Interview Season

It's kind of crazy, but Eric's interview season is actually done! It was a pretty nutty 2 months.

After Thanksgiving, Eric visited VCU in Richmond, VA, UAB in Birmingham, AL, and Brown University in Providence, RI all within a week. We spent a couple of extra (very rainy but fun) days in Rhode Island and Boston.

When we got back, he was supposed to turn right around and go to Pittsburgh, PA, for yet another interview. However, upon looking at his schedule, we realized the flight times we'd lined up weren't going to be conducive to him having dinner with the residents. It was also going to be one of the most expensive trips for him transportation and hotel wise. And, honestly, after the week before, I think we were both just pooped. So, after a LOT of debating, Eric actually cancelled an interview.

It was a little scary to think about turning a place down. After all, the more places you rank, the better your chances of matching. However, after 8 great interviews, I think we both felt confident enough that skipping one would be okay. We hated being out the plane ticket money, but having a few days to relax was probably worth it.

Of course, he turned right around and went to Dallas three days later, but that was a  little more fun since he got to see his familia while he was there. I wish I could have gone too, but sitting on a plane for hours while the baby kicks my bladder is not my idea of fun these days.

So there you have it. 9 interviews in the bag. Eric will turn in our list of which programs we like at the end of next month, and then we just get to wait until March 15 to find out where we'll be! Of course, we have a lot going on between now and then too. With visitors coming for Christmas and New years and sweet Samuel getting closer and closer to being born, we've got plenty to keep us occupied!

I am so grateful we've had the opportunity to spend so much time traveling and seeing all these fun places together during this time. Seriously, I think we've had more babymoons that anyone ever! I don't think we'll ever be able to look back and say we didn't live up our last few months of non-parenthood enough. :-) I can't wait to see what the future holds!

Half Way!

The last month or so has been really crazy for us, but Eric is officially half way done with interviews.

As mentioned in a previous post, he ended up applying to 20 places for residency. And, about as we expected/hoped for, he got offered interviews at 10. Some of the rejections were from prestigious research-heavy schools that we expected (Hopkins, Harvard, etc). Some were really surprising (UNC - apparently they have no love for their fellow North Carolinians!). But I think we're both pretty happy with the 10 that he's going on.

We tried to be as smart about scheduling as possible, which meant about one interview a week for the first 4 weeks while we were both working, then two weeks off for Thanksgiving, followed by five back-to-back at the start of Eric's vacation month.

The first five went really well. Of those, we both really liked Wake Forest (of course), Univerisity of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA, and the University of Louisville. (We also visited Charleston, SC, and the University of Maryland in Baltimore -- both were okay, but not our faves.)

As of this weekend, the back-to-back interviews begin! Eric will be heading to Richmond, VA, Birmingham, AL, Providence, RI, Pittsburgh, PA, and Dallas, TX over the next two weeks. That's a crazy lot of traveling in a super short span!
(I'll only be going to Rhode Island since I don't need to be taking too much time off of work before I go out on maternity).

I'm really curious to see how this next round goes, and what our top choices will be. There's already some great cities/programs in the mix, so no matter what we know we should hopefully be able to end up somewhere we like... we'll just have to wait and see!

Thankful List 2012

1. Of course, first and foremost, I'm thankful for Christ, for His sacrifice, for his ever-abiding love for his children, and for the fact that even though I fail time and time again, His love never does. Without Him, I'm nothing!

2. Eric Yates. I had no clue when we met almost 8 years ago that he'd end up being the most important person in my life - my husband, my best friend, and all-around support system. I'm SO grateful to have a husband who loves me at my worst, who has always been willing to share the load with me (especially this year with morning sickness, tiredness, and a growing belly!), who prays with me, makes me laugh and always kisses me good night. :-) I can't say enough about how grateful I am for that man! 

3. Sweet Samuel wiggling inside me! It has been the funnest thing this year growing this crazy baby.  He already doesn't sit still for long, so I know we're going to have a fun one. I can't wait to meet him in a few weeks!!

4. Our familia. We are SO blessed to have awesome God-fearing families on both sides. We don't get to see them as much as we would like, but it's wonderful to know we have love and support, even from miles away.

5. Skype + Cell phones. Once again, we don't get to see our family as much as we'd like, yet we can still see each other and talk every week. I always think about what it must have been like for people even a hundred years ago who moved across the country or across the world. Not only were they leaving their families behind, they were lucky if they could communicate through letters a few times a year. Things have come such a long way, and I'm thankful that, no matter where we go, we're never more than a phone call away!

