Shits and Giggles

It's Friday!  I've been neglecting my promise of weekly Shits and Giggles.  Oops.

SHITS

- Someone almost hit me while I was backing out of the driveway this morning.  Our house is situated at the bottom of a hill, right before a stop sign, but also after a sign that indicates a speed of 25 MILES PER FREAKING HOUR.  Not 50.

- Do not stand directly in front of the elevator door while waiting for it to arrive.  I think I'm going to start walking out of the elevator with my fist straight out in front of me to teach them a lesson.

- I hate being busy at work on a Friday.  I just want to go home.  How this differs from any other Friday, I don't know, but I just have an extra urge today.

GIGGLES

- I had sushi for dinner last night and it was spectacular.  Twix also enjoyed some of the tuna.

- We have big plans of running errands tonight after work, and I'm really excited about it.  A trip to the Sharp Shopper is in order, our snack supply is running low, and I know that I can get 32 snack-sized bags of chips for $10.  That is what we call a deal, friends.

- Tomorrow, we have tickets to the Vineyard at Hershey's Merlot Release Party, so I'll basically be drinking from noon to 6 PM.  Should be fun.


Welp, I do believe I'll take a nap for the remainder of my lunch hour...nighty night, kids.

Best Husband Award

So, something awesome happened last night.  I came home from work and volleyball to dinner already made!  Miah made chicken stir fry and it was SO good.  He even took pictures like a good little blog husband.

I have to referee another volleyball game tonight, and I can't say I'm really looking forward to it.  People acted like jerks last night during the match, and I was just super annoyed with the whole thing.  The problem is that players have been doing whatever they want ALL season long, since our regular games are not refereed.  Don't look at me like that for calling a blatant carry on your ass.  I'M THE REFEREE.  I totally pulled that card last night and blew my whistle.  BOOYAH.

On another note, traffic was a big cluster-eff this morning.  There were accidents on virtually every route into the city.  I, however, was a smart girl and took my super-secret back way to work, and it was heavenly.

Don't worry, I slowed down to take this picture and then tweet it.



Weekend Recap

What a weekend.  Basically every second of every day was jam-packed with something going on.  Friday, I got off at 3, which was delightful, and meant that I could sit at my co-worker's pool with a drink and some yummy food.  The weather was great, I kind of wish I could've sat there all day.

Saturday, we had a wedding to attend, which meant as soon as we woke up that morning, we needed to hit the outlets to find outfits for both of us, because every time we have an event, we both feel the need to buy new clothes.  Normal.  I think we did pretty good, however, on our selections.

The ceremony was outside, and it was HOT.  Thankfully, the reception was indoors, and they had the AC crankin'.  The rest of the wedding was only okay for me.  The food was meh, the DJ was awful, and the mixed drinks were super weak, and not free.  After the reception, we went to our friends' house for a little, but were still home by 10 since we were exhausted and sick of being in our wedding clothes.

I had high hopes for the wine festival on Sunday, but I'm pretty sure I'll never go again.  There were way too many tickets sold for the amount of space and wine vendors that were set up.  They really need to take a page from every other beer/wine festival in the world, and do two sessions, limiting ticket sales so those that attend can actually enjoy themselves instead of waiting in line for the entire day.  The event went from 1 to 6 PM, but we left around 4:45, since we were hot, miserable, and bored. 

It was nice being home at a reasonable hour on Sunday, and we just laid around on the couch all night.  It was awesome.  My mom and sister came over on Monday, and we christened our new deep fryer with fries and wings.  I regret not taking a picture because they were SO good.

After all that was the weekend, another busy week is ahead of us.  Volleyball every night for me, whether it's refereeing or playing, and then it's Friday, when we're hosting Miah's dad and grandma for dinner.  I'm making the Pioneer Woman's chicken parm - yum!

I'm tired already, and it's only 9 AM on Tuesday. 

Hey, you're a crazy week...

Is it weird that I sometimes miss the "first day of school" feeling?  I haven't been a student in almost 10 years, but I still can remember how exciting the first day was.  And although I can sort of live vicariously through Emma, I really can't wait to have my own kids to see off to school the last week of August.  I want to be able to post a picture on Facebook of my smiling kindergartener with a backpack bigger than him or her.

Speaking of kids, my weekend was filled with soccer, soccer, and more soccer.  Unfortunately they didn't fare too well in the tournament, and it felt like it was 142 degrees on the turf field they played on, but I think she had fun nonetheless.  I would have a better time if it weren't for the negativity spewing out of some of the parents after/during every loss.  Newsflash: they're 10 years old, and this is not the World Cup.

This week is going to be crazy, and I'm already stressed out about the fact that I basically have zero time to relax, other than tonight since we're going to a Senators game with tickets that have already been paid for.  I'm refereeing two volleyball playoff games Tuesday and Wednesday, and later on Tuesday, we have our online Fantasy Football draft.  Thursday I have a hair appointment with a new stylist at a new salon I've never been to.  I'm a little scared, and I'm hoping that it doesn't cost me 8 million dollars for highlights.

