Celebrating Marriage

It's been a while since I've posted anything but recipes on here.

I've decided this needs to change - so today I'm going to do a "Thankful Thursday" post.  I know it is not, indeed, Thursday - but since this is my blog, I get to make the rules - and change them up.

Today is a very special occasion - it's my parent's 31st anniversary!

In a world full of divorces and broken families, I am so thankful that I have two wonderful parents who are an excellent example of what a healthy marriage looks like.  Beyond the "honeymoon" phase, through raising 5 kids,  it is possible to stay married.  And happy.

It all began on July 12, 1980.  Five child-births, many graduations, 3 weddings, and 5 grandchildren later - they are still together.

So Happy Anniversary, mom and dad!

Here's to hoping that 31 years from now, Adam and I will be as happy as you two!

Much Love to All!

Tasty Tuesdays - Sloppy Joe DiMaggios

I got this recipe off Rachel Rae's 30 Minute Meals (she had it paired with this sweet corn salad that looked delectable).

I made it for my husband's birthday a couple weeks ago and it was a pretty big hit.

It's real simple to make and puts a fun, tasty twist on sloppy joe's.

It's also great for the summertime - great for cookouts and family get-togethers because you can double this recipe and make enough for a small army.

1.  Brown about 2 pounds of ground meat in a large skillet - seasoned with a little grill seasoning and lots of chili powder.

2.  Push meat to the sides of the pan, and add 6 chopped hot dogs in the middle (size of the the chopped pieces is really up to you - I like mine smaller).

3.  Add in 1/2 chopped onion (again - to your preference - I prefer my onions to be more finely chopped).

4.  Turn heat down to low/med-low and cover to let onions cook more quickly.

5.  I transfered mine to a crock pot and it did well in there - I had made it hours ahead of time, so wasn't too concerned about the onions cooking through (which can take a bit) - I just let them finish cooking in the crock pot.

6.  Serve on hamburger buns and top with shredded cheddar cheese.

The idea of these sandwiches is that they're supposed to taste like a ballpark - you've got the chili-seasoned meat and cheddar cheese to bring in that chili cheese french fry and/or hotdog flavor, and - well - the hot dogs themselves.

Mmm...sloppy!

 (ps-that drink in the background - awesome. I will share another time)

At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about putting hot dogs in a sloppy joe, but trust me. It is delicious - even if you're not a huge fan of hotdogs.

This recipe made enough to feed 8 of us - and that was with the guys going back for seconds, thirds, etc!

Oh! and Rachel Rae had this fantastic tip for left-overs - cook up some macaroni noodles and mix them in to make a sort of "sloppy joe goulash." Unfortunately, I didn't have any left-overs to try this with!

Much Love to All!

Happy Eating!

Tasty Tuesdays - Easy Red Velvet Cake

Adam's grandmother has this delicious recipe for red velvet cake made from scratch.  Recently, however, Adam found a way to make the cake that is much simpler - and I modified it to make it much richer so that it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between this recipe and his grandmother's. 

Ingredients

-One box of white cake mix

-The ingredients indicated on the cake mix (mine called for 3 egg whites, oil, and water)

-Buttermilk

-Cocoa

-1 oz. bottle of red food coloring

Directions

1.  Mix together the white cake mix as directed on the box - replace the water (or milk - depending on the brand of cake mix you get) - with 1/2 buttermilk, 1/2 water/milk (my recipe called for 1 1/2 c. water - so I did 3/4 c. buttermilk and 3/4 c. of water).

2.  Set cake batter aside.

3.  Mix 2 Tbsp. of cocoa with the 1 oz. of red food coloring - once bottle is emptied, fill with water and add to cocoa mixture.

