Brown Garlic Sauce

Sunday, February 28, 2010

One of our favorite meals to throw together is a stir-fry. They're easy, they're healthy (lots of veggies!), and they're always really tasty. Plus, there are so many variations to make. Want to switch it up from the usual? Add some new vegetables, or try a new sauce.

Today, we decided to do just that. The new sauce, that is. I found a recipe for a garlic sauce on RecipeZaar, and we whipped it up and used it to cover a stir-fry that we made with chicken and vegetables (broccoli, carrots, onions, water chesnuts, and baby corn).


The whole mixture was served over brown rice and it was quite good! The sauce was also pretty easy to throw together, so we'll definitely be making this again. The garlic flavor was not overwhelming, despite the hefty amount of it included in the recipe.

We couldn't find rice wine (note: it's NOT rice vinegar) in our grocery store, so we had to use one of the substitutes I found through Google--apple juice. Also, we didn't want to buy white pepper just for this dish, so we used regular ol' black pepper. We didn't notice any foul effects from our substitutions.

I also read in the comments that if you use regular soy sauce, this can be quite salty. Thankfully, we always use low-sodium everything, so we thought it was perfect. If all you have is regular soy sauce, you may want to start off using less soy sauce and doing a few taste tests to see if you need to add more.

Enjoy!

Brown Garlic Sauce
(Source: RecipeZaar)

Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/3 cup rice wine (or apple juice)
- 3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (or black pepper)
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine soy sauce, broth, rice wine, sugar, sesame oil and white pepper.

2. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup water.

3. Heat a pan over high heat; add the cooking oil, swirling to coat; add the garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds.

4. Add the soy sauce mixture; bring to a boil.

5. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 1 minute.

6. Add the cornstarch solution and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens.

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99 Things I Ought to Have Done

Saturday, February 27, 2010

I stole this from Tracey at More Than a Minivan Mom.

Instructions:

Copy the list, bold the ones you've done (with explanations if needed), share with friends.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (many times as a child--we used to sleep on my dad's porch in the summers!)
3. Played in a band (I played the flute in concert band, starting in elementary school and going through sophomore year in high school)
4. Visited Hawaii (honeymoon!)
5. Watched a meteor shower (I have wonderful memories of doing this a few times as a child, and once when I was in college. So fun.)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (both Disneyland AND Disneyworld)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (February 1999)
13. Watched a thunder and lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (photography!)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (February 1999)
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (It's been years, but I've done it.)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (played softball for 10 years)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (when you live this close, there is no excuse!)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (like, the cities? yes.)
35. Seen an Amish community (Pennsylvania)
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (once when I was six and hurt my back on a see-saw; another time when I was attacked by a dog)
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (Yes, and we had horrible weather. February 1999. We were literally being blown across the floor. Sounds scary but was so, so awesome!)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (snorkeling)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (playing softball in the pouring rain was my favorite. I was a catcher, so it was essentially my job to get dirty!)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (wedding projects; photography)
58. Taken a martial arts class (I took Tae Kwon Do when I was young, but only for a couple of months)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (I was a Brownie!)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (happens to the best of us)
68. Flown in a helicopter (in Kauai!)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (my hand in 1993)
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle (my dad used to have one)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (after I graduated college and landed my first "real" job)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person (just did this in December!)
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit (related to the dog attack incident)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

49 out of 99 @ 27 years old. That's not too bad, right?

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SNOW DAY

Friday, February 26, 2010

Yesterday, there were rumors going around at work that maybe, possibly, we'd close today due to the incoming snow storm. This very rarely happens, so I was kind of taking the attitude, I'll believe it when I see it. I just didn't want to be disappointed.

I typically don't get up until around 7:30 a.m., but I woke up at 6:00 this morning. Instead of rolling over and going back to sleep until the alarm, I couldn't help but take a peek to see if my company was closed. Sure enough--CLOSED. I got to experience that glorious feeling of waking up, thinking you have to go to work, only to realize that you get to stay home, sleep in, and stay in your pajamas all day. It just doesn't get much better than that.

Here is a photo Michael took at around 6:00, after he shoveled a path for poor little Tess.


It was already pretty deep, and it continued to snow ALL DAY. Plus, it was windy and there were problems with blowing snow. Needless to say, the roads were pretty terrible so I was thankful that I was able to stay home. Unfortunately, Michael was not as lucky and had to head out eventually. Our street didn't get plowed until around noon, so his car kept getting stuck when he was trying to leave. Eventually, our neighbor happened to come out and helped him by literally PUSHING his car down the road as Michael accelerated. Lovely.

