Wishing and Hoping

It looks like Wednesday are turning into random posts, which I hope will work for all of you! Definitely works for me, I can be so random, though I hope most future Wednesdays will be filled with wedding/party ideas and great finds from web surfing. :)

I saw this yummy cardigan in the new JCrew catalog and I thought I need to save my pennies, though I have no job, so that might be hard. And I really don't need another cardi, but a girl can dream....and hey, maybe it will rain money?! :)



That cardi, this color


Hope your all having a great week so far!!

Huntsville Websites

Since, I've dedicated Tuesdays to Huntsville, I thought today I'd post some locals websites, blogs, events and deals that I've come across recently....

This website has a ton of local information on a variety of things and is run by a local realtor
http://gohsv.com/

Free Family Movie Showing at Hollywood 18, who doesn't like that?!
http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx?state=AL

A Local Performing Arts Center
http://www.merrimackhall.com/

Large Outdoor Fall Concert, Big Spring Jam...it's named after the park, not the time of year :)
http://bigspringjam.org/

Local Huntsville Newspaper, The Huntsville Times
http://www.al.com/huntsville/

Jean Brandau's Huntsville Blog on About.com...she of tons of great and up to the minute information!
http://huntsville.about.com/


These are just a couple of sites I've come across lately, that I thought might be helpful to anyone new to Huntsville or anyone searching for new things to do. I'll be searching out other sites and if you have any favorites, let me know, I'd love to read them! Happy Tuesday!

Monday Recipe

I'm really excited about today's recipe!!! This weekend I tried my hand at making homemade salsa and canned it!!! I had a TON of fresh tomatoes and peppers, so I just had to try this recipe. I've never attempted to make either before and to be quite honest, was very nervous to do so. I always thought that both would be rather tricky, but it wasn't and it turned out great, if I do say so myself! :) The hubby LOVES it! I came across this recipe from a financial blog, of all places and it's a GREAT blog, Get Rich Slowly. I read it often and it's very informative and helpful. Also, you get the added bonus of recipes from his wife and from what I can tell, she's very gifted in the kitchen! Her recipe is below and the pictures are from my salsa adventures this weekend.


Canned Salsa (Medium-Hot)

8 cups very ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped (no need to peel or seed)
2 1/2 cups yellow onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups mild green Anaheim type peppers, chopped (I used banana peppers, because that's what I had..it worked! :) )
1 cup jalapeno peppers, minced
1 canned chipotle chili (I took this to mean the whole can...so, you might want to subtract??)
6 garlic cloves
2 1/2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 tablespoons canning salt (also called pickling salt-it has no iodine)
1/3 cup white vinegar
15 oz tomato sauce
12 oz tomato paste
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Chop tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic and chipotle chilis by hand or in a food processor. Make it as chunky or fine as you like. In a large non-aluminum pot, mix everything together except the lime juice and cilantro. Bring mixture to a boil. Continue boiling 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro.

Fill 6 pint jars (or your choice of jars) with hot mixture. Wipe rims and add lids and screw-bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Make sure the boiling water is deep enough to cover the jars by at least one inch, and start timing when the water returns to a boil after adding the jars.

Makes about 3.5 quarts (7 pints). Check the jar seals. If any haven't sealed, you get to eat that right away! Keeps in the fridge for several weeks once opened.

If you want a very mild salsa, start by omitting the chipotle, cutting the cumin to 1 teaspoon and removing the seeds from the jalapenos. Once the mixture has cooked for about 5 minutes, give it a taste and season to desired "hotness" by adding the cumin, jalapeno seeds and chipotles (with or without the adobo sauce in the can). The recipe as listed makes a medium-hot version.




I really didn't change anything, except the accidental extra chipotles. I hope you enjoy the recipe! Let me know how it turns out for you!

Wishful Thinking

I was just sitting at my messy desk trying to will myself into being more productive today and instead of doing what I should be doing, I decided to look through my pictures and I saw this....

(photo from Flickr...I think...it's been awhile, sorry!)

Oh, how I wish my desk area looked like this right now! If it did I'm SURE that I would have accomplished soooo much more today! Don't you think that is a great use of a small area? Someone is a very resourceful designer! What does your dream desk look like?

