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Maple Walnut Cheesecake

January 11, 2017 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

This recipe for Maple Walnut Cheesecake is now one of our family favorites - not too sweet, silky smooth, and just a bit nutty!

Originally, this recipe was meant to be shared back around Christmas. But then we decided that we needed a two week break to enjoy our family and relax and it never got shared. Sorry about that! Life, ya know!

I know that first few weeks of January isn't typically the best time to share a dessert, let alone a cheesecake, but cheesecake lovers shall not be denied. I'm a firm believer in balance and that you should be able to enjoy foods that bring you happiness and foods that also bring people together.

In our house, cheesecake definitely brings people together! My oldest, Grace, is a cheesecake lover (as you probably know, because I've mentioned it a lot in the past) and she gets so excited when I break out the springform pan. Cheesecake also happens to be the only dessert my dad requests of me when he visits from Las Vegas. In fact, my stepmom, originally from China, recently expressed an interest in learning how to make cheesecake...for him! So you see, cheesecake brings people together.

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Tuesday's Tidings for Jan 10, 2017

January 9, 2017 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Hers

1. I recently bought some snow boots at DSW and they are awesome! I tried them out a few weeks ago and my feet were so warm and dry! I could not beat the price either because I found them in the clearance section. If you don't have a nifty DSW clearance section nearby, you might be able to find them cheaper on Amazon.

2. For my birthday, Josh bought me the Magnolia wreath. I can honestly say it is just as beautiful in person as it looks online and on tv. You can't beat the quality - and totally worth saving up for!

3. Okay, ladies, this is for the man in your life. Josh was in some serious need of new cologne and he found one at Bath and Body Works that smells AMAZING (might have been the whiff of bourbon in it that convinced him it was manly...)! I suggest the next time that you're at the mall, wander into the store and give the Mahogany Woods cologne a whiff! You might just buy it on the spot whether your guy needs it or not. [Read more...]

Weekly Menu for the Week of Jan 9th

January 8, 2017 By Chelsia Rief 2 Comments

How was everyone's weekend? We got snowed in...again! I know, what is going on with this weather here in Oregon? I can't remember the last time we had so many snow storms this close together. The good thing this time around vs. the last time is that it happened on a Saturday and I think a lot of people stayed home. But the epic grocery store lines! Crazy! Not only was I thrilled that I had already gotten all of my groceries Friday morning (thank you Clicklist for making my life easier!), but we also celebrated Josh's birthday a few days early, which was nice.

Since we were snowed in, we took advantage of being indoors and made progress on our newest home improvement project. Maybe you saw on Instagram, but we've begun ripping up all of the carpet and hardwood in our house to replace it with laminate. You might be asking why tear up the hardwood, too? Well, while the hardwood in our house is pretty, it's not our style at all and shows every single piece of dirt. Also, the wood is super soft and dings really easily and it's in pretty bad shape in places. On top of that, it's only in the hall and the kitchen, so there really isn't much of it to begin with. We just wanted something that would flow and work a little better for our family, that would be durable and bring more light and warmth to the home.

But let me just say, hardwood is a pain to pull up. I mean, I'm not pulling it up, but Josh is and I'm trying to assist him in whatever ways I can...and it's hard. [Read more...]

Szechuan Green Beans & Pork

January 4, 2017 By Chelsia Rief 5 Comments

Szechuan Green Beans & Pork is an approachable, easy recipe that is incredibly tasty and feeds a family in about 15 minutes!

This post originally appeared on Catz in September of 2012. The photos and the recipe have been updated.

I remember when Panda Express was all the rage. Maybe it still is the rage and I'm just really behind on where the cool kids eat these days. We don't eat at Panda Express as often mainly because we don't eat "convenience" food as much, but my dad on the other hand, LOVES some Panda Orange Chicken!

In early August, my dad and his wife (who spent most of her life in mainland China) came to town and she spent one whole afternoon making traditional Chinese dumplings and side dishes. The food was awesome! It was seriously some of the best Chinese food I've ever eaten. Once they left to go back home to Vegas, I was left with several awesome Chinese condiments and some leftover ground meat that she had used for the dumplings, ground pork being one of them. Aside from bacon and ham, Josh and I don't eat a lot of pork, so I was really at a loss as to what I should do with the leftover ½ pound of ground pork! I did a simple Google search for it and found an awesome recipe that reminded me a lot of the green bean chicken recipe you can order at Panda Express, however...I think this recipe is even better (no offense, Panda!).

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Weekly Menu for the Week of Jan 2nd

January 2, 2017 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Happy 2017 everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's holiday. You may have noticed that we've been visibly absent from our site, unless you've caught us on Instagram, which I've been posting too fairly regularly. Josh and I had intended to share a few posts with you over the past two weeks, but the week of Christmas had us a bit busier than expected and we suspected you may be busy, too!