This afternoon, I snapped these photos when I took Tessa outside:

Poor Tessa never knows what to think when the snow is taller than she is.

Bushes? What bushes?

I stayed inside most of the day. Marie came over in the afternoon and we watched The Time Traveler's Wife. For a movie based on a book, it wasn't too bad. They were limited with what they could do in the timeframe for a movie, so there were a lot of things cut out, but they didn't completely destroy the story. I still love, love, LOVE the book, though.

Tonight, we ventured out and met my whole family for dinner. It was good to get out of the house for a bit. Looking around, everything is so beautiful covered in snow. But I can't help but think--it's going to take FOREVER for this to all go away now.

How many more weeks until spring?

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Mad About Mario

Thursday, February 25, 2010

For Christmas, we bought ourselves a Wii. We also got three games to go with it--Mario Kart, Mario Galaxy, and Wii Sports Resort. (If you recall, I played Wii Sports Resort so much at Christmastime that I managed to injure myself. Yep, that's me.)

Anyway, we had heard about a new Super Mario Brothers game that had been released for the Wii, which is supposedly a remake of the original Mario games from way back in the days of Nintendo. We knew we would likely buy it eventually, but we weren't in a rush for it.

Fast-forward to February and I decide to buy the game for Michael for his birthday. Neither of us are big gamers, but we enjoy the occasional video game. I thought Mario would be pretty cool, but anticipated that my husband would enjoy it far more than I ever would.

Um, wrong.I am practically addicted to this game! I have played way more than Michael has. It is so fun, and I am totally taken back to the days of sitting in front of a small TV and trying to save Princess Peach. The other day, I had to take a day off from my nightly hour or so of playing because my thumbs were too sore. MY THUMBS WERE TOO SORE, people. *sigh*

Oh, and have I ever told you that I have the ability to curse like a sailor? Well, if you didn't know before, you certainly would if you watched me play Super Mario Brothers Wii. You really don't want to know how many times the word "fuck" comes out of my mouth when I play. (I wonder what I used to say to express my frustration when I was only 7. It had to have been more socially appropriate, but surely it couldn't have been as effective as "fuck," right?) When I repeatedly screw up or am having trouble passing a level, I get so mad it is ridiculous. Remind me not to play video games with our future children.

Frequent playing, sore thumbs, excessive cursing--in other words, it's a hell of a good game.

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Officially Official

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Remember those changes I hinted at a few weeks back?

Well, in some miraculous turn of events, things are seemingly falling into place perfectly for us. I don't know if I have ever believed in the "what is meant to be will be" cliche more than I do right now. I feel like I was led in this direction, and therefore, decisions that might normally be difficult have been very easy.

I quit my job today.

Yesterday, I received a job offer from another company, and I am pretty excited about it. I will be making the transition over the next few weeks.

Without going into too many details, this was one of those things that kind of fell into my lap to begin with. I was approached about the open position; I did not seek it out. I agreed to go through the interview process with the mindset that things would happen as they should, and I wasn't going to stress about it.

I didn't spend a lot of time preparing for the interviews; I went in each time and just talked. (And um, it was a total of FIVE interviews. Yes, FIVE. These people are thorough!) Really, I chatted. It was casual. I had the normal amount of butterflies at the idea of making a life change, but overall, I was not worried. I knew that things would happen as they should.

When I received the call letting me know that they had filled the position, I was not upset. I was told that I had been the other finalist, and that it had been a tough decision to choose between myself and this other person. I thanked them for the opportunity and moved on, knowing that things had happened as they should.

Last week, out of nowhere, I received an e-mail that changed everything. I was told that the person who had been offered and accepted the position had suddenly backed out, and that the job was back on the table. I was told that I was at the top of the list, and that I needed to go in to meet with the CEO one more time just to make sure that this was going to be right--for them and for me. When I met with him, we were talking about the situation and how I had somehow ended up back in the running, and he actually said to me, "I guess it was fate." And I nodded knowingly, because I always believed that things would happen as they should.

I'm anxious because big life changes almost always make me anxious. But I feel so good and so sure about this that it's hard to be anything but excited. I'm sad to leave my current position, as there is much that I will miss about it. But I go knowing that I was a valued employee, and that I am moving forward into a new position that is a good move for us.

