Country Chicken Casserole

A couple of weeks ago I had Cody over for dinner and decided to cook for him and my parents. I wanted something with a lot of veggies, but that would still taste really good, so I scoured the internet and checked out Pinterest as usual. I’m a huge fan of comfort food, and let me tell you, this is definitely that kind of meal. The creamy soups and milk make it a little rich, but the vegetables help you get in all those good nutrients. I served it with fresh cooked green beans and extra broccoli on the side. The best part about this dish is that you can choose what veggies you want inside or if you’re tired after a long day you can easily just use a frozen mixed veggie pack! Try out this recipe and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

• 1 can of cream of celery soup
• 1 can cream of potato soup
• 1 cup of milk
• Dried thyme (amount depends on your preference)
• Black pepper (amount depends on your preference)
• 2 cups of cooked chicken cut up into cubes
• 1/2 -1 small onion
• 4 cups of assorted vegetables of your choice (I used carrots, peas, broccoli, and celery)
• 1 box of stuffing mix (flavor of your choice, but chicken or mixed herb will probably work best)

Instructions:

1. Grease a baking pan (using Pam spray, butter, oil, or whatever you normally use to prevent sticking).
2. Chop up the vegetables and the onion.
3. Cook the chicken and cut it up into bite sized pieces.
4. Prepare stuffing by following the directions on the box.
5. Mix the chicken, soups, milk, onion and veggies, pepper, and thyme all together in the baking pan.
6. Cover the top of your mixture with the cooked stuffing.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Cody and both of my parents loved this dish! It’s such a yummy, cozy recipe. I will definitely keep this meal in my back pocket for those chilly fall and winter nights! (Those nights that I hope start coming reallyyy soon because I live in California and this drought and heat are not my cup of tea!)

Fresh out of the oven!

Plated with veggies on the side!

A Trip to The San Francisco Zoo

Cody loves animals and has been dying to take a trip to a zoo for a while now, so we decided it was time to go. We chose the San Francisco Zoo. We went on a Sunday, arrived around 11:00am and the zoo parking lot was already full and closed. Pro: we didn't have to pay for parking. Con: we had to park four blocks away and walk. And of course, I had forgotten to grab my tennis shoes out of my car when we switched to Cody's so I had to walk around the whole day in thin flip flops. We made it to the zoo though and that is what matters. Once we got inside we perused the gift shop, grabbed a map, and headed off on our adventure.

We followed the map and signs and walked through each area, taking our time and enjoying the stroll. Cody was especially excited about the baby gorilla that we saw. (I'm not much of a gorilla fan, but for a few minutes the little guy was actually kind of cute.) Following our true cliche habit, we saw a cart and bought a pretzel to share. And oh hey, I had no idea, but they sell beer at the zoo!

The zoo itself is pretty big, so we did a lot of walking. We went around the entire park, and by the time we were done we were tired and hungry so we stopped at the Leaping Lemur Café for a late lunch. The food wasn't too bad, I ended up getting chicken strips, Cody got a chicken sandwich, and we felt like being kids so we both got chocolate milk. After that we headed home. But not before buying a couple of souvenir shot glasses for our collection. It was such a nice outing and we were able to spend some wonderful quality time together.

Healthy Side Note: Activities like this are a great way to sneak in some physical activity. Sure, you're just walking, but covering that large of an area has got to burn a few calories right?

Here are a few tips we have for a trip to the zoo:

1. Check the zoo's hours, admission prices, and parking fees before you go.
2. Make sure you know how to get there. (Or use your GPS like I always do.)
3. Wear comfortable shoes. Seems like common sense, but I had mine ready to bring with me and forgot them when we left.
4. Put on sunscreen. Especially on your face. You're walking around outdoors a lot and even with clouds overhead, it's an easy way to get too much sun exposure and possibly a sunburn. Gotta protect that skin!
5. Make sure you have cash for parking in case you do decide to use the zoo's lot. Many parking lots only accept cash.
6. Grab a map as you enter. This way you'll know where you're going, where you can get food, and where the restrooms are located. I can't tell you how many times Cody and I needed to refer to our map during our trip.
7. Bring a camera or make sure your phone has room on it to take some pictures.
8. Take your time and enjoy it. Leave enough time to be able to take it all in and enjoy your trip. You may need to stop and rest, or stop and eat, and you should allow time for that so you won't feel rushed.

