Sorry for not posting sooner, but the past 9 days have been incredibly busy at work and at home. You see, i've been planning a surprise 30th party for my husband for about 2 months now and last weekend it was finally here. So you can only imagine how fast & furious my weekend was. His celebration was a blast!!! It was intimate, private and had exactly the people I knew he would want to share this milestone birthday with...his family & only his closest friends.
I spent all day Saturday running around like a chicken with my head cut off. It was such a gorgeous day and I was so thankful for that because inclimate weather definitely makes party guests want to stay indoors. He had no idea where we were going {I lied and told him I was taking him to Philly} but once we arrived he saw a lot of cars and it clicked "So is this where everyone jumps out and yells SURPRISE"...I WAS PISSED & I even shed a tear. But got over it really fast and enjoyed the evening.
It was so nice for this secret to have finally been revealed and for me to just sit back and enjoy!!! He was so happy and claimed this to be the best birthday ever!!!
Sunday we took in a double feature and saw "Acts of Valor" & "Good Deeds" {can you tell it was a his and her pick going on here} both were amazing films and worth going to see. The icing on the cake was that we gained a free movie ticket so we saved $$ {whooohooo}
Monday I was so EXHAUSTED and I had scheduled myself on a day off from work. There really is nothing like sleeping in and doing nothing but catching up on your DVR sometimes.
In case you're wondering, I didn't cook a thing over the past 9 days except for a simple birthday breakfast for my husband which was a pretty simple egg and onion omelette with bacon. So it has been an exciting 9 days to say the least. I really love moments like this where we can actually celebrate LIFE!!! There is nothing like it.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Sunday Dinner
Happy Monday All!!
I didn't anticipate my entry being about food today because this blog is going to house all sorts of my favorite things. Feels like i've been posting all about food even though i don't have many posts just yet. I posted my dinner on my personal Facebook page last night and received quite a few inquiries on how to make the White Cheese Chicken Lasagna and the Tres Leche cake.
Let me first start off by saying that growing up in a household where my parents background & culture is predominately southern {Mom born and raised in Georgia and my Dad's family is from South Carolina} Sunday dinner was ALWAYS the most amazing meal on the planet. From September to May it was my mothers hands that prepared mac and cheese, collard greens, fried cabbage, corn bread so moist and thick that my nephew calls it "cake", and of course fried chicken, meat loaf {you get the picture don't you}. But from June to August it was my father's turn to lite his Weber grill {the smoker} and throw all types of chicken, ribs, fish, corn etc on it. Sunday's for my family were all about gathering around the table and enjoying a meal together that was more than what we'd get on a weekday. It was about family, there was no such thing as watching TV while you ate, we sat at the table TOGETHER as a family of 2 parents, 2 boys and 2 girls and even though our table only sat 4 it was nothing for chairs to be pulled up to the table so we could all fit.
With that being said, I have a personal connection to what Sundays mean especially in the winter...COMFORT FOOD.
So I pulled up my AllRecipes app on my iPhone and found the recipe for this White Cheese Chicken Lasagna and it was a HIT. I was a little worried about making the beschamel also known as white sauce but it was so creamy and yummy. So here is the recipe which I borrowed. This is not an original creation so I cannot take credit for it. I might not have followed it precisely to a "T" with my layering method. I also used fresh chopped spinach {uncooked} as it's own layer. With the pasta and the white sauce I needed to inject a heavy dose of greens into this meal to balance it all out.
Ingredients
9 lasagna noodles
1/2 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Mix in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with the basil, oregano, and ground black pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside.
Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta, and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, spinach, and the remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.
DESSERT
We're trying not to have so many sweets in the house. No ice cream, no cookies, no sugary snacks or salty for that matter. It's SO easy to watch TV and just indulge and we're trying to steer clear of high blood pressure and diabetes which really doesn't make what I am about to show you seem fitting but anywho....I wanted cake...BAD. And a very good friend of mine made this cake one night and we both fell in love with it so I gave it a try.
