Eating at Home

Jason and I are trying to eat at home more.

We've always eaten out a lot, but now that we have a nice, new kitchen we want to use it! I'm also hoping that eating in will help us save some money and eat healthier. I'm trying to make a menu for each week to help me out. I hate having to try to figure out something to cook so having a plan or at least an idea really helps me. I know the weeks that I work will be easier to plan than my off weeks. My off weeks are very unpredictable, but last week we managed to make it work somewhat.

This is what the first week looked like:

Monday- Parmesan crusted chicken (Publix recipe), asparagus & roasted potatoes

Tuesday- Crockpot Mexican chicken*, corn tortillas, cheese & sour cream

Wednesday- Chicken parmigiana with caesar salad 

Thursday- we had a free pizza from Papa John's

Friday- BBQ pork, zucchini chips & macaroni & cheese

Saturday- Salmon, asparagus, & roasted potatoes

Sunday- I didn't have a plan, but we ended up having pork tenderloin with zucchini chips and baked beans

*crockpot mexican chicken is a name I made up for putting chicken, a jar of salsa, a can of black beans, and some frozen corn in the crockpot and cooking it on low all day

Last week was my week off so it went a little different:

Monday- Jason and I were working out of town so we ate out

Tuesday- Homemade pizza (turkey pepperoni and spinach) with caesar salad

Wednesday- Grilled chicken ravioli (from Sam's) with marinara and zucchini chips

Thursday- Teriyaki chicken, green beans, and roasted potatoes

We left for Gatlinburg on Friday morning and came home on Sunday night, so there were no weekend meals at home.

I have a tentative menu planned for this week:

Monday- eating at Mom and Dad's

Tuesday- Grilled chicken ravioli (from Sam's) with alfredo & caesar salad

Wednesday- Tacos

Thursday- Baked chicken, zucchini, & roasted potatoes

Friday- Pork chops, green beans, & macaroni & cheese

Saturday- BBQ chicken (or pork), salad & mashed potatoes

Sunday- homemade pizza and salad

Hopefully we can stick to the menu this week. I'm going to have to find more easy and delicious recipes too!

Pumpkin Pecan Bread

Pumpkin is something I very much look forward to in the fall.
Last year I found an amazing pumpkin bread recipe, so I had to make it again this year!

This Pumpkin-Pecan Bread recipe is from the Southern Living All Time Favorites cookbook.

It is delicious! One of my favorite recipes for sure.

Pumkin Pecan Bread

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 (15 ounce) can of pumpkin

3 1/2 cups of flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2/3 cup water

1 to 1 1/2 cups of chopped pecans

Beat sugar, oil, eggs, pumpkin, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves at low speed 3 minutes or until blended. Add water and beat until blended. Stir in pecans. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 9x5 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire rack.

Special Notes:

The recipe makes 2 loaves- 1 to share or you can freeze it for up to 3 months.

I have used vegetable oil or substituted applesauce instead- both ways are delicious.

I don't have cloves, so I don't put them in. I sprinkle a little extra allspice instead!

Enjoy!!

Last Week's Happenings

This last week off was a busy one. 

It started Monday evening with a celebration dinner at Olive Garden for Jason's mom's birthday. We had a delicious dinner, yummy cake, and a good time with family.

Wednesday morning, Jason and I were reminded that this life is short. Jason received a call that one of his former students was killed in a car accident on Tuesday night. Jason spent a lot of time with Bubba while Jason was his youth pastor and they have been in touch ever since. It is always a shock when someone's life ends at twenty-one. Jason came home early from working out of town, and we rearranged some things in order to be able to go to his funeral on Friday afternoon. The funeral was a reminder that we are not promised tomorrow, and we all need to make sure we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and are living our lives for him. Bubba's grandfather also reminded us to make sure we tell our loved ones everyday how much we love and care about them.

Thursday we headed to North Carolina to take some appliances to our friends Brandon and Jenny who are moving into a new house. We also stopped by Jason's property and Whisper Mountain.

On the road again

Jason's property overlooks this reservior

Friday night we had a good friend over for dinner before she headed back to school for the year. Jason grilled and I took care of the sides and dessert!

Cream Cheese pound cake

Yum!

Saturday was kind of a lazy day, which was much needed. We had lunch with my parents and dinner at Jason's parent's house. Jason decided he wanted to try a low country boil. It turned out good in the end, but we had a couple of glitches in the process and it look a couple of hours to bring together!

Sunday morning we headed to church. They just started a new sermon series called Epic. Today was about the gospel- Jesus died, He was buried, and He rose again. It is epic! 

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)
"For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."

Twenty-Five

Yesterday was my birthday, and I am officially 25 years old.

It's a little bit hard to believe...

The celebration started last week when Jason, my parents, and a couple of friends surprised me with a birthday dinner. Jason smoked some salmon, our friends brought over all the sides, and Daddy made his famous banana pudding for dessert. It was a fun surprise!

