GTKY Sunday

I'm linking with Keely today for Getting to Know You...

1. What's your favorite rainy day activity?  I like to window shop just for the chance to stretch my legs and I like to browse different blogs for new favorites.

2. What time do you go to bed?  10 o'clock, nearly religiously.  Maybe an hour late on the weekend.

3. How many magazines do you subscribe to?  3 1/2.  Glamour, Better Homes & Gardens, All You, and I'm currently trying out Clean Eating.

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4. Did you sell all your belongings because you thought the world was ending yesterday?  I did not.  God is a marvelous mystery and a relationship, not a code that we have to crack.

5. What's your beauty obsession?  I'm a big believer in natural and organic makeup.  Physicians Formula OrganicWear and Tarte are my favorites.

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6. If you could only wear one designer/brand for the rest of your life... what would it be?  After watching his special on Oprah recently and seeing some of his items pop up in my local Marshalls, my love of Ralph Lauren is growing.

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7. What's your summer must have?  My golf clubs!  I play every week in my company league.

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8. Do you make weekly dinner menus?  Always!  I wouldn't know what to buy at the grocery store otherwise.  Plus, it's so tough to come up with spontaneous dinner plans when I get home after a long day at work ;o)

Maple Pecan Scones

Originally posted: April 30, 2011

Today while my husband busy working with our church, I decided to try out Ree's Maple Pecan Scone recipe (not listed on The Pioneer Woman, so I found it here instead).  If there's two things I haven't done much of around the kitchen, it's cooking breads/pastries and cooking plain cuts of meat.  Hopefully this book will help me develop both of those skills!

Although the two sticks of unsalted butter practically gave me chest pains just looking at them, this recipe was relatively easy to put together.  I still need to invest in a pastry cutter so I used my hands to initially blend the dry ingredients and chunks of butter.  I hunted and hunted around my grocery store but couldn't find any maple extract or flavoring.  Instead I used a couple tablespoons of maple syrup and I think the glaze turned out well.  I also invested in a plain old bag of all-purpose unbleached flour.  If you're eating two sticks of butter, might as well go all in and forget the whole wheat flour ;o)

The only modification I made to this recipe was with the glaze.  All I had in the house was expensive organic powdered sugar, so I cut the glaze recipe in half and used only 8 oz. of powdered sugar.  Believe me... I still had more than enough glaze!  Once they baked and set I enjoyed one with the remainder of my strongly-brewed coffee.  Delicious!  My only recommendation would be to cut these into 16 pieces rather than just 8.  They're so rich that you're better off to enjoy them a little at a time.

My grocery bill this week was semi-obscene due to a few sales on natural meat.  I picked up a 3# chuck roast in hopes of making Ree's roast with onions and carrots this week, but remembered that I haven't even invested in a dutch oven yet!  I have it narrowed down to two possibilities: one from Better Homes and Gardens in kiwi green, or a Lodge dutch oven in caribbean blue.  Lodge has a strong reputation for making a product rivaling Le Creuset for a small fraction of the price, so we'll see what I wind up with!

A Seaside Escape

Originally posted: April 30, 2011

I had forgotten how nice a quiet, relaxing Saturday at home could really be.  To top it off, my hubby was away at a conference all week so I really didn't do much cleaning or cooking -- just a lot of shopping for home decor (and steals on my new love, Lilly Pulitzer pajamas at Marshalls!)  Our house has had a definite newlywed flare about it since we moved in, including my re-purposing of a reception hall arrangement as an accent in our bedroom.  We had a fall wedding with lots of reds, coppers, and chocolate brown, so I ran with that idea and decorated the bedroom with a hodge-podge copper and neutral theme.  After a year of staring at my husband's bachelor pad chocolate tab curtains and the giant leafy wedding arrangement, I had enough and decided to swap everything for an airy, beachy (but seashell-free) feel.

The only issue was a relatively small budget that I actually felt like spending -- $100 for accents, window treatments, pillows, and a throw.  After several trips to Marshalls, Kohls, and Target (three of my favorite local shopping destinations) I had some different options to compare.  Here's what I wound up with...

Two faux-silk window panels in "mineral": $34 from Kohls
Two candles and two accents: $25 from Marshalls
Wall decor: $12 from JoAnn, plus swapping two pieces from other rooms in the house
Two accent pillows: $16 from Kohls
One throw blanket: $0, a beautiful handmade gift from my grandmother-in-law
Total: $87 -- stayed within my budget and very happy with the results!

Here was my inspiration room:

With the husband being gone all week, I decided to get all my housework and errands completed during the week so that we could spend the weekend together (even though he's working on a church outreach project today.)  Seven loads of laundry, vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing, and grocery shopping now complete, I think I'll relax a little in my redecorated master bedroom... or reorganize some bookshelves more likely... I'm not one for "relaxing" ;o)

Marmalade Muffins

Originally posted: April 25, 2011

Last week I made a batch of Pioneer Woman's Marmalade Muffins, and they turned out pretty well!  As far as variations, I used all-organic ingredients including whole wheat flour.  I also only have a full-sized muffin tin so I made 16 bigger muffins opposed to Ree's suggestion for mini muffins.  If I had to do it again, I'd probably buy white all-purpose flour to keep the muffins a little fluffier and smoother.  But they were delicious regardless and stayed moist for as long as they lasted!

I'm hoping to find a decently priced cast iron dutch oven in the next couple weeks to try my hand at a pot roast with carrots and onions.  Walmart's Better Homes & Gardens line has cast iron ovens and skillets in "kiwi green", and the ratings were decent enough to where I might actually want a set of those.  We'll see if gas prices continue to spike ($50 to fill my tank today!) or if they'll settle down and leave me with some spare change for kitchenwares.  Enjoy!

New Pioneer Woman on the Block

Originally posted: April 17, 2011

After a late-winter hiatus from my other blog, I'm back again with renewed interest.  All that midwest snow was making me too lazy to really cook anything decent.  I decided to check out a large stack of cookbooks from our local library and one of them was The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  I hadn't done much reading of Ree Drummond's blog in the past but her recipes always look delicious and like something memorable for guests and family.  I wound up purchasing my own copy of the book to begin cooking my way through it over the months ahead.  I'll be writing the day I first cooked a recipe on its page as a way to remember.

Tonight I tried out Ree's recipe for Macaroni & Cheese.  I had most of the ingredients in the house and picked the rest up on a quick trip to Kroger.  A good recipe to me not only tastes good but is also made with ingredients that I can remember where to find in the grocery store before I even walk in.  Too stressful otherwise!  Husband and I walked around Target today also to look at dutch ovens and cast iron skillets.  I've always dreamed of owning both and might have a good reason to invest in the near future ;o)

The macaroni turned out beautifully and was generally easy to make.  For variations, I used cavatappi instead of macaroni, hand-shreaded extra sharp cheddar, and added crumbled bacon, fresh diced tomatoes, and an extra dash of seasoned salt.  Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow night -- I'll be eating with my cropped yoga pants on in anticipation of the hard workout required to balance out the meal!