O Christmas Tree

So today's post isn't about food, because this little food blogger will be eating at other people's houses for the next couple days. :)  But it's Christmas eve, so I decided that part 3 of the Christmas traditions series would be about my Christmas tree.

It's just a little 4-foot-tall artificial tree, but it's the first Christmas tree that is all mine, so it's special.  We put it up on a table so it would appear taller.  You may also notice that there are no ornaments on the bottom row of branches.  That's because I have two little kitties who think the ornaments are just too much fun.

As a note to anyone struggling with keeping their cats out of the Christmas tree, two years ago when I first got this tree, I thought I would NEVER be able to put it up in my living room.  The cats just got right up inside that little tree and scaled it, knocking off all of my decorations in the process.  I had settled on just having it in my bedroom and keeping the door shut, but it was kind of depressing to not be able to see my Christmas tree very often.

This year, I decided I would try a new strategy.  I set up the Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving, but didn't plug it in or put any decorations on it for about a week.  Instead, I sat by the tree whenever I was home with a water bottle in my hand.  If the cats looked like they were going to try and climb the tree, or start nibbling on it, I would squirt them.  I was truly skeptical about whether or not this would actually work, but it did!  Within a week, I had decorated the tree and not a single ornament has come off all month.  I think it helped that my cats didn't seem to realize where the water came from.  I generally shot them quickly and from behind, which caused them to leap off and look around, like, "what the heck was that?"  So they just associated a fear of getting squirted with water with being near the Christmas tree.  Perhaps that sounds kind of mean, but now I can have my Christmas tree in the living room again, and I couldn't be happier about it!

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

Party mix

For this second installment of the holiday traditions series, we have party mix.  When everyone comes home for the holidays, we always make up a big batch of this so we have something to snack on while we sit around and talk and catch up.  It's so easy to make, and you can customize it with whatever you'd like to throw in there!

INGREDIENTS:

Approximately 9 cups of cereal - your choice!  I used 3 cups wheat chex, 3 cups corn chex, and 3 cups cheerios
2 cups of bite-sized pretzels
10 oz can of mixed nuts
1 stick of margarine (1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Optional: bagel chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

2. Mix up the cereal, pretzels, nuts, etc.

3. Melt the butter in the microwave.

4. Add seasonings and Worcestershire sauce to the butter.

5. Spoon the butter mixture a little at a time over the cereal mix, stirring the cereal as you go so that's it gets evenly coated.

6. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hr and 15 mins, taking it out to stir it up every 15 minutes or so.

7. Let it cool, then store it in an air-tight container.

8. Feed it to your friends and family and watch them smile! =D

Gingerbread Cookies

This is the first in a series on holiday traditions.  And I had to start with my absolute favorite Christmas treat: gingerbread cookies!  I have experimented with many different gingerbread cookie recipes, and in my opinion, this one is by far the best.  They turn out nice and thick, and much softer and chewier than most recipes.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups of flour
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter softened to room temperature (but not warm!), cut into pieces
¾ cup molasses
2 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the dry ingredients first (the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt).  Use an electric mixer and mix well, then add the butter pieces.  When the butter is mixed in pretty well, add the molasses and milk.  Keep mixing until the dough is nice and moist.

Next, take a cookie sheet and line it with wax paper.  Scrape the dough onto the cookie sheet and roll it out.  Dust the rolling pin the flour to prevent sticking.  Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes until it is nice and firm.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Then take it out and transfer the wax paper to a hard work surface.  Roll out the dough so it is pretty thin and cut out your cookies!  Place the cut cookies on ungreased cookie sheets. 

Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies barely retain an imprint when touched very lightly with a fingertip.  for best results, allow the cookies to cool for about 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then move them to a wire cooling rack.  Wait until they are completely cool to frost and decorate.

Enjoy!

Best Lasagna Ever!

I kid you not, this is by far the best lasagna I have EVER tasted!  Everyone I have made it for agrees.  I'm not gonna lie, it's a lot of work and it takes a long time.  But WOW, is it worth it!  Besides, lasagna is so filling, you can make it on Sunday and it will feed you for the better part of that week.

