April Showers...

Wow, it's been a bit since I've blogged.  Here's what I've been up to.

Chad and I hit up our second Opening Day festivities for the Cardinals in early April!  This year was soooo much better!!  Last year Chad and I froze our asses off with Julie & Rob!  It was so cold & snowy.  Can you believe it?!?!  This year was much warmer.  There's nothing like taking off a half-day from work on a nice day, kicking back, and drinking some beers while watching the Cards!  It's even better that I can see the office from Busch and know that all my colleagues are still working.  He he!

Here's a couple of pics...

 

Yes, it's true.  April showers bring May flowers.  I've been really behind on all of my yard work this year since it rained for the last few weekend.  So I decided to take the day off today and get a bit caught up.  Lucky for me...Mom was off today too.  I got so much more done with her help.  Thanks, Mom!

Here's a few pics of the newly mulched landscaping.  (Please disregard the ugly window flower boxes and the dilapidated porch railing.  Those are my next projects.)

My lilac bush!  It smells so good when it blooms.  I wish I had more of these.

This is a very old azalea bush that was here when I moved in.  It barely bloomed before last year when Mom pruned & fertilized it.  Go Mom!

Tomorrow we're off to the STL Microfest in Forest Park!  Very excited!!  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

Veggie Black Bean Burgers

It's been great weather lately and I've been wanting to grill but...I'm not able to eat much of what goes on the grill.  (I haven't learn to grill fish yet.)  So I tried my hand at making my first batch of Black Bean Veggie Burgers along with some Spicy Chili French Fries.  We didn't do too bad of a job.

Veggie Black Bean Burgers
Courtesy of www.allrecipes.com
6 servings

• 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1 cup water
• Two 16oz. cans black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 green bell pepper, halved & seeded
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp. garlic salt
• 1 tsp. hot sauce 
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs                                                                                                       

1. Bring brown rice & water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover & simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. (About 45-50 min.)
2. Preheat grill.  Lightly oil sheet of aluminum foil. (Read my note at the end of this recipe.)  Mash black beans in a large bowl with a fork until thick & pasty.
3. Place the bell pepper, onion, mushrooms & garlic into a food processor bowl and chop finely.  Stir this mixture into the mashed beans.  Place the mozzarella & brown rice into the food processor & process until combined.  Stir rice mixture into bean mixture.
4. Whisk together the eggs, hot sauce & spices.  Stir egg mixture into the black bean mixture.  Stir in the bread crumbs adding additional if needed until mixture is sticky & holds together.  (I added about an extra 1/2 cup.)  Divide into 6 patties.
5. Place onto foil & grill until browned (about 8 min on each side).

Note:  You can also bake these burgers instead of grill them.  Bake at 375 degrees on a lightly oiled baking sheet (about 10 min on each side).  
We opted to grill these, but they tended to stick to the foil regardless of the oil.  We instead put one of those grill pans for fish/vegetables on the grill, sprayed it with Pam, and it worked out just fine.  They are fairly fragile burgers, so be careful when you turn them.

Spicy Chili French Fries
Courtesy of www.allrecipes.com
4 servings

• 4 large russet potatoes, peeled & cut into 1/4 inch thick fries
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup tomato-vegetable juice cocktail
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. dried onion granules
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. white sugar
• 1 tsp. salt 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a large baking sheet.
2. Fill a large bowl with cold water, add potatoes & allow to soak for 10 min.
3. Whisk together the oil, vegetable juice, sugar & spices in a large bowl.
4. Drain potatoes & pat dry.  Toss the potatoes in the oil & spice mixture.  Stir until evenly coated.  Arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet.
5. Bake for 20 min, turn & continue to bake for additional 20 min.

Enjoy!

Bunny Hop!

So Easter is my favorite holiday for food consumption.  We do it a little differently at my Mom's abode.  We do an Easter brunch!  I think it was originally planned as that to work in with all of the kids' schedules to make it easier for house hopping...not to be mistaken with bar hopping.  : )

It has since grown into an Easter brunch with yummy breakfast and dessert crepes, wonderful breakfast casseroles, salads, bacon, ham...and don't forget the mimosa's!!  Yumm-o!!!  I'm in charge of the mimosas!  Would you expect any less?!?!?! 

