eating for two

It's an interesting balance; eating for two.  The random cravings are just fine, but then the random food aversions are difficult to anticipate.  Since I was pretty sick the first 16-18 weeks off and on, Ben was wonderful at stepping up when cooking was the last thing I could fathom doing.  Some days NOTHING sounded or tasted good.

Ben isn't big on having breakfast for dinner but I'm pretty much always up for it! One Sunday I cooked a breakfast quiche for work the next day and with the leftover sausage Ben cooked me an egg & sausage sandwich for dinner (one of the few nights we had our own meals for dinner). It hit the spot perfectly!  

The quiche recipe I found happened to be something that I had all the ingredients on hand for and it was DELICIOUS!  Make this.

Ben and I have always made different versions of spaghetti through the years... regular ole normal, ground turkey, venison, etc.  But when Ben came up with spaghetti without noodles I was hooked.  We have one of those mandolin things that can julianne vegetables, so just julianne squash & zucchini and saute it.  Make your Spaghetti sauce like you normally would and then serve it over the vegetables.  Make sure to serve with some bread to soak in the yummy juices.  Trust me.... it's incredible.

Ben's miniature hamburger sliders with homemade french fries on a Sunday night...

Our friend Holley made these when we had dinner together one night and Ben & I immediately went to  Publix the next day to get the ingredients and make them ourselves... anyone know what the name of these is?  Just spread peanut butter between two Ritz crackers and dip in melted Almond Bark.... oh my goodness, I'm not typically a big peanut butter fan but these had me at "hello."  

The crockpot has been my friend again recently too... makes dinner after a long day of work so much easier: Taco Soup, minestrone, or these shredded beef tacos topped with this salsa... 

Fresh cooked rotisserie chickens you pickup from the grocery store are my friend too... this Mexican chicken casserole was made so much easier with one.  

And last but not least, I have only indulged in ONE of these so far :)  

So, just a few recipes and quick tips to share that have made my life easier lately.  Honestly Ben has been the biggest blessing of all.  He has been the one to do the grocery shopping several times and even cooked 2 delicious meals this past weekend (Friday's grilled pork chop with green beans & yellow rice and Saturday's NY strip steak with salad and twice baked potatoes).  

Are you hungry yet?!

need recipes?

As I mentioned before, I am loving finding new recipes on Pinterest these days.  We also just had a new Publix open up right next to our house, so now I feel like there is absolutely no excuse not to go grocery and cook delicious meals every night.  The past several weeks I have made week night meal lists and bought ingredients for other goodies (like appetizers on the weekends and breakfast items).  Now rather than printing out my recipes, I can just pull up the Pinterest app on my iPhone and cook straight from looking at my phone.  

I made a variation of these Breakfast Quiche Cups to have premade for breakfast for the week.  All you have to do is pop them in the microwave for about a minute and head out the door with breakfast in hand (am I the only person who ALWAYS eats my breakfast in the car? I mean, ALWAYS).  I included the spinach, onion, red bell pepper, mushrooms, and cheese! Delicious.  

Appetizers:  These Sausage Balls were a huge hit with the boys at the Farm one weekend... 4 ingredients, couldn't be any easier!  Who doesn't love Jalapeno Poppers (well except for people who don't like jalapenos)?  Well this was a great variation I made for a family dinner appetizer which was a hit; Jalapeno Popper Dip.  We had ingredients to make regular ole Queso dip (Rotel tomatoes & Velveeta cheese block) for a football game one weekend & Ben decided to vamp it up a little bit by adding black beans and cilantro... YUM

I found this Chile Rellenos Casserole recipe and it just sounded like good yummy comfort food.  I substituted the beef for ground turkey since that's what we use instead of beef most of the time.  It was phenomenal, but I have a warning for you: if your husband has an aversion to having an egg included in the ingredients of his dinner food, don't serve it to your husband.  Lesson learned, just meant more leftovers for me!  