4.  Combine cocoa mixture with cake batter.

5.  Divide equally into 2 round, greased and floured, cake pans - bake as directed on the cake mix box.

6.  Once baked, removed from oven and let cool before removing from pans.

Now the icing is what really makes this cake special - so I can't really leave the icing recipe out of this post.  So here it is:

Red Velvet Cake Icing

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. milk

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

a generous 1 c. of shortening (close to 1 1/2 - gotta love grandma's recipes)

Directions

1.  Whisk together milk and cornstarch in a small pot over heat until thickened (usually takes bringing it to a boil to make it thicken) - add vanilla.

2.  Chill in the refrigerator until it forms into a gelatin.

3.  In a large boil, mix together granulated sugar and shortening until creamy - add gelatin and mix thoroughly.

Now all you have to do is frost your cake generously!

Enjoy! 

Yuuummm...

Tasty Tuesdays - Oatmeal Pancakes

I posted this recipe back in February, so I thought I'd share it again for Tasty Tuesday :O)

Kate and Stephen's Oatmeal Flapjacks

I've had some more time to experiment with this recipe since I posted it last and here's an added tip:

-Though you cook these like "normal pancakes," make sure that you turn your burner down a little lower than you would for other pancakes.

These are truly very thick and delicious - meaning you've got to give the centers time to cook - so make sure to turn the burner down a bit.

Also these are extremely filling! 2 of them usually fill me up - but I'll eat 3 if I have to :O)

Happy Cooking!

Much Love to All.

Final Thoughts on Harry Potter

I apologize for my rather lazy blogging habits lately - it's been nearly a week since I've posted in either of my blogs, which is quite a dry-spell for me.

Anyway.

I have mentioned before my two favorite fantasy series - Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.  Having Tolkien and Lewis as standards against which I measure other fantasy series, it is extremely difficult for me to admire another author.  In the case of Harry Potter, in particular, I was fully prepared to enjoy the story - however, I was NOT prepared to be so impressed with the author.  These are truly very well-written stories and I love reading them.  Some people don't require "good writing" to enjoy a book - I do. I enjoy and bask in exquisite writing like some people do in excellent music or superb cuisine.  These books are definitely something I can go to in order to satisfy that hunger.

What makes these books, in my opinion, "good writing?"

-The character development - the characters are not static - they have depth and complexity.  Especially the main characters - they change as adolescents so often do as they grow older and gain more experiences.  They are also very true to life - I often found myself mad at Harry and Ron for all the stupid-teenage-boy-stunts, and I didn't think it was possible to hate a fictional character as much as I hated Umbridge.

-The themes are plentiful and fully carried out - friendship, trust, loyalty, love - these books have a lot to say about all of these and more.

-Rowling's attention to detail, and her style of writing in general, pulls you into the story and takes you on an emotional roller coaster - I laughed out loud (literally, not just "lol"), welled, gasped, sobbed, and often found myself on the edge of my seat, holding my breath.

All of this and more really helps a story to come to life and I think that JK Rowling did an absolutely fantastic job.

I am currently re-reading the books - quickly, before I have to give them back :P and I cannot wait to finish this story again and gain a more complete view of how everything ties in together towards the end.

My husband doesn't understand how I can re-read books - when I already know how they end.  I guess I should ask him why he listens to a song a loves more than once - to enjoy the melodies, harmonies, and rhythms that he knows he loves? Same reason why I read a book again - to enjoy and bask in the excellent writing.

Much Love to All!

Tasty Tuesdays - Cheryl-tinis.

I apologize for not having pictures of my recipe this week - but it's still delicious :O)

My wonderful matron of honor at my wedding came up with this cocktail drink for my bachelorette party.  It is by far my favorite drink. 

Ever!

You will need:

Triple Sec

Vodka

Raspberry-Cranberry juice (we used light - less sugar)

Raspberries

Ice

-Put few ice cubes in your glass. 

-Add one shot of vodka, and one shot of triple sec.  

-Fill the rest of the way with ras/cran juice.

-Garnish with raspberries.

*works best with larger cocktail glasses - smaller ones make a stronger drink*

Making a whole pitcher at a time?

-Fill pitcher about 1/4 full with ice.

- Eyeball vodka and triple sec (remember - you can always add more at the end, if there isn't enough, but you can't take it out).

