And The Baking Continues

I have not cured my craving for cupcakes. Last night I made Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. The cake recipe came from here and the frosting from here. They were really good. I think I will make all four types of cupcakes. I am in a huge baking mood right now! Too bad I have to work all weekend.
Dinner last night was wonderful! It a "Weight Wathchers" meal. I wish I had taken a picture before we started eating. It was so colorful! It looked just like a healthy meal should. We had "Broild Tuna with Corn Relish." Here's the recipe if anyone is interested.

Makes 4 servings

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp salte
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons water
1 1/4 lb tuna steaks, cut into 4 pieces
2 cups cooked corn kernels
1 cup chopped roasted red pepper
2 cups torn curly endive or chicory

1. To prepare the marinade, in a large aip-close plastic bag, combine the vinegar, mustard, red pepper, salt and pepper with the water; reserve 2 T of the mixture in a medium bowl.
2. Add the tuna to the bag and seal, squeezing out the air; turn to coat the tuna. Refrigerate, turning the bag occaisionally, 1 hour.
3. Spray a nonstick baking sheet and the broiler rack with nonstick spray; preheat the broiler. Arrange the corn in a thin layer on the baking sheet. Broil 6 inches from the heat, stirring often, until the corn begins to brown, 2-4 minutes. Add the corn and roasted red pepper to the reserved marinade in the bowl; set aside.
4. Drain and discard the marinade in the zip-close bag; place the tuna on the broiler rack. Broil 6 inches from the heat, turning once, until browned on the outside but still juicy inside, 6-7 minutes on each side.
5. Divide the endive among 4 plates; top with the corn relish and tuna.

from "Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook"

We used romaine lettuce instead of endive and I omitted the water from the marinade. We both really liked it! We are trying to add more fish to our diet. We both love seafood but it rarely occurs to us to cook it at home. Do you have any favorite seafood recipes?

After the Oscars

We had such a great time at our Oscar party last night! I always try to class up the house and decorations by using gold, black, silver, red and crystal. This year we got a HUGE boquet of white flowers--think old classy Hollywood On the drink table, I used a white table cloth, a red runner to mimick the red carpet (thany you Rachael Ray). Also courtesy of Rachael Ray, I got white napkins and drew black lines on them and where they met I put a gold seal. They looked like the envelopes--except this year they used red seals. Oh, well. I was happy with the results. I picked up some red burlap fabric on sale and used that for our red carpet. Ralph picked up some really fun prizes. We have used Blockbuster gift cards for the last few years so we of course used those again this year. We also gave away a "Juno" soundtrack, an "Enchanted" soundtrack, "Michael Clayton" on DVD and two "date nights" (two tickets to a movie, popcorn, and something else--Ralph got them). Everyone seemed to have a great time.
We served hot apple cider, a champagne punch (minus the simple syrup), French press coffee, and water with lemon. The punch is a wonderful light, refreshing punch. It serves quite a few people and is really easy to make! We had some really creative food again this year. I just picked a couple to show. Our friends Jeff and Sarah made the "There Will Be Blood Pudding." Jeff spent all afternoon on the structers. Kelly made the "Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pies" for "Sweeney Todd." I have to admit--I loved what I made. They are called "Texas Millionaires." They are caramel, pecans and chocolate. So yummy! I made them for "Charlie Wilson's War"--about a politician who surrounded himself with Texas millionaires.
I will go into the dresses in a later post but overall no huge fashion blunders--some should look at hiring a new stylist and some should maybe get one, but overall I loved the dresses!

Yummy food

Ralph and I have decided we need to eat at home more this year. We are trying to both save money and eat healthier. So last Wednesday, I planned a menu and shopped. The menu was supposed to have been for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We made our dinners on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday I made some spaghetti sauce with a ton of veggies and simmered it all with the rind of parmesan cheese. We had garlic salad and garlic bread with it. (Can you tell we like garlic just a little bit?) Thursday we made Knife and Fork Burgers with Provolone Dipping Sauce and Roasted Tomato Salad. They were really good!

