Bye Bye Morgan Spurlock

Vernon finally shaved his Morgan Spurlock:

Bye Bye Beard

So, Vern finally shaved his beard off:

Job Chart

Ocean came up with this job chart for us. So, one day out of every week, we all spend about an hour doing our assigned tasks. And our names get rotated from one section to the next every week.

So far it's working pretty well, but we've only been at it for a couple weeks now.

House + Work = Vernon

Vern asks every day if he should get rid of his beard. I tell him, "Yes." But not because I care if he gets rid of the beard or not... it's because he keeps asking about it. Every. Single. Day.

It's kind of like how I ask him, "So, what should we do about the Housewarming Party?" Every. Single. Day.

We're quite the pair.

Another thing I ask him almost every day is if he loves the house yet. He never really gives me a straight-forward answer, and says that it's "just a house".

But I think it's important to love the house that you live in. Like, a house is more than just a mere possession, you know?

We're going to have a priest come and bless the house soon (we do that with every place we live), and it's not like we'd have the priest come to bless an iPod or something. Houses are special.

I wish he'd say that he loves it.

He is probably still in recovery mode from all the work he had to put into it. He did a lot of work. And I didn't really help with much of it. I never seem to help much of the work that goes into our houses. In the three other homes that we have owned, Vern has single-handedly painted almost every room in each of these houses. That's a total of 30+ rooms that he's painted, plus he painted the outside of one of our homes too. And I never really helped with much of it because I was either "pregnant" or "watching the kids" or "lazy" or whatever have you.

Here is the house that Vern painted the outside. He also installed the fence.

I did end up painting a small portion of this house, and when I got done, my hands were completely (I mean, like, really and completely) covered with white paint. (Don't ask.)

So, anyway, yeah, Vern is probably just taking a moment to breathe and get settled after all his hard work. Maybe he'll start to love it as more than "just a house" someday. I hope.

On Moving and Movies

More on Catching Up...

So, I told you that we moved, right? We "bought a house" (yes, those quotation marks are used correctly. I'll explain more later, if I feel like it, maybe) in Minneapolis.

First a couple of things on moving and then on the house.

On Moving:

It sucks. The actual process of it really, really sucks. Blogger Matt Walsh recently moved during the Christmas season as well, and this is what he had to say about it:

Maybe, if I could find a lesson in all of this, it would be the following: 

If you are thinking about moving, remember to carefully gather together all of the items in your house — and burn them. 

Burn them all. Just throw them into a pile and burn them. 

Travel to your new location with only lint in your pocket and a dream in your heart. 

Burn everything you own and dance around the fire like wild Indians. 

I can’t promise that this will be safe, or sane, but it will certainly be easier, more enjoyable, and possibly more psychologically healthy than packing up all of that junk, hauling it across the country, and clumsily unpacking it, making sure to leave dents and damages on all of your most cherished items. 

I think this country would be a better place if there were less moving trucks, and more crazed, anti-materialism backyard bonfires. 

This is my advice. I did not take it, because I am a hypocrite, and I also have a wife who has long held fast to a strict “don’t set the furniture on fire” policy. But it’s not too late for you. Godspeed.


I couldn't relate more. Go ahead and read his whole post, because it also includes this hilarious part about getting kicked out of a hotel because he was trying to smuggle in his cats.

So, anyway, yeah, that part sucked. We didn't hire movers, so it was just me and Vern and the kids carrying all of our stuff to the U-Haul. And I had to move this very heavy couch and carry it down a bunch of stairs. This couch was so heavy, you guys, so very, very heavy...

When we got to the Minneapolis house, we had to call in reinforcements (Vern's brother), because I physically could not lift another thing. And then I had to go back and deep-clean the St. Paul place for 6 hours and that really, really sucked and made my hands super sore.

But enough about that.

I should also mention that we "bought the house" in November, and Vern spent the majority of December going over there almost every day and fixing stuff up and painting. He worked so hard you guys. So very, very hard. (That's why he grew the beard. Too busy to shave.)

Anyway...

About the New Place

The good news about all this is at the new house is awesome. I really do love it. It's in a great neighborhood. We have fixed it up and it is everything I want it to be. It is winsome and magical and perfect for us. I will post pictures sometime, but I want to have a "housewarming party" (yes, those quotation marks are used correctly. More on that later, if I feel like it, maybe) first.

But, for as much as I love the house, moving somewhere different is still a change and an adjustment. I don't feel completely settled yet.