The recipe is pretty insanely simple, a child could make it {minus the alcohol}
1 box of golden vanilla cake mix {prepare and bake as per package directions}
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 can of evaporated milk
1 cup of whole milk
1/2 cup of coconut creme tequila {hecho in mexico} {{if you don't have this you can use coconut rum i think parrot bay and malibu sells it}
Bake the cake in a pan and let it cool COMPLETELY {do not rush this process}
Mix all of the liquid milk and alcohol together
With a fork poke holes all over the cake and do not forget to do the corners
Pour the liquid all over {you will see the liquid seep into the holes and you can Gently poke more holes to make more room for the cake to be soaked}
I waited about 1/2 hour to let the cake really absorb all of the liquid. Then I took the whipped topping {otherwise known as cool whip} and spread it on top to create a semi thick layer. I refrigerated it for 20 minutes because I like the coolness of the cake paired with the moisture in texture.
Voila ~ Tres Leche cake!
I hope you enjoy this meal, if you make it please post your comments below about your thoughts and if you altered it a bit.
I didn't anticipate my entry being about food today because this blog is going to house all sorts of my favorite things. Feels like i've been posting all about food even though i don't have many posts just yet. I posted my dinner on my personal Facebook page last night and received quite a few inquiries on how to make the White Cheese Chicken Lasagna and the Tres Leche cake.
Let me first start off by saying that growing up in a household where my parents background & culture is predominately southern {Mom born and raised in Georgia and my Dad's family is from South Carolina} Sunday dinner was ALWAYS the most amazing meal on the planet. From September to May it was my mothers hands that prepared mac and cheese, collard greens, fried cabbage, corn bread so moist and thick that my nephew calls it "cake", and of course fried chicken, meat loaf {you get the picture don't you}. But from June to August it was my father's turn to lite his Weber grill {the smoker} and throw all types of chicken, ribs, fish, corn etc on it. Sunday's for my family were all about gathering around the table and enjoying a meal together that was more than what we'd get on a weekday. It was about family, there was no such thing as watching TV while you ate, we sat at the table TOGETHER as a family of 2 parents, 2 boys and 2 girls and even though our table only sat 4 it was nothing for chairs to be pulled up to the table so we could all fit.
With that being said, I have a personal connection to what Sundays mean especially in the winter...COMFORT FOOD.
So I pulled up my AllRecipes app on my iPhone and found the recipe for this White Cheese Chicken Lasagna and it was a HIT. I was a little worried about making the beschamel also known as white sauce but it was so creamy and yummy. So here is the recipe which I borrowed. This is not an original creation so I cannot take credit for it. I might not have followed it precisely to a "T" with my layering method. I also used fresh chopped spinach {uncooked} as it's own layer. With the pasta and the white sauce I needed to inject a heavy dose of greens into this meal to balance it all out.
Ingredients
9 lasagna noodles
1/2 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Mix in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with the basil, oregano, and ground black pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside.
Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta, and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, spinach, and the remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.
DESSERT
We're trying not to have so many sweets in the house. No ice cream, no cookies, no sugary snacks or salty for that matter. It's SO easy to watch TV and just indulge and we're trying to steer clear of high blood pressure and diabetes which really doesn't make what I am about to show you seem fitting but anywho....I wanted cake...BAD. And a very good friend of mine made this cake one night and we both fell in love with it so I gave it a try.
The recipe is pretty insanely simple, a child could make it {minus the alcohol}
1 box of golden vanilla cake mix {prepare and bake as per package directions}
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 can of evaporated milk
1 cup of whole milk
1/2 cup of coconut creme tequila {hecho in mexico} {{if you don't have this you can use coconut rum i think parrot bay and malibu sells it}
Bake the cake in a pan and let it cool COMPLETELY {do not rush this process}
Mix all of the liquid milk and alcohol together
With a fork poke holes all over the cake and do not forget to do the corners
Pour the liquid all over {you will see the liquid seep into the holes and you can Gently poke more holes to make more room for the cake to be soaked}
I waited about 1/2 hour to let the cake really absorb all of the liquid. Then I took the whipped topping {otherwise known as cool whip} and spread it on top to create a semi thick layer. I refrigerated it for 20 minutes because I like the coolness of the cake paired with the moisture in texture.
Voila ~ Tres Leche cake!
