Square Foot Garden Assembly

David started and completed work on our square foot garden this weekend! If you know David then you know that he has to take it to another level. He wanted to make the box movable, easier to reach and away from the dogs height. Here is a photo of the inspiration. It is from the show Big Brother. We would always watch Jeff water the garden and it was nicer looking than just setting it on the ground.

This is David getting started. Some of the supplies you see here are actual home depot display racks that were nicely placed on top of their dumpster. Nothing like a good deal, but he did ask permission to take some things that were in and around their dumpster on Saturday.

You may be asking your self  "what are they doing with those little kid bikes?" Well, when we went to goodwill a few people thought we had twin boys that we were buying bikes for. That was not the case, we even had to wait to make sure someone didn't really want to purchase the bike for their kids. We actually just used the wheels off of them.

While at the Depot, I gathered most of my seeds and supplies. I read that strawberries and onions were harder to grow than the others so I got some bulbs and extra help for them. Here is the variety. I might be missing something, but you will get the gist of what we will be growing! It's very exciting.

It's coming together!

All done! It even has a handle for steering. Now we can move it all around the yard or out of the way. We still have to figure out a lining or what we will put down before planting occurs.

I came across some great spreadsheets that the $5 dinners blog put up on gardening. She has pdf's you can download and record what you are planting and when to harvest your produce. Here is a link to the blog post.

Didn't David do a great job? The total cost spent so far on building and gardening supplies: Approx. $100. Stay tuned for more planting posts in the coming weeks as we get ready to start!

Top Three Thursday- Music

This week's top three is on music or top musical artists. I like listening to a lot of different things, but I based my choices on who I'd want to see in concert and what's in my car CD player that I am listening to. 

1.) Kellie Pickler- I went to see Taylor Swift this past September and Kellie was one of the opening acts for her. I really liked the songs she was singing so I started listening to her after that. I found out she was coming to Wild Bills (a country bar/club place out in the suburbs) that October and I bought tickets right away. I like to sit down during concerts so I had purchased tickets on the side at table number 1, seat 1 and 2. I thought I did great, but when we got there a BIG pole that holds the building up with directly in my way. I was SO disappointed and it was getting so crowded. David worked his negotiating magic for me though and got us in the VIP! I was basically on-stage on the right side. She was so close and I had the best time!! I'll share some photos from the concert.

Look how close we were!

David is the best husband ever! 

She was pointing to me, there was no one behind me or in front of me, so I'm sure about it!! Sorry the picture is bad,  I was zoomed in a lot. Okay, now that I just relived that awesome concert let's move on.

2.)Lady Antebellum- I started listening to them when they were just getting recognized last year. I just love their sound and I have a signed autograph copy of their picture in the office bookshelf thanks to Jen's Mom!! They went to hang out at her mom and dad's cottage after a concert last year!!

3.) I couldn't choose just one number three. I'll go with Carrie Underwood, Jack Johnson/Jason Mraz Pandora channel, The fray, Zach Brown Band & Mama Mia soundtrack(I know I have issues).

What are your top three? P.S. Don't stop reading my blog because of my country music choices, I can't help it, I'm in the South now!

Square Foot Gardening

We've been wanting to start a garden for the past couple of years. Our problem has been finding the room to have one, it has to be in full sun. When we moved in just about 3 years ago all the landscaping was pretty much done, (we're not complaining) so it's been very easy to maintain. I just love our knock-out roses that go along the side in our backyard. I can't wait to post pics when they bloom in a few months.

I started doing a little research and came across a concept of the square foot garden. You can read about it here. You build your own box (this is where David comes in), use a special soil mixture, and section off your box into 16 small squares. That means you can grow 16 different vegetables and herbs. You can have more than 1 box, but I think we will just start with one and see how it goes. This is a great way to do it since you won't get any weeds and this box can be put anywhere (on the patio or in the yard). Since spring in the south comes faster than is some places, its almost time to start planting. We will begin design and construction soon. We'll keep you posted on the progress, so stay tuned for more posts as I decide what vegetables and herbs to grow. Do you have a garden? Share with me any tips and what your favorite thing is you grow or what you would grow if you had a garden.  Here are some pics of what one will look like (random google photos).

Hawaiian Alfredo Pizza

We love to make our own pizzas and this is a great recipe to change things up toppings wise. We use the kitchenaid mixer to make the dough, let it rise and cook it up. We did this on the weekend since the dough has to rise an hour, it can eat up your week night. This recipe comes from The Fairhope Foodie. She has some great, easy recipes that I love. She also pairs her meals with Publix shopping trips. This is a combination of Hawaiian and Alfredo pizza.

Ingredients-
2 Pizza Crusts (Standard Size) We used homemade dough from here
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and sliced (optional, we left out)
3/4 cup Classico Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo Sauce
16 oz. pineapple tidbits (or cut pineapple chunks)
1/2 cup sliced olives
1 cup sliced canadian bacon (or sliced ham)
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan Cheese


Directions-
Divide alfredo sauce evenly among pizza crusts. Top with ham, sliced chicken, pineapple and sliced olives. Top with shredded cheese. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden on top. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

The alfredo sauce was so yummy! 

Pizza ready to go into the oven. Molly is looking on for any droppings.

This pizza was sooo good! I would like to make it again right now! 

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I love chicken salad sandwiches and I usually get the pre-done kind at Publix, but I wanted to try it for myself. I got the recipe from The Pioneer Woman. You'll see a trend as I've been getting my recipes from her all week.  

