Mom and Dad's Kentucky Visit

Last week, my mom and dad came to check out where I now live. We had a great time! We were able to check out quite a lot of sites and I was able to introduce them to most of Jerame's family. Jerame and I took Mom and Dad into Huntington to check out Marshall University and have lunch at the Marshall Cafe. We also took them to Lexington to check out the UK-Florida football game (it's no secret my mom loves football!). Jerame's aunt and uncle, Martha and Ron, also hosted an amazing dinner at their house which gave my parents the opportunity to meet them as well as Jerame's mom and dad. It was a fantastic trip and my parents took some good photos, thank goodness :)

Lunch at the Marshall Cafe

Dad and Mom checking out the historical items

My parents and I outside a wine store we found in Huntington

Dad loved this little shopping center that was once a train depot

Jerame and I with Mom outside Commonwealth Stadium

Dad and Mom at the game

View of Lexington from Commonwealth Stadium

Dinner at Martha and Ron's house. Good pic of Joyce, Mom, me, and Martha

I love this picture! Jerame and his parents and me and my parents. This is the only picture of all the in-laws in existence :)

Visitors from the West Coast

The parents and I at our first SEC football game. Kentucky vs. Florida at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington

My parents just wrapped up their first trip to Kentucky yesterday. They spent a week out here, discovering all the idiosyncrasies of the Ohio River Valley that I have. The worst picture taker in the world (i.e. me!) needs a sticker pasted to my forehead to remind me to take them! The good news is I believe my parents took quite a few good pictures which I will post once they have had a chance to upload. I have to give them a break since they did get into Portland at 10 pm last night :)

West Virginia Chili Fest 2011

This Saturday, I had the opportunity to check out the West Virginia State Chili Festival in Huntington, West Virginia. The Duck's football game was not on television in our area so the husband and I figured why not check it out.
We started off the day inviting Jerame's aunt and uncle up to our house in the morning for homemade biscuits and gravy before we all went to the festival. Jerame is a much better baker than I and his homemade biscuits are yummy! He makes sausage gravy to go with the biscuits and I must say, they are probably the best biscuits and gravy I have had. Not that I am biased or anything :)

Homemade B's & G's

Later in the morning, we headed out to Huntington. I had never been to a chili fest before so I wasn't sure what to expect. When we arrived, there was an entire road closed and lined up and down with different chili vendors. The way they had the festival set up, you purchase tickets and then trade a ticket for a sample of chili. I have no idea how many chili's I tried, but I ate a lot of chili! Jerame's favorite ended up being the first one he tried which was a Spicy Garlic Chili while my favorite was a completely untraditional chili, a Slow Roasted Pork Green Chili. Delish! I also discovered Chili in a Bag (my second favorite!). They actually open up little bags of Fritos and mix chili in the Fritos. Definitely a guilty pleasure! There was live music as well as a hot pepper eating contest that we witnessed. The prize for that contest was a dinner for two which Jerame and I decided was not quite a good enough prize for the pain these people would probably later endure. It was a ton of fun and we came home stuffed! We decided it was a great way to spend a Saturday when the Ducks aren't on TV :)

Crazy Week

Too busy to blog? That's me. I have been running around since last Friday! As last weekend was Labor Day, there was a mini-family reunion among Jerame's family at his Aunt Martha's house. The festivities started on Friday night at our humble abode. We had Jerame's cousin and his wife along with Jerame's Aunt Martha and Uncle Ron over on Friday night for drinks and board games. I definitely over indulged! Saturday and Sunday were spent at Martha and Ron's eating, drinking, doing karaoke, and playing corn hole. Again, a lot of over indulging! On Monday the hubby and I tried to recover until the afternoon when we had our fantasy football draft with my family. Tuesday was spent shopping as I pushed off my Monday schedule. Wednesday, the hubby and I drove to Cincinatti to pick up medicine for his mother. This normally 5 hour round trip ending up taking us considerably longer when one of the back roads we take was closed and we got lost on the detour, losing about an hour. Needless to say, the trip consumed the whole day and we didn't make it home till early evening. Thursday was going to be my down time but alas, we decided to have Martha and Ron over for dinner. This transformed my day off into a major day ON as I cleaned the whole house, went to the store for dinner supplies, and began to prep vegetables for dinner. I ended up making Chicken Primavera with fettuccine, grilled chicken, and roasted bell peppers and broccoli. It ended up being delicious! Friday ended up finally being my day off. I spent it well with a nice leisurely work out, catching up on reading my savings blogs, and playing with the puppies. It was a busy busy week, I am looking forward to a slow down this coming week :)

New Recipe Find!

I found this recipe in the September Cooking Light issue and I couldn't wait to try it. It's called Cheese Ravioli with Pesto, recipe follows.

More summer pasta!

Ingredients:

1 (9-ounce) package fresh 3-cheese ravioli
1 1/3 cups fresh baby spinach
2/3 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 plum tomato, diced
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shaved fresh Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
Fresh basil leaves (optional)

Preparation:

                   1. Cook ravioli according to package directions; omit salt and fat. Drain.
        2. Combine spinach, basil, salt, red pepper, and garlic in a food processor. With processor running, add broth, olive oil, and lemon juice through chute until mixture is smooth.
        3. Combine ravioli, pesto, and tomato in medium saucepan over medium-high heat; cook 1 minute or until warm. Spoon 3/4 cup into each of 4 bowls; sprinkle each serving with 2 tablespoons cheese and about 4 teaspoons nuts. Garnish with basil leaves, if desired.

-So, looking at my photo I think you can tell I made some changes. I subbed tortellini for the ravioli, as tortellini was on sale this week. The hubby and I like to grate fresh Parmesan onto our dishes as it incorporates the whole dish better than shaving the cheese. I also didn't completely want to waste a whole lemon for 1 tablespoon of juice so I zested the lemon before juicing it. I sprinkled a little lemon zest over the whole dish when it was done. I also garnished the dish with minced Italian parsley instead of more basil. I highly recommend this dish, it was delish!