Eggplant Parm - An Experiment

My husband and I both dislike hate eggplant. We avoid it at all costs. But when we started getting them from the CSA (CSA Part Two) I just couldn't see not at least trying to do something with them to make them more edible. So what better way to make something taste better than fry it up and cover it with cheese?!

I have made Chicken Parm a hundred times. I don't do anything special, just bread it using a three step process, pan fry to get it golden brown, and then finish it in the oven with sauce and mozzarella. Simple. Time consuming, but simple. I figured, why not try to do the same thing with the eggplant. I was just getting started and had to take the dog out, started up a conversation with our neighbor (whom we get alone so well with, definitely lucked out there!) and they were saying that the key to getting that bitter taste out of the eggplant is to squeeze out the juice. Who knew?! So I put a weight on the slices and let it sit for a little while. They told me to let it go for an hour or two, an hour or two I did not have. So I just did my best and it seriously made all the difference!

I started by slicing the eggplant really thin and let it sit for a little while on paper towels with a weight to extract the juice...

Then breaded and pan fried... 

After, it looked like this, much more appealing...

I added some sauce and fresh mozz...

Cooked it in the oven for about 20 minutes at 350, made some spaghetti and voila...

I think it turned out pretty good! And so did my husband.. win, win!

Just goes to show you that you may think you don't like something but if you change it up (or get some advice from a friend) you may just surprise yourself!

JP

Breakfast Nook Progress

I am uber excited to share that we are making some progress in this house! Picking paint colors, getting the walls painted, repurposing some old furniture and adding something new, big changes! Ok, maybe not so big, but definitely progress and honestly it is progress I am very happy to share.

H and I have been constantly debating what areas of the house we want to focus on and where we want to spend our money to update those spaces. So we both agreed that the two spaces we use every day should be next in line - the kitchen/breakfast nook and family room. If you remember we were deciding on paint colors and we narrowed it down to two. Well, we finally made up our minds. We decided to go with the darker shade Northern Cliffs and I am so so glad that we did! It is a gorgeous grey color that is a little taupey in some lights and works so well with the dark cabinets in the kitchen. We are using this same color in the family room and already started that project but more on that later.

So here are a few photos of our busy week of painting..

We chose to go with Ben by Benjamin Moore. It was their mid-range paint and since we really didn't need anything too fancy we figured this would do just fine. It was a little difficult to work with since we got it in an eggshell, but after a little while I think H got the hang of it. It covers beautifully, even with one coat, it just left some paint lines where it overlapped. After some trial and error we realized that if you go back over the area you just painted quickly it eliminates those lines. Now we know for next time (the joys of first time DIYers).

Started off in the Butler's Pantry and Pepper was right there wanting to help : )

After lots, and lots, and lots of taping, we moved onto the Breakfast Nook...

Here is what the Butler's Pantry looks like now. Still needs a lot of work. We need to install the wine shelves that we have and some artwork but for now at least it's painted! I will put that in the win column.

And here is the Breakfast Nook.. eeeeh so exciting!

The chairs were a great find from Target. Got them on sale and didn't have to pay for shipping which saved $20. After tax and everything they were under $90 a piece. Who knew chairs were so expensive?! But compared to other stores for almost $300 per chair, I'd say these were a good deal! And they will work in this space for now until we save up some money/find a nice larger table for the space because I am sure we will need to get different chairs. At that point we will then move these into the dining room as head chairs so at least they will serve another purpose down the road. I love their nailhead trim too, it's a great detail that makes them look way more expensive than they actually were!

The table was from our old apartment in the city. It was from IKEA and I am so glad we were able to reuse it. It has a ton of scratches and isn't in the best condition but for now it works. It also expands to fit more people which will work much better for when we have a few friends over instead of having to use the formal dining room. The one major complaint we have though is that it is really low to the ground. The dog can actually rest her head on the table and while it is super cute, it can be really annoying when we are trying to eat dinner. 

