From my kitchen: Crab & Bacon Stuffed Bell Peppers

This past weekend, I was craving something light yet decadent.  We had pigged out a bit too much on Mexican food and I was in the mood for something a little less heavy.

What I really wanted was a crab cake.  But since those are a no-go for me at the moment because of the gluten, I came up with a plan B that was a total success - Crab and bacon stuffed bell peppers.

Even my husband liked it.  Little B, not so much.  But that is okay because it meant more for me.  This dish was so good that it will become a regular on the meal rotations.  Next time I might play around with the seasoning a bit more to give it more of a Cajun flair.  But that is the beauty of this dish, the spices can be modified based on whatever you are in the mood for.

So bottom line, if I were handing out stars, this one would get a 5 out of 5.  It is delicious!

Crab & Bacon Stuffed Bell Peppers

1 lb lump crab meat

1/2 c rice krispy cereal (could also use corn flakes)
3-6 strips of bacon (chopped into 1/2 inch pieces)
2 tbsp mayonnaise
4 green onions, chopped
1 large egg (room temperature)

Kosher salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp paprika

4 bell peppers (stemmed, halved lengthwise, seeds and ribs removed)

Olive oil, for drizzling
1 c water

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine the crab, cornflakes, half of the bacon, the mayonnaise, green onions, egg, 1 teaspoon salt and cayenne pepper, if using.

Spoon the filling into the bell pepper halves, dividing it evenly. Place the remaining bacon on top of the filling and drizzle with olive oil. Arrange the filled peppers in a single layer in a baking dish or small roasting pan. Pour the water around the peppers. The water is so the pepper don't burn at the bottom. Bake until the peppers are tender, about 40-45 minutes. 

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Little Moments: sweet girl

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Happy Memorial Day!

We were all needing a little respite from the busyness of the work week and what is better than a long weekend to deliver.  Our weekend has been filled with the perfect mix of busy and lazy.

our wedding anniversary

mimosas

naked babies running around a baby pool

dinner out on the patio

movie night

breakfast tacos

hosting out of town friends

feeding the ducks

mojitos

sleeping in

homemade chocolate chip cookies

birthdays

exploring Trinity park

finishing two really good books
a fighter jet formation siting (Little B thinks this is magical. I love living near an air base!)

French press coffee
the first peach of the season

crab stuffed peppers

catching up on the dvr

steaks on the grill

I am not ready for this weekend to end.

 

 

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Little Moments: ready for summer

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Four Years

Today is my wedding anniversary.  We have been married 4 years, together 12 years.  That is many years of falling asleep every night next to my best friend.

In my mind, when I look at us, I still see us as we were when we first met back in 2000 - Just two smitten kids in their 20s sitting on a Ferris wheel with the world at their fingertips.  How far we have come.

We have been stretched and challenged in ways that I never would have imagined. Marriage has not always been easy. But we also have enjoyed unexpected blessings as well.  I feel that we are in our best year of marriage yet.

Marriage is tricky that way. It is not a straight path. It has highs and lows, good years and bad years.  It can be confusing to determine who best suits you as a life partner.  What initially brings people together is often not the same as what keeps them together.

For me, marriage really came down to this simple question - Who do you want to share your best and worst moments with?  Who do you want there when you finally land that big promotion or see that that double line on the pregnancy stick?  And who do you want there to be by your side when life throws you a curve ball in the form of a health scare, a lay-off, or burying someone dear to you.

For me, that question simplified everything.  And David was always the answer to that question.  He is the one that I want to hold my hand during life's ups and downs.

How much I would love to go back to our wedding day on gorgeous sandy beach in Tulum, Mexico surrounded by our friends and family.  That day, May 25, 2008, was one of my most favorite days in my entire life... only trumped by the day that our daughter was born.

Sometimes, I feel so inadequate to deserve the unconditional love that this man gives me. This man who tells me that he adores me on a regular basis. But that is what marriage is all about.  Everyday, I strive to be the woman that I see reflected back in his eyes.

So to my beloved - you are everything I hoped for in a soul mate and more.  I would say YES all over again.

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My daughter's literary education

As most of you know, I am passionate about books.  So far in my life, I am lucky to have found so many like-minded people that share in my literary obsession, one such group being my book club.

Last week, I hosted book club here at my house and we had a great time discussing Fifty Shades of Grey.  VERY enlightening on so many levels!

