Sunday Southern Days

Every couple has their version. This is ours, apparently.

Winter is a time where I enjoy working on our house -- with Chicago winter weather outside, it just seems like a good idea to enjoy the nice weather while I can and save my home improvement projects for a time when the weather turns chillier. This winter holds an ambitious list of home improvements, the first of while was to re-paint our kitchen/dining room area. Upon moving into our home in 2006, we painted the kitchen a rich brick red and added a wide crowne molding to accent the ceiling. Four and a half years later, it was time to brighten up our kitchen a bit, this time with Martha Stewart's Opal Blue paint. See these photos of the painting process -- only 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of paint to go from brick red to a very light blue! I worked up a combination of dark walnut wood furniture and black wall decorations to best show off the blue in the new paint. The chandelier is original to the house (circa 1999) and was originally a delightful hunter green and brown crackl...

After a rough day for both of us, Sam and I were in need of some heartier dinner food. In hopes of using up some items in the fridge and freezer, Bleu Burgers were in store. 4 Frozen or Fresh Hamburger Patties 1 t Hamburger Seasoning 4 ounces crumbled Bleu Cheese (I used Amish Bleu Cheese, which is a little saltier. Domestic, Maytag, and French work well too) 1/2 onion (yellow or white), diced 2 c slice mushrooms (I used white mushrooms) 1/2 c beef broth 1 T butter Add butter, onion, and mushrooms to saucepan over med-high heat and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add beef broth and bring to a boil. Simmer over med-low heat for an additional 30 minutes. This can be done ahead of time -- keep marinated mushrooms in airtight container in the fridge. Turn broiler on in your oven or toaster oven. Once hot, add seasoned burgers to broiler pan. After 8 minutes, flip burgers once and cook an additional 3-8 minutes, depending on your preferred level o...