6. Friends. Where would be without them??

7. Our home. I LOVE having a house. It's quirky and mismatched and definitely not where we're going to live for the rest of our lives. But it's cozy and it's comfy and warm (except upstairs where there's no heat - haha), and I'm so grateful to have a place to live that I enjoy!

8. Our neighborhood. Seriously, we are SO spoiled. We have good neighbors. Eric is less than a mile from work. We're less than a mile from the hospital where Samuel will be born. Within 2 miles we have 5 great grocery stores (including Whole Foods and Trader Joes), Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Chick-fil-A, Panera Bread and a host of other restaurants, and the YMCA. Yet our street is super quiet and calm. I can run anywhere and be greeted with smiles and hellos. The houses are all old, eclectic and (mostly) beautiful. It's just a fun place to live.

9. Running. I know it may seem silly, but I really do thank God all the time that I have legs to run with! Running has been cathartic for me. It helps me clear my head, deal with change, and remember that sometimes life is just as simple as putting one foot in front of the other.

10. Our church. Calvary is totally NOT the type of church we thought we'd end up at when we moved here 3 1/2 years ago (it's humongous!), but I'm SO glad we did! The people are awesome, and we can know that we will always hear the truth preached. Now it's hard for us to imagine NOT being at a huge church!

11. Food. Pregnancy has made me more grateful for food than ever! More than that, I often think about those who DON'T have food, who go without on a daily basis, both here and overseas. I haven't ever gone hungry and I'm thankful for that, but it compels me to look for ways I can aid those who do. We have so much more than what we could ever truly need. Why not share it?

12. Our health. We may be young, but I've seen all too often how things can change in the blink of an eye for anyone. I'm so thankful for 25 years of a healthy life, and for the fact that, even though we both work in super-germy places, we've managed to stay relatively illness-free the last few years!

13. My crazy cat. Conner is a mess, but he's cuddly and hilarious. He likes to hide behind things and jump out and "scare" us. He thinks our food is his food (have you ever seen a cat eat oatmeal, eggs, pumpkin, chocolate, yogurt, cereal, or mexican casserole? Because ours does. He's a pretty big fan of Dr. Pepper too. We have to constantly hide our food). He is obsessed with bags and boxes, and will drag them all over the house. When he's not being crazy, he's cuddling in our laps, trying to "kiss" us (rub his nose against our faces), or begging to be picked up. He really is a nut, but I'm thankful to have a sweet pet. I hope he adjusts okay when the baby comes!

14. My bed. Also a silly one, but seriously, it's soooo comfortable! I'm thankful to have a nice warm place to cuddle up at night.

15. Lastly, I'm thankful for FREEDOM, both politically and spiritually. I've been blessed to grow up in a country where I can decide for myself what I think about things, where I can worship God as I choose, and where I can pursue my dreams without inhibitions. It's easy to forget that these are things that haven't always been true for everyone, and I hope that I can make the most of them. 

The last few weeks

Things have been hectic, to say the least! And they will only get more so. (btw, I'm not a totally lame blogger. I have been keeping up the pregnancy blog - feel free to check it out!).

Remember that nice long list of places Eric applied for residency? So far he's gotten 10 interviews and actually been on one (to Louisville, which he really liked!). We're gearing up for being gone the next several weekends to fun places like Charlottesville, VA, Charleston, SC, and Baltimore, MD. Then he gets about a two week break, and he's off on at least five more. Yikes!

My parents came to visit last week, which was really fun, but kept us busy! We spent a lot of time the week before converting Eric's office into a second guest room since our current guest room is going baby. Then we went all over the place while they were here (and ate some delicious meals at places like Village Tavern and On the Border. Yum!) Their church was super-sweet to collect baby gifts to send to us and so we got to have a little mini-shower when they got here (minus the cake!). It was basically like Christmas!

Getting all those gifts prompted me to start working on that baby room more. It's coming along slowly, but there's still sooo much stuff we need to get! I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever get it done on time! I'm trying not to stress about it, but I can't seem to find a [reasonably priced] dresser to match the crib, or a [reasonably priced] comfy chair to rock him in - two pretty important pieces of furniture. We're leaving a guest bed in the room (for me to sleep in the first couple of weeks when I'm nursing constantly), but now I find myself wanting a new comforter that matches a little better... I know it will all come together, but three months isn't feeling like that long anymore!!

I've also been being uber-stubborn about continuing to run. It's harder some days than others and it takes up a lot of time, but I feel soooo much better when I do that it's totally worth it! I ran a 5K yesterday and I'm planning on doing one more before the baby comes, though that one will include a bit of walking I imagine! :-)

I keep meaning to blog about our trip to Niagara Falls last month too, but I never seem to have our camera handy. One day I will get around to it!

