The Art of the Catch-Up Post!

Hello! I thought I said I was going to be better about blogging... what happened?! Things have been chugging along as the NEW usual for a few weeks now, so let's catch up!

The first thing I'm super excited about makes me sound like a super nerd, but hey... if the shoe fits! Martin has fixed the hole in our living room ceiling! HOORAY! Last May, we met my parents at Mackinaw Island for a great overnight trip, then trekked back to our side of the UP for a little visit. While here, my father and Martin cut open the ceiling to discover what why we were having leaking issues.

Cutting open the ceiling!

Low and behold, there was a HUGE piece of metal pipe sitting in the buckling section of the ceiling! Who know how much longer that would have held?! Dad and Martin discussed how to fix the hole... then it stayed there.... for a year!

The offending pipe!

Well I came home from work one day to Martin hard at work in the garage, and before the end of the day the ceiling (which I often complained about) was fixed! Happy day! Thanks Martin! It may be a bit odd looking, but I don't really care! No more ugly ceiling hole! Now, if we can fix the couch situation, this room will be just about done! Yay!

FINALLY! Hole be gone! 

What else? About a month ago I got accepted to Michigan Tech to start a Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (TESOL) program. I literally got the acceptance in the mail on Friday, registered for my first class Saturday, and started on Monday! I'm back to school ya'll! I am a very different student now than I was a decade ago (while I was in college), and I'm probably driving my classmates crazy! I have been able to keep an A through the mid-term Exam we just had (90.5% on that exam!), so I'm going to give it all I got to maintain until the end! I'm shooting for the 4.0 this time!

I'm also super pumped up because I was accepted to participate in a "Fit for Life" Zumba program that one of the local instructors started this summer! Her daughter is fighting leukemia, and the two are related (I can't say how...yet!) in an awesome way. I've committed to attending at least three Zumba classes a week, but I'm aiming for five! Most weeks I end up right in the middle at four! Working on my fitness AND a good cause! Holla!

Martin's car finally gave up the ghost a few weeks ago. It would cost $800 to fix, and now that we are both based at Michigan Tech, we are trying to become a one car family. Hopefully this will help us save money (insurance, gas), and won't drive us TOO crazy. Martin has been a trouper working around my earlier-than-he-goes-to-work schedule AND sticking around while I go to Zumba. He's the best! We'll see how we do this summer and re-evaluate in the fall!

Earlier this week I had a bit of a "milestone" birthday. That's right everyone, I have graduated from my 20's and I'm now the big 3-0! When I was asked how it felt to be thirty, the only thing I could think of was "same as 29!" I haven't really had a problem with starting a new decade. In fact, I have HIGH HOPES for the 30s! I hope to work towards lasting fitness and health, start a family, support Martin as he finishes his PhD and we figure out the next step, get TESOL certified, and (fingers crossed) start/finish a Library Science Masters Degree program! I should totally come back and read these hopes every year and see how I'm doing!

Photo from doedeereblogazine.com

Now, to reward you for reading all the way through this update blog, a Menu Planning Monday.. on Friday! This is the first week in a bit of a "reboot" project that Martin and I are doing. One of the benefits of having insurance is being able to get to a doctor for a wellness checkup. Sadly, I did not really pass that wellness check with flying colors! I'm still working things out with my doctor, and will know more next week, but I'm being proactive! We are cutting back on meat and trying to up our plant based protein. We are trying to cut back on gluten and up our ancient grains. The results? SCRUMPTIOUS! Hooray!

Strawberry Quinoa Salad = Amazing! We loved it so much that I ended up making a second batch later in the week! Our notes: we used "Sweet & Spicy" Pecans from Trader Joe's rather than toasting our own pecans. Also, after crisping the prosciutto, it was rather bacon-like. Might as well save yourself some bucks and just crisp up some bacon instead! The second batch I didn't have feta, so we used the gorgonzola we had left over from last week, and it was equally wonderful (if a bit more fatty)!