So…we found a mirror at the SF Zoo…photo op! Lol

Giraffe!

Mama and Baby Gorillas!

Polar Bear!

Penguins!

Tigers are such pretty animals.

We were able to see two young tigers resting right up against the glass!

Young tigers cuddling.

Strawberry Kale Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing

So here’s the thing: kale is supposedly amazingly good for you. So naturally, I wanted to find a way to fit it into our diet. We tried kale chips…but that was not a success in the taste department in our opinion…I’ll let you know if that ever changes. A kale salad was next on the list to try. The only problem is that kale itself has a pretty bitter taste…there is however, a way to remedy that! Thank goodness!

Most of what I know about kale, I learned from Haylie Duff and The Real Girl’s Kitchen. I’m in love with her book and her little cooking show and her website. I just love her take on life and she’s got some pretty great recipes. Anyway, back to kale. By reading about kale in her cookbook, I learned that you can make the leaves less bitter by showing them some love and massaging them with olive oil for about a minute. I wasn’t too sure of how well this was going to work, but it did work and it cut that bitter taste right out! I also made a version of Haylie Duff’s classic vinaigrette dressing and added a few things to my salad to give it a splash of flavor and get even more nutrients in.

Here’s the recipe:

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 bunches of kale. (1 bunch will probably feed about 2 people)
• Fresh strawberries (however many you want)
• Almond slivers
• A few drizzles of olive oil
• Homemade vinaigrette dressing (click to get the recipe)

Salad Instructions: 

1. Rinse the kale leaves and dry them off. (You can either break them up right then and put them in a salad spinner, or pat the leaves dry with a paper towel.)
2. Pull the leaves away from the rib of the kale and tear them into smaller pieces
3. Put the leaves into a big bowl and drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top. Massage the oil into the leaves for about a minute.
4. Chop up strawberries and add them into the salad.
5. Sprinkle the almond slivers on top.
6. Make the homemade vinaigrette dressing and use that to put the final touch on your salad.

Make this salad at home, take a taste, and let me know what you think! I’d love to hear from you!

Homemade Vinaigrette Dressing

Cody and I are really into health lately. Not in that overly enthusiastic, in-your-face, health nut kind of way, but we just really want to get in better shape, get more energy, and just feel better all together. So I’ve been reading a lot about eating cleaner, and I read recently that the reason store bought dressings last so much longer is because they have all kinds or preservatives in them. Sure, it’s more convenient, but if you have the time, why not cut out the preservatives that you don’t need to be putting into your body and make some homemade dressing?! Homemade dressings usually last about five days in the fridge and are so much healthier than anything you can buy at the store.

I looked up a couple recipes for a homemade vinaigrette dressing because we wanted something light. I came across Haylie Duff’s Real Girl’s Kitchen Classic Vinaigrette recipe and decided to make a version of that one. I tweaked it just a little bit, and it came out great. It was so delicious and I felt like I was doing something good for my body by eating something more natural.

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped shallot or onion
• (I completely forgot to add this to mine, and it turned out great anyway, but you can always add that in as well.)
• 1/3 cup of champagne vinegar
• 1 tsp of dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp of honey
• 1 tsp of sea salt
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup of good quality olive oil
• The juice of half a lemon

Instructions:

1. Mince the garlic.
2. Chop up the shallot or onion if you’re adding that in.
3. Mix all of the ingredients together and refrigerate until you’re ready to dress your salad

Tip: Give the dressing a quick stir or shake right before you pour it over your salad.

I completely forgot to take a picture of MY dressing, but it looked similar to this.
Next time I make some i will replace this picture with mine.

Check out our Strawberry Kale Salad recipe! This dressing goes with it perfectly!

Recipes Coming Soon!

Lately, Cody and I have been cooking a lot. We have been trying to eat healthier and save money by not eating out so much. Plus, we just enjoy cooking together and for one another. Since we are trying all sorts of new recipes and tweaking them to our liking, I thought that I would start sharing some of our favorites with our readers. So be on the lookout for some recipe posts very soon!

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Recreate Your First Date

Last week, completely out of the blue, Cody told me that he wanted to recreate our first official date on Friday night. Now of course, my reaction was “Awww, of course!”. That was SO cute. I couldn’t wait. Our first official date was simple: mini golf and ice cream afterwards.