And tonight I sit in awe at life and how sometimes, it all works out. At how things happen the way they should.

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Happy Happy Joy Joy

Monday, February 22, 2010

Award by jiggarette.
I've been tagged by Moya at A Purpose Filled Life! Thanks, Moya! It's been a while since I've done one of these things, so here goes nothing.

The Rules:
- List 10 things that make you happy
- Tag 10 other bloggers and link back to the person who tagged you

My List:
1. Lazy weekends at home with my husband.

2. A sleepy (and quiet) little Tessa girl snuggling in my lap.

3. A full gas tank.

4. Babies. I love me some babies.

5. Traveling. I love exploring new places. I just wish we had unlimited funds so that we could go all over the world! (Someday...)

6. Hiding behind the lens of a camera.

7. Snow days or sick days. As long as I'm not the miserable and dying type of sick, it's always nice to have a random day off from work. Too bad I don't get snow days or take sick days more often! (I'm a PTO hoarder. I can't help it.)

8. Baking! You know how much I love to make tasty creations. I have a couple of cake decorating opportunities coming up that I'm super excited about. :)

9. My family. Going out to lunch with my mom, hosting everyone for dinner, watching a football game, etc. I love spending time with everyone.

10. Fun mail (packages, letters, cards, etc.). It doesn't come nearly as often as I wish it did, but perhaps that is why I cherish the fun stuff so much!

And now I tag:
1. Shauna at The Lewallens
2. Michelle at See Michelle Blog
3. Chelsey at One on the Way...
4. Megan at So, Now What?
5. Katie at Tote's Life
6. Krystie at One Fabulous Day
7. Mrs. B at The Life and Times...
8. Julia at My Life in Transition
9. Dana at Sweeping Through Life
10. Kelly at The Startup Wife

P.S. For those of you who follow me through a reader, I'm sorry for the influx of posts tonight. My life has been crazy since last Wednesday, but I definitely had things to post about! I'm getting all caught up... :)

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Chicken and Basil Dumplings

Sunday, February 21, 2010

I've attempted chicken and dumplings before, and it wasn't exactly pretty. I couldn't figure out the whole dumpling situation--they seemed to be doughy, no matter how long I cooked them. Come to find out later, dumplings sometimes take WAYYY longer to cook than I ever imagined. Hmph. I was discouraged by the experience and hadn't tried it since, instead choosing to leave it to the professionals (like, say... my mom).

But when I saw this recipe pop up in my Google Reader, I was inspired to give it a try, simply because it is a crockpot dumpling recipe. Fix it and forget it? Those are my kind of dumplings, for sure.


Because it cooks for so long, the chicken is fall-apart tender, and I loved the combination of vegetables. The basil seasoning, in both the soup and the dumplings, is a wonderful addition and makes this recipe slightly different than your typical chicken and dumplings. The dumplings themselves are full of flavor, what with the basil, garlic powder, and butter. Melissa wasn't kidding--this dish is delicious!

You definitely have to allow yourself enough time, since it involves at least 8 hours of total cook time. Also, you need to plan ahead so that you are home to be able to make the dumplings two hours before you want to eat. Even though it involves a few different steps, it is a really easy recipe and it's perfect when you want a great meal with very little effort.

Chicken and Basil Dumplings
(Source: Delicious Meliscious)

Soup Ingredients:
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 8-10 cups of chicken broth
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (you can put them in frozen to start)
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- salt and pepper to taste

Soup Directions:
Put all ingredients above into slow cooker and cook on low heat for 6 hours.

Dumpling Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups of flour
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tbsp. butter, softened
- 1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten

To Prepare Dumpling Dough:
Combine the flour with basil, garlic powder, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. But in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine buttermilk and egg, stirring with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined.

Remaining Ingredients:
1/4 cup of cornstarch
1/4 cup of chicken broth (you can dip some out of the crockpot to mix)
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

To Finish Soup:
Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred with 2 forks. Add the chicken back into the slow cooker. Combine the cornstarch with the chicken broth and mix thoroughly to make a slurry. Add slurry to the soup.

Dumpling Directions:
Drop dumpling dough, 1-2 tsp. per dumpling, into the chicken soup. Cover and continue to cook on low for another hour and a half to two hours. Add the chopped parsley to the soup and serve.

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Project Planning

Saturday, February 20, 2010

We recently decided it's time to stop procrastinating on some of our home improvement projects and get 'er done. For our first project, we're planning to tackle tiling our bathroom floor.

