Can't wait to blog from Corolla, NC! I'll hopefully post all kinds of fun that's going down with the Marshall clan all week!
And I have some HUGE news to announce the week after that.. but until then..
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Two days..
And I'll be..
On the beach with a drink in my hand..
Can't wait to blog from Corolla, NC! I'll hopefully post all kinds of fun that's going down with the Marshall clan all week!
And I have some HUGE news to announce the week after that.. but until then..
Can't wait to blog from Corolla, NC! I'll hopefully post all kinds of fun that's going down with the Marshall clan all week!
And I have some HUGE news to announce the week after that.. but until then..
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Only 10 more days..
And I will be at Corolla Beach, NC with my family. Could the days PLEASE pass faster?
Until then..
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
A few tidbits..
Here's what I've been up to!
This past weekend, Adam graduated from Hampden-Sydney College! I am so proud of him and it was such a fun time. His fraternity had a graduation party on Friday night with a huge dinner of a variation of Beer in the Rear chicken and all the fixin's. They had a band called The Brothership who played all kinds of Motown music. All of the families of the boys were there and it was so much fun.
Saturday we moved Adam out of his dorm room. Needless to say, I am ecstatic that I will never have to see that place again. Later in the day, we attended Baccalaureate, followed by a super yummy dinner at Charley's in Farmville.
Sunday was Graduation Day and we were up bright and early! Adam's Aunt Lynn and Uncle Ray came up for the day from North Carolina and we had a nice lunch after the ceremony.
It was a great time and I am glad I could be there to support Adam. Here are a few photos from the weekend:
Oven Fried Chicken
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
2 cups multigrain cereal flakes (I used Total)
Seriously, that's it..
Recipe:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Put the two cups of cereal in a large plastic bag. Zip it up and crush it into smaller pieces. In a bowl, toss the chicken and mustard until it's coated. When coated, dump the chicken breasts into the plastic bag and zip it up again. Toss the chicken in the cereal until it is completely coated. Shake off the excess cereal flakes and place on the baking sheet. Bake for about 50 minutes or until cooked through.
I always think crunchy chicken goes well with a side of greens. I keep my freezer stocked with frozen veggies for times just like this. I put some frozen collards in a bowl with about 3 tablespoons of water. I stuck them in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirred them around and then put them back in the microwave for about another minute. Then I drained the excess water and added a dollop of butter and some garlic salt. De-lish! I would normally have added some Texas Pete Pepper Sauce, but apparently, that's a deep South thing because they don't sell it up here in Virginia.. Booo!!!
And, finally I got crafty with my lunch today. I took a page out of Courtney's book on this one. I saw her make a version of this a few weeks ago, and decided to try it myself.
Steak Salad with Mandarins, Walnuts and Feta
Ingredients:
1 package shaved steak (You can find this at the meat counter and it can be any type of meat as long as it's bite-sized)
1 cup balsamic vinegarette dressing plus more for drizzling
Olive oil
1 can mandarin oranges, in light syrup, drained
1/4 cup walnuts, or however many you like
1/4 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
1 Roma tomato, diced, optional
2 cups lettuce (I used Butter lettuce)
Recipe:
Place the meat and the balsamic vinegarette in a dish and toss to coat. Cover with aluminum foil and refridgerate for at least an hour. Heat a large pan with a swirl or two of olive oil over medium high heat. Remove the meat from the refridgerator and add to the pan. Sear until meat is cooked through about 3-4 minutes. Let it cool. If the steak needs to be sliced a bit more, wait until it is cool to cut it.
Next, assemble the salad. Add the lettuce, walnuts, feta cheese, mandarin oranges and tomatoes to a bowl. Add the steak on top. Lightly drizzle a little bit more balsamic vinegarette over the top. Enjoy!
This steak can really be marinated in any of your favorite dressings. I may try it with raspberry vinegarette some time soon. Here is a photo.. please excuse the Tupperware container.
Well, that's it for now. Have a great Thursday!
This past weekend, Adam graduated from Hampden-Sydney College! I am so proud of him and it was such a fun time. His fraternity had a graduation party on Friday night with a huge dinner of a variation of Beer in the Rear chicken and all the fixin's. They had a band called The Brothership who played all kinds of Motown music. All of the families of the boys were there and it was so much fun.
Saturday we moved Adam out of his dorm room. Needless to say, I am ecstatic that I will never have to see that place again. Later in the day, we attended Baccalaureate, followed by a super yummy dinner at Charley's in Farmville.
Sunday was Graduation Day and we were up bright and early! Adam's Aunt Lynn and Uncle Ray came up for the day from North Carolina and we had a nice lunch after the ceremony.
It was a great time and I am glad I could be there to support Adam. Here are a few photos from the weekend:
Tuesday night, I made Oven Fried Chicken with Collard Greens. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture, but I will say, this is definitely worth trying because it is so unbelievably easy. I get nervous when it comes to frying food in my apartment, so if the recipe calls for more than a few swirls of olive oil in a pan, I usually won't make it. To fix this, I decided to "fake" fry some chicken.
