Last week we ate from Casserole Crazy by Emily Farris. I purchased this a few years ago and probably made two, maybe three dishes from it since. They were good, but I wasn't drawn to continually cook from the book. Although when it comes to cooking I am a bit ADD.
After getting back into the swing of regular life after vacation it was good to have some hearty meals. Here's what I made:
Beef and Spinach Pie: Bryan whole heartedly thanked me for making this dish. He loved it. Its a good manly man meal, but also a good one dish meal. I didn't fix any sides to go with it. What you see is what you got. Another bonus of this recipe: it made two! One is in the freezer for a later date.
Lemon Chicken with rice: Pretty standard casserole concept. Chicken and rice. It was the most blah to me of all of them. But I am going through a weird chicken aversion phase right now.
Spinach and Spicy Chorizo with Penne: this was probably our second favorite. It had everything you could want. Sausage (I substituted ground sausage for chorizo as Kroger didn't have any), greens, cream, and pasta. This made a ton and could have easily been divided into two.
Zuchini and Corn Bake: this was sort of a failure. The texture was a bit off and was pretty unremarkable except for the rosemary I tossed in on a whim. Won't make this again for sure.
Jun 25, 2012
Jun 22, 2012
Vacation: Part 1 - Nofolk
We departed Memphis early Thursday morning for Norfolk. Katie picked us up from the airport and after a brief nap (for Evie) we went to lunch at Public House.
That's right, those are homemade tater tots wrapped in bacon and served with a homemade chipotle ketchup.
The afternoon was filled with a visit for the Naval Exchange and House Hunters.
For dinner we met Brett, Sarah, and Wes at Aw Shuck's (one of Brett and Sarah's favorite places).
Brett convinced Bryan to have oyster shooters and even eat raw oysters.
He did not like them.
After dinner we stopped at a local wine and beer mart to pick up some beer to take over to Wes and Katie's. We ran into one of Brett's students who criticized my beer selection as only a pretty label. It tasted fantastic, thankyouverymuch.
Friday morning we had a great breakfast at Wes and Katie's. It was nice to be lazy and all hang out together.
After breakfast we went with Brett to his and Sarah's apartment. She was off during the day so we saw their apartment, Brett's building, Sarah's hospital, and a little bit of Norfolk.
Harborfest was going on in Norfolk and I wanted to see what it was all about.
Boats and sailors!
I loved going to Harborfest and if you are ever in the area you should definitely go! There is something so amazing about being around the boats, seeing the diversity of the boats (and the sailors outfits!) and just being near water.
After Harborfest Bryan and I hit the road to Charlottesville
That's right, those are homemade tater tots wrapped in bacon and served with a homemade chipotle ketchup.
The afternoon was filled with a visit for the Naval Exchange and House Hunters.
For dinner we met Brett, Sarah, and Wes at Aw Shuck's (one of Brett and Sarah's favorite places).
Brett convinced Bryan to have oyster shooters and even eat raw oysters.
He did not like them.
After dinner we stopped at a local wine and beer mart to pick up some beer to take over to Wes and Katie's. We ran into one of Brett's students who criticized my beer selection as only a pretty label. It tasted fantastic, thankyouverymuch.
Friday morning we had a great breakfast at Wes and Katie's. It was nice to be lazy and all hang out together.
After breakfast we went with Brett to his and Sarah's apartment. She was off during the day so we saw their apartment, Brett's building, Sarah's hospital, and a little bit of Norfolk.
Harborfest was going on in Norfolk and I wanted to see what it was all about.
Boats and sailors!
I loved going to Harborfest and if you are ever in the area you should definitely go! There is something so amazing about being around the boats, seeing the diversity of the boats (and the sailors outfits!) and just being near water.
After Harborfest Bryan and I hit the road to Charlottesville
Jun 20, 2012
Faithful
I've been going through a pretty rough time lately.
You know that song where they say something like "mama said there'd be days like these"? Its been reverberating in the back of my head for about 3 months now. Mama never said there would be days like these. Nothing like them.
One of the things I've found frustrating is that in everything I've been through neither my parents, Bryan's parents or Bryan has ever given me permission to take the easy way out. I've looked for it, almost begged for it at times. It infuriated me to no end that my parents would show no sign of the ridiculousness that I've been living through for the last six months. They've acted like its part of life.
