Terrible Timing

Gary and I FINALLLLLLY agreed to buy a new dishwasher. I never wavered on my desire for a new dishwasher but my husband thought we had enough motivation and time to do all our dishes by hand. I don't think he realized how much we both despise washing dishes. And boy do we use a lot of dishes.

Here's the pretty new dishwasher we'll be getting soon! (Maytag MDB8949 in white)

Later, on the very same day I went and bought the dishwasher, I decided it was a perfect time to resume Project Baby Quilt; and I was a very bad wife. Not only did I find and buy the new backing for Emma's quilt, I walked out with a new quilt pattern and all the fabric it needed, a couple hundred dollars more poor than when I first walked in.

Terrible timing.

Sorry, Gary....

Why oh why!

I woke up today on the wrong side of the bed. For no reason whatsoever, I was in a mood. No, Gary, you didn't do anything, I promise. I even slept well. Regardless, in a mood I was.

That was the case until I drove Gspice to work super early this morning. As we stopped at the red on Water Street, what passed right in front of us? A PRAIRIE FARMS distributing semi-truck. HOLY SMOKES! Decorah carries Prairie Farms products?

Well, it just so happens that my all-time, most favorite, amazingly delicious cottage cheese comes from Prairie Farms. I can't eat anything else. Walmart doesn't carry it, Fareway doesn't carry it, but I haven't really checked anywhere else in town. We saw the truck go past the other side of town when we got closer to Deco so I'm guessing the truck was headed to Quillin's.

I called Quillin's. Do they carry Prairie Farms cottage cheese? No.

Really?????

My hopes of every finding Prairie Farms cottage cheese in Decorah has gone back to nothing. Sad day.

Give me a reason

I know, it's been a while since my last post. Let's be real, I've been lazy. Sorry! And honestly, I'm still feeling lazy so I won't write much. Here's a new song instead. One of my favorites right now!

What's for Dinner {18} - Zuppa Toscana & Caesar Salad!

I am pleased to announce that I have made the first good batch of soup. I had not yet, in all my 25+ years of life so far, made a good soup. Tonight changed that. I did not, however, make the breadsticks or salad dressing because I was just plain lazy. I did the dishes instead :)

Zuppa Toscana Soup adapted from Copykat.com
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40-45 minutes (I was able to do dishes for a good 20-25 minutes)

*1 pound mild Italian sausage (I put a just under a T of red pepper flakes to spice it up a bit)
*2 large russet baking potatoes cubed
*1 large chopped onion
*2-5 cloves garlic,  minced
*3 cups chopped kale
*28 ounce cans chicken broth
*1-2 cups water
*1 cup heavy whipping cream
*Salt & Pepper to taste


Cook onion and garlic until translucent. Add sausage and cook like ground beef. Once done, soak up all the grease (I could have done a much better job of this)

Meanwhile, place in a large pot the potatoes, chicken broth, 1 cup water, salt and pepper. Cook on medium-high heat until potatoes are done. Add the sausage, onions and garlic and simmer for 10 minutes. Too finish, add the cream, 1 cup water and kale and heat through.

 

Had I removed all the grease, this wouldn't be so orange....it was delicious nonetheless!

Gary always wants to help so he was tasked with the salad - it, too, was delish. Thanks, Gspice!

 

  YUM!

What's for Dinner {17} - Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

A fitting feature recipe for my favorite number - Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta. To me, it was more like an cajun alfredo which was pretty AWESOME. We aren't huge fans of alfredo with a few failed attempts already under our belt. This recipe, though, was quite delish. To be a bit nit-picky, the sauce wasn't quite as creamy as I imagined it would be. A little soupy, really. Next time, I'll let it reduce a bit.


Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta adapted from a weird tumblr site. (Really don't understand tumblr...)

*1 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
*4 ounces fettuccine, cooked al dente (I bought the Garden Delight version but didn't tell Gary until after he had finished it! It has a half serving of veggies in each 2oz serving!)
*2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
*2 tablespoons butter
*chopped garlic
*1 thinly sliced green onion
*1 cup heavy whipping cream
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1/4 teaspoon dried basil
*1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
*1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl and toss to coat. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté chicken and chopped garlic in butter or margarine until chicken is tender, about 7-10 minutes.

Reduce heat add green onion, heavy cream, basil, salt, black pepper and heat through. 

Pour over hot linguine and toss with Parmesan cheese.

MMMMMMmmmmmmmMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!

Update:
Had this again today as leftovers - it was even better than yesterday! It was perfectly creamy like I thought it would be!