Back To School

Yesterday began a new school year for Claire. She started 6th grade, next year she's off to jr. high school, yikes!

This is my last semester for my AA degree (FINALLY). I hope to finish the BA part of my degree, in elementary education, starting either next semester or next fall.

To celebrate the first day back at school I made a nice dinner, red wine pot roast. Word to wise don't attempt to prepare dinner in a hurry. I was trying to start the roast in between my classes (1 hour of time) and was cutting onions and almost sliced through my finger! Eek! I really enjoy this recipe it's very flavorful.

Red Wine Pot Roast:

3lb boneless chuck roast
2 tbsp canola oil
Herb and garlic blend seasonings (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
8 large cloves of garlic smashes and chopped
1 large onion chopped
1/2 cup red wine
3 large carrots (I didn't add these as we don't like cooked carrots)
3 large russet potatoes peeled and cubed

In a large heavy pot (with lid) heat oil, sprinkle and rub seasonings over all sides of roast.

Then sear the roast (brown it) on the stove on both sides over med to high heat (approx 3 mins each side). Do not move roast during searing or it won't brown up nicely.

Once browned lift roast out of pot and place onions and garlic at bottom of pot and place roast back on top. Add the wine and cover. Simmer for 3 1/2 hours. Then add cut potatoes and carrots (you may add additional seasoning at this time as well) and simmer for additional 45 minutes.

ramblings

(Sorry no new recipes this post.)

I was hanging out on my favorite forums (the nest on FB) and someone posted a link that dares you not to cry. So I thought I'd share it here...
http://www.wimp.com/coupleromance/

It's so very sweet. In my line of work I deal with cancer on a daily basis. So I couldn't help but think of some of the patient's we've taken care of and their relationships with their loved ones.

Sam and I are approaching our 1 year wedding anniversary this Labor Day weekend. I'm so lucky that God has blessed me with such a wonderful companion with which to share my life. This first year has flown by so fast. We've seen our fair share of rough days but the good days far out weight any bad ones we may have had. I look forward to (God willing) the many years ahead with Sam by my side.

I've been trying to come up with some good ideas of how to spend our first anniversary. It's harder than I thought. I'd like it to be memorable and yet not too expensive. One idea I've thought about was heading to some of our "first" spots we've shared over the past 8 years of our relationship. But whatever we decide to do will be documented in a journal that we will use every year to record how we spent the day and it will include a current picture of the 2 of us. I also plan to take on a small project. Sam and I did not save the top tier of our wedding cake (in fact it didn't make it past the 1st week. LOL). So I will attempt to make a replica layer of our wedding cake. Only difference will be the cake flavors. Sam and I both wanted chocolate cake with banana filling but the cake people didn't recommend it (said it wouldn't freeze well. We should have never listened to them) so we're going to have it in this cake. :)

This weekend has been pretty eventful. A co-worker of mine (who's wedding I attended last year) gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! Baby's name has yet to be determined. She wasn't due till our anniversary date actually so she's a couple of weeks early. I'm very happy for her and her husband!

Here's the trouble...I wish it were Sam and I welcoming a new baby to the family. Ever since Claire was a baby herself I've wanted another baby but knew the time wasn't right. The next baby would be done in the right order. All my ducks would be in a row, so to speak. Well now, happily married and officially trying to conceive since January, the cards are not playing out the way I'd like. I used to think God was mocking me...now I'm convinced he down right dislikes me. I must have done something to piss him off. On a daily basis I feel like I'm surrounded by pregnant women. Every other day it seems another girl announces she's expecting "and they weren't even trying!" Ugh gag me. When people find out that we've been trying for this long with no success they try to make it better with "It will happen" or "Don't try" I despise both of those phrases. How do you not try?? It consumes my daily thoughts. My doctor tells me to come back closer to September/October time and they'll do some blood work up. In the mean time I just keep getting to experience the frustration of month after month of negative pregnancy tests.

I could go on about this topic forever, but I won't. I'll leave it at that. I just wish God would answer this one prayer for me.

Jam Packed Fun

(I do have one new recipe to share towards the end of my post.)

Sometimes I like the hussle and bussle of fun activities to keep me busy on my weekends off. Other times I love spending the whole weekend at home with no plans, it's quite relaxing. This weekend was one of those jam packed fun weekends.

Friday started out as an impromptu date night with my hubby. With Claire off at her grandparents for a sleepover, Sam and I decided to go out to dinner. We had plans to see a show but with the weather changing fast we headed home for a movie night at home instead. FINALLY my rain showed up! It was quite the storm. We left the restaurant with the dark sky quickly rolling overhead. I love when the sky changes so much it's daytime one second and dark as night the next. In our 5 minute drive home the sky opened up. The roads were flooded in a matter of minutes. The run from the car to the front door soaked us as much as if we had just jumped in the shower for 20 minutes. CRAZY but awesome!!!

