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Southwest Chicken Salad

July 16, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

You might remember me saying that we went out of town for the Fourth of July. We left Wednesday evening and drove six hours to Maple Falls, WA, which is just on the southern border of Canada. It was an amazing time. No cell service or internet, no tv, and no phone (except to take a few pictures). It was pure bliss, I tell ya!

But did you catch the part about us leaving in the evening? What about the part where I said there wasn't any cell or internet service? Hahaha...here comes a fun little story for you. [Read more...]

Tuesday's Tidings for July 14, 2015

July 14, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Hers

1. Okay, so I love shark week. Sadly, I kind of missed it last week, but I did see this article from National Geographic that is featuring 10 amazing photos of Great White Sharks. The pictures are incredible, but the article is fascinating too.

2. We're slowly working on trying to make our new home, ours. Changing little things here and there.We bought a new microwave, Josh designed and built this gate for our home. Finally, on Sunday, Josh put this replaced our kitchen faucet with this beautiful farmhouse style faucet and I just love it! [Read more...]

Weekly Menu July 13- July 19

July 13, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Hey guys! We've been home from vacation for a full week and let me tell you, last week was full! We didn't even do any grocery shopping till this past weekend. Isn't that crazy? Basically, just eating leftovers from camping. We've spent several evenings, eating dinner and listening to stories with Josh's family. You guys probably remember that every year around this time, Josh's grandparents, Grammy & Grampy (Grampy just celebrated his 91st birthday and he is still as active and amazing as the day I met him nearly 12 years ago) come to town before they head off to Africa again (they're missionaries), so the time with them is always real sweet but too short.

I apologize for not sharing a menu last week. I cooked at home like for all of two nights last week, so there wasn't much to share. But this week, I'm planning that we'll be home probably every night. [Read more...]

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

July 8, 2015 By Chelsia Rief 6 Comments

I've always been pretty good about eating my veggies, even as a kid. I would eat basically any veggie except onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Obviously, this has all changed because now I cook with them often and I just love the flavor, texture, and color!

When my mom would buy brussels sprouts from the store, I knew that they were for just she and I, so it was a little bit of a treat - my dad and brother wouldn't touch them. But she would steam her brussels sprouts on the stove and then drizzle them with butter and some salt and pepper. Super simple, but oh, WERE THEY GOOD! [Read more...]

4th of July Trail Mix

July 1, 2015 By Chelsia Rief 2 Comments

Need a quick, easy, fun, red, white, and blue snack for your Independence Day gathering? How about a little 4th of July Trail Mix?

4th of July Trail Mix | Evermine Blog | www.evermine.com #ediblegift #independenceday #recipe

Hey everyone, I'm sharing a cute and quick little goodie for the kiddos (or adults - no judging over here) that will be the perfect, no fuss snack that will make all the kids at your 4th of July bash happy little campers - this super duper easy 4th of July Trail Mix!

I think goodie bags are such a cute little gift idea for kids and teens because it's personal and say, "Hey, thanks for coming." But also, it keeps the kiddos out of the cooks hair because they are occupied eating everything inside their fun little goodie bag. Little plastic baggies that can be tied up with twine or twist-ties work as well. Of course, you could keep it even simpler with ziploc bags. Or even simpler yet, forget the cute bags and dump it all in a bowl, give it a toss and use some patriocti little cups for the kiddos to use instead. You can truly make this as simple or as creative as you like.

#winwin

[Read more...]

Catz Review: The ThermaPen and The ThermoPop

June 30, 2015 By Joshua Rief 1 Comment

I have to admit, when we were given the opportunity to review ThermoWorks' ThermaPen and ThermaPop cooking thermometers, I was skeptical. I had just recently upgraded my old "quick read" digital cooking thermometer from Harbor Freight Tools to a new Weber digital grilling thermometer, and I was pretty happy with it. Sure, it took 10 or 20 seconds to count up to a fairly accurate temperature, and I occasionally got different temperature readings right after each other, but it was $10. I wasn't complaining. Why fix what isn't broken?

Well, as it turns out, sometimes you just don't know what you're missing. [Read more...]

Tuesday's Tidings for June 30, 2015

June 30, 2015 By Joshua Rief Leave a Comment

Hers

1. I finally finished A Tale of Two Cities over the weekend and it was amazing! Well worth all the time I spent trying to get into it. I've now started reading Moby Dick, another book on my Goodreads list. So far, I'm really enjoying it. Have you read it? What did you think?

2. Have you guys seen this trailer for the movie Faith of Our Fathers? It looks really good and I recognize a lot of the actors in it.

3. National Geographic shared these adorable photos of this baby chameleon that was just born, but doesn't realize he's been born. It is a pretty incredible thing to see. [Read more...]

No Weekly Menu June 29-July 5

June 29, 2015 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

Hey guys, how's the end of your June going? I'm happy to say my allergies are much better than they were a few weeks ago. They always start to clear up towards the 4th of July. Speaking of the 4th of July, we're going to be out of town for most of the week! We're joining Josh's family in Maple Falls, WA for the holiday weekend - which is why I'm not posting a weekly menu. We're only going to be here for a few days, so I didn't see the point in posting for just a few days. [Read more...]

Barbecue Baby Back Ribs

June 26, 2015 By Joshua Rief 7 Comments

Looking for an easy, approachable way to try grilling your own barbecue baby back ribs? Try this simple recipe!

It's hard to explain why we like ribs, right? I mean, let's face it - they're not filling.

Or easy to cook.

Or easy to eat.

Or cheap.

Or fast.

Or really kid-friendly.

Or particularly healthy.

So...why would you want to make or buy or eat or serve such inconvenient food?

Well, that's the easy part isn't it? Good food isn't always convenient. In fact, sometimes, like with ribs, it's just insanely inconvenient.

But it's good. Like, as insanely good as it is insanely inconvenient. And that's it.

So, now that we've got that out of the way, grab all the napkins and let's grill some ribs.

[Read more...]

Patriotic Popcorn

June 24, 2015 By Chelsia Rief 2 Comments

Looking for a tasty, easy, kid-friendly snack for the 4th? Try this Patriotic Popcorn recipe!

Hey guys, today I'm over at Evermine's blog sharing this incredibly-super-simple-even-my-6 ½ year-old-could-make-it Patriotic Popcorn!

Okay, so popcorn is like my all time favorite snack food. Scoot over Cheetoes, step aside Hershey's Kisses - it's just me and you popcorn, and I'm not sharing with anybody! [Read more...]