I can almost guarantee I will not be posting any recipes this week, as our tentative menu consists of the following:

Monday -- Spot dogs at the game
Tuesday -- grilled chicken breasts marinated in whatever bottled salad dressing I pull out of the pantry
Wednesday -- brats on the grill
Thursday -- pork tenderloin in the crock pot (if I'm feeling fancy, maybe I'll do something special with it and tell you all about it because I know everyone cares so much about what I'm cookingNOT)

And then it's Friday...we have a wedding on Saturday during the day, and a wine festival on Sunday.  And then, it's Labor Day.  Yay, for having a day off, but Boo, because it signifies the end of summer. 

I am still alive, for those of you who were wondering.  It's been a crazy couple of work days, as well as the weekend, but I've finally found the time to get a few words down.

ALSO, I made a new recipe last night, courtesy of The Pioneer Woman, whose life I would give my right arm to have.  Seriously, if you've never seen her show on the Food Network, don't torture yourself. 

Anywho, I made her salisbury steak, and it turned out amazing.  Throw away any images in your head of the frozen, gloppy, TV dinner-style recipe that you might have.  While it's not the most attractive thing ever, it sure as hell was delicious!

Anything covered in mushrooms and onions is heavenly.

Since the Pioneer Woman has 42 kids and a cowboy husband, the recipe made a little less than a shit ton.  I'll be having it again for lunch today, and I'm perfectly okay with that.

So, back up a little bit to the weekend, where we had grand plans of going camping Saturday and Sunday, just the two of us, following the "outage kickoff party" for Three Mile Island on Friday night, where my brother-in-law works.  Our out-laws also worked there (they're retired, but still get tickets to the parties), so we typically get to buy their "+1" tickets and go to the Christmas parties, so we were pretty excited about going to a summer party at a local golf course.

Friday evening comes, we pick up Miah's brother at his house, and he informs us that we're meeting Micah (his wife) and some others at the Vineyard at Hershey to have a glass of wine or two before the party.  Okay, fine.  We get there, and after talking to the employee at the door, he directs us to where they're sitting.  We found Micah after wandering around for a few minutes, and received a HUGE surprise: she threw us a freaking wedding party/reception, and somehow managed to pull it off without us having any idea.

My first reaction was of course to scream, "SHUT. UP." because I'm super ladylike, and then begin to bawl my eyes out.  The whole thing was so awesome, the decorations were perfect, the food was outstanding, the weather was great, and the wine was spectacular, as usual.

Unfortunately, I have zero pictures of anything because I was too much of a mess to take any.  My sister-in-law took a bunch though, so I'll post them when I have them.

Saturday was consequently spent laying by the pool, because of the large amounts of wine and beer consumed. 

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend, even though we did absolutely nothing as planned.  Weekends are funny like that sometimes.

Good Morning, Sunshine

Despite the fact that for the first two hours of the morning, I thought it was Thursday, I am having a spectacular day so far.  I need to remember how much better I feel when I wake up before 6 and get to the gym.  And I've mentioned it before, but weather like this makes me so happy.  I love driving to work with the windows down without sweating my balls off.

We had stuffed peppers last night for dinner, and unfortunately for you, I failed at taking any pictures.  I made them in the crock-pot, and while they were really good, they would've been ten times better if I had used Italian sausage instead of the apple sausage I had on hand.  Recipe below...this made enough for Miah and me, plus two containers of leftovers.

10 banana peppers (the long yellow ones, with just a little heat)
1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 lb (approx) sausage
1 cup cooked rice
1 egg
1/2 a medium onion, chopped finely
Italian seasoning
garlic powder
salt and pepper

Turn your crock-pot onto low heat, and pour enough sauce into it to coat the bottom.  Mix all ingredients together (except the peppers and the tomatoes) until combined, and stuff the mixture into the peppers.  I used a small spoon and chopstick operation to get the stuff in there, however, I'm sure there are other efficient methods.  I had quite a bit of leftover stuffing, so I just formed them into little patties/meatballs-ish things, and put them on the bottom of the crock-pot.  I then put the stuffed peppers on top of the patties, so the patties would still get some of the pepper flavor into them.  Cover it with the remaining sauce, put the lid on, and if you're fancy enough to have a crock-pot with a timer on it, set it for 6 hours.

I also made cucumber salad as a side, since Miah brought home two enormous cucumbers.  I have no idea where they came from, and I really didn't care, because I love free food.  One of the cucumbers is probably 15 inches long, and 3 inches in diameter, so tonight, I'm going to try my hand at pickling, in hopes of making perfect burger-sized pickle chips! 

