Life Gave me Lemonade Today... How Unexpected!

Well friends, I have some terrific news. I found a new job! I'm finally getting the hang of this pregnancy thing, and I was offered a position as a receptionist practically as soon as I decided to find one. My old job was a night shift, and it was really hard on me during that first trimester, so Spence and I decided to try and make due with only one income for a while. At least until this little guy/gal stopped making me quite so nauseated! I'm feeling better and better with every passing day, and hardly ever have to, erm, call Uncle Ralph on the Big White Phone anymore, so I started looking for jobs via the internet. I applied to this position on Tuesday, and after a disastrous interview on Wednesday, assumed there was no way I would get the job. I'm not exaggerating either. I got so completely lost on my way there, I ended up being almost 45 minutes late. But they were understanding and agreed to interview me anyway. Which, by the way, ended up lasting less than 5 minutes. I thought for sure I was a gonner!! But they called me this afternoon and offered me the position, and now I am officially employed. This is such a blessing, and it really happened at the perfect time for us.

AND...from this blessing stems another. Spencer has given the green light for us to move!! With a second income, we will be much better equipped to afford a slightly larger kitchen apartment. A slight Freudian slip there, I think. A larger kitchen would be fantastic, but what we're mostly looking for is a second room for baby, and now is also great timing because I'm not quite to Elephant-sized pregnant-dome yet, and can still be of use while packing and unpacking. We just need to find the perfect apartment, and hopefully will be in a new place by the end of March. I have come to really like this apartment, for the most part. The neighbors are really nice, and it's pretty removed from Campus, which is especially nice, since the closer you get the more concentrated the freshmen seem to become. :) I have nothing against freshmen individually, but as a whole they do have certain, aggravating, tendencies. I've also learned that a smaller kitchen means that the mess can never really grow beyond a certain point. That is definitely a blessing. I just want some more wiggle room, and preferably in a place that doesn't have a s.p.i.d.e.r. problem. *shudder* I HATE SPIDERS. And for that reason alone, I will never be able to make an appearance on Fear Factor. That show creeps me out to no end! But I digress.

Hope you all have had a great week so far. Only one more day until Friday!! Ahh, sweet relief. Enjoy the weekend everyone :)

Spinach Mushroom Pockets

Yummy! I have to say, this recipe was surprisingly fantastic. Even Spencer gobbled up the entire thing, and said he'd love to have this in our weekly rotation from now on. That's saying something! Usually, he'll eat most anything I make, but he's never been so excited (and I've been cooking for him for over a year now) about one of my creative cooking adventures. If you are at all a fan of mushrooms, give this a shot. I can guarantee your mouth will thank you!

For this recipe, you will need:
2 tbls Butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 tbls minced Garlic (I used the kind that comes in a jar, mincing Garlic is the WORST)
1 (8 oz) pkg Mushrooms, sliced
2 cups Spinach (I used fresh, but frozen should work just as well)
1/3 cup Heavy Cream
salt, pepper to taste
1 can Crescent Dough ( I used Pillsbury, the sheet instead of the Crescent Rolls pre-cut, it makes creating the pockets much easier)
Parmesan Cheese

Start by sauteing the onions with butter, until onions are soft, about 4-6 minutes. Add Garlic, and continue to saute until Garlic is translucent. 

Add Mushrooms, and stir until coated in butter. Lower heat to Medium Low, add Spinach and Heavy Cream, and cover.

While this is marinating, open can of dough and roll to 1/4 inch thick. Cut in half and sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.

Once Mushrooms have softened, and Spinach is reduced, pour half of the mixture into the middle of each dough square, making sure to leave a perimeter for folding the dough.

Fold sides of dough up to middle and pinch closed. Roll ends up and press until sealed. **HINT: Before adding Mushroom mixture to dough squares, transfer dough to greased cookie sheet. It's much easier than transferring after filling. I promise!

Bake at 375 F for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. I also sprinkled with an Italian Cheese blend for the last 2 minutes of baking, because I love cheese :) 

Cut in half and enjoy!!

"No One Is Born a Great Cook, One Learns By Doing" -Julia Child

Well Julia, I certainly have taken your advice so far this week.

