Good Morning
This is about the fourth time now that I've tried to sit down and write a darn post. Sad, eh? My life is a bit too busy right now. I shouldn't complain though. I thought I'd die of boredom while we were living in WI. 
This weekend, we're packing up the ol' SUV and heading up to Grand Lake. A bunch of people from the office are renting cabins up there. And we'll be snow-shoeing and curling (I understand this is done ghetto style with tea-pots) , and sledding and ice fishing (the purported reason for the trip … something I have no interest in, however). It should be great fun.
So this evening I've got to get all packed up for that because tomorrow I've got a “breakfast meeting” that starts at 6:30 and then we'll be getting out of here ASAP! Which reminds me. I'd better call Matt and have him charge my camera battery.
New Meal Monday 
Jess and I have decided to start trying a new recipe every Monday and then post about it. If we liked the recipe, we’ll add it to the cookbook. If not, well, then well just mention it and link back to the recipe if possible. We started today with Clam Chowda Mug O Soup with Deviled Ham and Cheese Melt Mug Toppers. The recipe came from 30 Minute Meals (the tv show).
Results: both the soup and Mug Toppers were really easy to prepare and cook. Everything turned out well and soup was wonderful. We like it better than our other Clam Chowder in the cookbook and it was a bit easier to cook. We didn’t like the Mug Toppers as well though, although it may not be entirely the recipe’s fault. Our grocery store deli didn’t have the right cheese and Jess thinks she might have added too much mustard.
Verdict: The Clam chowder is added to the cookbook but the Mug Toppers will not be.
Clam Chowda Mug O Soup
from: Rachael Ray
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery with greens, chopped
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons hot sauce, eyeball it
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pint half-and-half
2 cups chicken stock, from soup aisle
1 cup hash brown style raw shredded potatoes, from dairy aisle of the market
2 cans whole baby clams and their juice
Directions
In a medium pot over medium high heat melt butter. Add bacon and onions, celery and thyme sprigs. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce and cook 5 minutes. Add flour and cook a minute more.
Add half-and-half and stock and bring to a bubble, then stir in potatoes and clams. Bring soup back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, until potatoes are cooked and soup has thickened to coat the back of a spoon.
Remove the thyme sprigs from the soup. The thyme leaves will have fallen off into the soup. Stir and adjust seasonings in your soup.
Weekend Over!
We had a great weekend. It wasn't really busy, but we did a lot. We went to my Aunt and Uncle's house on Friday for dinner. We had a very nice dinner and got to see my cousin's new Kitten, which is a Norwegian Forest Cat, like the ones on this page and he's adorable! So that was fun.
On Saturday, we ran errands in the morning. As part of the errands, we joined Bally Total Fitness, which I'm pretty psyched about, sinc e they have locations very close to both work and home. About that time, some friends called and we spent the remainder of the day at their house doing various projects and hanging out, which was a very good time.
That night, we went out to dinner at a local italian retaurant for dinner and then we went to the theatre to see In Good Company, which was awesome. I just loved Topher Grace. He's v. adorable.
This morning we got up and did a few things around the house, ran a quick errand and then we went to breakfast at The Briarwood Inn. Sadly, after brunch, Matt and I were obligated to come home and have a short Good Eats marathon and a nap. Then we visited B&N so I could get Meg Cabot's newest book, Every Boy's Got One. I can't wait to read it! I love her books. Anyhow, after that, we watched Exteme Home Makeover and had some pizza.
Now we're at home again, and we're getting ready for the week. Here's to a good weekend!
Too Long!
It's been entirely too long since I posted. I've actually started posts at least twice and not been able to finish them, but hopefully, third time's the charm. Anyhoo, I've had a v. busy week. When Kelly's home from school, it's always busy. I'm not looking forward to her heading back to school, but I am, too. I need my routine back.
I'm trying to pick a new fitness club. It's going to be impossible to afford one of the Princeton Club's caliber here and so I'm looking around at other less pricey alternatives. The Apex Center is a really neat center operated by the county, but it kinda focuses on just swimming and ice skating/hockey. Their workout stuff is pretty limited. I'm also thinkin about 24 Hour Fitness. I want to go by and see their faciilites sometime this weekend. Anyone have any positive/negative experiences to share about 24 HF? Continue reading “Too Long!”
Yikes!!
This reminds me of the rock my parents used to have in our front yard. It was there when we bought the house. Now, it's at our contractor's old rental house. Life is funny like that.
Updates
I did manage to stay home for alllmost all of Saturday. I did go out with Matt and Kell to get a little dinner and pick up (finally) our (sort-of) repaired blind from The Great Indoors. I got a bit done, but of course, not as much as I would have liked to. I did, however, get tons of sleep, which I *really* needed. Anyhow, an overall good weekend. So I've got three new crafts and a couple new recipes.
Magnolia's Famous Banana Pudding
from: More from Magnolia
Ingredients
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
1 3.4 oz package instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups heavy cream
12 oz box nilla wafers
4 cups sliced ripe bananas
Directions
In a s mall bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4- hours or over night before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixutre into the whipped cream utnil well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.
To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferrably glass) with a 4-5 qt capacity. Arrange one third of the wafers to cover the obttom of the bowl, over-lapping if necessary, the one thrid of the banans and one third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with addiontal wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrpa and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours or up to 8 hours, but no longer before serving.
Mini Calzones
from: Adapted from Jamie's Dinners
Ingredients
puff pastry (freezer section)
pepperoni
mozzarella (shredded)
cherry tomatoes
fresh basil
mushrooms (fresh, sliced)
sea salt
egg wash (1 egg yolk, 2 tbsp water beat together)
Directions
Heat oven to 425 Roll out your puff pastry to a bit less than 1/4″ thick. Use some kitchen object as a template to cut out 7″ rounds. Take each round and squish a cherry tomato over it, breaking up the skin into small pieces. Cover the tomato with some shredded cheese. Sprinkle on some basil and sea salt. Top with a couple of slices of pepperoni and some mushrooms.
Fold the pastry in half onto itself, trapping the filling inside. Crimp the edges of the pastry with your finger or a fork or whatever. Brush the pastry with the egg wash.
Arrange the little calzones on a cookie sheet and bake them until golden brown and puffy … approx 15-20 min.