grilling with dinner's at 6.

we recently started ordering dinner's at 6 for our evening meals.  so far we've liked everything we've gotten {except for the honey mustard, bacon, mozzarella chicken}.  tonight i was on my own for dinner.  travis wasn't home. haley and sierra were, but they decided to hit up the pool. 

i called my dad on the way home because i wanted to grill the french onion burgers i had thawed, but ... here's a little secret ... i have never grilled on my own before.  i love grilled food, but we use a charcoal grill because of my mom's allergy to propane.  and i had never started a charcoal grill. 

so, my dad gave me instructions for how to use the stainless chimney charcoal starter and let me know how the charcoal should look in the chimney before dumping it out in the grill to cook.

everything went really well, and i ended up with these bad boys. 

they. were. amazing.  i couldn't stop talking about them!  and i'm not even a burger person.  i will eat them from time-to-time, but rarely but choice.  these are called french onion burgers because they have french onions mixed right in.  oh. so. yummy. 

mom brought fresh zucchini the last time she was at the house, so i steamed some up, sliced up tomatoes and tore some leaf lettuce.   i tried to wait for the girls, but they were preoccupied at the pool and the melty goodness was calling my name, so i fixed up a plate and sat down to enjoy a yummy, yummy dinner. 

i never thought i would need something like dinner's at 6 since i love cooking.  with everything we have going on right now, though, it has been a welcome relief to know all our meal planning and prep is taken care of for the most part after a long day of working. i'm excited for the next time we have these bad boys. 

dinner's at 6.

so earlier this week, i just lost it at work.  i went into a room and just cried.  yes, we are blessed; yes, things could be worse; but holy moly, the past eight months or so have been hard.  we've had loss after loss, change after change, migraines, crohn's, a kid, the list goes on.

i'm the type of person who likes to feel like i have things all together, and most of the time i do, but lately i've just felt snowed under.  yes, i'm keeping everything together, but i couldn't begin to tell you how i'm doing.  except for the grace of God.

when i was so upset i called sue.  i told her that fixing dinner at night had become a crippling task.  even though i love to cook.  making a decision about where to go eat at night was even too much.  if i asked everyone where they wanted to go and they wouldn't pick i would just want to cry.

so, she suggested i see if there are any places in tulsa that prepare meals.  i never dreamed of something like this, and when i first started researching it, i was afraid it would be too expensive.  there was a place in edmond that she suggested, and she would even be willing to meet me 1/2 way to deliver it to me.  it was going to cost a small fortune.  but i was desperate so i didn't give up.

i kept looking and came across dinner's at 6.  {it was at this point that the heavens parted and a host of angels started singing} ahhhhhhh. and they are incredibly reasonable.

we get to order 15 meals that feed three people.  we pick them up, and they are all ready to go.

this isn't the best image, but i took a picture of my computer so i could send the menu to travis and see if he thought what i had chosen looked good.  we pick up our first order tuesday.  i can't wait!
 

peanut butter truffles by haley.

while at work today, i received the following text from haley:

after a text like that, i'm not going to lie ... i was a little nervous what i might come home to and find in my kitchen.  it turns out i found these peanut butter truffles.  i don't have the recipe so i can't share it, but they are balls of peanut butter covered in white and brown almond bark.

haley used a "healthy" version and wasn't impressed.  i found them incredibly rich, though.  they tasted a lot like a reese's peanut butter cup, but sweeter. 

i was proud of her for trying out something new and impressed that they turned out on the first batch.

landscaping ideas.

I am terrible at outdoor landscaping.  I can drive past other properties and highlight things I like, but when I get to the store, I can never pick anything that I like.  Even though I can pull designs together on paper, I can't bring the idea of different plants together in my head. It comes pretty easily to both of my parents, but somehow that gene skipped over me.

Mom and Dad are going to come help us with the flowerbed this weekend.  We haven't planted anything in our front flowerbed yet, and if we're going to list the house, we need to make sure we have nice curbside appeal.

