Catch Up

Geez, I certainly have a lot of catching up to do, huh? Sorry I have been MIA for the past two months, however, most of my time was spent cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my entire family, celebrating our second wedding anniversary, finishing a beast of a Master's Thesis Paper, freaking out when my professor wanted alot of last minute changes to my Master's Thesis Paper, completing my other online class with a very hard-to-deal-with group, Christmas shopping and wrapping, celebrating Christmas with both families all over Pennsylvania and ringing in the New Year with an amazing group of friends! Whew...I'm tired just reading all that we've been doing! I'm VERY happy to say that I officially earned my Master's in Public Administration and happily graduated with a 3.9 GPA. All of the hard work definitely paid off in the end and I am proud to be a Penn State Alumni! We also spent our first Christmas in the house, which was very special for both of us.

Here are a few snapshots from the past two months:

The Final Product!



Christmas Decorations



Anniversary Flowers



Because at the Cianfichi house...you never know who is going to show up for Christmas dinner....



Ready for 2012

Recipe Rut Solution #11

This recipe was a winner!! I love cooking things in the crock pot because it's usually pretty easy, and it's always nice to have something slow cooked and warm on a cold fall evening. I made this chili last Saturday during the freak October snow/rain/sleet weather event and it was the perfect way to end a gross day. Adam even said it might be the best chili I have ever made...not sure about that, but it was REALLY good. Also, it's just about the easiest recipe EVER...it literally took me about 15 minutes to make (not including the cook time).

Without further adieu...I give you Taco Chilli!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1-2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup salsa
• 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 15 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained (the recipe called for corn...but if you know me, you know I hate corn!)
• 1 packet taco seasoning mix (I used the low sodium stuff)
• 1 cup Mexican cheese blend
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tbsp lime juice
  
  
  
  

Directions:

1. Grease a slow cooker with non-stick spray and place the chicken inside.

2. Add 1 cup of chicken broth, lime juice, salsa, black beans, kidney beans, and taco seasoning mix.



3. Cover and cook for 6 to 8 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high. (The chicken should be falling apart tender.)

4. Remove the chicken and place it on a plate or cutting board. Use two forks to shred the chicken.

5. Add the cheese and sour cream to the sauce remaining in the slow cooker and stir until melted. Return the chicken to the pot and stir to combine. At this point, I added more broth because the chili seemed really thick. I added broth until I thought it was a good consistency.



What I would do differently: Double the recipe!! This made enough for Adam and I to eat for dinner and then have for lunch the next day. I would love to have a container of this in my freezer, though.

Total Meal Cost: less than $20

Adam's Rating: 10 out of 10

Next Day Lunchability: Awesome!

Happy Halloween!

We're ready for our first Halloween in the house!

Recipe Rut Solution #10

Two entries in one day?

Last night I made Greek stuffed peppers. They were cheap, easy, healthy and yummy! I will definitely be making these again.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 medium zucchini, coarsely grated
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 large red bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise, ribs and seeds removed
• 1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes, chopped with juice reserved
• 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:



(I realize that this ingredients picture looks like an ad for Super Giant generic brand)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine beef, spinach, zucchini, onion, bread crumbs, egg, oregano and salt.



3. Arrange the peppers cut-side up in the baking dish. Fill each pepper half with the meat mixture.

4. Pour the tomatoes and their juice over the peppers. Sprinkle the feta over the peppers.



5. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the peppers are tender and the filling is cooked through, about 45 minutes.



What I would do differently: This made alot of filling mixture, so I actually made up some hamburger patties and froze them for some future Greek Burgers! Next time, I'll add the feta cheese into the mixture and not sprinkle on top so it's easier to taste. Also, it takes a long time to cook...luckily we have a convection oven, so I was able to bake them in about 50 minutes.

Total Meal Cost: less than $20

Adam's Rating: 8 out of 10 (I would give it a 9)

Next Day Lunchability: These were great the next day! The peppers were softer, but it was still fantastic.

Recipe Rut Solution #9

Oh my gosh! It's been over a year since I last did a recipe rut solution! Time flies when you're working, going to school, buying a house and moving.

But have no fear, blog readers (if there are any out there), I recently picked out five new recipes and bought the ingredients for them...so Recipe Rut solutions is back!

Last week I made a spin on jambalaya, complete with shrimp and sausage. It was really good for a chilly fall evening!

Ingredients:

• 2 T. olive oil, divided
• 1/2 lb. andouille sausage, diced or crumbled
  
• 3 T. butter
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 medium to large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 fresno or jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 T. thyme leaves, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 T. regular sweet paprika
• 2 T. all-purpose flour
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle beer
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 lbs. medium-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Rice for serving

Directions:

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the sausage and cook until brown. Remove the sausage from the pan and drain on paper towels. Reserve.



2. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the butter to the pot. Stir in the green pepper, onion, garlic, chile pepper, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 7 to 8 minutes.



3. Sprinkle in the paprika and stir, then add the flour and stir for 1 minute more.

4. Pour in the beer and cook for 2 minutes, scraping any bits off the bottom of the pot. Stir in the stock and Worcestershire sauce, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 3 minutes to combine flavors.



Add the reserved sausage to the sauce. Bring the sauce to a low boil over medium heat, then stir in the shrimp. Cover and cook until the shrimp are pink and firm, about 3 to 5 minutes.



