Hardin goes to Washington

I'd like to apologize for anyone who is just reading this blog for the food and recipes. This summer we went on two amazing vacations, and I want to share them with everyone. Our first trip, covered in this post, was a reunion trip to Washington, DC. We met up with all our friends from grad school and had a great time. Our second trip, which I will cover in another post within the week (I promise!) was to Atlanta for Ryan's cousin's wedding. So please enjoy our pictures and descriptions of Hardin hall's visit to the capital! Also, I find it ironic I am posting this today because Barry O himself is visiting Buffalo today. 

****DISCLAIMER**** Washington in July is hot and humid. Like so hot that not even all the baby powder in the world will keep you dry. I was sticky and wet by 9am. So if we look absolutely awful in these pictures, this is what our excuse it. Or we're just ugly. You pick. 

We flew in on Thursday July 4th and were able to figure out public transportation from the Baltimore ariport all the way to Georgetown. Since I am all about saving money, this was by far cheaper than flying in to Dulles or Reagan (thank you Southwest). We took a bus to a subway station, then the subway to our hotel. Of course doing this while carrying luggage was an instant recipe for pit stains and sticky thighs, but we made it! 

We stayed at a hotel that is on the National Register of Historic Hotels, called the Hotel Lombardy. Below is a picture of our lovely view of Georgetown. We also got a king bed and OH. MY. GOD. I had so much space to sleep it was amazing. If you are married to a person who sleeps in the middle of the bed no matter how big it is, I highly recommend a king bed. 

Our hotel was also next to the Washington home of James Madison, pictured below. 

We unpacked our stuff a little and then headed to the zoo, mainly to see the Pandas. Since the zoo is part of the Smithsonian, there is no charge to go, but there are an absolute ton of people there. It was also very hot, so most of the animals were inside or not moving. Ryan loves pandas and really wanted to see them, and it was pretty disappointing since those lazy bums were snoozing inside. So we settled for a picture of Ryan with a panda statue. 

The lions were pretty active, mainly because they were munching on a big old dead leg with a bone. I actually got a pretty cool video of the male lion roaring on the top of the exhibit, but for some reason I can't post a video.

Here I am with my pal sexy Rexy. 

After walking around the zoo my feet were thoroughly destroyed, so I was really looking forward to the next three days of walking. I ended the trip with 4 blisters per foot, and a split toenail (it got run over once by a baby stroller, another time by a bicyclist, and stepped on by someone the size of Chris Christie pre-surgery.)

On our walk back to our hotel, we passed the Mexican embassy. Check it out. I could not make this up, I promise.  

We then met up with everyone from Clemson and went to the history museum. I am not posting anyone's picture here because I did not ask permission, and I'm sure they would not mind, but the first rule of blogging is to always ask. Here is our view on the walk to the museum. 

We saw a couple of cool exhibits there, but some of the lines were pretty crazy. I was hoping to see Clark Gable's (AKA Rhett Butler) WW2 uniform, but there were just too many people. There were some pretty strict regulations on pictures in here, so I don't have a ton. Check out this gem of me at the Presidential exhibit though. Again, please keep in mind I had just come in from 95 degree temperatures with 100% humidity. 

We stopped and got dinner before watching fireworks on the mall. I think it's something every American should experience, but I really don't think you need to experience it more than once. We were not sure exactly where the fireworks would be, over the capitol or over the Washington Monument. So we took a seat where we could see both. It was over the Washington monument, FYI. John Williams was conducting an orchestra at the capitol, which we did not hear, but I was not too upset about that. 

The crowds were unreal. We saw some dude get his by a car. And getting back to our hotel was impossible. The line to even get IN the subway station was over 3 blocks. So we walked back to the hotel. It was probably about 2.5 miles, but we made it. I had never been so glad to take off my shoes. 

Here is my only good picture of the fireworks. By this time of night, my cell phone was dead and my little point and shoot camera does not take great pictures. 

From what I hear from locals, the best place to watch these fireworks is across the Potomac. Good advice for someone who plans on going or if we ever decide to go again. 

Friday we did a bunch of cool things. We started the day off with a shameless selfie,

then I struck a Miss American pose while waiting in line to get into the National Archives. 

Then we waited in line for an hour to see the Constitution. Obviously I do not have a picture of that. Security threatened incarceration and the like if I were even to touch my camera. National Treasure made it look sooo easy to just stroll on in, take a peek at the document, write down a few letters, and get the next clue to finding America's hidden riches. Hollywood lies. 