I started looking around online and here are a few images I came across on Pinterest.

Anyone have any brilliant ideas for how you go about planning out your landscaping?

welcome to MY frontier.

This weekend Travis watched The Pioneer Woman with me.  It's Ree Drummond's show on the Food Network.  I've used a few of her recipes {particularly when I'm cooking beef}, and I've had a lot of success with them {remember that incredible beef tenderloin I whipped up at Christmas?}. 

She made a tres leches cake, and Travis thought it looked really yummy.   I decided to give it a whirl.  Mine isn't as pretty as hers {and I didn't feel like removing the stems from my cherries} but all in all it turned out pretty well.

I've had tres leches cakes before, but Travis never had.  It's very light, even though it has the three milks in it.  I'm a fan, but mine definitely wasn't as good as the professionally made cakes I've had.  I'm not giving up on the recipe, but think it's something I'll need to try a few times before I get it just right.

apple kale muffins.

Right now kale is really popular, but I've never really eaten it.  Since we've been making smoothies and juices for Travis, kale is a frequent ingredient as part of the base, especially for green smoothies.  I bought a large bunch of it ... but then found that I didn't really know what to do with it.  It didn't go through our juicer very well, and when I put it in the blender, I couldn't get it smooth enough for either of us.  I like lots of other green smoothies, but I just can't get past the kale texture.

I started looking into other ways to use kale.  I made kale chips last night.  They were pretty good, but definitely not my favorite thing under the sun.  I thought I really liked them as soon as they were finished, but after a few I wasn't a big fan.  I stored them in a Rubbermaid container overnight and they were soggy today.  Ick.  No thanks.

I had seen these apple kale muffins by Lemon Stripes on Pinterest.  They looked really yummy so I decided to give them a whirl.

They made the house smell delicious while they were baking {and even though you're not supposed to, I couldn't help but sample the batter a few times while mixing them up}.

Don't let look delish?  They had moist chunks of apple in them and wonderful spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. I would definitely make these again, but will need to find other kale recipes that I like because it really didn't take much kale to make the muffins, and it always seems to come in such large bunches.

Do you have any kale recipes you love?

busy bees.

wow.  march 2nd already.  how is it possible that we're in the last month of the first quarter already?

today we've been busy, busy bees.  travis and i woke up and poked around the house for a bit.  then we got ready for the day and headed out to do a bit of grocery shopping.  i had planned to stop at aldi in owasso on the way home from work yesterday, but i missed the turn, and travis and i were both just so tired.

we headed out at about 9:30 and left haley to work on her vanity (she's in the process of stripping and sanding it down so we can paint it).  we hit up aldi, then the meat market in coweta, and then walmart.  i loathe running errands, but it's not so bad when i'm spending time with travis. i hate shopping at aldi, but i've found that the prices on a lot of things are almost half the price that i pay at reasor's or walmart.  sooo, even though i hate it, and going there stresses me out, i am trying to be conscious of what we spend on food.

while shopping, travis kept spotting items and getting inspired.  he put a bag of vanilla wafers into the cart.  i asked what they were for.  "you're going to make banana pudding later."  oh.  excellent.  good to know.  =)  he was teasing of course and i like to whip up stuff in the kitchen, so i didn't mind.   i picked up a box of lasagna so i could make the mexican lasagna that i made a few weeks ago and travis asked, "are you going to make me lasagna tonight."  i told him my plan, but he decided actual lasagna sounded much better.

when we got home, haley had made a lot of progress on the vanity, and travis was able to start painting it.  we all got the groceries put away, and then i called haley into the kitchen to help me make the banana pudding.  after that, we started on the lasagna (which smells amazing, by the way).  the recipe has been awesome so far, and i can't wait to taste the finished product. 

while we were letting the meat sauce for the lasagna simmer for an hour and a half, we mixed up some homemade oatmeal cups.  they're kind of like granola bars but instead of being in a bar, they're in a baking cup.  and our contain no granola.  just oats, honey, and a few fun toppings.  i'll post the recipes for everything a little later.  for now, i'm going to go remove the foil from the lasagna so it can finish cooking.  and i don't want to miss the last of lady and the tramp. still an all-time-favorite of mine.

happy weekend from the lear family!

