Cajun Caesar Salad

To be honest, this doesn't really count as a recipe. It's more of a good idea. One that I have my mother-in-law to thank for. Because let's be honest, although I like all of the elements of this recipe independently, I would have never thought to combine them before getting this recipe from her (I know, I need to work on being more creative in the kitchen). I mean, what's not to like about Caesar salad and cajun chicken? Now mix the two together... Deliciousness. We even like to throw a few handfuls of chopped almonds in the mix. I know Caesar dressing might not be the most healthy dressing out there, but we sure fool ourselves into thinking that we are eating healthy when we indulge in this meal!

Cajun Caesar Salad
(from Momma Griggs!)

Chicken breasts
Cajun seasoning
Spinach leaves
Caesar dressing
Chopped almonds (if desired)
(sorry for the complete lack of measurements; we honestly just mix the ingredients together until we get the composition we're looking for!)

Season chicken breasts with cajun seasoning and cook until juices run clear. Slice into strips. Meanwhile, combine spinach leaves and Caesar dressing in a large bowl with a lid. Snap lid in place and shake to coat. Add in chicken slices and almonds; shake again or toss with salad tongs. Serve and enjoy!

We Were the Mulvaneys

This was my second Joyce Carol Oates book (I read Middle Age: A Romance last summer), and I should have used my feelings toward that book as a guide when it came to reading this book. In short--I should have avoided it. I don't mean to claim that it isn't a good book or anything, but Oates's style just isn't for me. Which Darrell would actually find ironic--my biggest issue with the writing style of Oates is that it's too much detail and not enough plot. And that's exactly how I tell stories--I have to give the backstory to the backstory to set the scene for the actual story. And while it doesn't bother me when I do it (although for Darrell's sake I've tried to be more cognizant of that and cut back on that), I don't particularly enjoying reading a book narrated in that fashion.

From a storyline standpoint, though, the book was certainly interesting. The plot follows a family that is slowly torn apart by a harrowing act of violence. Each of the family members responds to the event in his/her own way, and the individual methods of dealing with the pain serve as the force to separate them, ultimately sending them down different paths in life. I found the book to be a fairly accurate portrayal of family life, and I don't think it's a stretch to say that this kind of thing could happen to any family. But, as the book so thoroughly demonstrates, family is always family, no matter what.

Granola Balls

One thing I've learned as I've been running and working out more consistently is that my meal schedule is not conducive to getting in workouts. My lunch time (not by choice) is at 10:45. By the time I get home from work around 4:00, I'm seriously ready to eat. I'll usually end up having a light snack before getting dinner started, and we try to eat dinner by seven every night. It usually works out pretty well; however, once I started working out I noticed some issues. If I tried working out right after work and before snacking, my stomach would hungrily gurgle and my muscles would quickly fatigue from lack of energy. If I ate when I got home and then tried working out before starting dinner, my snack was usually still fresh in my stomach and uncomfortable to exercise on. I knew that I needed something that I could take with me to work and snack on around 2:30/3:00, but I didn't feel like forking out the money at the grocery store to buy snacks (and they probably wouldn't be that healthy anyway). So, I did some hunting online and found these: Granola Balls. And a great find it was. These little guys are super tasty (and customizable), totally filling, and travel really well. Plus they keep in the fridge for a few weeks--perfect for what I needed.

Granola Balls
(one batch makes about 35, depending on the size of the ball)


1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey
3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup wheat germ or flax seed
2 cups assorted dried fruits, chopped nuts, and/or chocolate chips

Stir together peanut butter and honey until well mixed. Add in oatmeal and wheat germ. Mix in the dried fruits/nuts/chips. Shape into balls (I used a cookie scoop), and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Refrigerate overnight. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge (can also be frozen).

Did I mention they were also incredibly easy? These are definitely worth giving a shot--they have enough sweet in them to make you feel like you are indulging, but since you can control the mix-ins, you can make them as healthy as you like!