And they're right. A few years ago I went through what was previously the most difficult period of my professional career. (I know I'm not even in my 30s and that is probably a very over dramatic statement, but I'm sticking to it. When lawyers are involved its a "difficult period." Death is now added to the list of things that qualify as difficult.) They initially didn't believe me as I told what had unfolded on that day. Even through the aftermath they never showed signs of the unjustness that I was being put through.
Now as I'm smack dab in the middle of another bizarre experience they are just the same as they were five years ago. And I'm thankful for it.
God got me through the last debacle and I know he'll get me through this one.
You know that song where they say something like "mama said there'd be days like these"? Its been reverberating in the back of my head for about 3 months now. Mama never said there would be days like these. Nothing like them.
One of the things I've found frustrating is that in everything I've been through neither my parents, Bryan's parents or Bryan has ever given me permission to take the easy way out. I've looked for it, almost begged for it at times. It infuriated me to no end that my parents would show no sign of the ridiculousness that I've been living through for the last six months. They've acted like its part of life.
And they're right. A few years ago I went through what was previously the most difficult period of my professional career. (I know I'm not even in my 30s and that is probably a very over dramatic statement, but I'm sticking to it. When lawyers are involved its a "difficult period." Death is now added to the list of things that qualify as difficult.) They initially didn't believe me as I told what had unfolded on that day. Even through the aftermath they never showed signs of the unjustness that I was being put through.
Now as I'm smack dab in the middle of another bizarre experience they are just the same as they were five years ago. And I'm thankful for it.
God got me through the last debacle and I know he'll get me through this one.
Jun 18, 2012
Mondays....
Today I planted to post a picture of my first harvest! Friday I picked 3 cherry tomatoes off a plant our neighbor had given us. On Saturday I picked another one. I took a picture, but I can't post it because I'm over my limit in Picasa.
I'd upgrade, but my debit card number was stolen, so I'm without funds for a week. FUN! So no pictures and no anything-that-requires-money.
So quick weekend recap:
Friday: Overton Square Block Party was a blast. Loved seeing the neighborhood alive and see/hear some good music.
Saturday: We made significant progress in the back. Monkey grass is almost gone, rails are up, and rocks are nearly 75% collected. We borrowed a tiller so we can till the garden area soon.... as soon as I finish collecting rocks. For our evening entertainment we bought some Gus' fried chicken and enjoyed Chicago at the Botanic Garden. Love this summer series.
Sunday: After church I had lunch at my parents house and then we had dinner with Bryan's family as we celerbated our fathers.
This week I hope will be less dramatic than its beginning so far. If I have time today I'll work on vacation recap posts.
I'd upgrade, but my debit card number was stolen, so I'm without funds for a week. FUN! So no pictures and no anything-that-requires-money.
So quick weekend recap:
Friday: Overton Square Block Party was a blast. Loved seeing the neighborhood alive and see/hear some good music.
Saturday: We made significant progress in the back. Monkey grass is almost gone, rails are up, and rocks are nearly 75% collected. We borrowed a tiller so we can till the garden area soon.... as soon as I finish collecting rocks. For our evening entertainment we bought some Gus' fried chicken and enjoyed Chicago at the Botanic Garden. Love this summer series.
Sunday: After church I had lunch at my parents house and then we had dinner with Bryan's family as we celerbated our fathers.
This week I hope will be less dramatic than its beginning so far. If I have time today I'll work on vacation recap posts.
Jun 15, 2012
Vacation: What we learned
Uploading pictures is taking much much longer than usual. (My computer is having issues and I'm using an alternate computer and upload method currently.) So next week I'll have a recap of the trip. But until then, there are a few things that we learned on this trip that I don't want to forget for future vacation planning.
1) Schedule rest times. Being on our feet and walking for 5 days straight was beyond exhausting.
2) Leisurely meals are a good thing. One day in DC we were both hot and I was tired and grumpy. We went to lunch and probably stayed for two hours. Taking our time, perusing menus and chatting with the waitress, eating several courses. It was a good break in the day and we had a great meal.
3) Be open minded. Bryan suggested we rent bikes in DC. I wasn't too excited about it, but went along with it. It ended up being my favorite thing in DC. Another example in Charlottesville were the vineyards. Bryan and I are beer people, but Charlottesville has a ton of vineyards and we visited several. I totally loved it and am now drinking wine at home.
4) Break up trips in different ways. One of the things we both enjoyed about this trip was the different sections. We loved being in Norfolk and hanging out with family and friends, but we also loved getting away and having a few days to ourselves. This prevents people getting tired of each other and gives everyone something to talk about when you get back together.
