Spend a day in Cincinnati...

As most of my readers know, I moved back to my hometown of Cincinnati a little over two years ago. Until then, I hadn't lived here since I was 18, and in those 5, 10,  er - 17 years, a lot has changed… for the better. I love living here. Recenlty making the rounds on social media is photographer Justin Leibow's expose on his "4 Days in Cincinnati." It's a great piece punctuated by his beautiful photography. Check it out and get a glimpse of the wonderful city I call home. 

Friday fave...

I loved the show Bosom Buddies when I was a kid. 

This is a great side by side reenactment of the opening credits done by Paul Rudd and Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation). 

Happy Friday! 

New Joss and Main bar stools...

I'm 2 for 2 in my purchase from Joss and Main. The first was a hallway rug. 

And just this past weekend, I assembled our new bar stools.  

Our kitchen flows right into our family room with a bar-height counter dividing the two. 

Whenever we have guests, we inevitably end up hanging in the kitchen, so we always thought it would be nice to have some bar stools for extra seating. Problem was, all of the stools we found were either fake wood veneer or waaaaaay too pricey for what they were. Then I spotted these puppies on Joss and Main for $80/pair. Done and done. 

Assembly wasn't too bad. It took a little elbow grease to get the screws in there securely, but they seem to be just fine. And I only sustained a few injuries.

I especially love the nailhead trim because it goes with my hubby's leather chair, and the linen seat works well with all the natural fabrics we have in the room. 

We're ready for guests, who's coming over? 

Friday favorite...

Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland released her first solo album today. The first single, "That Girl" is steadily on repeat on my iPod. I just love the sound, it's pretty different than the country pop out there right now. It definitely has some retro-country flavor. I can't wait to hear what the rest of the CD sounds like.

Check out the song and video right here. 

Parmesan chicken and kale...

If you're looking for a delicious, go-to meal, try this one on for size. I have to give a shout-out to my neighbor Cory, who introduced me to this chicken recipe. It's gotten rave reviews in my house and it's really simple. 

PARMESAN CHICKEN 

3 Chicken breasts

1 cup of mayo

1 cup of breadcrumbs

1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese 

PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees.

MIX mayo, breadcrumbs and cheese. 

SEASON the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.

COAT one side of the chicken with the mayo/cheese mixture. 

BAKE for 25-35 minutes. 

KALE

1/4 onion

1 clove of garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Kale

In a pan, sweat out the onions and garlic in the olive oil until they become translucent. Add in the kale and sauté. Remove from heat and let cool for a bit. Toss with balsamic vinegar. 

When choosing your cheese for the mixture, I used the shredded, bagged parmesan, not the powdery, grated cheese in the canister. I think it gives it a better texture and it gets nice and crispy towards the end of cooking. I even toss it under the broiler for a few minutes to make it even crispier. It's really easy to make and so flavorful for so few ingredients. We're trying to have less carbs with our dinner so the meat and vegetables need to have flavor, and this recipe hits a home run. 

What are your go-to recipes? I'd love to hear what your family enjoys. 

Big Ed's white chicken chili....

It's no secret that I love a good slow cooker recipe, especially in the winter. Sundays are usually our crockpot days. This past weekend, when my husband requested white chicken chili, I knew just who to call... my dad. He has a "world famous" recipe that's quite a hit around the neighborhood. And now I'm sharing it with you. 

BIG ED'S WHITE CHICKEN CHILI
1 1/2 lb boneless chicken breasts
1 cup dried Great Northern beans, rinsed
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp of salt
2 cans cream of chicken soup
4 cups of chicken stock or water
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp hot sauce
1 can diced green chiles

Combine all of the ingredients except cumin, hot sauce and chiles in a crock pot. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3-4 hours, until chicken is cooked thoroughly. One hour before serving, shred the chicken in the crockpot with two forks and then add in the cumin, hot sauce and can of chiles. Continue cooking. Serve with cheese, sour cream and oyster crackers.

It was met with rave reviews and will now become a strong player in the slow cooker recipe rotation.

Hope you enjoy it too!

Roasted brussels sprouts and tortellini salad...

Sidebar right off the bat... I can never remember if it's brussel or brussels sprouts. I literally did a Google search on it before starting this post. Anyhow, it's brussels, FYI.

Over the holidays I think I ingested roughly 100 lbs of sugar, so I'm trying to eat healthier and cut out desserts. So for lunch today I wanted something substantial but good for me. I know myself better than going from pasta and desserts at every meal to just veggies, it never works. I end up mainlining a bag of hershey kisses and hating myself. So I split the difference and made a small portion of frozen tortellini, roasted brussels sprouts in olive oil and tossed them together with balsamic vinegar.

It was delicious and filling and will definitely be making it into the recipe rotation. Yum!  

2014 Home Resolutions...

In my personal life, I don't like making resolutions. I try to create goals I want to achieve or commitments that I want to make to myself. But when it comes to my home, it's a whole different story! Because I always have a million ideas swimming in my head, I find it hard to commit to finishing any room so I end up in a holding pattern. So this year, I am making a few home resolutions so I actually accomplish some of these on-going projects. I figure if I put it out there to you guys, I'll be accountable for getting them done!

In the coming days, I'll be taking each resolution and share with you my ideas for each of them. I welcome any and all ideas to help me accomplish everything on my list. 

Happy New Year to you all!