I hope you enjoy this meal, if you make it please post your comments below about your thoughts and if you altered it a bit.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Thank God It's Friday!!!!!
Whew what a week this has been. If you're reading this I hope your Friday is smooth sailing and fun!
Last night I stopped at The Shops at Columbus Circle after a meeting and hadn't been there in a while...like years. So I completely forgot that they had some of my most favorite stores there. {Williams Sonoma and Whole Foods} so it was a special treat for me to walk around and browse and of course I picked up a couple of things for dinner last night.
I had already planned on making salmon but once I entered those stores the inspiration started brewing. Here's what I knew for sure
1} by the time i got home it would be relatively late and i didn't want to put SO much effort into my meal
2} It had to be cooked under 30 minutes b/c Grey's Anatomy was coming on
3} it had to be DELICIOUS
So here's what I purchased from both stores
Williams Sonoma
Lemon Caper Basil Sauce - It was $16 but it was calling my name to pair with the salmon and the pasta I bought from WF
Whole Foods
Pappardelle Pasta at a steal for $4.99 and it's from a pasta company in NJ so I felt like I was contributing back to my home state
So I left NYC feeling great, inspired, tired but ready to get home to my kitchen and cook my tail off.
DINNER IS SERVED AND BOY WAS IT DELICOUS
The recipes was really simple. I seasoned the salmon with a lemon herb spice blend from some spice company my mother found. Grilled it on my stovetop grill, cooked the pasta {slightly past al dente} and threw in about 1/2 cup of the sauce. Sauteed some squash and zucchini and that was it! 1 glass of wine and my favorite tv show and that was what I call a great night in!
Disclaimer: I know most people probably think that both stores are overly priced and just not budget friendly in this economy. This is very true and I agree; however I don't see anything wrong with stopping in every once in a while and seeing something you LOVE and will use. In my opinion, the produce quality at Whole Foods is just simply amazing to me. The variety of brands they sell are different and special and it's nice to see something you'd love to try and actually like it. I wouldn't recommend you shopping there if you don't enjoy preparing meals. It can be overwhelming and quite frankly the prices can give you sticker shock. Williams Sonoma on the other hand has a piece of my heart and always will. My husband and I registered there and quite a few items in our home are WS products and guess what NOT EVERYTHING IS TOP OF THE LINE {i.e. the $20 garlic press that broke 4 months in} I say this to say, don't knock it til you try it!
Take a peek at these tomatoes from Whole Foods.....you can't tell me they're not gorgeous. All I want to do is slice them and add some salt and pepper and BAM greatness on a plate!
Last night I stopped at The Shops at Columbus Circle after a meeting and hadn't been there in a while...like years. So I completely forgot that they had some of my most favorite stores there. {Williams Sonoma and Whole Foods} so it was a special treat for me to walk around and browse and of course I picked up a couple of things for dinner last night.
I had already planned on making salmon but once I entered those stores the inspiration started brewing. Here's what I knew for sure
1} by the time i got home it would be relatively late and i didn't want to put SO much effort into my meal
2} It had to be cooked under 30 minutes b/c Grey's Anatomy was coming on
3} it had to be DELICIOUS
So here's what I purchased from both stores
Williams Sonoma
Lemon Caper Basil Sauce - It was $16 but it was calling my name to pair with the salmon and the pasta I bought from WF
Whole Foods
Pappardelle Pasta at a steal for $4.99 and it's from a pasta company in NJ so I felt like I was contributing back to my home state
So I left NYC feeling great, inspired, tired but ready to get home to my kitchen and cook my tail off.
DINNER IS SERVED AND BOY WAS IT DELICOUS
The recipes was really simple. I seasoned the salmon with a lemon herb spice blend from some spice company my mother found. Grilled it on my stovetop grill, cooked the pasta {slightly past al dente} and threw in about 1/2 cup of the sauce. Sauteed some squash and zucchini and that was it! 1 glass of wine and my favorite tv show and that was what I call a great night in!
