Chef D- Baked ziti and Pad Thai (another attempt)

It's been a while since I've made these recipes but they were pretty easy and yummy! Sorry there aren't pictures of the finished Baked Ziti. 

I use allrecipes.com a lot when I'm planning what we will be eating. Before I go grocery shopping, I decide on 4-6 good sized meals that we can eat for the next 2 weeks. Then of course there are days when I didn't cook the night before and we are left to take peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. Rem would eat pb sandwiches every day. I, on the other hand, am a little more high maintenance. 

Here's the link to the recipe I used. Baked Ziti It's super simple. Start out by sauteing some diced onions. While dicing the onions may make your eyes water a little, cooking them makes your home smell yummy!

 Make sure they are clear before you remove from heat. I've learned to be more patient lately and cook at a lower heat for longer.

 Next I browned a pound of ground turkey with your onions. The recipe calls for ground beef but I always try to sub ground turkey b/c it's better for you and much leaner! And of course cook your pasta.

 Now we can't forget the most important part- mozzarella cheese! I believe the recipe says to layer sauce, pasta and cheese. Since I'm lazy (and smart), I mix the pasta and sauce, throw it in a pan and top w/ cheese. You get the same results and save a few mins. 

Then bake! So simple!

Now for the Pad Thai. Here's the recipe- Pad Thai

Rem and I LOVE thai food. Ok well pretty much we love a lot of Asian food! Ok I'll be completely honest- we love food! :) Anyway, I tried a pad thai recipe before (actually Rem might have been the chef for that one) and it came out ok. So I'm on a mission to find a better pad thai recipe. This one turned out better than the first one but I'm still looking for a better one. But not one that requires funky ingredients... So if you have one please share! This one was pretty simple and that's why I liked it! 

This recipe calls for 4 eggs but I completely left those out. I started to soak my noodles and then threw everything else in the wok. Cut up the chicken and cooked it in all the juices to help with flavor. After my noodles were still a little tough, I added them to the wok and through in a can of baby corns (We LOVE them!). I kept mixing until everything was heated thoroughly. Like I said, I've gotten better at having patience in cooking and turning the heat down. This really helped b/c my wok gets HOT quick. Let simmer for a few mins and ta da! Pad thai!

Like I said, this was good but wasn't great. There wasn't really any sauce left after I added the noodles. Maybe next time I just need to make an extra batch of sauce??? Feel free to post suggestions!

Wow 4 blog posts in one night! That's a record for me! Off to bed!

The rest of May...

One Saturday, we made a day trip to Branson to celebrate Aimee's birthday. On the way up, we decided to take the short and very VERY curvy route. Aimee and I didn't feel so hot once we got there so we opted for the longer route home. While we were there we went zip lining (so much fun!), did a little shopping and had dinner. Justin decided to treat Aimee to the Dixie Stampede. While they enjoyed the show, Rem and I headed to Culver's for dinner and dessert! We love Culver's butter burgers and custard! We also decided in the future we will be taking the long way to and from Branson to avoid getting car sick. :)

The next weekend, our newphew Caleb spent the night with us on Friday. Of course Rem and I were clueless what a 12 year would want to do. But we had some coupons for putt putt golf so we headed to pick up Aimee and Justin's. As we are walking out the door, I notice them Rem has red popsicle all over his face and splatters on his shirt. My husband is often oblivious to food being on his face or clothing. (It drives me INSANE) So I politely asked him to change. Ok, maybe it wasn't so polite... Rem sighed and went to change his shirt as Caleb thought "What's the big deal?" Rem decided to give Caleb some "advice" for the future- Never get married. LOL He was, of course, kidding but then we had to make Caleb promise not to tell the rest of the family we are having marital problems despite our bickering before leaving the apartment.  :)

It just so happened to be National Doughnut Day. So we stopped by Krispy Kreme to pick up a free doughnut!

 I got a vanilla with sprinkles and Rem opted for the Oreo! His looked delicious but you only needed half a bite before you felt sick from the sweetness. 

On to putt putt we went. Now the weather in Arkansas can be a bit extreme. In January, we got 2 plus feet of snow. This summer, we got record beating heat. Even though it was nearly 7 in the evening, it was 90 degrees! 

The boys cheesing for the camera

Aimee taking a shot

Rem takes his putt putt very seriously...

Silly boy, we aren't fishing :)

Don't fall in Caleb! He had to fish a couple balls out...

 Like I said, Rem takes his putt putt very seriously. He started out doing real well but things went downhill on the back 9. 

 Give said the little stream. And give we did, by hitting our balls into the stream!

 Hole in one baby! A and I both hit a hole in one on the 15th!

 Nice and sweaty but we had a good time!

The lost puppy

Pretty much everyone that knows me, knows that I have a deep love for dogs. Especially my precious little girl Izzy!

One morning I was on my way to work and saw an bulldog walking down the road. It was Friday and I was running late (as usual). I just couldn't help but stop and turn around to see where the dog was going. I knew that if Izzy had gotten out and was wandering around, that I would want someone to rescue her. And that's what I did. Of course I didn't know his name but he was a friendly doggie. After following him down the road a little ways (mind you I was in 4 inch heels), I got him to follow me back to my car. I tried to get him to jump in my back seat but that was obviously NOT happening. This guy was a little heaiver than Izzy....But I managed to get him in the floor board of my Explorer.

I drove around for a little bit trying to see if his owner was outside. There was gate to someone's back yard that was open so I knocked on the back door to see if there was anyone home. No luck. I ended up taking him home and decided I'd go back and leave notes on doors near where I found him with my number. Izzy wasn't particularly excited to meet this dog. She probably felt like I was cheating on her. :) After about 5 minutes, I finally got him up the stairs and into our apartment. He got a little friendly with Izzy and she did NOT appreciate it. So I decided to lock him in the extra (Rem's) bathroom. I went back to the neighborhood near where I found him and as I was talking to a homeowner, noticed a guy across the street calling for something. I drove over and surprise! It was the dog's owner. Come to find out the dog's name was Casey and a toddler had let him out to use the bathroom before anyone else was awake.

I promptly returned Casey and headed to work. Ended up being about an hour and half late. Whoops! But I was so glad I was able to reunite Casey with his owner!

 I think this puppy had some sort of skin condition...He had HUGE nipples! LOL

 This is his tail...Poor puppy is balding!

Poor puppy was probably thinking I was a crazy lady for picking him up and locking him in my bathroom.

Happy Bday to Rem!

Ok so maybe Rem's birthday was in May and I just suck at blogging? :) (I started this post back in August...) This year was the big 26 for Rem! Now he can officially say he is closer to 30 than 20. Not sure that I like the fact that I'll be able to say the same next year.

In years past, Rem and I have gone to Red Robin so Rem can enjoy his free burger and a Freckled Strawberry Lemonade. But this year we decided to change things up a little. We ventured south to Fayetteville. About a block off the square is a little Mexican restaurant that we loved called Osguara's. They have lots of coupons and well we are cheap skates. Our buds A&J came with us and were so sweet to buy us dinner and get Rem a little gift. 

 Aimee and Justin- the most awesome friends in the world!

 The birthday boy and I

 Our signature poses- Rem with his thumbs up and me rolling my eyes b/c he's giving a thumbs up.

 Gifts!

 Looks can be deceiving :) Inside of the Sephora bag was an itunes gift card!

 It's hard to tell but Rem is holding a diaper. He's a little confused....

 Tucked inside the diaper was this little gem. Odors Away! Just a few drops in the toilet before or after you do the deed and the smell is gone! My dear husband has a habit of dropping bombs in public places. He also loves to fart while we are in the car. More specifically his little car, which is a small enclosed space and I have no where to go to escape the wretched smell!

 Ok so the Odors Away was just a gag gift (partly...). I gave him the choice to buy a Nook or a GPS watch for running since he was about to start training for his first marathon. He ended up purchasing the GPA watch. Then after his race, I lost it...

 Aw love! He was grateful for his real gift!

Love you honey! :)

First Easter at the Myers

Usually for Easter Rem and I go down to my parents but since we'd just made a long trip to Ohio for Troy's wedding, we really didn't want to make another long drive. We invited 2 other couples (Smiths and Terrells) that don't have family close by to come over for dinner. Here was the menu for the occasion:

Ham
Cheesy Potatoes (Rem's mother's recipe)
Rolls- made from scratch
Salad
Green bean casserole
Desserts- Hot fudge chocolate cake and lemon pie


I was in charge of the Ham, Potatoes and Rolls. All pretty simple things, right? Well the ham I wasn't worried about because I'd made one for Thanksgiving. They are actually really easy. I buy the spiral cut ones that comes with a package of glaze. When I put the ham in the oven, I dump a large can of crushed pineapple on top so there is plenty of moisture. Then you make the glaze as the instructions tell you and couple hours later, you have a yummy ham!

 Of course every son loves his mother's cooking. And there have been a few times that I've been so kind to my husband to make his favorites from his mother's kitchen. Mary Jo makes this amazing chocolate frosting that I don't know I'll ever be brave enough to try making myself. Every time I take a stab at a Mary Jo recipe, I NEVER get it right the first time. This ends with Rem informing me how I screwed up and me becoming insanely offended, defensive and angry/frustrated. You see, I view recipes as more like guidelines. I rarely follow one to a T. I misinterpreted the directions and the sauce wasn't thickening. Of course Rem told me I shouldn't have added the cream all at once- WHATEVER- I say. All it needed was a little corn starch and thicken it did! Rem said they tasted pretty good. Now I don't know if he really meant it or just didn't want to hurt my feelings. But I def'ly liked these cheesy potatoes!

So that's 2 items down, one to go. Now keep in mind, I got up early on Sunday to start all this cooking before church. I was little up tight after slightly screwing up the potatoes and I needed to start getting ready for church...

The rolls....I had decided a couple weeks before that I wanted to give making homemade rolls from scratch a try. One night we had the missionaries over and I made some. Now of course I was inpatient when it came time for them to rise and I wasn't going for pretty. I just wanted them to turn out edible. Edible they were, pretty they were not. Finished product on left.

Since this was my second try, I read some tips on how to make the dough rise quicker. Heat makes dough rise. Ok, I said to myself, I'll just sit them on top the stove (that was preheating) over the burner where the exhaust comes out. I had the dough in a plastic bowl and of course I didn't want it to melt. Being the intelligent person that I am, I put the bowl in a glass pie pan. Good idea, right? WRONG!!! Here I was thinking this dough was going to rise faster and I was going to take the time to cut out the rolls so they were pretty and that I would just be so proud of myself....HA! I went to pick up the bowl to roll it out and noticed the bowl kind of stuck to the pie pan...Uh oh...

 Dough before rising....

 Dough after rising....Not only had the plastic bowl melted, but a quarter of the dough was cooked! And not just a little cooked but brown! UGH!

So of course I super frustrated. Like what am I going to do? It's Easter- you have to have rolls! I took a deep breath and started thinking. You see the dough that was on top, was still VERY dough. So I decided I'd just get rid of the no longer dough portion of the dough. Worked out perfectly! I was sure to laugh at myself! Of course there was less dough after but it worked out. :) 

  
The dessert that Jessica brought to make was this hot fudge chocolate cake that was to die for. We loved it! Jessica and Shayne had brought a friend with them and she'd brought a lemon pie. As we cut into the pie, we noticed it was still frozen. Shayne who is in the MLP (Merchant Leadership Program) at WM, informed us that the bakery at WM doesn't really bake anything. They bring everything in frozen and when it is put on the shelf, it defrosts. HOW LAME! What liars! Just something interesting I thought I'd share.

After dinner we played a game of Trivial Pursuit Team. Rem loves any Trivial Pursuit or Trivial Pursuit like game. Me- not so much. I try to explain to him that it's just a shot to my self-esteem b/c I rarely know the answers. My moment of shinning glory while playing a trivial game w/ Rem, was when the question was - What does LL Cool J stand for? I immediately shouted out "Ladies love Cool James!". I was so caught up in my own excitement that I actually knew the answer for once that I didn't notice my husband looking at me with a puzzled look on his face. Remington Myers, my uber smart husband, trivial nerd, and music lover didn't know what LL Cool J meant. Victory (for my self-esteem) was mine! Pretty sure we were on the same team during that game but man I was excited I knew something my husband didn't!

So that was the first Easter at the Myers. Next time, I'm going with the frozen rolls. :)

April Showers...

Yes I know April was a really long time ago but I am determined to catch up on my blogging! Maybe next year the goal will be to update w/in the current month. :)

"April Showers" very mildly describes the weather we had in April. It rained nearly 2 solid weeks non stop. Roads were being closed due to flooding and even the gym had to cancel classes.



