It's been awhile...

I'm back!  It's been way too long since I've posted anything.  I've been so busy lately with family, interviews, work, etc.  Tonight is the first night I actually came home right after work and stayed home.  Due to all the craziness, I haven't been doing a lot of cooking.  I honestly couldn't tell you what exactly I've been doing.  Weirdly enough, I think I've taken up "gardening."  I actually stopped at Lowe's last week, bought some flowers, and planted them without help from Bob.  And so far they're still alive! 

It was very cold over the weekend and I became overly concerned that they would freeze to death.  So, being the smart gardener that I am, I moved them into the garage for a few days.  If that isn't love, I don't know what is.   I've come a long way since the days of Spike.  That was the very first plant Bob ever bought me in college.  It was a succulent, known for it's ability to withstand all types of caretakers.  It met its match when it moved in with me.  These plants can supposedly go a very long time without water.  Apparently they can't go a long time without sunlight...  Poor Spike :(  I've recently found that gardening can actually be pretty therapeutic.  There is absolutely nothing stressful about watering plants.  If they die, you might be sad.  But most likely you'll just go out and buy a replacement plant.

In case anyone didn't know, it was Mother's Day this past weekend.  I always have such a hard time deciding what to get for my parents on these parent holidays.  This year, I had a brilliant idea.  I'm sure you've seen those before and after/baby to adult pictures floating around the internet.  I decided that my sister and I had to do one.  We planned it all out way in advance, and then took the picture the day before Mother's Day.  Procrastination is one of my strengths sometimes.  This is what we came up with.

My mom loved it.  At least, she said she did. 

I've also been doing some organizing.  I desperately needed some kind of shelf for our bathroom.  Being the girl that I am, I always had hair and makeup supplies covering the sink space.  Not only did I hate how it looked, but every time I cleaned the bathroom I had to move everything.  Why did I not just put everything under the sink?  Please.  I like convenience.  I can't put my makeup away EVERYDAY.  So Bob found this awesome spice rack as a quick fix.

I'm always seeing spice racks used in bathrooms on Pinterest but could never find one that didn't scream 'spice rack.'  Thank goodness for Target.  This holds everything I use on a daily basis.  And it's not hideous.

So, that's what I've been doing for the past couple weeks.  That, and reading The Stand by Stephen King.  Bob LOVES this book and I started it last year.  Why did I never finish it?  It's over 1,000 pages.  I prefer books in the 300 page range.  Which is about how far I am in The Stand.  Zero patience for this kind of thing.

More recipes to come soon!

Tangy Grilled Fish

I'm so sad today is Monday :(  My hubby and I had such a nice weekend and then it was back to reality.  One of the most exciting parts of the weekend was that I was finally able to get allergy meds from my doctor!!  I know I'm not the only one who has been suffering this spring.  In line at the pharmacy, everyone ahead of me was picking up some type of allergy medication.  I have been SO miserable for the past few week, itchy, sneezing, pounding headaches, and the worst part: nasal voice.  By some miracle, I called the doctor Saturday morning and they were able to get me in immediately.  Turns out all I needed was some nasal spray :)

Bob and I also had a date night this weekend.  We ate at Brio, spent a lot of time (and money) at Barnes & Noble, and got ice cream on the way home.  Just so you know how amazing my husband is, he sat through 1/3 of Les Miserables with me.  For anyone who saw this movie in the theater, answer me this: how??  It's so long that I still haven't finished watching it.  Also, I can appreciate a good musical just as much as the next girl, but there is no need to sing simple conversations.  There is no way I could have sat through that anywhere else except for my couch.  Props to anyone who opted for the theater version. 

Over the weekend I experimented with my favorite fish.  I've blogged about barramundi before with one of my go-to last minute recipes.  Since it's been so nice out, I wanted to try grilling it this time around.  I did some internet research and found out that you can pretty much do whatever you want with this fish.  So I busted out these spices:

Salt and pepper
Onion powder
Tarragon
Paprika
Thyme

I sprinkled all of them pretty liberally on the fish. 

If you can't tell, I love this grill pan.  I'm going to be grilling fish with it all summer. 

I grilled this for about 5-6 minutes on each side.  They turned out like this:

We put them on some toasted rolls and ate them as sandwiches.  It turned out a lot better than I expected.  My flavor concoctions don't always yield positive results.  This time it came out perfectly.  I think I might like this option better than breading and frying.  It's healthier, too :)  Once again, any white fish would work for this.  It had such a tangy flavor, which made a plain piece of fish way more exciting. 

Grilled Jerk Pork Chops

Hi friends :)  I hope everyone enjoyed this gorgeous weather as much as we did.  Bob and I planted some herbs and veggies we recently bought.  And by "Bob and I," I mean Bob planted and I played with dirt every once in awhile.  Gardening isn't really my thing.  It's probably directly related to the fact that my house is where plants come to die.  Ricky especially loves the nice weather.  He likes to run around with our next door neighbor and body slam into his legs at max speed.  He also likes to lay in this one particular spot in the grass.

This was a mere hour before Bob cut the grass, so don't judge us for the jungle look. 

In other news, our grill is finally up and running!  There was no way we were not going to grill tonight.  I made one of my favorite grilled pork chop recipes from my Fast Weeknight Favorites cookbook (slightly adapted).  This is also a really easy recipe to turn into a freezer meal (which I did, of course).

Jerk Pork Chops
2-4 thin pork chops
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

To freeze: mix all the ingredients and pour into a freezer bag with the pork chops.  When you're ready to make them all you have to do is throw them on the grill.  How simple is that??  If you aren't on the freezer meal band wagon (which you should be), mix all the ingredients and brush on the pork chops.  Grill for about 15-20 minutes, until cooked to your liking.  The recipe suggests grilled pineapple as a side, which sounds delicious.  But let's be real.  Does anyone really have a pineapple lying around on a weeknight?  Thanks for the optimism, but I'm going to bypass this complication.  I opted for pasta tossed with olive oil, lemon juice, white wine, pepper, chives, and parsley.

So yummy :) 

Also, in case you didn't know, May is better hearing and speech month.  So always use ear plugs at the shooting range, use proper grammar, and do not strain your vocal folds (too often).