Welcome to Our Life

Smart Bear

2012-01-31T16:13:00.000-06:00

For being a Bear of Very Little Brain, I think Pooh is pretty smart:

"By the time it came to the edge of the Forest the stream had grown up, it did not run and jump and sparkle along as it used to do when it was younger, but moved more slowly. For it knew now where it was going, and said to itself, 'There is no hurry, we shall get there some day.'"

Dear Blog (original, I know)

2012-01-19T20:01:00.003-06:00

Dear Blog,

It has been over a year since my last post, for that I am heartily sorry... Wait a minute, that felt like confession! Actually even though it has been a VERY long time since I have posted I have nothing to apologize for! Life has been crazy and busy and I have figured out that I am not much of a journaler... Perhaps I have late onset ADD.

2011 was a crazy and busy year to say the least...

Early last year we got pregnant with the sweet baby who is now our precious Clara Grace! The day I found out I was pregnant was the beginning of Tulsa's February SNOWPOCOLYPSE!! All in all we had a total of 8 snow days! Luckily I could work from home! This is also when my morning (ALL DAY) sickness set in so I got to stay in my pj's and relax!

We spent the summer traveling back and forth between Tulsa and Dallas for family events. My sister-in-law got married in a beautiful wedding and reception. We also had baby showers hosted by each of our families. That's when it hit me how much Baby Felderhoff was going to be loved!

I also had the joy of suffering through one of the hottest summers on record while pregnant. I broke the rules and parked in our visitor parking at work for 2 months without getting caught. Of course I got caught when I was 7.5 months pregnant when I could have really used it but oh well... I got the extra exercise that I needed, too! The Fall finally brought sweet relief from the heat but that's when my excitement for this baby really went into overdrive!

In August Chad and I found out that he would be getting a job promotion and they wanted us to move to Tri-Cities, Washington. Talk about a gut wrenching decision to be so far from our family and friends with a brand new baby! We had decided that we were going to make the move when the location got changed on us! Turns out our move is actually Grand Forks, North Dakota for 8 months and then Mitchell, South Dakota for a few years! Still far from everyone but I'm sure we'll adapt!

September 29th came and went and on October 4th Clara Grace was born! Both my and Chad's parents got the call as we headed to the hospital and they were able to see me in the hospital before Clara was born. Luckily I had my epidural or I would not have been in the mood to see anyone!

From October to the end of the year we were lucky enough to have family come visit to help with Clara while we worked on coordinating the move. It was nice to get to relax over the holidays with family and have some of the extended family get the chance to meet Clara before we moved.

So.... that is everything up to now as I sit in our corporate apartment in North Dakota while its a blustery -5 degrees out side.

I've also thought I might add a few features (weekly?) to this blog...

Catholic Stuff:

Great printables on basic Catholic catechesis

Pinterest Finds:

Yes, just yes!

For my besties

Can't wait until Clara is old enough for these

This can't be too hard to make (...copy)

Favorite Foods:

Lasagna Soup

White Chicken Chili (big family favorite)

New wine tried this week (red)

Peace Out,
Elizabeth

San Francisco - Part 2

2010-11-06T00:00:00.001-05:00

Next up we headed down to Chinatown. We hopped on a cable car and took the relatively short trip. Now lots of people say they LOVE Chinatown and that it is something that you just HAVE to do while you are in San Fran... honestly, I didn't love it. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the entire city is extremely hilly and hard on the feet or that I had to use the restroom and had to wander aimlessly to find someone who spoke English to direct me to the nearest bathroom. Maybe I didn't go the right places but I felt that all the little shops (mostly junky souvenirs) were all the same. I mean... I really only need one set of silk slippers and kimono and Chad would have killed me if I asked him to carry around a cast iron tea pot no matter how cute it was.
In any case, it was very interesting to walk around in almost an entire other world with almost all signage in at least dual Chinese/English and all the Dim Sum and delicious food you could ask for!

On with the pictures:

Entrance

Cable Car in Chinatown - ours had a sticky clutch and made me sick to my stomach with all the jerkiness and I NEVER get motion sickness!

Chad posing with his cousins

I LOVE the blown glass chandelier

These old ladies were playing MahJong in the park and I don't speak the language but I promise you they were cussing like sailors. I think one of them lost and I swear I saw her kick a pigeon!

Loved all the lanterns!

I walked in this place briefly (thats my fuzzy head at the bottom) and then realized that A) it was pricey and B) I had no idea what I would really be drinking...what kind of herbs exactly I couldn't tell!

Saw this cool plant while we were walking. Called a "Pitcher Plant" and collects water in the flowers.

Next we made our way to Lombard Street - the zig zag street.
Beautiful view of the homes and bay.

Awww... hilarious that I needed a sweater and scarf in August!

View of Alcatraz from Lombard.

Believe it or not, people live along Lombard and this street leads to their driveway - only about 20 foot long. I think the houses start about $850,000!

Beautiful bougainvillea growing up the side of a house.

Chad likes to get a little artistic with the rose and bougainvillea in the same shot!

I wonder what it is like to live in those flats in the middle of everything?

Another great shot of The Rock!

And now onto Ghiradelli Square
I would like to say that we stopped in the store and factory but the line was out the door for chocolate shakes and ice cream so we passed it up.

This little place was adorable! Perfect for a ladies who lunch event or a bite with your best (or prissiest) girlfriend!

Boudin Bakery - Don't even get me started - the place that brought sourdough to America. Get their to die for bread bowl soup!

View of the Golden Gate with the evening fog rolling it. Got quite chilly at this point. We waited for the cable car back to our hotel for an hour but luckily there was a pan handler playing guitar and singing Frank Sinatra to keep spirits up.

Cable Car Museum. I was worn out by this point so this is what a fake smile looks like.

Wheelhouse that manages all the cables

Workers splicing an old cable.

Randomly witnessed repair on the street. Replacing the clutch. Apparently Mr. Miyagi isn't teaching karate anymore.

It was SF Chef and Restaurant week and we got to attend a cooking demonstration by the head chef of Americano Restaurant.
He made fresh ricotta and then ricotta stuffed zucchini flowers fried.

As uncool as it may have looked - I was glad I brought one pair of walking shoes. Look at that incline!

Love hate relationship between me and the cable car for sure! It's okay if you are sitting but not great for standing and being swung around!

Up next: Napa and Sonoma wineries plus the beautiful countryside!

Cold... but not that cold

2010-11-04T12:21:00.003-05:00

Random Thought:
It has gotten colder here which means harder to tear myself away from the soft sheets and comforter every morning. I lay there dreading the cold air that is waiting to hit me and then I remember... it will NEVER be as cold in the morning as the winter we lived in Omaha. I would stumble out of bed, fumble with the remote to turn on the morning news and weather and wait for the sentencing of more super cold temps. Twenty degrees, Nine degrees, NEGATIVE ten or how about my all-time favorite... wind chill of NEGATIVE TWENTY FIVE!

So... Forty degrees, thirty five - even twenty five degrees I think it'll be okay.

San Francisco - Part 1

2010-10-31T17:34:00.003-05:00

Trip to San Francisco

City Hall - near the Asian Art Museum

Union Square Hearts (coming to a Christmas Card near you!)

We stopped by the famous Cako Bakery after dinner for a late night snack!

We also got these delicious macaroons!

FERRY PLAZA FARMERS MARKET
I was probably most excited about Ferry Plaza than any other one place in San Fran! I LOVE food and trying new foods and especially local FRESH food - and Ferry Plaza is the Mecca of all those things! What I wouldn't give to have access to this kind of food!

Fresh Flowers (for CHEAP!)

Beautiful Plums and Grapes

Gorgeous Grapes - taste of things to come in Napa!

Look at all these different color peppers!

...and the chilies!!

This kind of produce is just art to me! Can't believe it's actually real.

And the we headed inside!
...hide my debit card, please!

Actual morels at the inside market... won't be buying many pounds of these! Tons of different kinds of mushrooms!

LOVE this shirt!

Look at all these sauces and oils - wonderful!

Pasta, pasta, pasta!

Chad's new bible!

BOCCALONE! Tasty Salty Pig Parts

We ate lunch outside among all the vendors and food tents.
California Salmon on crusty bread with cream cheese, onion and heirloom tomato. HEAVEN!

Thats all for Ferry Market - stay tuned for Chinatown, Lombard Street, Ghiradelli Square and more!

Love Fern near death

2010-10-30T13:35:00.002-05:00

If this blog were my Love Fern it would be on the back porch dug up by the dog, withered, needing water and close to death. Well Love Fern, sorry about that but I promise to keep you away from the dog, water you and perhaps sprinkle a little fertilizer now and then. This summer was ridiculously busy which explains my lack of posts!

Stay tuned!

Things to make you hungry

2010-08-21T22:00:00.002-05:00

I know... another food post but currently I am uploading about a bazillion photos from our San Francisco/Wine Valley trip so I hope to have a series of awesome posts about that soon.

In the mean time:

Chad canned some of our peppers from the garden a couple weeks ago.
Here is another recipe in case you plan on doing this as well!

Another reason why it's great to make things at home and know where your food comes from!

Two of my favorite things to eat/drink and FINALLY a reason to pair them!

Yum, finally something to do with my leftover ginger after Asian cooking!

Did I tell you about the time my family processed 120 lbs of wild boar sausage in one weekend?

There's gotta be something better than the sherbet/sprite shower punch... turns out there is!

For those of us always promising ourselves to DRINK MORE WATER!

And those of us tired of the same old Iced Tea every night...

...because you can't have more variations for tea.

Hope everyone has had a great weekend!

Intensely Summer

2010-08-06T11:27:00.003-05:00

It is intensely Summer around these parts with a heat index of up to 110 degrees most days. That kind of heat just zaps my energy and I have been insanely busy at work which explains my lack of posts here on the ole blog. That and we haven't done anything too exciting lately.

We are planning a trip to San Francisco and the Wine Country soon so my goal is to have a fabulous blog post(s) about our vaca!

Here are some great food related articles I have read recently:
(All brought to you by thekitchn.com)

Did I mention it was hot?

Like cook on the sidewalk (apparently literally) hot?

Our kitchen is not small but the heat sources are in a narrow area and it gets HOT!

We just finished the last of my homemade peanut butter ice cream-this is next!

We've got tons of these from the garden!

And I like to use my cucumbers for something other than Southern Pickles.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Favorite Food Posts of the week

2010-07-10T22:17:00.003-05:00

I subscribe to almost 60 food blogs and skim through most of them seeing either the same old recipes or recipes with ridiculously hard to find or expensive ingredients. My new favorite find is thekitchn.com and here are a few of my favorite posts from the last few days.

Enjoy!

Tons of delicious fruit on sale these days...
What Are Some Non-Jam Ways to Preserve Fresh Fruit?

Crunchy Salty Deliciousness!
Side-Dish Recipe: Extra-Crispy Tossed Potatoes

A farm-raised husband and having lived in Nebraska have turned us into a sweet corn loving family! My husband is a naturalist - butter only.
Corn on the Cob - What are your favorite toppings?

Free Wine, perhaps?
Agritourism: Vacation on a Working Farm or Vineyard

FYI: I like spices and linens!
5 Souvenir Ideas for Food-Lovers and their kitchens

A hot dinner that doesn't heat up the whole house, love it!
Slow Cookers to the Rescue! Heatwave Carnitas

Good, because my garden is definitely producing a surplus!
Cucumber Noodles: Yes, Cooked Cucumbers.

Will go good with the new Parisian music CD I bought!
A Taste of Paris: 10 Recipes to Take You There

via: thekitchn.com

Spring Gardening Recap

2010-04-25T21:55:00.004-05:00

On Saturday we got a LOT of garden projects done! We went to the Jenks Herb Festival, Southwood Nursery and Lowes! I love shopping and all but this kind of shopping just equals more work later!

Here is what we accomplished:

Rosemary and Mint

Sage and Thyme

Sweet Potato Vine

Million Belles that are in a window basket that still needs to be hung

Million Belles in a hanging basket and the newly filled bird feeder

Transplanted yellow knockout rose on the left and new LOVE rose on the right

We got this LOVE rose at the Jenks Herb Festival and it smells SO sweet!

My little garden helper who hopefully doesn't destroy everything!

Our raised garden that Chad built so wonderfully last summer!

Cherry tomato and peppers

Onions

Tomatoes

The planter around a tree in the front yard. Some of the pansies have come back but I filled in with some other purple flowers.

Purple flowers close up

This is where the yellow rose used to be and we replanted with an azalea.

We also bought some solar landscape lights so we'll see how bright they are.

I love succulents so I replanted the ones I had in these cute white pots from IKEA.

Now this dog house should have a post all to its own but Chad LOVINGLY made this awesome doghouse for Daisy. It was a lot of hard work and grumbled words but its done!

This isn't a gardening project but we just bought this AMAZING new table and I am so glad to have something that matches in our dining area now! I love dark wood and this table is substantial! It is ridiculously heavy and I think its going to last for a good long time!

Quick morning recipe

2010-04-25T21:16:00.003-05:00

Healthy Morning Muffins
These muffins are so good and I actually made a second batch for our breakfasts this week! If you know my cooking you know that I get bored easily and am always trying new recipes so the fact that I made the same thing twice says a lot!

Ingredients

Makes 12.

Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup skim milk
4 medium carrots, shredded
1 medium ripe banana, mashed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt until there are no lumps. Stir in oats and raisins. Add oil, egg, milk, carrots, and banana and stir until blended.
2. Fill each muffin cup with 1/4 cup batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes. Serve muffins warm or at room temperature. (To store, keep in an airtight container, up to 3 days.)

From: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/healthy-morning-muffins

**NOTE**
I made these in a HUGE muffin tin (like the same size as the muffins at a bakery) and cooked them at the same temp for the same length and they still came out great. With my tin it made 6 large muffins filled to the brim.

Always Coca Cola...

2010-04-25T10:23:00.003-05:00

So during out trip to Ft. Benning, Georigia we made a side trip to Atlanta (since Columbus doesn't have THAT much to offer) to visit the Coca Cola museum.

Old advertisements

The torches below have been used in past Olympic torch lighting. It was pretty cool to see the differences between all the various games.

Pop art based on Coke and the coke brand.