Soups:  We love soups here at this house.  Both because we love 1-dish meals and because they are so easy to make in the crockpot, like all 3 of these soups were made!  This Chicken & Wild Rice Soup was great and I was shocked at how great this Jambalaya turned out, although I would definitely classify it as Gumbo without a roux and is definitely worth it to make considering the taste you get without the time it normally takes to make Gumbo.  Our most recent try was this Potato Soup that did not disappoint and we paired it with an awesome salad and have been enjoying the leftovers ever since.  

So I hope I inspired you to cook something new, try out one of these recipes, or at least look around at Pinterest for some new ideas!

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving was wonderful; isn't it always?  Even when nothing is asked of me, I still like to contribute something to the spread!  This year, I made 2 pecan pies: Regular & Chocolate.  One turned out much prettier than the other but they both tasted divine!  

When we were on our way back from our weekend trip in Atlanta, we picked up Ben's grandmother and brought her home for the next week for Thanksgiving.  She cooked some delicious food and we loved spending time with her.  We have Thursday lunch at Ben's parents house with everyone.  

Grandmother with all her Kennemer grandkids:

Ms. Leigh

Cool Polaroid pictures from the day with Ben's family

Later that afternoon, we met up with my family and had the annual Steelwood Thanksgiving golf cart ride! The Roe Fam

Back at our house later that night, Ben fried 2 turkeys to have for the weekend and Rachel & Hollis came over to visit for a while!  Fried turkey is the best way to have it, so moist and flavorful!  

Love these newlyweds! 

We spent the weekend relaxing at the Farm with Ben's siblings, and watched the IRON BOWL on Saturday!  I was vastly outnumbered with all the Alabama fans in Ben's family, including Leigh whose favorite phrase is apparently "Roll Tide, Boo Auburn."  I tried to get her to say "War Eagle" but was reprimanded for the brainwashing attempt.  :) Oh well, I still cheered for my Tigers with the only paraphernalia I had with me!  

We had "thanksgiving" lunch with my family at my parents house on Sunday before Rachel & Hollis had to go back to Houston.  The holiday kinda snuck up on us and went by quickly but was spent with those we love most and are extremely Thankful for all the wonderful Blessings in our lives.  :)  

Still on a blogging roll!

I promised more regular blogging and I'm still keeping my promise! so YAY!

The week after the wedding, there was a very special birthday in the family.... EMORY TURNED ONE on September 28th!  Apparently this past year has flown by, and I can't believe baby girl is already 1!  Nat had a great little daytime playdate at her house for the babies and then family dinner later that night (and her blog post about it is beautiful and made me cry).

Leigh came for the playdate and I think she had a fun time playing with all the babies.  SO fun to have both of my nieces together... aren't they both SO cute!?

This was the night that Rachel & Hollis got back from their honeymoon and we watched football with my parents that night before we all got together for breakfast the next morning before they moved! 

The next weekend, Ben & I went up to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama football game (vs. Vanderbilt).  Our friends Garrett and Holley came to the game with us and we had a lot of fun!  Walking around after the game... we saw the Nick Saban statue... and it made me laugh.  

I have to say, I was resisting this whole Pinterest craze lately because I just didn't get it.  I didn't get how it's an activity that people become obsessed with or how it can hold attention for hours... until I decided to sign up anyway just so that maybe I can be like all the cool kids... haha anyway, I LOVE IT!  I love the crafts and design inspiration and recipes I have found.  Apparently this picture is floating around to everyone through Pinterest (1st saw it posted by Natalie, then heard Rachel say she made it) 

and I thought it looked pretty yummy so I made my own version of it the other night.  I didn't have some of the ingredients so I just fudged it around, and apparently I cut up the avocado much smaller, but it was still delicious.  SO you should try it too :)   RECIPE HERE

And last, we went to Polo at the Point this past weekend.  This is the 3rd year that Ben's company has sponsored and we have been able to take part in such a fun day!  It was a beautiful hot day in October and we had a great time watching the Polo matches, having some champagne & mimosas (at least I did), and visiting with friends and customers.  I guess since I had been there 2 years before (Posts #1 here & #2 here), I neglected to remember to take any pictures this time!!! 

