Prairie Hive Mag, Issue One

And, it's done.  After a super long week and weekend, we finally got the Prairie Hive Mag, Issue One, up and running at Prairie Hive.

It has been a super fun & learning process along the way.  Not gonna lie, last night around 10:00pm {after having worked since noon on sunday and 11am - 3:30am satuday, oh and 4pm - 10pm on thursday, and all the days before} I wasn't sure it was actually going to happen.  We kept hitting wall, after wall, after wall when dealing with all the file compression, uploading, linking, etc.  BUT, around 11pm last night...it worked!  And then we saw a couple of corrections that needed to be made, so another hour later it was finally done.

It is very exciting to see something you have worked on for so long finally come to completion.  That's one thing that I love about interior design.  You start with something, or sometimes nothing, and in the end you have results that you can see and be apart of.

So, all that to say, take a few minutes and check it out!  Our next one will be out in August and will feature a totally different style of house and everything.

Due to all of the above, I haven't made it to the grocery store for this week.  Probably needs to happen soon.  For my sake, here is what I'm thinking for meals this week....

Sauteed Shrimp w/ Sherry and Chiles {didn't get to it last week}

Indian Food - Tikka Masala w/ Basmati Rice & Naan

Beef Taco Salad

Grilled Chicken & Vegetables w/ Red Potatoes

Have a great Monday!

what's cookin' this week

beef & zucchini enchiladas

crock pot chicken & dumplings {thank you cori}

grilled island bbq tilapia with cilantro lime rice

lemon pepper shrimp scampi with noodles

a few new recipes to try this week.  enchiladas are actually suppose to just be zucchini enchiladas, but for those that know my husband, be is all about the meat.  plus I have left over ground beef from the calzones i made last week.  i am super excited about the chicken and dumplings.  my friend cori tried them and said they were pretty tasty.  dumplings are in fact mymichael's favorite food and i never make them.  i tried a "quick" version one time that used tortillas as the "dumplings" and he politely, or not so, informed me that those were NOT dumplings.  so, hopefully this will get a better review from him! 

let's talk about sam's club for a moment.  i love sam's.  every sunday afternoon i go grocery shopping my parents and we always go to sam's.  why?  b/c it's awesome.  yes, they have large quantities, but hello people...i can get a thing of mushrooms for $2.68 and it is twice as big as the thing i get at the regular grocery store for $2.99.  or how about the 15 pound bag of basmati rice that i bought for $12?  the same rice would be $9 for a quarter of the amount.  we eat quite a bit of shrimp and fish and sam's has a great frozen selection.  that is where the "island bbq tilapia" is from.  it comes already in its marinade in individual packets, so you just cut open and pop in the oven or on the grill.  they also have a great blackened salmon.

hope everyone has a great week!

what's cookin' this week

can you believe this weather!?!?!?  tonight we had easter dinner instead of easter lunch.  it was great fun  relaxing with family and friends.  dad and mymichael fired up the grill and we had tilapia, mahi mahi, shrimp, grilled vegetables, baked chicken, dressing, homemade rolls and last but definitely not least homemade blackberry cobbler.  to say the least, everybody was stuffed.  so, this week i am continuing my grill usage a couple of nights....here's what i have got...

grilled hamburgers with baked sweet potato fries

boursin chicken (didn't get to it last week)

chicken quesadillas (maybe italian style with fresh basil, capers, peppers, etc.)

grilled salmon

what's on your menu?

what's cookin' this week

slow cooker boneless ribs

bbq chicken, homemade mac & cheese, & green beans

grilled shrimp teriyaki with rice & asparagus

boursin chicken w/ orzo

pepper roast beef sandwiches & oven baked sweet potato fries

the weather is suppose to be so wonderfully nice this week that we are bringing out the grill!  mymichael makes the best bbq chicken so i am quite excited!

what's on your menu this week?

recipe {bbq chicken pizza}

i love homemade pizza!  it's one of our favorite meals.  saturday, while it was snowing outside, we made bbq chicken pizza and it was super yummy.  the crust recipe i use is quick and easy.  it only has to rise for 10 minutes!

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 small packet {2 1/4 teaspoon} rapid rise active dry yeast

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 -1/2 cup all-purose flour

combine water, sugar, and yeast togeter in a bowl

whisk until dissolved

add olive oil and salt

add flour {picture above is what it should look like with half of the flour}

dough should look like this with all the flour added

use hands to form into a ball like above and let REST for 10 minutes

while dough is resting, spray pizza stone with non-stick spray and sprinkle with corn meal.  after dough has rested 10 minutes, place ball of dough on stone and sprinkle with flour.  use your hands and start pressing dough thin, push towards edges of stone.  once you get it pressed close to the edges use a roller to roll the dough a little off the stone.  then fold the dough over to create a crust and press with your fingers. 

once you have your crust rolled out brush with olive oil and then sprinkle with garlic salt and italian seasonings. then bake at 425 degrees until lightly golden. then you are ready to add your toppings!

bbq sauce

rotisserie chicken

red onion

jalapeno

goat cheese

italian cheese

garlic

red pepper flakes

cilantro

just fyi...you can used canned chicken if you would like instead of the rotisserie chicken.  brush crust with bbq sauce then top with chicken, onion, jalapeno, garlic, goat cheese, italian cheese, and red pepper flakes.  place pizza back in oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes until cheese has melted.  finally, top with fresh chopped cilantro and a drizzle of bbq sauce. 