When you make this recipe, depending on the size and depth of your lasagna pan, you will probably end up with left over meat sauce.  No worries - it freezes just fine!  Then just thaw it in the microwave some night when you're in a hurry for dinner and use it to make spaghetti!  I occasionally double the sauce recipe on purpose so that I have extra sauce for later, it is soooo incredibly yummy.  :)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb sweet Italian turkey sausage (I usually buy a package of Jeanie-O Italian turkey sausages and then slice them open and remove that skin -- I have no idea if it's 1 lb or not, but it works perfectly) [alternatively, you could buy regular pork sausage but it tastes the same and cuts down on the fat]
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped pretty small
  
• 10 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
• 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 2 6oz cans of tomato paste
• 2 6.5oz cans of tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup of water
• 3 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tabelspoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 package of lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces of ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded
• 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese 

 DIRECTIONS:

1. Begin by dumping all the cans of tomatoes into a large pot.  Add water.  Just a tip: instead of measuring out the water, I just estimate and use the water to rinse out the tomato cans.  It's close enough, and less of the tomato goodness gets wasted!
2. Add half of the parsley (or 2 Tbs), the basil, fennel, pepper and Italian seasoning to the pot.  Stir it all up.  Put the lid on and begin to simmer over low heat.
   
3. In a large frying pan, cook the ground beef and Italian sausage with the onion and garlic over medium-high heat until well browned.  If you're like me and you own a wimpy frying pan that can't hold everything at once, just cook the beef and sausage separately.  When it's done (i.e., well browned), throw the meat into the pot too.
4. Now, how long you simmer the meat sauce is entirely up to you.  A lot of people say that the longer you simmer it, the better it tastes.  The recommended time is 1.5 hours, but many people say they let it simmer away for many hours.  I personally do not have the kind of patience, and I think it still tastes great even if it only simmers for 30 minutes or so.  But it's up to you.  However long you decide to cook it for, just make sure you keep it covered and stir it ever once in awhile.  
5. While you're waiting for your sauce, you can get your ricotta cheese mixture ready.  Mix together the ricotta cheese with one egg, the remaining 2 Tbs of Parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. 
   
6. When you have decided your sauce is done, preheat the oven to 375 degrees, get out your 9x13 inch baking dish, and begin assembling your lasagna!  Here is the order of the layers:
1.  Meat sauce.  I don't measure it out or anything, just make sure the bottom of the pan is well covered.
2. Arrange noodles over the meat sauce.  NOTE: You do NOT have to boil the noodles first!  I know a lot of recipes tell you to, but trust me, it will be fine.  If you're really worried about it, you can soak them in some hot tap water while your sauce is cooking, but I never do and it always turns out great.
3. Spread half the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles
4. Top with half of your mozzarella cheese
5. Spoon some more meat sauce over the mozzarella
6. Noddles again
7. The rest of the ricotta cheese mixture
8. Top with remaining mozzarella
9. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top 
7. Cover the lasagna with foil.  To prevent your foil from sticking to the melted cheese and making a mess, spray it with some cooking spray.  
8. Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove the foil, and bake for another 25 minutes.  Let it cool for about 15 minutes before serving.  

Enjoy!

Salmon and Herb Penne

This is one of my absolute favorite dishes!  It is so quick and easy to make, but still tastes like a delicious, luxurious meal!  And it’s healthy too!!

INGREDIENTS:

1 12 oz box of whole wheat penne pasta
2 cups of grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 medium-sized red onion, chopped
12 oz can or jar of artichokes, drained (alternatively, you can use the marinated ones but don't drain them -- just be sure you boil off most of the liquid)
6 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of white wine (any dry white or cooking wine, like Sherry or Marsala)
14 oz canned salmon
2 Tbsp basil
1 Tbsp oregano

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare the pasta according to the package directions. No need to add salt or oil or anything.  When it's done, drain and set aside.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the onion, artichokes, and garlic.  Cook until the onion starts to become transparent.

3. Next add the salmon, wine, basil and oregano.  Cook for another five minutes or so.  The fish is already cooked, so it's not critical that you cook it for very long.  You're just getting the flavors nice and mixed together.

4. I add the tomatoes last because I like my tomatoes more fresh than cooked.  Cook for another few minutes until it looks done to you.  Combine with the pasta and you're done!  See, wasn't that easy?

Welcome!

Welcome to our food blog!

For a long time, I have admired others' food blogs, and said that some day I would make one of my own.  Well, after months of talking about it, here it finally is!

This blog will document me and my fiances' adventures in cooking.  We plan to post pictures and recipes of the things we cook, and probably some non-food posts too.  Hopefully it will be something light and fun that you can enjoy, and perhaps will even inspire you to create some culinary creations of your own!

Happy reading and eating!