Thursday, March 26, 2009
3-Day update
We have raised over $11,000 as a team - I am so proud of us!! And my other 3 team members have all hit the $2300 individual minimum (and I'm $40 away!). The walk is in 4 months and I can't wait to start going on more training walks as the weather gets nicer.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
new dressers!
FINALLY! When we moved into our house last year we brought hand-me-down dressers with us. They've been fine but I've been pining after a matching bedroom set to make our bedroom feel more put together. Last night we finally found and ordered the dressers! They'll be here on April 3rd.
We even almost bought the sleigh bed even though we have a rod iron bed/headboard already. I love them and I'm so excited to get them and be able to have our own dressers rather than sharing!
We even almost bought the sleigh bed even though we have a rod iron bed/headboard already. I love them and I'm so excited to get them and be able to have our own dressers rather than sharing!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
$2000
I can't believe it - I am over $2000 raised for my walk already!! In fact, all 3 of my teammates are over $2000 as well! My mom has already reached the minimum and the rest of us are so close to that magic $2300. As a team we have raised $8600 - I'm so proud and in awe of how generous people can be!
Friday, March 6, 2009
penne with sausage, artichokes, and sun-dried tomatoes
From the lovely Giada De Laurentiis's Giada's Family Dinners cookbook, this is one of our favorite recipes of hers. It's a great family-style meal, but also good for just the 2 of us because we have a lot of leftovers for lunches or pot-luck dinner nights. Be prepared, this takes up a lot of space in the kitchen and requries a BIG pan (like a Wok).
Penne with Sausage, Artichokes, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Makes: 6 main-course servings
3/4 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced (I bought them already cut julienne to make it easier)
2 tablespoons of oil reserved
1 pound Italian hot sausages, casings removed
2 8-ounce packages frozen artichoke hearts thawed (you can also use canned, quartered artichokes if you can't find frozen - drain them before cooking with them though)
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
½ cup dry white wine (optional)
salt
12 ounces penne (or other short pasta, I used Rotini this time)
½ cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, drained and cubed (optional)
freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat the oil reserved from the tomatoes in a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until brown, breaking up the meat into bite-size pieces with a fork. Transfer sausage to a bowl
2. Add the artichokes and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until garlic is tender (about 2 minutes). Add the broth, wine, and tomatoes. Boil over medium-high heat, sitrring occasionally, until the sauce reduces slightly (about 8 minutes).
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking together, until tender but still firm to the bite (about 10 minutes). Drain the pasta, do not rinse.
4. Add the pasta, sausage, Parmesan cheese, basil, and parsley to the artichoke mixture. Toss until the sauce is almost absorbed by the pasta. Stir in the mozzarella, if using.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve warm.
Penne with Sausage, Artichokes, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Makes: 6 main-course servings
3/4 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced (I bought them already cut julienne to make it easier)
2 tablespoons of oil reserved
1 pound Italian hot sausages, casings removed
2 8-ounce packages frozen artichoke hearts thawed (you can also use canned, quartered artichokes if you can't find frozen - drain them before cooking with them though)
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
½ cup dry white wine (optional)
salt
12 ounces penne (or other short pasta, I used Rotini this time)
½ cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, drained and cubed (optional)
freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat the oil reserved from the tomatoes in a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until brown, breaking up the meat into bite-size pieces with a fork. Transfer sausage to a bowl
2. Add the artichokes and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until garlic is tender (about 2 minutes). Add the broth, wine, and tomatoes. Boil over medium-high heat, sitrring occasionally, until the sauce reduces slightly (about 8 minutes).
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking together, until tender but still firm to the bite (about 10 minutes). Drain the pasta, do not rinse.
4. Add the pasta, sausage, Parmesan cheese, basil, and parsley to the artichoke mixture. Toss until the sauce is almost absorbed by the pasta. Stir in the mozzarella, if using.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve warm.
odds and ends
I'm sitting at home right now while the contractors insulate our attic. I am so excited for this it's not even funny. I am ready for our heating bills to not be so high and in the summer maybe our upstairs will actually feel like the A/C is on.
And to update my last post - I'm up over $1700 raised for my 3-Day walk!! As a team we're over $7400 raised between the 4 of us - we're doing so well! And my mother-in-law is less than $200 from hitting our individual minimum of $2300 - she is a fundraising machine.
Recently I finished a gift for a friend of mine who is due with her first baby in May. Her shower is in a few weeks and I crocheted a blanket for the baby boy and I love how it came out:
It looks like we may finally be inching our way into spring. It's supposed to be in the mid-high 50s this weekend and I am SO excited. We also change the clocks which will be nice - I'll be able to do my training walks after work outside instead of having to go on the treadmill.
And to update my last post - I'm up over $1700 raised for my 3-Day walk!! As a team we're over $7400 raised between the 4 of us - we're doing so well! And my mother-in-law is less than $200 from hitting our individual minimum of $2300 - she is a fundraising machine.
Recently I finished a gift for a friend of mine who is due with her first baby in May. Her shower is in a few weeks and I crocheted a blanket for the baby boy and I love how it came out:
It looks like we may finally be inching our way into spring. It's supposed to be in the mid-high 50s this weekend and I am SO excited. We also change the clocks which will be nice - I'll be able to do my training walks after work outside instead of having to go on the treadmill.
Friday, February 27, 2009
$1000
I'm over $1000 raised for my walk! I went from $500-$1000 much faster than I went from $0-$500. And I know of quite a significant amount in donations is on the way! And as a team we are over $5000 - it's so amazing how generous people can be.
Now I *really* need to get started on my thank yous to these wonderful people!
Now I *really* need to get started on my thank yous to these wonderful people!