remember, you can use this idea and make your own personalized pizza...same crust different toppings.

enjoy!

we give this recipe

*****

recipe {boursin chicken}

this is the recipe i received from my friend amber and it was wonderful!  very simple and few ingredients.

chicken breasts

boursin chees {found in your specialty cheese section of your grocery store}

olive oil

salt

pepper

pound the chicken breasts to a 1/4" thick

spread 1 tablespoon boursin cheese in the center

roll the chicken breasts like an eggroll

sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper

heat olive oil in skillet

add chicken breasts seam side down and cook until golden, flip and cook the second side until done

i had never had boursin cheese before....boy is it yummy!  it is also great on bread and/or crackers.  be sure and pound the chicken breasts thin.  i didn't do mine thin enough and so it was harder to roll....it still turned out well but i will definitely make them thinner next time. 

i served the chicken with sauteed mushrooms and onions and what i call smash potatoes.

red potatoes

olive oil

salt, pepper, garlic salt

bacon bits

cheese

third or quarter red potatoes and boil in water until fork tender.  toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic salt.  line cookie sheet with foil or you will be scrubbing for a long time!  place potatoes on cookie sheet smash each one with a fork.  sprinkle with bacon bits and cheese and broil until golden.  the thinner these are the better...they get nice and crispy.  they would be great with sourcream and chives...kind of like a potato skin!

we give these recipes

*****

enjoy!

what's cookin' this week?

Here is what's on my menu this week....

Spicy Shrimp Fried Rice

Baked Fish w/ Couscous and Fresh Green Beans

Dorito Casserole

Chicken Piccata

what is on yours? 

 i would love some new recipes to try out...leave me a comment!

what's cookin' this week

saturday night i found out that i have apparently been slacking off in the menu department.....kristin....not to name names or anything!  so, here is what's on the menu this week....

Chicken Pot Pie

Mom's Chicken Tortilla Soup

Carrissa's Sausage Rice Casserole

Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi {cooking light}

Chicken Tikki Masala {tikki masala simmer sauce from target}

what's cooking in your kitchen this week????????

what's cookin' this week

wow...i feel like it has been a while since i have done one of these posts.  this time of year is always super crazy and i always feel like i am running 90 different ways!  here's what i've got for this week....

lemon pepper shrimp scampi {cooking light magazine}

spinach & ricotta stuffed shells {cooking light magazine}

coconut curry with chicken & rice {coconut curry sauce was purchased at target}

grilled chicken, green beans & couscous

sausage & cream cheese biscuit & crescent roll thingy's {awesome name...huh!}

mymichael's sister and her family will be staying with us a couple of nights.  so friday night i am cooking for everyone....still trying to figure out what to do...........

what are you cooking...or what fabulous restaurants are you trying out this week???

beef carnitas

sunday evening i decided to make beef carnitas that had previously been mentioned in this post.  the recipe for beef carnitas calls for beef stew meat to be used.  this is a great recipe b/c typically stew meat is harder to work with, tends to be fatty and such.  so, usually that is what i use...on this occasion i happened to have left over roast from a previous night last week and decided that i would use that instead.  since my meat had already been cooked it was a fast "throw together" meal. 

the recipe calls for the carnitas to be cooked on the stove top, but for me everytime i make it i do it in the crock pot.  mainly b/c i work all day and i like having recipes that i can start in the morning and have minimal work when i get home at night. 

here's what i did this time for the carnitas:

-saute onion, garlic & red pepper on stovetop

-chopped up roast and cook with onion, garlic & red pepper for a couple minutes

-put roast mixture into crock pot {i set on 4 hours b/c it was a sunday and i didn't start it until the afternoon...ona typical work do i would set it to 10 hours and add enough beef broth to cover meat mixture in crock pot}

-add remaning ingredients to mixture, including orange wedges

-put lid on crock pot and go shopping while it cooks

-hours later take lid off crock pot and smell wonderful aroma & sample a tasting

you can eat carnitas many ways...typically they are served with warm flour or corn tortillas.  this time i made some crunchy taco shells and a tostadas for us to eat with them.  be sure and add cilantro at the end...can't have mexican food without cilantro! 

this is one of our favorite meals...mymichael can eat the meat up....there were no leftovers that night!

we give this recipe:

*****

{fyi:  when i am not using already cooked meat, i put the stew meat frozen into the crockpot with some beef broth and/or water, salt, pepper & garlic salt.  let it cook all day...10 hour setting.  then when i get home i take the meat out and shred it with a fork then do the rest of the recipe on the stove top and let it simmer about 30 minutes}

what's cookin' this week?

some meal ideas for this week are......

*Puttanesca Sauce w/ Chicken & Angel Hair Pasta {Weight Watchers Magazine}

*Spicy Stir-Fried Chicken & Spinach {Weight Watchers Magazine}

*Roast w/ Sweet Potatoes & Salad

*Beef Carnitas {Cooking Light Magazine}

the roast and beef carnitas are favorites in our house...the Puttanesca Chicken dish and Stir Fry dish will be new trys...we will see how they stand up. honestly, the Puttanesca dish can't be that bad, i mean it's got capers, onions, red pepper flakes and kalamata olives....anything with those would HAVE to be good!



i'll let you know how they turn out.