One Meal; Twice as Nice

I just got back from seeing Lars and the Real Girl again. People, this is the real deal. It is funny and sad and enduring all at the same time. I would see this one again for sure. At the movie I ate popcorn and M&Ms and a cherry coke! Things I rarely do, because I don't really eat popcorn a whole lot, nor do I drink soda. But because it was December 2, and it was a good day... I treated myself. Sometimes you just need to relax and be kind to yourself, and indulge. All in moderation my dear, all in moderation. Before Lars, I showed Ellen a bit of Linden Hills. What a great time of year in LH, with the lights and the decorations. The only down side was that my camera died! So many good photo ops, and no way to take them. I even drove by my favorite house that has the best Christmas lights. They are over the top, but in a very beautifully simplistic way, if that is possible. I also had a chance to stop in and see my cousin Chad who was in town from Denver. We met at the Great Wall Chinese restaurant. So fun to see him and the fam, and of course, no camera to capture the moment... Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat!
Yesterday was the perfect day to have a snow day and snuggle down in my little home. I had plans to go out last night with some friends... but with the roads and the snow on the roads, we quickly put an end to that idea. So I watched another Christmas movie on my list, Elf. And no Jaime, I was not watching an episode of ALF. For dinner, I looked in my freezer and there were some shrimp and haricot verts (french green beans). This meal was so good when I made it the first time, I had to make it again for lunch. I tried to make it as spicy as I could, but if you can't handle the heat, try smoked paprika instead and omit the chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes and chili paste. This is also a much lighter version then having sesame shrimp at a Chinese restaurant with all that breading. Even though that breading makes it oh so good!

Spicy Sesame Shrimp with Haricot Verts

1 Handful of frozen french cut green beans (haricot verts) 1 Handful of already cooked frozen jumbo shrimp (thawed), olive oil, salt\pepper, 1 minced garlic, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp chili paste, 1 Tbls soy sauce, 1 tbls rice wine vinegar, toasted sesame seeds and crushed red pepper flakes

Drizzle oil in a saute pan, add green beans, salt\pepper. Saute a minute or two until slightly cooked. Add garlic, shrimp, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, chili paste, and chili powder. Saute shrimp and green beans until shrimp are done and sauce has thickened. Sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes and toasted sesame seeds. indulge.

December 1, 2007

Christmas Card Wishes...

Solid Gold

Yesterday, one long day... but many good moments. After a long day at work, with the kids being extra squirrly because it was Friday, it was nice to walk out the door. I headed to Target to do some last minute food shopping for the party I was to attend. As I was loading up the cart with ingredients to make a taco dip, Kelly texted me to meet for dinner. I met the Vlach's for dinner and enjoyed a most delicious meal of Sesame Chicken. Then it was time to run home, make the taco dip and get ready for the GOLD party. As I mentioned in an early posting, my friends Sarah, Ellen & Stacy were having an open house\Golden birthday party. So the obvious theme of the night was gold, and impressively a lot of people actually wore gold, including kyle in his gold tie. I had so much fun just mixing and mingling, with old favorites and new faces. One of the funniest parts of the night was when Sarah's brother said to me, "You are Meow and Yuck right?" referring to my blog address. Later when he met my cousins, he said, "Oh you're cousins with sabrina, Meow vs. Snot!" I think we decided at the end of the night that prrrr vs. barf was the new name. Sorry folks, I'm still puke vs meow. But you can call me Superfluous!

So now it is Saturday morning, the snow is beginning to fall... I woke up to sit and eat cold Chinese leftovers, and write my Christmas cards. Truthfully, I wanted to be the first one to get mine out. However, when I went over to Kelly's house, she had hers almost done! I am falling behind! And even though I was thinking that i might be able to get mine out before she did, I came home yesterday to find my first Christmas card from Shannon! You win shanny! While I was writing out my Christmas cards, I was flipping through the channels on tv. I stopped briefly on MTV Cribs. They were at the home of 50 Cent and he was giving the tour. He went into the most beautiful kitchen I have seen. Spacious and counter space galore. Double oven and extra large range, granite counter tops and beautiful appliances. He then said, "Oh look, no one has ever used this kitchen, but truthfully, this is only 1 of 6!" I wanted to die! What i wouldn't give for 1 kitchen like the one shown! And here he is with 6... Such is life I guess. Anyway, I can whip up a pretty good meal in my tiny kitchen, so take that Curtis!

Happy beautiful day on this first day of December, let the fun begin!

Time is not on my side.

There is not enough time in the day. No, the evening, not enough time in the evening. I have a lot of time during the day, doing my job and wishing I could be somewhere else doing something I like doing. If only I could get paid to write and cook and bake and be funny. I have sooo much to do before Friday and I am running out of time. I am going to a "Gold" party on Friday, well it is an Open House for my friends Sarah, Ellen & Stacy and it also happens to be Sarah's Golden birthday. Wearing Gold to this party is a must! I have yet to find a truly outrageous outfit... I am on the hunt. Something wicked sick, like solid gold and glitter. I told Sarah to play some Solid Gold dance tunes, and I would bust a move for her. I am also bringing a special treat... but I can't say what because it is a surprise. So now I leave my job, in order to make this special treat and then off to be with friends. I am not complaining... oh no, I am not... I am blessed with friends and fun times. I have also been invited to join a book club and I still want to take Hebrew classes. Time management classes might not be a bad idea either. Actually, I might have all the time in the world, rumor has it that i might have to go on strike for my union. I don't know what this will mean for me or my job, what i do know is that, this is not a good time of year to not be working. Well it is, because I can get stuff done, but no $$... but like I said, it's only a rumor and I am not really worried about the money. Things like that have a way of always working out. It will be nice to not have to work, that i can't complain about! But I know it is hard for others who have families and need their jobs desperately. I will hope and pray for the best.
In the mean time, I am excited for I have a lot more fun activities happening this weekend... parties and pub crawls and great walls of china. I will blog it all in the future. And I was thinking, that i know that this time is a gift, maybe my life will be different someday and I will have my hands full with other things, kids and that sort of stuff. So I do not take this time for granted. I am enjoying every minute of it!
I had this idea to take one picture everyday from Dec. 1 to Dec. 25 symbolizing what Christmas means to me. Then I might put it on a slide show, or should I blog the new picture everyday? That is 25 days of strait blogging. Am I up for the task? Maybe I will post the picture everyday and then on Christmas have a slide show running! mmmm I like it.

The Rooster Lives!

I always know when the temperature gets really cold out, because my car makes the "rooster" noise. It is this strange phenomenon that happens when the temp dips into the teens and below. You would have to hear the noise, but it really sounds like a like a rooster crossed with a tea kettle. I think it's a fan that must get cold and then when I'm going down the road it gets really loud. I've had this car for 4 years, and the first time it happened i was really freaked out. Now, I just use it as a gage for the weather. Whoooooo Whooooo Whooooo...
Well my place is officially decorated for Christmas\Hanukkah... I have my 3 Christmas trees up and my menorah waiting to be lit. I found this fabulous electric menorah at Target last year with flickering blue bulbs.
This year I actually scaled down my decorating. I know, you are thinking, but she said she has 3 trees! Bear in mind that they are all under 4 feet tall. I did find a pink Christmas tree at Micheal's, because I wanted to copy this tree I saw on the cover of Blueprint magazine.

Can it be that Christmas is 29 days away? I am planning my time wisely. There are parties to go to, cookies to bake, presents to be wrapped, and church to attend. I love going to church during the Christmas season. Not because I feel that much more spiritual at Christmas time, but it's just a pleasant reminder of what Christmas is about. It is going to be a busy month. Why is there something magical about Christmas? Is there such thing as a Christmas Miracle? I believe.
I also believe in traveling. My dear silly friend Liz is getting married in February and I am going down to San Antonio TEXAS for the wedding. Liz and I met while we were teaching at the same school in China. We quickly hit it off and enjoyed crazy adventures amidst the streets of Beijing. The next year Liz and I travelled throughout Europe, having even more crazy adventures. I will have to post some funny pics of us eating the Eiffel Tower! it's funny. she is funny. we are funny together. Anyway, I need to book my ticket soon.... I have never been to Texas, so this will be BIG! Isn't everything BIGGER in TEXAS?

The Times are a Changin'

On the front page of the Star Tribune today there is an article about my hometown elementary school. I went to Watertown-Mayer Elementary from first grade through sixth grade, and then off to the high school I went 7th-12th grade. Anyway, this article is about the brand new elementary school they just built. I guess the security there is top notch, the best around.
Here is the link to read more about it, if you are so inclined: http://www.startribune.com/west/story/1572425.html

I am just amazed and maybe feeling a little old, because Watertown has a population of about 3,000 now, and even there in a small farm town, security is a huge priority. Don't get me wrong, i believe security is needed these days, but I am just still a little surprised that Watertown is in need of taking these measures. I work at a suburban middle school, and I am always amazed that even at this school the doors are always locked and a security card is needed to get clearance, and there is a police liaison in the building at all times.
I guess what I am saying is, that in my childhood, I lived so freely in my neighborhood and at school. I didn't have to worry about child predators and kidnappers. Not that it wasn't out there, but it wasn't a horrible concern, especially in a small town. Kids these days have worries that i never even considered. It's a strange world.
Well a new Fort Knox elementary school now stands, and in town there is a building, built in 1911 that sits empty. What will become of my former elementary school? I hope they don't tear it down, that place holds too many memories. Running down the halls, choir and gym class, the little crappy library in the basement. But the best part was the theatre. It is such a beautiful theatre, with red velvet seats and red velvet curtains, and wonderful balcony. I wonder how many choir concerts i sang at in that theatre? How many talent shows and square dances did I participate in? Even in high school all our school plays were held there. I've acted on that stage many many times... what great memories. If they do tear it down, I will be first in line for one of those red velvet chairs!
I AM getting old!

We got snacks now...

Some of my favorite quotes come from the movie, Good Will Hunting. I love it and not only is it a good movie, with good quotes, but you gotta love the Boston accents. Reminds me of my BFF Rachel and her family, who hail from southern Massachusetts... wicked smaht!
You like apples? Well I got her numbah, how you like them apples!

Here are two dynamite recipes from our thanksgiving meal.

Apple and Sausage Corn Bread Stuffing
serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS
2 (8.5 ounce) packages dry corn muffin mix
1 pound turkey sausage
1 Granny Smith apple - peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 slices white bread, cut into cubes
1 cup chicken stock
1 egg beaten
salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS
Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions. Cool and crumble.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain and set aside.
In a large skillet over medium heat, slowly cook and stir the mushrooms, celery, onion and garlic until soft.
In a large bowl, mix the crumbled prepared corn muffin mix, sausage, mushroom mixture, apple, bread, chicken stock, egg, salt and pepper.
Transfer the mixture to a medium baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 45 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Cranberry Sauce With Orange, Rosemary & Pomegranate
Serves 6 to 8;

Make this bright, zingy sauce a day or two ahead; the flavors will only improve.
1 (12-oz.) pkg. fresh cranberries picked over and rinsed
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tsps. minced fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest
1 Pomegranate, seeds removed and saved.

1. Bring the cranberries, sugar, orange juice and rosemary to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 minute. (Some berries will have popped and some will remain whole.) Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the zest.
2. Cover and let cool to room temperature, add pomegranate seeds, then cover and refrigerate. 3. Return to room temperature before serving.