Snow Day part II

Before the snow:

What are the chances we'd have 2 snow days in a week... a week before a scheduled 2 weeks off! I'm not complaining- that will come later in the year when we are made to work a holiday or two! If the predicted 5 inches isn't gone by tomorrow, it'll be a super short week-

So what's a girl to do on a snow day- the chips, salsa, beer, wine, and chocolate are all stocked up! 8 AM would be pushing it to open the vino, so after topping off the gas in the hubs' SUV, making sure we have gas- for snow grillin' no doubt, the puppers and I headed out for a MUCH NEEDED walk. These ladies have been feeling a bit couped up- as apparent by their wild romps through the hallways.

We walked a chilly 1 1/2 miles before coming home to play with the tug-o-war, balls, and sticks that litter the yard. The snow started to come down- adding a dusting to the crunchy leftovers still on the grass!

After a warming bowl of  pumpkin oatmeal- with pureed pumpkin, RAW almond butter, agave, and cinnamon- it's time for more Christmas Baking (this time for the neighbors and their pets)!

Stay warm!

Baby it's cold...

The temps in Virginia have dropped to the single digits and teens- perfect for puppy walks in the morning, I think not!  With the chilly weather, soup makes it way into our lives more frequently. This is fine by me- I love soup. I used to daydream of opening a little cafe naming it soup, and serving up different daily specials in a bowl... **sigh**

With a snow day, I had extra time to tackle some errands yesterday- some cleaning, shopping, and baking! I wanted an easy dinner that would warm up the hubs- who's job has had him outside, everyday for the past 8 days...

Enter Potato Soup- with extras!

3 strips of bacon cooked and crumbled

5 diced potatoes

1/2 head of cauliflower- chopped coarsely                

4 smashed cloves of garlic

1 chopped green onion

1/2 cup chopped white onion

1 chopped leek

1/4 white wine

1 box organic Chicken broth

1 cup milk- skim

water-added to thin to liking

salt and pepper

Cheddar cheese for garnish

Fresh Rosemary for garnish

I cooked the bacon and then threw it in with everything else- minus garnishes- to the crock pot and came home to a a phenomenal smell after about 2 hours on high.  Everything was still very chunky- and I prefer a creamy potato soup.  Carefully I added small batches to the blender and whirled it until smooth.  I left 1/4 of the soup in diced form, blended the rest, and mixed them together!

It was perfect for warming up after a snowy, blustery day!

Birthday Dinner!

The birthday morning set the stage for a chilled out- relaxed day!! We wrapped some trees with lights, went out shopping for a bit, and then hit up Whole Foods to pick up ingredients for the splurge dinner at home!  Having a December birthday means you celebrate in between parties, family gatherings, shopping, and all other festivities preplanned as early as October. 

So that left us with a fire place, Christmas tree, movies, Veritas wine, and crab cakes- oh yes crab cakes. Thanks to my lovely friend Lauren, and a super sweet gift card to Whole Foods dinner was prepared -North Carolina Jumbo Lump Crab turned into giant crab cakes- with Roasted Red Pepper mayo, and Asparagus with balsamic glaze!

Crab Cakes- this made 5 large crab cakes

Jumbo Lump Crab meat- 1 1/2 cups approx.

1 egg

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped chopped roasted red pepper

fresh ground pepper

dash of Chesapeake Bay seasoning

squeeze of lemon

4 Tbsp whole wheat bread crumbs

3 Tbsp Mayo

mix in the breadcrumbs leaving the mixture moist

heat a pan to med/med high and brown the crab cakes on each side- roughly 2 or 3 minutes per side. pop in a 350 degree oven to finish- check after 10 minutes- go longer if necessary.

It was perfect- exactly what I would have had no matter where we ended up. Lucky for me we ended up at my favorite place- with my dude, and pups! Perfect!

birthday bliss

I woke up this morning... ahem... December 11th.... my birthday- in a full on birthday snuggle from the hubs! It was super sweet- and then he asked what I wanted for breakfast- well pumpkin pancakes and turkey bacon seemed like perfection on a plate.  After being spoiled by girlfriends, having a fantastic dinner at Mekong- including a tasty Belgian beer, the perfect way to spend today is with my hubby- with some serious quality time, i.e. food, wine, and Christmas movies!  We celebrated out on the town earlier this month with our Dashboard evening, so today will remain low key.

Without any prior pumpkin pancake experience, my faithful man set out with the help of Mr. Breakfast to create delicious pancakes- topped with greek yogurt, laced with syrup and blueberries. To satisfy the bacon craving, he 'whipped up' a veggie omelet- with asparagus, onion, mushroom and green peppers! He topped it with crumbled bacon and cheese...  We shared the omelet, went back for seconds on the pancakes!

We originally planned a hike- however it's getting a rain check! We bumped it to the week before Christmas- even more reason to finish all the shopping, wrapping, baking, menu planning now!

decoratin' and dining!

The Christmas partay last Saturday kicked the holidays into full swing, and led to Sunday's decorations. Now we sit back, relax and enjoy some amazing meals among the twinkly lights that are spread out through the house!  The dogs are loving the decorations- I caught Whiskey chewing on the tree today...

 

Baked Chicken with Apple Slices on top-

apple cider and balsamic reduction

grilled asparagus

chili dusted sweet potato "fries"

beef and black bean burritos.... and the pit face!

To Love, honor, and...

Take you to concerts for your birthday. Okay so not your traditional vows, but hey they work... right?! My grand finale of my 20's is approaching next weekend! My dutiful husband knows my LOVE for live music- anything from small jazz trios, college jam bands, country- old and contemporary, old hippie tunes, loud aggressive punk, and heartfelt emo... I LOVE IT ALL!!! I even try to make my music match my food, as much as the wine should.

Music sets my soul on fire.

So with a "Welcome to December" cold wind we set out Wednesday night for some tasty brews at Penny Lane Pub, followed by a 3 hour long serenade by different bands... we were of course there to see Dashboard Confessional- who after many glasses of wine at our wedding I decided it was appropriate to sing to my husband, in my bouquet, "Hands Down"...


nothing says "Welcome to married life" than having your tone deaf wife sing to you in her Gerber Daisies...

We had a fabulous night, which was recapped by the hubby here.  Being married to your best friend is pretty awesome! Don't worry- what I lack in singing, I make up for in the kitchen...

spinach and tomato omelet with black olives, and a pear!

Christmas Marathon kickoff!

Thank you for leaving tasty options for the Christmas party.... Jenny, the sausage balls will be making an appearance this month for sure!  I decided to go with Chipotle Shrimp Cups from Cooking Light. The recipe can be found here- the only thing I did different was set the oven to 375, instead of 350. Everything else was pretty much the same. I did need to drain some of the liquid off the mixture, and added 2 extra chipotles in adobo... for more kick! I kind of have a thing for the smokey, spicy peppers!

The hub's work Christmas party was a great way to start off the Christmas Marathon, that is December! It started off with a light dusting of snow, a dash through the country, and finally ended up at the gracious host's home... immaculate, beautifully crafted home! No pics, as "can I put this on my blog?" sounds a bit strange!  Floor to ceiling fireplaces, and hand carved wood floors set the backdrop for tasty eats, Fuller's London Porter- just 1 though, I was our DD, and catching up with people we rarely get to see!

Now it's time to finish what we started earlier this week.... decorating! The tree is here, but it's naked and ready for some sparkle... the outside trees are ready for their lights... and  I'm ready to finish the task that is Christmas Decorating!!!




Whiskey and her Naked Tree