The carpet was originally in the foyer and we would like to move it back there at some point but we just wanted to see what the space would look like with an area rug. I think we are going to need a much bigger rug down the road. This is a 5x7 which is fine for the smaller table, but once we have a 6' table (or larger) in here we are going to need at least a 6x9 or maybe even a 7x10.. ugh.. already dreading what that is going to cost. Anyway, this space looks way more finished now. Just need to change out the light fixture. I am thinking this one will work (though I know I can find if for way cheaper) to tie in a metal accent. We also desperately need some color, maybe some fun window treatments or a colorful rug down the road.

Now that this space is "finished" and by finished I mean, finished for now, I think we can hold off getting a table for a little while. I am all about spending a little bit of money to change the way a space feels to make it fit our (my) style and living with it until we can save up some money to make the big purchases that we really want, in this case a really nice table, chairs, and a large area rug. But seriously, what a difference! Check out this before and after:

Progress : ) Oh and here are a few bonus photos of Pepper during the transformation. Hope everyone has a great week!

She apparently didn't like me taking pictures on the floor and ignoring her.

Haha, I love this one! "Who me? I didn't do it!"

Chicken Tomatillo Soup with Chipotle Chiles

My husband loves spicy food. Yup, loves. And me, well, I enjoy spicy, just not so much so that I can't enjoy the rest of my meal. So when we got an unlimited amount of tomatillos from our CSA (oh, and check out Part 2) I knew I had to try out this recipe from my Soup of the Day book. I have tweaked the original recipe a little by adding a few things to beef it up.

Warning: this soup is spicy, but it has a great fresh flavor that really balances out the heat

Ingredients:

- 8 cups chicken broth

- 1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I just used 4 breasts since that is what I had)

- 1 oregano sprig

- 10 cilantro sprigs

- 9 cloves of garlic

- 1 lb tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and chopped coarsely

- 1 white onion, chopped

- 2 large chipotle chiles in adobe, minced, plus 1 tbs adobe sauce

- 1 1/2 tbs canola oil

- 3 tsp lime juice (preferably fresh)

- 1 ripe avocado (garnish, though I didn't have one so I skipped it)

- Tortilla strips (garnish, skipped this too)

- 1 1/2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered

- 1/2 lb cotija or feta cheese crumbled (I used cheddar)

- 1 cup corn (frozen or fresh)

- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

- Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

- In a large pot, combine broth, chicken breasts, oregano, cilantro, and 3 garlic cloves, bring to a boil

- Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through (15-20 min)

- Transfer chicken to a plate and strain broth into a large heat proof bowl, discard the solids

- Wipe out the pot and set aside, then shred the chicken into bite sized pieces

- In a food processor (or blender) combine tomatillos, onion, chipotle chiles, adobe sauce, and remaining 6 cloves of garlic, process until a smooth paste

- In the clean pot, heat the oil over high heat, then add the tomatillo mixture and fry, stirring occasionally until the liquid evaporates (the color will be darker and the mixture will be very fragrant, about 15 min)

- Add the broth and bring to a simmer

- Cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes

- Add 1 1/2 tsp salt (yes, I know this sounds like a lot, but it needs it, especially if you use low sodium broth), lime juice, shredded chicken, and pepper to taste

- Add corn and black beans

- Simmer until the chicken, corn, and beans are heated through (5 min)

- While the soup is heating through, prep your garnishes

- Serve and Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

JP

Weekend Finds

This weekend was very productive at our house! Not only did we visit two sides of the family and do some shopping, but we also painted the family room, no big deal : ) so I promise I will post about the finished family room and kitchen once I take some pictures but in the mean time I am really excited about my weekend finds.

I have had my eye on this table runner for a while now at Pottery Barn but I couldn't  justify spending $60 on it. So I waited until it went on sale for $40 and even then it was too much. But when I stopped by on Saturday they had it for only $25! Win! I still need to iron it but I had to try it out. 

