Welcome Package

Sorry guys, it's been crazy around here lately.

Johnny and I packed the moving truck with help from our friend Goran on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday we left a lot later than expected and drove all day and night from IL to NC. We got here about 10am with a 16' moving truck and my Jeep on a car tow behind.

We rented a 16x20' storage unit and unloaded everything into there. At this point we'd been up about 36 hours. It was exhausting. Some of the stuff I moved into my parents' house, where I'll be staying for a couple of weeks. It's a confusing, scattered mess. Some of my stuff is in IL, some is in the storage unit, and some is thrown in boxes and suitcases around here.

I heard from work I didn't have to start until Friday, the 10th, so I took a short road trip to my God daughter's house, about 3 hours from here. It was so nice to be close enough to family and friends for a change!

Now I'm back at my parents' house, but the A/C upstairs is on the fritz. One second it'll be nice and cool, then without any warning it won't come on and raise up to a blistering 88F! I moved into their downstairs guest room, so now my stuff is scattered even MORE.

I'm using my mom's laptop to post this. Hopefully the apartment will be ready soon and then I'll be able to sort through my stuff, officially unpack, and hook up MY computer. Thanks for hanging in there through all this!

Sophia, the sweetheart that she is, sent me a care package to my parents' house. It was here waiting for me on the table when I got back from visiting my God daughter.

I was just expecting these - fruit chews she had a photo of on Facebook.

But no, she sent a whole slew of goodies!

Also soup, which I broke into right away for lunch. It was spicy, I went through three tissues while eating it! So delicious, and had a separate vegetable packet, not like our Americanized ramen!

Thank you Sophia, you rock!

I'll try to be better about posting! Either from my mom's laptop, possibly my iPhone (if I can figure it out), and definitely my computer once I get it hooked up.

I have a lot to show you guys! The house photos, pictures from my trip, and of course food!!

Beer Can Chicken

Edited to add: This is my 500th post!

This is also known as Beer Butt Chicken for obvious reasons!

I've wanted to try this forever, but never got around to it until now.

I started with a 4.5 lb. fryer and added:

2 cans small whole potatoes
carrots, chopped
celery, chopped
1 can/bottle beer of your choice (I used Polish)
salt
pepper
paprika

Because my beer was from a bottle, I scrubbed one of the potato cans clean after ripping off the wrapper and poured the beer in that. I placed the vegetables in the bottom of a roasting pan with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. The chicken received a generous rub-down of salt, pepper, and paprika. Carefully slide the chicken's cavity over the can and place it in the center of your roasting pan.

Make sure your oven racks are low enough to fit the pan in your oven. I ended up having to remove a rack. Roast at 200° for about 2.5-3 hours, depending on your chicken's weight. Finish under the broiler for a few minutes to toast up the skin if that's your thing!

This was SO juicy! I really enjoyed the flavor the beer injected into the chicken from its steam. It wasn't very "beerish," but it was still delicious! I'll definitely be adding this to the rotation of chicken options after seeing how easy it was!

The next post will from NC. I'll show you the rest of the renovation photos and moving pics!

New Sandwich Topper

As I was making a sandwich (on a hamburger bun from the freezer to use up) I went for the usual mayonnaise, but then stopped when I spotted a tub of hummus I made. I always see hummus spread on vegetarian sandwich options, but why not on a cold cut sandwich?

I smeared a healthy helping of a few tablespoons and it was delicious! Healthier than mayonnaise and adds another boost of protein to your lunch to keep you fuller longer!

Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

Hopefully all this time around my dad will eventually rub off on Johnny and he'll learn that real men can cook. (Fingers crossed.)

The other night my dad whipped up a meat sauce using his Italian sausage, leftover roast beef, and leftover pork. It was really hearty and thick. In fact, we ate it two nights and I froze about a quart of it too!



And the one part of the meal I was in charge of, boiling the spaghetti, ended up like this. (Yes, I threw it out b/c our floors are currently filthy.)

Burgers, Beef, and Building

Ok, so technically it's not building, as much as renovation, but I was on an alliteration roll, so please forgive.

In an effort to clear out the freezer before I leave for NC (because we all know J isn't going to make any progress in that department with me gone and him home alone), we grilled some of the delicious Marx 100% Angus beef 1/2 pound burgers I won a few months ago from Christo's contest. Every time we eat them I am shocked at how good they are.

Then, I tried the pepperocini beef with giardiniera as promised. It was delicious, but a tad on the spicy side for Johnny and me. Next time I might do mild, or mix some giardiniera with pepperocinis. Served on toasted rolls with mozzarella cheese.

Entrance with new light fixture and address sign.

Me and J trying out the downstairs mirror to see if it works. (Ignore my GUT hanging out.)

Upstairs shower tiled, not yet grouted. New tub in place. (The old one was mustard yellow, yummy!)

Master bedroom carpet out, walls patched, ready to be painted.

Terrified/confused dog. Has no clue where all this construction and packing is leading...

The chaos/mess that is taking over the house as I work my way through cleaning/packing.

Edited to add: Sorry, I forget all of you aren't mind readers, and need a bit of explanation. We're finishing the house in IL to be able to sell and move to NC. I'm leaving first with some of our stuff and the pets to stay at my parents' house in NC. This way the pets and some clutter will be out of the way while we show the house. I can also work my usual summer job at the ice cream shop to make some money to make the transition easier. J is staying in IL while the house is on the market. Then when it sells, we'll purchase the house we picked out in NC and me, J, and the pets will all live in the same place again.

Cream Cheese Cookies + Update Photos

I've been craving snacks and sweets lately. With none in the house, I decided to bake some up. We've gotten my dad hooked on Dexter, so while we worked our way through season 3, I snuck into the kitchen for refreshments.

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used sliced almonds)

Cream shortening with cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and egg yolk. Add the dry ingredients and a sprinkle of water if too stiff. (Feel free to add chocolate chips, other nuts, or dried fruit also.)

Spoon in 2 Tbsp size blobs onto a cookie sheet. Using your straightened fingers, flatten the top of the cookies.

Bake in a 350° oven for about 15 minutes. The bottom and sides will begin to brown. Remove to a wire rack and try to let cool for a few minutes.



We've made a lot of progress on the house since I last showed you pictures. The entire downstairs is done, save for a few tiny details (installing the fire alarm, etc.) and scheduled professional installs (carpet and windows).

Downstairs doors and trim all up and stained.


Laundry room floor/doors repainted, old stuff taken out, and new (clean) insulation installed.

Downstairs bathroom done, except for mirror and new window. I'm so excited about this! For as long as I've lived here, this bathroom had been completely gutted. It's going to be awesome to have a 2nd operating bathroom.

So, now that the downstairs is done, we get to move upstairs!! Here's me geared up for demolition. Smashing out old tile can be a dangerous job!

Upstairs bathroom completely gutted. And that's where we are, now. There were a lot of imperfections in the original construction, which we found once stuff was ripped out. Right now we've been stalled by a lot of problem-solving, delays, and multiple trips to home improvement stores.

Hopefully the next update I give you will have a better ending, with another nice, new, shiny bathroom!

Roast Beef Dinner & House Pics

Please CLICK HERE for more information on two great causes going on THIS Saturday, May 14th!

Last night I made a roast beef and potatoes alongside. On the stove top I made some green beans, much like this recipe.

It was really good, even though I wanted the meat a little more rare. I'm so not good at judging when is the best time to pull it out and how long to let it rest, etc.

Some house update pics, for those of you following along:

J modeling the size of the new fireplace. He's 6' for reference.

Downstairs closet and bathroom doors hung and framed out.

My daddy staining the doors.

The doors off, some shelves hung, and the frames stained.

A patch of grass in the backyard we accidentally killed. Whoops!

200' of baseboard stained. (Dad's working on installing it downstairs right now.)