Weekly Menu 2/1-2/6

Sorry I haven't been around much lately. We got rid of our internet at home so I have to come to my parents or go to the library in order to use their computers. I forgot my camera today so I can't do any blog updates. But I will do the Weekly Menu and promise Goat Cheese Marinara Chicken, Blondies, Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Muffins and maybe Oatmeal Raisin Cookies along with the trial wedding cake for my sister-in-law and anything I make this week!

Hamburgers with homemade fries
Brats with homemade fries
Chicken parmesan with pasta
Steak (not sure sides but probably roasted asparagus)
Turkey panini's (may make my pumpkin soup with these)
Pizza Friday, may do pizza bake

Weekly Menu 1/18-1/23

Sunday: Chicken and Corn Chowder (My Kitchen Cafe)
Monday: Smothered Pork Chops, steamed green beans and new potatoes (Taste of Home)
Tuesday: Chicken, mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus (Taste of Home)
Wednesday: Parker's Beef Stew (Barefoot Contessa)
Thursday: Mac-n-cheese with hot dogs (out of the blue box, it's our cheap night)
Friday-Sunday: We will be at Kevin's parent's for our nephews birthday party!

Bourbon Chicken

This is another recipe (and picture) that I stole off My Kitchen Cafe She is quickly becoming my favorite blogger!
Bourbon Chicken
adapted from Blog Chef as seen on My Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:
2lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons oil (for pan-frying)
cornstarch (for dusting, optional)

Sauce:
1 garlic clove (minced)
¼ teaspoon ginger (I used ground ginger)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup apple juice
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
½ cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce

Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, and if you choose lightly dust with cornstarch. Heat oil in your wok and fry chicken bits in batches until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

In a bowl combine all sauce ingredients. Pour into wok and bring to a boil. Add chicken bits back to the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Weekly Menu 1/10-1/16

Tonight: Eating with my parents, DH ate with his after cutting wood

Tomorrow: lunch-Leftover pizza from Friday night dinner-Bourbon Chicken with Rice (from MyKitchenCafe) ***Had the pizza for dinner as we snacked on other things all day***

Monday: Chicken and Corn Chowder (MyKitchenCafe) ***Had the Bourbon Chicken***

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Italian Beef (again MyKitchenCafe) ***Breakfast for dinner since dinner club was cancelled on Wed and I wanted the crockpot meal for Wed***

Wednesday: Girl's Dinner Club (at my BFF's house) ***Slow Cooker Italian Beef***

Thursday: Beef and noodles with l/o beef from Tues. ***I did actually make this***

Friday: Pizza Friday, may do pepperoni and cheese bread again ***Yep we had pepperoni and cheese bread, man that stuff is good!***

Orange Chicken

I had this on my "to make" list for awhile and couldn't hardly wait any longer. You see I LOVE anything Chinese and thought this was a great alternative to the fried yumminess that is the usual Chinese food. This recipe did not disappoint! It came from another of my fave blogs: MyKitchenCafe, I love her stuff!

Orange Chicken
adapted from Blog Chef as seen on MyKitchenCafe

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2" cubes
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons oil or butter

1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons green onion
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flour, garlic powder and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.

Pour oil (or melt butter and pour) in a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine water, fresh orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest and whisk over medium heat for a few minutes. Then stir in brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onion and let it come to a boil. Combine cornstarch with water and let it dissolve and add it to the sauce until thickened.

After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour 1/2 sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes basting frequently.

Serve chicken over rice with extra sauce on the side.

Cheesy, beefy, rice and bean enchiladas

This recipe has some inspiration from one of my favorite blogs, Amber's Delectable Delights. She has 2 enchilada recipes on her blog and it reminded me that I should make some this week!

Crystal's Cheesy, Beefy, Rice and Bean Enchiladas

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground turkey
Taco Seasoning packet
1 jar taco sauce
1 can black beans
enough white rice (I used Minute Rice) for 2 servings, already made
4 oz cream cheese
2 cups Mexi-Blend Cheese
6-8 flour tortillas

Brown ground beef and turkey together in skillet over medium heat. Drain. Return to skillet. Stir in packet of Taco Seasoning and make according to directions. Stir in 4oz of cream cheese and let melt.

