Friday, November 21, 2008

Get your game on!

This month Gourmet Girls "kicked off" our 2nd year of cooking club. Our theme was "Game Night." Oh man did we stuff ourselves silly! The food was beyond yummy...some of the recipes included coconut shrimp, BBQ chicken quesadillas, spicy hamburger dip and sweet and sticky chicken legs. We had 11 recipes in all, and there wasn't a bad one in the bunch. Not only was the food and company amazing we had something else to look forward to...TWILIGHT. We decided that since the Twilight movie was opening at midnight on the night of cooking club that we would all go see it together. You could feel the excitement and aniticipation in the air. Michele was so antsy I thought she was going to jump out of her skin. HA! So after a fabulous filling evening of food we headed off to the movie theatre...wait! I think I hear Edward calling...

showing off our wristbands for Twilight


The Group


Heather & Vanessa


Brittany, Cindi & Michele


Jen & Vanessa


Michele & Kathryn


Jill, Christy & Brittany


Amber & Amy


the food


Jill's coconut shrimp


the aftermath: beef strog sandwich, chicken leg, 3 dips, taquito
I thought I would share my recipe from that night...
Beef Strogonaff Sandwiches

1 lb. ground beef shredded cheese (your choice)
1 T. beef base sliced bell pepper (not green)
onion powder, garlic powder sliced red onion
salt, pepper mushrooms (sauté in butter, salt and pepper)
1 can cream of mushroom soup sliced tomato
½ cup sour cream french bread loaf or rolls
¼ cup worchestershire sauce
shredded cheese (your choice)
sliced bell pepper (not green)
sliced red onion
mushrooms (sauté in butter, salt and pepper)
sliced tomato
french bread loaf or rolls

Brown ground beef with beef base, onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add in soup, sour cream and worchy sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes with the lid off to ensure thickening.

Slice the loaf or rolls length-wise for an open sandwich affect. Scoop out some of the bread to make a place for the meat. Broil for a minute or two to get a nice crust. Spread on the meat mixture and add all of the toppings; saving the cheese for last. Place sandwiches back under the broiler until the cheese is melted and sandwich is hot.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

OLE, OLE, OLE, OLE...REAL, SALT LAKE!!

Okay, so if you would have asked me about 5 years ago if I liked soccer the answer would have definitely been NO! I always thought it was BORING and pointless. Definitely something that the rest of the world could keep for themselves. The only time I ever watched a game was to support my friend Michelle back when we were younger. And that didn't happen very often. Soccer just isn't that popular in the upper half of California. (Big in So Cal though.) BUT, Kristin and Cassidy started playing when we moved to Utah. They were both very good at it. Kristin didn't continue with it, but most of you know that Cassie did. We got hooked while attending her games. Soccer die-hards shouldn't get too excited though 'cause I only liked watching Cassidy play. Again, I thought it was boring. Especially professional soccer. Well, my cousins are soccer fanatics, they have played their whole lives. They still play in adult co-ed leagues. When Utah got it's very own professional MLS team (REAL SALT LAKE) they were the first in line to get season tickets. That was 3 years ago and they are still going strong. I started to get a little more interesed during the World Cup a few years back. It was very exciting to watch USA, then when they fell out of it I picked an international team to route for...the Dutch. ('cause I liked their orange uniforms, HA!) We attended a few REAL games, but it still didn't peak my interest. Until....the REAL made into the playoffs this year!! It has been so fun. They also got a brand spanking new stadium of their own that is so beautiful (they played at the University before). My cousins bought Danny tickets to the new stadium opener and he and Cassidy went. Then we got the chance to attend the 1st playoff game. My cousins and my sister drove to L.A. the following week to watch the 2nd playoff game. The week after that we attended the 3rd playoff game back here in Utah. Unfortunately we lost to N.Y. on that night, but the playoffs gave us some great opportunities to support REAL and appreciate soccer a little bit more. It's always more fun when you are fully supporting the team and not just the sport. Anywhoo...let's just say that soccer is growing on me, but the REAL are in my heart!! Here are some pics from the last game...


Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Cabo goes Hawaiin




Here is Cabo in his Halloween costume! He is a Hawaiin Tourist if you couldn't figure that out. HA! This costume is in honor of our first trip to Hawaii that we took over the summer. I know he may look tortured, but he's used to it I promise. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Secret Life of Bees


If you are looking for a good book to READ and a wonderful movie to SEE look no further. You need to check out THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES. I read the book several years ago and then again in my book club. I absolutely enjoyed the book. It is definitely one of my favorites. My parents and I just went to the movies to see it come to life on the screen. It was fabulous. The cast is ideal and it is so moving. Even more so than the book. I cried reading the book, but I sobbed during the movie. My parents really enjoyed it also. So get out there, pick up the book or take a trip to the theatre...it's so worth it!

Happy 60th Aunt Jo!

My Aunt Betty Jo just turned 60!! WHOO HOOO! My cousins and my Uncle threw her a surprise party at one of our favorite local restaurants; Mara's Cafe. Mara was so sweet that she shut down the restaurant at 6:00 so we could have it all to ourselves. I think she was definitely surprised and had a wonderful time. My cousins did a great job with flowers, balloons and some pictures of my Aunt taken over the years. I got to make her cake and I think it turned out pretty good. She had friends, neighbors, co-workers and family all join in on the festivities. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!




Tagged again

My girlfriend Lisa tagged me with the "8" list...

8 TV shows I love to watch...
The Hills
Ellen & Oprah
So You Think You Can Dance
American Idol
Heroes
Grey's Anatomy
Project Runway
The Starter Wife (and so many more!)

8 favorite restaurants...
El Patio (CA)
Cattlemans (CA)
Round Table (CA)
Minervas (CA)
Rickenbachers (UT)
Stadium Pizza (UT)
Chili's
Sensai's (HI)

8 things that happened yesterday...
frosted my Aunt's cake
ate a tuna fish sandwich
uploaded HS photos on to Facebook
connected with old friends
went to the grocery store to by flowers
watched the Food Network
watched Oprah
finished my Aunt's cake
went to my Aun'ts bday party

8 things I'm looking forward to...
the release of Twilight the movie
next week's book club
next month's cooking club
my girlfriend's baby being born on Nov. 6th
going to CA for Christmas
getting the Amazon "Kindall" (not sure if that's how you spell it?)
using my new food processor
another day that my pacemaker makes easier

8 things on my wish list...
that my pacemaker works for a REALLY long time
that I can love my husband enough that he deserves
that our family will be together and happy
the Amazon Kindall
that no one hurts Barack Obama (president or not)
to travel more
the my book club and cooking club go on for ions
new carpet

8 people who I'm tagging...
Jill
Brenda
Desiree
Heather
Christy
(sorry I don't have 8, Lisa already tagged the rest)

CAKE!

I've had some people inquire about my cakes so I'm posting some pics here. For those of you who have seen them over and over I apologize...