A "Sheldon" Moment

Do you watch Big Bang Theory ? If not, you should.


Kyle comments once in a while that I could be Sheldon's sister...I think part of it is the tall, lanky factor, the other being that I'm slightly nerdy and have set systems based on my own logic. No, we do not have a roommate agreement, but we probably should. Anyhow...


I had a Sheldon moment today.


I love sandwiches. All kinds of sandwiches...basic turkey and cheese, caprese, banh mi, pulled pork, hamburgers...I like them all. I am, however, very picky about my sandwich construction. 


See, there is a correct ratio of bread to meat/toppings that should be achieved. If nothing else, the ingredients should be evenly dispersed. I hate it when I order a sandwich and they plop all of the meat and condiments in the middle and then cut it in half. If I ate it like that, I would be eating mouths full of meat and fillings in the beginning, and have nothing but flavorless bread toward the end. Just pointless and not enjoyable.


So, I reconstruct almost every sandwich I order.


How is that Sheldon-like? Well, I happened to catch a re-run the other evening where Sheldon was very upset because the sandwich he ordered was layered incorrectly, resulting in the mayo being in between the cheese and bread, causing it to be soggy. 


I happen to sympathize with him on that one. 

{Better than Paula's} Pudding

I'll be honest and admit my greediness. I started not to share this recipe because, well, I wanted all the glory for myself...but that's just not right. Everyone needs to have the privilege of eating and sharing this fabulous stuff. 

I've seen several different versions of this pudding out there, but this one is just so good, I have no reason to stray. And by the way, this recipe is in no way, shape, or form healthy. It has a ton of fat and sugar...and it's freaking awesome! Let's put it this way, the closest recipe to this I've found is Paula Deen's. I suppose this is one of those "in moderation" things ; ) I'll add that I have tried to make it a few times with lower fat/calorie ingredients, and it just doesn't get as fluffy or set as well as when I use the real thing(s). 

So, here's what you need:

3 cups Whole Milk (lower fat milk doesn't allow the pudding to set correctly)

1 pkg Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix

1 pkg French Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix

8 oz Cream Cheese

1 can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

32 oz Cool Whip 

1 box Nilla Wafers

4-5 Ripe Bananas

- Whisk together the whole milk with the two pudding mixes in a medium mixing bowl and set in the refrigerator to become firm (2-5 minutes)

- While the pudding sets up, in your largest mixing bowl, use the hand mixer to blend the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth

- Again, using the hand mixer, blend the pudding (which should be set by now) and cream cheese/sweetened condensed milk mixture

- At this point, if I feel the pudding/cream cheese/sweetened condensed milk mixture is too warm or viscous (due to hot day, warm kitchen, etc.), I set the whole thing in the refrigerator to set a bit more. This helps the pudding stay fluffy when folding in the Cool Whip

- With a big rubber/silicon spatula, fold the Cool Whip into the pudding mixture. I find it easiest to fold in a third of the Cool Whip in at a time. And yes, it makes a lot.

- Slice up the bananas (I prefer thinly sliced) and get your layer on in whatever serving dish you like (9x13 casserole, trifle bowl, individual cups, etc.)... My layering preference is (from bottom to top) wafers, pudding, bananas, pudding, and so on and so on... I try to go skimpy with the pudding on the bottom layers to make sure that I have enough at the end to have a nice, thick layer on top.

- Then garnish however you like. I do the classic, line the serving dish with wafers and crumbled a few on top, thing. 

- Put the whole thing in the refrigerator to chill and set up. I prefer to make it the night before I'm going to serve it because the wafers get a bit softer and the pudding takes on a bit of flavor from the bananas.

Notes: 

When I know I'm making this ahead of time, I buy the bananas 2-3 days beforehand so that they'll be ripe and not "grocery store green". 

Also, set the Cool Whip and cream cheese out on the counter a couple of hours before making (assuming the Cool Whip is still frozen). The Cool Whip needs to thaw and the cream cheese needs to be almost room temperature. Using the microwave to shortcut this step results in runny pudding. Ask me how I know.

Lastly, read your pudding boxes carefully, as this recipe uses instant and there are both instant and cook & serve boxes sitting next to one another. Again, ask me how I know. 

Happy pudding making!

Monday {Tuesday} Morning Motivation

"The only way to compel men to speak good of us is to do it." - Voltaire

Memorial Day

Everything's Bigger...

We've all heard the saying, "everything's bigger in Texas". And I can vouch for that in some areas...meal portion size, trucks, the night sky, etc.


Something people didn't tell me, however, was that although some things remain the same size, they can be more potent. 


Son of a...(slapping noise)


I've been bitten by mosquitoes my entire life. It's not really anything new. What is new, though, is the fact that the bites I've gotten down here are five times more itchy, and last three times as long. I don't know if there are different breeds of mosquitoes, but Texas definitely has the mutant mother-load.


I can't remember a time when I've put this much Benadryl or Cortaid cream on my ankles, especially for more than one or two days. I've been pasting the stuff on my body for the past four days, and sometimes in the middle of the night. I have even been tempted to take a Benadryl pill...and would have if I hadn't been afraid of not waking up on time or falling asleep at work.


And it's not just me, Kyle thought he had an infection because his weren't going away after a week. 


I hope your Memorial Day weekend is a mosquito free one!


...I'm off to purchase some citronella tiki torches and a bug zapper...

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I did it! I stuck to my promise from a previous post!
...I cooked something, and I took pictures!


I won't go out on limb and say that we eat "super" healthy, but I'm pretty sure we eat healthier than the majority of people in the U.S.  For some things, I don't mind going the healthy route, but some dishes should just not be tinkered with. Yes, Paula Deen has diabetes, but a serving of her recipes once in a while isn't going to make anyone obese. 


For instance, over the weekend, I cooked a hunk of bacon in my cast iron skillet, solely for the purpose of having bacon fat from which to coat the skillet prior to making cornbread. Sinful? Yes. Indulgent? Yes. Tasty? Abso-freaking-lutely! I don't make cornbread that way all of the time, but once in a while isn't going to give either of us a heart attack.


That being said, if I can find a way to make something taste as good or better in a healthy way...I'm all over it!


One of my favorite vegetables is the sweet potato. Now, I love baked sweet potatoes with butter and cinnamon (and brown sugar and marshmallows) as much as anyone, but of course I know that all that butter and excess sugar isn't particularly good for me. On their own, however, sweet potatoes are a fantastic source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and should be added to everyone's rotation of foods for healthy eating...but a lot of that goes down the drain when saturated fat is added.


So, as an alternative, I began roasting cubed sweet potato, and I like it as much or more than baked/buttered version! The roasting process pulls the natural sugars in the potato to the surface and caramelizes them...making them crispy and a bit chewy. Yum! And actually, this can be said of any root vegetable...carrots, beets, parsnips...all root veggies are just better roasted, in my humble opinion.


As another alternative (if peeling and cutting up the sweet potatoes is a bit too time consuming), I have also been known to "bake" the potatoes in the microwave, remove the skin, put the innards in a bowl, and then add about a half a cup of cinnamon apple sauce (whatever brand and consistency you prefer) per potato...and mash away. I especially like this version with pork. There's something about pork that goes well with both sweet potatoes and apples...so why not combine them?!


So for the roasted version, here's what I do...


(For the two of us, I usually use two sweet potatoes...most of the time we have a little leftover. Adjust amount accordingly)


2 sweet potatoes
Olive oil
Sea Salt
Pepper
Cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Rinse the potatoes (yes, you're about to peel them, but it's much easier to remove the majority of the dirt now)


Peel them


Cut them into 1/2" cubes. There are a bazillion ways to skin a cat, er, cut up a potato, so just figure out what works best for you. Sweet potatoes are typically a very hard, dense root, so I find it easier to break them down into manageable chunks and work with them from there. I'll give my knife spiel in a separate post.


Toss them in a bowl and drizzle with just enough olive oil to coat, add about a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of pepper, and 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon. (You can add whatever herbs or spices you like. I often add just a dash of cayenne. Just be careful with fresh herbs because they will burn and char.) Toss together until all cubes are coated.

Line baking sheet with non-stick foil. This makes clean up a lot easier, and with the non-stick properties of the foil, you don't need to use quite as much oil...therefore, not adding unnecessary calories.