They have a room in the Museum called the "Tasting Station". Around the room are fountain drink stations from around the world. It was really interesting to drink the sodas that other people drink around the world. There was a station like this for North America, South America, Africa, Europe and Asia.
Some were great, some were VERY sweet, some were less sweet like ginger ale other disgusting!

The family!

Georgia On My Mind

2010-04-22T21:32:00.003-05:00

So things might get a little out of order since its been WAY too long since I have posted but a couple of weeks ago Chad and I headed down to Columbus, GA to visit my brother at Ft. Benning where he has been stationed during Army Infantry BOLC training. His graduation was the reason to visit and it was really interesting just to walk around and see everything there is to see on the base (or post as they call it).

We started out with his graduation on Thursday. There were about 150 men that will all be headed to other bases where they will be stationed or others will go on for more training. Matthew is hoping to stay at Ft. Benning for Ranger School.

And of course we have to have the pictures with the family in the official uniform.

The next day we walked around base and saw some of the cool Ranger memorials and main buildings. I think we even saw Eisenhower's old house (who I swear my grandma said we were related to one time).

Saturday we visited the Army Infantry Museum which was actually very cool and very cool to walk through. I really didn't know what to expect.

There was an exhibit called the family gallery which was dedicated to the supportive friends and family of our military and their role. I found out that I believe it was Eleanor Roosevelt that pushed to have a military personnel and the chaplain physically visit a family when they were being notified that their soldier had died in battle. Previous to this a telegram was delivered by a taxi driver.
Anyway, the museum was really interesting and educational to all of the battles/conflicts that America has been involved with. The museum is brand new so there were a couple of exhibits that weren't over yet but we were super tired by the time we were done for the day. I say those will be something new for us to see next time we make it down there.

Obviously I took about 150 pictures so I'm trying to only post a few. It was a fun time and I hope that we are able make it back when he graduates from Ranger school!

Valentine's Weekend

2010-02-21T20:46:00.004-06:00

Typically I have cooked a big special dinner for Valentine's day free of healthy dishes and low calorie desserts. This year we did something a little different...
When I started at my current job I got a gift card to a nice restaurant in town. I decided to save it for Valentine's day and that was a part of our fun weekend!

So we started by checking in at the Mayo Hotel in downtown Tulsa. It was a famous hotel to the celebrities back in the 20s and for several decades. It started to lose popularity and eventually went into disrepair and out of business. (More can be found out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayo_Hotel

The rooms were SO nice and really huge.

Mmmm.... hotel robes, so nice. Too bad they probably cost over $100 if you decide to take one.

Mini bar... where are the goodness lives. Locked up. Boo.

Entry way to the room. The photos on the left are old black and whites of huge parties in the ballroom from the 20s. So glam.

Bathroom vanity. Beautiful sink vessel and the carpet in the room was a lovely houndstooth. But why do they feel the need for the lit magnifying mirror on the left of the counter? Aren't I here to get away from my stress and worries. Plus, I probably didn't bring a tweezers.

Nice TV and fun little orange chair. I don't think we could incorporate it into our house but I still think its great.

King size bed with matching light fixtures on each side. I am hoping to incorporate two of those into our room at home. I love the pillow in the middle of the bed with the old historic Mayo logo. Love.
Modern style desk. Pretty no frills but the style of the room didn't need a big clunky piece of furniture that probably won't get used much.
Another chair, this one was more comfy while someone waited on someone else to finish getting ready before our dinner. Okay fine, I was the one getting ready and Chad was waiting but still, he said it was comfy.

After we checked in and got our stuff settled we proceeded on with our cocktail and dinner plans. I goofed so our dinner reservations weren't until 8:30 so we started out with drinks at LXI Wine Bar. Chad had his typical gin and tonic and I had one of their signature martinis. It was a Raspberry Rosemary something and actually really good. I'm usually pretty adventurous but for some reason I was a little afraid of rosemary in my drink. Even though there was a sprig floating as a decoration in the drink I really couldn't taste it at all. We also got a small cheese plate to keep us from starving until dinner.

Once it was finally dinner time we found our seats at McGills and ordered. A couple got engaged in the booth behind us while we were there and it was really sweet (everyone now: AWWW!). I can't handle the super heavy meals at restaurants like that one so I just got crabcakes and caprese salad (LOVE). Chad of course got a steak.

My darling husband has been to restaurants like this one quite a bit for work and learned a good lesson long ago. A co-worker told him that his wife used to get jealous of the nice dinners and late night networking and he finally learned the secret after a while. The key is to order a fancy dessert at dinner and then box it up and bring it home. That way, she might not like the late nights but will know there will be a delicious cheesecake or bread pudding waiting in the fridge in the morning. Sounds fabulous to me!

Anyway, when we got back to the hotel that night we considered going to the hotel bar to check it out (after all, I have to get all my fancy treats in during a holiday) but decided to call it a night.
Luckily our church has started 5p mass so we didn't have to get up early that day. We were very near the Cathedral downtown so we could have gone to 12p mass if we wanted. I made reservations for brunch so we went down to the Palace Cafe which is near my work and I have wanted to try for a while. It was pretty good and I ordered the migas...and I knew it was a dish with eggs in it but it was a little too eggy for me. And I like eggs... but not scrambled eggs. And this was too much scrambled eggs and not enough mexican ingredients added to it. Anyway, still good.

Oh, also... Lord I love coffee and the Mayo Hotel is home of Topeca Coffee which is one of the few "seed-to-cup" family owned coffee companies. It is seriously delicious and they've actually started selling it in the grocery stores (more about THAT in another post) recently. I was thrilled to order my nice Americano straight from the coffee house on a cold snowy morning.

Daisy stayed with one of Chad's co-workers for the night so we wouldn't have to worry about her so it was nice to get her back on Sunday and finish up the weekend with good snuggly family time!

I may have to figure out whether we'll go back to our traditional "Big Dinner Valentine's" or try this new "Night on the Town" routine!

I hope you all had a LOVELY Valentine's weekend.

Desktop Wallpaper

2010-02-04T12:49:00.004-06:00

In an attempt to make all things beautiful I stumbled across this website a while back. I was looking for a wallpaper for my desktop that wasn't as boring as the usual microsoft choices.

The website is www.smashingmagazine.com and every month they product about a dozen beautiful wallpapers for download.

Here are my top choices of the February collection:

Enjoy!

ICEPOCOLYPSE 2010

2010-01-29T20:14:00.005-06:00

ICEPOCOLYPSE 2010

See mom, aren't you glad I didn't have bird feed in there and then they got stuck trying to get seeds! Looks like a jail cell for the birdies!

Hi, yes I played in the snow today... how can you tell?!

Daisy likes frozen green tomatoes left over from the fall garden... shes weird.

I shoveled the driveway before Chad got home... but it was already covered in a dusting by the time I got finished and went inside to get the camera and come back out! Hard work!

Shrubs in the front yard covered in ice and snow.

My poor planter box that used to be full of pansies and now is full of snow!
How we are keeping warm tonight (insert hot cider with cinnamon liqueur)!

Daisy seems pleased!

Adventurous Dinner Night

2010-01-29T18:31:00.003-06:00

Here's the run down:
1 Hungry Hubby
1 Adventurous Cooking Wife
Random stuff in the pantry
2 New recipes
1 Delicious (and quick) meal

*I also served steamed veggies from the Whole Foods deli*

North African Meatballs with Couscous and dried dates
(courtesy of Melissa D'Arabian of Food Network)

Ingredients

For the North African Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lemon, zested
1/2 cup pitted and chopped briny olives ( I used Kalamata)
1/2 cup white wine (Didn't have any on hand - I KNOW, THE HORROR! - I used chicken stock)
1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
1 (14-ounce) can crushed or diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
Pinch ground cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Meatballs:

1 egg
2 tablespoons tomato paste (couldn't find it in the depths of the fridge so I used ketchup, I KNOW THE HORROR)
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch ground cinnamon
3/4 pound ground beef (I used ground turkey-cheaper and no grease)
1/3 cup finely ground rolled oats or fine bread crumbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, for cooking
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (Didn't use)
Couscous with Dried Dates, recipe follows

Directions

To make the North African Sauce:

In a large saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic until soft but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon zest and olives and cook for 1 more minute. Add the white wine, deglaze the pan, and let it reduce for a 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the stock, canned tomatoes, sugar, red pepper flakes, and cinnamon, and simmer to blend flavors, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

To make the Meatballs: In a medium bowl, add the egg and tomato paste and stir until smooth. Add the cilantro, ginger, cumin, and cinnamon and mix until well blended. Stir in the ground beef and oats, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and combine gently after each addition. Do not overmix. Rolling with your hands, make about 32 meatballs, about 1-inch in diameter.

In a large saute pan, heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat, and brown the meatballs in batches until golden on all sides. Add more oil, as needed. Transfer the meatballs to the pan with the sauce and let simmer for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve over the Couscous with Dried Dates.

Couscous with Dried Dates:

1 cup water
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped dried dates (I used Craisins and forgot to chop them)
1 cup quick-cooking couscous
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring the water, stock, and oil to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the dates followed by the couscous. Cover the pan tightly with a lid, remove from the heat, and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

REVIEW:
Hungry Hubby liked and got seconds... I think he was finally glad it was a dish that didn't revolve around chicken.
Adventurous Wife liked and thinks it was probably pretty healthy too!

Winter Wonderland

2010-01-06T20:16:00.012-06:00

Here are a few pics from over the holiday...

Muenster, Texas

Daisy in her Christmas Sweater

Daisy frolicking

Trout Ranch

site of infamous bonfires

Getting the metal detector ready to look for lost arrows!
Chad and Matthew got bow and arrows for Christmas

My handsome husband

Would you believe that these are OK pictures and not from when we lived in NEBRASKA!?

Can you spot the white puppy?!

With ice like this... I think the STOP sign is just a suggestion! Drive at your own risk!

We had to put the truck into 4-wheel drive just to get into the driveway!

5 Days of Cookies: Day 4 & 5

2009-12-25T14:26:00.002-06:00

Here are two of my favorite cookie recipes. An old classic and a holiday family favorite!

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 12-ounce package (2 cups) semisweet chocolate pieces
* 1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts (filberts) (optional)

Directions

In a large mixing bowl beat the shortening and butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and baking soda. Beat mixture until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Stir in chocolate pieces and, if desired, nuts.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree F oven 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. Makes about 60 cookies.

Make-Ahead Tip: Bake and cool cookies completely. In an airtight or freezer container, arrange cookies in a single layer; cover with a sheet of waxed paper. Repeat layers, leaving enough air space to close container easily. Seal, label, and freeze up to 1 month.

Aunt Janie's Spice Drop Cookies
1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups sifted all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup coconut
1 cup spicedrops, cut in small pieces.

Thoroughly cream shortening and sugars.
Add eggs and vanilla.
Beat well.
Sift dry ingredients.
Add to creamed mixture.
Add remaining ingredients.
Stir together.
Drop from teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet.
Bale at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Makes ~ 4 dozen.

5 Days of Cookies: Day 3 - Sugar Cookies

2009-12-23T13:27:00.001-06:00

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

* 2/3 cup butter, softened
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* Powdered Sugar Icing (optional)
* Decorative sprinkles and/or small candies (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill about 30 minutes or until dough is easy to handle.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time until 1/4 inch thick. Using a 4-1/2- to 6-inch cookie cutter, cut dough into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack; cool.

4. If desired, prepare Powdered Sugar Icing. Spread and/or pipe the icing (if using) onto cookies. If desired, top iced cookies with sprinkles and/or candies. Makes 14 to 16 cookies.

5. Powdered Sugar Icing: In a small bowl, combine 2 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in 2 tablespoons milk. Stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing reaches spreading consistency. If desired, tint with paste food coloring.

6. Candy Windowpane Cutouts: Prepare as directed, except roll dough until 1/8 inch thick and use a 2-1/2-inch cookie cutter to cut dough into desired shapes. Place on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Cut small shapes out of the cutouts' centers. Finely crush 3 ounces hard candy (about 1/2 cup). Fill each center cutout with candy. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes; cool cookies on foil. Makes about 36 cookies.

7. Sugar Cookie Pizza: Prepare dough as directed. Spread into an ungreased 12-inch pizza pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until edge is firm but not brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Frost with homemade or canned cream cheese frosting and decorate with candy-coated milk chocolate pieces or other small candies. Use a pizza cutter to cut cookie into wedges. Makes 16 cookie wedges.

(Thanks Better Homes and Gardens !)

5 Days of Cookies: Day 2 - Maple Cookies

2009-12-21T21:15:00.003-06:00

Maple Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 TSP MAPLE FLAVORING
1 large egg
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon of maple syrup (Grade B preferably)
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of chopped walnuts
Method
1 Cream the butter and sugar together at medium speed for three minutes or until light and fluffy.
2 Add the vanilla extract (AND MAPLE EXTRACT) and egg and mix until well incorporated. Add the maple syrup and mix until well incorporated.
3 In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just incorporated. Fold in the walnuts. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for thirty minutes.
4 Preheat the oven to 350F. Drop spoonfuls of the cookie, about 1 inch balls, onto cookies sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 3 dozen.

Cookie Interruption: Delicious Dinner Post

2009-12-21T12:24:00.002-06:00

We are interrupting the cookie marathon with a recipe from dinner last night!

Now I am going to post the true recipe (Thanks Food and Wine - but I drank beer with this!) and insert my own variations to "keep it real".

On the chalkboard menu we have:

Braised Chicken Legs with Green Olives

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 whole chicken legs (3/4 pound each) - MINE, 2.25LB PKG BONELESS SKINLESS THIGHS
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 ounces thickly sliced lean bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice - MINE, NOT SO LEAN
1 medium onion, chopped
3 carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 small turnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces - MINE, A LITTLE LARGER CHUNKS
1 cup pitted green olives, preferably Picholine - MINE,CHEAP AND WITH PIMENTOS
2 large thyme sprigs - MINE,GENEROUS SPRINKLE OF DRIED
1 bay leaf
2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large cast-iron casserole, heat the oil until shimmering. Season the chicken with salt and pepper (DRY WELL OR IT WILL POP AND BURN YOU LIKE HELL). Add 3 of the legs to the casserole and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and brown the remaining 3 legs over moderate heat.

