All abuot me!

I loved reading this survey at A Foodie Stays Fit and learning all kinds of facts about the author, so I thought I would give it a whirl myself.  I hope you enjoy and if you blog, please do it to so I can learn about you!

A is for age: 28
B is for breakfast today: Chiobani Strawberry yogurt and an apple
C is for currently craving: salt and vinegar potato chips (obviously the lean cuisine ravoli at lunch really filled me up today…)
D is for dinner tonight: can’t decide; chorizo, potato andmushroom tacos or meatball casserole, thoughts?
E is for favorite type of exercise: tennis
F is for an irrational fear: being kidnapped (yes, at the age of 28)
G is for gross food: cucumbers
H is for hometown: Cartersville, GA
I is for something important: paying the mortgage
J is for current favorite jam: my Mom’s homemade peach
K is for kids: 1 – Ralph (the dog)
L is for current location: work, woops!
M is for the most recent way you spent money: at the grocery store
N is for something you need: salt and vinegar chips, didn’t we just talk about this…
O is for occupation: Financial Planner
P is for pet peeve: people calling to see if you got their e-mail
Q is for a quote: “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart.” Helen Keller
R is for random fact about you: I love salt and vinegar potato chips!
S is for favorite healthy snack: I don’t really like health snacks – I guess carrots, but prefer salt and vinegar potato chips (see a trend here?)
T is for favorite treat: um hello, I feel like this survey isn’t getting me – salt and vinegar potato chips
U is for something that makes you unique: I graduated from Georgia Tech in three and a half years
V is for favorite vegetable: broccoli
W is for today’s workout: walk Ralph
X is for X-rays you’ve had: face (they thought I broke my jaw, but I didn't woo...)
Y is for yesterday’s highlight: winning my tennis match in 2 sets!
Z is for your time zone: EST

Stolen Recipe Success: Broccoli Cheddar Risotto and Easy Skillet Chicken

I few months back I saw this post on The Tasty Kitchen blog and thought I have got to make that - we always have broccoli in the freezer because it is our favorite veggie (Yes, we have the same favorite veggie - lame), sport guy LOVES cheddar and I LOVE risotto - so Broccoli-Cheddar Risotto - winning!!!  I have to give the credit to Faith at An Edible Mosaic for this delicious recipe.  I LOVED IT!

Click on over to her site to see the risotto recipe.  With the risotto I made a simple skillet chicken, in less than 15 minutes and it was the perfect compliment.  Keep reading for the recipe!
Sincerely Loving Food,
Lainey

Garden Progress: Monday Evening Spruce Up

The Easter Bunny (Thanks In-Laws!) brought me a knock-out rose bush for Easter along with some basil, oregano and mint.  So Monday evening after work I swung into Lowe's for some potting soil and a few other perennials to plant on the backside of our house, which looked a little sad:

You can see there are little patches of weeds popping up, the winter spinach was overgrown in one of the containers and there were pieces of what used to be a little garden divider (Ralph had his way with that).  Since the air conditioning unit is back here I couldn't choose anything too big as we need access to it in case something happens, so I couldn't go with big hedges or anything like that, but I did want some low maintenance plants with pops of color back there.  At Lowe's I looked for plants that would get no taller than 3 feet, could handle the full daytime sun this area gets and ones that I thought just looked pretty.  Luckily all of this information is on the tag that is stuck in the dirt with the plant:

 The picture on these tags show you what the plant/flower will look like and the back contains all the important information: how much sun is required, how much water is needed, how big the hole needs to be to plant it in and how big the plant will get at maturity.

Once I got back there I pulled all the weeds and set out the pots where I thought I would like them to be to give me an idea where to dig the holes.

 Once I had my plan, putting the tallest plants in the back (closer to the ac unit) and shorter ones in front I dug the holes, stuck the plants in them, filled up the holes with potting soil and covered everything with a nice layer of pinestraw to keep the weeds away.  I also pulled the old overgrown stuff out of the pots, added fresh soil and laid out the herbs and planted those.  The one on the right has oregano, parsley, rosemary and mint while the one on the left has a single tomato plant surrounded by basil.

Spruce up complete - only about 2 hours of work

oregano, parsley, rosemary and mint

 tomato in the center surrounded by 4 little basils (the cage is to support the tomatoes that will hopefully grow)

Last step: water, water, water - I let the sprinkler go on these for about 20 minutes

The point is this - anyone can grow anything.  The instructions are right on the container of the plant, besides that just cover with some sort of straw or mulch and make sure (especially the first night) that the plants have lots and lots of water.  Hope you are enjoying the spring as much as I am!
Sincerely Loving Food & the Garden!
Lainey

Happy Monday!

Man...that just doesn't have the same ring to it as Happy Easter...I hope you and yours had a blessed day celebrating our Risen Savior!  I know we did!  Sports guy's Dad and Dad's Lady Friend came up to visit for the weekend and we had a time filled with tennis (I played), baseball (we went to the GT vs. FSU game), church (you have to go to church on Easter) and golf, lots and lots of golf.  As I am sure you are aware The Master's was this weekend and that green jacket was laid upon Bubba Watson's shoulders.  I am pretty sure this is the happiest I have ever been (or ever will be) for a uga bulldog.  I just loved all of Bubba's emotion and his strength in his self to not be afraid to cry; he just left it all out there and it was so touching!

We also ate well over the weekend!  For breakfast on Saturday we had this breakfast casserole I found on pinterest: Overnight Proscuitto & Goat Cheese Bake I even made the English Muffin bread in the casserole with this recipe from BHG.  The casserole was so savory, tangy and tasty and the bread is delicious even on its own. Making the bread was my first time ever using yeast - don't be like me - don't be scared, it was really easy!  Our Easter Lunch was very traditional: deviled eggs, honey baked ham, creamed corn, green bean casserole, and my most favorite 7 layer salad (recipe to come).  Green Bean Casserole - in its traditional form - is always my go to side, can't wait to dig into those leftovers...The one new addition to the meal was an appetizer: Spring Vegetable and Goat Cheese Dip that was met with mixed reviews...I saw the recipe on pinterest (from bon appetit) a while ago and pinned it thinking it would be perfect for Easter: asparagus, peas, leeks, and herbs all baked with cheddar and goat cheese - hello gorgeous!!!  Well, I loved it, my sister loved it, Dad's lady friend loved it, and sports guy and sports guys Dad...not so much.  It was light and tangy and cheese and so good, but sports guy says, "There are alot of other dips that are alot better and this one just didn't do anything for me to make me overlook all the veggies."  I was surprised because he usually loves anything in a cheese sauce, but I guess the vegetables were just too much for him.  So maybe try this one for a Ladies Lunch, doesn't that sound like fun?

Sports guy, me and the best sister ever!

This week I am looking forward to trying a new crock pot recipe, experimenting with a new risotto mix, and seeing old friends who are coming to visit (HEY NICOLE!).  I will let you know how it all turns out.

How was your Easter?  What did you eat?  What was your favorite?  What are you looking forward to this week?
Sincerely Loving Food,
Lainey