And for dinner tonight, since Emma will be over, along with her friend, I'm making them pizzadillas.  I'm pretty happy that I can make fun food "for the kids" when really I'm probably more excited than they are.  I shall return with pictures tomorrow.

Ole!

The weather today is absolute garbage.  And I'm pissed at myself because said weather prohibited me from crawling out of bed to go to the gym this morning.  I kept thinking, 'Well, I have volleyball tonight so I'll at least get SOME exercise...' However, now that it's a complete downpour, it's not looking promising.

So last night, I spent majority of the evening slaving away in the kitchen, which I'm pretty much okay with.  I made chicken enchiladas and this tuna pasta salad thing that Miah was obsessing over since his sister made it over the weekend.

My enchilada recipe is pretty simple, and the best part about making it last night was that I used shredded taco-spiced chicken from the freezer (that may or may not have been from Christmas).  I used this recipe to make the chicken originally, and I highly recommend it.  It's super easy, and SO good!  The chicken can then be used for tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, nachos, etc. and it will blow your mind in any form.

ANYWHO.  This made about 8 enchiladas - and these measurements are super precise (not).

1 "small square"-sized Ziploc container of cooked, shredded chicken from the recipe link above
2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese, divided (I used the finely shredded stuff this time)
1 tiny can green chiles
taco-sized tortillas (I use flour, but corn is good too)
2 small cans Rotel tomato and chile sauce (courtesy of my new favorite grocery store, the Sharp Shopper, for 30 cents a can!) (you can also use whatever enchilada sauce you like)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the first three ingredients together, only using about 3/4 cup of the cheese.  Pour just enough sauce in the bottom of a baking dish to coat it, just so the enchiladas don't stick.  Put about 1/2-3/4 cup of the mixture on each tortilla, roll it up tight, and place in the baking dish seam-side down. 

Somewhat unrelated, but we recently bought a fancy schmancy can opener, and I am happy to report that I finally know how to operate it.  LOOK - here I am, OPENING A CAN!

Once they are all in the dish, cover them with the rest of the sauce (however much you like), and approximately a shit-ton of shredded cheese.  Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and starts to turn a little brown.

 

I have a weird thing about sprinkling green stuff on top of whatever I make.  In this case, I put a little dried cilantro and also some chili powder on there.

 

...and the finished product!

Throw some sour cream on top, and whatever else you like, and voila.  And another awesome thing about making these is that there's always leftovers - which means I'm having myself a spectacular lunch today! 

Shits and Giggles Friday

Yay, Friday!  Let's get to it, kids...

SHITS

1. I used all of my body wash yesterday, and of course forgot to put the new one in the shower this morning.  This happens to everyone, right?

2. Another important thing I forgot today: my parking garage card.  I drove Miah's car to work this morning since he's getting the oil changed in mine, and of course forgot to get the card out of mine.

3. So I made dinner last night, and it was delicious (grilled pork chops, green beans, and roasted potatoes).  However, about an hour and a half after we ate, we were both starving.  Why is that?  We then did what other normal people do, and ordered a sub and a slice of pizza as a "snack to share."  Shoutout to Palermo's for being open until 10 on a weeknight!

4. This almost never happens to me, but I have a shit ton of stuff to do at work this morning before I leave (see Giggles #2).  I hate thinking I won't have enough time to get stuff done, and while it's not the end of the world if a few things wait until Monday, my own deadline in my head is killing me.

GIGGLES

1. I started my morning with a little Marshall Mathers LP, and although he's pretty angry throughout that album, it really puts me in a good mood for some reason.  Oh, Stan, you crazy bastard.

2. I'm leaving work at noon today, which makes me incredibly happy!

3. We're going to Miah's sister's house for the weekend, they live about 4.5 hours away, which sucks, but Emma is super excited to see her BFF cousin.  They FaceTime all the time, but when they actually get to hang out together, they're like two peas in a pod.



Have a great weekend!

Ugh.

I should have stayed in bed this morning.  After waking up 15 minutes late to go to the gym, and only having time to work out for a half hour, on my way home, I got stopped by the stupid train near our house.  I hate that thing.

When I left my house to leave for work (late, again), I heard the em-effing train whistle and wanted to scream.  Having to take a longer route, and not giving a shit if I was late for work or not, I stopped at Sheetz in hopes that a Schmuffin would cheer me up.  I ended up ordering a sausage crossiant, and the thing was burnt.  Super.

I flipped through THIRTY radio stations in the first five minutes of my commute.  My usual morning show is on vacation, and my drives to work have sucked all week.  Thank you, Baby Jesus, for Pandora + an auxiliary cable.

Basically, I can tell that this is going to be a spectacular day.  We're supposed to have a volleyball game tonight, but I'm sure it'll thunderstorm precisely at 5:30 PM and we'll have to cancel.  I can guarantee you it won't start raining until we have the nets set up because it's really fun tearing down metal equipment in a storm.

