The Stabbing

So, I stabbed myself in the arm while making dinner Tuesday night. I knew it was a bad stab when all the things that are supposed to stay inside your body (i.e. tissue, fat, muscle) came squeezing out along with the blood. I applied pressure and, panicked, called Jonathan who was already on his way home. He surveyed the damage and moments later I was in the car on the way to the ER.... I ended up getting four stitches and, having stabbed so deep, have been unable to type because using my fingers made everything hurt THAT.MUCH.WORSE. Today my arm is feeling much better and I can now update you on the last two nights dinners (yes, I have still been cooking..what kind of wife would I be if I let a mere flesh wound take me out?!)

Tuesday night, the infamous night of "The Stabbing" --as I have started referring to it, was oven fried chicken and creamy bow tie pasta. It was very simple (minus the stabbing myself part) and ended up being very tasty. Let's get right into it.. before anything else thaw out 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I cut mine into smaller strips once thawed. Soak these in milk.

Meanwhile, in a separate container mix up 1/4 cup flour, 1tsp of each: salt, sage, garlic powder, thyme, marjoram, oregano.

Add about half a teaspoon of pepper. Take chicken breasts and coat with mixture. Place all in a casserole dish, dot with butter and shake over parsley. You will bake this for about 25 minutes at 350.


Meanwhile, prepare your bow tie pasta according to directions on box. Before noodles are done cooking, add two cups of frozen peas. Drain all and place back in pan. Add 1 can onion and chive cream cheese. Add 1/4 cup milk. Stir to combine.
Once chicken is done, top each with parmesan cheese.

And, enjoy.

Post-Stabbing:

Tweet

Pork Chops and Applesauce

I am going to go ahead and assume no one (besides perhaps my mother) knows where the title of this blog came from tonight. You can guess, but since you won't get it right I will just tell you-- Brady Bunch of course! .......Still nothing? Well, never mind then.

Okay, tonight I made EASY cheesy potatoes and pork chops. After cooking the chops in oil, you literally mix up everything else and shove it in the oven and 45 minutes later, the husband rated this meal an 8 out of 10. It usually requires some type of bread going along with the meal for him to rate anything that high. But, no bread and still, a success! This recipe will go into the rotation for sure.

I sautéed these in oil and some minced garlic and a few bay leaves.


Don't let them cook all the way through, they still have to sit an an oven for 45 minutes...
Mix all ingredients in pan, arrange chops on top, and at some point I guess I should mention there is no applesauce involved in the recipe at all...just in case..


and 45 minutes later...



The recipe I am putting below yields 4 healthy servings. Perfect for two, husband will have this for lunch tomorrow. Here are a few more pictures of our little apartment.
Halloween Decorations!


Halloween Candy Bowl, yes I filled it up. Yes I have eaten half of it. Don't judge me.



New sheets, duvet and comforter...ahhhh!


Below is the husband, being manly and wielding power tools. Funny story: during this he received a phone call from the college where went to undergrad school. The caller wanted to update his contact info and talk to him about financially contributing to the school. The husband, being in a funny mood, went on to tell the poor caller (who I am sure was just a student) that he already financially contributed to his school via tuition and in fact was STILL paying it back. The young man then asked if he had any prayer requests he could pray for him and husband looked at me, where I was laying on the bed, glass of wine in hand and told the caller he was recently married to an alcoholic and needed prayer for that. The poor guy was sputtering and stuttering and husband was laughing hysterically. Now we are going to get AA literature in the mail courtesy of his school I am sure.