5) Sometimes the tense moments can provides laughs after the fact. One morning we had a coffee situation. My cup was leaking and spilled all over me. Since neither of us had gotten to drink very much coffee we were not fit to deal with such happenings. A few tense minutes has provided lots of laugh afterwards. And taught us a valuable lesson....
6) Don't do too much or have to go to great lengths to get coffee in the morning. Duh.
Here's another list from the trip:
Things Bryan was right about and Rachel was wrong about:
- Bike rentals
- Seeing UVA campus
- Taking lids off coffee cups
1) Schedule rest times. Being on our feet and walking for 5 days straight was beyond exhausting.
2) Leisurely meals are a good thing. One day in DC we were both hot and I was tired and grumpy. We went to lunch and probably stayed for two hours. Taking our time, perusing menus and chatting with the waitress, eating several courses. It was a good break in the day and we had a great meal.
3) Be open minded. Bryan suggested we rent bikes in DC. I wasn't too excited about it, but went along with it. It ended up being my favorite thing in DC. Another example in Charlottesville were the vineyards. Bryan and I are beer people, but Charlottesville has a ton of vineyards and we visited several. I totally loved it and am now drinking wine at home.
4) Break up trips in different ways. One of the things we both enjoyed about this trip was the different sections. We loved being in Norfolk and hanging out with family and friends, but we also loved getting away and having a few days to ourselves. This prevents people getting tired of each other and gives everyone something to talk about when you get back together.
5) Sometimes the tense moments can provides laughs after the fact. One morning we had a coffee situation. My cup was leaking and spilled all over me. Since neither of us had gotten to drink very much coffee we were not fit to deal with such happenings. A few tense minutes has provided lots of laugh afterwards. And taught us a valuable lesson....
6) Don't do too much or have to go to great lengths to get coffee in the morning. Duh.
Here's another list from the trip:
Things Bryan was right about and Rachel was wrong about:
- Bike rentals
- Seeing UVA campus
- Taking lids off coffee cups
Jun 13, 2012
Home Again, Home Again
We arrived home today around 11 am... well by arrived home I mean, landed in Memphis.
Every single time I fly into Memphis I find myself singing that Marc Cohn song... "touched down in the land of the Delta Blues..." As cheesy as that song can be at times, it makes me happy to come home to Memphis.
New favorite vacation tip: Give yourself at least several hours at home before having to plunge back into the real world. We got home around 1 pm (after lunch at Central) and have spent the afternoon napping, doing laundry, unpacking, cleaning and straightening up, and catching up on work emails. We both feel prepared to tackle the day tomorrow.
Currently uploading pictures and plan to do day by day recaps the following week or so... if the pictures ever load.
Every single time I fly into Memphis I find myself singing that Marc Cohn song... "touched down in the land of the Delta Blues..." As cheesy as that song can be at times, it makes me happy to come home to Memphis.
New favorite vacation tip: Give yourself at least several hours at home before having to plunge back into the real world. We got home around 1 pm (after lunch at Central) and have spent the afternoon napping, doing laundry, unpacking, cleaning and straightening up, and catching up on work emails. We both feel prepared to tackle the day tomorrow.
Currently uploading pictures and plan to do day by day recaps the following week or so... if the pictures ever load.
Jun 6, 2012
Garden Update
I figured it was time for a garden update.
The front porch.
I purchased three lavender plants from Midtown Nursery and planted it in a blank spot.
Our jalapeno plants are producing like crazy. This morning I picked 9. And I left many on the plants.
We are loving our red romaine lettuce. In the fall I want to experiment with other varieties of lettuce.
The tomato jungle
Spinach and broccoli. I thought we lost the broccoli a few weeks ago when caterpillars ate all the leaves. Still no actual broccoli yet.
Basil! Finally!!! I also purchased a lemon basil and a lemon mint (on the far right).
These suckers have been stagnant for the last three weeks. What's the deal!?!
The front porch.
I purchased three lavender plants from Midtown Nursery and planted it in a blank spot.
Our jalapeno plants are producing like crazy. This morning I picked 9. And I left many on the plants.
We are loving our red romaine lettuce. In the fall I want to experiment with other varieties of lettuce.
The tomato jungle
Spinach and broccoli. I thought we lost the broccoli a few weeks ago when caterpillars ate all the leaves. Still no actual broccoli yet.
Basil! Finally!!! I also purchased a lemon basil and a lemon mint (on the far right).
These suckers have been stagnant for the last three weeks. What's the deal!?!
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