F-U-N. Especially since it's our only bathroom and it's going to be in shambles (and toilet-less. That's right, NO TOILET.) I'm scared. Hold me.

Still, we want to do it and we'll make it work somehow. Today, we went to a "clinic" at Home Depot to learn more about tiling. I had a general idea of how to do it based on all of my HGTV watching, but it was good to have an actual lesson. I took a lot of notes.

Afterward, we spent some time browsing the aisles of Home Depot to price all of the materials we'll need for the project. And I have to say, although everyone keeps saying that tiling is not difficult and it'll be a breeze, it's certainly a lot more involved than I originally thought. I definitely had a few moments of "what are we thinking?" but I think that it'll be worth it when it's all said and done.

Now, we just have to set a date for the project. Which should be... interesting. If you don't hear from me about the tiling project by the end of April, kick me in the ass, will ya?

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Cinnamon Pancakes

Friday, February 19, 2010

Now that lent is upon us, the challenge of coming up with meatless dinners has begun. Thankfully, one of my favorites--breakfast for dinner--is usually meatless for us. Because my favorite breakfast for dinner dish? PANCAKES.

We had a can of apple pie filling in the cupboard, and I figured we'd cook up some plain pancakes and top them with the apples. However, I got to thinking... instead of plain pancakes, why not make pancakes with a complementary flavor for the apples? And of course, the next thought: cinnamon.

Because I mean... DUH.


I googled and found a lovely looking cinnamon pancake recipe right off the bat. We gave them a try and they are wonderful! They are fluffy, and have a great cinnamon flavor. They tasted fantastic with the apples, but were wonderful with just a little bit of maple syrup, too. We'll certainly be making these again very soon.

I doubled the original recipe because let's face it... six pancakes is just NOT enough. Also, I've found that leftover pancakes are really good if you pop them in the toaster to reheat, so I knew we wouldn't have a problem with a few extras. We got about 15 pancakes out of the recipe, but obviously it'll depend on the size of your pancakes!

Cinnamon Pancakes
(Source: Adapted from Sugarlaws)

Ingredients:
- 1 & 3/4 cups milk
- 2 cups plus 4 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 4 tbsp. sugar
- 2 egg
- 2 tbsp. butter, melted

Directions:
1. Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth.

2. Heat a frying pan or skillet on the stovetop. (Or use your electric griddle, if you have one!) Spray with cooking spray or grease with a little extra butter. Ladle out 1/4 cup of pancake batter at a time, and cook about 1 min on each side, flipping each pancake midway through.

3. Serve with maple syrup, honey, apple pie filling, or extra butter.

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Crybabyitis

Thursday, February 18, 2010

After 20 seasons, "Survivor" is still on the air. Somehow, some way... it keeps people coming back for more. Someone has to be watching it. Actually, considering the show's success, I'm guessing it's a lot of someones.

Alright, alright... I'll confess.

I'm one of them. I just can't help myself.

Surely I'm not the only one. Anyone else out there care to admit that they are still into "Survivor"?
I started watching during the first season, when I was a senior in high school. It was on throughout the entire summer, and I distinctly remember sitting down with my entire family to watch it every week. The finale was on shortly before I left for college, and I was pretty much hooked.

At some point along the way, I did give it up for a while. There have been a handful of seasons that, for one reason or another, I couldn't get into and skipped watching altogether.

Still, when you've watched as many seasons as I have, it's always great when they do something like this season--Heroes vs. Villains. I loooove when they bring back all the old players to do it again.

The first All-Star season (back in 2004!) was one of my favorite seasons ever. I had never seen Boston Rob before, since Marquesas was one of the seasons I didn't watch. But in All-Stars, I quickly grew to love him as he controlled the game, continuously managed to get people on his side only to back-stab them later, and somehow managed to make Amber fall in love with him in the process. In short: a great, great player. I even went on to watch Rob and Amber compete on "The Amazing Race," rooting for them all the way.

So you can imagine how pleased I was when I saw that he'd be coming back for Heroes vs. Villains. And tonight, Rob was particularly glorious. A couple of my favorite Rob moments:

"Again, again, again... I'm on the buffoon tribe."

"When I finally came to, I had a moment of clarity. And that was: stop trying to be the good guy. Because I’m trying to be so good, I physically made myself sick. Just do what everybody wants you to do and be the villain. The doctors checked me out, basically told me I have the flu and a little bitty case of crybabyitis. But now I gotta start smacking ‘em into shape."