late season gardening

Everyone was blogging about all their gardening this past Spring and earlier in the summer and at that time our garden was either nonexistent or non-flourishing.  Ben & I have wanted to grow a big ole garden every single year since we got married but it has always been a sad attempt.  First of all, we don't have a good place for a garden.  We can't put it anywhere in the backyard or Harper would EAT everything.  So we found a spot on the side of the house where we have decided to plant things behind the bushes so you can't see them and its facing the sun correctly, but it's completely facing the street. This picture is from last year so the bushes and trees are a bit bigger now but you get the idea; this is where it is: 

In the past we have grown tomatoes and although they grew well & were pretty, they didn't taste that great so we scratched those this year.  I also LOVE growing fresh herbs and we did plant most of the usuals this year (basil, mint, cilantro, parsley) but they all got destroyed within the first month or so from heat and lack of watering.  

Ben is obsessed with all kinds of peppers so I'm pretty sure we had about 5 different pepper plants (Jalapeno, Serrano, mystery pepper, etc).  We have had pepper galore; we can't even give them away fast enough!

I also put in a squash plant and red bell pepper, quite unsure if they would produce anything.  Finally here at the end of the summer we have had 1 squash and 1 red bell pepper (which I accidentally knocked off the vine when it was still green).    The squash was delicious in stir fry the other night.  

With a lot of fresh ingredients, Ben & I decided we wanted to make a homemade pizza.  The first time we tried it out, we (AKA Ben, the grill master) completely burnt it on the Primo grill and the 2nd time it was so much better!  This may become a regular rather than ordering pizza.  (Can you tell whose side is which?  Bacon vs. Avocado...)

Oh yeah, we like a lot of cheese.... but we actually realized this was TOO MUCH cheese! :) 

I wish we could cook from ingredients straight out of the garden every day but obviously that would never happen living where we do.  My dream is to actually be able to have raised beds as a garden one day.  If we don't move any time soon then our options at this current house are: 

a) Harper actually grows out of his stage of ruining things in the backyard so that we can plant wherever we want (which is very unlikely since he dug a hole in the flowerbed today and he is almost 4 years old)

b) we have to tear up some part of the grass in our fenced in yard and also put some sort of protective fence around it so that Harper can't reach them.... 

c) we keep planting behind the shrubs.... grrr

Hmmm.... we will see how that pans out next year, but for now we are still swimming in garden peppers over here.

what's up?

I have been relieved to have the past 3 weekends at home with not really any plans! I've gotten a lot of things done around the house, but I haven't had anything too exciting going on that deserved it's own post.  2 weekends ago we went up to my parents' land an hour North of here to look at the incredible new house they are building (see my sister's post about the house here and I know it will become a big part of our weekends and on the blog in the fall) and it was awesome.  I've watched a lot of movies lately and this past weekend Ben & I caught up on all the Harry Potter movies and enjoyed seeing the final movie in 3D at the theater.   

I have now started a more regular schedule with my new job and I really love it.  In the end, I know that despite all the months of unemployment, everything happened for a reason and I am grateful to be where I am now.  It's a feeling of relief and I am so happy.  I have also started my placement with Junior League for the year and went last week to play with kids on the cancer floor for Camp Rap-A-Hope.  It was an awesome experience and I'm looking forward to going again!

I've been attempting to try to use coupons more, since the new coupon clipping craze.... but I'm not so good at it yet.  My trip to Publix on Saturday was $265, I saved $18.  Hmmmm, doesn't sound anything like the saving-less-than-you-spend stories everyone else has!  I need to find more coupons!

Then this past Sunday, I helped host a Baby Shower for my sweet friend Erin!  A little over a year ago I was in her wedding and now she is waiting for baby Olivia to be born!  It was a wonderful afternoon celebrating her baby girl.  

 I made a Diaper Cake for the decorations and realized that they are a bit more difficult to make than I imagined.  But it still turned out simple & cute!  

 One of the gifts I gave Olivia were some monogrammed bloomers (almost exactly like these), one of my favorite little southern baby gifts to give people!  This piggy bank from a friend was so precious.  

