When Cats Attack

We really love our furry children! They are the best entertainment!

Here is Lynxe, the bathroom comedian. 

Enjoy!

Relationship Mechanics: Play Together, Stay Together

I've mentioned that the hubby and I like to play games before, right? 

Well... we do! 

When we first met, we talked about our likes/hobbies and proceeded to find out that we were both big nerds. I had a vast amount of experience with PC gaming and he loved console gaming. Some of my favorites were: Sims, Age of Empires, World of Warcraft, etc. His favorites included: Ratchet and Clank, Dynasty Warriors, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, etc. I was more familiar with the Wii, and he was enamored by Sony and their PlayStation line; however, we had both loved the Sega Genesis [and other older systems]. I wasn't kidding when I said BIG nerds.

So, when we got married it wasn't difficult to accommodate the amount of time we liked to game; in fact it might have been a little TOO easy for us. This is not a bad thing!

I'm a firm believer in the phrase: "The family that plays together stays together." [This can apply to board games, sports, video games, etc.] When Eric and I game together, we have an amazing connection that comes through, and it allows us to excel, not only with gaming, but with our relationship! 

Here is a list of benefits we have found as a gaming couple:

• Teamwork: As in marriage, in the gaming world of co-ops, MMORPGs, and various multi-players, it's immensely important to have a great sense of teamwork. If Eric is weak in one area (ex. comforting/some forms of communication) but I excel in that area, I should be doing all that I can to complement/take care of that need. The same goes for gaming.... If he's tanking and I'm his healer, I can't just wander off and let him die! Knowing that someone is always there to have your back boost confidence!

• Time alone/Time together: Married couples need time apart as much as they need time together! We love the bond that forms while playing together, BUT we also love that it can be an escape. For example: if I've had a rough day at work, I may want to have some time to myself. So, I plug in my headset and start gaming in my own little world. Eric understands because he does the same thing to "decompress" after a long work day/week.
  

• Problem Solving: As they do in all games with boss fights, strategies change with every conflict and conversation we have in real life. Gaming as a couple has given us a unique perspective on problem solving. When we first encounter a new boss [conflict] in a game, we have to take the time to figure out our strategy and practice patience. Once we have our strategy down for that particular boss fight [conflict area], we are able to one-shot it and move on. I know gamers will understand what I mean, but for those who might not: it means that if my hubby and I have a conflict, it might take time for us to figure out how to handle it. However, once we take that time and figure out how to handle that situation, we can take care of it quickly the next time a similar situation occurs [aka "one-shotting the boss"].

• Getting to know each other more: Eric and I have known each other for just about 4 years and we have been married for almost 1 year. I feel like gaming has provided a whole new level of intimacy/understanding for us. I have learned that Eric likes to play a tank or healer because he is a protector in real life. Now, Mr. EZ wanted me to include that he has learned about me, "You are even more crazy than I thought you were" >_>  Thanks, love.  

Our unique perspective on our relationship and our understanding of game mechanics has given us a completely new aspect to our marriage: Relationship Mechanics is what I'll call it!

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Have you ever played games with your significant other? What was the outcome? What things do you enjoy doing with your spouse? Please leave me a comment and let me know! Also, if there is anything you'd like us to write about let us know! Look for more updates soon!

DIY Easy Hummus and Pita Bread

Welcome to cooking with EZBZ!

I was introduced to hummus in college and fell in love! Garlic hummus, tomato basil, red pepper; I love it all! So, I was more than happy to try the recipe my mom gave me. It's more delicious than store bought, cheaper in the long run and yields more servings. I had to share it with you!

So, without any delay... here is a quick and painless recipe for garlic hummus and your own pita chips, along with some pictures of my own experience!

Enjoy!

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GARLIC HUMMUS:

Ingredients needed -

• 1 Lemon (or just 1/4 cup lemon juice)
• 15 oz. chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced (or 2 tsp. if you have the pre-minced garlic in a jar)
• 1 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1/8 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper (I just used regular pepper)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup water
• olive oil & parsley for garnish

Step 1: Pour 1/4 cup lemon juice into blender. Add chickpeas, tahini, garlic, vegetable oil, cumin, pepper, salt and water. Process until smooth.

Step 2: Transfer to serving bowl/storage container. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parsley.

Tahini happened to be on a GREAT sale at Meijer.
You might have to look for it in the foreign foods section.

Our Ninja is a beast. We use it for EVERYTHING!
If you don't have a blender, a really fine food processor would work.

Will it blend? Yes... and it comes out smelling like heaven.

Heaven smells like garlic, okay?  :D



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PITA CHIPS

Ingredients needed -

• 6 Pita bread (generally one package of pita bread)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• garlic salt
• pepper (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of dried basil or oregano

Step 1: Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Step 2: Separate halves of pita and cut into wedges. Arrange on 2 baking sheets. Brush the top of pita with olive oil, then lightly sprinkle with garlic salt, pepper and herbs.

Step 3: Bake for 7 min or until lightly browned. Rotate halfway through. Let cool.

Feel free to substitute muti-grain peta, however I think the original peta bread makes better chips.

I don't think my hubby minds me using his bbq brush for this. hehe.

They taste even better than they look!

This is about how many chips two packages of pita makes (10 pita breads).
I made extra because my hubby thinks they are delicious but won't eat them with hummus.



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Voila!! My beautiful, yummy creation!

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See?! How easy is that?
All in all, I think I was in the kitchen for a total of 15mins and I produced hummus and my own pita chips! It's the perfect dish for company, friends or a light snack! Hummus is also very good as a dip for fresh veggies.

Let me know if you try it or if you make a variation of it. I'd love your recipe!

Off to go fill my tummy with healthy foods!



-Mrs. EZBZ





Excitement and Hope!

First of all, I just wanted to say thank you to our readers! We passed 1,000 views this week! We are so happy to share our lives with you. We hope you continue to follow along. :)

So, for a quick update...

• Summer has been keeping us busy. We are both working more hours and enjoying those benfits.
• We have kept up with changing our lives [Blog post about our revolution] .We've both lost a decent amount of of weight. Mr. EZ is down by over 12 lbs. and I'm down by almost 10 lbs. It's a slow start, but doing something is better than doing nothing! We've been working out at Planet Fitness and doing some P90X at home. We are changing our lives for the better every day we work out and eat right!
• I'm sorry this post is so short! I'll be sure to write an acutal post soon! Just wanted to thank everyone for reading and we hope you are having a great summer!

Just for fun, here are a couple of my favorite posts from pinterest this week:

A different kind of crayon art idea! I'll be trying this soon! 

[Source]

We're a nerdy kind of happy around here!

[Source]

Until, next time!

-Mrs. EZBZ