A Blogging Break

I've decided to take a little break from blogging. In the past few weeks I haven't managed to get in more than a handful of posts. Life is chaotic right now at the Irish house... we've got lots of exciting things happening, lots of changes, and very little time. Right now I feel that I need to focus my time, energy, and attention on these things. I promise I'll be back again soon and with exciting things to share, new recipes (there hasn't been any cooking in the Irish house recently), and some great new regular weekly blog posts. See ya'll in a few weeks :)

Celebrating America

We celebrated America's birthday with family, friends, sun, and lots of fun!

We kicked off the holiday weekend with a day of boating at a friend's lake house. It was an absolutely beautiful day - nearly 90 degrees, nothing but sunshine - perfect boating weather. Our friends from Illinois and St. Louis were in town which made it even more perfect. We went swimming, grilled out, laughed and laughed. Dave was also asked to stand up in his friend Jeremy's wedding next April in Louisville. We're looking forward to a little southern getaway to share in Jeremy and Danielle's special day :) (And I really should have brought my camera on the boat)

The celebrations continued after our day at the lake with fireworks. We watched the fireworks from the home where my great grandmother lives. Boy was she feeling festive! She had a fabulous Dr. Seuss Fourth of July hat, some glow sticks, and red, white, and blue-painted finger nails. She was happy to have us all there to watch the fireworks with her and her house really was the best place to watch them.









The festivities continued on the Fourth with the Cedarburg parade, a cookout at our house with our families, and a long nap to recover from the weekend. Thanks to Wisconsin's hot, humid, sunny weather this past weekend we were too wiped out to make it to the Cedarburg fireworks on the fourth. Instead we curled up on the couch and watched a movie. Perfect end to a perfect weekend.

Hope everyone had a fabulous fourth of July weekend!

(Look for a new recipe in next week's Tasty Tuesday... not much cooking happened in the past week at the Irish house)

Tasty Tuesday

I've been slacking on trying new recipes since we've been so busy. So this week I thought I'd share one of our new favorites, a nice alternative to Meatloaf. I originally heard about Meatloaf Pillows on my blogger friend Leigh's weekly menu posting (she also has a great recipe blog!). Dave and I have never been fans of traditional meatloaf but we LOVE these easy,tasty little guys and they are actually way easier to make than tradiational meatloaf. Enjoy!

Meatloaf Pillows



12 oz. tube refrigerated biscuits
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 c. catsup
1 c. catsup, divided
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Divide and press biscuit dough across the bottom and up the sides of 10 greased muffin cups, set aside.

Combine ground beef, 1/2 c. catsup, onion, eggs and oats. Mix well and form into 10 meatballs; place one meatball in each biscuit lined muffin cup.

Spread remaining catsup on the top of each meatball. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

A New Church Home

Yesterday, Dave and I finally became members at our new church. I emphasize the finally because it feels like we've truly been searching for that perfect home church forever. Yesterday, in front of God, our parents, and the members of First Immanuel Lutheran Church we again committed ourselves to live a life reaching up to God, reaching out to others in service, and reaching in to each other to personally grow in our relationship with Christ. It was absolutely perfect.

If you've ever had to find a new church you can appreciate the challenges that go into the process and the happiness of finding that perfect one. While Dave and I live close to where I grew up we knew we didn't want to be members at the church that I grew up attending (the same church my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all still attend). My old church was small, with limited youth opportunities, little global outreach, and few young couples. Dave and I never quite felt at home there. When we started looking for a church, we knew we wanted something a little bigger, with great mission opportunities, challenging ministries, strong children's programs and youth groups, and other young couples and families. We certainly got all that and more when we started worshiping at First Immanuel. We even like that there are six different services to choose from during the week... including four on Sunday morning. We especially love the blended worship service that keeps that traditional liturgy we are familiar with but adds contemporary music we can relate to and get excited about singing. I've already jumped into some ministry work at the church and have taken on a new exciting leadership role within the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. I feel like God is opening so many doors for us through our new faith family and we are so thankful to finally feel at home again.

Tasty Tuesday (or Wednesday)

Clearly today is Wednesday and clearly I'm slacking in my postings but I have very valid excuses, I promise. Anyways, I tried another new recipe this past week that is definitely worth sharing! This recipe comes courtesy of the Favorite Family Recipes Blog.

Hawaiian Beef Teriyaki



Ingredients:
1 can pineapple chunks with juice (15oz)
1 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. minced ginger
1 Lb. beef sirloin, cut in 1 inch cubes

Mix together all ingredients excluding beef. Set aside about 1/2 cup of the sauce, cover, and refrigerate. Add beef to remaining sauce and marinate, covered and refrigerated, overnight.

The next day, thread beef onto skewers. Discard leftover marinade. Grill for 8-10 minutes, turning once, until beef is cooked.

