Patience

Source: www.pinterest.com- sorry, I can't read the name of the original creator

Patience, patience, patience...what a virtue that one is, huh?  Lately, I seem to be running quite low on the patience potion.  I found the above image on Pinterest, and I think I will make it my new mantra.

My life is full of blessings.  My problems are small and can generally be fixed with a glass of wine (or 2).  While my hopes, dreams, aspirations, travel plans and big ideas help build determination, they sometimes make me forget about all the things I have right here and now.  So tonight, I shall toast to things I already have and ask for just a bit more patience on the rest.

Ashley Trivia

Most of the people that know me think the following:
1. I have blond hair
2. I love to cook

Surprise!  Both are now false!

Over the weekend I took a long past due visit to my hairdresser to take care of my redneck-like roots.  I told my hairdresser (Matilda) that I was looking to cut back on the die jobs, so she suggested I give my natural hair color a try.  I hadn't seen it in 15 years, so I wasn't quite sure what I would look like.  The verdict?  Well, the jury is still out on this one.  Don't get me wrong, she did a great job and gave me exactly what I asked for but...I may be blond by the weekend.

As for cooking- I love to read about food. I love to look at pretty pictures of food. Most importantly, I really love to eat food.  As for the cooking part? Eh.  I do enjoy spending a ton of time creating something special, but as for a simple weekday meal- it's a chore. 

But because I can't seem to afford a personal chef, I figured I should change up our repertoire in hopes of finding a few hits.  This week, I have one more hit to add to my list of repeats. 

The winner this week:



foodandwine.com



Warm Grains with Red Cabbage and Ricotta Salata

Sounds fancy, doesn't it?  It does take a little longer than your average weekday meal, but I found braising the cabbage to be relaxing, and it makes lots of leftovers- always a plus! 

Recipe Roundup

Lately it seems like Blair and I have been eating the same d$@#n thing for dinner every night.  Over the past week, I have been trying to change things up a bit, while still maintaining our healthy weeknight requirements.  We have plenty of vices, but we try to save them for the weekends.

We had a few big hits in the Hoyt household, so I thought I would share the recipes along with the tweaks I made to them.

1.  Black Bean, Sweet Potato and Quinoa Chili from "With Style and Grace"
This was a huge hit!  I loved that it was hearty and healthy with tons of flavor.  I changed this recipe only slightly by using 2 15oz cans of black beans instead of re-hydrating dried beans.  I also added 1T of paprika to the mix because I love a smokiness in chili.  This made a hearty 6 servings, which meant we had plenty of leftovers for the freezer.

Picture from http://withstyle.me

2.  Salmon with Couscous from "What's Gaby Cooking"
The salmon in this recipe came out perfect!  I did reduce the cooking time by 8 minutes because I used a convection oven.  I substituted whole wheat Israeli couscous for the plan to add a little extra fiber.  I also used only half the feta called for, and used a reduced fat version.  It added tons of flavor, and I didn't miss the other half.  We had enough couscous left over to serve as a side dish for a later dinner.

www.whatsgabycooking.com

3. Daphne Oz's Pistachio Crusted Fish with Roasted Tomatoes and Basil
I have tried this recipe with both halibut, per the recipe, and tilapia and both fish work equally well.  This week we used tilapia, because that's what I had on hand.  It is so fresh, and delicious!  I served the leftover couscous as a side- love getting multiple uses out of one recipe!

www.abc.com

All of these recipes made for healthy, easy weeknight dinners.  These will all be added to the dinner rotation in our home.

Cheers!

All Dogs go to Heaven

Before we found "the one," I had picked out his name.  Our new puppy would be named "Charlie" after the lead dog in "All Dogs go to Heaven."  When we arrived at the breeder, they brought out all of the puppies.  The puppies scurried around and I watched them play.  Then one tiny fuzz ball caught a glimpse of his reflection in the dishwasher, took two steps back, barked and then turned around and pooped on the floor.  I had had found "the one."  Thank goodness I didn't use the same standard to pick a husband!