Pour enough taco sauce in 9x13 pan to cover bottom. Drain and rinse black beans. In assembly formation take one tortilla and place it in the palm of your hand. Now place a scoop of ground meat in tortilla, then a spoon of beans and a spoon of rice in tortilla, top with shredded cheese, roll up and place seam side down in pan on top of sauce. Continuing rolling all enchiladas with meat, rice and beans. Cover with taco sauce and remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until cheese is melted and browned.

Pizza Dough

I have been on the hunt for a good pizza dough for awhile now. I have tried 2 others that just didn't make the grade, this one however will remain front and center in my recipe book! The crust is crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, and the best thing about homemade pizza is you can put whatever you want on the top, so for us it's lots of cheese then pepperoni for Kevin and anything for me, this night it was garlic and green olives! I just made it on a cookie sheet and used all of the dough because we like a thicker crust. I baked it on 400 for about 20 mins.

Pizza Dough as seen on Brown-Eyed Bakers Blog
(Source: Baking Illustrated, pages 153-155)

Makes enough for 3 medium pizzas.

We find the food processor is the best tool for making pizza dough. However, only a food processor with a capacity of at least 11 cups can handle this much dough. You can also knead this dough by hand or in a standing mixer (see the variations that follow). Unbleached all-purpose flour can be used in a pinch, but the resulting crust will be less crisp. If you want to make pizza dough in the morning and let it rise on the counter all day, decrease the yeast to 1/2 teaspoon and let the covered dough rise at cool room temperature (about 68 degrees) until doubled in size, about 8 hours. You can prolong the rising time even further by refrigerating the covered dough for up to 16 hours and then letting it rise on the counter until doubled in size, which will take 6 to 8 hours.

1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 envelope (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (22 ounces) bread flour, plus more for dusting work surface and hands
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Olive oil or nonstick cooking spray for oiling the bowl

1. Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room-temperature water and oil and stir to combine.

2. Process the flour and salt in a large food processor, pulsing to combine. Continue pulsing while pouring the liquid ingredients (holding back a few tablespoons) through the feed tube. If the dough does not readily form into a ball, add the remaining liquid and continue to pulse until a ball forms. Process until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 30 seconds longer.

3. The dough will be a bit tacky, so use a rubber spatula to turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead by h and for a few strokes to form a smooth, round ball. Put the dough into a deep oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Press the dough to deflate it.

Pizza Dough Kneaded by Hand
Follow the recipe for Pizza Dough through step 1. Omit step 2 and instead combine the salt and half the flour in a deep bowl. Add the liquid ingredients and use a wooden spoon to combine. Add the remaining flour, stirring until a cohesive mass forms. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic 7 to 8 minutes, using as little dusting flour as possible while kneading. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and proceed with the recipe.

Pizza Dough Kneaded in a Standing Mixer
Follow the recipe for Pizza Dough through step 1. Omit step 2 and instead place the flour and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle. Briefly combine the dry ingredients at low speed. Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix at low speed until a cohesive mass forms. Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and proceed with the recipe.

Oatmeal Chip Peanut Squares

For Christmas I ordered another book I wanted Kevin to give me! It's called 1500 Best Bars, Cookies, Muffins, Cakes & More by Esther Brody, and there are so many recipes in it I want to try. This first one came about because Kevin was upset that I was making Nellie some more dog treats and he wanted a treat. So a quick look into this book quickly revealed many recipes he would love. So this is the one I made since some of his favorite things are peanut butter and chocolate.

Oatmeal Chip Peanut Squares
Preheat oven to 350.
Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup butter or margarine softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

In a large bowl, beat brown sugar, syrup, butter and vanilla until blended and smooth. Stir in oats. Press evenly into prepared pan. Bake in Preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Place pan on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over top, then drop small spoonfuls of peanut butter over top of the chips. Let stand for about 5 minutes, until chips and peanut butter have softened, then run a knife through the topping to created a marbling effect. Chill for 15-20 minutes, until topping is firm, then cut into squares.

Chocolate Pillows

This is for madebymel! We were going to make them for NYE but with our Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip we didn't need them. However I was craving something chocolatey for days and finally got Kevin talked in to letting me make these! They are from the Pilsbury.com website and since I always have the ingredients on hand they are a good thing!