Chicken Marsala Casserole has become one of our go to meals! We use orzo pasta in lieu of rice, but now that we are trying to cut back on gluten, we may have to try it with rice. Don't skip the fresh parsley - it adds something! We've made this with skim milk, 2%, and half and half.... all are good! It gets richer (duh) with fat content! 

Crockpot Chicken and Quinoa Enchilada Soup Mmmmm... the flavors are very reminiscent of one of our favorites, White Chicken Chili, but it is broth based and doesn't have a block of cream cheese in it! We added some jalapeno dip and mexican blend cheese on top and it was super duper! I don't have a link for the Tamale Bake, it was the first recipe I ever made from my "Trader Joe" cookbook from my bestie LB! Let me just say... polenta, black beans, zucchini, soy-chorizo, and cheese work in perfect harmony!  

I'll have to let you know how the wheat berry salad is next week! I really AM planning on exploring the "Homemade Pantry" book too! Life kind of threw me for a loop when I started taking classes three weeks after staring my new job, going to three or four (or five) Zumba classes after work, fitting in doctor appointments, and oh yeah, spending time with my husband, cooking... etc! We are working out the kinks of having a set schedule and now only having one car too. I guess we never REALLy stop juggling, huh?

Menu Planning Monday... It's Baaaaacccckkkkk!

Hmm... let me see if I can BRIEFLY describe the last six and a half months that I've been MIA: Pneumonia. Pneumonia. Too much work.... pneumonia. HOLIDAY WITH THE FAMILIES!!!! New Year. Drama at work. Too much work.... present day. Ta da! I'm a word genius! :P

I had pneumonia or some demon version of it for four solid months ladies and gents, and it was a hot mess! Martin and I were not really cooking, and anything that was made was completely on the fly and came from Martin's bag of tricks! I finally started to kick the sickness at the end of the year, and when 2013 arrived, we toasted each other and committed to work on our happiness and our health. January we slowly started to get back on track, and I assessed the damaged that had occurred to my general health and well being... and yeah, there certainly was some!

One thing we quickly restored was our menu planning! It is astounding how much less we spend on groceries, and how much less wasted food we have when we plan out what we are going to make before we make it. What a simple, yet effective concept! I never even got to show off our fancy crafting project for our menu plan and grocery list, so I'm absolutely giddy to do so now! Behold! Ooooo! Ahhh!

Old Door + Chalkboard Paint = Craft Goooollldddd!

Of course we have improved the general functionality since our first use many months ago... I think! We really try not to keep the colors distinct, but of course my cell phone picture doesn't really do this much justice! So what are we eating this week? Behold!

February 11-17 at a glance!

I freely admit that it is better for everyone if Martin does the writing on this chalkboard - the things I write are nearly illegible! I'll try to keep that in mind for future menu pictures! Truthfully, I wasn't even considering blogging yesterday when we threw this together, but you MUST strike while the iron is hot, so... deal with it! Sadly, I don't have many new links for you, as the stuffed peppers are a homemade mishmash, the chicken stroganoff is from a cookbook, and the coconut shrimp and lentil salad has already been shared! It ain't pretty, but I'm going to go ahead and link to the bare bones Cream of Carrot Soup recipe that we use! This soup has somehow become my signature dish over the past 20+ years! We really love it, so I hope you will give it a try!

I'm really hoping that my schedule will start to ease up in the VERY near future and that I'll start blogging with more regularity. I just worked 18 days straight, and today is my only day off until next Monday (it was going to be 12 days, but I just couldn't stomach it!), so needless to say, I'm still figuring things out! At least I have put the kibosh on working doubles! I haven't pulled a double in over a month, and I have no plan to pull another in this lifetime! Haha!

Anyhow, I've missed crafting, cooking, and blogging, so I hope I'll be back here sharing with you soon! If I manage to grab a few minutes this week I'll share a few pictures from the MTU Winter Carnival celebrations! What do people do to pass the time up here in the great white north to pass the time during the months of snow, snow, and more snow? Well duh, they create giant works of snow sculpture artwork! A unique yooper experience!

