Did you think we disappeared?

Basically, we have.

Eric's 3rd year of medical school is in full swing, which means crazy shifts as he cycles through all the different specialties starting with Emergency Medicine and now working in different areas of OB/GYN. He'll start surgery the 20th of June... that's definitely enough to keep him busy!

This equals out to lots of free time for me, which I have filled up with a variety of activities like running, tutoring, Bible study, volunteering, singing with the church praise band, and just hanging out with friends as much as possible. Unfortunately, this has left me little time for other activities I enjoy like reading, blogging, and cleaning the house... (haha, okay, I can't say I really ENJOY that).

But summer is here, so maybe I can try to do better?

Here are a few things that have been going on lately:

- We took a quick trip to Charleston, SC, right after Eric took Step 1 at the end of March. It was really quaint and super-fun! We relaxed a lot, went to the beach (where we stayed QUITE chilly), and ate soooo much good food!

- I celebrated another birthday - woohoo! We ate at Carrabba's and Eric got me these pretty flowers and another season of How I Met Your Mother (our current favorite show).

- I helped throw a cute baby shower for my sweet friend Madeline (and I've attended about 5 more!)

- Eric I went on a nice hike up Hanging Rock on Easter weekend. Of course we forgot to take pictures again!

- My mom came to visit for Mother's Day, and we ate at lots of yummy restaurants and explored Old Salem. Of course Eric had to work. :(

- We got to go "home" to Arkansas the last weekend in May! Yay! Our friends David and Haleigh finally tied the knot, and we were so excited to get to be a part of their wedding, as well as visit with all of our old friends and family! We don't get to take those trips nearly enough!

And now we have summer to enjoy! Of course, it's not nearly as exciting as last summer, what with the going to Europe and all. But we do have a few short trips planned around here, and I will be going on a mission trip to Hungary in July (so the summer isn't entirely Europe-less)! Eric won't be bored, because he's spending the summer doing surgery... fun for him, but not fun for our schedule!

I suppose that by now you think that I've forgotten all about my cooking. While I admittedly have fallen a tad behind, I have been trying things out slowly but surely. And there is more on the menu for this month - so stay tuned!

I made this yummy Vegetable-Parmesan Risotto with some Lemon Pepper Chicken back in April.

It was good enough that I'm making it again this weekend!

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T olive oil

1 c. arborio rice

1/2 c. thinly sliced carrot

24 oz. vegetable or chicken broth

1 c. fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped

1 c. frozen baby peas

4-6 oz. parmesan cheese

1/3 c. thinly sliced green onions

1/4 c. thin radish wedges

1. In a saucepan, cook garlic in hot oil for 30 seconds. Add rice and cook for 5 minutes or until golden brown.

2. Remove from heat and stir in carrot. In a separate saucepan, bring broth to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Stir 1 c. into rice mix. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until broth is absorbed, then add remainder of broth.

3. Stir in spinach peas, cheese, onions and radishes. Heat through until mixture is tender and creamy.

I also made some Slow Roasted Tomato Pasta from a recipe I found in a Cooking Light magazine. It still needs some tweaking (some more tomatoes to make it more saucy, and maybe some sugar to balance the tartness?), but it was good enough to try again for sure! (sorry, no pics for this one).

2 lbs. plum tomatoes, cored and halved

1/4 c. EVOO

2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

6 garlic cloves, sliced

1/4 tsp. red pepper

12 oz. fettuccine

3/4 c. parmesan cheese

3 T. fresh basil

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees

2. Place tomatoes on jelly-roll pan; sprinkle with 2 T oil and 3/4 tsp. salt and black pepper. Bake for 4 hours.

3. Heat 2 T. oil and garlic over low heat and cook for 10 minutes. Combine garlic, tomatoes, and red pepper in pan.

4. Cook pasta and drain, reserving 3/4 c. cooking liquid. Increase heat to medium high under tomato mixture and stir in liquid. Bring to a boil and cook for 3-5 minutes. Pour over pasta and top with basil and cheese.

These Savory Sausage and Spinach Turnovers were okay, but we decided they would be much better with beef. I plan on trying that later this month too. I'll let you know how they turn out!

2/3 c. peeled potatoes, diced

1/3 c. diced red bell pepper

1/3 c. diced onion

2 links hot Italian sausage, casings removed (once again, consider using beef instead!)

2 c. washed baby spinach

2 T. fresh basil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 refrigerated pie crust dough

2 T. water

1/4 c. parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Heat a skillet over medium high heat, coat with cooking spray, and add potatoes, bell pepper, and onion. Saute 4 minut
es.

3. Add sausage (beef), cook until brown, and then add spinach. Cook 2 more minutes, stir in basil, salt, and red pepper. Remove from heat.

4. Cut dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each section into a 5 inch circle. Spoon about 1/2 c. of the potato mixture onto one side of the circle, and fold over until the edges meet. Crimp edges together.

5. Place turnovers on a baking sheet and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.