Chocolate Pillows

INGREDIENTS
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations™ refrigerated flaky dough sheet
18 milk chocolate candy drops (I just use a couple Tbl. of chocolate chips)
1 tablespoon whipping cream (I've also used 1/2 and 1/2 if it's what I have on hand)
1 teaspoon sugar
Chocolate Sauce
1/2 cup whipping cream (again I've used 1/2 and 1/2)
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips




DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Unroll dough on work surface; press dough into 12x8-inch rectangle. Cut into 6 squares (if it's just for me and hubby I'll do 4 rectangles and heat up the leftovers the next night, just pop in the microwave for about 30 seconds). Place on cookie sheet.
2. Place 3 chocolate candy drops in center of each dough square (or a Tbl of so of chocolate chips). Bring 4 corners of dough to center of candies; twist firmly. Pinch edges to seal. Brush tops with 1 tablespoon whipping cream; sprinkle with sugar.
3. Bake 14 to 19 minutes or until deep golden brown.
4. Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat sauce ingredients over low heat 1 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth. Spoon 2 tablespoons sauce onto each serving plate. Top each with 1 pillow; drizzle with remaining sauce.

Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies

I have been making these cookies for years, I would call them my go-to cookie, how I've not blogged about them before I don't know. I originally found this recipe (it's just on the back of the Reese's Peanut Butter Chips) with my grandma, I was probably in my early teens and really got the cooking bug. I would go to my grandma's house in the summers when I was younger and then when I got a little older I would go at least once a week, just to hang out, eat lunch, and get wonderful words of wisdom, I miss her so much. So this post is dedicated to a great lady, I will always love you.

Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa (I was using what I had left this time and it was a tad over the 3/4 cup and it made them even more chocolatey and so good!)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups (10 oz pkg) Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

Heat oven to 350.

Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in peanut butter chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet (I used a cookie sheet lined with parchmant paper). Bake 8-9 minutes.(Do not overbake; cookies will be soft, it took mine 9 mins, you can tell if they are not done in the cracks that will form) Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Recipe says you will get 4 1/2 dozen, I got just shy of 4 dozen, but I like a bigger cookie!

Blog it Forward!

Let’s Eat Cake, an amazing fundraiser hosted by the equally amazing Melissa Margarita-DiStefano, is coming up quick: Tuesday, February 17th at the Plaza Paramount Hotel! Let’s Eat Cake is a cake decorating competition with all proceeds going to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Learn more about the fundraiser right here.

In an effort to make sure we get the word out to everyone (and raise money), we are starting this chain-blog (Ok, not sure if that is correct terminology. But it’s like a chain letter so let’s just go with it, shall we?)

Here’s what we need you to do…Repost this post (or create your own new version) on your blog and ask others to post it on their blogs. Melissa will donate one dollar to the fundraiser for EVERY BLOG that posts on Let’s Eat Cake this week! With the power of the blogosphere, that can QUICKLY add up! Let’s make Melissa Pay! Once you have reposted it, leave a comment letting us know that you posted it along with the url to the blog. It’s for a great cause and it will be fun to see how far it will go! So lets do it… Lets blog it forward and raise money for a great cause!!!

**Kudos to Unique Designs for creating this fun chain-blog effort!**

P.S. Ok, Melissa… time to kick in another $1!

P.S.S. If any business wants to help out with a matching challenge, Melissa would love to hear from you!

Pepperoni and Cheese Bread

I was doing my usual surfing on all of the wonderful food blogs that I frequent and came across this recipe not only once, but twice! The first was on Amber's Delectable Delights and the second on Mrs Sac's Purple Kitchen. I thought if these two wonderful women like it then we must too! They did not disappoint and I have another pizza dish to add to our Pizza Friday rotation!

Pepperoni and Cheese Bread

Ingredients:

1 roll refrigerated french bread dough OR 1 loaf frozen bread dough (thawed)
Regular or turkey pepperoni
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Dried Italian seasoning
My pizza sauce---I used Prego three cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.
Roll out bread dough, and drizzle with olive oil, a few small dollops of sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella, Parmesan cheeses, Italian seasoning, and place pepperoni on top of the cheese.

Carefully roll the bread dough into a cylinder shape. Pinch ends and top to seal. Brush top and sides with some olive oil.

If desired, top loaf with cheese, pepperoni, and/or Italian seasoning. Make a few diagonal slices in top of loaf for air to escape while cooking.
Bake at 350 for ~20 min. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

Serve with pizza sauce.


