The Scuttlebutt

Monday, June 20, 2011

Spring Catch Up

I've said it before, but the interesting and unfortunate thing about keeping a blog as a scrapbook of a life lived is that during the busy times, the blog tends to go, well, untended. In an attempt to catch up to present day, I will cut out many of the words and highlight our lives since March via pictures.

At the end of March, we went on a spring break trip to Dauphin Island, Alabama and it was SO much fun. Peacefully uncrowded, more than economical, downright tropical compared to the blizzards Missouri was experiencing as we rolled south and a real treat of unplanned time and relaxation.

We returned from Alabama just in time for me to help host Sommer's wedding shower at my mom and dad's house. All of the aunts, cousins, sisters, moms, grandmothers and friends who made that possible are the greatest a gal could ask for. We went English Tea Party for our theme and we went all the way including floppy "Ladies Who Lunch" hats, tea, other tea party delicacies and as many flowers and doilies as we could shove into the house.

The Hickman Review staff pulled off another event at Orr Street Studios for our 2011 magazine debut.

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a margie or two....

I helped Matt celebrate some professional success at Les Bourgeouis. He claimed it was his favorite meal ever. And I must admit, it was absolutely delicious from the starting wine to the dessert ending.

I said goodbye to one crazy school year, and one of the most enjoyable batches of students I have ever had (Dear Universe, please, please, please give me a nice group in the fall)!

We've celebrated a few birthdays: Olivia, Dad, Mom and Matt have all had a birthday in that order.

We've also done it up for Claire's confirmation, her graduation and Mary's graduation.
For Mother's Day, we did our usual big brunch - I'm officially the egg lady and Sommer can make a mean fruit salad by this point :-)

And that gets us pretty caught up on all the big events. There has been, of course, lots of day to day stuff, summer school teaching and summer bbq-ing happening, but those events go without saying. I was better about taking pictures for father's day so, I'll give that one a whole post later.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

What We're Eating

So far in 2011, we've been meal planning. Our reasons are for convenience at the grocery store, to save money and to use the twenty or so cookbooks I have in my possession. I have to say it has been mostly good - we pick recipes that sound good, obviously. It has been really helpful to see that the low-carb (or no-carb) orders my doctor has recently given me aren't a death sentence for my love of cooking.

As we get ready to repeat our first recipe since January 1st, I thought I'd compile the list in one spot. I gotta say, sometimes I miss just throwing together a meal from "whatever is left" but I think it has been good for me to stop making so many casseroles that can't be repeated (because I don't measure what goes in them) and to start making a more varied menu. We usually pick 3-4 meals per week since there are just two of us and there are usually leftovers. And on busy nights, I will sometimes just eat a quick omelet (especially if Matt is gone to ref a basketball game). There is also the occasional date night or the night at a friend's house for dinner.

Below is a list of the main dishes we've made so far this year. We eat a steamed vegetable or salad with every meal that doesn't already include a lot of veggies, but we usually don't follow a recipe for that. And while it's just natural for me to tweak recipes as I cook them, I've tried to stay true to most of these in order to keep an accurate record of whether or not it's a recipe we should keep or never make again. Here's to happy cooking and eating!

Cast-Iron Skillet Sloppy Joes

Ratatouille over "Cauli-rice"

Soy-Marinated Chicken with Asparagus

Cajun 15-Bean Soup

Pumpkin Harvest Soup

Pot Roast Beef with Guinness

Golden Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives

Turkey Meatloaf

Southern Beef Chili

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Grilled Salmon Salad

Kale, Bean and Chicken Sausage Stew

African Beef Curry

Alaska Burgers

Broccoli Chicken Supreme

Charlotte Cady's Ground Beef Soup

Sweet Potato Hamburger Pie

Pork Chops with Mustard Cream Sauce

Almond Chicken with Apricot Sauce

Beef and Barley Soup

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ricotta Stuffed Bell Peppers

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti with Spicy Shrimp

Feta Asparagus Frittata

Pork Tenderloin with Nutmeg and Garlic Spinach

Meatless Mexican Lasagna

Loaded Baked Sweet Potatoes

Monday, March 7, 2011

Brenda Kay McIntyre Munoz

We lost Matt's mom on Friday. Please keep him and the rest of the family in your thoughts.

i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

e.e. cummings

Monday, February 14, 2011

Hearts and Kisses and Mushy Stuff

I have been married to my favorite person for over six months. We took a lot of care to plan our wedding ceremony and I don't just mean flowers and dresses. I mean the words - the songs, the readings, the prayers. I walked down the aisle to my handsome groom to Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova's "Falling Slowly," which is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite love stories. Now it is part of my love story and I think of my Matt every time I hear it.

Take this sinking boat and point it home.

We've still got time.

Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice.

You've made it now

Falling slowly, sing your melody.

I'll sing it loud.

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

"snOMG"

Snowmaggedon, snowpacalypse, snownami, or according to KOMU 8 News, snOMG....

February 1st was the anticipated blizzard of 2011 and for once, the estimations were mostly accurate. In our pocket of Columbia, we ended up with about 20 inches of snow and huge snow drifts reaching four to five feet around my little house. With MU and Columbia Public Schools closing for three days and counting, plus a declaration that Missouri is in a state of emergency from Governor Jay Nixon, there was a lotta hype and the storm didn't disappoint.

Right after being dismissed from school at 12:15 on Monday, January 31st.