Saturday was a typical errand running day. We made tentative plans to go to the drive in that night (depending on what time Claire got home from a party with her grandparents. I threw a pork roast in the crockpot to make some pulled pork sandwiches to bring with us to the drive-in, and last minute I decided to make some brownies for dessert. Claire arrived home and we made it out to the drive-in. We saw "The Other Guys" and "Salt", both good movies. I love the drive-in it's some good old fashion fun.

Sunday was my brother and soon-to-be sister in law's wedding shower. It was very lovely. They both looked so happy. It makes me happy to see them happy.

Their wedding date is October 10, 2010. After the shower Claire and I met up with Sam and his parents who happen to be in town that day.

Today is my relaxation day. I have plans to do nothing all day long. AHHHH. It's so nice.

As for my recipe... Thursday night I made Singapore noodles. If anyone knows anything about my husband it's that he is a HUGE fan of Chinese food. He enjoyed it. My own criticism is to be careful with that soy sauce. I love soy sauce and get a little carried away with it. Hubby said it was a little too salty because of it. Next time I'll limit my soy sauce in the main pot and just add to my own serving. Oh and just so you are aware it is a bit spicy.

Singapore Noodles:
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup vegetable broth
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 lbs angel hair pasta (cooked and drained)
1/4 cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 tbsp toasted sesame seed

Stir coconut milk, broth, soy sauce, curry powder, honey, ground cumin, and ground red pepper in small sauce pan over medium heat.
Add sauce to cooked pasta and toss to coat. Sprinkle with scallions, red bell pepper, and toasted sesame seeds. Serve hot.

(as a side note, I added some cooked diced chicken to the dish. You can also add pork)

Where is my rain?

I love rain. Even more I love thunderstorms. I love to spend rainy days on the couch curled up with a comfy blanky, my pup and watching movies all day. That was suppose to be my day today or so weather.com predicted last night. So you can imagine how bummed I was when I woke to find the sun shinning bright in the sky...oh and will be all day. Stupid weather.com.

So with my plans out the window I spent the rest of my day being semi-productive and attempting to figure out what to make for dinner. Here are my results:

Pork Chops with Apple Stuffing

6 boneless pork chops
4 tbsp butter (divided)
6 cups unseasoned stuffing cubes
3/4 cup chopped peeled apple
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup raisins (I left these out. Cuz I find them yucky!!!)
1/2 cup apple juice
3 tsp rubbed sage
salt and pepper to taste
4 tsp dijon mustard (instead I used a marinade from jewel's culinary line called Applewood honey mustard marinade)

To start I marinated the chops for 3 hours in my yummy marinade from jewel.

Then...

-In large skillet (I recommend cast iron if you have it) brown the chops over medium heat in 2 tbsp butter on each side. Remove from pan and keep warm.

-In the same pan saute stuffing cubes, apples, celery, raisins, apple juice, sage, salt + pepper in remaining butter until apples and celery are crisp-tender.

-Transfer to a greased 3qt. baking dish. Top with pork chops and spread mustard (or in my case some reserved marinade) over chops. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 mins. Remove cover and bake for 10 more mins.


Finished product.

If you really knew me....

So I was reading a thread in a forum on The Nest (on facebook) and it was titled "If you really knew me..."

I don't often post mostly because I feel what I have to say is not important but I could not help myself. Here was my response:

"If you really knew me..

-you would know I have jealousy issues. I hate when people get what I want before I do. Especially when they're younger than me.

-you would know I have a fear of failure. Lots of times I don't feel I'm smart enough to finish school. I find myself avoiding or procrastinating in finishing my degree because of this.

-you would know how alone I feel.

-you would know how insecure I truely am.

-you would know how much I just want people to like me.

-You would know my husband is the only person that really knows the real horrible me and I don't know how I'd live a day without him.

-you would know how much more I could add to this post but would be afraid to hurt other people's feelings if they ever happen to read it."

Here goes nothing!

I love the idea of a blog. And I love reading other peoples blogs but I'm not sure about maintaining my own blog. I'm pretty sure I bore people in 1:1 communication so I can't see anyone wanting to read my thoughts if they don't have to. Oh well maybe that will work to my benefit. I can ramble on about things and people that bug me without worrying about hurting feelings.

I plan to use this as my way to keep those who do want to read updated on what's going on in my life. Also I plan to share my cooking adventures here as well.

So here goes nothing....

On the menu for tonight's dinner: Meatloaf and rosemary-garlic red roasted potatoes.



As for the meatloaf I simply follow the recipe on the back of the meatloaf seasoning packet but I add Worcestershire sauce to the mix.

Rosemary-garlic red roasted potatoes:
Preheat oven 350 degrees
7 red potatoes (skins on and quartered)
3-4 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried rosemary or 2-3 sprigs fresh (stems removed)

Toss all ingredients in bowel to evenly coat potatoes and place on bake sheet lined with foil. Bake 30-35 mins or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Ok so that's what I've got to offer for now. I hope to keep this updated. I wonder if daily updates is too ambitious?