Pine Nut Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes is my favorite food!  I am always trying to come up with variations of the traditional recipe to mix things up.  I had a handful of Yukon Gold Potatoes so I came up with this recipe to serve with Jo's Famous Meatloaf.

Serves:  4

8 Yukon Gold Potatoes (small)
1 garlic clove
1/8 cup pine nuts
1 triangle of Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb Cheese
3/4 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon butter

Finely chop garlic clove.  Put pine nuts in a zip lock back and crush with a mallet.  Fill a pot with cold water on the stove. Slice Yukon Gold potatoes in half and place in pot.  Bring to a boil.  Cook until potatoes can be broken apart with a fork. While potatoes are cooking, heat up butter in a cast iron skillet.  Saute garlic and pine nuts in skillet.  Set aside and keep warm.  Heat up milk in a cup in the microwave.  Once potatoes are done, strain them and return to bowl.  With a hand masher, mash potatoes.  Stir in cheese, pine nuts, garlic, and butter.  Add warm milk to get desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to get desired taste.  Serve immediately. 

- Miss J

*Photo posted on Friday, November 26th with Jo's Famous Meatloaf

Beepers Reunion!

As part of the Thanksgiving weekend tradition, my high school friends and I always have a "beepers" reunion.  Don't ask why we call ourselves the "beepers".  It is mostly inappropriate and will have to be saved for another day.  However, these reunions are something that I greatly look forward to.  They mostly consists of eating lots of food and drinking lots of wine, any girl's dream if you ask me :)  I brought a pineapple cheese ball as my appetizer. I think it was a success!

Pineapple Pecan Cheese Ball

Serves 12

1 package of Philadelphia cream cheese
4 green onions (finely chopped)
1 can crushed pineapple (drained really well) - small can (4 oz)
Cracked Pepper
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix the first four ingredients together.  Form a ball, and coat in pecans.  Wrap in plastic wrap until ready to serve.   Serve with pita chips or crackers. 

I meant to take a picture before we started eatting it but I forgot :)


- Miss J

Jo Ann's Famous Meatloaf

When I got married two years ago, my good family friend, Jo, gave me her famous meatloaf recipe.  Alot of people keep family recipes a secret; however, I am a firm believer that is ridiculous!  What fun is it to taste something amazing but not be able to get a copy of the recipe to replicate the meal?  Cooking is all about sharing so I am sharing this recipe with you all!


Jo Ann's Famous Meatloaf
Serves: 6
Source: Jo

1-1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I use ground turkey instead)
1 c. peppridge farm stuffing (dry)
1 c. milk
1-2 eggs
1/4 cup onion (chopped)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Sauce:
1/4 - 1/2 cup ketchup
3 - 4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon of mustard (I use honey Dijon)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix sauce and set aside.  Mix all remaining ingredients and form a loaf in the bottom of a glass baking dish or loaf pan.  Pour sauce over loaf before baking.  Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on individual oven.

Notes:  If I don't have peppridge farm stuffing, I sometimes use day old bread cubes. Dice 1-2 pieces of bread crumbs and leave out to dry out for approximately 1 day.  You can also bake them in the oven to dry them out if you are in a rush.  

Enjoy!

- Miss J

* Garlic Pine Nut Mashed Potato recipe to follow shortly!

 

Happy Turkey Day!

I love Thanksgiving!  #1 for the food, and #2 for the family gathering.  This year will be the first time in many years that my entire family will be gathering under the same roof and spending Thanksgiving night together.  Moe and I will head over to my parents early today to help cook.  As usual, my two sisters and their significant others will be arriving moments before the turkey is served so my Mom and I will be holding down fort in the kitchen.  This year, I will be making a corn souffle as my dish.  Of course I'll help with everything else, but my mom always likes to assign out side dishes ahead of time.  Although I probably won't make it until I get to her house, I think it makes her feel more organized!  I am super excited for this year because since everyone is staying the night, no one will pull the "eat and run".  I am looking forward to vino and kicking the entire family's asses in Cranium!  I will try to ignore the fact that I have to get up at 6:00 am Friday to go to work while everyone else gets to sleep in :(  I think its going to be some what hilarious as I think the number of dogs is going to outweigh the number of people staying at my parents house!