Dump the seasoned sweet potato cubes onto the sheet and spread them out so that they're all flat on the sheet and not stacked on top of one another.

Here's where I think I do it a bit different than other recipes...I put the potatoes in for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees to make sure they get done in the middle. I then, carefully, give them a stir, and crank the oven up to 400 degrees. This helps the outside get crispy! I usually leave them at 400 for about another 20 minutes, stirring one or two times more to make sure they brown evenly. Timing all depends on the size of your potato pieces, so I usually taste test along the way.


Some bits will look a bit on the burnt side, but that's okay! (I should have stirred these one more time, but I got distracted...so I have a few with bottoms that are a little more burnt than I would have cared for)

Side note: two potatoes does yield much more than this...but I forgot to take the photo until after Kyle and I had served ourselves.

This isn't the prettiest batch I've ever made, but man were they yummy. And actually, this is the way Kyle prefers me to prepare them...he just doesn't like the 50 minute prep and cook time. 


Hope you enjoy!

North vs. South

Although I grew up in Oklahoma, my father's side of the family is from, and lives in Mississipi...I am, therefore, Southern by association and recipe bestow-ment. 


I also follow a couple of fashion and design blogs. Earlier today, I read one about the airy wears of white for the summer. But one thing the author said slapped me. She said, "...because Memorial Day "officially" marks that it is acceptable to wear white again". 


Wait?! 


What?!?


No, No, No. My dear, I believe you mean that Easter marks the official day upon which wearing white is acceptable. 


There are a few major rules, as a Southerner, that cannot be broken. My Dad taught me to say "yes/no sir/ma'am" and call all adults "Mr./Mrs./Ms"...regardless of them asking me to call them by their first names. My Mother taught me how to set a proper table and that you never wear white before Easter or after Labor Day. Around February, I saw a woman in the office wearing white heels. I thought, poor thing, not to be raised up the right way...if she's wearing white shoes in February, she's simply doomed!


So I looked up the author of the blog post to check her credentials, and I discovered that she is from Chicago. Hmmm? Could it be that the North and South have different starting points regarding white clothing?


Upon further research, I found that indeed, the "rule" is that white is acceptable in the South on Easter, but Northerners have to wait until Memorial Day. Suggestions are that the South is earlier because it gets warmer there, earlier. 


I suppose it's true...you do learn something new everyday.

From: H&M

Weekend Update

This weekend was busy, but fun-filled!


Friday night we went to dinner with some friends and then had them over for dessert and to hang out for a bit. {I know I talk about cooking a lot, and I keep meaning to take pictures as I make things and post them, but I always remember this after the fact. I vow that next time I make something good, I'll post the recipe and pics}

Side note: Finding new couple-friends is a lot like dating, except harder because there are two people you have to please. Moving to a new city where Kyle and I both only knew one person of our demographic from work, I think we were a little unsure of how we would get connected socially. We have, however, been very fortunate. Between church, work, and other stuff, we've gotten to know a lot of great people that we enjoy spending time with!

Saturday around noon, we went to Kyle's company's "Family Fun Day". It was mainly set up for kids with face-painting, a rock wall, bounce houses, etc... but we went anyway just to see some of Kyle's co-workers.

After that, I met up with my aunt to go shopping for furnishings for the house. I'm extremely fortunate that she is an interior designer, and is local. So, not only is she great at helping me think through putting a room together, she also knows where all the great places to shop are! Houston of course has some extremely nice, high-end stores, but it also has a lot of great re-sale and antique shops. I didn't do too much damage during this trip, but I did get a couple of great side chairs and accessories.

Saturday evening we met up with some friends for a community food festival. It was in an area of Houston called, The Heights. For Tulsans, it's the equivalent of Maple Ridge, just bigger. Basically a bunch of restaurants (25 or so?) had samples of their fare, and for the entry ticket price, you could taste and try everything you wanted. There was live music, a silent auction and an, um....eclectic crowd. (Funny side story, the event itself was a fundraiser for the Catholic church, and it seemed that one of the most coveted silent auction items was a parking spot for mass.) Most of the food was pretty good, and the people watching was even better. My favorite bite of the night was from a restaurant called BB's cafe, serving "MawMaw's Gumbo". Honestly, it was the closest (outside of my family) that I have ever tasted to my Mamaw's gumbo. I now know where I'll be heading when I want good gumbo and don't want to spend 4+ hours in the kitchen.

