Thursday, January 23, 2014

MINESTRONE WITH GARLIC CROUTONS AND WHITE CHEDDAR.



It's true... the picture is a little blurry.  Don't judge.  I was wrapped up in the moment... trying to snap a picture before I devoured every bite of this delicious soup packed with nutrients.

We wanted to share this recipe courtesy of Eat Live Run.  Jenna Beaugh shared this on her blog last week, and we've been itching to try it ever since.  We changed things up just a little though.  We added parsley, and bell pepper.  We also used chicken broth instead of water.   I also made awesome garlic croutons as well and sprinkled white cheddar on top.


You can view Jenna's post here.  This minestrone was filled with caramelized onion, garlic, butternut squash... you get it.  Do yourself a favor.  Make it!

Minestrone
from Jenna Beaugh at Eat Live Run

Ingredients:
1 cup dried cannellini beans
1 yellow onion, small dice
4 carrots, small dice
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
1 small butternut squash, small diced {or any other winter squash}
1 fennel bulb, small dice
2 cups loosely packed spinach leaves, rough chopped
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp olive oil
3 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp salt
pepper
parmesan cheese for serving
Directions:
The night before, soak the beans in cold water in a large pot. In the morning, drain the beans, add fresh water {about 3″ above beans} and simmer until very tender – about 1 hour. Drain cooked beans and reserve cooking liquid.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and fennel and saute for about 15-20 minutes until veggies are soft and onion has started to turn golden brown. Don’t skimp on this step because it adds so much flavor for the soup later!
Add the garlic, rosemary, bay leaves and salt and saute for another 3 minutes. Then, add the water and the squash. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender – about 15 minutes.
When the squash has become tender, add the beans and enough bean cooking liquid until you reach desired thickness. Keep in mind that this soup is supposed to be very thick so don’t add to much liquid here! Less is more. Add the spinach and cook just until the spinach has wilted.
Adjust seasonings if need be and serve soup topped with a tbsp {or more!} of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Bread is always a good idea as well.
Croutons (from The Pioneer Woman):
  • 1/2 loaf Crusty French Bread
  • 1/4 cup Olive Oil
  • 2 cloves Fresh Garlic (peeled)
  •  Salt To Taste

Slice the bread into thick slices and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Throw them onto a baking sheet.
Heat olive oil in a small saucepan or skillet over low heat.
Peel and crush—but don’t chop—2 cloves of garlic and add them to the oil. Use a spoon to move the garlic around in the pan. After about 3 to 5 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the garlic from the pan.
Slowly drizzle the olive oil over the bread cubes. Mix together with your hands, then sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake at 200ยบ for one hour, shaking the pan occasionally.
One hour after baking, crank up the heat to 400 degrees. Bake them on high heat for just a few minutes.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

13 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT OUR MARRIAGE.


Hey guys!  We've been MIA for quite some time now!  2013 was... interesting for us.  Many highs and a few lows, but we're blessed and thankful for it because it has prepared us for 2014.  Last you heard from us, we were preparing for a half marathon in Panama City Beach, Florida, and let us be the first to tell you, it went great!  We'll do a post about the race soon, but we had a great time.  People seem to think we're crazy for loving it so much, and maybe we are, but we love it nonetheless.  Some people hate running, but it's a great way to get out, travel, and many times, support different charities.

We've decided to shift gears a little bit here on the blog this year.  We will still focus on food, exercise, DIY projects, etc., but we're shifting our direction to share a slightly more personal perspective of our lives.  After all, the blog is called Schruff Shenanigans (pronounced Shruff).  We want you to know what we're up to in the moment.  We have a lot of great ideas, and events coming up, and can't wait to share them with you.

But back to the whole purpose of this post.  With us shifting gears, we thought it would be fun to share with you 13 interesting facts about our marriage, just to give you an insider's look to how we got started.  We consider our marriage a blessing, and we are best friends.  We definitely didn't go the conventional route, but if you know us, we're anything but conventional.  We chose 13 facts because we got married of Friday the 13th.  We wouldn't trade any of it for the world.


1.  When we first met, Trey was 19, and Ashlynn was 14.  (We obviously didn't start dating then).

2.  We met through a mutual friend, Christine, at a church where Trey's uncle was a youth pastor.

3.  We didn't actually start dating until about six years after we first met.

4.  Before we started dating, Ashlynn had moved back home from school, and so had Trey.

5.  On our first lunch date, Ashlynn was 45 minutes late.  (It was love)

6.  We dated two month's before Trey proposed.  Trey actually had the thought to propose when he was shopping for a promise ring, one month after they started dating.

7.  One person thought we'd be divorced in three years.  Our five year anniversary is next month.


8.  We were engaged nearly two month's before we decided to go ahead and get married.

9.  We got married in Pensacola, Florida.

10.  5 months into being married, we packed up, and moved to Tennessee, where we currently reside.

11.  We didn't know it at the time, but we ended up completing our undergraduate degrees together and graduated together in 2012.

12.  Ashlynn graduated Cum Laude, but Trey's 3.49 GPA didn't make the cut.

13.  We were married on Friday the 13th.  We call it our lucky day.