Note: In the granola balls pictured I used a mixture of white chocolate chips, diced dried apples, golden raisins, chopped pecans, and chopped almonds. I've made them with other combinations though and they've still been great!

Another Road Race?!?!

Some of you careful readers may have noticed yesterday that I said I ran five miles on Sunday. Some of you readers who know me well know that is totally not normal for me. But it's something I've been doing a little bit more frequently lately, because instead of training for a 5K this spring, I'm biting the bullet and training for a 10K. It's been on my "101 in 1001" list for nearly two years, but I keep pushing it off. In fact, I spent all of last spring/summer pushing it off by running 5Ks (one for St. Patty's Day, one before our beach trip, one at Jazz Fest, and one with a friend back in town from Hong Kong). I kept thinking to myself that my next road race would be a 10K, but there was always a "good" reason to just do a 5K. However, I realized this winter that our goal is to have the "101 in 1001" list completed by next April, and that didn't leave me a whole lot of time to get my 10K in. Especially since I didn't really want to run one in the dead of summer (and subsequently train for one all summer), nor did I want to run a winter/early spring one (and subsequently spend most of my time training on a treadmill). So when I saw a race in mid-May, it seemed perfect--still (hopefully) mild weather for the race, but hopefully getting nice enough to be able to do most of my training outdoors (especially the long runs). I've actually been training for a month, and things have been working out great. I had to be inside for the first few weeks due to weather, but it wasn't that bad because my runs were still pretty short. Now I'm starting to get into some longer runs though, and thanks to the wonderful spring we've been having, I've actually been able to get outside to get them in. Granted, I've done some switching around of training days from my training schedule (adapted from the Jeff Galloway model), but when my long run happens on a day with 25+ mph winds outside, then I'm definitely going to switch it with my day of cross-training. I know that if I were training for a longer race sticking to the plan would probably be more important, but since I could probably go out and run a 10K right now (just not very fast!), I feel okay moving some of the things around with my training to better accommodate the weather and my schedule. Because let's be honest--I'm not doing this to break any records or win any awards, I'm just doing this to finish. And cross it off my list. And that much I think I'll be able to handle.

Interesting Discovery...

(You might want to ignore this post if talking about sweat and hygiene grosses you out.)

I sweat when I run. A lot. My hair, my clothes, my socks--everything gets covered. For this reason, I've always tried to make sure I have time to shower and wash my hair after workouts, because the alternative just isn't appealing. Sometimes that means I end up shampooing my hair twice a day, but I've always felt that it was necessary after my post-run sweatiness.

Well, I stand corrected. Darrell went golfing yesterday with my dad and brother, and then we were going to go to my parent's house to grill and watch the KU/UNC game (which, by the way, I don't want to talk about. March Madness is pretty much a lost cause for me). I wanted to get a five-mile run in before dinner, so I took advantage of being in Sioux Falls and decided to run on the nice trails there (instead of looping around our neighborhood a million times). Of course, this situation meant that I either had to shower at my parent's or not shower at all. Strange as this may sound, I really dislike showering at my parent's because the water pressure is all weird and their towels are all scratchy. Plus my mom refuses to throw anything away, so most of the shampoo/conditioner/body wash in the house is over ten years old (and yes--she makes sure to get every last drop out of the bottles). I decided that since we were just going to be with family I could bite the bullet and just rinse off with a wash cloth. I knew my hair was definitely not going to be pretty (let's just say that when I took my ponytail holder out post-run my hair continued to hold its ponytail shape), but I figured my family wouldn't disown me for having gross hair for one night. So I brushed out the wet, tangled mess as best I could and pulled it into a bun at the nape of my neck, and promptly ignored it.