Disclaimer: I know most people probably think that both stores are overly priced and just not budget friendly in this economy. This is very true and I agree; however I don't see anything wrong with stopping in every once in a while and seeing something you LOVE and will use. In my opinion, the produce quality at Whole Foods is just simply amazing to me. The variety of brands they sell are different and special and it's nice to see something you'd love to try and actually like it. I wouldn't recommend you shopping there if you don't enjoy preparing meals. It can be overwhelming and quite frankly the prices can give you sticker shock. Williams Sonoma on the other hand has a piece of my heart and always will. My husband and I registered there and quite a few items in our home are WS products and guess what NOT EVERYTHING IS TOP OF THE LINE {i.e. the $20 garlic press that broke 4 months in} I say this to say, don't knock it til you try it!
Take a peek at these tomatoes from Whole Foods.....you can't tell me they're not gorgeous. All I want to do is slice them and add some salt and pepper and BAM greatness on a plate!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
The Results Are In
After a day of cooking and shredding meat and making it look super deelish
the Mr. still couldn't do it...although to my credit he said "the flavor taste really good" but he just can't do Turkey. I think what freaked him out is that there are small bone fragments within the turkey drumsticks, I thought i removed them all but I guess on his 1st bite he found out I didn't.
I...on the other hand...LOVED THIS DISH.
If I were having a gathering in my apartment I would definitely make it and serve it up and I think it would be a hit with some really good white wine!
Other than that our Valentine's Day/Week was super sweet and really great! On Monday we went to see "Safe House" with the Mr.'s most fave actor on the planet {like you don't understand he would prefer to be Denzel's child or something} and on Tuesday like many couples in the world we went out for dinner and then on Wednesday night we continued our celebration and went to see "The Vow" which was so good that it made me cry, not because of her accident but I guess now that I'm married I look at my life totally different. I imagined myself going through this ordeal and it hurt me to my heart thinking of a day where he wouldn't know who I was or vice versa.
Anyway it was a great chic flick and if your man can handle it drag him along!
Till next time!
the Mr. still couldn't do it...although to my credit he said "the flavor taste really good" but he just can't do Turkey. I think what freaked him out is that there are small bone fragments within the turkey drumsticks, I thought i removed them all but I guess on his 1st bite he found out I didn't.
I...on the other hand...LOVED THIS DISH.
If I were having a gathering in my apartment I would definitely make it and serve it up and I think it would be a hit with some really good white wine!
Other than that our Valentine's Day/Week was super sweet and really great! On Monday we went to see "Safe House" with the Mr.'s most fave actor on the planet {like you don't understand he would prefer to be Denzel's child or something} and on Tuesday like many couples in the world we went out for dinner and then on Wednesday night we continued our celebration and went to see "The Vow" which was so good that it made me cry, not because of her accident but I guess now that I'm married I look at my life totally different. I imagined myself going through this ordeal and it hurt me to my heart thinking of a day where he wouldn't know who I was or vice versa.
Anyway it was a great chic flick and if your man can handle it drag him along!
Till next time!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Valentine's Day Dinner
Who else wakes up in the morning and says "crap...what am i going to take out for dinner tonight" I hope i am not the only one.
Today was no different, after preparing a makeshift dinner for my husband last night {insert Gordon's Fisherman Tilapia} I had taken some turkey drumsticks out of the freezer to thaw out and knew i would throw them in my crockpot today. Ahhhh the crockpot, how do I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee my crockpot so. I think it's single handedly one of my most favorite gifts from my bridal shower. Having the luxury of putting something on in the morning, then coming home and VOILA dinner is served and i didn't break a sweat!!!
Well being that tonight is Valentine's evening, I wanted to prepare a special dinner, something different besides beef, chicken or fish. So I decided that Turkey Tetrazzini would be our meal this evening. Turkey whaaaa????
Check it out here The Pioneer Woman
My Mr. didn't seem too thrilled about the idea of this dish. He simply gave me a look of "YUCK" to explain his disposition of my menu selection for the evening. I aim to prove him WRONG
Here is what my meal looked like when I put it in the crockpot this morning
* 4 turkey drumsticks
* 1c mushrooms {chopped}
* 1/2 of a Vidalia onion
* 1 good handful of baby carrots
* 1 pint heavy cream
* 1/2 cup virgin olive oil
* 1 c water
* 1 pinch of Wild Porcini Sea Salt
* 2 tsp Onion Powder
* 2 tsp Garlic Powder
* 2 tsp Black Pepper
It's been cooking for 5.5 hours, and by the time I get home the meat will be perfectly tender fallen off the bone. The recipe calls for peas but we're a broccoli kind of family so i'll throw some of that in there and then serve it over bow-tie pasta {don't have spaghetti and not going to the store either}.
