Oh How I Love My Bird Dog!

As I have mentioned before, Mark and I have a one year old chocolate lab. He is just one of the cutest dogs in the world. Labs are known as hunting dogs.... specifically bird hunting. They normally are trained to flush out birds and then retrieve them. They are also well known water dogs, they love to swim. So it is a interesting display of domestication how sometimes the natural characteristics of an animal can change when put into a different environment. This was never more apparent as it was today. When I let Dutch out for lunch this is what I saw....

Three ducks had landed in our back yard. Dutch of course immediately noticed them and alerted me with a bark. (Such a good guard dog.) What he did not do is run after them chasing them off. In fact the ducks just kept on keeping on after noticing him. Only when I tried to get closer to get a better picture did they fly off. 

Perhaps in the feature these guys will be friends. 

Sugar Free Coconut Macaroons!

Sugar Free Coconut Macaroons
by Four Hour Body Recipe


2 - cups unsweetened, shredded coconut
4 - egg whites
1 - teaspoon vanilla extract
1 - 3.9 ounce cup Mott's unsweetened applesauce (optional. If used, use additional 1/4 cup coconut to rebalance added moisture)




Heat the oven to 350F and line baking sheet with parchment or foil.

Then separate the egg whites from the yolk using the shell. Add vanilla to the egg whites and whip until they start to stiffen. 

You should be able to see peaks when you lift your mixer.

If using applesauce, add and mix together.

Add the egg white mixture to the coconut.Fold the wet and dry ingredients together.Using a spoon or your hand, mold into 1 - 1 1/2 inch balls, flatten and put on the cookie sheet. Leave 1-2 inches between cookies. (I used a piping bag to have more control over the size of the cookies.)Bake for about 15 minutes. They are done when the bottoms are a rich brown and the tops are just starting to tan.

This is a great healthy treat that will curve your sweet tooth. If you want just a touch of sugar then use sweetened coconut instead of unsweetened. 

Enjoy!

7 Years With Mark!

On this day 7 years ago, Mark and I started dating. That is the day that we decided that we were more then just hanging out, but that we were actually dating. AND since nothing is ever official till it is put on Facebook we changed our status to "in a relationship".

Mark and I have had some great times together. He is a wonderful man that I am so happy I get to share my life with. He is my very best friend. He calms me down when I get crazy. He is there for me when I am down and always willing to listen to me. Which if you know me is often. (I like to talk ;)) I am very blessed to be able to share my life with him and look forward to the coming years together. Here is a pictorial  glimpse into the last 7 years together.

We met in the Kansas State University marching band.  "The Pride" of wildcat land. (This is where I slyly say a "Thank You" to my mom for pushing me to be in a marching band all those years. I wouldn't have met Mark if I had quit any of the number of times I tried.)

Our first photo together at the 2004 band banquet. Terry, our section leader, had spent the whole marching season saying we should get together. Guess that was a good call.




The next year neither of us were in band. So we got to just hang out and go to football games with friends. This is us tailgating before a game.

Christmas 2005. That night it had been snowing so hard. We went to my mom's cousin's wedding and poor Mark had to drive my mom, my grandmother, and I heavy snow to the wedding. 

On our one year anniversary we went to Sears and got or photos taken. 

At the Steel Ring, an organization I was in, dinner. 

My college graduation!

Visiting each other during the 1.5 years we did long distance between my graduation and Marks graduation.

Mark graduation from college. (I couldn't find one with me in it quickly.)

We are both members of the Oder of the Engineer.

Mark and I both really enjoy fine dining. This is us in 2009 at the French Room during Dallas restaurant week.

On our first Valentines's day, just 2 days after we starting dating, Mark got me this stuffed animal named Domanic. Little did I know then that 4 and a half years later Mark would use Dommi to propose to me.

Engagement Photos!

Wedding Photos!

We honeymooned in Napa! It was amazing!

Since we got married almost 2 years ago we have done so much! We have been on a cruise to the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. We purchased a home and added a puppy to our family. We have so much and I love being able to share it with my best friend. 

Signing for our first home.

Picking up Dutch from the breeder. (I will post a whole bunch more photos of Dutch in a week. We will have had Dutch for a whole year then.)

Mark I love you more and more every day. I am so happy to be sharing my life with you. The last 7 years have flown by. I can't wait to spend the next 7 with you!

Dinner and Dessert

Today I made 2 really fun things. First dinner:

Greek Chicken & Potatoes

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breats

1 1/2 lbs potatoes (I used red potatoes)

Mix the lemon juice, chicken broth, olive oil, minced garlic, and dried oregano together in a rather container. Then add in the raw chicken. I would suggest a sealable container this was you can 100% contain the mix and raw chicken. (I am paranoid about raw chicken.)

Marinate this mix over night... If you are wanting to eat this recipe today then you need to marinate for at least 2 hours. I find that over night is best though.

To cook this mixture put all ingredients from container into a oven safe pot. I used my dutch oven for this. Cut up your potatoes in cubes and add to the pot. Bake for 60 minutes @ 350 degrees. 

Make sure to let the chicken cool before eating, it will be very hot. This is such a delicious meal, I even crave it from time to time. The best part is how juicy this chicken is. It just falls apart. 

Now onto dessert:

For dessert I made these conversational heart cookies I found on pintrest. They turned out really cute!

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries!!

This is a wonderful dessert! Last night we had some new friends over and I really wanted to surprise them with a dessert to remember and love.  All I can say about these are... I wish I had made more.

Here is the recipe.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries
from The Sweets Life

Ingredients:
1 lb large strawberries
8 oz. cream cheese, soften
4 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
graham cracker crumbs

Cut off the tops of the strawberries and hallow out middle. This is where you are going to put the cheesecake filling.

Next, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together thoroughly. You want to make sure there are no lumps of cream cheese left. 

I put this mixture into a piping bag in order to neatly apply the filling into the strawberries. You can also use a spoon to scope the filling in.

After filling all the strawberries, arrange them nicely on a plate, and sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs on top.

When finished, cover the plate or bowl lightly and put in the fridge to keep cool until ready to serve.

This recipe was so good that I think I am going to write it down and keep it in my recipe box so as not to loose it. I will be making these again. Next time I though I will know to make more.

Enjoy!

New Friends, Fun Food, and PUPPIES!

Last night we had our new friends Alex and Matt over for dinner and a puppy play date. It was a lot of fun. They brought over their pretty little lady, Lucky.

She met our very excited puppy, Dutch. They did pretty well together. Lucky has general problems with other dogs, so it was a tricky introductions. Matt and Alex are trying to get her use to other dogs to help acclimate her and so we let her meet Dutch. Dutch on the other hand LOVES everyone, people and dogs. So when Lucky would growl or get nervous around Dutch, Dutch just thought she wanted to play. It turned out well and by the end of the night they were laying on the kitchen floor together. 

Dutch and Lucky meeting each other. 

Then, after the pups had a chance to meet each other, we had dinner. Matt and Alex were very nice in bringing over some tasty bruschetta. (Sorry we forgot to take a picture of it.) Then Mark made some flavorful kabobs and I made some roasted potatoes and carrots.

Add some wine and it was a delectable dinner. For dessert I wanted something easy and delicious. So where else would I turn but pintrest.com. I found this recipe for cheesecake stuffed strawberries. They were amazing. The time to make them was so little compared to the taste. I will defiantly be making these again.  I will post the recipe next.

After this we played a fun and competitive card game of Phase 10. It was a great night and I am happy that we have our new friends, Matt and Alex.

Lucky!

Dutch saying hi to Alex!

Alex and Lucky... They are so cute!