And honestly, after Christmas week, I needed a bit of a break from everything, too. A time to just hang out with my family and catch up and rest. Which I've done and it's been nice! Earlier last week, there were just a lot of errands that needed to be ran and then by Friday we were able to relax a bit. We even went up to my parents' cabin near Mt. Hood for the night and let the kiddos play in the snow - which they loved! [Read more...]

Weekly Menu for the Week of Dec 19th

December 19, 2016 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Happy week of Christmas everyone! Raise your hand if you've finished your preparations...yeah, we are a bit behind because of all the snow and ice we've had, too, but I think we're close...

Despite the weather, we were able to get out and run a few errands and do a few fun things. We mostly stayed home, though. We celebrated Christian's birthday over the weekend - it's hard to believe he's a four-year-old now! Let me tell you, he is excited about that! He came running into our room at seven Saturday morning yelling, "Mommy, it's my birfday today! I'm fou now!" Ha! [Read more...]

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries

December 15, 2016 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries is a side dish recipe that is easy to make, incredibly flavorful, and just looks like Christmas!

I don't know if you've heard, but we're deep in the #snowpacolypse here in Oregon. This time, the meteorologists got it right (no offense!) with the snow prediction. We'd been hearing since last Saturday and Sunday that we were in for snow come the middle of the week...and sure enough, it came.

And nobody was prepared for it. What? WHY???

One of those things that happens to a city (and valley) that only really gets snow once a year, or even every couple of years. We were lucky enough to be able to get everybody home safe and sound as the white stuff started coming down in the early afternoon, but not everybody was quite so fortunate, including many of our friends and family!

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Easy Marionberry Danish

December 13, 2016 By Joshua Rief 9 Comments

Delightful Oregon marionberries, flaky puff pastry, indulgent cream cheese filling, & so simple! You can & MUST make yourself an easy marionberry Danish!

If you read Catz very often, then you know we're deeply fond of berries. And, if you happen to abide in the Pacific Northwest, then you also know we're blessed with berries that are plentiful, accessible, and, typically, pretty affordable! I suppose that's why we cook with them so often - we've done smoothies, overnight French toasts, crêpes, waffles, coffee cakes, pies, cobblers, crisps, jams, pancakes, muffins, and cakes! During the summer, we like to take an afternoon now and again to head out to a local farm and pick them ourselves - it's fun and affordable (no matter what Jim Gaffigan says).

During the winter, though, we don't give berries up. Granted, we do seem to work with cranberries a lot more (It's the bright red color, right? Super festive? I don't know - I need to ask Chels...). But, one of the incredible things about berries (in general) is how well they hold up to freezing! All winter long, the recipes with blackberries, raspberries, marionberries, and blueberries just keep on coming. Typically, we work through the frozen stash we built up from our berry-picking expeditions, and then we supplement with the flash frozen Oregon berries that are available, well, pretty much everywhere (no, I'm not necessarily just talking Whole Foods here - more like Safeway and Fred Meyer!). I knew frozen local berries were pretty readily available, but I had no idea just how many are picked for that purpose - according to our friends at the Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission, 90% of the berries grown in Oregon are flash frozen right after being picked, which makes for some pretty fantastic year-round tastiness. Who knew?

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Tuesday's Tidings for Dec 13, 2016

December 12, 2016 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Hers

1. If you want to see something beautiful, you've got to take a look at some of these photographs from National Geographic. I'm swooning over all the animal photos.

2. I'm really excited about The Man in the High Castle starting back up on Friday and cannot wait to watch Victoria! Since some of our shows are on their winter break, it will be nice to have a few others to take their places.

3. This scent! I'm dying!

4. I ducked into The Loft last week and fell in love with this dress. Sadly, they were out of my size so I'm waiting for it in the mail. But how cute with black tights and wedges! Perfect for the fall and winter seasons. [Read more...]

Weekly Menu For The Week Of Dec 12th

December 11, 2016 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

We had a bit of excitement last week with a little winter storm. It just goes to show how not winter storm ready we are around here - schools shut down, bridges close down, people lose power for days. If this were some place more snowy like...Alaska...I think we would all be more prepared for the weather and how to work around it.

But, I don't mind a snow day here and there. It was nice having the fire going all day and not really having anywhere to go.

This week the big news is Christian turns FOUR on Saturday! My head is having a hard time with that one. I still so clearly remember him as a little baby. Four years went by fast!! I think we're just going to have a little celebration at some point over the weekend with homemade macaroni and cheese, which he requested along with a chocolate cake with white frosting. I can't wait to make it for him! [Read more...]