This is a picture from Johnson, AR which is about 30 minutes south of us. This trailer park was completely flooded. Notice the pick up truck in the background that is almost completely submerged!

The first weekend in April we were graced with the presence of Tristan, Abigail, Zella, Harper and baby #3 Myers. At the time, Tristan and Abigail weren't sure what they were having but were hoping for a boy. All Abigail knew was this baby wasn't making her as sick as usual. Come to find out- it's a boy! Yay! So excited to have another nephew! The Myers family definitely needs some more boys to carry on the family name. And I want to have girls (one day- NO I'm not expecting) so I'm going to need Abigail to take one for the team and deliver a few more boys. hehe. Tristan had signed up for the Bentonville half marathon so we all went downtown to cheer him on as he crossed the finish line. Here's a few pics from the event.

 Oh little Harper how I love your cute little facial expressions. :)

 Say cheese! Waiting for Daddy to cross the finish line!

 Since the Marathon ended in downtown Bentonville, I got to take Izzy w/ us. Izzy loves getting out of the house. Downtown there are so many new smells to check out. There were vendors handing out samples and one of them were giving away some Dingo Bacon strips. This is Izz getting to taste her new treat. She loved them! Harper and Zella also took turns holding on to Izzy. They loved holding Izzy's lease. Can't say the feeling was mutual for Izzy. :)

Me w/ the girls!

On Sunday afternoon, we decided to go on a hike w/ A&J (Aimee and Justin) and all the doggies. There's an easy little hiking trail about 30 minutes north of us. There's also a water fall and stream. Poor Roxie couldn't get in the water because she had stitches, but Bauer had a blast! Even though Bauer is 100+ dog, she is a gentle giant. But check out the pictures of her playing with this huge log!

 Check out that jaw!

 Rox wasn't being very photogenic for me.

If you notice the log is up to J's waist. And he said it wasn't light! But that was no problem for Bauer. She fetched it from the rushing water no problem!

I believe the next week was when the rain started. This must have been the Saturday that were we losers and didn't do anything at all- besides hold down the couch and watch NetFlixs. Poor Rem was so stir crazy we had to get out of the apartment. At the time, the toilet in Rem's bathroom wasn't functioning properly and we needed to go to Lowe's. Soooo I peeled myself from the couch and got ready. As we were walking into Lowe's Rem held my hand. He turns to me and says "This counts as a date, right?" Of course I promptly informed him that it did not!

The next weekend we packed our bags and headed to Columbus, OH along with Apryll and Todd for Troy's wedding. I wasn't excited about a 12 hour drive, but I did get to take a day off from work (WOOHOO) and meet Troy and his blushing bride Jerica. When we got to the hotel, I realized that I'd forgotten one of my bags at home. It was the bag with all of my hair products and deodorant! Thankfully Apryll had an extra travel size of deo so I didn't have BO. And it didn't matter I didn't have my beloved hair products because it rained most of the weekend.

Saturday morning we went to the temple and then Troy and Jerica's sealing. This was the first time that several of us were meeting Jerica. Poor girl didn't know what she was getting herself into. :) Todd and I kindly welcomed her into the in laws support group with a hug (a very un-Myers like thing- they aren't the touchy feely type lol). After the sealing we all went to Troy's for lunch. After chatting for a while, we busted out our dance moves to Kinect! I'd been dying to play Kinect since it came out and it was a dance game so of course I was super excited! We all took turns battling it out to songs both new and old. My  husband, bless his little awkward soul, only beat me once. While I love my husband very dearly, his dancing skills are ...well...less than desirable. I mean, come on, he's a skinny white boy so he dances like one. (I love you REM!) Those so called dance skills definitely run in the family! We had a blast!

Later that evening, we went out for dinner and made a trip to Target. Melissa and I especially were excited about a Target run. I found a swim suit and shoes on sale for $9 a piece! While my paycheck, in a round about way, comes from Walmart, I still love Target's shoes and apparel! Just can't help it.

On Sunday we began our journey home bright and early around 7. When we were about an hour out of Bentonville, Rem's car got a flat. Mostly Todd, put the spare on and luckily we were close to an exit so we could air up the doughnut. When we pulled up at the gas station to get air, Rem just kind of sat there and Todd got out to air up the tire. It was funny considering it was Rem's car we were driving. We made it home safe and sound- after eating 3 bags of red vines and a stop at Culliver's for butter burgers and custard.