HAVE A HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

- Miss J

Chicken Parmesean with Sundried Tomato and Pine Nut Marinara Sauce

The night before Moe has a huge test, I always ask him what he wants me to cook and what time he wants to eat.  He is generally sooo stressed out, I feel like since I can't help him study, its the least I can do!  Tomorrow he takes his Step 2 boards and requested we have his favorite meal, chicken Parmesan. I always ask Moe after we eat to rate the meal so I know if he likes it.  He almost always gives a 7, 8 or 9.  The other day I got mad because I never get a 10 rating!  I told him that I was convinced he thought I was a bad cook. Of course he then called me meladramtic, but also explained to me that he can't give out 10's all the time or they become meaningless.  I left the conversation annoyed.  However, last night I have regained my faith that I can in fact cook.  Upoon completion of the meal, Moe said it was "the perfect ten"!

Chicken Parmesean with Sundried Tomato and Pine Nut Marinara Sauce

Serves: 4

2 chicken breasts
1 jar of Classico Marinara (Basil and Tomato)
1/2 green bell pepper - chopped
1/4 onion - finely chopped
1/8 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon of butter
fresh parsley
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
1 garlic clove - minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
4 slices of Mozzarella Cheese
Dry Italian Seasoning (mixed herb)
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice chicken breasts in half long ways.  Crack egg into a bowl and beat.  Dip chicken breasts in egg and then coat evenly with bread crumbs.  Place in the bottom of a glass baking dish.  Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.  In the baking pan, put two scopes of Classico marinara sauce on top of chicken and then layer one piece of mozzarella cheese on top.  Sprinkle top of chicken with Italian seasoning.  Repeat so that all four pieces of chicken are in baking dish with marinara, cheese, and seasoning. 

Bake chicken for 30-45 minutes (depending on thickness of the chicken)  until inside temp reads 165 degrees or juices run clear.  While chicken is baking, heat olive oil in a large skillet and saute onions, green peppers, and garlic until tender.  While sauteing, dice up sun dried tomatoes.  Add pine nuts to skillet.  Once pine nuts are toasted, add sun dried tomatoes to the mix.  While sun dried tomatoes are heating up.  Dice up fresh parsley (1 -2 tablespoons) and add to mixture.  Pour 3/4 of the jar of Classico Marinara.  Add fresh cracked pepper.  Mix well.  Once sauce is hot and bubbly, transfer to low heat burner to keep warm.  When chicken has 15 minutes left, bring pot of water to a boil.  Add pasta (I used spaghetti, but any kind would work).  Cook pasta according to packaging directions. When chicken has 5-10 minute left, put another 1/2 piece of cheese on top of each chicken breasts. 

When chicken is done, plate pasta and top with sauce and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Serve with chicken. 

- Miss J

Johnny Marzetti

For some odd reason, I was craving Johnny Marzetti this past weekend. I haven't had it since I was little so when I sat down to make my grocery list, I only recalled three ingredients...pasta, marinara sauce, and cheese (lots of it)!  I looked up a couple recipes online and ended up taking little bit from all of them to create this meal.  It was a nice change of pace from our usual weekend menu!

Serves: 6

1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
1/2 pound of ground turkey
1/8 - 1/4 pound of chicken sausage (I used Trader Joe's brand which just needed diced up - already cooked)
1 green pepper
1/4 cup celery (chopped finely)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1/2 onion (diced)
1/2 tsp chili powder (more or less to taste)
Rigatoni pasta
shredded cheddar cheese (approximately 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Boil water and add pasta.  Cook pasta according to directions on the back of the packaging.  You want the pasta to be al dente.  Once pasta is done, pour into colander and rinse with cold water to prevent pasta from cooking further. Meanwhile, brown turkey in a saucepan (approximately 7 minutes).  Add onions, garlic, green pepper, and celery.  Saute for five minutes.  Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken sausage, and chili pepper.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  In a large casserole dish (I used a lasagna pan), pour pasta in the bottom.  sprinkle half of cheese over pasta and reserve other half for the topping.  Pour meat mixture over the pasta.  Top with remaining cheese.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Allow dish to cool for several minutes before serving. 

- Miss J

Book Review (Little Bee)

Source: NY Times Sunday Book Review

"Exit Wounds"

By CAROLINE ELKINS

Published: May 15, 2009

Some 50 years ago, the region near Nigeria’s Atlantic coast provided the setting for Chinua Achebe’s haunting novel of a world torn asunder by the vicissitudes of Anglo-imperial expansion. To capture the tragedy of colonialism in that account, “Things Fall Apart,” Achebe looked to Yeats’s poem “The Second Coming” for inspiration: “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, / The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere / The ceremony of innocence is drowned; / The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.”