Oven Fried Chicken
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
2 cups multigrain cereal flakes (I used Total)
Seriously, that's it..
Recipe:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Put the two cups of cereal in a large plastic bag. Zip it up and crush it into smaller pieces. In a bowl, toss the chicken and mustard until it's coated. When coated, dump the chicken breasts into the plastic bag and zip it up again. Toss the chicken in the cereal until it is completely coated. Shake off the excess cereal flakes and place on the baking sheet. Bake for about 50 minutes or until cooked through.
I always think crunchy chicken goes well with a side of greens. I keep my freezer stocked with frozen veggies for times just like this. I put some frozen collards in a bowl with about 3 tablespoons of water. I stuck them in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirred them around and then put them back in the microwave for about another minute. Then I drained the excess water and added a dollop of butter and some garlic salt. De-lish! I would normally have added some Texas Pete Pepper Sauce, but apparently, that's a deep South thing because they don't sell it up here in Virginia.. Booo!!!
And, finally I got crafty with my lunch today. I took a page out of Courtney's book on this one. I saw her make a version of this a few weeks ago, and decided to try it myself.
Steak Salad with Mandarins, Walnuts and Feta
Ingredients:
1 package shaved steak (You can find this at the meat counter and it can be any type of meat as long as it's bite-sized)
1 cup balsamic vinegarette dressing plus more for drizzling
Olive oil
1 can mandarin oranges, in light syrup, drained
1/4 cup walnuts, or however many you like
1/4 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
1 Roma tomato, diced, optional
2 cups lettuce (I used Butter lettuce)
Recipe:
Place the meat and the balsamic vinegarette in a dish and toss to coat. Cover with aluminum foil and refridgerate for at least an hour. Heat a large pan with a swirl or two of olive oil over medium high heat. Remove the meat from the refridgerator and add to the pan. Sear until meat is cooked through about 3-4 minutes. Let it cool. If the steak needs to be sliced a bit more, wait until it is cool to cut it.
Next, assemble the salad. Add the lettuce, walnuts, feta cheese, mandarin oranges and tomatoes to a bowl. Add the steak on top. Lightly drizzle a little bit more balsamic vinegarette over the top. Enjoy!
This steak can really be marinated in any of your favorite dressings. I may try it with raspberry vinegarette some time soon. Here is a photo.. please excuse the Tupperware container.
Well, that's it for now. Have a great Thursday!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Good Eats -- Weekend Edition
This weekend was extremely relaxing and filled with two of my favorite things: food and friends.
After work on Friday, I came home to find Courtney in the kitchen whipping up something delicious before she headed off to work for the night. I had some leftover ingredients from another meal this week, so I decided to follow her lead. I ended up making..
Ziti with Goat Cheese, Squash and Peas
Ingredients:
1/2 box ziti or another other short pasta
1 medium yellow squash, sliced
3/4 cup frozen peas
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 oz. Goat cheese
Olive oil
S & P
Recipe:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Toss sliced squash in olive oil and S & P. Roast for about 15-20 minutes or until the squash is fork tender.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to the instructions on the box. With about two minutes left, add the peas to the pasta. When time is up, drain both the pasta and peas and add them to a large bowl. Add the squash, lemon juice, Parmesan and Goat cheeses to the pasta and toss to coat. Make sure the cheese is all melted together. Serve warm.
After looking at the photo again, I immediately texted my mom the picture with the caption, "I am my father." This is true, because up until Christmas, I could not for the life of me cook a sunny-side up egg. Then, one day, I just asked him. And ever since I have been making them for myself all the time. But it was THIS Saturday that I realized my plate looked exactly as it did every weekend when I was growing up. My dad always made me sunny-side up eggs, bacon and toast cut into triangles. The saying really is true that you become your parents eventually.
I shopped all afternoon on Saturday and found lots of fun things in Target, Old Navy and Barnes and Noble. I went a few other places, but for reasons of Adam's upcoming Graduation and the gift I had to buy, I can not discuss them quite yet.
Saturday night, I ended up with friends at the W Hotel near the White House in a very cool bar called POV. POV is short for "point-of-view," and boy is that an understatement! It has the most AMAZING view of the Washington Monument I have ever seen. It was worth all the lines to get in, I'll tell ya that.
Sunday was deemed "nap day." And it was just that. Adam came into town late in the afternoon just as Courtney had begun preparing her legendary Louisiana-style Red Beans and Rice dinner. You could smell the sausage all the way down the hall. A-MA-ZING! After a few hours, it was ready and we all (Court, Randan, Brendan, Adam and I) all sat family-style and chowed down. I can't tell you how good it was, and I don't think my photo would do it justice, but I attempted. Please forgive me.. there is rice under all those beans and sausages! And the cornbread muffins were to die for!
I also made Lemon Bars for dessert and they were divine! They were perfect for the warm weather because they were lighter than a normal dessert. I attempted to take photos of the process, so I could be more helpful for those trying to recreate the recipe. It is a bit difficult, well it was for me at least. But they came out amazing, so definitely give them a try!
