Haus of Kendi: February 2013

February 27, 2013

Valentine's Day

This year, we spent Valentine's Day in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Not bad, huh? Because we were going to be on vacation for the big day, we decided to go easy with the gifts. I ended up finding a few goodies at the dollar store for Kevin to use on the trip and I also made him this from pinterest:

from pinterest

Instead of "like" I said "love" and I switched out the ribbon for manly metal rings. :)

Kevin also went the pinterest route and actually showed me up this year. His gifts were activity themed, as in things we could do together.

He made a list of date ideas and framed them. We can use a dry erase marker on the glass to check them off. He also made a date jar so when we can't decide what to do, we just pull out a popsicle stick and do what's on it. They are seriously the sweetest gifts I've received in a long time.

We gave each other these things before we flew to Mexico so we wouldn't have to lug them on the plane. We were in Mexico on Valentine's Day but Kevin managed to surprise me with another pinterest present:

Yup. Those be Rolos dressed up as dynamite. I'm a lucky girl. :)

Cheers!

February 26, 2013

Frenchie

It was raining on Friday. I decided to go French. The irony isn't lost on me...

Cheers!

February 22, 2013

Chicken Bake with Black Beans and Salsa

Dinner options in the Haus of Kendi have been pretty sparse this week because we haven't gone grocery shopping since returning from vacation (more on that soon). Rather than going out for dinner last night I decided to take a quick stock of the pantry to see what I could whip up. I found a can of black beans, a jar of salsa, and some chicken in the freezer. After consulting the Google I found a recipe for a Chicken Bake with Black Beans and Salsa. It sounded tasty, we had all of the required ingredients, and it was a simple recipe. Turns out I made a great find! I modified the recipe slightly based on what we had in the kitchen and the baking time didn't work out. I thought the suggested time of 35 minutes on 350 was a little short, but I went with it. I ended up adding another 25 minutes at 400. Here are the details:

Chicken Bake with Black Beans and Salsa

4 chicken breast halves
salt and pepper
1 can (16 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (12-15 oz) corn, drained (I used frozen corn, about 12 oz)
2 cups chunky salsa, divided
1 can (4 oz) chopped mild green chile peppers, optional (we didn't have this)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided (we didn't have fresh, so I just sprinkled some dry)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used Colby Jack)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 2 quart casserole dish.

Mix the beans, corn, 1 cup of salsa, chile peppers, and half the cilantro in the casserole dish. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and place on top of the mixture. Pour the remain salsa and cilantro over the chicken. Top evenly with the cheese.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the chicken is cooked thoroughly (this took another 35 minutes for me - 10 minutes at 350 and 25 minutes at 400).

Chicken Bake with Black Beans and Salsa

Stats
Cost: $6
Servings: 4
Leftovers: yes
Time: 45 minutes

February 7, 2013

Honeymoon

For those of you not on Facebook (Mom, Dad, Aunt Karen...), here is the story of our honeymoon... :)

Our Honeymoon was two weeks in paradise. What we planned was a week at Sandals St. Lucia and a week in Aruba. We got that plus an unexpected night in Trinidad & Tobago in between. I think that God may have been sending a message as to how our marriage would be with this trip. Despite all of my planning, things did not fall in line. But we pulled together and made it to the end with a lot of great stories to share.

Here's the highlight reel...