The drowning of innocence and the anarchic consequences of the global reach are hardly confined to Achebe’s Nigeria of yesteryear or to the colonial underbelly of Britain’s “civilizing” mission. The story of globalization is a centuries-old account of historical interconnections shaped by exploitation, despair and, at times, moral conscience and optimism. Chris Cleave, a columnist for The Guardian, puts a modern-day spin on Achebe’s concerns with his immensely readable and moving second novel.

While the pretext of “Little Bee” initially seems contrived — two strangers, a British woman and a Nigerian girl, meet on a lonely African beach and become inextricably bound through the horror imprinted on their encounter — its impact is hardly shallow. Rather than focusing on postcolonial guilt or African angst, Cleave uses his emotionally charged narrative to challenge his readers’ conceptions of civility, of ethical choice.
Sarah O’Rourke might appear to be an insipid character, with her career at a British magazine, her Batman-costumed young son, her uninspiring lover and her gentrified Surrey lifestyle. When juxtaposed with the Nigerian refugee called Little Bee — whom we first meet behind the razor wire of a British immigration center — Sarah is unsympathetic, even tiresome. But that impression changes partway through the novel when a flashback to Africa reveals her fortitude. There, it is Sarah, rather than her husband, Andrew, who gallantly comes to Little Bee’s rescue. Sarah must also pick up the pieces after Andrew’s descent from third-world cowardice into first-world madness.

Yet the character and voice of Little Bee reveal Cleave at his finest. As she navigates the dehumanizing indifference of immigration detention with her self-taught Queen’s English, this young refugee tugs at the reader’s conscience. For two years, she has avoided the “ravenous eyes” of the camp’s men with her purposefully mismatched charity-box clothes, unwashed skin and bound breasts. Eventually, she turns up, ­illegally, at the O’Rourkes’ home in Kingston-upon-Thames.

In the weeks that follow, the lives of Little Bee and Sarah will be woven into a web in which disparate worlds can be connected in the unlikeliest fashion — through the music of U2 and the spontaneity of reality television. London, with its dizzying abundance and multi­culturalism, looks like a parallel universe when compared with the impoverished Nigerian village where Little Bee grew up. Surely the locals would chide, “Little miss been-to is making up her tales again,” were she ever to return to what remains of her birthplace. Yet it’s this same village that instilled in her the skills and values needed to help her navigate toward her own scarred survival.

Like Little Bee, Sarah is a survivor. But the lessons of the past are not enough to steer either woman to safety. Instead, in a world full of turpitude and injustice, it is their bold, impulsive choices that challenge the inevitability of despair, transforming a political novel into an affecting story of human triumph.

Gorgonzala and Cranberry Stuffed Chicken

I came up with this recipe after surveying my fridge to find minimal ingredients.  I had an abundance of Gorgonzola cheese and chicken and that was pretty much it!  I decided to throw this together and see how it turned out.  It was a pretty good combination to be hoenst.  The sweetness of the cranberries was a nice compliment to the buttery taste of the Gorgonzola.

Serves: 2

2 chicken breasts

1/4 cup of Gorgonzola cheese

1/8 cup of dried cranberries

1/4 cup of bread crumbs (seasoned)

salt and pepper

Place the chicken breasts in a zip lock bag and pound out chicken from the center until chicken is a 1/2 in thick.  Pull chicken out of zip lock back and coat front and back with bread crumbs.  Heat up Gorgonzola cheese in the microwave for 30 seconds or until soft and creamy.  Spread a layer of Gorgonzola cheese on one side of chicken breasts and sprinkle with dried cranberries.  Season inside with cracked pepper.  Roll chicken up with cheese layer on the inside.  Pin ends closed with toothpicks.  Repeat with the second chicken breast.  Bake in a shallow dish at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes or until middle of chicken reads 165 degrees F.  Serve immediately. 

- Miss J

Served with roasted potatoes and a salad

Carmelized Red Onion and Feta Tartlets

This is my sister-in-law's favorite recipe!  I have made this for several parties and on all occasions they were a huge hit.  This last week, I made them for book club.  I was running late and had to cut some corners so I have to admit they didn't turn out as well.  However, if you follow the recipe they are fabulous!

