week 38: boomer sooner, little lady.

we won!  boy, it was ugly but we won.  & i didn't go into labor from all of the anxiety of the game.  wins all around.  nora belle & i had a little chat on friday discussing that most of our family was in dallas for the game, so it sure would be nice if she'd wait to make her appearance until after the game.  i am very grateful she listened.

blake & i cheered on our sooners at rachel & nate's.  we started the day with an amazing gameday breakfast of egg casserole, hashbrowns, & pumpkin coffee cake.  & of course my ou/tx favorite had to be enjoyed - corndogs!

our new kc friends, molly & nate, dropped by with their new little baby girl, poppy.  the sweet 4-day old is absolutely adorable.  so happy nora belle's first friend is already here!  

boomer sooner!  8 days until your due date, little lady.

love love,

kjp.

blood orange, kale, & feta salad with wild rice & walnuts.

holy moly, y'all, this salad is delicious.  it's sweet & acidic.  it's crunchy & soft.  it's salty & creamy.  it's pretty much my new favorite salad.  & blakey actually really liked it too!  {the turkey sausage i served on the side certainly helped the non-meat quality.}

so please add these ingredients to your grocery list tonight & give yourself an hour to get the wild rice cooked.  {who knew there was rice that could take an hour to cook??  that's a long time.}  & enjoy!

blood orange, kale, & feta salad with wild rice & walnuts.

found on: pinterest

adapted from:  pinch of yum

1 c uncooked wild rice, cooked

{i have no idea how much cooked rice this ends up equaling, hence the weird verbage}

1/4 c walnuts toasted in a little evoo, salt, & cayenne

4 c chopped kale

3 blood oranges, peeled, divided, & chopped

4 oz crumbled feta

dressing:

3 T evoo, divided

2 cloves minced garlic

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 T water

2 T apple cider vinegar

1 T lemon juice

1 T honey

salt & pepper

1. start cooking the wild rice now!  it takes forever.  cook according to the package directions.

2. this is also a good time to toast the walnuts.  400 degrees for 15ish minutes, stirring once.  set aside to cool.  don't stir it in the salad - that will make them not crunchy, which would be unfortunate.

3. dressing!  in a small sauté pan over medium high heat, heat 1T oil & garlic.  add onions & sauté until the onions start to get a little bit of brown.  transfer the onions & oil & garlic to a vitamix or food processor.  add the remaining 2 T oil, water, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, & salt & pepper.  process until creamy.  {this is so cool - onions make a creamy dressing!  again, who knew?}  taste your dressing & adjust seasonings as necessary.  

4. in a big ole bowl, stir together kale, blood oranges, & feta.  top with the dressing & mix well.  hopefully after all of this stirring & dish-doing, your rice will be done!  add it straight from the pan to the salad - this will wilt the kale just a smidge to create a great texture.  stir it up.  & finally top with walnuts when ready to serve.  enjoy, friends!

love love,

kjp.

our christmas 2013.

as with all things worth celebrating, blakey & i celebrated christmas all week long!  we began last weekend with a puzzle by the beautiful christmas tree, our annual viewing of love actually, our first viewing of white christmas, lots of football, & a couple of days home together.

{my happy boys}

 {the little guy & green man & me & coffee}

 {the beginning of our a christmas story puzzle}

{after three days, success!}

on christmas eve, blakey was working away at the hospital, so i brought a christmas feast to the call team!  we enjoyed some truly delicious smoked turkey from moe's bbq, super cheesy mashed potatoes, & my favorite green bean casserole.  & for dessert - eggnog cheesecake!  a happy christmas eve in the hospital.  

as soon as blakey got home christmas morning, our true christmas celebration began!  we opened presents, watched tanky tear into his presents, facetimed & chatted with family, threw greenman over & over & over, & made our christmas breakfast tradition - migas & chorizo!  it was a beautiful day with my amazing husband celebrating the love of Christ.

 {the pioneer woman's amazing migas}

 {tanky LOVES opening gifts.

that must be why he tried to open our gifts early too.}

 {the awesome new le cresuet tea pot blakey got me!}

{& the GORGEOUS sorel boots blakey got me!

he really really spoils me.}

 {Christ the Lord, the newborn king is here!}

a very merry christmas to you & yours.  may we remember the joy of this day all year long.

love love,

kjp.

giving thanks 2013.

thanksgiving 2013 was a huge, incredibly delicious, & amazingly fun success!  blakey, tanky, & i joined amy, ogden, & lola at their home for a fabulous day of celebrating.  very sadly, the rogers came down with a horrible stomach bug & quarantined themselves.  they were very missed.  but we persevered through, found all of the missing ingredients, & even had delicious alternative dishes.  our traditional day of thanks with the mcgs - a birmingham tradition we will certainly miss & always look back upon with the fondest of memories.

