Day 15

Day 15- Something you want to do before you die

There are lots of things. But these are three of the top ones.

I want to run the Boston Marathon.

I want to see Santorini.

I want to make an incredibly beautiful wedding cake.

Day 14 & An Updated Tuna Salad

Day 14- Someone you could not imagine your life without.

Narrowing it down any further than these two is impossible.

My amazing fiance who constantly makes me laugh and whom I love so, SO much.

My amazing, smart, giving mother. She is the kind of mother everyone should be fortunate enough to have.

And... a recipe. Updated Tuna Salad (or as Rachel Ray titled it: Not-Your-Mama's Tuna Salad). I was hesitant. Her recipes are usually either hit or miss for me. I made a few changes, but this one was definitely a hit.

Graham and I were both wanting a lighter dinner tonight, since we both had late, heavy lunches (leftover chicken and dumplings for me and a HUGE roast beef sandwich with pepper jack for him). This was pretty good on it's on, but I did add a few things. I have an unnatural love for kalamata olives, and always eat them whenever I eat canned tuna. Since I added the olives, it also needed feta, so I sprinkled some feta in after I had taken a few bites. This was good though, and very easy.

Tuna Salad

Ingredients

• 1 tub/1 cup of Pesto (I used store bought)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 12 ounce can of tuna packed in water; drained
• 1/2 cup of chopped & drained roasted red pepper
• 1/2 cup of grape tomatoes; halved
• 1/2 cup of chopped kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup of crumbled feta
• 1/2 pound of medium shell pasta
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place the pesto in the bottom of a large bowl. Mix in the lemon juice. Add the tuna and flake it with a fork. 
2. Add the roasted red peppers, tomatoes, olives & drained pasta and toss to coat. 
3. Sprinkle on feta and season to taste with salt & pepper. 

Easy & delicious!

Chicken & Buttermilk Dumplings

Chicken & Dumplings. Heck yes.

I've made this a few times now, and it gets better and better every time. Like any good southern girl, I LOVE chicken and dumplings and these are so, SO good, and they get better the longer they hang out. The dumplings are fluffy, but firm and the sauce is so creamy & delish.

Chicken and Dumplings 
Recipe adapted from Bakin' & Eggs & Tyler Florence

Ingredients:

FOR THE STOCK & SAUCE

• 1 (3 to 3 1/2 pound) whole chicken
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 to 5 black peppercorns
• 1 head of unpeeled garlic, split through the center
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• Enough water to cover chicken
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons oil
• A small yellow onion; diced
• 5 carrots, diced
• 5 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish
• Chopped chives, for garnish

Place the chicken and all stock ingredients in a large Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce to a simmer.  Cook for one hour until the chicken is tender and internal temperature registers at least 165 degrees. Skim the surface of fat as it cooks.
Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, using a whisk, lightly beat the eggs, chives and buttermilk together; pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together; the batter should be thick and cake-like.
In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, add the butter and oil. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and bay leaves and saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux and continue to stir for two minutes to coat the veggies in flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add frozen peas.

FOR THE DUMPLINGS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

Chicken & Stock

Remove chicken from pot and place on a cutting board. Let rest until it is cool enough to handle. Strain the stock and set aside. When chicken has cooled, shred and set aside.

Dumplings:

Mix all ingredients together. 

Sauce:

Let sauce simmer, stirring occasionally, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.

Fold the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce and bring to a simmer. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Discard the bay leaves, season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped chives before serving.

Day 12

Day 12- A picture of something you love

My beeeeeeeeautiful Cobalt Blue KitchenAid Stand Mixer. 

Graham got this for me for Christmas in 2009 and there are no words as to how much I love it or how badly I had been wanting one.

Day 11 & awesome bargains =)

Day 11- A picture of something you hate

Gag me. The smell, the texture, the taste... I hate everything about mayo.

(You can find the list for all 30 days here.)

In other news...

I have a love/hate relationship with the fact that apparently individual Target stores put different things on clearance.

I loved it when I got these shoes for less than $5.00, when they were $18.00 online.

I hated it when I passed up a kit of cake decorating tips that was only $4.98. I went back to get them and they were gone, and then saw them at another store for full price.