After the game Darrell and I went home, and since I was feeling wiped from my run and he was a little tired from golf, we decided to just be lazy and watch TV (just don't come visit anytime soon. Our kitchen is a mess). My bun started to get in the way as we were cuddling, and since it was pretty much dried by this point I pulled it out and just left my hair down. I figured that my hair would for sure be kinked from being put into a bun while wet, and I could only imagine how greasy it would feel. To my surprise, it was neither kinked nor greasy. In disbelief, I went to the bathroom to brush it out, and was shocked to find that it looked just as nice as it had that morning before church. Post five-mile run and everything. I was dumbfounded. And super excited to discover that I don't have to shampoo my hair every time I finish a workout; if I'm just patient and let it dry it'll present itself quite nicely (now, if only I could figure out a way to not sweat as much so I don't always have to rinse of the rest of my body...)

(Totally random? Yes, I know. But I was really excited to discover this yesterday and I had to share. Simple pleasures for simple minds)

March Madness Lesson

Lesson Learned: March Madness is unpredictable. Hence why no one (at least not that I've ever heard of) has ever gotten a perfect bracket. Research and stats and all the other paper details can not fully depict how a team will perform when push comes to shove on the court.

Subsequently, taking time to research the teams before making your picks is a ridiculous waste of time. Seriously. I poured like six hours into evaluating the teams and their coaches and other things and used that as a model to pick the winners of the games. And of the teams playing in the Sweet Sixteen starting today, I only had six of them picked correctly. Six. Out of sixteen. That's pretty awful. And the maximum number of Elite Eight teams that I can have correct is four, which fortunately also happens to be the same four teams in my Final Four. So in order for me to get any redemption in this bracket, I need to see wins out of Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State, and UNC over the course of the next few days. And then hopefully Kentucky and UNC can pull off wins again to make it into the National Title Game. Which might be asking a lot since one of UNC's lead players went down with a broken wrist last weekend.

Ironically (and annoyingly), my other bracket--the bracket that I filled out completely on a whim before doing any research whatsoever--is doing significantly better. Significantly. I have eleven of the sixteen Sweet Sixteen teams (nearly twice as many as my other bracket!) and the possibility for all but one of the Elite Eight teams. Unfortunately, the Elite Eight team that I've lost I also had going on to the Final Four (stupid Duke), so that'll hurt me, but I still have my two National Title teams.

A lot can change between now and the outcome of the tournament, but it's safe to say that from now on I will likely be going with my gut when it comes time to fill out my March Madness brackets. Maybe supplemented with just a little research. Maybe.

The Five Love Languages

Well, it only took us a year and a half, but Darrell and I finally got through The Five Love Languages. 

Even though it took us quite a while to get through the book, I would definitely still recommend this book to other couples. It really is a pretty easy read, and the author interweaves lots of stories from real-life couples which helps to make it more enjoyable (and relatable). We were slowed down mostly because we wanted to read it together, and going to bed ten minutes early to read a chapter or two was rarely a priority of ours. But I also don't think we lost anything by spreading the book out over that many months, which is also a good thing.

For anyone not familiar with the book, The Five Love Languages focuses on the fact that fairy-tale love is pretty much unrealistic. Eventually the butterflies fade, and how a couple adapts to that situation will determine the success of their relationship. Gary Chapman writes that most relationships fail because one or both partners have an empty "love tank", which basically means that their needs for love and appreciation are not being met by their partner. In many cases, this can further stress the couple because both partners may be feeling like they are showing their love but their partner is not receptive to it.

Enter the idea of the love languages. Chapman suggests that there are five primary ways people "speak" love and want love to be "spoken" to them: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Quality Time, Physical Touch, and Receiving Gifts. People may be trying to show their love to their partners, but if they are speaking the wrong love language, their partner might not recognize their act as an act of love (much like speaking English to a native Chinese speaker). The book gives pretty thorough explanations of all of the love languages, plus advice for how to begin speaking you partner's love language.

