Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Olive Garden

I feel lost with out a camera!  No picture taking!  No crafting!  I have been cooking, not much but I am trying new recipes and I have no camera to capture it!  This sucks!  As soon as taxes come in I am running out and getting a new camera, we tried looking for a usb, but my little handheld camera has seen better days.  It's three years old and its time for a new one.  So instead of a craft inspired post or a new recipe I am posting about a contest I am entering.  You can find it over at the girl who ate everything.  Love her site by the way, tried a few of her recipes and they are fun and easy!  Check her out. 


Well the contest is for a $100 gift certificate for the Olive Garden.  It would be nice to win, a nice night out with the fam, where I dont have to cook!  Right now they are doing their three course meal for $12.95.  I used to work for the OG.  Just under a year I was there, my fave things to eat were the bruschetta (which I ate with olive oil and balsamic, as a meal) and the spaghetti with meatballs, half meat sauce, half alfredo sauce!  Of course the salad is delish and the breadsticks, but I am a pasta girl! 

If you want to enter the contest, just go here, write a comment on your favorite dish, or blog, tweet, fb.  You know the drill! 

I hope everyone is enjoying the end of their February!  Did everyone have a nice valentines day?  Do any fun crafts for it?  We sadly did not :(.  Its super busy over here this month!  I'm ready to not be so darn busy all the time.  Until next time....


*Allie



Monday, February 13, 2012

Latelys...

Hello All!  I have been kinda busy lately, so I am linking up with adelynSTONE's Confessions post.  These are lately/confessions. 
 
reading: well I just bought the second book in the unearthly series.  The first one was good, haven't started the second one yet!  Its about a girl that finds out she is half angel blood and is given her purpose, but she has to find out what it is.  So her family moves to Wyoming.  Really makes me want to visit Wyoming and go skiing! ha ha.



obsessing: Not much really, we have been busy around here.  Had to move my mom out of her condo, having some health issues, those are always fun.  I'm still not unpacked fully.  My shoes and purses are in bags all over my bedroom and its driving me crazy!  




listening to: Adele!  She killed it at the grammy's. Gotta show my love!



baking/making: I am making a friend some baked goods for helping me out at work, just don't know what to make yet!!!!



looking forward to: getting settled and having a pampered chef party!  So I can buy more kitchen stuff to add to all my other kitchen stuff!  Oh and our upcoming trip to NJ/NYC!  Cant wait!!!! 

want to accomplish: I would really like to get my paper for humanities done.  But I have no desire to work on it.  So...I will be turning in a sub par paper come tomorrow, and I don't usually like doing that, but I have been so busy and stressed lately.  I'm giving myself a pass!

watching: I have so many shows to catch up on!  Don't know where to start!!! 

missing: my favorite chai tea.  I could use a cup right now!  Cant find it anywhere in Florida!   
 
So what are you all up to?
 
Linking up with adelynSTONE
 
*Allie
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Macaroni and Cheese

Who doesn't like mac and cheese?  The best is from a box, I don't care how old you are, the powdered cheese is still good! ha ha.  Well this morning, I got a free magazine.  The person living here before me didn't forward her women's day subscription.  So yay, free magazine!  But I think I already have that one, I have purchased two or three subscriptions lately and cant remember what they were so.....

Anyways, I was perusing the pages and it had a fun little facts on mac and cheese, so I thought I would share it with you.  Then give you some of my go to recipes. 


1802: Having fallen for the dish in Europe, Thomas Jefferson begins serving it at the white house.  America follows.
1937: Kraft launches what will one day be known as Kraft Macaroni & Cheese-- and sell a million little blue boxes a day.
1993: A contest results in a new Crayola color: Macaroni and Cheese.  Kids start coloring everything orange.
2006: S'MAC, the first restaurant devoted to the dish, opens in New York City.  All mac and cheese, all the time!


Fun little facts, huh?  I don't remember the whole crayon thing, but I'm sure I was on the band wagon.  I will def have to check out that restaurant when we go to the NYC this summer!


My version of Sandra Lee's Semi-homemade Taco Mac & Cheese

  • 1 box of mac and cheese (the cheese sauce one)
  • 1 small jar of pimentos
  • 1 lb turkey, or ground beef
  • 1 packet of taco seasoning
  • 2 c. of cheese (colby blend, cheddar, whatever you have)
  • tortilla chips (handful, crushed)
  • 1 or two cans of corn (you can even use the rotella kind with peppers for more spice)
  • sour cream, salsa, sliced black olives, shredded lettuce (garnish)
  •  
-make your mac & cheese according to package directions.
-brown meat and add taco seasoning and water, let simmer for a few minutes
-mix meat, corn, some cheese, pimentos with mac & cheese.
-pour in square baking dish and top with crushed chips and the rest of your shredded cheese.
-bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until warm and cheese is bubbly on top.
-top with toppings when complete (if you wish)

photo via foodnetwork tv


This is a family favorite, I make it often.  It is super simple and delish!