 The hosts and other friends at the shower

I also made an appetizer for the shower.  This dip was a hit and everyone was asking me for the recipe.  I got it from another friend a couple of years ago and everyone seems to enjoy it!  I thought I would share it with you too!  (I promise it's a lot more delicious than this picture makes it look):

Cheesy Spinach Salsa Dip

1 TBS olive oil

1 cup chopped white onion

1 jar chunky medium salsa

1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 cup fat free half & half

1 8oz block cream cheese, softened

2 blocks grated pepperjack cheese

1.  Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat.  Add onions & saute until clear.

2.  Add jar of salsa & cook for 3 minutes.

3.  Add thawed spinach & cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly.

4.  Turn off heat and mix in half & half and cream cheese.  

5.  Move mixture to greased casserole dish and top with pepperjack cheese.

6.  Cook at 350 for 20 minutes uncovered & 15 additional minutes uncovered.  

7.  Serve with chips & ENJOY! 

bragging

...on my husband

I don't know how he does it, but sometimes he's a WAY better cook than I ever imagined being.  

He just gets an idea in his head and then "throws something together"...

I had a migraine, and he served me this beauty (notice the presentation with limes & cilantro too!):

I wish I could give you a complete recipe for this dinner last night, but Ben "doesn't do" amounts and had a hard time even remembering the ingredients! 

Ben's Black Bean Soup

black beans

chicken broth

olive oil

tomatoes

green onions

garlic & onion salt

chili powder

curry powder (that one shocked me)

shredded rotisserie chicken

avocado/tomato/cilantro/onion/red bell pepper/jalapeno salsa/relish on top

I LOVE MY HUSBAND :) 

Fabulous Fourth

How could you go anywhere other than the beach for the 4th of July?!  We pack it all in to this one weekend: fantastic food, sun, swimming, time with family and friends, & showing thankfulness for our troops & all the freedoms we have in this great country.  

I swam with Bennett for about 2 hours on Friday and Saturday.  Lots of fun times had in this pool.  

Harper was trying to stay cool because boy was it HOT! 

We caught the annual 4th of July parade on ONO Island.  Loved the pink fire truck honoring breast cancer survivors.  

Bennett LOVED all the candy, necklaces, and toys thrown to him in the parade.  

On Saturday, we had a cookout all day and Ben's family came over and Natalie's in-laws did as well.  We had a delicious spread of food and swam with the babies all afternoon.  I made a few appetizers and desserts over the weekend but most of them were gone before I could take a picture to give y'all a recipe!  I guess I'll just have to make them again to give you the recipes!  

Here was the one that I loved the most though.  I have had these little bruschetta things from catering at weddings and other parties and every time I eat more than I'd like to admit.  They are so fresh tasting and addicting.  So I just kinda guessed what the ingredients were and think it was a success!  

Bruschetta Rounds

~ French bread baguette rounds (either pre-made to make it easy or you can slice french bread & toast them yourself)

~ Mayonnaise

~ Precooked bacon chopped up (or bacon bits)

~ Roma or Grape tomatoes, sliced

~ Fresh Basil

~ Sweet Onion, chopped

~ Olive Oil

~ Salt & Pepper

1.  Put sliced tomatoes, fresh chopped basil, chopped onion, salt & pepper, and olive oil in a bowl and marinate for an hour or so.  

2.  Lay out baguette rounds on a platter

3.  Mix Mayonnaise & bacon together & spread atop the rounds (that's the really healthy step ;) haha )

4.  Top each one with a marinated tomato or several small tomatoes with the marinade mixture

5.  Top with a little extra chopped basil if you'd like! :)  

6.  Watch them get eaten in no time and try to snag a few for yourself!  

I am now officially craving these things again and so sad that there weren't any leftover!  After being at my new job and so busy lately, Ben & I have really enjoyed spending Monday at home with absolutely nothing to do!  We have seen several movies, made a big trip to Publix for groceries, and now we're about to grill hamburgers for dinner!  What a wonderful country we live in and we are so blessed to have such incredible and brave people fighting for our freedoms every day.  

Happy Independence Day!!!!