MUCH Yooper Love! <3

MPM: A Little Blast From the Past

I think since I went home recently, I've been craving some tastes from my childhood, and perhaps a bit further back than that! There is something a bit Retro Rad (thanks Food Network Star for introducing me to THAT catch phrase!) about our menu plan for this week, and I am pretty excited about making and devouring them!

Meal #1: Stuffed Green Peppers! I guess that it really is true that your tastebuds change as you get older/grow up. I have always been a fan of the stuffing of these peppers, but I have never been a fan of the green pepper shell. I still don't love the taste off green peppers (especially raw), however when I had these a few months ago, I didn't even mind eating the shell! Hooray for sneaky veggies!

But of course there will be melty cheese on ours! :)

Meal #2: Grown Up Grilled Cheeses & Tomato Soup! We are trying out some savory fancy pants toasted cheese sandwiches this time! Jalapeno Popper & French Onion Sammies to be exact! And of course, our dear friend "Amy" is providing the soup! Yummy! 

Spicy? We'll see!

Soup IN a sandwich... sort of!

Meal #3: Crock Pot Chicken Chili! You remember this one don't you? I raved and raved and raved about it, and I've had a taste for it ever since of course! Mmmm I can't wait to have some of this soon! 

So easy and tasty! 

Meal #4: Martha Stewart's Warm Lentil Salad! Gotta get back on track with our co-op bulk items. We have a great red lentil dish, so now I need to find a go-to green lentil dish! These flavors sound wonderful, and I'm looking forward to tasting it! 

Chevre! My fav!

We are also playing with the idea of cooking out on or around the 4th, but haven't finalized the menu at all. PLUS we might just be getting a brat or hot dog at the park while we watch fireworks! 

Oh boy guys, I'm being a derelict ambassador for the UP lately! Last weekend we missed Calumet's Pasty Fest because I was working, working, working, and this weekend we are missing Chassel's big Strawberry Fest! I can't believe it! No pictures of the parades, the yummy yooper treats, or even the Strawberry Queen! I hope you will forgive me - I'll try to make it up to you with a report on some of our favorite places to visit in the Keweenaw! 

Til then, 

Yooper Love from me to you!

Menu Planning Monday: Thievery!

It's the beginning of a new week, and I'm looking forward to having some more time to spend in the kitchen and at home! For my birthday I got a lot of super neat things that I plan on making the most of in the coming weeks and months! But the thing that I got that I'm thieving from today? CABLE TELEVISION! Oh my dear, sweet Jesus! The Cooking Channel and Food Network have been in HEAVY rotation when the television is on! I am absolutely smitten with Rachael Ray's "Week in a Day." I've wanted to play with prepping a week's worth of food for a while now, and she gives you five great ideas to work with. This very morning, we were lounging around watching Ms. Ray and her theme for the week was "Bold Thinking." Every single recipe sounded soooo tasty that I decided to scrap the half baked plans I had for MPM today and just steal these!

THANK YOU RACHAEL!

I have no official pictures, but I do have a link! How yummy does this menu sound? RR's Bold Thinking Menu Plan

1. Southern Style Italian Short Ribs - (6/13) I was a short rib newbie, but it was beyond easy! I've lived and learned, and I am so ready to make them again! I know which cut I should be getting, and I am all about the yummy flavor! I ended up making about 2/3rds of the full recipe, but I sure did use the full bottle of wine! Beef + Red Wine = Amazing!

Coming out of the oven, the ribs still on the bone, the onion and fennel still quartered!

This recipe started off with broiling the meat in the oven and creating the sauce on the stovetop. I don't own a dutch oven, but my Le Creuset pan did the trick today! Hooray! Martin took care of trimming the meat and de-boning the meat while I spruced up the sauce. For the first time EVER I added unnecessary garnish just so that it would look pretty for the picture - what do you think of my efforts?