I hope all of you had a more productive Wednesday than me! Happy Hump Day! :)

Huntsville is #1

This post isn't the freshest of news and I've been meaning to post it for a couple weeks, but I thought I can still post old news, right?! Well, drum roll please.....Huntsville, AL was voted #1 2009 city by Kiplinger.com

That is great news for the city, businesses and it's residents!! Kiplinger was something I read often when I was working in finance and it is a highly respected organization, so that's just icing on the cake for the City of Huntsville!

I want to throw it out there, that I'm no expert on why Huntsville, AL is number 1, but I've lived here a year and I thought I want to know what makes it the best to residents that live here. To be honest it hasn't been the easiest of transitions for me and I need to become more familiar with all the interesting things going on in Huntsville and things that would make it easier for people who might be new to the area like me. So, with the new blog format, I thought I'd dedicate Tuesdays to Huntsville and what makes it special. I think this is win win for me and all the other newbies in town. :)

Do you live in Huntsville, if so, what makes it special to you? What are your favorite spots and things to do?

I'm looking forward to discovering more about the #1 city with all of you!

Monday Recipe

Well, hello there stranger! Did you miss me? I'm sorry for the lengthy absence, but life has been crazy lately and I needed to take a break and refocus. But, I'm back now and I have a new format in mind for the blog and I hope you'll like it. Let me know what you think as we go along, I'm always open to suggestions! :) So, lets get this blogging started....

I love cooking and trying new recipes, so I decided that I'd dedicate every Monday to my adventures in cooking. I'll post a recipe that I've tried recently and I'll let you know how it went and what I thought of it. Then my hope is you'll let me know how it turned out for you and how we can improve, change or jazz up the recipe. I always love adding a thing or two to recipes, that's what makes cooking fun!

For our first recipe, I'm going with a classic comfort food, Shepherd's Pie. I saw this recipe in Southern Living about a year ago and I've made it many times since and it always gets rave reviews from the hubby. What I really love about this recipe is all the extra veggies in it! When I was growing up we called Shepherd's Pie, Mashed Potato pie. :) My mom had a very simple recipe of ground hamburger, corn and pile a potatoes topped with cheese, though tasty, I'm not sure how good it is for you. So, here is an updated version for you...

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds ground round
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 (8-oz.) package fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 4 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 (14 1/2-oz.) can stewed tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Preparation

1. Brown beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 10 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Remove ground beef from skillet using a slotted spoon; reserve 2 Tbsp. drippings in skillet. Reduce heat to medium.

2. Sauté onion, mushrooms, and garlic in hot drippings over medium heat 10 to 11 minutes or until tender. Stir in ground beef, peas, and next 4 ingredients. Sprinkle flour over meat mixture. Increase heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, bay leaf, and vinegar, breaking up large tomato pieces with a spoon. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove bay leaf. Transfer mixture to a lightly greased 3-qt. baking dish or pan. Spoon Cheese-and-Carrot Mashed Potatoes evenly over meat mixture, smoothing with back of spoon.

3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

• 1 (1-lb.) package baby carrots
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 (22-oz.) package frozen mashed potatoes - don't use refrigerated!
  
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Preparation

1. Place carrots and 1/4 cup water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; fold back a small edge to allow steam to escape. Microwave at HIGH 8 to 10 minutes or until carrots are tender. Drain.

2. Stir in butter. Coarsely mash carrots with a potato masher.

3. Prepare potatoes according to package directions, using 2 1/2 cups milk. Stir in cheese, next 3 ingredients, and carrot mixture until well blended.

So, here are my touches on the recipe....

I cook the meat mixture in an oven proof skillet that will hold everything, including the mashed potatoes, this makes clean up a little easier. I add some bell pepper when cooking the onion and I always think adding a little corn would be nice for old times sake, but I haven't done that yet, but feel free to try that. :) I also add about half a box of frozen chopped spinach (defrosted and well drained) to the meat mixture, during step 2. As well as use whole wheat flour during the gravy making step and you can't tell at all! Plus, I add a dash of worcestershire sauce and tomato paste during cooking. For the potato recipe, I actually make homemade mashed potatoes like I normally would with milk(not 2 1/2 cups though) and butter and just add the mashed carrots, cheese and seasoning to that and it turns out perfectly. If you use the frozen, let me know how you like them!

So, I hope you like this first selection and happy cooking!!