A Little Behind

This is a post I should've done last week, but I was too into Twilight to come up for air.

N's aunts Mer and DeeDee enrolled the girls in a book of the month club.  Each month we get a new package in the mail with books for each of them.  It's a highlight to say the least.

What is equally sweet, is they also send books for N and I to read.  The most recent one is next up after I finish re-reading the Twilight books.

Zoe loved the card. She would lay on the couch, read it, then get up and carry it around. It wasn't until this week that she realized she has a new book about Thanksgiving.  Her Veggie Tales bible from them is still something she carries around when she isn't re-reading the card.

E is still working on reading her last book, but was totally ready to leave that one behind and start the next. 

D about jumped out of her skin when she realized it was the second book in the series.  She immediately went to get the first to finish reading it AS.SOON.AS.POSSIBLE.  This girl LOVES to read.

Thank you Aunt Mer and Aunt DeeDee for these books.  They are cherished almost as much as we cherish you!  Love you both.

I'm Over The Moon

I know last week I was a bit distracted by all things New Moon and Twilight.  When you find a book that can totally make you forget all time and reality, you go with it.  There is no point in avoiding it.  It will suck you in.

That's the Twilight series for me.  I used to read 3-4 books a week when I was single.  This was the first series since motherhood and marriage that I got into.  I'm forever grateful.

After Twilight I was a bit nervous for New Moon.  For starters it was my least favorite book of the 4 since it's so dark.  Plus I was a little gunshy after the midnight viewing experience of the first one (oh yes I di-id Jamie!). 

Becca and I arrived at the theater about an hour before showtime.  Actually the line wasn't too bad.  I was way better than getting a number and being assigned to one of 4 lines at the midnight showing of Twilight.  We each got a mocha since 7:00 pm on a Friday night is way to late for us old ones.

We chatted and began to notice that most people in line were our age or at least old enough to drive themselves to the theater.  We began to think this experience might not be so bad.  Maybe all the swooning and screaming when Edward or Jacob came on the screen would be minimal.

We got great seats, turned off our phones and set our expectations low.  We also decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  When the audience swooned, we did too.

It was a great experience.  I loved this movie WAY better than the first one.  It stuck to the dialogue in the book, stuck to the storyline and brought the book to life.  They did add a fight scene to the movie, but it didn't bother me.  I think it worked well the the story and set us up for the next couple movies.

Both Becca and I, true Twi-Hards, left the theater ready to see it again.  New Moon wasn't our favorite book, but the movie made us want to read it again.

I'm glad I went.  Thank Becca for encouraging me to give it a shot.  I'll be ready for Eclipse!

I Twi-Hard To Lower My Expectations

I'm not one to hide the fact that I love Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books.  It took two friends trying to convince me that I would love them for me to even contemplate reading them.

A teenager girl, a teenage vampire and a teenage werewolf.  I think Michael J. Fox did the Teen Wolf thing as well as it could be done quite frankly.  I wasn't about to get sucked into a Teen Wolf wannabe.  These friends continued with their peer pressure and pleaded "just give us 30 pages.  If you don't like it, we'll stop hounding you." 

I gave them 30 pages.  Six days later I emerged from the fourth book totally in love.  I love with Edward, Bella, Jacob, the Cullens, Mr. Swan and Stephenie Meyer (and happily eating crow).  The books are about vampires and werewolves, but it's also about some really great characters.  People you grow to love.  Stephenie Meyer brings you into her world with these characters, makes them your friends and gives you a deep connection to her fantasy world.

During that 6 day marathon of reading I lost serious amounts of sleep.  Not only because I couldn't put the book down, but also because I would dream about flipping through the pages and wondering what I read next.  It was exhausting and exciting.

I officially became a Twi-Hard.  I stood in line for a midnight showing of the Twilight movie.  I was seriously disappointed.

Now I've got tickets to New Moon.  Becca, my midnight viewing Twi-Hard sister, got tickets.  There is a new director, some sweet special effects on the previews and maybe, just maybe that will help.  The New Moon book was my least favorite in the series.  My expectations are low.

If things on ye olde blog are quite for the next couple days it's because I'm re-reading New Moon. 

I am a Twi-Hard afterall, spidermonkey.

We Lost Our Money Tree Crop This Year

D & E came over to spend the weekend with us.  It's always great to spend time with them, but especially as the holidays are approaching.  I love asking them what they want for Christmas.  I play a little game each time I ask.  I try to guess how many things will change on the list and how much the bottom line rises.