And, of course, I've still been trying to cook some, although I've been a little less picky about how often we eat out since I know we won't be able to anymore in a few months! Here's some things that turned out well:

Chicken & Spinach Pinwheels
OMG Yum. I made these for a potluck and they were gone in minutes!

1 cup (or so) chopped spinach (I'm not super careful with my measurements)
1/4 c. chopped onion (or some onion powder if you're short!)
1 clove garlic (garlic powder...)
2 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled (you could probably use Bac-os, but who would want to?)
1/2 c. finely chopped cooked chicken
3/4 c. cheese of your choice
1/4 c. mayo
1 can crescent rolls

Heat oven to 375. In a small skillet, cook onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes in EVOO. Remove from heat and mix in spinach, bacon, chicken, cheese and mayo. Unroll crescents into one large rectangle. Spread mixture onto rectangle and roll. Cut into approx. 20 slices and bake for 10-15 minutes


Easy Squash Bake
I sort of combined a few recipes here, but the result was De-Lish!

2-3 medium squash or zucchini, thinly sliced
1 c. grated cheese
2 Tbs. EVOO or butter (I spritzed some I Can't Believe it's Not Butter instead)
1/4 c. panko crumbs
A few shakes of Mrs. Dash or other seasonsing


Heat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Arrange squash on the bottom of the pan. Cover with cheese, then top with panko crumbs and seasoning. Spritz EVOO or butter over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes or until squash is tender.

Nutella Cookies
Easiest. Cookies. Ever.

1 c. Nutella
1 c. flour
1 egg
1/2 c. sugar, if desired (they're pretty sweet without it!)

Mix ingredients together. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350.


Slow Cooker Chicken and Veggies
I thought this was great. Eric thought it was so-so. Picky man. 

3/4 lb. baby carrots
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 lbs. chicken (breasts, thighs, whatever you want to use!)
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. chicken broth
6 biscuits, split (I just used Grands!)
1 c. frozen peas (I skipped that - we're not pea fans)
1/2 c. heavy cream
salt and pepper as desired

In a large slow cooker, toss veggies in flour. Place chicken on top and sprinkle with poultry seasoning. Add wine and broth. 15 minutes before serving, add cream, salt and pepper. To serve, place the bottom half of the biscuits on a plate or in a shallow bowl and top with chicken and veggies.


Anyway, that's a quick peek at what's been going on around here! Hopefully I will get around to updating again soon. :-) Until next time!

The waiting begins...

Just thought I'd throw in a quick blurb about how Eric finally got to submit his residency application this past weekend! After working on it for two and a half months and then staying up until midnight Friday night re-working his personal statement, all of his information is officially out there for his 20 chosen programs to see. Now we just get to wait for someone to invite him for an interview....

Here's a quick list of the 18 cities we might end up in next year (in no particular order):

Boston, MA
Farmington, CT
New Haven, CT
Pittsburgh, PA
Providence, RI
Baltimore, MD
Richmond, VA
Charlottesville, VA
Louisville, KY
Winston-Salem, NC
Chapel Hill, NC
Durham, NC
Charleston, SC
Atlanta, GA
Nashville, TN
Birmingham, AL
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO

Where do you think we'll go??

1000.

That's how many miles I've gone on foot in the last year!

I know it's silly... and no one else cares... but it's a goal I've had for a LONG time and I'm really proud of myself for reaching it (especially through moving, falling, first trimester sickness, etc. etc.)

In case you haven't figured it out, I am AVID about keeping track of my exercise. It gives me a way to challenge myself to push harder, do better. Who better to compete against than myself? I'm always here, and I can always push myself a little further. That's why I love running. I'm the one I have to beat.

So last year when I actually ran the whole year long and got in 775 miles, I knew it was only a matter of time before the day would come when I could look back and see that I'd done 1000 miles in the previous year.

That day was Sunday. And, I must say, it felt pretty stinkin' good.

Not all of it was running. Maybe 200-250 miles were on the elliptical or walking. Still, 1000 miles is 1000 miles. And of that I am proud.

Of course I can't just stop there. I'm not so naive as to think that I'm going to be breaking any records anytime soon considering I've got a baby coming in five short months. But hopefully I can maintain my 1000 mile status for a few months at least. And post baby... who knows... maybe a marathon???

BARR.

That's how I've been remembering everything I want to post about. I've been meaning to update for like, oh, 3 weeks now. I'm an awful blogger.

