Erica Caught a Bug

Erica woke up in Kansas City on Sunday and was feeling under the weather.  Her friends were giving her a hard time about being hung over from the bachelorette party the night before (didn't help), but she was sick and at one point, worried about being able to get on a plane to fly home later in the day.  But after sleeping most of the day and a bunch of ibuprofen, was feeling on the up and up and was home just in time to watch the Walking Dead and True Detective.

Monday was much worse, and after sleeping most of the day and some more Ibuprofen, Erica had a temp of 104.   Luckily, Chris and helper dog were there to take care of her (Chris had off for Presidents Day).  Cori was called in for a consult too.

Chris worked from home today to keep an eye on his girl, and the fever was down this morning.  More resting and sleeping for E, she will probably work from home tomorrow.

Then and Now

Kansas City, Kelly's Westport Inn, 2014 and 2007.

Happy Valentines Day!

Erica flew into Kansas City this afternoon for a bachelorette party and time with her KC girls this weekend.  We celebrated Valentines all week long since we wouldn't be able to do anything Valentinesy today.  

Monday we went to Erica's favorite ice cream spot, Little Man Ice Cream.  Tuesday, we headed over to Hops & Pie for dinner and beers, which is Chris's favorite spot.  Wednesday, we took Zoey to obedience, so we took a break from our Valentine's week extravaganza, but we were back at it on Thursday night when we went out for dinner at the West End Tap House (best frites ever).

Chris picked up a bottle of this very popular Chocolate Ale from Boulevard Brewery tonight in Longmont at almost the same time Erica was enjoying it with friends here in Kansas City.  Parallel Valentine lives, we think.

Sunday Night Soup & Salad

**Update - we just ate and this soup is GOOD!  The ground mustard makes it, we think.  Instead of adding all of the cheese to the soup, we just stirred some into our individual bowls.  Mmmmmmmm.**

We've been buying bagged salad kits at the grocery store when they go on sale.  Here's the soup:

Crock Pot Cheeseburger Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 medium celery ribs, chopped

1 pound lean ground beef

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups chicken broth

1 can evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 1/2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce

1/2 tablespoon ground mustard

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

Salt and pepper, to taste

8 ounces shredded cheese

1.) Spray crock pot with non-stick spray.

2.) Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery to skillet and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from skillet and place the vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot.

3.) In the same pan, brown the hamburger meat. Drain, and add meat to the crock.

4.) In a small cup, combine flour and 1/2 cup of broth. Whisk to combine, making sure it’s smooth and lump-free. Add the mixture to the skillet, and then slowly pour in the remaining 2 ½ cups of broth. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and allow to cook until just thickened. Add to the crock.

5.) Stir in all remaining ingredients except the cheese.  Cook on high for 2 hours. Just before serving, add in the cheese and stir until melted.

Recipe adapted from Kitchen Meets Girl.

Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie

Chris threw this together for us last week while he was working from home.  He said it was easy and it turned out great.

1 1/2  pounds chicken breast, thawed & cubed

1/2 white onion

2 dried bay leaves

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 can condensed mushroom soup

1/2 C. milk

1/4 C. sour cream

4 celery stalks, chopped

1 bag frozen stew vegetables

1.) Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray

2.) Place all ingredients except frozen vegetables in crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours*

3.) Remove bay leaves and place frozen vegetables in crock pot and cook for 30 additional minutes

4.) Serve with biscuits or puff pastry.

*our crock pot cooks really hot, adjust time as necessary.

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker.

Bar Fly

We met our friend Mark and his Golden Retriever, Buster, at the dog friendly Denver Beer Co. tonight.   There were about 5-6 other dogs there over the course of the night.  However, Denver Beer Co. does not like barking dogs as we learned when Buster was set off by a barking Beagle and he and Mark got a talking to.  The Beagle also got into trouble.  

Zoey did a good job and sat in our laps most of the time, and she was in heaven when the other bar patrons would give her some lovin'.

The favorite beers of the night were the Rye 70 IPA (Chris), Belgian Dubbel (Erica), and the Barley Wine (Chris & Zoey).