2. Pour off the fat in the casserole (USE BIG STRONG MAN FOR HELP WITH HEAVY PAN FILLED WITH HOT OIL). Add the bacon, onion, carrots and turnips and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until barely softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the olives, thyme sprigs, bay leaf and stock. Nestle (IE: SHOVE) the chicken legs in the casserole so they are partially submerged and bring to a boil. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Transfer the casserole to the oven and cook for about 45 minutes, until the chicken and vegetables are tender. (FINISH YOUR BEER/WINE DURING THIS TIME AND FIND SOME FANCY RICE TO COOK - MINE WAS RICE'A'RONI)

3. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a platter; cover and keep warm. Strain the broth into a large measuring cup and skim off as much fat as possible. Return the broth to the casserole and boil until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Return the chicken and vegetables to the casserole, cover and cook for 5 minutes to heat through, then serve.

Also good to know: relatively cheap, new appreciation for turnips, makes the house smell good and makes the strong man feel useful.

ENJOY!

5 Days of Cookies: Day 1 - Chocolate Peanut Butter Biscotti

2009-12-20T18:24:00.003-06:00

I will be posting a new cookie recipe every day until Christmas!

Today's delicious cookie is Chocolate Peanut Butter Biscotti!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Biscotti

Ingredients

10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups dry roasted peanuts
1 1/4 cups chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chunks (about 6 ounces)

Directions

Position racks evenly in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Melt the butter over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally. Continue to cook until the butter browns and gets a nutty aroma, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
Beat the eggs in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until light and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar while beating. Then slowly add the butter and vanilla until evenly mixed, about 30 seconds more. Add the peanut butter and mix until combined.
While mixing slowly, add the dry ingredients to the wet, in 2 additions, mixing just until absorbed. Fold in the peanuts and chocolate pieces.
Divide the dough evenly into thirds, and put each portion in the center of a baking sheet. Shape the dough with slightly wet hands into logs about 2-inches wide and 15 inches long. Bake until set and brown around the edges, about 25 to 30 minutes. (For even baking take care to rotate the pans-- top to bottom and front to back--about half way though.) Cool logs on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes.
Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Carefully transfer the logs to a cutting board. Cut logs crosswise, with a long serrated knife at about a 45 degree angle, into 1/2-inch thick cookies. Place cookies cut side down on the baking sheets. Bake until crisp, about 8 minutes. Flip the cookies over and bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes more. Cool biscotti on the baking sheets. Serve.
Store cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days.

Enjoy!

Thanks Food Network, they were delicious (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/peanut-butter-and-chocolate-biscotti-recipe/index.html)!

Football Weekend

2009-11-15T20:32:00.008-06:00

So it was a bad weekend to be a Red Raider or a Dallas Cowboy! Not a bad weekend to be an OSU Cowboy or a Green Bay Packer. Needless to say the two previous teams lost but anyway... we had a fun time tailgating and playing games before the actual game began!

The guys playing ladder-ball:

Chad and two of his friends Rod and Norm:

Me and the boys, somethings never change!

My sister-in-law, Aubree and I!

One of my best friends, Stacie and I!

Most of the Felderhoff Family!

Everyone have a great week! I am hosting Thanksgiving this year so I plan on posting some recipe ideas soon!

Fall

2009-11-01T20:13:00.012-06:00

The leaves are turning, Red Raiders are hitting their mid-season stride, the flower beds have been filled with pansies and most importantly its Halloween. We had an interesting Halloween at the neighbors. More about that another day. They say pictures are worth a thousand words need I say more.

Captain Jack Sparrow

"SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND"

Wreck'em Te....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Wild Hog meet Grill and Italian Seasoning

Front Flower Bed-Check

Project Report

2009-10-11T21:11:00.011-05:00

Seeing as it is Chad & Elizabeth I figured it was time for me to step in and post something. I don't do a whole lot of cooking so there wont be any juicy photos of the wonderful dishes that my lovely wife makes. I can tell you that she is feeding me well and I need to be more religious about my running schedule. So back to the topic at hand. I had a couple of projects on the list today and a couple to report on. This is what the list looked like:
-Peephole (on the front door)
-Ceiling Fan
-Garden
-Garage
-Front Flower Beds

I really only have the first 3 to report on. More on the other three when I get to them. Crap now its in stone and Elizabeth is going to hold my feet to the fire on the flower beds.
Garden- Well this one didn't get off to a great start this summer, but we are finishing off strong. We made one batch of our award winning salsa, and are awaiting the second batch of tomatoes to be ripe. I think were going to try and can the next batch. I know it sounds like my grandmother talking, but it works and this salsa could win the fair next year. Needless to say here are a couple of pics from the garden. We did have squash plants that got flattened by an Armageddon of some sort. I have been really impressed by our jalapeno plant. It is huge as I say a "fair winner".

The okra is doing very well but its going to be a little late in the year for it. After it came up it never got hot enough to really grow good. That's why I bought the farmers almanac for this year we should be good to go now.

Here is a close up of my jalapeno plant. They look so innocent, looks can be so deceiving. I think its because we purchased a Texas plant. You know everything is bigger in Texas. Hopefully the freeze this weekend doesn't kill them. moving on......

Peep Hole- No pictures to post here just a little note that if you buy a peep hole from Lowes and it says 1/2" hole it really means 7/16". I found out one washer later.

Ceiling Fan- Going with the trend of the day the ceiling fan in the guest room was not so easy. I would put it at 4 out of 5 on a difficultly level. Not trying to give my self to much credit but about the only thing I didn't have to do was build the room around the fan. Installing a fan is usually pretty easy just time consuming. This one although was cantankerous from the beginning. The biggest problem being no solid foundation to mount the fan. Instead of having the fan chop up our next guests and get the bedspread bloody I decided I better reinforce the mount. This is where it gets complicated. I had to cross the attic being careful not to put my foot through the ceiling. Let me tell you that's a feat all in itself. God doesn't put size 14's on ballerinas for a reason.
I found the mount in the ceiling and then placed a board that I cut between the two joists. You can see the board in the first picture. I had to screw it to the joists so the weight wouldn't be on the sheet rock. Sounds easy but to do hunched over balancing on a 1 1/2" board increases the difficulty. Alas the finished product turned out well. Now our guest will be able to enjoy the soothing breeze of our fan.

All of these photos are courtesy of our new Nikon D3000 DSLR. It got a lot of use at the Philbrook museum this weekend. I'm sure Elizabeth will be sharing some of those photos shortly.

Biggest Loser, grr...

2009-09-22T20:19:00.002-05:00

Dear Biggest Loser,

You are making me lazy! How can this be, you ask? Your ridiculously drama filled episodes (that totally sucker me in!) are 2 HOURS LONG! Most MOVIES aren't even 2 hours! I guarantee you that Bob and Jillian don't recommend watching 2 hours of TV in one sitting, especially since we know people tend to mindlessly eat while watching TV. Don't get me wrong, I love that show and I HAVE to watch it to the end to find out how much they lost and who goes home but seriously... you could mush that show into 1 hour!

End Rant,
Elizabeth

I guess Fall is here, whatever...

2009-09-13T16:16:00.008-05:00

I'll be honest, I seriously love Spring and Summer better. Spring is wonderful because you are just so dang tired of the cold weather that any kind of sun that actually warms you is a great thing. I love Summer because of the fun vacationing that occurs and general laziness the weather brings. I also get super excited to go to the farmers markets and find all kinds of great new treats. Fall is definitely upon us here in Green Country (local term for NE Oklahoma).

Below is a shot of my bounty got from the Cherry Street farmers market last weekend:

Aren't these flowers beautiful. Only $5 for the bunch. I wish I would have known they were only going to last about 24 hours though! I don't know what the weird fushia flower is but I know the other ones are zinnas. I'll have to plant some next summer!

Oh, if you live in the Tulsa area you MUST visit this winery out on the west side of town. We visited Whispering Vines winery back in June and got the exclusive tour from the owners. ...probably because we were the only ones there. Anyway, we ended up buying a mixed half case (6 bottles) and my favorite so far is below. It is there Cherry wine and it is delicious. You can actually taste some pumpkin pie flavors too. You know the full bodied tart flavor you get from drinking straight pomegranate juice? Yea, imagine the cherry version of that. Very delicious and tart!

Oh, also last weekend Whole Foods was having a great deal on their Salmon burgers. Basically you buy the burgers and you get all the sides for FREE.

For all of this our total came out to UNDER $20! Because the salmon is so low in fat the burger doesn't really shrink any it made a huge sandwich. I could basically only eat half of it for lunch.

Anyway, Fall is here and it has gotten cooler and this is what I made for dinner the other night:

Spinach Sausage Cheese Quiche

So gooey cheesy good and perfect for a cooler evening!
Recipe:
10 oz fresh spinach
1 lb ground breakfast sausage
2/3 C Parmesan cheese (freshly grated if available)
9 eggs
2 flour tortillas
1 1/2 C shredded cheddar
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 chopped onion

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Brown sausage in large skillet. Set aside and drain most grease.
3. Toss in spinach and toss until wilted
4. Remove spinach and add onions, cook until sweated. Add back in the sausage and spinach.
5. Mix together eggs, cheese and garlic powder in large bowl.
6. Add sausage mixture to egg mixture and thoroughly combine.
7. Coat bottom of pie plate with butter or PAM. Layer tortillas on pie plate to cover bottom but create a crust on the edge.
8. Pour in egg/sausage mixture and cook 1 hour. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

Daisy, our Westie, got her first grooming last week and she turned out so cute! It made her look a little smaller since they cut a lot of her fluff off but she looks like a real West Highland Terrier now! The place is here local in Broken Arrow and called Hairy Beast Grooming. The name cracks me up. Anyway, here are some updated pictures of her:

Anyway, the last big thing I have been working on is educating myself about updating some things around the house and in the yard and making a big purchase. See if you can figure out what I am talking about by this picture of my library books. (Shut up, I LOVE the Library.)

Yep, I'm working on decorating the house and being patient with finding the right things. I've had to learn that I can't do it all overnight or even in a few weeks. It takes time to find things that mean something to you and aren't just randomly pulled off the shelf at some big box store. Also we are working on trying to figure out what our next gardening steps are going to be. We want to do the right things now to ensure that we have a good landscape plan in the spring. Just imaging lots of graph paper and map pencils!

Lastly we are planning on purchasing a dSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera. We are super excited about it and will be getting the newly released Nikon D3000. We also want to get the 55-200mm lens but right now I am waiting for Nikon to put them together in a package deal. Hopefully that won't be much longer!

Well this turned into a rather long post but I'm trying to get better at posting more often and this is what turned out!

Have a great week everyone!

"Labor" Day

2009-09-07T20:56:00.007-05:00

Labor Day activities

Today was full of very rigorous activities(insert sarcastic tone)! Actually this morning I did finish up some freelance work I've been doing for a client. It was nice to get it done and out the door! Chad did a wonderful job cleaning the vehicles and getting them all spiffed up from a summer of trekking cross country. I actually AM scared to add all those miles up! The wonderful thing is that on our last trip my (TEN YEAR OLD!) car got a whopping 31 MILES PER GALLON! No, that is not a misprint!

Anyway, I rented Frost/Nixon and we finally got around to watching it this afternoon. I love historical/biography/historical fiction type movies/novels and this did not disappoint. I usually consult Wikipedia to get a brief rundown before hand but I didn't this time. It was still great and I would totally recommend it if you liked movies such as Charlie Wilson's War.

After that we headed to the driving range to hit a few balls. Chad, of course, blew me out of the water! I needed a few pointers at the beginning but I started to get the hang of it once my form got better. First I started swinging the club like it was a baseball bat then I had my right arm cocked out like a chicken wing! Not the best way to accurately hit the ball! Once I got that all straightened out I hit a few balls over 100 yards!

We're finishing off the night with a cool cocktail! I bought a mango the other day and waited for it to ripen. Cutting those things is ridiculous - Imagine an avocado but 5 times harder! Anyway I made a mango-orange smoothie with vanilla rum. Below is the recipe!

Mango-Orange Rum Smoothie
1/2 C fresh mango, cubed
1/2 C orange juice
1/2 C crushed ice
honey
2 oz. vanilla rum

Blend mango and orange juice until smooth. Add rum and honey to taste, blend. Add ice and blend on high until smooth. Serve in martini glassed with sugar lined rim.

I hope you enjoyed your day off as much as I enjoyed mine!

Hungry Thursday

2009-09-03T17:54:00.005-05:00

Here are a few of the delicious delights I've been cooking up lately:

Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro-Lime Sauce and Mango Salsa

* 20 medium prawns, peeled and deveined
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 4 corn tortillas
* oil for frying
* shredded lettuce
* diced tomatoes
* sliced avocado
* cilantro lime sour cream (recipe follows)

1. In a bowl whisk together olive oil, garlic, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper (if using). Add in shrimp and toss to coat completely. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes to give the flavors a chance to marry.
2. Cook shrimp in a skillet on medium heat until pink and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and cover to keep warm.
3. Use enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of a small pan, about 2 tablespoons. Heat over medium-high heat. Cook tortillas one at a time until soft, about 30 seconds on each side. Fold over to make a taco shell. As you cook each tortilla, place them on paper towels to absorb any of the oil left over.
4. Spoon 5 shrimp into each taco shell. Top with lettuce, tomato, avocado and cilantro-lime sour cream.
5. Serve.

Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream

You will need:

* 1/4 cup sour cream
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
* 1/4 teaspoon cumin
* juice and zest from one lime
* salt to taste

1. Stir all ingredients together in a bowl.

(Recipe from www.lifesambrosia.com)

... I also made this Mango salsa as another garnishing option:

Ingredients

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and diced (about 1 1/2 cup) (See: How to Cut a Mango)
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 Jalapeño chile, minced (include ribs and seeds for a hotter taste if desired)
1 small cucumber, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Also good with diced red bell pepper and jicama.
Method

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If the salsa ends up being a little too hot or acidic for your taste, you can temper it by adding some diced avocado.
(Recipe from www.simplyrecipes.com)

PLUM GALLETE
Plum Gallete

(This was SO good and I actually ate it for breakfast!)
Ingredients:
Serves 6

* FOR THE CRUST
* 1 cup all purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for work surface
* 1/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal
* 1/2 teaspoon sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
* FOR THE FILLING
* 1 1/2 pounds red plums, quartered, pitted, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1 large egg yolk, mixed with 1 teaspoon water (egg wash)
Directions
1. Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt several times to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces remaining. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed. (If needed, add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Do not overmix.
2. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface; knead once or twice. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
3. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Flour a large (about 16 inches long) piece of parchment paper. Place dough on paper. Using your knuckles, press edges of dough so it doesn't crack during rolling. Lightly flour top of dough to prevent sticking; roll out to a 14-inch round. Transfer dough (still on parchment) to prepared baking sheet.
4. Make the filling and bake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together plums, sugar, and flour. Mound plum mixture in center of prepared crust, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Fold border over fruit in a pleated pattern. Brush dough with egg wash.
5. Bake tart until crust is brown and filling is bubbling (see note), about 45 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a rack; let cool 20 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.
(Recipe from Everyday Food)

HAPPY COOKING!

Summer in Ok...

2009-08-14T21:52:00.007-05:00

Wow, I really didn't mean for it to be almost 2 months before I blogged again! Needless to say though... we have been ridiculously busy this summer!

The weekend of June 20th we drove cross country to Omaha to attend the wedding of our friends Adam and Natalie. Their wedding was held in the beautiful St. John's Chapel on Creighton University campus. I LOVE old traditional churches!

The reception was held in large beautiful foyer of the Durham Museum
It was great to hang out with our friends that we hadn't seen in several months.

The Girls

The next Friday we decided to explore Tulsa's minor league baseball scene, The DRILLERS!

It was very hot but luckily we found a breeze, hot dogs and the beer stand! I don't know if they are a very winning team but they lost when we were there! :(

The next weekend was July 4th and we headed down to Dallas for Chad's brother's fiancee's wedding shower (got that?!). It was great to spend some time with the family and celebrate! We also did the traditional grill out and watch fireworks thing... that's what Independence Day is for right, blowing fireworks all night long!

The next weekend Chad's parents came in town which was nice. We didn't really have anything planned which was nice so we could just relax! Of course we did find many yummy places to eat such as Hideaway Pizza and Copeland's New Orleans restaurant! Know this: whether I cook or we eat out, you will eat GREAT at the Felderhoff's!

Mitch and Aubree (the soon to be wedded couple) came in town the next Friday to attend a financial seminar that weekend. Those plans fell through so we just made the most of the weekend and cooked out. The Porter Peach Festival was that weekend so we headed east to get our fill of the bounty. Yes, this was your idyllic festival with a Peach Queen and local cookbook fundraiser! We got to the fair and although the food vendors had plenty of peach products there were no actual bushels of peaches! Crazy I know! Apparently you have to get there early on Saturday to buy the peaches. Then they save several bushels back and auction them off for the city. Local small town politicians pay a premium to show how much they love their community... I just wanted to buy some PEACHES! Anyway, we found out we could head down the road to the orchard and get them straight from the truck. Sounded easy... nope, there was a line of 50+ people! I was patient and finally we left with our goodies and boy were they delicious!!

Again, we did a lot of traveling this summer as we headed back to the Dallas area for Chad's cousin's wedding. It was of course beautiful and a lot of fun. Lemme tell you, these full-blooded, small-town German people know how to put on a party! It's not unusual for a reception to last from 3p to midnight! Drinks, snacks, dinner, more drinks, cake and more drinks makes for a festive night!

On our way home that Sunday we had a very exciting event... we picked up our new puppy DAISY!

She is a West Highland White Terrier and adorable. We have really been trying to work with her on potty training and obedience... I think it is getting better as she gets older!

Last weekend we headed back to DFW for bachelor/bachelorette party. I would post fun pictures but I really don't think they are appropriate for public viewing! We had a great time staying at Hotel ZaZa (gorgeous) and hitting the town! It was so much fun and I am really glad that Aubree is joining our family!

That's about it for now, just glad that this weekend isn't packed with stuff to do!

Savor

2009-06-18T18:26:00.005-05:00

Here is a post light on reading and heavy on drooling... this is what we have been savoring this week complete with pictures and recipes!

Grilled Flank Steak, Portabellos and Green Bean Salad

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 1/4 pound flank steak, trimmed of all visible fat
4 large portobello mushroom caps (about 3/4 to 1 pound), wiped clean with a paper towel
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 pound green beans, trimmed
1 (5-ounce) bag baby spinach leaves (5 cups baby spinach, lightly packed)
4 vine-ripened tomatoes (1 pound), each sliced into 8 wedges
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Make marinade:
Directions
Combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, orange juice, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, chili flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk. Place steak and mushrooms in a glass baking dish or sealable plastic bag and pour marinade on top. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 or up to 4 hours.

Make dressing:
Combine remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons vinegar, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, water, mustard, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Whisk until incorporated.

Place green beans in a steamer basket over a few inches of boiling water and steam until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Allow to cool in the refrigerator, or to cool quickly, drain and plunge in a bowl of ice water for 2 minutes. Drain and reserve.
Spray a grill or grill pan with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Remove steak and mushrooms from marinade, and discard marinade. Grill steak until medium-rare and mushrooms until cooked through but still juicy, about 4 to 5 minutes per side for both steak and mushrooms. Remove to a cutting board and let rest about 10 minutes. Cut steak across the grain into 1/4-inch slices; cut mushrooms into 1/4-inch slices.
To assemble salad, toss steak slices, mushroom slices, spinach leaves, tomatoes, green beans and onions with dressing. Divide among 4 plates.

Mediterranean Salmon Salad

Ingredients
1/2 cup uncooked orzo
2 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
2 cups torn spinach
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onions
4 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

Preparation
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
3. Sprinkle salmon evenly with salt, oregano, and black pepper. Place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 5 minutes; break into bite-sized pieces with 2 forks.
4. Combine pasta, salmon, spinach, and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl; toss well.

(Can you tell we like fresh spinach salads?!)

Cheddar Biscuits

Ingredients
1 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C cold butter
1 C shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 C milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Mix flour, baking powder, cream of tarter, sugar and salt in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cheddar cheese. Add milk, stir until mixture forms soft dough.

Place on a lightly floured surface; knead 8 to 10 times or until smooth. Pat out dough into a 6-inch square. Cut into 9 squares. Place on a greased baking sheet

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 9 servings

Make one of these recipes this weekend and ENJOY!

A Musical and Celebrations

2009-06-10T19:20:00.006-05:00

So since moving to Tulsa I have really been trying to get to know this city and find the fun things to do and great places to eat. Randomly one night we decided to buy tickets from the Tulsa PAC for "Ten Tenors" which is an Australian group of singing men. They were SO good. ... not bad to look at either!

In mid-May Chad and I headed south to College Station, Tx for my brothers college graduation from Texas A&M and his commissioning in the the United States Army. Luckily we were able to stop off in Georgetown for a night to visit our friends Mary and Kevin and their new baby girl Claire. She is adorable and I was so glad we got to visit. We were all in each others weddings back in the day and I love getting the chance to get caught up with each others lives!

Chad and I being Red Raiders have to make sure that we only allow our snide comments against A&M outside of the earshot of my brother. It is not a friendly rivalry... Anyway, here are the pics of my brother looking all grown up and official in his uniform.

Aunt Janie, Dad, Mom, Matthew, Me, Chad, Grandma

Getting his stripes pinned on by Mom and Dad

Commissioned

Next up was my 25th birthday on the 21st of May and our 2nd Anniversary on the 26th of May(got that?)! For dinner we went to this great little restaurant in the Brookside district called Sonoma Bistro and Wine Bar. It is a amazing. I loved just sitting on the patio drinking my pinot noir and enjoying the people watching. For our anniversary we went to Whole Foods and got all the ingredients for a delicious picnic and headed to Woodward Park and the Tulsa Rose Garden. It was a beautiful night and perfect! The roses were beautiful and I think we'll head back there later in the summer when Chad's parents come into town.

Last weekend we headed to the Tulsa PAC again to see the musical The Drowsy Chaperone. It was hilarious and we had a great view of the show. The musical was about an agoraphobic man who lives by himself and obsesses over the Broadway show The Drowsy Chaperone. As he plays the record (LP) of the musical pieces of the show, the performance begins with the music. The show itself is pretty simplistic and about a couple who is getting married. Unfortunately the brides chaperone is a drunk and she ends up seeing her husband to be on their wedding day and all sorts of craziness ensues. If you love all the old-timey musicals this show is for you. It references The King and I which is one of my all time favs!

Up next... fabulous recipes and photos of the results!

Busy, busy bees!

2009-06-06T08:25:00.005-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost two month since I blogged... I guess that shows how dang busy we have been!

At the end of April we decided to check out the local farmers markets. Spending a Saturday morning wandering around the booths of local vendors is my FAVORITE thing to do. I love all the tomatoes, greens, breads, honey, meats, eggs, CHEESES (sigh), salsa and of course a million different herbs. I love this probably because I have the far off dream of eating totally fresh and "whole".

We also attended the Jenks Herb Festival which was great. I was expecting a mini-farmers market but this was a full out Fair! To me... if you have funnel cakes and corny dogs then it's a fair and I LOVE the fair (however my allegiance will always be with this one).

In early May we headed down to Texas to visit with Chad's parents and be there when his Mom got back from her retreat this weekend. The ACTS retreat has really been sweeping the Catholic community and I could not be more excited. In the last year and a half I have lived in 3 different states and attended countless Catholic parishes trying to find the right one for us and I think this retreat gives an amazing renewal for all who attend. I have not been yet but I did attend a similar college oriented retreat while at Texas Tech (I apologize for the horribly designed website).

I have also started to get into the obsession called "couponing". What I understand so far is that the idea is basically matching up store sales and promotions up with the coupons you have clipped in order to get the cheapest price for whatever you need to buy. The key is stocking up on things so you will have it when you need it because it may not be on sale when you need it. There is even a woman here in town that is making a living teaching others her money saving secrets, and I commend that! I have gone to a class she teaches and I plan on going to one she is teaching about saving at Whole Foods. I think this is especially timely right now when a lot of families are now trying to live on one income or are trying to prepare in case they do have to live on one income. Everyone likes to save money and for me it is more about getting a good deal so I don't feel extravagant by buying my specialty coffee, spices etc.

In early May we closed on our house! I spent the entire morning before trying to get the sellers real estate agent to make sure the house was in good condition for our closing. There was still nasty q-tips and broken deodorant etc. in one of the bathroom drawers, the floors needed a good sweeping, the garage still had a couch and washer and dryer inside and the backyard had a pile of rotting wood. I was NOT buying a house where this crap was my responsibility to get rid of. Luckily about 4 hours before closing someone showed up the clean up and haul everything away and I breathed a long sigh of relief. I suppose that is what happens when the owner is out of state and has to do everything from long distance! We have since moved in and have all of the essential boxes unpacked. The remaining boxes are being sorted through slowly as they are actually a lot of crap that just needs to be either donated or organized and stored in the attic. For some reason my husband has the need to save about 40 legal pads of his notes from random classes in college. The worst part is that all the pads only have about the first 20 pages written on and the rest is blank! The neat organized freak in me wants to rip out all the written on pages and put them in a 3-ring binder and then we can use the blank pages.

Anyway, this is getting pretty long so I'll just leave it at this for now. Coming up later... the Felderhoff's explore the Tulsa night life!

When I play "my make-believe future"

2009-04-13T22:11:00.005-05:00

... I live in a house like one of these...

All of these homes are located in the historic Swiss Avenue district of Dallas. I drove by several of them today on my way to meet my aunt for lunch and was in awe of their beauty! My husband and I just bought a house (near Tulsa where we live)and I love it, it's great and it fits our lifestyle right now but... eventually I would love to live in an old house or build in a classic design.

I usually tend to go for Craftsmen style or Tudor.
Since I am pretty sure the husband wants to live on some acreage one day, it'll probably have to be a craftsmen style. A huge brick Tudor would look silly on 300 acres in middle of the prarie!

Photos from www.ArchitecturallySignificantHomes.com website.

Big (Old) News...

2009-04-01T15:37:00.002-05:00

Did I forget to mention to big news that has been happening around here? The earth-shattering, life-altering news? Oh yea, well we're now moving from Omaha to Tulsa... Yes, the same Tulsa where we spent 2 months last spring. Funny how life is cyclical that way....

The story is that Chad received an enticing job promotion and we decided to accept it. So, since mid-late February (see OLD news...)we have been making plans and getting the move rolling. I put in notice at work, we put our house on the market, we both drove back and forth from Tulsa to Omaha on the weekends and within 10 days of listing our house sold HALLE-FREAKIN-LUJAH!!

I say Hallelujah with reservations though... We bought this house in October and up until mid February put never ending work into updating. We sanded, we painted, we sanded, we put in new fixtures, we sanded, we put in new ceiling fans and door knobs and I fretted about the state of our ugly mint green kitchen. It sucks to think of all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears that we put into this house that we still love just to have to sell it in 4 months of ownership. HOWEVER, we had to look at our improvements as "things that will help the house sell quickly" instead of "things that will bring us truck-loads of cash" when we sell.

So, that brings us to the current state of things... The packers just left, the movers will be here tomorrow. We are living just outside Tulsa in a furnished corporate apartment until we can find another house (hopefully to own a little more long term).

Chad is working hard and enjoying his new position and I am searching for a job. I have been a media buyer and account executive at a few different ad agencies so hopefully I can find something along those lines. I've actually done a lot of different things at the agencies!

Oh and by the way... this is NOT an April Fools Day joke. I WISH (kinda).

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T13:55:00.001-05:00

There are good ships, and there are wood ships, the ships that sail the sea. But the best ships are friendships, and may they always be. Irish Saying

Have a great day everyone!

Nothing is constant but change...

2009-03-12T11:20:00.000-05:00

Below is a link to a great article by Seth Godin. Our companies and jobs might be changing but that can be a good thing!

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/03/pivots-for-change-swords-and-plowshares.html

Go Texas (uh, the state... not the University)!