Fresh Baked Bread, parsley, fennel frons, lemon zest, and freshly grated pecorino! 

2. Veal Paprikash with Four Cheese Polenta - I'm absolutely in love with polenta, so I'm all about making more ASAP!

3. Deconstructed Arrabbiata - We haven't had a good pasta day in a while - it's time!

4. (Turmeric and Cumin Chicken on RR's Menu, made a substitute!) Lentils with Chia Seeds - (6/12) I've had this on my menu for weeks now, and I finally decided to make it! Oh, so good! Martin is a meat and potato man, and he loved this vegetarian main too! DO make the brown rice, it really adds something to this dish!

Red lentils really add a hearty flavor in this dish!

5. Beef & Broccoli - Chinese takeout style at home! Woohoo!

I don't own a dutch oven, and two of the recipes call for one, so I'm not sure what to do about that. Seeing as we don't actually need to make portions for four, I might cut them in half and use my Le Crueset pan instead. Anyone have any other ideas for this? I do have a big stock pot, but it certainly isn't cast iron or enamel! I'm not in a position to run out at buy one right now, so I have to make do somehow! Ideas are totally welcome! :)

Sorry this is not a very colorful post! I'll take pictures as I make them and edit them in, how about that!

Menu Planning Monday... or is it?

Wow! I took a look at my June calendar yesterday and I can't believe how much is going on this month! Yesterday was my 29th birthday - full of yummy treats and delicious eats! I had to work in the morning, and even though that was a bummer, the kids that I worked with we're pretty on the ball and I was determined to not let anything bug me! It was a smooth shift, but having to get up and be at work by 7 in the morning didn't leave me with a lot of desire to go out and party in the evening! We DID go to Pilgrim River Steak House in Houghton, MI for a decadent birthday meal! I've been cutting back on my meat intake the last few months, but we really indulged last night! YUMM-O! 

But now I'm looking at this week and I'm not even sure how much planning we need to do! I'm working tonight and tomorrow morning, then we are going to visit some friends in Wisconsin for a few days, then I'm working ALL DAY on Thursday and Friday! Oh boy! We figure that we only need to have a few ideas ready to go for dinner this week, so here are the three that we decided on. 

Dinner #1: Quinoa Broccoli Cheese Casserole (Favorite & Co-op Bulk Items) Confession. The last time I made this the top of my nutmeg was loose, and nearly half a bottle fell into the bowl! I spent A LONG TIME trying to fish out as much as humanly possible, but I really should have just cut my loses. It was ruined. Almost inedible! Even though we both love this dish, I admit I've been gun shy about trying to make it again! It's time. It will be perfection, of course! 

Retro-tastic! 

Dinner #2: Lisa Oz's Lentils with Chia Seeds (Pinterest & Co-op Bulk Items) This will be the first time cooking red lentils - I'm pretty pumped! It sounds pretty yummy, so I sure hope it will be! 

Red Lentils AND Chia Seeds... almost too healthy! 

Dinner #3: Grilled Chicken Salad - No fancy picture or recipe around here! We just have some left over arugula that we need to find a use for! We have one or two chicken breasts in the freezer that would make this into a meal! :) 

June is going to be quite a ride! A dear friend is going to be visiting US next week for a few days (fingers crossed!) and hopefully you'll get to see some of our favorite places around our parts -  after all, that's what a City Girl does to show some Yooper Hospitality! YAY! Bring on the summer! :) 

Yooper Love!

Menu Planning Monday & Recipe Reviews

Hi all! When we were looking at the schedule for this week, at first it seemed that we wouldn't need to plan as many meals as usual! I'm working several evenings this week, plus my birthday is next Sunday, and we plan on eating out to celebrate! But, we did find five holes that will need to be filled with meals, so here we go!

Monday: Grilled Brats & Creamy Grilled Corn Polenta (Pinterest & Co-op) Fact: Martin worked at the Johnsonville factory near Kiel, WI. Fact: Martin will fight anyone who says that any other brat other than Johnsonville is the best brat. Fact: Memorial Day is a great time for cook outs. Fact: We will be cooking Johnsonville brats today.  ...I'm just trying to fancy us up by also making some polenta! :)

Polenta that has grilled corn in it, yum!