For our night he added in dinner and made the first meal he ever cooked for me (another first that happened on a different occasion). When I got to his house after work, he had breaded chicken, potatoes, and veggies waiting with Champagne and flowers. It was my favorite champagne (Coeur de Bulle), and a bouquet with a couple of gerbera daisies in it because he knows those are my favorite. We ate and cuddled and relaxed a little, then headed out. We went mini golfing at Golfland around sunset so that part of the way through our game the lights came on as it became dark (which in my pinon makes everything more magical and fun). I was in the lead for a while but I completely lost it at one of those volcano holes . (Those things are ridiculously tricky!) Cody took the lead and we made a couple of fun wagers but by the end we had stopped keeping score and were too busy laughing to know who had actually one. (Though my guess is that it was probably Cody since he’s so good at anything and everything sports related.) We kept our balls (just like we did the first time) as cute souvenirs. (Shh, don’t tell anyone!)

Afterwards, we went to Cold Stone and we both ended up getting milkshakes. They were delicious. We then headed back to his house to watch some TV, but we both ended up passing out cold and sleeping until 2am when I had to go home for my curfew.

It was such a cute little evening and he put a lot of work into getting my favorite things and making sure dinner was ready when I got home (he had to work on it in between work and coaching the local high school football team and then some more after football practice.) It was such a sweet idea, and he went all out. I couldn’t be luckier. He truly is the best man I know.

You can easily recreate your first date with your other half, and you can always add in new things or other old traditions like Cody did to make it longer date or fill the needs of the day (ours was that we obviously needed to eat dinner lol). This is such a simple idea that really goes a long way in the cuteness department.

At Golfland!

My pretty flowers!

Night lights!

Restaurant Review: Dorn’s Breakers Cafe

Located on Market Avenue, in Morro Bay, California, right next to The Blue Sail Inn, and one street up from the embarcadero, is Dorn’s Breakers Cafe. This place is perfect for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I’ve been going their for years, and let me tell you, it is always my first and last stop before leaving Morro Bay. I could eat there every day and not get sick of it. They have amazing breakfasts, top notch mimosas, the best clam chowder I’ve ever had with the freshest, most delicious bread to go with it, and some amazing chocolate mousse.

Let me just give you a few quick reviews of some of their dishes:

French Toast - It’s to die for. Perfectly sweet with a soft, but not soggy texture. SO yummy.

Pancakes (I like the chocolate chip ones) - Very tasty, but be sure to bring your appetite!

Mimosas - Strong enough to know you’re drinking champagne, but not too strong. Probably some of the best mimosas I’ve ever tasted. Great addition to your breakfast.

Hot Chocolate - This place has the best hot chocolate ever. Topped with some fantastic whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Perfect to sip in that cool bay breeze.

Omelets - Perfect way to start the day. Always cooked to perfection and filled just right (I hate when omelets are over filled and way too messy looking). My favorite is the bacon and cheese.

Clam Chowder - The best I’ve ever had. It’s the perfect consistency, not to thick, not to thin. None of that watery business. I love to dip their bread in it, that’s the best. There is nothing like Dorn’s clam chowder. Nothing. I honestly can not rave enough about it, and any words I would use to describe it would not do it justice. You simply have to try it yourself. It’s my ultimate comfort food. (Sorry I don’t have a picture of the chowder, I don’t know how I haven’t taken one! I will add one in next time I go.)

Fish & Chips - I’ve never had these, because I’m not fan of fish, but Cody ate them all up and said that it was the freshest fish & chips he’d ever had.

Chocolate Mousse - Very rich, but so worth the calories. Perfect way to end a light lunch. Great for sharing. It’s thick, but not too thick. Seriously delicious. My favorite dessert in the city.

Besides the food, the view is amazing. Dorn’s overlooks the embarcadero as well as the bay. They have both indoor and outdoor seating (some of the outdoor table have small fire stone pits in the center). When I took Cody he loved the feel of the place and thought the view was awesome. The staff is great, and it’s still family run as far as I know. I would definitely recommend stopping at Dorn’s if you’re ever even near the area. It’s worth the trip.

Breakfast fruit platter!

