Proud Wife

I want to share my congratulations to my husband on his recent graduation from Physician Assistant school. He had been in school ever since we have been together!!! So I'm pretty excited if you couldn't tell.

I have been so impressed with my husband all these years he has such huge desire to learn. He has always put forth his very best in all he sets out to do. His faithfulness to his studies and the excellence with which he completed his assignments spoke volumes to me of his character. I also must mention that he received an award for "Outstanding Clinical Performance." We had no idea he was receiving an award so it was pretty exciting indeed when his name was called. The words the program director had to say about him were so honoring and really showed his great character. He has worked so hard to get to this point and I am just so proud. I Love you so much Jordan and I am so happy to be continuing our life long adventure together.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Using Up Every Last Bit of That Can of Pumpkin

I don' t know about you but I have found myself throwing away the left over pumpkin puree that my recipe didn't call for. This time I was determined to use it all up. I made 3 different recipes from one 15 oz can of pumpkin puree!! I was pretty excited...just ask my husband.

Recipe #1:

Neely's Whoopie Pumpkin Pies (from the FoodNetwork)

Ingredients

Cookies:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 
  

Filling:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 
  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Using a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar and beat together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, then the buttermilk and the vanilla. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients in increments to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.

Drop heaping tablespoons of the batter onto parchment lined sheet trays, leaving a 2-inch space between each cookie. Put in the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on rack.

Beat together the cream cheese and butter, in a small bowl, until smooth. Slowly add in the confectioner’s sugar. Once smooth, add the pumpkin puree, the cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Beat until smooth and well mixed.

To assemble the cookie, spread a heaping tablespoon of the filling to the flat side of a cookie and sandwich with another. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.

I would highly recommend putting these together just before serving as indicated. I however made them and left them at room temp. for about 3 hours. The cookie became too soft, but we had one the next day after it was refrigerated and it was way better!!

Recipe #2:

Pumpkin Pancakes

I got this recipe from a Krusteaz coupon, but I had bisquick at home so I just made the pancake recipe and added the brown sugar, spices, and pumpkin...it came out amazing!!!!

Ingredients

2 cups Krusteaz Buttermilk pancake mix
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup canned pumpkin

Mix together and make the BEST pancakes you have ever had!!! I'm making these for Christmas morning this year for sure!

Also it suggests Maple Whipping Cream..yum I didn't have any heavy whipping cream at the time but I will next time:)

Maple Whipping Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp maple syrup
ground cinnamon

Recipe #3:

On this last one I didn't actually measure the pumpkin but it looked like a cup was left and they came out amazing!!!! I added some chocolate chips and I used dried cranberries instead, also I didn't have an orange so no zest (I wish I had cause I love orange zest in recipes).

Pumpkin Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cranberries
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp orange zest
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease cookie sheets (I used parchment paper)

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, egg and pumpkin. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into mixture until well blended. Cut the cranberries in half and stir into mixture along with the orange zest and walnuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

voilà!

I am very excited to show you my recent DIY project!!!

We were having dinner at my in-laws house a couple months ago just after they had replaced some furniture in their kitchen. As I arrived I spotted a beautiful table in their carport. I had seen this table for years now in their kitchen, but until now it never spoke to me. When I saw it sitting there all alone outside I quickly thought what a great project this will be. As it turns out Jordan's Mom told me that while he was in 4H he refinished this very table for a wood working project. I have always wanted to have a piece in our house with some character and pizazz and this was my ticket. Lucky for me they were giving it away.

Before

After

If you know me you know I'm in love with this color. I love the shell on the upper ledge (you can see it in the before picture). The clear knobs are my favorite. The original table only had one knob and the hole for it was huge. So Jordan's dad filled it in with wood putty and drilled 2 holes. Then I used metallic spray paint to refinish the door hinges so they would match the knobs. This has been such a fun and rewarding project. It's so fun having a furniture piece with some history too. I love the Queen Anne legs in the front. Decorating the table took some real thought and I had left it blank for about a week before deciding. I was nervous about it being too cluttered, thankfully my friend Maddie helped me to perfect it.

Also, below are some of my recent thrifting finds

Love the coffee mugs, somehow my coffee seems to taste better in them :)

This table cloth is so fun, the design is cute and the fabric is really soft.

Sweet white bowl

Summer Obsession

Berries have been my obsession this summer. We have enjoyed berry picking twice this season so far. First we did some blackberry picking and today we picked some red raspberries....yum. It's so fun to pick them in their natural environment even if it does mean getting a little prick from the thorns every once in awhile. Growing up we had blackberry bushes all around our house. It was awesome all during the month of August as we got to pick our own berries, my favorite way to enjoy them was atop vanilla ice cream. Although ice cream is still one of the best ways to enjoy them I am broadening my options. When we picked our blackberries they were still a bit tart for eating plain. So I put them in a sauce pan, sprinkled on some sugar and added a couple tablespoons of water then cooked them till they were bubbling and changing color. I had some plain Greek yogurt in the fridge (for another recipe) and it seemed like it would work. I have to say this was a match made in heaven. The thick and creamy texture of the yogurt is complimented by the intense flavor of the blackberry sauce and I ate this pretty much every day for breakfast that week. I also made a blackberry cobbler which was tasty as well but it didn't compare to the Greek yogurt and blackberry sauce...just thinking of it is making my mouth water. Now I get to find yummy things to do with these raspberries!!!

Love of Owls

I have a love for owls. There are so many cute owl doo-dads out there and I just can't help myself, I am becoming quite the collector. A couple years ago my friend Carrie found me a vintage owl cross-stitch for my birthday and I love it! She inspired me to find a cross-stitch pattern which I finished a couple months ago. Now, all that is left is to buy a frame. I think I want to buy an oval frame but I'm not sure what color frame to go with or how wide. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Here is my lovely owl.