We then headed over to the Library of Congress, a building with so much beautiful architecture. I tried to show a little of it in this creative shot. I was actually hoping there would be more actual books we could access, but apparently you need advance privileges. There was an interesting exhibit on the Civil War, as well as Thomas Jefferson's actual library on display, so it was completely worth going to. 

A girl who loves books in a massive building of books. 

Next we headed to Ford's theatre. Last time John Wilkes Booth was there, he killed it! See what I just did there?

Here's the private box where Lincoln was shot. The tour was pretty simple but actually seeing where Booth was and how he did it was pretty neat. 

Saturday we started our day at a relatively new attraction to the area, Lincoln's summer cottage. I highly recommend this to anyone who is visiting the area and likes history. It was a bit of a hike from the closest subway station, but it was really interesting. Lincoln apparently spent a great deal of his time here during the summers he was in office. He also wrote the Emancipation Proclamation in this house. It was very "Lincoln," small, simple, nothing gaudy or over the top. But you could actually walk in the house and on the grounds, so you literally walked where Lincoln walked. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and informative, and you could totally tell how passionate she is about Lincoln's life. 

Here we are on a bench outside his cottage. 

On our way back we stopped for lunch at Ben's Chili Bowl, famous for staying open during the race riots. Since I don't like chili, and rarely eat a meal our of a bowl, I opted for their hot dog. It was a really neat place that probably has changed very little from 1958. Famous people who have eaten there include Bill Cosby and Barry O. Do I recommend this place? Sure why not. Do I recommend hanging out in the area after dark? No. 

Here is an obligatory picture of the subway station we spent so much time in. If i could bottle the scent of garbage and sweat, blow that subway breeze at you, and make everything you touch sticky I would, because that's essentially what the subway is like. 

After we went to another newer exhibit in DC, the Newseum. Basically, and entire museum filled of news. They had some really neat exhibits, including the JFK family pictures, serial killers in history, and Presidential dogs. This alone made it a definite we were going to spend the 18$ each ticket to go to this museum. The JFK pictures were amazing, further adding to my intrigue of this epic family. The serial killer exhibit had a ton of pretty cool stuff, items such as the shoe bombers shoes, and the ACTUAL unabomber's cabin in the woods. Now they didn't tell you if was the real cabin until you had already looked inside, touched it, and all that fun stuff. So now I have unabomber germs. Sweet. 

Here is a picture of the Presidential dog exhibit.  Although Millie was pretty cute, I can't condone the breeding of dogs, especially in such a public place. So here's a picture of Truman's puppy.

Another neat thing about the museum was the 6th story patio deck, where you could go out on and get a great view of the entire city. For anyone who knows me, I am absolutely petrified of heights. I mean pee my pants scared. I can't go over bridges or even go on the second story of a mall. I was really scared but managed to pose for one picture up there before running back inside, tail between legs. 

A great view of the Capitol. 

The newseum also had the cell door that Martin Luther King was in when he was arrested. I refrained from going up for a picture with it because I know how many people touch that per day, and I doubt it's cleaned often. 

Sunday Ryan and I spent the day in Alexandria, VA, a short subway ride from our hotel. We did some shopping and had lunch before our flight left. There is also a really pretty area by the river there that we managed to take some really fancy pictures. One of them is so good it might make it on our Christmas Card!

There was also a nest of some baby Peregrine falcons there too, which was really cool to see. 

Well, there you have it, our DC trip! 3 days condensed all into one post. I had a wonderful time and can not wait to meet everyone again. 

Finally! A New Post!

Don't hate on me, y'all, I told you there would be minimal posts in the summer. This post will cover up until July 4th. Keep in mind, our summer is very busy, so we have been eating at parties and have been out of town. So if you notice there aren't as many meals as normal, spare us the nasty comments!

In addition, we just recently found out we are moving!!! So in perparation for our move, we are trying to not buy as much stuff to keep refrigerated/frozen and in our pantry so we don't have a ton of food to move. Seriously people, moving is bad enough (I've done it four times in four years). Doing it with perishable items is borderline insanity.

The week of May 27-June 2 was dubbed "crock pot week" at the Henesey's. Ryan was off all week, so he was able to check the pot often. And since I started a soccer league, Ryan needed leftovers every Monday, and the massive portions crock pots produce served as a perfect frozen leftover meal.

Monday as crock pot orange chicken, a recipe I found on pinterest. I can't remember exact ingredients, but I do know that there was a half can of frozen orange juice concentrate in it. It was really pretty tasty.

Tuesday was Turkey Quinoa meatballs. Ryan and I both thought these were really tasty. The quinoa acted as the breadcrumbs in regular meatballs, and made for a really good first experience with quinoa with me. 