Hot Chocolate!

Chocolate Mousse!

Mini fire stones on the outside tables!

Chocolate Chip Pancakes...I eat mine from the inside out lol.

Day Trip to Morro Bay

Morro Bay, California holds a special spot in my heart. My grandfather began the tradition as a child by going on fishing trips there with his father and continued it by marrying my grandmother in San Luis Obispo and honeymooning in Morro Bay. After that, my grandparents took their kids there at least once a year, and their kids did the same. Members of the family that owns Dorn’s Breakers Cafe knew my grandfather by name, as did the owners of The Blue Sail Inn, and The Galley. I’ve been going to that town since I was a baby and it feels like my second home. I know it like the back of my hand and just one wiff of the air can instantly put a smile on my face. The clam chowder and bread at Dorn’s is my ultimate comfort food, and feeding popcorn from Crills to the squirrels at Morro Rock is completely normal for me. Morro Bay is easily my favorite place in the world. There’s just something about it.

I had never taken a boy to Morro Bay before. Granted, it is about 3-4 hours away from where I live, but it can easily be turned into a day trip. So the main reason I had never brought anyone there before is because of how special that place is to me. But there’s just something about Cody, he’s just as special. And I knew in my heart that he would love and respect the town just as much as I did and appreciate it the way my Grandma taught me to. You see, Morro Bay is a little fisherman’s town. And in this day and age its hard to find a kid or young adult that wouldn’t roll their eyes and want more action. But Cody is different, and he loved it.

As I took his hand and led him down the embarcadero I was instantly at ease. Within minutes he was in love. I’m telling you, there is something about the atmosphere and the smell and the air in that place that just changes your entire mood. I took him to Dorn’s for lunch first, of course, because that is always my first stop. Then we walked down the embarcadero and looked in all of the little shops, I showed him the giant chess board at the center, and we stood on the pier and watched the boats. After that, I took him to Crills, where we bought some taffy and a bucket of popcorn. We then headed out to the rock. Now, some would head to the beach other side of the rock, but my family and I have always preferred to park the car by the rock looking out into the bay, watch for sea otters, and feed the squirrels. These squirrels are pretty dang friendly, and will gently take a piece of popcorn right out of your hand. Cody was in awe. We relaxed and enjoyed the view until it was time to leave for dinner.

I decided to take Cody to F. McLintocks Saloon & Dining House in San Luis Obsipo for dinner because who doesn’t want to go to a Saloon for a meal?! That place is so fun and has great food! He had such a blast. It was honestly one of the happiest days of my life. I was in my favorite place with my favorite person. And the fact that Cody had such a wonderful time was more than just the icing on the cake.

* Check out our review of Dorn’s Breakers Cafe
* Stay tuned for our review of F. McLintocks Saloon & Dining House!

Kisses in Morro Bay!

The smokestacks

Feeding the squirrels!

The embarcadaro and Morro Rock

Looking out at the bay

Morro Rock

Sunset

Driving Range Date

This weekend Cody and I wanted an easy way to get outside, get moving, and blow off a little steam. So we headed to the driving range. We went up to Summit Pointe Golf Course, got a bucket of balls and whacked away. We aren’t the best at it (Cody is definitely better than me though, but he’s seriously good at all sports so that was no surprise), but it was fun just to get out there. It was a good activity, kept us moving rather than just laying around and watching movies all day, and let us laugh at ourselves and each other.

It wasn’t very expensive at all, so this sort of activity is very doable. Some golf courses let you grab a beer and take it out with you to the driving range, and you can even get a quick snack! Also, be sure that you know the rules for that particular course. Some golf courses only allow you to use irons on their driving range and not drivers. (Those are different kinds of clubs, just in case you aren't familiar with the terms.) Another recommendation I have when going to the driving range (or golfing in general) is to wear some kind of tennis shoes rather than flip flops. Better traction while hitting the ball, and probably more comfortable too. Other than that, go out and have a great time!

More to Come, I Promise!

The first two adventure posts that I have made have both been about sporting events. Totally not on purpose, I swear! Those are just the quickest and easiest to get written. But I promise, I’ve got some great travel and restaurant reviews coming. Cody and I took mini road trips on two separate weekends and spent one Saturday in Morro Bay/San Luis Obispo and another in Carmel. So be on the lookout for those blog posts soon. I just have to get all my ducks in a row and make sure I don’t miss anything! Stay tuned!

