cutting the grass

well today was a first, i mowed the lawn. growing up we weren't allowed anywhere near the mower because of one little incident that i'll never forget. my dad went away on a business trip and told us to ask the neighbor to mow while he was gone. we didn't listen very well, my mom, sister and i decided we could figure it out on our own. when we went to start the mower we discovered it was out of gas. so of course, we found the gas can and filled it up. turns out we put the gas where the oil goes and there went the mower. from that day on, we were not allowed anywhere near it ever again.

j-rod was busy working today and mentioned the lawn needed mowed so i decided to help. i was very nervous at first but eventually got the hang of it. turning was definitely the hardest part. it has a self-propel feature and as you can tell by this video, it often got slightly out of control. it reminded me of when you see dogs walking their owners, that was the mower and me today. the mower almost went straight into the fence and into my sister's car but thankfully i stopped it just in time. also, i steered clear of any mailboxes as my luck with those hasn't been too great lately.

menu posting

monday: tequila lime chicken tacos with caramelized onions with cilantro lime rice
tuesday: out with coworkers
wednesday: greek linguine, salad with greek dressing & grilled pesto bread
thursday: creamy avocado chicken salad & cilantro tomatillo dressing salad
friday: dinner at sbroccco to celebrate j-rod's birthday...a couple days late.
saturday/sunday: it's a holiday weekend so we'll see where it leads us.

we have a full week planned and lots to celebrate, i can't wait!

also, a couple of these recipes were passed along to me, thanks for always sharing your ideas.

project garden : update

a picture is worth a thousand words? that use to be my spinach. my garden has been eaten to shreds by those silly rabbits. i have such a feeling of rage against them that i even have my friends chasing after them in mid-conversation. this week i have pulled out all the stops, hoping to get rid of all rabbits so i can start over for a fall harvest. no, i didn't buy a bb gun, let's get real, i'm pretty sure i'd hurt myself before i'd ever hit a rabbit. i lined our perimeter with moth balls so our yard does reek of an old person's closet. then i followed that up by sprinkling bone meal around the bases of all my plants and flowers that are left. this weekend i hope to plant some marigolds, apparently the scent also helps in keeping those terrible fury creatures away.

i'm open to suggestions if you know of something i haven't tried yet....

thankfully my onions, tomatoes and anything i had in a container are still doing okay including the herbs...looks like i might be making a lot of salsa at this rate.

recipe recap

NH gave me the idea of doing a recipe recap each week, so here it is. i hope to let you know which recipes worked and which ones did not.

my least favorite dish of the week was lemon shrimp stir-fry with edamame. while this dish was fun to make and i loved the side of steamed edamame with soy, overall it just fell short of the mark. i thought it lacked distinct flavors and any wow-factor.


the best dish hands-down was the pretzel crusted chicken with mustard cheddar cheese sauce from Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats cookbook. It was full of unique flavors and different textures. It was easy to make, but definitely took longer than 30 minutes. I would also cut the cheese sauce in half as we had a ton leftover.


there wasn't a link to the recipe on foodnetwork so you can find it below, in case you're interested in trying it for yourself.

Pretzel Crusted Chicken w/ Mustard-Cheddar Sauce

4 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
1-5oz. bag of salted pretzels, any shape, blend until fine in food processor or blender
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 eggs, beaten with a splash of water in shallow dish
vegetable oil, for frying
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 cups grated sharp yellow cheddar cheese
1 cup grated extra-sharp white cheddar (I had to go to Trader Joe's to find this)
2 heaping tablespoons spicy brown mustard (I use Gulden's, my fav)
Coarse salt
4 cups fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 small yellow onion, minced
1 large sour dill pickle,chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges for serving

Directions:
Prepare pretzel coating by adding to shallow dish like a pie plate and add the thyme and some ground black pepper. Dredge the pounded chicken in the pretzel mix, then egg, then pretzel again. Fry in batches 3-4 minutes per side or until fully cooked.

For the Sauce: Melt butter in a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for one minute. Whisk in the milk. When the milk comes to a bubble, add in the cheeses, mustard and stir with a wooden spoon. Season with little salt and remove from heat.

To serve, transfer a chicken breast to each plate, spoon sauce over. Mix the chopped parsley, pickle and onion together to make a homemade relish. Top it off with homemade relish and a squeeze of lemon.

