Empty Nest Menu #24

Salad night from last week - prepping it like a lady boss!

Monday - Pesto Tilapia, skillet squash {customize my produce box}

Tuesday - Grilled Chicken Breast, chard, chunky mashed potatoes with garlic
Wednesday - Pork Rib Chop, Brussels Sprouts, sweet potato
Thursday - Sausage Farro Skillet with green bell pepper, onion, carrot
Friday - Chicken Breast with Swiss Cheese and Mushrooms, baked russet potato
Saturday - Cheese Enchiladas, salad with avocado, tomato, orange bell pepper {winery pick-up at 7 Creeks}
Sunday - Turkey SOS on whole wheat toast, steamed carrots

Gina

Weekend re-cap: Tino's, Moose & Goose, Dancing Bee, Bent Oak, Growler Room

It was the end of a week where I spent a lot of time feeling down in the dumps, so I really looked forward to our exploring last Saturday!  We made plans to meet my sister and BIL at Moose & Goose Winery in Temple.  We enjoyed some Greek food at Tino's for lunch, then headed about an hour north of Austin to the winery.

We got there early, so we grabbed a spot by a window just in time to see car loads of folks drive up - apparently a wine trail was happening!  It was a dreary day, but inside the tasting cottage it was cozy and cheerful.

We were almost done with our tastings when they arrived, so we stayed awhile longer and waited for them to finish up while we enjoyed the rest of some really unique and delish fruit wines.  We loved the Dry Red in particular - the taste was similar to smokey Sotol!  The owner told us that you either love it, or you hate it.  {the trailgoers seated next to us said it tasted like burnt firewood}  More for me.

The owners were super friendly and spent loads of time chatting with the four of us.  I hung around when we finished and got a photo of them to include in an article about their winery and they invited us to come back and enjoy a couple of bottles with them.  We are looking forward to visiting again - we may have to do that wine trail next January, too!

Next stop was close by: Dancing Bee Winery in Rogers.

It is a honey farm, and they make mead, melomel, metheglin, and wine.  We enjoyed a tasting, then bought some mead to have alongside some delish fries from their food trailer, drizzled with honey salt.

Stay Awhile had flavors of apple, cherry and cinnamon.  Winter Spice was like Christmas in a can!  We sat in the tasting room for a bit, socializing.  

Then we took silly pics outside and looking at them later made me laugh so hard!  It was getting close to closing time, and dark outside, so we said our goodbyes.

 But not before we saw amazing giant swaths of birds flying overhead.  Thousands of birds!  Now that is a Winter sky!

We headed home to make a pork chop with mushrooms, and a side salad.  And I have to say, I am really loving my cast iron grill pan that I can use right on my cooktop.

  On Sunday, we had a pick-up to attend at Bent Oak, which was fun as usual!

It had a Super Bowl theme this time.  The winemaker usually does the pouring.  He was throwing flags and calling fouls on people who were taking too long to pick what wine they wanted - so funny.  With our wine we enjoyed a nacho bowl with Chicken Tinga and black beans - really good! 

We were there about an hour, listening to live music and eating lunch.  Then headed home to: cut Hubby's hair, walk and wash Teddy, and clean out the truck.  Ha!  High life of the Empty Nesters, right?

Gina

Empty Nest Menu #23

Monday - Char-grilled pork rib chop, steamed carrots, zucchini {customize my veggie box and finish a giant pile of laundry}
Tuesday - Dinner Salads with grilled Honey Mustard chicken, orange bell pepper, sugar snap peas, and kimchi {work on my filing basket}
Wednesday - Tuna Salad  Sammies with a baked sweet potato {picking up my mother from Brenham and taking her to my sister's house in Georgetown, then heading to work at 3 p.m.}
Thursday - Red Lentil Soup with cheesy garlic toast {sleep late!}
Friday - Eating out for Hubby's birthday! {pick up Mother from sister's house, take her to follow-up appointment then back to Brenham, home to Austin}
Saturday - Turkey Pot Pie for two {spending the day in Blanco at this event}
Sunday - Thin crust cheese pizza with sliced pears, prosciutto, arugula, carmelized onions, and goat cheese crumbles {wine club pick-up for lunch}

Gina

5 thing Friday - Teddy, paint plans, cheat food, my space, beer

I saw this tee at Target and I may get it for myself for when Teddy is back in Houston:

I will miss having him around, as I usually do when he leaves.  Its nice to have him greet you at the baby gate with tail wagging, following you around the house, giving you dog smooches.

 He's been a sweet house guest, as usual.  The Girl will be back at the end of February and I am taking some much needed time off from work to paint the house with her help!  I've been noticing that several walls in the house need touching up, and since its been a while (and the paint is too old to use for touch ups anymore) we're going to just basically "start over".  Instead of this French vanilla color we will go with creamy white.  And while I'm at it, I will spiff up the baseboards, too.

I really really really am eating healthier during the week.  LOTS of fresh veg and fruit, no coffee creamer, no red meat, more fish, oatmeal for breakfast...but the cheat meals on Saturday give me much to look forward to.  And the wine with them never hurts.

My bulletin board above my desk

With my new computer, and the Lounge cleaned up post-Christmas, my desk once again feels like a  place I can get stuff done.  Hubby and I have a plan to visit a new winery for me to write about this weekend and I have a nice place to sit and do that.  {The second half of the bulletin board that does not have artsy fartsy stuff has lists, and calendars, and notes to myself.  A bit of creative mixed in with my work.}

This brewery finally opened!  We met the owner months ago and he was so frustrated with City of Austin red tape and delays.  He's a nice guy, though, and his beer is pretty decent and we love the taproom with its wide open spaces.  They also have a Japanese food truck we would love to try.  

Maybe on Sunday?

Gina

Blueberry Cake

Within the space of a month (more or less) we have three family birthdays:  Bubbie, Firstborn, and Hubby.  It always makes me want to dive into my recipe archives and find one of the oldie but goodies I inherited from my late MIL, the quintessential 50's housewife.  Case in point is this icebox pie called "Blueberry Cake".  Firstborn requested something with blueberries for his birthday dessert so I immediately thought of it:

A piece of it makes for a delightful breakfast on a Monday morning...

The card is old and yellowed and may have food splatters on it, but I treasure it!  Here is the readable version:

Blueberry Cake
Preheat the oven to 350.
Crust:  2 c. graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 c. powdered sugar, 1/2 c. nuts, 1 stick melted butter.  Blend all ingredients up in your food processor and press into a 13x9 glass baking dish.  Rinse out the food processor bowl.
Filling:  8 oz package cream cheese, 1 cup regular sugar, 2 eggs, 2 t. fresh lemon juice.  Blend all of that up in the food processor and pour over the crust.  Place in oven and bake 20 minutes.
Let cool, then top with one can of blueberry pie filling and 1 tub of Cool Whip.  (my late MIL used Dream Whip which you can totally do, but Cool Whip is so much easier)  Chill a couple of hours in the fridge.

 You can add more butter if you want the crust to be less crumbly.  I used two sleeves of graham crackers, which might have made a tad more than 2 cups of crumbs.

Cooling from the oven it smells so good!

It was hard not to dive in at this point!  Hubby grilled pork ribs and jalapeno poppers, I made a huge crockpot of chili beans and some homemade potato salad.  Everything was so good and we sent plenty of leftovers home with our peeps.

I added extra blueberries to my Blueberry Cake and a thought occurred to me - I bet you could make this with just about any canned pie filling.  Cherry would be so good!  I'm hoping Firstborn will visit this week and eat the rest of it to keep me from temptation.

Gina

Empty Nest Menu #22

I ordered one pound of carrots from Imperfect Produce and got ONE carrot that probably weighs one pound.  Ha!

Monday - (freezer) Roast Turkey, roasted pumpkin, chopped salad (steam clean the carpets, customize the produce box)
Tuesday - Grilled Chicken Breast, squash with bell pepper and onions
Wednesday - Turkey Koftas on whole wheat tortillas with cucumber, tomato, romaine (mom to doc appt)
Thursday - Salmon, Tomato Chickpea Salad (oil change on Subie)
Friday - Saucy Chicken Breast, kale, brown rice
Saturday - Pork Rib Chops, baked potato, sauteed mushrooms (beer release at Save the World)
Sunday - Turkey Noodle Soup (pick-up at Bent Oak Winery for lunch)

Gina

5 thing Friday - thrifting, old times, spices, crafting, beer

I've been busy trying to set up my new computer - transferring all of the files, adjusting and tweaking the settings, clearing old stuff out.  I remember hating that last time, too.  Which is probably why I waited so long to get the new one.  But I think I'm almost done.

 I took a break from my desk and did some thrifting at Hope Family Thrift Store, where I found some faux ivy greenery, some books {The Canterbury Tales!} and a burlap banner for the mantel. 

A former co-worker sent me this - me pretending to light a fake fireplace at work.  Good times.  I do remember having fun with co-workers...

Hubby bought me this spice cabinet organizer thing and The Girl helped me set it up.  I also added a small basket for packages of salt, peppercorns, bay leaves. 

 I didn't make as many homemades as I would have liked to this year.  It was, after all, a very short month from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I did finish this cross stitch and maybe I will give it to my mother.  I'm always thinking of her when I hear this phrase as she seems to have misplaced her thought filter.

Took Hubby for a beer last Sunday after he came to a stopping point on the barn build-out.  I enjoyed a spiced saison that was wonderful.  Tasted like the holidays on tap! 

He had something a little more high-powered and one was all it took.  Afterwards, we headed home to enjoy pan fried trout and some brussels sprouts for dinner.  Are we not the most exciting folks you ever met?  Ha! 

Onward to the weekend,

Gina