This one from Courtney gave me a chuckle, too: "Boston Rob is the bright shining star and he gets so frustrated with these fools. I hope he doesn't drop dead in the next few days because we will all die!"

I've definitely been finding myself rooting for the Villains, even though I can't stand half the people on their tribe (Jerri, Randy, and Coach--although I have to admit that Coach has proved to not be nearly as annoying this season).

Also, I've been surprised how my opinions about some of my "favorites" are changing. Take James, for instance. I loved him in his previous seasons, probably because he is so adorably dumb. But last night, he was ridiculously hot-headed, and although I didn't disagree with him, his temper was a little much. Rupert has been pathetic and annoying as hell. And although I really liked Sugar during her season, I was not sad to see her be the first to go this time around.

Anyway, only two episodes into the season, I'm excited to have all of the familiar faces back in the game, and can't wait to see how this all shakes out.

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Flo-Rida

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

I am happy to be able to say we have booked our next vacation! With no trips to plan or to look forward to, I was going through travel withdrawals there for a while. :)

Drumroll, please...

We're going to Florida!

Even though Florida seems to be THE vacation destination for people who live where we live, neither of us have been anywhere in the state aside from Orlando. We figured now would be the perfect time to remedy that.

So, in April, we're flying down to Miami, and from there we're going to split our time between Miami and Key West. We're going to do the infamous drive down to the Florida Keys by taking US-1, also known as the Overseas Highway. I'm super excited for that.

Now we are just trying to figure out where to stay, and what we want to do! Key West offers so many different things that we have to narrow down our list of "must-do" activities. I'm especially looking forward to a little relaxing, too.

Let the countdown begin!

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Rum Cake

Monday, February 15, 2010

During the summers of my childhood, we would spend eight weeks living with my dad in Virginia. I have so many memories of summer days gone by--in my grandparents' pool, playing with my cousins at their house, running around in the sweltering heat, and trips to Virginia Beach.

Other things I remember have to do with special treats--sneaking cookies out of the jar in Mema's kitchen, going to the "Sugar Shack" for icee drinks, begging to go to Country Cookin' for dinner, and eating frozen Twinkies given to us by Grandaddy.

But one particular treat had been long forgotten, until recently. I got a bundt cake pan for Christmas, and suddenly, it hit me that I really wanted rum cake. The same rum cake that used to magically appear at my dad's house every once in a while, and was quickly devoured.

I called my dad and asked him if he had the recipe. I remember, in years past, seeing it hanging on his refrigerator. He said that he didn't have it anymore, but that it was Grandad who used to make it all the time. So I called up my sweet, southern grandparents and my Mema gave me her specific instructions over the phone.

Rum cake was to be had!


And as it turned out, it was to be had very easily. To my surprise, this is actually a doctored cake mix. Score! It came together extremely quickly and made a perfect birthday treat for the celebration of Michael's birthday this past weekend.

I have to admit, I was pretty surprised at how much it tastes like rum. The strongest rum taste definitely comes from the "glaze" portion of the recipe. From when I was a child, I don't remember the cake having quite that strong of a flavor to it. I figure that 1) I was too young to know what rum tasted like, so I was just oblivious to the flavor, or 2) my grandparents may have made the cakes without the glaze when they made them for us.

The glaze, which gets completely absorbed into the cake, helps make the cake extremely moist and delicious. However, for a more subtle flavor, I might try the cake without the glaze next time, just to see if it more closely resembles what I remember from all those years ago. I do encourage you to try it with the glaze, though--I think you'll find that this is unlike any cake you've ever had before! :) We gobbled up a good portion of the cake after dinner at my in-laws'.

Alright, enough talk.

Rum Cake
(Source: My Grandparents)

Ingredients:
For Cake:
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 box vanilla instant pudding
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup rum
- 1/2 cup oil
- 3 large eggs (or 4 smaller ones)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

For Glaze:
- 1 stick butter or margarine
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup rum
- 1/4 cup water

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. (For greasing and flouring, I usually use nonstick spray and then lightly coat with flour. For this, I broke out the shortening because I didn't want to take any chances. Use butter or shortening to liberally grease all of the nooks and crannies in the pan, then flour well.)

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, rum, oil, and eggs. Beat together for two minutes.

3. If using the chopped pecans, pour them into the bottom of the prepared bundt pan. Spread them evenly along the bottom of the pan.