I hope everyone else's morning is going swimmingly, because mine sure as hell isn't.  I realize most of these issues are #firstworldproblems but seriously, can a girl just get a decent breakfast sammich around here?

Whiz Bang!

What a weekend, yet again.  And yet again, Monday came too soon.  I've had quite a bit of caffeine to get me through, thankfully.

Friday night was an impromptu cookout and drinks with family and friends, and the weather was absolutely perfect for being outside in the evening.  We were also introduced to the greatest game in all of mankind: Whiz Bang. 

The game is played with several people sitting in a circle, around a campfire, table, whatever.  A person starts off the game by "whizzing" an imaginary ball to his left or right, (using a sweeping motion of the hand), and that person can either "whiz" it in the same direction, or "bang" it, using the opposite hand, which switches the direction, thus, having the prior person make a move (either a whiz or a bang).  It sounds incredibly stupid, but I can assure you that you'll be cracking up after only a few minutes.  Specifically if you're drink while playing, which is obviously ideal.

Saturday, we went to the Rum-de-Gun Resort, and after floating in the river for a while with a floating cooler of beers, we taught everyone there how to play Whiz Bang, and played it again.

My position for several hours that day.

Only during this round of the game, a few "camp rules" were added to make things interesting.  If you screwed up, not only did you have to take a shot of moonshine while the rest of us chanted and hollered like a bunch of Native Americans, you also needed to stick your hand in the ashes of the fire and mark your face with a loser line.  As you can see in the picture below, Miah wasn't very good at this game.

Rum-de-Gun's A-Team

Despite the moonshine, we weren't hungover at all the following day, and got a shit ton of stuff done around the house yesterday.  I really just wanted to stay at home today, sit in my clean house, and maybe have a cup of coffee on my clean patio, on my clean outdoor furniture.  Such is life, Monday.

Shits and Giggles Friday

Hey, Friday!  Super happy you decided to show your face, missed ya.  This week was a nice, relaxing change from the past few weeks - and it feels great to have gotten back to the gym.  It's amazing how much that improves my mood for the day when I start it off with a workout.  I don't mean to be one of those people, but this is my blog and I DO WHAT I WANT.

However, ironically enough, when I got home from the gym and did my Facebook morning run, my mom had posted this picture on my timeline last night - well played, Mom.

I think I'll start off with the Giggles this week, since I'm in a great mood for once.

GIGGLES

1. I had a spectacular "music morning" - Rihanna's station on Pandora was on point, and I heard some early Britney (circa 1998) on the way to work, as well as the album version of The Freshman on the Lithium Sirius station, which might be my favorite grunge 90s song ever (if that's a thing to have one of those).

2. I baked last night.  This is a huge deal.

Peach cobbler - there were exactly 7 ingredients, which is right up my alley.

3. Speaking of food, the Asian marinade I used on the chicken thighs the other night was bangin'.  Here's the rough recipe...you really can't screw up a marinade:

   1/4 - 1/2 cup soy sauce
   2 T brown sugar
   2 t ground ginger
   1/4 cup veg/canola oil
   a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
   1 T rice vinegar
   a few shakes of garlic powder and black pepper

4. Am I the only person over 17 that hopes for a red light while driving so that I can properly take a selfie with my iPhone?  Because I totally snapped a perfect one on my way to work today, might be my new profile pic, haaayyyyy.

SHITS

1. I ordered sushi last night at 9 PM (totally necessary), and they gave me TWO sets of chopsticks with my order.  This is not the first time this has happened.

2. I forgot my wallet today.  Thankfully I have a baller BFF that works in my building and is going to buy me lunch so I don't starve.  Thanks, Laura (formerly known as Wasabi Sauce)!

3. Trying to squeeze into a pair of skinny pants straight out of the dryer might have been harder than my actual workout this morning.

I'm SO looking forward to tomorrow - floating down the river with some of my favorite people, and a big ass drink in my hand?  I think I'm gonna have myself a nice little Saturday.  I might go to Bed, Bath and Beyond in the morning, I don't know if there'll be enough time.  (I hope to GOD somebody gets that reference.)

Peace Out, July

So, July is over today.  Not really sure how that happened, but it was a pretty spectacular month.  My birthday, 11 days off work, a weeklong vacation in Corolla, a Nissley trip, and a camping weekend...not too shabby.  And August will kick off with a float down the Juniata River and a night at the Rum-de-Gun Resort, the finest establishment in Perry County!

Last night was really nice, just getting to relax and not having anywhere to be but home.  The steaks turned out great, but I don't think I'll make a habit of buying that cut - the bone really gets in the way of the meat enjoyment [that's what she said].