Serves: 24

Source: Finger Food, edited by Kay Scarlett

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large red onions, finely chopped

2 teaspoons chopped, fresh thyme

3 sheets store-bought, short-crust pastry

1/2 cup feta, crumbled

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup whipping cream

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Heat the oil in a frying pan (don't use a nonstick one or the onion's won't caramelize).  Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat for 30 minutes or until dark gold.  Add the thyme, stir well, and transfer to a bowl to cool.

Grease twenty-four shallow, tart pan cups.  Using an 3-inch cutter, cut out twenty-four pastry rounds and line the cups with the rounds.  Divide the onions among the tart cups, then spoon the feta over the onions.  Combine the eggs with the cream, season, and pour into the pastry cases.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until puffed and golden.  Leave in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Notes:  These can be made the day before and reheated in a 300 degree F oven for 10 minutes before serving.  As I mentioned before, I cut corners with this recipe and it didn't turn out as well.  I didn't use fresh thyme and I used a non-stick pan which didn't allow the red onions to properly caramelize.  A cast iron skillet works best for this. 

- Miss J

(This picture does not do these little tartlets justice!)

Pecan Pumpkin Roll

Although I don't love baking, I tend to pick this up as a hobby around the holidays.  For book club, I made a pumpkin role for the girls.  It would have been more of a success if I would have followed the directions; however, I think it still turned out alright!

Serves: 12

Source:  Taste of Home, Best Holiday Recipes 2006

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup finely chopped pecans

Confectioners' sugar

FILLING:

2 packages (3 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line a greased 15-in x 10-in x 1-in baking pan with waxed paper and grease the paper; set aside.  In a mixing bowl, beat eggs for 5 minutes.  Add the sugar, flour, pumpkin, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, salt and nutmeg; mix well. Add lemon juice.  Spread batter evenly in prepared pan; sprinkle with pecans.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.  Cool for 5 minutes.  Turn cake onto a kitchen towel dusted with confectioners' sugar.  Gently peel off waxed paper.  Roll up cake in towel, jelly-roll style, starting with the short side.  Cool completely on a wire rack. 

In a mixing bowl, combine the filling ingredients; beat until smooth.  Unroll cake; spread filling over cake to within 1/2 inch of edges.  Roll up again; place seam side down on a serving platter.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Notes:  I only put pecans on half of the roll in case someone doesn't like nuts.  I actually forgot to sprinkle the pecans on the pan before I baked it so i just sprinkled them on the filling and rolled it up.  Helps if you follow directions, but it worked out!

- Miss J



Restaurant Review: Trattoria Roma

One of the resident's Moe works with swears by this restaurant. Moe and I decided to give it a try as I had a $25 gift certificate to use.  We didn't have a reservation, but when we arrived, we were seated quickly.  It was a small cozy restaurant with dim lighting that created a romantic atmosphere.  I again ordered a glass of Cabernet sauvignon and Moe got the Insalata Della Casa.  We started out with bread which Moe loved, but I thought was a little heavy on the butter/oil and garlic.  I ordered the special which was a ravioli stuffed with butternut squash in a Gorgonzola cream sauce.  I thought the ravioli was fabulous but the sauce was a bit heavy. I was only able to eat about 1/4th of the meal before I had to call it quits because it was so heavy.  Moe got the Parmigiana Chicken which is predictable.  Moe rarely ventures far from the traditional "Chicken Parmesan" on the menu.  However, because he always order it, he has somewhat become a connoisseur for this entree.  His favorite is at Martini Italian Bistro; however, he said this was a close second.  Although, I wasn't a huge fan of the Gorgonzola sauce on my dish, I think I would definitely want to come back and give this restaurant another try.

http://www.trattoria-roma.com/

Garrett Glass Cabinet

I have been in the market for a wooden cabinet for two years, and this past week my mission came to an end! THANK GOD!  I have explained to Moe that we will most definitely need some place to store our dishes if we have to move into an apartment.  We are spoiled with all the cabinet space we have now, and if we want to take our crystal with us, we have to come up with some where to store it.  I have been keeping my eye out for a cabinet that can be used as a storage cabinet for dishes / glassware, BUT can become a bookcase in our future home.  This seems like a simple task, but when you know exactly what you want, and are not flexible about it, it makes shopping difficult sometimes.  This past week when I did my routine check of Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, The Great Indoors, and numerous other websites, I found the Garrett Glass Cabinet.  If I had my way, I would buy it right now.  However, Moe is all about waiting so it can be delivered and set up wherever we end up.  As a result, I am finding myself checking the website twice a day to make sure it doesn't go out of stock or get discontinued.   I LOVE IT! Click the website below to see additional pictures and furniture specs.

