Happy Birthday/Halloween!

My hubby is a Halloween baby!

I always ask him what it was like as a kid to have a birthday on Halloween. I mean, you get to dress up, eat lots of candy and stay up late. How cool would that be?!

I personally love Halloween, so celebrating his birthday ON Halloween makes it that much better. 

The night before his day of birth, we had his favorite dinner. MEAT, and lots of it. 

We spend approximately 3 hours on Sunday hopping between our 3 grocery stores...yes, we went to one store twice, in attempt to find the best meat. I think we'll make an adventure out of anything, really. 

He decided on chicken legs, steak, and ribs. 

Because he is a master of the grill (and spices), it all turned out SO well! Bravo birthday boy!

 And on Halloween night, we had some friends over to celebrate his birthday AND a Chief's win!

I will not claim to be a football fan, because I am quit the opposite. So on commercial breaks, Jenn, Tess and I (the football haters) forced the group to play Taboo...best game of all time. Even though the boys huffed and puffed, they loved it. :)

 Eric's favorite cake you ask?

Funfetti cake with strawberry icing

That's right, he likes pink icing and he's not ashamed

 See how much fun Taboo is?

We can't take a serious picture....

 Hahaha, no comment.

 

 

Pizza Creations

During a night of Friday shenanigans, our good friends Tess, Jay, Eric and I decided it was only fitting to make personalized pizzas! Mind you it was 10:00 when we concluded that pizza is what we were all craving. It reminded me of a good ol' fashioned college night! Goooood times.

Meet Tess. She is amazingly talented, very fashionable and pretty super to be around.

This is Jay. He is witty, loves smores and moonshine, and is the only Sidney-ite with a Southern accent. Holler!

Hmmm, prosciutto 

The girl pizza: Prosciutto, goat cheese, mozzarella and caramelized onions and garlic

The boy pizza: Mozzarella, bacon, mushrooms, pizza sauce and pepperoni

Done!

(picture by Tess!)

(picture also done by Tess)

(courtesy of Tess)

My Weekend of Fun, Family and Friends

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to spend 4 days with my parents and brother back in Salina and then to Kansas City. Eric couldn't get off work, so he stayed home :( Although I missed him, I had a wonderful time with my family!

Unfortunately I didn't get pictures from anything at the Kansas City portion of the trip.  We went to my cousin's wedding in Mission, KS, which was just beautiful! There was family there who I haven't seen in some time, which is always so nice. 

And THEN, I slipped over to Weston, KS to celebrate one my dearest friend, Hannah, and her fiance's engagement! That experience was absolutely priceless. Her reaction to my surprise attendance was amazing! I was just on cloud nine that I could be there to celebrate such a big day for them. Kyle put so much thought into that day for Hannah. Everything about them makes me happy, and now I can't wait for the big wedding day!! 

These first few pictures are from the building that my Brother bought in Brookville, KS. One day it will be a bar and grill! It is the coolest old building and has so many stories to tell over the years.

I took a couple hours to drive around my parent's property and take pictures.

I just love the calmness of it all.

My Dad had a company picnic at a local pumpkin patch one of the evenings. 

When it cooled down, they had a bonfire that we all gathered around.

The other portion of the trip was picking up my new car. We salvaged my SUV that I've had since college due to the hail that totaled it. And now I'm driving a Honda Accord that gets amazing gas mileage! It's a welcome change to spend significantly less on our multiple trips back to Kansas, and makes it less of a financial burden when we want to jet off to the mountains for the weekend.

My trips back to Kansas are always jam packed, but I can't complain! It's always lots of fun packed into the days I have there.

Chicken Fried Steak

This recipe is courtesy of Pioneer Woman, where nearly 90% of my recipes are born.

Eric and I had never made chicken fried steak 

before this date night.

And I'll tell ya what...it won't be the last time.

It was sooo delicious!

First we dipped the cube steaks in an egg/water mixture.

Then into this flour mixture, complete with seasoning salt, 

cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and garlic powder

                                      

     

 Then we dipped them BACK into the egg mixture, and again in the flour mixture.

That's right, twice in each.

It makes it extra crispy, just believe me.

And then pop them into the already hot oil

 Listen to them simmer

 Let them dry on paper towels to get all of the extra grease off

 And this is where the magic happened.

Eric made the best gravy from the drippings.

Just add flour, milk and lots of salt and pepper until it's the right consistency

And dig in! 

 

Pioneer Woman's Recipe

• 3 pounds Cube Steak (tenderized Round Steak That's Been Extra Tenderized)
• 1-1/2 cup Whole Milk, Plus Up To 2 Cups For Gravy
• 2 whole Large Eggs
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• Seasoned Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne
• LOTS Of Black Pepper. Lots.
• Canola Oil, For Frying
• Salt And Pepper, For Both Meat And Gravy

Preparation Instructions

Begin with an assembly line of dishes for the meat: milk mixed with egg in one; flour mixed with spices in one; meat in one; then have one clean plate at the end to receive the breaded meat.
Work one piece of meat at a time. Season both sides with salt and pepper, then dip in the milk/egg mixture. Next, place the meat on the plate of seasoned flour. Turn to coat thoroughly. Place the meat back into the milk/egg mixture, turning to coat. Place back in the flour and turn to coat.
(So: wet mixture/dry mixture/wet mixture/dry mixture.) Place breaded meat on the clean plate, then repeat with remaining meat.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop in a few sprinkles of flour to make sure it's sufficiently hot. Cook meat, three pieces at a time, until edges start to look golden brown; around 2 to 2 1/2 minutes each side.
Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and keep warm. Repeat until all meat is cooked.
GRAVY:
After all meat is fried, pour off the grease into a heatproof bowl. Without cleaning the pan, return it to the stove over medium-low heat. Add 1/4 cup grease back to the pan. Allow grease to heat up.
Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour evenly over the grease. Using a whisk, mix flour with grease, creating a golden-brown paste. Keep cooking until it reaches a deep golden brown color. If paste seems more oily than pasty, sprinkle in another tablespoon of flour and whisk.
Whisking constantly, pour in milk. Cook to thicken the gravy. Be prepared to add more milk if it becomes overly thick. Add salt and pepper and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until gravy is smooth and thick. Be sure to taste to make sure gravy is sufficiently seasoned.

Fall in Sidney

How is the weather for everyone?

It's definitely fall here! We had our first hard freeze last night, so I can tell the bitter cold is coming. Yuck. Since Sidney is lacking in the tree department, it's hard to tell if the leaves are really changing. I've driven through the park every day (above) to see what the leaves are doing. I guess you never know what you have until it's gone, because I didn't realize how much I appreciated trees until I moved to Western Nebraska!! Who knew. Eric definitely noticed it when we first moved here. When we drive back to Kansas, you hit a certain point where the trees start and you know you're almost home. It's the little things, right?

Revamped Office

I haven't really shared the room in which all of the 

craft magic happens.

It's the place I spend a lot of my time on the weekends, and let's be honest, it's kind of deemed "my room", although I do let Eric in....if he doesn't touch anything (hehe).

We got this horse painting from my Great-Aunt for our wedding. I LOVE it.

This here trunk stores all of the stuff that I don't want to see...like parts to upcoming projects and such.

I've been eyeing a lot of amazing craft rooms I see on blogs, and Eric knows this. 

[I will share some of my faves in another post]

So he tells me over the weekend that if I want a "craft center" (essentially an organized area of shelf space), one of his Christmas presents to me will be just that! I'm going to start designing it ASAP! 

I know I sound like a broken record, but it sure is wonderful to have a handy hubby!! (and a cute one at that)