B - Well, the most obvious exciting news is that we're having a BABY in January!!! Feel free to read more about Baby Yates in our Baby Blog (linked on the side). This is the primary reason that I have posted very very little this summer. Keeping baby a secret was sooo hard!

Of course, the other reason I haven't posted much is that being pregnant made it basically impossible for me to cook for about 6 weeks - aka NO new recipes.

My morning sickness has finally abated, but now that it's over, I realize that I was actually pretty miserable. The whole time I had it, I kept saying, "well, I don't feel great, but I'm not too bad."

Yeah, now that I feel normal again, I can safely say that it was pretty bad. I just forgot what normal felt like. LoL. BUT it wasn't so bad I wouldn't do it again.

And, while Eric felt awful for me, HE loved the fact that we ate out about 5 times a week (primarily pizza -- baby's food of choice. I think we know whose child this is!!)


A - Our 4th Anniversary was two weeks ago!! It's hard to believe it's already been four years since our cute little wedding.

We've gone from two college kids to almost-parents. Eric's an almost-doctor. We've moved across the country. Gotten our first house. Gone on crazy vacations. It's been a really hard, but a really fun four years. It amazes me to see what different people we are now and how we've grown together and managed to become even closer and more grounded. 

I love this awesome guy more and more every day, and I'm more proud to be his wife than I can say!! 

R - You may think pregnancy has stopped my running, but think again!! I'm as slow as Christmas, but so far I've managed to keep up approximately 3 miles/day on average this summer. Trust me, when you're fatigued, nauseated and grouchy, that's an accomplishment!! 

So far I've gone about 660 miles this year. Not too shabby. AND, if I can keep up this 3 miles a day thing until August 20, I will have gone 1000 miles in the last year. I know, there are plenty of marathon runners who do that in like two months. Still, for a girl who started out doing NOTHING three years ago, I'd say 1000 miles a year is pretty darn good. :-) 

R - The last R is for Residency. That's right, in just a few short months, Eric will officially be Dr. Yates, MD. Woohoo!! Then we will be off on a new journey through his Internal Medicine residency. From now until March, however, we get to play the whole application game again. Here's a timeline for how all of this fun stuff works:

September - Eric submits his application that he's been working on for months. He's applying to 15-20 different programs, from Massachusetts to Colorado. (Thankfully this is WAY less time consuming and expensive than when he was applying to medical school)!

November-December - Interviews! Hopefully he'll get several interviews at different programs. He'll drive or fly to visit the hospitals and talk with the faculty he'd be working with. If he gets some interviews in November, we're hoping I can go with him so I can check out housing, etc. too. 

January - Rank List! Really we have until the beginning of February to do this, but since our sweet little baby is coming toward the end of January, I'm thinking we better have it done early! Basically, after interviewing, Eric ranks the programs according to how much he likes them. If there's one he interviews at that he definitely does NOT want to go to, he can choose not to rank it. So that's nice. Anything we put on the rank list is fair game for a residency match though! 

Monday, March 11 - Eric will get a nice email saying whether or not he matched. You see, Eric and every other 4th year medical student in the world will have turned in these rank lists, and so have the programs that interviewed them. All the information gets entered into some huge computer with some amazing algorithms that spit out where each person is going to go. The unfortunate thing is that, every now and then, there are more applicants than spots, or people apply to too many good programs that don't rank them very high. Scary! So those people find out Monday they are NOT matched and have to call programs all over the country to try and find a spot in any specialty that will take them. If they don't, they have to take a year off or do research for a year until Match day rolls around again. We are, of course, praying this does NOT happen to us!!

Friday, March 15 - Match Day! For anyone who doesn't know, Match Day is THE culmination of medical school. Every 4th year in every school across the US gathers with their classmates at noon EST, and in unison, every matched student opens an envelope that tells them where they will be spending the next 3-7 years of their life. It's really pretty cool. But I guarantee you we will NOT be able to sleep the night before!! 

Monday, May 20 - Graduation. After Match Day, everything's pretty much downhill. Eric takes a capstone course, we get a few weeks to go find a place to live, etc. And then graduation weekend comes. 

May still seems like a LONG way away, and there's so much happening between now and then. Still, it's crazy that SO many changes will be taking place in such a short amount of time!! For now, I am really just trying to enjoy, well, NOW. Being pregnant. Spending time with our friends here. Living in our cute little house. Enjoying our wonderful church fellowship. Winston-Salem is as much a home as anywhere else I've lived, and I plan on savoring our time here as much as I possibly can!!

Summertime!

So, I should definitely preface this post by saying that I have never been a gardener. I don't come from gardening people. I grew a flower or two. Once. When I was 10. But something about having a yard (and living in a place where it's not 105 all summer) made me think that maybe, just maybe, it was possible. 