 http://www.potterybarn.com/products/garrett-glass-cabinet/popup/more-views.html?active=s1

Book Review (The Glass Castle)

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is one of my top five favorite books.  I selected this for our book club this month and was so excited to discuss it with everyone.  Jeannette Walls was formerly the gossip columnist for MSNBC.com, but has since become a renowned author.  I love this story because despite the horrible conditions these children had to endure, they conquered each obstacle with a sense of hope.  It is also an interesting twist because the book starts out in current time so you know where she ends up, but you then flash back to see her entire life unfold up until that point.  Knowing this was beneficial as there were parts in the book that were so disturbing that I had to remind myself that despite all odds, she ends up OK.  Click the site below if you want to see an interview with Jeannette Walls on amazon.com!

- Miss J

Interview with Jeannette Walls

Source:  Amazon Publishers Weekly Review - The Glass Castle

Starred Review. Freelance writer Walls doesn't pull her punches. She opens her memoir by describing looking out the window of her taxi, wondering if she's "overdressed for the evening" and spotting her mother on the sidewalk, "rooting through a Dumpster." Walls's parents—just two of the unforgettable characters in this excellent, unusual book—were a matched pair of eccentrics, and raising four children didn't conventionalize either of them. Her father was a self-taught man, a would-be inventor who could stay longer at a poker table than at most jobs and had "a little bit of a drinking situation," as her mother put it. With a fantastic storytelling knack, Walls describes her artist mom's great gift for rationalizing. Apartment walls so thin they heard all their neighbors? What a bonus—they'd "pick up a little Spanish without even studying." Why feed their pets? They'd be helping them "by not allowing them to become dependent." While Walls's father's version of Christmas presents—walking each child into the Arizona desert at night and letting each one claim a star—was delightful, he wasn't so dear when he stole the kids' hard-earned savings to go on a bender. The Walls children learned to support themselves, eating out of trashcans at school or painting their skin so the holes in their pants didn't show. Buck-toothed Jeannette even tried making her own braces when she heard what orthodontia cost. One by one, each child escaped to New York City. Still, it wasn't long before their parents appeared on their doorsteps. "Why not?" Mom said. "Being homeless is an adventure."

What goes up, must come down

As some of you know, homeowning comes with its ups and downs.  The downs being after the leaves fall in autumn, you are faced with a choice....let them rot or clean them up.  I went with cleaning them up this year. My body is feeling the pain today.

     BEFORE

     AFTER (3 hours later)

- Miss J

Twenty-seven or fifty?

Moe was in San Diego this past weekend presenting his research at a medical conference.  I was already sad that I couldn't join him, but when I learned that my brother and sister-in-law were going to drive down from L.A. to meet him, I got even more bummed out.  I also had false hope when Moe called my cell phone Thursday only 15 minutes before I was supposed to board my flight home from Dallas.  He was at the airport about to fly to San Diego but had a connecting flight through Dallas.  He encouraged me to not board the plane and just catch a flight to San Diego instead so we could spend the weekend together.  Excitement overwhelmed me; however, it quickly dissipated as the flight crew informed me that it would cost $800 dollars to change my flights around.  I commend him for his optimism, but It was only a good idea for about three minutes.  Instead, we just waved in the sky as our planes passed.  Anyways, I was stuck at home Friday night with nothing to do.  My evening can be summed up by the following photograph...  

Am I twenty-seven years old or fifty?  Sometimes I can't tell.  It is a good book if you all are looking for something to read. 

- Miss J

Bad luck

Sunday morning I woke up hung-over and eager to get home after spending the night in Dublin with my sister.  Skyler and I packed up the car super early (7 am) only to find the dashboard lights going crazy and my car refusing to start.  I was less than thrilled to be standing in the freezing cold at 8 am watching my Prius being dragged onto a flatbed tow truck.  As if my day wasn't bad enough, I come home to find my sink disposal was busted.  My bad luck streak needs to end ASAP.

