recipe of the week: chicken marsala casserole

i LOVE chicken marsala, but i've never had a recipe for it that i felt was fantastic

therefore i've always stuck to ordering it at carrabba's and calling it a day.

however, thanks to pinterest i ran across this recipe from rachael ray for an interesting twist on the dish

after a few modifications (making it twice), here's our preferred version!

chicken marsala casserole

2 tbsp butter

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 1/2 tbsp flour

1/2 cup marsala wine

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

salt and pepper

1 cup cooked long grain rice

1 pound chicken thighs, cooked and chopped coarsely

1/4 cup grated parmesan and asiago cheeses (i did about half and half, but you can figure out your own ratio!)

preheat the oven to 350.  heat the butter in a large skillet until just melted.  add the mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

sprinkle the flour on top and sir in for one minute.

add the marsala and cream and simmer, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened (about 3 minutes)

stir in 1 cup of water, the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste (i used about 1.5 tsp of each) and cheeses.

in a 9x13 casserole, spread the rice in an even layer, topped with the chicken. pour the mushroom gravy over the top.  

bake for 35 minutes or until bubbly.

hey, it's ok (tuesday) 3.13

hey, it's ok


...to begin this list on monday and publish it on wednesday (but keep the date as tuesday)
...to hope peyton signs with the titans...it would be nice to have him in town for awhile (especially while the colts rebuild which is code for 'suck for a few years')
...to be a slight bit obsessed with swagbucks. if you haven't joined yet, you totally should. (and if you click on that link i get your referral :-)
...to be oh-so-glad that spring has arrived in tennessee.  it was 80 yesterday. anthony and i had cocktail hour on our deck when we both got home from work. this is bliss -- when the temperature rises but the bugs haven't appeared yet!
...to have only just borrowed the first hunger games book.  hey, i still have not read/watched either twilight or harry potter (and won't) so i'm way ahead of my own game on this one!
...to make a recipe that flopped. i'm usually pretty confident in the kitchen and spotting recipes that anthony and i will both like, but the south indian mac and cheese (while it looked and smelled great) was just not our favorite. i'll still eat the leftovers, but i won't be making it again. (i put the link there since i won't be putting it on the blog, just in case anyone wants to try it...)
...to have a standing date with a friend to watch good bad tv 
...to just really be creeped out by some people


please visit amber's blog!

thursday's ten: refreshing summery drinks

is it HOT where you are?
because it's totally past that here.
yesterday we set record-breaking temperatures for june 1 in mid-tn
this plus all the cicadas swarming constantly outside makes it slightly miserable at times to visit the great outdoors

alas, i have not seen radnor lake for awhile
or a greenway
too many trees equals too many cicadas

BUT

i do love a good summer drink.  and here is a list of favorites


1.  sun tea
something about my childhood comes back when i drag a big container filled with water and teabags and a few hours later sip the sweet sun-brewed tea.
2. pink lemonade
regular lemonade is usually a little tart for me.  but pink lemonade is perfection
3. mojitos!
ok, not for daytime consumption, but for an evening watching chick flicks or just hanging out on a patio?  perfection.  i've perfected (i think!) a strawberry mojito recipe and i looooove it.
4.  iced green tea
this is a recently discovered treat at a local mediterranean restaurant, and i am determined to have a recipe down for it in the next couple of weeks.  theirs was infused with mango juice...i've also read a couple of recipes for passion fruit juice.  i think i shall play.  :-)
5.  freshly squeezed (by me!) orange juice
i.hate.packaged.orange juice.
for some reason there is a bitterness there that makes it not even taste like it came from an orange.  to me.  but squeezing my own oranges for a glass of juice?  yes PLEASE
6.  sangria
another non-daytime consumption drink, and one that i have never even attempted to make on my own.  but it's SO.GOOD (and i have friends that make awesome sangrias...)
7.  san pelligrino water
yes, i've sung it's praises here on the blog several times, but the fact is that i rarely drink it in the winter.  it's soooo yummy in the summer though!
8.  trader joe's french berry lemonade
i'd never even try to make this, it's worth buying the bottle.  :-)
9.  italian sodas
(or italian creme sodas)
sooooo good year round, but especially summer.  and so easy!  syrup, sparkling water, dash of cream for the cream soda...and you're done.
10.  just plain water
i sometimes add the mio enhancer (or crystal light if you're so inclined) but honestly?  a cool refreshing bit of water is the absolute best thing to put in your body, and after a long hot day...it really is perf

recipe of the week: adult brownies

i made these for st patrick's day last week, and loved them enough to make them for my own birthday party tonight!  i found the recipe on the betty crocker website and (for once!) didn't feel the need to change a single thing!  probably because of the baileys ;-)

they are a *totally* simple recipe.
here's what you need:

1 box brownie mix
and basically follow the instructions on the back.  except substitute "baileys irish cream" when you see "water"
for example, the betty crocker fudge brownies i used required this substitution:

1 egg
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup baileys -- except the second time i made them i put in 1/2 cup and they were even.more.amazing

mix all ingredients together as you normall would and bake according to package directions.
once brownies have cooled for at least 45 minutes, you can frost them

frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Baileys
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons milk

Beat 1/2 cup butter in small bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in all remaining frosting ingredients, adding enough milk for desired spreading consistency. Spread over cooled brownies.


yummy!  enjoy...but don't share them with the children! ;-)

Thursday's Ten: a day off

today's blog comes to you from a little haven

where i'm shaded from the sun

surrounded by a few boxes that i'm either going through or taking back to storage

and where breezes are blowing the windchimes

it's just a carport

but i'm loving it :)

the family i'm nannying for this summer

left for a week

i drove them to the airport yesterday

and now i have a loooooong holiday weekend to look forward to

some of it will be busy

but i hope most of it will be just like today

i find myself more productive on days where i don't feel rushed or stressed

(anyone else like that?)

so here's what i've done so far today, or am planning to do as the day goes on

1. slept in

(ahhhhh)

2. planted and watered in my little garden

(i should have ripe tomatoes soon!)

3. introduced emi to her new surroundings, outdoor edition

(i know we've been here 2 months nearly, but i wanted her to be comfortable INDOORS first, and today is just gorgeous so it was perfect)

4. cleaned out a bit of the carport

5. returned some emails

6. chatted with the neighbors

7. ate some fresh fruit

8. fixed myself another iced coffee

9. cleaned out the cooler from yesterday's chicken adventures

(that's another blog in itself)

10. sat in the carport with my little macbook on my lap and enjoyed relaxing...because i deserve a day to relax!

oh, there's plenty on the agenda today...like laundry, organizing, cleaning, etc. but i figure i have the whole looooong weekend to do these things. so for now, i'm kicking back with my iced coffee. (which may turn into a nice iced bloody mary later on this afternoon--only 3 hours til 5 pm!)

what about you? what are you up to today...or what do you normally do on a day off?

30 before I'm 30

originally i had this scheduled for a few days after my birthday. then came the foreclosure...the packing...the hospital stay...the flood. so i'm just a LITTLE late. :)

here's my 30 before i'm 30 list...30 things i want to accomplish and do before i turn 30 next march! none of these are earth-shattering huge things...but if the last few months have taught me anything it's that even the little things count.

truth be told, i hesitated at even posting this. it seems so...frivolous...after all that's happened just in the last few months. but something my smart boyfriend and his father pointed out to me as we were packing my stuff up for storage and moving is that i need "wins" right now. little ways to smile and acknowledge that i've accomplished *something* no matter how small.

so some of these are silly, some are fun, some are serious, and many are modified because at the time i first wrote this list i had no idea i'd be losing my house.

1. actually run an entire 5K (I've run/walked several now)

*modification due to asthma...run at least HALF a 5K. we'll work on the whole after that.
2. take a trip to Holiday World--i want to introduce A to a place that was fun for me as a kid!
3. visit at least one brand-new-to-me place
4. eat 3 fruits/veggies every day for a full month (0/30)
5. read 20 books (0/20)
6. volunteer at *something* at least 5 hours/month (2/12)
7. take one picture per day of my 29th year

*modification due to foreclosure, moving, hospital and flood...start a 365 photo album on january 1 next year like everyone else...and just attempt to take a picture every day for the remainder of this year to get used to that
8. try 30 new recipes (2/30)
9. fit into the majority of my professional wardrobe. This will require losing another 20ish pounds, but preferably 30-40. (3/20)
10. review 12 books in 12 months for le blog (0/12)
11. find and perfect a mojito recipe
12. grow a container herb garden
13. look into graduate programs and decide what to get my master's in (hopefully to be completed by age 35)
14. play the piano daily for a month (0/30)
15. begin practicing yoga again, up to 3x a week by my 30th birthday
16. have at least one meatless day a week
17. wear more hats because I love them
18. entertain at least once a month, whether that be a big party or another couple (can be at A's place or mine as long as I have at least 1/2 the responsibility) (2/12) *modification...cooking for A's family counts!
19. get my cds organized...oy
20. reorganize kitchen

(uh...does finding all the kitchen boxes and organizing THEM count?

