos
6 kiwi
8 apples
1 pineapple
2 kapocha squash
2 of some kind of mystery squash, which I'll use tonight, simply out of curiosity
1 eggplant
4 heads of romaine lettuce
1 leek
12 potatoes
dill
And a mexican pack, which included:
4 small green peppers
1 package of assorted dried peppers (no clue what to do with these!)
4 avocado
cilantro (lots and lots of cilantro)
1 onion
1 bulb of garlic
1 bunch of green onion
8 teeny weeny limes
I chopped and froze the green onion, froze most of the cilantro and the dill. I plan to use the rest of the cilantro this week, as well as make dill butter to use with my roasted chicken recipe. I'll freeze the rest, since I read that fresh dill doesn't last very long.
The avocado and mango needed to ripen more, so they're in brown bags on a shelf in my pantry. When the mangos ripen, I'll prepare 3 of them for freezing, and use the other one right away. I love mango!
I'm thinking I'll roast 3 of the small green peppers, puree them and add them to refried beans. The other one will be chopped up and put in guacamole. No clue what to do with the dried peppers. Anyone have any ideas?
I prepared and froze 4 of the kiwi, and plan to use the rest this week. I cut up the pineapple and seperated it into 4 baggies. I froze 3 of them, and plan to use the other this week - probably with the kiwi in yogurt or cottage cheese. YUM!!!
The leek was cut and cleaned in ice water, then dried with paper towels and thrown into the fridge. I plan to make a traditional Irish meal this Wednesday (Happy St. Patrick's Day!) instead of fajitas, and the leeks and potatoes will be perfect for a soup that I was hoping to make.
The things I didn't really need to mess with were the 1 Kabocha squash, the potatoes, apples, oranges... the lettuce was easy - it went in the fridge. I'll probably make a salad and give some away. Want some romaine lettuce?
Lo, and behold!!!
I got the most tasty organic apples anyone could ask for! So, I used my very unhealthy white bread and cut a big slice out of the brie and sliced up my apple. I used a corer/slicer, but the slices weren't quite thin enough for me, so I sliced three of them in half and that worked nicely. I don't have any deli turkey, but that was ok. I also didn't follow the recipe exactly because... well, I don't like a lot of ingredients, and there were a lot. I also don't have a panini maker or George Foreman, so I just used my spatula to press the bread in the pan while it toasted and the cheese melted. I also spread a super thin layer of mayo on the inside, although I have a feeling it could've done without.
The result is heaven! I could easily see this being both a breakfast and lunch sandwich. the combination of the apples and brie is delish, and making it into a toasted sandwich is even better! I had planned on making regular grilled cheese and using just normal canned tomato soup, but I didn't get the soup, and Adam's not home! So I get to be fancy. :)
BOUNTIFUL BASKET
I got some amazing stuff today. All organic, fresh, delicious looking produce. Albeit, some of it's a little scary since I haven't used it to cook anything. But, it's all put away now with the exception of some squash and an eggplant that I'll use for my roasted chicken & vegetables meal.
4 oranges
4 mangos
6 kiwi
8 apples
1 pineapple
2 kapocha squash
2 of some kind of mystery squash, which I'll use tonight, simply out of curiosity
1 eggplant
4 heads of romaine lettuce
1 leek
12 potatoes
dill
And a mexican pack, which included:
4 small green peppers
1 package of assorted dried peppers (no clue what to do with these!)
4 avocado
cilantro (lots and lots of cilantro)
1 onion
1 bulb of garlic
1 bunch of green onion
8 teeny weeny limes
I chopped and froze the green onion, froze most of the cilantro and the dill. I plan to use the rest of the cilantro this week, as well as make dill butter to use with my roasted chicken recipe. I'll freeze the rest, since I read that fresh dill doesn't last very long.
The avocado and mango needed to ripen more, so they're in brown bags on a shelf in my pantry. When the mangos ripen, I'll prepare 3 of them for freezing, and use the other one right away. I love mango!
I'm thinking I'll roast 3 of the small green peppers, puree them and add them to refried beans. The other one will be chopped up and put in guacamole. No clue what to do with the dried peppers. Anyone have any ideas?
I prepared and froze 4 of the kiwi, and plan to use the rest this week. I cut up the pineapple and seperated it into 4 baggies. I froze 3 of them, and plan to use the other this week - probably with the kiwi in yogurt or cottage cheese. YUM!!!
The leek was cut and cleaned in ice water, then dried with paper towels and thrown into the fridge. I plan to make a traditional Irish meal this Wednesday (Happy St. Patrick's Day!) instead of fajitas, and the leeks and potatoes will be perfect for a soup that I was hoping to make.