And the market still has a pulse!!!!

Up until this past weekend, we only had one showing for our house.  Everyone kept telling me that it "only takes one" and that there is no reason to be concerned.  However, it is hard to not worry when you are on the other side of it.  When you know you are probably moving in seven months and the LAST thing you want to do is have an unsold house in a city you aren't even living in anymore. I had reached out to my realtor who tried to ease my concern by reminding me that the market is dead right now and that we put the house up early knowing that we would really push it when it came to spring time. Although this made me feel a little better, my mood really picked up on Friday afternoon when I got a phone call asking if it was OK to having a showing from 1 -2 pm on Saturday!  OF COURSE IT IS!!! I was so excited that I got up and cleaned my house on Saturday morning and got Sky all ready to go to the park.  I also got another phone call from the real estate office asking if we could have another showing from 2 - 3:30 pm on Sunday!  TWO IN ONE WEEKEND!  A 200% increase in the number of showings thus far!  Right at 1 pm, Moe noticed that a car was sitting outside so we packed up the dog and headed off to the park.  We ate lunch and let Sky play with Jack, her new-found friend.  At 2:10 pm, we decided to pack up and head back to the house.  However, we we pulled up, they were still there which I am hoping is a good sign!  We did a "drive-by" and went and got coffee at Starbucks (Moe is addicted from the long work hours during his surgery rotation).  At 2:30 pm, we arrived back home and they were gone.  Now I am just anxiously awaiting feedback. I hope they like our house as much as we do!

- Miss J

Farfalle Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Feta

I was really excited to cook dinner for Moe so I made a list at work of random ingredients that I had and came up with this creation.  I got a text from Moe at five thirty saying that he would be leaving in 45 minutes from the hospital.  I thought to myself..."PERFECT".   I have plenty of time to make this dish, set the table, and pour some wine.  I get home with little traffic, start the cooking process, only to receive a text 15 minutes before Moe is supposed to arrive that he won't be home for awhile.  Disappointed, I pull the water off the stove to stop it from boiling, and plan to "postpone" my cooking as much as possible so we can eat together.  I finally get on the phone with him to hear "go ahead and eat without me" which quickly followed with a click. Annoyed, I kick up the stove top again to resume my pasta cooking.  Ten minutes later, I get a text saying "Sorry I was so short. I'm getting my a$$ beat here".  Twenty minutes later, I am pouring myself a glass of red wine and eating my pasta dish with Skyler's head politely resting in my lap.  A typical evening for the wife of someone in a surgery rotation. This is good practice for next year when he will be an intern.  Although my dinner date turned out to be for one, the pasta dish still turned out pretty well!

Serves:  4
Source:  Miss J

8.8 oz Farfalle Pasta (Torino - from World Market)
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled
1 cup spinach
1/2 onion
1 bell pepper (red or orange)
a handful of pine nuts (probably 1/8 cup)
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
salt and pepper

Dice up onion, bell pepper, and garlic and saute with olive oil in a skillet on medium heat.  Once onions and bell peppers are tender, set aside.  Roast pine nuts until slightly golden.  Lightly chop sun dried tomatoes up and add to skillet with pine nuts.  Add bell peppers, onions, and garlic back into the pan. Add chopped spinach and together.  Keep on low heat.  Boil water for pasta.  Cook pasta according to packaging just make sure that it is al dente. Reserve about a 1/2 cup of cooking water.  Lightly toss pasta with olive oil and mix in onion and bell pepper mixture.  Season with salt and pepper and top with feta before serving. 


Ratings:
Moe, 8 out of 10 (he ate leftovers and still wanted to share his opinion on it)
Miss J, 8 out of 10

Hasta la vista telephone poles!

