New Blog!

Hello everyone!

Check out my new blog home over at Veggies, Cake & Cocktails!

I would love to know what you think of the new site...

Thanks to everyone who checks it out!

Wisdom Teeth, Smishdom Teeth!

Not only have I been sick for the last couple weeks but last week I was woken up in the middle of the night with the worst sort of mouth pain. It wasn't just a tooth that hurt it was my entire jaw and throat on the left side of my face! I wasn't excited about going to the dentist but I knew I had to make an appointment when the pain was so severe I couldn't eat!

Yesterday was the day I would take on the dentist chair. See, I still have my wisdom teeth and I was pretty sure those pesky little things were to blame for my jaw pain. My appointment wasn't until after lunch and I forgot to bring my toothbrush to work so I used one of these:

This is one great invention. I always carry some in my purse, you never know when you will need a fresh mouth;)

I also popped a few DayQuil in hopes of stopping my cough for the 10 minutes my dentist would be checking out my mouth.

It also helped that the views from my dentist chair are pretty amazing:

Verdict:

As suspected my wisdom teeth were to blame. I can get my wisdom teeth taken out or use a homemade mouth wash everyday. I'm going with option #2 for now but who knows what will happen in the future.

I also must mention the fact that my dentist is awesome! I've hated every dentist I've ever come in contact with EXCEPT for my current dentist. If you are in the Chicago area and need a good dentist contact me and I will get you his information.

Dinner

After a long day at work Patrick and I walked to our voting location to do our civic duty. When we were finally able to get home I was exhausted and did not feel like cooking anything. Luckily my husband is good in the kitchen and he stepped up to the batters plate.

Spicy Broccoli Stir-fry Over Rice

• Frozen broccoli
• White rice
• Red pepper flakes
• Schezwan sauce
• Olive oil

1. Put a bit of olive oil in a pan.


2. Add broccoli, red pepper flakes and schezwan sauce and cook until broccoli is to your desired texture.


3. Put broccoli mixture over rice and enjoy!

After dinner I wanted something sweet so I decided to put some frozen cookie dough in the microwave. Turns out it wasn't such a good idea:

Not only did I burn the heck out of the cookie but I turned our condo into a chimney. Smoke was everywhere and now all my clothes smell like burnt cookie!

Told you I wasn't in the mood to cook tonight;)

Question:

Did you vote on Tuesday?

Have you ever burnt anything in the microwave?

Starbucks Holiday Cup !!!!!!

Woohoo!!! I received my first Starbucks holiday cup of the 2010 season.

This cup says, " My sister and I would just stare up at the sky. Trying to see where the snowflakes were born".

Looks like they have multiple versions of the holiday cup this year. I'm looking forward to seeing what they all look like!

Under-the-Weather Comfort Food

The last week has been a rough one for me. I've been working like crazy and sick as a dog. I have this cough that just won't stop no matter how many Halls I suck!

I was very happy to see that a childhood favorite dinner was on the schedule for Monday night. Not just a favorite dish but the dish that my mom would make when I was feeling under the weather.

Mrs. Grass Soup with Homemade Dumplings

Dumpling Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 3 eggs
• Salt and pepper to taste

Start by beating the eggs and seasoning:

Add flour to egg mixture:

Drop teaspoon amounts of mixture into boiling water. Remove when dumplings float in the water for a minute or so:

Done! Simple, right?

Finished product isn't pretty but they sure do taste great in all kinds of soups and stews!

Dinner

Mixed greens with a garlic vinaigrette dressing:

And a bowl of Mrs. Grass chicken noodle soup:

With homemade dumplings, of course:

A very filling meal with loads of good memories attached:)

Question:

What dish do you like to eat when you are feeling under-the-weather?

A Dog Halloween

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! I did!

I started off the day getting my outfit together so I could participate in the Halloween fun and hand out candy. I dressed up as a disco girl. I've actually worn this the last 5 years because I secretly wish I could rock the Blonde fro wig everyday of the week!

After I was all situated it was time to dress the dogs. Solera was Frankenstein and Cappy was a Bat dog.

The association organized trick-or-treating in our building. Those condos that wanted to participate put a note on their door so the kids would know which doors to knock on. We had about 20 kiddies show up at our door and they were all very cute!

However, I think our candy bowl scared more than a few of them. We thought it was innocent enough...

until we realized when you stick your hand in the bowl the skeletons head moved and it eyes glowed red. I hope we didn't cause any nightmares:(

Dinner

After all the Halloween night fun, I started on dinner.

I had an acorn squash sitting on my counter from my last CSA order and it was screaming to be prepared like Iowa Girl Eats stuffed acorn squash.

I prepared my squash exactly like Iowa Girl Eats but added cayenne pepper and chili powder:

However, I stuffed my squash a bit differently. I prepared some ground turkey using taco seasoning. I also prepared some Stove Top following the directions on the package minus the butter.

Next I put a scoop of cooked ground turkey in the cooked squash and topped it with some prepared stuffing. Then I placed the stuffed squash back in the oven to broil for a couple minutes...and voila...

Great meal! The husband even liked the squash!

This dish will be making a repeat performance in my kitchen:)

And it's a Wrap

After dinner all I felt like doing was slamming my head into a pillow and calling it a night. Looks like I wasn't the only one feeling exhausted...

It was a long day for the pups too!

Question:

Do you dress your pets up for Halloween?