The mashed potatoes turned out great - in addition to the standard milk and butter, I threw in some cream cheese with chives and bacon I had leftover from the BLTs the night before.  Really, anything with the word "cream" in the title will make your mashed potatoes so much better (cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream...whatever ya got).


I just opened that stick of butter for this meal - over half a stick GONE.

After dinner, we took the cat outside and sat out back for a bit.  She was hanging out on her leash in the yard for a while, and when we brought her back onto the porch, she somehow got herself tangled up in my chair and slipped out of her harness.  Not one to put down my wine in any situation, I of course still had it in my hand when I grabbed her and tossed her inside, consequently dumping red wine on my tan cat, and all over the outdoor carpet.  It was really pretty hilarious.


Explorer Kitty, BEFORE the wine incident.

Tonight is a volleyball game, that I'll be attending solo since Miah is doing a side job...makin' that paper, yo.  I have boneless skinless chicken thighs in two different marinades in the fridge - one in Sweet Baby Ray's, and the other in an Asian marinade I found on Pinterest.  Lots of soy sauce and brown sugar involved, so I'm sure it'll be delish.  Pictures to come tomorrow morning!

I Pick Things Up and Put Them Down

So, I finally joined the gym near our new house.  I think the weights were actually laughing at me as I struggled to do a shoulder press with only 20 pounds.  And the fact that they have mirrors in front of most of the machines in the "Lady Gold's" section of the gym isn't super encouraging, however, there was no way in hell I was venturing out into the Gorilla-ville that was the main portion of the gym at 5:30 PM on a weeknight.

I will GLADLY wake up at 0:dark30 and go that early to avoid people, but I wanted to at least get my membership done since they were running a special through Wednesday.  Miah (I'm tired of trying to remember everyone's nickname and come up with new ones) and I both signed up, with a $0 enrollment fee (usually $70 each) AND only $22 each per month.  SCORE!

After I got home, I had two vodka and OJs, some chips, and a BLT and a half, so that was pretty healthy.  Tonight I'm making an actual meal - porterhouse steaks, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob.  I'll try and remember to take a picture, since the main premise of this blog is cooking.  Oops.

Shits and Giggles Friday

I love you, Friday.  And I love you even more when I have happy hour plans after work, which tonight, I do!  Heading to the Speakeasy with my two work BFFs for an overdue birthday celebration for yours truly.  Hellooooo, half-price beers and cheap boneless wings.

SHITS

- It was like an insect zoo in my car on the way to work today.  I killed a huge spider (while driving 60 MPH, super safe), and had a race with a stinkbug on the OUTSIDE of my partially opened window.  I won, as in, the window was closed before he could make it inside.

- There's a guy that works in my building that weighs approximately 82364 pounds, and I had the pleasure of sharing an elevator with him this morning.  I've never heard such a struggle to complete a simple task such as BREATHE.  Gross.

- Does no one give "the wave" anymore?  You know what I'm talking about.  When I let you merge in front of me, have the decency to stick a hand up in your rearview mirror, dope.

GIGGLES

- We're camping/boating this weekend with my dad and stepmom, and a few of their friends and I'm SO looking forward to it. 

- For the camping trip, my contribution is breakfast on Sunday morning.  Anytime I'm asked to take care of breakfast on a camping trip, I make these.  They are THEE best thing ever, and the greatest thing about them is, I can be hungover and still manage to get them out of a container and put them on a fire grate.  BREAKFAST IS READY.

- We've been sleeping with the window open and I love it.  This weather is my favorite.

Also a fan of the open window.

Wednesday, I Hate You, Too

I think my calendar is broken, as I'm not quite sure how it can only be Wednesday.  I'm so ready for the weekend.

A bright spot in the early part of the week was that I had some spectacular sushi last night at a place super close to our house.  I can't even tell you how glad I am that I found a good sushi restaurant within 3 miles; it really seals the deal on how awesome it is to live where we do.

That bad boy in the middle with the sauce was delish - thanks to Wasabi Sauce for the recommendation!

Speaking of nearby establishments...there's a pretty rough-looking bar at the end of our street, and they must be open for breakfast because on my way to work this morning, there was a table of four sucking down Coronas at 7:45 AM.  Needless to say, where most people would be disgusted, I was actually jealous.  Squeeze a lime for me, guys.

We have a volleyball game tonight and I am SO thankful that it's a reasonable temperature outside.  I'm actually kind of over summer at this point?  I think it's because my vacation is done, and while we do have a few weekend excursions planned over the next month or so, I'm ready for football season, hoodies, and pumpkin-flavored everything.

Shits and Giggles Friday

Has this not been the longest week in the history of ever?  Maybe it's just because it was my first week back from vacation, coupled with my insane evening schedule, but I'm ready for about 983778892 glasses of wine.  SPEAKING OF, I'm super excited for this weekend because we're going to Nissley for their summer concert series tomorrow night.  Wine + food + music + friends = all of my favorite things.