On the side, I made an apple-cider vinaigrette coleslaw.

Delish meal, can't wait to make it again.

menu posting

this week is a pretty weak menu, i apologize in advance.

sunday: greg & les invited us over for a delicious meal, grilled pork chops, potatoes and veggies.
monday: chef curtis stone's grilled t-bone steak with chimichurri sauce & baked potatoes (this was on the menu for sunday but it got moved since we weren't home.)
tuesday: dinner out (JH is hanging with teddy and i'm spending the evening with NH)
wednesday: pasta, peas and pesto with grilled bread
thursday: Mojo's on 86th (i get to check another one off the top 100 and we have a Groupon.)
friday/saturday/sunday: bring on the family reunion.

busted

J-rod shared this story with me over the weekend that he had read on an off-topic board on HawkeyeReport.

A man from North Liberty kept having packages stolen from his doorstep, they were never of much value but the delivery companies would always have proof of delivery. He decided to set up a webcam in his front window so the next time something went missing, he would have some insight as to what was going on. Well his webcam has paid off. He had a ordered a laptop cover and it was scheduled to be delivered on Friday, he got home and what do you know, the package was missing. He played back his recording and found his neighbor pulling his car up, grab the package and place it in his trunk.

How awkward would it be to continue to live next to this person?



This story reminded me of one of my most memorable stories while at TM.

A customer called in to say that their tickets never arrived in the mail. Their account was marked and they were told it wouldn't be a problem the night of the show. The customer went to the box office the night of the event and had their tickets reprinted. The ticket taker scanned their tickets at the door and they were stopped with a warning message, their tickets had already been used. They explained what happened and were let in the door. They found their seats and sure enough someone was sitting in their seats....who could it be? Their neighbors. Shame on the neighbors for stealing the tickets but how dumb can you be to sit in the same seats?

Whatever happened to "love your neighbor as yourself."

the dash

as strange as it may sound i attended a funeral via webcast last week. stan wierson's service was the most amazing funeral i've ever seen, probably because he planned it himself from beginning to end. it was truly a celebration of life. i cried, laughed and was challenged.

it was over two hours long with seven guest speakers and a sermon like i had never heard before, i honestly found myself taking notes.

one of my favorite parts of the service was a poem that was read by linda ellis. i haven't stopped thinking about it since, so i thought i would share:


I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

outdoor movies

talk about cheap entertainment. what is more fun than camping out on a blanket, watching a movie under the stars? last year JH and myself discovered that the DM Art Center offers free outdoor movies in the summer months. we only made it to one flick, but it was one of my favorite movies, Sixteen Candles.

when we were in Scottsdale a few months ago, we found a shopping district that also offered outdoor movies/to-go dining specials, how fun! we were able to catch another one of my favs, Grease. it definitely made me jealous that we don't live in a warmer climate where you could do that all year round.

i did a random google search today to find out if the Art Center had this year's schedule posted but found something even better, a whole list of places that offer movies all summer long around the metro.

here are some pics from our outing last year at the Art Center:

couch dilemma

i have a small, well maybe i should say a large, problem. let me explain. our neighbors graciously gave us this couch a few weeks ago. --------->

the intention was to put it in our basement and after getting it home, we realized it doesn't fit down the stairs.

i don't want to part with it! it is so comfy and as soon as i sat down, i was in love.

geometry was never my strong suit so i don't think i can quite grasp the problem that's on our hands. i've probably asked jared 50 times, "are you sure it won't fit down the stairs? can you try again?" his response is always, "no, it's not going downstairs unless we cut it in half."

can someone please help me solve this problem? i think it can be done, it might just take a little creative thinking.

*and in case i needed any more evidence, my wall really looks pink in this photo*

menu posting

here is this week's menu along with the recipes i could find:

monday: grilled chicken caesar salad with toasted bread
tuesday: cheese tortellini with pesto baguette
wednesday: lemon shrimp stir-fry with edamame
thursday: dinner out with a friend - location TBA
friday: we were invited to join a supper club and this month's stop is to Mi Patria, it is an Ecuadorian restaurant in wdm. can't wait!
saturday: pretzel crusted chicken with cheddar mustard sauce & apple cider vinaigrette coleslaw
sunday: chef curtis stone's grilled t-bone steak with chimichurri sauce (what can i say the commercial worked on me) & baked potatoes