A quick trip

Read Unbroken out-loud for a good portion of the drive to St. George.
Once we arrived, we decided tennis with potato chips was sounding good.
All of the treats I brought for our trip. I tend to go overboard...

A morning in St. George. I am already missing that king sized bed with the view.

Went on a morning run in Entrada to get out all my vacation energy I seem to always get when we get away. This was where we were first introduced to our new favorite sport: pickleball. Never heard of it? Don't worry; I am dedicating an entire post all to pickleball.

One of my new favorite apps: MapMyRun. I have used MapMyRide for biking and loved it, so I decided to try this one out. This takes running to a whole new level: fun.

Razoring Day 1.

My safety handle that is a life-saver when Kevin drives. Also my already dirty pants from minutes of driving. We got filthy dirty this first day.

We found some hieroglyphics.

While driving around we found dinosaur tracks! It was really neat to see them in their element and not in a museum. Kevin showed me what a Raptor looked like and then continued to show me what that past Raptor was doing by running along the tracks.

We decided to splurge one night and try a new restaurant in St. George. We both decided on Sakura. The sushi was awesome and it was the perfect meal to end our little trip.

recipe: rustic crusty bread

Guys, this recipe is a keeper. I was so happy with how simple it was and how great it tasted. I will be making this over and over again. It will be perfect for grilled cheese and paninis. YUMMY.

Rustic Crusty Bread
2 loaves

1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting dough

In bowl, mix yeast, salt and 3 cups lukewarm water with wooden spoon. Add flour. Mix until there are no dry patches. Cover with towel and let rise 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 450 with pizza stone in it and a broiler pan beneath it. I let my oven heat up for a good 40 minutes while my bread was doing its second rise.

I halved this recipe so I just pulled out my bread onto floured parchment paper that I placed on the back of a baking sheet. Knead it just a little and form it into an easy oval/circle. Sprinkle top with flour, and cut three lines on top. Let rest for 40 minutes.

Use the baking sheet to slide the parchment paper and bread onto the pizza stone easily. Then, quickly, pour one cup water into the broiler pan and close oven door quickly so the steam does not escape.
Bake for 24-30 minutes.

And you've got dang good, crusty bread to dip in olive oil. Your husband is going to be impressed.

via Mel's Kitchen Cafe
For an easy how-to tutorial on this bread and better instructions go here.

recipe: french dip sandwiches

French Dip Sandwiches
1 pound shaved deli roast beef (or Italian Beef if it’s available) sliced thin
4 hoagie or Italian rolls
8 slices provolone cheese
3 cups beef broth/stock
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup mayonaise
1/4 cup A1 Steak Sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dijon mustard

Turn oven to broil.
In a large saucepan, combine beef broth, oregano, basil and black pepper and heat for 5 minutes. Add roast beef and leave on medium- low heat.
Mix A1, mayo, garlic powder and dijon mustard together and spread (a lot, this stuff is good) on hoagie buns. Place under broiler until warm and bubbly. Add provolone cheese and place under broiler until completely melted.
Add roast beef; dip in extra broth. YUM.

Valentines Dinner 2012

Late Valentines was awesome this year. I got my husband back; and we spent the entire day at home being lazy. Once we got hungry for dinner we decided to make a grocery run. Like all men, Kevin hates to grocery shop. And like some women, I love to grocery shop. But he knows it makes me extremely happy when he goes with me so he obliged tonight.


For dinner we decided on:

-Broiled Ribeye steaks with sauteed caramelized onions on top
these turn out the best when you generously season with kosher salt & pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and make sure the oven has warmed up on the broil option for a good 10 minutes or so. And then broil for 3 minutes per side. Top with sauteed sweet onions that have been sauteed in olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt for 20 or so minutes. I start on a medium heat, then turn it to low for the last 10 minutes to help caramelize them.
-Roasted asparagus (drizzle with olive oil, kosher salt and roast for 15 minutes @ 400)
-Creamy, garlic mashed skin-on potatoes (for him, I do not like mashed potatoes)
-used this recipe
-Sourdough bread with olive oil & balsamic vinegar
-Shrimp & cocktail sauce

We then ended our special evening with the documentary Buck on Netflix. It was pretty interesting. We knew nothing about "breaking" colts so it was fun to learn. It was nice to know that they don't use such harsh practices in "breaking" horses these days.

the best day of my life

I'm going to do a lovey-dovey post. Beware.

A lot of people say that their wedding day was the best day of their life. Mine wasn't. It was a great day, but kind of stressful and a lot to take in for one day.