The things I didn't really need to mess with were the 1 Kabocha squash, the potatoes, apples, oranges... the lettuce was easy - it went in the fridge. I'll probably make a salad and give some away. Want some romaine lettuce?
Friday, March 12, 2010
fun projects
My room is looking a lot more "in process". There are no longer piles of books, random articles from my purse, baby magazines, and empty water bottles hiding under pillows and blankets and my winter coat that my dogs tore apart. (ugh.)
My really fun day begins shortly. My darling friend Danielle and I are going to head up to Knit Happens in Scottsdale to look at all the goodies! I think I'm going to make a granny square afghan for Andrew. I like granny squares because you just work on one at a time.
Also, if you make meal plans, you should post them in my comments section! I want to know what you're all making for dinner! Plus, it would help me feel a little less self-conscious for posting mine AND maybe I can steal some of your ideas!
My really fun day begins shortly. My darling friend Danielle and I are going to head up to Knit Happens in Scottsdale to look at all the goodies! I think I'm going to make a granny square afghan for Andrew. I like granny squares because you just work on one at a time.
Also, if you make meal plans, you should post them in my comments section! I want to know what you're all making for dinner! Plus, it would help me feel a little less self-conscious for posting mine AND maybe I can steal some of your ideas!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
meal plan
I've noticed that it's pretty popular for Foodie bloggers to post weekly meal plans. Not that I'm technically a "foodie" blogger, but I'm definitely obsessed with cooking at the moment.
So here goes:
Friday: Meatball sandwiches w/ caprese salad & cheesy garlic biscuits
Saturday: Chicken & Veggie/Mushroom Risotto
Sunday: Beef Gyros & french fries (yummmmm - this is a new recipe I'm trying)
Monday: Roasted whole chicken & veggies
Tuesday: eat out
Wednesday: Chicken Fajitas w/ refried beans & something else
Thursday: leftovers
I chose this menu based on the fact that I already had some ground beef to make the meatballs, and I'll be trying Bountiful Baskets one more time. I want to see what kinds of veggies I get and incorporate those into a couple of dishes this week. I intend to freeze the rest - I'm going to try the blanch/shock thing for the first time! Yikes! I figured whole chickens are inexpensive and I love roasted whole chicken. So does Adam. Roasted veggies are also crazy good. I ended up having most of the ingredients I need to make this stuff, or anticipate getting most of the veggies I need for the meals I've planned. If not, I guess I'll be substituting a lot!
So here goes:
Friday: Meatball sandwiches w/ caprese salad & cheesy garlic biscuits
Saturday: Chicken & Veggie/Mushroom Risotto
Sunday: Beef Gyros & french fries (yummmmm - this is a new recipe I'm trying)
Monday: Roasted whole chicken & veggies
Tuesday: eat out
Wednesday: Chicken Fajitas w/ refried beans & something else
Thursday: leftovers
I chose this menu based on the fact that I already had some ground beef to make the meatballs, and I'll be trying Bountiful Baskets one more time. I want to see what kinds of veggies I get and incorporate those into a couple of dishes this week. I intend to freeze the rest - I'm going to try the blanch/shock thing for the first time! Yikes! I figured whole chickens are inexpensive and I love roasted whole chicken. So does Adam. Roasted veggies are also crazy good. I ended up having most of the ingredients I need to make this stuff, or anticipate getting most of the veggies I need for the meals I've planned. If not, I guess I'll be substituting a lot!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
gourmet chef?? that's a negative
I attempted making hollandaise sauce this morning - as I attempted to make Eggs Benedict. I broiled the english muffins, the canadian bacon, and poached myself a few eggs... and tried to make the sauce. I think my attempts at hollandaise will have to be spaced out a bit. I can't believe how much butter I used this morning. It was enough to give the healthiest person a heart attack. And the EGGS. Oh my gosh, the eggs.
I made one for Adam as well. The brave guy tried to eat it, but gave up after two bites. Not only does he not like "egg mcmuffin type things", but I have a feeling the tremendous amount of cholesterol didn't help either. He's now helping himself to a nice bowl of fruit loops. Despite the sauce not being exactly what I wanted, it still wasn't bad - for someone who loves Eggs Benedict.
The problem with the sauce is that it just simply wasn't thick enough. It basically looked like slightly thickened hot butter. Like... melted butter without the greasy look... opaque. I'm back on the recipe websites trying to figure out what the heck I did wrong and hopefully - when I feel like experimenting with an entire box of butter again - I'll learn from my mistakes and get it right, or better, next time.
