10 (basically free) things to do with your spouse

 

One cool thing about marriage is that you are always changing and learning something new about your partner. I mean, almost always. We can't be the only ones that get in a rut sometimes and revert to sitting on the couch watching tv each night. Right? Riiight?? Well, assuming that you are one of the happy couples that also does this, I've gathered a few (10 to be exact) things that you and your spouse could do together that is a bit more fun than the same 'ole same 'ole.

1. Make a fort. This is my favorite thing to do! We have fun pretending like kids while we eat popcorn and watch movies from our fort that takes over almost the entire living room! Grab a couple chairs (and an ironing board in our case) Tons of blankets and pillows and go to work!

2. Play a game! Mr. T's favorite card game is Uno and my favorite board game is Clue. You can always try a game neither of you have played before! Ask your friends or family to borrow something they have and try it out! It's also an option in these warm months to go outside! There are plenty of games to play outside! Frisbee, Croquet, Cornhole, Washers, water balloon fights etc. Here are a couple of websites that will help you figure some out: two player card and tile games, easy backyard games, and I'll upload how to play washers for you later.

3. Put together a puzzle.

4. Do chores together. It may sound silly but it gives you great quality time together! Besides, something as boring as folding laundry or washing dishes is a lot better when you have a partner. :)

5. Take a bike ride! This is great if you live in the country - you can see so much scenery! If you aren't able to bike where you live or you don't have one take a walk instead.

6. Cook something together. Really! you might be amazed at your hubby's culinary talent! Don't know what to cook? You can always try Pinterest, Food.com, or Epicurious.com to find some new ideas.

7. Learn an instrument together. Maybe even start a band! Him learn guitar, you learn piano. Or banjo. Or the hurdy gurdy. (that's a real thing). With the power of Youtube at your fingertips nothing can stop you!

8. PILLOW FIGHT! Now this suggestion is fun and might also lead to ... other types of fun. But when is it not exciting to hit someone in the head with a pillow?

9. Learn something/Teach something. Say he plays video games a lot. Get him to teach you how to play too! Mr. T and I play games on the Xbox quite frequently. I'm a whole lot better now than I was when we first got married. You could teach him a thing or too as well!

10. Take a free online class together. It's a lot easier to learn spanish when you have someone to talk to! A few sites to explore is Coursera (currently they have a music of the beatles class - cool!) and Openculture.


There is a plethora of opportunities awaiting you and your love muffin to try.. so get out there!

Pancakes - from scratch!

Mr. T just doesn't get excited about things like I do. I'm over here like "Yay! Random drive around town!" or "Yay! You want to play Toy Story 3 with me!" and more commonly, "YAY! FOOD!"
I try awfully hard to excite him like that but it just isn't in his nature. There was the one time I bought him the star wars xbox 360 and thought he was going to cry.
I hold on to that moment.
I also try to achieve that glimmer of excitement from his pretty green eyes almost daily. So aside from peanut butter, one of his favorite things to eat are pancakes. Boy gets up at 4 every day so the only breakfast in bed he is able to get is on Saturday. (Not that I wouldn't love being that wife that wakes up every morning with her husband and have his breakfast on the table... but we haven't reached that point yet.)

So Saturday I woke up before him - later than 4am mind you - and decided to surprise him!

The budding Betty Crocker in me decided that from scratch would be the best way to go with this venture. Let's make a note that I had to get creative. We had no eggs and we are basically poor right now so I had to substitute. Did you know two tablespoons water, one teaspoon vegetable oil and two teaspoons baking powder could be used in the place of one egg? Imagine that!

As you can see, I made ours into different sizes. We each had 3 and they were in cute little layers. I had some batter left over that I stuck in the fridge for later.


Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 egg, beaten lightly (or the substitute)
1 ½ cups milk
2 tbsp butter, melted

Directions
Grease a nonstick pan with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Start heating the pan on medium (for about ten minutes) In a large bowl, mix the first three ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the egg and milk until combined. Add it to the flour mix and stir until smooth. Finally, add butter. *note that if you want fancy pancakes add your blueberries, chocolate chips, etc. here.* Pour the batter to make whatever size pancakes you want. Cook until bubbles start to form on top, then flip and cook a couple more minutes.

Good Work!

The not so scary soufflé

Guys. Guys guys guyssssssss.

I'm just saying that this is the most fancy sounding dessert that I've ever made! And the secret? It's so easy! If any of you watch Doctor Who (if you don't, you should try it out) But he has a companion named Clara aka "Soufflé Girl". Being the culinary train wreck that I am I thought to myself, "what the heck is that?"

So I googled it.