Lemon Bars
Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioner's sugar, plus more for dusting
Pinch of salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
For the filling:
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Juice of 2 medium lemons
Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the crust. Cut in the butter until you have a crumbly consistency.
*If you find that it is softer and more dough-like, add a few tablespoons of flour to the mixture and keep beating. Add until it is crumbly.
Press the mixture into the prepared baking dish. You may have to dip your fingers in some flour so the mixture will not stick to them as you press it into the dish. Bake the crust for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients for the filling. Pour this mixture over the crust and bake for 25 more minutes. Once it is finished baking, let it rest for about 30 minutes before cutting. The filling should be soft while the top will be a thin, crunchy layer. Serve with a dusting of confectioner's sugar!
After work on Friday, I came home to find Courtney in the kitchen whipping up something delicious before she headed off to work for the night. I had some leftover ingredients from another meal this week, so I decided to follow her lead. I ended up making..
Ziti with Goat Cheese, Squash and Peas
Ingredients:
1/2 box ziti or another other short pasta
1 medium yellow squash, sliced
3/4 cup frozen peas
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 oz. Goat cheese
Olive oil
S & P
Recipe:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Toss sliced squash in olive oil and S & P. Roast for about 15-20 minutes or until the squash is fork tender.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to the instructions on the box. With about two minutes left, add the peas to the pasta. When time is up, drain both the pasta and peas and add them to a large bowl. Add the squash, lemon juice, Parmesan and Goat cheeses to the pasta and toss to coat. Make sure the cheese is all melted together. Serve warm.
The pasta is really creamy because of all the added cheese, but the calories are not as bad. Goat cheese has fewer calories than most cheeses, so you don't have to feel all that bad about eating that second helping!
The rest of Friday night was very low-key and involved the extremely bizzare movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. It was really weird, and kind of hard to follow. But, it was Heath Ledger's last movie before his untimely passing, so I had been interested in seeing it. I thought I could handle the "strange," but this was a bit out of my league.
Saturday was a day for sleeping in, even if it was only until 10:30am. I woke up, worked out and decided that even though it was almost noon, breakfast foods were calling my name. I ended up with this:
After looking at the photo again, I immediately texted my mom the picture with the caption, "I am my father." This is true, because up until Christmas, I could not for the life of me cook a sunny-side up egg. Then, one day, I just asked him. And ever since I have been making them for myself all the time. But it was THIS Saturday that I realized my plate looked exactly as it did every weekend when I was growing up. My dad always made me sunny-side up eggs, bacon and toast cut into triangles. The saying really is true that you become your parents eventually.
I shopped all afternoon on Saturday and found lots of fun things in Target, Old Navy and Barnes and Noble. I went a few other places, but for reasons of Adam's upcoming Graduation and the gift I had to buy, I can not discuss them quite yet.
Saturday night, I ended up with friends at the W Hotel near the White House in a very cool bar called POV. POV is short for "point-of-view," and boy is that an understatement! It has the most AMAZING view of the Washington Monument I have ever seen. It was worth all the lines to get in, I'll tell ya that.
Sunday was deemed "nap day." And it was just that. Adam came into town late in the afternoon just as Courtney had begun preparing her legendary Louisiana-style Red Beans and Rice dinner. You could smell the sausage all the way down the hall. A-MA-ZING! After a few hours, it was ready and we all (Court, Randan, Brendan, Adam and I) all sat family-style and chowed down. I can't tell you how good it was, and I don't think my photo would do it justice, but I attempted. Please forgive me.. there is rice under all those beans and sausages! And the cornbread muffins were to die for!
I also made Lemon Bars for dessert and they were divine! They were perfect for the warm weather because they were lighter than a normal dessert. I attempted to take photos of the process, so I could be more helpful for those trying to recreate the recipe. It is a bit difficult, well it was for me at least. But they came out amazing, so definitely give them a try!
Lemon Bars
Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioner's sugar, plus more for dusting
Pinch of salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
For the filling:
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Juice of 2 medium lemons
Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the crust. Cut in the butter until you have a crumbly consistency.
*If you find that it is softer and more dough-like, add a few tablespoons of flour to the mixture and keep beating. Add until it is crumbly.
Press the mixture into the prepared baking dish. You may have to dip your fingers in some flour so the mixture will not stick to them as you press it into the dish. Bake the crust for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients for the filling. Pour this mixture over the crust and bake for 25 more minutes. Once it is finished baking, let it rest for about 30 minutes before cutting. The filling should be soft while the top will be a thin, crunchy layer. Serve with a dusting of confectioner's sugar!
I always love weekends like this, and I am so excited that the weather has FINALLY started to be warm all day and so breezy at night! I can't wait to start grilling all the time, and soon the pool will open at CP and it really will be the official start of summer.
This week will be another low-key one since I will be in Hampden-Sydney this weekend for Adam's Graduation!!! I get to meet more members of his family and enjoy H-SC one last time! It's so bittersweet for me, and I can only imagine how different life will be come Fall when I won't be visiting anymore. But, I am so happy to have met Adam and been able to experience all that H-SC has. It will forever be a special place in my heart.
I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!
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