Queen's Gambit...middle game?

I've been learning the Queen's Gambit because I like the idea of being able to push my pawns into a solid center game if the gambit is taken. It also resembles the way I learned chess as a kid...pushing the center pawns forward. However, most of the time...once the transition to middle game starts...it incites a trade fest between the pawns and surrounding knights.  Around move 5 in this game. 

At move 5 I could have taken Bishop and at 7 I could have pushed one of the pawns to threaten knights...but this is where it usually starts the take-fest leaving both of us with basically nothing in the middle and a lot of lost material. I played it a little differently than normal this time and maybe it was the plan or maybe it was the other player not being familiar...no offense, but not taking seemed to work out really well.

Did I play it correctly and is there a standard transition from development to middle game for Q'sG?

Also, I felt like he was going to castle to the right and I purposely misdirected some moves on the left side of the board hoping he wouldn't notice my gradual knight placement and final Queen position (which the computer says is a mistake). I'm white, of course. 

Alas, I'm terrible at reading transcriptions...so if you have the ability to show me on a board the order I should play things in the Q'sG...I'd appreciate it. Also, I know I should have moved Pxe4 earlier...but I like to have my knights in place for when the trading begins.

Seemed like a well played game taking in the account of reading my opponent, but only a 3.3% accuracy haha.

It's a sixteen move game about completely missing tactics. There is absolutely zero opening theory here.

Ok, not the most helpful...can you at least elaborate on when to push the center pawns, etc. Pick any move and I can explain my thought process. It may not be universally recognized theory...but that's why I'm here...to correct my mistakes. You could have answered my question even if I hadn't posted the game at all, but you chose a smart comment. congrats.

If you want to push , you can do it immediately.  3.e4 is a bit more mainstream than nc3 anyways. You will be able to find more resources on it.

Thanks, I find resources on the opening and why...just trying to find more on the transition from QG to middle game. Appreciate the input.

think of it as a fight between white's desire to dominate the center and black's attempts to do the same. if white had a dream scenario, it would be two pawns in the center (e4 d4) vs nothing but only if many pieces are left on the board so that the center pawns have a restricting value and the space provided by those pawns counts for something.

in the queen's gambit accepted, which is the case for your game, white can already try to get the dream scenario with 3 e4 but it's not that simple. there is no general rule that works every time here. you have to know when to keep the pawns where they are and when to advance them. 3 e4 is demanding in this way.

your move 3 nc3 is strictly speaking not wrong, but white chooses between the structure with e3 or e4 and in both cases bringing the knight out to c3 is not obligatory and may be premature.

3 e3 will give you the option to transition to either a queenless middlegame, or an isolated d-pawn structure, provided black plays decently enough.

the lines where black holds the d5 strongpoint are far more complicated in that in addition to keeping that d5 point, he can actually take on c4 later in what could be a more favourable timing. again there is no universal plan here. you have to study, but it does occur very often and the structures can occur from other openings so it will serve you well even if you leave the queen's gambit universe.

Thanks for the time to write that out, I appreciate it. I brought the knight out early to stop any further black pawn push. Sounds like I should go ahead and push to e4 before bringing out knights. I know pushing the black pawn further isn't great theory, but in these lower level games people do weird stuff that throws theory out the window.