One tangent conversation that came up that evening was about the books that we want our daughters to read when they get a little older.  When that question came up, it was like my mind went in hyper-mode and just started spitting out all of these great options.  And the funny thing... it hasn't stopped.  I find myself brewing on that question while sitting in traffic or folding laundry.  So many options, all of them so exciting.

Here are a few must-haves for Little B's literary education:

The Elementary Years

• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
• Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Judy Blume
  
• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
  
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  
• The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope
  
• Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

The Teenage Years or Older

• Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  
• A Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
  
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
• Exodus by Leon Uris
• Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

So tell me, what books do you want to be on your daughter's bookshelf?

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Right now.

Right now I'm...

Watching: The Bachelorette.  I know, I know!  It's a train wreck that I just can not avert my eyes from.

Craving: Nutella. Big surprise there.

Hoping: that Little B's fever will break tonight Other than the fever, she seems to be feeling okay, but it still makes me anxious.  

Listening: to David on the monitor as he reads a bed time story to Little B.  It makes me smile.

Thankful: that I have Fridays off. There is just too much to get done in the 2 days that a normal weekend gives you.

Avoiding: house work.

Feeling: hopeful.

Needing: a really fun night out with my man.

Enjoying: the new iPad that I got from work.

Wondering: when these dang allergies are going to go away. Sometimes I feel that I could solve world peace if I could just get these darn allergies to go away.

Reading: Game of Thrones (still).  In my defense, it is a very long book and I can barely keep my eyes open for more then 5 minutes at the end of the day.

Wishing:  that we could go away on vacation.  Spain, Napa Valley, a private island beach all come to mind.


Okay.  I have procrastinated long enough.  Time to go clean the kitchen.  It must be done.

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Things I've learned from my mama

Now that I have a little girl of my own, I find myself being a lot more self-reflective on my relationship with my own mother.  I think about what she has taught me and how she has helped to shape who I am today.  I want to pass along those same traits and gifts to Little B that my mother passed on to me.

So on that note and in honor of Mothers' Day, I share with you the things I have learned from my mama:

Shoes are an investment.  

Both my mother and I have small feet.  I wear a size 5.  My mom wears a size 4.  Finding shoes that don't light up when you walk or have pink glitter on them can often be a challenge.  Our quest for "big-girl" shoes is often a highlight of conversation between us.  Because of that, my mother has taught me that shoes are an investment.  Whenever you can, splurge on well-made classic shoes that you can hold on to for decades.  I have lived by this principle for as long as I can remember and it has served me well.  Plus, shoes never make you look fat and they can give you that extra boost of confidence that you need before walking into a hot date/job interview/important meeting.

It is better to have one really good friend than many just-okay-friends.  
I remember her telling me this when I was in middle school and did not get invited to a certain slumber party that I really wanted to be invited to.  Instead I invited a "good" friend over for our own little slumber party.  We had a fantastic night that quickly made me forget about that other party.  That one line sentiment has kept with me through out the years.  I think about it a lot when I ponder over who my friends are.  I know who my really good friends are and therefore I don't sweat it when other potential friendships don't work out.  I have the friendships that I need.  Any additional ones are just more icing on the cake.

My love of books.  

Books can offer answers to any of life's problems.  Whether you are nursing a broken heart, feeling unsure about the ways of the world, or wanting to escape to a far away place, a book can guide you.  My love of old bookshops, library cards, and the excitement as you read the first page of a new book have all been bestowed upon me by my mother.  Growing up, we had weekly trips to the library where I was never told "NO" to any book that I wanted to check out.  Nothing was forbidden.  Her only requests were that I was to ask questions of anything I did not understand and to treat my books with care.  I am intent on passing this love of books on to Little B as so far she is whole-heartedly adopting it as her own.  I am hoping that our love of books is something that we can share together for the rest of our lives.

Know who you are and embrace it.  

The summer that I was 12 or 13, I was on a mission to get a gorgeous bronze tan.  I sat out in the sun every afternoon just hoping that the sun would transform my pale, milky skin into the bronzed skin of a Greek goddess.  Well, as I am sure you have guessed, my wish did not come true.  My mom pulled me aside and firmly gave me facts of life...  I was never going to be tan, or tall, or have the long full-bodied hair featured in  shampoo commercials.  BUT I would always have gorgeous doll-like skin, I would never have to worry about dating a boy shorter than me, and my hair was the perfect sun-kissed color that people paid a lot a money to have.  She taught me which colors to wear to show off my pale skin and blue eyes and what clothes looked best on a petite figure.  To this day, as I watch these horrible floral prints and skinny jeans making a come back, I think about her words and proudly stick to the fashions that make ME look fantastic.