What I would do differently: Next time I might add a can of beans to the mix to thicken it. I might also leave out the hot pepper...it was a bit spicy for me!

Total Meal Cost: about $30.00. The shrimp were expensive!

Adam's Rating: 9 out of 10

Next Day Lunchability: Adam gave it two thumbs up the next day! I didn't take it to work because it is one of my biggest pet peeves when people bring seafood in and stink up the break room!

The Dining Room

When we moved into the house, one of the first things we tackled was painting the dining room. Adam and I also got a new dining room table and chairs made out of reclaimed barn wood. Then, we changed the light fixture and had hardwood floors installed.

My amazing mother-in-law designs window treatments. We spent a ton of time in August discussing different fabric choices for the huge window in the dining room and finally decided on a pattern and a fabric. Today, they came to install it! I could have never predicted how amazing it would look in the room.

For Christmas of 2009, Adam's Dad promised that he and Adam would build me a hutch for the china that I inherited. I don't know how much work Adam really put into it, but today, they brought it down to our house. It was the first time I had seen the whole thing together with the glass in it. He even ordered special wavy glass for the doors.

So, now I feel like the dining room is complete! We are very happy with the way it turned out and hopefully it's ready for many holiday dinners in the future.

Before:



And After:

The Canned Food Drive

Each year before Thanksgiving and Christmas, every office I have worked in collects cans for homeless veterans. One year, I was in charge of wrapping the box and making sure everyone was contributing.

Today at lunch, a couple of my co-workers were looking in the box while they were waiting for their turn at the microwave. Out of the box came a can of low sodium collard greens that has been sitting in the break room since I started in June, as well as five cans of expired canned mackerel and an expired can of sardines. First of all, I didn’t even know that one could buy canned mackerel, and thinking about opening an expired can of it almost made me lose my lunch.

I know that a lot of people use canned food drives to clean out their cabinets, or they buy the cheapest possible thing at the store to contribute. Sometimes, I’ve heard people say, “beggars can’t be choosers” or, “I’ll never use this and it’s been sitting in my cabinet forever, so I brought it in for the food drive”.

When I hear people say things like that, I think to myself, “a good can of soup or vegetables, or a box of macaroni costs what, $2.00?”. I just don’t see why there’s any reason to put expired things in the box for the people we are trying to help.

Weekend Recap

Unfortunately I was feeling extremely under the weather this weekend, so we hung around the house and watched football for the most part. Thanks to a couple of gift cards from Lowes, we were able to buy a new light to hang over our kitchen table. The new light replaced what we referred to as "the flying saucer" and I think it looks much better.

Before:



After:



A couple of people have asked how the furry member of our family has adjusted to the new house. It's been a rough few months for Griffin, but I think we might (fingers crossed) be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. When we first got Griffin, he was extremely shy and anxious and hardly ever played and ran around. Since moving into the house we have conquered the anxiety when left alone and recently he has started to play ball inside the house. We did have one fence jumping incident and many house training accidents, but we are hoping that he is coming around.

Most days you can find him situated in front of his "HD TV", otherwise known as the storm door.

26

Today is Adam's 26th Birthday! We celebrated with family and friends over the weekend with cake and singing and tonight we are having a nice dinner at home. On Wednesday we are going out to dinner to officially celebrate!

After celebrating six birthdays with Adam, here are some of the things I most admire about him:

- He's one of the most laid-back people I've ever met...it takes alot to make him really angry, in fact, I can count on one hand the number of times he's been really mad in front of me.

- He's quick to forgive and forget. Every time we fight, he is the one who gets over it and is ready to move on.

- He's smart...I'm talking really, incredibly smart. Whenever he talks about work, I try to pay attention, but hardly ever understand what he's talking about.

- He's a problem-solver, I have grown to love this trait even more since we've had a house. When I want to give up on a project or take the easy way out, he's willing to work through it until it's finished.

- He's a wonderful cheerleader and supporter. There have been so many times that I have broken down over things from wedding plans to graduate school and from buying a house to starting my job in Wilmington. He is always there to listen and talk me through things and he rarely loses his patience.

- He's a tried and true husband, friend, brother, son and coworker. I love that he has never given up on me or on our relationship and I've never doubted that he loves me just the way I am.

Thanks for letting me spend the last six birthdays with you...

from 21



to 26




Happy Birthday to my #1 Guy, I don't know what I would do without you.

Goings on

Another long period of time has flown by without a blog entry. We have been really busy, which leaves little time for blogging. We have been working hard on the house and at our jobs, and my summer classes for school took up the rest of the time. We took a nice vacation to Rehoboth Beach a few weeks ago, even though it seems like forever ago, and we lived through Hurricane Irene last weekend without a power outage or water in the basement.

Labor Day weekend has been nice, although I can't believe it's already almost over. On Saturday we did some work around the house before going over to a party thrown by one of our neighbors. Yesterday we spent the entire day in the front yard trimming bushes, pulling out old and planting new flowers, raking and mowing. Hopefully that is the last full day of working out there before fall. Today has been spent cleaning, washing cars and doing laundry. I was thinking last night that it certainly has been a momentous and extremely busy summer for us. It is hard to believe that we have been living in the house for 2 1/2 months already and have done so many things since we've been here. We're so proud of our home and have had a wonderful time putting our stamp on it.

Since it's been awhile since I've shown one of the rooms, here is the powder room, which has made a huge transformation from the cracked tile floor and lime green walls.

Before:



And After: