Pasta Two Nights in a Row...

I can't think of one single objection to pasta every night of the week! My husband, however, still very much enjoys rice, and other side dishes. I was lucky enough to sneak in angel hair pasta back to back this weekend though. (My favorite!)

Sunday is our 'family day' and typically we do or make something together. This weekend, we were in busy busy busy mode preparing for 'The Organizer' first thing Monday morning, that we didn't go anywhere special. But had a pic-a-nic dinner in the living room while we watched a "family" movie... some monster truck special my husband found. More for the boys than for me... another oh-so-clear reminder that I am very much outnumbered in my own home.

Shrimp Scampi was on the menu. A new recipe (thank you, allrecipes.com) with a few of my own "twisits."

::

Enjoy

Any recipe that starts with a whole stick of butter sounds good to me!

"I like cooking with wine.... sometimes, I even put it in the food."

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 lb peeled, deveined shrimp

4-6 cloves garlic, minced, chopped, finely grated (however you use garlic!)

1 cup white wine
5-6 Tbsp italian bread crumbs
6-8 big basil leaves, finely sliced ("confettied")

1 tsp. dried parsley (or fresh, if you have it on hand; I didn't)

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

In a large saucepan, melt butter, saute garlic until tender. Add shrimp and cook until colored pink. Stir in white wine. The bread crumbs are used as thickening, so stir in about a tablespoon at a time until desired thickness is reached. Season with parsley and basil.
Serve shrimp over angel hair pasta, sprinkled with reserved bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

love!

You Won't Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Sauce

And even if you're not single... still a fantastic red sauce recipe. Great over any size or shaped pasta and perfect for raviolis!

Saturday night, as I mentioned previously, my dear friend, Jill and her husband Jeff came over for dinner! Jill and I were roommates in college and it's been about 6 months since we last saw each other. We had a great night catching up that ended with a glorious (I can say that since my team won) game of Hand and Foot!

Good Friends + Good Wine + Yummy Food + Fun Games + Much Laughter = Great Night

Many thanks to my friend Amy of the Mommy Chronicles for sharing this Rachael Ray recipe with me a year or two ago...

The Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan in a slow stream
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced (I often substitute green onion)
1 cup vodka
1 cup chicken stock
1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
Coarse salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn

Preparation

Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka to the pan, 3 turns around the pan in a steady stream will equal about 1 cup. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Top or toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do and have someone wonderful to share it with!

love!

::a virtue::

patience.

it is one, I'm told.

and great things are coming.

::

this weekend, jeff & jill were over for dinner saturday night. and I made them a delicious meal (if I do say so, myself!) then, we stayed in and had our 'family night' on sunday with another delicious meal (and I know my family will be happy to say so)!

a n d

to top it all off, my best friend amy of the mommy chronicles was here today to help me organize my house!

::

it's all coming.

soon.

be patient with me.

love!

bunko babes

Last night was bunko night. That means 12 of us bunko babes got together and shared a delicious meal, some great laughs, some silly moments, a few excited rolls of the die and a great time. We have been getting together once a month for nearly three years and it amazes me every month what a great group of women I can call friends!

I am so blessed to have each of them in my life! And all in unique ways. Some I think I can call "best friends" and others "occasional friends" but it doesn't seem to matter. When we rotate around the room sharing dice and goodies and laughter, everyone gets the chance to visit and catch up. We are all moms. Some of us work and some don't. Some of us go to church and some don't. Some of us are 'leaders' and some 'followers.' Our diversity is what helps make our group both so special and so unique. And that diversity intensifies the friendships that I know will last a lifetime.

About a month ago, one of our "co-founders" sent an email out to all of us with this clip included. Within hours, I think 8 of our 12 had responded, each thanking her for the moving video and thanking everyone for such a dear friendship.

(Be sure to have your Kleenex box handy!)

After watching this clip, I added The Middle Place to my Christmas wishlist and Santa was listening. I'm only about half way thru the book and am so impressed with Kelly Corrigan's writing style and unique voice. She identifies the middle place as that place you are when you are an adult; someone's parent but you are still someone's daughter--something I know all my bunko babes can both identify with and may even struggle with.

