Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

Happy Friday!

I got bit by the baking bug today. Either that, or Billy kept asking me what I was doing with the butter on the counter that I was letting come to room temperature. We'll really never know.

In my folder of "Recipes To Try", I had a print-out from Tasty Kitchen, a complimentary website to our favorite Pioneer Woman where regular folks like me can submit their delicious recipes. It was a recipe for...Oatmeal Cream Pies. Now, I LOVE Oatmeal Cream Pies. But I also like knowing what is in my food, as opposed to buying treats like these from the grocery store. So I thought I would give this one a whirl.

Here is the link: Oatmeal Cream Pie Recipe. Oddly enough, it was posted by "whatmeganismaking"...sounds like this girl and I have a lot in common!

Here are a few pics I took:

Fresh oatmeal cookies, straight out of the oven!

Oatmeal Cream Pie!

After a pesky husband swooped in a took a bite out of my finished product...I won't name names.

I'm going to be honest here. I really did like this recipe, but I thought the oatmeal cookies were better by themselves!! I will definitely keep this recipe around, but probably just for the oatmeal cookie recipe. They were really easy to make and they made the house smell DELIGHTFUL!

**If you haven't checked out Pioneer Woman, I suggest you click on that handy little link above and give her a visit. Not only is she funny and delightfully quirky, but she has amazingly delicious recipes and even has a photography section--one from which I've learned quite a bit about photography and Photoshop. I've tried out several of her recipes and I'm rarely disappointed. I took these potatoes to our Easter gathering this year and they were a big hit!

Tata for now!

mrs g.

Martin's BBQ

Last week, I got to tag along with my friend Jen Cook, who is one half of the very dynamic photographer duo Photographix here in Nashville. Jen and Ann are actually the ones that shot our engagement pictures, my bridals, and our wedding, and they do a fantastic job!! (If you have any sort of event coming up, you should check them out, for real!)

Jen was kind enough to let me tag along on her food assignment shoot for Southern Exposure magazine at Martin's BBQ Joint in Nolensville, TN. I had heard of this place before, mainly that the bbq is pretty legendary. They actually appeared on Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives last Monday!

Here are some my favorite shots:

I definitely have learned a thing or two from Miss Jen over the last few weeks that she's let me tag along with her and pick her brain:

• How to use the light meter in my camera so I can get the correct exposure. This definitely takes the guessing game out of it, and I feel more in control of how good the shots turn out.
• Take pictures of EVERYTHING. When she does shoots like this one, she says she takes hundreds of shots while the magazine will only use 4 or 5, but it's best to give them lots to choose from.
• Some simple ways to enhance my photos in Photoshop, simply by adjusting the levels.

I'm getting a little more comfortable with both my camera and editing my photos, and seeing some of the ways Jen photographs stuff has given me a different perspective on how to shoot things on an angle or what to do in certain situations. Thanks so much Jen!

Yummy Pasta Salad

Happy Saturday, everyone! I wanted to share with you the pasta salad recipe that Billy and I took for a spin last night. We wanted something light and fresh and this hit the spot!

I originally pulled this recipe from a magazine, that I'm guessing is Family Circle--the only clue I got was the familycircle.com on the bottom corner of the page. This was a reader recipe that was sent in and I LOVE any kind of pasta salad so I decided to try it out.

Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad

1 pound rotini

2 pounds thin-sliced chicken cutlets

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 large sweet red pepper, cored, seeded, and diced

1 large green pepper, cored, seeded, and diced

1 medium-size red onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 scallions, trimmed and thinly slided

2 tablespoons minced fresh dill

1 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup canola oil

1. Cook pasta following package directions. Drain.

2. While pasta is cooking, heat grill pan or broiler. Sprinkle chicken with the lemon juice and grill or broil for about 2 minutes per side or until internal temperature reads 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Set aside and let cool.

3. When cool, cut chicken into bite-size pieces and mix with cooled pasta in a large bowl. Add diced peppers, onion, scallions, and dill.

4. In a medium-size bowl, whisk mayo, vinegar, honey, mustard, sugar, onion powder, parsley flakes, salt and black pepper. Gradually whisk in oil.

5. Pour mayonnaise mixture over the pasta and chicken and toss. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Now I have to admit that I improvised a little on the recipe. I didn't have a red onion, so I used Vidalia onion. I did not have fresh dill, onion powder, or dried parsley flakes. I used dried dill weed in my sauce. And I only used half of the oil. I like how mine turned out but I'm curious how different it would taste if you follow the recipe exactly.

Things I liked about it:

• The creamy yet tangy and light dressing.
• The fresh crunch of the veggies.
• The pasta--duh.

I'm not really a chicken fan, but I do like how it added some good protein in there. I think it would also be great with shrimp.

Billy mentioned this would be a good dish for a summer picnic, and I completely agree. This is one of those dishes that ABSOLUTELY tastes better the next day, when the sauce has had time to hang out and all the pasta is nice and cold.

Next up: Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies!!!

Quick one...

I decided I needed to share two things with you real quick...

My dog.

My lunch.

That's all. So far this "freedom" thing is agreeing with me. :)

Here goes nothin'...