So I talked to my friend Madeline and we teamed up to start growing some spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and a few other veggies in my backyard. Not everything has taken (you can see some empty spots back there for sure), but I've been really pleased with the results!

Tomato plants that went CRAZY (this was 2 weeks ago - now they're almost as tall as me and have about 20 green tomatoes growing!) Next time I do a garden, we'll definitely be planting these farther apart!

Lettuce (also 2 weeks ago) - Sadly, this is about dead. It's been growing since March though, and I haven't had to buy lettuce for Eric's sandwiches in months!

Red pepper (with some okra popping up behind there). Once again, two weeks old -- it's bigger now!

Our spinach was great for a month or two, but went the way of the lettuce. It's an "early season" plant. We can probably plant some more in late August!

We also have our zucchini plants going crazy. I'm hoping they'll produce something soon. Oh, and there's a jalapeno or two popping out too!

In other news, Eric and I took a [very quick] vacation to Myrtle Beach a couple of weeks ago. We'd never been to Myrtle before, but it was about what we expected - lots of gimmicky stuff, but still a nice beach. We sprung for a room with a balcony over the ocean. Worth every penny!

We honestly spent about 75% of our time just laying our bed with the door open listening to the ocean while watching cable. We're really exciting, right? LoL. 

We went out to eat every night (that's the point of vacation, isn't it?) -- Hard Rock Cafe, Landry's Seafood, and, our last night a little Chick-Fil-A so we could have dessert at the Melting Pot.

While we're not big on all the cheeky stuff, we did decide to go play a quick round of putt-putt at this goofy place called Mount Atlanticus.

I know, you're wondering how we survived with all of the dinosaurs and loch ness chasing us, right? Haha.

What can I say? We're dorks. (But awesome ones).

Anyway, it was fun to get away for a few days. We have another little "vacation" coming up to Atlanta so Eric can take his last big test of med school. The test part's a bummer, but I'm pretty excited about going to the Coca Cola Factory and doing some shopping while we're there! 

This summer's not near as exciting as the last, well, six or seven (Spain, Mexico, marriage, moving, Europe, Hungary), but I'm enjoying our last summer here with Eric in med school. It's kind of crazy that a year from now he will be a resident! So I'm just going to soak up my time while I've got it... before the real work begins!

Delicioso.

Here's a few more things I've tried recently: 

Cauliflower Fritters
What a great side dish!!

• 4 cups steamed cauliflower, chopped (I just use the Steamfresh garlic cauliflower bag and omit the garlic that comes next)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano (or if you're cheap like me, mixed Italian cheese. :-)
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup hot water
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Mix all ingredients except the oil. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Form patties with the cauliflower mixture. Cook in oil until lightly browned, about one minute on each side. These are great dipped in marinara!

(photo shows fritters, poppers and ricotta-stuffed shells)

Cauliflower Poppers

These are almost too easy to be called a recipe.

Just chop up some cauliflower (as always, I use the Steamfresh garlic cauliflower because it's cheaper and I'm lazy), spray it with oil, and pop it in the oven at 450 for 30-45 minutes!

Ricotta-Stuffed Shells

1 box jumbo pasta shells

1 8-oz container of ricotta cheese

¼ c. grated parmesan cheese

¼ c. mozzarella cheese

fresh spinach spinach (as much as desired)

1 egg

1 can pasta sauce

Browned italian sausage or hamburger meat (if desired)

Preheat oven to 375˚. Boil shells until almost tender. Drain and allow to cool. Mix ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and half of mozzarella in a medium bowl. Stir in spinach and egg. Cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan with pasta sauce (should use about 1/3 of the can). Fill shells with about 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture each (and meat if you're adding it). Cover with additional pasta sauce (about 1/3 of the can). Bake for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, heat remaining pasta sauce. Cover with additional pasta sauce and remaining mozzarella before serving. 

Maple-Dijon Chicken (aka "Man Pleasing Chicken" for my pinterest friends!)

This was soooo good! I served it with risotto and sauteed squash.

1/2 c. dijon mustard

1/4 c. pure maple syrup

1 T. apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar

1 lb. chicken (I used breasts, but you can use any part you desire!)
a few sprigs of rosemary

Heat the oven to 450. Put chicken in a greased pan. Mix mustard, syrup, vinegar and rosemary together and pour over chicken. Bake 35-40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165. 

Cake Batter Bars

I made these for a work party. They weren't super pretty, but they were definitely a hit!