Wednesday our friend from Clemson came in to see us, so we indulged in some Fuju Grill sushi. 

Thursday we had rigatoni and sausage. This was not as delicious as it sounded, although it was easy. Ryan and I both noted the noodles had an unusual texture, we presume it was from being cooked too long. They were almost slimy. I still ate it but it was not as carbohydrate-satisfying as the picture looks. 

Friday we made pork stew. This stew was good, but it was a little salty, which I like but other people may not. 

This is vomit a delicious meal that was prepared in a crock pot for hours. It really is enchillada casserole, but getting it out of the crock pot and looking presentable for a photo was about as easy as petting a wild bear. It wasn't really that good, but it was certainly better tasting than the picture makes it seem. 

Sunday was thai pork, which we made using yet another piece of pork from the 20-pounder Ryan bought. Good news; there's only one big ass piece of meat left. Ideas as to how to use it are welcome. And we've already though of dropping it out of a 20 story window, so that doesn't count. This was good also, but the recipe calls for adding the peas at the very end for only a couple minutes, but they were way too crunchy, so I would recommend leaving them in the pot to cook for a bit longer. 

All our crock pot recipes with the exception of the above mentioned pinterest recipe, were found in this recipe book, which was a wedding gift from our lovely friends Chris and Erin. There are a ton of recipes in it, and the price right now on Amazon is very good, so I would totally recommend getting your hands on one. 

Monday is soccer night for me, and Ryan is supposed to be eating the leftovers, but I can neither confirm nor deny this is indeed what he eats on Monday. On to Tuesday then, where we made our go to favorite pizza supreme. 

Wednesday we had barbeque shrimp. Pretty self explanatory here, we did not even use a recipe. This was all Ryan.  I have no idea what we ate Thursday. Seriously people. NO. IDEA. There is something crossed off in my day planner, but nothing written in above it. I think we may have gone over to Ryan's parents house? Maybe we have leftover pizza? Let's just call this a wash.

Friday we had turkey meatloaf again, and it was better than I originally remember. We paired it with roasted potatoes. and some corn. 

Saturday we did chicken and asparagus, another repeat recipe. And Sunday we went out with my parents and Ryan played golf. We put an offer in on a house today, but there was a great deal of competition and the sellers quickly accepted another offer. However, my Mom and I went to an open house before we knew about our offer situation, and I had a good feeling about this one. Stay tuned for more!

Monday Ryan was on his own once again, so on Tuesday we had salmon and citrus sauce, a recipe we repeated again that was originally from a Wegman's menu magazine. 

Wednesday we had no dinner because Ryan and I went to see the house my mom and I saw last Sunday. We saw a couple others too, but it didn't take much convincing on my part to show Ryan this was a good house. We put in an offer that night and we were just too nervous for dinner. We found out a couple days later they countered at just over what we offered, and we accepted. After inspection, appraisal, mortgage approval, and the like, our tentative move in date is August 12. The good news: the house is essentially in move-in condition. The bad news: the kitchen is pretty outdated, lacks counter space and has poor flow. I really want to update the kitchen, so we are trying to save some money away for kitchen improvements so I can continue to cook and post here for y'all to see. 

Thursday we had cheddar turkey burgers, but from all the excitement about the house I really can't remember how they tasted, or where the recipe came from. I am pretty sure it was from Real Simple, but I cannot definitively confirm that. 

Friday we had chicken, bacon and cheddar salad. Again, I cannot remember where this recipe came from. Face, meet palm. 

Saturday we had lemon pepper shrimp, and this was from Wegman's menu magazine. It was good, but messy since the shrimp were cooked in oil. I would also recommend making sure the shrimp are really dry before you coat them with the cornstarch because the breading pulled away from a lot of the shrimp and it took away from the taste. We will try it again and report back with an update on this recipe.

Sunday was Father's Day, and we hosted a small get-together. We made hot dogs, and my mom made BBQ hamburgers. It was essentially a picnic, complete with fruit, corn on the cob, and dessert to celebrate my Dad's Birthday. 

Tuesday was baked ziti casserole, which Ryan made all by himself! Please ignore the fact that the pasta is technically not ziti. In our house, any pasta shape suffices. Wednesday we had an awards ceremony that was catered by Ilio DiPalos. 

Thursday was another repeat Wegmans recipe, pan seared chicken with gravy. Oh man this is so good. The gravy is to die for. I probably could eat that gravy on anything. Friday I volunteered as a photographer for a local 5K race in Williamsville so we did not cook that night. Saturday was our big 38 mile bike ride. Ryan and I crossed the finish line together, holding hands. We did it in under 2 hours, 1:58 to be exact. I am so proud of myself for finishing, because I don't think there was any way I could have done that in March. Thank you to everyone who donated to the ride. Roswell Park raised almost 2 million dollars for cancer research. My goal is to ride every year until they find a cure for cancer. 