The "King of Brats" Duh. 

Tuesday: Penne Rosa with Shrimp (Pinterest) I am so excited that I pinned this recipe! I love the chick that writes this blog - she reminds me of ME! Best stumble of the day! Did you know that the founders of Noodles & Co. concocted their plan during an orientation exercise at my alma mater, Augustana College? I did! (Augustana rocks, check out our CEOs!) Did you know that this recipe was created due to the love of a Noodles & Co. dish? I didn't! But I happen to love that dish too, and I'm pumped to try this version out!

Shrimp & Pasta? Sign me up!

Wednesday: Bifana & Rhubarb Chutney (Garden) We still need to make use of our rhubarb, and this sounded strange and exciting to us! The picture I took was from a blogger that made this exact recipe, she commented that the tartness of the rhubarb is almost comparable to a granny smith apple, so it's not surprising that rhubarb goes well with pork! Sounds reasonable to me, and I'm excited to try my hand at my very first chutney!

Rhubarb Chutney, I'm coming for you!

Friday: Fancy Pants Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup (Cookbook & Pinterest) My sister Michelle submitted a recipe her boyfriend wooed her with for a pear and arugula grilled cheese to our treasury cookbook, and we are planning on trying that too! Fruity grilled cheeses and tomato soup? Sound like the perfect meal to welcome June! 

Not your mama's grilled cheese! 

Saturday: Southwestern Chicken (Slow Cooker) I have to work all day on Saturday, so it is officially slow cooker Saturday! :) My mother started making this meal a while ago and it is one of my parents faves now. I looked for the same recipe online, and I think I found it a couple of times, the only difference being that most called for the chicken to be shredded and for cheese to be added at the end. Martin and I have become pretty skilled meat shredders; plus we are convinced that more flavor gets into the meat when it is added back to the slow cooker post shredding for some extra cooking, thus we will probably be doing that! Cheap, easy, and tasty. That's what I'm talking about! 

Shredded chicken meals never look super pretty, but man they taste good!

So that's our menu for the next week! I said I was going to review the new recipes we tried last week, so get ready for that right... NOW! 

Baked Coconut Shrimp: We whipped this up for our six month anniversary! We both liked the flavor of this dish, and we will try to make it again. You REALLY NEED to use parchment paper when you are baking it, or you WILL LOSE half your coconut coating! Before we make this again, we will certainly invest! We didn't have pineapple preserves, and couldn't see using a whole jar of pineapple preserves in the future, so we used some Keweenaw Kitchen  Raspberry jam instead. The jalapenos and lime juice combined with the rasberries were just lovely, but it was very sweet! Next time we will really chop the jalapanos super fine and add more! 

Hungry Girl Alfredo Bowl: This was that out there recipe that uses tofu noodle substitute, remember? What a comedy of errors this dinner prep was! I'd just gotten back for the hottest Zumba of my life, both of us were hungry and cranky, we had the oven cranked up for the asparagus recipe we were trying, and we realized after we started that we didn't have the ingredients we needed for this recipe! Nothing like getting into a screaming match over putting the "wrong" substitute cheese in, right?! Oh boy! I can't say that we've had this recipe as directed, but when all was said and done, both of us liked what we were eating! The tofu noodles really don't taste bad at all, and the flavors of bacon, roasted red peppers, and mushrooms were yummy. Our "Alfredo" Sauce was just a flop, and yet it didn't ruin the good tastes. I wouldn't be surprised if we tried this again! If you see Tofu noodles, do try them! They aren't bad AT ALL! (Plus, wayyyy healthier than the traditional wheat version!)

