New Things

So I am always wanting to try new foods and I never have more inspiration than from a trip to Whole Foods.
This weekend I bought some white quinoa from the bulk aisle and I plan to make the Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa from the 101 Cookbooks blog later tonight for my breakfast tomorrow. I will probably exchange the blackberries for raspberries (plus a little more honey), and the pecans for almonds.

Here is the recipe from her site:
Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa Recipe
I used a red quinoa here, but you can use whatever kind you like, white/buff colored seems to be the most common. Also, a few notes and tips from the book: low-fat soy milk may replace the low fat milk, blueberries may replace the blackberries, dark honey may replace the agave nectar, and walnuts may replace the pecans.

1 cup organic 1% low fat milk
1 cup water
1 cup organic quinoa, (hs note: rinse quinoa)
2 cups fresh blackberries, organic preferred
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted*
4 teaspoons organic agave nectar, such as Madhava brand

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in blackberries and cinnamon; transfer to four bowls and top with pecans. Drizzle 1 teaspoon agave nectar over each serving.

Serves 4.

*While the quinoa cooks, roast the pecans in a 350F degree toaster oven for 5 to 6 minutes or in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes.

Holiday Baking!

Short house re-cap and I'll move on to the cookies...

We've been crazy busy lately getting things done with the house and I'm now proud to list the things we've gotten done:

-Trees trimmed and limbs hauled off
-Master Bedroom walls and trim painted
-Master Bathroom walls, cabinets and trim painted
-Hallway door frames and trim painted
-Guest bathroom cabinets and trim painted
-New desk bought and constructed
-All doors painted and installed new knobs
-Basement trim and chair rail painted
-Basement walls painted

Short list of things to be done:
-Guest bathroom painted
-Guest bathroom re-tiled
-Basement bathroom repainted
-Crownmolding in master bedroom and basement

Moving on to today, it was a wonderful Sunday to stay in and relax!

I cleaned yesterday and we are taking a break from house chores until after Christmas so I made cookies:

Here are the recipes!

Chocolate Spice Cookies (recipe: Perfect Light Desserts by. Malgieri and Joachim)

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/3 c dutch process cocoa powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
4 T unsalted butter
1 c sugar
1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1/4 c molasses
2 cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or foil

1. Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Sift the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and set aside
3. In another mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with a large rubber spatula. Beat in the applesauce and molasses.
4. Stir in the dry ingredients to make a soft dough
5. Drop a tablespoon of the dough on prepared pans
6. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, changing the position of the pans about halfway through baking. Exchange the top pan and the bottom and also turn them back to front at the same time. The cookies will still be fairly moist when they are done. Avoid overbaking them or they will be dry and hard.
7. Slide the papers from the pans to racks to cool the cookies.

Cream Cheese Icebox Cookies (recipe: Joy of Cooking)

Whisk together:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Beat in a large bowl until fluffy:
11 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
Beat in:
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla

Stir in the flour mixture until blended. Refrigerate until slightly firm. Roll dough into balls in your hand and then flatten slightly with a jar. Before baking sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or whatever decorative baking thing you have on hand. Bake one sheet at a time for 11 minutes. Let cool slightly before moving to a cooling rack.

ENJOY!

Winter Wonderland!

A few pics from our house this morning! Brrr it was COLD!

A conversation from this morning:
E: It's sooo cold! If we were still in Texas I would still have my pjs on and be working from home today!
C: Babe, we're not in Texas anymore...
E: Sigh, I know.


Front yard, 7:30a


Back yard, 7:30a


Back yard, 6:00p

Chocolate Cake

Now I will tell you, this Chocolate Cake is mediocre in my opinion. It is not spectacular or rich or divine. However, it is quick, dirty and CHOCOLATE. I think my favorite part about this cake is that it makes a single serving, two if you decide to share. I think the scary thing is that I know exactly how much oil and sugar I am consuming and somehow with a normal cake, I pretend like I can't divide and figure out how much bad stuff I am eating. Funny how that works! Anyway, this "Cake in a Cup" is a fabulous idea when I just need a little chocolate/dessert fix but don't have anything really sweet in the house. We never buy cookies or sweets just because I figure that if I can't see them, I won't miss them. Anyway, when you make this recipe... do a little dusting of powdered sugar and cinnamon and it will just be delicious! I contemplated adding a little cinnamon and/or vanilla to the recipe, but never did. I guess that gives me a reason to make it again tomorrow night! Mmmm, it would also be good with whipped cream and cinnamon on top! OHHH... and FRUIT! The possibilities are endless!

Here is the link to the recipe.
http://www.dizzy-dee.com/recipe/chocolate-cake-in-5-minutes#comment-2009

Bread and Cup

So today I am eating lunch in the break room… perusing the Living section of the Omaha World Herald with my Crispy Duck Salad from Upstream. In case your curious, the salad is better at the restaurant than delivered to the office. Its something with the temperature that just bothers me… Anyway, the front page of the Living section has the large beautiful image of a crostini with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes. The ideal image for a southern girl in the Midwest whose weather is getting much too cool much too fast. Tomatoes just say summer in a way that even peach pie and ice cream can’t. Anyway, I start reading this article about a trendy place in Lincoln called Bread and Cup. Now let me honest and tell you that when I moved from Dallas, I was afraid I would have to give up cute trendy places for jumbo steakhouses and your boring collection of mediocre chains. My first indication should have been the fact that even Tulsa had great places like Sonoma Bistro and Wine Bar and the Local Pantry. So….back to Bread and Cup: First of all, you have to read the article because I seriously fell in love and my mouth started watering. I am a website/blog addict (I know, really?) The first thing that piqued my interest were the recipes in various blog entries. I don’t know why more restaurants don’t do this! Seriously, having a recipe (or 6) is not going to stop me from trying or coming back to your restaurant. Why do you think atmosphere and service are SO important (and I don’t have to do the dishes)! The photography on the website is beautiful although I would like a few pictures of the dining room to know what I am getting into before I drive down to Lincoln. The fact that the website is updated so often with the newest offerings also tells me that they are at the top of the their game! The food and drink is mostly local which is a great feature that I wish more places offered. It ALWAYS tastes better than something flash frozen, shipped in and sitting under the warmer.
Anyway, I CAN’T wait to try this place and I load a review when I can!