Each year John's daughter, Calyn, and I color eggs.  This year we incorporated my niece, Lehni.  She was quite excited.  However, being only 3 years old, she's not quite able to help yet.  After the coloring of the eggs Saturday night, we left some cookies and carrots on a plate for the Easter Bunny just in case he decided to stop by that night.  Here is Lehni first thing in the morning.  She was quite excited to see that the Easter Bunny had eaten all his carrots and most of his cookies.  The first thing she wanted to know was if she could eat the remainder of the cookies that he left.  That's my girl!

 
 Here are Lehni and I cleaning up the dishes after all of the cooking Easter morning.  I'm so glad that I had my little helper!

Eggs and mimosas!!

Fun with stickers!

 This was Lehni's first year hunting eggs!  She was so into it.  Much more than I anticipated!  I heart that last picture...after she was finished.  Enjoy!

Hunting with Mom and Dad...

Almost done.  Last check in the car tailpipe!  Thanks, Dad!

All done!

A few minor projects

So I thought I'd post a few pics of the minor home improvements I've been working on.  I've definitely been watching way too much HGTV.  I totally heart Sabrina Soto!!!

So my house had a totally country vibe when I bought it.  The mailbox on the outside of the house was a barn.  The flower boxes have heart cutouts in them...still.  (These will be removed this summer.  I HATE hearts.)  There was wallpaper with barns on it in the kitchen, which is one of the first things I removed prior to moving in!  Here's a pic of the kitchen prior to moving in.  I can't resist showing you the mess I started with!  I've changed a bunch since then...including the cabinet hardware! 

Well, it wasn't any different with my house numbers.  I wish I would have remembered to take a pic of it prior to removing it.  It was a wooden sign with wooden blocks for each number.  It had hearts painted on it and the words "Home Sweet Home" on it.  I have no idea why it's taken me 5 years to change it, but here's the new version...

I've also been working on the bedroom.  My bedroom used to be two separate small rooms...I think.  Anyway, now it's a bedroom/office.  Each side has one very small closet.  I take up both currently, but want to make room for Chad...just in case that boy ever decides to migrate over to the East Side.  I spent most of yesterday working on closets, moving things around and reorganizing.  I ended up with multiple bags of trash, 1 huge bag of giveaways...including 5 pairs of shoes.  Here's the final result...

Lastly, Chad and I purchased some new bedding.  Chad is really into white bedding, but I didn't want it to look too formal like a hotel.  Here's what we ended up with.  Kind of shabby chic, but maybe a bit more formal.  Either way, it's so comfy looking.  I love it!

That's all for now kids!  Hope you like the updates!!

More Wedding Pics...

It's been a bit since I've blogged.  I've again had some crazy weeks at work.  I'm not sure when it will end.  It seems like it's all about the bottom line and screw anyone that gets in the way.  I've really always like the company and what it stands for...and I still do.  It's just that now corporate is running the company so much that we cannot barely go to the bathroom without calling down to Bethesda to ask permission.  They are changing anything and everything...and it all had to be done yesterday.  I'm all about change, but I think you have to really explore it first and implement it in stages if necessary.  Now I'm just hoping to keep my job on a daily basis.  Thank goodness I have great people in my life to keep me going...Chad, my family, my friends...including my kick ass bootcamp girls!

On a lighter note, we received a few more photographer wedding pics from S. Africa that I thought I would share with everyone.  He really got some great shots...very fun!

The 4 groomsmen...

Check out my face on this one!  I think this was where Sheldon was showing us very close up pics of the lions him and Anna saw in the park.  We'd been on safari for over 2 days and saw what we thought to be a pack of lions from sooooo far away that we couldn't even get a pic.  We were quite envious!

Moi!

Ryan (the groom) and I going for a spin!

Hope you enjoyed the show!

Now on to some Easter celebration.  My niece, Lehni, is coming into town tomorrow.  I hope to have some more pics to share by the end of the weekend.