lazy wednesday.

it's a rainy, gloomy, perfect fall day here. it's perfect for warm coffee and paper writing. it's also perfect for cupcake surprises! somebody in my family loves georgetown cupcakes and decided ryan and i needed some halloween treats. they were delivered this morning and were the perfect little surprise for such a gloomy day. i'm trying to save some for when ryan gets home... but we'll see. 

i'm headed to a charity auction for nursing school tonight. we're supposed to dress up. i think the weather has inspired me to be a meteorologist. i'm going to wear my rainboots and rainjacket and carry an umbrella and microphone. i'm thinking it's going to be pretty good. 

someone else in my family has been trying out some costume ideas...

 

(the unicorn is obviously the best but i love how the owl looks so chubby.)

 

are you dressing up for halloween?! have a great wednesday!

-kelsie.

ps- i can't stop thinking about how great of a job being a cupcake delivery person must be...

recently.

(ellie and her favorite toy - super pig from the target dollar bin)

*this picture is completely irrelevant to this post

a few weeks ago my wonderful aunt sent me a ton of her old cooking magazines. they have really inspired me to cook more and try new things. for the past two weeks i have had meals planned for every weeknight. it has been amazing how helpful that has been. it made grocery shopping easier and making dinner WAY less stressful. 

here are some things i've made:

chili

butternut squash orzo

layered zucchini parmesan

bread

and i'm itching to make these little goodies soon.

i'm off to work on a paper for my psych class. did you know that most people don't develop schizophrenia until they're between 25 and 35? just a random nursing fact for your monday : )

-kelsie.

cheez-its and diet cokes.

that is what got me through my first ever night shift. really healthy, i know. 

a night shift is a nursing right of passage. so, i am one step closer to being a full-fledged RN. 

(perhaps i should someday talk about other nursing rights of passage. they're plentiful and plenty interesting)

i'm off to bed at 8:30 in the morning. my body is quite confused, but i think i'm going to be just fine. one more night shift tonight and then i'm back to days for a while. i'm grateful that this internship is rotating my schedule so i can see how my body handles the lack of sleeping consistency. 

i hope your next sleep is as restful and rejuvenating as i hope my next sleep will be.

-kelsie.

internet: on.

hello! i've missed this little blog so much during our internet hiatus. i'm hoping to be regularly posting for a while. moving can really take it out of you, but i think we're recovered : )

a few weeks ago ryan took me to an incredible restaurant in eastern market. acqua al 2 started with a restaurant in italy and now is located in san diego and dc. 

the. food. was. amazing. 

my mouth is still watering just thinking about our meal. ryan has learned that feeding me good food evokes a joy in me that is unmatched by most anything else. 

ryan had the steak sampler which included a balsamic vinegar glazed steak, a rosemary and garlic steak, and a blueberry glazed steak. all three were melt-in-your-mouth glorious. we are still talking about those steaks.

i enjoyed a delicious, spicy, wonderful pasta dish. the pasta was so good and so fresh and wonderful.

we ended with my favorite, tiramisu. i didn't get a picture because my arms couldn't reach around my full stomach.

i love eastern market.

i love eating. 

i love italian.

i love birthdays.

i love ryan.

it was a perfect way to celebrate my birthday because i love so many things the night involved. thank you ry.

-kelsie.

kelsie cooks.

{image via here because i could never make meatloaf look nice}

i like meatloaf. even though i think it's weird. ryan's not crazy about it. i think that is understandable. but this week we had turkey meatloaf. i know that ground turkey has zeroooo flavor and a ton of spices are needed. therefore, i tried to add a lot and add flavors that ryan might like. 

i added a lot of whatever i found in my spice rack. i also included some chipotle tabasco sauce. the end result was ok. still kind of bland even though i felt i was being very generous with the spices.

i didn't measure what i used but here's a list of ingredients:

1 lb ground lean turkey

garlic

onion

chili powder

a pinch of cayenne

pepper

worcestershire sauce

chipotle tabasco sauce

1 egg

a handful of regular breadcrumbs 

i also made a glaze for the top which included:

ketchup

chipotle tabasco sauce

worcestershire sauce

i mixed all of the ingredients together (except for the glaze) and formed a loaf. i then mixed the glazed ingredients and poured half over the loaf. i baked it at 350 for 40 minutes, then poured the remaining half of the glaze on the loaf and continued baking for 20 minutes.

we had some lovely green beans as a side. 

we're making progress. 

-kelsie.

kelsie cooks.

as promised, i attempted a new recipe. these are zucchini parmesan crisps i found here. ryan loved them! 

here's the recipe:

cooking spray
2 medium zucchini (about 1 pound total)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan (3/4-ounce)
1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/8 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper

 

preheat the oven to 450 degrees. coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch thick rounds. in a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the oil. in a small bowl, combine the parmesan, bread crumbs, salt, and a few turns of pepper. dip each round into the parmesan mixture, coating it evenly on both sides, pressing the coating on to stick, and place in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
bake the zucchini rounds until browned and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. remove with spatula. serve immediately.

*i added a bit of cayenne pepper to the parmesan mixture, it gave the zucchini a little bit of heat and extra flavor.

we had ours with angel hair pasta and marinara sauce. yum!

-kelsie.

 

fern friday.

due to the busyness of nursing school, i did not do a great job of preparing healthy, delicious homemade meals for ryan and i. SO, this summer i am hoping to change that. however, i think i need some accountability. therefore...

i am going to post one meal a week that i made - something i've never made before.

finding recipes is the hardest part for me... apparently ryan and i are fairly picky and in opposite ways. what i don't care for, he loves, and what i love, he doesn't care for. thus, finding something we both enjoy is a bit tough.

where do you find your recipes???

have a good weekend my friends. it's beautiful here in dc. i hope it's beautiful where you are!

-kelsie.

donut love.

 

(honestly i'm amazed i could keep these around long enough to take a picture)

the best thing happened today. i woke up with a case of the mondays. that was not the best thing. but then, i got to class and my friend, kerry, walked in with a box of goodness and she was headed for me. that was the best thing. 

she brought me donuts to school! fresh, warm, amazing, delicious donuts. 

my case of the mondays was no more. 

last week i confessed my obsession of donuts to kerry, and how i saw these donuts on food network. i was excited to discover they are around here! kerry said i since i haven't had any yet, i was really missing out, and that she even has a t-shirt from there. 

she woke up early and drove out of her way to bring me some decadent donuts. she's the best. 

thank you kerry!!!!!!!!!!!

-kelsie.