The only complaint that Darrell and I had with the book is that the quiz for people to take to "discover" their love language is at the back of the book. By the time Darrell and I got to the quiz, we had already read about all of the love languages and had a fair amount of discussion on them and what we feel to be our own. Because we were familiar with the languages, it was very easy for us to determine what language our responses would generate (it's a pretty simple "pick which statement best describes you" type of quiz). So we felt like it was kind of hard to be totally unbiased in our responses because we had already formed ideas on what our love languages were. I wish we had taken the quiz first, and then used the reading of the book to help us understand the results we got on the quiz. All in all though, it was definitely a worthwhile read, and one that I feel would be beneficial to most all couples, even ones who might think they have their significant other "figured out" (which--to be honest--Darrell and I thought we did. We definitely still learned a few things about one another). It may not be a panacea for all marital problems,  but I think it would definitely help increase satisfaction in all relationships, rocky or strong!

Oh the Weather Outside is...

FABULOUS!!

Let's quickly recap to March last year... March 25th, to be exact:

Talk about the difference a year can make! We're even starting to get some nice green grass in the yard and buds on our trees; it's wonderful! It even got up to eighty over the weekend! Of course, Sunday was incredibly windy which made it difficult to be outside doing anything enjoyable, but I still won't complain. Any day in March that we can get by without having to run our heat is a win in my book; we even needed to use the AC in Darrell's car over the weekend!

However--I'm really hoping these warm days plateau instead of continually rise. I don't think I want to be around to witness the temperatures in July and August if they continue to rise from a 70-degree March. Just sayin'

Oh, and PS--shout out to my favorite father-in-law today on his birthday! Hope they are having equally enjoyable weather out East!

Can't wait to be back at the beach in three short months!

It's Madness Baby!

Let the Madness begin!

Image courtesy of espn.com

Did you get your brackets filled out before the big tip offs this afternoon? I was scrambling a little bit this morning, but got mine completed by the deadline. Our office always does a pool, and the past few years we've done a family pool as well. And since we're family, we get a little bit more creative with the wagers than just simple cash. Last year we teamed up as couples to determine rankings and "prizes": the couple that placed third had to cook dinner for everyone, the last place couple had to do all the dishes, the second place couple had to provide the drinks, and the first place couple got to sit back and enjoy it all. I'm sure we'll end up doing something similar this year, although nothing has been officially decided.

Usually I have no issue getting my brackets filled out in time, and I've been know to whip out three or four different brackets for different pools because I always end up filling them out on a whim. I decided to put a little more effort into my picks this year and set out researching the teams Sunday night after the bracket was released, hoping that I would be able to improve my predictions. Well, it turned out that after all of my research, the teams I was expecting to win were consistently the teams with the higher rankings. Apparently my research wasn't any more enlightening than the research the bracket committees do to place and rank the teams. So my bracket ended up being loosely based on my research and mostly based on the gut reactions I had toward the teams as I was researching them. We'll see how well that works out; as long as I make it to the Final Four with more than one team left, though, I'll have improved from last year!

Mexican Lasagna

It's no mystery that I love Mexican food. Tacos are a staple in my diet, and definitely one of our go-to meals when we need something in a pinch. But when Darrell came home with a 18-count bag of leftover tortillas from a work function, I was a little overwhelmed. Eighteen tortillas is a lot of tacos, no matter how good they are. So, I consulted the handy dandy internets, and BAM--we had our solution. Mexican Lasagna. It was an effective and delicious way to get rid of the bulk of those tortillas, and we liked it so much we'd even buy a big bag ourselves just to make it again!

Not exactly the most photogenic dish; it tastes way better than it looks!

Mexican Lasagna
(adapted from here and here)


1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can black beans, drained
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
1 can enchilada sauce
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 to 1/2 cup salsa
12-15 small flour tortillas

In a large sauce pan, brown meat with onion. Add pepper and saute briefly. Stir in taco seasoning, black beans, diced tomatoes, and approximately half the enchilada sauce (transfer mixture to a large bowl if necessary). Spread the salsa on the bottom of a 9x13 pan (to keep the tortillas from sticking). Lay down a layer of tortillas, top with half the meat, sprinkle with a third of the cheese, and repeat. After the second layer of meat and cheese, top with third and final layer of tortillas, and then cover the tortillas with the remaining cheese and enchilada sauce. Bake in a 375* oven for approximately 25 minutes.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the fun layers!