The definition is this: A light, fluffy baked dish made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with various other ingredients and served as a main dish or sweetened as a dessert. So I started looking for recipes and found this magnificent 4 ingredient chocolate soufflé. It is worth the whole five minutes it took to prep it. So serious. 

just look at this deliciousness

Ingredients:
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs

Directions:
1. Start melting the butter in a pot over medium low heat. When the butter is about halfway melted stir in those chocolate chips baby! When that's almost all liquid, remove from heat.
2. If you are good at multitasking, mix eggs and sugar in a bowl while the chocolate is melting. (all the eggs.. this one doesn't involve separating them)
3. After you have removed the chocolate from heat, stir in the egg/sugar mix until  it thickens up a little more.
4. Pour the mix into your ramekin bowls until they are about 3/4 of the way full. 
5.Bake the bowls at 350F for 20 minutes. When times up wiggle the bowls with tongs. If it still jiggles like jello keep it in there for five more minutes. 

That's all there is to it! I impressed my family with it for sure. Would go great with some ice cream or powdered sugar!!

EASY Chicken and Dumplings

photo credit: dailydishrecipes

Alright guys, I have a confession.

I like shortcuts.

So when I found this recipe for chicken and dumplings with canned biscuits? Ohhh yeah buddy! The result was absolutely AWESOME. Mr. T and I devoured it while watching the first X-Men movie (again!). Made for a perfect night :)

I have been very hesitant about making chicken and dumplings because let's be serious no one does it better than Cracker Barrel! But I manned up and tried it and you know what? SO CAN YOU!

Let's get started shall we? Here is what you need:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts
2 cans butter biscuits
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 bouillon cubes
1 tsp garlic salt (optional)
2 Tbsp butter

Start by boiling you chicken breasts (20 min) At that point, start preparing your dumplings by rolling out biscuits on a floured surface. Make them flat and make sure they all have a coating of flour. Tear them into quarter size pieces. When the chicken is done, set aside to cool. Keep the water in the pot the chicken was cooked in. Make sure you have about 3/4 water in the pot. (I had to use a big pot - the kind with the two handles on the sides) bring to a boil and add the cream of chicken, 2 Tbsp butter, 3 bouillon cubes, and 1 tsp of garlic salt. Stir well. Over med-high heat, begin to add the dumplings to the boiling water. Turn the heat down to medium and stir occasionally (they turn out better the less you stir.) Tear the chicken into small pieces and add it back into the pot. Cook for 30 to 45 minutes or until the dumplings are soft.

They were totally scrumptious! Let me know of your experience :) Do you do something different?

Oreo Balls

My final post for tonight is a recipe that anyone in their right mind should enjoy. :D

OREO BALLS!

Ingredients:
1 box Oreos, finely crushed
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
1 package vanilla almond bark
Directions:
Mix Oreos and cream cheese together and roll into small balls. Sit in fridge overnight or in the freezer for a few hours. Dip in melted almond bark.

Seriously, it's that easy. I used a toothpick and a spoon to assist in the dipping. I am warning you though, people will fight over these. They are also really good not even dipped in the white chocolate. No fat and no calories too, of course. ;)

Pineapple Casserole

photo credit to those fancy people at food network

The next recipe for tonight's installment is for those brave enough to take my word on something. (Or those who aren't afraid of strange combinations.)

Pineapple Casserole

Ingredients:
2 cans pineapple chunks
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
6 Tbsp self rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Drain pineapple and save the juice. Mix the pineapple, cheese, flour, and sugar together. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish and pour mixture into it. In a separate bowl, mix 6 Tbsp juice with the crushed Ritz crackers. Scoop that onto the top of the mixture. Bake for 25- 30 minutes or until the top starts getting "golden brown".

This recipe sounds really weird but I promise it's good! Family approved! But I will NOTE: it is best served hot! It doesn't taste that great when it is cold, so if you must travel far to your holiday festivities I wouldn't recommend this. 

Buffalo Chicken Ranch Dip

'Tis the season to be cooking!

I will be posting quite a few recipes tonight that I have been field testing so far during the holidays. Maybe you will find one to make instead of the normal break and bake Christmas cookies ;)
My first recipe is for the families who like to spice things up!

Buffalo Chicken Ranch Dip

Ingredients:

1 (8oz) package of cream cheese

2 cups of shredded cooked chicken (or 2 cans for the lazy ones like me)

1 (12 oz) bottle of Frank's Red Hot 

1/2 bottle of ranch

1/2 cup of cheddar cheese (or any other cheese.. I would like to try colby jack)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F and soften cream cheese. 

Mix all ingredients together in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Bake for 20 minutes or until it is all heated through.

I'm telling you.. awesomeeeeeee. I actually used a large bottle of Frank's the first time I cooked it, but I just couldn't handle it. My husband on the other hand really liked it that hot. It is great served with chips or veggies!