2009-03-02T11:55:00.003-06:00

Just have to say... this post says it all for me today!

http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/?p=1134

New Things

2009-01-27T12:48:00.002-06:00

So I am always wanting to try new foods and I never have more inspiration than from a trip to Whole Foods.
This weekend I bought some white quinoa from the bulk aisle and I plan to make the Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa from the 101 Cookbooks blog later tonight for my breakfast tomorrow. I will probably exchange the blackberries for raspberries (plus a little more honey), and the pecans for almonds.

Here is the recipe from her site:
Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa Recipe
I used a red quinoa here, but you can use whatever kind you like, white/buff colored seems to be the most common. Also, a few notes and tips from the book: low-fat soy milk may replace the low fat milk, blueberries may replace the blackberries, dark honey may replace the agave nectar, and walnuts may replace the pecans.

1 cup organic 1% low fat milk
1 cup water
1 cup organic quinoa, (hs note: rinse quinoa)
2 cups fresh blackberries, organic preferred
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted*
4 teaspoons organic agave nectar, such as Madhava brand

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in blackberries and cinnamon; transfer to four bowls and top with pecans. Drizzle 1 teaspoon agave nectar over each serving.

Serves 4.

*While the quinoa cooks, roast the pecans in a 350F degree toaster oven for 5 to 6 minutes or in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes.

Holiday Baking!

2008-12-21T18:58:00.008-06:00

Short house re-cap and I'll move on to the cookies...

We've been crazy busy lately getting things done with the house and I'm now proud to list the things we've gotten done:

-Trees trimmed and limbs hauled off
-Master Bedroom walls and trim painted
-Master Bathroom walls, cabinets and trim painted
-Hallway door frames and trim painted
-Guest bathroom cabinets and trim painted
-New desk bought and constructed
-All doors painted and installed new knobs
-Basement trim and chair rail painted
-Basement walls painted

Short list of things to be done:
-Guest bathroom painted
-Guest bathroom re-tiled
-Basement bathroom repainted
-Crownmolding in master bedroom and basement

Moving on to today, it was a wonderful Sunday to stay in and relax!

I cleaned yesterday and we are taking a break from house chores until after Christmas so I made cookies:

Here are the recipes!

Chocolate Spice Cookies (recipe: Perfect Light Desserts by. Malgieri and Joachim)

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/3 c dutch process cocoa powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
4 T unsalted butter
1 c sugar
1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1/4 c molasses
2 cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or foil

1. Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Sift the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and set aside
3. In another mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with a large rubber spatula. Beat in the applesauce and molasses.
4. Stir in the dry ingredients to make a soft dough
5. Drop a tablespoon of the dough on prepared pans
6. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, changing the position of the pans about halfway through baking. Exchange the top pan and the bottom and also turn them back to front at the same time. The cookies will still be fairly moist when they are done. Avoid overbaking them or they will be dry and hard.
7. Slide the papers from the pans to racks to cool the cookies.

Cream Cheese Icebox Cookies (recipe: Joy of Cooking)

Whisk together:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Beat in a large bowl until fluffy:
11 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
Beat in:
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla

Stir in the flour mixture until blended. Refrigerate until slightly firm. Roll dough into balls in your hand and then flatten slightly with a jar. Before baking sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or whatever decorative baking thing you have on hand. Bake one sheet at a time for 11 minutes. Let cool slightly before moving to a cooling rack.

ENJOY!

Winter Wonderland!

2008-12-16T22:29:00.005-06:00

A few pics from our house this morning! Brrr it was COLD!

A conversation from this morning:
E: It's sooo cold! If we were still in Texas I would still have my pjs on and be working from home today!
C: Babe, we're not in Texas anymore...
E: Sigh, I know.

Front yard, 7:30a

Back yard, 7:30a

Back yard, 6:00p

Chocolate Cake

2008-09-29T20:29:00.002-05:00

Now I will tell you, this Chocolate Cake is mediocre in my opinion. It is not spectacular or rich or divine. However, it is quick, dirty and CHOCOLATE. I think my favorite part about this cake is that it makes a single serving, two if you decide to share. I think the scary thing is that I know exactly how much oil and sugar I am consuming and somehow with a normal cake, I pretend like I can't divide and figure out how much bad stuff I am eating. Funny how that works! Anyway, this "Cake in a Cup" is a fabulous idea when I just need a little chocolate/dessert fix but don't have anything really sweet in the house. We never buy cookies or sweets just because I figure that if I can't see them, I won't miss them. Anyway, when you make this recipe... do a little dusting of powdered sugar and cinnamon and it will just be delicious! I contemplated adding a little cinnamon and/or vanilla to the recipe, but never did. I guess that gives me a reason to make it again tomorrow night! Mmmm, it would also be good with whipped cream and cinnamon on top! OHHH... and FRUIT! The possibilities are endless!

Here is the link to the recipe.
http://www.dizzy-dee.com/recipe/chocolate-cake-in-5-minutes#comment-2009

Bread and Cup

2008-09-29T11:56:00.002-05:00

So today I am eating lunch in the break room… perusing the Living section of the Omaha World Herald with my Crispy Duck Salad from Upstream. In case your curious, the salad is better at the restaurant than delivered to the office. Its something with the temperature that just bothers me… Anyway, the front page of the Living section has the large beautiful image of a crostini with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes. The ideal image for a southern girl in the Midwest whose weather is getting much too cool much too fast. Tomatoes just say summer in a way that even peach pie and ice cream can’t. Anyway, I start reading this article about a trendy place in Lincoln called Bread and Cup. Now let me honest and tell you that when I moved from Dallas, I was afraid I would have to give up cute trendy places for jumbo steakhouses and your boring collection of mediocre chains. My first indication should have been the fact that even Tulsa had great places like Sonoma Bistro and Wine Bar and the Local Pantry. So….back to Bread and Cup: First of all, you have to read the article because I seriously fell in love and my mouth started watering. I am a website/blog addict (I know, really?) The first thing that piqued my interest were the recipes in various blog entries. I don’t know why more restaurants don’t do this! Seriously, having a recipe (or 6) is not going to stop me from trying or coming back to your restaurant. Why do you think atmosphere and service are SO important (and I don’t have to do the dishes)! The photography on the website is beautiful although I would like a few pictures of the dining room to know what I am getting into before I drive down to Lincoln. The fact that the website is updated so often with the newest offerings also tells me that they are at the top of the their game! The food and drink is mostly local which is a great feature that I wish more places offered. It ALWAYS tastes better than something flash frozen, shipped in and sitting under the warmer.
Anyway, I CAN’T wait to try this place and I load a review when I can!

New Updates!

2008-09-14T20:22:00.003-05:00

So, the good news is that I should now have more time to update this blog... and that would be because Chad and I are no longer house hunting because... WE BOUGHT OUR FIRST HOUSE! I know, we are super excited! The radon test was on Saturday and although the levels were high, the problem will be mitigated which is pretty standard. The home inspection was today and it went really well. Luckily the only things wrong were totally small and fixable, YAY!

Plans for the next few months:
5 Trips to Sherwin-Williams
12 Trips to Home Depot
7 Trips to Lowes
4 Trips to Nebraska Furniture Mart
1 Trip to IKEA?
300 Trips back and forth from apartment to new house, moving!

It's becoming Fall in Omaha...

2008-09-04T19:50:00.002-05:00

...and I am SO not ready! The weather is getting cooler, the leaves are getting yellower, and I am getting worried. I am not crazy about the cold, but I can usually get through it provided I have enough warm cozy sweaters and hot chocolate laced with kahlua. HOWEVER, that would be a Texas winter, not a Nebraska winter... about a 30 degree difference there. I am really going to try to stay positive and deal with the cold and the snow!

The nip in the air is kind of exciting when you start thinking of fires in the fireplace, big snuggly coats and pumpkin pie!

So what have we been up to? Well lets see: 4th of July in St. Louis, a business trip to Dallas, Chad's Birthday, a business trip for Chad, a trip to Lubbock, planning a trip to Denver this October and LOTS of house hunting!

We thought we were close to getting a house TWICE... but the first time we found a huge foundational crack. We actually put a bid in on the second house but we had to walk away because of an over inflated house. We have found a couple more since then so we will see how those play out!

I have actually been clued in to some great blogs through work this week so I hope to share those soon. I was searching the federatedmedia.net website looking for blogs for one of my clients to advertise on and found more of my own to start reading! Not that I need any more reading to do... from the Twilight Series, to all the Janet Evanovich books, Suze Ormans Women and Money, Marketing to Women and Good to Great... I've been pretty swampted with reading!

Have a great week everyone

Peaceful Modern

2008-07-24T23:29:00.002-05:00

Peaceful Modern: that is the label I would give the luxurious, relaxing, friendly scene at the Hotel Palomar-Dallas.

I don't get to stay in hotels in Dallas that often because (1.) I used to live here and, (2.)most of my family lives here. However, this time I am here for a work seminar and happen to be staying in the hotel in which the seminar is being hosted.

Simply said, I would label this hotel as a "destination stay". Some women fantisize about running off with the pool boy (ala Desperate Housewivse)... me, I just want to run away TO Hotel Palomar. It is such a shame that I had to stay by myself and my husband couldn't come along to enjoy this relaxing atmosphere. It's just so beautiful, so hospitable, so many things to do, eat, drink and watch nearby!

Just north of the hotel is the area named Mockingbird Station. A cute area chock-full of eclectic shops, ordinary retail, local restaurant favorites and a indie movie theater... your weekend can be full with this entertainment a skip across the street.

I mean seriously... look at this lobby! It won't let me post pictures, but the link leads you to pictures of the hotel!

To give you an idea of my experience... I arrived Tuesday night at almost 11:00p after a long day of work, and air travel since 5:50p that afternoon. The taxi pulled into the valet lane and a bellboy came the back of the van, pulled out my luggage and opened my door as I paid the driver. He then wheeled my things in as two other bellboys opened the massive glass doors into the building... talk about style! I was then checked in my friendly and curteous staff and made my way up to my room. I opened the door and it felt like I had walked into a relaxing, peaceful place of escape. All the lights are out except for the bathroom light is dimmed. As soon as I glance in there, I see the designer artisan sink and fixtures that just fill me with design inspired happiness. A little further walk in,I find a down comforter covered king size bed ready to be collapsed on. The BEST part is the large flat panel screen TV with relaxing spa music and one of those puddle screen saver things going on. Seriously I could have collapesed then and there and let myself decompress for the rest of the night. Anyway, needless to say the armchair was of modern design AND comfortable (which is sometimes hard to find) and the desk was also nice with lots of electric plug-ins! I stayed 3 nights, all of which were wonderful as are the yummy L'Occitane bath products and a cute zebra print robe! Oh, and I shouldn't forget to mention the coffee and hot tea in the lobby for breakfast and complimentary wine from 5p-6p!

Anyway, I just had to share this experience because (1.) I haven't posted in a while and (2.) it was just so dang wonderful!

I should disclose that in NO WAY was this a paid advertisement, however I am NOT OPPOSED to receiving free nights, samples, trial offers and reviewing them online!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Superior Wife

2008-07-21T13:29:00.001-05:00

Just in case you were ever curious...

As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Superior

Take the test!

Don't be scared...

2008-06-20T16:34:00.002-05:00

Don't be scared, I havent been swept away in the recent tornados here in Omaha... I've just been busy, really busy... you know, like car shopping, house shopping, browsing this new city, just enjoying life in general...

Don't fear though, hopefully I'll be back soon with a spectacular tale, or a delicious recipe, or a fabulous tip... but for now I am enjoying the summer!

Hah, finally made it!

2008-05-16T09:58:00.002-05:00

So I read a lot of blogs and comment on a few of them. Many of them are so huge that they get hundreds if not THOUSANDS of comments which is great BUT has disadvantages. Sometimes people (whom we call trolls) decide that they have nothing better to do in life than get their panties in a wad and post hurtful negative comments about a writers blog of the day or even comment on their way of life in general. My opinion is: if you don't like it, click the "X" in the upper corner...thats what it was designed for.

So, I guess you could say I finally made it into that category of bloggers who get negative remarks! I posted a lighthearted comment on another (GINORMOUSLY followed) blog regarding which topic I thought the writer should get back to writing about. Another commenter apparently thought that was RUDE of me, clicked on my blog link and wrote her opinion (anonymously with no return email, of course) below one of my most recent (non related) posts. Needless to say, it got deleted... I don't have the time to deal with that kind of negativity or troll-ish-ness!

Anyway, enough of that and HAPPY FRIDAY. The hubs and I are going out for dinner tonight and I am MORE than excited!

best thing EVER!

2008-05-05T15:42:00.004-05:00

do you like rootbeer floats? ya know, rootbeer with ice cream spooned on top that makes those delicious creamy bubbles at the top that take on a new consistency you never knew existed before...Mmmm! For me rootbeer floats were made famous by A&W but were especially made great while sitting around a camp fire roasting hotdogs (also consumed, Dr. Pepper floats). Well, while at the local Hy-Vee (grocery store chain up here) I spotted this strange looking BLUE milk in a glass jar, and then pink, yellow, peach, white and brown milk! What could this stuff BE!? Turns out it is flavored milk, I know what an idea! I don't remember what all the flavors are but the brown milk is NOT chocolate, its ROOTBEER flavored! Delicious! I think the other flavors are regular (white milk), peach, cookies and cream and cotton candy flavored!

Check out their website, seems like a wonderful small family owned business that would be wonderful to support!

Notes on Nebraska...

2008-05-05T15:33:00.002-05:00

Random thing I saw today... Nebraskans seem to really like their custom license plates. I have never seen so many! Wierd one today -- X BANKR -- is it just me or that kind of boring to be broadcasting?

Wha...WHAT?

2008-05-01T09:14:00.003-05:00

We live in Omaha...holy crap we live in Omaha (FINALLY!)!

-dining guide to Tulsa part 3 coming soon(hopefully).

getting green without getting out of control

2008-04-22T10:25:00.001-05:00

Check it...a great post about getting real about being green.

What's your footprint size?

2008-04-16T12:58:00.003-05:00

Mine is a 10 depending on the shoe but thats not footprint I'm talking about.

The National Geographic Channel is having a special on the Human Footprint and the amount each person consumes in their lifetime.

Preview: A human will consume 4,476 loaves of bread in their lifetime

Check out the website for more info.

DEPARTURE DATE!

