My brother and I, though both out of high school, still get an Easter basket full of goodies.  I can’t complain!

The house was pretty with bright flowers.

Games were bringing us together (although I didn’t win….).

And the food!  Oh, the food!  These bacon wrapped little smokies were smothered in brown sugar and baked.  They weren’t around for long – I think only a matter of five minutes before they were resting peacefully in our stomachs.

The honey-glazed showstopper.  Mmmmm.

My mom’s surprise potatoes which ended up being Potatoes Anna.  So delicious!

And who could resist this beautiful raspberry swirl cheesecake after they thought they couldn’t take another bite?  Not me!

It really was a wonderful Easter.  I hope you had a great one, too.  I’m back up at school now and hope to get back to blogging regularly!

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless chicken breast halves without skin
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon basil, dried  (we also added garlic powder, thyme, parsley, and oregano)
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 to 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (1/2 to 1 cup sliced)
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine (we used Merlot because it was all San could find)

We started by not pounding the chicken breasts which was a big mistake.  We didn’t understand why we would need to pound them, but after browning them and realizing they were still pink in the middle (once the sauce was done) we realized that they must be thin so the outside and the inside both get done at the same time).  It was an easy fix – we just transferred the chicken to another skillet and cranked up the heat while we turned the stove way down so the sauce would stay warm.

We mixed the flour, salt, pepper, basil (and other added spices) and dredged the chicken in it while the large skillet was heating the oil and butter.  When the oil/butter mixture was hot, we added the chicken and let it lightly brown on both sides. Once it was golden, we added the mushrooms and let them cook with the chicken for about two minutes. After the two minutes, we added the Merlot, or Marsala if you wanted to follow the recipe closely.  We didn’t have a cover, so we let that thicken with the juices from the chicken, the oil, and the butter left in the pan until it appeared ready and the mushrooms looked to be the correct texture.  We served it with penne that I mixed with butter and the same mixture of herbs we added to the flour mixture.  To see the full recipe, head over here.

Because I have been gone for the past few days supporting my old high school’s dance team at state, I was exhausted and had nothing planned for decorating the kitchen island that we ate at.  It was anything but ideal – not the picnic-inspired Valentine’s Day I had hoped for – but I made it work.  I used the bouquet of flowers San got me as the centerpiece and used colorful candles from my room around that (which can’t be lit due to strict rules for the apartment).  I used the only placemats we have in the apartment which are from Ikea and dishes and silverware that we had floating around the kitchen.  We went with root beer as the drink because San surprised me with it.  We both love root beer (me probably more so than him, though, because it is pretty much the only pop – or soda – I drink) so we thought we’d make the dinner a little less formal by adding in a fun bottled treat.  We served freshly baked large rolls with the Chicken Merlot that we bought for 33 cents a piece at Cub.

The setting and decorating were definitely nothing spectacular, but we’re young and easily impressed!  The food, however, was amazing and although I felt full a few bites in, I had to eat every last bite of that palate-pleasing meal!

How was your Valentine’s Day?  Did you have anything special to eat?

I had a vision of the perfect Valentine’s Day over the weekend that would work for a romantic dinner for two, a plentiful meal for a large family, or even as a buffet-style dinner for a Valentine’s Day party.  Seeing as I’m a Minnesotan, I have had just about as much as I can take this winter, and the snow doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, in fact it just keeps on falling every day.  All the snow had me dreaming of a summertime picnic filled with bright, happy colors, and warm rays shooting down from the sky.  Unfortunately, unless I’m willing to have a picnic full of frostbite, this vision will not be able to become a reality for at least a few months, but I decided to create a Valentine’s Day tableau that involves bringing the outdoors in.

I started it all out with this quilt (which is over 50% off right now), but I imagine many people have a quilt or blanket of some type they could use to drape over the table.  I suppose you could even do it in the floor like a real picnic, but I’m imagining all of this on a table.  In the center of table, there would be a pretty flower arrangement in a birch vase to bring more of the outdoors in.  On either side of the flowers would be a globe glass vase with candy hearts inside. In the center of the table as well, or in front of each guest’s plate would be a 4×6 white frame with black and white heart photos (I used this one, this one, and this one) or black and white photos of your kids or you and your significant other.  The real showstopper would be a beautiful cake with lots of fruit to make it really feel like a picnic on a glass cake plate. 

The placemats used would be simple white ones as well as white Corelle plates.  I incorporated some blue with vintage teal salad plates and more pink with sweet heart cocktail plates to be used for the cake.  I kept the silverware simple while making the drinkware fun and colorful (also practical if kids will be using these, but you could easily switch these out for wine glasses).  Everything is complete with a simple white pitcher full of a fruity drink or some ice cold milk.

To me, this would be the perfect Valentine’s Day dinner setting.  I would probably have to keep my back turned to the window to really believe for one day that it is warm enough for a picnic, but I have a pretty vivid imagination.

What about you?  What would your perfect Valentine’s Day dinner look like?

Note: I moved the comments link to the bottom of the post because it is easier to find there. Look for it below the “share/save” button.

I have been dreaming of my first house my whole life, so I am incredibly excited to not only dream about it, but to know it will happen in the next ten years.  Even if I have no money, I will find a fixer-upper or a foreclosed home and make it happen.  I love DIY projects anyway and don’t think I would ever want to move into a house that was completely move-in ready.  I have pictures in my head of what my dream will look like, which you can check out here. 

I am hoping my first home will also be my first place to live with San once we are married.  I don’t believe in living together before marriage, so I want my first home to be special not only as the first place to call my own, but he first place to call our own.  I have been waiting for that for so long, so making it actually happen will fulfill one of my biggest dreams.  I am not rushing into anything, though, and want to make sure my life is in order before I start connecting it to someone else’s.

Once I am married, I am sure I will be having children not too far after.  I am probably young and crazy, but I want five children.  I grew up in a pretty quiet home.  My brother is fourteen years older than me, so he was in college and then on his own when I was still pretty young.  I enjoyed being the main child in my house growing up, but I think I want more kids.  I know it will keep me on my toes, but to think of all the love each child brings (I’m not dumb, I know they bring lots of responsibility as well) makes all the sacrifice seem worth it to me.  I’ll see once I have the first, though.  I’m pretty sure I’ll have at least one child in the next decade, however.

When it comes to having my first real job, not swiping cards at the cafeteria or waitressing, I am looking forward to putting myself out there.  I plan on becoming an English teacher and then having time in the summers to do other odd jobs or to stay at home with my imaginary children in the future.  I am still open to many things, however.  I don’t think I will give up on teaching, but I would not mind being a stay-at-home mom and homeschooling if I ever got the opportunity.  I also think I may dapple in other entrepreneur endeavors such as maybe opening a new business, flipping houses, becoming a photographer, or opening a bookstore.  I never want to lock myself into anything to the point that I will feel like I can’t get out if I hate it.  I only have this one life, so I don’t want to spend it doing something I despise.

Other than those few, but major, things, I don’t think I have anything else planned.  These next ten years will probably be the most dramatic but also the most exciting in my life.  I have my life completely open ahead of me and as scary as that is, I am so excited to try out new things, start a family, and make a name for myself.  I’d love any advice any of my wiser and more experienced readers could give me about this new phase in my life.  I’d also like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!  I hope everyone reaches all of their goals and is able to focus on themselves and their loved ones more in the coming year.

Merry Christmas, everyone, from my house to yours.  Mr. Stewart Wallace hopes everyone has a very merry Christmas filled with laughter, happiness, love, and joy!  Christmas only comes once a year, so make the most of this time. :)