I think that is why I keep watching 80's movies. There is something about the familiarity of 80's movies that reminds me of home. Watching a movie that I haven't seen in 25 years and still knowing the words, or seeing a familiar outfit that I had long ago forgotten about, or a favorite musical montage... there is comfort in that for me.

So far, Vern and I have watched:

The Outsiders
The Legend of Billie Jean
Top Gun
Midnight Madness
Dirty Dancing
Heavenly Bodies
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
The Money Pit
Strange Brew
Meatballs (although, technically a late-70's movie)
Meatballs II
Zapped

This was Vern's first time watching all of these movies (except for Top Gun and The Outsiders). For some reason, these were some of my favorites as a youth.

Our life is a simple one right now. We hang out with the kids. Vern goes to the office. We make meals and eat. We put the kids to sleep and watch an 80's movie. It's nice.

I guess that's it for today. I'm going to watch Porky's with my husband now.

Armenian Pizza

This was good. There wasn't anything that special or unique about it though, surprisingly, because it kind of seemed like it should be. Vern said it tasted like a chili dog. (Here is where the original recipe came from, although I did alter it a bit.) Also, this was probably my first time having ground lamb, and it didn't taste any different to me than ground beef.

1 pound ground lamb
1/2 red onion, diced
Green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T cumin
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp paprika
1/2 lemon
2 tomatoes, diced
2 T barbecue sauce
1 tsp parsley
Pizza dough
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 lime

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Saute red onion, garlic, and bell pepper for 2 minutes. Stir in the cumin, turmeric, and paprika.
3. Add the ground lamb. Squeeze 1/2 lemon over lamb, and drop the peel into the mixture. Break up the meat and stir until it has browned. Remove lemon peel.
4. Stir in the tomatoes, barbecue sauce, and parsley. Continue to simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. The mixture should be spreadable but not too wet or the crust will become soggy.
5. Spoon meat mixture onto pizza dough. Sprinkle feta cheese over it.
6. Bake for 15 minutes. Squeeze 1/2 lime lightly over the top.

Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Since I had some sun-dried tomatoes left over from this pizza recipe, I googled the internet for recipes that included sun-dried tomatoes, and came up with this. It's really yummy. Super creamy. And makes a bunch. Everybody in my family loved it. (Original recipe found here.)

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing the baking dishes
• Salt ground pepper
• 1 pound penne pasta
• Shredded chicken, equal to 1-1/2 cups
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups whole milk
• 10 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups shredded provolone
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease two shallow, 2-quart baking dishes with butter. In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Cook the penne until 3 minutes short of al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
2. Using medium-high heat, warm the oil in a large skillet. Season the chicken halves with salt and pepper and place in the skillet. Cook until the chicken is opaque throughout (about 3 to 5 minutes on each side). Cut each piece in half lengthwise, and then slice thinly crosswise.
3. Using a heavy pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add the flour and garlic to the melted butter. Whisk the mixture as it cooks, gradually adding milk, for about a minute. Bring it to a simmer while continuing to whisk. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes and cook for another minute. Remove the pot from the burner and gradually stir in the provolone and half cup of Parmesan.
4. Add the chicken and pasta to the pot, and then divide the mixture between the two baking dishes. Sprinkle the tops with the rest of the Parmesan. Bake the dishes, uncovered, until golden brown and bubbling (about 25 minutes). Let the dish stand 5 minutes before serving.
5. Serve one dish and freeze the other -- it'll keep for up to three months.

Catching Up

I might start writing in this blog again, so let me catch you up on a couple of things.

1. We moved.

(More on this later.)

2. I cut my hair.

I look like this now.

3. Meanwhile, Vern got more hairy.

He looks like this now.

4. I'm taking an indefinite hiatus from my photography business.

(More on this later. Maybe.) Having my last Bellies, Boobs and Brunch tomorrow.

5. I made this brownie mosaic cheesecake.

For Vern's birthday. About a month ago. Just wanted to include it here because I really liked this picture. (You can find the recipe here.)

That's it for now. I will write more.

Later.

Reuben Pizza

This was tasty. (Original recipe found here.)

Pizza dough
1/2 cup Thousand Island dressing
2 cups Swiss cheese
6 oz corned beef, cut into strips
1 cup sauerkraut
1/2 tsp caraway seed

1. Spread half of the salad dressing over the pizza dough. Sprinkle with half of the Swiss cheese. Arrange corned beef over the cheese, then drizzle with the remaining salad dressing. Top with sauerkraut and remaining Swiss cheese. Sprinkle with caraway seed.
2. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, until cheese melts and toppings are heated through. 