26. jan. 2013. organizing for change.

sometimes i fall off the blogging bandwagon just because i won't have it in me.  i just won't feel like writing.  that has not bean the case the past few weeks.  i've had lots and lots to write about ... and very little time.

on the 26th i started the massive project of cleaning the office.   travis mentioned to me on monday or tuesday night that he thought we should try to get haley.  ever since my uncle david passed away, it's been unclear what would really happen with her.  my mom had promised uncle david to take care of haley if anything ever happened to him, but there are a lot of things on her plate right now and none of us thought it would be a healthy decision for her.

i called mom and let her know we would like to get haley.  throughout the rest of the week,  i started rearranging the guest bedroom and cleaning items out of the closet.  if haley was going to come live with us, i wanted everything to be set up and ready for her.

i had to reorganize the office closet to make room for items from the guest room.  something you should know about me when it comes to organizing - it always gets worse before it gets better.

 

i pulled everything that been haphazardly shoved into the office closet and had it out in the middle of the floor.  slowly but surely i set about finding a new home for everything.  i was also able to throw out and recycle scards of items.  i also moved both of the towers that you see in the picture from another part of the room, and i removed all the doors and hardware they had on them. 

i  also found some fun treasures while looking through things. 

sierra stopped by for a little bit and helped me organize some of my paper and invitations.  while we were working i got a phone call from travis.  our friends laura and kyle dill had gotten free tickets to the three doors down/daughtry concert.  

i was really torn between going and staying home because i had such a big mess on my hands and wanted to get as much put away as possible. 

i ended up getting as far as i could and then started getting ready.  sierra couldn't believe i even considered not going.  she thinks i'm nuts.  ;o)  here's the progress.  i will replace those bins because they're not really my style, but for now, function vs. fashion.

and the inside of the closet looks much better.  

garlic. garlic. garlic.

my poor husband.  i love garlic!  he likes it, too, but he believes in a little thing called too much garlic.  i don't believe it exists, but he swears it does.

i don't know what made me think of this.  i'm not cooking or baking or even meal planning, but it suddenly struck me that lately i've been using entire heads of garlic instead of cloves!  for instance, a recipe the other day called for four cloves of garlic.  i used two heads and travis stopped me before i could cut up any more.  he thought it looked like plenty of garlic.  turns out, he was right!

 image from lukehoney.typepad.com {just did a google image search}

i know i've done this several times lately.  not sure why.  i  know the difference.  i think subconsciously my brain just tells me to add more of the delicious goodness!

just a {little} organizing.

travis and i have been talking about rearranging the office.  the closet has been an absolute disaster area, and the room became a catch-all during the months leading up to and following the wedding. other than travis using it a few times a week for our expenses and balancing the books, we're rarely in the room.  we've also found that we often have house guests; and while we have a fully-functional spare bedroom, sometimes we have to pull out the ol' air mattress as well and put it in the office.  travis suggested taking the treadmill back to amanda and zach and getting a couch that has a pull-out bed for the office.  i also like the idea of a murphy bed for the room, but travis nixed the idea.  he doesn't think other people would want a murphy bed in this room, and since we don't plan to be here forever, we'll be looking for a couch {or loveseat} with a pull out bed.  ideally the bed would be a full or a queen.  if you're looking to get rid of one, let me know!  everything i've found on craigslist looks like i've entered a timewrap and gone back 20 - 40 years.  no thank you!

saturday we loaded up the treadmill {and in the process took out a chunk of the wall in the hallway -- boo!}.  my dad called right as we were in the middle of it, and luckily he was just a few blocks from the house.  he didn't want me lifting it, so he stopped by and helped travis get it into the back of the truck.  it was perfect timing.  we had just rolled it through the front door when he pulled up.