SHITS

1. My alarm was set to go off at 7:20 this morning.  It had been going off for 14 minutes when I finally woke up at 7:34.  I have to leave my house at 7:45, in order to get to work on time.

2. I know it's pointless to complain about the weather, but SERIOUSLY.  Can it please just drop at least ten degrees or something?  This is ridic.

3. My house is an absolute MESS right now and it's driving me insane.  The problem is that this full-time job and rigorous extracurricular schedule keeps me from finding the time to do anything about it.  And oh, look, it's the weekend.  Where I probably won't actually FEEL like doing any of it.

GIGGLES

1. Since I was already going to be late for work, I stopped at Sheetz for breakfast a chili dog.  When I picked up my bag o'food, I realized they gave me TWO hot dogs instead of only one - SCORE!

2. After this week's matches, our volleyball team hit 100 points in the standings.  Go team, Dinks and Drinks!

3. I ordered from my favoritest place downtown for lunch today, Arepa City, and it was everything I'd hoped and dreamed it would be.  I could easily eat there every day of the rest of my life.

Back to Regularly Scheduled Blogging

Now that you've been able to thoroughly relive my vacation, it's back to my regular old life, and blogging about said boring life.

First of all, how is today only Thursday?  This week has been a killer for me, with a volleyball doubleheader on Tuesday, the Harrisburg Mile yesterday, and another volleyball game tonight.  And in case you've been living under a rock, it's approximately eleventy-billion degrees outside with ninety-teen percent humidity.  Not exactly ideal for outdoor activities.

It's been awhile since I've graced you all with my glorious skillz in the kitchen, and even though I made this Monday night, it was pretty bangin' so I thought I'd share.

We had leftover Italian sausage from the beach, and I snatched an unopened box of fettucine that someone else left in the kitchen.  Add all that to some baby portabella mushrooms I picked up at the store, and a jar of sauce from the pantry, and BAM:

Obviously the pasta came in at a later point.

Recipe, kids!  This'll make enough for two people, with two small portions leftover for lunch the next day.

3 or 4 links of Italian sausage, removed from casing (I used 2 spicy and 2 mild)
1/2 a yellow onion
1 small box of baby bella mushrooms
1-2 T butter
3/4 of a jar of Prego fresh mushroom sauce
1/2 box of fettucine, cooked

Saute the sausage until cooked through.  Remove sausage from pan and place onto a plate with paper towels to soak up the grease.  Add the onions and mushrooms to the pan, adding butter as needed.  I think I also threw in a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce, along with some garlic powder.

Once the veggies are soft, add the sausage back in, as well as the sauce.  Pour over your noodles and prepare for a flavor explosion in your mouth!

I probably won't be cooking again until the weekend; I have to make some sort of snacky snack to take to a local winery for their summer concert on Saturday.  If it looks yummy, and isn't chips and dip, I'll be sure to post a recipe.

#OBX2013: Part Two

I wanted to make this a separate post because it was perhaps one of my favorite portions of the whole trip.  Fun fact about me: I absolutely LOVE raw oysters.  As in, I could probably eat a few dozen if they weren't so damn expensive, or if someone else was paying for them.  During this trip, I was in luck, because exactly that happened.

My birthday was the day before we left, and while I was talking to my dad on the phone that day, he casually asked me where my favorite place to eat in the Outer Banks was.  It took about .04 seconds for me to answer with, "Awful Arthur's."

Awful Arthur's is the Outer Banks only authentic oyster bar, and it absolutely has the BEST oysters.  We were already planning on making the 45-minute drive to Kill Devil Hills one afternoon while we were down there, and when we got there, I was surprised by something that totally made my week: my dad had called the restaurant and paid for a $100 gift card for me to use that day! 

We basically raced up the stairs to the second floor raw and steam bar and were greeted by the super-friendly bartenders with a, "You're the birthday girl, right?!" 


I didn't take this, but I basically could have, from our seats at the bar.

We started off with a dozen raw oysters for me, and a dozen steamed clams for Beast.  With accompanying beverages, obvi.

Once we realized how far $100 could actually take us, we made the best decisions of our lives and ordered the "Crabmeat 'N Butter."  Yes, my friends, it's exactly what it sounds like.  A soup bowl, full of lump crab meat, in melted butter.  With more butter on the side, and some sort of super hybrid version of Old Bay and salt.  Ah-maz-ing.


We may or may not have drunk the butter.  (We did.)

We had more clams, and another cocktail each, and it was just heaven all around.  I think I'm actually salivating just writing about it.  AND!  Right before the check was handed to us, one of the bartenders threw another 7 or 8 oysters my way (not actually thrown, that would be gross), and sent us on our way with a, "Happy Birthday, again!"

The damage.  My father was so proud.

And with our leftover balance, we swung by the gift shop and grabbed a sweet Awful Arthur's license plate for the front of our Explorer.  Such a fantastic afternoon.

