best quesadilla ever?

As I was leaving for work today, our new couch arrived.  The only thing that worried me was hearing the delivery men say “Nope, not going to fit.” when they saw our staircase.  When I got into my car the couch was on its edge heading towards our second-story deck.

Thankfully by the time I got home from work the couch had been lifted over the deck (I was told there were ropes involved) and was resting comfortably in our living room.

We finally have a place to sit!  Between all of the furniture Todd put together yesterday – notice the beautiful new table in the background – and the new couch, this apartment is really coming together and it’s come so far since moving day.  It’s starting to feel like home which is a great feeling.

Since Todd was going out with a friend tonight and I had errands to run and a rumbling belly, we decided on take-out from our local gastro pub, The Green Well.  They never disappoint since they always use fresh, interesting ingredients in interesting ways.  Tonight we shared their Roasted Vegetable Quesadilla and Butternut Squash Raviolis.

I’ve had the raviolis before and they’re always good.  They come covered in this sweet, balsamic-y tasting red wine sauce with a generous amount of candied walnuts mixed in.  Today I also noticed some apple slices which I didn’t remember from before but I was happy to eat.

I knew that those would be good.  What I wasn’t expecting was how incredible the quesadilla would be.

I loved the deconstructed quesadilla idea and look at all of those veggies!  The addition of squash, corn and queso fresco to any dish is always a home run in my book.   Normally I eat some of the veggies and all of the carb in a dish but today I ate up all of that healthy stuff.  The tomatoes were so beautiful and juicy looking that I didn’t want to hand the plate over to Todd when my half was gone.  Honestly, it may have been the best quesadilla ever.  This dinner was so good, if you ever find yourself in Grand Rapids go to The Green Well and orded this quesadilla – that’s an order!

After my errands I came home just in time for Top Chef Masters.  Not a bad little Wednesday night.  Oh, and this couch is SO comfy!

How was your Wednesday?

What was the best thing you ate today?

hmp: grilled cheddar and apple

After my return to work which was largely uneventful, I ran to the store to pick up a few groceries.  Since our apartment is still a pigsty work in progress we decided that we should keep it simple and focus on organizing the apartment.  Plus, Todd was in the middle of building some of our new furniture including a beautiful new wine bar that we bought for additional storage.

After we started to move in we quickly realized that while our cupboards are full of dishes and other wonderful things that we didn’t have any room for food in the cupboards so we also bought a big wire rack that’s doubling as storage and a pantry and will eventually house our microwave.

After putting a few things away I got to work in our new kitchen for the first time.  For our first dinner in our new home, I turned to an old favorite – grilled cheese.  With less ingredients than I can count on my hand, it was the perfect choice for a simple, quick supper.  I started with the basics an then added my favorite secret ingredient for grilled cheese sandwiches – granny smith apple slices.

Apples with cheese is one of my favorite combos.  I like to slice the apples thin and sandwich them in between slices of cheese so they stick in the bread nicely when you grilled them up.

I snacked on another favorite apple combo while the sandwiches were cooking.

Apples and peanut butter used to be a Sunday night staple at our house growing up.  I think we need to reinstate that tradition.  I love the sweet saltiness of the peanut butter combined with the tartness of the apples.  Yum!

As if that wasn’t good enough, Todd and I had our grilled cheese ready a few minutes later (his minus the apple) and enjoyed them in the sun out on the deck.

Look at all of that gooey, melty cheese!

How do you like your grilled cheese sandwiches?

Do you add anything to make them special or are you a traditionalist?

moving day

As if my bachelorette party wasn’t enough excitement this weekend, we also moved on Sunday,  Well, I should say that Todd moved on Sunday.  Both of our dads helped out and they were mostly done before I was home from Chicago.

I am so excited to live in this apartment.  It’s centrally located, close to work, in a fun neighborhood and it’s our own.

After I got there my mom wanted to come see the apartment so she and my dad stopped by with a bottle of wine to toast our first home.

After my parents left I got to work unpacking some of our wedding gifts.  It was so cool to finally see all of our new things, I can’t wait to use them.  I’m so overwhelmed by all of the newness!

When we got hungry we walked – yes, walked – to Brewery Vivant for dinner.  It was only a five minute walk and we have like 10 dining options all right there.  I was so happy to be walking around my neighborhood, it’s going to be so nice to live there, especially with summer coming up.

We split a cheese board and a burger.  They were both delicious.

I can’t wait to explore our neighborhood, get settled into our new home and be married.