Don't try to be someone that you are not.
Very similar to one listed above, this lesson is more from the perspective of attitude and personality.  It is easy to get lost in the crowd or to adopt the opinion that is most popular to those around you.  But this lesson was best taught to me in the workplace.  At the beginning of my career, I was surrounded by men.  Often I was the only woman in the room.  It was sometimes tough and I would question how I should handle certain situations.  Adopt the more male perspective of my peers or stick to my initial perspective?  I quickly learned that I needed to let all of that kind of thinking go and just focus on my own perspective and opinions regardless of female or male.  Often my own opinions let me see a solution that others did not immediately see.

Learn at least one really amazing culinary dish so well that you could do it in your sleep.  

My mom always stated that you needed to know this in case your in-laws or your husband's boss ever dropped by on short notice.   I don't necessarily see it in that same light, but I do appreciate the sentiment.  It is an ego boost to know that you can "whip up" something delightful in a relatively short amount of time without a lot of stress. It doesn't matter if the only other dish you know how to cook is eggs.  So long as you have 1 show-stopper meal, you are good. For my mom, her dishes are London broil and lemon meringue pie. For me, these days it's probably roast chicken, Parmesan truffle risotto and cinnamon salt brownies.

I am lucky enough to be surrounded by many strong women in my life, the strongest being my mother.  It is my hope that someday Little B can look at me and say the same thing.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there!

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Missing my herb garden

For those of you who have been following for a while, you know that we are currently living in a rental house.  It is weird going from owning your own home to living in a house that is not truly yours. And for self-proclaimed DIYers, it is extra weird to not be able to change a paint color, install a solar tube, add a back porch cover or build a garden bed. While I know this is a temporary setup as we get adjusted to our new city, I am really, really missing my garden right about now.

How spoiled I was before to be able to walk out my back door to grab a tomato, a pepper, chard, or a sprig of rosemary or basil.  And while I am making the best out of it with my potted plants scattered all over the back porch, it is not quite the same. Many of my favorites just do not do well in pots.

I especially did not realize how much I relied on my herb plants in my cooking.  I use them all the time!  More specifically, I use basil, rosemary, parsley, chives and mint all the time.  The mint and parsley are doing okay in their pots.  The basil could go either way.  And the rosemary and chives just flat out gave up.  So I will try again until I get it right... or at least until we move.

What are y'all planting in your gardens this spring/summer? Any fabulous potted plant gardening tips you’d like to share with me?

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Meal Planning Monday

The last few weeks have consisted of some quite excellent eating. We are doing our best to manage our dinner rush time efficiently. 

The crockpot is getting a workout and I am able to squeeze in a little extra bit of prep time on the weekends to ensure that we are eating nice dinners as a family. Of course, it helps that my husband shares the workload and is often already beginning the cooking process by the time I get home from work. We are like a well-oiled machine, he and I.

Here is our menu for this week.

Grilled Pizzas ::  I will be dressing my pizza in my most favorite way of all time.  Roasted beets, goat cheese, and Arugula, drizzled with honey, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  The best sweet and salty combination ever!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos ::  The perfect weeknight meal.  You throw everything into the crockpot in the morning and then just walk away.  Plus it makes for great leftovers to be used in lunches or to throw into the freezer for a later date.

Sausage and Veggie Pasta :: We make ours with Italian sausage, finely sliced zucchini, red bell peppers, mushrooms and whatever else we can find in the fridge. Easy and quick to make, it is also a good way to get Little B to eat her vegetables.

Grilled Fajita Skirt Steak with vegetable skewers and smoky black beans :: I am hosting book club at my house on this evening and have a lot of different dietary preferences to take in account.  This meal will be delicious, easy, and make sure that there is a little something for everyone.  Plus it goes great with the big pitcher of sangria that I am planning to make.


Jalapeno butter salmon and rice :: Jalapeno butter is something that my mother introduced me to many years ago.  Jalapenos, garlic, cilantro, butter, salt and pepper melted over fish or chicken - Amazing!  I usually make enough jalapeno butter for the current dish, plus a little extra to pop into the freezer for a future meal.

More "menu of the week" posts for additional ideas and recipes.

If you've made anything you'd like to share, please do!

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