Life Lately: Milestones, Moving, and More!

The days move quickly. I spend all of my time with our daughter, who having just turned one, is so much fun to be around. We play together, laugh together, eat together, shop together. You name it, we're doing it together. Hubby has started residency and now that it's in full swing, we're seeing less and less of each other. Sure, the hours will change, as well the rotations, but when you're in the middle of a bad one, it's hard to remind yourself of that.

We ended up in North Carolina- Duke University. Our first choice! To say we are thrilled is an understatement. As many of you know, I was dying to move back south. While Michigan was good to us in many ways, the weather was not. I was done with bundling up for half the year.

We bought a house, we've settled in, and are slowly but surely making new friends. That's always the hardest part about moving. You lose your old friends and have to make new ones. And let me tell you, making new friends as an adult is hard! Or is it just me? Thankfully we have found some playmates for our daughter and I'm looking forward to seeing what our area has to offer.

I'm slowly getting back into blogging. I've missed it so much and now that I occasionally have time (say what) in the evenings, I'm going to get my butt back into gear. Old readers, I hope you're still out there and you haven't forgotten about me!

Fridays Fings & Faves

Today we find out where hubby is matching for residency. Yayyyy!! Fingers crossed we're moving down south!

Are you tired of the smore's trend yet? I'm not, especially after seeing this smore's cheesecake!

Hubby and I are high school sweethearts. We celebrated our high school dating anniversary this past weekend and went out to a nice Italian place. We ordered something with the word "bruschetta" in the name. It was nothing like traditional bruschetta, but it was really good!

I've loved the cookies and cream combo since I was a kid. This cake has my name written all over it.

By my calculations it should already be spring. March = no more snow, cold, black, gray, dreary weather...What better way to feel springy than to paint my nails, PINK! I'm loving this color.

What are your recent finds and faves?

Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese

It's another mac and cheese recipe! I'm all for trying out as many of these as I can. Who doesn't like whipping together a cheesy, tasty pasta dish that can feed a whole family and provide you with plenty of leftovers the next day? Easy peasy. If you have kids or you're a kid at heart yourself, you and them are bond to love this meal.

True to it's name, this really does taste like you're eating a cheeseburger. It must be the ketchup and mustard that's in the mini burgers.

The cheddar cheese sauce ties it all together. You can't have a burger without cheese. Not for me at least. I must have some cheese! Tomatoes, red onions, and pickles are all great additions to add once it pops out of the oven.

Source: Rachael Ray
Servings: 4

Ingredients
1 pound cavatappi pasta (I used penne)
1 pound ground sirloin
1 tablespoon (about a palmful) grill seasoning
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard
3 tablespoons EVOO
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium red onion, chopped
Salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 1/4 cups grated yellow cheddar cheese, divided
1 1/4 cups grated Swiss cheese, divided
3 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 deli-style pickle, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add pasta to boiling water and cook just shy of al dente, according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and reserve.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the ground sirloin with the grill seasoning, ketchup and yellow mustard. Grab about a tablespoon of meat in your hand and roll it into a small ball. Place the mini meatballs onto a baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of EVOO and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and turn on the broiler.

While the mini meatballs are in the oven, heat a large saucepot over medium-high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon, and the butter. Cook the red onion with some salt and pepper until softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over top and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, season with salt and pepper, and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Remove sauce from heat and whisk in 1 cup of each cheese. Add the drained pasta to the cheese sauce along with the baked meatballs and toss to combine. Pour everything out into a casserole dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheddar and Swiss cheeses.

If serving immediately, toss the mac under the broiler until the top is golden brown and bubbly. Top with the chopped tomatoes and pickles, and serve.

Friday Finds & Faves

I've been using my crock pot like it's going out of style. That's why I can't wait to try this enchilada casserole!

I loooove monster cookies and need a reason to make these ASAP.

I'm sure we all saw these homemade oreo's with peanut butter. Shut the front door!

Just Baked, a local cupcake shop, was giving out free cupcakes every day this week if you knew the secret flavor. I went to pick up the chocolate malt flavor and ughhh it was so good!

I was having a pretty bad morning with our sweet angel baby and sent my husband a text saying "I want a doughnut. Like NOW." Guess what I got when he got home? He's a keeper!

If you know me IRL you know how excited I am that it's finally MARCH!! No, not just because it means the snow will finally end (hopefully) but because Match Day is upon us! We will soon find out where my husband has matched for residency. I'm SO excited to find out!

What are your finds or faves this week?

Honey Chicken with Fried Rice

Life has definitely changed since having our baby. We have less time to ourselves, less sleep, and less date nights. That's why we stayed in for Valentine's Day this year. We were not at all eager to brave the crowds with a seven month old. Even though she does do pretty good on outings. I think she loves all the attention. :) We stayed in the previous year too, because I was pregnant and only wanted one thing. Take out Chinese food.

I thought I'd carry on the tradition but instead of ordering in I opted to make my own. A take-out fake-out. I've never made fried rice before and I have to say it was so much easier than I thought it was going to be. I've made the honey chicken many times before as it comes from one of my favorite blogs. It's a cinch to make and comes out pretty tasty.

We had brownie sundaes for dessert, after baby fell asleep. I wonder what will happen next year.

For the Honey Chicken
Source: How Sweet Eats
Servings: 2

Ingredients
1 pound thinly sliced, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 egg whites
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup broccoli florets
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup honey
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
In 2 separate bowls, add the egg whites (lightly beaten) and the cornstarch. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces and season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken pieces in egg whites and then lightly dredge in cornstarch. Add to the skillet and let brown for 2-3 minutes, then flip. Continue with remaining chicken pieces, and do so in batches if needed. Add honey and toss to combine. Remove chicken from pan to make fried rice.

For the Fried Rice
Source:  Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients
2 cups cooked rice (preferably cold)
1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables
2 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg
3 teaspoons sesame or wok oil, divided
2 Tablespoons soy sauce

Directions
Heat (using same pan that you used to make the chicken) 1 teaspoon oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add frozen mixed vegetables and green onions. Stir fry until tender, about 2 minutes, then add garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Push vegetables to the side of the wok then add egg and sesame oil mixture into the center and scramble. Add honey chicken, rice, and soy sauce to wok then toss well to combine. Taste and add additional honey or soy sauce if needed.