4. Pour cake batter into pan, and spread evenly. Bake for 55-60 minutes.

5. During the last few minutes of baking, start your glaze. Melt the butter/margarine in a small saucepan over high heat. Once melted, add sugar, rum, and water. Stirring the mixture often, dissolve the sugar and bring everything to a boil. Boil for approximately 5-6 minutes.

6. Once cake comes out of the oven, leave it in the pan. While the cake is still warm/hot, poke holes into the cake (I used a skewer). Remove hot glaze from the stove and pour it evenly over the cake in the pan. You'll see the glaze collect in the sides of the pan.

7. Let glazed cake cool for 30 minutes. At this time, the glaze should be completely absorbed into the cake. Turn cake out onto serving dish. Keep covered until serving.

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Barking Birthday

Saturday, February 13, 2010

We celebrated a very special birthday in our house yesterday. With a very special birthday treat.


Doesn't it look... delicious?

It's a gingersnap with a huge dollop of peanut butter, topped with a frosted mini wheat and pink sprinkles. In other words, it's Tessa's dream come true.

Tessa turned 4 yesterday, and as is tradition, I scrounged up a scrumptious birthday treat using ingredients already in our cupboards. To see her past birthday treats, see last year's birthday post. :)

She absolutely loved her birthday "cake" and we're very happy to have had her around for another year! It might start to be a challenge to fit all of her candles on her treat. To solve that problem, the treat may just have to keep getting bigger. (I'm sure Tess won't complain about that!)

Funny little story about the candles. She knows they're for her. Michael's birthday was earlier this week, and I picked up a little birthday treat for us to share. I stuck a candle in it to sing to him and Tess was going NUTS! She was jumping on me as if I were preparing her a steak. And same thing last night as I was preparing her treat. She left me alone while I did everything, but as soon as she saw the candles and the lighter come out, she was on me like white on rice. Crazy, crazy girl.

Happy 4th Birthday to our "little girl." :)

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Five Rings

Friday, February 12, 2010

It's that time again, folks.

Time for me to get all caught up in the tremendous life stories of athletes, watch sports I normally don't give a crap about, and root for people I've never heard of before. It's time to stay up way too late every night, cry at the sound of "The Star Spangled Banner" as it's played for someone standing atop a podium with a medal around his or her neck, and feel myself fill with pride for the good ol' U.S.A.

My favorite sports to watch are skiing (all events), snowboarding, speed skating, and figure skating. Even the bobsled and luge events are cool. Although I do prefer the summer Olympics, I always enjoy the winter ones as well. I've been growing more and more excited every time I turn on the Today Show in the morning and see them broadcasting from Vancouver. And tonight, it's finally here!

I'm still in quite the funk about winter (will we EVER get out of 20-degree temperatures again?), but the Olympics should hopefully help a bit. Go U.S.A.!

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Recent Read: Name All the Animals by Alison Smith

Thursday, February 11, 2010

When I was searching for a book to read as my December selection, I browsed some of the racks at a local library. I came across this memoir, Name All the Animals, written by a woman named Alison Smith. I had never heard of the book, but it sounded like it could be a good read, so I gave it a chance.

Imagine my surprise when I was a few pages into it and started reading about familiar places--towns, streets, schools, and stores that I recognized. As it turns out, this woman grew up in an area not too far from here. As a result, I felt an immediate connection to the author.

Name All the Animals takes us back to Alison's years in high school. When she was 15 years old, her beloved older brother, Roy, was killed in a tragic car accident. What follows is Alison's story of grief. We are given a glimpse into the years after the accident, and come to understand the effect Roy's death has on Alison's life and the lives of her parents.

But grief is only part of the story. As I've mentioned, the book chronicles Alison's teen years, which we all know are some of the toughest years of our lives. Like many of us, Alison struggles to see where she fits in, especially in light of being "the girl whose brother died" at school. Through friends and experiences, reading and researching, living and experimenting, Alison soon finds her true self.

Also at play here is an interesting look at religion and its role in Alison's life. Raised Catholic, Alison attends a Catholic school and is expected to follow strict Catholic "rules." After Roy's death, Alison's parents turn to religion more than ever before, but for Alison, the experience is different. As I turned the pages, I found Alison's feelings about religion to be incredibly authentic. Her recollection of trying to continue to believe in a God that "allowed" her brother to die, and in a religion that condemned many of her actions, is thought-provoking. I found myself able to completely understand and relate to her feelings in some ways.

Name All the Animals gives us a glimpse into life after tragedy. Still, it is not all depressing and sad. As they say, life goes on, and Alison is forced to keep living.

Is this the best book I've ever read? No. But it is worthy of your time. For anyone interested in reading something real, I'd recommend this memoir by Alison Smith.

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Frito Pie

Monday, February 8, 2010

I've told you all about frito pie, haven't I?

Sure I have. In this post about our vacation in Austin in December. It was when we first "discovered" frito pie (thanks, Texas).

From the moment we first tried it, we knew that it would make an excellent Super Bowl dish. Sooo... what do you know? I made it yesterday for the Super Bowl.


Last week, I did some Google searches and found that a "recipe" wasn't really needed. I used some of the tips and information gathered, but I sort of improvised. It really doesn't get much more simple than fritos, chili, cheese, and jalapenos. And for those who might be inexperienced with frito pie, it's best served with a spoon, and eaten with forks. :)

This was a huge hit with our Super Bowl crowd, so I'm sure I'll be making it for years to come!

Frito Pie

Ingredients:
- 2 bags Fritos
- 2 cans Hormel chili (with or without beans--your choice, but I used one of each)
- 2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- sliced jalapenos
- green onions

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Cover the bottom of a large baking dish with a thick layer of Fritos (I used almost a whole bag). On top of the Fritos, spread one can of the chili. Top with about half of your shredded cheese.

3. Add another layer of Fritos, topped with the second can of chili, and spread the remainder of the cheese on top of everything.

4. Place sliced jalapenos on top, and sprinkle with sliced green onions.

5. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

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Super Cookie

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Today is the day. The last day of football until training camp begins again in July. It's always bittersweet--I miss football, but I am always ready for a break.

We are expecting a group over here in a little while for the game. We've hit the gym (gotta counteract those extra calories somehow) and completed errands. We've vacuumed, we've cleaned, we've scrubbed. We've adorned the table with a gold (hint, hint) tablecloth. We've set out serving dishes to prepare for the goodies that are to come.

And now, we just wait. Our guests will be here soon. Surely, there will be way too much food, way too much chaos, but also way too much fun.

Oh, and as is tradition, I decorated a SUPER COOKIE for the occasion.

Go Saints! (To make a long story short--I don't like Peyton. And I do like Brees. And you know, the Saints have never gone to the Super Bowl. And come on, who doesn't love an underdog?)

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Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

Friday, February 5, 2010

Ahhh, spaghetti. It's one of the great "staples" in life, isn't it?

We try to limit our beef consumption, so we went a long time without making meat sauce. Like, a really long time. But then, this past fall, we resurrected it one Friday night and found ourselves wondering, How did we live without this for so long?


Needless to say, we've made it several times since. Spaghetti and meat sauce seems particularly perfect for Friday nights, so it was no surprise that we found ourselves making it tonight.

Although it is certainly not made from scratch, this is different from your typical "throw a jar of sauce and a pound of ground beef together" type of meat sauce. Instead, the flavors are completely versatile based on what types of spices and ingredients you decide to throw in. (For instance, we like our sauce to be a bit spicy, so we throw in a lot of red pepper flakes!)

So here, I'll tell you what I do--but keep in mind that you can add or subtract whatever ingredients you like. Also, I have to warn you... I don't do measurements with this. I just add a lot of spices, stir, taste, add more, stir, taste, and so on. But I will say that because the sauce starts off unflavored, you do have to add more spices than you might think you would. Go big on spices, because it means big flavor!

Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

Ingredients:
- 1 to 1 & 1/2 lbs. spaghetti
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- olive oil
- 1 small to medium onion, diced
- 24-32 oz. plain tomato sauce (canned) - We use Hunt's "No Salt Added"
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- an assortment of dried spices, such as: oregano, basil, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes
- pinch or two of sugar
- grated parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:
1. In the bottom of a large saute pan, drizzle olive oil. Once hot, add ground beef and begin to brown. Add diced onion and continue until beef is browned completely. Drain.

2. Begin to boil water for pasta.

3. Return pan to heat. Add garlic, tomato sauce, spices and sugar. Let simmer over low heat for at least 20 minutes (or up to several hours). Add more spices as necessary (to taste).

4. Cook pasta according to package directions. Serve immediately, covering with meat sauce. Top with grated parmesan cheese.