• 1 1/4 cup funfetti cake mix
• 3/4 cup AP flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 5 heaping tablespoons sprinkles of your choice (I used stars)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8 x 8 inch pan.
2. Cream both sugars, butter, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk. 
3. Gradually mix in flour, cake mix, and baking soda until just mixed. Stir in sprinkles.
4. Spread batter evenly into greased pan.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes until top is lightly browned and middle still jiggles slightly. Cool completely before cutting.

Nutella Stuffed French Toast

No real recipe here, just awesomeness. Make a nutella sandwich, dip it in an egg/vanilla/sugar mixture, and cook it on a greased pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes. It's a perfect Sunday morning treat!

La Comida Parte 2

Did you think I was done? Of course not! I told you Pinterest has revolutionized my cooking life. :-)

Beef Stroganoff
This didn't taste like traditional beef stroganoff to me, but I still thought it was really good!

2 lbs. stew meat (okay, I used like 1.2)
2 cans Golden Mushroom soup (yup, I used one Golden and one regular)
1 diced onion
Splash of Worscestershire sauce
1/2 c. water
8 oz. cream cheese
1 T garlic salt
egg noodles

Put all ingredients in the slow cooker except cream cheese and egg noodles. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Add cream cheese 30 minutes prior to serving. Cook and serve egg noodles with stroganoff. 


Black Bean Brownies
I know, they sound gross, right? But they actually are surprisingly normal tasting/feeling. The beans just make the chocolate taste even darker... yum!

1 can black beans
3 Tbsp. oil
1/2 c. cocoa
4 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Drain and rinse beans. Put beans into a food processor to puree. Add in other ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Pour mixture into a greased 9x9 pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. You may wish to top with extra chocolate chips (who could blame you?) 


Slow Cooker Maple Chicken
It sounds a little weird, but I thought this was really good, and even Eric agreed that it took him by surprise. It would be especially delicious in the fall. :-) 

2-3 chicken breasts or thighs
salt and pepper
3-4 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
2-3 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
8 oz. baby carrots
1 small red onion

Put chicken and veggies in slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and maple syrup. Let cook for 4-6 hours. 


Peanut Butter Dip

1/2 c. yogurt (vanilla or strawberry-banana)
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. powdered sugar
fruit for dipping

Mix first three ingredients together. Then dip that fruit!


Ranch Pork Chops
These were okay... it's not a new fave or anything, but if you're in a hurry,it's a quick 3-ingredient slow cooker meal, and you can't go wrong with that!

1-2 lbs pork (chops, ribs, loin, etc.)
1 package ranch dressing mix
2 cans cream of chicken or mushroom soup
3 Tbsp. water

Put all ingredients in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. 


Strawberry Yogurt Cake
I would just like to preface this by saying that I LOVE fresh fruit, but all too often, we don't eat it all before it goes bad. It's sad and it's wasteful. So when I bought a big box of strawberries this week, I figured this recipe was the perfect way to use half of them up to ensure we make the most of our purchase... that means strawberry cake=economical, right? (I only made a half-batch).

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. lemon juice  (or orange)
Zest of 1 lemon (I used an orange)
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
8 oz. plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a bundt pan (or a nice 8x8 if you're halving it). Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and lemon zest and set aside. In a large bowl, mix butte rand sugar until creamy. Add in eggs one at a time, then stir in lemon juice. Alternate adding flour mixture and Greek yogurt. Fold strawberries into mixture and stir gently. Pour batter into bundt pan and bake for 60 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before removing from pan.

Sustenance.

I love food. I love eating it. I love cooking it. Most recently, I love growing it. I love trying new things and finding new ways to use old ingredients. It's fun, it's practical, and did I mention it's delicious? 

So you can imagine what a love affair I have with Pinterest. It's basically rendered my blogging about food unnecessary.... almost. But who knows when the Pinterest world may crash? So, to be safe (and to make my own changes to these recipes :-) I will see how many fun things I can fit in one quick post. 

Chicken Tamale Casserole [Cooking Light]
This was SO GOOD! Similar to the Mexican Shepherds Pie I've made before, this has even more spiciness and zest. And, though I'm usually not a sour cream fan, I found it totally pulled this dish together. I can't wait to make it again!

1 c. Mexican cheese blend
1/3 c. milk
1 egg or 1/4 c. egg substitute
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
1 can cream-style corn (I used frozen)
1 box corn muffin mix (I used Jiffy)
1 can Rotel
1 can red enchilada sauce
2 c. shredded cooked chicken breast
1/2 c. fat free sour cream

Preheat oven to 400. Combine cheese and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring until just moist. Pour into a coated 13x9 dish. Bake for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface with a fork. Pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken and additional cheese. Bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven and top with sour cream.