*modification: find some space saving solutions at IKEA and implement them. Atlanta trip coming up in June)
21. go through wardrobe as I lose the weight and toss clothing that no longer fits into a box for clothing exchange/donation
22. have fresh flowers in the house weekly (from my own garden or an inexpensive bouquet from TJ's)
23. find a wreath for the front door that I love

(ok it's now a side door, but still)
24. once I get it, use the WiiFit at least 3x per week (usually more, especially once it gets cold!)
25. put at least 3 new pieces of jewelry in my Etsy shop per month
26. try at least one new ethnic food group
27. visit NYC
28. unless i'm out of town, keep up with the blogs in my google reader...because 300 unread blogs is NOT a good normal
29. take Emi to the vet for a check-up. it's been awhile...
30. complete a 30 in 30 list (because that's an accomplishment in itself--it's hard!)

Review: The Search for God and Guinness

As soon as this book popped up for review on Thomas Nelson's blogger book review site (now booksneeze.com), I knew I had to read it.

A book about alcohol (even beer) and spirituality was too intriguing to pass up.

I have long known that my views on alcohol consumption differ from most of those of my Protestant friends. Perhaps that's why I'm so drawn to the Catholic church (among other reasons!)...they have no issue with drinking in moderation!

Plus, because of my ancestry I'm interested in all things Irish.

So I ordered this book and it did not disappoint.

The Search for God and Guinness begins with the history of beer and weaves in the story of the Guinness brand in particular with the amazing members of the family who created it. From the very first Guinness, the family has been involved in spiritual formation, unification of Catholic and Protestants in Ireland of all places, and humanitarian efforts. Members of the family that were not involved in the company have been clergymen, members of government, and highly respected members of society. However, the book mainly focused on the family members who became the acting head of the Guinness brand and how their spiritual journey corresponded with their passion for their life's work.

I was especially intrigued by the story of one of the descendants who upon receiving his wedding gift of 5 million pounds, took his new bride and went to live in the slums in order to best serve the people there. Amazing.

Guinness is one of the more recognizable brands around the world, and there is a reason for that. I'm not going to share much more of the story, because I truly feel it's a read that will be more fascinating if you discover the little treasures for yourself.

The book stressed that for those members of the family who took on the company, beer making was their passion. And that's something we can all learn from. In the eyes of this particular reader, though the point was never stressed in the book, I truly think that the author was trying to convey that there really IS no separation between the sacred and the secular. So many of us try to create a chasm between the two...but it is God who gives us our passions, talents and gifts, and I think He blesses us when we choose to live out those passions.

To give a fair and honest review, although I was fascinated by this book, I couldn't read it in one sitting. The names, dates, and details sort of swirl around in my mind so that I would have to take a bit of a break (of a few days normally) between stretches of reading. However, it is a wonderful read and I highly, highly recommend it.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com http://BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Recipe of the Week: The "Perfect" Bloody Mary

One of my absolute favorite drinks: the bloody mary. The spicier the better, and I am fully aware of which restaurants in town have the best. I have looked for the perfect bloody mary mix for...ever...and finally just decided to make one from scratch. Can't be that hard, right??

I started by googling "perfect bloody mary recipe".
Several came up.
After reading plenty of them one finally caught my eye.
I made a few modifications, and voila! *My* perfect bloody mary. May not be your, but there's room for more in this world!

*disclaimer: if you hate bloody marys or tomato juice in general, you may want to stop reading now.

**additional disclaimer: if you love/like bloody marys, yet have no idea what goes in one save the tomato juice and vodka, and you're somewhat picky about stuff...you may want to stop reading now. Some of the ingredients are interesting!

Tomato Juice (you can use V8 Spicy for a bit of a shortcut)
vodka (cheap = fine in a bloody mary. who knew?)
pickle juice
olives and olive juice
pepper (freshly ground)
celery salt
cayenne pepper
Cavenders all-purpose Greek seasoning
lime wedge
shake of Worcestershire sauce
pinch of horseradish
Tabasco sauce (more if you're not using spicy tomato juice)
ice

Put as much ice as you see fit in a tall glass
(my personal philosophy on ice in alcoholic drinks, particularly vodka drinks, is that less is more. no need to dilute the vodka!)
shake celery salt, freshly ground pepper, greek seasoning, and cayenne pepper into bottom of glass. Add horseradish, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Stir. Pour in about a tablespoon each of pickle and olive juice. Stir. Add vodka to the strength you desire. Top off with tomato juice. You can stick a stalk of celery in it, spear some olives (though if you're like me you ate them while pouring in the olive juice), or do whatever you feel like to garnish the thing...

Bottoms Up!

(sorry for the crappy picture...but this is the first one I ever made! I have discovered that the V-8 makes for a much more red drink)

THAT'S what I did wrong!