The best day of my life was when Kevin told me that he was falling in love with me. I remember it exactly. I remember where we were, what we were doing, what I was wearing, that we went and got slurpees right after (ha), and how it felt. It was the best feeling. I remember being on such a high. I felt so loved, and felt so much love towards him. It was then that I knew I was going to lead a happy, love-filled life with him. That, was the best day of my life.

Happy Valentines Day Kevin. Love you.

a compliment

Last night while talking to Kevin, he says:

"I really miss your cooking."

This is probably one of the nicest compliments my husband could ever give me. Ok not really, but it is up there.

So he planned what he wanted to do for our Valentines dinner (and Hooray-You-Are-Home dinner), that we will be celebrating Wednesday night.
He wants to cook a meal together. So cute. This man never wants to cook.

So now I am even more excited for Wednesday.

the salad

I love to cook. But it's definitely not as fun when your only cooking for one. While Kevin has been gone I have been taking it easy on the cooking. I have eaten a lot of salads, since those are the easiest to prepare once you have all the ingredients you want.
I decided that this chicken is the best on my salads:

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would be fine too)
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup honey (I reduced this to a half a cup from a whole cup, that just seemed like a lot of honey to me)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced

I put frozen chicken breasts in my slow cooker, sprinkled with some salt and pepper. I then mix all the rest ingredients together, and pour over chicken. I usually cook on low for 8 or so hours. I start it in the afternoon, then have to work late.

When its done, I remove the chicken from the sauce (I just throw the sauce away) and shred it. Let it cool completely, then put it in a container in the fridge! Now you have awesome, flavorful protein to put on your salad!

Adapted from here.


Also in my favorite salad:
Baby lettuce
Pine nuts (Costco)
Craisins (Costco)
Feta cheese (Costco)
Balsamic glaze
Homemade olive oil/ garlic/ red wine vinegar salad dressing

"wife day"

A few days before Kevin left, I wanted a "wife day." I have to allot myself "wife days" or Kevin will forget to do stuff with me. No not really, but he can be a busy guy. This day I told him I wanted to go snowshoeing. He said o.k., I will give you two options:

1) "I go shooting with my photographer."
or
2) "We go snowshoeing."

Hes so funny.
So I chose #2.

We started out with getting donuts from Daylight Donuts. I love this place. We each got two donuts. I ate both of mine. He only ate one. I win. He said he got a sugar sickness. I told him to train his body to enjoy sugar better.


We then went up Big Cottonwood and chose to do the Lake Blanche Trail. I had never hiked this trail before, snow or no snow, so I was excited. It was beautiful. And there was snow! We didn't have the time to do the whole trail, but one day, when we are feeling up for the climb, we will do it again.

But I did feel up to a photo-shoot:









And that was my "wife day".

what we have been up to today...

While I made these today:


Kevin was up to this:


It rained one night so it froze all the snow.


On the prowl for some better snow.






They stayed in a poorly lit cabin.


Two words: Cabin. Fever.

Alaska

Kevin is in Alaska right now, skiing and shredding. He got invited by Powder magazine to do a magazine spread. When Kevin told me about this, I was excited until he said "10 DAYS."
"10 days, what do you mean 10 days!?"
Are newlyweds (yes, I still consider us newlyweds) even supposed to be away from each other that long? I'm pretty sure not.
The longest we have been apart since we got married was 3 days.
So I was a bit saddened by his extremely exciting news.
But I wasn't going to be one of those wives that is like "You can't go and have all the fun!" "What about me!?" "But I NEED you home!" "This isn't fair!" Nope I sucked it up and said "Oh baby, Alaska here you come!"

After I snuck little Valentine goodies and a card in his suitcase, I tried to zip it up when Kevin goes "Oh wait, I'm not done." And then he found all his goodies he was supposed to be surprised by. Oh well. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Whatever that saying means. I mean, If I have cake, I am going to eat it.



A few days before he left, he, again, told me the story of the book/movie White Fang. He told me the part of him throwing rocks at his dog/wolf he loved and yelling at him to go away. He then said this analogy was going to have to be used for when I dropped him off at the airport. He was just going to run for it.
Well that all went through the roof once he got all his bags ready.
He had to give me the big 'Goodbye' hug and kiss. Then I lost it. Then he gave me more hugs and the "Don't worry about me, I'll be safe" talk. And then it got worse. And then I just got into the car and left. Ugh. Tender moments at the airport. I only like them when they don't involve me.

And this is for Lorna. This is what Kevin has been up to lately (Thanks to iPhone photo stream):






And tonight he is staying in a cabin (with heat!) on top of the mountain. Its close to heaven for him right now.