Feta Dip
Eric and I agreed: this tastes like an awesome pizza. I actually ate it for dinner one night. A definite keeper!

Olive oil
1 block or container of feta cheese
tomatoes (any kind!) to taste, diced
1 bunch green onions
1 baguette, sliced
Greek Seasoning (Cavenders!)

Pour olive oil on a plate or platter until it just covers the surface. Dice green onions and tomatoes and throw them on the olive oil. Add feta. Pour Greek seasoning over the entire dish. Mix gently. Serve with fresh-cut baguette slices. 

Protein Smoothie

1 almost-frozen banana (I actually froze mine, and it turns out that doesn't work so well!)

3 oz. Greek vanilla yogurt (about 1/2 small container)

1/4 c. milk

2 Tbsp. peanut butter

Mix ingredients together in a blender. This should keep you full all morning!!

Greek Chicken Wraps

I've made these two or three times already. They turn out a little different every time, but are always de-lish!

Tzatziki sauce:
1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar (I used red - it was fine)
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil

For the chicken:
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Juice of 1 lemon (2-3 Tablespoons)
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Tortillas or Pita Bread

Directions:
Shred the cucumber or chop in food processor. Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Mix together the yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler. Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into strips. Heat pitas. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and any other ingredient you desire. Serve immediately.

This Week + The Great Hotel Search

I always think I'm going to do a better job of blogging. Then I don't. 

 Eric started his 4th year of medical school two weeks ago (yay!). We won't even go into how crazy that is to me, how quickly time seems to have gone by, or how I can hardly believe that a year from now we will be gearing up to move yet again (I'm sure plenty of nostalgia is coming, though, so be prepared!). 

In planning his final year, we knew he would have to have 3-4 really hard months, and the rest should be awesomely easy. And, being the wise people that we are, we decided he should get the worst one OVER WITH. So, he is. He's working in the MICU for 13-14 hours a day, 6 days a week, and, while he likes what he's doing, him working 80 hour weeks is just no fun for either of us.

This week, Eric had to work nights. I hate it when he works nights. I don't sleep as well, and we only see each other for maybe an hour a day. We're both sleepier and thus grouchier than normal.To make matters worse, one of the tires on my car went flat Monday night. Since he was working nights, we had no opportunity to go get it fixed. So we shared his car all week. That meant me taking him to work and picking him up between 4:30 and 6 every morning. Then getting ready for work myself. 

To top it all off,  I've been sick since Thursday with some lovely flu-like symptoms (minus the fever) that basically made me a zombie for two days. I even had to miss Race for the Cure yesterday, and I was really excited about getting to run in it this year. 

We finally got four new tires on my car yesterday. But not before Eric hurt his ankle changing my tire and cut himself on the spare which apparently had a slash in it too. 

Needless to say, I woke up this morning SUPER grateful to start a new week. I know things could have been a lot worse, but weeks like that are enough to make me appreciate our "normal" life! And I am SO glad that we've got this part almost over with! 

This week also impressed upon me our great need for a VACATION. We get a grand total of 4 days in June for "vacation" this year (and a short stint in Atlanta in July when Eric has to go take a clinical exam). We really really want to go to the beach. The problem is that we had an AWESOME beach experience last year and now we are finding ourselves being hotel snobs.

You see, last year we took our vacation at the end of August. School had already started most places, so we got an awesome deal on our ocean front hotel on Hilton Head Island. We could lay in bed and see the waves crashing on the shore. We could relax in hammocks by the beach. We opened the door to our balcony and smelled the salty ocean air. The pools were top notch. Our resort gave us $100 credit that paid for a fancy dinner and all-day bike rentals. We also had a free night booking through hotels.com, so we ended up spending a very reasonable amount for a very AWESOME time at the beach.

The problem with going to the beach in June, however, is that the same hotel is $100+more per night than last time. And we do not have a free night. And they are not offering $100 in resort credit with booking. And no affordable hotel can possibly compare.  

I know I shouldn't complain. We really have been blessed beyond measure. Just the fact that we are able to take a vacation at all is a testament to that! So we'll figure something out and be grateful for what we get. But if anyone knows of any great resorts on the east coast overlooking the ocean for less than $200/night, feel free to let us know. :-) 

What's for Dinner?

I'm happy to report several successful nights of new dinners/supper/evening meals lately! All of these were major hits and definite make-againers.

Stuffed Peppers 

(with Rice) - Recipe for 2

(I adapted this recipe from this website.)