That night we participated in "Star Wars Night" at the baseball game, so we did not cook Saturday either. And Sunday was my family reunion, so instead of cooking we brought sushi. Essentially it was a non-cooking weekend. Plus, I felt like some post-apocalyptic survivor, and therefore ate literally anything that was put in front of my face, so I'm glad I was not home sitting around too long to be tempted by food. 

The following Tuesday we had chicken and noodles with peanut sauce. Again, I can't remember where this recipe came from, but it was really great, just the right amount of peanut butter, and the broccoli was amazing. Wednesday we used up leftovers and made another small ziti casserole. Thursday we had another party to attend that included dinner. Friday Ryan had a golf tournament, so I finished up the ziti for dinner. 

Saturday we had barbeque salmon, which was another one of "Ryan's recipes." In case you haven't already guessed, his secret ingredient is barbeque sauce. Sunday through Wednesday we had an assortment of dinner at parents, leftovers, and takeout. We left for Washington on July 4th, and had a blast. I will cover this trip in another post, but let's suffice to say we ate like total pigs. Here's an example of one of the places we ate. 

Ben's Chili Bowl

Apparently it was famously open during the race riots and served a crap load (no pun intended) of chili. Our good ol' President Barry O even ate there. He and Bill Cosby are the only people allowed to leave without paying. 

Insider's tip: don't ever go to this neighborhood at night.

Final picture. We went to the zoo in D.C and saw this cute little bugger. For those of you who don't know, we have a patient at work who has been requiring bandage changes weekly or twice weekly for the past 2-3 months, and I have become somewhat of an expert at leg bandaging. This critter was all hangin' out with his bandage on staring down the tourists. Man, I thought it was tough to bandage a dog's leg. Imagine doing it to a wombat!

In the coming posts, I'll cover our Washington trip, Atlanta wedding, and all the food in between. Enjoy this lovely summer weather!

Don't get your hopes up

So far this summer has been quite busy for us, so I apologize for not posting for such a long time. I would say that this won't happen again, but that would be a total lie. Our summer months are super busy and we have plans pretty much every weekend. So for the summer, don't expect more than one post a month from me. So, without further adieu, here are our meals from May 5th on!

Sunday we broke out the grill since it was such a nice day and grilled pork chops that we marinated in barbeque sauce. Ryan the grill master cooked them perfectly. Just look at that grill pattern. 

 Monday we did roast beef on weck sandwiches. For those of you not familiar with Buffalo, beef on weck is pretty famous here. Really it's just sliced roast beef on a kimelweck roll, but I really can't put into words how delicious they are. I personally think Andersons has the best ever beef on weck sandwiches, but everyone has their own opinions. Our version wasn't nearly as good, but it sure did hit the spot.

Tuesday we had buttermilk chicken and homemade sweet potato fries. I tried to make the chicken into nuggets like chick-fil-a, but you just can't duplicate the original. Plus this was a cooking light recipe, and I really don't think CFA is super concerned with healthy meals. 

 Wednesday Ryan got to try out his new toy, pictured below!

It's a pancake batter dispenser that he's had his eye on for some time, and since we had a gift card left over from our wedding, he bought it. He made some pretty mean pancakes, and it was a little easier to dispense than using a measuring cup in a big bowl. 

Thursday we made Ryan's favorite, goulash. Basically just a mixture of ground beef, sloppy joe sauce, and pasta. I have no idea why he loves it so much. 

Friday my parents took us to dinner, so skip to Saturday, when we made chicken divan. This could have been so good, but just wasn't. First of all, I can NEVER seem to stuff a chicken breast without poking through the other side or tearing it. This furthers my belief that I would be a terrible surgeon or doctor. Second, the chicken was not cooked all the way through, even though I followed the directions exactly. Actually, mine was cooked through, but Ryan's was not fully cooked where the broccoli was. If memory serves be correctly, he had a few good bites and then scarfed down the goulash when I wasn't looking. 

And the final reason why I did not like this recipe really needs no words. Check out this epic picture.

 So. Many. Dishes. And the sauce boiled over, which took FOREVER to clean off the stove. It totally wasn't worth it since it took me almost a full hour to clean the kitchen. Final verdict: not recommended.