Pork Chops and Easy, Cheesy Potatoes
4 boneless pork chope
20 ounces frozen has browns (about 2/3 of a 2 lb bag), thawed
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 can cream of celery
1 can french dried onions
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook chops in oil leaving a touch of pink in center. In large bowl mix sour cream, milk, soup, 1 cup of cheese and 2/3 french dried onions. Mix in has browns last, blend. Place mix in backing dish arranging chops on top. Cover and cook at 350 for 40 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese and onions over top and continue cooking uncovered 5 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Tweet

Marjoram? (aka "Wife Lessons")

Yesterday I dove into the great unknown that is meal planning. Spending the better part of morning scouring the internet for edible meals for the husband I felt very proud having amassed a suitable list for the week. Fall is upon us, so I chose several rich & creamy dishes to warm our bellies from the crisp, cool weather that is settling around us. I made my shopping list and headed off to Meijer with confidence.... which quickly turned to frustration and confusion. Where are the dried french onions? What is a round steak? Can anyone tell me where you find the cornstarch? And has ANYONE ever heard of a little ingredient called marjoram? You haven't? Well, neither had the SIX people I asked in the store. From a particularly feisty pair of grandparents I was told that I was pronouncing it wrong, that I was in fact looking for margarine. When I tried to explain that I had not written it wrong, and I was searching for something pronounced MAR-JAH-RAM I was given a confused looks and furrowed brows. I politely excused myself and then seriously thought I HAD written it wrong when I asked at least 4 more people to no avail. I found the french onions after (literally) 5 passes of the entire rows of the store-- they are in the canned vegetable aisle. Cornstarch can be found in the baking aisle, and round steak is just steak without the bone. Marjoram? Well, folks. It IS real after all....

Marjoram or sweet marjoram (Origanum marjorana, formerly Marjorana hortensis) is a perennial in the mint family that grows wild in the Mediterranean region, with 90% of the world’s supply coming from Egypt. Note that the genera names Origanum andMarjorana are used interchangeably by some. Marjoram is also called wild marjoram, as well as joy of the mountains and wintersweet.

Long story short, marjoram is pretty much the same thing as oregano. Marjoram is slightly sweeter and less punchy than oregano. Who knew right? Now that I have that figured out, I have all the ingredients I need to make a week's worth of wholesome meals. Each night I will try and document making these meals, and let you know how they tasted. Feel free to cook along with me, or better yet let me know what YOU are eating this week and pass along any of your great recipes! Here are some pictures of the flour/sugar canisters I bought and a picture of our kitchen so far...

Happy weekend!

Tweet

Going To The Chapel...

One week from today I get to marry the sweetest, most handsome, studliest, smartest, bravest doctor/best friend/hand holder/secret keeper/bug squasher/pancake maker EVER.


This is the first picture I ever saw of Jonathan. As most of you know, we met at church for the first time...in person, BUT we actually came into contact through e-harmony. Yeah, there it is, I said it! For those that don't know the story, here is a short summary. Both our families urged us to give the site a shot (in different ways and for different reasons). Jonathan's sister Jennifer had met her husband this way, and a couple from my dad's church had met through the site and had only good things to say about it. We were matched and decided to speak via facebook since neither of us were sold on the dating website. It turned out we had one friend in common on facebook....which was Jonathan's sister Jennifer. Jennifer was also part of the couple from my dad's church that he knew had met through e-harmony. SO, in a way, it was because of Jennifer and Ryan that both families encouraged this approach to finding someone with equal morals and interests to date.

Jonathan had been attending my church and in the end we actually met face to face there. I pretended not to notice him that first Sunday he came after we had been talking through e-mail. We nearly lost our chance because I was afraid to talk to him, but right before I left I doubled back and we had a decent conversation which led to a date, which led to me knowing (that night) that he was my future husband. I let him know this the next week and somehow it didn't scare him off (I think he thought I was joking)...... now, 4 days after our 1 1/2 year anniversary we will become husband and wife.

Jonathan is the most amazing man I have ever met. He has the sweetest heart and he feels for other people before he thinks about himself. He is genuine and selfless, a daredevil and a little mischievous. He has the most killer smile, and most beautiful eyes that sparkle when he is happy or up to no good :) I am so thankful that God thought enough of me to pair me with someone so incredible. I am so excited to become his wife and helper, and to be part of his amazing family. I feel so special and blessed and incredibly humbled and thankful.

I love you Mr. Slater.

Tweet