Before and After

The other day I uttered a phrase that most modern husbands are learning to fear, "I saw this thing on Pinterest...." For me, this typically means I saw some project that I now want to a) spend money on or b) have Jesson help me with. For him, the worst is when I want both! Luckily, this was one that I could do on my own and in the end it made my little OCD heart so happy! Here is the pin that caught my attention:

Whoa! Who wouldn't want the fridge on the right?! I read the blog post here and set out to get my own fridge in shape. I think I did pretty well. Below are my own "Before" and "After" pictures.

Much better! Now Jesson and I can keep our foods separate (we eat VERY differently) and it is much easier to find everything else. Hmmm, I wonder if this same strategy would work on the pantry? Time to go check Pinterest!

White Coat Ceremony

When a student enters the medical field they will often go through the White Coat Ceremony. This marks the beginning of their journey into the health professions. This past Friday was Jesson's White Coat Ceremony, and I got to present him with his white coat! Below are the pictures from the event:

Jesson and I both commented on the drive home that this ceremony made it feel even more real. 25 months, 16 days, 10 hours, and 13 more minutes to go! Just kidding, it's only 25 months 15 days to go at this point!

Happy 4th of July!

I'm still baking something for Jesson's class every week. This past week I decided to be patriotic and make something in honor of the 4th of July. I thought I might make something and decorate it in red, white, and blue. The more I thought about it, I really wanted whatever I made to have a very American taste as well as an American look. And what is more American than Apple Pie! But these are busy students, and they don't have the time or the facilities to cut into an apple pie in the middle of class, plus I'd have to send plates, forks, etc. Nope, not gonna work.....unless.....I put it into a portable form! Some quick searching on the internet and I had my answer: Apple Pie Filled Cupcakes with Caramel Icing! Genius! Essentially, I was going to make some cupcakes, hollow them out, fill them with apple pie filling, put the lids back on, and then frost them.

I read all these complicated recipes for how to make the cupcakes themselves. In the end, I saved myself the frustration and make a yellow cake mix according to the directions on the box. Then I added one extra egg and two teaspoons of cinnamon to turn them into cinnamon cupcakes. I divided them into two muffin tins so that I got 24 cupcakes. Then baked like normal. I let them cool completely and then hollowed them out. At that point, I took two cans of apple pie filling and pulsed them in my food processor a couple times. The apple chunks were WAY too big to fit into the cupcakes and needed to be broken down into little pieces. Then I put the lids back on and frosted them with caramel frosting. Below was the result:

 The red, white, and blue under the cupcake is actually a super cute wrapper that I got from JoAnn's. Each cupcake had their own little wrapper. Then they got packed up to go to school the next day:

From what I hear, they were a hit! There were none left at the end of the day. I've never made filled cupcakes before, but these were relatively easy and have got me thinking about what other flavors I can do!

What's for dinner?

A few months ago when we went on vacation to Pompano Beach we stopped and ate at The Cheesecake Factory. I know, not very unique, but I was starving and it was close. I got a dish there called "Chicken Bellagio". My world has never been the same since. This is one of the most delicious chicken dishes I've ever had, and it seemed like such a simple concept. Here is their description of the dish: Crispy Coated Chicken Breast over Basil Pasta and Parmesan Cream Sauce Topped with Prosciutto and Arugula Salad. I have been craving this dish and decided that I would make my own version. I skipped the pasta because the chicken and arugula salad are filling enough, and Jesson isn't a big fan, so there was no point. Maybe someday. Anyway, this is what I ended up with:

I took a chicken breast and pounded it flat (actually Jesson did, but I directed him). Then I coated it with seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs and fried it for about 3-4 minutes on each side until it was golden brown on each side. After I had fried the first side and flipped it over I put two thin pieces of prosciutto on the chicken to let it warm up a little bit. Once it was done I removed it from the pan and put it on a plate. I added a huge, heaping pile of arugula and drizzled it with olive oil and fresh lemon juice. To finish it off I added Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. It was delicious! I don't think my chicken was as thin as The Cheesecake Factory one, but it was so good and so easy! We have already had it twice in one week now. For a side dish we had crispy parmesan bread, also easy and super yummy. Here is what it looks like:

These were store bought buns from Walmart, though our favorite is when we do this on sesame seed french bread from Publix. Set the oven to broil and then make the Parmesan mix. The Parmesan mix is 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/4 cup mayo, 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan, 1 Tb dried oregano, and salt and pepper. Mix that well and slather all over the bread/buns. Place under the broiler for 3-4 minutes until the cheese is brown and bubbly (like above). It is soooo good! I know the mayo sounds weird, but it adds this creamy element that wouldn't otherwise be there. I got this idea from Melissa D'Arabian on the Food Network. Here is her recipe in case you want to check it out: Crusty Parmesan Bread. She doesn't do oregano in hers but I like it because it adds a little color. You could leave it out if you wanted. She also does a little less mayo than I do. We've had this dinner twice so far this week. It's so easy but it looks and tastes so good!