We Made an Offer!

Well, I may have just spent more money than I ever thought I would. We put an offer on a condo today.

Jim actually found this one on Friday when it popped up on the listing service. It is a three-bedroom, tw0-bath ground level unit with pretty much custom everything. There is stainless in the kitchen, granite in the kitchen and bathrooms, beautiful hardwood floors in the living and dining room. It could not be better located at the intersection of Gallows Road, Route 50 and the Beltway. It is less than a mile from the Dunn-Loring Metro station.

We fell in love with it the instant we saw it. The seller basically took the unit and gutted it and started over. The only thing that could possibly make it any better is if the laundry was in the unit, but we've been carrying laundry up and down the stairs for so long now that doesn't even bother us.

All we can do now is wait.

Greek Chicken Pasta

For the last two months or so, I've been taking the time to plan out our menus for the whole week. I've really enjoyed it - it's given me the chance to try out a bunch of new recipes and get out of a cooking rut. It also eliminates extraneous trips to the grocery store. This week, I am cooking almost exclusively from back issues of Taste of Home magazine. Thanks for the subscription, Mom. This one was really good, flavorful, made a ton and was pretty inexpensive to make.

Greek Chicken Pasta

2 cups uncooked penne pasta
1/4 c. butter
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
3 c. cubed cooked chicken
1 jar (7 1/2 oz) marinated artichoke hearts
1 c. crumbled feta
1/2 c. chopped oil packed sun dried tomatoes
1/3 c. sliced pitted Greek olives (I omitted the olives)
2 T. minced fresh parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large ovenproof skillet, melt butter. Add onion and saute until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add chicken broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes until thickened. Stir in chicken, artichokes, tomatoes, olives and feta.

Drain pasta; stir into the pan. Broil 3-4 in. from heat for 5-7 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Sprinkle with parsley.

House Hunting Update

Today I met with a realtor and I really liked her. I think she is going to do a great job finding a bigger home for us. She has been in the business for 15 years and is a specialist in short sales. Her office even does property management and will be able to help us with renting our current condo.

I finished getting the pre-approval from Wells Fargo earlier this week and now I think we are ready to go. We don't have a time table on finding a place, but we'd like to be able to take advantage of the tax credit if we can. Wish us luck!

National Museum of the Marine Corps

As we were driving home from Georgia on the 14th, we once again passed this funny looking building on I-95 near Quantico. All you can see from the interstate is the spire on the top and we decided this time that we were going to make a trip back down and see what it was all about.

Saturday was a gorgeous day and I wanted to go to the IKEA anyway, so we headed back down 95 to check out the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

We were really surprised by how large the museum is. The building is designed to reference the flag raising at Iwo Jima and it situated on 135 acres. The building itself is 118,000 square feet and has several exhibit halls dedicated to Marine service in different conflicts. We looked thorough the World War II and Vietnam exhibits. They have the actual flag from Iwo Jima on display. They have a number of planes, tanks and firearms of all sizes, uniform insignia and even an Academy Award.

This is in the gift shop. It is a model of the Iwo Jima statue made out of Lego blocks. I couldn't resist.

Last Night's Commute

This is what happened on my way home from work last night. First of all, let me say that I am fine and was never really in danger.

I take the train from my office to the Pentagon and then catch a bus the rest of the way home. The entrance to the Metro station is at the top of a slope, then you can walk straight out to the upper level bus bays or go down to the lower level ones. My bus is on the lower level.

I was waiting for the bus that is supposed to come at 6:24 p.m., but which never does. It was about 6:30 when I see the bus pull up at the upper level to let passengers off. Then it is supposed to loop around to the lower level and pick us up. Well, it sits up there for a long time and I assume the driver has gotten off to go to the bathroom.

At about 6:35, I turn back around to wait for the bus. Shortly thereafter, I hear a noise and just have enough time to think to myself "That sounded like gunfire." when police cars start coming from everywhere. It takes a couple of more minutes before Metro employees start herding people down to the far end of the bus bays. About that time, our bus pulls up, we get on and leave. As we are pulling out, we are passed by an ambulance and fire truck.

When we are about halfway through the route and well away from the Pentagon, the driver gets a call that they have closed the station and that the bus cannot return at the end of the route. As of now, the Metro station and the bus bays are still closed, so I am not sure how I am getting home this evening. Hopefully they will reopen later today.

"CaribBean" One-Pot Stew

Tonight for dinner, I made this new recipe. I wasn't sure how we would like it because, honestly, the idea of sweet potatoes was a little strange. It was delicious.

Here is my mise en place (yes, I watch way too much Food Network). It is the celery, onions, green peppers, garlic and fresh ginger in the little bowl, and the par cooked sweet potatoes in the big bowl. Have I mentioned how much I love, love, love that giant bamboo cutting board? Definitely one of the best gifts my husband gave me.

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 jalapeno, minced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 pound pork loin, trimmed and cut in 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 (16 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth

1. Prick sweet potatoes with fork and microwave on high for 6-8 minutes until tender. Set aside. When cool, peel and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Heat olive oil in large stockpot. Add ginger, garlic and jalapeno and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Add celery, green pepper and onion, and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Season pork with cumin, salt and pepper. Push vegetables to one side of stockpot and add pork, browning on all sides. Add kidney beans, tomatoes, broth and sweet potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until pork is tender.

Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprints

I love Nutella. I mean, I really love Nutella. And because today is a holiday - the last one for a long time - I decided to try out this recipe for chocolate hazelnut thumbprint cookies.

I have to say that I was a little disappointed. This was the first time I've made thumbprint cookies, so this might be the norm, but when the cookies baked, the little dents for the Nutella practically disappeared. I used my Teflon thumbs and poked them back down as soon as I took them out of the oven, while they were still hot.

Due to pantry limitations, the fact that it is snowing AGAIN and I didn't want to go to the store and the fact that I hate coffee flavored things, I made the following changes to the recipe; I left out the espresso powder since it was optional, and I did not have the nuts to roll the cookies in. This might make me like the cookie more, so I'll give it another try when I have hazelnuts.

Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprints

Yield: 28 cookies (serving size: 1 cookie)

Ingredients

• 4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup finely chopped hazelnuts, toasted
• 1/3 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt; stir with a whisk. Place butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Stir egg yolks with a whisk, adding espresso, if desired. Add the yolk mixture and vanilla to butter; beat well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.

3. Turn dough out onto a sheet of wax paper; knead 6 times or until smooth and shiny. Shape dough into 28 (1-inch) balls. Roll sides of balls in nuts, pressing gently. Arrange balls 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Press thumb into center of each cookie, leaving an indentation. Bake, 1 batch at a time, at 350° for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks. Spoon a scant 1/2 teaspoon hazelnut-chocolate spread into center of each cookie.