2008-04-16T09:09:00.002-05:00

Woo Hoo!! Our time here in Oklahoma is coming to an end! We are driving up to Omaha Thursday afternoon and meeting the movers on Friday. The other good news is that I hope to have an interview on Friday with an ad agency in town. Hopefully that turns out good! I am so in love with the church that we found near our apartment in Omaha so hopefully we'll go to Mass Saturday evening or Sunday morning before we drive back.

Later this month we'll be going to Bartlesville which is north of Tulsa to see Shooter Jennings, Charlie Daniels and .38 Special. Although Chad is way more excited about it than me, it should be a great show! After that we'll head down to Germanfest which will be a great weekend of friends, beer (yay?), and good food. After that we'll leave the metroplex and head to Omaha!

Dining Guide of Tulsa: Part 2

2008-04-15T10:10:00.003-05:00

Mahogany's Prime Steakhouse

Mahoganys was great! Seriously the best steak I have ever had (except yours Dad, of course). Apparently the secret is searing them at 1000F and only seasoning with salt and pepper. See Dad, we didnt have a 1000F degree grill so it's not your fault. I never really understood the saying that a good steak didnt need BBQ sauce until now. I could only handle a 6oz size at the time but that 6oz was great! We got it "Oscar Style" which means that it has crab meat and asparagus on top. I don't even like mashed potatoes (I know, but I am still southern dangit!)but with the yummy sharp cheddar on top, they were great!!

Sonoma Bistro and Wine Bar

Uh, PERFECT! I had been CRAVING a less filling and more healthy meal and this fit the bill perfectly! First of all the wine and beer selection was AMAZING! Second of all, we sat outside on a perfectly warm relaxing spring Sunday evening. Not least of all the food was delicious. We started out with a cheese plate that had an olive cheese, bacon cheese, and a brie. It was served with dates and french bread slices. For dinner I had a great asian flank steak, I highly recommend it!

Shoguns Japanese Steakhouse

Your traditional Japanese Steakhouse which was great. A little stringent on their reservation procedure. The showmanship of the chef (probably not the right term) was good even if he did screw up the egg-bouncy-trick 3 times... It was a great value and a fun place to go with a crowd

Dining Guide of Tulsa: Part 1

2008-04-11T10:38:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the dining guide of Tulsa (and surrounding communities)!

Through our stay here we have been to several restaurants and I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to review them:

McGills Steakhouse

Located inside the Cherokee Casino and Hotel this restaurant is by far the nicest within the casino. Although it is pricy the food is really good as long as you don't mind the traditional heavy steakhouse meal. The first time I went there I ordered the tilapia. It was good but I would suggest ordering it a little medium to keep it moist. The french onion soup was also amazing, one of the best I've had. The next time we went I had the lobster with drawn butter which was also great. Not great for the waistline but I'm almost sure I had a salad with it...does that count? Since the lobster was so great I have also ordered the pasta with lobster sauce which had much more lobster in it than I expected!

LoneStar Steakhouse

Located in Owasso this restuarant was good but didn't really compare to the steakhouses we have in Texas (ironically enough). The margaritas were good which was what that evening needed! I got the El Paso salad with steak which was great but beware of the house dressing, super spicy!

Full Moon Cafe

This restaurant is in Tulsa and usually features dueling pianos on the weekend. We went there on a Sunday and instead had two guys with guitars, banjos and such. It was still and entertaining evening. One thing we ordered was fried calimari but unfortunately it was pretty pre-fab... I had the full moon coconut shrimp which were delicious!

Let me know if you have been to any great places in the area!

Quick and Dirty, Divine

2008-04-05T13:02:00.005-05:00

I found a few new sites that are great:

The first one is Money Girl which is a podcast about personal finance and great tips for managing your wealth (or lack their of).
- Good Debt vs. Bad Debt
- Greatness of Compound Interest

On the same site is the Get-It-Done Guy to, as he says, "to work less and do more". Sounds great in my book!
- To Do or not To Do
- Controlling a full inbox

The next site is titled Divine Caroline. I can't put it into words so I'll let the Divine Caroline staff do it.

In short " Our dream is to give you a place to come together and express yourselves. What brings you joy. What breaks your heart. Makes you giggle. What pisses you off. Confuses you. Entertains you. What keeps you strong. And if all that sounds too heady, remember we're also discussing stuff like sketchy relatives and good kissers."

My favorite sections are:
- Relationships
- Home and Food
- Style
- Career and Money
- Play
- Neighborhood and World

... I guess by now you've realized that I pretty much like the entire site but I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!

Have a great weekend!

New Fabric = New Project

2008-04-02T12:08:00.003-05:00

I found this beautiful fabric yesterday that SO reminds me of the Vera Bradly designs.

The first one is a pink paisley with lots of great colors that remind me spring!

The second is really hard to see on this screen but its a ivory with tan words in script like harmony, family, unity and peace. I'm thinking I want it to be the lining of whatever I make.

(you can see it easier if you tilt the laptop screen way back...)

Right now my plan is for a makeup bag or travel jewelry bag...something easy and simple. Please let me know if you have any ideas!!

Easter, Lubbock or Leave It

2008-03-29T09:17:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I posted but between Easter weekend and flying to Lubbock for a few days there wasn't much opportunity to post!

Sooo... Easter weekend wasn't all that relaxing and consisted of a lot of driving. Thursday morning we drove down from Owasso/Tulsa to Euless to get our things ready for the movers. That evening we went to dinner with our friends Brian & Ashley and Joe & Mandi and their baby Shelby. By the time we got home we were exhausted and really weren't up for any more prep work that night.

The movers came the next morning and the second they stepped inside our apartment they looked pretty overwhelmed. Apparently we had about twice the amount of stuff they were expecting. I have no idea why because they knew all the furniture we have and obviously the cabinets were going to be full of things as well. Oh well they got it and all the stuff from the garage on the truck by mid afternoon and drove away. That was a little scary watching basically all of your worldly belongings drive away and pray that they get to Omaha safely and on time. Needless to say we didn't let them pack our important documents and things that we really didn't want to get broken. The cleaning of the apartment was a little difficult afterwards considering they moved all of our cleaning supplies and we didnt think to set them aside before hand!

Friday evening we drove to Muenster to Chad's parents house. Saturday we had lunch with the immediate family and dinner with most of the aunts,uncles and cousins of the extended family. Coming from a relatively small family it's nice to be around all that family at one time! They were so nice and gave us some Texas decorations to have once we get to Omaha. (The latest plan is that we will still be in Oklahoma until the end of April and then go to Omaha. I have a feeling this is God's way of making us grateful for the day we finally get there!) Then Sunday we went to Easter Mass and had lunch at my Grandma's.

Chad left Monday morning for Oklahoma and I spent the day with my mom hanging out and running errands. Tuesday I flew to Lubbock to spend time with my friend Stacie.

It was so great going to visit Lubbock and really enjoy the place without having to worry about school or homework! It was a beautiful week and Stacie and I did a lot of great shopping and eating. If you go to visit here is what I suggest you do:

Shopping:
South Plains Mall
T.C. Elli's
Uncommon Graphics
Kingsgate Center

Eating:
Rosa's
Daybreak Coffee
Angela's Cafe
Home Cafe
Thai Pepper

All in all it was a great time and now I am back in Oklahoma and trying to find things to do for April!

Banning Water?

2008-03-19T19:03:00.003-05:00

Sounds strange right, water is essential to living... no way a city could ban something like water. Well the city of Seattle is no longer going to buy bottled water to be provided at city events. Turns out Seattle isn't the only city lately that has created restrictions.

Read the whole story here:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/03/city-of-seattle-bottled-water-ban.php

Interesting

2008-03-17T09:57:00.001-05:00

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The South
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Interesting considering I've lived in Dallas my whole life!

Answer to your deepest question:

2008-03-11T09:23:00.002-05:00

What is happiness you ask? This morning happiness is 1)sitting in bed, 2)drinking coffee, 3)checking blogs, 4)watching food network, 5)not worrying about cooking dinner tonight because I know my husband is taking me out.

That, for the time being, while we hang out here between living in Texas and living in Omaha is happiness.

All things New

2008-03-10T16:51:00.002-05:00

First of all I would like to mention that my blog title was once the theme of a church retreat that my Catholic Student Association put on one time...

Second of all, I have a question: is there a hidden meaning behind hurting yourself twice in 2 days both on the lower half of the left side of the body? just curious because sure enough I somehow ran into the bumper of our truck and have a massive sized bruise on my thigh, and then while packing two cookbooks fell on my foot which resulted in another nasty bruise. The funny thing is that I really dont have a problem being clumsy...just recently. Also, my legs usually constantly itch at night especially if there is something even remotely stressful going on.

So, now is the point where I say sorry about not posting too often, but since we were preparing to move, I actually had to finish up projects at work and not sit around and think up and write blog fodder. Dont worry though, I read your posts out there and laughed a long... but then I got back to work.

So what am I doing now? Being a temporary housewife for 4 weeks thats what! and I do mean temporary in every sense of the word! First of all the Omaha plans have been delayed for a little while since we are actually in Tulsa for 4 weeks while Chad does some interim management here, THEN we will move on to Omaha where I will hopefully have found a job and move in our apartment. Where does one live temporarily in Tulsa...a corporate apartment, which doesn't really let me have too many housewively duties since basically you just move in with food and clothes and everything else is provided.

Provided in the sense of 1 bowl in the dish set, one 2 cup measuring cup...no toaster oven... 2 spoons in the cutlery set and NO real knives for cooking!! This may be an issue but since this is our first day I have yet to need a big knife yet. Oh also, I should have brought my spice rack because spices are expensive to buy all over again and I dont know yet how I will cook real meals. For now I have (jarred) spaghetti sauce and pasta on tap and couple other boxed dinner/soups... we cant eat like that for 3 weeks though! Good thing I have access to the country club fitness center through our apartment!

Anyway, thats the latest on our journey so far!

ps. Have YOU ever had to pay a $3.50 toll? I was told its our retribution to the Inidans... after I heard that I kinda wanted to pay them $350! It would be interesting to find out what the Indian Reservation is like.

Great Find!

2008-02-21T14:12:00.002-06:00

COOKBOOK ALERT!

If you know me at all you know I am ADDICTED to buying cook books! I found a really yummy looking one the last time I was at Williams & Sonoma...and it was on the clearance table...and it was marked $7!! Score! I got up to the counter and the sales lady rang it up along with the other things I was purchasing... $2.99... $3 for a $30 cookbook! Needless to say I went and got 2 more for gifts!

Chad and I (read:mostly I) LOVE dessert but we are really trying to be health concious and it doesn't help to have sweets around all the time! A lot of these recipes are fruit based which adds the healthy sweetness but many of them are traditional cakes and custards too. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet but they all look DELICIOUS!

Yummy on a cold day!

2008-02-21T12:12:00.002-06:00

So I don't have any pictures for these (I think...) but these are a few things that I have made for dinner recently. All of them turned out really great and I have a few comments under each dish to give you some insight!

roast pork chop with cheddar and bacon polenta

5 c milk
1 c instant polenta
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp ground pepper, divided
1/4 c butter
1/4 c grated cheddar cheese
4 large pork chops
2 T vegetable oil

In a medium sauce pan bring milk to boil over medium high heat. Add polenta and bacon, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, cook stirring frequently until polenta is soft. Stir in butter and cheese, set aside and keep warm. Sprinkle pork chops with remaining salt and pepper. In a large skillet heat oil over medium high heat. Add pork chops and cook 10 minutes, turning occassionally. Serve pork over polenta.

*delicious but overkill on the polenta. you dont need to make this much for the recipe, we had plenty left over. it is also only good the first time around and not so good warmed up.

Potato-Green Chili Soup

1 30 oz bag frozen hash-brown potatoes
3 14 oz cans chicken broth
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c chopped onion
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
minced green onions

in a 6 quart electric slow cooker combine potatoes, broth, soup, onion, chilis and pepper. cover and cook on low for 5 hours. Stir in cream cheese; cook 30 minutes, stirring occassionally, until combined. Garnish with green onions if desred.

*really good and if you dont add the bacon it can be a great Friday Lenten meal... I guess I am a cheater because it has the chicken soups in it and I still consider it a good Friday Lent meal for me! Also good if you add a slice of cheddar cheese on top before eating.

Broiled salmon fillets with tomatoes and herbs

2 very ripe beefsteak tomaotes, cored, seeded and cut into a 1/2 inch dice.
5 T olive oil
3 T soy sauce
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 C fresh basil leaves
2 tsp finely chopped mint
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
4 firm fish fillet
2 T olive oil
eight 1/2 inch thick onion slices

combine tomatoes, 5T olive oil, soy sauce, basil, mint and black peper. cover the salsa and let stand 30-40 minutes.

preheat the broiler. generously brush all sides of fish fillets with 2 T olive oil, season well with salt and black pepper. Brush the onion sliceswith olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Place the fish on a broiler pan and overlap 2 onion slices on each fillet. broil about 8 inches from the heat until the onion has wilted and carmelized, 12-15 minutes. Do not worry if the onions char here and there, but if they start to blacken, cover with foil. Check the fish for doneness, it should be opaque throughout. Remove the fish to plates and serve with tomato salsa.

*really good and good left over and rewarmed in foil packet in toaster oven!

Valentines Recap

2008-02-19T16:53:00.004-06:00

Chad and I didn't do anything too big this year for the actual day OF Valentine's. We went skiing earlier this month and that was our offical Valentines Day EVENT! I did make dinner, Chad did the steaks, and we watched "Good Luck Chuck". The movie was good although a little inappropriate but funny. The dinner turned out great and although Chad had to help out more than I would have wanted it was a success.

MENU:
Drinks: Pomegrante Champagne
Appetizer: Stuffed Mushrooms
Entree: Steaks ala Chad
Vegetable: Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Vegetable: Lemon Green Beans with Pine Nuts
Bread: Parmesan Pepper Bread
Dessert: Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Recipes and Pictures below:

Pomegrante Champagne: rim glass in pom juice and coat with sugar. fill 2/3 full with champagne and add pom juice until desired color

Stuffed Mushrooms:
1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
28 large (2 1/2-inch-diameter) white mushrooms, stemmed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Stir the bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano, garlic, parsley, mint, salt and pepper, to taste, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl to blend.
Drizzle a heavy large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to coat. Spoon the filling into the mushroom cavities and arrange on the baking sheet, cavity side up. Drizzle remaining oil over the filling in each mushroom. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve.

