A finished room: The dining room

Well. Slowly we finish up small projects in the new house. I think I can safely say that the dining room is COMPLETE. It's the one room we had all the furniture for when we moved out of the apartment, and the one I had a complete vision for. Before Lila, it was the one room that stayed clean all the time. Now the fourth seat is where we dump mail, books, bags, etc. But luckily I cleaned it this weekend and snapped a few pics.

Eventually we'll set up Lila's high chair but that's a ways off. For now, when we eat dinner she's in her bouncy seat just inches off the floor, with me using my foot to give her a little rocking motion.

Remember the gold light fixture? Thanks to Monique, we no longer have to look at "the ugly one" (Hayden's words. Even he knew.). I love looking at our travel pictures while we eat; it's a fun reminder of where we've been, but that home is where we want to be.

I LOVE the red in this room, and love how my blue plates look on the wall against it. I also love that the valances I adored in a warm brown were on sale the day I went to buy them. This room has so much light when the sun is streaming in, so it's hard to get good pictures in the early evening (which is when I always think to take them).

I also love the way the dark furniture gives this room its character. Who knew being a homeowner was so much fun? And expensive. In case you forgot what it looked like when we moved in...

Not bad!

March Madness

Last week, Carolina held an open practice at the Greensboro Coliseum before their first round game. Luckily, I have some awesome co-workers who covered for three of us to go see it!

We were so excited to see them out on the court, especially John Henson after his injury. We watched them shoot around, got to see all the familiar faces and enjoyed the little dunk show they put on for us. Stillman White has got HOPS!

We all agreed that work would be more pleasant if we could take a 40 minute basketball break every day! Right now we're all dealing with busted brackets as we watched a #1 and 2 #2 seeds go down over the weekend. Anything can happen in March!

One-dish Chicken Casserole

This is a recipe I actually found in my Real Simple magazine (not Pinterest!) and tweaked it a bit to my liking. The main thing was cutting it in half, since Jay doesn't like whole, cooked spinach. So I cut it in half initially and then froze three of the portions. I definitely liked the different textures and the twist on a boring casserole, and the absence of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken (which can get old). The original recipe didn't call for mushrooms but was delightful with them. I was also light on sour cream so I added in some ricotta to make up for it.

Chicken and Spinach Casserole



6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups whole milk

1 cup sour cream

salt and black pepper

12 ounces egg noodles

4 slices sandwich bread

2 cups shredded cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken

5 ounces baby spinach, chopped

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 cup sliced mushrooms


1.Heat oven to 400° F. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until foamy, 1 to 2 minutes (do not let the mixture darken). Slowly whisk in the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking often, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the sour cream, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

2.Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package directions; drain and return them to the pot. Pulse the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a microwave-safe bowl.

3.Add the milk mixture, chicken, spinach, mushrooms and thyme to the noodles and toss to combine. Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch or some other 3-quart baking dish, sprinkle with the bread crumbs, and drizzle with the melted butter.

4.Bake until the bread crumbs are golden and the filling is bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

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I also opted for a penne-style noodle as we were out of egg noodles. I think just about anything other than long, flat noodles would work here.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

We attended a shower to welcome Mary Eileen's little girl and it fell on St. Patrick's Day. I was more than excited to dress Lila up for the occasion, and even more excited to find that Emily and Lincoln would be there. We happened to arrive at the exact same time, and Kelly was right behind us with baby Emily. The ones with babies are always 10 minutes late!

This was the first Salem event I'd been to where EVERY single one of us was already a mommy or expecting. What a fun day! We shared our birthing/pregnancy/silly baby stories and had a good time. And, of course, continued to discuss Lila and Link's arranged marriage.

Chicken lasagna roll ups

3 cups cooked chicken
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup feta
1/3 cup parmesan
Salt & pepper
Garlic (of course)
1/4 cup milk
8 lasagna noodles, boiled and drained
Jar spaghetti sauce

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Mix chicken, cheeses, spices and milk. Lay lasagna noodles flat. Spread 1/2 cup of mixture end to end, pressing to make it flat. Roll noodle from one end to the other, like a jelly roll. Repeat until all noodles have been used.

Spread 1 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9x13. Place noodles, seam side down, on top of sauce. Top with additional sauce and parmesan.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.
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For this one, I think we'd like sauce on the inside so I'm trying that next time. But still a success!

Pizza appetizer

We are always looking for new appetizers. Our family is a "superbowl food" gathering kind. We love dips and finger foods and anything you can keep warm in the crock pot. I tried out a new, simple one this weekend when my brother and his family came over.

Lay out crescent rolls, add 4 pepperoni and a string cheese (cut in half). Roll up, bake according to directions. That's it!! They were easy and tasty, but next time I think I'll try marinara sauce IN them, or maybe ranch.

Garlic Lemon Chicken and roasted potatoes

Garlic Lemon Chicken and roasted potatoes with green beans

Ingredients


6 tablespoons olive oil

2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 pound trimmed green beans

8 small red potatoes, quartered

4 chicken breasts (bones left in, with skin, about 3 1/4 pounds)

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Directions

1.Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet.

2.In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices. Add the potatoes to the same olive-oil mixture and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, arrange the potatoes along the inside edge of the dish or skillet on top of the green beans. Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive-oil mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the chicken, skin-side up, in the dish or skillet. Pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken.

3.Roast for 50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet. Place the beans and potatoes back in oven for 10 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender. Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates; divide the green beans and potatoes equally. Serve warm.

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My variations on this recipe were to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts and leave out the fresh green beans (Jay won't eat them). I also added some basil because I thought it was just screaming for the sweet herb. But it was light, delicious and different!