I made one for Adam as well. The brave guy tried to eat it, but gave up after two bites. Not only does he not like "egg mcmuffin type things", but I have a feeling the tremendous amount of cholesterol didn't help either. He's now helping himself to a nice bowl of fruit loops. Despite the sauce not being exactly what I wanted, it still wasn't bad - for someone who loves Eggs Benedict.
The problem with the sauce is that it just simply wasn't thick enough. It basically looked like slightly thickened hot butter. Like... melted butter without the greasy look... opaque. I'm back on the recipe websites trying to figure out what the heck I did wrong and hopefully - when I feel like experimenting with an entire box of butter again - I'll learn from my mistakes and get it right, or better, next time.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
nursery day
It is my goal to get this boy's bedroom into shape today. I wanted to go to Ikea, which I may still do, to look for curtains - and maybe a cute stuffed puppy. I have help arriving early this afternoon. We must remove boxes, and I'm hoping to pick up some drawer organizers for all of his little socks, onsies, burp cloths... even a small shoe organizer for his closet - he officially has more shoes than me... and he's still kicking my ribs. I think he liked my pancakes from this morning. :)
Adam's out on a photography day trip with some seventen'ers. They're headed up to Prescott and Jerome to exercise their photo skillz. When Andrew has vacated the premesis, I definitely plan on getting out my little Canon point-and-shoot camera and pretending to be just as cool as the rest of them with their Nikon fancy-shmancies and big Canon 30F's. :P
Hey! I have a macro setting!!!
The other fun feature is the video setting. I fully intend to use it and post short random videos of all the cool things Andrew does - I'm fully aware that there are maybe 5 people in the world who will watch those videos with the same awe and fascination that I will, but that's ok. I'm sure his future fiance will love videos of his potty adventures, his first soccer game, and playing in the pool with Dad.
Adam's out on a photography day trip with some seventen'ers. They're headed up to Prescott and Jerome to exercise their photo skillz. When Andrew has vacated the premesis, I definitely plan on getting out my little Canon point-and-shoot camera and pretending to be just as cool as the rest of them with their Nikon fancy-shmancies and big Canon 30F's. :P
Hey! I have a macro setting!!!
The other fun feature is the video setting. I fully intend to use it and post short random videos of all the cool things Andrew does - I'm fully aware that there are maybe 5 people in the world who will watch those videos with the same awe and fascination that I will, but that's ok. I'm sure his future fiance will love videos of his potty adventures, his first soccer game, and playing in the pool with Dad.
Friday, March 5, 2010
my new love...
is this website: thepioneerwoman.com
Seriously. in. love.
I love her stories, her pictures, her recipes... I love everything about it. Also, I find myself, for the first time, reading someone else's romance story and loving my own even more, rather than wishing for their's. (i.e. Mr. Darcy - drool!!!)
I think one of the things I'm really liking about it is that when Adam and I first got married, I wasn't what you'd call a "bad cook"... I just... didn't pay attention. Or have a lot of creative ideas to draw from. I would cook for him, and... well, let's just say we both made some major mistakes. I made things way too salty, and he made the fatal mistake of saying "I prefer my own" after trying my mashed potatoes. Eventually, he started helping more in the kitchen - I actually married him for his cheesecake recipe, truth be told. And, really... it hasn't been until recently that I've really honestly tried to cook well. It's helped that I've found recipes of my own that he loves. He loves my meatloaf, and my roasted chicken with potatoes, and chicken marsala... so, we're getting there!!!
I love reading about her journey, cause she basically went from broiling unmarinated steak (I should say burning) to making a cookbook and hosting a recipe site. If that isn't inspiration, I don't know what is!! Ok, back to reading her blog now.
Seriously. in. love.
I love her stories, her pictures, her recipes... I love everything about it. Also, I find myself, for the first time, reading someone else's romance story and loving my own even more, rather than wishing for their's. (i.e. Mr. Darcy - drool!!!)
I think one of the things I'm really liking about it is that when Adam and I first got married, I wasn't what you'd call a "bad cook"... I just... didn't pay attention. Or have a lot of creative ideas to draw from. I would cook for him, and... well, let's just say we both made some major mistakes. I made things way too salty, and he made the fatal mistake of saying "I prefer my own" after trying my mashed potatoes. Eventually, he started helping more in the kitchen - I actually married him for his cheesecake recipe, truth be told. And, really... it hasn't been until recently that I've really honestly tried to cook well. It's helped that I've found recipes of my own that he loves. He loves my meatloaf, and my roasted chicken with potatoes, and chicken marsala... so, we're getting there!!!
I love reading about her journey, cause she basically went from broiling unmarinated steak (I should say burning) to making a cookbook and hosting a recipe site. If that isn't inspiration, I don't know what is!! Ok, back to reading her blog now.
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