Deck Warming Party

This weekend, our dear friends the Kenyons, invited us up to Creston, IA for their deck warming party. The party was a total blast complete with great food, live music courtesy of Matt & Emily, a bountiful selection of wine, and a blind whiskey sampling. I also made sangria, which I had never made before. It was a total hit! Unfortunately, non of my pictures turned out so there is no documentation of the event. This could have been due to the sangria:) Since the sangria was sort of my frienemy for providing loads of fun, but ruining my pictures at the same time, I thought I'd post the recipe.

Raspberry-Peach Sangria
2 thinly sliced peaches
1 quart raspberries
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 C. peach schnapps
1 bottle white wine (we used chardonnay, but any other white wine would be fine)

Mix ingredients in a large pitcher. Chill for several hours and serve with ice. As the night progressed, we added more wine and schnapps to the mix to stretch the recipe. It will be a hit for sure!

Making the Best of It

Last week, I finally returned from my trip to Tennessee. This trip was totally unexpected. The weekend of the 4th of July, my grandfather went into the hospital. He is experiencing congestive heart failure and has now finally moved into a nursing home. So, it has been difficult for me to post much of anything because I am still kind of recovering and coping with slowly losing my last grandparent. To make things easier for my mom, who has been driving down almost every other week or every third week to take care of my grandfather while attendant care is unavailable, my sister, Erin, and I went to help my mom with all the duties that go with an aging parent. For the first time, I understood on of the many intricate parts and complexities of the life cycle.




To make the best of the situation, we stopped at a restaurant called Lamberts. Lamberts, if any of you know about the history, is the home of the throwed rolls. Filled with massive plates of Southern cuisine, you have your bread tossed through the air. If you are not a good catcher, it could end up on the floor or worse pounding your neighbor in the face. Once we arrived in Union City, Tennessee, Erin baked a lime tart per my grandfather's request. We delivered the tart with a pampering party. I also had the joy of taking what we call the Stinkin' Lincoln out for a cruise. While the trip was very difficult, I made sure everyone made the best out of the situation.

Good Food, Great Times

This year we made our third annual homage to the Great Lenexa Barbeque Battle. It was the 29th year for the battle and honestly, I must say the Burnt Butter team has not once disappointed us. We sincerely thank Dan and Julie Hurley for letting us take part and enjoy something Kansas City is known for. I love that we have started a little bit of a tradition. First, we park by Lenexa City Hall, then we ride a bus over to the park where the festivities take place.






Are these some handsome meat pics as promised or what? And how about the picture of myself with the politician? Really, I am more of a moderate voter myself; however, I told this guy, Tom Tiahrt, I had a food blog and he wanted to be included. Hey, who doesn't love BBQ? Anyway, back to the food. This year's menu was complete with chicken, pulled pork, and a new miscellaneous item....the bacon explosion. Mr. Hurley made this entree using a layer of weaved bacon, a layer of sausage, a layer of BBQ sauce and rub, another layer of weaved bacon, and more BBQ sauce and rub. He then rolled the meat into a nice loaf of goodness and smoked it. Have you had your coronary yet folks? It was delicious!

Blogging Bliss

I am so excited for this weekend! We have the whole weekend jammed and packed with awesome events. My Dad was just teasing me the other day about becoming a "woman of leisure" and I will be honest, I am taking FULL advantage of my leisurely summer. So, what does a "woman of leisure" do? Besides working on deep cleaning projects and loving my blog again, I have been working on my health and fitness. I love it! I don't know why it is so tough to maintain a workout routine during the school year. But seeing the beautiful trees, trails, and yes, getting up close and personal with the wildlife is pure bliss. I took this picture on Monday. Can you believe how close this mother deer let me get? I couldn't. Yesterday, I also got my hair colored. It reminds me of spending time with my Grandma Duree. She used to get her hair done every week! This wild hairdo cracked me up and I had to make a face similar to one my grandmother might have made if I would have taken her picture in the salon. Very dorky I know:) So, besides relaxing and catching up with life, Justin and I will be attending the Lenexa BBQ Battle tonight. Get excited for some handsome meat pics! Tomorrow we are planning on going to the Downtown Art's Festival in the Power & Light District. Look forward to some great blogging!

Bruschetta Topping

I made up this recipe a couple of weeks ago while entertaining for family and friends. I was in a little bit of a bind because I had spent most of the day cleaning the house for the guests. Luckily, I had some tomatoes on hand and got the idea for bruschetta. I used the tomato topping on some grilled baguettes. We loved the topping so much, we decided to try it with pasta. Turns out, we loved the pasta hot as well as cold because there were no left-overs! Justin and I both kept sneaking out to the fridge throughout the night and snacking on the pasta. Here's the recipe:

4-6 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, cut into ribbons
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
1 clove finely minced garlic
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 C. crumbled goat cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

This recipe is literally a chop, drop, and stir recipe. Use it as a topping, or in a pasta dish as pictured. It is delicious!

Egg Recipe

I love breakfast! It is not only the most important meal of the day, but also something I rarely skip. I am not a cereal eater in the morning. I have discovered that I need more substance! A lot of people are always asking how I make my lovely egg creations. It is really simple actually. I usually saute something for the week, then add the veggies to the bottom of a microwave safe bowl sprayed with cooking spray. Sometimes I add a little shredded 2% cheddar cheese, sometimes I don't. Then I poor Egg Beaters over the cheese and veggie mixture and microwave on high for 2-3 minutes. The egg substitute will fluff up almost like a souffle! It is sort of cool if you're into cooking. It will all come out like a nice little omelet. This week, I've been adding my omelet-like creation to Flat Out flat bread and rolling up into a wrap. This week's saute mixture was simply made with the following:

1 box frozen spinach, thawed & drained
1/2 finely diced red onion
2 finely diced Roma tomatoes
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Saute onion for 2-3 minutes on medium heat in a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray.
2. Add the tomatoes and spinach and saute for 2-3 minutes longer. Then enjoy!

You can add this simple mixture as I have or also create an egg casserole to enjoy all week. It takes a little preparation, but is well worth the healthy breakfast that will fuel your entire day!

Too Cute

This may seem like a very lame post, but I have been wanting to get pictures of these little guys for weeks. Whenever Justin and I make a trip to Super Target or Home Depot, we drive past this adorable miniature pony farm. Sometimes the ponies are close to the road for superb viewing. Other times they are on the far end of the pasture. About a month ago, we noticed that there were some new additions to the pony farm. These little guys are adorable when they are fully grown; however, they look like live stuffed animals when they are babies. It makes me think of the many times I asked for a pony for Christmas. Last night, I just happened to talk Justin in to making a trip so I could finally get a picture. He said it was okay as long as I actually blogged about it. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoy driving past this novel little farm!