National Coffee Day and Another Crock Pot Success!

So today is National Coffee Day!  In my mind, this should probably be a holiday we celebrate like Christmas.  And most companies agree - today is (or rather was) the day to get a free "Cup of Joe" at your favorite coffee establishment!  So many local coffee houses participated around here today - I'm just sad I didn't get the chance to visit them all!

I can't wait for the Starbucks to bring back their winter cups!

Today was also another day of Crock Pot experimenting at the Overholt house.  Like I mentioned before, Wednesday nights Darrin has a church commitment.  He is a Small Group Leader for 7th grade boys at our Church and they have their Worship Night on Wednesday. 

Darrin at 14 (he's on the far right!)

So before Darrin goes and shapes the minds of today's youth, I have 45 minutes to feed him.  Tonight we tried "The Best Slow Cooker Chicken Ever," a recipe I found on www.thenest.com and thought sounded pretty good!

Here's the recipe:

1 lb ground chicken
1 onion, diced
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sun dried tomato pesto
1 tbsp flour
1 can died tomato
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
2 red peppers, chopped
1 zucchini, diced

Brown the chicken in a skillet and add to your crock pot
Add onion, chick peas, and salt to the chicken
In a small bowl combine the flour and pesto and stir til combined
Add the vinegar, sugar, and diced tomatoes (plus a little more salt) to the pesto mixture
Pour over the chicken, onion, and chick peas

Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours
Stir in the peppers and zucchini and cook on high for another 45 minutes or so
Serve over brown rice

My thoughts...it was YUMMY!!  I just wish it had more sauce.  Next time I plan on doubling that part of the recipe...but this will totally be added to my arsenal of easy dinners...and I'm looking forward to the leftovers.

Can't wait til tomorrow!

Now since Darrin's gone I must go clean off the DVR - I record a LOT of shows and I'm loving some of the new ones this year.  Check back tomorrow for more in the fun and exciting life of Alissa...maybe I'll break down my thoughts on this fall's TV Line up! But first...

Did you 'celebrate' National Coffee Day?  Do you prefer to make your own coffee at home or stop somewhere and pick some up?

Not Sure About You, But I'm Inspired!

Occasionally Darrin will send me an article he finds on Yahoo that he thinks I'd like.  We actually both love our "Yahoo articles" and talk about them quite a bit.

He sent me this little tidbit today and I must say I found it super interesting and really inspiring.  For those of you who don't want to leave my riveting prose to read the article I'll give you the gist of it.  It's an article written by a husband and father of two who's family is living comfortable on only $40,000 a year.  His wife is a stay at home mom and he is a teacher.

In the article he talks about how it was all about long-term planning for his family.  He also says the best piece of advice he has is that if broke people are making fun of you, you're doing something right. 

In today's world where everything is judged on having something bigger and better than the person next to you I think what this family is doing is really inspirational.  They are living very comfortably and well within their means and still enjoying life.  They're not trying to keep up with the Joneses, but are making the decisions that are best for their family.  It makes me want to start trimming the fat and doing what is best for our family and not what will make us look good to others.  If a family of four can do it, I'm sure our little family of 2 (plus three four-legged creatures) can!

Does anyone else think they could trim a little bit off our their budget? Where would you start the cuts?

The Waffle Debacle!

I'm not much of a breakfast person.  I don't eat traditional breakfasts on a day to day basis and therefore I don't cook breakfast that often.  On top of that, Darrin HATES eggs.  He can't eat them at all.  It's actually a long running joke between us - well actually it's a joke that makes me laugh and makes him roll his eyes!

Now that we're married I like the idea of weekend breakfast together.  We had very generous wedding guests and decided that we would put some of that generosity into a waffle maker!  Darrin really likes waffles and it's a fairly easy Saturday morning breakfast so I was super excited about this purchase.  I did decided to get Belgium Waffle mix instead of making the mix from the recipe that came with the waffle maker - more in effort to save on ingredients than anything else.

I got up yesterday morning super excited to try out our new kitchen tool.  I started cooking up some bacon and mixed my batter.  I read the instructions for the waffle maker three times (my mom was a teacher so I'm very into following rules!).  I measured out the batter perfectly and started making my first waffle.  We got a nice waffle maker with a little light that tells you when your waffle is ready.  When the green light came on this is what I got...

Not how it's meant to look...

...then I realized I left the egg out of the batter!!  Who forgets to add a MAIN INGREDIENT when there are only four you have to worry about in the first place?  The real issue is that I kept trying to remind myself to add it because I somehow knew I would forget!  So I chalked up this disaster to the lack of egg.  I tossed out the first batch and made a second - this time with egg.

