Northwoods Scrapbook: May 2025

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Sub in a Tub & Life Lately

Hello Friends!

Happy sunny Thursday to you. 💛

I thought I'd share a little bit of life here lately with Annie's bf Kristopher visiting. They are so adorable and having such a great time together. And it's so fun for me because they actually like hanging out with this old lady. So we have been playing games, visiting, taking Ruby for walks etc - while poor Matthew is a hard working Hubby.

But we have fun in the evenings too.... playing games, watching old home movies, and having fun dinners. Last night we grilled burgers up and we taught Kris how to play cribbage. :) We're planning to take to them to the lake for a visit at some point, get in some mini golf, a fire out on the deck and anything else that sounds fun!

Today the kiddos went to a theme park for the day a few hours drive away. So I'm planning to get out and get more flowers planted. Yay!

Also - this adorable doe and her baby came to visit right outside our bedroom window one morning. Nice way to wake up and start the day.

I mean c'mon - could they be any cuter? 💗

Speaking of cute:

And then I thought I'd share this really yummy lunch I made the other day. It was a recipe I saw on social media and it was SOOO yummy. Some call it "sub in a tub". Others call it a grinder salad. The deal with it is you throw it all in some kind of container and there are no real rules or measurements - it's all to your taste and preference.

For mine I used spinach as a base but I think romaine would be even yummier. I then added some mini peppers, red onion, cucumber, cheese, thin salami, turkey pepperoni and cut it all up small. But you could use any combo of meats, cheese and veggies you like. I think next time I'll do turkey and salami and provolone cheese with lots of veggies. 😋

I put it in a glass tupperware dish I had. I drizzled some olive oil over it (maybe a Tbsp) and some red wine vinegar (maybe a few tsp's). I think it all depends on how big your salad is. Then I did a little spoonful of avocado mayo on top (not quite a tbsp). Sprinkled on some salt & pepper, a bunch of dried orgenao & a little garlic powder. I put the lid on a shook it up really well. It coated everything perfectly and I just took off the lid and dug in. It tasted so much like eating a good sub - but no bread or carbs that way. I can see Matt & I eating these for a light supper too. Really easy and tasty.

Enjoy! xoxo

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Happy Homemaker Monday (on a Tuesday)

Happy new week Blogging Besties!

If you celebrated....did you have a nice holiday weekend? Or just a nice weekend in general?

I'm posting this on a Tuesday as Matt and I were at the lake for the Memorial Day weekend. And God's blessings to all of our service people and all they have sacrificed for the sake of our country. 🙏🏻

As far as this weekend goes we had a great time with Matt's folks. The docks and boats are in the lake now...so we got out for a pontoon ride. Matt got out fishing with his Dad a couple of the mornings nice and early. They caught almost half a fish fry worth of some bass, bluegill and perch. :)

We also went out to dinner one night, watched movies, grilled, played games and had lots of great conversation and laughs. Doesn't get better than that!

Annie's bf comes into town from Florida today to stay here with us for a week and 1/2. So we're planning some fun things too! I can feel the summer in the air and that it's almost here! I need to get more of my flowers this week and get to planting now that the weather seems warm enough. I'm ready! 🌸💗

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

iced coffee, protein coconut yogurt with cinnamon & fruit

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

errands, groceries, get flowers & veggies to plant & get digging in the dirt, other home projects, fun days with Annie & Kristopher, bring my Mom some things, hospice work

THINKING ABOUT:

what I want to plant this year, summer fun things ahead

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY:

when I'm saying prayers of gratitude and other earnest prayers and I have tears because I feel it so deeply and feel so in tune with my Lord

CURRENTLY READING

The Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspe that Matt's Mom turned me onto - the science to it fascinates me. I'm learning a lot about other ways to be healthier (still reading but almost done)

ON THE TV TODAY:

Americas Got Talent, Jeopardy(& Masters), TWD catch up, Call the Midwife, The Handmaids Tale (need to watch final episodes), Vacation House Rules & Castle Impossible (HGTV), we started watching The Last of Us, cooking shows.

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

MONDAY -

TUESDAY -

WEDNESDAY -

THURSDAY -

FRIDAY -

*leaving this week open as there are some places Annie wants to have us take Kristopher out to eat...and still planning other meals at home. Going to grill one night. One night the kiddos might be gone and Matt & I will do a chicken broccoli stir fry with cauliflower rice.

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

plant flowers, read, play games with the kids

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

FROM THE CAMERA:

Scenes from a fun weekend. Annie was so funny because she was holding down the fort at home while we were gone....and she showed how Bubba was being all lovie with her (she always complains that when Matt & I are around Bubba won't go to her enough 😂)

And in other news - my bestie Mrs. C got lots of time with new baby Thea this weekend and sent me this pic. 😍 And I can't wait for my turn to snuggle her up!!

Thursday, May 22, 2025

Greek Chicken and Salad

Hey Peeps!

How is your Thursday going so far? ☀️

Are you celebrating Memorial weekend coming up? Any other plans?

