You win some, you lose some {recipes 50-57}

Sometimes... a recipe is just not very good. 

so here are 8.

51: Chicken Lomein

  

This one was just ok. Honestly, it didn't need the chicken.

52: Homemade pizza crust... it was kind of lumpy. :(

53: Pork Chops with Summer Veggie Medley

this was a crock pot meal and it was not impressive. It was just ok. 

54: Crock pot Breakfast Casserole

- Seemed like a great idea at the time. But ended up being way too done. :( 

55: Cajun Pasta

Sadly, just ok. And made a TON so we were eating it for way too long.

56: Beef Stroganoff

 Again, not very good. 

57: Bread Machine Pumpkin Bread

We were craving pumpkin bread as fall is getting here and we tried some in the bread machine.. and it was way too bready. Not very good. Way too dense.

58: Tropical Popsickles

These were not very flavorful, which is really too bad. I guess we will have to try again next summer!

But there are more successful and super delicious recipes coming! :)

All for now,

Alexandra

Bruschetta Chicken Pasta {recipe #49}

This recipe marks the half way point in my goal for 100 recipes for 2012! Hooray! I have plenty more that I am behind on for posting. So here we go!

This meal is the PERFECT fresh pasta. Completely delicious. Make it as much as possible before all of the delicious summer tomatoes are gone!

Bruschetta Chicken Pasta

Borrowed and Adapted from First Real Kitchen Cookbook By: Megan and Jill Carle

Serves 4 

{we cut in half, which is good because I don't think the leftovers would have been all that great in comparison!}

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts {2 or 3}

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

12 oz of whole wheat angel hair pasta {spaghetti works too}

4 large tomatoes

4 cloves of garlic

One 2/3 ounce package of fresh basil

2 T. olive oil

1 T. Balsamic vinegar {or to taste}

1 T. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1) Preheat grill, george forman or grill pan. 

2) Season chicken with sea salt and pepper. Put on grill and cook for 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Let sit for 5 minutes and then cut into strips. Keep warm.

3) Meanwhile: Cook pasta according to box directions. Drain and keep warm.

4) Halve, seed and cut the tomatoes into pieces. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Roughly chop the basil leaves. Combine tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil and small bowl and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

5) Divide the pasta between 4 plates. Evenly divide the tomato mixture between each plate as well and then top with chicken. Drizzle the Balsamic vinegar over the top and sprinkle with the fresh Parmesan. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

mmm doesn't that look delicious!?!??!?! 

Run don't walk to the kitchen and make it.. now.

What is your favorite fresh and healthy pasta recipe? 

All for now,

Alexandra

12.31.11 Part II

Round 2 of wedding pictures!

 Me with all of my sisters. Old and New.

Me and Jess.

Me and Dad.

Jessica and Kendra handed out our programs.

One Big Family.

Kyle and his family.

The entire wedding party.

At the reception.

Cutting the cake.

Mother Son and Father Daughter Dance.

Kyle and Ronda.

Me and Dad.

New Year's Kiss.

Cheers!

Candids and photo booth pics coming soon! 

All For Now,

Alexandra

Never Been More Excited for Football Season...

the yummiest football season.. ever.

What is your favorite part of football season?

All for now,

Alexandra

Summer Is Over. Bucketlist Review.

Summer is over.

That is sad, but I am really pleased with everything I/we accomplished this summer. 

Because of the extreme Kansas heat, we decided to postpone some of these for the fall (marked with a *). Others just didn't get finished... and that's ok.

1) go camping*

2) watch brother bear

3) have s'mores

4) find a dance workout DVD that i like

5) have a garage sale/organize & consolidate belongings

6) go on at least 1 trip (somewhere new)

7) see fireworks

8) go to La Bodega 

9) stargaze 

10) watch beauty & the beast

11) go antiquing

12) take Kyle to an art museum

13) get an iphone

14) treat loved ones to a french toast breakfast

15) sew something

16) get into a workout routine with Kyle

17) have a LOTR marathon

18) go to Birdies

19) turn 22 and get a birthday cake shot at Henry's

20) have a picnic*

21) join the Merc

22) go swimming

23) consolidate banks

24) make a berry pie

25) garden (in the plot)- gave ours away - no time

26) work on my Miller scrapbook

27) read at least 2 classic novels (just finished 1)

28) make pop sickles

29) get wedding pictures done (at least partially)

30) clean Molly (the car)

31) watch Star Wars (all of them)

32) find a new board game or card game that I like

33) update insurance stuff

34) try a new margarita recipe

35) host a gathering

36) watch treasure planet

37) have at least 1 outdoor adventure

38) go to the farm*

39) go antiquing

40) go to Dave & Buster's

41) watch Poseidon

42) make something for our home

43) read at least 5 books

44) go to a drive in movie

45) try at least 3 new restaurants

46) begin travel scrapbook

47) try a new sangria recipe

48) go on a road trip (even a day trip)

49) watch Anastasia

50) get a coloring book

51) finish one creative project 

Additional Summer(early fall) Achievements:

- Got a new doctor

-purchased a "professional" wardrobe for my internship

-watched all 3 seasons of the vampire diaries

-finished watching Gilmore Girls all the way through with Kyle

-thrifted like there was no tomorrow

How did you guys do this summer?