while travis was in muskogee delivering the treadmill, this was taking place in our house ...

and it was actually much worse than this at one point -- in this picture, i've already removed the mounds of bubble wrap i pulled out of the closet, and i've also already put away the wedding gifts that were still piled up under the window and out in front of one of the closet doors.  i sent travis and message with this picture with the word "yikes!" ... his response?  "holy crap!" 

i pulled everything out of the closet and out of the two smaller bookshelves {which were actually towers from an old entertainment set}.  they each had two doors on them, but i took them off and now they look like what you see above in the picture {you can see one to the left of the desk with striped bins on the shelves}. i pulled out the ol' screwdriver and everything!  i also moved one of the piers out to the hallway to see if i would like a bookcase out there.  i did not.


i really wish i had a picture of the closet, because it was the worst area of all to start with.  after a lot of work, it's starting to look a million times better.  i was able to recycle and throw away quite a few things.  the recycle bin was empty when i started.  now it's full to the top.  for those of you who live in tulsa, you know just how huge our recycle bins are!  that was a lot of clean-out.  i also filled one trash bag.  i still have a bit left to do, but am thrilled with the progress so far. 

i didn't get to finish because travis called while i was in the middle of everything and asked if i wanted to go to the daughtry/3 doors down concert.   i must be crazy because i kind of just wanted to stay at the house and organize.  sierra had just gotten to the house about an hour before to hang out for a bit, and she started organizing samples of my designs.  she thought i was nuts for just wanting to hang at home.  i went through things as long as i could, and then tore myself away to run around and get ready.

i'm always like this when organizing -- it always gets waaaaay worse before it gets better.  do you ever re-organize like this?  or am i the only spaz?

lazy sunday: steak fajitas and guacamole.

after driving around and looking for land together with our pups today, travis and i headed back home.  we needed a few groceries so i headed to aldi {i'm trying to go there whenever i can because of the great deals i got on christmas eve}. they are a little hit and miss on what they have, so i also had to make a stop at reasor's -- i much prefer shopping there.  

when i got home we were trying to decide if we were going to hang out with the loves and/or if travis's friend chris was going to drive in from bartlesville to hang out for a bit.  as it turned out, we decided to stay in for the rest of the day.

while at the grocery store, i picked up everything we needed for steak fajitas.  travis had pulled steak out to thaw when we got home from our excursion.

chicken fajitas: 

i made my own fajita seasoning instead of picking up a packet at the store.  i got the basic recipe here, but as i've recently mentioned, i like to play around a little with recipes.  

i followed the recipe and used the following ingredients {not pictured, sugar}.  

mix the following measurements of these spices together in a bowl.  {i poured them all in and then whisked together}. 

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 2 tablespoons chili powder 
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt 
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1 teaspoon sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin 
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

i had already started marinading the steak in whiskey and balsamic vinegar {i used a shot glass and poured it half full of whiskey and topped it off with the balsamic}. before adding the liquid marinade, i poked the steaks all over with a fork {i don't have a meat tenderizer}.  the meat was in the fridge while i got the seasoning ready.

the recipe calls for the spices and 2 tablespoons of oil {i used olive oil} to be mixed together in a ziplock bag and then add the meat.  i didn't want to dirty another item, so i just started mixing everything into the bowl with the meat.  i added the olive oil and then three tablespoons of lemon juice {i didn't have a fresh lemon or lime}. next i added two tablespoons of the seasoning.

i put the lid on my rubbermaid bowl, turned it upside down, and shook it vigorously.  {mine didn't leak, but i would recommend doing this over the sink ... just in case}.

this worked very well and everything mixed well, coated both steaks well, and even got in between the two steaks.  i opted not to cut off the fat yet.

to give the meat plenty of time to marinade {a minimum of thirty minutes to an hour is recommended}, i decided to chop all my veggies and prepare my other items.

since it was just travis and me, i sliced half of three different bell peppers.