Enchilada Pot Pie

I feel as if I am a guest on my own blog since it has been so long since there has been a post here.
I love to cook as you all know, but I am usually one to follow recipes fairly to the "T". Tonight I went out on a limb and am quite pleased with the results. Last night I went looking through my recipe stash for this weeks meals. I pulled out a Campbell's recipe for chicken enchiladas. As I looked it over I realized I was short several ingredients. So I started formulating a new recipe in my head...quite fun I must say. Throughout the day today at work I caught myself thinking of the different options I had to make this unique.
Below is what I came up with.


Enchilada Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 red pepper
  
• 1 sweet onion
• 1/2 cup diced grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of salsa
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar
• 1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
• tortilla chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Saute onion and pepper till tender about 4 minutes. Add diced chicken, chili powder and salt/pepper. Stir in salsa, sour cream, cream of celery soup. Heat through. Take four ramekins or one 9x9 pan. Put down a layer of tortilla chips then spoon in chicken mixture. Put another layer of tortilla chips and top with cheese and diced tomatoes. Bake for 15 min or until golden brown.

Enjoy, I know we did :)

And since the weather has been so nice lately here are some of our recent outdoor adventures.

On a hike in the Dolly Sods. This was on our Cabin vacation in wild and wonderful WV

And here we are on a hike in White Oak Canyon with our friends Aaron and Maddie for Memorial day. This hike is awesome full of swimming holes and waterfalls. In the picture at the top I was looking at all the little fishes nibbling at me...in case you were wondering :)

Happy Valentines Day

This is what we had for Valentines dinner. I found this yummy dessert recipe in a magazine we have in the waiting room at work. Its so huge we decided to forfeit dinner and just go for dessert tonight. It was quite good I especially love the raspberry sauce!!

Also for Jordan I made this super cute accordion card, I got the idea from my Martha Stewart magazine. It was super fun to make. I added little gifts and sweet cards inside each envelope.

Best Birthday Ever

I have just had the best Birthday week! It began with receiving wonderful thoughtful gifts and birthday wishes through the mail from my friends and family (thank you all :). Then on Friday, my actual birthday we went to sushi with our friends Maddie and Aaron.

It was so yummy and I tried something new, a mango roll and now it's my absolute favorite!!

Then I came home to some sweet gifts from my hubby. When I woke up the next day Jordan had the whole day planned special for me. We spent the day in Alexandria, VA. My boss told me that it is known to be one of the most romantic cities. It was so perfect...good choice Jordan. We arrived and went to this wonderful brunch spot and enjoyed a delicious egg dish followed by a delectable peach filled crepe, all while sipping on some yummy coffee. Then we ventured down to the water where we found a walking path which ended up being super long not sure how long it goes for but we were on in for about 3 hours. It was beautiful and sunny. The best day ever.



We ended the evening at a Spanish Tapas Restaurant. It was so tasty and fun to try new things!!

If you LOVE Jello...

You should definitely try this...I am very impressed with this easy, yummy treat!

I like to make little jello snacks for lunches every once and awhile and last time I was making jello I noticed this "magic mousse" recipe on the side of the box and thought to myself that I should try that. So yesterday I did and today I ate one at lunch and it didn't disappoint. I LOVED it! All you do is mix in a tub of cool whip into the jello liquid and it sets as if you spent a bunch of time making the layers but really all you did was mix it and you get to enjoy fun tasty layers of jello.

Yum

Sucess!!!

It's always the best feeling to actually complete a project. A couple weeks ago I finished a project that I had started back in October and never finished!! I made it my goal to finish all 3 in one week and I did (goals really do work). They have been mailed out to their little owners and now have loving homes :)

One of these bunnies has already made it to blog land in this sweet post. :)


Now back to working on the quilt for my parents...which I started in fall of 2009!! What a sweet success that will be when I complete it :)

A Breakfast For Champions!

I will be posting a picture of this later. I happen to be at work right now with nothing to do, because of the snow none of our patients are coming in...but alas we are here. Why is it so hard to get a snow day as an adult??? I sure do miss snow days :)

I figured since we are so slow I would work on this post now and then post it later at home so I could add the picture but I accidently posted it early and I don't know how to take it off. So if you read this early come back later tonight to see the yummy picture, it will make your mouth water.

In my February Martha Stewart issue there is a section on healthy snacks. As soon as I saw this particular one it screamed BREAKFAST to me. I have already had it twice this week for breakfast and it is awesome, I made it for Jordan too and he loved it. I happen to LOVE breakfast and I'm always looking for new options to switch things up and this has been a great addition to our breakfast choices.

All you need is:

Whole Wheat Pita (I used the pocketless kind)
Ricotta Cheese
Apricots
Sliced Almonds
Black Pepper
Honey

The balance of flavors is perfect and the crunch of the almonds really makes the dish stand out.

Yummy Recipe and New Kitchen Stuff!!

I just can't pass up sharing this recipe with you all. I made this for part of our Christmas dinner. Jordan and I got to visit my family out in WA this year for Christmas, it was so nice to see my parents and great friends :)

Before we left we had a little Christmas celebration just the two of us. I did a surf and turf menu...yum.

The recipe I want to share is Nona Luna's Rice. It is so amazing I even made it for my parents when we were visiting and they love it too. Give it a try! It is a very tasty and satisfying dish. Also Jordan bought a special drink called "Christmas Soda" it was fun, kind of a spicy drink.

Also...thanks to my Family and Friends our kitchen has become more equipped with fun things. So thank you!! Here are some pictures of our wonderful new kitchen goodies.



I am cooking up a storm with all these new additions!!