We've already started thinking about next year's trip - and I can hardly wait all over again.

#OBX2013: Part One

Sorry I've been MIA lately, but I was too busy having the greatest vacation EVAH.  Below you will find my week, in picture form.  Full of sun, water, beach sammiches, seafood, and just pure awesomeness.

Almost every day was spent doing all of these things in the order of the pictures below the text:

1. Wake up, sit on chair on deck, read book.
2. Make Bloody Mary(s), enjoy on chair on deck.
3. Construct sandwiches for beach day.  Receive accolades from all other sandwich-makers from my perfect sandwiches.
4. Sit on beach chair, drink beer, smile.
5. Eat a fantastic dinner prepared by one of the housemates.

The following events are NOT pictured:

1. Get wasted.
2. Give/receive lap dances to/from other housemates.
3. Dance party.
4. Drinking games.
5. Hangovers.

All in all, it was seriously one of the greatest trips I've ever taken.  The people, the weather, and the house made it so totally relaxing and enjoyable.  And currently, I want to jump out of my 14th floor window thinking about how fun it all was.  Also, it's time for my Bloody Mary.



I can't even describe this.



Perfection in a solo cup.



Perhaps the greatest beach sammich ever.

My life for seven days.



Seafood night! I did my part by making homemade alfredo sauce.



Spicy Meals and Birthday Gifts

Another spectacular meal last night by moi, if I do say so myself.  I made jalapeno popper chicken - one of those things where I basically threw a bunch of shit inside a chicken breast and hoped for the best.  Recipe below!


Those carrots were awesome too - lots of brown sugar and butter involved.


2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half length-wise, then pounded thin
4 oz. (half a block) cream cheese
4 oz. (half a block) monterey jack cheese, shredded
2 T of french onion chip dip...trust me, it's delicious
2 jalapenos, chopped (I took the seeds out of one of them, and left the other's in - perfect heat)
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion salt
1/2 cup chicken broth
Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix cream cheese, shredded cheese, dip, jalapenos, garlic powder, and onion salt together.  Spread the mixture on one end of the chicken breast, and roll up.  This recipe will make four "rolls." 
Spray each piece with cooking spray, and roll in the panko bread crumbs.
Pour the chicken broth into an 8x8 baking dish, and place the chicken in the broth (should be about a 1/4 inch of broth in the pan).
Sprinkle extra bread crumbs on the chicken and bake for about 30-40 minutes.


After dinner, we were sitting there watching TV, and all of a sudden, Beast grabs his keys and says, "I'll be back...I'm going to get your birthday present." 

[one episode of Real Housewives of NJ later...]

And this bad boy was on our back porch, with a bow on it!  I thought about setting it up in the living room and sleeping there, but I figure there's plenty of time for slumber on it next week at the beach.  Thanks, babe!

Birthday Month!

Today marks a period of time during which I like to declare My Birthday Month.  I love having a birthday in the summer, and more importantly, the day after our country's birthday.  'Merica. 

And this year, we leave for a weeklong vacation in the Outer Banks the day after my birthday.  All I gotta get through is three days this week, and I don't have to come back to reality for a week and a half.  I can taste the Bloody Mary and smell the salty sea breeze already.

The last few days added up to a pretty laid back weekend, which was awesome.  Friday night was pretty pink vodka drinks on the couch in the A/C, and ham steaks on the grill.  There was also a pretty mean round of Bananagrams.

What married Friday nights are made of.

Saturday morning, we woke up early, I made eggs benedict, and we headed out to run some errands.  I wish I would've taken a picture of the meat heaven that we visited in Elizabethtown.  When I asked for a delmonico steak, the girl at the counter sliced it off a huge hunk of cow (not the actual cow), and Beast got a fresh thick-cut pork chop.  I grilled them later that night and they were spectacular.  Sorry, Karn's, but I've found myself a new meat slinger (that's what she said).

Probably the best part of the weekend: as of yesterday, we never have to step foot in our apartment again.  The place is empty, clean, and the keys have been turned in for eternity.  Such a great feeling.

Last night for dinner, I made jalapeno bacon apple grilled cheese sandwiches and OH.  EM.  GEE.  I totally recommend getting the few ingredients and making one of these for yourself. 

As a side, we had Paula Deen's broccoli salad.  Don't worry, Paula, I got your back, girl.

Aaaaaand now it's Monday again...three more days...three more days...three more days...

Shits and Giggles Friday

I know the day is almost over (by day, I mean the portion of the date where the life is sucked out of me), but I thought of a few Shits and Giggles with which I could grace you all:

SHITS

1. Why doesn't Pandora invent a station wherein you can type a period of time, and it only plays music from said time period?  This needs to be a thing.  I only want to hear music from 1995 through 2004. 