 

Sweet Potato and Curried Red Lentil Pizza

This was really good, although it just basically tasted like eating curry with bread. The original recipe can be found here.

3/4 cup dry red lentils
1-1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 sweet potato, cubed
2 tomatoes, diced
1 tsp ground ginger
1-1/2 curry powder
Pizza dough
1 cup cheese

1. Combine the lentils and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and onions; cook until soft and slightly browned. Stir sweet potato, tomatoes, ginger, curry powder, cumin, salt, and pepper; simmer until sweet potato begins to soften, about 15 to 20 minutes. (If juices cook off before potatoes are fully cooked, stir in a small amount of water, and cover.)
4. Spread the lentils evenly across the surface of the pizza dough  out to the edges. Spread sweet potato mixture evenly on top. Top with cheese.
5. Bake in a preheated oven until the edges are browned, about 10 to 13 minutes.

 

Crab and Pineapple Pizza

Sorry, but here's another one that was not very good. The only reason I'm adding them here is for posterity's sake. The original recipe can be found here.

Pizza dough
2 - 6 oz cans crabmeat, drained and flaked
1 cup pizza sauce
8 oz pineapple chunks, drained and chopped
8 oz cream cheese

Spread sauce over the dough, and dot with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle shredded crabmeat over, then pineapple pieces. 

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the crust is lightly browned.

Enjoy it, if you can.

 

Fennel Leek Pizza

This recipe was not that great. Rather blah. (The original can be found here.)

 

Ingredients

• 1 leek, dark green parts removed and discarded, thinly sliced
• 1 fennel bulb, fronds discarded, thinly sliced
• ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ tsp cracked black pepper
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• 1 batch of your favorite pizza dough

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees.
2. Slice leeks and fennel. Put in bowl. Toss in parmesan, pepper, and oil.
3. Lay all of the fennel and leek mixture over the top of the dough, covering it all the way to the edge.
4. Place in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the leaks and fennel begin to caramelize and the dough is nice and golden.

Blerg.

Butternut Squash and Sage Pizza

This pizza was just alright. Kind of boring. (The original recipe can be found here.)

• 2 cups cubed (1/4-1/2") butternut squash
• olive oil
• salt
• pizza dough
• 4 oz ricotta
• 2 cups cheese
• fresh sage

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 420F. Place the butternut squash on a baking sheet, drizzle on olive oil and salt. Toss to combine. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, turning once or twice, until fork-tender and roasted. Set aside.
2. Roll out the pizza dough. Spread on the ricotta. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the ricotta, then top with the butternut squash. Cook according to the instructions for the pizza dough.
3. Top pizza with fresh sage before serving.

Apricot Chicken Pizza

Pizza dough
Shredded chicken
1 onion, diced
1 cup apricot jam
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

Spread jam on the pizza dop, top with chicken, onion and swiss cheese.

 

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

 

 

Chicken Avocado Pizza

This recipe was very simple and very delicious. (Taken from here.)

Pizza dough

2 avocados, diced

1 T cilantro

Juice from one lime

Shredded chicken

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

2 cups cheese

In a food processor, combine avocados and cilandro. Add lime juice and salt to taste. Spread the avocado mixture over the pizza dough, then arrange chicken and tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

Brie Cranberry and Chicken Pizza

This pizza recipe was simple and delicious. (The original recipe can be found here.) Ezra said, ""Oh my gosh, can we have that again?"

Pizza dough

Shredded chicken

14 oz can cranberry sauce

6 ounces Brie cheese, chopped

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (I actually use Trader Joe's raw cheddar cheese, but that seems like too much to write)

Spread cranberry sauce over the pizza crust. Top with chicken, brie and cover with mozzarella.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Chicken Tzatziki Pizza

This was a super good and wonderful combination of ingredients. Loved it. The original recipe can be found here, although I did make some alterations.

For Tzatziki Sauce:

1 cup plain greek yogurt

½ cup sour cream

2 cloves garlic

1 cucumber, peeled, cut in quarters and seeded

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh dill

kosher salt 

 

Chop garlic, cucumber and dill in a food processor. Add yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice and dill and pulse to blend. Add salt to taste.  (There is going to be extra.)

 

For Pizza:

Pizza dough

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded chicken 

½ cup sliced kalamata olives

⅓ cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup quartered artichoke hearts packed in water, drained

⅓ cup feta cheese 

 

 Instructions:

Put enough tzatziki sauce over pizza dough to cover (like a regular sauce would, so maybe 1-1/2 cups?). Top with cheese, chicken, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and feta cheese.

 

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.