29 May 2009
28 May 2009
Thursday Recipe
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil, for coating
- 6 large Idaho potatoes
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese, plus more for sprinkling
- 2 cups grated Monterey Jack
- 2 cups sour cream
- Salt and pepper
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and Sauteed
- Paprika
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Begin by washing potatoes, drying them, and gently pricking them with a fork on the sides. Coat each potato with vegetable oil, place on foil covered pan, and bake for approximately 1 hour.
Place the butter in a large bowl. Remove the potatoes from the oven and slice each potato in half. Gently scoop out the potato and place in the bowl. Using a mixer on high, mix the potatoes, butter, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Fold the shrimp and both cheeses into the mixture. Gently stuff the mixture back into the potato shells, making sure not to break them. Pile the mixture as high as you can on top of the potato shells. Sprinkle each potato with cheese and paprika for color. Bake in the oven for approximately 20 to 30 minutes until browned on top.
27 May 2009
Random Weblinks
26 May 2009
Life...Interrupted
My lovely darlings are hanging in there. Kate had her yearly vet appointment on Saturday and she came through like a champ even though she had a few moments of panic when some very very very large dogs started barking in the lobby. Jack has been a little off lately. He's been hissing at Kate, which he hasn't done for months. I thought maybe he wasn't feeling well so I took him in to see the vet today. She couldn't see anything wrong, so she gave me some ideas to help Jack not hiss at Kate anymore. I feel bad for Katie because when Jack is mean to her she looks at me with her big sad eyes as if to ask, "What did I do wrong? Why is he being mean to me?" My poor baby.
Work is good. I had a couple of quiet weeks, but things are picking up speed now as I get ready for freshman registration. I am only in the office for 2 days next week. Michaela is getting married! Woohoo!!! I am so excited for her and Michael. Michaela has been one of my best friends since we were 15 years old. I can't believe the wedding is actually here already. I feel like she just called me last week to tell me she was engaged. I am 90% ready for the wedding. I am just waiting for my shoes to arrive. I pick up the dress on Friday night after work. My only dilemma - I have no idea what to do with my hair for the wedding. Ideas? Thoughts? Suggestions? I am open to any and all ideas.
14 May 2009
Thursday Recipe
Nutella Frosted Cupcakes
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup, 12 oz) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
Nutella, approx. 1/3 cup
Preheat oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners or grease the cups with some butter. Alternatively, butter an 8-inch round cake pan.
Cream together butter and sugar until light, 2 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated. Don’t worry if the batter doesn’t look smooth. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until batter is uniform and no flour remains.
Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full (or pour all the batter into the cake pan). The batter will be thick. Top each cake with a dollop (I used about 2 tsp per cupcake and about 1/3 cup dolloped in tablespoon measures for the cake round) of Nutella. Swirl Nutella in with a toothpick, making sure to fold a bit of batter up over the Nutella.
Bake cupcakes for about 20 minutes and the round cake for 25-30.
Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 12 cupcakes or 1 8-inch round cake.
10 May 2009
Mother's Day
1. She is a top notch curtain hanger. Rods, drapes, ironing said curtains - after all the times I've moved, she is the best at it.
2. She lets me call to vent and complain about things. Sometimes it might border on a whine, but she lets me do it anyway.
3. She and I are addicted to the same author - Jodi Picoult.
4. She always makes my favorite meal when I come home to visit - stuffed shells.
5. Mama never complains or wheedles that I don't come home to visit often enough. She understands that it's hard to get away sometimes given my two jobs and my eventually going back to school. She's disappointed when I say I can't make it for a major holiday (2 Christmases in a row...cough...cough), but she understands.
6. She doesn't pressure me about not being married and not having kids yet - although I think she secretly wishes that one of us would give her a grandchild already.
7. She loves my friends and she's never had an unkind word about any of them or any of my boyfriends either. She is tolerant and open-minded and I love her for that.
8. She is so grounded and well-liked by people. After my parents divorced she still stayed in touch with my Dad's family and they ask about her all the time too. Not in a polite way, but in a genuinely caring about her happiness way. She could have just dropped us off at birthday parties and family dinners, but more often than not she stayed. Many of my dad's siblings even came to her wedding when she got remarried.
9. She's a runner! In her very very early 50s, my mother has become a runner. It's a hard thing to start, but she did it and she loves it.
10. She has shown me nothing but unconditional love and support throughout my life.
Happy Mother's Day Mama - I love you! And Happy Mother's Day to all my mommy friends and moms-to-be out there.
06 May 2009
Amy Grant - new EP on iTunes
Wishing and Hoping
05 May 2009
Wolverine
I know the movie didn't get stellar reviews, but not every comic book movie is going to be a "Dark Knight", and for what it was, "Wolverine" did a great job. It pulled you in right away and kept you going until the very end. Will.i.am, Taylor Kitsch, and Ryan Reynolds round out a great supporting cast with Taylor Kitsch's Gambit my favorite of the three, although Ryan Reynolds had the best lines.
It moved fast - before I knew it, the movie was over. Start time was 12:50, with previews and all, it probably started close to one and I was out of the theatre and into the afternoon sunshine by 2:40. Not even a 2 hour movie. So what are you waiting for? Since this is a prequel, even if you've never seen an X-Men movie before, you can jump right in. Come on - look at that picture. Why wouldn't you pay $8.00 to spend almost 2 hours watching him on the big screen?
6 weeks
I have a doctor's appointment in a couple of weeks to check on my cholesterol and vitamin D levels. Having been on the statin now for almost 2 months, coupled with the niacin and fish oil, diet and exercise, I am so curious to see where I am at, especially the C-Reactive proteins. It would be awesome to see that number go down. If it is lower, maybe that means my metabolism will move from sluggish to at least moderately slow.