Birthday Cupcake

The birthday celebration continued with a trip to the lake with friends on Sunday after church. It was a perfect lake day, not too hot. Jason got a new camper grill, so we were able to grill hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. It was yummy! We stopped at a marina for a choco taco for dessert!

Love!

Jason driving the boat!

Beautiful skyline when we got home from the lake!

Yesterday I woke up to a chicken biscuit from Chick-fil-A, beautiful pink roses, and a sweet card from Jason.

My mom also decorated our doors in the basement with Happy Birthday banners!

Jason and I went shopping yesterday for my birthday. It was fun to spend time with Jason even though I wasn't able to find anything for myself. We had lunch at Moe's and then Sweet Monkey's for dessert!

After shopping Mom and I went to get our nails done. I got a manicure and pedicure. It was relaxing and good quality time with my mom.

Love the natural color I picked!

For dinner I got to pick the restaurant, so we headed to Maggiano's. We ate some yummy Italian food and even had leftovers to bring home!

Back at home, I opened the gifts from my parents- a beautiful green scarf and the Shark steam cleaner!

I have been wanting one of these! I can't wait to clean with it :)

Mom made my birthday cake, a sour cream cake. It's my Nana's recipe. Sour cream cake has always been my favorite of Nana's!

Cutting the cake. It was delicious!

It was a great birthday! I am very thankful for my family and friends who made it special!

Bridal Shower

A couple of weekends ago Mom and I hosted a bridal shower for Charles's fiancé, MC.

It was a lot of fun!

We had some yummy food, played games, and opened gifts.

We decorated with pink daisies and pictures of Charles and MC.

Invitation and Daisies

We also had a big spread of food!

The Buffet

Punch

Fruit Pizzas

Chocolate Cupcakes

As a gift for Charles and MC, we had all the guests write down their favorite date nights or date night ideas and put them in the Date Night Jar. 

After eating, we played a couple of games.

First was toilet paper bride.

Everyone planning out their gowns

The Bride to Be!

Our fabulous models!

Next was Bridal Shower Word Scramble.

Then it was time for gifts!

Jason and I have the Mr. and Mrs. mugs too! They are so cute.

We even made time for a new family photo.

I am so very thankful for this wonderful family!

Spring Break 2012

Last week we took a trip to the beach with some friends of ours for Spring Break.

I LOVE the beach, so I am glad last week was my off week so we could go!

We left as soon as I got home from work Monday morning.

We grabbed a Chick-fil-A breakfast and hit the road to Navarre Beach, Florida.

We got there just after lunch, so we were able to lay out some in the afternoon.

View from the balcony

We were only a little ways down from the pier

Beautiful clear water!

The first night we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Destin, The Crab Trap.

We love the crab cakes, the shrimp, and the grouper! It was so yummy! 

One of the best things about the beach is eating seafood for dinner every night.

Can't go to the beach and skip Fudpucker's!

Tuesday was a cloudy/rainy day, so we decided to go to the outlet mall in Destin and to a movie.We saw The Hunger Games. It was pretty good. I haven't read the books though, and I think it might have made more sense if I had.

Wednesday morning the beach was cloudy, windy, and cold. We braved the chilly weather for a little bit to play bocche ball, but after a little while we headed back inside.

Jason braved the water!

Dark clouds

Jason and our friend, Rod, decided to play golf that afternoon. I went along for the ride because I was getting cabin fever in the condo.

Jason golfing

The course was in a subdivision, and a lot of the houses had these cages over their pools and patios to keep the golf balls out.

Beautiful Sunset

Thursday morning it was cloudy again, but the sun finally decided to come out on Thursday afternoon! We all headed down to the beach to get some sun!

Lots of waves because it was still windy

Thursday was our last night, so we walked the pier before dinner.

View from the Pier

Lots of people were fishing!

Us on the pier!

We headed back home on Friday morning. I'm glad we were able to go even if it was just for a few days! I am definitely looking forward to our trip to Destin with my parents in September.

Zucchini Chips

I am trying to find new recipes and try making new things.

Jason and I get tired of green beans and chicken!

I found a recipe for zucchini chips on Pinterest and decided to try it.

The original recipe can be found here.

The ingredients:

breadcrumbs (I used store bought)

parmesan cheese

whole wheat flour

pepper

milk

sliced zucchini

(original recipe calls for apple cider vinegar, but I left it out)

I cut the recipe in half because I was only using one zucchini.

Mix 1/8 cup of breadcumbs with 1/8 cup of parmesan cheese.

Add pepper to taste.

Mix 1/2 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour.

Dredge each zucchini slice first through the milk/flour mixture, then through the breadcumb/cheese mixture and put on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes until browned and crisp.

These turned out yummy! I would definitely make them again. 

It's quick and easy- my favorite :)