Friday, February 20, 2009
driving me batty
ugh. Last night we had an unwelcome visitor in our house - a bat. Last August there was a bat in our house, we got it out and then had an exterminator come out and treat for bats. They sealed all possible entrances and put up a cone at one spot that was supposed to let the bat (or bats) out of the attic, but not back in.
Then last night, Sox got spooked and I peered toward the direction of where he'd come from and sure enough, there is another bat flying back and forth across the kitchen. I grabbed Sox and my laptop and barricaded us in the bedroom. I called my husband and told him to get home ASAP!
By the time he got home, the bat was doing laps in the family room, so Tim opened the front door and sat across the hall, hoping to see the bat make a quick exit. Well, no such luck. Apparently the bat got tired from all it's flying around, so it hid on the back of the curtain. Knowing it was there, Tim wanted to try trap it in there by balling up the curtain and tossing the whole thing outside. Well, that attempt failed and this is what we ended up with:
yes, that dark thing on the blinds is the bat. Here's a closer shot of it:
The second attempt to capture it went much better - Tim put a sheet on the floor under the window and swept/swatted the bat onto it, balled it up, and tossed it outside. I was so glad to know it was out of the house! And even though it was about 9:30pm now, we had dinner and watched our recording of House before going to bed.
Today is a new day - and we're babysitting Lucy (my parents' dog) this weekend! She's snuggled up next to me on the couch now, after spending the first hour or so here:
I felt bad and couldn't stand to hear her whining anymore, so I put Sox in the bedroom (they don't get along) and let Lucy out - she's much happier now.
Then last night, Sox got spooked and I peered toward the direction of where he'd come from and sure enough, there is another bat flying back and forth across the kitchen. I grabbed Sox and my laptop and barricaded us in the bedroom. I called my husband and told him to get home ASAP!
By the time he got home, the bat was doing laps in the family room, so Tim opened the front door and sat across the hall, hoping to see the bat make a quick exit. Well, no such luck. Apparently the bat got tired from all it's flying around, so it hid on the back of the curtain. Knowing it was there, Tim wanted to try trap it in there by balling up the curtain and tossing the whole thing outside. Well, that attempt failed and this is what we ended up with:
yes, that dark thing on the blinds is the bat. Here's a closer shot of it:
The second attempt to capture it went much better - Tim put a sheet on the floor under the window and swept/swatted the bat onto it, balled it up, and tossed it outside. I was so glad to know it was out of the house! And even though it was about 9:30pm now, we had dinner and watched our recording of House before going to bed.
Today is a new day - and we're babysitting Lucy (my parents' dog) this weekend! She's snuggled up next to me on the couch now, after spending the first hour or so here:
I felt bad and couldn't stand to hear her whining anymore, so I put Sox in the bedroom (they don't get along) and let Lucy out - she's much happier now.
Friday, February 13, 2009
$500
I've officially raised my first $500 for the 3-Day! So I'm 22% of the way there (according to the little thermometer on my fundraising page) and as a team, we are 42% of the way to our team goal! With 5 more months to go, we're in great shape :)
In other news - we'll be celebrating our first Valentine's Day as husband and wife tonight instead of tomorrow. I think we're heading to Cheesecake Factory for dinner! Tomorrow night is when we're celebrating my mom's birthday (which was yesterday) hence the alternate V-Day plans.
And I also finally set up an in-home estimate for our new windows. It will be our first major project on the house and I've been meaning to call people and today I finally did. Next Saturday afternoon we should have a better idea what kind of mess we're getting ourselves into!
In other news - we'll be celebrating our first Valentine's Day as husband and wife tonight instead of tomorrow. I think we're heading to Cheesecake Factory for dinner! Tomorrow night is when we're celebrating my mom's birthday (which was yesterday) hence the alternate V-Day plans.
And I also finally set up an in-home estimate for our new windows. It will be our first major project on the house and I've been meaning to call people and today I finally did. Next Saturday afternoon we should have a better idea what kind of mess we're getting ourselves into!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
changing names
This Friday, I WILL finish changing my name on everything. Currently, every single household bill is still under my maiden name. oops.
Monday, February 2, 2009
pulled pork
Our Super Bowl dinner was something that my husband had been craving recently - pulled pork sandwiches with potato salad. We bought the potato salad at the grocery store, so I have no recipe - but the pulled pork was VERY delicious.
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
prep time: 30 minutes
cooking time: 6 hours
servings: ~10
2 lbs boneless pork roast
1 bottle (~18oz) BBQ sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1. Cut the pork into cubes (~2 inches square) and brown in a skillet. After all sides have been browned, transfer to slow cooker
2. Chop the onion and mince the garlic and add to skillet. Brown until tender. Add to slow cooker.
3. Pour entire bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce into the slow cooker and stir contents.
4. Cook on high for about 6 hours. Pull pork apart with a fork and keep warm until ready to serve. Serve on hamburger or bulkie rolls.
They were so good and my in-laws loved them as well. They're messy, so have lots of napkins on hand!
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
prep time: 30 minutes
cooking time: 6 hours
servings: ~10
2 lbs boneless pork roast
1 bottle (~18oz) BBQ sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1. Cut the pork into cubes (~2 inches square) and brown in a skillet. After all sides have been browned, transfer to slow cooker
2. Chop the onion and mince the garlic and add to skillet. Brown until tender. Add to slow cooker.
3. Pour entire bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce into the slow cooker and stir contents.
4. Cook on high for about 6 hours. Pull pork apart with a fork and keep warm until ready to serve. Serve on hamburger or bulkie rolls.
They were so good and my in-laws loved them as well. They're messy, so have lots of napkins on hand!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)