Again, I poured the perfectly measured amount into the waffle iron and waited for my little green light.  This is what I got...

Missing a little bit of waffle

...I was very perplexed.  I read the instructions again - it's non-stick so you're not supposed to use cooking spray but that was the only thing I could think of that may fix this issue...and what do you know, it worked!!

So much better

Darrin's yummy plate!

I felt a little wrong not following the instructions, but the waffles turned out perfectly golden brown and delicious!  After adding peanut butter and syrup, Darrin was satisfied with his creation - on the other hand, I'm more of a butter and syrup kinda gal!  It was a really yummy breakfast and I'm looking forward to trying more creative waffles in the future - banana and chocolate waffles anyone?

What's your favorite breakfast food?  If you could have any type of waffle, what would it be?

It's Just a Movie, Right?

So I have a problem.  It's not a huge, life altering problem.  Honestly, problem is probably too strong a word.  It's more like a quirk...yeah, that's better...I have a quirk!

I have a "quirk" watching movies that are based on true stories because I tend to obsess about learning everything about them after the fact.  Let me start by saying I love movies!  I love being able to get lost in something for an hour or two and live in the "life" of someone  else.  I get lost in a fantasy world for a few hours and when the lights come up I realize how great my life is and I move on.

That doesn't happen when I watch a movie based on a true story (I mean, when the lights come up I still realize I have a pretty kick butt life but I have a hard time "moving on").  When I watch a movie that's "based on a true story" I have to know everything about that story.  Movies get "The Hollywood Effect" and a true story may have a the undertones of truth but tend to be over-dramatized.  I want to know the truth...no I NEED to know the truth.

A few months ago I watched the Lifetime Movie "The Craigslist Killer" - yes I know it came out a year ago but it sat on my DVR List for about 5 months - remember I was planning a wedding and remodeling a house and had limited time.  If you don't remember that please refer to every previous blog I've written...

...anyway, I finally watched this movie and my heart broke for Philip.  I got "Hollywood-ed."  I let the drama get to me.  Those last scenes broke my heart and I forgot he had actually murdered women.  After the movie was over I spent a good few hours wikipedia-ing and googling him.  I didn't feel bad anymore.  I got the real story.  I mean, it breaks my heart how the story ended, but I'm happy he was found guilty and punished.

I'm digressing, however...when something "real" is featured in the plot of a movie I have to know more about it.  I did the same thing when there was a "Jack the Ripper"-esque episode on Criminal Minds.  I went to the library and got books on him and read them all in a few nights.

Now where did this all come from - I usually post about food or remodeling, right?  We just watched "The Social Network" and I'm not sure how I feel about Facebook after that.  Don't get me wrong, I'll still check it every 20 minutes on my phone when I get bored, but Wow!  During the movie I actually started looking things up online because I know there were so many kernels of truth in it (I was in college when it came it and Notre Dame got it pretty early - within the first few months for sure) .  The problem with that movie is that in reality everyone signed non-disclosure agreements so the "real truth" really isn't out there for the general public, or the crazy Alissa's of the world.  So that means I'm not sure if I should be in awe of the creators of Facebook or disgusted.  And I know I am going to spend the next few days trying to figure out everything I can about these people (I mean I've already stopped writing this three times to search the web for something else related to that movie!).

So for now I must run...the Zuckerberg's and Saverin's of the world are calling.  Before I go...

...does anyone else always need to know the "true story" behind the "based on a true story?" 

Indian Night at the Overholt's

So I'm not sure about you, but I definitely have my "go-to" dinners.  Now I'm Italian so most involve pasta and some type of red sauce but occasionally a Mexican-inspired dish sneaks in, or, now that I'm married to a 'meat and potatoes' kind of guy, steaks and burgers on the grill. 

As Darrin and I are settling into married life (today is our 19th day anniversary by the way!), life is starting to take over again.  On Tuesday nights we both have small group.  Thankfully his small group meets at a restaurant so I don't have to worry about feeding him on those nights.  Wednesday are a different story.  He has another church activity that starts at 6:30 and doesn't end til almost 9.  I get home after 5:30 so that's not a lot of time for me to get dinner ready and let him eat so he's not ready to eat his own foot when he gets home at 9!

I've decided this is the perfect opportunity for me to start using my crock pot more.  I pretty much make two things with my crock pot, but that's going to get really old REALLY fast! So I started searching for crock pot recipes.  I have a Betty Crocker Crock Pot recipe book that's pretty good and I've also been searching the web for some good ideas.  I'm a little obsessed with TheNest.com right now and there are a handful of great slow cooker recipes there and the Facebook Group I joined, CrockPot Girls,  has a lot of great ideas too. 