Friends, I've recently been handed some lemons. At work I was up for a pretty decent promotion, which I did not get. I'm still trying to understand why that happened, because I looked back on that job description and checked off the requirements like you check off the items on your grocery list. While I have my own opinions about it, I'm not the type of person that's going to run my mouth (fingers?) because I didn't get my way.

I've decided to make something out of those lemons: I quit my job. I'm not sure what I'm making with those lemons yet, maybe lemonade? Maybe a cake? Maybe I'll take pictures of those lemons and sell them on Etsy? I dunno.

I've though a lot about this, even though things happened very quickly. I like to think that maybe the only reason for working there was so that I could meet Billy. Fortunately, our Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball has crushed many of our bills over the last several months, and with Billy working so much it has definitely afforded me this opportunity to jump ship and maybe pursue some things on my own.

Here are some things on my TO DO list:

• Learn more about photography and SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT!
• Finish Photoshop Classroom in a Book, so I can edit my photos.
• Restart P90X--we made it through Phase 1 and 2 last time. I'm going to do the Lean version this time and I'm determined to make it all the way through.
• Cook. A lot.
• Work on some things around the house. I plan on building myself a desk, and then tackling our laundry room with some help from Ana's plans on Knock Off Wood.
• Teach myself how to sew finally.
• Work up to at least a post per day.
• Make a trip or two to Texas to see my mom in Houston and my friends Jill and Jenny in Dallas. Jill's baby Mia is soooooo cute, and I've been dying to squish her for MONTHS!

I'm not sure where this journey is going to take me. Maybe something with photography? Food photography? Catering? I don't know. I know there is a plan for me and I just have to wait and see what that is. I'm scared, anxious, excited. And scared. So, we'll see. Wish me luck.

Roast It Yourself...

One of my favorite things to do on a quiet weekend morning is to get up and watch cooking shows--shocking, I know. A few years ago, I happened to be doing just that, and happened across Ellie Krieger's Healthy Appetite on FoodNetwork. On that particular episode she was making her Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper-Feta Sauce and it looked yummy and healthy, so I thought I would try it out.

Let me tell you, I completely fell in love with that dish. It is a staple in my repertoire and I make it often. But I always made it with the called-for jar of peppers. Until Saturday.

I had a big bag of sweet red peppers, rainy weather, and an empty house, so I decided to roast the peppers and play with my camera a little bit. It's really easy, and I totally have pictures of the whole process but for some reason my computer isn't cooperating with me at the moment.

I'll walk you through it anyway...

First, lay out your peppers in a single layer on a cookie sheet and stick it under the broiler. The peppers will bubble, blister, hiss, sizzle, squeal, and make all sorts of noises you didn't think they should make.

When they are all bubbly and brown on one side (about 10-15 minutes), flip'em over and roast the other side.

Then, put all the peppers in a big bowl and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Leave them in there for at least 30 minutes or so. This way they'll be cool enough to handle, and being in that bowl under the plastic wrap will steam them and make it SUPER easy to peel them.

Finally, peel all of the skin off, pull out the stem, and clean the pepper of all the seeds. If you don't use all of the peppers right then, you can store them in olive oil in an air-tight container.

I used about 3 of my roasted, cleaned peppers and made my favorite pasta, and it was a million times better than with the peppers out of the jar...totally worth the extra effort! With that, friends, I leave you with this photo of my finished pasta:

And believe me, it was every bit as good as it looks.

I hope everyone is having a superb week!

mg

Treasure Hunt.

Last night, I came home and the Billy Goat had a little surprise for me.

It started at the back door, with a note that read:

“Ready to Play?

When I am visiting, I need to get clean...”

With that note was a 4G SD Card. Hmmm...

I thought for a minute and then decided that if I was visiting and needed to get clean, I would go to the guest bathroom. So off I went. Nothing in the sink. Nothing on the toilet. I checked behind the shower curtain...a-ha!

Note #2, taped onto a camera bag.

“What good is an empty bag? There has to be more.

You can say when I’m in the kitchen I’m TOP SHELF”

So I went on to the kitchen. Nothing on our top shelves in the cabinets looked out of the ordinary, so I checked the pantry...bingo!

Note #3, taped onto a ZOOM LENS...

“So you do agree I’m Top Shelf? I’m kind of pointless without my body...

I like to hang out in very dry places...”

DRY PLACES? DRY PLACES...DRY PLACES!!! THE DRYER!

Being the ding-a-ling I am, I looked in the washer first...oops. Nothing there. Look in the dryer next, and dug under some clean clothes I really need to fold...

Note #4, taped onto a CANON EOS REBEL T1i DSLR CAMERA!!!

“You found me!!! I’m all yours. Love, Billy and Murphy”

Swoon. Sigh. Grin. My husband sent me on a little in-home treasure hunt for the camera I’ve been gabbing on and on about for at least 6 months. My BFF Kara was there, and got to witness the whole thing. I was sort of in shock, and she summed it up perfectly when she said I was all “twitterpated”. You got it, girl.

So that lead on to lots of hugs, kisses, thank yous, beers, and the best darn burgers and potato salad I’ve had in months! I took a couple pictures but haven’t gotten very far in the manual yet to know how to upload them...haha. I’m working on it and will hopefully have some pics to post later today or tomorrow.

Now that I think about it, is TOP SHELF a play on TOP CHEF? Or could it be just that it is really good? Either way, I think it’s adorable.

I stinkin’ love that guy.