Sunny Days

My sunnies are on,

My hair is curled, 

With the wind in my face,

I'll take on the world. 

Loving the days we get sun and its not to muggy to enjoy it! 

After a long day in the yard and some pretty major sunburns, Scott and I decided to enjoy a night out with someone else cooking & cleaning. Just before I took this picture Scott and I were on a wild turkey chase, literally. We (well Scott) saw a huge wild turkey and I missed it so he turned the truck around and we went back to find it again hoping to capture a picture. Every time we pass an animal (cow, horse, goat, ground hog, hawk) I squeal. Scott makes fun, but I know he loves it.

 Its the little things in life folks :)

Herbs... Let's try this again.

Apparently I can't grow herbs from seed. I've tried twice with no luck (See here and here). They start out strong, then it all goes to pot. Oh well. At least I tried. We decided to just go ahead buy starter plants and see how that goes. I am happy to report they are doing beautifully!

Before

I spent the day re-potting my new herb garden and pansies we picked up for $.50 each! I wish I had gotten more but alas I promised Scott I wouldn't go crazy! Until I can figure out some better/ more decorative pots for the pansies they will stay in the larger plastic ones I had.

After

My herbs look and smell great. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Basil and Lavender. Not pictured Dill and Chives that I picked up at the local flea market (my new Thursday morning activity).

Now to find some new recipes to use them in... Ideas?

Chicken Pot Pie

I love me some chicken pot pie! So does Scott. So does the rest of the world...

This is usually one of my make to impress meals or what I take to friends when they have a baby. Yummy! Not only is the taste superb, I also love making the crust as cute as possible! I think it has to do with all of those years making pretty cupcakes like these.

One of the great things about Pot Pie is you can change it up as much or as little as you want! It is not a recipe you have to stick to 100% - I love recipes like that!

Crust Hearts, Chicken & Lattice work!

Here is the base recipe for how I make Pot Pies, but it seems I always tweak it for one reason or another.

Make your favorite pie crust and chill until ready to use.

Chicken Pot Pie Filling
1 Whole cooked fryer chicken. (learn how to make your own rotisserie chicken here)
2 carrots diced
2 celery sticks diced
4 potatoes diced
2 cups frozen peas
4-6 cups Chicken stock homemade or canned
1/4 c flour
1/2 c milk
Parsley, Salt & Pepper to taste

Bring chicken stock to a boil. Add shredded chicken & diced carrots, celery and potatoes. Continue to boil until veggies are fork tender but not falling apart. Add peas.

Make a slurry by combining flour and milk, mixing well. Pour into boiling stock using a sieve (or mesh strainer) as to collect the lumps while stirring constantly. Boil until the stock becomes thick.

Season with salt, pepper and parsley to taste. (This is where I put in all sorts of spices depending on what I can find real quick. Seasoning salt, Dix Mix, celery salt, hot pepper flakes. The possibilities are endless). Let cool before putting in casserole dish or pie plate.

Beautiful filling!

Top with pie crust. Bake at 375 until crust is golden brown. Enjoy!

Like I said, yum! Have fun with this recipe and let me know how you make it our own!

Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken

Scott loves my pot pie. Loves it. I try to make it every few weeks with a rotisserie chicken from Costco (can't beat $4.99!). Well now that Costco is an hour away (sad I know) I just can't bring myself to pick up a rotisserie chicken from the local market ($9.99) so I've been making my own! No I didn't get one of those fancy counter top rotisseries, I just use the crock pot! And it is super easy! 

Letting the chicken cool before I pull it apart. 

Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken

1 Whole fryer chicken

1 t seasoning salt

1 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

1/2 t pepper

Aluminum foil

Take a whole fryer chicken (you can catch them on sale for like $.79 a pound and keep them in the freezer), thaw, wash, empty out innards, pat dry and rub with your spice mix.

Make 3 balls out of aluminum foil and place in the bottom of the crock pot. Set chicken atop foil balls, put lid on and set to high for 4 hours. 

Depending on the size of your chicken it could take less time. Once done you will notice the meat pulling away from the bone. 

Don't throw out all of that yummy juice in the bottom of the crock pot! Use it to make stock :)

Mowing like a Champ

The great thing about sitting on 3 acres? You have 3 acres. The bad thing? You have to mow 3 acres... This past weekend Scott and I double teamed it to get the job done sooner! I took the front yard with the riding mower and he attacked the back with the John Deere & Bush Hog (a large rotary mower attached to a farm tractor. Used for clearing land). With the two of us it took a few hours.