 

Then we took a little break. Ralph got a call/text from a good friend asking us to go to dinner with him and his girlfriend on Friday night. We had wanted to get together with them for a while, our house was a disaster and we were too tired to host so we went out. Then Saturday after work we raced down to Kettering from Fairborn to make it to church and were much too tired to cook after that so we went out.

 

Sunday we used one of the recipes/menu items for HC. We made Sopa de Pedra (Rock Soup). It was so good. To look at it, it looks like just another tomatoey soup recipe, but the hot sauce gives it this great kick! We used ham for the meat. It was really good! I had it for lunch today and it was even better the second day. Tonight we made Jon's Grilled Tuna Salad. I loved it! We served it on toasted English Muffin Bread. I really like it! It was salty and tasted fresh and light at the same time. Ralph only thought it was "ok". It just wasn't what he was expecting when he thought "tuna salad." This is especially sad due to the fact he made it. Come to think of it because I have been working so much, he not we made most of these recipes. If you are looking for something new, I would recommend all three and Ralph would recommend the first two. Are we walking advertisements for Rachael Ray or what?

Sabbath

Praise the Lord for Sabbath! It's not too often that Ralph and I get a Sabbath on the same day and on a Sunday to boot! We both dove straight back in to work on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It's been an adjustment to get used to getting up at 4:30 a.m. again. But this morning, we slept in! I mean slept in. It was after 10:30 I think for both of us. When we got up, Ralph ran to the store to get Challah bread and bacon (we found out on which day our favorite grocer/bakery bakes their Challah bread). I fed Kenya and brought her inside with me. I got caught on blogs, e-mail and facebook. I got to use my new skillet to make brunch (a gift from my wonderful parents). We made a terrific brunch of French toast and bacon. Yum-O! We stayed in our pajamas until 2 or 3. It was great!

We went to the 7 p.m. service at our church last night. It was so great to be back! We were gone for several weekends and worked so many weekends before we left that it felt like we hadn't been there in forever! It was so sweet to be back in our home church for worship and to be fed and challenged.

Our friends Jeff and Sarah asked to teach HC this month and agreed to host tonight! This is why were able to take a Sabbath today. It was such a blessing! We are still living out of suit cases and the (once) live Christmas tree is still up and the whole place is in utter chaos. This was our one day off and we have/had no energy for the herculean effort that is needed to have this place company ready in one day. Honestly, by them hosting and teaching tonight, they truly were the Body of Christ to us. It allowed us to really enjoy HC. I was able to open up and share and be loved on and prayed for in Quads (our break out time of sharing and prayer). It was just so appropriate as Jeff and Sarah are taking us through Acts. We are looking at what the Church should look like and be and I felt like I was able to watch Her in action tonight. I love our house church and love that God has provided this family for us here. Pray for us this year. We really would love to see our neighborhood come to know Jesus. We want to have the boldness of Peter and John with our neighbors and see them come to know Christ. I pray that you all have an opportunity to have a restful Sabbath day one day this week.

The Real World

I'm back to the real world. The alarm-goes-off-at-0430-in-the-MORNING-work-12.5-hours-in-a-row world, with a stomach ache, I might add. I honestly think nurses are tougher than construction workers. We don't get to stay home over a belly ache or the flu. We just self-diagnose and self-medicate and keep on keeping on. Now, do as I say and not as I do. If you're sick, stay home, drink fluids and go to the doctor if it persists for more than a few days. ;-p

I'm just going to take a few seconds to brag on my husband. He gets up with me at 0430 in the MORNING, makes me a latte, makes me a breakfast smoothie and then drives me to work (the drive me to work part is because we only have one car and don't want a car loan at this time). He then picks me up after work--today he called to say he was at a different door. Do you know why? Because it was raining and this door was covered so I wouldn't get wet! Now he is currently cooking me this dinner. On my days off I cook, but the days I work (and he does too, I might add), he cooks. I have the best husband ever!

Have a great night all!

