Home Renovations: New Siding!

Finally! We were seriously over animals (birds, bees, squirrels etc.) trying to live in the siding on our house. When we moved in the siding had never been painted or touched in the 30 plus years since it was built. We did the rather insane undertaking of painting the entire house a couple years ago. See HERE! Vowing to never do that again the next step would be to save and save some more to replace all of the siding. This happened over the past month and we could not be happier with the results. Here are some pictures we tried to match the red we already had since we loved it so much.

I am so happy with the results and NO MORE animals in my siding. Now onto the next project!

Until next time~
XoXo Emily

Quiche!

Yummy! I mean I see this at cafes all the time and I do order it from time to time. My husband mentioned to me that he would like to have this for breakfasts before work a while ago and I did just that this weekend for him. I made two which is easy to do when you have two pie crusts. Easy and tasty this is a great little breakfast option. I highly recommend making this and stashing some away for later in the week.






What you need~
3-4 eggs
splash of milk
1 frozen pie crust
1/2 cup ground and cooked sausage
1/ cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup mushrooms diced
1/2 cup kale chopped/diced
1 small onion minced
Seasonings to taste

Prep it all.

Crust's after the pre-bake.

Almost ready for the oven.

Prepared for the oven.

Start by pre-heating oven to 375 degrees F. I always like to set out the crust to thaw a bit (15 minutes) or so before popping it in the oven for 10 minutes. Make sure to use a fork to poke the crust bottom a bit to prevent bubbles. Brown your meat, onion, mushrooms, and kale. Season as you go with this mixture. Wisk your eggs with milk and some seasoning then set aside. When the crust is browned remove it. Turn oven down to 350 degrees F. Put the meat, mushrooms, onions, kale and cheese in the crust and pour the eggs over the top of this. Sprinkle a little more cheese and cover the corners of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent burning the crust. Place the pie tin on a cookie sheet and in the oven for 30-45 minutes. Check for browning. It will be done when the pie is firm and the eggs in the middle are not liquid anymore. Serve hot. Can be stored and rewarmed from the fridge as needed.

This was so tasty I need to make it more. I make frittatas more because I do not need a crust to make that which is like this recipe minus the crust. Hope you take time to try this one out.

This weekend we had a puppy visitor. Sassy Greta. Enjoy some pictures of the littlest demon dog.

Until next time~
XoXo Emily

Basement Bar Renovation

Have I mentioned how handy and awesome my husband is? I am really lucky to have him and this project was all him. We did have an electrician coming in and put in some electrical work but other than that Ryan did this all himself. Here is a recap of the project.


This is the ceiling before. We replaced the tiles and Ryan painted the trim white.

You can see the new ceiling, completed flooring, custom accent wall, handmade beer fridge/bar stand here. Ryan put in two lights and they are on a dimmer. Really changed the room with the light. I love the beer fridge stand Ryan build himself as well as cutting/staining all the wood to build it. There was flooring here but it was old and gross. This snap in flooring went down like a breeze or so I have been told. The accent wall was created with parts of the old fence in our backyard. The corner unit here was repurposed below.

We had a little unit that had the most beautiful stained glass doors from my mother-in-law and we wanted to repurpose it as a bar. Ryan created this bar over a week or so. It turned out really neat. Love the accent red and using more of those fence boards on the unit. Here it is above before staining and painting.

Here we are painting the doors with the glass removed. Notice I said "we" I actually did help with this step.

 Bar installed waiting on the top to be finished before install. Picked up 3 bar stools for

 Loving how it is coming together.

 I mean those red doors with the stained glass. LOVE.

Top installed and art work hung. 

This Beck sign is a family name. My Grandma's to be exact.


 

 I love how this room turned out. It works well for having people over because we now have more light, space to serve food and make drinks. The extra seating is a plus as well. I cannot wait to entertain more. Special shout out again to my amazing husband who makes all my home dreams come true one project at a time.

Until next time~
XoXo Emily

Instant Pot: Pulled Pork

I just love pork. I do rather love that a lot of the world agrees with my obsession over little piggies. I often am trying to find ways to make it even more delicious than it naturally is. This recipe is a quick way to make pulled pork for a crowd or if you want mega leftovers like we like. I am still mastering this recipe but I think next time I make it that it will be perfection. Here is the recipe.













What you need~
1 tablespoon of oil/fat/butter
1 (3 pound) pork butt
1/5 cup dry rub of your choice (I make my own but you can buy)
1 red onion diced
1 cup of BBQ sauce or roast sauce
10 ounces of beer (I used a porter this time)

Start by heating your instant pot to sauté on the medium setting. While this is heating cut your pork into three equal pieces. Apply the dry rub to all sides of your meat and do NOT remove any fat off of the pork butt. Trust me it will melt into the meat and be a favor bomb later. Apply a small amount of olive oil, bacon grease, canola oil, or butter to the pan. About a tablespoon. Add the pork butt pieces to the pot and brown evenly on all sides to seal in all the juices of the meat. Remove the meat and use 2 ounces of beer to deglaze the pan. Add your little rack that comes with the instant pot. Pour in the rest of the beer, add the meat and onions on top. Seal the instant pot (make sure vent is closed) and set the pressure cooker setting for 1 hour. Once the timer is up allow to rest for an additional 10 minutes before releasing remaining pressure. At this point I would recommend removing all liquid from the pan before shredding meat. I shred mine in my standing mixer with the paddle attachment but you could use two forks. Once shredded add your sauce to the meat and toss it well. Serve over bread, rice or potatoes.

This recipe makes a lot of servings for sure enough for a crowd. I love the texture of the seared meat with the tender meat pieces. Really a tasty treat!

It makes excellent leftovers.

So good paired with some of my favorite roasted veggies or "roasties" as we call them. Carrot, Cauliflower and celery.

Until next time~
XoXo Emily