To have great friendships that will get you through all parts of your life is such a blessing and this book is truly a great read.

(Book review coming soon.)

s.e.v.e.n | o.n.e | t.h.r.e.e | f.o.u.r.t.e.e.n

seven: the number of bags of garbage that left my house after sorting thru our office.

one: the number of bags of personal info that is headed with my hubby to work to be shredded.

three: the number of tylenol I am taking every 4-6 hours for backaches, headaches and general fatigue on the account of we spent

fourteen: hours on this task!

I am a generally organized person. Some would call me an organized mess, but that's still organzied. My house does not always sparkle. And I'm okay with that. What drives me nuts is the clutter and stuff sprinkled throughout! There is no one person to blame. It's not always just toys or just Law books or crafts that my house is peppered with. Often, it's Law books, shoes, Collin toys, Mason toys, contents of bags that have spilled and didn't get put back away, a box of baby wipes here, a pile of dirty laundry from the latest diaper change there.

2009 is going to be different!

I have adapted a new daily mantra:

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.

(Thanks to my dear friend, Leah, whom I've known since elementary school, for that gem!)

I have hired a professional organizer Amy to help me declutter my house! And I am really excited for the part where she comes over and we tear thru the house just like they do on Mission: Organization and Home Made Simple (oh man, I just love those shows TLC and FLN!). What is not as exciting is the huge Honey Do List that has to be completed before she'll come over!

I cannot wait to get everything put in its home and to have a wonderfully organized home to show off. Photos to follow soonish.

Geetz's Famous Red Beans & Rice

Today (well, yesterday really), I felt as though I had a little extra energy, so I made Red Beans & Rice for dinner. Not that it takes much energy, but having the enthusiasm helps. It's a big hit in our house and really is a cinch to make---as long as you remember to soak your beans the night before. I hope you enjoy~

Geetz's Red Beans & Rice



1 lb. small red beans (NOT kidney beans)
water for soaking, rinsing
1 small onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced (to taste)
1-2 Tbsp. cayenne pepper (to taste)
2 lbs. kielbasa sausage (I use Hillshire Farms Turkey Smoked Sausage)


1. Soak beans at overnight. Check them periodically to make sure they haven't absorbed all your water. In the morning, drain and rinse.
2. Transfer beans to a large soup pot and fill with fresh water to 1/2-1 inch above bean level. Don't add too much or they may become soupy -best to check as they cook and add accordingly. 3. Add onion, garlic and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil. Then, reduce and simmer for 3 1/2 hours, stirring now and then and adding water if it gets too thick.
4. After simmering, add the sliced kielbasa and simmer for another 1/2hour. No need for any salt, the kielbasa provides plenty.
Note: Keep in mind if it looks a bit thin that it will thicken as it cools.


Serve over steamed white or brown rice. And with beerbread (our favorite) or cornbread.

Better Late Than Never

.... right?

Today is January 14. Only 2 weeks into the New Year and my failing resolution to be more dedicated to my commitments. So today, 2 weeks late, I am posting my first blog of 2009.

There's been lots going on and therefore lots to catch you up on....

We'll start with the snow! Spokane had record levels of snowfall this December! The new record --59.7 inches in one month--beats the previous record of 56.9 inches set back in January 1950. And they've been keeping snowfall records since 1893!

It was beautiful! Mason had a so much fun playing in it. I loved watching him! We had a white Christmas, indeed. My poor husband though... we manage an apartment complex and one of our responsibilities is snow removal. He definately had a rough December!

:::

These photos are from December 21st. We had to hire a front-end-loader to come remove a great deal of our snow (this is after snow plows, shoveling and snow-blowing sidewalks, and professional removal of snow from carport rooftops!). We'll be very excited when we have a garage! And heated sidewalks!

Mason making a SnowAngel, but it was snowing in his eyes. He was not really excited about having his picture taken.

This is how tall the snow was after shoveling the sidewalks... And this was only the second snow. This is about 30" here.

He was a great help to Daddy! Look at that precision!

" Mama, look! I can catch snowflakes with my mouth!"

Our friend, Matt, who lives in #23... the bed of his pickup was so impressive, I couldn't resist a photo op!