Here's what's been going on around here. It has been COLD for days. Like 30's and 40's with rain and wind needing the heat on cold. Yesterday me and my girls (Annie & Ruby) braved the cold and bundled up in layers...yes layers! And went out for a 2 mile walk to get some exercise. I'm loving having my girl home and getting lots of extra time with her. I also had an hour long phone conversation with Aaron yesterday (we call each other regularly). So my Momma heart has been very full. 💗

Thankfully, it looks like the weather should improve today...may even hit 60* Yay! And this holiday weekend looks decent too. I'm going to be doing some baking in advance of it and I'm looking forward to family time, games, fun, grilling, and other good things. :)

Brrrr - cold walk!!

But today I wanted to share this wonderful Greek marinated grilled chicken and salad we had the other day. I had looked at a few different recipes and then kind of experimented and this is what I came up with. We both loved it and will definitely do it again! I took shortcuts with things I had on hand and it made it even that much easier to prepare.

I used a lot of good Greek/Mediterranean flavors for the marinade, which included lemon zest, juice, garlic (cloves and powder), & oregano (dried and fresh)

I put those flavors - as well as olive oil and dill into greek yogurt as the base of the marinade. I kept about 1/4 of it out for basting later. And I put the rest in a plastic bag and added the chicken breasts to it. I let them sit and marinade for about 4 hours.

I used a dill pickle salad kit I had on hand as the base (I figured the dill would go with the flavors) and I added some chopped cucumber & red onion too. I would have added tomato but I didn't have any. I then took the protein ranch dip we had, that Matt makes from blended cottage cheese, and thinned it with some milk and I added fresh dill, garlic powder, and finely chopped cucumber to it to make it taste a lot like tzatziki sauce/dressing.

Matt then grilled up the chicken breasts - using the leftover marinade that was set aside to baste them with at the end. We then served up the chicken breasts with the salad and tossed it all together on our plates. It was SO flavorful and summery and light and delicious. I will work to remember the amounts and write out the recipe below as well as how you could make a tzatziki dressing even if you don't have protein ranch on hand like we did.

FOR THE MARINADE:

1/3 c. plain greek yogurt

1/4 c. olive oil

1 lemon

4 cloves garlic, minced (plus powder if you want more garlic taste)

2 TBSP dried oregano (I did a little less and added some of my fresh oregano chopped fine)

several sprigs fresh dill chopped (or use dried if needed - about a tbsp or so)

salt & pepper to taste

In a bowl mix the greek yogurt with the olive oil. Zest the lemon into the bowl and then squeeze in the juice of 1/2 to a whole lemon depending on how lemony you want it. Add the garlic, oregano, dill & seasoning. Keep some of the marinade aside in a little container in the fridge and put the rest of it in a ziplock bag. Add the chicken and seal and use your hands to coat the chicken. Place in fridge for 3-4 hours.

When done take them out of the marinade and grill until internal temp is 165* and then let rest a few minutes. Serve with the greek salad.

FOR THE SALAD:

Use any green salad base you like - best with romaine. Add veggies of choice but to have that greek flavor definitely add some chopped red onion, chopped cucumber and chopped tomato. You could also throw in some kalamata olives (but I don't care for them).

FOR THE DRESSING:

make tzatziki sauce by using 1 cup greek yogurt and adding 1/2 a finely chopped english cucumber, 1 minced garlic clove, the zest of a lemon and 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp fresh dill & some salt & pepper. To make it more like a dressing add a splash of milk until you get the dressing consistency you'd like.

I didn't add lemon because I was using our protein ranch which is cottage cheese based...but I would add it if I was doing greek yogurt.

Monday, May 19, 2025

Happy Homemaker Monday

Happy Monday dear Friends! ☀️

At least I hope it's a happy Monday for you. :)

I'd love if it were a little warmer here in the northwoods. It was in the 30's last night and we had the heat on! Today it's only supposed to be in the 40's. It was cold all weekend, actually, and not supposed to warm up until later this week. Geesh Spring, where did you go? 😁

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It was a fun one here because we treated my Mom and step Dad to a show. My Mom has always wanted to see Riverdance - so we got tickets to treat them. It was also partly a thank you for how much they come and hold down the fort and hang out with Bubba when we're gone to Ten Mile or another trip.

And in exciting news my bestie Kristi's daughter had her baby! So Mr. & Mrs. C are grandparents! Their daughter unfortunately had preeclampsia (like I did with Aaron) - but not as bad, thankfully! So baby was almost 5 weeks early (Aaron was almost 7 weeks early and a preemie) Their sweet little Thea Cate was 5 lbs 11 oz. She's the cutest little peanut ever! And everyone is doing well, thank You Jesus!!

Other than that it was a nice productive weekend around the house. Matt and I did some tag team cleaning and even on some bigger projects. Plus, I got out my more summery decorations around the house. 🌸💗

Even Annie got the bug and cleaned out all of her closets! Lol

Other than that, Matt & I just enjoyed some down time together too. Even though it's cold it is nice to see all the green outside and seems more leaves and blooms out every day.