2. My BFF, Party Favor, was supposed to come visit tonight and now she is not.  WAH.

3. I better not encounter any additional stupidity between now and wine o'clock, I'm really not sure how much more I can take.

GIGGLES

1. Beast and I were in the local paper yesterday, complete with our last name spelled incorrectly, with a desciption of us "making yard sale purchases for the new apartment."  HEY - we live in a freaking HOUSE.  Perhaps I just turned this into more of a shit than a giggle.



What up, Beatons.



2.  MY BIRTHDAY IS IN EXACTLY ONE WEEK!  SQUEE!

3.  I have virtually all of the food purchased and organized for when we leave for vacation in EXACTLY ONE WEEK AND ONE DAY!  In the meantime, my laundry room looks like something out of Extreme Couponers.


Ha-hav-haaaa-hap a good week-end, everyone!  (Funny story where that came from...remind me to tell it one day.)

A Simple Equation

   673472 glasses of wine
+ 3/4 of a bag of salt and vinegar chips at 11 PM
   mouth riddled with ulcers + headache + swollen face next morning

Take the solution and multiply it by a comfortable bed, and the final answer is calling in sick to work.  Contrary to what you're all thinking, no, I do not have a degree in mathematics.

One of my BFFs, Wasabi Sauce (pretty sure I've seen her stick a straw in the dish of it), and her boyfriend, Hoo-Rah, came over for dinner Wednesday night and let. me. tell. you.  I made quite possibly the best dinners EVAH.  Since Hoo-Rah has trouble with 'dem 'dere words n'at, here is the evening's yumminess in pictures.


Martha Stewart ain't got NOTHIN' on me.



SRSLY, you guys.  I'm awesome.

VOILA!

Wasabi Sauce made this, at the request of Beast.

After dinner, we sat on the back patio and drank wine and had several immature conversations, most of which had us near tears. 

I leave you with this bit of important advice: Don't drink the snake milk, guys.

HOT.

Why is it all of a sudden 4 million degrees outside?  I love me some summer, but if I'm not near a body of water when it's scorching hot like this, I'm completely miserable.  It took me twice as long to blow dry my hair this morning - hey thanks, humidity.

Speaking of blow dryers, just in case anyone was wondering, they make a fine substitute for an iron.  Instructions below:

1. Run the wrinkly portion of clothing under water.
2. Stretch said clothing over a towel.
3. Blow dry.

Voila!  You're welcome.

Dinner last night was awesome - my mom brought us this fresh apple sausage when she came to visit the other day.  (Side note: bringing groceries to your children is actually something passed down through generations in my family, considering my grandmother gets things for my mother as well.)

Please try to ignore the class oozing out of this picture via the paper plate.

We could actually smell the apple flavor coming out of the sausage when we cut into it.  I didn't put any seasonings on it, but since the last two meals prepared on the grill were my steaks, it picked up all of that yummy goodness.  Totally delish.  And yes, that is cheesy broccoli from a frozen box.  (Again with the class.)  Also on the side are potatoes, grilled in a foil packet with butter and spices.  I sliced those babies paper-thin on my newly-acquired mandolin!

Super fancy with the star-shaped ice cubes - thanks, Wal-Mart.

Tonight, we have a volleyball game in the 98734562-degree weather, so that should be really fun.  I wouldn't expect much in the way of dinner pictures since we'll probably just be having ice water and popsicles.  And beer.

Monday, I Hate You

I can't even begin to tell you how much I loathe Monday, specifically in the summer months.  I've been having some pretty awesome weekends lately, and this past one was no exception.

Friday, I decided I couldn't bear the thought of a full 7.5-hour day, so I left an hour early.  I needed to stop at the store, and I hate having to do that after 5:00.  I made the cilantro-lime-sriracha chicken skewers and they turned out SO good. 

Anything on a stick is ten times tastier.

I was a good girl and only had 3 drinks all night, since my mom was coming Saturday morning afternoon (okay, it was only a few minutes after 12).  Her BFF/my "aunt" Cindy came along, and it was nice to relax on the patio with a few beers in the sunshine.  AND since food is always the main focal point of any gathering, after a quick trip to the Outlets, I grilled the shit out of some steaks.  My mom also brought some produce from a local farm and made a great salad to go along with it.


They left around 4, so I went over to my out-laws (my sister-in-law's parents' house - her dad dubbed me his daughter-out-law, since I'm not technically his daughter-in-law and we decided we needed a title for each other).  Beast and Crazy Pants were already there, and we basically commenced our regularly scheduled summertime weekend activities which includes lots of swimming, eating, and drinking.


I can assure you that I was not feeling very luxurious Sunday morning.

Sunday afternoon was a repeat of Saturday, only with less vodka.  Beast had to work for most of the day, which totally sucked, but somebody's gotta make that paper...dolla dolla bills, y'all.