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Friday, May 28, 2010

Show Us Your Life - Things That Make You Happy

This week's show us your life on Kelly's Korner is about things that you love and/or make you happy. Some things that make me happy are...

1. Justin

















2. Gareth





















3. Zoe













4. Creating new designs
5. Learning new Illustrator/Photoshop tricks
6. The beach (wish I was there right now!)


7. And last but not least...snowcones!

Of course, there are many more things that make me happy but in general, these things make me really happy! Plus it's late and my brain is kind of shutting down for the day. LOL



Thursday, May 20, 2010

New Recipe: Asparagus & Penne with Pesto Cream Sauce

When I started thinking about making dinner tonight, I wasn't sure what we were going to have. We didn't really have any "meat" (meaning a meat that Justin would find acceptable as a meal) and I really really didn't want hot dogs again. I remembered we had some pesto that I had bought a while ago, some pasta and asparagus. And somehow, I came up with this Asparagus and Penne with Pesto Cream Sauce. I think it was pretty good and Justin said it was good too! I forgot to take a picture of it but, here's the recipe. I hope everyone likes it as much as we did!

Ingredients:
- 1 bunch asparagus, rough chopped
- 4 slices bacon , crumbled
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 1/2 a jar of pesto (I think it was about 3/4 cup and it wasn't pesto sauce...just thick pesto)
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese (or to taste)
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Put a pot of water on for the pasta and bring to a boil. Wash and cut the asparagus into thirds. Fry the bacon until crispy and remove from the pan. Drain most of the grease. Add pasta to boiling, salted water and cook to al dente. Add the asparagus to the pasta water in the last 3-5 minutes and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining. In the same pan that you cooked the bacon in, add the red pepper flakes and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the pesto and the pasta water and stir to combine. Once the pesto is heated through, add the sour cream and parmesan and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and add more parmesan if desired. Toss sauce with the pasta and asparagus then fold in the crispy bacon. Makes about 6 servings.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

A New Recipe

I've decided that since I like to cook so much I should start posting some of the new recipes I try out to share with everyone. I promise, I will only post them if they turn out well! This past week, I decided to try out French Onion Soup. My mom made it when she came to visit last time and she also bought me oven-safe bowls for Christmas so I decided I needed to try this one out.

I used Paula Deen's French Onion Soup recipe as a reference but I changed and added a few things. It turned out pretty well and I think Justin even liked it (he's not a big fan of soup)!


 Here's how I made it (this makes about 4 bowls but you can double it to make more):

4 Vidalia onions, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, grated
A drizzle of olive oil (I don't measure this)
2 tbsp of flour
4 cups of beef stock
1/2 cup of white wine
1/2 tsp of dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
2 slices of swiss cheese
1 baguette
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil over low heat for about 20-25 minutes until golden. Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes then add the wine, beef stock, thyme, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and the bay leaf. Bring to a bubble and then lower the heat to simmer. Cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. While this is cooking, slice and toast the baguette and then spread with a little butter. Ladle the soup into oven-safe bowls. Top soup with 3-4 baguettes and 1 slice of cheese. Stick it under the broiler for about 5 minutes and serve!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Books We Like

Show Us Your Life with Kelly's Korner

This week on Kelly's Korner, the Show Us Your Life theme is Books. I have to admit, I used to read a lot and now, I find I don't have much time for reading (and I have a hard time getting into books I do read). But, when I can find the time to read, my favorite books lately are the books in the Sookie Stackhouse series. You know, the books that True Blood is based off of? Right now, I am on Book 8. I never thought I would be able to get into books about vampires but these books are really good. If you are skeptical, I urge you to just try to read the first one and I bet you'll be hooked!

I also really liked The Time Traveler's Wife. This is another one that sounds silly when you read the synopsis on the back but it is really really good! I couldn't find a picture that would work for this one. Sorry!

And finally, I wanted to share Gareth's favorite book right now. He loves That's Not My Monkey. He just likes to turn the pages really but he does seem to favor this book. He also seems to like anything with monkey's so maybe that's why he likes this book!











I got an award!

So I logged on to Gmail this morning to check my email like I do almost every day. Today, I saw I had a comment from Emily at Live a Charmed Life on my blog and found out she gave me an award! This is my first blog award and I would like to pass it on to other bloggers I know. So, here's a shout out to some of the mommies I follow:

http://davidanderinstanford.blogspot.com/

http://alittlethisalittlethatccw.blogspot.com/

http://cheryl-acceptancewithjoy.blogspot.com/



The only rules are:

You have to pass it on!

Also, link back to the person who gave it to you so we can keep visiting new GREAT blogs!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Show Us Your Life - Kids Names

Show Us Your Life with Kelly's Korner

I know this is a day late, but I just had to participate in this week's "Show Us Your Life" on Kelly's Korner. I think our son has a pretty unique name but really, only family and close friends know where it came from.

When Justin and I first found out we were going to have a baby, we went through many many many names before we could find any we agreed upon. We had tons of girl names we both liked but not many boy names. It seemed like every boy name we found either I loved and Justin hated or he loved and I hated. I wanted something unique but not too crazy and he was pretty set on something traditional (but I figured I could convince him unique was the way to go). :)

After we found out we were having a boy one day, Justin was watching an English soccer match, and heard a name he liked! He said...."what about Gareth? I like that name." As soon as I heard the name Gareth, I knew that was it! A name we both agreed on and was unique enough that not everyone in our little boy's class would share his name. The only thing left was to pick a middle name. We went through many names and then decided we wanted a name that meant something to our family. So, we picked my mother-in-law's maiden name, Drake, as Gareth's middle name.

I was definitely worried that we had picked a name that would not fit our little boy when he arrived. But sure enough, it fits him really well and......here he is!

Gareth Drake!