Chicken Plitt

There are some moments in time when my husband thoroughly impresses me. Tonight, we had one of those moments. 

Here's what happened:

We were up pretty late last night and I had to work this morning, so when I got home I was exhausted.  My nap ended up turning into me being passed out until 8:30pm... whoops! Well, when I woke up, Paul had already cooked us dinner :) he's so sweet! AND it was DELICIOUS!! Super impressed. So impressed, in fact, that I felt the need to immediately share this recipe with you!

When I asked him what he wanted to name his dish, he replied with 'Chicken Plitt' because it includes some of Greg Plitt's (pictured below) favorite foods and because Greg Plitt is the man and everybody should know it ;). Haha...men.

Ingredients::
     4 chicken breasts (defrosted)
     3-4 cups spinach
     2 cloves garlic (minced)
     1/2 cup crumbled feta
     parmesan cheese
     olive oil
     nonstick spray
     salt & pepper to taste

Directions::
     Preheat oven to 350*
     Coat pan with olive oil and add garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes on medium heat.
     Add spinach and sauté with garlic until wilted.
     Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and lay chicken in one layer.
     Sprinkle some salt and pepper over the chicken.
     Top chicken with cooked spinach/garlic mix.
     Add feta cheese on top.
     Bake for 20-25 minutes.
     Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top before serving.

ENJOY!!

Oreo Balls

Have you ever heard of Cake Balls?? Well, I bring you Oreo Balls... you can thank me later ;). But seriously: heaven in the form of little creamy chocolatey balls. And there are so many fun ways to decorate them and make them your own! So much creativity just waiting to happen!

Ingredients::

     1 package Oreos

     1 8-oz package cream cheese (softened)

     melting chocolate

Directions::

     Crush cookies in mixer (my KitchenAid came in handy here) at low speed first until very crushed

     Add cream cheese and mix until well blended

     Roll into balls (bite size is best!)

     Freeze balls to harden a bit before dipping

     Melt chocolate in microwave (30 sec intervals) until melted

     Dip balls and decorate however you would like :)

     Set aside to cool in fridge until ready to serve

*pictures coming soon!!

ENJOY!!

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients::
     1 twelve-ounce bag fresh cranberries
     1/2 cup sugar
     2 clementines
     1/2 cup apricot-pineapple jelly
     1/8 tsp cinnamon
     1/8 tsp kosher salt

Directions::
     Place berries and sugar in a pot
     Cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally
     Berries will pop and break down into syrup
     Peel clementines & chop them up in a food processor
     Stir clementines, jelly, cinnamon, and salt into the cranberry sauce on stove until blended well
     Transfer into food container (I used a Pyrex glass bowl)
     Cover and refrigerate

(**make sure it is in the fridge long enough to completely cool and thicken before serving. I kept it in the fridge for a good 12 hours before serving.**)

ENJOY!!

Hash Brown Casserole

This is another 0/10 on the healthy scale ladies and gents, but AMAZING doesn't even begin to describe it. It's like comfort food on steroids.

Ingredients::
     2 lbs frozen hash browns
     1/2 cup butter (melted)
     1 can cream of chicken soup (10.5 oz)
     1 pint sour cream
     2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
     1 tsp salt
     1/4 tsp pepper

Directions::
     Let hashbrowns defrost on counter for about an hour
     Preheat oven to 350*
     Combine all ingredients in a large bowl & mix until blended
     Grease a 13x9 casserole dish
     Pour mixture into 13x9
     Bake 45 minutes

ENJOY!!

Refurbish in Progress

I found this bad boy:

at the Good Will today for (drumroll please...)

That's right! 19.99 WHAT?! 

I've always wanted to refurbish something like this, and am super excited to finally have the opportunity to try!

So, I will take you through what I did step by step.

First, I cleaned the heck out of it! There were crayons, thumb tacks, and even some onesies stuck behind the drawers... ew!

I used this stuff to disinfect everything:

It worked like a charm. It removed all of the surface gunk as well as took some of that 'old furniture' smell away.

After it was completely dry, I started priming it. I used a thick oil based primer so that I would not have to sand anything down ;) LOVED this primer.