Dinner for 6

As many of you know, there is nothing more dear to my heart than throwing a dinner party. So, when my cousin announced her engagement on Christmas Eve I began thinking, "THIS calls for a dinner party." The best part is that my bro and sis-in-law have this great apartment that just screams "Throw dinner parties here!" So we did. I planned the meal, Tif and I went shopping and then we cooked the meal together (while Bobby and Ralph played Xbox 360-with occasional pauses to help us out). We invited Holly and Adam (the cousin and fiancé) and tried to get Heidi (other cousin) to come but all those serious couples are very intimidating to an unattached college student apparently. We had a fine menu planned it consisted of :

• Tomato, Basil and Bacon Crostini's and Pomegranate Mocktinis
  
• Caesar Salad with Pizzetta's with Olive Tamponade and Provolone Cheese
  
• Carbonara
  
• Cheesy Garlic Bread
  
• Smores Pizza with homemade vanilla ice cream and hot fudge
  

 

The crostini recipe comes from this wonderful cookbook I found my first year living in Dayton. We love the cookbook and the crostini's! The Caesar dressing in that particular recipe was disappointing, no one liked the flavor. The presentation was a lot of fun, though! Carbonara, specifically Racheal Ray's is an old stand-by for Ralph and I, it's our go-to meal. The garlic bread recipe came from my mom and is a family favorite (as well as super easy). My bro and Tiff make really good homemade ice cream so obviously we had to have some of that!

It was a great night of food, conversation and fun! Bobby and Tiffany have such a great place for hosting and are great hosts themselves. Thanks for a wonderful night all!

Happy New Year!

So as I sit here with my dad watching the Rose Parade and drinking coffee, I can't help but praise the Lord for His goodness. I am right where I want to be at this time every year. My 29th birthday was yesterday and, as my husband is well aware, it is very important for me to be at home in MN for my birthday. It is truly a blessing that I can count on one hand (it's really only been 1 maybe 2) how many times I've had to stay in OH over the last 10 years on my birthday.
We had such a fun time last night celebrating my birthday. Unfortunately, my brother's girls were both sick so they stayed home. However my sister-in-law made this terrific cake. It was her first bundt cake and she did great! In our family, the birthday person gets to pick their meal, cake, ice cream, etc. We don't really do gifts, the meal is the gift. We've had some meals in our time too! Well this year I planned my meal around this cake. I knew I wanted cinnamon ice cream with it and then thought long and hard about what meal would go well with the cake and ice cream. I finally decided on roast. It was so good! We did it a little Italian style with Italian seasoned stewed tomatoes and some garlic, basil and thyme along with the potatoes, carrots, celery and onion. We also had this terrific garlic salad our family has been addicted to this week, blueberry cream muffins, and rhubarb muffins. My aunt made this wonderful raspberry salad as well. We had my aunt and her 7 kids, my cousin's fiance, and my great uncle all over to my parents house. We played XBOX games, Monopoly and Dance Praise 2. We love Dance Praise! Ralph and I picked it up for my aunt and cousins for Christmas and now my mom insists our family needs one. There is video to come--we just don't have the cords we need for our camera, but trust me we will load some! I don't really see birthdays as something to avoid. I think it has something to do with being a New Year's baby. It always seems to be a fresh start--a chance to evaluate the past year and look forward to the new. When I think back to the things God has brought me through, I don't really want to relive any of those things--I'm grateful for them in retrospect, but I want to move forward. Age is part of moving forward. It's also a challenge for me to retain my youthful enthusiasm and idealism and faith while balancing it with the wisdom, knowledge and experience the Lord has provided. As I head in to this new year both literally (2008) and next year of life, I have a few desires/goals. I want to become a mother, Lord willing, as I watch my siblings I definitely see that God's timing is best. I will wait on Him. I want to grow closer to Him this year and memorize more Scripture. I am committing to read the Bible chronologically this year with a group of women (and men) on-line. I want to honor the Lord with my body and take better care of His temple, my body. As I sign off for today, I pray "that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be ale to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11)