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It's Like Russian Roulette

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Just about a year ago, I posted about a Continental Flight 3407 that crashed near Buffalo on February 12, 2009. I was feeling greatly affected by this particular crash, quite simply because it had happened so close to home.

Earlier this week, the NTSB released their official report about what happened that night. Last year, it was widely speculated that the weather, which had been tremendously icy, was the likely culprit.

Now, the NTSB has told us what really happened. It wasn't the weather. Instead, it was pilot error, and the circumstances surrounding those errors are tremendously disturbing to me. Apparently, the pilot and first officer were acting completely unprofessionally, not paying nearly as much attention to landing the plane as they should have been. Not only that, but when the alarms began to go off signaling that the engines were losing thrust, the pilot not only didn't do the right thing, but did exactly the wrong thing.

It's clear that both pilots in the cockpit were too inexperienced to be flying a plane by themselves. The pilot apparently failed five competency tests and was still being allowed to fly planes with passengers on board. It was reported that he lied on his employment application and only reported one failure on the tests. HOW is this possible? Why aren't the results of these tests recorded in some way that can be easily referenced and checked by airlines looking to hire pilots?

The whole report makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. These 50 people did not have to die that night, but they did, and unfortunately it was at the hands of these two pilots.

I feel horrible for all of the families who lost loved ones. As one family member says in the article, "When it's something that could have been prevented, and clearly it could have been prevented, that's really a hard pill to swallow."

I also feel really terrible for the pilots' families. Not only did they lose people that they loved, but they also have to live with the knowledge that their family members were responsible for this whole tragedy. I know that can't be easy.

Whenever I'm talking to people about my fear of getting into a car accident, a lot of them tend to respond with something like, "Well, just drive carefully and you'll be all right." My response to that is always, "I'm not so worried about myself--I'm worried about the other people driving out there." Now, this rings true for me and flying as well.

Are we to accept that when we get onto a commercial airliner, we are playing the lottery? I mean, hell--we could get lucky and end up with a seasoned, expert, hero pilot like Sully Sullenberger, who was responsible for saving the lives of 155 people when he safely landed a plane in the middle of the Hudson River. Or, we could end up putting or lives in the hands of someone who has failed numerous competency tests, doesn't know what the hell he/she is doing, but somehow still managed to slip through the cracks and become a licensed commercial pilot.

It is disturbing. It is scary. And it's not fair to the people walking onto planes every day.

When we sit down, fasten our seatbelts, and push back from the gate, we have no idea who is in that cockpit. We have no idea who we are trusting with our lives.

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Scraping By

Monday, February 1, 2010

January was my worst blogging month EVER. (Well, the worst since I really committed to blogging in March 2008.) I just barely kept up with my 101 in 1001 goal to make sure to blog at least 20 times every month.

:::sigh:::

Really, I just have the winter blues. I'm sick of being stuck indoors. I'm sick of not feeling 100%. I'm sick of TV and of the computer and of the same ol' stuff.

I want to be outside. I want to see green leaves on the trees and feel green grass beneath my feet. I want to enjoy warm weather and sunshine. I want to go to barbecues and weddings and graduation parties.

The other thing that is not helping is having to continue to wait to see whether the changes I referred to last week are, in fact, going to take place. Without knowing what's going to happen, it makes it difficult to plan anything. And I'm nothing without a plan.

I am a PLANNER. I look forward. I concentrate on the future. I love to focus on what's ahead.

So this state of limbo--this state of not knowing--it's sooo not my thing. It's an uncomfortable way of living for me. Still, I know it's good for me. It's good to have to spend some time outside of your comfort zone every once in a while. I just hope to be back in the "nice and comfy" area soon.

The bright side: We are in February. Yes, FEBRUARY!

Though I have to admit--I'm really not a fan of February. Although it is a short month, it always seems to be one of the longest. In my mind, February's only redeeming qualities are my husband's birthday, Tessa's birthday, and the fact that it's one month closer to April. And alright, I guess I could give it the Super Bowl in the "plus" column. But damn, that is it.

I think I need to find a way to keep myself busier. I'm not taking many photos these days because it's cold and it's dark and I like outdoors and natural light. I go to work, I go home. I (maybe) go to the gym. It's boring. But my other problem is that winter just makes me feel lazy. I don't want to do anything right now. All of this makes for a slow winter, that's for sure.

Anyone else suffering from the winter blues? What are you doing to combat the depressing feelings that make it seem like spring will NEVER get here?

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