I also made breadsticks with a can of Crescent rolls I had on hand. I seperated the crescents into the 4 rectangles that they naturally fall in. I cut each one in 1/2 and then into 1/2 again so each rectangle gave me 4 sticks. I then twisted each strip and placed on a foil lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. I then sprayed the twists on cooking spray and then sprinkled parmesan cheese over them. I baked at 375 for 14 mins (which was a min or 2 too long) and then brushed them with 1/2 cup of butter that was melted and had 1 tsp of garlic powder added. They were very good!

Weekly Menu 1/4-1/9

Sunday: Orange Chicken with rice and peas (Blog Chef as found on Mykitchencafe)---this was sooooo good, I can't wait to blog it!
Monday: Bagel Chip Encrusted Tilapia with stuffing and green beans (mine)--made the enchilada's because I forgot to set out the Tilapia from the freezer
Tuesday: Fresh Fettuccine with Chicken (Amber's Delectable Delights)--ended up being the Tilapia and it was delish!
Wednesday:Beef, rice and black bean Enchilada's (again Amber's Delectable Delights)--ended up being Papa John's because I got sick with a sinus infection
Thursday: Leftovers or Fend for Yourself--ended up being mozzerella stuffed meatballs because Kevin threw the leftovers out in the trash on Wed.! This was easy to throw together since I was sick and had ground beef & turkey.
Friday: Pizza Friday, I'll try homemade dough again!

This reminds me I need yeast. I had an MS moment and put the yeast in the cupboard instead of the fridge like the bottle said. It's hard to save money by making your own bread when you let your yeast go bad!

NYE Apps

We decided to just do an appetizer night for New Years this year. It was great! We snuggled into our lounge clothes and I tried to keep Kevin awake til midnight. Well we did end up toasting at 11:00 with the Disney count-down (yes I'm a huge Disney fan, I love Hannah, the Wizards of Waverly Place, yep I'm a dork) and then Kevin went on to bed. I started watching a Lifetime movie and stayed up til 1 am.

Here is what we made:
both of these are from the Pilsbury website!
Italian Pinwheels
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (2 oz)
1/2 cup sliced pepperoni, finely chopped (I used turkey because I had it on hand and will never make it like that again, it tasted funny all chopped up)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves--I used a tsp of Italian Seasoning
1 egg yolk
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations™ refrigerated flaky dough sheet
1 egg white, beaten

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix cheese, pepperoni, oregano and egg yolk. (I doubled this mixture due to other reviews and was glad I did)
2. If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate dough into 4 rectangles. Firmly press perforations to seal. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut into 4 rectangles.
3. Spread each rectangle with about 3 tablespoons pepperoni mixture. Starting at shortest side, roll up each rectangle; pinch edges to seal. Cut each roll into 6 slices. Place, cut side down, 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush with beaten egg white. (I then sprinkled with some parmesan cheese).
4. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.


I made these at Thanksgiving and they got rave reviews so I made them again!
Cheese Crescent Triangles
4 oz tomato-basil feta cheese, finely crumbled (1 cup)
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions (2 medium)
1 egg, well beaten
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations™ refrigerated flaky dough sheet
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix feta cheese, green onions and 3 tablespoons of the beaten egg.
2. If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate into 4 rectangles. Press perforations to seal. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut into 4 rectangles.
3. Press each rectangle into 7 1/2x5-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle into 3 rows by 2 rows to make 6 (2 1/2-inch) squares. Top each dough square with slightly rounded measuring teaspoon feta cheese mixture. Fold dough over filling, forming triangle; press edges to seal. On ungreased cookie sheets, place triangles 2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining 3 dough rectangles and feta cheese mixture.
4. Brush tops with remaining beaten egg. Sprinkle lightly with Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.


Buffalo Chicken Dip

and Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates
I totally winged this idea after getting the idea from the girls on the What's Cooking board:
I made about 12 dates
Slice Dates 1/2 way open, remove pit and discard pit, place about 1 tsp on goat cheese on inside of date.
Slice 4 slices of bacon in thirds roll a date inside a slice of bacon.
Sprinkle with some brown sugar and bake for about 25 minutes at 350!

And I made my mom's Hot Chocolate (I have no idea where she got this recipe, she's made it for years!)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup baking cocoa (I use Hersheys)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
6 1/2 cups hot water (I will half this with heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2 if I have it on hand to make it creamier)
Mix all of the ingredients and heat through in a pot on the stove over medium heat and then reduce to low if you will be drinking on it all day. I also make this in the crockpot and it works just fine, just mix all ingredients in crockpot place on high until everything gets mixed together well and then put on low. I like it in the crockpot better, if you place it on the stove it begins to get a film on the top but once moved aside the hot chocolate is still wonderful!