Win!

Check out our new toy!

I'm super super excited to finally have a nice wine bottle opener. Don't get me wrong, our standard corkscrew worked just fine, but these guys are so much easier. We've always put off buying one, though, because they can be kind of expensive and we didn't really need one that badly. Well, at the wine tasting last weekend, they had a wine and wine accessories gift basket. My sister really wanted the contents of the basket, except for the opener (they already have an even nicer tabletop opener). So to encourage her to bid the price up so she could win the basket, I told her that we'd give her $10 for the opener. And she ended up with the highest bid! My brother was a little angry when he found out how I scored the opener (his corkscrew is even worse than ours!) and tried to pay her $15 for it, but a deal's a deal. I'm thinking we'll definitely be having a bottle of wine later this week--you know, just to make sure it works and everything. And maybe we'll even give our old corkscrew to my brother--as a consolation prize or something for not thinking of paying off my sister himself.

I almost scored another deal from the silent auction, but some lady had positioned her husband next to the item during the final five minutes to make sure that she ended up with it. Meanies. I really wanted the watch--look how gorgeous it is!

Sigh. Hopefully I lamented enough about losing my bid on the watch that Darrell takes pity on me and buys me one. I've only been saying since Christmas that I want a new watch, and now he knows what type of watch I'm looking for, so it's only a matter of time, right? A girl can wish.

Weekend with Friends

Well, I officially failed this weekend. Big time. We had friends come in from out of town and had a fun-packed weekend with them and I pretty much didn't take a single picture. Not even kidding. Dinner and drinks in Sioux Falls Friday night? Not a single picture. Walk to a sports bar for lunch and to watch the MSU game on Saturday (one of our friends is an MSU alum)? Didn't even take my camera. Nice dinner (Steak au Poivre!) prepared by us Saturday night? Nothing. Wine tasting event Saturday night? Too busy sampling wine to even take one picture. Whoops.

I did, however, manage to document one event of the weekend. Because we had incredibly nice weather, we invited my parents and siblings over for a bonfire Saturday night after the wine tasting. Oh how I've missed this.

And I'm not sure how it happened, but apparently my brother and I got into a handstand contest. We both took a few spills...

But in the end Darrell managed to capture at least one decent shot of both of us up in the air (although in my defense I definitely did better handstands than the one pictured below; Darrell just didn't get any shots of those).

I'm definitely looking forward to more nights out on the patio with friends, although my lower body would be grateful if all those nights didn't end with my attempting to be sixteen again. I'm a little ashamed to admit that my legs were actually sore on Sunday morning.

Oh, and that whole daylight savings thing? Totally kicking my butt today. We had a few nights of staying up late and sleeping in over the weekend, plus we literally did nothing yesterday (the only reason either of us changed out of our PJs was that I wanted to go on a bike ride), so we weren't really tired enough to go to bed until after eleven (because it felt like ten to us). So this morning was a little rough. Definitely going to be an early night tonight!

New Decor!

So, I don't normally post twice in the same day, but Darrell and I got some new wall decor earlier this week and I'm so excited by how it looks that I couldn't wait to share.

Image taken from just inside our front door

Here's a close-up of the quote:

I'm in love! I saw this quote a few years ago and just fell in love it with, especially considering the "unexpectedness" of a North Carolinian getting transplanted to South Dakota. I've been wanting to find some way to incorporate it into our house, and when I saw it on one of those vinyl wall-quotes sites, I knew I had to have it. Darrell wasn't too thrilled at first because he doesn't want people to feel like they are in a library with all the "reading" they have to do in our house (we have another wall quote above our kitchen table: "The fondest memories are made when gathered around the table". He also limits the number of pictures I'm allowed to put up on the walls because he doesn't want people to feel like they are in a museum), but with some charm and puppy dog eyes he agreed to let me buy it. And then he even hung it for me. At ten-thirty last night. He really must love me (or, as he says "It's a good thing you're so darn cute"). Either way, I have a pretty great husband and an excellent reason to smile every time I walk in the house!

Penne with Roasted Vegetables

Well, Darrell and I made this dish for the second time in less than a month, so I figured it was only appropriate for me to finally get it up on the blog. Mind you, I've had this post started since the first time we made it because it was that good, I've just never gotten around to finishing it. But after having it a second time, well, I just couldn't delay any longer. This recipe needs to be shared. And once shared, it needs to be prepared. Oh, and that minor detail that there isn't any meat? Yeah, trust me, you won't miss it. You won't even notice.

Penne with Roasted Vegetables
(found and adapted from here)

2 red peppers, sliced
2 zucchini, sliced or cut into chunks
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 lb penne pasta (we always use whole wheat)
3 cups marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded parmesan

Preheat oven to 450*. On a baking sheet toss the peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, and onions with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Roast until tender, about fifteen minutes. While the vegetables are roasting, cook the pasta for about six minutes (leave the pasta a little under-done since it will cook more in the oven). Drain. Grease a deep 9x13 pan and toss the pasta with the vegetables, marinara sauce, and most of the cheese. Add additional salt and pepper if desired. Top with remaining cheeses. Bake until top is golden and cheese melts, about twenty-five minutes.

Great Day to be a South Dakotan!

Mark this event in the record books--you won't hear me saying things like that very often! Yesterday, though, truly was a great day to be in South Dakota. Not only did we have fantastic weather (highs in the sixties!), but after two close, come from behind over-time wins, we have both a men's and women's team heading to the national basketball tournament for the first time ever!

South Dakota State University (the Jackrabbits) has been a Division I school for less than ten years, and only recently began producing teams that were competing at a national level. In 2009, the women's basketball team made it to the National Tournament for the first time ever, and even won their first round game to face (and ultimately lose to) Baylor in the second round. They've made it to the tournament every year since then by winning the Summit League Championship. And this year, the men also squeezed out a win in the Summit League Championship, which guaranteed them their first appearance in the National Tournament. Big Day!

A few things that made this event even a little more exciting for me--one of the players on the women's team is the younger sister of one of my good friends, and it's been fun to watch her grow into a significant role on the team.

She's the really excited one in the middle of the group

I also very much enjoyed watching my husband's excitement about the games, and it was just another thing that reminded me why I fell in love with him. I guarantee you he had never heard of the state schools in South Dakota before moving here, and he's only ever been to Brookings (where the school is located) two or three times. But yesterday--he might as well have been an alma mater. Granted, his heart will always belong to Georgia Tech (with just a small portion reserved for the UNC-Chapel Hill basketball team), but there was the slightest glimmer of some loyalty to South Dakota in him yesterday. We were out with friends for part of the evening, and he kept one eye on the TV to track the progress of the men's game, then hunted it down on the radio on our way home. There were definitely some fist-pumps as SDSU pulled the game into overtime, and once we got home he sat in the car listening to the game until I could get it pulled up on the computer. It was quite endearing to see him not just be supportive of, but actually get excited about, something so truly South Dakotan. Don't get me wrong--you won't see either of us sporting blue and gold anytime soon (I was raised in a very anti-SDSU family; my dad graduated from one of their formal rival colleges and he may or may not have been on the committee that oversaw the throwing of a dead jackrabbit on the court. And Darrell adamantly opposes band-wagon fans, which at this point, he'd be), but for the night, we were Rabbits.

(Photos courtesy of The Argus Leader)

Happy Birthday!

Guess who is turning the big 100 today??

This delicious treat! Of course, I'm never a day ahead on news like this, and subsequently didn't have time to prepare any special Oreo birthday treat (maybe next year?), so I figured I'd just re-post one of my favorite recipes using Oreos (and sadly, the only Oreo recipe I have on the blog. I'll have to change that... Sounds like a good excuse to make my mother-in-law's Oreo Truffles!)

Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake Bites
(adapted from landolakes.com)

1 1/4 cup crushed Oreos 
1/4 cup butter melted
20 caramels, unwrapped
2 tbsp half and half
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted (I omitted these)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream
Melted chocolate for drizzling

Heat oven to 350*. Line an 8x8 square pan with a double thickness of aluminum foil, extending over the edge of pan for handles. Spray foil with non-stick cooking spray. Combine crushed oreos and butter and press into the bottom of the prepared pan (I only had a 9x9 pan so I had to increase the amount of crust in order to cover the entire bottom of the pan).

Combine caramels and half and half in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high one minute, and continue microwaving for 30 second intervals until smooth. Pour over crust in pan (it will be a thin layer). Top with pecans. Refrigerate while preparing cream cheese mixture.

Combine cream cheese and sugar in large bowl and beat at medium speed until creamy, scraping the sides frequently. Add the egg and vanilla, beating until just combined. Stir in the sour cream. Pour over the caramel/pecan mixture. 

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until just set 2 inches from the edge of the pan (the top may start to brown in places). Cool on wire rack two hours; loosely cover and refrigerate 4 hours more. Lift cheesecake from pan using foil ends. Cut into 36 squares. Drizzle with melted chocolate and enjoy!




If you are interested in reading a little bit on the history of Oreos and its 100th birthday, check out the nice article here. There's also some other great recipes there--maybe one that will inspire you on this momentous day!

Plan? We don't need no Stinkin' Plan!

In the multiple "personality" tests Darrell and I have taken, there is always one area that is drastically different between us. And that area is scheduling. I have always been a "planner"; I currently have three calendars (one on my desk at the office, one at home, and my little day-timer that I carry in my purse) that I regularly keep up-to-date with the events that are going on. Darrell? He maybe looks at the calendar in our house once a week. Maybe. He's openly admitted that he'd get fired from his job in a heartbeat if it weren't for the scheduler on Microsoft Outlook; that's the only way he's able to keep track of meetings and deadlines. Plus it "dings" at him when something is coming up, so it's not like he even has to check it.

At the start of it, this weekend looked like it was very much going to be a "planned" weekend. We had a handful of things we needed to get in, some that were time sensitive, so I had set a schedule. Friday morning when we left for work our weekend looked like this: dinner at home after work Friday (Beer Risotto with Mushroom Garlic Chicken), then packing and cleaning to prepare for heading out of town on Saturday. Saturday morning we both had to work until noon, then we were going to run back home quick, grab a bite to eat for lunch, stop at the gym for a quick workout, then head out to Kimball to spend the rest of the weekend with some friends. Sunday we planned on getting home mid-afternoon and were going to round out the weekend with grocery shopping and laundry. Seemed like a pretty good plan in my books.

Well, Friday afternoon I get a text from my friend in Kimball saying that her husband woke up that morning with the flu and their seventeen month-old daughter had just gotten over the flu, so she didn't think it was a good idea for us to come out. And the whole weekend just deteriorated from there. Friday night Darrell came home to find me watching an episode of Bones on Netflix, and we quickly got sucked in to a two-part episode. By that point, neither of us were in the mood to cook, so we decided to push our chicken dish off until Saturday night since we were no longer going to be out of town. We then rounded out Friday night with a frozen pizza, beer, and the old black-and-white version of Les Miserables. Saturday morning went as we had planned (funny how the whole having-to-work thing was non-negotitable) and during our workout Darrell caught a reminder on ESPN about the UNC/Duke game that was airing that night. So, we promptly pushed our chicken dish off yet another night and headed to Granite City to watch the game. While there, we got a text from some friends who were having a fundraiser at the Lie-brary (yes--that's how it's spelled--it's a bar), so we stopped over there for a while to support them. We then decided that we were still a little hungry, so we decided to use a gift card that we've had forever and went to Outback Steakhouse for some dessert (three bars/restaurants in one night--that's like a record for us!). Since we were in town, we went to church Sunday morning, where my parents invited us over for dinner that night because they had just gotten back from a trip to the Dominican. Rather than push our chicken dish off for a third time, we insisted that we prepare dinner. I then decided that I needed to make a dessert to go with the meal, so rather than cleaning or going to the gym or doing laundry, we ended up baking and watching Netflix Sunday afternoon. Our final item to get done for the weekend was grocery shop, which we (foolishly) decided that we'd have time to do after dinner with my folks. Well... Dinner turned into dinner and drinks, and before we knew it it was too late to make it to the store and still get home at a reasonable time. So guess what I got to do today after work? And since we didn't get any laundry or cleaning done (and we're having company this coming weekend), guess what we get to spend our evenings doing?