next i sliced part of an onion {to be cooked with the peppers} and diced the other part for guacamole & to top the fajitas.

i chopped a little cilantro {for the guac} and diced a tomato {to be used in the guac & to top the fajitas}. i also cut open two avocadoes {only one pictured}.

doesn't it all look so pretty?  the other thing i didn't capture is the lettuce i cut up to top the fajitas. -- what can i say?  we top our fajitas similar to tacos. 

i scooped the meat out of both avocados.  they weren't quite as ripe as i hoped, but still tasted fine.  they were just a little tougher to mash than usual.

after mashing the avocado as best as possible, i added in onions, tomatoes, and cilantro {my stomach used to turn at the taste of cilantro.  now i love it}.  travis doesn't eat guacamole, so i just fixed a small bowl for myself. 

it got a little easier to mash the longer i worked with the meat.  the finishing touch was to sprinkle garlic salt across the top of the bowl and then mix well again.  all of these ingredients are to taste.  i usually add a little lime juice, but as i mentioned i didn't get any limes at the store.

i didn't snag any pictures, but i also cut up a block of cheese and got the queso started in the microwave.  i melted the cheese, cream cheese, cream of mushroom, and rotel in the microwave.  i decided the sausage for it would be the last thing i would cook and stir in at the end.

i pulled the meat out of the fridge and cut it into strips.  you'll notice i left the fat on for flavor while i was cooking.  it came off like butter once it was all cooked. 

isn't that gorgeous?

i put the strips from one steak into a tablespoon of heated olive oil.   travis likes steak a little more well done than i do.  as soon as it has a little brown color to it, i added the rest of the steak, the vegetables, and added 2 tablespoons of the seasoning.  i would encourage you to taste the flavor as your cooking.  i like my tacos and fajitas well-seasoned.  you may decide you want more seasoning.

lovely, lovely colors!

while i was cooking my hubs came in and captured a few shots of me.

 

he tried to get a picture of conor, but he kept moving ... doesn't his face look freaky in this picture??

i finished up the meat and peppers, quickly browned some sausage, added it to the queso and called travis to the kitchen.

dinner is served.  mmm ... mmm ... mm.  you can't go wrong with fajitas and guacamole. 

what's on your menu tonight?

buttermilk pie.

after dinner i started cleaning out the fridge.  i noticed the buttermilk was going to go bad tomorrow {can buttermilk really go bad?}.  i've been in the mood to bake, but have been refraining because travis just loves sweets too much.  he has a love/hate relationship with my baking.  i had a pie crust in the freezer from christmas that i needed {okay, wanted} to use, i decided to whip up a delicious buttermilk pie {travis's favorite}.

in my christmas post with all my recipes for christmas eve dinner i mentioned that i've never really been a pie maker.  and i decided it's something i need to learn to make and get better at.  i also linked to the homesick texan's recipe for buttermilk pie.  i used the exact same recipe tonight.

this is a super easy pie to make {i don't think i realized it during the hustle and bustle of christmas when i was cooking a million other things}; it takes about 10 minutes tops!  it takes a long time to bake though -- 50 minutes or so.

since i captured a few action shots tonight, i thought i would go ahead and post the recipe here as well.


{the homesick texan's buttermilk pie}

ingredients:

• 2 cups of granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 8 Tablespoons butter {softened}  -- i used unsalted butter anytime i bake 
• 3 large eggs, beaten
•  pinch of salt 
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 pie crust

directions:

preheat the oven to 350.  bake pie crust for 10 minutes.

while the crust is partially baking, combine the sugar and flour.

cream the butter.  {i didn't have mine sitting out, so i put it in the microwave for 30 seconds, turning it every 10 seconds - you just want it soft, not runny}

beat the eggs {in a separate bowl}. 

add the sugar/flour mixture to the butter.    next stir in all other ingredients {eggs, salt, buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla extract & white vinegar - buttermilk not shown in pictures}.  i add them one at a time, making sure each one is stirred in before adding the next item.