So tonight when i get home i will finalize the meal and have another update for you tomorrow!!! Do you think hubby will like it or despise it?
Today was no different, after preparing a makeshift dinner for my husband last night {insert Gordon's Fisherman Tilapia} I had taken some turkey drumsticks out of the freezer to thaw out and knew i would throw them in my crockpot today. Ahhhh the crockpot, how do I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee my crockpot so. I think it's single handedly one of my most favorite gifts from my bridal shower. Having the luxury of putting something on in the morning, then coming home and VOILA dinner is served and i didn't break a sweat!!!
Well being that tonight is Valentine's evening, I wanted to prepare a special dinner, something different besides beef, chicken or fish. So I decided that Turkey Tetrazzini would be our meal this evening. Turkey whaaaa????
Check it out here The Pioneer Woman
My Mr. didn't seem too thrilled about the idea of this dish. He simply gave me a look of "YUCK" to explain his disposition of my menu selection for the evening. I aim to prove him WRONG
Here is what my meal looked like when I put it in the crockpot this morning
* 4 turkey drumsticks
* 1c mushrooms {chopped}
* 1/2 of a Vidalia onion
* 1 good handful of baby carrots
* 1 pint heavy cream
* 1/2 cup virgin olive oil
* 1 c water
* 1 pinch of Wild Porcini Sea Salt
* 2 tsp Onion Powder
* 2 tsp Garlic Powder
* 2 tsp Black Pepper
It's been cooking for 5.5 hours, and by the time I get home the meat will be perfectly tender fallen off the bone. The recipe calls for peas but we're a broccoli kind of family so i'll throw some of that in there and then serve it over bow-tie pasta {don't have spaghetti and not going to the store either}.
So tonight when i get home i will finalize the meal and have another update for you tomorrow!!! Do you think hubby will like it or despise it?
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Introducing Adhari Renee!!!
What can I say? I was born Adhari Renee Fullman on 10/9/1981 to 2 loving, supportive and adoring parents in a small town in NJ. I've been educated in private schools, had a FULL college experience and thoroughly enjoyed partying and living life like there was no tomorrow.
As a young girl I would plead for my mother to buy me copies of Elle & BRIDES magazines because one day I wanted to have my own! I was obsessed with all the fashion, the photos, the wedding gowns and flowers. Little did I know that those magazines would have catapulted me into 2 major career moves.
1. Senior Makeup Artist and Owner of Gloss & Shadow
2. Associate Wedding Consultant for Jenny Orsini Events
Who would have thought???? I guess that money DID go to good use!
As I've matured and developed I also fell in love with this guy
We were married on July 22, 2011 after EIGHT WHOLE YEARS of dating!!!!
So now I am married, working 3 FAB jobs and ready to take life to the next chapter ..... nope not babies {just yet} but diving right in and fully enjoying every delicious bit that life has to offer!
Stay tuned this is going to be an exciting journey!
As a young girl I would plead for my mother to buy me copies of Elle & BRIDES magazines because one day I wanted to have my own! I was obsessed with all the fashion, the photos, the wedding gowns and flowers. Little did I know that those magazines would have catapulted me into 2 major career moves.
1. Senior Makeup Artist and Owner of Gloss & Shadow
2. Associate Wedding Consultant for Jenny Orsini Events
Who would have thought???? I guess that money DID go to good use!
As I've matured and developed I also fell in love with this guy
We were married on July 22, 2011 after EIGHT WHOLE YEARS of dating!!!!
So now I am married, working 3 FAB jobs and ready to take life to the next chapter ..... nope not babies {just yet} but diving right in and fully enjoying every delicious bit that life has to offer!
Stay tuned this is going to be an exciting journey!
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