Corn Bread Dressing

Oh.My.Goodness.

I'm in love with this recipe. It's been a long time since I've had dressing or stuffing of any sort. Mainly b/c there's bread in it, and there is usually yeast + sugar in bread. But I came across THIS recipe for Corn Bread Dressing and wanted to try it. There was no sugar in the corn bread and none in the rest of the ingredient list. (I actually added about 1/2 c. dried cranberries to it, to give it a little sweetness, but it would be good w/o that).

Wow. That's it. Wow.

I think StoveTop Stuffing must use corn bread in their dressing. It was really good. I suggest giving it a try. It's really good with chicken, too.

****Be sure to scroll down for his cornbread recipe ... it's AMAZING! It's so moist + sponge-like. Really tasty. Unbelievable. I suspect it has to do w/ using buttermilk.

Roasted veggies w/ chickpeas

Thanks to my friend, Sarah, I've been trying to branch out and use items I wouldn't ordinarily use in recipes.


Case in point: I came across THIS recipe for roasted veggies + chickpeas and decided to give it a spin.

Not only did it smell wonderful when cooking, but it was really tasty! Absolutely worth a try!

Lazy way to clean the microwave

I think I picked this up from a college friend. Ready for an easy way to clean your microwave?

1. Put water in a measuring cup or bowl. Add lemon juice* if you like.

2. Microwave for 3-5 minutes. You'll want the water to boil/steam.

3. Wipe the inside of the microwave down, starting at the top. (the steam loosens the junkity-junk up, and it's really easy to wipe down).

*lemon juice isn't essential. It just makes it smell extra nice if that's important to you.

Future hot rod?

Hold on to your estrogen, ladies! There's going to be plenty of testosterone (read: car stuff) in this post. There are a few photo tips/notes hidden in here, though.

My father-in-law restores classic cars, and over Labor Day, Theodore checked them out.





(no flash here).


{I forced my camera to flash here ... if you have glass, don't take a flash photo straight-on ... stand a bit off to an angle).

Tasty Broccoli! :)

I don't often get creative with side dishes/veggies, but I saw THIS recipe which uses bacon in with broccoli and couldn't resist. It is SO GOOD. Seriously.

We didn't have tomatoes, so I didn't add those in, but I think it was just fine.

Also, on bacon stuff. I take it and if you look at the long slabs, I cut perpendicular to them, so I get a lot of little pieces from each long one. I cut a few of these instead of cooking a few pieces of bacon, then cutting/crumbling them. Did that make sense at all?

It's also how I make bacon for my feta-stuffed chicken and lentil soup. Sometimes I have a hard time using up all of the bacon in a package. Is it just me?

Queen of the castle

Seriously, cat? On my towel, on my pillow?

This cat will seek out the most cushy, lush material she can find, and then sleep on it (the towels ARE pretty plush).

Oh, and last week ... let's not mention that she slept on my body pillow, then puked all over it.

I discovered this right before bed. *sigh* ... THEN when I was putting cuticle oil on my toenails ... guess what happened? Yup, bottle squirted open, out of control and all over the sheets. :( And mattress protector.

So into the wash it all went. And since we only have one Mat Protector, it was up late for me.

Sheesh.

The upshot? The mattress protector protected the mattress from the oil, and it's still looking great underneath. So, even if you think they're a waste of $$$, I am here to tell you to think again about them.

"New" furniture

Alright ..... be brave here, folks. The first photo I am going to show you is how life is .... which is messy. Not pristine or organized. it's our living room on any given Tuesday.


EEEK.

But this has a purpose. It's to show you that after we moved out Erik's original couches ("original" sounds nicer than "old," right?), we had a lack of seating in our living room. To remedy this, we pulled in some lawn chairs. This was the height of fashion and classiness, let me tell you.


I wouldn't call our current setup overly fashionable, but I feel it looks less "college dorm room" than before. Besides, the rocking chair is great for reading the paper in the morning.


Or for cat naps whenever you feel like it. Because clearly we purchased this for the cat, right? ;)

Cruise night

Guess who left a hand print on the rear view mirror from earlier playing? Hint: No one over age 2!!!!


We headed out to cruise in the convertible. This car has been in the works for years .... decades in fact. :)


My father-in-law is a Ford man. He has the hat pins to proove it. (use the MACRO function on your camera for a close up photo like this).


Bobby Ann + Vern.


Me + Erik. But Daddy-O Vern wouldn't let Erik drive. He just likes to sit there. ;)

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! :)

Nope, we're not in Vegas.


But on Tuesday night, it DID snow in Wichita, and if you will refer to the list of dates, you will notice Karen won. :)

I actually LOVE how we have friends and friends of friends who know about our nutty competition, and when they spy snow, are sure to let us know.

Thanks, peeps!

With this win, it brings 2 Bonar names onto the traveling trophy. Erik is quick to point out this is the second most frequent name to appear on the trophy (after Mikols) ... but let's not run percentages, because it'd be tiny.

New Beer's Eve

Let's talk about beer.

If/when I drink, I'm going to enjoy what I consume. None of this drinking cheap, awful beer for the buzz for me.

It wasn't until I moved to Hays that I learned how to drink. Especially beer. All of that positive German influence. ;) I actually have to thank my photo buddies Jamie and Fred for introducing me to Blue Moon. It was a great starter beer.

During my time there, a brewery in town opened up. It is probably one of Erik's favorite places to go. In fact, I was never sure if he came to Hays while we were dating to see me or to fill up his growlers to go home. ;)

Often when I'm through Hays, I'll fill a growler for him, but often miss the seasonal beers by a week or so.

In September, we decided we were going to go. And so we hit the road!


So excited!


These little guys are awesome! They're 1/2 the size of the "regular" growlers, but with their lid, hold the carbonation better. It's too bad we can't trade in a few of our growlers for some of these smaller guys.


Enough said, really.

I also want to add that I Tweeted that we'd be there, which resulted in a spontaneous meeting with a former co-worker of mine. It was not really planned too far in advance, and a great treat! :)