Weekend visitors

Desiree, Lou, and Baby Nico came to spend Memorial Day weekend with us here in Iowa City. We went to the Kernels baseball game, the boys went golfing, Des and I shopped and enjoyed downtown IC, and we had some good Indian take-out for dinner. Tyler and Dana just arrived and will stay with us for the night. We love having visitors, especially sweet babies!

This is hilarious. Lou loves to dress like Nico!

Amazing

Make sure your volume is up...And don't look at my double chin:)

Tri Tip Steak with Red Wine Sauce

Here is a great grilling recipe. It calls for flat iron or tri tip steak. We get our tri tip steaks at Costco and they are really good and pretty darn cheap for good beef. Here is a link to the recipe. The only alteration is that we don't strain the sauce as we are both onion eaters.

I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/flat-iron-steak-with-red-wine-sauce-recipe/index.html

Two Lindsey's

My very good friend Lindsay Larson came down from Minnesota to visit us this past weekend. We don't see each other that often and we don't talk on the phone that much, but each time we are together it's instantly just like old times. Maybe that is because we have been friends since we were really little. Or maybe because our parents (who are good friends from college) named us the same name:). She is one of my favorite people. Here we are in front of the Old Capitol building here in Iowa City.

And here she is with her nice boyfriend Aaron. Thanks for visiting, guys!

And here's Andy and I at the Old Capitol Criterium bike race. Flights of bikers race a 1 kilometer loop around downtown which includes a HUGE uphill and a downhill with a sharp turn at the bottom. Yes, we saw a few good wipe outs here. Andy decided he wasnts to be a bike rider now.


Andy and I went to hit some balls at the driving range, but it was closed due to wet conditions. We did some putting instead. Andy said that I was the #1 putter. Watch out dad, we're already practicing!
And we finished off the weekend with a great dinner with Andy's parents. I'm posting the recipe soon. See, I told you I was catching up on my posts!!

A little catch-up

Sorry. I have been the world's worst blogger the past month. I THOUGHT about it a lot, took pictures of food so that I could post some new recipes, but haven't gotten around to it. I have catching-up to do.

Here are some pictures from Easter. We went back to the suburbs for Easter with my family on Friday and Saturday and then we came back to IC early Easter morning for brunch with Andy's family. It was a nice weekend!

Here is Andy's prized egg. It is a Hawkeye football helmet. He later dipped it in the yellow dye for the full black & gold effect. He's so artsy!
And here is sweet little Nico! He loves his Auntie Lindsey!!!
And here he is with Grandma!

My mom, Des, Nico and I are heading up to our friend's wedding in Minnesota in two weeks. I can't wait to go with him on his first road trip!

Try this quick while the weather is still cool...

I have recently found a few food blogs that I have enjoyed following. Andy and I aren't picky eaters and like trying new things. Here is what we made tonight for dinner and we will certainly be making it again. I found the recipe at The Dish on Delish.

chicken and dumpling

3 Tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, large dice

5 medium carrots, large dice

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 cup (spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour

1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth - we used an additional cup

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces

3/4 teaspoon dried dill weed

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons milk

1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas

In a Dutch oven (or a heavy 5-6 quart pot), heat butter over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and thyme. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup flour and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly; season with salt and pepper. Nestle chicken in pot; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make dumplings: In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining 3/4 cup flour, dill, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. With a fork, gradually stir in 1/2 cup milk to form a moist and soft batter. It should be just a little thicker than pancake batter and should easily drop from the tip of a spoon. (Add additional 2 tablespoons milk if too thick.) Set aside.

Stir peas into pot. Drop batter in simmering liquid in 10 heaping tablespoonfuls, keeping them spaced apart (dumplings will swell as they cook). Cover, and simmer until chicken is tender and dumplings are firm, 20 minutes. Serve.

Enjoy!

Spring is in the air

Today was one of the first days that spring really felt like it was in sight. Andy and I put together our new patio set that I brought back from my parents house and I didn't even need to wear a jacket or gloves! I told Andy that we need to perfect a few "patio recipes" so we can have friends and neighbors over and snack this summer. I can't wait!

Then I spent a few hours cleaning up the flower beds and raking more leaves from last fall. Five yard bags later, we were in good shape. I also saw a glimpse of a few flowers that are starting to pop up. I love that about spring.

And here are a few things that I made for a family that is going on a Disney cruise for spring break...And this is a cotton dress that the lady had, but had two stains on it and was getting a little short for one of her daughters. I added the starfish and crab to cover the stains and added the fabric and pom pom trim to the bottom. It feels good to recycle the dress to make it last for another summer. And I think it's pretty cute!
And it makes me wish I was going on vacation!!!