Avoiding the Swine Flu

Eat right! Make sure you get your daily dose of fruits and veggies.

Take your vitamins and bump up your vitamin c.

Get plenty of exercise because exercise helps build your immune system. Walk for at least hour a day, go for a swim, take the stairs instead of the elevator, etc.

Wash your hands often. If you can’t wash them, keep a bottle of antibacterial stuff around. Wear a mask when out in public places and avoid going out in public as much as possible while the swine flu is spreading. Get lots of fresh air. Open windows whenever possible. Get plenty of rest. Try to eliminate as much stress from your life as you can.

OR …. You can take the doctor’s office approach. Think about it, when you go for a shot, what do they do first? Clean your arm with alcohol.. Why? Because alcohol kills germs. So…… I put on my mask, walk to the liquor store (exercise), I put lime in my Corona (fruit), celery in my Bloody Mary (veggies), drink on the bar patio (fresh air), get drunk, tell jokes, and laugh (eliminate stress) and then pass out (rest). The way I see it, if you keep your alcohol levels up flu germs can’t get you!!!!

So there you have it. I just haven't been keeping my alcohol level up enough!

Recipe of the Week: Almond Frost Jack

Thank goodness for facebook! I became a "fan" of Jack Daniels a few months ago. (ok, I was already a fan, but facebook makes it official, right? ;)

Anyway, they posted a recipe on facebook a couple of weeks ago, and I just HAPPENED to have a friend over a few nights later (right before our 5K!) We decided to try the recipe and I think we were both pleasantly surprised by how much we liked the Jack in it's alternate form!

Now, straight up Jack and Jack and (diet) Coke are going to be the staples...but this one will be a good "go-to" for fall especially!

Almond Frost Jack

1½ oz. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey (I use Gentleman Jack)
½ oz. amaretto
2 oz. cream
1 teaspoon super fine sugar

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into a cocktail glass or serve over ice in a rocks glass. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Sunday's Song

So many amazing songs to choose from...
So many I'd love to share.

And usually it's a worship song that I share on Sundays, but today I bring you another Pub Favorite.

It's called The Last House on Our Street, and it's haunting. If I could give you an opportunity to actually listen to it I would...maybe I'll be able to figure out how to do that soon!

Irish music often reflects the era it is written in (it's not ALL drinking songs!) and there's often quite a bit of social awareness written into the lyrics (think U2 for example). I love that about it. This one is an example--written and sung in a rhythmic way that mimics a ball being passed back and forth, it sounds at first like a children's song...and it does seem to be written through the eyes of a child. But reading the words is heartbreaking when you realize what they're saying.

Like I said--beautifully haunting, and I hope you can get some portion of that from the lyrics below.

Blessings on your Sunday!

The last house in our street
The last house in our street is the one that we are living in,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
All the other windows have concrete curtains,
Open up your eyes and tell me what you see.
The flowers in our garden are made of bricks end broken glass,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
And 'round the back we're growing an outside toilet,
Open up your eyes and tell me what you see.
Wee Albert Mooney was blinded by a petrol bomb,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
The bombers said, We're sorry it must have been en accident,
Open up your eyes and tell me what you see.
A big rubber bullet killed little Johnny Morrissey,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
A policeman fired it, it must have been en accident,
Open up your eyes and tell me what you see.
God made the world and Belfast is a part of it,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
Sometimes I wonder if Belfast was an accident,
Open up your eyes and tell me what you see.
There's a wall, so there is, between us and them, there is,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
Is there anyone can tell me that they didn't help in building it?
Open up your eyes and tell me what you see.
But the eyes of the world have concrete curtains,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me
Would you tear down the wall, would you open up the windows,
Would you open up your eyes end tell me what you see.
The last house in our street is the one that we are living in,
Throw the ball against the wall and back to me,
All the other windows have concrete curtains,
Open up your eyes end tell me what you see.
Open up your eyes end tell me what you see.
Open up your eyes end tell me what you see.

Ok, blog readers. It was driving me CRAZY that I couldn't find a version of this song on youtube. So I created my own. Please know--I'm not a professional (which you'll be able to tell by the mediocre chords I'm playing in accompaniment) and my voice isn't necessarily suited to this sort of song...but it HAS to be shared. So I'm sharing it. Be gentle, kind readers :0)

Oh...you won't really be able to see me in the vid. That was slightly by design. Midnight on a Sunday isn't necessarily my best look!



(by the way this is a private youtube video, so let me know if you can't see it and I'll send you a copy)

Recipe of the Week -- Turtle Martinis

Remember this recipe?

Well, I've adapted it. Surprise, surprise!

It IS a perfect girls night drink...or romantic cocktail...or just plain yummy if you happen to be on your own for the evening! This is similar to my originally posted recipe, except I have added my notes AND an additional vodka. Which means the drink packs a bit more of a punch, but it's soooo good!

Turtle Martini

cocoa powder
powdered sugar
caramel sauce (in a squeeze bottle)
chocolate sauce
2 ounces vanilla vodka (I use Stoli)
1 ounce chocolate vodka (I use Three Olives)
2 ounces white creme de cacao (or dark if you prefer more of a chocolate look)
2 ounces Praline New Orleans Style Pecan Liqueur (ok, if you can find this, you're doing MUCH better than I am. I simply use a Praline syrup that I found in the specialty section of my Publix)
crushed ice
Turtle candies

mix cocoa powder with powdered sugar until it's sweetened to taste. Take large martini glass and very carefully coat the rim in caramel sauce, being careful not to let it drip too far down the sides. then, dip the entire rim of the glass into the sweetened cocoa powder, being sure to coat all of the caramel so that you have a "dusted" caramel effect. put just a drop of chocolate syrup at the bottom of each glass for color.

(that whole step really is for show...but it's yummy and looks cool, so worth it if you have that stuff on hand :)

for the drink, shake vodka, creme de cacao and praline liqueur/syrup in a martini shaker with ice to chill. Fill the martini glass with crushed or shaved ice, strain the drink into the martini glass.
(ok, just to be clear, that's the recipe's suggestion. I don't let ice get in the way of good vodka. So my martini is NOT on the rocks.)

the recipe says to garnish with a half of a Turtle candy by making an incision and hanging it on the rim of the glass. I say eat the Turtle candy and drink up!

Do YOU know Jack?

We do.

More so now than ever :)

It took about an hour and a half to drive there...through beautiful country roads with little teasers all over the place about the distillery.



As we drove through the gate we realized that it was a holiday weekend and CROWDED!







We went inside and signed up for a tour and were told we would be waiting awhile.
So we wandered around and read all the info in the visitors center, before being rescued.
(by the way, this pic of Jack is life-sized. He was 5'2!!)

We had just heard a tour called and commented that the guy who was guiding seemed like a lot of fun. A moment or 4 later, he approached Anthony and I and asked how many of us there were. We told him 2, and he asked if we'd like to go now. Of course, we jumped at the chance! He probably saved us an hour or so of waiting AND he was a lot of fun.

So we boarded the bus, and away we went!

A moment of silence for "that slow sippin' Tennessee whiskey"
Ron, our guide, explained to us that in the past they used to give a free shot of whiskey at the end of the tour. After disappointing us by telling us they no longer do that, he did tell us that we had a unique opportunity...to get a free shot of jack on the rocks. Here's mine:
(it was such a bad joke I HAD to to...)


The safe that killed Jack. He got angry and kicked it one morning, resulting in infection and eventually death.
Here Ron gives us the recipe for Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey

We weren't allowed to take pictures of the production, but let me tell you. We got to smell the sour mash, and we got to breathe in the whiskey that is nearly done. Amazing!

Enjoying our free...lemonade...at the end of the tour!Now, Lynchburg, Tennessee is in what's known as a "dry county". Those aren't found where I come from so let me explain: alcohol cannot be bought/sold anywhere in the county. Not in stores, not in restaurants, nowhere. So...the distillery has a bit of a loophole. They can sell commemorative bottles in their gift shop that contains the "product", but see...they're just selling the bottle as a collector's edition. We were thankful for that particular loophole!

We did both buy a commemorative bottle of Jack. There were two to choose from, and we each got a different one so that we could enjoy more. We've decided that this should really be an annual trip so that we can get each year's bottle.

However, to get the licensed merchandise, we had to walk about a half mile to the town square. The general store is what carries all the Jack stuff. Here's a shot of it.


I kind of wish we had ended up with more time to explore the square--it was a typical small town feel and looked fun. But we had to get back for our poker night (which I did VERY well at, by the way) so we hoofed it back to the car after buying our merchandise.

(A got a shot glass, I got a shot glass that says Jack Rocks as well as a mason jar glass and a few other small things)

So there you go! We enjoyed the day immensely, and were both glad we'd made the effort to finally get out there!

Full Weekend!

Join Shannon and create your own wordle!



We are visiting with Jack today!

Yep, we're headed out the door about right...now...to go to the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

I'll be back with pictures later, I'm sure!

We're also doing a poker night tonight, going to see the new baby snow leopards at the zoo tomorrow and having dinner at A's parents house on Monday. Whew!