I will keep you updated on my progress & the steps I take to make this as beautiful as it will (hopefully) be ;)

Easter Sunday

Since Paul and I live 3,000 miles away from home, we typically don't get to spend holidays with family :(.  So, today for Easter, since it was absolutely
b-e-a-utiful out (70 degrees!), we decided to rent a boat and take the pups to the lake! The girls love the water, so we knew it'd be a good time had for all.

Before I post any pictures, I have a story for you.  The funniest thing happened on the way to the lake.  Paul has a hitch on the back of his car to tow the boat.  We were on the highway and the dogs were in the back seat.  All of a sudden, Kobe looks out the back window and notices the boat behind the car and has an absolute meltdown. She starts barking and growling and jumps into my lap in the front seat (all 90 pounds of her!) and was literally clinging to me whimpering thinking that the boat was chasing us. Too funny!  I haven't laughed that hard in a while!

When we got to the lake, Paul put the dogs in the boat, backed it up into the water, and went to park the car.  I stayed with the boat and all of a sudden I noticed that the boat was slowly filling up with water! Paul forgot to put the plug in!! So we end up jumping into the water and putting the plug in and then bailing water out of the boat before we could even start our little adventure! 

After all of the chaos, we ended up having a wonderful day::

Beginning our adventure.. right before sinking the boat.. haha!

Kobe and Nala are ready to go!

Me and the girls :)

Love weeping willows! There were some GORGEOUS houses along the way

Little stinker passed out! Too much excitement ;)

Kobe contemplating chasing those ducks

Relaxin'

My cute little snuggler

My other cute little snuggler ;)

The girls were loving this beautiful day!

Captain Kobe

Hey there handsome!

Don't worry Nala, we aren't going to leave you there!

The mountain looking beautiful as usual

Cant get over this weather today!

It must have been a good day- Have you ever seen a pup smile so big?!

Such sleepy puppies!

The best of friends

Happy Easter Everyone!

We hope you enjoyed your day as much as we did!

Veggie Bake

Ingredients::
     2-3 tomatoes (sliced)
     2-3 potatoes (unpeeled & sliced)
     1 zucchini (sliced)
     1 yellow squash (sliced)
     1 onion (sliced)
     salt & pepper
     garlic powder
     oil
     parmesan cheese

Directions::
     preheat oven to 375*
     Saute onions with oil and garlic in skillet until soft
     Place onion/garlic mixture in the bottom of a greased baking dish
     In a separate bowl, toss sliced veggies with salt & pepper to taste and 1-1 1/2 tbsp oil
     Place sliced veggies on top of onions, alternating
     Bake covered for 30 minutes
     Uncover, top with parm cheese (1/2-1 cup)
     Bake for another 25-30 minutes until parm cheese browns

(picture taken before baking)

ENJOY!!

Chicken Francese

Ingredients::
     4-6 boneless chicken breasts
     flour
     salt & pepper
     garlic powder
     2 eggs (lightly beaten)
     oil (I use olive oil)
     10 1/2 ounce can chicken broth
     1 cup butter (1 stick)
     3 lemons
     pasta (I use linguini)

Directions::
     Preheat oven to 350*
     In a bowl, mix together some flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. This mixture will be used to bread the chicken.
     Dip chicken in egg then in the flour mixture. Coat evenly.
     Brown the chicken in a frying pan with some oil.
     In a seperate bowl, melt butter.
     Mix chicken broth and the juice of 2 lemons into the butter.
     Place chicken breasts in a baking pan in single layer.
     Pour broth mixture over chicken. It should nearly cover breasts.
     Slice remaining lemon and place on top of chicken
     Bake covered for 20 minutes.
     Serve over pasta

ENJOY!!

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients::
     1-2 lbs cube steak (cut into 1-in pieces)
     2 cans cream of mushroom
     1 cup chopped onion
     1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
     1 14-ounce can beef broth
     8 ounces mushrooms
     4 ounces cream cheese (softened)
     1/2 cup sour cream
     salt and pepper (to taste)
     egg noodles

Directions::
     In crock pot, combine meat, soup, broth, onion, mushroom, worchestershire sauce, salt, & pepper
     Cook on low 5-6 hours or high for about 3 hours
     Stir in cream cheese and sour cream 30 minutes before serving
     Serve over egg noodles

ENJOY!!