2 bell peppers

1 chicken breast, boiled and shredded

A few scoops of Philadelphia Cooking Cream

1/2 can Rotel

1/2 bag frozen sweet corn

1/2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp chili powder

A few handfuls Cheddar or Mexican Blend shredded cheese

A few shakes of Panko crumbs

A few shakes of garlic powder, onion powder and taco seasoning

A heaping scoop of salsa

You can tell I was really careful about my measurements, right? haha.

1. Slice bell peppers in half and remove seeds/other innards. 

2. Mix chicken with all other ingredients except Panko crumbs and about a handful of cheese

3. Put chicken mixture in bell peppers and cover with Panko and cheese

4. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes

Stuffed Chicken Parmesan with "Mock" Mashed potatoes

Soooo easy and soooo good!!

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

1 bag grated parmesan cheese

2 handfuls spinach

1 egg

Panko breadcrumbs

1 jar pasta sauce (I used Prego)

1 bag Steamfresh garlic cauliflower

2 Tbsp. butter

For the chicken parm...

1. Slice the chicken breasts through the middle and fill with spinach and a handful of parmesan cheese

2. Scramble egg in a wide bowl. In a separate bowl, mix panko and two more handfuls of cheese.

3. Dip chicken first in egg mixture, then in panko. Place in baking dish and cover with pasta sauce.

4. Bake chicken at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

For "mock" potatoes...

1. Place the steamfresh bag in the microwave for 5-6 minutes as directed on the bag.

2. Place bag contents in a food processor (or Magic Bullet in our case!)

3. Add in butter and anything else you normally eat with mashed potatoes.

Serve it all together and you've got a killer meal! We were seriously amazed at the cauliflower potatoes. No joke, you could NOT tell the difference! I will definitely be using this recipe to trick my kids into eating veggies one day. :-) 

Rachel Ray's Lazy Baked Greek Chicken

Okay, admittedly I stole this picture from the internet. 

This was SO delicious that I was thinking about it hours later wishing I had made extra. 

2 chicken breasts

1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 onion, minced

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

Several handfuls fresh spinach

1 tsp nutmeg

2 Tbsp. butter

1/2 c. panko

1 tsp. oregano

1/4-1/2 c. feta cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Heat oil in skillet and cook onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes, until onion is translucent. Remove to a bowl and mix in spinach and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

3. Place butter in the same pan and melt. Remove from heat and mix in oregano and panko.

4. Slit chicken breasts in half and open like a book. Stuff with spinach mixture and feta. Place in a baking dish and top with panko mixture.

5. Bake 20-25 minutes. 

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

2 chicken breasts

3 Tbsp. hot sauce 

4 Tbsp. melted butter

1/2 packet ranch dressing mix

1 Tbsp. sugar

Other seasonings to taste (I threw in some onion powder and garlic)

Put all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Shred chicken. Put on bread and enjoy delicious Buffalo chicken sandwiches! 

And this isn't dinner, but I also made some delicious

Zucchini Fritters

1 grated zucchini

1/2 c. grated parmesan or mozzarella cheese

3 Tbsp. panko

1 egg

sprinkle of nutmeg

1 clove garlic/1 tsp. garlic powder

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Mix first six ingredients together. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Make zucchini mixture into "patties" and fry until slightly brown on the outside.

Can you tell what my favorite ingredients have been lately??

Oh, and how could I forget?? My cinnamon rolls!! 

Of course I didn't get any pictures of them. :( 

I basically followed this recipe. It was good, but it took FOREVER and I didn't cut them quite right, so they were super little. I will definitely try it again some time though!! 

Anyway, that's about it as far as cooking goes. 

The only other exciting thing I have to report is that I finished (and gifted)  my first baby blanket! It definitely was NOT perfect, but it is by far the biggest thing I've ever crocheted! 

  

Updates: Our Home :-)

So I've had these pictures sitting on a disc for forever now. Perhaps you'd like to see our new digs?

The living room pre-paint. I really did like this color, but it was almost exactly the same color as our couch! 

Don't you think the yellow livens it up a bit? And please note the beautiful rug, courtesy of mis padres. :-) I loved loved loved that rug when I saw it, but definitely plan to get some more red/brown for the walls and windows to make it coordinate a little better.

Lovely kitchen. :-) 

Guest room, complete with extra box spring for decoration. 

Extra bathroom, that has since been dubbed mine. 

Eric's office area. The pictures are just hung where there were already nails in the wall, thus the weird layout.

Master suite. :-)

And no old house is complete without... a creepy basement!!

We have laundry down there too, ensuring that I go down to visit the mermaids and unicorns at least 5 times a week.