Place beef in a large bowl, pour remaining sauce over the cooked beef and stir until well covered.

Serve with rice and fresh vegetables from the garden!

I actually let the meat marinade in the refrigerator all day since I had taken the meat out to thaw the night before. It was just as flavorful and incredibly easy to make! The perfect summer grilling recipe! Bon Apetit!

House-iversary

Yes, I did just make up a new word in honor of the anniversary of when we bought our first home. I quite like it actually.... house-iversary. Tomorrow, June 14, marks one year since we became homeowners. And if I've learned anything in the past year, it is that home ownership truly has its highs and lows.

Let's rewind a year. June 14, 2009. Dave and I had jumped through hoop after hoop to get the house we had fallen in love with more than 6 months earlier. After numerous counter-offers, filling out thousands (okay, so that may be an exaggeration) papers verifying our incomes and ability to pay for the house, and several old fashion breakdowns (by me, not Dave, in case you're wondering) we woke up on June 14 with boxes packed and hands ready to sign our lives away. If only it were that easy! We were told mid-morning our loan was not approved because of complications with my student loans (those things aren't good for anything!!). The sellers couldn't close on their new house (also scheduled for that day) until we closed on ours. The bank wouldn't cut our down payment check until we had proof of financing. I learned so much that day about finances and mortgages. Finally, by 5pm, after jumping through more hoops and running around town gathering signatures and checks, we finally had approval to close! Phew! Not so fast. We may in fact close that day, but no keys were to be given. The banks had closed and the check couldn't be deposited. So, while we became homeowners on June 14, we didn't get our keys until the next day. When you're both living with your parents and you're exhausted from the paper chase of purchasing your first home, one night seems like eternity. But we survived. And on June 15, Dave and I went to work and came home to our new house where all of our boxes were so neatly moved in and organized by room. Thank you mom and dad Anderson! We thought we were excited to move out.... my parents were so happy to have their house back and to have all my "junk" (as dad so fondly called it) out of their garage and dining room that they moved all our stuff without us even there. They even picked up the keys for us. Hey, I won't argue with free movers :)

So why do I tell you about our home buying process? Because if you've never bought a house, you ought to know that it's not always rainbows and butterflies. And if you are a recent first-time home buyer you can appreciate the effects today's economy played on our buying process. While we've certainly dived right into home ownership in the past year, we have a ways to go on making our first house feel even more like home. The honey-do list is still a mile long, afterall :)

Tasty Tuesday

Here you go - the first official "Tasty Tuesday" posting as promised! After reviewing my menu plan for last week I realized I had to share two new recipes I tried last week because they were both equally delicious.

The first is Beer-Glazed Ham. I have always wanted to learn to make my own ham. While ham is certainly a family favorite at holidays, I didn't see why it couldn't be an everyday meal as well. I used a turkey ham for this recipe and it was incredibly delicious! And it was incredibly easy to make as well and it left us with lots of leftovers which is a rare occasion in our house (thanks to my high-metabolism hubby).

BEER-GLAZED HAM


Ingredients
1 Boneless Fully Cooked Ham (3lbs)
1 Can (12 ounces) beer
2 Cup packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 Teaspoons ground mustard

Place ham on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Score the surface of the ham, making diamond shapes 1/2 inch deep. Set aside 2 tablespoons of beer. Pour remaining beer over the ham. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for one hour.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, vinegar, mustard and reserved beer. Spread over ham. Bake 40-45 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 140 degrees, basting occasionally.

I served the ham with mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus

The second new recipe I tried was also from Taste of Home. When we were visiting Dave's grandma in Arizona she had lots of old recipe magazines lying around. She graciously let me tear them apart in search of new recipes to try. This second recipe is for Chicken Tortellini Alfredo. I served this main dish with salad and fresh Italian bread.

CHICKEN TORTELLINI ALFREDO


Ingredients
1 Package frozen cheese tortellini
2 Cups fresh broccoli florets
1 Cup fresh baby carrots
3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 Large onion, cut into wedges
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
1 Jar (15oz) Alfredo sauce
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried oregano

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute broccoli and carrots in 2 Tbsp. oil for 5-6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in the onion and garlic. Saute vegetables 3-4 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender. Remove vegetables and keep warm.

In the same skillet, cook chicken in remaining oil over medium heat for 4-6 minutes or until no longer pink. Return vegetables to skillet. Stir in Alfredo sauce and seasonings. Heat through. Drain tortellini, add to chicken, toss to coat.

Note: The original recipe called for mushrooms but we left that out. I also used chicken breast that we had pre-grilled.

Hope you enjoy trying these new recipes! I've got three new recipes on this week's menu that I'll share if we like them. Bon Apetit!