Finally Spring!

At long last spring seems to have finally arrived in Wisconsin! I planted my herbs and tomatoes a couple weeks ago (I just couldn't wait) but the flowers I saved for today. :) I was so excited about my flowers that I took a few pictures. Then I thought that some of you who read this have never visited before so I took a few more of the yard so you can see what we've been up to the last 3 years:

My window boxes

The flowers in each box (3 petunias, 2 impatiens)

I couldn't resist the salvia. :)

My roses

The lillies and hastas we planted after moving in. They're doing nicely. :)

Then you have my herbs. Still small but give them time...
(basil, citronella, thyme, rosemary, parsley, lemon verbena and sage)

Yeah, that crazy overgrowing mass by the garage would be my raspberries. The seemingly empty space next to them are my tomatoes.

Big random bush we inherited, dwarf Korean lilac we planted and behind that are tiger lillies

The forsythia. The area around it is a work in progress, hopefully completed this weekend

These are by my tomatoes... I'm a sucker for purple flowers. :)

So I don't know what the ball-thing is but it's getting transplanted to the forsythia bed so my lilac has more breathing room.

Probably plant it to camouflage part of the basement window

Rob put in the patio right after we moved in

Ok so it's not greenery but it is how I decided to end the day... Moist Mocha Cake. :D

Addicting Snack

So a few weeks ago I went to this impromptu baby shower and realized that I needed to bring something edible with me. I found out about this shower on maybe Monday or Tuesday and it was the next Friday. Crud...not a whole lot of time. Yes, I'd get groceries Friday morning but that still didn't leave me much wiggle room.

Enter the idea of maybe a snack instead of a supporting player to a meal. Hmmmm, nuts perhaps? But not just any nuts, special nuts. I know this is last minute but I still care enough to put in a little effort. Say hello to Ellie Krieger's Spiced Nuts.

When I decided to do this, I of course was in a hurry and wasn't remembering the recipe correctly so only got almonds. Nor did I have maple syrup. Crapiola! Well, honey can be just as good as maple syrup. And as long as I have 2 cups of almonds, that the same as her 2-cup total conglomerate that she has listed, right? The result was better than I could have hoped! Rob was glaring at me as I boxed up the little gems to take away, leaving him only the sweet-spicy aroma behind (there were leftovers and he forgave me). ;)

So on Friday I tackled this recipe again, this time with more nut variety AND with maple syrup in hand. I made this mainly to take with this weekend so we'd be armed with snacks instead of having to buy them. I doubled the recipe and used 1 1/2 cups walnuts, 1 1/2 cups almonds and 1 cup cashews. The result? Well, they were out of the oven and cooling when I got Gavin up from his nap so the scent of them was all over the house by that point. Gavin looks at me and says "Cookie?" Then Rob tells me he quite possibly has a new favorite snack. :D If that's not a fantastic reaction to good ol' home cooking I don't know what is! :)

More cheap, easy and tasty recipes

Sorry for my silence. ;) Chalk it up to my exploring new, healthy recipes, some with as few ingredients as possible. I found a few winners that I just have to share!

First is Ritzy Chicken Nuggets, courtesy of Nigella Lawson. Not only do I love it because it uses only 3 ingredients (chicken, buttermilk and Ritz crackers), but also I have the option to fry OR bake them!!

2 chicken breasts
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup oil (if you are frying the nuggets)
1 3/4 cups cracker crumbs (recommended: Ritz crackers)

1. Put the slices into a freezer bag with the buttermilk and leave in the refrigerator to marinade for up to 2 days.
2. When you are ready to cook them, heat the oil in a large frying pan, or preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
3. Tip the cracker crumbs into a wide shallow bowl, and then shake off the excess buttermilk from the nuggets and dip them in the crumbs. Coat them well before lying gently in the hot oil, and cooking for about 2 minutes or so a side until they are golden brown. Transfer to a kitchen towel on a plate to blot the excess oil.
4. Alternatively, you can lay the crumb-coated chicken nuggets on a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. They can also be frozen once marinated and crumbed. If cooking from frozen, add 5 minutes to the oven cooking time.

Recipe #2 is Asian Beef Spring Rolls thanks to every Midwest Mommy's best friend: Kraft Foods. ;)

1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup Asian Toasted Sesame dressing, divided
2 carrots, cut into thin strips
2 tbsp peanut butter
8 large iceberg lettuce leaves

1. Brown meat in large skillet; transfer to plate.
2. Heat 1 tbsp dressing in same skillet on medium-high heat. Add carrots; cook and stir 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in remaining dressing, meat and peanut butter. Cook 2 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
3. Spoon onto lettuce leaves; roll up.

For added flavor, season meat with 1/2 tsp each crushed red pepper and grated fresh ginger before browning.

Last recipe I made for breakfast this morning and it's from Cookie Magazine, Peanut Butter Waffles. And when you top with luscious, velvety strawberry sauce, oh my goodness it's like a PB & J! :D

2¼ cups whole-wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1½ tablespoons sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2¼ cups milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Cooking spray or melted butter

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the first 8 ingredients.
2. Preheat a waffle iron. When it is hot, spray its surface lightly with the cooking spray or brush it with the butter.
3. Fill a medium-size ladle with batter and pour it onto the waffle iron. Cook until the waffle is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Serve hot with maple syrup and butter or fresh berries.