Over the years his name "Charlie" was often nicknamed "Chuckie," "Charles Barkley," "Charlie Doggie," and "Baby".  He was the dog that loved jelly beans, and hated dog food; he stole magazines you were reading so you would chase him; sat on board games going on in the floor; barked at every boyfriend that even considered kissing me- this was a trait my father was especially fond of.

Sadly,  this week we had to say goodbye to our beloved Charlie. For fourteen years he had been far more than a pet.  He was a member of our family.

Do all dogs really go to Heaven?  I don't know, but I hope at least one did.  

Tuesday Surprise

Our nieces and nephews (both related and "adopted") are the cutest in the world.  That's all there is to it. I will not be convinced otherwise. When I came home from work today, I found a wonderful surprise in our mailbox:

These are thank-you notes from our nieces and nephew in Florida!  We sent them a two-part Christmas gift this year, with the second half sent a little late.  We sent Chase a Miami Dolphins hat, and Bella and Alexa each received adorable tutus from TLC Creations.  These sweet little monkeys each wrote us an individual note, and their Mom packaged them all up and sent them.

Now, I'm off to put the finishing touches on a black bean, quinoa, and sweet potato chili recipe I saw on With Style and Grace. We are in serious "lock it up" mode after this weekend. Wish me luck!

Photo from http:withstyle,me

Birthday Weekend!

This was Blair's big birthday weekend.  While Blair would probably prefer a more low-key acknowledgement, I would have no such thing!  I am not that into my birthday, but his birthday is a whole new ballgame!

We had discussed a trip back to the promise land (a.k.a. Blacksburg) for the weekend, but decided to make it more of a "staycation" instead.

On Friday night, we had a wonderful dinner at 1789 in Georgetown.  The staff was incredibly friendly and the food was delicious! We had a seat in this room, so it was nice and cozy.

Image of 1789 from www.opentable.com

The next morning we had a nice brunch at the Peacock Cafe in Georgetown before heading over to the D.C. Car Show.  Yes, I will take you Range Rover Evoke. It comes in a 4-door, so it's totally practical right?

Image from www.rangerover.com

After all that fun, it was time to head over to the home our dear friends', the Gallaghers.  Aside from being one of my best friends, Krista is a fabulous cook (check out her blog here).  She made a meal that was surpassed only by the company!

The next morning, we had dinner with Blair's parents and sister at the over-the-top, lick-your-plate good restaurant, Trummer's on Main.  I LOVE this place!!!

www.trummersonmain.com

We then spent the rest of our morning doing our taxes.  Dear Uncle Sam, thanks for ruining our buzz.  

Finally, we headed over to our friends', the Scherrer's, home for some dinner and Superbowl watchin'!  I was going to bring these little devils from one of my favorite cooking blogs, but Blair opted for something "healthier" (cannolis from Whole Foods...)

www.whatsgabbycooking.com

And now, tragically, it is Monday so it back to reality for the these two.  Maybe I'll make the brownies after all...

If you are wondering why all of my pictures are sourced, it is because I am a dingbat and forgot to put my camera in my purse---every single day.  Fail.

Walking a Tightrope

I'm back on the blogging bandwagon!  It has been a stressful few weeks, with a lot of different things up in the air.  I have felt a lot like this lady:

dailypicayune.com

Now that the dust has settled a bit, most but not all opportunities panned out how I had hoped, but I am confident that all worked out how it should.  My faith is a bit funny: I pray that things will work out just how they are supposed to, but I always have really strong opinions on exactly what should happen. Ultimately, I do have faith that what is meant to be will be.

An example of this is my day off from work today (yay!).  It was perfect timing really.  Not only do I need some time to relax after a few stressful weeks, but representatives from Toll Brothers are coming by to review our incorrect plumbing in our basement bathroom.  If they agree to move the lines as they should, they will get the very grateful and calm Ashley.  If not, I will unleash any pent up frustration and go all crazy lady on them!

Regardless, tonight is a date night to celebrate Blair's birthday!!!!  We have a great weekend planned, and I can't wait to get it started!

Cheers to all!