So our house has been on the market for almost a month now, and as of last week, we had only one showing.  The one potential buyer gave their feedback saying that master bathroom was too small, and the backyard was too small with a bad view.  Although I should be upset about this, both of these points were ones we observed when first showed the house, but hardly stopped us from buying it (obviosuly).  Most houses in our neighborhood don't even have a master bathroom, and the backyard is small, but is plenty big enough for a crazy golden retriever to "butt-run" around in circles.  As for the view, I have been working on this one for four years.  There are a total of four telephone poles in our backyard of which two are unused and rotting.  I have been in a dispute with AT&T and AEP who both claim that the other company owns the poles and are therefore responsible for removing them.  I had given up on the fight all together until I got the negative feedback from the potential buyer.  Needless to say, the war began again about two weeks ago.  After hours on the phone to get a evaluation set up, I got a call from AEP saying that they notified AT&T that the poles were theirs (something that they had done four times in the last four years).  After getting into heated argument, the AEP guy agreed to remove the poles and bill AT&T if I promised to stop calling them about this issue.   I immediately responded "DONE".  WIthin two days the poles were removed.  I won after four years.  Better late than never!

- Miss J

Chicken Enchiladas

Whenever I have leftover chicken, rice, or beans, this is my go to meal.  It is a quick and easy meal that you can throw together in no time! 

Serves: 4 Enchiladas
Source:  Miss J

1 - 1 1/2 cup Trader Joe's Enchilada Sauce
4 whole wheat tortilla soft shells

1 bell pepper (any color)

3/4 onion

1 cup chicken (cooked and shredded)
1/2 cup salsa (any kind)

shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup brown rice (cooked)

1/2 cup sour cream

Vegetarian option: (substitute in for chicken)
roasted corn
refried beans or black beans

Sour cream sauce:
2 oz of Velveeta cheese (approximately 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup of sour cream
1/2 tsp ground red pepper (more or less depending on desired spice)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dice up onions and bell pepper.  In a skillet, saute onions and bell peppers in olive oil until tender.  Set aside. Pour enchilada sauce into a shallow bowl.  With a basting brush, coat both both sides of the tortilla with enchilada sauce.  Layer 1/4 of the rice, chicken, sour cream, salsa, cheddar cheese, and enchilada sauce (1 tsp approximately).  Wrap tortilla and flip over so overlapped side is face down in a 9 x 5 inch baking dish (glass).  Repeat this step three times for a total of four tortillas.  Top enchiladas with extra cheese if desired (Moe lives for cheese and is always adding it when I'm not looking to recipes).  Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  While enchiladas are cooking, mix sour cream, Velveeta, and ground red pepper in a bowl.  Heat up in the microwave to serve on top of enchiladas once they come out of the oven.  Serve immediately!

Notes:  I often times will make two vegetarian enchiladas with corn and beans and two chicken ones for Moe.  I have also made this recipe with squash or zucchini if I am out of bell peppers. 

Ratings:
Moe, 9 out of 10
Miss J, 9 out of 10

Trick-or-Treat

Although I am 27 years old, I still get excited when it comes to trick-or-treating. I think this is one of the things that I am most excited for once I have kids.  An excuse to go house to house and see all the cute kids in their costumes.  If I were to do that now, I would be a creep ball, but once I have kids... 100% acceptable!  This year, I went out and bought five bags of candy at lunch, and then rushed home after work to try to get dinner in the oven before the trick-or-treaters started arriving.  Skyler was all ready in her costume.  I wish I could deck her out in a full attire, but she would mostly definitely spend the whole night inhaling it instead of sitting still and looking cute.  I peeked out the window at 6:15 pm as my door bell hadn't rung yet, and noticed that not a single person was on our street.  It was the weirdest thing.  No children, no adults, no lights, no cars.  It was like the whole neighborhood was deserted.  At about 6:40 pm, I got online to double check that I had the correct date.  I thought for sure that I was going to read that it is on Saturday and that I was a complete ninny for messing up the dates.  However, to my surprise the website still said October 28th from 6 pm - 8 pm.  I ate my dinner, drank my wine, and started getting annoyed that I had spent $20 on candy that I would probably end up eating all of it and regretting it the next day.  I had given up on the entire event and shut the blinds when Skyler started going bizerk.  The door bell rang. I excitedly opened the door to find two 17 year old boys holding out a baseball cap flipped upside down with a couple pieces of candy in them.  No "trick-or-treat" greeting from them.  Just a "do you have any candy?"  Annoyed, I held out the bucket of candy and let them take two handfuls (two handfuls less that I would be eating).  The one kid even came back for a third handful... UNBELIEVABLE.  Anyways, next year I am just going to turn out all the lights in the house, sit in my basement with a bottle of wine, and pretend I am not home.  At least, I won't have the disappointment of handing out candy to costume-less 17 year olds. 

- Miss J

At least Skyler kept me company!