Busy Weekend

So, this weekend we decided to paint the dining room. We've been wanting to do it for awhile now but we just never got around to it, then a month or so ago we went to see our friend, Bill's new house. In the first weekend he practically painted the entire place and it looked great. Seeing how much he got done in such a short time really motivated us, we realized how little we've done and how much we need to do. So, we went to Lowe's and bought some paint to finish the living room and to paint the dining room. I only painted an accent wall in the living room when we first moved in, but Greg likes the color so much that we've decided to paint the whole living room. We have sort of a wine theme in the dining room, with pictures of wine, a wine clock, and a wine rack so we wanted a color that would match that. We were debating between green and bordeaux. We went with the bordeaux and love it!! I'm so lucky to have a husband that isn't afraid of fun colors. We're going to have to put on a second coat and do some touch ups next weekend, but I decided to go ahead and post some pictures so you can get an idea of what it looks like. I think we're going to go with a light brown/cream on the below the chair railing and in the family room that's attached to the dining room.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The weather was so nice this weekend! It was perfect shopping weather. I went out to Madison to a store called "Yoder's" to look around. It's such a fun store, it's mennonite owned and everything is fresh. They have such a unique variety of items. I went up there to pick up some of their hot cocoa marshmellows. These things are so good and so inexpensive. I usually buy the 25 calorie packs of hot cocoa and they don't have marshmellows in them so I just add my own.


I also discovered a scrapbooking store in Madison, less than 10 miles from our house. It's called Handcraft House (www.handcrafthouse.com). They have workrooms, classes and lots of scrapbooking and card making material. I'm very behind on my scrapbooking, so just going in there and seeing all the examples and fun scrapbooking material inspired me to come home and do some scrapbooking.

Ginger Steak

This is hands down my favorite steak seasoning/marinade. I saw it on "30 Minute Meals" awhile ago and use it almost every time we have steak. The recipe is actually called "ginger flank steak" but I use it on any type of steak we buy. The side Rachel Ray made with it on the show was wasabi mashed potatoes, which I love, but Greg hates-so I usually make it with broccoli cole slaw, which I included the recipe for after the ginger steak recipe. Ginger Steak calls for, you guessed it, fresh ginger. :) Ginger is so inexpensive and easy to work with, if it's not available then you can buy it in a jar already peeled, grated, and ready to use. It's in the produce section next to jars of minced garlic, but I suggest using fresh ginger if possible. Also, if you can't find tamari, you could substitute soy sauce, but tamari does have a stronger flavor that I personally like much better.

Ginger Flank Steak

Ingredients

* 2 inches fresh giner root, peeled & grated

* 1/2 cup tamari aged soy sauce.

* 2 limes, zested and juiced

* 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

* 2 tablespoons of Montreal Steak Seasoning

* 2 pounds flank steak

1. Preheat a grill pan or outdoor grill to high

2. Combine ginger, tamari, lime juice, oil and grill seasoning in a large sealable plastic bag. Add meat to marinade and coat evenly.

3. Let stand 10 minutes then grill meat 6 to 7 minutes on each side. This meat is great with a garnish of chopped scallion and/or cilantro.

Broccoli Cole Slaw

Ingredients

* 2 bags (3oz) Ramen Noodles in Oriental (other flavors will work, too)

* 3/4 stick of butter

* 1/4 cup of slivered almonds

* 2 bags (12oz) broccoli cole slaw (in the bagged salad section of the grocery store)

* 1/4 cup sunflower seeds

* chopped green onions, for garnish

Dressing Mix

* 3/4 cup canola oil

* 1/4 cup brown or white sugar

* 1/4 cup apple cide vinegar

* 1 ramen noodle season packet

Directions

Put the ramen noodles in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin while melting butter in a large skillet over low/medium heat. Add the crushed noodles and slivered almonds to the skillet and saute, stirring occasionally (keep temperature at low/medium heat). Meanwhile, whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Place the shredded broccoli into bowl and toss with the noodles, almonds and sunflower seeds. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Garnish with chopped green onions.

California Dreaming

So, it's late and I should be in bed, but I wanted to write a quick update about my trip to California for Valentine's day weekend. I meant to write about it sooner, but just never got around to it. Greg had a 2 week class for work in California and flew out on February 8th and was coming back on February 20th. One of my oldest friends, Brandi Milloy lives in Hollywood now, so they were going to meet up for dinner on Friday night and then she was going to show him around Hollywood afterwards. I was so jealous that he got to see her and get to sightseeing in Hollywood. Wednesday night we were on the phone and Greg told me he bought me a plane ticket to come out there for Valentine's weekend and that my flight took off in about 4 hours from D.C.!! I was so excited, luckily I was already packed since I was planning on driving down and spending the weekend in Augusta with my family, so I got off the phone and drove to D.C. and was on a plane a couple of hours later. I got to spend Valentine's day with Greg and see my friend Brandi. I had a great time, Brandi was such a great host. She took us to a great italian restaurant, Pinkberry for dessert, an outdoor mall, and drove around most of Hollywood showing us around. It was so much fun!! I even ran into an actor from one of my favorite movies, Cloverfield, while walking around in Hollywood and got a picture with him. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Thanks Brandi for showing us such a great time and thanks Greg for the wonderful surprise!