Tonight I decided it was time for me to "Go big or go home!" and break out an all new recipe for dinner.  I decided to stray from the tried and true cuisines and go Indian!  I made Slow Cooker Chicken Curry tonight and I we really liked it.  I'm a "tweeker" so I always change a recipe after my first try and this one is no different, but right out of the book I'd give it a solid 3.5 out of 5!

Ingredients:
3 TBSP flour
3 TBSP curry powder
1 1/2 TSP cumin
1 TSP salt
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cubed
2 medium potatoes, pealed and diced
1 onion, chopped
4 carrots, bias cut
1 jalapeneo, diced
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 can light coconut milk
Cooked rice

Mix the flour, curry, cumin and salt in a large food storage bag.
Add the chicken and shake to coat
Place the chicken, potato, onion, carrot, garlic and jalapeno into the crock pot
Cover with 1/2 cups water
Cook on low 6-8 hours (I did 8)
Add the coconut milk and turn heat to high
Cook for an additional 30 minutes
Serve over rice

A few modifications I would make: Season the veggies with salt and pepper before cooking.  I thought this dish lacked a little salt.  Also, the next time I make this I'm either adding another jalapeno or lots of red pepper flakes - there wasn't enough heat for me.


One word of warning - the prep is a little much for the morning.  There is a lot of pealing and chopping.  I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get all of my stuff done this morning. If you tend to cut it close in the AM (I couldn't push it any more if I tried in the morning) give yourself an extra 10 minutes or so, just to be safe.  I'd assume you could probably dice and coat the chicken the night before and just leave it in the refrigerator overnight, but I'm not sure I'd try that - 

 I'm a little afraid of chicken, as I'm sure you'll find out!

All things considered, this is actually a pretty healthy dish, yummy and easy dish.  I used brown rice for added fiber and of course light coconut milk instead of regular but I doubt anyone could tell the difference.  It also made a pretty decent amount so this is dinner tomorrow too - only two week into marriage and I'm already learning the beauty of leftovers!

Any good slow cooker recipes out there?  I'd love for you to share some of your favorites!

Houston We Have A Problem...

...or rather we HAD a problem! 

And that problem was taking on too much and therefore neglecting my very loyal readers (yes Mom and Gram I know that's really only you, but hey I've got to make myself look good, right?)

But now the wedding is over!!  I'm officially a married women and I'm loving it.  We've been home and back in our new normal routine for a week now.  The DVR is empty (or as empty as it can be the number of shows I record), we're back to home cooked meals (bye bye 8 pounds I gained on my honeymoon), and the house is presentable again (dust bunnies be gone!).

That means I have the free time to try this whole blog thing out again.  So here goes!

I'm currently undertaking the task of decorating the house.  And by that I mean hanging things on walls!  I've started with the hallway.  I found the best picture frame at TJ Maxx or Marshall's or Home Goods...it was one of those stores but they're really all the same to me.  Anyway, the frame was 7 frames all put together into one.  I got it not really thinking about how it would work and ended up loving it.  BUT that meant that I had to continue the theme through the entire hallway.  So I've spent days searching for very cool, but not expensive, frames to add to the wall.  I don't even have the pictures yet but I'm just buying and hanging the frames.  I'm up to 15 so far. 

So I get home last night and start showing everything to Darrin and he's starring at me like I have three heads - which is actually a pretty common reaction when I start showing him things I've bought!  I go through this 5 minute monologue about how excited I am to do this and how cool I hope it looks and how I can't wait to add old family pictures and our wedding photos.  After all of that I get..."But they don't match?" Now, at first I was really impressed that he even really noticed something like that - this is the kid that wore a shirt covered in dirt to run errands tonight - so I explained to him that it was meant to be unique and not match.  His response - "How many times do you think you're going to have to explain that one to people?"

Now all this makes me do is start second guessing myself.  I spent a good hour today searching sites like thenest.com and the HGTV website trying to figure out if people are going to think my hallway looks interesting and good or ugly and mis-matched.  I mean, there isn't much I can at this point - the holes are in the walls and there is NO WAY I am getting out the wall patch and paint!  So for now I'm going with it...but that brings up the question -

How much say does/did your spouse/significant other have in the decorating of your house?

I'm trying out a new crock pot recipe on Wednesday...See Previous Post...so check back then for either a recipe or a warning not to try it!