I have it tucked under here because Pepper was getting a little too curious, didn't want her to rip it down. I know these photos aren't the best but my camera battery was charging so iPhone pics will have to do!

I also got a set of 8 matching napkins. Now, we never use cloth napkins but I figured it would be nice to have when we have my family over (my mom and Oma love that frilly stuff). These were on sale too, four for $10. Not bad.

Of course they match the whole grey/modern theme I have going on in the house. But, I think it's time I start getting some color accents in this house. My husband is already over all the grey.

So I also found this super cute dog bed for Miss Pepper. She needed a new one and this will go perfect with my grey/yellow family room once we get that all decorated.

She looks so thrilled doesn't she? But at least she likes the new bed! I swear every time I go out shopping I come back with something for the pup, even if I found nothing for me or the house, she always gets something. Princess Pepper : )

I also was able to get William Sonoma's Pumpkin Latte syrup on sale. This girl loves her pumpkin and I definitely did not get enough this season. 

My girlfriend and I also made a trip to the Crate and Barrel outlet. Love that place, but it is very hit or miss. Sometimes they have great stuff and sometimes nothing really catches my eye. Kinda like Home Goods. (We went there too!) So I got this metal tree ornament stand which was inexpensive and will be a great addition to our holiday decor. A more modern piece that will take up a good amount of space so I have to find the right spot for it. It was on their website, originally for $55, but I got it for $21! Holds ornaments so I can change it up from year to year. Once we decorate for the holidays I'll be sure to post where we decided to put it.

At Home Goods I bought these two reindeer made of twigs for $8 a piece. I wish I had a photo of them because they are super cute. Another holiday item I need to find a place for. Looks like I need to go buy some bins this year to store all of our decor. 

Everyone always says you collect things over the years so there is no need to go out and buy a ton of stuff at once and man were they right! This is our second holiday season in the house and we spent three seasons in the city so we have accumulated some stuff. And I was able to get a few things on super clearance at the end of the season last year so we are definitely building our fare share. Maybe after this year we can reorganize and store the stuff we have properly because right now it's in so many random boxes. Another project for another day : )

Happy Shopping!

JP

Master Bedroom

The master bedroom in our new house is proving to be a tough space to decorate. We have done a lot in the room but it is just missing those pretty details that make the space more inviting. It has come a long, long way from being an empty, white-walled space so here are all the things we have done to date.

We found our bedroom set at Ashley Furniture the same day we got our dining room set, more on that here. It was so hard to pick a set that H and I agreed upon! I was oogling over this one bed from Ethan Allen (a very expensive bed might I add). Though it was a lighter wood than I originally wanted, it was beautiful and I just could not get it out of my head. Ashley had one similar but it was white and didn't seem to come in a different color - we were looking for darker wood, something that wouldn't go out of style any time soon. So we looked everywhere and finally found one at Ashley. It just so happened to be one of their top quality sets with the drawers made of cedar and having dovetail joints. Me, I had no idea what that meant, but H seemed to really like it. I believe this was part of the Porter Collection at Ashley.

Now, one thing I always forget is that you can haggle at furniture stores! Yes, that's right, haggle away! (Well, within reason). So we talked the guy down in price and then they added a 50% off discount because it was one of those, "this weekend only" deals, and then we had a multi-room discount because we bought our dinning room set on the same day. Needless to say we got an amazing deal!

Originally I was expecting to get a queen size bed, NOT a king! H had been trying to talk me into a king bed for a while at this point, and I kept saying no because not only is it more expensive to get the bedroom set, but then you have to buy the mattress AND sheets which aren't cheap. So the added expense of getting a king would be more than we originally wanted to spend. H doesn't ask for too much when it comes to furniture or home decor but this was something he wasn't going to let go. It wasn't until we talked to my good friend and MOH at the wedding who "knew a guy" in the mattress business and told us she could get us a mattress for pretty much at cost. This in combination with getting a great deal on the bedroom set changed my mind, and H won the bed size battle. 