Lemon Green Beans w/ Pine Nuts:
1/3 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed, blanched in boiling salted water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Drain green beans well and pat dry.
Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to keep from burning. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring, for an additional minute. Add the green beans and toss to coat evenly. Cook just enough to warm through, about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper and toss to combine. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

(see recipe below for green beans)

Steaks: Chads secret recipe

Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potaotes:
2 pounds sweet potatoes
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 cup bourbon
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Transfer to oven and bake until very tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle.
Cut open each potato and scoop out flesh into a large bowl; discard skins. Add cream, bourbon, brown sugar, molasses, and salt; mash with a potato masher until desired consistency is reached. Alternatively, place potato flesh, cream, bourbon, brown sugar, molasses, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat on high until well combined. Serve immediately.
(for pic, see corner of steak picture)

Parmesan Pepper Bread: from my bread maker book

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing: Red Velvet boxed cake mix, Icing: 8 oz cream cheese
4 oz butter
3 3/4 c. confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/2 tea. vanilla extract
1/8 tea. salt
Cream the butter, cheese and salt in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar until incorporated, then add the vanilla.
(photo coming...picture red cupcakes with white swirls)

sorry!

2008-02-17T12:27:00.002-06:00

I know its been forever, I'm sorry! We have had a lot going on and somehow I haven't found time to post! We have big news though!

As of February 11th we got the word that we will be moving to Omaha, Nebraska in mid-March. Chad got a transfer/promotion at work which will relocate us to the corporate headquarters of ConAgra Foods.

I think that development is going to turn this blog into more of a way for us to keep up with our friends and family in Texas and tell/show them all the new and exciting things that we are doing in Omaha.

Hopefully later today I will update on some of the recent happenings including our ski trip to Santa Fe early in the month to my yummy Valentines dinner!

Annoying much?

2008-01-30T09:48:00.000-06:00

Is any one else annoyed every morning when it seems that the Today Show just copies the Yahoo News top stories? I mean really, I already read about that junk... tell me something NEW!

An example from this morning:
Read this morning: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080129/lf_nm_life/depression_age_dc_2
Then reported on the Today Show: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22896014/

They did not report this however (at least what I saw)...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080130/ap_on_re_us/marijuana_vending_machine;_ylt=AoYoee9EuE8nKFFo2EPlRyKs0NUE

Do you find news stations just re-reporting the same old news? How does all that work anyway?

Wondefully Beautiful Things!

2008-01-26T12:36:00.000-06:00

(this post NOT sponsored by Anthropologie)

I had always heard of this store by some design centered friends and websites but I had never visited the website or store. All the things I have heard or seen about the store have featured beautiful things that are pretty expensive so I tried to stay away...but the trying didn't work! I went to the store during my lunch break recently and FELL IN LOVE and although I like shopping, I usually don't fall in love/infatuation with a particular store (ikea excluded). When I went inside I literally ended up spending my whole break plus some just browsing around and looking/touching the merchandise. I suppose I was never told to "look and not touch" because I have to hold something in my hand to experience it.

So, below I am going to post some amazingly wonderfully beautiful things I found but you HAVE to visit a store near you to get the full effect of the store and its "culture"!

It's just so sad...

2008-01-23T16:32:00.000-06:00

My first thought... "no hes not, this is just a rumor"
My second thought "this cant be, not Heath Ledger..."

It's not like I knew him personally but he was my quintessential teenage celeb crush. It all started with 10 Things I Hate About You .

Completely ruined my day.

...for you guys laughing at this, imagine if Sean Connery died (Sean Connery, please dont die)...see, now you get it.

Warm Food for a Cold Day...mmm...good!

2008-01-18T10:34:00.000-06:00

I know, I know... you've been waiting all this time and you're probably expecting some super exciting story and here I am giving you recipes... HOWEVER, you will LOVE ME FOREVER after you try these and if the pictures dont amaze you, well, maybe you'll chip in to buy me a new camera!

Chicken Florentine

(I actually halved this recipe and my husband and ate it for 3 wonderful days)

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach
6 chicken breast halves (about 4 pounds), cooked, boned, and shredded (um, yea...do this ahead of time)
2 (10 3/4-ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
2 cup grated sharp Cheddar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice(I used bottled)
1 teaspoon curry powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
(I did 1/4 cup bread crumbs and 1/4 cup french fried onions left over from Thanksgiving, it added a nice crunch and more flavor)
2 tablespoons butter

Remove the outer wrappers from the box of spinach. Open 1 end of each box. Microwave on full power for 2 minutes, until thawed. Drain the spinach and put into a large bowl. Add the shredded chicken.

In a medium bowl, combine the soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, Cheddar, lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper, to taste, and wine. Whisk together to make a sauce. Pour the sauce over the spinach and chicken. Mix well with a spatula.

Place the mixture into an 11 by 7-inch casserole dish or 2 (9-inch) square disposable aluminum foil pans that have been sprayed with vegetable oil cooking spray. Pat down evenly and smooth with a spatula. Combine the Parmesan and bread crumbs and sprinkle over the top. Dot with the butter.

Wrap the uncooked casserole securely with plastic wrap, then with aluminum foil. Place each pan into a plastic freezer bag and seal. Place into freezer.
Allow casserole to thaw 24 hours in refrigerator. When ready to bake, remove the plastic wrap and foil. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes until bubbly.

Finished pre-cooked product:

Finished product:

(small dent in the middle from testing hot-ness)

Then I made this creamy orzo to go with it that was also delicious:

Creamy Orzo

1 pound orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, juices drained
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a heavy large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the orzo and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic, and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until they are tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in the cream and peas. Add the orzo and toss to coat. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the Parmesan to the pasta mixture and toss to coat. Stir the pasta mixture until the sauce coats the pasta thickly, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to maintain a creamy consistency. Season the orzo with salt and pepper, and serve.

orzo = cooked, tomatoes = getting cooked... multitasking is great.

finished product orzo...blurry but good...so good the cameras eyes glazed over...

slacker...

2008-01-17T11:02:00.000-06:00

I know, I'm a slacker... I promised you a new post with new pictures and you waited and waited and got NUTHIN'! Again, I apologize... I was intending to post last night after dinner but dinner turned into more of a fiasco than I anticipated and I started researching something... WHAT was I researching? ...oh, just a little thing like our trip to NEW YORK! WooHoo! I got a travel book from the library and was lucky enough to get one published in the last decade so I know its current...and actually its 2007 which rocks even more... as we plan things to do I will post those too!

Anyway...just a small note to let you know I will be sharing recent feats in the kitchen soon! Heres a hint... it has to do with our favorite sailor man!

DEFINITLY HUMAN...

2008-01-15T14:17:00.000-06:00

You are most likely not human if you don't think the post linked below isn't HILARIOUS!

http://www.dooce.com/2008/01/15/daydreaming-palm-trees

more posting later once i upload some photos...

-peace

Mission Impossible: Search of the PERFECT Jeans

2008-01-11T15:05:00.000-06:00

Shopping for jeans is about as much fun as getting an eyebrow wax... My problem with buying jeans is that I am looking for a low rise/bootcut/dark rinse/long (at least 34" inseam). I have tried Gap and they stretch out too much resulting in a butt that looks like its housing a dirty diaper. Express does pretty well in way of jeans but I just can't quite bring myself to spend $80 on something like that. I have tried to rationalize it before saying that if I calculated the "cost/per wear" then the jeans are definitly affordable. In the end though, I just dont feel comfortable wearing something so expensive. I have found though that it is hard to find jeans in the right length for me! I think it all stems from a childhood fear of putting my tall body in a pair of too-short jeans would increase the "wierd-o" factor of being tall than the "models are tall too" factor. Now I am not extremely tall being 5'10"(150.0-ish lbs.)and wearing a 9/10 pants but I still dont want pants that are above the top of my shoe or pool and drag rediculously on the floor...WHERE IS MY HAPPY MEDIUM!

Anyway, last weekend I bought a pair of jeans at The Limited. They were the Sexy Drew style and looked great on. Definitly completed the "low-rise" need. They were plenty long and pretty wide-leg. Once I got them home though and on with my typical boots... I looked straight out of the 70's...hello bellbottoms! I tried to fool myself by saying that an ironed crease in the front would take away the extreme flair, but it didnt work... back they went to the store!

Next I bought a pair of lucky jeans earlier this week. Usually they would fall outside my price range but these were on sale so I HAD to try them on. These were the "Sweet and Low" style and fell PERFECTLY to the ground with my tall brown boots on. However once I got home, I realized that I looked sloppy with them bunched around my feet with shorter shoes. Also, they were a little baggy in the butt and I know from experience that, for me, jeans dont shrink, they expand! I took them back and continuted the hunt for perfect jeans. The photo I posted makes them look HORRIBLE but they looked much better on.

After that I headed to an unlikely place for nice jeans... Charlotte Russe. I already have a pair of jeans from here but they have a hole in the knee thus the need for new jeans. The store brand of denim is called Refuge. I tried on about 4 different pairs on settled on the ones in the picture...the wonderful news...$16.99! What luck!

Since I was on a roll I headed to American Eagle to check out the sale I had been browsing on-line. In the end I bought jeans that I hadn't even bothered to look at on-line but they fit great. A little higher price point but I rationalized it with the $16 pair! I also scored a cute blouse and knitted cardigan for $10 and $15 respectively! Yay, go me!

What do you look for in a perfect pair of pants? Where do you find them?

Have a great weekend everyone!

2008-01-10T10:18:00.000-06:00

Ohh, ps. I forgot... it's Delurking Day!

Yep, that's right. The Official Delurking Day is back. Read the site? Comment. THANKS!, do it again. I know there are dozens of you that tuned in yesterday so why don't you comment today!! A little shy? Come on, comment - you know you wanna. You'll be glad you did. And so will all the bloggers already hard at work on tomorrow's posts.

Pumpkin-Orange Spice Bread = Yum Yum YUM!

2008-01-10T09:36:00.000-06:00

I found this recipe in my Newlywed Cookbook (by Robin Miller) when I was looking for things to make for dinner this week. It sounded good although maybe a bit out of season with the pumpkin. Result...DELICIOUS.

TIPS:
The pan I put it in was a 8.5 inch glass bread pan and I put a pizza pan underneath incase any spilt over...the batter will fill up your pan pretty full.
Also, I used 1/2 C Splenda & 1/2 C sugar and it turned out good without having that fake sugar taste.
Another note is that I was pressed for time when making this so I mixed all the wet ingredients together like instructed in step 3 BUT I let them sit in the fridge for about 2 hours while I worked out and got some errands done. I was afraid when I came back that the milk and orange juice didn't play nice and may have fought with each other while I was gone and curdled but NO SUCH THING HAPPENED, Yay! Anyway, I finished making the bread and it all turned out great!

I plan on posting more recipes in the future and how they turned out so please check in for that! Make sure you dont forget and bookmark me!

(this is not a picture of my bread, but looks just like my bread)

Here is the recipe:

1 3/4 C all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 C canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1/2 C milk
1/4 C orange juice
1 egg
1 T grated orange zest
4 T butter
1 C granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, salt and ginger. Mix well and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, milk, orange juice, egg and orange zest and set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture and pumpkin mixture, alternating each, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Blend until smooth. Pour batter into an 8-inch loaf pan that has been coated with non-stick spray.
5. Bake 1 hour, or until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan, on a wire rack, 10 minutes. Remove bread and cool completely.

Six Month Review... no, not that kind!

2008-01-09T14:50:00.000-06:00

Okay… 6 month review here starting on July 4th…no no, it is not a test or a review of your performance…DON’T BE SCARED! I suppose it is actually a review of how REDICULOUSLY BUSY we keep ourselves over here at the Felderhoff Haus!

wow, it has been FOREVER since I downloaded the old pictures off of our digital cameras! The first set is from when we went to the Rangers game on July 4th. Having never been able to afford the nice close to the field (ie. close view of those great baseball pants) it was nice to score tickets from Chad’s boss and no longer reside in the cheap seats. We got together with our friends Stephanie and David and enjoyed the game. I have been friends with Stephanie since 7th grade and it was so nice have a chance to hang out again! It was also very touching to have the newest graduating class of the air force there to get honored. With my brother being in the military and being overseas studying abroad in Belgium on this day, the playing of the national anthem brought a sting to my eyes. The Rangers beat the LA Angels and we got to watch a great fireworks display. I should say…APPARENTLY it was great firework show… it didn’t pay off to have great seats during the show because we couldn’t see a lot of the fireworks over the jumbo-tron.

A few days later on July 7th (07/07/07) one of my oldest friends, Kelly Wing got married in the same church that I had a couple months earlier. I was a reader but so dang nervous! Luckily it was in a church I was used to and comfortable with. The reception was at The Atrium in Garland which is a GORGEOUS glass surrounded by lots of trees outside which is really nice. However, there was one STRANGE thing outside… when we got there we noticed a large blue helicopter with a couple of guys in flight suits hanging around. I thought that maybe there was a flight museum inside. It dawned on me a later that this helicopter wasn’t just for show. Turns out, to Jon’s surprise, he and Kelly would make quite an exit flying high in the sky to DFW airport. It was so cool to watch the propellers start spinning and watch the happy couple jump in the helicopter and fly away! I tried to get pictures of this but it was too dark to really make out anything in the blurry shots!

In August another friend got married (sense a trend? it’s not over yet!) in Lubbock. This was Angela and Theo who I had met while in college at Texas Tech through the Catholic Student Association. Angela, Andrea, Stacie, Mary and I were all in the small group and now we all live in separate parts of the state from each other. It was so nice to get the opportunity to hang out and be our goofy selves again. Thank goodness Mary’s husband and Chad get along and could have “man-talk” while the girls hung out!

In mid-July my family found out that my mom had breast cancer. Although incredibly devastating we were all happy to find out that it was in the early stages and later removed successfully. (Since then she has gone through chemo and is now having radiation and doing well) It was at that point that I knew I wanted to be involved somehow with the Race for the Cure that happens in October in Dallas every year. So, in early October my brother Matthew, Chad, our friend Norm and I walked/ran the course. Chad and Norm ran while Matthew and I walked the 5K. It was a little hard at times knowing why we were there and why it all mattered but we were really glad to be doing it. I think our “team” in all raised about $600.

In mid-October Chad and I went to Lubbock to watch our first (live) Tech game of the season. Unfortunately we lost against Colorado but it was still a lot of fun. I really enjoyed living in Lubbock while I was there but it was fun going back knowing I didn’t have classes and that I could just enjoy the atmosphere!

I already covered Thanksgiving in previous posts so I’ll skip to Christmas. It has really been fun having our first holiday as a married couple and finally I can decorate our first apartment for the holidays. I bought some really cute ornaments at World Market and actually (partially) made our stockings. I dont have a picture of the tree but it was a towering beautiful fir! If only we had a fireplace it would be perfect.

Sunday, December 23rd we went to Rockwall to have early Christmas with my parents. We started out with Mass at 10:30a at my home parish. We ate an enchilada dinner and the FINALLY got to open presents. Chad had really gotten most of his presents back in late October before deer season started. He needed camouflage cover-alls and a heavy coat for hunting season so needless to say he didn’t have truckload of gifts at Christmas from my parents. I had been hinting for a leather ottoman for our living room which is just what I got. I also had talked about wanting a weather radio for when the weather gets bad and our cable goes out and I got a super duper weather radio/TV radio/cell charger/everything else that will be great! That evening we drove to Muenster for the Felderhoff/Metzler Christmas.

Monday morning Chad went hunting on his parent’s property while I slept in. That day his mom and I cooked and baked to get things ready for the Felderhoff Christmas that evening. I also got to share in the family tradition of making Divinity candy. It’s a detailed process but it turned out pretty dang good! Once Chad’s siblings got into town we headed over to his Grandparents house where we ate, talked, read the nativity story, sang Christmas carols and opened presents. After that we went to Midnight Mass which was a beautiful celebration! Tuesday we went to the Metzler side of the family celebration and all the food and desserts were delicious! There was also a gift exchange and Chad and I scored a “Fry Daddy” and a set of poker chips!

That weekend we headed to San Antonio for a wedding that Chad was a groomsman in. Chad has known Steve since his freshman college days and we are so happy that he has met Allison. She is such a sweet girl and they make a very nice couple. We tried to leave as early as possible on Friday but unfortunately we missed the rehearsal and were late for the rehearsal dinner. All the events were at the La Cantera Resort and Hotel ( which was beautiful! The location of the ceremony looked over an area that looked like and Italian landscape. We didn’t get to stay at the resort but we walked around a bit and vowed to come back someday to stay overnight.

On New Years Eve we got together with our friends Ashley and Brian that just moved to the area and Chad’s brother Mitch and his girlfriend Aubree. We all went out to dinner at I’Fratelli’s Italian Restaurant and then went to Champs Sports Bar for a drink. Chad and I had been to the restaurant before and it is delicious. They have the best bread and the food is really good too. After that we came back to our apartment and played poker. I have not played that often and am not very good but it was still fun.

To start New Years off right we went to the gym! I know, surprising but it really wasn’t that hard to get the motivation and I was glad that I went. Chad and Mitch hit the weights while Aubree and I went to a spin class. Now… I have ridden a bike before but the seat on this bike SUCKED. The class was 60 minutes and I think I was sore for almost a week! Apparently they don’t invest in padding at that place and I don’t think I could take another class like that. It was good though to get our heart rates up and feel good about getting a good workout in on the first day of the new year! We made it home just in time for our friends to start arriving for the Bowl Game watching party we hosted. Texas Tech was in the Gator Bowl against the University of Virginia. It looked like we might lose for a little while but they pulled it out in the end… there’s a reason we call them “Heart Attack Tech”!

This past Saturday we got together with a group of friends to go bowling in Plano. We have another set of friends, Eric and Jackie, which just moved to the metroplex so we knew it would be fun to get together. Although I lost every game, we played 3 different times and stayed there until about 11:00p.

Sunday we tried a new church. We like St. Michaels but Chad’s uncle is a deacon at St. Ann Catholic Church in Coppell so we tried that for a change. It was WONDERFUL. It is much more my type with the traditional architecture and design. I really liked the priest homily and it seems like a very warm and inviting community. They are a parish of 23,000 people and have a wonderful young adults group that we want to get involved with. The music minister is named Curtis Stephan and has done wonderful things through Spirit and Song. It is refreshing as a young person to have contemporary uplifting songs as well as the old favorites during the liturgy. We will be going there again soon to decide if we want to switch.

OKAY... that should be enough to get you hooked and get me updated to present!
...make sure to leave comments!

Coming soon...UPDATE!

2008-01-09T10:42:00.001-06:00

...to a blog near you... update will come sometime later today (I hope). I recently have been cleaning all the pictures off of our digital cameras and I wanted to post some of them with a summary of our happenings... stay tuned!

Cinnamon Rolls

2008-01-03T22:19:00.000-06:00

(imported from a previous entry)
December 21, 2007

I forgot to mention that I also made these this week and THEY ARE DELICIOUS! I got them from this website. This woman is hilarious in her cooking and family descriptions and every recipe I have tried has turned out wonderfully! Just dont expect to lose weight!

On my version I made them in large rectangle "stuffing" aluminum pans. I made one pan the first day and froze the other pans for a week. I let them sit out and defrost and rise through the day (9 hours) and then baked them. They turned out perfectly!

Enjoy!

Catch Up Time!

2008-01-03T22:18:00.000-06:00

(imported from a previous entry)
December 21, 2007

See... I knew I was going to be a slacker on this... Its been forever since I last posted! I will say though, December is a particularly busy and hectic month with the holidays coming up! So, what have a done since you heard from me last?

The first week of December our friends Mary and Kevin came into town for Kevin's company Christmas Party. We were lucky enough to catch up with them on Saturday and go eat lunch together and browse the mall for special deals. Chad and I met Mary and Kevin while we were all in college and all single. I was one of Mary's bridesmaids and she returned the favor last May when I got married. Although they live near Austin now, it's great getting together now and then to catch up.

That Sunday I did something drastic, something I hadn't done in such a way since I was sixteen, something I was nervous about and a decision I kept to myself until it was over with... I got my hair cut.

Now I have obviously gotten my hair cut lots since I was sixteen but it had only been a trim or maybe 2-3 inches off but not getting an actual cut with style and layers etc. If you don't know me I have naturally spiral curly hair. Not to the extent where it would be called kinky (oh the google hits I'll get with that one) but definitly super curly. Anyway, I was tired of always putting off spending any real money on my hair cuts and sick of thinking that only girls with straight hair could have cute cuts. So I armed myself with the credit card and headed to the salon. Normally I try to request someone with similar hair to mine to do the cut but I trusted this salon. I told the stylist that I was nervous and what I was looking for and what I was NOT looking for. She did an AMAZING job and listened to me and gave me advice on products and styling the whole time. Before it was all one length and almost halfway down my back. Now, is layerd around my face and the longest layer reaches my collarbone. It has really reduced the time I need while washing my hair and styling. Needless to say, I was pleased with the job she did and when I got home Chad loved it. Everyone who has noticed gave compliments!

Last weekend was Chads Christmas party at Texas 'de Brazil . Since I haven't met a lot of people that he works with and we've only been to this restaurant one other time I really didnt know whether we should wear jeans or dress more nicely. I am so glad that we decided to dress up because everyone else was dressed up nice. The drinks, food and dessert were delicious! Afterwards we went to Petes which was lots of fun as well. What wasnt fun was parking a mile away and walking in the freeeezing cold! On Sunday we went to some friends apartment that I went through the Advertising program with an had the best White Elephant exchange. The only rule was that the gift had to be liquid and alcoholic. I thought we did pretty good taking home a bottle of Baileys and 2 6-packs of beer.

Last night was my works Christmas Party which was also good and I was the proud recipient of a Starbucks gift card!

After all of that business the good news is that Chad and I have all of our Christmas presents bought AND wrapped with the exclusion of one of two that are odd sizes. Bag or box? Its a hard decision I tell ya!

I really do plan on updating more often with more interesting topics than Christmas parties and presents recieved!

Catholic Podcasting

2008-01-03T22:06:00.000-06:00

(imported from a previous entry)
November 29, 2007

Personally I have been looking for a way to insert more time with my Catholic faith into my life other than the normal Mass and prayer time. In this fast pace life we lead it's hard to find moments of time to devote to learning/enjoying our faith. This is where (for me) positive multi-tasking comes in to play.

During my commute to work I get sick of radio drabble and there are slow times at work where I find myself mindlessly surfing the internet. I realized that this was such a wasted use of time where I could be doing something much more productive or worthwhile. When I discovered the Catholic podcasts I was so excited to finally have something that filled my exact need. Now on my drive to work or during mundane times at work or working out at the gym (etc.) I can listen to these short entertaining pieces of my faith.

I really think that this is the kind of thing that young Catholics NEED to at least keep them interested and invoved in Catholicisim if not serve as a secondary means of religious education and entertainment. We are a fast paced people living in a fast paced culture and I really don't see myself sitting down with a new encyclical to learn about the faith. I really and truly think that this is the way the Church is going to have to move to stay in pace and connected to its people at least on some level.

So... I just wanted to let all of my Catholic (or non-Catholic) friends know about this AMAZING resource I found. I really can't say that I "found" it though, this is something that truly FOUND ME. Chad and I went to this thing called Theoloy on Tap and one of the speakers one week was the founder of this Catholic Podcasting website called SQPN (www.sqpn.com)...

Basically, you just have to check it out to really get all the details but... a Catholic priest named Fr. Roderick runs this website that contains more than a dozen podcasts covering all different topics. I figured out how to use the Google Reader that will automatically download new podcasts and then I listen to them at work/home. You can also download the episodes and put them on your mp3 player and listen to them at your convenience.

Catholic Podcasting Sites:
www.sqpn.com
www.ontheu.com
www.bustedhalo.com/podcasting.html
www.twoedgetalk.com

Thanksgiving Recap

2008-01-03T22:03:00.000-06:00

(imported from a previous entry)
November 28, 2007

Well, Thanksgiving went off (almost) with out a hitch! Mom and I performed an intricate ballet of oven timing and managed to get everything out of the oven at served hot at relatively the same time. Thank you to whoever gave us the kitchen timer with 3 alarms for our wedding present. AWESOME!

Chad was super excited to use our new electric carver on the turkey but unfortunately Mom already had it sliced up when she broght it over. I did have some bread that needed to be sliced so Chad was able to cut that up.

We had 8 people in attendance and really not a lot of leftovers which I like. I did manage to save enough turkey for this amazing turkey pot-pie that I want to make.

So anyway, Thanksgiving was great and my family left about 5p. We did manage to take about 48 family photos that will hopefully be pared down to a select few to send out in Christmas cards. We will see if Chad and I get one sent out this year! After that Chad and I headed up to Frisco where his cousins live and the Felderhoff side of his family was gathered. We hung out and watched the rest of the Cowboy game and played Mad Gab with the other cousins/siblings and their spouse/boyfriends/girlfriends.

Friday Chad had to head to work for a few hours and then we all headed to my families ranch for the weekend. It was WONDERFUL. The guys went hunting in the mornings and the evenings and my mom and I stayed indoors where it was warm. Mostly we just sat around visiting with the family and reading magazines but we did manage to make about 3 dozen cookies and muffins and a huge dish of lasagna for dinner on Saturday. It was DELICIOUS! Sunday we headed back home and had enough time to unpack and clean up before we headed to church. All in all, GREAT holiday weekend!

Football and Friends

2008-01-03T21:58:00.000-06:00

(imported from a previous entry)
November 19, 2007

Saturday night we hosted several friends to an evening of burgers and sausage on the grill and (hopefully) a chance to watch Tech beat OU. Well, after quite possibly the longest game I've ever watched (7p-11:30p!), Tech beat OU! Don't look for game stats here, I didn't pay a lot of attention but I was definitly glad we won! It was so exciting to watch the crowd get pumped up and also prepare themselves to rush the field. Now I normally think a football game lasts about 1 quarter longer than my attention span but the chance for Tech to beat OU was great!

Chad and I also got to spend time with some friends that we hadn't seen in a while and this was the first time we had babies in attendance too. Jackson (son of friends DeeDee and Paul) didn't like all the shouting too well, but in his defense it was past bedtime for him! By the time the game was ending most people had already headed home and it was just the few faithful left.

A GREAT end to a good season.

...but the season is not over yet in the Felderhoff Haus...

Cowboys vs. Redskins on Sunday

Not a lot can be said about our lazy Sunday except that it was a lazy Sunday just as the day should be. We went to church, bought groceries for the week (and Thanksgiving), a little Christmas shopping and watched football (shopped the newspaper circulers). The Cowboys beat the Redskins in the nick of time. I am really happy that our team is doing so well. It's kind of fun when I drive by Texas Stadium every morning and afternoon and know that that is where they win all the games! When the new stadium is built I won't get to drive by it anymore but the funny thing is that I can actually see the construction going up when on about 1/2 mile from the apartment. I have to say, I'm not a big football fan but I'm happy when our (Chad's) teams (and Fantasy Football) win their games. It makes for a happier household.

*Fantasy Football Disclaimer: I do not like the way this system works. Sports are a team effort and should be rooted for as such. Fantasy Football turns sports into an individual game which is wrong.

Thanksgiving

2008-01-03T21:55:00.001-06:00

(Imported from previous entry)

November 16, 2007

It's getting cool around here which means one thing to me.... time to warm up with some yummy food!

Chad and I are hosting Thanksgiving for my family this year which is likely to be fun and stressful at the same time. So far I am really not that stressed though because I like cooking and am excited to find new (but still traditional) fun things to cook... you will not find any Thanksgiving Enchiladas at this house! I'm having to make sure that I dont try too many new things because one person I know (a certain brother) likes things to stay the same year to year...

So far I have planned:

Roast Turkey
Sausage Stuffing
Cranberries
Green Bean Casserole
Acorn Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Croissants
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Vanilla Ice Cream

Luckily, I think the only things I will have to make or buy will be the stuffing, squash, croissants, pecan pie and vanilla ice cream... my family will bring everything else!

Stay tuned for how this process goes!