Afterwards, a group of us went to a place called Cedar Creek which is a bar and grill type place, but it's literally set on a creek with a ton of outdoor seating. It was a beautiful night, so it was a great setting to hang out. I learned, however, that the establishment was "Austin inspired". Which would completely explain why Kyle wasn't a fan. {U of Texas, liberal, nature}


Sunday was fairly typical...church, lunch, nap, Kyle worked a bit, and house stuff. What's funny about us, is that when it comes to "house stuff", we have a tendency to switch gender roles...which is fine with us! Kyle unloaded and re-loaded the dishwasher, and washed and folded towels. I, on the other hand, fertilized the yard and installed some towel hooks in our bathroom. It may seem odd that we prefer the duties we do, but if you know either of us very well, it's not odd at all. Kyle and his brother grew up taking care of several acres of land (mowing, weed-eating, fixing and painting fence, etc.) and he vowed to make enough money so he wouldn't have to do that kind of stuff as an adult. I, however, grew up with the preference of cleaning horse stalls to my room. Unless I'm making something in the kitchen, I'd almost always rather be outside. 


So...that was our weekend! 


I apologize if I've rambled or if there are major grammatical errors...I stayed up to watch the Thunder thump the Lakers to move on in the playoffs! I'm sleepy. 

Product Love

Shortly after moving into our new home, I began to realize my desperate need for organizing solutions. I have a lot of cabinets and drawers, so space wasn't really the issue, it was just that things were roaming freely in their given space. I knew at some point that that would be to my detriment. 


So, I decided to visit our local Container Store. The Mecca for all things OCD, and those who are wannabe OCD'ers. 


I purchased several bins for my pantry, and some clear plastic drawer organizers for my make-up drawer...but the coolest thing I felt I bought, was this knife dock. 


In my last two houses, I've just let my cooking utensils and knives roam about their drawer. I haven't cut my hand to date, but I knew it was inevitable. Plus, I could never seem to find the utensil I was looking for. 


The Container Store has a series of bamboo drawer organizers for kitchen stuff that stack (and to my surprise still fit in a standard sized drawer). But what caught my attention was this particular one made for knives. It's a typical size drawer organizer, except that at one end it has a bunch of thinly stacked cork that act as dividers. Not only does this keep the knives from roaming, it also helps keep them sharp since they are not banging around and hitting other utensils. I was able to layer my knives, so I probably have about 15 knives in my knife dock. 

The other product I'm now in love with is the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

Yes, I realize that these have been around for some time, but I just always saw them and thought, what's the big deal? It's a sponge!

Well, again, after being in our house a while, I noticed that our black kitchen sink (which is made of a granite composite) had some cream-colored stains on it. It looked like maybe the painters used the sink to rinse off brushes and didn't bother to clean the sink afterwards. 

Now, I knew this particular material required a little pampering, but for it to look bad before I had even been in the house a week made me furious! I was really close to calling the builder and asking them to come buff it out, but I decided to take to Google instead. I'm glad I did. 

Someone on one forum suggested that a little dish soap and the Magic Eraser took off a lot of hard water stains from her sink. So, before I called the builder, I decided to give it a try. 

What do you know?! It worked!!

I was impressed to say the least. I haven't found any other major scrubbing needs around the house yet, but when I do, I know what my to-go cleaning supplies now includes!

The Peace Keeper

This may look like a simple electric sweeper, but in our house...it's what I call the "peace keeper". 

See, sharing a bathroom was one of the most significant points of contention when we were looking at floor plans. (Hence, we chose a floor plan in which the vanities are on complete opposites sides of the bathroom.) The problem??? 

My hair.

Kyle has a severe fear of any hair that is not attached to my head...be it on the floor, in the shower, in the dryer...it all freaks him out. So, my pledge to him, being the considerate wife I am, is to do everything in my power to prevent him from coming in contact with loose hair. My weapon of choice...the electric sweeper.