Chicken Chili: OH MY GOD! MAKE THIS RIGHT NOW! RIGHT NOW! RIGHT NOW! Martin and I hit the jackpot when we tried this sooo simple crock pot recipe! It is delicious! I covered part of a night shift for my coworker the other night, and so didn't mean to sleep past noon, but when you get home at five am, I guess it happens! We wanted to make this for dinner and were short on time, so we used our slow cooker tricks! Instead of cooking this for six to eight hours on low, we cooked it for one hour on high, and three hours on low. After we shredded the chicken, we cooked it on low for another half hour. Like I mentioned, we are a big fan of letting the flavors really get into the shredded meat, so we do that with our slow cooker recipes regardless of instructions! It made our whole house smell amazing, and it was so tasty to boot! I wouldn't be surprised if this finds it way into our rotation sooner rather than later! YUM! 

Would you believe me if I told you that I really didn't plan for this to become a food blog? Nah, I wouldn't believe me either. But I really didn't! Maybe one day I'll actually post something that DOESN'T have a "Food" label attached to it! But until then...

Yooper Love! 

Menu Planning Monday.. err Tuesday... well... what we are eating this week!

I absolutely LOVE reading what my friend Julie is cooking up for the week in Scottland with her Monday edition of Menu Planning Monday and I thought it would be fun to share what we are cooking up here as well! We recently decided that we MUST plan out at least a few of our meal, regardless of how hectic our schedules are! We were wasting food, buying ingredients that we had a vague plan for, but would never follow through on, and would wait until way too late to figure out what to eat and fall back on quick fixes that didn't pack too much of a nutritional punch.

Our goals/cooking philosophy? Martin and I are on a healthy living journey together, and we have lost nearly 100 pounds together in the last two years JUST to start packing it back on when our schedules started to get crazy! We're striving for clean cooking and local eats when possible, but are really focused on overall health more than losing a certain amount of weight. We are leaning more and more towards homemade goods, and already make bread and greek yogurt at home. We plan on adding other store bought things to our to-do list over time!

When we sit down to create our menu, we try to pick one from a cookbook we own, one for the slow cooker, one from my Pinterest account, and one using items that we buy in bulk from our AMAZING Co-Op. Sometimes the universe combines to create a perfect recipe that combines more than one of these categories at once. When that happens we sit back and ooooo and ahhhh at the wonder and glory that is. that. recipe. :) Now! On to the menu!

Dinner #1: Dr. Oz's Pomegranate Salmon and Bulgar (Cookbook Recipe & Co-Op bulk bulgar) I searched online but I have NO link to a recipe or picture of this gem of a recipe, so I chose the one that looks the most like our actual dinner! The salmon is glazed with reduced pomegranate and orange juice, and the bulgar has apricots and radish in it - SUPER yum! We can't get fresh salmon up here, which is a BUMMER, because it is perfection when made with super fresh salmon!

Dinner #2: Slow Cooker Chicken Chili (Pinterest & Slow Cooker... OooOooo, AahhHhhh) My mouth started to water when I saw this, and Martin needed little to no encouragement for us to try this out this week! :) 

Dinner #3: Planet Hungrywood Sweet & Cap'n Crunchy Chicken (Cookbook & Favorite Meal) I lurve me some Hungry Girl recipes, and I'm a huge Hungry Girl cookbook freak. I only have like... five of her cookbooks. Yup! We both love these chicken fingers! 

Dinner #4: Baked Coconut Shrimp (Pinterest) Martin & I are totally addicted to coconut shrimp, so when I stumbled on a baked version, we knew we would have to try it! I am SO reviewing this for you after we make it! 

Dinner #5: Hungry Girl's Bacon Alfredo Bowl (Cookbook) This is our out-there experimental dish of the week. Hungry Girl goes ON AND ON about tofu shaped noodles and how they are the best thing since ever. I've been searching for them for years now and have never laid eyes on them... until Saturday! The Co-Op had JUST gotten in a shipment so we snagged a few bags and are going to give this a go! Eek! 

Phew! That was more work than I expected it to be! But, I'm excited to share these ideas as we experiment in the kitchen! Happy cooking from the UP!