His & Hers mowers! 

The riding mower was fun. Kind of a bumpy ride and my hands were numb for quite some time after I was done. I see myself spending many hours on that bad boy.

BLT - Perfection

In a world where everything is fried, brown or processed sometimes you gotta sneak in a few veggies here and there. If one of the only ways I can sneak in lettuce and tomatoes into our dinner is layered between bacon, by golly I am going to do it! I even managed to get a fruit in! It is a different world here folks. A different world. Now if only I can find Whitley, Dwayne Wayne and his flip up sunnies or Denise Huxtable...

Bacon. Lettuce. Tomato. Sharp Cheddar. Mayo.

Peach Trees - Spring Blooms

Spring has finally sprung and along with it my allergies are in full gear! If you remember Scott and I spent the better part of a day preparing our peach trees for this years harvest (if you forgot you can read about it here). I am happy to report the trees look great!

**Side story, one of my best friends moved to Arizona shortly after she got married and in their new backyard they had lemon, orange and grapefruit trees that just didn't want to produce. We got out there and trimmed the crap out of them as well as a few massive aloe plants. Well a few weeks later new buds were forming and they had a great harvest that year! That was one of the first times I got the urge to have a backyard farm :)

Anyway, the two trees Scott and I were really able to trim look beautiful! The leaves are green and healthy and the blooms look great! On the other hand the other trees that didn't get as much love are full of blooms but no green leaves yet. I now it seems like the trees with the more blooms will be better, they will after all have more fruit, but our trees will produce a better quality fruit.

The trimmed peach tree. Notice all the green leaves. 

Untrimmed -  Almost all buds.

This year will kind of be a bit of a test. Because we cut back the limbs so drastically this years harvest may be a little small, but I have high hopes it isn't about the quantity but the quality. I can't wait for pies and crisps and cobblers! I also am anxious to try and freeze the peaches like Cheryl and Mary used to do in syrup! Eek - I love keeping traditions alive!

Feel free to send peach recipes my way  :)

Scottie's Bar-B-Que

Sometimes small town living is really an advantage. Although we are 27 minutes (yes I timed it, gah) from the nearest Target, and hour from Costco, we can however go to the bait shop where everyone knows your name or get a cheese burger and fries for $4.44 at the local watering hole.

We checked out Scottie's Bar-B-Que in Maiden before I headed to get my $10 haircut in a place that reminded me of Steel Magnolias. It was pretty tasty! No Killer Burger that is for sure, but good enough to go back to! I had a cheese burger that was perfectly cooked with a fresh tomato and crisp lettuce and Scott had a hot dog topped with chili and slaw in true Carolina . They also feature a BBQ sauce that is made in house that I really enjoyed.

I also chatted up a waitress who's husband was in Portland for 3 months for work. It goes to show how small our world really is.

I look forward to finding other little gems like this around town!

Flower Beds

Last week I finally got around to planting some flowers in front of the house! I have been wanting to get my hands in the dirt for weeks and the sun popped out just enough to allow me to do so. Scott and I had stopped by the local flea market and picked up a few iris, crocus and tomato plants and I knew I needed to get them in the ground soon. I also had some lily bulbs that I had been neglecting in the garage that needed a little love.

The before shot.

While Scott slept the day away (he works the night shift) I got my shovel and started turning the dirt or should I say clay. The ground is so different here than it is in Oregon and you have to work a lot harder to get it to do what you want.

It took a few hours but they say slow and steady wins the race. This weekend I was able to get some mulch in the bed and it really looks finished now. Once everything starts to bloom is should be lovely! 

Hickory Crawdads

Scott's cousin Terry invited us to go to the Hickory Crawdads baseball game with his wife Stephanie and their friends. I've only been to like 2 other baseball games ever in my life and this was so much fun! The sun was shining, the company was great and boy do I love those baseball uniforms!

We had driven by the stadium the other day and talked about going to a game in the future so when we were invited of course we jumped at the opportunity! Plus it was an excuse to get to know Terry & Stephanie better.

The tickets were very reasonable (like under $10) and we will be going back again for sure! I think this will be a fun thing to take any visitors to as well (hint, hint) so let me know when your tickets are booked! 

Family Time

Scott and I had some of his extended family over for Easter (read about it here) however his Aunt & Uncle and their 2 kids weren't able to make it so we decided to have them along with Scott's patents over for lunch (or dinner as southerners like to call it) after church.