I try to get it out daily and quickly run it through the bathroom. So far, so good! 

And by good I mean that Kyle has yet to yell "THERE'S A SQUIRREL IN THE BATHROOM!"

New Homes and the Unexpected

Whether the house you move into is brand-spanking new, or a century old...there will always be hidden quirks and costs. Always. It might be something as simple as a toilet paper holder that was inadvertently not installed, or as big as a plumbing problem.


We have found a few minor quirks in our new home...like the toilet paper holder not being installed, and a couple of window screens that needed to be replaced, but other than that, everything has been easy-peasy.

Side Note: we used Village Builders, and I couldn't be happier with how accommodating they've been. After moving in, Kyle called them about the toilet paper holder and window screens, and two guys were sent over that day to take care of it. 

After being in the house several days...I did have one major, terrible, horrendous thing occur. ACNE! All of a sudden my face (and chest and back) broke out like it never has before. Not even as a teenager...and my normal acne-battle ammunition (my Clarisonic and Panoxyl wash) weren't working. So, I started trying to deduce what the culprit might be. 

Stress? No, not really. The move had been pretty smooth and I was enjoying unpacking. 

Cell phone? Nope, I clean it pretty regularly.

Hormones? Not that I'm aware of.

Pillow case? Nah, we just washed the sheets.

Make-up or face products? Shouldn't be...haven't changed anything about my regimen and I honestly hadn't been wearing much more than concealer and mascara for days.

Okay, so what has changed? I began to ask. Then I remembered my friend's blog post about having a similar issue when they moved into a new house. Her findings...? The friggin' WATER!! There are so many mineral particles in the water, that they settle in the pores and cause build-up...thus acne.

Of course!

Now, remember, I grew up in the country on rural, hard water. I thought I had been exposed to the most hard, mineral encrusted water ever pumped into a house...and that I was immune to any water-related issues. Apparently, I was wrong. {Yes, I am admitting that I am wrong. This is a rare occurrence and should be duly noted}

On that same note, when I had the home inspected before closing, the inspector mentioned that we should consider getting a water softener because the water was extremely hard and would cause our appliances to break down a lot more quickly. At the time,I dismissed it thinking, I grew up with this water...I can handle it. 

Luckily, we had already had a reverse osmosis water tap installed at our kitchen sink, and when the representative came out to activate it, he showed us some options regarding whole home water filters and softeners...and that we could get at a significant discount because we were already customers with our kitchen tap. Between the problems with my skin and what we knew it would do to our new appliances...we were SOLD.

Unfortunately, those things are still pricey, even with a discount. So, for now, that means putting off a few decorating ideas I had. Which is fine by me if my skin clears up! We've only had it installed for a couple of days now, so my skin hasn't really told me much. I can say, however, that my hair feels ten times softer and silkier than it did before and the skin between my fingers isn't cracking open after I wash my hands!

Now, let's hope there are no more "discoveries"...minor or otherwise.

Happy Friday, ya'll!


.................................................


Update!


It's been a week since our filter-softener was installed, and my skin is very much clearing up. I know it will take a bit to get back to normal, but I'm just glad that we deduced the cause and were able to implement a solution!

New House!

Okay, so I finally have pictures of our new home. Welcome!

 Office

 Dining Room

The only room in the house we even come close to "representing" in...Let's not kid ourselves, it's mostly Kyle ;)

Laundry room

Folding and hanging area with a space 

for an extra refrigerator

Master bath shower

My side

 The master bathroom connects to the laundry room and the back of the kitchen. One of the reasons we really liked the layout of this floorplan.

 Master bedroom

Pantry

The back of the pantry curves around under the staircase...I call it the Harry Potter room

 My Mecca

 Six-burner stove

Double convection ovens

View of the living room and the backyard. The door to the master bedroom is through the arch on the right.

 The knobs have their own light. 

This thing puts of some serious heat. What I didn't show is that the burners can be turned over, and the bottom is curved to accommodate a wok.

Entry...office to the left, guest room to the right

Game room...a.k.a. Kyle and Gus's room

Theater room

Computer/desk area

Three of the bedrooms have vanities like this, with the toilet and shower in a separate room.

Jack & Jill bedrooms