thank you 2012

2012 has been good to us. There has been lots of wonderfulness this year. Between my brother marrying one of my best girlfriends, to me marrying my best friend, moving to a new town and getting settled into our married life, we have been so blessed over this past year. I think 2013 has it's work cut out for it but, none the less, I am looking forward to a new year and all that is in store.

I hope you have a wonderful, safe New Year. See you in 2013!

dinner dilemma

Since I have more time than usual on my hands, I've put extra effort into my creativity in the kitchen. Over the weekend, Jake and I made some delicious chicken parmesan and with just the two of us, we typically have a decent amount of left overs. And there is nothing that I love more than being able to re-purpose left overs for another great meal. After an extensive online search of how to use the chicken, I became inspired to recreate my favorite dish from Noodles & Co.

Amazingly, I had all the necessary ingredients (sort of) to make truffle mac & cheese. If you've never had truffle oil before you are missing out. It's delicious but a little bit goes a very long way.  I took the recipe from this blog and adjusted it a bit.

Truffle Mac & Cheese with Chicken

• 2 cups pasta
• 1 tablespoon truffle oil
• 1 3/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, warmed
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 block cream cheese

 Cook the pasta according to the package. Drain the pasta, place in a bowl and toss with truffle oil.

 Cut pre-cooked chicken into bit size pieces, warm in skillet or in microwave. Set aside.

In a sauce pan, heat the stock on medium. Mix together the parmesan and flour, so that the flour coats the parmesan. Add to the stock and stir until the cheese has been melted and it thickens slightly. Add the pasta and cream cheese and stir until the cream cheese is completely melted.

Pour pasta and cheese mixture over chicken and mix gently. Add freshly, grated parmesan. Serve and enjoy!

It was delicious and thankfully there are still leftovers!

lately

You know that feeling when your socks are all bunched up and something just feels off. That has been my general feeling for the past week or so. It's been a while since I've blogged so let me catch you up. We found out the week before Thanksgiving that the Mr. would be relocated for his job, which is a great thing we've been waiting for. We went to Vegas for a work trip (his, not mine). The Monday we got back, we finished packing up the townhouse and on Tuesday it all got loaded in the truck and we moved three hours north.

We've been at the new apartment for just over a week now. Jake has been at his new building for a week and I have been unemployed for that long. The new apartment is looking great. Our things are falling into place and its beginning to look like us. Jake has been putting in long hours trying to get a grasp for his new crew. And I have been unpacking boxes, running errands, Christmas shopping and baking. Not too shabby of a week.

This is our first big move. At first I didn't quite realize just how significantly it would affect us. It didn't seem that big of a deal until we got here. Then it dawned on me that we're in a completely new city, with no awareness of what is where, and just a completely new surrounding. It's something we've been waiting for and have wanted for a while. But change is hard. This change was hard because the last time I moved some place new it was to college and I had a dorm full of girls and a full schedule to occupy my time. So, this was a bigger change than I anticipated. I'm working hard on making this place our new home and getting settled and cozy in our new town.

Now for a few pictures from our Vegas trip.