You are officially old!

Happy Birthday Dustin! I still love you, even though you're an old man now.

Yummy in my Tummy

OK, I know my last post was a recipe, but I have to post this one too. I was in Costco a few months ago and they were giving out recipe books so I took one (In the Kitchen, the Costco Way). I figured I would look thru it, but my expectations weren't high. This is one of the best cookbooks I have ever owned. I have made about 13 recipes from it and they have all turned out amazing. Also, it has pictures and I really love that. So...here is a Baked Ziti recipe that will made your mouth water (trust me).

2 T. Olive Oil

1 1/2cupes diced brown mushrooms

1 T. crushed garlic

1/4 cup white wine

1 T. finely chopped shallot

1/4 cup chicken broth

3/4 pound sausage (I like the Jimmy Dean's 1/2 fat sausage)

2 T. chopped fresh basil (my favorite herb!)

1/2 tsp salt

4-ounce part skim-ricotta cheese

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

3/4 cup shredded provolone cheese

1 1/2 cups crushed tomatos

8 ounce ziti or penne pasta (cooked)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup smoked provolone cheese

Preheat oven to 350. In a preheated nonstick skillet over medium heat, saute olive oil, garlic, shallots and sausage for 2-3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add salt, pepper, eggplant and mushrooms; saute for another 1-2 minutes. Turn heat up to high, add wine and stir until evaporated. Add chicken broth and cook until slightly reduced. Return heat to medium and simmer for 1-2 more minutes. Gently fold in basil, ricotta, mild provolone and tomatoes. Simmer for 1-2 minutes. Fold in cooked pasta and Parmesan cheese. Transfer to casserole and top with smoked provolone. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until heated though. Makes 5 or 6 servings.

On another note, things are going well here in Mesa. School has started, so we are pretty busy most nights. Dustin is having his tonsils and adnoids out tomorrow and his sister is suppose to have her baby, so it will be an eventful day. More to come on that.....

A large rodent in the fridge... Lo siento, madre

Who can one call to deal with such a problem? I'm just kidding. Ms. Sheera is no rodent (even though she is definitely part rattus). Sara is sound asleep, so I thought I could post a blurb for the first time. She probably won't like seeing this since she already thinks I annoy the dogs too much. We saw "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" tonight and it was pretty funny. Sara was a trooper for going since she is sick, but I just pouted for a bit and she decided to go. It works every time! Marriage is funny. Before I got married I couldn't imagine being with someone 24/7. Now I can't stand to be away from her for more than a couple of hours. She has no idea how lucky I am to have her in my life.

Saturday Morning Breakfast

On Saturday morning, it has become tradition for Dustin and I to make a big breakfast together. I never know what he's going to want before hand, he waits until he wakes up to decide. This usually results in an early morning trip to the grocery store in our pajamas. There is one breakfast that we both particulary love, buttermilk coffee cake. So, this morning I thought I would post a picture and a recipe for the two people that read my blog. I always love when people give me tried and true recipes to use....so here you go.

1 cup butter (softened)

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs (beaten)

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; stir in alternately the combined dry ingredients; add vanilla and buttermilk. Put half the batter in the bottom of a 9 x 12 inch pan (I use a slightly smaller one so my cake is puffier) then half the topping. Add the remaining batter and the remaining topping. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Topping: 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 4 tbsp white sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon. Yum!

The recipe actually says to bake for 45 to 50 minutes, but that always cooks it too much for me, I like it soft and moist.

New Year, New Room, New York Cheesecake

It's been a while since I've blogged because Christmas season was so crazy! It's finally wrapping up and it's been fun. Dustin woke me up this morning at the unattractive hour of 5:30. We went outside to watch a meteor shower. It was a little chilly, but kind of neat to be witnessing something while everyone else was warm in their beds. Today, we have been crazy busy changing rooms and organizing everything. Who knew two people could have so much crap? New Years Eve was pretty laid back this year. We went to Olive Garden with Dustin's parents then came home and watched some tv. Jaime and Ryan plus families came over and we almost made it to midnight, but not quite. We got in bed about quarter til and we stayed up long enough to watch the ball drop, have a New Years kiss and I was out cold about ten seconds later. I'm not a night person. The day after Christmas I flew home to Utah without my honey :( because he had to work. It was really good to see my family. Everyone was home, which hasn't happened in 2 or 3 years. My neices and nephews are so adorable. Vance and Judy came down and stayed for two weeks. It's always nice to have people in the house, because sometimes it feels really big and empty. They left today and I guess the holidays are officially over. I might post some pictures later, but I don't think we took many this last month.

The smell of Pine is in the air today...

It's Saturday at last and we finally had some free time to get in the Christmas Spirit! We went out in search of a live tree, which is not as easy as I thought it would be. The first lot that we found was manned by a guy that sort of resembled kid rock and smelled of something so foul, I have no words to describe it. He also offered us smooshy old Krispy Kreme doughnuts, a nice gesture, but I had to pass. We moved on shortly.....We ended up at Home Depot, (thanks for the suggestion Nate!). We found much nicer, not to mention less expensive trees, and no foul odor in the air. As we brought the Christmas tree home and started with the festivities associated with decorating a tree and the house, we have come up with a few pointers for anyone that hasn't already undertaken this task.
1. The tree will never stand perfectly straight and crooked gives it character anyway.
2. Santa hats, though adorable, will make you sweat if you live in Arizona in the winter.
3. Stringing beads is a lot harder then it looks. They should offer classes for this job.
4. Nativities made of wood are very difficult to decide who is who. Does a wise man wear a hat??
5. Cleaning up needles is not a shared responsibility, it is by default, a man job.
6. Bad words may slip out of your mouth when moving furniture out of the way for the Christmas tree, hot chocolate makes a good apology drink.
7. And lastly, Christmas music makes it feel like a holidays, even when it's 85 degrees outside.

I hope everyone enjoys getting ready for the holidays as much as we did! Now...on to the most important night of the week, Jazz vs. Suns. This is the only day I will root for the down fall of the Suns! GO JAZZ