For instance, a couple years ago E and I were in the kitchen and I asked her what she wanted.  She informed me she wanted a Wii.  Because they were new that year and the chance of me fighting in a Black Friday line to get one of those was slim, I asked if there was anything else.  She looked around the kitchen, saw the trash can and said she would indeed also like a trash can for Christmas.

The lists for both girls tends to change with their surroundings.  I'm sure if we were at the zoo they would HAVE TO HAVE a tiger or something equally non-domestic.

Last year D wanted a cell phone, laptop and her own room.  It ended being a $42,000 list (with renovations) for her last year.

This creates several issues.  Mainly that we have no idea what to tell the family to get them if they ask.  Not to mention we have no idea what to get them.  I like to ask multiple times because a garbage can is totally within the budget and it takes 10 times of asking to get that affordable, if not practical item on the list.

This year the stakes have totally gone up.  Granted the year D wanted her own room still goes as the largest sum total for the list, but if I've learned anything, it's that I cannot assume I've seen it all.

Here are the lists this year:

D
1.  A mechanical puppy to play with at our house because then Zoe wouldn't get bit.  Specifically she would like one with a bunch of wires on the inside that she can control with a glove-like controller.
2.  A pet fish.  (Thankfully N squashed this idea right away.)
3.  $200 worth of gift certificates to the mall.
4.  Cell phone, but one that flips or slides because those are the coolest.
5.  A manicure and pedicure appointment.  Her toes would alternate between blue and red and her fingernails would alternate between red and green for Christmas.

E
1.  Her very own, very real laptop (she got one of these two years ago, but it was a V-Tech, so it was geared toward learning and she wants to play non-learning games). 
2.  A camera so she can take her own pictures (she got one of these last year, but it needs new batteries or something,  Apparently a whole new camera is better than replacing the batteries).
3.  A pair of high heels.  Not too high because she could fall and hurt herself.
4.  A manicure.
5.  $100

I guess this year they're going for the sophisticated, career woman approach to Christmas.  Which is good because at the rate their tastes continue to increase, they're going to need to contribute.

Plain Tuckered Out

I was going to have some really great, week-ending, life changing recipe to share today.  I know the one person that reads this blog has been absolutely dying to know what we eat at our house and how they can live exactly like us.

I'm also positive that after they've read the recipes this week, they are beginning to question why on earth they come to read me little blog.

I don't have a recipe, unless you want to know how we make grilled cheese sandwiches at our house.  It includes more than a little butter, some white bread and cheese.  Loads of glorious cheese.

That's what we're having tonight.  I'm too exhausted to even pretend to cook.  I did have one incident where, in my awesome tiredness, I almost lit the house on fire. 

This week had been hard.  N and I both have many stressors in our life that seem to be hitting all at once this week.  We are plum tuckered out. 

My prayers is that we are going to sit on the couch tonight, eat our grilled cheese and just love on one another.  It is most needed this week.

Hope your weekend is full of comfort food and all the love you can handle!

We Are Not Above Copying

When I was a little girl I always remember my grandma in the kitchen.  As I look back, I think I can count on one hand all the times I saw her in a room other than the kitchen.  It was rare.  In fact I don't think I ever even saw her go into the bathroom.  I'm not sure how reliable my memory is now. 

The point is, she was a cook.  An amazing cook.  One of the dishes I remember her making was sweet and sour spare ribs.  It was a favorite dish of my grandparents from a local restaurant.  My grandma was convinced she could duplicate it at home.  To this day if you have two dishes of those spare ribs, one from the restaurant and one made by her recipe, you cannot tell the difference.  She nailed it.

Since N and I stopped eating all frozen, all the time, I've gone to replicating restaurant dishes.  It's one of the best ways, in my opinion, to try experimenting with ingredients and seeing what works and what doesn't.  One of our favorite restaurants is a lovely Italian-American joint called Tomato Street.  If you are ever visiting, I highly recommend this place.  You can even write on the tables, so it's very kid friendly!

My favorite dish there is called Baked Mostaccioli with Roasted Chicken.  It's a baked pasta dish that is as close to heaven as you can get with pasta.  I decided to attempt this dish.  While mine is still missing a little something, it's still quite tasty.

Baked Mostaccioli with Baked Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Olive oil
1 box mostaccioli noodles
1 regular jar of marinara sauce (I use traditional Ragu, it has the closest taste to the base flavor at Tomato Street)
1 regular jar of alfredo sauce (I use Classico Roasted Garlic Alfredo)
3-4 Tbsp pressed garlic
5-6 basil leaves, chopped
Crushed, red pepper flakes to taste
1 1/2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 Cup grated provolone cheese

Bake chicken for approximately 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Once cooked, cut into bite sized pieces and set aside.  You can cook the chicken days before, just make sure you re-heat it a bit before you use it in this dish as it won't be in the oven long enough to heat through.