But today I loved it again when I got this shower curtain for $3.14:
Springmaid® Sierra Paisley Shower Curtain - (72x72

We don't even need it right now; our second bathroom has a glassed in shower. But I'm sure we'll be able to use it at our next house. And the blue paisley print is so pretty, I just couldn't pass it up!

What I'm Loving Wednesday & Day 10

This kind of love


Loving my crazy cat =)


These DIY silverware silhouettes for my kitchen


This gorgeous photo of Charlotte

And now for day 10 of the 30 Day Photo Challenge
(You can find the list for all 30 days here.)

Day 10- A picture of the person you do the most ****** up things with


I don't do very much... crazy... stuff these days, but back in the day it would have been my girl Kelli. We spent every night at bars, dancing & making out with cute boys and going to frat parties. We worked at Applebee's together, and one of my favorite memories was lining the hostess stand with pictures of hot boys, and giggling whenever guests came in with certain names... We took two of the hottest Phi Kappa Sigma alums to Disney on Ice and then to Bar Charlotte. We were never home any earlier than 3:00am. We had the most fun, and never ever had a drop of alcohol. Good times =)

Day 9 & Long awaited nightstands =)

(You can find the list for all 30 days here.)

Day 9- A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

My Mom, the Russian Peasant... (It was really, REALLY cold in Boston)

I really do have the greatest mom ever.

In other news, Graham FINALLY finished our nightstands tonight. It's taken about a month and a half, and I finally have a place to sit my water when I got to bed.

Getting started...

Almost there...

Starting the staining...

FINALLY finished.

Day 8 & Mediterranean Turkey Burgers

Day 8- A picture that makes you laugh.

It doesn't make me laugh, but it always makes me smile. I think it's awesome seeing a cat and dog all snuggled up together. Not to mention those are two of the cutest, craziest animals ever and I adore them.

Anyways. Enough cuteness. Now for a recipe =)


I love burgers, but I'm always looking for healthier options and I love, love making turkey burgers. Just make sure you use ground turkey breast. If you get just ground turkey, it isn't much leaner than ground beef. Also, since the turkey is so lean, you pretty much HAVE to put veggies in them or they tend to be too dry.

This one was fantastic, low in fat and was packed with flavor. I served it with homemade fries (regular potato for me, sweet potato for the fiance) and a cucumber and tomato salad.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons pesto (I used store bought)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Zest of one lemon
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 pound ground turkey breast

Directions

1. Combine first 8 ingredients into a large bowl.
   
2. Add the turkey and mix thoroughly. Be careful not to over mix.
3. Divide meat into four portions and shape into patties. Each should be about half an inch thick. I also like the make a slight indention in the center of the patty (a la Rachel Ray), so that it doesn't puff up in the middle when it cooks.
4. Grill for 7 minutes on each side.

I topped mine with some salad mix (we had a spring mix), two thin slices of tomato and pickles (I'm a little pickle crazy). And since these are Mediterranean style burgers, I also topped mine with some more feta, some chopped kalamata olives and a little tzatziki sauce (a yogurt-cucumber sauce).

These were fantastic!

Photo Day 7

(You can find the list for all 30 days here.)

Day 7- A picture of your most treasured item.

My gorgeous engagement ring.

(You can find the list for all 30 days here.)

Day 6- A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.


J.K. Rowling. I love my life, and wouldn't really want to trade places with anyone. However. If I could, I would be J.K. Rowling, it would be January 11, 2007 (the day she completed Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows). I would change the completely crap ending and write an epilogue that wasn't a festering, rat infested pile of garbage. Harry would end up with Hermione (a woman who likes him for who he is, and not his money and fame), Ron would end up with Luna (a woman who likes him for who he is, and doesn't constantly put him down), and Ginny & Molly Weasley would both have died. Tonks, Lupin, Fred & Snape would have survived. And the wizarding world would have been a much happier place.

Photo Day 5 & some craftiness.

(You can find the list for all 30 days here.)

Day 5- A picture of your favorite memory:

[Site of the Boston Massacre; October 2009]

I'm a history nerd. Big time. Pre-Revolutionary American history is a fascination of mine. My mom and I take a mother-daughter trip every year. In 2009, we drove (ughhhhh) up to New England for the weekend. We drove, because we wanted to stop in NYC and I wanted to stop in Philadelphia and see the Liberty Bell and Constitution Hall. We went to Salem (the Salem Witch Trials have always intrigued me), took a ferry over to Martha's Vineyard, went to Lexington and Concord to see the war stuff and the Louisa May Alcott house and then we spent a day in Boston. Being in an area that is home to SO much history was just so special to me. Standing in the spot where the massacre happened had me speechless. Then you look across the street and there was the spot where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time. It was an amazing trip and I will never, EVER forget it.