What a wonderful time we had visiting, eating and enjoying the sunshine! I am so in love with these boys and had a blast watching them play in the yard and get to know them a little better.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I feel so blessed that while I am thousands of miles from my own family, Scott's has welcomed me with such love. 

Mock Amalfie's Pizza

There are a few places from home that I miss more than others. Killer Burger, Wong's King, Tuk Tuk - Mmmmm. I've been wanting good pizza for a long while and finally decided that I would make my own. I had fully intended on just making like a Bisquick crust but after a few minutes looking at recipes I knew I had to try my hand at Amalfie's  style pizza. Luckily I had everything I needed on hand and decided to devote my day to making delicious pizza for dinner.

The original dough recipe can be found here on Group Recipes. I followed it pretty closely however I have never been great at measuring.

My 3 beautiful dough balls.

Just the right thickness. 

Ingredients

---

• 1 package active dry or fresh yeast
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 cup warm water, 105 to 115 degrees F
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for brushing
• A large cookie sheet
• A small and big bowl
• A fork

How to make it

---

• In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and honey in 1/4 cup warm water.
• Large bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Add the oil, the yeast mixture, and the remaining 3/4 cup of water.
• Mix until the entire mixture forms a ball.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
• Knead by hand 2 or 3 minutes. The dough should be smooth and firm.
• Cover the dough with a clean, damp towel and let it rise in a cool spot for about 2 hours. (When ready, the dough will stretch as it is lightly pulled).
• Divide the dough into 2 balls. *Alternatively you could divide into 4 balls to make into 4 pizzas, about 6 ounces each, to make 8 inch pizzas.
• Work each ball by pulling down the sides and tucking under the bottom of the ball. Repeat 4 or 5 times. Then on a smooth, unfloured surface, roll the ball under the palm of your hand until the top of the dough is smooth and firm, about 1 minutes. Cover the dough with a damp towel and let rest 1 hour. *At this point, the balls can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 500 F or highest temp. Lightly oil cookie sheet with extra-virgin olive oil. Roll out dough ball, on a lightly floured surface, to the shape of your cookie sheet. Carefully transfer dough to cookie sheet, lightly press and stretch out to the edges of sheet.
• Add sauce (not too much) and toppings. Start with sauce, then cheese, veggies and meat.
• Cook for 10 - 12 minutes, more depending on the thickness of crust due to size of pan you used.

The crust was perfect! It was thin enough to have a crunch but not so thin it was like eating crackers. The best part? I had enough dough to make 3 different kinds of pizza!

Cast of characters!

BBQ Chicken (BBQ sauce, chicken, red & green onion, cheese)

Sausage, Onion & Olive 

Chicken Ranch (Ranch dressing -homemade of course! - Chicken, Bacon, Tomato, Cheese)

The 3 pizzas pre cheese. 

They all turned out so well. Scott loved the Sausage while I thought the Chicken Ranch was great. This won't be something I do all the time because the crust takes a few hours to make, but this will be a special treat every now and then. I am already thinking up the next round of combinations we'd like to try!

Date Night

Every now and then a night out on the town is just what the doctor orders! In our case it was fancy dress, dinner and a movie. Scott planed out dinner and let me pick the movie :)

I put on my little black dress and heals and we headed to Kobe Japanese House of Steak , one of the nicer places in town, and stuffed out faces with sushi and Hibachi Steak. I had never been to a Habachi style restaurant where the chef cooks the food right at your table (but I have been to the ones where you grill it yourself). We ha a lot of fun and met a nice couple who shared our table. The food was delish and the atmosphere was fun.

After a quick change in the car, we set off to see Safe Haven (my choice). I love Nicholas Sparks books and get more excited then I would like to admit when one is turned into a movie. We got there a little early so we played a round of air hockey. Well, Scott played while I attempted, unsuccessfully, to block his shots :) They were also promoting the new Monsters Inc. movie so of course we had to take advantage of the photo op.

What a wonderful night we had. I love being able to try new places and see new things - I am so blessed to have a partner who enjoys life as much as I do!

Southern Living

Sometimes the South just sneaks up on you... 

I usually don't drink much other than water but every now and then some sweet tea really hits the spot. In my opinion, the sweeter the better! If I keep it in the house, I know I'll drink it all so I treat myself on special occasions. The occasion here? The sun was out :)