Homemade Mac & Cheese
  • 1 lb. elbow macaroni
  • 3 c. whole milk
  • 2 T. flour
  • 2 T. butter
  • 2-3 c. cheddar cheese
  • 1 or 2 t. dried mustard
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/2 c. bread crumbs (mix crumbs with melted butter in a saucepan for topping)
  • 2 T. melted butter
-cook macaroni until al dente (to the tooth), salt your water before hand.
-in a medium saucepan melt your butter and whisk in your flour, cook for a minute.   (this allows the flour taste to cook out.)
-add milk and whisk, let it bubble around the edges, don't boil, it will burn the milk.
-add your cheese and stir until melted.  Add mustard and salt and pepper to taste.
-pour in baking dish and top with buttered breadcrumb mixture.
-bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or so, until bubbly.


This is a rough estimate, but you really cant mess up mac and cheese, unless you forget the cheese!

Hope you have a great Tuesday! 

*Allie  

Monday, February 6, 2012

Go G-Men!

Superbowl was yesterday!   Anyone a football fan?  I am not, but I love Superbowl, just another excuse to make yummy food!  And that we did.  I made 3 new things I found via Pinterest.  They came out delish!  I went to grab my camera to take pictures to put on here and my camera was dead (and since we just moved and are only half way unpacked we couldnt find the charger)!  So no pictures from me.  But I will include links to where I got them!

New England Clam Chowder
Photo and recipe via brown eyed baker

This soup came out delish!  It is def a keeper, my fam loved it. Even wants to recipe to make for their guests coming into town next week! (Clam Chowder was for the patriots, but we had pizza for Giants)

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pulls
photo and recipe via plain chicken

I have seen variations of this bread all over the internet.  A breakfast version, a spicy one, but I choose this one.  Super easy and everyone loved it!  It will become a staple at our parties!

Sticky and sweet wings (no picture for this one)
You can get the recipe over at cookin canuck.  These also came out really yummy, but mine did not come out like the picture.  I will make them again, because there are a few things I would do differently, but the overall taste was yummy!

Does anyone have some fantastic Superbowl Sunday recipes they want to share?


*Allie 





Thursday, February 2, 2012

All moved in...almost

Hello All!  I have been M.I.A lately.  We have been concentrating on moving.  Just to a bigger apartment in the same complex, but for some reason it took forever!  I had hired movers, then I didn't have to do any heavy lifting. Great!  My mom came over and packed up my kitchen so I didn't have to.  Awesome!  I cleaned the big stuff in the apartment day before the move so I didn't have to do it the day after we moved.  Fantastic!  Bought a new sofa and bed, to be delivered on Wednesday.  What was I thinking?  So after about 4 trips and 8 hours of moving all our stuff was lumped in the living room.  Where my sofa was being delivered.  Genius, I tell you. 

    (photos are un edited)

So while I thought I did good this move I really didn't.  For some reason my phone decided to send my sister about 100 picture texts.  I deleted the text, the picture, everything and she just kept getting them.  So that started the stress.  Then Zoe was getting anxious and bugging us all, the movers just kept piling stuff in our living, there was no direction.  Just a horrible day. 

So I scarified my living room and dining room separated, so that Zoe could have a bigger room, then in turn no toys in my living room/dining room.  Its smaller, I can live with it.  As long as her toys stay in her ginormous room I am good!

So the first night, after we moved everything (note: we still had little stuff left at our old apartment) we had to eat dinner.  Its tradition for us to "picnic" on the floor, always in the hallway.  Don't ask me why.  Probably because its the only available space! ha ha.  So the first time we moved, we were eating taco bell (another tradition) and you know how the hot sauce packets have messages on them.  Well here we are eating, I was only up in WA for a few months with Richie, the relationship still in the beginning phases and he says..."will you marry me"  I was mid bite of taco and speechless, heart pounding.  Then he shows me the hot sauce packet, which has that question on it!  Scared the crap out of me!  Love that moving story, he he.  So anyways, we had a picnic

Then the next day it took us 5 hours to finish at the old apartment.  insert grumpy Allie.  Then from 2pm-10pm we had to unpack, as much as we could so we had room for our sofa.  I did get most of my books unpacked so that made me happy!
So stressing about the sofa.....but when it got here all was forgotten and my Wednesday was spent being lazy on the chaise...

Here is a peak at my tiny "dining room"

So that is what I have been up to lately.  What about you?

Next post:  Superbowl Sunday!  I have lots of goodies for that post!


*Allie 


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