Blizzard 2010

Everything has been so busy around here, I feel like I can't even catch my breath! I will be finishing up my temporary seasonal job this week and I couldn't be more happy. The work was not hard, and I did actually enjoy getting out of the house and contributing financially, but I need to be done now. Now that's it has snowed, I just cannot be out on the roads so late at night. It's not safe. Me and snowy, icy roads do not get along... at all. I got into a bad car accident a couple years ago that will forever freak me out about winter driving. I was driving to my 4K teaching job in Monroe from Madison and I was coming down a steep hill when my tires got sucked into the slushy snow and I started getting pulled into the guard rail on the side of the road. To avoid hitting the rail, I overcompensated with my steering and when the tires finally grabbed the road my wheels were turned completely to the left and I was thrown into oncoming traffic. I didn't hit anyone, but I again overcompensated and turned my wheels all the way to the right and of course when they grabbed I was thrown back into my lane and then off the road flying down a steep hill, through a barbed wire fence into a field. I was about 3 yards away from hitting a telephone pole. It was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me. That same year I ended up sliding into a mailbox. Years before, when I was in middle school, I slipped on ice and smashed my face on the rock hard ice and ended up going to school with a huge fat bruised bloody lip. Awesome... Then when I was a cheerleader, I slipped on some ice and the skirt flew up - thank God for bloomers! ;) So anyway, I hate snow and ice.

Ok, new subject...

I never ended up making those two recipes below... I wish, but I ran out of time, patience, and money for ingredients. Instead I made a soup that I have made before and I really like. Cheesy Baked Potato Soup. I'll share the recipe below. I also bought myself a springform pan hoping to duplicate some awesome cheesecakes. I looked up a recipe for chocolate chip cheesecake and my first attempt at making a homemade cheesecake was surprisingly tasty. It had an oreo cookie crust...oh man...so good. I will also share that recipe as well.

Bella has been going through teething torture. She's got two little beauties on her bottom gum. Those suckers are sharp! She's added to her vocabulary and now instead of just saying mamamama, dadadada, and nananana, she also says lalalalalala. Very nice. She's still not crawling. I don't think she ever will. She's very lazy. Ah well, some kids go straight to walking. I just hope she does something!

Tomorrow I am going in for a teeth cleaning and I am absolutely dreading it. I am not usually afraid to go to the dentist, but I have a tooth that needs a root canal and I have pain with it every day. I just know that they are going to poke and prod it and make me cry. I have not been able to chew on the right side of my mouth for about 4 months now. I will get my root canal after the first of the year, and I'm very excited for it, but tomorrow I'm just dreading.

I wish I knew what to expect for the two weeks preceding Christmas. So far, I have one sub job lined up. I'm ok with that. I will be happy when Thursday is here and I won't have to go to work at 6:00 at night anymore. :) I am looking forward to this weekend and a possibility of a game night. It's been so long, and I need it. I have absolutely no Xmas presents bought yet. Normally, Christmas is the one thing I do on time if not WAY early. One year, I had all my presents bought and wrapped before Thanksgiving. This year, we are doing everything differently. We are doing a gift exchange for every Christmas we're going to, so that cuts down the amount of money we have to spend... and actually, we're not even exchanging gifts with my parents Christmas. I'm most excited about that one. So far the game plan consists of making homemade personal pan pizzas, homemade caramel corn, and eating finger foods all day while watching movies and playing games. I'm so excited! Dan and I aren't even exchanging gifts this year. Bella got Daddy a little Christmas gift, but that's it. I'm very excited and nervous about this Christmas. I am so excited about it being BooBoo's first Christmas, but I am nervous because she didn't handle the Thanksgivings so well. So many unfamiliar people all at once was way too overwhelming for her. I hope Christmas will be better. Only time will tell.

Here are the two recipes mentioned above. I hope everyone is snuggled up at home during this awful blizzard.

Cheesy Baked Potato Soup

8-10 slices bacon (for those vegetarians out there... you could probably skip this part)
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped onion *
1 bunch green onions (about 8) thinly sliced *
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups half and half
4 large baking potatoes, baked and diced
8 oz sour cream
8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used about 4 cups because I like my food to give me risks for heart attacks)

* I don't like onions, so I don't use them

In a Dutch oven (or pot) cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain and keep 2 Tbsp bacon drippings in pot. Add to the drippings the butter, chopped onion, and celery. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are tender. Stir in the sliced green onion and flour until blended. Stir in chicken broth; cover and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thickened and vegetables are very tender. Stir in half and half, diced potatoes, cheese, and salt & pepper to taste. Continue cooking until cheese is melted. (The recipe now tells you to put the soup in a blender and blend it until smooth, but we like the potato chunks in ours so we don't.) Add sour cream and stir until well blended. Cook, stirring constantly until soup is hot. You can serve this soup garnished with bacon and extra green sliced onion. I garnish with bacon and *more cheese*. I bought some ciabatta rolls and ate them with it. Last year when I made this I bought some sourdough bread bowls from Panera and melted some cheese in them before pouring the soup inside. That was delicious, but costly.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

1 pkg Oreo cookies (I used Double Stuf - and ate the leftovers)
1/3 c.butter

3 (8oz. ea) pkgs cream cheese
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips (I used the whole bag) :)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

The recipe states to only crush up 1 cup of Oreos. I crushed up all but about 10 cookies. Mix the butter with the crushed cookies and press into bottom of a greased 9 inch springform pan. You can press the cookie mixture up the sides if you'd like as well.
Mix the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Slowly add the sweetened condensed milk until completely blended. Add vanilla and eggs and blend until perfectly smooth and blended. Finally add 1/2 bag of mini chocolate chips and stir to mix.
Pour cheese mixture into pan and top with remaining chocolate chips.
Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour. When the hour is up, turn off oven (do not open the oven) and leave cheesecake in the oven for another hour to cool. Once the second hour is up put the cheesecake in the fridge to cool completely. Once cooled through, enjoy!

Yummmmm

There are two recipes I've been meaning to try. I'm hoping by the end of this week, I'll have made these two delicious looking creations. I'll share:

Spinach Tortellini Soup

3 small red potatoes
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 celery rib, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. plus 1-1/2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
2 qt. water
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 pkg (10oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
2 pkg (9oz each) refrigerated cheese tortellini

In a Dutch oven , combine the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, bouillon and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in chicken, spinach, parsley, garlic powder, oregano, pepper and salt; return to a boil. Add tortellini; cook, uncovered, for 7-9 minutes or until tortellini is tender.



Herb Bubble Bread

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. dill weed
1/8 tsp. each: dried thyme, basil, and rosemary, crushed
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 loaf (1 lb) frozen bread dough, thawed

In a small bowl, combine cheese and seasonings. In another bowl, combine butter and garlic; set aside. Divide dough into 16 pieces. Roll into balls. Coat balls in butter mixture, then dip in cheese mixture. Place in a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 350 for 22-26 minutes or until golden brown. (Cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly.) Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.


I now subscribe to about 4 different foody magazines, so I am always finding new recipes that I want to try. I can't wait to try this one. Maybe this weekend?

Thanksgiving... What I'm Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving (a few days late). If you know me and my family, we don't do anything on time. :)

As our friends would say, here is my "Glad List for 2010".

1 The two loves of my life. I would be nowhere without the support and love of my husband. He is my everything and I don't know what I would do without him. He gave me Bella. I cannot remember a time without her. I believe I was put on this Earth to be her mom and she is my whole world. I am thankful for my little family (and the puppies). :)

2. Family. I hate to brag, but I think I have an awesome family. That includes my family and my in laws. When Bella was born they have been SO MUCH HELP and I couldn't have done any of it without their help. I love the love they have for her, and I am very thankful for that.

3. Friends... both old and new. Over the past 2 years I have formed a bond with two wives of Dan's coworkers. We have a lot in common and I love the times we spend together at Ladies Nights just gossiping, venting, and laughing. I love the support system we all share. 2010 was also a year for rebuilding friendships that were lost in the past. I am thankful for all of our friends this Thanksgiving.

4. Food! Ha ha! I do love food, and I am thankful for the new recipes that I've found this year. ;)

5. My life. When I was a freshman in high school I didn't expect my life to be like what it is. I thought I would be married (check), have a kid (check), have a house (check), a new car, a steady elementary teaching job, and money in the bank to live comfortably. Well 50% ain't bad. Although I don't have money or a new car or my "dream job" I am happy. It turns out that I didn't know what my dream job was until Bella was born. I was never meant to teach a class full of elementary school kids, I was meant to be a mom and to teach my child/ren the difference between right and wrong and how to grow up and be strong independent people who care about others. I think I can handle that job. Maybe some day I'll have that new car and money in the bank, but this year, I am just thankful for what I do have. :)

March 22, 2010 Our New Family Began...

After a whole weekend full of labor, I gave birth (at 2:20am) to a beautiful little girl named Isabella. Most women, me included, think that they have a terrible birth story. I will not get into mine. For those women who want to do it the natural way without an epidural or drugs of any kind - more power to you. That, however, is not for me. I went the epidural way and loved every minute of that five foot long needle in my back.


Bella, as we call her, has many nicknames. Before she was born, my mother in-law decided that she was going to call her Izzy. Some people were going to use her full name and others were going to call her Belle. I have always called her Bella (or Belle from time to time) and probably always will. My husband calls her BooBoo which I think is cute. My mother in-law started calling her Bella-Rooney and then Rooney and then Roonsters. Izzy never stuck. And for future reference - she was NOT named after the character in the Twilight Saga. Ugh! That is the most annoying question we constantly get asked.

This little girl has totally turned my world upside down and I love it. She just recently turned 5 months old and every day she is learning something new and exciting. She just learned to sit up by herself and she's pretty proud of herself. Although, she takes some pretty hard face plants sometimes still. She smiles all the time and laughs at the weirdest things. She's babbling a lot and I swear she is saying "Mama" in those babbles, but I'm not writing it down in the baby book until she knows what she is saying. Her first word will either be Mama or Bob... Mamamamamamaobobobobobob. She looks like an old lady that doesn't have her dentures in when she babbles. It's hilarious.