my first cooking post!

Zach and I had a wonderful weekend filled with fun and friends! Friday night, Zach and I went out with our new couple friends, Kaitlyn and LB. We had a delicious seafood (well, I had duck, but everyone else had fish!) dinner before going to the Gainesville Community Playhouse to see The Wiz. It was a great small theater! Zach and I went to see Dracula at another local theater, the Hippodrome, last weekend with Dad. I think we prefer the Hipp, but I love all theater! It was fun to do something different, and we all enjoyed the evening.

We woke up fairly early on Saturday morning without alarms (how wonderful is that!) and rode the bikes to downtown Gainesville for a run. I really need to get on this half-marathon training!! Zach even made me run some drills- it's handy to have my own personal running coach around! I had noticed some neat looking older homes, and I wanted to try and find them again. Turns out I had stumbled upon the Bed and Breakfast District! What a fun hidden treasure! Not that we'll ever need a hotel in Gainesville, but the B&Bs looks adorable and quite inviting. After our run we had breakfast at a local coffee shop- Maudes Classic Cafe (If you're familiar with Starkville, it reminded me of an indy LJ's). It was yummy, and we're looking forward to going back for a dessert and board game double date soon! We had our friend, Scotty, over to watch the MSU v Alabama football game. Despite, the outcome, we love hanging out with Scotty, and I love any excuse to cook for hungry boys! I made beef stew in the crock pot; stuffed shells with prosciutto, ricotta and radicchio (thanks for the martha stewart living subscription, mom- delicious!); and apple crisp (yuuuummmmm).

Speaking of hungry boys, I cook for Zach and his med school friends often. This is one of Zach's favorites, and I made it for him and Tim last week. It's another martha recipe!

Peanut Crusted Chicken

1) Preheat over to 475 degrees.

2) In a food processor, pulse 3/4 cups unsalted peanuts and 3 slices of bread torn into small pieces until coarsely ground.

3) Transfer ground peanuts to a bowl and whisk in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, 1.5 teaspoons salt, 0.75 teaspoons pepper.

4) While you have the olive oil out, drizzle some on a baking sheet.

5) In another bowl, beat 2 large eggs (I just used my whisk). Season eggs with salt and pepper.

6) Add 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (the thinner, the better for chicken to stay moist and tender!) to eggs and turn to coat.
7) Take the chicken, one piece at a time, and dredge in ground peanuts. Press the chicken into the peanuts to coat well. Then, transfer the chicken to oiled baking sheet.

8) Bake about 10 minutes until lightly browned and cooked all the way through. If you have used thicker pieces of chicken, cook longer.

9) I like to serve the chicken with something green, like asparagus or broccoli (or both! you know I love green veggies!)

On Sunday, Kaitlyn and I watched The Kite Runner. It was a wonderful, thought-provoking film. It was quite heavy, but I recommend it!

Also-- just found out that my mono has relapsed. Awesome. But it explains why I've been so exhausted lately. And why I would love to be doing this right now...

Fall FUN!!

Ok- where did October go??? Seriously... A lot has been going on it seems, hence my blog neglection. But here's a quick re-cap for the month of October:

We enjoyed visits from my parents and Zach's parents for the Mississippi State vs Florida football game! It felt amazing to win in the Swamp! Way to go Bulldogs! I wore maroon to church the next day! We are now members of Christ Community Church (Zach is even helping me in my 3-year-old classroom). I've visited a couple Arts Festivals in and around the Gainesville area- new friends plus crafts- so much fun! Zach finished up cardiovascular and pulmonary pathology in school, so he survived having tests every two weeks (gross!). We are now in the play-offs for intramural frisbee with the medical school team, the herniated discs (cute, right?). I've been traveling a lot lately for work- Chattanooga, Savannah and Charleston. I'm hoping my travels will one day take me to where my friends and family are!

My Dad flew down from Maryland to spend this past weekend with us. He was looking forward to warm Florida weather, and he was sure surprised by the cold! The temperature dropped 60 degrees over night. One day it was 95 degrees, and the next it was 35 degrees! Brrrr... On Saturday morning we went to Payne's Prairie. It's about a 3 mile walk round-trip, and we must have seen at least 30 alligators! Since we haven't had rain in quite some time, the water is really low, and the gators were out sunning themselves. Beautiful yellow flowers have grown where the river has dried up. We marveled at God's creation. Alligators are so prehistoric- so cool to see up close (but not too close!) Enjoy the pics!

We are looking forward to seeing family for the upcoming holidays. Thanksgiving in Pensacola, Christmas in Mississippi, and New Years at a bowl game (hopefully!)