{ogden's brined & fried turkey - incredible.}

{TL: surprisingly tasty store-bought, pre-frozen dressing.

TR: amy's perfect traditional green bean casserole.

BL: my herbed, cheesed, & mashed potatoes.

BR: my jalapeño creamed corn.}

 {amy's gorgeous pumpkin pie!}

 {& my thanksgiving tradition - grandma's pecan pie.}

somehow we did not take a single photo of humans on this thanksgiving.  but just know - we looked adorable & festive & happy & young & like we didn't eat 1,000 times more food than necessary &… :)

tank & his girlfriend lola had almost as much fun as we did.  while lola & i napped in front of the fire & the others watch lots & lots of football, tank destroyed a kong toy & went to town with the squeaky ball.  please oh please enjoy the video above.  

giving thanks always.  especially today.

love love,

kjp.

man cooking night.

blakey planned, prepared, & grilled dinner for us!  it's the beginning of his journey into monthly cooking, about which i am super excited.  he found two delicious recipes on allrecipes.com, made a grocery list, & did {almost} all of the cooking.  pretty darn proud of you, byrds.  & super impressed that it was delicious!

{a bottle of our favorite lambrusco to accompany the grilling}

{so happy in front of a grill}

{a little dancing with a beautiful sunset too}

{our delicious meal, which we ate by candlelight at blake's beautiful table}

grilled mustard & vinegar chicken
recipe from: allrecipes

1/4 c apple cider vinegar
3 T coarse-ground mustard
3 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1 lime
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 c brown sugar
s&p
1/2 c evoo
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1.  in a bowl, mix together vinegar, mustard, garlic, juices, sugar, salt, & pepper.  whisk in olive oil.  place chicken in a ziploc bag.  pour mixture on top.  allow to marinate in the fridge at least 4 hours.

2.  do the manly grill thing, which i'm not exactly sure about.  something about medium high heat, 5 to 8 minutes per side until fully cooked.  enjoy!

grilled garlic parmesan zucchini

recipe from: allrecipes

4 zucchini

4 T butter, melted

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 bunch of parsley, chopped

1/4 c grated parmesan cheese

1.  cut the zuccini into 4 to 6 lengthwise strips, from tip to tip.  this should make long, thin, rectangular strips that allow plenty of surface area for the delicious toppings & grill marks.

2.  in a small bowl, mix butter, garlic, & half of the parsley.  spread this mixture onto one side of each zucchini slice.

3.  do the manly grill thing.  medium high heat.  non-butter/garlic/parsley side down.  cook until the grill marks are lovely, the zucchini is hot, & it looks pretty much delicious, about 8 to 10 minutes.  

4.  after grilling, sprinkle the parmesan & the remaining parsley on top.  broil on high to melt & crisp up the cheese, only a couple of minutes.  {you can do this on the grill.  we thought it would make a huge mess, & we don't want to mess up our kind neighbor's grill.  so oven was best for us.}  enjoy!!

happy man cooking night.

love love,

kjp.

1st chili of the year on the equinox.

in honor of the first day of fall, i made my first batch of chili for the year!  two years ago, i made my first ever batch of chili.  it was a pretty decent first attempt, but i'm still on a search for "our" chili recipe.  this, my friends, is really on its way!  the beef chunks, roasted poblanos, spicy adobo sauce, & hints of cinnamon & clove really make it a little bit special.  & the late addition of shredded cheese certainly doesn't hurt.  enjoy!

porter's chili

{a combination of many recipes & ingredient availability}

2 T evoo

1 T minced garlic

2 large sweet yellow onions, chopped

2 red bell peppers, chopped

2 lb ground chuck

2 lb beef round chunks

6 large poblanos, roasted*, peeled, & chopped

from 1 {7.5oz} can chipotle peppers in adobo, 3 peppers chopped & half of the juice

8 oz diced green chilis

28 oz diced tomatoes, with juice

12 oz tomato paste

30 oz red beans, drained

15 oz pinto beans, drained

16 to 32 oz beef broth {depending on your desired liquid to stuff ratio}

3 T cumin

2T chili powder

2 T brown sugar

1T oregano

1 tsp mustard powder

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp clove

s&p

at the end: 8 oz shredded mexican blend cheese

toppings: yellow mustard & shredded cheddar cheese

{*to roast poblanos: broil directly on oven rack over high heat, turning frequently until all sides are blistered, approx 10 to 20 minutes.  carefully put peppers in a brown paper bag & roll up the top of the bag.  set aside until peppers are cool to the touch.  with your hands, peel the blistered skin off & discard.  remove stems & seeds & chop.}

1. in a very large dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat.  add garlic, onions, bell peppers, & beef.  cook until veggies are soft & meat is fully cooked.