Peruvian Roast Chicken

I have been trying to eat healthier, so that means eating at home more. I've been trying a lot of new recipes, so I'll be posting them on here when they turn out good. The chicken we had tonight was fabulous! It was very easy and inexpensive to make and it was healthy. It's definiltely one of my favorite chicken recipes.

Peruvian Roast Chicken

Ingredients

*6 gloves garlic, chopped

*salt and pepper

*1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

*1 teaspoon ground cumin

*1/2 teaspoon paprika

*1/2 cup of white wine vinegar

*One 4-pound chicken, rinsed and patted dry

Directions

1. Using the flat side of a chef's kinfe, smear together the garlic and 2 tablespoons salt on a cutting board to form a paste; transfer to a small bowl. Stir in the oregano, ginger, cumin, 1 teaspoon pepper, and the paprika. Stir in the vinegar.

2. Slide your fingers between the chicken skin and the breast and loosen teh skin from the meat, working your way to the legs. Spread the marinade under and over the skin and inside teh cavity. Transfer to a gallon-size resealable plastic bag; refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

3. Preheatt he oven to 400 degrees. Remove the chicken from the bag and place breast side up on a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a knife between teh breast and the wing, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let reast for 10 minutes before carving.

Asian Noodle Salad

I saw this recipe on thepioneerwoman.com and thought it looked delicious. It uses fresh ginger, which is one of my favorite ingredients, so I had to try it. I made a few little changes--for example, I tried to use extra veggies and replaced regular pasta with wheat pasta to make it even healthier. Greg does not like to have a meal without meat, so I made some teriyaki chicken to go with it. Greg and I both loved it.

Asian Noodle Salad

SALAD INGREDIENTS:
1 packages linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled (I used wheat noodles)
1/2 to 1 head sliced Napa cabbage

1/2 to 1 head sliced purple cabbage

1/2 to 1 bag baby spinach

1 red bell pepper, sliced thin

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin

1 small bag bean sprouts (also called “mung bean sprouts”)

3 sliced scallions

3 peeled, sliced cucumbers

LOTS of chopped cilantro—up to one bunch

DRESSING

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 cup of olive oil

2 tablespoons of sesame oil

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons of fresh ginger, chopped

2 cloves chopped garlic

2 hot peppers or jalapenos, chopped

Mix together salad ingredients. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on platter.

*Dressing keeps up to three days before serving*

White Chocolate Cranberry Chunkies

These cookies were a big hit at work, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chunks
• 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (Like Ocean Spray's sweetened, dried cranberries)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Set aside. Sift together flour, soda and salt. Add milk then add flour, soda, and salt to butter mixture. In another bowl, combine nuts, cranberries, and white chocolate. Then add to mixture, stirring only to blend. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 11-13 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Yield: 4 dozen large cookies.

Let It Snow

We woke up this morning our first snow of the winter! We were very excited to go outside this morning & find our lawn covered in snow. I can't believe just last week we were in Arizona where it got up to 80 degrees while we were there. Although it was a bit hot for January we had a great time on our trip. The best part was getting to see our nephew, Ian. He is such a cutie! Since Greg's brother Eric and his sister in law, Carrie (who are both teachers) had to work while we were out there, we got to babysit Ian for a whole day. It was so much fun-he is definitely all boy & has endless amounts of energy. He didn't cry once while we were watching him, he was so easygoing and happy. Greg & I have never babysat before, so it was a great first time experience for us. I took a ton of pictures that I've posted on Shutterfly. He was such a ham for the camera, as soon as I took it out and said "say cheese" he would look at the camera and start laughing--which made for some great shots. It was also great seeing Eric & Carrie, greg's parents, and his aunts. We were also able to see some of Greg's friends from high school which is always a lot of fun.

I started the spring semester the day after we got back from Arizona. I'm taking an anatomy & physiology class. It's such an interesting class but it's going to be a lot of work. The instructor is very nice and so excited about the topic which always makes going to class a lot more fun.

My sister told me about this website: kevinandamanda.com which is such a fun website! I recommend you check it out. It has lots of scrapbooking pages, recipes, decorating ideas, crafts etc. The girl who runs the site is so creative. I've got some great ideas from her website.

Well, I hope everybody is doing well. I'm going to try and do better about posting more often. ;)