My First Hunting Trip

Here's a little bit of a backstory for you: 

I didn't grow up around hunting or guns or anything like that.. never owned one, never even touched one until 2009, right after my high school graduation.  My hubby (boyfriend at the time) and I went down to Florida to visit his aunt and uncle.  His uncle is a retired police officer, owns a few guns, and enjoys going to the shooting range once in a while.  Well, when we were down there, we went with him.  There I was, watching Paul and his uncle shoot the targets (jumping out of my skin every time one went off) thinking I would get away with just watching.  That didn't last for long. Of course they wanted me to shoot too. It'll be fun they said.. ;).  So, I manned up and took the gun, pointed at the target, and shot it. Little did I know, the shell casing would pop out the back. Well, indeed the hot shell casing popped out, landed on my shoulder, and within seconds I was screaming and crying in the middle of the gun range because I thought I had shot myself.

I have yet to hear the end of that one...

Here I am after that incident: fake smile, watery eyes and all-

So, now to the real story here:

Ever since we've been in Washington, I've tried to be more adventurous & outdoorsy: hiking, fishing, kayaking, etc. So, when I was invited by my husband and one of our closest friends, Petey, to go hunting with them, I agreed. I have to admit, I was super nervous to be around a gun (especially a big ol' rifle) after my previous traumatizing experience, but I was excited to challenge myself and to be outside of my element.

We hiked about a half mile up a mountain where I eventually took a deep breath and conquered my fear.  I shot the rifle and even hit my target!.. which was a tree...I refused to do any Bambi killing ;)

I ended up having a lot of fun on our little adventure.  We didn't kill anything (which I wasn't too broken up over), but we had a good time hiking and talking and searching.  Near the end of the night, we made a little fire and sat around it, maybe had a beer or two ;), and listened to the coyotes howling (which is really a beautiful sound..and a lot less terrifying than you might think).  This was a really positive experience for me, and I have to say, I'd definitely do it again!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients::

     sweet potatoes

     olive oil

     salt&pepper

     brown sugar

     cinnamon

Directions::

     Preheat oven to 425*

     Peel potatoes & slice into whatever shape your heart desires.  My mom bought me this really cute slicer that cuts things with wavy edges .. it's the little things in life ;)

     Toss the potatoes in a large bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper, and brown sugar

     Spread out on a baking sheet

     Bake for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are soft, shaking pan every so often for even baking

     Sprinkle some cinnamon on top

ENJOY!!

An Official 'Safe Place'

Something needed to be done. EVERY SINGLE TIME I move an important receipt, paper, bill, document, etc. to a "safe place" so that I don't lose it, I LOSE IT!!!

I can never remember where that 'safe place' was and it disappears into some other dimension where all of my important things watch and laugh at me as I endlessly search for them.  I have a feeling it's the same place where one of every color of my socks go...

Anyway, I got this idea from one of my girlfriends who got the idea from, you guessed it, Pinterest!

The original post is from a blogger/professional organizer named Leah. This woman's Fabulously Organized Home is..well...fabulously organized. You should definitely check out all of her awesome ideas.

Here is my take on one of them:

This whole project only cost me $20.- which is well worth it to never have to lose my 'safe place' again!

The filing box (which is stackable) was $10.- from Target and the filing folders were from Office Max and were about $10.- for the pack of 25!

My folders are as follows:

Birth Certificates                                                                         

Marriage                                                                                      

Driving                                                                                          

Social Security                                                                              

Medical Records                                                                           

Credit Cards                                                                                  

Taxes

Insurance

Loans

Accounts

Home Contract

Vehicle Info

Warranties

Awards/Certificates

High School Diplomas

Pets

Military

Furniture Invoice

School/Internship

Repairs

Memberships

Instruction Manuals

Receipts

Applications

Moving Info

AND, the filing box is a good size, so there is plenty of room to add more folders & sections!

Now, if I only had a way to keep track of those socks...