When we had the bedroom set delivered we didn't realize that it would be another few weeks before getting the mattress so we had to sleep on our double size mattress on the floor for a few weeks, that was fun! But surprisingly enough it fit in the room with all the new bedroom furniture! I am pretty sure our master suite is larger than our entire apartment was in the city which I know is hard to believe! 

H and I also had some trouble finding a comforter set that we both liked. He was begging me for some color since we just painted the walls grey. We painted the back wall Creek Bend by Behr and we absolutely loved it! But, it was way too dark for the whole room so we painted the remaining walls Porpoise by Behr. This one we did not love. In some lights it has this lavender tint to it and while it is a nice soft grey, purple was not the color we were going for. Oh well, for now it works and maybe down the road we will change it up, who knows. So anyway, we found this orange/grey comforter set at Macy's on clearance and used a $100 gift card we had from turning in our credit card points so I think we paid $50 total for the comforter, two shams, and three accent pillows that all came in the set. It is a bit more masculine that I would like, but it works for the space and it is something that we can change out later on with a duvet cover or something if we feel like it. 

I also purchased two silver colored lamps from Ross and two white/grey lamp shades from IKEA. Though the shades are a bit small for the lamp they work for now. A great alternative to spending an arm and a leg for lamps at other stores, who knew how much lamps could be! 

The mirrors on either side of the dresser were a DIY project. They were hand me downs with a gold frame. So we bought some spray paint, sanded 'em down, and went to town with the white gloss paint. I wish I had some before and afters for this project because a little bit of paint really does go a long way. We are thinking we might rehang them a bit higher, but for now they frame out the space nicely. Oh and PS, don't mind the mess!

Here are a few more detail shots of the room.

I would eventually like another chair in the seating area and a stand mirror for the far left corner.

We really love how the room turned out but as I said before, it is very masculine. I think I need to find some nice artwork for the walls or just a few soft touches to make the place more inviting. I am trying to keep track of where I get all the decor items so here goes:

• Curtains - IKEA (though they still need to be hemmed)
• Curtain rods - Home Depot
• Love pillow - Home Goods (left over from our wedding)
• Ceiling fan - Hunter brand at Lowes
• Decorative frames above the bed - Pier One (on sale! 20% off!)
• Comforter and bedding set - Macy's
• Lamps - Ross
• Lamp Shades - IKEA

So, now here is what our to do list looks like:

- Purchase bedroom set
- Paint the room
- Purchase a comforter set
- Buy and hang window hardware
- Buy and hang curtains

- Reupholster love seat

- Find colorful artwork/frames for the walls
- Put up crown molding <- if H lets me : )
- Print four 4x4 pictures to fill the frames above the bed
- Hang TV on wall above the dresser (maybe)
- OR hang a gallery wall of wedding photos above the dresser
- Purchase a white print tufted bench
- Buy a floor lamp for behind the love seat
- Purchase a side/end table for seating area
- Possibly purchase an accent chair?
- Find or make a jewelry stand armoire with a mirror front

Most of these things are details and can be hammered out over time. I am so glad that we have this space more or less finished now. It will be even better when we get the master bath painted! Then we will really have our own little retreat : )

Check back for updates!

JP

Garlic Croutons - Yea, these are good!

These garlic croutons are a great option to make if you have some day old bread (or 3 day, in my case) to just use it up instead of letting it go moldy and having to throw it out. Plus, they are delicious so that's an even better reason to try out this recipe!

Ok here goes,...

Ingredients:

- 3 to 5 thick slices of crusty italian style bread
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed or sliced


Directions: 

- Cut bread into bite-sized cubes

- Heat oil and garlic in a saute pan until garlic starts to brown

- Discard garlic and add bread cubes
- Fry bread, stirring often until golden brown (5 min)

That's it! It is seriously really easy to make and they are great as a garnish in soups, on salads, or even just as a snack : )

Enjoy!
JP