2. add roasted poblanos, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, green chilis, tomatoes, tomato paste, & beans.  stir together.  start adding broth to your desired consistency, keeping in mind the liquid will reduce a bit.  add spices.  

3. bring chili to a boil & reduce heat to medium-low, allowing the chili to simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes to allow the liquid to reduce a bit.  {warning: this can make a mess.  i encourage you to wear an apron or black.}

4. on low heat, continue cooking your chili, covered, for another couple of hours.  this is a great time to taste & make sure you you love the flavors.  

5. 10 minutes before serving, add 8 oz shredded cheese.  stir often, allowing the cheese to melt but not burn on the bottom of your pan.  to serve, top with shredded cheddar & a little bit of mustard, porter-style.

happy fall!

love love,

kjp.

roasted tomatillo salsa!

now this was a super fun & ridiculously easy dish to make.  broil some ingredients for a few minutes, throw it all into a food processor, & keep mixing until it's delicious.  cheaper & far more tasty than store bought.  heck yes.

roasted tomatillo salsa

found on: pinterest

original recipe: pick fresh foods

1 T evoo

1 lb fresh tomatillos {about 8ish}

2 jalapeños

2 garlic cloves, minced

8 green onions, stems & scallions, rough chopped

1 bunch cilantro, including stems, rough chopped

1 lime of juice

1 tsp salt

1. to prepare a fresh tomatillo, remove the paper husk & rinse with warm water to remove the sticky coating.  place tomatillos & jalapeños on a foil-lined baking sheet, lightly sprinkled with 1 T-ish evoo.  

2. broil the tomatillos & jalapeños on high for about 8 minutes, flipping everything over in the middle, once the sides have started to brown.  remove when the char looks lovely.  de-seed the jalapeños at this point to make sure your salsa isn't crazy spicy.  

3. add roasted tomatillos, jalapeños, garlic cloves, green onions, & cilantro to the food processor.  pulse a few times until the tomatillos are well-processed.  add the lime juice & salt.  pulse a few more times until the salsa is consistent.  taste to make sure it's delicious.  enjoy!

{tanky was quite intrigued by the tomatillo husks}

love love,

kjp.

a beautifully cool & rainy saturday.

this summer in birmy has been absolutely gorgeous.  if you like fall-like weather, then the last few days would have made you swoon!  we went four days without making it into the 80s.  that's right, the eighties.  it was fabulous!  & cloudy & rainy & i loved every second of it.  so when blakey finally made it home saturday morning, we enjoyed a beautiful morning on our patio.  coffee & tanky & greenman, of course.  our saturday morning happy place.

to make our saturday morning even more amazing, we got to see little man of facetime!  he's so darn cute.  & man that boy has a lot of go in him.  crawl crawl crawl crawl.  search for a kitty.  play with the puppy.  & he can stand up all on his own!  we saw him do it.  big little man!

after body pump, we enjoyed our new favorite saturday lunch - a gigantic bowl of fro yo with granola & chocolate & blueberries & candy & so much deliciousness.  ice cream on the patio in the rain after the gym.  absolutely lovely.

& then you'll never guess what i did next - i cooked dinner!  it's been forever.  it was so nice to get in the kitchen & chop & stir & smell the deliciousness.  my happy place.  i made my mom's marinara sauce with ground turkey & spaghetti squash.  homey & healthy.

{our wedding flutes & wedding rings}

to wind down our fabulous, rainy day, we had a glass of dark, thick beer in our beautiful wedding flutes.  because everything is more fun in a champagne flute.

{tanky holding his dad's hand}

love love,

kjp.

dinner with the residents & a blueberry corn salad recipe.

one night last week, i got to take a homemade dinner to the hospital for blakey & the residents!  it's always nice to take a hot meal to these awesome people who are working so hard.  they are super appreciative & let me join in their "family dinner".  & date nights with my husband are even fun at while he is busy working.

for the main course, blakey requested his favorite slow cooker shredded beef {recipe here} with pepperocini peppers to put atop kaiser rolls with havarti cheese.  yummm.

for dessert, i brought some of my favorite cookies as of late - brown butter sugar cookies!  it's a nice twist on the good ole sugar cookie.

ps have i told you my theory that in the next decade we are so going to make fun of this decade for our obsession with things like brown butter, pickling anything, & bacon on everything?  just wait & see.

since i always have to try out a new recipe on our friends, i went with a delicious seasonal salad i saw, of course, on pinterest - summer blueberry corn salad!  it's full of raw veggies & fruit with a tasty vinaigrette; exactly what i want to eat in the summer.  so get a tiny bit brave & try this creative new dish!

summer blueberry corn salad

found on: pinterest

original recipe: dining at my desk

 8 ears corn, freshly cut off the cob

{check out my tips here}

1 large cucumber, sliced into half moons

1 small red onion, finely chopped

2 jalapeños, seeded & finely chopped

1 large bunch cilantro, chopped

1-2 pints blueberries

dressing:

3 T evoo

1/4 c red wine vinegar

juice of 3 limes

1 T honey

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

salt & pepper

1. in a large bowl, stir together corn, cucumber, onion, jalapeños, & cilantro.  gently fold in blueberries.

2. in a cute little mason jar with a lid, add oil, vinegar, lime juice, honey, red pepper, & seasonings.  shake it up until everything is mixed well.  pour on top of blueberry corn salad & gently stir it all together.  taste it to make sure it's delicious.  best if chilled & left to marinate for a few hours or even overnight.  enjoy!

love love,
kjp.

watermelon & tomato salad.

i'm pretty sure i could eat an entire watermelon every day.  they are my favorite fruit, by far.  & my favorite summer food.  {oooh, that is a big statement.  it might be fresh corn from the cobb.  or fresh tomatoes.  or fresh blueberries.  or homemade ice cream... ok ok, it is definitely in my top five favorite summer foods.}  so my love for watermelon continues this week with a slightly odd but incredibly tasty dish - a watermelon & tomato salad!

watermelon & tomato salad

original idea from: fitsugar.com

originally found on: pinterest

inspiration for what i actually made: southern living magazine

1/2 seedless watermelon, chopped to bite size

2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped to the same bite size

1 red onion, sliced very thinly

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes or 1 jalapeno, finely diced

1 T sugar

salt & pepper

1/4 c evoo

1/4 c red wine vinegar

serving options: arugula {of course}, sliced avocado, feta

1.  chop up the watermelon & tomatoes to relatively the same size.  it's fun when you eat the salad & are surprised which bright red fruit you are about to taste.  by the way, i saw a pin on pinterest about how to cut up a watermelon {here} - pretty smart.  i had never thought to do it that way.  

2. in a big ole bowl, toss together the watermelon, tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, & pepper.  sprinkle with sugar, salt, & pepper.  let this sit for at least 15-20 minutes.

3.  drizzle oil & vinegar on top.  toss.  & there you go!  delicious.  i served mine over a bed of arugula.  it would certainly be tasty with sliced avocado or crumbled feta.  but the simple green & red salad made me a happy girl.

love love,

kjp.

rice krispie treat cake!

on saturday, blakey & i celebrated july 4th with our friends at an awesome cookout!  matt & elyse hosted the celebration & spent all day smoking ribs, pork butt, & chicken for us.  it was absolutely incredible!  so many of our friends joined in the fabulous day of food & fun.  & for our holiday dessert, i made a festive rice krispie treat cake.

rice krispie treat cake!

cake idea found on: pinterest

original cake idea: a subtle revelry

original rice krispie recipe: allrecipes - review by makeiteasy4me

for a three layer cake:

12 T butter

24 oz mini marshmallows

18 cups of rice krispies

{an ounce of rice krispies is about a cup,

so about 18 ounces}

1. in your biggest le creuset dutch oven, melt the butter over medium low heat, not allowing it to brown at all.  add the mini marshmallows & continue stirring until all of the marshmallows are melted & you have a lovely white smooth creation in front of you.  

2. turn off the heat.  add about a third of your rice krispies & stir until mostly combined.  add another third & stir.  add the final third & stir until completely combined.  this is a fabulous time to taste your creation!

3. prepare three 9" springform pans with non-stick cooking spray.  quickly so as the treats don't harden, evenly divide the rice krispie treats into the three pans, pushing the treats evenly into the pans & flattening out the tops.  when fully cool, pop the layers out of the pans.  

4. i used a honey cream cheese frosting to ice the cake, which tasted lovely with the treats.  i would certainly not recommend putting blueberries between the layers, as the weight was too much & the blueberries started to bleed.  all in all, a fun & tasty baking experiment!

love love,

kjp.

star watermelon & blueberry salad.

two years ago, i discovered my favorite summer salad in the whole world - a watermelon & blueberry salad with mint simple syrup & lemon zest.  delicious!!  i make it every summer now, all summer long.

for the fourth of july, i decided to jazz up my favorite salad by cutting the watermelon into adorable little stars!  red stars & blueberries - my favorite summer salad just became the fourth of july staple!

i sliced the watermelon into 1/2"-ish slices & used a little star cookie cutter to create the shapes.  keep in mind that you want the pieces bite-sized, so adjust your slice thickness with your cookie cutter size.

to update my original recipe: i used an entire seedless watermelon, three pints of blueberries, & still only 1/2 cup of sugar & water for the simple syrup.  it was plenty sweet!  i only had limes on hand, so lime zest & juice it was.  & since amy let me use some fresh, delicious mint from her garden, i used 8 mint leaves in the syrup & finely chopped about 12 more.  love it more & more every year!

love love,

kjp.