The Plant That Hates Me

I have never had a green thumb, not that I'm horrible at growing things, I just don't really know much about them.  Anyhow, Jonathan's cousin, Deborah, gave us this really pretty flower for Christmas (I think it was an amarylis).  I tried, I really did...it just refused to grow.  I finally had enough and decided to part ways with the plant.  So, I carried it from the window it was growing in to the sink until I could decide what to do with it.  On the way to the sink, the plant jumped to its death.  It spilled in the sink (not a huge deal), but then, it fell all over the floor, which I had JUST swept, vacuumed, and steam mopped.  I was a tad perturbed.  Not only had I just vacuumed, I had rinsed the filter out, so it wasn't dry and I couldn't re-clean the floor.  Instead of letting the dirt that I couldn't sweep up with the broom be tracked all through the house,  I just put a plastic tablecloth over it.  It's still there, in case you're wondering.

Oh, Hail No!

We didn't have plans for last weekend (which was GREAT!) so we just hung around here on Saturday.  We worked in the yard some, but just as soon as we came in, the rain started.  Then the hail started.

It wasn't enormous, but there was a lot of it!  This is a close up of our front porch.

Through the front yard, with Jonathan's car.

Looking at my car through the mud room door.

Later, we went out to Lowe's, and saw this beautiful rainbow!

Schnitzel and Perogies

One of Jonathan's favorite meals was the pork schnitzel he ate in Romania a few years ago.  He has tried several times to recreate it, and I think we've finally found the solution.

We use chicken instead of pork, but you can really use any kind of meat, from what I understand. 
Here are step by step instructions.

Start with very thin pieces of chicken.  You can tenderize them or just buy them already sliced thin. 

(That's what I do).

We soak the chicken in chicken broth first, then flour the chicken.

After you flour the chicken, coat it in an egg that you've beaten.

Cover the chicken in bread crumbs.  You can do as much or as little as you want.

Finally, fry the chicken.  We put butter in the pan before frying.  The picture below shows what the chicken should look like when it goes into the frying pan and what the finished product looks like.

That's all!  We usually eat schnitzel with perogies, which is pasta filled with potatoes. 

In Pap's words: Scrumpudious!

Spring Cleaning and Spring Decorating

We have had a very eventful weekend!  Since Winter never really happened, we've just decided to embrace Spring with open arms.  This means decorations and cleaning the house (especially outside).  Since we both live here now, we want to be able to enjoy our house together.  These are some pictures of what we've been up to lately.

As most of you know, we are in the process of building a garage for Jonathan's machinery.  Our first step was having the stump ground.  This is what was left over.  Jonathan's first project on Saturday was to clear the rest of the wood chips so that we know what the ground looks like where the concrete will be poured.  I don't have an after picture of this, but it looks much better.

Our ultimate goal was to pressure wash our deck and driveway.  We borrowed my dad's pressure washer last weekend and we just went to town!  This is what the deck looked like before hand.  We have a BIG tree that grows in the middle of the deck and when it rains or the wind blows, the deck gets covered in debris.  It also splashes up on the walls and windows.

 

Just wanted you to see how wet the hose got him.

Ya know...once you get started, you just can't stop...we did the chimney, the gutters, the sidewalk leading to the mudroom, the sidewalk out front, and Jonathan is planning to pressure wash his hack saw.

Can you believe the difference in before and after?!

I even got in on the action!  I'm sure my grandpa would have a cow if he knew I did this!

This is how we felt at the end of the day.

 Moving on to other events of the weekend...I finally got around to planting my plants for the summer!  We're going to grow tomatoes, hot peppers, and sweet peppers.

I bought this wreath at Sandy's Country Christmas last year and I use it for every season.  I just change the garland.  And we all know that I love hydrangeas!

Isn't this a great tablecloth?!  I found it at TJ Maxx and just couldn't turn it down...I think it looks great with this piece that we brought back from Belize.

Some Dinners as of Late

I love to cook!  Really, I do...I like looking at recipes, trying recipes, grocery shopping, and cutting out coupons.  I really like cutting out coupons!  I don't consider myself a great cook, but cooking is something I'm interested in and something that I plan to get better at.  These are some of the latest dishes we've had.

Okay, the BBQ chicken is nothing special...the macaroni and cheese is the best part of this meal!  My mom gave me a cookbook full of our family's favorite recipes and this was one of them.  It's a Southern Living recipe and it's divine!

Now, this, I just don't know what to say.  I found a recipe online (I will leave the link out to protect the innocent).  This is avocado sauce for pasta.  Lesson learned: picking a ripe avocado is not my strongest point.  On the bright side...I have learned how to use the food processor.

This is the final product...we weren't brave enough to put the sauce on the pasta.  There is also shredded chicken on the noodles (which was good).

This represents the feeling we both had.  We had a few bites, but couldn't stomach much more than that.

Hamburgers, I can handle hamburgers!

Jonathan made two small burgers and put a fried egg on one and pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese on the other.

This little beauty was mine...traditional all the way!  And my trusty pasta salad on the side.  :)



Meet the Mattoxs

I know that most of the people who will read this blog (more like the 3 people-my mom, mother-in-law, and Meagan) already know this information.  For those of you who somehow end up here, this is us!

I'm Lauren...I'm an elementary school teacher, a cook, a wife, and other things that you will learn.  I love to travel, cook, shop, read, and visit with friends.  As of now, I apparently enjoy blogging.  I am also a pretty good rollerblader.

The stud sitting beside my is my husband, Jonathan.  He is an engineer (more power to him).  Jonathan likes to backpack, build things, and collect machinery.

I guess opposites do attract. 

Anyway, I want to use this blog to keep up with all of the memorable things we do, the lessons we learn, and of course...the food we try!

Hope you enjoy!