Lesson learned: Even the best-laid plans don't always come to fruition. And you know what? I'm totally okay with that. We ended up having a great weekend, and even the planner in me enjoyed just hanging out and rolling with the punches. I guess Darrell has a way of rubbing off on me like that. And maybe one of these days I'll get him trained to get the calendar a little more frequently--or at least just get him a smartphone so he'll always be able to check what is going on.

Raspberry Cream Pie

Don't get too excited. I really wish I had a recipe for this guy. I'm merely posting to defend myself and my decision to walk away from the wedding reception last weekend with an entire pie. Sure, the parents of the bride told the guests to take some pie with them, but I bet you were secretly judging me for taking an entire pie. Because let's be real. That's a little greedy.

But seriously? Look at this bad boy.

Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing. Look at those deliciously light, fluffy layers of raspberry and cream. And the crust! A meringue crust! Heavenly! I usually avoid eating pies because I don't particularly care for the crust (even if it's a cookie crust), but meringue? I could eat that crust all day.

Hopefully I'll soon be able to master my own meringue crust (you know, because that's not overly-ambitious to try the first time I attempt a meringue). Either that or Darrell and I are going to have to trek back up to Duluth to find the maker of this pie and have her send me at least one a month. At least.

Annoying Gym Habits

I don't consider myself a "regular" at the gym. And I certainly don't have any education or experience that makes me qualified to judge people on their exercise habits. But I've been going to the gym more frequently, which has been causing me to create a mental list of annoying gym habits. And since I'm having a rough day and am feeling snarky, I've decided that I'm going to share my list with you. Lucky you!

1)  Walking on treadmills, especially when it's crazy busy. Have some respect, people. When all the treadmills are full, assume that there are people waiting to get on. So when you get done with your run, cool off with a few laps on the indoor track. And if all you are doing is walking, then I'm pretty sure you can handle doing that on the track as well. If you are using the treadmill because you like the fancy (and likely inaccurate) heart rate/calories burned readouts, invest in a heart rate monitor and get results that are actually correct. Oh, and if you are using the treadmill to walk at an incline? See the next point.

2) Walking unmanageably fast on treadmills at ridiculous inclines, and subsequently needing to use the support bars to keep from falling off the treadmill. I understand that you want to duplicate the exercise that you get while climbing a hill, and I understand that South Dakota doesn't have a lot of hills and mountains to exercise on. But last time I checked, hills don't have support bars that allow you to displace your body weight. And all that body weight displacement that is going on? Trust me, you aren't getting the workout you think you are.

3) Exercising with hair down. Seriously. If it's long enough to slap against your neck while you run, tie it back. I played soccer in college against a girl who always wore her shoulder-length hair down, and every time we played her team I wanted to grab her by the hair and yank her down. I just can't stand the way it flies all over the place during physical exercise--or the gross way it clumps together when it gets sweaty.

4) Prancers. I realize the heel shouldn't slap the floor or anything like that, but seriously, more of your foot than just the ball of it should be coming in contact with the floor. It's no wonder you can only manage two laps at a time.

5) Meatheads. I know these kind of people are unavoidable, especially at a gym, but they still bother me. Especially when they are the type who do crazy upper-body lifting but have twigs for legs. Oh, and your complaint that the gym is closed on Christmas Day--seriously? Take a break. Spend time with your family. You're ridiculous.

Hopefully you don't think less of me, because I'm glad I got that off my chest.