Use olive oil to grease bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish and turn oven onto broil.  I use the high setting on my broiler, but if you aren't one to watch your food closely, you might want to use low.

At the same time you start the boiling water for the noodles, combine the marinara, alfredo, garlic, basil and red pepper flakes into another sauce pan.  Place it on low heat to warm the sauce through.  I like a strong garlic flavor, so I try to find alfredo with a roasted garlic infusion, but that's a personal preference.  Regular alfredo works just as great, without the offensive breath!  I can't impress enough the importance of fresh basil in this dish.  It totally brings a flavor that you can't duplicate.

Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. If mostaccioli noodles aren't available, we like to use Ziti instead.

Drain pasta and place back in pot.  Add the bite-sized chicken to the pasta, then pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and pasta.  (I always add the sauce last since it tends to splatter the other way around.)  Stir to coat.  Pour this mixutre into the greased 9x13 pan and spread evenly.  Cover the top with a mixture of the three cheeses.  We like ours extra cheesy!

Broil until the cheese is bubbly and brown.  Serve with salad and garlic bread.

The best thing about this dish is the reheating factor.  If you don't want to have leftovers that week, this stuff freezes gloriously. 

The Recipe That Bonded Newlyweds

One of the things N and I loved doing in our newly-wedded bliss was to lounge on the couch with our reheated Ore-Ida fries and Dino nuggets and watch The Food Network. We’d look at all the great foods they made and think that someday we might do the same. You know, after we’d been married for several years and grilled cheese didn’t hold any appeal as our Tuesday night staple. We were ambitious people. Highly ambitious.


You know what happens when you see great food being made. You actually begin to think you are a chef. That you could also whip up a five course meal in 30 minutes, not have a ton of dishes and everyone, absolutely everyone would be standing in line to have some of your great cooking. We started small. We bought all the ingredients to make Emeril’s Essence. We began putting that on chicken and in breading for chicken strips. That Emeril knows how to season food!

Once we tasted great seasoning, the frozen food didn’t cut it anymore. We knew it was time we actually cooked something beyond grilled cheese and taco meat. Just to clarify, we didn’t eat those together. I went online and got some recipes. We both would work in the kitchen, making meals together, salivating over our newest creation. Then we’d sit down, look at each other in a stare down of “who is going to try it first.” Usually N went first and didn’t come back up until he had totally cleaned his plate.

I’m not going to lie. We’ve had some dishes that are less than stellar. We may have used our grilled cheese back-up when things didn’t turn out okay.

Since that first attempt with seasoning, we’ve got a fairly good repartee of dinners. Stir Fry Chicken and Bell Peppers was one of our first attempts at cooking in our very own kitchen. I remember coming home with the recipe and asking N if he thought it sounded okay. Then we went and bought a wok because we had to cook it exactly as they said! It has become a staple in our monthly meal planning. I believe I got this recipe from Rachael Ray, but I’m not entirely sure. The best part is that it can easily be expanded to feed more people or some for leftovers. We usually double this recipe so N and I have some leftovers for the week. Also, if you have little ones who aren’t too fond of all the spiciness, you can take some chicken out before you insert the spicy.

Stir Fry Chicken and Bell Peppers

2 Cups of rice, cooked
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces of even size
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2-3 Tbsp hot chili oil
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 Tbsp soy sauce

Cook the rice per package instructions and set aside. Typically I start the rice the same time I start the chicken and peppers so they are done about the same time. I find this dish to be excellent with brown rice, but I have to pretend we don’t have any white rice if N is going to eat brown rice.

Heat the vegetable oil in the wok over medium to medium high heat and add the chicken to the heated oil. Cook until chicken is done and starting to turn slightly brown on the outside. There will be quite a bit of chicken liquid in the bottom of the wok, but don’t fear, it will evaporate.

To the cooked chicken add the garlic, hot chili oil (you can always add more or less of this) and crushed, red pepper flakes. You can omit the red pepper flakes if you wish. I’ve even used a dash or two of cayenne pepper and it tastes great, with less intense heat. Stir and let cook for about a minute until the chicken is coated and the garlic has a chance to cook a bit. To this add the bell peppers, turn the heat down to medium or medium-low and stir together. Cover the wok with the lid and let the peppers cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the soy sauce to the chicken and peppers to add a little liquid to the mixture. You can add more or less of the soy sauce to the wok, depending on how dry the chicken and peppers seem.

Serve over rice.

It’s a two pot cooking experience and a one bowl eating experience. That the kind of clean-up math I like.