Spencer and I are completely ourselves again, which is such a good feeling. We've beat our leftover grogginess that always seems to accompany illness, and are back to our usual routines. I have really been itching to actually try some of my pins from Pinterest, and this week we did not one, but two of my fabulous finds! I'm feeling pretty good about myself right now. I do like to think of myself as being able to hold my own in a kitchen, but if I were forced to be entirely honest, I am much too impatient to see lengthy and involved recipes through to the end. We also happen to live in an apartment with a very temperamental oven, and temperatures tend to be more of a guessing game. It definitely adds excitement to our lives! But even with those two, er, obstacles, in my way, Spencer and came out the other end looking like pros.As I go on, I'll include the links to the websites I used, as well as a couple recipes that we used on our own. Take this as proof my friends, if I can make a recipe turn out right, then all of you most certainly can.

The first Pin we dared to test was one for homeade soft pretzels. Spencer was craving them, and I love a good excuse to dunk anything in Nacho Cheese, so we went for it! They turned out lovely, and they were SOO easy to make. The link is here, if you want to give it a try. I highly recommend following the recipe step by step, we had no troubles and they tasted delicious! Here is the final result:

The next Pin we used was actually more of a tip than a recipe. It was for Fajitas. You really can use anything you want in the recipe itself, the trick though is to throw it into the oven on 375 for about 20-25 minutes instead of cooking it on the stove. Maybe I'm not as bright as the rest of you crayons out there, but I had literally never thought of this. It's genius AND gives you your hands to do other things while it cooks! My favorite part though is that the vegetables are still crispy, not at all soggy from sauteing them in oil.  Here's a step by step of what I did:

Ingredients:
1 Gallon Ziploc Bag
1 package Fajita Seasoning (any brand is fine, I used the cheapo one)
1/4 Cup Water
2 Chicken Breasts, cut into strips
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Green Pepper
1/2 Onion

Optional:
Tortillas
Cheese
Sour Cream
Salsa

In the ziploc bag, add thawed chicken breast strips and package of Seasoning, with 1/4 cup water. Seal bag completely and shake to coat chicken well. refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or as long as overnight.
Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Cut up vegetables and add to baking dish. (I used a 9x9 Glass Casserole Pan) open Ziploc bag and poor contents over vegetables. Use spoon to mix until vegetables are well coated.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove from oven and serve over tortillas and with toppings of choice. Enjoy!

I plan on doing at least one more this week, so check back! Also, this is my very first time adding a recipe to a blog, so if you have any advice for me, please don't hold back! Love you all, we hope you're having a great day!

Getting Back on Track

Whew! This week has gotten off to a wonderful start. Every piece of laundry in my house is CLEAN!!! And the Kitchen is almost completely spotless... almost. Okay not quite, but it's a lot closer than it was last week. Finally, after an entire week of Spencer and I being bedridden with some sort of the flu, our house is starting to look like a home again. And in other news, Spencer's lovely sister, Candace, received her mission call! She's going to the Alpine Mission, which covers Germany, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, and Austria, and is German Speaking. Yay! We are very excited for her. Hopefully I can talk her into sending me some amazing chocolate while she is abroad. :) Another mind-occupying thought, every day brings us closer to finding out if our baby is a boy or girl! I am so excited for my next ultrasound, the Dr told us to bring a DVD to burn a video of our little alien moving! Flips and Kicks and all sorts of other baby wiggles. Ahh, it can't come soon enough. I'm still pretty nauseated throughout most days, but it's all worth it. Stay tuned, I am hoping to finish at least 1 DIY Craft and post it here before the week is out. Hope you all are doing well!!

A Day in the Life...

Hello again friends! Spencer and I decided to get rid of our separate blogs and create a family site instead! It's been fun figuring out a new layout and everything, but I've learned that I am not good with tech stuff. I'll leave that to Spencer! We both will have the ability to post, so you'll have to check back for his input soon. I also will probably be making small changes here and there as I force myself to learn more about the blogging world, and magical things like gadgets and widgets. We are loving our lives right now, running after one another with our ever changing schedules. I'm trying to become more crafty in my free time, and will hopefully figure out how to post recipes I come across, as well as lots of DIY projects. I LOVE anything that I can make creatively and thriftily. We are on a College Student Budget after all! Feel free to follow us and comment on anything. See you all soon!!

Bailey Nichole