*

Today I got crafty =) I really wanted this to go over our bed, but at $350, it's way out of budget. I still wanted some kind of "art" for over the bed, and I wanted it to be personal. I got inspired by pics of John & Sherry's old bedroom over at Young House Love. They had individually framed letters over the bed. I wanted something similar, but I wanted it in one big frame as opposed to two little ones. This is what I came up with:

I haven't hung it yet, but you get the idea of how it will look over the bed.

They were so easy to make. And cheap! Just some coordinating scrapbook paper, and a ridiculously discounted frame from Michael's. This project cost me less than $16.00 and was so easy to make. I went into Microsoft Word, and printed out very large letters. I used the Word Art feature and just stretched it to fill the whole page. I cut it out, traced it onto scrapbook paper and cut it out again. I then took two large sheets of coordinating paper, trimmed and taped it to fit onto the cardboard backer, and then lined my letters up on the backing. This was easy and I am really happy with how it looks!

And don't laugh, but I also made coasters. Graham has worked SO hard on the nightstands, and when they are eventually done, I think he'd kill me if water stains ended up screwing up the color he's seriously stressing himself out over. These are simple, but they'll get the job done and keep my nightly glass of water from making a mess.

[Cork & hemp coasters; tutorial courtesy of Make it & Love it]

Photo Day 4

(You can find the list for all 30 days here.)

Day 4- A picture of your night.

The fiance is at work, so it's me, the cat, Golden Girls, Pinot Grigio & Reece's Cups =)

Photo Day 3

(You can find the list for all 30 days here.)

Day 3- A picture of the cast of your favorite show

That is an impossible decision. I can narrow it to the following:

Bones

The Golden Girls

Frasier

Photo Day 2

(You can find the list for all 30 days here.)

Day 2- A picture of you & the person you've been closest with the longest.

Well, this could be taken two ways.
My mom & I are so close and we always have been. As a pre-teen and as a teenager other girls were in constant conflict with their moms, and mine was my best friend. She still is. I don't care to go to movies much anymore, but back in the day she was my favorite person to go see movies with, she's my favorite shopping partner. One of the things I miss the most about CLT is the nights she and I sat at home with our lap tops, each on a couch, watching Bones & laughing over the animals.



Heather is the friend I've been close with the longest. We met in 8th grade, but didn't become friends until 9th grade. After high school we drifted apart for a couple of years, but we met for lunch one day, which turned into about a 4 hour event. We'd get together once every couple of months and spend hours catching up and gossiping about the people we went to school with. When Tyler and I broke up in May of 2008, she was there for me in a way no one else could be. She's introduced me to so many amazing things and she's a fantastic friend.

30 Day Photo Challenge

I'm awful at things like this, but I saw this over at Christina's blog (Hungry Meets Healthy) and thought I'd give it a shot.


30 Day Photo Challenge

• Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts
  
• Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
• Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show
• Day 04 - A picture of your night
• Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory
• Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
• Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item
• Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh
• Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
• Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most ****** up things with
• Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
• Day 12 - A picture of something you love
• Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist
• Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
• Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
• Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you
• Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
• Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
• Day 19 - A picture and a letter
• Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
• Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
• Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
• Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book
• Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
• Day 25 - A picture of your day
• Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
• Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member
• Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of
• Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile
• Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

Day 1- A picture of me with 10 facts

1. I like my cat more than I like most people.
2. I'm a girly girl, but I could care less about fashion. J. Crew jeans and polo shirts are all I need.
3. My eyes are my favorite thing about myself.
4. My dream is to run the Disney marathon.
5. My biggest fear is that my ex did irreparable damage and I'll never stop being bitter when it comes to him.
   
6. I buy DVDs and books the way most females buy shoes and clothes.
7. I worked at Hallmark for seven years and I miss it every day.
8. I've turned into quite the DIY-er.
9. I hope to have my own cupcake shop someday.
10. I saw Titanic 18 times in the movie theater.