attack of the bug

this has nothing to do with food. just a fair warning.

last night, my husband and i went on a 9 o'clock frozen custard run. i mean....can you blame us. anyway, so the adventure begins AFTER the eating of the frozen custard. we pulled in to our condo and we got out and walked up to our door. all of a sudden 3 huge giant bee/lobster creatures began attacking us. literally. they swarmed around us with these awful screeching noise and starting squirting this liquid stuff all over ryan. we both RAN down the sidewalk and screamed things like "OMYGOSH (and not in the sexy usher way), and WHAT THE CRAP.

so we stood there about 50 feet away and watched these mammoth creatures until they calmed down. when they landed on the wall and stopped screeching ryan and i made a run for it in the house. that got them all upset again. but, this time we were too fast. we made it inside before they could hit us again.

needless to say ryan and i were traumatized. but, really the moral of this story is that some people really like bugs and have these particular creatures as a fun little plastic bug on their key chains. yes. last night we did our research and found out these beasts are called "cicadas." i cringe at the name. they live under the earth for decades and then "emerge" every few years.

but, what is really weird is that today i found TIME articles describing the "amazingness" of the cicada. i also found a website of a guy who loved cicadas so much that he bought plastic renderings of these evil bugs to use as a key chain. he so creatively posted a picture of the package it came in, which i placed at the beginning of this entry.

so, things we have learned:

1. God created a creature named a cicada.

2. they live in the ground then emerge and attack you and scream and squirt you with a nasty substance.

3. some weirdos actually LIKE these bugs. i will never associate with them. now when i meet people i will ask them "hi. what's your name? where are you from? do you have a cicada key chain?"

4. who knew that we lived in the amazon?

garlic chicken

one of my favorite foods in the summer is chicken. i just love to grill it and add fresh veggies on the side. it's fast, delicious and super healthy.

many times the days get so hot and humid, that the thought of eating ANYTHING besides grilled chicken and fresh tomatoes makes me nauseous.

so, since it's hot and humid, i'm in a chicken makin mood. my current favorite way to make it is using a seasoned garlic recipe.

Seasoned Garlic Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts
4 cloves garlic
half of a lemon's juice
2 - 4 T olive oil
1 T parsley
1 T thyme

(Adjust ingrdients to your taste)

take the garlic and beat it in a food processer then put the purated garlic in a small glass casserole dish. in the casserole dish, add the rest of the ingredients. mix it around with a fork take a knife or fork and pierce small holes in the chicken, so the marinade can get in the chicken. then place the chicken breasts in the dish. turn the chicken around till all the chicken is covered. cover the dish with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge for as long as you have. the longer the better.

When ready, heat a iron skillet and grill chicken. or you can grill outside.

i am serving mine with fresh baked green beans tonight.

perfect summer dinner.

this also makes GREAT leftovers. put the chicken on a salad the next night and you've got two healthy meals in a row. marvelous.

time off

wow~ it's been AWHILE since i have posted. my parents came to visit us for a couple of weeks and now i am back in bama visiting friends and family while my man is in DC for some more training.

i have noticed so many things about the south that i never did before. i think living in the north and midwest for the past 6 months made me look at bama differently.

1. huge trucks with those 7 feet tall antennas. let's be honest. those antennas are just weird.

2. at a restaurant, when you say you want tea, you will get sweet tea unless you specify you want UN sweet tea.

3. women have everything put together. their kids match, they have monogrammed bags and make up on. even at the pool.

4. chicken fingers. everywhere.

i'm loving being here. will post more when i get back home.

golf

so, i just need to be honest and say that i am watching the u.s. open. my husband is not even here to encourage this behavior. i'm really very confused as to who i am. who am i? i am not sure at the moment. apparently a golf watcher. this is eerily similar to a fateful and awkward day that occurred a few years ago when i watched nascar. it happened only one time and has never happened since. and i don't really like talking about it because i am just so regretful of my behavior. we'll see what happens after today. this is probably just a "nascar" situation. i don't think i'll be home every sunday watching the golf channel.

the end.

watermelon

it is amazing how food can take you back to different experiences. just like how a certain song reminds you exactly how you felt when you were getting over a guy or dancing in the car with friends in college. i just opened my first watermelon of the summer and it takes me back to my summer spent at beach project and the summers with my family. and it is making me miss my parent's house! oh to be on their back porch with a big piece of watermelon and the lake in the backyard as our backdrop.

maybe one day, when i open my first watermelon years from now, it will remind me of this first summer when we just moved to our little condo in st. louis. yep. i'm going to eat so much watermelon this summer.i want to be reminded of this new and special time in our lives every single year.

Sweet Tea

I didn't realize how important this amazing beverage was until it wasn't as available anymore. I would like to make a correction to my previous post and say that sweet tea does live in st. louis. i wouldn't say that it is "alive and well." I would say it is "alive and on a heart monitor." But, it is alive. I found it at mcalisters (oh blessed sunday that it was found) and at mcdonalds. Although, this mcdonalds doesn't really know how to make it. but, whatever. it's $1 and does the job.

that's all i've got.

New "Home"

So, here we are!!! We just moved to our new city and i really feel like i am in this big daze. who knew i would ever live in the mid-west?? we are still unpacking our little condo...i'm having trouble feeling at home there because i know we will be buying a house in the next year. so, i really feel like this condo is temporary...which is kind of a bummer. i'm so ready to feel at "home." we haven't really been "home" since september. i don't know how much more of the vagrant lifestyle i can handle!

We have been here exactly 7 days today. I haven't really gotten out of our neighborhood yet...haven't needed to with trader joes, panera and target all 1 mile away. so, in the 7 days we have been here, these are some important notes...

1. bunnys roam around here like squirrels. it's like heaven.
2. everyone is SUPER nice. like really nice. i am very very impressed.
3. sweet tea is non-existent.
4. girls dress cute here, which is exciting since i love to dress up. in maryland, girls did NOT dress up and i stuck out way too much when i wanted to wear a sun dress. so, i had to "dress to mesh" and i hated it.
5. forever 21 is literally a mile away from my house. nuff said.


i made my first home made meal last night and it was DELICIOUS. I decided to make bbq pork quesadillas and avocado salad. i stole the avocado salad idea from the most amazing food network chef ever, Ina Garten.

BBQ Pork Quesadillas and Guacamole Salad

1. Put Pork Roast (any size will do. i used a 2 pound roast) in the crock pot. Cover with 2 cups barbeque sauce and 1/4 cup water. To keep it easy, you can use bottled sauce. Put on low for 8 hours. Eight hours later stir in 1 cup frozen corn. Let heat through.

Heat skillet on stove. Melt a little butter on skillet. Place one tortilla on skillet and cover with handful of grated cheddar cheese. Then put as much pork on tortilla as you would like. Cover with second tortilla and flip when done.


1. Chop 1/2 yellow bell pepper, 1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes, 1/4 onion.
2. Mix in the zest of 1 lime and pepper and salt.
3. Mix in 1/2 can of black beans - drained and rinsed.
4. Mix in 1 avocado cubed.
5. In a separate bowl, juice the lime and whisk in about 1/4 cup olive oil along with a good amount of salt and pepper.
6. Toss the lime vinaigrette lightly into the salad.

Serve with the quesadillas.