-Fill the rest of the way with the juice.

-Add a liberal amount of raspberries.

Enjoy!

Much Love to All

The Deathly Hallows

SPOILER ALERT:

If you do not know how Harry Potter ends and wish it to remain a secret until you see the last movie and/or read the books - do not procede.

It's official.  I have finished reading the entire Harry Potter series.  And I must say - I have a new favorite fantasy series ... well, one of my favorites.  It is trumping The Wicked Years, taking third place below Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.  Don't feel bad for it only getting third place though - nothing will EVER trump my love of JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth, and I've been reading about CS Lewis' Narnia since I was a child.  3rd is actually a very prodigious place for Harry Potter to receive - and 3 is my favorite number...

Anyway ... loved the ending of the story.  My biggest fear was that Harry was going to be killed off at the end - a mutual death for him and Voldemort - and I thought my fears were coming true when Harry found out that he needed to accept his death - and was SO relieved when he survived.

Honestly, from the moment he found out that he needed to die in order for Voldemort to die, until the moment when he was "killed" - I was a mess.  My eyes were so full of tears, I could barely read.  When he was walking through the castle and over the grounds - deciding not to stop and see Hermione, Ron, and Ginny - and when he stopped to tell Neville that Nagini needed to be killed - I thought I was going to have to stop reading for a minute to let myself sob like a child before continuing.

I love that Narcissa Malfoy had that redeeming moment - her love for her son overcoming her devotion to "the Dark Lord." I love that Neville pulled Gryffindor's sword out of the hat ("something only a true Gryffindor could do") - and that he was brave enough, when left to his own devices, to rally everyone together in revolt in the first place.  I love that Mrs. Weasley killed Beatrix in defense of her daughter, screaming "not my daughter, you b****!"  I love that Percy came back to his family.  I love that all those students and former students came back to Hogwarts to help rebel against Voldemort - all of Harry's quidditch teammates, all the Weasleys, and all the characters we knew.  I love that Kreacher was leading the house elves to fight.

True, I hated it when Hermione was being tortured in the Malfoy Manor.  I cried when Dobby died.  I sobbed when Fred died (if you remember from one of my first posts - the Weasley twins were one of my favorite characters).  I sobbed again when Lupin and Tonks died.

On the other hand, I did want to mention something about the characters, since the last time I did, I hadn't even finished the second book.

Harry - he gets frustrating when he's so edgy and angsty, but he makes up for it in the end.

Ron - not my favorite character, but I can relate to him because he doesn't have a whole lot of self-confidence, yet finds it in himself to return to Harry and rescue him and the sword from the pool.

Hermione - One of my favorite characters, I don't know many girls who wouldn't be able to relate to her.

Ginny - probably my favorite character.  I could relate to her most from the beginning, being a youngest child myself.  I love when she received more of a role in the story and her character developed more.  I confess it was mainly for her sake that I wanted Harry to live - they HAD to end up together.

The twins - I love their incontrovertible sense of humor - the fact that Fred was once again mocking Percy right before he died.  I love that their business was a success.
Neville - again, loved that he stepped up and revolted so fearlessly and that he was the one who killed Nagini.
Luna - love her character, she brings a lovely dynamic to the group.

Lupin - loved his character.  That's all, really.

Dumbledore - loved his wisdom and knowledge - loved even more that he wasn't perfect - that he made mistakes just like everyone else.

Severus Snape - after knowing the truth about him, I don't dislike him anymore - but he's still a little frustrating - the way he was always assuming the worst in Harry.

Minerva McGonegall - my favorite professor.

and lastly ... and this time, definitely leastly:

Professor Umbridge - I cannot close without communicating how much I thoroughly despised her character.  Until I read Order of the Phoenix, I didn't think it was possible to hate a fictional character so much.

Anyway, though I am finished with the books, I don't think those are my last thoughts on them, so I probably will do one more post after I've had some time to think them over.

Much Love to All.