Sunday we had Ryan's parents over for Mother's day. We were going to grill but the weather was terrible, so we just had hot dogs and italian sausage inside. As some of you may know, I enjoy cooking, but baking is really where I come into my own. I made a carrot cake for dinner, but I also found this idea on pinterest, the time waster of women nationwide. It's all fruit, but it's made to look like a cake. I thought it would be really difficult to make since I had no real instructions and was just going off a picture. It ended up being easier than I thought. I had to pretty much "carve" the watermelon, cutting off the rind as close as possible to the fruit, and then shape it into what resembled a cake. Then I used cookie cutters that a doctor from work generously lent me to make the flowers and leaves and used toothpicks to stick them into the melon. The top oranges and bottom apples and strawberries were just carefully arranged on the plate. I was shocked it turned out so good.

Here comes the week of shitty meals. Sorry to disappoint so early. The week started off Monday with carrot pancakes, since I had leftover shreeded carrots from the carrot cake. They were ok, but were super dense (made with cream cheese) and heavy. I like my pancakes light and fluffy, so if you like pancakes really heavy you may enjoy them, but Ryan and I were not fans. 

Tuesday was fine, just a repeat of a usual monthly meal, the croque monsieur sandwich, Henesey style. We made some more sweet potato fries but proceeded to burn the crap out of them. 

Wednesday I did not eat at all dinner was so awful. It was tuna noodle casserole, which I was warned might be bad, but I was confident that if I picked it out to make, it would be good. Not true. I took one bite and it was terrible. Yes it was creamy, but the tuna (the recipe called for simple canned tuna) was terrible; dry and tasteless. I tried to take another bite but I honestly could not do it. And since I told myself at the beginning of this project that I would eat all my creations or go to bed hungry, I chose the latter option. It was that bad. Ryan managed to force down his entire serving, and even said he liked it and would take some for lunch the ext day, but the leftovers sat in the refrigerator all week. Luckily, this was very inexpensive to make, so I did not feel bad throwing the rest of it away. 

Thursday we had another semi-failure. Pear and Prosciutto pizza. It was supposed to be topped with arugula but Wegmans did not have any, so we just used field mix. The prosciutto was good, but the pears, once baked in the oven, just got soggy, especially when the oil and vinegar went on it. I did eat this entire dinner, but it certainly won't become a favorite for us. 

Friday Ryan was out of town, so I was lazy and just made tomato soup and noodles. Saturday Ryan was still away, and I could not stand to not make dinner again. This is called Ravioli toss. Tomatoes, beans, and cheese over ravioli, in essence. It was simply ok, and again I don't think it will become a favorite. 

Sunday we went to my parents for dinner for a belated Mother's day and to celebrate my Grandmother's 97th(!!) Birthday. I hope I get her genes. Then on Monday we had leftover chicken casserole from the night before. Tuesday we had chicken cutlets with herb butter. Insanely easy to make and so tasty. 

Wednesday we had breaded fish sandwiches, a recipe from the newest Cooking Light magazine. They were just okay, not great. But maybe I was expecting a filet-o-fish and just got my hopes up. Thursday I was not feeling well so I just had cereal for dinner. Ryan cooked himself some barbeque chicken and had it over a salad. 

Friday we had Mahogany glazed pork. If I remember correctly, this was made in a crock pot. The snow peas were awful though, super undercooked, but the pork itself was pretty tasty. 

Saturday we had turkey tenderlion sandwiches, a recipe from the Taste of Home healthy eating section. These were super good, and will definitely be making a repeat appearance. 

Sunday we made strip steaks. Ryans exact words were "MMMM! That steak was good!" He reprised his role as grill master for these bad boys. We had our first corn on the cob of summer too. 

Here's a slight update on our healthy lifestyle too! We have been training for a 33 mile bike ride. Recently, we have been riding to do small errands at the drugstore or grocery store. We also have ridden to the gym once or twice, and have also ridden to the zoo. Our longest ride was almost 20 miles, down the entire lake. We are starting to really enjoy it, especially since map my ride tells us we burn about 600 calories per hour. I have to raise 150$ for this ride, or else I can't do it, and I have been working too hard to not participate. If you can, please please donate. All donations benefit cancer research. Click here to donate. Thank you!

I am also approaching 10 lbs lost since March. I keep losing a little every week, and although I get dejected when my numbers are small, I know that it could be worse. I could be gaining!

I will leave you with a picture of one of the two monsters that it always under my feet while I am cooking. This is Oliver, our six year old terrier. We call him the monkey. He tries to attack the UPS truck and school buses, but is super scared of thunder, the oven, and smoke detectors. He frequently samples some of our dinners. This may explain why he is so fat. 

Good bye from all the two and four legged Henesey's!