New Updates!

So, the good news is that I should now have more time to update this blog... and that would be because Chad and I are no longer house hunting because... WE BOUGHT OUR FIRST HOUSE! I know, we are super excited! The radon test was on Saturday and although the levels were high, the problem will be mitigated which is pretty standard. The home inspection was today and it went really well. Luckily the only things wrong were totally small and fixable, YAY!

Plans for the next few months:
5 Trips to Sherwin-Williams
12 Trips to Home Depot
7 Trips to Lowes
4 Trips to Nebraska Furniture Mart
1 Trip to IKEA?
300 Trips back and forth from apartment to new house, moving!

It's becoming Fall in Omaha...

...and I am SO not ready! The weather is getting cooler, the leaves are getting yellower, and I am getting worried. I am not crazy about the cold, but I can usually get through it provided I have enough warm cozy sweaters and hot chocolate laced with kahlua. HOWEVER, that would be a Texas winter, not a Nebraska winter... about a 30 degree difference there. I am really going to try to stay positive and deal with the cold and the snow!

The nip in the air is kind of exciting when you start thinking of fires in the fireplace, big snuggly coats and pumpkin pie!

So what have we been up to? Well lets see: 4th of July in St. Louis, a business trip to Dallas, Chad's Birthday, a business trip for Chad, a trip to Lubbock, planning a trip to Denver this October and LOTS of house hunting!

We thought we were close to getting a house TWICE... but the first time we found a huge foundational crack. We actually put a bid in on the second house but we had to walk away because of an over inflated house. We have found a couple more since then so we will see how those play out!

I have actually been clued in to some great blogs through work this week so I hope to share those soon. I was searching the federatedmedia.net website looking for blogs for one of my clients to advertise on and found more of my own to start reading! Not that I need any more reading to do... from the Twilight Series, to all the Janet Evanovich books, Suze Ormans Women and Money, Marketing to Women and Good to Great... I've been pretty swampted with reading!

Have a great week everyone

Peaceful Modern

Peaceful Modern: that is the label I would give the luxurious, relaxing, friendly scene at the Hotel Palomar-Dallas.

I don't get to stay in hotels in Dallas that often because (1.) I used to live here and, (2.)most of my family lives here. However, this time I am here for a work seminar and happen to be staying in the hotel in which the seminar is being hosted.

Simply said, I would label this hotel as a "destination stay". Some women fantisize about running off with the pool boy (ala Desperate Housewivse)... me, I just want to run away TO Hotel Palomar. It is such a shame that I had to stay by myself and my husband couldn't come along to enjoy this relaxing atmosphere. It's just so beautiful, so hospitable, so many things to do, eat, drink and watch nearby!

Just north of the hotel is the area named Mockingbird Station. A cute area chock-full of eclectic shops, ordinary retail, local restaurant favorites and a indie movie theater... your weekend can be full with this entertainment a skip across the street.

I mean seriously... look at this lobby! It won't let me post pictures, but the link leads you to pictures of the hotel!

To give you an idea of my experience... I arrived Tuesday night at almost 11:00p after a long day of work, and air travel since 5:50p that afternoon. The taxi pulled into the valet lane and a bellboy came the back of the van, pulled out my luggage and opened my door as I paid the driver. He then wheeled my things in as two other bellboys opened the massive glass doors into the building... talk about style! I was then checked in my friendly and curteous staff and made my way up to my room. I opened the door and it felt like I had walked into a relaxing, peaceful place of escape. All the lights are out except for the bathroom light is dimmed. As soon as I glance in there, I see the designer artisan sink and fixtures that just fill me with design inspired happiness. A little further walk in,I find a down comforter covered king size bed ready to be collapsed on. The BEST part is the large flat panel screen TV with relaxing spa music and one of those puddle screen saver things going on. Seriously I could have collapesed then and there and let myself decompress for the rest of the night. Anyway, needless to say the armchair was of modern design AND comfortable (which is sometimes hard to find) and the desk was also nice with lots of electric plug-ins! I stayed 3 nights, all of which were wonderful as are the yummy L'Occitane bath products and a cute zebra print robe! Oh, and I shouldn't forget to mention the coffee and hot tea in the lobby for breakfast and complimentary wine from 5p-6p!

Anyway, I just had to share this experience because (1.) I haven't posted in a while and (2.) it was just so dang wonderful!

I should disclose that in NO WAY was this a paid advertisement, however I am NOT OPPOSED to receiving free nights, samples, trial offers and reviewing them online!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Superior Wife

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Don't be scared...

Don't be scared, I havent been swept away in the recent tornados here in Omaha... I've just been busy, really busy... you know, like car shopping, house shopping, browsing this new city, just enjoying life in general...

Don't fear though, hopefully I'll be back soon with a spectacular tale, or a delicious recipe, or a fabulous tip... but for now I am enjoying the summer!