Ingredients

• 1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken (a whole chicken, I used split chicken)
• 2 stalks (to 3 Stalks) Celery, Chopped
• 3 whole Green Onions, Chopped
• 2 cups (to 3 Cups) Grapes, Halved
• A Small Handful Of Fresh Dill, Minced (I used dried)
• ½ cups Mayonnaise
• ½ cups Plain Yogurt Or Sour Cream (I used yogurt, b/c you all know how much I love sour cream...not)
• 1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Brown Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Lemon Juice
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper To Taste

Directions-
Rinse chicken thoroughly and place in a large pot of water. Turn on the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is done (about 45 minutes to an hour). When you are ready, remove the chicken from the pot and place on a plate. With your fingers or a fork, pull all of the meat off the bones, chop into bite-sized chunks and set aside. I baked mine in the oven and will try boiling next time as this took a while. I put olive oil, salt and pepper on mine.

Chop all of your fruits and veggies and place them in a bowl with the chicken.

In another bowl mix mayonnaise, yogurt (or sour cream), lemon juice, brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Add fresh herbs (dill, oregano,…whatever you have or leave it out). When the dressing tastes just right (you must taste test for appropriate saltiness especially), pour it over the chicken/veggie/fruit mixture and stir gently until everything is thoroughly mixed.

Allow the salad to chill for several hours (or even overnight). Serve on a bed of lettuce or in a sandwich or heck, eat it straight out of the bowl with a serving spoon. There is a lot of chopping with this recipe so find yourself a sous-chef or just enjoy your time cutting. It's therapeutic for me. I put mine on a croissant, which I believe is the best place for chicken salad! Mmm Mmm Good! A little tidbit for ya-I did add a little too many onions though. The recipe says 3 green onions, well on one stalk of green onions is 3 so I wasn't sure if it meant 3 stalks of the 3 or just 1 stalk with 3 and I think its the smaller portion one :) oops. I still loved it.

Top Three Thursday-Movie

 This week's top three thursday is favorite movies! I had a hard time with this because I usually watch movies and then move on. I have a hard time re-watching things or even remembering if I've seen something or not. David on the other hand can pick up on a movie in the middle of it and keep going having seen it or not. I based my choices on how many times I have watched them and these were the first ones that came to mind.

1.) Mama Mia- I learned that I really like musicals. This one I actually saw with Amber and her Grandma at the Fox theatre last year and it was AWESOME! I couldn't stop talking about it so I went and got the movie when it came out and I still really love it. I can watch it over and over!

2.) Old School- This movie is hilarious! I don't normally quote movies, but these were memorable ones. "We're going streaking through the quad", "Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, and Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time." "Frank the Tank, Frank the Tank" Ok, I'll stop.

3.) The Grinch Who Stole Christmas- It's a classic, but I like the new Jim Carey version and love to watch this at Christmas time. Sometimes I break it out once during the year as well to gear up for the season.

What are your top three movies?

Chicken Pasta Primavera & Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This past week we had David's parents over for dinner. Lately they have been my guinea pigs, but everything has been great so far so I don't think they mind. This recipe comes from 5dollardinners.com. It made a ton!
Ingredients:

1 box farfalle pasta 

2-3 chicken breasts, diced 

1 tsp olive oil 

Salt and pepper

3 medium zucchini squash, cut into circles (You don't have to use this much, I had bought a lot)

2 medium yellow squash, cut into circles 

1/4 small yellow onion, chopped

1 head broccoli, cut into florets 

2 carrot sticks, peeled and chopped (I left these out)

5 small tomatoes, (I used 1 big one)

2 garlic cloves, crushed 

For White Sauce:

3 Tbsp butter or margarine 

3 Tbsp flour 

2 cups milk 

3-4 Tbsp parmesan cheese 

Salt and pepper

Directions-

1. In medium saucepan, cook pasta according to package instructions.  Drain and add to large serving bowl.

2. In large skillet, sauté diced chicken in olive oil and salt and pepper for 6-8 minutes, stirring often. Once chicken has cooked through, transfer to plate.

3. Chop all veggies. Add chopped veggies to same skillet that cooked the chicken in.

4. Add all the veggies (except the tomatoes) to the same skillet that you sautéed the chicken and steam/sauté for 3-4 minutes with 1/4 cup of water(I had to do mine for longer because I had so many).  Add the tomatoes during the last minute.  Transfer to plate.

5. Make your sauce: Melt your butter, Add flour and whisk together, Add milk and whisk to get all clumps out, Add parmesan and stir. Let it start to boil and reduce to a simmer for a few minutes.

6. In large serving bowl, toss pasta, cooked chicken, sautéed veggies with parmesan sauce.  Season with salt and pepper to taste…and extra parmesan cheese if you like.

David also has made us Dessert. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. They just had a hint of peanut butter so I'd consider it more chocolate chip, but so gooood. Here is the recipe from The Pioneer Woman.

Ingredients:
1 cup Butter Or Margarine (2 Sticks), Softened
1 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar, Packed
1 cup White Sugar
2 whole Eggs
2-½ cups Flour
1-½ teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
1 package Chocolate Chips (12 Oz)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Combine butter/margarine, peanut butter, sugars and eggs until well blended.
3. Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add this mixture to the butter mixture until well blended. Add the chocolate chips.
4. Roll dough into tablespoon size balls, place on cookie sheet and slightly flatten with three fingers. Bake for 8-10 minutes until cracked and slightly golden. Watch to make sure they don't burn.

It made so many we were able to freeze some dough and give some away! Mmmm!