San Jose Giants Game

So Cody scored some free merchant tickets from his work for the last night’s San Jose Giants game at Municipal Stadium. Free tickets? Of course we went! Why not?! Yes, it may only have been a minor league game, but its still good to get out and enjoy the atmosphere and a nice game of baseball. It was a perfect date for a summer evening.

We got there about 25 minutes early, leaving at 6:00pm for 7:00pm game. That left us enough time to get a feel for the place (neither one of us had been there since we were little), grab a couple drinks, and get some food. The weather was nice, about 75 degrees at the start, and cooled off just enough for me to put on a light jacket by the end of the first inning. We both got burgers to start, and some beer. We later gave into our cravings and bought some garlic fries (I couldn’t stand just smelling them all night), some nachos (just the cheese, with jalapeños on the side for Cody), churros, and another beer.

Here is a quick review of the food that we had at Municipal Stadium:

• Burgers - Not good, but not terrible. Not much taste, not much to review. They had tri-tip sandwiches for sale and I think we should’ve opted for those.
• Garlic Fries - Pretty good, smelled amazing, good amount of garlic, but really greasy.
• Nachos - Really good. They weren’t anything special, just the usual ballpark cheese sauce from what I could tell, but for some reason they just hit the spot. Probably my favorite thing that we got.
• Churros - I’m not a huge churro fan, I usually just take a couple bites for the heck of it, but Cody scarfed them down and was pretty happy.

By the end of the night we had eaten way more than we should have, and both ended up feeling a bit sick. Lesson learned…maybe. Lol.

The staff was very friendly, the woman selling the churros even called us back to give us a free one because it was the end of the night and she saw Cody give me a bite of his. The seats were clean from what I saw and the bleacher seating was pretty dang packed. Lots of families, good kid-friendly atmosphere for sure. There were a lot of games and contests between innings, and they had family fun activities as you enter the stadium such as bouncy houses, frisbee tosses, a batting cage, etc.  Parking cost us $10. We left at the 7th inning stretch because we had work the next morning and wanted to have time to wind down together before I had to go home for the night. (Yes, we sound like an old couple, but we don’t mind.) It was a lot of fun and a great little outing.

Legends of Candlestick

A few weeks ago, Cody and I were lucky enough to be able to attend the Legends of Candlestick game at the famous Candlestick Park in San Francisco. As some of you may know, Candlestick Park is set to be torn down now that the San Francisco 49ers have their new Levi’s Stadium.  To honor the park and give fans a chance to watch one last game at “The Stick”, HP hosted a flag football game pitting a bunch of the 49er legends against some legendary all stars. I’m talking players like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Steve Young against Dan Marino and Tim Brown!

Now, I’m really not that big of a football fan (though I am 49er faithful), but Cody is. Cody played football back when we were in high school, helped win a championship, and was awarded the All League Kicker title. He loves football. He lives for football. He is obsessed with the 49ers. Needless to say, he was in heaven. And even though I’m not that into sports, I definitely knew some of these names and how awesome it was that I was able to see them in action together. (My grandma used to swoon over Joe Montana). I had never been to Candlestick Park before, but I understood the history of the place and after seeing it in person, I am so glad to be able to say I have seen a game there.

The game was great. They weren’t sold out by any means; in fact, I had thought there would’ve been a better turn out for such an event. Nonetheless, it was still pretty crowded, and pretty damn magical. The lines for food were horrendous, as is to be expected at any sporting event, but once I got my very first cliché beer at a football game, I was happy. And Cody of course bought a commemorative T-shirt that reads “Never Before, Never Again”. We went with my family and had a blast. It was definitely a once in a lifetime event.

Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to my blog! My name is Amberlee and my boyfriend’s name is Cody. We are both currently in our early 20’s, pretty down to earth, very goal oriented and can’t wait to someday settle down, buy a house, and have a family. But while we’re working toward our future and before we can settle down, we need to live. Recently, we have been getting in the habit of living life to the fullest. This means that we are doing our very best to have as many adventures as possible – big or small. This is a blog cataloging our adventures, giving opinions, reviewing restaurants and activities, and sharing our experiences. We hope you enjoy our stories!