What a Weekend

We've had a very fully weekend. Friday after work, Matt and I cleaned the basement. Which mainly consisted of taking the pile of crap in the middle and making neater piles of it, in proper categories, along the sides. Also breaking down tons of boxes. Having done that, we went out to dinner with my mommy at this fun little Mexican restaurant called Los Arcos that had pretty good food and a killer Mariachi band. Stomachs full, we pressed on and went to see The Incredibles at the cheapies. Excellent movie. Loved loved loved it. Will buy it on DVD ASAP.

Saturday morning, we woke up and went over to Mike & Holly's. Holly and I sewed some pillows and Mike and Matt did errr …. something. I know it involved a window and a beam, but beyond that I am confused.

Then we had to book it to the grocery store to pick up dinner makings and then book it back home to get it a bit more …err … ship shape before the evening. Because last night was … Cousins Night. All of my younger cousins (4 of them, raining from 4-14) came over. We made quesadillas and milkshakes, watched Napoleon Dynamite, played Pictionary, and watched Bill & Ted's excellent adventure. This morning, we got up and went to Gunther Toody's and had diner breakfast. It was … OK. I certainly liked it less than when I went there as a kid. Then the number of cousins diminished by half and we went back to our house and started to play Worms.

Near the end of the first round, we looked over and May had started shaking violently. That lasted for about a minute and then she was sort of … out of it. Obviously, she'd had a seizure. So we took her to emergency vet and they looked at her, but couldn't do much for her. So we brought her home.

Now we're keeping an eye on her and worrying about her. She's such a good doggie friend.

New recpie Tuesday

We're a day late with the post, but the recpie's this week were all hits. Tonight we made Honey Nut Chicken and Barbecued Succotash from 30 Minute Meals, and Lime Sherbet from our Cuisinart instruction manual that came with our Ice Cream makers.

All the meals were really easy to make. Prep time was about 40 minutes for all three recipes although you need to start working on the sherbert severals hours early.

Verdict: all three recipes have been added to the cookbook.

Hmmmm…

It's Tuesday morning. I'm in a pretty good mood. Despite still being sore from X-country skiing, and the elliptical trainer yesterday (it is my friend), I'm relatively awake and I've got what looks like a good day ahead of me.

I've been at work right around an hour and I've finished up a page that I consider to be absolutely perfect. It's amazing, really. And I don't mean to brag, but I'm just happy it went so well. I made some things happen that I've never done before and it just turned out oh-so-well. I love my job. I get to do tons of cool stuff and I usually feel like I've gotten a lot of things accomplished at the end of the day.

After work, I've got a meeting with my personal trainer (that sounds posh, but 2 sessions came free with the membership, honest, occifer) which I'm very excited about, cuz I wanna get back into weight training some. Before we moved, I did it at least 3x/ week and I miss that. I'm currently much less buff than I was.

Then when I get home we're going to fill up the weekly new meal requirement by making the meal I mentioned yesterday. Akshully, Matt's going to do most of the making. I'll mostly be doing the eating.

Once dinner's over, I plan to watch last week's Alias, Wife Swap and a new Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars while I tidy-up my office and get some web work done. Continue reading “Hmmmm…”

Lime Sherbet

from: Cuisinart Instruction and Recipe Booklet

Ingredients
3 Cups whole milk
1/2 – 1 1/2 cups frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
3 tablespoons sugar
Several drops of green food coloring

Directions
Combine the milk, 1/2 cup limeade, and sugar in a blender and mix. Taste for tartness. Add more limeade as desired. Add food coloring until desired color is reached.

Pour mixture into icrecream maker and follow directions.

Freeze two additional hours if desired.

Nutritional Info (Makes ten 1/2 cup servings.) Calories 69 Carbs: 10 g Protien: 2g Fat: 2g Chol. 10 mg. Sodium: 37 mg.

Barbecued Succotash

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.

from:

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.

from: 30 Minute Meals

Ingredients
4 ounces, 2 small packages, honey roasted peanuts, about 2/3 cup
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Seasoning by McCormick)
2 eggs
A splash half-and-half or whole milk
2 teaspoons hot sauce, several drops
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 (6 to 8-ounce) pieces of chicken breast
Barbequed Succotash, recipe follows

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put nuts, bread crumbs and grill seasoning in food processor and pulse grind to combine the nuts into bread crumbs. Pour nutty-breading onto a plate.

Beat eggs and half-and-half or milk with hot sauce in a shallow dish.

Pour flour out on a plastic board or plate.

Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer, 2 or 3 turns of the pan. Brown chicken pieces 2 minutes on each side in hot oil or until evenly light golden in color. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook in oven until juices run clear and breasts are cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes. Serve with Barbecued Succotash.

from: 30 Minute Meals

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin or vegetable oil, 1 turn of the pan
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 (14-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (10-ounce) box frozen corn
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup smoky barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons chopped chives, parsley or cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions
Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and peppers and saute 5 minutes. Add beans and corn and season with salt and pepper. When corn heats through, add barbecue sauce. Stir to combine and serve succotash with chopped chives, parsley or cilantro to garnish.

Honey Nut Chicken

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.

from:

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.

from: 30 Minute Meals

Ingredients
4 ounces, 2 small packages, honey roasted peanuts, about 2/3 cup
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Seasoning by McCormick)
2 eggs
A splash half-and-half or whole milk
2 teaspoons hot sauce, several drops
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 (6 to 8-ounce) pieces of chicken breast
Barbequed Succotash, recipe follows

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put nuts, bread crumbs and grill seasoning in food processor and pulse grind to combine the nuts into bread crumbs. Pour nutty-breading onto a plate.

Beat eggs and half-and-half or milk with hot sauce in a shallow dish.

Pour flour out on a plastic board or plate.

Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer, 2 or 3 turns of the pan. Brown chicken pieces 2 minutes on each side in hot oil or until evenly light golden in color. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook in oven until juices run clear and breasts are cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes. Serve with Barbecued Succotash.

Weekend and Week

We had a great weekend! Grand Lake was very very pretty (I've got pics … they'll be posted later) and everyone we went with was great to be around. We had lots of fun.

We stayed in this funky cabin called the Gingebread Cabin but, as Mike said, “It should have been called Shipwrecked.” It was largely wood, with the most elaborate built-ins you can imagine and instead of traditional light switches, it had huge ship control panels with toggle switches and push buttons. Truly incredible.

I got to try two new sports for me: snow shoeing and cross-coutry skiing. I was not paticularly good at either, but I enjoyed both. Unfortunately, my X-country experience left me with some blisters. We also played tons of Hello Kitty Uno and ate lots of Holly's great Chili and Matt's Mexican Chicken Casserole. Yum. Continue reading “Weekend and Week”

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.