he liked it so he put a ring on it

Monday, April 29, 2013

you know it!

my sister and her main squeeze decided to get hitched.

he liked it. he put a ring on it. and now a wedding is happening...like...tomorrow.

actually, not tomorrow, but soon-ish. as in, we have about zero days to plan this shindig. and i think kell bell prefers it that way. for as long as i can remember she's always been pretty, "ho, hum, i can't be bothered, blah, blah, whatev," about the idea of her wedding.

me? that wasn't the case. i had been fantasizing (read: obsessing) about my wedding since i was just a little gal. i just love weddings...what can i say? i've written a few times about our big day here and here. since this is a bloggy about our lives i should probably write about the actual day...(as i stare longingly out the window reflecting on our perfect day. i was hungry, but damn skinny. those were the days...)

back to kell bell.

see that sweet little gal with the star on her head? she's bringing this guy into our family...

no, that's not his kid...it's his ridiculously cute nephew so i approve the union.

plus he makes my sweet sis real REAL happy, and they look pretty cute together...

and the guy can grow a mean beard...and seriously people...my sister has been obsessing over facial hair for years. it was her one requirement in her easy-breezy world.

so pardon me as i live in wedding heaven over the next few weeks. (read: time to get serious about cleaner eating so i don't look like trash in her wedding pictures.)

on a related note: i found some random doughnuts in our house today. and when i say random, i mean i bought them on friday. i convinced myself it was okay to eat two because i wasn't eating the entire doughnut...just the glorious, chocolate-y top of the doughnuts.

sunday confessional.

'nuff said.

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GOAT CHEESE PESTO SAUSAGE PASTA

Thursday, April 18, 2013

do you like goat cheese?

perfect. then you're going to love this delish recipe.

some background: my farmer, miss kaye and i traveled out to a fellow farm-family's home (the watterson's) a few weeks ago. they made us dinner which is pretty fantastic. i'll take any opportunity to get out of making a hot meal that isn't popcorn or out of a crockpot.

the watterson's own and operate 24 west ranch right here in the treasure valley (southwest idaho). you can find their goodies at whole foods (boise), albertson's, some local eateries, and i'm sure a few other places i'm unaware of.

needless to say, their farming and our farming differ quite a lot.

the dish miss jill prepared for us was goat cheese, chicken sausage spaghetti. (that is a very unofficial title...i'm just not sure what she called it.)

not but two days after visiting their farm, i was craving it again. this means i made a special 30 minute trip to the store to get the goat cheese. it was a MUST, people. a must.

here's how it went down:

ingredients include: mushrooms, onions, pesto, goat cheese, spaghetti noodles, and chicken sausage (i purchased mine from costco and it's a little spicy and i love it and i could eat several in one sitting).

step 1 - slice up three or four chicken sausage links (depending on how many people you have eating.) i sliced up two for farmer and me. cook those links up and set aside.

step 2 - start cooking your spaghetti.

step 3 - in the same pan, saute up some onions. if you're an onion lover like my farmer, you'll do 1/2 of a walla walla sweet, which i feel like is a hefty portion of onion for two.

step 3 - add in three tablespoons of pesto. i lo-ove pesto, so this might be too much for you. you'll also add in the chopped mushrooms and the set-aside, cooked sausage. just cook those together for about five minutes.

step 4 - add 1/2 of a large package of goat cheese. now pump the brakes. i'm not sure if this was the right move on my part. remember, i was trying to adjust the recipe for two...so naturally, i thought 1/2 would be just right. but i don't think it was. i mean...it was still pretty tasty, but not NEARLY as tasty as what had been prepared for us...and i really really think it's because i skimped on the goat cheese. rookie mistake. the next time i make this i'll use 3/4 package of goat cheese. so anyway, pop the goat cheese in the pan with the sausage, onion, pesto, and mushrooms. stir it around until it's melted.

step 5 - wham bam nelly...you've got yourself some spaghetti. now pile the sauce on top of some whole grain spaghetti noodles and you're set. i prepared a little spinach salad to go with...yep, right out of a mason jar.

i swear it's better than it looks in this shabby picture.

enjoy!

ps. thanks watterson family for a lovely evening and and lovely recipe! yu-UM!

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fabulous farm fit-ass...i mean fitness

Friday, April 12, 2013

guys. this is happening. it really is!

i know it's been a bit since i said i was going to start running again...so you probably thought i bombed that goal. similar to how i've said i was going to cook my farmer dinner and then made him popcorn instead. right? right.

well BOOM b*tches! (too far? i tend to write like i speak. let me start over...)

well BOOM! i'm DOING it!

1. the running is going fabulously. like...awesome. my wonderful farmer has been SUPER supportive. not only does he take little miss-miss for a few hours on the days i have to do longer runs, but he also hauled her for seven miles along side me two weekends ago. that farmer...mmm. he's the bees knees. our half marathon is in five weeks and i think it's going to be a success.

2. post-bebe weight? if you didn't read several posts ago let me catch you up. i didn't gain a whole lot of weight during my pregnancy so losing it was a snap. like...i was back to pre-preg. weight in two weeks. i felt like a rock star. SO rock star in fact that i thought i could eat whatever i wanted. i was breast feeding after all! (and that burns like 5000 calories a day. no, no it does not.) so with no working out and the tubs of nutella i gained eight-ish pounds in a snap. yikes. but now with all the running (about 20 miles a week) i'm down three pounds. five to go, but i wouldn't be mad about losing ten.

a few days past my due-date

one month after kaye's arrival. the weight just snapped right off!
this was CLEARLY before my crazy nutella phase...
(pictured here with my bea-u-ti-ful sister, kelli just after the ceremony of some dear friend's wedding)

unfortunately i thought the perfect time to pack on the eight pounds
was right before and during our vacation to hawaii. not. smart.

you would think at 20 miles of running a week maybe i would have lost more? well...that's hard when i STILL can't control my sweet tooth and my even stronger popcorn tooth. it's been a daily battle royale.  i'll get it together eventually. you should have seen the self-control i had several months before our wedding.

it'll be fun to post an "after" picture once i really start practicing a healthy diet.

and thirdly: i think my farmer has been most impressed with the amount of warm dinners he's been enjoying. that's right friends...my farmer has been coming home to actual meals. miss bebe has been my helper in the kitchen (read: keeping the knives and raw chicken out of her reach). yes yes...sometimes the meal is from the crockpot and sometimes it's as simple as grilled chicken ceasar salad, but it's happening. and it's edible. and i think it makes farmer love me just a little more.

i have a pretty delish recipe to post. it's a chicken sausage spaghetti made with goat cheese. YUM? yes.

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