What are your goals for the fall/winter? I have started thinking about mine. List Coming Soon! :) 

All for now,

Alexandra 

Snapshots of The Twin Cities // August 2012

All summer Kyle and I attempted to plan a vacation.

We both had a pretty busy and crazy spring semester last year and really deserved a getaway. 

Unfortunately the planning process left us stressed and discouraged every time we tried. 

Finally, after asking for a sign we found it! 

In a Whole Living Magazine, seriously!

Minneapolis/St. Paul had everything we were looking for and more. A cooler climate, great food, beautiful scenery, amazing culture, unique shopping locations... and Coldplay.

...and it did not disappoint...

Day/Night 1:

In a sort of panicked-scramble-y rush we drove from Kansas to St. Paul as quickly as possible to make it the concert. As we entered the venue we were given some neon wristbands that we were told were "part of the show". Had it been any other show.. I may not have worn mine but I'm glad I did!

We missed the  first opening act, but we didn't really mind. We managed to hear all of Marina and the Diamonds... I wasn't impressed. And then Coldplay came on! Hooray! And our neon wristbands began to light up like Christmas lights! It was so breathtakingly cool!

The show was amazing! The music was fantastic and the visual effects were so exciting. They had everything from lasers, video screens and light up wrist bands to clouds of confetti and falling beach balls. It was so incredible.

They played tons of stuff from the Mylo Xyloto album as well as some old favorites and some random goodies. But really, they are ALL goodies. I cried about 3 times during some crowd sing alongs. It was so overwhelming because this music has been a part of my life for such a long time. It was all around the most incredible show EVER! I am so happy that we were able to pull off some last minute decent seats! Worth. Every. Penny.

Day/Night 2: 

When we bought the concert tickets we found out that the FREE Minnesota Irish Festival was also the same weekend. So we headed to Harriet Island Park for the festivities. We shopped and listened to music. The park was on a river with a beautiful view of the city!

One of the highlights here was the incredible food! (catered by the local Claddagh Cafe)Kyle got "Shrimp and Chips".

And I got "Bangers and Mash" It was all delicious!

After the fair we went back to the hotel and had a swim in the pool to cool down and relax a little! It was a really nice saltwater pool and I really enjoyed it.

The Electric Fetus (strange name, great store), Eclectic place to buy vinyl, cds, gifts, clothing, jewelry. Thank you to Kurt Cooper for the recommendation! We will be back!

They also had a candy counter.. so we got some Sugar Babies and Sugar Daddy(s). As during a Gilmore reference Kyle admitted to never having them before! That is all we bought, but we would absolutely recommend this store to music junkies and unique gift givers alike!

Then we visited a small eco-friendly boutique near Calhoun Lake that I had read about in Whole Living called Moss Envy. It was very cool! I got a few reusable produce bags for grocery shopping! I had been struggling to find those in person.

Then we headed to the Midtown Global Market as suggested by Greta Simons! It was probably my favorite place that we visited!

We parked in the garage across the street and walked in not knowing what to expect... I was blown away! It was like an international food court that also sold many international goods, flowers, coffee, candy, gifts, natural groceries, cooking classes and contained some farm-to-table type restaurants as well. It was so vibrant and endlessly entertaining for me!

We were there around dinner time so we decided to try several different things since we had the option! We started with a pot stickers appetizer from Pham's Deli which were very good.

We also got fortune cookies. Here is mine:

Here is his:

Then we went to El Burrito Mercado for a chicken quesadilla. Which is the best quesadilla I've ever had! We were so full and very satisfied with our international experience. 

It was still early so we bought a slice of triple chocolate cake at Salty Tart to take back with us for later.

It was literally the best chocolate cake I've ever had! It was very chocolatey, there was also a layer in there that was crunchy like it was made of chocolate wafers of some kind. It was so so so good. I wanted to buy another entire cake to bring back with us, but I knew it would not survive the drive.

All gone.

Day 3:

We started out the day with breakfast at Mickey's Diner. It was in an old dining car and very cute. It was also a greasy spoon with no-nonsense waiters. It was pretty fun and the food was good!

I got blueberry pancakes that were super legit and a side of potatoes o'brien which were pretty greasy... but really what did I expect? :)

Kyle got biscuits and gravy which were apparently also very good but I don't have a picture.

Then we went back to the Midtown Global Market and shopped. I got a cute Swedish Mug! 

Then we hit The General Store of Minnetonka for some souvenirs. It was huge and had so many great things, but it was a little overwhelming! So be prepared for TONS of stuff!

Then we drove back to Kansas! 

It was a great trip! Much needed, relaxing and filled with really cool places. We would both love to go back and visit again!

What was your favorite vacation? What are your vacation suggestions for me?

All for now,

Alexandra