your timer for the pie should be going off right about now.  if not, take this time to put away any ingredients you've gotten out, put any bowls into the dishwasher, etc.

once the crust has baked for 10 minutes, pull it out of the oven and pour the filling into the partially baked pie crust.  bake in the oven, uncovered until the custard is set.  this will take about 45 - 55 minutes depending on your oven.

for mine, i set the timer for 40 minutes.  i check it then and decide if it needs to go another five minutes or so.  -- you do not want to over-bake this pie.  if the custard is a tiny bit unset in the center, that's okay.  it will stand up while setting on the counter.

as i mentioned before, travis said the one i made on christmas eve was better than his aunt's or mom's {i'll take the compliment!} but that the texture "wasn't quite right." he did say it was the closest to his granny's he's ever had.

if you try it out let me know what you think.   if anyone has a good recipe that you'd like to share, i'd love to try it!

comfort food and staying busy.

all day yesterday i felt like a cloud was hanging over me.  i would be fine and then sad.  thinking of losing my uncle.  my mom and her siblings losing their brother -- i don't know how to process that.  thinking of haley losing her dad -- again, unimaginable. thinking of how grateful i am we got to spend christmas eve.  realizing i never captured a picture of haley and uncle david in front of the christmas tree. wishing i had ... 

on the drive home travis asked me what i thought sounded good for dinner.  i really didn't know.  chicken and dumplings came to mind for him.  the day was dreary and a little cold outside.  i thought chicken and dumplings sounded fitting for the day.  we stopped at reasor's for a few things we needed and then headed home. 

keeping busy was therapeutic for me.  i would still think of my family, but i was focused on happy memories and the task at hand more than anything. 

i had never made chicken & dumplings {and my mom's are pretty hard to compete with}.  i didn't feel like i could call & ask my mom with all she was dealing with, so i took to the internet.  i started with paula deen's, but her recipe sounded much more bland than my mom's.  next stop, martha stewart,  her recipe sounded closer to what i thought my mom's would likely be. 

if you've been following me for any time at all, you realize that i have trouble not manipulating recipes.  i always have to change them in some way {well for some things. i tend to stay true to the recipe on desserts because i'm always afraid they won't set up correctly}

here's my version of martha's. {i didn't include the frozen peas at all}.

chicken & dumplings:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 head of fresh garlic, diced {this is something i added}
• 5 medium carrots, sliced {i sliced mine thinner than she calls for}
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme {i used italian seasoning with thyme and oregano}
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 box reduced-sodium chicken broth {i had to use significantly more than martha's recipe}
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons more milk

 directions:

1. in a dutch oven, heat butter over medium. add onion, carrots, and italian seasoning. cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. add 1/4 cup flour and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. add broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly - i started with the 14.5 oz the originally recipe calls for, but added more as the soup cooked.  it became more of a paste than a soup; season with salt and pepper. nestle chicken pieces in the pot; reduce heat to medium-low. cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. meanwhile, make dumplings: in a medium bowl, whisk together remaining 3/4 cup flour, dill, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  i also sprinkled enough italian seasoning to cover the top of the dough mixture because i didn't think the dill would make these taste enough like my mom's. with a fork, gradually stir in 1/2 cup milk to form a moist and soft batter. it should be just a little thicker than pancake batter and should easily drop from the tip of a spoon. i had to add the additional 2 tablespoons of milk because the dough was too thick.) 
   
   
   
   
   
4. drop batter in simmering liquid in 10 heaping tablespoonfuls, keeping them spaced apart (dumplings will swell as they cook). 
   
   
   
   
   
   cover, and simmer until chicken is tender and dumplings are firm, 20 minutes. the dumplings bubbled up so perfectly -- i was so nervous!  not the best picture ever, and the dumplings still look a little doughy here, but i can assure you they were not.
   
   
   
   
   
   we ate dinner with the soup just like this, but i added more chicken broth {until the box was gone} and sprinkled more italian seasoning across the top for our leftovers tonight.