Finally cleaning

So today I am finally motivated to finish with the last bit of cleaning in the new apartment. I even have the guest bathroom setup to be able to be used! My motivation is a dinner party tonight as well as a girls weekend that starts Friday.

Tonights dinner is Chicken Parmesan. So far the croutons are made, the sauce is simmering and the chicken is pounded thin. I still have the salad to make and the chicken to bread, quickly fry in basil oil to sear the coating and then finish it in the oven and two more hours to get it done!

Poor Alex though, in my cleaning I have piled all the trash bags by the door for him to take out when he gets home. But things are looking nice here and I am ready for friends!

The cute animal of the day:

Fantastic day

Today was a really great day. Slept in until 11 then went out for lunch and a tour of the Gregory Vineyard. Lunch was a little bit of a challenge. Alex and I went out expecting to use a groupon we received for Christmas at a place called 5th Street Grill. We got there and the place had gone out of business. So we ended up at Arby's.

The winery tour was super awesome. We got to see the vineyard and we heard a full description of how they grow the grapes and then we got to see where the grapes are turned into wine. Then of course came the tasting. There were 8 wines and 2 juices and 2 ciders. They were all muscadine wines but they tasted great. Alex even liked them and picked out his own bottle.

Now I am relaxing at home with a glass of wine and air popped popcorn :)

Todays cute animal:

Things to Consider

I am trying to make plans so that I can meet new people and make friends. I think I am going to start taking Yoga classes (once I get a job). That should be fun :). Also I am going to go to the local knitting store Yarn Tree Studio for some classes. Maybe one on spinning. Hopefully I will get this job so I can start doing super fun stuff again :)

Tomorrow should actually be fun though, for Christmas Alex and I received a groupon for a winery tour and tasting so we are going to do that tomorrow afternoon. Then next week sometime I am going to do the Raleigh Bartenders class which is a 4 hour mixology class. That should be fun. Lots going on.

Here is the very cute animal for the day:

Epic Dinner Time

So dinner tonight was an adventure. I made Stuffed chicken breasts with a parmesan pasta. Here is what you do:

1) Well I decided the best way to make sure I survived creating this new recipe was to start with a Vodka Tonic. Now that that is taken care of I can get started.
2) Now we work on the filling so gather your ingredients: 4 cups of spinach, ricotta cheese, parmesan, garlic powder, pepper, salt, basil and oregano. Chop the spinach into small pieces and grate the parmesan (super easy with the right Kitchenaid attachment). Mix half the ricotta and most of the spinach (reserve some for the pasta). Mix with your choice of seasoning quantites. It should look like this:

3) Now you pound your chicken out to your choice of thickness (thinner is better). Once that is done you put a small amount in the middle and roll the chicken around it. Then you dip the chicken in egg and panko and saute the chicken in basil oil (mine was a christmas gift made by a friend):

Once you have sauteed around Put the chicken on a broiler pan and cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
4) While that is cooking make your pasta. I used linguini but you can use whatever you want. Once is it cooked to your liking drizzle with more of your basil oil and then add parmesan and the rest of the chopped spinach and mix it up:

5) Once your chicken is cooked serve it on a bed of the pasta:


The Verdict:
Alex liked everything, but I wasn't a fan of the chicken. It should have been pounded thinner. The pasta was AMAZING. I would make it again, will probably make the pasta for lunch tomorrow.

I can't add any pictures for some reason so no cute animal with this post.

Boy have I slacked off

I really am a massive slacker! My last post was at the beginning of November and here it is January 5th! So much has gone on, Christmas, moving to Raleigh right before Christmas and an awesome New Year Party.

My new apartment has been pretty awesome, I don't feel like a bullet might come flying through my house any moment. Right now I am playing the housewife game while I wait to get a job, Second interview next tuesday so fingers crossed.
To fill my time I have been cooking and crafting. My craft right now is a baby blanket so that when I finally have a baby it will be ready. Cooking I have gotten a little lazy but not tonight. Dinner tonight is Stuffed Chicken breast over a simple Parmesan pasta. The stuffing for the chicken breasts is spinach, ricotta and parmesan. Should be yummy. I will do a whole post about that adventure. That is a quick update more details will come in the dinner post.
Today's adorable animal: