Friday, October 29, 2010

Freaky Friday-Young Love?

My Sister in Law sent this to me. She said she had a good one. I can't believe this story, it's almost too difficult to consider! I've heard of arranged marriages but, to put a pair together at this young is very strange. These little children are little friends, they could even be like siblings at this point. I'm sure they will hate this when they get older and realize what's happening.

Article by msnbc.com

Young love? Girl, 3, gets engaged to 5-year-old
'They are very happy and talk to each other everyday,' groom-to-be's dad says

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Wordless Wednesday-Mom And Dad's Wedding

Church Of Christ-Phx March 1974

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Giveaways!

I'm Not Obsessed blog is giving away a BeFunky professional photo package for your computer away. Hurry ends 10/27

Thrifty Maven is giving away a $50 Snapfish gift card! Hurry ends Oct 31, 2010!

Making Tuesday Tasty-Beef Brisket

I'm considering making this as a separate meat for Thanksgiving. Let's see how open to more work I am ;). It got great reviews by most reviewers. I am thinking of omitting the veggies since I will already have plenty for my dinner and don't want the meat to absorb the veggie flavors.

Ingredients

4 large garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, needles striped from the stem and chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 (4 pound) beef brisket, first-cut
Coarsely ground black pepper
4 large carrots, cut in 3-inch chunks
3 celery stalks, cut in 3-inch chunks
4 large red onions, halved
2 cups dry red wine
1 (16-ounce) can whole tomatoes, hand-crushed
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (optional)
Potato Pancakes, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

On a cutting board, mash the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt together with the flat-side of a knife into a paste. Add the rosemary and continue to mash until incorporated. Put the garlic-rosemary paste in a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil; stir to combine.

Season both sides of the brisket with a fair amount of kosher salt and ground black pepper. Place a large roasting pan or Dutch oven over medium-high flame and coat with the remaining olive oil. Put the brisket in the roasting pan and sear to form a nice brown crust on both sides. Lay the vegetables all around the brisket and pour the rosemary paste over the whole thing. Add the wine and tomatoes; toss in the parsley and bay leaves. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and transfer to the oven. Bake for about 3 to 4 hours, basting every 30 minutes with the pan juices, until the beef is fork tender.

Remove the brisket to a cutting board and let it rest for 15 minutes. Scoop the vegetables out of the roasting pan and onto a platter, cover to keep warm. Pour out some of the excess fat, and put the roasting pan with the pan juices on the stove over medium-high heat. Boil and stir for 5 minutes until the sauce is reduced by 1/2. (If you want a thicker sauce, mix 1 tablespoon of flour with 2 tablespoons of wine or water and blend into the gravy).

Slice the brisket across the grain (the muscle lines) at a slight diagonal.

*recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence*

Friday, October 22, 2010

New Place, New Stuff!

I recently moved to a new place and lost my very important island! I have a smaller, galley style kitchen in the new place and the counters aren't stone so I need a good butcher block or special cutting and chopping area.

I have a few cutting boards but, would like something stylish as well in my new place. I was checking out some really cute portable butcher block carts today to see if that would be a good fit for my smaller kitchen.

We have a smaller backyard as well, with a slab of concrete for a back porch, at least there's some charming citrus trees and flowering bushes to look at in the yard! I think a charming Adirondack chair would fit perfectly on the porch. It would be a place I could sit in the morning when the day is nice.

And, if I'm feeling really adventurous, I might buy a stainless steel utility sink for my laundry room to rinse things out and spot treat without having to go into the kitchen or bathroom.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

New Giveaways!!!

Lady and The Blog is giving away an Enchanted Tea Set and a Belle singing doll from the Disney Store!


Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Making Tuesday Tasty-Lemon Chicken Soup with Spaghetti

Lemon Chicken Soup with Spaghetti

Ingredients

  • 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 1 (2-inch) piece Parmesan cheese rind, optional
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
  • 1 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces, *see Cook's Note
  • 2 cups diced cooked rotisserie chicken, preferably breast meat
  • 1 cup grated Romano cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • Kosher salt

Directions

In a large stockpot, bring the chicken broth, lemon juice, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind, if using, to a boil over medium-high heat.

Add the carrots and simmer until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Add the broken pasta and cook until the pasta is tender, for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken and heat through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and the Parmesan rind and discard. Stir in 1/2 of the cheese and the parsley. Season with salt, to taste. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

*Cook's Note: You can use any short pasta from your pantry as a substitute for spaghetti.


*recipe courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis*

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Why?

I haven't been online much this weekend. Been too busy. Anyways, I was on Youtube.com and watching some interesting videos about anti depressants and babies born while Mom's are on them, particularly Effexor.

If you've ever spent a few minutes on youtube you'll notice that you can go from one type of video that you were originally looking for to another totally unrelated one. Almost like going on Google for something and trying to find one thing and getting a whole bunch of unrelated search stuff.

I saw this link of a beautiful little girl, reminded me of my own. Same color hair, same color eyes, etc. The video was a tribute to her and then I remembered that she had been abused and then murdered a few years ago. I had already started watching this video while realizing this. Then, they went into detail about how she died and I had to stop watching it. I started sobbing my eyes out, and trying to remember that she is with Jesus and praying her pain was only momentary. I was so disgusted!

There's only been one other time that I was so deeply effected and I think mostly it's because I try to avoid the abuse stuff, even though I worked with abused children for two years. I saw a little news clip and didn't really know what it was and then the anchor proceeded to detail one of the most gruesome abuse cases I'd ever heard. No warning, and I had no understanding of why they would even detail it on a news broadcast but, there it was. So detailed that as soon as I realized what I was hearing, it was too late.

I proceeded to sob for three hours, asking God why the kingdom of heaven(little children) are being hurt. Of course I know the answer but, I mourned that child as if it were my own family. I really think there needs to be a little more censorship on news broadcasts about sensitive topics. Especially since this is someone's child or family member.

Praying for little children tonight everywhere...