2008 a year in pictures!

Well I can say that I am very happy that 2008 is over and done with and am hoping so that 2009 is much better. 2008 was full of me becoming disabled with my MS, stopping working, and lots of financial struggle because of these things. However there were good things that happened too, and looking back over pictures I am reminded just how many there were!

Good things that happened in 2008:
January: We got Nellie, who has become like our child and is my constant companion.

February: We were still doing South Beach and I think it might be a good thing to jump start a weight loss for hubby and myself. We traveled to my sister's and had a great weekend, our dogs got to meet and I got to meet an online friend in real life!

March: I finally said I had had enough and stopped working. Yes it sucks not having the income, but I finally have the time for me. I can sleep when and as long as I need to. I'm pretty sure it was the end of March that we had Ashley's wedding shower. My mom helped me throw it and we had it at our local tea room, it was a great day and I loved my mom's idea that we all had to wear "tea party" hats. This is Heather, Me and Ash!

April: There is nothing in my blog from this month (other than a menu) and it's probably because I was pretty sick when I stopped working, but that won't happen this year!

May: My BFF's wedding to her wonderful new hubby! This is my fave picture from the wedding of my dad and Kevin: Our first anniversary was spent at a lovely little camp site some friends of ours let us borrow. It was great! I had my 10 year high school reunion. I also started cooking again and I posted my mom's cornbread, it's the ONLY recipe I use!

June: Once again nothing in the blog. Man was it a year for change or what. I did get to spend a lot of time in my garden and for the first time it looked REALLY good! And we had our annual mother/daughter weekend and this year my sister joined us. We had a wonderful weekend full of good shopping and good food!

July: I finally blogged a ton in July and this was the month I learned that I could make gravy (your welcome hubby) and the introduction of Tortilla Scramble.

August: Something happened and I didn't blog Aug-Sept. It probably had something to do with my disability being denied and I fell into a pretty bad depression. Thank goodness for my awesome family and friends (yes you, the ones who read this blog) for pulling me out of it.

September: My 29th birthday it was a great one spent with wonderful parents! I also cut my hair off, but ended up loving it! Me and my momma also worked the MS 150 bike ride, it was a great time and I am looking forward to continuing volunteering with everything MS!

October: Was a month of change. Kevin changed jobs. My grandpa moved away. I decided to change my blog, I started paying more attention to my photos, started blogging and cooking more. It was also the month Crash Potatoes got introduced to my life! At the end of the month (the 26th to be exact) our baby boy was brought into the world. Okay well he's not ours, but Kevin's baby sister brought the most gorgeous baby into this world. Yep I'm the most proud auntie ever!


November: Kevin changed jobs once again and this time it's gonna stick, he's happy and it's a wonderful company! I blogged about my mom's lasagna which is a winner in my book! I also spent a week without my hubby at my in-laws helping Kevin's sister with the baby, and yes I made it just fine! Kevin's 31st birthday came and went, with a nice little dinner I put on at the house for us and my parents.

December: Brought Buffalo Chicken Dip into our lives. I had been wanting to make it forever, but wasn't sure if Kevin would like it so I made it for my dad, well I should have been making it all along because Kevin (as well as myself) loved it! It also brought about a change in myself. I am not going to stress over money anymore, because well it's just money, it comes and it goes. I have a beautiful house and a wonderful hubby, and don't forget about those great parents, a wonderful sister (and Em) and friends.



Thank you to all of you who have been there, who have supported us through the good times and the crappy ones, I appreciate you all more than you will ever know! I'm just gonna mention a few friends who make my life better, Ashley (you are really the best girl anyone could ask for, I love you!), Heather (thank you for girls dinner club and although we don't hang out or talk a lot I know I can always count on you) and Ali (yes you can be a pain in my butt, but girl I love you! We have been through a lot together and somehow we come back to each other everytime! thank you).

And to my hubby who is the best man ever and times when I thought he should walk away he never did. Thank you for putting up with me! I love you!



So I am hoping in 2009 that:

My disability goes through.
I finally get under 200 lbs.
I try more new recipes.
I blog every week (at least, every day would be even better).
We get back on a good financial footing.
I can figure out how to stay on budget!
I try and stave off becoming any more disabled, so I need to do my stretching and yoga and walk when I can!